Evaluation

At the start of the term we started the unit Video, where we were told we had to make the opening of a thriller lasting three minutes. We got into our groups; me, Charlie and Sam, and started to plan the rough outline of what we wanted to happen in the opening. We came up with a story board, looking and exploring different thriller conventions and once we had done that we filmed our thriller, using a Sony Z1 camera, having six and a half weeks to film and edit it all together to get our final product.


We first did the filming for our opening in one of the first weeks where we were given our assignment, however this didn’t go as we had planned because the actors we used didn’t play their roles well, and we used a baby and an animal, which ended terribly because we weren’t happy with what we was left with when we uploaded the footage onto the computer. We then re-shot the whole of our opening and got two new actors, Amy Carvell and Joe Thompson. We were a lot happier with our final footage we had captured and overall glad that we decided to re-shoot it. However not everything went as we planned, for example when we went to use the equipment we realised that we wasn’t given a base plate, but considering the circumstances we were able to keep the camera really steady and still achieve shots panning without any major jolts. We also used good use of the lighting to make sure it wasn’t too light outside and too dark inside to help add atmosphere to the thriller overall. We also decided to film our thriller in the daytime, which is not popular when doing a thriller; however we thought it would work better because then the shots were exposed properly and help make it more realistic and seem like something that does happen every day.


To edit our thriller we used Final Cut Pro, where we first got the basic sequence for our thriller and then had it approved by our teacher before we started to do the edits to it such as the titles, the music and audio peaks. Once we were happy with it we imported our movie into a program called Soundtrack Pro where we listened to parts of music tracks and put them together so that the music had enough tension and suspense in the exact places that we wanted and so that it fitted perfectly with our thriller. We also then added some non-diegetic sound to the soundtrack, such as the sound of the camera clicking and the voicemails, so that the audience found it more believable. Once we had finished the rough cut we started to include cross dissolves to help add tension, like when it goes to a blank screen before the parts of her dead body are shown. We then downloaded the font for the writing we wanted from the Internet and used that for the titles of our thriller because we thought the writing would fit better and help set the atmosphere for the very first shot. When we got near to finishing our opening for the thriller we changed the audio peaks to make sure that none of the sound was distorted and if it was we took down the audio. Near the end of the project we then got taught, by the technician, how to de-interlace and export our final thrillers.


Everyone in the group took turns in filming different shots so that we all got equal amounts of time. However we still gave ideas to each other about how to do certain shots or if they thought that another angle would look better. When we edited it together as a group we all put forward ideas, even if we didn’t use them in our final product, about different things we could change or maybe add to make it better overall. Also when we was deciding on the music we had a lot of trouble and different ideas about what the music should sound like, however finally decided to go with something that wasn’t too happy and relaxed but at the same time wasn’t too spooky either, because it wouldn’t fit with our story line and would take away from realism of it overall. I think the music we chose worked well because it fitted perfectly with our thriller and their actions but also worked well because it wasn’t too loud or have too many sounds going on at once with the action that was going on at the same time. When we were filming, we used all of the equipment that we took out to its potential; the camera, tripod and boom microphone, to make sure we captured all of the diegetic sound, such as the tap running and them walking down the road, as well as the dialogue and made sure that the shots were steady and looked professional.


What worked well was also the sequence near the beginning, with the juxtaposition between the happy and sad moments the couple had together, because it was shocking as well as disturbing for the audience to watch. Even when we showed the class our work some of their reactions while watching it seemed generally shocked and disturbed by the scenes. We decided to also use a special effect; ghosting, at the end of our thriller to add a different dimension to the story and make the audience think why that was included and for all of them to come to their own conclusions about what it symbolises. Other members from our class also liked the variety of shots we used, for example the bag cam and fridge cam, however they also thought we might have revealed too much and had a lot going on in our three minute opening.


I think we worked well as a team and all contributed to the ideas for the final product, however we could have edited it tighter, so that shots, like the freeze-frames of her dead body, were shown for longer to help build up more tension for the audience. We also dealt with having to change the technicalities’ for the bag cam and fridge cam because we used a DV camera instead of a HD camera, so to upload it onto the computer we had to change all of the settings and how we captured it before it could be included in our opening. We also realised that when we watched our final footage back on the server that for some of our scenes the curtains were open and some they were closed, so to get around this we edited it so it looked like different times that he was beating her up and make it more shocking for the audience.


If I was able to go back and do things differently I would firstly spend more time on the first shot making sure we was happy with our shots and what we being shown in them, however saying that we were more satisfied with what we achieved the second time round. I would also change how long some of the scenes were, like the opening scene where we pours the tea and also when he’s changing tops, because it slows down the whole opening slightly because everything else is so fast paced. Another thing I think I would have liked to change is including less scenes in the opening and drag other scenes out longer, like the shots of her dead body, so that it feels a lot more like an opening of the film and doesn’t give too much away too quickly, but to also cause a lot more suspense and tension.


Our thriller also includes quite a few of the thriller conventions, for example there is very little dialogue, only when they are shouting at each other, to help show the flaws in their relationship, but also to help build the tension for the rest of the opening. Also we include some point of view shots and shaky shots, like when he is coming down the stairs and punching the camera to make it more realistic to the audience. Another thriller convention we use is the cliff-hanger at the end when we make the killer disappear, because when we showed the class, they all came up with different opinions and views about why we did it. Generally we got good feedback from our classmates about the shots we used and included and the suspense that we caused to get the audience off the edge of their seats. We also tried to include different techniques, like the ghosting effect and include thriller conventions so that it would fit and look likes an actual opening to a thriller.