Evaluation Activity 7

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

When looking back at our preliminary task you can see obvious differences between that and our trailer. For example the mis-en-scene, camera composition, editing and sound. This is due to one being filmed with a much longer time allowing us to make it more advanced, compared to the preliminary task which we were new to and had very limited time to do it involving no planning. With the trailer we were introduced to Adobe Premier Elements and different editing techniques. This allowed us to improve our trailer by adding transitions creating effect, adding music, turning up/down dialogue making certain parts more dramatic and finally cutting shots for a more polished look. Due to not having this technology in our preliminary task we were more vulnerable to jump cuts and a less professional look. Once gaining more knowledge about different types of shots, we could then use them in our trailer to cause tension.

In our preliminary task we used match on action. Here is a close up shot of one of the characters opening the door, then the next shot is the character walking through the door, continuing her stages. This practice allowed us to use match on action in our actual trailer. As you can see, the victim Charlotte has a close up of her getting her earphones out, then the next shot is from a side angle of her putting the earphone in. We then edited this in Adobe Premier Elements to make more seamless movements following the continuity rules. We used match on action as it emphasises that certain moment made by the character and makes it even more dramatic. For example,with our trailer it focused on the earphones which in this case creates tension as the audience felt a sense of worry in case she couldn't hear her surroundings which we knew were dangerous; this makes the victim even more vulnerable.

In our preliminary task we used the 180 degree rule. Although we never used this in our trailer due to our genre and specific scene it still taught us to be more careful about the camera angles making our trailer more successful. We felt that by not using the 180 degree rule was a good choice as we were not confident enough about it and didn't want to make our trailer look inexperienced which subverts to match on action as we found that was efficacious and simple to use.

As you can see in our trailer we have improved our camera shots by using a wider range. Here is an over the shoulder shot. We used this as it allowed the audience to see what the character can see when she suddenly hears a noise. It would get the audience engaged as when she turns around will somebody be there or not? As well as this it shows the location and the fact that nobody is around. It could add enigmas. If its quiet why is she hearing noises?

Here we used a long shot of a two person shot. This proves our progression and knowledge on more wider range of shots. For example, we used this two person shot as it was when the antagonist and victim first met. This alerts the audience that the victim is not alone and trouble is just around the corner. As well as this when it reaches the climax and the antagonist is introduced again the audience is shocked as they recognise the antagonist due to this quick shot that they thought meant nothing.

Overall, from the preliminary task I found that I did learnt a lot due to incorporating certain shots, allowing us to work as a team and practicing using the camera to make certain shots look more high quality allowing the audience to make assumptions. For example, using a high angle shot to show the little power a character has. As well as this it mentally allowed us to feel more confident when filming our trailer and improve or practice any mistakes.