Prelim Task: Evaluation

Strengths: 

The first strength of the prelim task was the lighting, the reason for thinking that this was a strength of the video is because it was the lighting in each part allowed the people in that scene to look very natural and did not over power what was happening. At one point when they were handing over the brief case it showed the characters, as well as them standing out over the black background and table. By adding specific lighting it allows the audience to automatically know which part of the scene is more important over the other

The use of a split screen is classed as a strength in my opinions for the way that the movement of the lips was well matched up with the video, when it came to the timings allowed the video to go through a lot smoother. Furthering on this idea it allows the audience to get to witness the full conversation as it could change the whole dynamic of the clips if it only showed one person at a time. The split screen being used allows the characters of who are portrayed by Chloe and I to be linked to the whole plot, making the turn of the events look completely different.

Weaknesses:

In the prelim task I would have said that there is a lot more problems with the video, then there is to the positives. The first weakness of the prelim task is the background. When we were filming the over the shoulder shot from Elliot’s side we forgot to cover the whole wall with the black curtain which meant that it did not look very nice to the eye, as well as not looking professional. This means that a target for next time is to make sure that every part of the image in shot looks immaculate or the way it is trying to be seen by the audience. 

Another part that did not do the video any justice was the part when I was trying to shoot the back of Elliot’s head. At this point, I feel that the camera work and editing technique needed to be at a higher standard. The reason for this was that you could not actually see who was shooting him and you did not really know what was happening. To further on this the editing at this was not our finest hour. The problem with this was not how it faded to black, it was how the sound has been edited in 10-20 seconds late. This is showing that it has been added on top of the video at the wrong point which may suggest to the audience the lack of care and how the delay ruins the whole end of the clip. To try and avoid this happening in the final project, more care, effort and time needs to be used to add the simplest of sounds to show that the basic things can be added correctly to the video clip.

Another weakness for the extract is the ambient sound in the background. In the beginning we forgot to take the sound out and make the clips run straight after each other. This automatically tells the audience if they would like to watch the film or not, so the beginning has to start of the best, to make a good impression. Adding on to this, the ambient sound in this part of the extract distinctively shows that this was not meant to be there. To the audience it may distract them, with questions of which may consist of the ideas of what is that noise? what is it trying to say? This then distracts them from the crucial points, putting them off for the rest of the extract. 

Summary:

My overall opinion was that the four of us worked well in the group together, however there were a lot of bad things in the video that if it was our final video would easily get us a low mark. Adding on to this the benefits of the problems occurring is that when it comes to the final video, I know the specific details that needs to keep an eye on to make sure that it does not cause any problems for the way that the final video turns out.

Furthering my ideas of what i thought about the prelim task, was that in my opinion i felt like the group missed out parts of the video as well as unfortunately not being able to execute it to a very good standard. In the weaknesses section there were only a few things that were mentioned but i can automatically see a million more that i did not put down like: Camera was not steady, did not crop a video fully, forgetting to include from over Rachel's shoulder and many more fixes necessary. 

Prelim Task: Final Video

Final Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J28XtqpaNpM

Prelim Task: Editing

What I did:

When it came to the editing of the video, we decided that it would work well if the group of us edited the video together and find the sounds as a group. The reason that we did it in this way was to make it easier for each person’s suggestions to get through to the group instead of someone editing different sections making it look very in consistent when watching it. The way we were able to work on one computer was by circling our chairs around the computer to be able to see the screen, and a few splitters. Splitters were used to allow all of our headphones to have a connection to the computer, for us to hear what is happening as well as seeing it.

The first thing that we did as a group was retrieve the video clips from the SD card, and put them onto the computer to allow us to be able to use them. Once this had taken place we were then able to go through the videos to see what was needed or what we had to get rid of, as there were a lot of outtakes from the bits that we filmed, an example of this was when i was trying to use the gun, as I kept pressing it wrong or could not easily press the button.

After having the sorted videos on the computer, it then allowed us to be able to put the video clips together. The software that was used to allow us to edit the video together was Adobe Premiere Pro. The main problem that occurred when using the software was trying to get Chloe and Elliot's talking in sync when the split screen happened.

The prelim video was going so well, apart from forgetting to add a few clips to the video to show people getting to different places as well as the clip of Rachel getting her payment from Elliot. By having missing clips it just makes the way the video is presented, look like less quality and that for the final project this will be taken into account that i need to ensure that i have added all of the clips

Once the clips had been put together, we then added sound. Elliot found the sounds and we all listened to see if this sound would fit with the feel of the video. The feel that we were going for was a mysterious and suspenseful vibe, to make it feel a part of the thriller genre. The prop of a gun was used; however, it did not actually make a sound. This meant that a sound effect of a gun was necessary to be added to the clip. The reason for this was because the sound effect made the video realistic, otherwise it would be silent and boring when the most drama is taking place.

The way that was easiest to access the video was by posting it on to YouTube, so that was the last thing that we did before it was done. The reason for putting it on YouTube was to allow everyone to see it and to be able to add it to blogger from YouTube

Prelim Task: Filming

Filming others:

Before the group could start filming we had to set up, so the job role i took on was the camera. I firstly had to figure out how it worked due to never using this one before, but that only took a few minutes of messing around with the buttons to understand it. Once i had gotten to grips with the camera i was having to set it up on the tripod to get the video footage at the best possible angle. 

When it came to the filming, the group of us took it in turns to film the clips to allow a share of each role. The time I filmed was when Elliot and Rachel were in the scene because it was easier for Chloe and I to do it as it gave us the chance to see what we needed to improve on  when it came to using the camera, as well as making it easier for Elliot and Rachel to just be sat in the scene acting. By planning it this way it made each person in the room feel like they were contributing to the scene in one way or another. 

The camera shots that i took were the over the shoulder shots from Elliot's shoulder to allow the camera to be able to see everything that Rachel was doing in the shot as well as presenting it in a way that it looked like a serious meeting between the two of them. The way this shot was presented worked well apart from the backdrop behind Rachel. The reason for this is that we genuinly just forgot to pull the curtain behind her. 

Another shot that took place when filming was a low angle shot, which means that the camera is placed lower to the ground, while looking up to the person in the shot. The reason that this type of shot was included was to provide the audience with the idea that their is importance when it comes to the briefcase. 

Shots with my character:

As well as helping film the shots i also took part in a few of the clips. The four different shots included Chloe handing me an envelope and gun, A close up of myself taking the envelope and gun, shooting Elliot and the ending where Elliot is dead and i take the briefcase

Prelim Task: Plannning

Initial Idea:

Starting of finding an initial idea of what type of opening sequence we wanted to try to create we decided that making a mind map would be an easy place to start jotting down ideas. The idea behind doing this was to allow our imagination help to create our clip, no matter how crazy the idea was going to be, as long as it fitted with the idea of a thriller. The main reason for doing that is because the final project was to be in this genre, so it gave an idea of what each individual needs to work on before the final project. 

The way we started of process of planning was by using the ideas of the typical thriller conventions and built on them, to allow a plot for the opening sequence to be formed. The idea that we went on was the idea of mystery. This allowed an element of surprise and the thought of the unknown, the unknown of what is in the envelope or the bag. The basic idea was not the easiest to come up with as it could have gone either way of turning into a horror, which is the main reason why the prelim task was a good practice to see what to avoid and to take through for the final piece.

In the end the whole group agreed on the idea of mystery, which in the situation we used a briefcase to portray this. The way this was thought to be done was using shots where it did not allow the audience to see what was in the case, which meant over the shoulder shots or shots behind the character when looking in the case were going to be avoided for this main purpose. Furthering on this the brief case was prioritized throughout the process of planning which then allowed the plot idea to be formed as well as the characters.

Characters:

Character 1: 'Isabelle Zograpos' who was played by Rachel. This character is the first person to start of with the briefcase and is making the deal with Tommy.

Character 2: 'Tommy' who was played by Elliot. Tommy is the one who went to collect the briefcase for Fiona .

Character 3: 'Fiona' who was played by Chloe. Fiona is on the other side of the conversation, and is double crossing Tommy

Character 4:'Joanne' who was the character I took on the role for. The character of Joanne was used as a killer of Tommy.

Plot:

By having the basic information of what was trying to be included, it was time to form a basic plot for how it was going to be put together. At this point Rachel did the drawings for the storyboard as she had the best art abilities in the group, and for that it is the reason why she took this part on.

The storyboard allows a simple overview of what is happening throughout. By looking at what is drawn on the storyboard it firstly shows Isabelle entering the room to where Tommy's already sitting there waiting for her to appear. When Isabelle sits down, then a transaction between the two of them and the brief case happens, while in conversation. When Tommy takes the briefcase from Isabelle, he then phones up Fiona. Split screen editing technique is then added of the two, to allow the conversation of both sides to be shown..