Evaluation For Prelim

In this prelim task we had to create a film over 30 seconds to show the skills that we had learnt over the period we had been learning on the course. The skills we had to show whilst creating this prelim video included: The 180° rule, match on action, shot reverse shot and continuity. In order to demonstrate this we had to also make use of a tripod to make sure we included shots that had a consistency in the shots we used. The brief we had in terms of story was to present someone entering a room and having a conversation with another person. We built on this as a group and decided to create a scenario in which one man was clearly portrayed as being more dominant and was going to assassinate the other man. Other things we had to include was a good use of sound and also make use of lighting. We combined these in the prelim to create tension.

We used a varied range of shot types in the prelim and the camerawork overall we feel was good, In the opening section where the men were walking to meet we used the majority of the shot types. One of the first shots we included was the mid-shot of the victim walking towards the room. We then showed later on in the prelim the shot of the killer walking in another corridor. We did this to remove any continuity errors of the two characters walking in the same space.

To also show the how one character is less powerful than the other we included a high angle shot to show their vulnerability in the video. We then did the opposite to the killer to make him seem far more dominant in the situation.

We used a close up of the victim’s hand to emphasise the notion that something may happen when he enters the room. This is part of the match on action, but on the other side of the door we show a mid-shot of the victim to display this technique.

One thing that we could improve is the match on action however, in editing we had to re-shoot the shots of the door because of errors with continuity. However this shot was steady like many of the other shots. However focus was a problem and we should of re-shot many of the shots because of errors with focus.

The editing of the video overall was good, the cuts were consistent for the majority of the video and the match on action was edited correctly. However, we had an issue in the final video with the 180° rule.  This occurs in the room when the killer is confronting the victim. The line is crossed here but only here, and for our thriller piece we will check far more thoroughly for these mistakes. The shot reverse shot we used could have been far more coordinated, as the cuts were extremely quick and it is hard to get a sense of the revers shot in the clip. However the continuity is very good otherwise and we included fade to white in the fast cut sections to add emphasis on the danger for the men.

The titles we used were standard and weren’t massively thought about when filming the video. It is something we will consider far more thoroughly next time we shoot a video. We chose the colour red on white to emphasis the blood after the shot. Yet other than this we didn’t incorporate it into the video at any time in the shoot.

The sound we used was definitely one of the more successful things that we did in the making of our prelim. The sound is completely non-diegetic as we used a soundtrack “Home” by Daughter. This soundtrack was minor and had a slow rhythm to it, which showed the killers far more comfortable adrenaline and the piece built towards the conclusion of the clip. When doing the thriller video, a soundtrack like this will definitely be something to consider doing when we shoot it.

The lighting of the shoot was on the whole good. Yet, we had issues with lighting in the room where the two characters meet. This is because we had to shut the blinds to prevent too much light coming into the room and we wanted a fairly dark and intimate space to work with to increase the tension of the scene. We used however, the black and white effect when editing. This brought the overall lighting down and made this shot look too dull.

The skills we learnt, as a team will definitely be useful for the thriller we will be shooting. We all learnt a great deal about keeping the continuity consistent and we also learnt that the soundtrack is a key part of the film itself. The organisation of our team was fairly effective although more care in planning out shot types will be a better way of shooting next time. We also need to try different ways of shooting the same shots so we get a varied effect and a greater range of shots to choose when we do come round to editing. We rushed the filming of the piece and this could have been more successful. The planning of the actual shoot could have been a more though out process too as we jumped straight into filming without processing fully what situation would work best, something we will organise in the next shoot. In our thriller that we will shoot the overall thing that we need to improve as a team is the care in what we do. We need to carefully look at mise-en-scene and choose carefully what props we use and also where we shoot. This will help us have a far stronger basis for the thriller. The story board will also be more well prepared so we can choose what shots we feel will work to create the best results.