‘The Preliminary Production Task’ allowed me to expand my knowledge of film conventions and learn new techniques such as the ‘180 degree rule’ and the ‘short-reverse-shot rule’ which has will help me in my AS opening of a thriller task. Without incorporating these key rules when filming specific scenes (eg. a conversation where both the 180 degree rule and short reverse shots are used) then the viewer will be disorientated and the key aspects of the film will not come across well and will confuse the audience (except when these rules are broken to connote meaning where disillusion is required).
I have also learnt different shot types such as extreme close ups and establishing shots to set the scene and create a dramatic effects. In the case of close ups and extreme close ups, we are able to see the detail on the actor’s face, and as we are not usually so close to a person in reality, a disturbing and dramatic effect is made.
I think the editing went well in my preliminary task, as I cut clips of the footage to create ‘match-on-action’ shots where actor Tom Bailey, walks through a door at the very start of this production. Straight cuts are used to establish parallel timing (the phone call at Tom’s end of the phone is in real time and is happening at the same time when Jacob picks up the phone). I have used straight cuts to connote meaning, rather than showing Tom walking down a corridor for a long period of time, we show him walking for a short amount of time to denote that he has walked along the corridor. We only see Tom walking for a duration of 5 seconds before cutting to a close up of his pocket. If we showed all this action in real time, then the audience would get bored easily.
When filming, we filmed many different shots so each member of the group could use different shots and create their own, unique preliminary production. This was a strength with our group because some footage was damaged in terms of sound being ruined, or members of the public coming into shot by mistake, the variety of shots meant that we could choose our shots carefully and use other footage. Sadly, in our production there is a continuity error, one thing we will have to look out for in our AS production. We had to re-film some footage as there were sound problems as we couldn’t hear one of our actor’s dialogue clearly, so we had to re film the scene, with the actor wearing different clothes. This could be prevented in our AS production by efficient use of time management skills, planning exactly when we are going to film specific scenes.
The positive aspects of working as a crew on this task was that we delegated different people to operate different aspects of the technology such as camera operation and clapper board. However, the negative aspects of working with a crew are that there could be some disagreements within the group which may negatively affect the finished production. This could be overcome by delegating roles within the crew such as ‘director’ who would ultimately make the final decisions of the production.
The disagreements that arose within our group included discussion of the composition of certain shots, but this was resolved quickly so we could continue filming. In future productions, a shot list will be composed so there are no disagreements regarding shot types.
I have learnt many things that will help me in my AS opening of a thriller production. This ranges from learning new filming techniques and shots such as ‘over the shoulder shots’ and editing methods such as transitions, fades and colour correcting. I have learnt that timing is everything when editing, especially with shot reverse shots, when the cuts have to run smoothly. I had to play the footage frame by frame to get the timing just right, so the footage didn’t jerk and look odd to the viewer.
I played the part of cinematographer in this preliminary task, filming the footage, I think this went reasonably well, but I think in me AS final production I will film differently, not only by creating shot lists to make sure I know exactly what to film, but I will change exposure and shutter speed to give a more dramatic effect to my work; especially as it’s a thriller and the chiaroscuro lighting effect will make the shots more cinematic. Even though I can use colour correction on editing software, I would prefer to use lighting on my shoots to help create effective shots, for example, I may use back lighting to create low key, high contrast lighting, which commonly occurs in the thriller/horror genre. I may also use a non-diegetic voice over and sound tracks to create mood and empathy for my lead characters, so the impact of my climax within the piece is effective. Overall, I think this preliminary production went well, but I hope to improve in my next production by looking at different audio techniques (soundtracks), taking a closer look at composition of shots (applying my knowledge of the ‘rule of thirds) and encouraging use of other technical elements such as lighting and sound.
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