Over the course of the last year I feel I have learnt a lot about filmmaking. I realised this after looking back at my preliminary task, and comparing it to my thriller.
We had to plan much more to get our thriller off the ground compared to our preliminary task, which only took about an hour to plan and shoot. There was a lot to juggle around, and problems which had to be worked around, as we couldn't necessarily get access to items that we wanted.
Storyboards:
· Prelim – We were given the storyboards, so no planning was required there.
· Thriller – We had to create our own storyboards and fill in the details, which took over a week. to complete.
No specific props needed, used objects we found in the studio.
We chose our actors from random people, no target audience to think of.
· Thriller – Had to find the locations, get permission for them, get transport sorted.
Had to sort out list of props including cars and a cot.
Had to think about actor to suit story and target audience.
Making the storyboards and creating a narrative...
I found that when you become responsible for creating the storyboards, there is a lot to think about in every individual shot. You have to compose each shot and create a pleasing image to watch, whilst getting all the information and detail that you need to tell the story with without creating a cluttered and busy image.
However, unlike photography, you have to take movement into account and think about what the picture will look like at the end of the shot, and if it still works. When you cut between shots, you can’t break the 180 degree and 30 degree rules as the sequence will lose its fluidity and seem jumpy.
Changes and Improvements in composition...
Looking back at the Prelim Task I can see a noticeable difference in shot composition. The first thing I noticed was the use of space within the shots. In the Preliminary task we had quite a few shots with seemingly unnecessary and excessive amounts of space. The focus of the shots is stuck in a corner of the image. We have obviously used space and wide shots in the Thriller task, but only to frame the image. The Thriller is on the left, and the Prelim on the right.
I found this was the same for the close up shots. I think it was a fear to crop into the image, which a lot of people suffer from when taking photos. They are scared to fill the frame and feel the need to use excess space. I think that as we had gained confidence from the prelim we managed to zoom into objects better. The Prelim is on the left, and the Thriller on the right.
Working with sound...
In the Preliminary task we didn't add any sound to the sequence, we just used what was on the video cameras. However in our Thriller sequence we relied on the various different layers of sound to create the atmosphere we wanted.
The majority of the sounds featured in our sequence were added in seperately in order to allow us to change the volume levels individually to give us the scene we wanted. We found them in the final cut pro and school server banks of sounds. These sounds included the both of the alarms, the car engine and the wind in the final shot.
Other sounds where recorded seperately on the day as they had the sound we wanted, but we wanted them to be brought forwards in the scene. This was used for the baby music and the shower. This allowed us to draw the audiences attention onwards in the scene as they followed both the action and the sounds as a narrative.
Working with Final Cut Pro and After Effects...
I had very little experience with either of programmes before I started this course, but have found them both very useful with this process. With this Thriller product we were a lot more careful where we placed our cuts and for how long shots lasted, as this can completely change the mood of a scene.
We created the ending title in After Effects to reinforce the idea that everything is disappearing. I am not extremely happy with the outcome, as I think it went down a slightly different route than the one I was taking. However I still think it works for this sequence.
We have annotated our youtube video outlining what processes we used in this video which can be found If you click here.
We had to plan much more to get our thriller off the ground compared to our preliminary task, which only took about an hour to plan and shoot. There was a lot to juggle around, and problems which had to be worked around, as we couldn't necessarily get access to items that we wanted.
Storyboards:
· Prelim – We were given the storyboards, so no planning was required there.
· Thriller – We had to create our own storyboards and fill in the details, which took over a week. to complete.
Location/Props/Actors:
· Prelim – Used the studio to film, no travel required, no permission needed.No specific props needed, used objects we found in the studio.
We chose our actors from random people, no target audience to think of.
· Thriller – Had to find the locations, get permission for them, get transport sorted.
Had to sort out list of props including cars and a cot.
Had to think about actor to suit story and target audience.
Making the storyboards and creating a narrative...
I found that when you become responsible for creating the storyboards, there is a lot to think about in every individual shot. You have to compose each shot and create a pleasing image to watch, whilst getting all the information and detail that you need to tell the story with without creating a cluttered and busy image. However, unlike photography, you have to take movement into account and think about what the picture will look like at the end of the shot, and if it still works. When you cut between shots, you can’t break the 180 degree and 30 degree rules as the sequence will lose its fluidity and seem jumpy.
Changes and Improvements in composition...
Looking back at the Prelim Task I can see a noticeable difference in shot composition. The first thing I noticed was the use of space within the shots. In the Preliminary task we had quite a few shots with seemingly unnecessary and excessive amounts of space. The focus of the shots is stuck in a corner of the image. We have obviously used space and wide shots in the Thriller task, but only to frame the image. The Thriller is on the left, and the Prelim on the right.
I found this was the same for the close up shots. I think it was a fear to crop into the image, which a lot of people suffer from when taking photos. They are scared to fill the frame and feel the need to use excess space. I think that as we had gained confidence from the prelim we managed to zoom into objects better. The Prelim is on the left, and the Thriller on the right.
In the Preliminary task we didn't add any sound to the sequence, we just used what was on the video cameras. However in our Thriller sequence we relied on the various different layers of sound to create the atmosphere we wanted.
The majority of the sounds featured in our sequence were added in seperately in order to allow us to change the volume levels individually to give us the scene we wanted. We found them in the final cut pro and school server banks of sounds. These sounds included the both of the alarms, the car engine and the wind in the final shot.
Other sounds where recorded seperately on the day as they had the sound we wanted, but we wanted them to be brought forwards in the scene. This was used for the baby music and the shower. This allowed us to draw the audiences attention onwards in the scene as they followed both the action and the sounds as a narrative.
Working with Final Cut Pro and After Effects...
I had very little experience with either of programmes before I started this course, but have found them both very useful with this process. With this Thriller product we were a lot more careful where we placed our cuts and for how long shots lasted, as this can completely change the mood of a scene.
We created the ending title in After Effects to reinforce the idea that everything is disappearing. I am not extremely happy with the outcome, as I think it went down a slightly different route than the one I was taking. However I still think it works for this sequence.
We have annotated our youtube video outlining what processes we used in this video which can be found If you click here.
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