G321 Evaluation Question 7: Looking back at your preliminar y task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
â– I feel that from completing my preliminary task, I have progressed a great amount. From working with my group in my preliminary task, it gave me the chance to figure out individuals handle certain situations. This helped a great deal when planning and filming my thriller opening with the same group since I was able to ensure we worked in the most effective way possible. During the planning process for my preliminary task we found that our main weakness was time management and organisation. We found that we spent too much time deciding on our ideas rather than filming it. For example, there was a point in the film where we had to improvise with dialogue since we were not organised and forgot to plan what would be said. For my final production, we found that we were all able to work a lot better together. This was probably due to us all having a stronger relationship with each other from working on our preliminary. This meant we were felt more confident in sharing ideas and bringing up any issues we had. As a result, it meant we could work effectively together. We found we were all had different strengths and were able to bring these together to produce our final product. For example, I was able to produce a significant amount of the planning & Charley was able to effectively plan costume and music.
â– When coming up with initial ideas/concepts for our thriller opening idea, my group and I all came up with a very in-depth plot based around a party. We thought we could have based it on a girl who gets extremely drunk at a party and manipulated by a man. This man would have pressured the girl into taking drugs and then put her into a car boot and driven off with her. We realised in the planning process that although this was a very good idea, with the amount of time we had, this would not be a possible option. This was because it would have required a large cast, a planned location, a car etc. We then had only a small amount of time left to rethink of an idea, however, by all working together we managed to successfully come up with the idea which was then produced in our final production. From this scenario, I discovered that a thriller plot is not necessarily the most important part but it is rather how it is presented through the use of editing, locations, character types etc. For example, the first 2 minutes of Essex Boys consists of Billy walking into a derelict garage and getting into a car, this on its own would be very boring for the audience to watch and they would become uninterested very quickly. However, it is the use of noir lighting and the appearance of Jason through a muddied windscreen that sets the menacing tone.
■I found that research is a very important part in the planning process. When planning my preliminary task I did no research, I found that this then limited me in my ideas as I only had a small amount of knowledge. Learning from this, I decided to then complete a few different case studies which then meant I had a better understanding of the thriller genre and was able to incorporate these conventions into my own thriller opening. I looked at a range of different styles of thrillers for instance film Noire such as Once upon a time and The Third man, to more contemporary drama styles such as Essex Boys. This was so I could understand and learn the different generic locations which are associated to the thriller genre. My case studies allowed me to gain knowledge on generic conventions which are associated to the thriller genre. For example the lonely, abundant isolated locations such as the marshes in Essex boys and the dark alley ways and streets presented in the Third Man. I did find that I wasn’t able to complete as many case studies as I would have liked to.
â– From filming my preliminary task I was able to develop my camera filming skills. This is evident since in my preliminary task I used lots of medium shots which were pretty basic and not very exciting however, in my thriller film I used lots of different shots that had more meaning. For example, I used a pan shot when Lilly was discovered on the bed, this adds more tension for the audience as they do not know what they are about to see next. The camera quality also improved from my preliminary since shots were more controlled and less shaky in my thriller. â– The use of flashbacks is also a new skill that my group and I have developed compared to the preliminary task where none were used. Flashbacks are an effective way of getting depth of a story, which is what we needed to help the audience have a sufficient understanding. â– There were a few different problems we had when shooting. For example the weather. Since there were several locations and lots of content for us to create, it took us several days of filming to get it all. Due to the times of us all being free to film, it meant the days and times were different each time of us filming. This meant that the weather was different on each day of filming and the lighting was also. I feel as though this was handled quite well since it is not made completely obvious. Another issue was the costume. From filming over different days it meant that those who appeared in the film had to remember to try and look as similar as they possibly could each time we filmed. This was obviously quite hard to achieve, so there are a few clips in the film where this is not followed however again, I do not believe this is fully noticeable. Since we were all available and unavailable at different times, it meant there were some days of filming where a certain person may not have been able to attend, because of this it meant we had to use two memory cards to film. This was ok during the filming process however, when it came to editing it was a little more confusing to identify which clips were on which memory card.
■ In my preliminary task we found that the first time we filmed the 180 degree rule was broken, this meant we then had to re-film some of our clips so we complied with the rule. We learnt from this and made sure that when filming our thriller opening we were careful not to break the rule. These different shot types enabled me to achieve a tense and cliff-hanging thriller film. ■ I feel as though I have definitely made a sufficient amount of progress with my knowledge of thriller films from my preliminary task to now. For example, when carrying out my preliminary task I did not think about character types or camera angles in depth. I also had done no research on conventions of any genre of film, this therefore prevented me from being able to include hidden messages. For example, high angle shots allow the audience to look down on a character, signifying lack of power. I also never thought about asking different audiences what they thought of my preliminary film which would have allowed me to write about it in more depth and improved the film itself. In my thriller however, I created a questionnaire which is visible on my blog which asks individuals about how they found my film. This then enabled me to make any small improvements to my thriller that I could. ■ On the whole, I believe that I have progressed an extremely large amount from the beginning of the year up to now. As this is my first year ever studying media I thought I may be at a disadvantage to those who had previously studied media for GCSE however, I believe that I have been able to catch up and learn everything at a level that is just as good as others. Not only have I improved practically but also academically. Through this practical task and my preliminary task I have found that I have learnt a lot that will benefit me in the future. For example, I have learnt key terminology, conventions, how to be more creative when presenting work, etc. From the topic of my thriller it has given me the chance to find out more about mental health and cyber bullying, both topics of which are very relevant and important to be informed about in today’s society. To conclude, I believe I have made a production that I am able to be proud of.