Looking back at my Preliminary task

Before Fern and I had began this project I had to produce a video which had the duration of fifteen seconds, during these fifteen seconds I had to ensure that I used the following shots; shot reverse shot, match on action and the 180 degree rule. Although this video was only 15 seconds I still had to use specific techniques in order to achieve a flowing video. Reviewing my Preliminary task back evidently shows that I have massively improved in different areas. The preliminary task was extremely useful as it was a guide of how to produce my actual film opening. I feel that from there I have improved in areas of; editing skills, creativity/imagination and content.  Throughout this progression of making my two minute opening video, I feel that I have learnt massively how every feature needs to be taken into consideration.  During the creating of the preliminary task I had struggled by ensuring that the match on action was exactly precise, however when creating my two minute video opening I felt more confident with doing this and therefore had only took two attempts to get it exact. In my preliminary task I hadn’t taken on many edits, and had only made minor adaptations, however my two minute opening was full of all kinds of edits, therefore I had most definitely improved on this area of the project. My film opening was much more creative in comparison to my preliminary task as I had thought through each aspect i.e. music, clothing, characters, location etc. It was evident that my two minute film opening would be a lot more successful than my preliminary task as I had a lot longer to achieve it and ensure that it had a more professional approach, however I feel that the preliminary task is valid evidence to show the progression that I have made. I have become more advanced with using the camera during the time of making the preliminary task and my film opening. I feel that the preliminary task had benefited my film opening, as otherwise I wouldn’t be as advanced as I was with particular things. I feel as though I have also improved on preparation and organisation since then, when producing my preliminary task I hadn’t thought about my target audience, however when creating my film opening that was one of the most important considerations, as otherwise I wouldn’t know who the video would be aiming to. I am extremely pleased with the progress I have made during the time of both these creations, as I not only feel my technology skills have improved, but I feel that my awareness of the conventions of films has developed. I have got to know the conventions of genres and the reasons for why they are a significant to include, especially the conventions of a thriller genre.

Sound effects that we had used

Fern and I had included both diagetic and non diagetic sounds. I feel that one of the main weaknesses of our film opening was the voice over, we had produced the voice over at the last minute, therefore didn’t spend enough time to make it as accurate as it could had been. We had done this on garage band by recording our voice and then changing it into males vocal, however it hadn’t sounded as masqueline as we were hoping, we had made this decision last minute as we felt our opening could be slightly confusing without it. Even though the voice over wasn’t as I had hoped, I felt that it will instantly attract the target audience more as it provides them with more evidence to be certain that it is a thriller genre, never the less if I get the opportunity to improve my film I will get hold of the male that plays the part of the stalker and use him to do the voice over.
 The constant ticking throughout our opening appeared to be successful as although it was irritating it intrigued the audience when watching; it built up a feeling of tension which was what Fern and I had hoped as it followed the conventions of a thriller genre, it suggested that time was running out and something dangerous was about to occur.
 The music was a huge weakness when creating this video opening, as Fern and I had constantly felt our opening lacked an “unexplained” effect which we wanted it to have. As the project progressed Fern and I had began to use more diagetic sounds, we felt that this would make the audience feel more involved. As the panning and establishing shot of the location is rewound, a rewinding sound is used, both Fern and I had particularly admired this sound as it exaggerated the tension that was being built up. It suggested that the girls that the stalker was waiting for were becoming closer and closer to this specific location. Fern and I had added a sound which was consistent throughout the opening; even though we had a ticking clock we felt that this wasn't enough. As a result we had used a dramatic sound which is often used in thriller films to encourage the anxiety, we had enhanced it to be louder or the more significant scenes i.e. when the camera is on the stalker, we had done this to exaggerate the danger of the stalker, and how every time it gets louder the girls are becoming near and nearer to he's house. This follows the conventions of a thriller, as when carrying out research I had noticed that this particular sound is often used in thriller films to make the audience anxious, I feel it also makes the audience feel more involved and gives them a sense of danger and awareness. When the title appeared in our opening video we had made this sound ever louder as we feel the title is the most important feature and should command the most attention, therefore increasing the sound evidentially adds to the apprehension. Adding in this sound had made our opening video a lot more enticing for the audience.

Editing skills that we had used NEED TO BE IMPROVED

Editing was one of the main aspects of this project as it determined whether our project would be a good accomplishment or not, editing can do a lot to footage in dissimilar ways. Fern and I had used Imovie to do our editing.In the making of my premilianry task I had used final cut express, which I feel it a much more straight forward tutorial. Nevertheless, I feel imovie provided more techniques and was more technical, therefore for this reason I was eager to use this programme. We had began by using simple devices on the programme by trimming footage which wasn’t needed or was inappropriate. Already I felt this was difficult and frustrating, however with the patience Fern and I became more and more advanced. Fern and I continued with editing until the deadline, we progressed and made continuous alterations to our opening, until we had used the majority of tutorials that are provided on the programme. We had constantly tested our different features however some did not work and therefore we wouldn't apply it to our finalised film. I felt that our editing was extremely successful as we had made huge improvement throughout.

Once Fern and I had imported all of our footage onto Imovie we became aware of the different constrasts that the footage contained. This had became a problem as it gave an odd outlook for out target audience,  as it suggested that the time of day was constantly changing, this was a significat fault that had to be adapted. Fern and I had experimented with the provided effects on Imovie to change the colouring of footage, I had found it interesting to see what our scenes would look like in particular colours, eventually Fern and I had selected a colour which we felt was appealing for our target audience and followed the conventions of a thriller film. We had chosen an effect which gave a mysterious effec. The followed scenes that Fern and I do not show in our film will follow up from the climax that is slightly revelled at the ending of our two minutes, it is evident from the last few seconds of our opening that something bad has just occured. For this reason I feel using this particular contrast for our scenes work well, as it suggest the feeling of negativitiy and fear (as if it is in past tense)  Once Fern and I had applied this colour we were both pleased with the outcome, we felt it enhanced the thriller genre more compared to before as it didn't look as happy and jolly.
 



















I feel that a main source of editing that I constantly used was applying transitions. I feel the use of transistions in our opening increase the audience's understanding of being a thriller genre as it not only created tension, yet it made the audience have full focus on the scenes that followed up. It was signficant that Fern and I had avoided exagerating the use of transitions as otherwise it would look silly and very unrealistic. For this reason we had stuck to the basics, yet used them in an enticing style. At the beginning of the opening the stalker is observing through the photographs of the two vunerable girls













 At the ending of our opening we have included an animation which looks as if the note pad that the stalker is writing in has be photographed on the last date I feel that this is extremely effective as it symbolises the ending which can then relate to our title “depleted” We had used this specific shot as we wanted the audience to have complete focus on that ending date, therefore get a sense of suspicion that the stalker has made further evil actions on that particular date.

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I had enjoyed becoming aware of the different techniques that imovie had provided, and as Fern and I developed our opening more and more we both got excited and happy with the
improvements that we were making.I believe the choices that we made when editing followed the conventions of a thriller genre.The colour of the scenes was originally slightly bright however once we had edited them they instantly implied a negative feeling and mysterious effect; this was extremely appealing for our video as it had followed the thriller genre as it didn't suggest a happy feeling. Another effect that I felt worked very well was the slow motion, we had used this whilst the stalker was tapping on the note pad, as it suggested urgency, and released a feeling of tension. I believe again it follows the thriller genre as it leaves the audience in anticipation, wondering what scene will follow it up. The edits that we had made fit the target audience that we had set at the beginning of this project.
 
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Filming Skills that we had used

Many elements had to be considered in this project to actually produce winning footage. To get the footage that we hoped for Fern and I had to select characters, props and a location. Fern and I had found it difficult to begin with to decide on who we would use to take the role of the “ stalker”   we became irritated by not knowing who we could use, we then both suggested to use someone who we was familiar with and would ensure to be reliable, as a result we had selected my dad to be the “ stalker” this was rather difficult when filming as my dad doesn’t live with me therefore at times was difficult for him to assess my house to film, however whenever I had the opportunity to film him, I had taken it. Filming was a difficult process throughout this project as it took endless attempts to get precise footage which would be appropriate.
 Fern and I was luckily enough when filming to have weather which we felt was appealing for the thriller genre. The weather was dull and dreary we felt this  represents the feeling of creepiness, that something negative will soon occur, therefore we was pleased with this result. We felt the our target audience will also identify more with this particular weather as they are more likely to guess the genre that we are trying to achieve.
Fern and I had had both filmed different shots, and had continuously swapped the camera. This had allowed us to both use our camera skills, and try new things that we hadn’t yet done before.
It was difficult to ensure that when filming we had used a variety of different shots; we had taken several scenes various times to include these shots. It was vital that our opening had included a selection of shots as it evidently made our opening more enticing and exciting.
We had used a shot reverse shot to show how oblivious the two teenage girls are that a stalker is watching them, this shot reverse shot consisted of both of the girls showing positive expressions, talking and smiling, therefore as a result it reinforced the stereotype of the teenage gender. Fern and I had done this by each swapping the camera when filming, i.e. when we got a shot of Fern I would film and vise verse. A shot reverse shot provides a close up of expressions of two different people. I feel this would have hooked the audience as they are able to create a interpretation of both teenage girls, and how vulnerable they are represented. Fern and I had decided to remove the sound of us talking as we felt it would suggest that because the stalker is inside, he therefore can't hear what they are saying. I feel this was successful as shooting this scene didn't require any major acting, as Fern and I were able to act ourselves rather than doing things that we don't usually do. I feel that our target audience could feel enticed in this scene as they know that someone is watching the two teenage girls therefore tension is built up, as the two teenager are unaware, so as an audience they are eager for them to escape this bad climax that is soon going to occur.

Fern and I used a tracking shot as the "two teenage girls" are meeting (Fern and I) we felt that this represents the gradual movement of time running out and soon will be "depleted" as we are meeting each other we are both unaware of what later events will occur, therefore it could be suggested as a build up for the climax. We used a tracking of both behind and in front shots, we felt that it was significant to vary the shots of tracking as otherwise it would look rather dull and simple. Using a tracking shot of behind could relate to the stalker and how he's eyes are following the two girls consistently. The use of tracking of the two teenage girls walking could raise a caution for our target audience, as the two girls are unaware that they are being stalked in a friendly location, this may advise the audience to be careful of how evil society can be.

 







Throughout the film I had become more and more advanced with the way certain shots should be used for particular scenes e.g. when we filmed the location we had used a establishing shot and then a panning, this had emphasised the mysterious location, and evidently showed there was a reason for why it had to be included, when the establishing shot rewinding it suggested that the audience had to focus on one particular house, yet during this time they haven't been told which house it is that the stalker is living it, therefore it leaves our target audience questioning. Reversing this clip showed how vital the location is.

Unfortunately one of the scenes with the stalker is slightly blurry, this had showed that my camera work wasn’t at good quality in this specific piece, however once I had imported it and reviewed it on the computer screen I felt it would be appropriate for the conventions of our thriller genre, as it suggested a hidden identity therefore that could be the reason as why it is blurred as it doesn’t reveal to many clues.
Each time the camera had returned to the clock Fern and I had used the exact same type of shot; a front view close up. We felt that it was important to use a shot of the clock as although we did have the non diagetic sound of the clock ticking throughout the duration we felt using a shot suggested the stalker was constantly looking at it to see how long he had until the two girls would approach he's road. I feel that the audience may had been more hooked if different shots of the clock were used, i.e. panning, side shots etc, as this would suggest the movement of the stalkers eyes.

At the beginning of the opening, a shot is used to review over several photographs of the two teenage girls that the stalker has taken. This shot could be suggested as a panning shot and a point of view shot as where I had filmed this you can see the shadow of the stalker leaning over the photograph following through them all. The use of panning shows the direction in which the stalkers eyes are going, I feel the shadow that develops reinforces the idea of how anonymous the stalkers identity is,  and gives the audience a evil perspective or him.
As the two teenage girls were on their way to meet each other (played by Fern and I) Fern and I had used a shot of the girls feet as they were walking, this was one of my most favourite shots, especially of Ferns feet, as I felt it looked very effective. Varying the shots as the two girls were walking built up the tension of the climax soon being revelled. I feel it followed the conventions of a thriller genre, as it evidentely reinforced the idea that a climax is always built up steadily instead of getting straight to the point, as it leaves the audience in expectancy. This was rather difficult to film as when I was filming Ferns feet I had to bend down extremely low and stay like that following her as her feet walked.
Fern and I had often used close ups on the actions that the stalker portrayed, we did this as we felt it was significant for our target audience to see the secrecy of the stalkers identity. However, I know feel this could be seen as slightly boring, as we aren't challenging the conventions. I feel it would be better if we had got long shots of him from further distances, side shots etc, to provide the audience with more clues yet not enough to create a full person identity.

Research that we had done

RESEARCH THAT WE HAD DONE
Fern and I had begun this project by carrying out research; this had made me aware of the conventions that were needed to produce our chosen genre. It had enabled us to get an accurate idea of what was expected for us to achieve. I felt that I had entirely benefited from this as from this research as I was then able to make conclusions. At first Fern and I was determined to do the genre romantic comedy, in order to do so we had continued with our research, however we began to felt that this was a bad idea. We were stuck on ideas, and couldn’t raise anything which would be exciting to include, we also felt it would be slightly difficult to produce footage which would represent the conventions of a romantic comedy. As a result we had chosen our second choice; thriller.  We felt that this genre provided us with more opportunities to emphasise the conventions, and had also believed we would produce a much more successful two minute opening. Fern and I had continued with our research, we had used several methods such as; questionnaire, internet and ideas from our peers within our media class. Collecting this research was tremendously useful as it was a guideline to work from. Fern and I had produced an animated story board, although the outcome was extremely simple, it showed a brief guide of what we would expect to see in our finalised project, this was easy to create and didn’t waste time as we evidently benefited from it.  All of the research that we had done had influenced and encouraged our ideas for our opening, as it provided us with options to choose from.  Watching film openings was a huge inspiration to both Fern and I as we gained huge knowledge of the conventions of a thriller genre, and when reviewing our finalised project we had constantly become aware of how we followed the conventions of a thriller.

What we did

WHAT WE DID

Our task was to produce an opening of a film which would have duration of two minutes. Once we were told of this task I was enthusiastic and excited to produce a project which I had entire involvement in, instead of having to follow structured rules. However, as I began the project I had become aware that it would be extremely hard to master, and many complications and failures will be raised through out. This project was to be done in groups, the majority of peers in my Media studies class had the average of three to four in their group, nevertheless I had thought deeply about the amount of input I would have if I was in a large group. As a result I had paired with Fern Davis. Fern and I both studied Media as a GCSE therefore were familiar with the expectations of this project. We had both fortunately achieved a GCSE A grade, therefore we felt working together would be the correct decision as we would combine our knowledge together. Throughout this project Fern and I had merged our suggestions and opinions, combing them together often raised both successful and unsuccessful conclusions, yet we both were continuously aware of the failures that we were making. Although at times we had disagreed on particular aspects of the project we felt this was useful as it showed evidently the wrong and right decisions that we were making. Throughout this project both Fern and I had taken on diverse duties at different times, this enabled our project to speed up slightly as we didn’t waste time messing around on unnecessary things.

Final video with institutionlm