I will first look at how editing our preliminary task prepared us well for shooting our Main Task, this is because we got a bit of practice and got the chance to use the cameras and other equipment that we could possibly use in our Main Task. The whole preliminary task was a good experience and boosted my groups confidence when it came to shooting the Main Task because we had already had some practise.
Preliminary Task
We had to do a few attempts at shooting our final preliminary task due to the fact that we came across a few problems along the way while shooting the first two attempts. The main problem was the location and lighting which made shooting extremely difficult, particularly in the first preliminary that we shot. After shooting the first preliminary task and attempting to edit it on the Macs was when we realised re-shooting is part of the process towards the final product. We chose a location which was not suitable for the shot reverse shot that we had to include, this is because the lighting on one side was very bright and the other side was quite dark.
Camera Skills
My camera skills developed while shooting the preliminary task because while you are working you become more confident and begin to know how to use the camera properly. At the beginning of shooting our preliminary task, as a group we were quite unsure of exactly how to use the equipment such as the tripod but as time progressed we gradually became more confident due to the frequent use of the cameras. While shooting we also were able to come up with ideas of how to position the camera and use different techniques such as point of view shot and match on action. We realised the best way to shoot these shots was to shoot them twice so that we have no point in the preliminary task that we have any movement cut out, this would not be match on action and this was one of the shots we had to concentrate on and include.
Comparing our preliminary task to our Main Task, the Main Task is far more creative and requires a lot more skill and patience due to the fact the we have to include a lot more techniques and editing the whole clip took roughly 4 hours.
Computer Software Skills
Editing our preliminary task on the Macs was quite difficult at the beginning due to the fact that our group has not edited before on this software which was iMovie. We each use the same clips, but edited them on our own, choosing the effects, transitions and music that we wanted. By editing our preliminary task on our own proved to be really useful when it came to our Main Task. We all had input in editing this and each had our own ideas which we would include while editing and see if this worked well with it or not.
Choosing the camera angles and shots to use in our Main Task proved to be quite difficult because we had quite a lot of ideas and we had to portray the characters feeling a moods while showing things such as the Mise en Scene. Having the examination preparation lessons were very useful when it came to shooting our Main Task because we had to watch a lot of short clips from TV dramas and looking at the techniques used increased our own knowledge. In our Main Task we didn't have to concentrate on crossing the 180 degree rule because we had a physical barrier in the way which was the bath and this made shooting a little bit easier. Compared to the preliminary task where the camera angles are quite basic, this tested our skills and ability to use the cameras. We didn't use the tripod for shooting the Main Task because we wanted to create the effect that the character was delusional, hence the fact that our title is 'Delusion', so we held the camera while also holding a plastic screen in front of the camera lens to make the shots a bit blurred.
Editing on iMovie was a long process compared to editing the preliminary task because we had a lot more footage to edit and choosing the best shots to use was quite difficult because we had so many and the whole clip can only be two minutes. We edited it and then we had to cut out a lot because we had a lot more than two minutes and we had to adjust the clips to fit the time and also correct the match on action. We edited so meaning is apparent to the viewer, this was when we showed the character cleaning the bath, we added transitions to suggest that she has been cleaning for a long time, where as while watching the clip, you only see her cleaning for about 30 seconds, if we were to show this in real time it would have taken overall about 5 minutes.
Choosing the music to use was also quite difficult because you have to relate it to your genre, which for us was thriller. We chose one piece of music which was quite unusual and put this into our clip but while editing and after listening to it a few times we looked at other pieces of music similar to this which could fit a bit better into the storyline and genre. The final piece of music we chose had no lyrics and we chose this because the instruments used were quite spooky and added dramatic effect to the clip. If we had kept the first piece of music that we had chosen this could be seen as juxtaposition because the lyrics were about love and we did not want to have this in our clip.
Understanding of genre
The genre for our Main Task is a phycological thriller, we chose this because there are a lot of ways to easily show this genre within a two minute extract. The music used clearly identifies our Main Task as psychological thriller and this immediately tells the audience what to expect and this is also a genre convention. We shot this clip in the day and this meant that there was a lot of bright light and this wouldn't have been as effective as having shot in the dark. We edited the lighting on the Macs and this creates effect because it looks like night and this is also a typical genre convention. We looked at the Mise en Scene and while shooting we ensured that all the things that are normally in this bathroom were moved and out of shot because they would not be in a typical thriller. We also included some of our own props for the Mise en Scene such as the cigarettes and fake blood. Smearing the fake blood across the bath is a genre convention because this suggests that there has been a murder and this is commonly used in thriller movies. Also the spinning of the camera at the end of the clip is also a genre convention because this shows that the character is deluded and adds to the fact that this is a thriller because of the shots of blood while it is spinning out.
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