After looking at the preliminary task and our full final product I
feel I have developed as a film maker in many ways through learning certain skills and techniques. I have learnt all about different camera shots, movements and transitions which previously I did not know about. I now know how to use iMovie properly and us the editing techniques to the best of their ability. When we filmed our preliminary task all I knew was very little and only knew how to add shots together, add effects and text onto them. However when it came to editing our final thriller opening I knew how to add transitions to improve the continuity instead of having continuous straight cuts and also I learnt how to add effects to the shots to make the fit in with the thriller genre and make it seem eerie. I also learnt how to do edit footage by splitting the clip to make it shorter and then adding a shot in-between to create a cutaway shot. This helps with continuity which was something which was not achieved very well during a preliminary task. I also feel that as a film maker the creating of the narrative has improved has as in our preliminary task there was not much of one, however in our final production there is. I have developed the amount of shots used. In our final product we used a wide range of unique shots and camera movements for example we used a tilt when Elle was walking up the stairs whereas in our preliminary task long shots and mid shots were mainly used and we used no varied camera movements. 
I think I have learnt the importance of continuity, 180 degree rule and match on action since filming our preliminary. Continuity is important so that the shots flow nicely and correctly one after another without being able to tell they have been filmed at different times. It helps to achieve a professional look to the video. Continuity is something which I struggled with in our preliminary task and do not think there was much continuity at all. However in our final production continuity was achieved as the footage was edited together better and the shots were shorter instead of having lots of long shots after each other. I have learnt that the 180 degree rule is important as without it it makes the footage looked badly filmed and does not help the continuity of the film. In our preliminary task we broke the 180 degree rule and I think it ruined the narrative of the production. The first time we filmed our final production we broke the 180 degree rule because of the way we had to film due to the lack of space and the tripod getting in the way. Although when we re-filmed we had more space and were filming on a iPhone instead of video camera so it was easier to film shots making sure we did not break the rule. In our preliminary task we did use match on action however it did not look as it good as it does in our final production. The editing was not as effective as it was in our final production. The match on action shot helped us to have continuity and move the narrative on from one part to another.
In our preliminary task there were strengths there was shortcomings. I think that some of the shots and camera angles were a strength. We used many varied camera shots, such as a long shot and close-up whilst using camera angles such as a high angle shot.
We used transitions such as fade black to make it look more interesting instead of having straight cuts repeatedly. We also added an effect to the high angle shot to make it look like CCTV. I felt like this made it more interesting for the viewer and made it appear more dramatic that it was. One of the criteria of the preliminary task was to use match on action effectively and I feel like this is something we did. This helps with continuity and gives a professional feel it. Something from our preliminary which needed improving would have been the music which was random and sporadic. It also did not fit in very well with the genre of the thriller and crescendoed at the wrong points. The quality of the preliminary task is a shortcoming as it is not very good. We only realised this when we were uploading the footage to edit and if we knew beforehand we would have filmed on a different device, such as a iPhone.
To plan ideas for shots and editing we make tables. Next to the list of shots we add the location, description, action and props. We did this for the shortlist and the cutaway shot list. This is so we knew on the day of filming what we needed to film and how we would film it. We also created a filming schedule to help with the organisation on the day of filming.
We ended up filming our final thriller opening production twice as we were not happy with it the first time. The first time of filming we were not as organised at we were the second time and did not know what we were going to to properly. We thought it would be a good idea to have all the lights off to create an eerie and mysterious effect, however there was also no natural light which lead to the shots being dark and grainy. Similarly to the preliminary task we used a video camera from school and again our footage turned out bad quality. We also had a lack of camera shots and the narrative did not make much sense. When we uploaded the footage to the mac to edit it we realised we had made errors throughout the filming and the footage just did not look good. After this we ended up filming again and we improved greatly from the first time. Some of the strengths from our final production was the shots which looked effective and were varied. We used many shots such as over the shoulder, close-ups, long shots, mid shots. We also used camera movements such as tilts, like where Elle is walking up the stairs and when the ‘Alter-Ego’ character is in the corner of the room. This helps to make the opening more interesting for the audience instead of just having a normal camera movement and the same shots continuously thought. I think that sound is used well in our opening as we have a mixture of diegetic and non diegetic sound. The diegetic sound in the opening is the door creaking. We were going to add this sound in when we were editing but we realised that the sound of the actual door creaking was effective and sounded good. The non-diegetic sound we added was the music which we created on garage band. This is good as we could make the music fit into our narrative and could make the music become more dramatic and crescendo so it correlates with the correct shots unlike our preliminary task where we used pre-made music and it did not fit it with what was happening in the scene. I feel like the props were a strength in making our opening thriller effective and I think that the magazines with the blood on were good at creating suspense and tension whilst hooking the audience to continue watching as they are curious as to where the blood came from. The hand prints on the posters at the end also are effective and add to the mysteriousness. Some weaknesses from our final production would be that at some points the lighting is bad. As the lighting is bad it makes the shots look dark and grainy which makes it look unprofessional. Although as a group we tried hard to edit the shots to make them shorter we could not otherwise it would have disrupted the narrative, so if we were to re-film this I would make sure that we filmed more footage so that we could make more cutaway shots. Another way to improve our final production would be to vary the cuts. Although it does not look bad using all straight cuts it may look more professional and interesting to the audience if we use varied cuts.
There are a number of shots from our preliminary and thriller which show how we have developed in editing and camerawork skills. In both our preliminary task and final production we used match on action shots which involved close-ups of each actors hand. In our preliminary task the way the door opens it appears to be awkward and once it goes onto the next shot it does not flow very well. However in our final task we filmed from a different angle and the way in which Elle will open the door and the next shot will make more sense to the audience that our preliminary task and the continuity will be better. These screenshots also shows how well the quality of our productions have got since releasing that the video camera are not good enough quality to film a production with and make it look profession, however filming with the iPhone is in HD at 720p.
Although the shots in our final production are more varied, we did use an over the shoulder shot in both our preliminary task and final production. In our preliminary task the over the shoulder the shot was not very close to the actor and you cannot tell really that it is a over the shoulder shot. It is not effective at all. However in our final production the over the shoulder shot is closer to the actor and looks more effective and professional. I feel that this developed because of the difference in what camera we were filming with as iPhone is a lot
smaller and easy to get close to someone that a video camera on a tripod.
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