Jonny's Evaluation

There are different thriller conventions that we employed in our media product. I have seen few films where the two lead roles have been women. This is different from many thrillers that are dominated, but not exclusively, by the male actors. We ha a female lead. The second part to this convention is when there is a woman they are often portrayed as weak and vulnerable. This we didn't conform to. Other conventions were aimed at creating the right atmosphere. Footage was taken with a dark mise en scene limiting what you could see. This lets the audience’s imagination wondering at what is there. This is another luring affect of suspense. This was a favourite technique of Alfred Hitchcock who favoured suspense
over surprise. The other variation is to show the audience what the characters cannot see and then toy with the audience as to what will happen next. These conventions puts the thriller in the mystery and psychological sub-genre. There were no films that influenced us as a group. We did our own research and brought thoughts from films to the table. One that influenced me was Double Jeopardy. Specifically, that it was as much psychological as mystery really enthralled me. Another series fuelled my inspiration was CSI.
The way they have flashbacks to the crime or a related scenario: The jumping images, grainy images, colour changes and focus changes inspired my contribution to our flashback sequence.

The social group that is represented by our media product is not of a very large spectrum in terms of race and class. All the characters are working and middle working class people of a British white background but there was a reasonable distribution of both sexes. The main character was defined as a quiet individual and through this unique attitude, draws your attention. The age has a much broader potential range. The main and her friends are young, in their late teens. The antagonist at the end is also an unknown quantity as the main character does not know them. However they are also an unknown quantity to the audience as they do not know any more than the girl.
Our representation of women does follow the stereotype but would develop away from it. At first the women are far more responsible and as the scene shifts from the group to the individual girl she is defined to as the quiet, young and naive girl who inevitably gets into trouble. She would become stronger and independent in time.
This would draw the target audience in as the ages are similar to the target audience and because its a twist on what happens. Starting with a stereotypical background puts the audience at ease but by then throwing them it draws them in.

If this film were to be distributed and had been made to cinema quality I think it would be a film that has a period in smaller cinemas and art houses for maybe three weeks. It has all the main conventions included and challenges them enough to attract people. It is though more experimental and doesn’t follow the mainstream take on a thriller. On the grand scale of things it would be a DVD and TV film later. If the script and the copyright were sold to a Hollywood studio/company then that combined with the budgets would make it a big release. Like many ‘pure’ thrillers this would be a single standing film. It would be difficult to make a sequel. There is though the possibility of franchise and also merchandising. Primarily, the soundtrack to the film and also the prestige of big name studios. Also, if the film is publicised enough there is always a opening for merchandise such as small paraphernalia and shirts. A film that is not designed for children is often limited in terms of merchandise. This link has only three items for this adult thriller/horror film. The visual style of the thriller does not lend itself to a variety of merchandise which is down to the darker nature of the film.

The target audience for our media production is broad. It is aimed at those that enjoy the complexities of a psychological thriller which keeps you guessing. The age range of this is large but we limited this with our cast. By using young actors and actresses we brought the age of appeal down to 15 to 35 on a large scale, focusing mainly on the 15 to 25 year olds. This was the only real limit on target audience that we deliberately made, though with little diversity in race and social backgrounds of characters, that may prove to be another audience limiting factor.

To attract our audience we made the characters a similar age to the target audience.

This allows the audience to 'experience’ the emotions and feelings of the characters.

There are sections to the film that would terrify younger age groups: the flashback sequence would be disturbing and upsetting. The same sequence could also be found upsetting by women as the graphic is that of a woman’s murder. Inversely, the mystery and suspense would appeal to the older region of our age bracket. For example in the opening at the very end with the shadow in the window; it could go anywhere and those who appreciate suspense thrillers will enjoy it. To help put the audience in the position of the lead character we used point of view shots. Also the use of tracking shots incorporates a sense of voyeurism. This heightens the suspense of the film because the audience isn't sure if she is being followed. The suspense is in both what you do and don't see.

From filming I have learnt a great deal about the equipment and the filming process. From deciding the best angle of the shot to whether we should use the tripod or handheld techniques. The equipment we had was adequate but had its faults. The battery lasted an hour or so which was suitable for most of our filming. The camera ran on tapes and making sure the tape was in the right place before and after filming was an inconvenience. Also, when uploading we often had to re-synchronize the audio and video signals. (Indicated by red boxes)

One thing which we did have a few issues with was transportation. It came down to using a quad bike, a forklift and walking. During filming though we only seemed to have two issues: lighting levels and how to get the right angle. To solve this we employed some industrial lights that ran off a generator. This presented a problem when we uploaded which was the camera picked up the noise of the generator. So we had to re-shoot those sections with the light and without, overlaying the two takes. The second problem left us using a very short tripod at angles to give the worm-eye-canted shot and me climbing up on tractor to take our establishing shot. The camera and myself were securely fixed to avoid falling which was a hazard. The reason that I climbed the tractor was that I am comfortable with heights and can deal with falling if our precautions were not enough.

Final cut though we were quite successful with. We very quickly picked up the art of cutting sequences and rearranging them in to the correct order. This was particularly interesting when creating the killing sequence; having to cut different angle shots of the same action and piece them together as a coherent sequence. It did work very well though and the time was well spent. However making this sequence was difficult because we had used two different cameras to produce the footage. This in turn produced about 20 minutes of raw footage from the two cameras to watch and select the best parts of.

Once we had the desired footage we had to learn to adjust things about the image like brightness, contrast and colour; particularly for the killing sequence which we made black and white for effect. On the actual editing window you are able to further alter the sound volume to customise it to the sequence. This proved very useful when changing the volume of the background music scary playground and awkward meeting (courtesy of Enetiworld and Incompetech) and the footsteps through the leaves. There were a list of effects but certain ones appealed for

varying reasons. The cross-fade appealed because it enabled us to convey a greater passage of time. We used a blink effect for the killing sequence to produce the start and end of the flashback and although we could not find a flash, we produced our own using a blank white screen with a fade followed by the blink effect.

Since the preliminary task I feel I have learnt a lot about the equipment and about final cut express. I have been able to use both to much greater effect. The hardest part was the storyboarding and deciding what sort of shots we wanted, due mostly to the length of the two pieces comparatively (15 seconds and 2 minutes) . This took us around two weeks to finish. The research was time consuming but was very useful. Knowing what sort of websites to look at and films to analyse helped.

The use of different shots was most definitely better in the actual task. We did however use match cuts effectively in two sequence.

When Amy is running in to the caravan and the killing sequence shortly after:

The only jump cut section which goes between the caravan and the camp was very effective and which I had a large hand in editing in.

As regards the equipment by our first actual filming day I was very happy using and manoeuvring it and I felt we managed to use it all to quite a good effect. Over those filming days my confidence grew and the shots themselves were up to a reasonable standard. All the aspects of suspense we wanted, we had incorperated into the piece and I feel it does keep you on the edge. As with all things it could be improved with a better camera and more time but the overall effect, atmosphere, feeling and mood tallied up to a very good thriller opening sequence.

Henry's Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our thriller conforms to conventions of thrillers in several areas of our film. There is a generic convention with the antagonist-protagonist relationship between the two main characters, seen in many thrillers.



The use of voyeurism is a convention, the idea that something or someone is watching you. This allows the audience to ‘step in to the character’s shoes’ and understand fully the situation they are in. This can be identified in the 'entering the woods' scene with the use of the 'crab shots'. This photo shows conforming to conventions; the antagonist is seen in a hooded coat, adding to the dark, mysterious character profile that is represented.

The flash of light during the flashback sequence is archetypal. Seen in many psychological films/media (like Seven, CSI, Criminal Minds) indicating a previous event somehow linked to the character. These media products have influenced our work, clearly illustrated by our content.
However, our film does challenge conventions as our lead character is female, going against the idea that the main character is a tough (alpha) male figure. Our conventions indicate our genre is psychological. This involves asking questions of the audience and surprising them, demonstrated at the climax of film when the antagonist appears in the window this is left at a point where the outcome is hinted, but not shown: a ‘cliff hanger ending’. A sub genre of crime could be indicated by the stabbing scene, showing violence/murder.


How does your media product represent particular social groups?


The social group that is represented in our media is white teenage males and females. This links into our target audience of both genders, between the ages of 15-35. In our film, the social group that is heavily represented is the white, middle class. I believe gender is represented very stereotypically:a vulnerable girl and a powerful man. We have represented the (assumed) male as strong and the female to be vulnerable and weak. In the ‘killing scene’ the male uses his power over a helpless female victim. However, if we could show more than the opening we would show the female lead growing in character as the film progresses.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I believe our film could be produced by a major Hollywood studio, many conventions of mainstream thrillers are shown. The topic can be widely understood by our target audience.

Our product would not be released as an art house film as the film is not heavily reliant on aspects of mise en scene. It is not very experimental either; the camera shots are fairly conventional to a thriller, for example: tracking, close-ups, and long shots.

This film would not be an internet only release; meaning limited access for consumers. Our film is appealing to a younger audience (the people who watch films regularly and buy DVDs) so it would need to be as widely accessible as possible, to maximise profit potential.

It does give opportunities for merchandising; t-shirts and posters could be sold. The merchandising would take into consideration our target audience (15-30) as university students could use posters to decorate their rooms, if they could not afford to spend money on expensive artwork.
Our film could be made into a franchise, for instance video games based on the storyline. We are now increasingly dependent on technology; so this could sell based on the target audience. The potential for DVD sales after the initial cinema release would increase revenue.

Who is the audience for our media product?

Our film targets those aged 15-30, this should not limit the appeal of the film to this age group, those older may also enjoy it.
The film would appeal to our target audience because they can relate to the situation the characters find themselves in. The age of our cast is similar to our audience; meaning they will feel more connected. This age group are generally more aware of newly released films and have more free time, making it easier to target this audience. The certification for the film is a 12A but this will not stipulate the age of the viewers.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Our audience profile consists on both genders, aged 15-30. We attracted our audience by including a violent stabbing scene. This age group would be the most accepting of this ‘horror-like’ scene, this could almost be an expectation of young audiences.

 

We made the flashback particularly terrifying because of the black and white hue; this confuses the audience slightly, as the focus is altered. This effect helps to differentiate from the rest of the film. The changes of perspective (created using 2 separate cameras) and the harsh jump cuts speed up the action, increasing the viewer’s tension. We used a point-of-view (POV) shot allowing the audience to become involved in the terrifying situation with the main character, seeing what she sees, increasing anxiety. 

The non diagetic music is crucial to attracting our audience. It is conventional, ‘chilling’ music that is almost continuous throughout. The changes in pitch of the music arrive at key moments, giving 

the audience (in some cases) an unwanted indication of what is about to happen.

We used close ups to show the panic and fear of the girl taking the audience into her mind.

We used a motivated cut to increase the viewer’s interest as she enters the caravan. We cut away at the point where the audience wishes to see something (the body) which is not quite visible.

What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?

To always check that the camera(s) are charged! We had problems whilst filming because we were left with no battery left. Fortunately we had two cameras available to use, so we could use one whilst the other charged.

The camera we were given limited what and how we could film. To counter this, we used one of our own cameras in tandem with the one we already had. This allowed us to get two perspectives of each shot, (for example a different POV angle) seen most effectively in the flashback killing scene:

During filming, the sound was difficult to control. As we had to film in the dark for most of our piece, we had to think of an alternative light source other than natural lighting. Lighting was checked during practice filming. We used lights off a quad bike and a generator. The generator (whilst giving the right amount of light) had overridden the diagetic sound and was picked up easily by our cameras.
We had to re-film what the opening sequence. After this we filmed each sequence several times with and without the generator. We then (when editing) chose the clip that was most suitable. Re-filming was another problem; there was no guarantee that the same cast would be available again. We had to swap actresses for the re-film.

I learnt during the editing stage how to edit together effectively using the software final cut express. I learnt how to sync the film with the sound (as they came from different sources). When we exported our film, the sound was out of time with the film so I had to drag the respective bars into position; the sound then fitted with the sequence.

Since the preliminary task I have learnt the many effects available to us. One effect which is evident throughout, is the ‘cross-dissolve’, this softened the transition form shot to shot. I learnt how to change the colour of the original killing sequence to black and white.

We had a track from other sources that had copyright free use. We also had several tracks from a composer of thriller music. The main problem was getting the copyright free versions from him. but we managed to do this.

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

After the preliminary task, we started research and planning. We worked well as a team, bringing different ideas to the process. We tracked our progress with ‘meetings’, which summarised what we had been doing and delegated responsibility of different tasks to each person. Storyboarding was the hardest process of planning, as it was so specific and we were bringing together all our research on to one piece of paper. This did help us when filming, as we knew what shot to film in what sequence.

Our research into current thriller films and their conventions helped, as we started to formulate an idea of what an audience expects of a thriller. We narrowed down a ‘mental check list’ of shots commonly used in thrillers and then tried to expand:

- Voyeurism (Tracking, Crabbing)
- POV shots
- Close-ups
- Long shots
- Canted Angle
- Establishing shot
- Low angle / Worms eye view

-Matched Cuts - This shows matched cuts being used to show compression of time to the audience.

The practice filming was vital. This gave us the chance to test each shot and its length based on the storyboard and work out what worked the best. Lighting was the main thing we tested, and whether people would be visible from different angles. This was all done a week before the real filming, when the cast arrived.

I feel my filming skills have improved. I have learnt to adapt the shots to my needs and abilities after extensive work during practice filming.

Overall, I believe our team has created a very good end product that would be successful if made for real. I think it fulfils the task set and I am proud of what we have achieved.

Grace - EVALUATION

In what ways does our media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The conventions of a thriller are shown in the spider diagram. Our thriller incorporates the crime and murder convention and the antagonistic - protagonistic narrative structure.
It also contains voyeurism, which is a general convention of thrillers.

However, we do challenge some thriller conventions such as the lack of a male lead. In most thrillers the lead character is male but in ours the lead is female and the developing character gets stronger as the film progresses.

Our thriller is a psychological thriller with some crime. This is indicated through the flash-back to the antagonist performing the killing and through the voyeurism. The voyeurism causes the audience to wonder who is watching the action - is it them? Is it Amy? Is it the antagonist? This psychological confusion is created by jumping between different perspectives and camera angles - between the body, camp fire and the POV shots in the different scenes.

Each group member came up with a story idea and we chose one of these to develop. The final storyline was created from my original idea. I was influenced by my location and some aspects of the crime convention in CSI. As I live on a farm, I know how scary it is at night and this gave me ideas on what sort of effects could be created if we filmed there.

How does our media product represent particular social groups?

The social group represented in our media is white males and females around the age of 17.

Gender representation in most thrillers I've seen include a stereotypical male lead for example in the film crank (watch from 2.40 to 3.45), all the focus is on the male lead who has to keep his adrenaline pumping. But ours is not stereotypical of gender because it has a female main. The secondary lead could be male or female, however from the stance and style of the figure the assumption is that they are male.

However, this is not revealed in our opening so this is not proven. The antagonist is very dominant as we see from the flash back, and both the victim and the protagonist are the vulnerable females which are general thriller conventions.

What kind of media institution might distribute our media product and why?

Our film could be produced by a major Hollywood studio as it contains all the major thriller conventions and challenges consumers.

If our film were to be released it would be a TV movie because our target audience (15-30) includes students still in school or university who tend to watch more TV. Our film probably would not be an Internet release only film as it is aimed at an audience who are more likely to watch TV than spend time searching the Internet for thriller films.

Our film would offer opportunities for franchises such as video games and investors. Merchandising could offer opportunities to make money through the making of t-shirts, mugs and posters. Also money could be made through DVD sales. Posters would appeal to our target age group as they are likely to be young people who like decorating their rooms with posters.

Who is the audience for our media product?

Our film is made to appeal to young adults aged 15 to 30. However, this is not to say that others older would not enjoy it. I would certificate our opening sequence as a 12A because it includes some violence and horror (the killing) but this is moderate and not frequent. The guidelines for classification are on the following PDF (please copy and paste into your browser):
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdf

How did we attract/address our audience?

Our audience profile is both genders between the ages of 15 and 30. One of the ways we attracted this audience was by using characters of a similar age, for example the group of friends around the camp fire are all meant to be 17+ and the antagonist and victim are slightly older, aged 20-25.

We also attracted our audience by making the flashback brutal and violent to increase the tension and to confuse the audience as to what is going on. However, a younger audience could be terrified because of the jumping between angles and because the sequence is in black and white to make it dark and show that it is a flashback.

We used two cameras to film the same action from 2 different angles to create an interesting effect when jumping between the two. We jumped between shots to make the opening run fast and build up tension. We used Point of View (POV) shots to make the audience unsure of whose POV the action is being seen from, which makes it a psychological thriller. We used a high angle establishing shot at the beginning to show the audience where the action is taking place and to introduce from a distance all the characters and the situation.

Throughout, the audience are asked to put themselves either in the position of Amy or watch the action themselves. They are able to witness what is happening to Amy as well as the positions she is in. They also witness what she sees in her mind when the flashback occurs. This allows them to see character development and allows the audience to be in Amy's position.
This creates suspense by them not knowing whose point of view it is from and who is meant to be seeing it happen? - The audience, Amy or the antagonist? This is what also causes it to be a psychological thriller because it jumbles things up in the audiences mind.

The music and sounds used attract the audience because they build suspense, eg. a mix of the feet walking through the leaves and the eerie sound of 'Scary Playground' over the top. Since the music had to be copyright free we used the websites below and got permission:
http://www.enetiworld.com/Enetiworld/Music.html
http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/index.html?genre=Horror

The mise en scene we created was one way we attracted our audience, shown below: (click the image below)

Only 2 props were used in our thriller but these were major to creating the suspense that we needed.

The video below shows how the knife works, without causing harm:

What have I learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?

One of the main problems we experienced during filming was the camera batteries were not charged, but as we used 2 cameras we were able to leave one on charge while we used the other, as the scene we were filming at this point didn't require 2 angles. We experienced problems with a generated light as the generator made too much noise and so overpowered all of our speaking. We resolved this by re-filming the parts with the problem without the generator, using a different power source.

Another problem with the re-film was that we had get back the actors that we had before as other scenes that we had already filmed included some of those from the original footage. We managed a date where most who were in the original footage were available and others replaced those who could not attend.

One piece of new equipment that I had never used before was the gels which changed the colour of the light. We used a blue one in the killing sequence and this deepened the colours but enhanced the knife as the light caught it. We turned the final killing sequence into black and white to give a better effect because the blue gel used didn't make the scene dark enough.

I have learnt more about the use of final cut express and what the tools and features do. Since the preliminary task I have learnt how to add effects.
One useful effect was the cross dissolve as it was a way of showing time passing. I also learnt how to make the sequence black and white.
One interesting feature was the speed effect. We sped up part of the flashback where the knife is pulled away from the body. In final cut express we edited the music and sound using the sound bar so there was no need to use garage band. (to view image please click on it)

One thing I found useful was the amount of filming that we did. We asked our actors to repeat the same parts 4 or 5 times so that we could get a good range of takes and any problems that occurred could be discarded. We did takes with different light and different angles which helped us when we came to edit because if there were any problems we were able to use a different take and combine takes to get a sequence that we liked. Using this process we got many outtakes from it like the one below:

Looking back on the preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Throughout the planning and research we worked well as a group to put our ideas together to create the final outcome. We brought together our different interests and knowledge to create the camera angles and effects. (to enlarge image please click)

Storyboarding was one of the hardest parts of the project because we had to think about our sequence of events and try to create a frame for each. As a group our storyboard was successful and we were able to easily follow it when filming. The image below is a sample of our storyboard. (please click to enlarge)

The practice filming that we did a few weeks before our final filming allowed us to make changes to our storyboard. We were able to work out what lighting would need to be changed and what angles. It allowed us to see which gels would work best for lighting effects and where the light needed to come from to illuminate important features.
You can view our practice filming on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/nfgsearth#p/u

Since the preliminary task I have a better understanding of the shot types and how to use them. We used many different camera angles within our piece, one of the most used being POV shots. We also used simultaneous time to show that the group of friends were carrying on as normal while Amy was wondering through the woods finding the caravan. This is shown where the scream is heard by the friends.

I feel much more confident with all the equipment than I did in the preliminary task. This is because in the meantime I had practiced with the camera and got much more experience during the filming process. I had a lack of understanding on how to use it before we had started our filming. The practice filming and testing helped me to gain confidence and understanding. I now understand how to set up all the equipment and how to use it.

Overall we have met the task requirements of making an opening to a thriller. It meets our aim of making a psychological thriller that creates suspense and confusion.
I asked some viewers for their opinions on the opening and their feedback is on the following link: http://nfgsearth.blogspot.com/p/audience-feedback-grace.html

Self Evaluation of Skills

The following is how i rate myself in the skills and technical skills i have.

(Out of 5, 1=poor, 5=excellent)
Organisation: 4
Deadlines: 4
Reliability: 5

Why i feel i am good at this and what i could do to improve.

Organisation - I feel i am pretty good at my organisation skills however i feel that maybe i could try and communicate more outside of school with my group to help organise more.
Deadlines - I think that i am good at meeting deadlines however i sometimes leave things until the last minute to do so that i can meet them, so i need to try and get things done ahead of time to ensure that i will meet all deadlines 

Technical skills

Camerawork: 4
Editing: 3
Understanding of Light: 2/3
Understanding of Sound: 2/3

What could I do to improve?

I found in the preliminary task that my camera work was not too bad. I came up with different camera angles that were different from the storyboard to make the scene more effective. I do however feel that there is more that can be improved in just by practice.

Editing i struggled with a bit as i found final cut express complicated to use but once i knew the basics i was OK. I need to do more practice with it to feel more confident with using it.

I understand most of the technical terms for both sound and lighting but do not as of yet feel confident with understanding how to put them into a piece. I understand how to analyse these in other pieces but feel i need to think more about at how to achieve that certain effect in my own piece.

Jonny's Self-evaluation

Out of 5 (5 being the highest; 1 being the lowest) I feel that my 'ability' in particular areas of media studies are as follow:

Personal

Personal Organization: 4

Ability to Meet Deadlines: 3

Reliability: 5

Technical

Camera Work: 4

Editing: 3/4

Understanding of Sound: 3/4

Understanding of Lighting: 5

Things I can Improve

I definitely need to work on meeting deadlines though I feel at the moment I am getting better.
While I am comfortable with the different lighting techniques and uses I need to get more aquainted with sound terminology and techniques.
I also could do with further familiarising myself with Final Cut Express and its more intricate processes though I am confident about editing terminology and techniques.
All I can do to improve my camera work is practice at home.

From the Preliminary Film I have learned ...

... how to use Final Cut Express. In the process of editing we had to do two fairly major things to the text. The main one was synchronizing the visual and audio texts so that they were in time. Originally after uploading the scenes to the computer the sound was 1 second ahead of the visual text. This took a little while to work out but in the end discovered that you can look the visual and audio sequences individually of each other. The other major and in some ways more vital thing I learned to do with Final Cut Express was to actually cut and shorten the sequences and move them around so that they can be placed the correct order in the sequence. While doing this we discovered that you can put the sequences on different lines which meant that we could accurately cut sequence to place another in the middle of it.

... how to use the camera. I know how to use the camera in terms of recording, stopping, pausing and play back. Any additional functions that may be found through the menu I haven't learnt to use yet. In terms of using the camera and tripod I can pan, track, use the zoom function, point of view shot, tilting and using the tripod and handheld to give high angle and low angle shots.

Self Evaluation of Skills

We have been asked to evaluate our skills both physically and technically as part of our pre-production of coursework.

(Out of 5, 5=excellent)
Organisation: 4
Deadlines: 4
Reliability: 5

What could I do to improve/Help needed?

Organisation (Help needed) - To help improve my organisational skills it would be useful if my group delegated to each person what they are to be doing in written form (on paper or blog)
Deadlines (What could I to improve) - Write a personal plan of tasks set, what's involved and when I will do it. I would hope to stick to this plan rigidly so I do not fall behind on deadlines.

Technical skills

Camerawork: 3
Editing: 3
Understanding of Light: 2
Understanding of Sound: 2

What could I do to improve?

During the preliminary task, together as a group we edited the piece on final cut express and I seem to be learning the ins and outs of the software. I believe I am still some way off from being technically sound with the editing process. We syncronised the sound as it was out of time with the piece of film, but we didn't change sound deliberately to create a certain effect. This is something I could improve on - using sound/light in better ways to give different effects e.g. shadows. I can also improve on the editing process by practising using Final Cut Express.

Preliminary Film Evaluation

the film that we produced was about 1 minute long and was very simple. The key shots that were used in the very opening were the Point of View shot through the eyes of the student walking down the corridor. This was done in a silent corridor to enhance the sound of footsteps and the intent was also to enhance suspense. The cut to the close up on the watch was designed to magnify the suspense of the situation.
As the student walked into the room the continuation of the shot i would say was very good. It did seem an almost seemless transition from the Point of View shot looking through the door, to the long shot of the student coming through the door. Through the following conversation using the alternating over the shoulder shots the camera work itself was reasonably well done. However the high of the shot varied slightly during one of the cuts.
The sound throughout the entire text was alright however we didn't use any background music but there was nothing appropriate or short enough for the text. The footsteps were most likely the best and only sound effect and it did work very well.
When it came to the editing the biggest problem was the sound and picture as they were not synchronized. To solve this we had to delay the sound for every frame by 1 second but was simple enough to do. The problem after that was getting the continuity, which we did quite successfully, and also the real time aspect of the text which I feel again was very successful.

Preliminary Coursework Task

For our preliminary coursework task we had to film a character:

- Opening a door
- Crossing a room
- Exchanging a few lines of dialogue

STORY & THE MESSAGES COMMUNICATED
Our storyline involved two characters, a teacher and a student. The student had been late for a detention and the teacher shows his disapproval of this. He then sets the student a task to complete much to the student's disliking.

The first shot we used in the piece was a Point-of-view (POV) Shot which involved shooting from the student's point-of-view. This gave the audience the impression that they were in his shoes, we hoped this shot would create tension, nervousness and anxiety. Especially because of the hand held camera effects, this gave the shot a jagged feel, adding to the realism of the sequence. We then used a close up (CU) on the teacher's watch, this captures his impatience and so adds to the anxiety of the audience as they start to worry for the student's well being. Whilst we see the teacher's watch, we cross cut back to the footsteps in the corridor, slowly building up the tension.

After this, we used a long shot (LS) over the shoulder (OTS) of the teacher, focusing on the students body language and his reaction to the situation he has found himself in. We then use several cross cuts between both teacher and student as dialogue was shared, this gave the audience both points of view and both sides of the argument. This was followed by a close up showing the facial expression of the student as he is being told what to do. Towards the end of the clip, a high angle is used to give the audience some idea of the situation both characters are in and the surroundings (or context) in which they are shown. The video finishes with an over the shoulder shot of the student showing the work he has to complete. This leaves the viewer wondering whether the student will do as he is told and finish the work or revert back to old habits and refuse.

SKILLS I LEARNED AND DEVELOPED
Throughout the making of this preliminary task I learnt several skills that could be developed and then used in the real coursework.
- One of them was the basic functions of the software Final Cut Express as well as learning how to cut and rearrange sequences of the clip.
- I also learnt a new camera technique (unique to me) called the 'wheelchair shot' whereby the camera is placed on my lap and a member of my team pushes me from behind. This echoes the POV shot but using different variations such as height, angle and speed of camera shot.

TEAMWORK EXPERIENCES
During the whole preliminary task I believed our team worked very well together. Our views were shared and I believed we took the best of those ideas and executed them well. There were little (if any) disagreements between us, this task really showed that we can work together as a team and achieve a good piece of work. I enjoyed making this clip for the prelim task and it sets us up nicely for the real thing.