Preliminary Project

 Pre-Production:
I was unable to join in on our whole groups preliminary project,so I had to do mine by myself, in which I enlisted the help of my friends whilst I focused on the filming and production aspect. I started with an idea,in this case I chose to do something original and humorous for example, the props were used to mimic other objects to make the situation funny, as he is playing Russian Roulette with a banana, whilst she continues to eat the pear another piece of fruit, not used for anything but eating, unlike the banana; making sure I included all the necessary camera movements I needed, shot reverse shot, 180 degree rule and a match cut. I then created a story board which mapped out the time on each shot and the style of each shot, e.g close up, mid shot etc. With the story board I then planned out how to keep the continuity of each shot, by keeping the lights on and having certain objects in the same place throughout shooting. I then instructed the "actors", on where they would seat and act for the filming process and using the Year 13's advice I made sure the camera was fully charged, kept as steady as possible via the use of a tripod, and I made sure it was filmed in one day to keep continuity. Before filming I also looked at previous preliminary projects, and noticed most of them were rather repetitive, but shot well, so I tried to use a different idea/storyline but imitate the level of some of the productions.
  Production:
Despite planning the production there were still some issues with filming, firstly the "actors" weren't to enthusiastic to participate in it at first, so I had to motivate them to start the filming. I then briefed the "actor"s on what they would be doing and started production, however due to filming at home, it was difficult to keep all the noises in the background the same, so this may be evident in the final film, however it was a variable I could not control. It took slightly longer to film than I expected, I allotted 20 minutes for the whole process, but took half an hour but this was due to the uncooperative nature of the "actors" at first. From completing this preliminary task I now know that when it comes to making the thriller, I will make sure any variables are easier to control, and that I include "actors" who are more willing to participate and more serious about the projects as a whole. If I were to do this preliminary task again I would make sure that I allowed myself more time to complete it, and that I would use the tripod for more scenes as the handheld, although convenient, doesn't have the smooth transactions/motions that I wanted.
    Post-Production:
During the editing of the video I had some issues trying to organize the many clips I had, so I could choose the best ones to include in my film, this also included making sure all the shots had good continuity in them, or as much as I could solve, I then had to become familiar with the editing software (Pinnacle), but after that it was easy enough to edit and navigate the program. Through the editing process I learnt the basics; how to cut the clips at the right place, keep the pace up, and how to get rid of unnecessary pauses. I also, although I didn't include it in my preliminary, how to add titles, use different transitions, add sound and add pictures to the footage. All of these techniques could be useful in the thriller we will be making. The audience feedback for my project was varied, some people liking it and finding it funny, and others not understanding what it was or just simply not liking it at all. However I was lucky in the sense that most people thought it was well edited as it included all the necessary shots, and had a good pace, but the only technical aspects that needed working on was the camera, as pole said the quality wasn't very good, which I can rectify with using a better camera for my thriller. Overall I am pleased with my preliminary it isn't as sharp as I would have liked it, but it has the originality and humour which I like, and hopefully is at a high enough standard for the marking criteria .