Evaluation: Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel have learnt in the progression from it to the main task?

The first stages required us to create our storyboard - which you can see in an earlier post. At first we thought that our film would end up exactly like we intended. What we slowly learnt through shooting however was that, some scenes might be improvised, or might be different to how we intended. The process made us aware that not everything goes to plan, which was mostly for the better. As our final product features shots we hadn't even thought of as well as scenes we shot different to what the storyboard envisions. There's also scenes in the storyboard which we decided to take out upon realising that it may not work or after coming up with something better.

From the preliminary, I gained some insight into the practically of filming certain shots, the actual type of shots we can do as well as effects different shots create. For instance the low, focus pull shot on the killer's foot indicates the killer's intention as the background contains the house where the victim is. This shot metaphorically demonstrated subtle messages to the audience without actually having to be told. I also learnt that planning is a large part of making any large project such as our thriller opening. We planned for our meet-ups and re-shoots as well, which just made life so much easier.

Learning how to actually create a film(opening) was a learning curve and challenge within itself. Knowing which steps to take, getting the right props, wearing the proper costume, getting the right angle, finding the right time of day etc. All became problems we had to overcome as a group and as film-makers. The entire experience was enjoyable and never became boring or uninteresting. The moments where we were stuck, for instance we wanted to incorporate a struggle scene with the victim and the killer, but didn't know how. We stood back, took a breath and really focussed as a team and collaborated our ideas to eventually come up with a scene that made it into the final product. Just realising that sometimes I did not have the answer, and being able to rely upon my team mates was a new step and experience for me.

Like I mentioned in my response to question 6, the technologies I had access to really made the editing process a lot of fun and educational as well. I really took a liking to editing, as we were there with all of our scenes, having the ability to create anything. The first time I sat down and started thinking of how to combine our clips, was truly quite a powerful moment. The abilities I realised I had with the editing software, Premiere Pro and After Effects, really made things worthwhile; teaching me valuable skills and techniques that I can take with me into the future. For instance titling was a brand new concept to me, and by the end of the thriller, I had made awesome titles and things that didn't make it into the final product. But I was not upset, because the skill remains with me.

I learnt of my new abilities as a leader in filming. As I often helped decide where to place the camera, how to shoot a scene, what type of atmosphere we want, the type of music, the titling, the direction of the opening etc. However the entire project was a team effort, where neither of us really took the lead but instead we combined our ideas to make one project. Our chemistry was great, we rarely argued, we both had similar ideas and goals for what we wanted our opening to look like. Overall, it worked out for the best as our thriller looks great and has actually ended up better than what how I imagined.