Evaluation 7

The camerawork in our preliminary task isn't too bad, but the shots we decided to use aren't very adventurous and, due to issues with continuity, the editing isn't perfect.
However, in our thriller, we tried to use more interesting shot types, such as the tracking shot, the slider and the unusual idea that he looks into the camera as if it's the computer screen. The camerawork in our thriller was more effecttive when trying to create suspense because it doesn't reveal the whole situation too soon, however, part of this comes from the better use of the mise-en-scene.
The darkened room, with mostly blue and green colours, doesn't replicate an ordinary situation and so this keeps the audience in anticipation; asking where the boy is and what he's doing.
Editing our thriller was more challenging than editing our preliminary task because it doesn't have much of a narrative in the sequence. In our preliminary task, there are three characters and the scene has a journey whereas with our thriller, it does have a journey, but it's harder to narrate, less obvious and is much shorter. This meant that we used a lot less of our footage than what we intended, which was a shame but there would be no point in using footage which didn't aid the sequence.

Throughout this experience, I've gained a lot of knowledge about filmmaking; it's harder than it seems.
I enjoyed being able to use a professional camera and having the opportunity to create something completely from scratch has been really exciting. If I were to go through this process again, I would plan a sequence with a much clearer narrative and would use more than one character because I think speech is something which obviously lacked in our thriller- we had originally planned to have a voiceover but we simply ran out of time.
I enjoyed working with my group because we all played a useful part in the creation of our thriller, so I would be happy to work with them again, but I think it would be useful (and fun) to switch roles and to try things which push us out of our comfort zones. We definitely played to our strengths when distributing tasks and so it would be good to mix it up and by doing so, develop strengths in other areas.

We found it hard to find a soundtrack which accompanies our footage well- originally we were going to create our own music- so if I were to do this task again, I would start looking for music much earlier in the process to ensure that we don't fall behind with it.
With regard to appealing to our target audience, it wasn't too challenging, for a few reasons.
Firstly, our target audience is teenage boys and so we could easily research what appeals to them and could get feedback after they watched our thriller. Secondly, because we chose to make a techno thriller, we could easily get the props, such as laptops, iPads and monitors, because we live in such a technology-centred society.

I've learnt how to execute more creative shots and in particular, I've learnt how to do a focus pool- something which I've always thought looked really cool. The most prominant thing I've learnt from the preliminary task is how to use a camera and tripod, set up and alter the lighting and how to create an interesting a realistic set. From making our thriller, the main thing I've learnt is how to effectively edit footage and how to create titles from scratch.
As well as learning practical skills, I've also learnt the importance of research and how to manage a project. Making our thriller took a lot of organisation; however it wasn't as organised as it could've been, but making this mistake has emphasised the importance of organisation and means that the next time I make a media product, I will be more organised and will plan much further in advance to ensure that we don't run out of time.