media evaluation, a-level, practical, question 6 and 7

1. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
AND
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the main task?
Over the course of creating my thriller opening with my group, I have learnt to use a various
amount of different site and programs to not only complete my evaluation but to complete my
thriller opening. Firstly, my group and I had to become familiar with Premiere Pro, an editing
software that is simple to use once you know where all the tools are and how they work
which can offer a various range of features which are useful to create multiple effects. In
addition, we used mixcraft, another editing software but this time for music. We was able to
create our own music on this program to gain better marks and avoid using any copyright
soundtracks. My group and I had to spend a lot of time working on mixcraft, as to begin it is
was a difficult to figure out just how to use it, but over time we grasped it enough to make a
soundtrack for our thriller. My group and I gained a huge learning experience from making
our thriller as before our media course we had never been faced with the challenge of using
editing software to create something that was worth a huge chunk of our course and were
complete beginners at the start. In comparison, we also had the opportunity to work with
some of the best quality cameras our school could offer, along with additional pieces of
equipment that I had never heard of before. We had previously used a camera and a tripod
for our preliminary task but I feel as though, we didn’t use it to its full extent and therefore,
our thriller was the true test of what we could do to enhance our thriller so it could gain the
best possible grade.
In regards to our preliminary task, our biggest mistake was our time management.
Unfortunately, this was the main factor for why it was of such a poor quality. The filming was
left till the last minute and we were still editing it on the day of the deadline, therefore I
believe it was not mine and my group’s best efforts as we did not quite know what we were
challenged with. The ideas of the preliminary task changed that many times that I am unsure
of whether the end result matched the original plans, this was another factor that put us
down on time management. However, in contrast, when it came to planning and filming our
thriller we were better prepared and knew exactly what to expect and myself and my group
are very proud of the product we have produced.
I think the editing and learning curve of using the editing is what we did best at when making
our thriller. After going through stage of not knowing if we would meet the deadline, we
finally achieved it and was able to produce something we could be proud of. We spent
multiple hours trying to understand how the different programs work and even though, we
are not experts just yet, we were able to excel in completely our thriller.
I definitely think that my group and I made huge progress from our preliminary task to our
thriller opening, as you can just tell from the quality of videos. We have learnt a various
range of different camera skills and editing techniques that we will be able to use to produce
something better in the future.