Evaluation Question 7

The Preliminary Task allowed me to explore different camera shot types and using each camera type so that it made sense with what I was trying to show , this progressed when I did my final product because  I thought about how I wanted my audience to feel whilst watching the film so the Preliminary task helped with this. It also made realize that film-making process isn't easy, every shot used and editing done to the clip will determine the whole product. However the preliminary task helped me to become more prepared and confident for when I did my final piece. Which was very beneficial.

   

These two images are showing an 'over the shoulder' camera shot. The image at the top is from the preliminary task and it was much harder to achieve than the right image which is from the horror film opening which was much easier compared to the prelim one. Both images are showing the same shot but the meanings are completely different. For the preliminary task we wanted to show the teacher character who can be seen the most in the shot as the superior character to all the rest because we are looking over a student's shoulder we see the teacher in full and feel his authority and importance. Although the meaning of the shot is clear it wasn't easy to achieve, whilst filming we faced different problems including the positioning of the camera, the proxemics between the characters etc. But these problems were all overcome. The horror film 'over the shoulder shot' was also quite a struggle to achieve at the start but we wanted to show the character as an innocent victim of her own thoughts , in the shot you see that image she draws is the same as the dream she had so the audience will have a different reaction to the girl. This is what we wanted to achieve through the use of the 'over the shoulder shot'.

    

The images above show the 'two shots' from both the preliminary task and the horror film opening. As you can see the images are different from each other and suggest different things. The two shot used in the preliminary task on the left you see both characters, teacher and student. The shot shows the teacher standing and the student sitting down so you can see the different levels between the characters which also so which character has the more authoritative role. In this shot we wanted the teacher to be more superior to the student and this is shown because the student is sitting down showing that she is weaker compared to her teacher. However the bottom image which is taken from the horror film opening you can see both characters laying on the ground so the audience see both characters at a vulnerable and weak position compared to the superior teacher character in the top image. The image at the bottom is showing two dead characters. This was also emphasized by the use of a pan so you could see both the characters dead facial expressions. Achieving the 'two shot' was easier during the preliminary task compared to the horror film opening because in the horror film opening a pan was also incorporated into the shot so this made the two shot less achievable.

    These images are very similar as they both show clocks so suggest the passing of time in both scenes. Although both images show very simple close ups they were equally as hard to record right during shooting. The top image taken from the preliminary task was difficult to get right because we only wanted to show the clock in the camera frame not the whole watch and because we were restricted from using 'zoom' on the camera this made the close up really hard to achieve. Because of the difficulty we had when recording the watch during the preliminary task we knew we had to make adjustments when recording the alarm clock for the horror film. So we removed all the things that were surrounding the alarm clock so you could only see the alarm clock in the camera frame , we also switched the light off to create a creepy atmosphere which conforms with horror film conventions.

   

These final images taken from the preliminary task and the horror film opening show two varied shots. In the top image you see the teacher from the preliminary task at the forefront of the camera and the audience is looking at him from a lower angle. We used a low angle in this shot to emphasize the teacher's superiority to the rest of the characters and as the low angle was taken at quite a close angle the audience will also feel the teacher's authority as they watch his character from this angle. However in the horror film we altered this shot so that it would conform with the conventions of a horror. Instead of just filming the main character at a low angle my group and I decided that we wanted to create a disorientated feeling and make the audience feel uncomfortable. So to portray this we decided to use a tilt and shoot her character from bottom to top , slowly introducing her character to the audience. As the two cut out images from the horror film show, we filmed Carolina from her feet upwards.This will build tension and create disorientation which is a vital element for a horror movie so the audience feel discomfort.

preparing for the preliminary task was much more concise and brief compared to the main task the horror film opening where we really thought about our ideas , researched the horror conventions and mapped out the location , characters, props etc. Whereas in the preliminary task we did no research as we weren't targeting a specific audience but just using the task as practice for the horror film opening. During the whole shooting process for the preliminary tasks it really hit me how important the mass time we had to prepare for the film opening was. When we were shooting for the task it took us quite a while just to find a spare room so because of the large amount of time we had for the film opening we were able to plan the location, characters and other necessities. The preliminary task taught me a lot about planning and timing and how crucial they are to achieve the perfect product.