Compared to our preliminary task, it is evident that we have improved. Through the camera angles, camera movement, mise en scene and other factors, our film has shown how we have grown as individuals, and how our film making skills have improved throughout our AS journey. In our preliminary task we used the the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and match on action, which all helped us in producing our final production as it gave us even more knowledge on which shots and camera rules would be effective for our film. There are vast differences between our preliminary task and our final production. One reasoning behind this was because of the difference in location. We thought that it was key to use to locations during our filming, as it meant that the audience wouldn't get bored looking at the same location. Furthermore, also including mise en scene, in the preliminary task, the lighting we felt was not very effective. This was because of the yellow paint on the walls between the shot reverse shot of the two characters. It made the lighting appear orange and tacky, which made the preliminary task look very unprofessional. In contrast, our final production uses out door locations, meaning that we could achieve natural lighting which made our film look more professional. I feel that I have learnt a lot more knowledge compared to the beginning of the year. I feel like I have grown as a person, and in my knowledge of media.
MATCH ON ACTION:
In both our preliminary task and our final production we used the editing skill of match on action. We had to use this filming technique within our preliminary task as it allowed us to get to grips with stabilizing the shots, shooting the right shots to make sure they flow into each other when we edit them and also practicing editing skills, to ensure continuity .Regardless of the location, we feel that this is an extremely effective technique used in the film industry today. On the left there is screenshots from our preliminary task. The match on action is presented in shot A followed by shot B and then ending in shot C. Shot A shows a long shot of Mae approaching the stair cases. The use of the long shot was effective, as it ensured that the audience could see her entire body frame. As this was our preliminary task, we didn't have to worry about Mise en scene,as we were primarily focused on the camera work. I feel that this shot is not very effective. We cannot see Mae's face as it is cropped out when she is walking down the stairs. Also, the lighting on the centre of frame has been reflected through the camera. This makes the shot look messy and tacky, creating an unprofessional look to our wok. Using this type of editing technique, it is vital to keep; the camera stable as it would not disrupt the atmosphere and continuity of the shot, make sure during the editing process that the shots flow in with each other (continuity), also make sure the camera shots used would allow maximum fluency. I felt hat shot A does not complete all of these things, and therefore makes it look unprofessional. Shot B shows Mae finishing the stair case and onto the ground. This shot shows a medium shot, this also enabled the audience to see her body frame, but a lot closer. Shot C shows a midway shot of Mae walking down the stairs. I feel that this is partially effective, as the close up shot means that the audience can involve themselves more into the scene, however the lighting let us down due to the shadowing. We filmed our preliminary task on a GE1080p hand held camera. This type of camera did no have many megapixels, meaning that some of the footage would come out blurry. Compared to our final production, we used a NikonD300 DSLR camera, this made our footage a lot more crisp, which help make our production look more effective. For both our preliminary task, and our final production, we used a tri-pod. This enabled us to get a steady shot avoiding any blurriness. In conclusion, the match on action in our preliminary task was relatively poor. The lighting, mise en scene and capturing of the match on action was not successful mainly due the fact that it was rushed. In our final production, we had learnt how to apply these techniques successfully, and we feel it came out 100% better in our final production.
Compared to our final production, regarding mise en scene, the lighting was significantly improved. As we were in an outdoor location, it meant that we could get natural lighting. Also, the Nikon DSLR camera, has more functions on than the GE1080p one. This meant that the lighting could also be controlled through the shutter speed and functions installed in the camera. SHOT REVERSE SHOT:
Shot reverse shot is the idea of a character to be shown looking at another character, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. It is effective, in introducing the two characters to the scene, it also makes the audience feel like they are part of the conversation. Furthermore, it helps establish a relationship between the two characters Here, we have two screengrabs of the shot reverse shot presented in both our final production and our preliminary task. In the first screengrab, we can see that the body language presented by the characters is not effective, this is partially due to the acting, as one of the actresses is shown to be laughing, breaking the continuity in the film. An over the shoulder shot is used to make the audience involve themselves into that character, It also allows them to see what the other character is wearing, making them feel the emotions presented by that character. On the editing side of things, we had to make sure that we cropped the over the shoulder shots and the shot reverse shot's together efficiently, so that they all combined fluently in the conversation. Also, the actresses in the preliminary task are positioned in different areas but only slightly. This made the footage appear odd and out of place. It would make the audience question what has happened, and make them realise what is actually going on. When performing our real production, we made the actresses stay in one place, to avoid breaking any continuity in the film. Although shot reverse shot is not always shown in thriller films, we wanted to include it so that our audience could feel involved with the film. It also meant that we could add our own individuality to our filming. This means that we have taken on board advice and criticisms of how and when to use specific shots, as each shot has a different effect, effecting the emotions and feelings that the audience would feel.
CAMERA WORK:
During our preliminary task, we feel that our use of camera skills was very limited. This was partially due to the lack of knowledge and equipment that we had. In our final film, we used a range of camera shots, we feel, were successful. We used: Close up's, long shots, medium shots, cantered angles, shot reverse shots, match on action and many others. This demonstrates that we fully understood how, when and where to use certain types of shots. Using the correct shots in the right places, meant that we could create the correct emotions and feelings that we want our audience to feel, such as suspense. In our preliminary task, we didn't use a range of different shots. This was because we were limited for time, and simply didn't have a wide range of knowledge to know how to film these types of shots. However, we did use multiple medium shots in our production. Medium shots are effective for many reasons. Firstly, they allow the audience to see the appearance of that character. This then creates specific emotions attached to that costume. e.g if through a mediums shot, the audience can see someone wearing black, they will automatically think of danger, due to the connotations held with the colour black. In our preliminary task, we didn't specifically focus on the mes en scene, but mainly the shots. We feel that we used the "Rule of thirds" in our film, which Is the idea of a person filing 3 of a 9 square grid on the camera. This made the shots look more effective and professional. We found that the lighting really effected our camera work negatively in our preliminary task. The use of lighting suggests what the atmosphere is like, for example, having light and bright light would imply happiness and summery weather, however in our case, we used natural and unfiltered light, that was already around in the setting we were in. This meant that we couldn't adjust the lighting, which reflected on our camera shots. In the real production, we thought about the lighting a lot. We had certain functions on the camera that we researched how to use, to enable us to bring forward or block out any unwanted light. In our real production, we used a range of low and high angle shots. This created an uneasy atmosphere which would make our audience feel suspense. The use of the non-diegetic soundtrack, reinforced the tension, as It was eerie and sinister.
In conclusion, our preliminary task meant that we could work upon what we already knew. It also enable us to see how we have grown in our media skills, as its slightly amusing to watch our preliminary task and realise all the mistakes that we had made. We feel that it was our starting point, and the finishing point being "The Alley." We feel that our final production was successful and 100% better than the preliminary task, primarily due to the camera work.
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