Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The video below features my preliminary task.


The video below features my full product, the answer to question seven can be found below the video.


Looking back at my preliminary task, I feel that I have made a number of improvements from the initial task to my full product. My final product went through a number of alterations from the initial script for the opening to the finished piece. I feel that my initial shot list did not include enough close up shots therefore the audience would have felt too distant from the scene for a thriller opening. This was apparent after the first round of filming as I felt like the scene did not have the tense atmosphere that I intended. This put a major setback in my schedule as I had to reshoot a number of the shots which I did not think were successful however, after creating an extensive shot list and a storyboard for the opening, the quality of final product is greater than it would have been with my original shots as I have drawn the audience in to the scene and forced them to sit through uncomfortable situations.  I have concluded that an extensive shot list as well as a storyboard is important to the filming process as it makes the whole process smoother and less time consuming.

Another way I feel I have progressed from the preliminary task to my final product is my use of mise en scene. In my initial task, I did not put much thought into the mise en scene of the piece which is clear as it is shot in the media room. This took away from the small amount of dialogue of the piece which was intended to create a sense of enigma. After watching the piece, I decided the mise en scene of my final product would be important to the narrative of the opening as well as the overall quality of my final product. I put a lot of time into ensuring that the room resembled that of a seedy hotel room as well as performing a recce to ensure that I found an alleyway suitable for the second murder of the opening. I also feel that I have gained a greater understanding of the importance of costume from my preliminary task to my finished product. In my preliminary task, I was given very little time to prepare therefore the task was completed in the clothes that Daniel and I were wearing on the day. After this, I ensured that I put a great deal of planning into the costumes of the characters and what their costumes suggest about their personalities. An example of this is the serial killer who is wearing a suit; the suit suggests that this man is highly educated and is likely to be a businessman. At the beginning this makes the audience assume he will be the victim however it is soon clear that he is the murderer, making the audience feel uncomfortable as they are not sure if they can trust their initial thoughts on each character in the finished product.

I believe that from my preliminary task to my final product, my use of specific shot types has drastically improved. During my preliminary task, the 180 degree rule piece, I feel that I held some shots such as the wide shot of me sitting down for too long, taking away some of the tension from the scene. I feel this was also apparent during my initial filming for my product however, thanks to using an extensive shot listing for reshooting, I believe I have developed my ability to use fast paced cuts to keep a high pace to the scenes whilst still giving the audience a clear idea of what is going on within the scene. I feel I also have developed my ability to shoot steady handheld shots as the shot from the protagonist’s perspective in my 180 degree rule piece is shakier than the tilt up from the tramp’s perspective in the second scene of my final product. Through this process of developing my skills with the equipment I used, I feel that I am now much more comfortable with using the equipment than I was at the beginning of my preliminary task. I feel my ability to use the equipment successfully progressed throughout the whole process and I would now be able to comfortably repeat a similar task confidently with similar equipment.

Looking at my final media product, I strongly believe that I have successfully fulfilled the task required as I have created a tense atmosphere on a number of occasions as well as creating a sense of enigma through the narrative of the opening. I believe my media product resembles actual thriller openings as I have created an interesting narrative for the product which could lead on to a full length film whereas many AS products I have seen simply follow the codes and conventions of the thriller genre but fail to create a storyline which can be continued, which is the purpose of the opening to a film.

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