Prelim Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

 Throughout the task there was a range of shots used to show the audience different places throughout the scene and to make sure continuity was correct when the actors was going through doors and when entering new locations.

At the beginning of the scene there was a close up which zoomed out from the actors legs leading towards to next shot of them coming up the stairs seeming what they look like giving the audience understanding of where they are heading to. There was another use of a close up when opening the door implying that the place they were going was significant for something that was going to happen.

However, when filming the two actors coming up the stairs and through the second door into the room, the camera was not smooth therefore made the shot look shaky so if we were to film it again we would use an elastic band to put onto the camera so the movement would be continuous and not jolty.

Editing was used effectively through the use of straight cuts. For example, when the camera cut from the door closing back to the sweets being thrown onto the floor, back to the door showing how two types of action happening at once.

However, when we filmed we didn’t use a shot reverse shot which we should have used, so if we were to film it again, the shot reverse shot would be added into the scene where the sweets were being passed over which would make it more interesting for the audience as they would see the relationship between the two characters for the audience to work out why this is a flashback and what happened.

A strength that the clip brings out would be the different types of shots showing how the use of shots can make it more effective for the audience, especially the editing of slow motion which builds tension as those parts stand out the most as it is where the most suspense is created.  For example, as the male actor fell to the floor a high shot was used from the antagonist’s point of view showing she had the power through the scene and that she won, whereas the protagonist lost which happens in a typical thriller genre.  

Another strength would be that there were only a small part of dialogue therefore it doesn’t overpower what is actually happen and isn’t too much happening all in one scene it builds up the tension instead of all action happening straight away. Even though there is dialogue, if I was going to create the clip again I would make it a lot clearer and add more suspicious music to cover up the noise of the camera moving but also to make it more interesting.

The title that we used at the start wouldn’t look like the title you would see on the start of a thriller, therefore I would make it look a little different by using more or dark/old colours instead of bright and bold, however at the end of a scene, the titles was used differently by the use of lanyards therefore not typical with writing along the screen. The slow motion of the lanyard gave the audience time to read it as well as it fitting into the suspicious theme of the scene.

The non-diegetic sound created increases suspense, as well as the doors slamming, showing the power what the female actor has, and getting faster paces when the more tense part of the scene reached its peak. Linking to sound is lighting, the places that we filmed, on the stairway we used natural lighting where as in the room that the peak of action happened it was still dark even though we had as many lights as we could have on in that particular room it did not make the scene look brighter as the black and white effect therefore it wasn’t visually exciting for the audience so if the editing was to be done again the use of black and white would be less and only used in the most intense moments.

When planning the prelim, the group had good organisation skills however the day it came to filming we needed to be more organised and get the shots that we needed quicker so we could focus on the main part of the scene instead of the smaller beginnings, therefore time to improve composition and making it look effective by getting every shot right.

The technical skills that I have learnt is where to position the camera to get the shots that are needed, as well as changing shot type and how much different it is to film each shot. However, when filming again the camera skills need to be improved by a smoother finish so the camera is still, therefore using other equipment to get a better range of shots. For example when the actors were walking up the stairs to move back we could have used a tracking shot so the camera didn’t jolt when moving back and is steady.