Monday 18 March 2013

Evaluation Task 7: Preliminary Task vs. Thriller

Since completing our groups thriller, looking back on our preliminary task is quite beneficial as it offers a chance to see how we progressed with our media skills of camera work and editing.

After watching the preliminary task again it is obvious that the camera work is not entirely perfect.
One of the mistakes in our camera work is evident as we were filming from a low viewpoint, one of the actors constantly covered the other actor's face whilst they were speaking therefore for some viewers the dialogue could have been unclear.


One good point derived from our camera work was that we achieved a match on action shot as our final shot, creating a climax to the end of our preliminary task which was quite impressive for our first task filming in media.





However, in our thriller we advanced our filming techniques hugely by introducing the viewers to the setting with a slow tracking shot. We had never attempted this before and within a few shots we have achieved our desired tracking shot. We also incorporated a slider shot, over the shoulder shots and close up shots filmed from varying viewpoints.


The editing was much more complex in our thriller as we used a lot of after effects editing in which we explored the cracking of the code and numerous shots that would have been displayed on the computer monitor that the boy is controlling.

The mise-en-scene of our preliminary task was incredibly minimal as we filmed the short sequence in the studio with already installed wallpapers, flooring and shutters. Therefore, we only needed to adjust the lighting to give an atmospheric feel to the set and we were ready to film.


 However, our thriller presented a whole new level of preparing props and setting to our group. In advance we planned our selection of props only to change the set at the last minute. A week before the shoot day for our thriller we decided to shoot the thriller in the media department as we thought it would be more effective to focus on the equipment and gadgets the boy is handling rather than decorate the set with props in order to resemble a boy's bedroom, which may have distracted the audience from the actual purpose of the thriller which was to associate the viewers with the boy's activities of cracking codes and using technology. We used laptops, ipads, computers, keyboards, rubix cubes, papers, aeroplane posters and airfix models in order for the section of the room we were using to look like the boy's technical hideout.

The editing in our preliminary task was very simplistic as we were just getting to understand the programme Final Cut Pro. One of the mistakes in our editing is that our group attempted to cut from one shot to another with the actors in different positions. For example in the first shot the girl in the middle of the set is looking down at the actor on the floor and in the next shot her head is fully turned to the other actor, behind her, closing the door.
Also the first picture below displays the other mishap that happened in our preliminary task which was that one of the actors frequently looked at the camera which was a mistake and did not happen in our thriller.





We also made another mistake whilst editing as we cut these two shots and put them together but on second viewing they don't play in a fluid way as the actor in the foreground has turned her head to the other actor in the background, responding to her, but in the next shot her head is positioned in a different way, facing forwards.





Whereas, in my group's thriller we were very particular about cutting our shots at the right moment in order for the shots to play in a fluent way. The fact that we did not prepare a script for our thriller, as we did not want any dialogue in the video, made the editing of shots much easier as we did not have to match up shots considering the dialogue of the characters in the video. Instead, we cut together shots that did not necessarily interlink with each other. The main aim of our thriller was to communicate the boy's activity of hacking websites and cracking codes to the viewers of the thriller.

The sound in our preliminary task is not very impressive as the shots that we cut together do not match the sound in parts. For example when one of the actors looks towards the other actor saying 'I can't' when in the next shot the girl is saying this again yet the audio does not quite match up with the picture in the shots shown below:





Whereas in our thriller we did not write a script as there was only one character in the scene therefore no dialogue was needed and we didn't want to break the desired tense atmosphere building up through out the thriller. The only sound we use in our thriller is the techno backing music matches and reinforces the technical theme displayed in the video. This creates suspense as well as drives the thriller on which are typical and desired aspects of any thriller. Whereas in our preliminary task we did not use any music at all as this was the first basic task we completed therefore our thriller is much more professional and effective looking.  

Compared to our preliminary task our group worked in a much more efficient manner with the added knowledge of how to film effective shots and ultimately how to control the camera. Since we planned to do a tracking shot our group had to work altogether and communicate with each other clearly in order to achieve an effective and perfect tracking shot which was one of the most challenging aspects of the day. We all swapped round roles in order to experience directing, being the cameraman and continuity. We did this in the preliminary task also but in our thriller we did this more frequently. In our preliminary task we had to ask for much more help when filming and working the camera, however, in the thriller we were much more independent with our shooting, carrying it out in an efficient manner. Overall, the thriller was much more successful than the preliminary task due to our past experience and efficiency.

You are able to see the differences in our thriller 'SOLO' below:


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