TASK 7

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

The sophistication of the planning and preparation from my basic preliminary task has improved dramatically and this is shown in my thriller. In the prelim, our group had the advantage of being in the studio which meant we had a setting laid out for our use, which meant that the lighting was in prime position. We were given our own storyboards to work from however for the thriller we had to start from scratch. We had to come up with all our own ideas and constructed our own storyboard. We had to find a suitable location and include lighting, costumes, actors, different shots, props, and edited the sound and footage for the thriller. In the prelim task we were given basic shots to use whereas in the main task we used a variety of shots such as close-ups, tracking, medium shots, long shots, wide shots and over the shoulder shots to create the right effect and add a sense of realism to our finished product. For the man task, we filmed all day however for the prelim task we only had a couple hours to produce something. The main task was far more in-depth and required much more time and effort in comparison to the prelim. We used tracking in our sequence to make particular shots effective, the tracking created visual imagery which added sophistication to the product. Because we had all day to film for the main task I was able to use the camera and work throughout the day constructing various shots. In our editing we use special effects such as the "Bang Bang" sound of a gun and the smoke that comes with it, which added a sense of realism and suspense to our thriller. This was done in soundtrack pro which we over layered and added to our finished product. From the main task my group found it easier telling the basic outline of the story visually rather than with dialogue. Therefore having a storyboard helped point us in the right direction.
Over time my camera skills have developed, in the sense that I know how to capture a variety of shots in comparison to when I filmed the prelim task and knew little about camera techniques. In our main task we stuck to the 180 degrees line at all times and made sure we always got the framing for eyeline matches right. I’ve developed my camera skills dramatically since the prelim. In the main task we worked on completely different scales and the main task enabled me to get more involved and get used to the camera, thus making the sequence of good standard. With my camera phone in hand, I filmed all that went on in front of me, from the minute the conversations of the students in the canteen started, to the end of my life. By using the zoom on my blackberry curve, I was able to capture important factors for my thriller such as facial expressions, the use of teenage language and behaviour. Therefore my skills have improved from my basic prelim brief 0f wide shots, medium shots and close ups to a sophisticated sequence with a visual narrative.

In our prelim task we only used sound from the recording and ambient sound to the use of Foley work. This contrasts to my main task as the music and sound that we used in our main task was diegetic and non diegetic sound. We found our music from sound track pro and edited to make our thriller unique and interesting. The music fits in with our thriller perfectly and creates an unsettling atmosphere through various different tones. We used a vast amount of ambient sound from the shoot day. This included sounds such as people’s footsteps, people talking, glasses and cutlery clinking on tables etc. This enhanced realism and as part of our diegetic sound we also used a drone as non diegetic sound. We researched other horror films and found that many used the drone sound in their soundtrack. Therefore my use of sound and knowledge of sound has developed as you can see there are many differences, between both the prelim task and main task.
I learnt how to master new technology in the programme final cut pro and final cut server. In final cut server we check in our thriller and check out. I learnt how to use special effects in final cut and how to cut all shots together in order to make the narrative effective. I learnt how to apply sound into our narrative.