Second Preliminary Task

For our first preliminary task we decided to stay within a simple plot as not to deter from our main focus of the production, which was to practice key film concept such as match on action, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. However for this task we wanted to practice filming under the typical conventions of a thriller film, as this is what our final production will be. This short film follows the plot of two young girls running away from an ominous figure. They meet and believe that they are safe until they look up to see that the figure looming over them.

I worked with the same group of people in this task as in my last preliminary project (Molly Braggins, Jessica Underwood and Lucy Scanlon). Again, myself, Molly and Jess volunteered to be actors in this project as we felt that it worked well in the previous task, and again we all contributed our ideas regarding camera angles/shots and the post-production stages were a combined effort. Discussion became more important in this task as we were following a slightly more complex plot and we were also trying to remain within the typical conventions of the thriller genre. This meant that we each contributed even more so during this project as it was important that we each considered this film as being a thriller. The conventions that we were mostly focused on were featuring a protagonist and an antagonist, a moody and frightening setting and tension and suspense. The hooded figure that Jess played in this film was our antagonist while myself and Molly played the protagonist characters. We represented this by following the two girls at the beginning and including POV shots representing their perspectives, therefore building some sort of understanding and remorse between the characters and the viewers. Jess (the antagonist) was represented through moody lighting in the aim of presenting her as an evil or dangerous character. We also used the prop of her hooded jacket to introduce an element of enigma to the character as her face is never fully revealed to the audience. We also introduced elements of suspense and tension through the mood setting and tone of the scene which we edited in the post-production stage. We also used fast cuts and camera movements to increase the pace of the film and therefore maintain anticipation within the audience regarding what will happen next. 

During the filming process we decided to include a variety of shots and angles as we felt that, due to the fast pace of the sequence, it would appear more interesting to watch and would build suspense. Therefore we included tracking shots, over the shoulder shots, POV shots, close ups, long pans, low angles and high angles. This helped to increase the tension of the film as it meant that the viewer was more involved in the story as they were seeing different perspectives of the action as it played out. For example when the mysterious figure looks down on the two girls, we decided to use a high angle shot to present her dominance and therefore bring more mystery and danger to the scene. 

Although I feel that this task was somewhat successful in identifying with the themes of a thriller film, there were aspects that did not go as well as I had hoped. For example due to the limited time allowance we were given to make this film, we were not able to shoot the same scene from a large range of different angles which had a negative effect on the continuity of our piece. This also meant that we broke the 180 degree rule in the final product which may have caused confusion within the audience as the perspectives of the two girls were distorted. To prevent this from happening in my final piece I will ensure that I have planned where each shot will be and what angles I will use for each one. We also had issues in making the shots look fluent and professional. An example of this can be seen in the opening shot where the camera shakes as it is turning. I will ensure that this problem does not re-occur in my final piece by repeating shots and scenes until they are fluent and look the best they can.