Exam Question 7 DONE

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

For the preliminary task, we were asked to find an empty room somewhere in the school to film a one minute sequence of one member of the group entering the room, having a conversation with another person and then leaving the room. It was up to us as a group to decide what the characters would talk about, what camera shots and techniques we would use, thinking about the shots and techniques that we would want to use when it came to filming our final media product. My group chose to film the preliminary task below the staircase leading up to media, a decision that was made based on our knowledge that our final sequence would be the opening sequence to a thriller film. We felt that this location had a similar lighting to what we would use for our final media product, therefore it would be a good practice for us filming where the lighting is darker and the space is more confined.

Looking back at the preliminary task, it was the first time that I had used both a camera and tripod together, and had attempted to create different camera shots that I believed were conventional to the thriller genre. For example, a close up shot was used in the preliminary task to show Jakes reaction to finding his phone. The tripod enabled me to keep the camera steady, therefore making it easier for the audience to focus on his facial expressions. I feel as though in the progression from the preliminary task to the full product, I have improved on my editing skills and learnt how to identify and select which pieces of footage flow best together and then how to edit the chosen footage so that it appears in the correct order accompanied by the correct sound effects. An example of this is in the first scene within my sequence, where the audience can see the legs of the antagonist as he drags a chair through the corridor. In order to create a sense of mystery and follow the thriller convention of hidden identity, I decided to switch from a front view of the antagonist to a side view as he walked. This meant that the audience would not be able to see his face until the very end of the scene.

What I learnt from making the preliminary task that help with filming the thriller was to watch the sequence back after filming and editing in order to make sure that the frames were all in the correct order and that they did not overlap with each other which would have confused the audience and made the narrative difficult to follow. Also, by watching the preliminary task back I was able to see whether the sequence ran smoothly from the beginning to the end, especially when the camera shot changed from being further away from the characters to a close up. Furthermore, it gave me time to correct and errors with the sound; making sure that the sound that the audience can hear compliments what they can see happening on the screen.

If I was to do something from the preliminary task differently, it would be to use a wider variety of camera shots and techniques in order to make the sequence more interesting. Had I experimented more with the camera shots and techniques, it would have given me a wider range of shots that I could have potentially used when filming the final media product. This would have made the sequence more interesting as by repeating the same shots over and over again the audience may find the sequence boring to watch as all of the scenes will look the same. For example, a close up shot was repeated when the two characters were talking to each other, but instead I could have attempted to use a mid shot or two shot to give the audience a better view of the setting and allow them to see both of the characters at the same in the same shot. Another aspect of the preliminary task that I would do differently would be to use the tripod less when filming in order to make the movement of the camera more free and fluid, especially when it came to following the characters when they were moving around the room as the lack of movement in the camera made their movements look robotic and stiff.