Looking back at your preliminary

task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full

product?

The preliminary task was a great opportunity to practice the different techniques we would need to use when actually filming. It gave us a

chance to experiment with different shots and angles and enabled us to

test out the school’s editing programme, Adobe Premiere Pro, for

the first time.

Although the preliminary task was not difficult to master, I feel that it allowed me to get to grips

with what I would be working with later on in the year. As the preliminary task was the first time we were properly able to use the equipment and film, I was able to get a slight taste of what filming our thriller would actually feel like; including allowing me to discover the different problems that may

arise on the actual night of filming and throughout the editing process.

For our preliminary task, Rachel and I did not create a storyboard or script, therefore when it came to the filming of it, we were unprepared

and had to improvise. This caused the filming to take longer than it should’ve of taken as we were pondering over what should be said and

what angles we should use. Therefore, before filming the real thing, Rachel and I created a precise, detailed storyboard, which included

pictures and dialogue as well as the different props that would be needed on set and what type of lighting we would use. We found that this

enabled us to get through filming a lot quicker and easier. Although we did not stick to the exact storyboard, we still stuck to the majority of it

and as it was so detailed, it was easy to figure out what we needed to do without many problems. We fully intended to stick to the storyboard,

however on the night, things panned out differently and some shots were taken away, whilst others were added in.

Whilst filming our preliminary task, although it would’ve taken us quicker to finish if we created

a storyboard, we still managed to meet the deadline, as it was only a short piece of work.

On the other hand when filming our actual thriller, Rachel and I had to stick to a schedule as our main actress had to leave by a certain

time. Unfortunately, we did not manage to finish filming that day and therefore, we had to

arrange another day to film.

On the second day of filming, Rachel and I wrote a specific schedule of what shots we

would film and estimated how long it would take to film them. Thankfully, this detailed schedule

helped us immensely and Rachel and I were able to stick to the timings, even having a few

minutes to spare!

In our preliminary task, although we were only filming a short conversation, we decided to play around with the lights a little. We used two key lights in the room. However, when we looked back on our recording we realised the lighting

was overexposed. Although this was not a major issue considering it was only our preliminary task, we had to ensure that in our actual title

sequence, the lighting would be perfect.

On the first day of filming, as we filmed in the middle of a pitch black forest at night, we had to use a 50 metre

extension cable in order for the red-head light to reach the set. Manoeuvring the lights around proved to be a difficult task and therefore from what we filmed on the first day,

our lighting was not as perfect as we wanted it to be. However, on the second night of filming Rachel and I

filmed at my house. This time, because we had learnt from our mistakes in both the preliminary task and our first night of filming, Rachel and I were able to master the

lighting with barely any trouble at all.

When filming our preliminary task, it was easy to organise our crew as there was only our friend Amy, Rachel and I. The task was very short and didn’t require much organisation and a big crew.

However, when filming our actual thriller we needed help occupying the children, pitching the

tents, creating the campfire and so on. Rachel and I managed to form a little crew of our friends and family who helped us sort out all these problems.

We mainly communicated through text, emails and Facebook. Rachel and I however had to constantly stay in contact throughout

the preparation, the filming and the production process. We mostly communicated through text and Facebook, constantly letting each other know when we had come up with

new ideas.

In the preliminary task, I did most of the filming, whilst Rachel and Amy were the actresses. Editing was split evenly between the three of us. For our actual thriller, the filming and editing was split

evenly between us, but we still had different jobs that we each took care of. For example, Rachel

was the one who booked the location, whilst I was the one who found all the music.

In the preliminary task, the actresses and myself were the only people involved in the filming and

editing process. From my group, I was the only one who was not on camera so Rachel and Amy were

the decided actresses. Since we were filming during school time, we just wore what we usually

wear to school. However, Amy was wearing a hoodie and since she was playing quite a

menacing character, she lifted up her hood to make her look more intimidating.

We didn't use many props in our preliminary task, as it was a simple conversation.

However, we did use a table and chairs to make it look more like a business meeting. As a result of our lack of attention to detail,

the preliminary task ended up looking average, as the actresses, location,

costumes and props were not properly thought out.

In our actual thriller however, the actors, location, costumes and props were all very central towards our film. We had difficulty managing the

actresses in our thriller. For the main actress, we needed to find someone who was willing to play such an obscure character. This was

particularly hard to do as she was to be played by a woman. Additionally, we had to have loads of little girls on our set. It was hard to find young actresses whose parents were willing for their children to

stay out late at night and film a thriller in the middle of the woods. However, after asking our sisters and friends if we could ‘borrow’ their

friends for the evening; since the parents knew who we were, they were happy to oblige. We communicated by emails to sort out specific

details, and in the end, everything worked out perfectly.

The location was one of the first things we sorted out. Since Rachel works for

Brownies she was easily able to secure our chosen location and we could go there

and film any time we wanted, free of charge. The costumes were also simple as Rachel gathered all the spare uniform she

could find in the Brownies storage cupboard.

We created our own props from household items. For example, the bottle of chloroform was

in fact an empty medicine bottle with a label printed from the Internet. As our preliminary task was not well prepared, we were able to

realize from that what a major difference paying attention to details could do and therefore, in the actual film, we ensured everything was

though out precisely.

In both our preliminary task and actual thriller, Rachel and I ensured our editing was continuous. Continuity is a major aspect that needs to be taken care of whilst both filming and editing. Part of continuity editing is ensuring you stick to the 180-degree rule. Although we re-filmed it, Rachel and I initially broke the 180-degree rule in our preliminary task. Therefore we had to make sure than

when filming the actual thriller, we stuck to this rule. We managed to do so successfully as we had learnt from

the initial mistake we had made in our preliminary task.

In conclusion, I believe that because the preliminary task allowed us to experiment with the equipment and editing programme, we were able to manage

this aspect of filmmaking much quicker when filming our actual thriller. Additionally, it made me realise the importance of paying attention to detail

in terms of storyboarding, lighting, costumes, location etc. The preliminary task allowed me to

develop my skills in filmmaking and organisation, which helped me a lot when making the actual film.