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? BY MAHLI MACWANA

Forming groups and working collectively. When we first started planning our preliminary exercise, we had a lot of ideas of how we wanted it to look but when werent very knowledgeable on filming or editing. We started off by just exchanging ideas on what we wanted to do and where we wanted the preliminary film to be set. We hadn't done much group before so i don't know anyone in my group so first of all we were all quite and not many ideas were being shared but after a while we started to work well collaboratively by forming a single idea from lots of individual ideas from each person and we made sure everyone in the group had contributed with an idea. It challenging delegating roles to individuals because no one knew what they were good at so we just randomly selected individuals to do certain jobs but after a while we chose the right jobs that suited us as individuals. Working in a group was rewarding because it grew our confidence and helped us share ideas and mix ideas into one idea. the limited amount of time was challenging as we were only allocated 10 mins to film our preliminary exercise. our preliminary exercise could of been better if we had more time.

Preliminary task: a filming and editing continuity exercise. The preliminary exercise was an introduction to the concepts and practical application of continuity filming and editing. We were new to rules like the ‘180 degree rule’ where you can only film on one side of the scene to prevent confusion in the audience. We also had to use match on action and shot reverse shot for the first time. This is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. Another editing technique that was new to us was “shot reserve shot” this is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. We didn’t really understand these concepts and we only truly understood these when we had done them “practically” and seeing them being edited together.

When doing the exercise we had some difficulties for example we had done a storyboard for the preliminary exercise but we could not follow it through because we only had 10 minutes at the end of the lesson to record the piece so we had to choose a less complex route. Another problem we had was editing the piece as none of us were very experienced in editing and had ever used the software so it was all new to us. When it came to the filming of the exercise it actually came off pretty well and we made a good piece in the end. When it came to group work we worked very well and were lucky to get along with each other as it made a lot easier. We delegated tasks well as i am good at editing, Harvey is good at filming and Kailum and Ruby were good actors/actresses. We all took a part in the planning and all decided on who would do what. We learnt things in the planning, filming and editing of the preliminary exercise that helped us carry out our Thriller OTS. A few of these skills are: first of all we learnt stuff about each other and who was good at what. We also gathered some filming techniques and editing techniques that we learnt into the thriller OTS.

Planning and filming your thriller opening title sequence When planning the OTS we all had better ideas and were thinking of mis en scene like what locations, props and narrative. We were also thinking of the OTS shot by shot and what titles we should use. The storyboard didn’t help us very much as we changed a lot of ideas when we shooting. But because we planned the costume and props ideas before we all had the right costume ideas and had the props with us. We were much more organised and ambitious when it came to filming and we also know the rules when filming so we made sure we made no mistakes. And we knew about continuity filming so when we used a variety of different shots and angles it all flowed and wasn't jumpy. I am proud of a lot of our shots in OTS but my favourite shot would be the end scene where the girl is captured, I like this scene because its tense, suspenseful and gripping. When we reviewed our shots we found some areas that needed improving including lighting and length of the shots.

We had to reshoot our dark room shots because the lighting was too dark. We didn't have many issues when reshooting the dark room shots because we knew what we doing the second time round so we made sure the lighting was perfect. We also added some shots while we there. The weather didn't affect us because we were inside. We used “match on action” in our OTS especially in the beginning scenes where the girl starts running. We used this because we wanted it to flow and have continuity. I think our end product was pretty good and it was tense and kept the audience gripped. I think the middle part dragged on a bit because its gets too repetitive and tedious. Next time i would put more planning into the piece and create a good storyboard.

Editing When it came to editing the preliminary exercise it was quite difficult because none of us had to use the software before but the teacher helped us. On the other hand editing our OTS was much easier and although we still asked the teacher to help us it was only for the most difficult types of editing. We used continuity editing and match on action a lot too make our piece look professional. it was much easier editing with clips that were filmed using continuity because we had already done half the work for ourselves. We used fades, cuts and cross dissolves in our OTS. These effects were good my favorite one is the cross dissolve transition this effect mixes to clips into each other as they go from to another. Some effects that we used were a high pitch sound effect which we used at the end to create tension and suspense. My editing skills have definitely improved over the coursework period and i can now edit using good software and know how to create a montage of clips.