Preliminary Task Evaluation

Isabel Hurren

For our Preliminary Task we had to create a shot video that used a range of shot types, such a mid shots and close ups, and used interesting composition that would increase the quality of the shots. It also gave us the opportunity to experiment with editing and taught us how to plan for a film shoot.One of our main characters is a criminal who is played by a teenage girl, this creates a negative image of this social groups as the character connotes violence and dishonesty. However, the regret the character shows through their body language and the use of close ups could show that the character is ashamed of their actions showing that they are conscious of their mistakes and need for change. This, therefore, casts a more positive light on the age group as it shows that they are good at heart and understand how their actions can negatively affect others. Our other main character is a young man who is a detective, this character is a positive representation of their age group as they construct connotations of honesty and morality. Although, as the film continues the character becomes cold and unsympathetic towards the other character. This shows that not all people are what they originally seem and creates a negative view of this social group as it could lead people to believe all young men are like this.

Character 1 showing their regret through their body language.

In our film we have created a story that follows the interrogation of a teenage girl, she refuses to answer the questions which leads to her interrogator walking out, leaving her to sit there. To attract and interest our audience we have included an element of mystery in our film, we did this by having the film be an interrogation. We never find out what Character 2 has done or what Character 1 wants to know, this makes the audience intrigued because they want to know the details. We also ended our film on a cliff hanger which leaves the audience wanting to know more. The film ends with Character 2 shouting “Wait!”, this suggests that she has information she needs to share in order to protect herself from whatever Character 1 will do to her if he’s not given what he wants.

During the production of our film we discovered that our tripod wasn’t tall enough to film a conversation at a table. This was an issue as a main part of our film is an interrogation were the characters are sitting at a table. To fix this problem we placed the tripod on a chair, this made it the correct height to film our actors. We also learnt that the inbuilt camera microphone picks up on all of the surrounding noise. This meant that as we were trying to film the camera was picking up on noise far away from where we were filming. In order to fix this we moved into an enclosed area where it was a lot quieter. This meant that the camera recorded the dialogue properly. Also in editing we increased the volume of things we wanted our audience to hear, such as the door opening, and decreased the volume of the background noise. This allows the viewer to focus on the characters and their dialogue.

Our two characters having a conversation.

By doing this task, I have learnt that planning is essential and that lighting and sound are incredibly important. A strength of our film is the use of match on action. For example in the film you see Character 1 walk towards the door, open it and then you see him walk through it.

This is a strength as it creates a sense of continuity and links the two different scenes together. A weakness of our film is the lack of interesting camera angles, for example we didn’t use a low angle shot. We could have used this to show that Character 1 is dominant as low angle shots connote strength and power. We could have also used a high angle shot to emphasise Character 2’s vulnerability. This would have reinforced the characters’ positions and shown the power unbalance between them.

Next time I would use better lighting as the lighting in our film isn’t very good which decreases the quality of the footage and distracts the audience from focusing on the characters. To improve the lighting we could use a three point lighting system, this would fully illuminate our actors and separate them from the background. We could also improve our sound quality by using a separate microphone to the camera. This would allow us to put the microphone closer to our actors which would mean that we would be able to pick up more of the dialogue and less of the surrounding noise. Again, this would allow the audience to focus more on the actors and not what’s happening around them. We could also use a better location that would increase the believability of our film and make it seem more professional. It would also help the audience follow the story if the setting and story matched. Next time we could also shoot more so we had more footage to use and a wider range of shots. This would make our film longer and allow us to tell our audience a better story as it would have more time to develop and we would be able to include more details.

The script helped with our filming as it meant that our actors knew what they were doing and how to present themselves. Our storyboard was also helpful as it meant that when it came to blocking we knew where to position our actors. Next time drawing a floor plan of our set would be useful as it will help us know where we should place the camera.

The storyboard was a useful part of our planning, this was because it meant that we knew where we wanted to put our actors and what kind of shot to use. This was helpful because it meant that we didn’t have to waste time deciding on blocking and on what shot would best show our characters’ emotions. This also meant that we knew how to achieve things, such as match on action as we knew what we wanted our actors to do. It also meant that we knew we needed to use shot reverse to show the conversation between our characters and the rising tension between them. We used a mid shot at the end of our film, this was effective as it allows you to see Character 1 walking away as well as Character 2’s desperation when she calls for them to “Wait!” This allows our audience to see the darker side of Character 1 as he leaves Character 2 and also tells them that she does have information that she needs to share. We also used over the shoulder shots, this was effective as it places the audience in the position of the character and allows them to empathise with them.

Mid shot of Character 1 leaving.

Over the shoulder shot.

The 180 degree rule is the rule that the cameras and actors stay on opposite sides of an imaginary line. This means that we always see the actors from the same side, if this rule is broken it can confuse the audience and break the continuity. We have obeyed this rule and have only shown our actors from one side during their conversation.

Other examples of this rule being obeyed are:

During the process of editing our Preliminary Task I have learnt how to cut shots by using the different tools. This helped with the continuity of our film as we only used the parts of the different shots that made sense with the storyline. I am know confident on how to do this and I will be able to use these skills whilst editing our Thriller. However, I am less confident on how to edit sound, this was something we had to do as part of the editing process as the background noise was too loud compared to what we wanted the audience to hear, such as the dialogue. The sound quality still isn’t perfect so next time we could spend more time developing our sound editing skills so the end result is a lot better. We also didn’t know how to input an underscore, this would have helped our film by indicating the increasing tension and making the film seem more complete as without it it feels as though something is missing. Next time we can learn to do this so that our Thriller doesn’t have the same problem.

For our preliminary task we used a wide shot of Character 1 walking towards the “interrogation” room door. This establishes the location and helps to build the tension as we don’t know what is going to happen in the “interrogation” room.

We also used an over the shoulder shot on Character 1. This places the audience in Character 2’s position and allows us to sympathise with them as we see how cruel and harsh Character 1 is being. This shot also helps to add to the suspense as we don’t know what Character 2 will do next or how they will react.

We used another over the shoulder shot but this time of Character 2, this shot allows the audience to see how exhausted and troubled she is. This shot also creates a sense of mystery as we can’t see her face so we don’t know who she is or what she’s hiding.

In conclusion, our Preliminary Task was successful due to our use of match on action and a range of shots types. Our film is also successful because we obeyed the 180 degree rule. However, to improve so that our Thriller is better we need to include a range of camera angles and work on editing sound. We could also improve our setting so that our film is more believable. During the production and editing stages I have learnt essential skills that I will be able to use to produce a successful Thriller.