2. Looking back at your preliminary task,
what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the main task (The
thriller opening)?
3. I think that when we made our preliminary task, our sound was not that well meaning that
the characters talking wasn’t very clear. I think that this happened as we used a quite large
space which seemed to drown out the sound of some of the voices in our piece, also there
was some distracting background noise as it was filmed in school so could have been
expected. However, these issues then made some parts of our piece a lot louder than
others. I think this then was a problem as it made our finishing product seem less
professional and less appealing to the viewers who may have struggled to hear the dialogue
clearly.
Sound
4. However to improve upon our preliminary task, when making our
thriller opening, the spaces that we were in when dialogue was used
were smaller and had no background sound, making the dialogue
seem louder and clearer for our audience to hear. When editing in
premiere pro, we were able to make parts of the dialogue louder due
to being more familiar and experienced with using the programme.
5. Mise-En-Scene
In our preliminary task, I don’t believe that the mise en scene was particularly
something enjoyable to the audience in terms of things such as lighting as we only
used the same type of light which may have been quite boring. We also didn't
really use particular clothes or effects to present our characters in a certain way
either.
6. Costume
I think that the costume worked a lot better in
our thriller than in our preliminary task even
though it was simple. This is because we
wanted the characters in our thriller to be
portrayed as ‘normal’ so as the story wasn’t
stirring towards a certain type of family (e.g. a
type of ethnicity or social class).
This was achieved I think by using a
stereotypical Grandma who had a walking
stick.
We also used quite dark clothing on the girl to
portray danger that would be seen in the rest
of the thriller film.
7. In our thriller opening task, I think that we improved on making our different clips flow more
with each other which allowed us to suddenly show different times of the day I think without
looking unrealistic.
I also think that by making the opening of our thriller seem over the period of 2
different days that it makes it more exciting to watch as an audience. I believe this as
different time zones and events that happen in them are seen along with a bigger
variation in location, For example, the living room, upstairs in the girls house, outside
near roads, the girls Grandmas house/attic and graveyards etc.
8. In terms of time zones, our thriller opening contains clips of things such as old
war planes flying and things that look a lot older than the other present day
clips seen in the thriller.
This shows the audience that our film has a lot of variation in time and place
which I think is a lot more enjoyable than watching our preliminary task where
we sit on the same room and talk.
By using the differences in time and place but linking them together, I think it
creates a mystery in the audiences heads and will make them intrigued to
watch more of what happens.
9. I think that the few
props we used
brought together the
theme of the past and
war to the audience as
they would be able to
tell that objects such
as the old news article
that we made and the
picture of her ‘War
hero’ Grandad were
old and to do with the
time that he spent in
war.
props
10. Camera shots/angles
Although our preliminary task did what it had to do, it only used simple camera
angles such as shot reverse shot which was really the only technique that we
used which is another way in which it could have been quite boring for the
audience.
The 2 different shots we used:
• Shot/reverse shot
• Shots from behind and in front
11. To improve upon our preliminary task, we used a lot more variation in
the types of camera angles, movements and shots that we used.
For example we used, shot/reverse shots, high angles, panning, low
angles, tracking shots, point of view shots, close-ups, extreme close-
ups, ect. We used these to create a more exciting finishing product
with more drama, as it is a thriller…
Examples…
By doing this we allowed the audience to see more of what we wanted
them to see, for example we used a pan when the girl is in the attic at
her grandmas to show the audience more of the location. This gives
the idea to the audience that she is then still in her grandmas house as
it looks old fashioned.
12. More examples…
We used a tracking shot when the girl is walking outside in the dark to
her grandmas house. For a while, the camera is following the girl but
then stops showing a sense of danger as it can be seen as somebody
maybe following her, which links to the aspect of crime and murder in
our thriller.
We used a high angle upon the girl when she was packing her bag
before leaving her house to go to her Grandmas. This portrays the girl
to be upset and seem small from a higher angle, showing her to be
weak at this moment. It also shows how she is feeling as the smaller
you make somebody look, the more scared or less powerfull they look
which is from the argument she just had with her dad.
13. Editing
Key terms:
• Continuity
Ø180 degree rule
ØMatch on action
ØShot reverse shot
ØEye line match
ØCross cutting
Ø
• Insert shot
• Cutaway
• Montage
14. In our preliminary task we didn’t use many different editing
techniques, however I think that what we did use we did well…
To improve our editing from our preliminary task to our thriller
opening we used a lot more variation of the techniques and the
ones that we did the same we made sure were as good as we
did them last time, or even better/clearer to show how we are
improving.
What we used in our preliminary task:
• Shot reverse shot/180 degree
rule in conversation
• Some match on action when
Sophie is walking down the
corridor at the beginning…
15. However, I believe that we did quite well on our continuity and
making the time zones look as if they happened together. We also
wore the same clothes and had things such as our hair the same
on the couple of days we shot for so as nothing changed, making
the piece more realistic. Although I thought that we did well on
this, there was still a lot of room for improvements such as
making different clips flow into each other better for a more
pleasing affect for the viewers.
16. • We used the 180 degree rule along with our shot reverse shot at the
beginning of our thriller to make the girl and her Dad seem as if they
were actually talking to each other when arguing. Also, by using this
the reactions on the girls and the Dads faces can be seen to what
the other is saying to them. I think that we used the 180 degree rule
well in both the preliminary task and thriller opening so we stayed
consistent and made sure that it was as good as it was before.
• We used match on action when the girl was walking outside in the
dark to her Grandmas house. At first the camera is behind the girl
when she is walking and then it is placed in a different position and
shows her walking down the drive of her Grandmas house before
she knocks on the door.
17. • We used eye line match several times when the girl is seen looking at
the photo of her ‘War Hero’ Grandad and the camera then shows
the audience what she is seeing. We also used this when the girl is
looking through the box filled with some of her Grandads
belongings when in her Grandmas attic and a shot is seen of the
contents of the box which is what the girl is seeing through her own
eyes. The camera is also focused upon the article that she finds
before the titles start which is the use of an eye line match.
• An faint insert shot is also used when the girl is walking to her
Grandmas house.
• The titles that we use after the opening scene is a montage of clips
and photos from the past and the present to show the reader thagt
our film has an aspect of both in it. It also shows aspects ofg war
which is the main theme in our thriller.
18. How my editing improved
I think that from my preliminary task to my thriller opening, my use and
understanding of different editing techniques has improved
dramatically.
I think that I have learnt how to put these techniques into things easily
and make them effective whilst meaning something at the same time.
Before the making of our thriller opening task, I didn’t know so much
about the different editing techniques and how they would make my
work look more professional, but after having more experience during
the making of our thriller opening I have understood them a lot more.
19. Planning
I believe that my planning has also dramatically improved since I did my
preliminary task and that with the thriller opening, I had a lot more
ideas that I wanted to put into what we were doing. This is because I
had a much clearer view of what we were actually doing.
I think that because the task was a lot more set (for example we knew
that it had to be a thriller opening), that it allowed me to have a lot
more ideas or things such as costume and settings.
20. Story boarding
I think that both of my story
boards were good and told me
what I needed to do when it
came to filming by using details
on the type of shots, sound used
and what is happening in that
particular shot.
However I do believe that I did
better in making the storyboard
for the thriller clearer to read
which helped when it came to
filming.
Part of preliminary task storyboard:
Part of Thriller opening storyboard:
21. Decision making and camera work
As I have already said, I had a much clearer view and many more ideas
when it came to the making of our thriller opening as I knew more and
understood the techniques better. It was also easier as we had to go
down a specific path which was that it had to be a thriller opening.
I think that for Tammy, it was also easier when it came to camera work
because of past experience when using it in the preliminary task. This
meant that we could get it done quicker and use more complex shots
to create a more exciting and dramatic piece.
