Evaluation Q7 - Learnt Since Prelim

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

Here is our preliminary task:




Here is our final cut:




RESEARCH
When doing our preliminary task we had done absolutely no research into shot types, filming, editing, SFX, mise-en-scene or anything else. As the prelim was of no particular genre this was alright, but for our specific production we had to do a lot of research into every aspect of the slasher genre, to try and get the most accurate and realistic portrayal of a slasher film. The prelim certainly helped us have a starting point to improve from regarding working with the camera, shot types and the editing software. When doing the prelim we did struggle slightly with all these aspects, but when it came to filming and editing multiple rough cuts we were very used to the system and how everything worked, and what would look most effective for the slasher genre.

PLANNING + PITCHING
When planning our preliminary task all we had to do was quickly write down the shot types we were going to use and roughly what me might say. We didn't think much at all about the narrative, just something very basic so we could focus more on the cinematography. In contrast to this, for our production we had to make call sheets, story boards and lots of plans to make sure we were prepared for our shoots and managed our time properly. As we had actors involved we had to make sure none of their time was wasted and we knew exactly which shots needed to be done. As our rough cuts progressed, we improved on this and the very last shoot we did was the most productive and best planned and organised. Also unlike the prelim we did multiple shoots and had to constantly evaluate our footage to see if it needed to be re-shot or improved upon. When we originally did the prelim we didn't have to pitch and idea, for our production we spent time planning and idea and pitching it to the class to persuade people to work as a team on your production. This was quite a scary thought at first, but definitely the most effective way of fairly hearing everybody's ideas.

ACTORS

actors

For our prelim, Kate and I were the actors in it as we were very limited and it wouldn't influence us experimenting with shot types. For our production we used different actors for different rough cuts before deciding our final cast. We wrote scripts for our cast and gave it to them in advance so they had a good understanding of what we wanted to achieve and what we needed them to do/say exactly. We tried to cast our actors as close to the stereotype of their character as possible, for example choosing a brunette for the final girl. None of the actors we chose were very experienced, but they all acted very professionally and were very willing to help with our production. However, our production could have been improved if we had very experienced actors.

MISE-EN-SCENE, COSTUMES + PROPS

fake blood

In our prelim we had no mise-en-scene, costumes, props or set dressing.The focus of our preliminary task was just to identify and get the idea of continuity editing. For our production however it was quite the opposite. We used many aspects to improve our mise-en-scene such as changing the scream queen's phone background to anchor that her and the jock are a couple. For costumes we specifically asked the individual characters what to wear and we had to plan this in advance, as well as taking precaut
ions such as buying extra white tops for the scream queen so the killing scene could be reshot if necessary. For props we had to take the knife as well as the phone used and we had to purchase flowers for the group to put on 'Mikeys' grave. Every time we did reshoots it was helpful that we knew exactly what shots were needing to be done so we could take the appropriate props for them. For our killing scene to look realistic we had to use fake blood. We made our fake blood, as it was cheap, easy and looked very realistic. Here is our posts about all these mentioned in more detail:

• fake blood
• costumes
• actors and casting
• casting, characters and mise-en-scene

LOCATION

Linton Camp

The location for our final production was 2 different places. For our original rough cut we filmed the whole thing at Linton Camp. But, for our second shoot and third shoot we thought it would be more effective to edit in footage from a wooded area as it came across a scarier and more realistic. To film our wooded footage we went to some local woods. However, filming in the woods was slightly more challenging as we had to walk quite far to the location and we often had to stop filming due to it being in the area of a public footpath and people and dogs sometimes walked or were heard in sh
ot. This probably could have been helped if we hadn't gone after school, when it was likely to be at the busiest as people were not at school/work. Unlike our final production we filmed the prelim in the classroom with other people also making noise in the room.

ROUGH CUTS
We only did one prelim, we didn't think it was necessary to have any rough cuts or re-film, however it would have benefitted probably from being re edited. Here are the rough cuts for our final production:

• rough cut 1
• rough cut 2

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
The only feedback we received on our prelim task was as to whether the continuity editing worked and the shot types. For our production we had all of our rough cuts on youtube for audience feedback, as well as screening them to people our age and videoing their reactions. From these reactions we improved our production, especially their critique on what kind of sound we could use to create suspense. As our first rough cut didn't have good feedback this is when we made the decision to reshoot the whole production. This was a very good decision as the final product was much better than it would have been if we had used that majority of that original footage. 

SOUND

For our prelim the only sound involved was the diegetic sound of what we were saying in the narrative. For our production as well as enhancing diegetic sound for affect and turning down diegetic sound when necessary we also spent time on non diegetic soundtrack to improve it. Throughout the production we used quiet music to make it more intense and eerie, we also used a specific sound whenever the killer is shown. In the killing scene we used string instruments which helped replicate the sounds of screams that were heard and may have been continuing to happen. 

IDENTS
In our production we included 4 idents, mine, kate's, millie's and a company one for us all. By doing this it made our production look more professional and also helped introduce the slasher genre with the last few idents. In our prelim we didn't use and idents, or special effects. However, in our production we used a mixture of effects and transitions in our work to help improve it. We used layering over our killing scene to help make it look more realistic and to show the groups reactions at the same time as the scream queen being stabbed.

SHOT TYPES

shoot 1

In our preliminary task the main shot types we concentrated on using was, match on action, 180 degree rule, over the shoulder shot and shot reverse shot. In our production we tried to include as much shot variation as possible as the slasher genre is quick paced and this can only be maintained by many shots. We tried to use our location to our advantage when thinking of shot types, framing them around th
e trees in the woods. We also tried to use a dutch angle in our production during the chase scene. This is used to signify that something isn't quite right and that the scream queen was in danger. As we were new to filming with the prelim task the camera was not held steady. As this is part of the assessment criteria we made sure we tried to stop this in our production. We did this by using a tripod for the stationery shots and a fig rig for moving or tracking shots. By doing this it majorly improved the stability of our shots, and any mistakes we had made were easy to edit it out post filming.

ROLES

millie - cinematographer

In our prelim the group of 3 we worked, nobody had specific roles. We took it in turns to each experiment with the filming and editing. When doing our production we thought we would better organise if we were all gave specific roles. I was director, Kate was producer and Millie was the cinematographer. Editing wise, we all contributed and made sure that major decisions were discussed as a team so we made sure we were all happy. This is also meant that this was three sets of eyes on the editing to make sure there were no continuity errors or mistakes that needed to be cut out or improved in our editing.




In conclusion, we have learnt a great deal from when we started our preliminary task, but it was a major part in starting us to discover all the necessary things to be thought about when creating our own film opening. I think we have learnt most about cinematography and editing, but also a lot about the organisation and how to be productive when organising shoots. There is a huge difference between the quality of the preliminary and the final cut.

Here is a timeline of all the videos we shot and edited so you can see the huge and gradual improvements we have made:

•  prelim task
• swede
• micro drama
• rough cut 1
• rough cut 2
• final cut