Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Our Preliminary Task was the task which we had to complete before researching and creating our own thriller opening. It was a practice run and allowed us to make any mistakes which would appear, during our practice instead of during our thriller opening which would have lost us marks. We decided to create a Doctor, Doctor joke video and within this we included a shot reverse shot, match on action shot and we also took the 180 degree rule into consideration. We executed all of these shots efficiently and by completing the preliminary task we could identify mistakes which we may not have recognised without completing the task. For instance, we had no idea how easily noise disturbance was picked up in the background and when filming different cuts, sound can magically disappear due to the beginning and end of different cuts.

 

Camerawork is an element which I have learnt a lot about since my preliminary task. From doing media at GCSE level, I always knew that there was a wide variety of different camera shots and angles, however from doing my Preliminary Task I have learnt how to use the different shots in a way to represent different characters emotions and in a way to worry or concern the audience. For instance, an extreme close up of a characters eyes creates suspense because it is implicit and doesn't show what is happening around the character and also shows the characters fear which makes the audience feel concerned. Similarly, an establishing shot is used to show the audience where the characters are and the setting can also determine the level of fear that the audience feels. In the Preliminary Task, we mainly just used shots including a panning establishing shot to show where the characters were, close ups to show reactions and mid-shots to show some body language. Whereas in our thriller opening we used many more different shots and they all had a purpose. For instance using the different shots of the clown gradually getting closer to the damsel creates suspense because the audience knows what is happening but the damsel does not. Also the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups build tension because it clearly shows facial expressions which show the audience the feelings of the characters. Therefore from the production of my preliminary task, to the production of my thriller opening, I feel as though I have learnt a wider range of camera angles and shots. I also feel as though I now know how to use the different angles to play with the audiences emotions. I also feel as though I now understand how to ensure that there is no noise disturbance in our shots; by using the tripod we limit this because the camera is not shaking because it is on a secure raised platform.

 

Editing is one of the elements which I feel I have learnt a lot about because when I first began editing our Preliminary Task, I only really understood how to cut the clips and then sequence them in a suitable order. This was because I had never used Sony Vegas Pro 11 before and it was a completely different software for me to use. Our preliminary task was also quite limited where editing is concerned. We obviously cut clips to make them the right size, so that we had no continuity mistakes. However that was about it and so in our thriller opening we had a lot of editing techniques to demonstrate. In our thriller opening we used a wider range of editing techniques including fades in and out, straight cuts, jump cuts and a shot reverse shot. We used a shot reverse shot in our preliminary task and this enabled us to practice the shot before putting it into real use. I feel as though I can now edit clips together very accurately and make them flow together in an understandable sequence, without causing any continuity mistakes. I have also learnt the denotations of the different editing techniques; for instance a fade in/out is very enigmatic and mysterious because it is gradual and isn't an instant cut. Similarly, the use of a cross cut shows the different characters in different places which makes the audience curious as to when they will meet. Therefore I believe I have learnt a huge amount about the different types of editing techniques, as well as learning the effects they have on the audience.

 

I feel as though Mise en Scene was an element which I felt quite comfortable with because we had to consider it in GCSE as well as our Preliminary Task. In our Prelim Task we were very limited with the location we could use because we were at the Sixth Form grounds. We therefore used a classroom as a make belief waiting room and the receptionists office as a Doctor's office because it had a computer, desks and cabinets. We therefore decided that when we filmed our thriller opening, we would use a much better location which would enable us to make our opening as realistic as possible. I have also learnt that costumes are vital because otherwise it doesn't create a realistic feel. For instance, if we had attempted to make Josh the clown without supplying him with the suitable costumes and props, our thriller film would have made no sense at all. When filming our preliminary task we did not have to consider this as greatly because the majority of our characters were supposed to be casual. However, when looking back at it, we didn't particularly dress Tommy in a proper Doctor's costume and this therefore may have been slightly misleading for the audience. On the other hand, the dialogue would have resolved any confusion. So the importance of costumes was an element which I feel I learnt alot about because I had never particularly considered its importance. Another element which I considered was lighting. In our prelim task we had a huge amount of natural lighting and so when we were filming our thriller film we had a lot of natural low key lighting which meant that we had to take spotlights for us to capture everything clearly. This is something we didn't have to consider in our prelim task and so remembering spotlights was vital in our thriller opening. Overall, I think that the Mise en Scene is an element which is normally thought less of and so I ensured that it was always considered when planning for our thriller opening. I made sure that I knew what props, costumes and characters were needed and when, as well as planning ahead in terms of lighting.

 

Sound was an element which I was unsure of how to use because it's initially quite difficult to edit and I wasn't sure how import sound either. Therefore in our preliminary task we used no non-diegetic sound because we had no idea as to how to import it. Therefore I feel I have strengthened my knowledge in terms of soundtrack because I now know how to import a soundtrack which I had no idea how to do initially. I also know how to import clips of synchronous sound to coincide with what is happening on screen. For example when Emily the damsel is walking on leaves, we imported a foley sound of somebody walking on leaves to add to the realism. I have also learnt that sound disturbance can be picked up very easily and we established this during our preliminary task where there is background noise and it then suddenly stops during the next cut. I therefore learnt to ensure that there is no unnecessary background noise.

 

My team was initially Katie Summers, Tommy Britton, Rhianna Flett and I, however Rhianna changed groups to be with another group who had the same study periods as herself so that they could get the optimum amount of work complete. Tommy, Katie and I all shared similar frees which meant that we could all contribute ideas towards the planning of our filming. We did plan well as a team and we kept ourselves organised and so we knew what we were doing and when we were doing it. We worked well as a team for both tasks and this contributed to the success of the filming and editing process. However, Tommy was not present for the editing process because he was absent from Sixth Form so Katie and I continued this to meet our editing deadline. As well as working well as a team, we also had to work well independently. To ensure that we completed our work on time, for both tasks we had to complete some tasks independently and then share our findings. This worked well and we stayed quite consistent from the Preliminary Task to the final media product. Again, I believe I was consistently organised throughout both tasks and this considers time mananagement to ensure that work is done within the time scale. Keeping organised is vital when researching and producing a thriller opening because there are so many different elements which need to be considered. Time management, organisation and teamwork all coincided when it came to the filming of our thriller opening because we discovered that it was extremely difficult to organise a date to film on because everybody has different commitments. However, due to our good organisation skills we were able to agree on a date which everybody could make and we were also within our time scale; this allowed us plenty of time to edit what we had filmed. Organisation was on a much smaller scale for our preliminary task because we didn't have any particular props or costumes and we also filmed during lesson time. Whereas for our thriller film we had costumes, props, locations and characters to organise and so it was a much larger scale. I therefore learnt that without organisation, tasks cannot be executed efficiently because people don't know what they are doing or when they are doing. Clear direction is necessary.

 

I have also definitely learnt how to use Sony Vegas Pro 11 efficiently and I understand and can use the different functions which are available. Whereas at the beginning of the Preliminary Task I was completely unaware as to how to use it. I enjoyed editing the least because it's quite tenuous and requires a lot of patience which was very time consuming. However, I learnt how to fade in and fade out, import video clips and sound clips and also how to add text over the top of clips. Once I had a clear understanding of what to do, it became like second nature and I could use the software quite easily. I did find it very interesting how the software can drastically change the quality of the filming and I also found it intriguing as to how the brightness can be changed from low key lighting to high key lighting in a matter of minutes. Keeping an open mind and using creative flares is also key when creating a thriller film because otherwise it looks boring and doesn't intrigue the audience which is the main convention of a thriller film. Listening to others ideas as well as contributing your own ideas is also vital because another team member may have an excellent idea which could really benefit the thriller opening. I therefore learnt to be more accepting of wild ideas instead of just thinking simplistically.