Skills that I have picked up from making my thriller
1.
Learning how to use a digital camera was vital
in making the film. Learning how to use the camera was simple, however I needed
to find out what I could do with the camera and what my limitations were so I
went around the house and filmed things to see how it would look so that when I
started filming I wouldn’t have any issues. I learnt that this was a good way
to check the film for any imperfections instead of doing it during the editing
2.
I found that it was important to use different
heights in films to get different perspectives on things so I needed to use the
tripod in such a way that it would allow me to use different heights so again
like the camera movement. For example whilst Kieran was getting cooking
utensils out it was at a steady level (eye level) but when he went down to look
in the fridge, I moved the tripod up so that it would be a high angle shot
which means that I was able to make it look like someone was looking down at
him. I went around the house and the areas where I would be shooting and
figured out what heights would be the best and where I should position the
tripod to get the most out of my time with the equipment.
3.
Found out
quite early on in the shoot that taking time with your shots was really
important especially when doing tracking/POV shots as you can have an unsteady
hand and it will look bad and rushed if you don’t take your time. Unfortunately
I didn’t take my time whist doing this as I wanted to finish shoot and make
sure that I had everything filmed. This was my downfall because I realised when
I was editing that it looked sloppy and amateur.
4.
Learning how to use the MAC was difficult.
Having to edit a 2 minute film sounded easy at the start but then I realised
that there was a lot of work that needed to be done for the filming and the
editing and I also realised that it would be quite time consuming too so I made
sure that I gave myself plenty of time to do this as it was something that I
had never done before and I wanted to get it right.
5.
Whilst filming I also realised how different
shots show different meanings for example, if I was going to film a character
to look innocent I would do a high angle to show someone/something looking down
on a someone. I realised that I would need to re-think what I was going to do.
This meant that I would need to focus on some more the reasons behind the shots
and why I was going to do them and what I wanted the audience to feel when
seeing it. For example, I wanted the Girl to look dominant in the last shot of
her standing in the kitchen because she was a dark figure in a light room so I
wanted the audience to feel threatened by her.
Camerawork
1.
To make sure that I was getting all of my shots
right I needed to do test shots to make sure that I got the angles right and
that they all worked together so I did some test shots to make sure they look
alright. This was really important because if the test shots weren’t right then
I would need to re-think my shots for my thriller opening to make sure they
work. For example I used the shots where Kieran was on the iPad as a test shot
because to make that shot work the camera had to be in the exact place to make
the right effect.
2.
Because I needed the shoot to be at night, I had
to wait for it to get to about 5pm before I started shooting. The reason I
wanted it to be dark was so that my thriller wouldn’t be affected if the
continuity was off because if it was dark you wouldn’t notice it as much as you
would if it was light. To overcome any lighting issues I made sure that the
night before I filmed that all the lights were in the right positions and that
they worked where the characters were going to stand. Also the weather depended on the filming too
because I didn’t want anything to interfere with filming because there were
scenes where we were outside and I didn’t want it start raining as it would
mess up the continuity.
3.
The technical things that i had to consider were
things like how the tripod was set up and that the camera was secure on the tripod.
If these things were off then the whole opening would have been wrong. The
tripod legs have to be all the way out or else the camera can look off centre
and not accurate. I found this with some of my shots and I only noticed this
when I started editing the shots that the angle was off.
4.
The spacing for your camera to be in is really
important because if you haven’t got the space for your camera then you not
going to get the desired effect in the shot. This is also important when you
are setting up your tripod because you sometimes have to put the legs in a
certain place for you to get the angle right as well as the spacing. If you are
in a cramped area you need to make sure that you position your camera and your
tripod in such a way that will allow you to film the shot correctly. Learning
how and when to use these specific shots was a big part of making the film as
best as it can be because if you don’t fit the shots together in the proper way
then the audience are going to get confused with the storyline.
Editing
1.
When editing a film on the MAC you need to know
how to use iMovie. To make it the best quality you can then you need to know
how to use iMovie effectively and this will help you to create something that
is of a high quality. It will become very difficult if you are unaware of how
to use it.
2.
Footage is really important because if you don’t
have enough footage then it is not possible for you to create a really in depth
piece because you wouldn’t have a wide range of shots to use. The continuity of the footage is really
important because if the continuity is off then it could disorientate your
audience because one minute it could be day light and the next it could be dark
and this could change throughout the film. For example, you see Kieran walking
outside to look out the door. It’s very dark and it is like this when the
camera turns around to see the Girl in the house. This again was important for
the continuity as it wouldn’t make sense if suddenly it was lighter when they
went outside. This is why it is
important to film everything as soon as possible and not waste any time because
of stupid errors that you have made from not doing the research and planning.
3.
To make sure that your narrative is on course
and makes sense I found it easier to film everything chronologically because
then I wouldn’t get confused as to what goes where when you are editing. The
narrative if the story has to build suspense and this is why I found that it
would be important for me to film things at night than during the day because
then you could create a bigger atmosphere.
4.
Adding the diegetic and non-diegetic sound was
really important to creating tension in the thriller because it builds up the
tension between the characters and the scenes. I was able to have some help
with my music for the thriller as I was unaware of how to use garage band. I
took off the diegetic sound as I found that it would have interfered with the
tension that I wanted to create through the music. The sounds that I used were
mainly violins and percussion instruments.
The tone of the music had to be in a minor key because it creates an
eerier sound. This would make it more dramatic and feel more like you were in a
thriller movie.
5.
Using the transitions helped me to make the
shots smooth and not so static. The main one that I used was the fade to white
because I felt that it was very dark any way so I thought that I would make it
seem more supernatural by adding a lighter tone to it. I found these
transitions really helpful because it allowed me to make the film flow better.
Other technologies that I have learnt to use:
1.
I found that using blogger helped me with my
work because it meant that I was able to use different mediums to present
things in my work.
2.
Using prezis helped me a lot to present my work
because it meant that I could present the work that I had done in a more
interactive way. I found it challenging at first to understand how to upload it
onto my blogger page but then when I got the hand of it I found it easier to
do.
3.
Wordles were very helpful to me because it meant
that I wouldn’t have to just put things in bullet points, I could make it look
more colourful and more interesting. This would also help me to remember what
words go with specific categories in the blogger page.
4.
Youtube helped me to find clips so that I could
analyse them and write information about them and use them to help me revise
for the exams. It also helped to see what thrillers were out there already and
to find out what it was that made them more appealing to the target audience.
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