Preliminary Task Evalutaion

I was very pleased with our preliminary task as I feel the final product was very good considering we didn’t have much time to plan or shoot it.

Steady camera work really made the video, it was consistent throughout and the majority was shot with a stable tripod but some were tracking shots that were also very effective and shot by hand. All tough they were shot by hand they are very smooth and almost look like we used professional equipment, these shots help build tension dramatically.

Our planning was very good which allowed us to use the time we had to shoot very effectively. We knew exactly what we wanted to shoot and what we wanted in each shot. The framing was how we planned, and example of this would be where the security guards are following the suspect. Although slightly off to the right this shot is still very effective and gives the viewer an insight to what may be about to happen. The actor in the foreground immediately takes our attention but then we realise he is being followed. This shot was very successful for us so I would definitely try to incorporate it into our thriller.

We also used a wide variety of different shot types in our preliminary task, we have used long shots, close ups and mid-shots. This variety was used to keep the viewer interested and made it seem very professional; hopefully we can carry this professional feel on into out thriller task.

We have used mainly straight cuts to stick with a fast paced thriller, typical to thrillers conventions. Straight cuts are not only easy to use but from watching other movies they help race both the pace and tension of the scene. We also used a few fades in our preliminary task; we used them when cutting from scene 1 to scene 2 to make it seem smoother. Colour correction also helped us gain an almost darker shot which helped the transition. Using this fade also helped us determine that he had moved from one place to another. Another time we have used a fade to black is at the end of the video when going to credits; this worked very well and again gave the video a very professional feel.

Something that surprised me whilst editing was how much of a difference a simple soundtrack can make. Being new to media this year I didn’t quite understand that an effect soundtrack can really help build tension and create different feelings and emotions. In our preliminary task we used a simple soundtrack with thuds in it when tension was at its highest point. This helps enhance the experience for the viewer and give a professional feel. In our thriller it is vital that we get the soundtrack correct as it can really make the difference, we may even consider making our own soundtrack to create tension. As time was limited when editing, we didn’t have much time to find a soundtrack so we used a basic track that still gave us the feel that we wanted. We will have more time when editing our thriller and is something we will discuss as a group in depth whilst planning.

At the start of our video we have used the 180° rule to make sure that the viewer does not get confused with placement of the characters. The use of dialogue in the first scene also helps set the scene and creates building blocks for the next scene.  

Another clever shot we have used is a shot reverse shots, when security guard 4 shouts ‘oi’ the camera cuts from an over the shoulder shot of the target straight to the side of the security guard chasing him, we have done this to overall create tension and speed the scene up.

The editing technique’s we have used also make a massive impact on our video, colour correction helped to filter out unwanted light and make them darker to give an overall more scary / eerie feel.

I also feel that our preliminary covered all the objectives that we was set in the assignment, we have used a range of different shots and used dialogue effectively. Our use of mise-en-scene has also worked well in the ill lighted corridors, the attire of the actors was appropriate to the storyline as they wore suits, this shows power and importance. The use of props (briefcase and radio) has also helped build the tension and give the overall video a professional feel about it.

In conclusion I feel that it went very well, we had many different shots, used the 180° rule, steady camera work and a simple yet effective storyline. If I was to do this task again I would make sure that the lighting was better as some shots were very dark causing us a problem. We definitely need to consider ways of incorporating our titles into the thriller as if done correctly they can look extremely effective.