29/11/2015

Sunday 29th November 2015

Today, a week before we have scheduled to film, my group and I started to think about possible locations for filming. We have come up with 3  possible locations which would fit our storyline:

• My house
• Izzy's House
• Tammy's House
• Our friend, Frankie's house.

We have already ruled out Izzy's house, as she informed us that there wouldn't be enough filming space and so this could be difficult for us to move around with all the equipment, however, in a later post I will evaluate this further.

So, we plan to take recce shots of all the houses, in order to see which one is more suited to the task in hand. This will be done during the week, and decided ready for filming next Sunday.

Props

Prop Planning

My group and I have thought of appropriate props to use throughout our opening thriller sequence. Our aim is to use props to enhance the narrative and create a more tense and suspense atmosphere.

Prop 1: Mirrored Cabinet containing pills and other drug related objects
Ideally, we would like the antagonist to look into a mirrored cabinet and so the reflection will allow the audience to see the character looking at himself, whilst the audience are presented with an over the shoulder shot which I believe will look particularly effective, portraying how he knows the monster has become. However, the location we choose to film may not include a mirrored cabinet, so we may have to improvise with a mirror and a separate cupboard. The pills, pill bottles and needles will be shown when the cabinet is opened. This will convey the sense that our character is almost possessed with a condition which medicine and drugs alone cannot cure, but this will be at the very beginning of the narrative which will add to the narrative enigma as the audience don't yet know why he has this strange obsession with girls, and how this will play such a huge part in the storyline.
 
Prop 2: A watch and unusual ring
The watch and unusual ring technically are classed as costume, but also come under props as well. This is because the watch will help to indicate the focal point of the narrative, which will be time. An unusual ring will also help to indicate that this character isn't normal, and so certain weird objects are going to help convey this and add to the narrative enigma.

Prop 3: A red pen
Although this prop may seem fairly insignificant, it isn't. This is because we aim to show flashbacks whereby the audience will be presented with the antagonist crossing out the girls faces in red pen, to show he has murdered them. However, the audience will not know this, and so again this aspect will create tension and suspense in the opening sequence.


Prop 4: A record player/CD player
If we are able to get hold of one, we believe a record player would be very effective. This is because it will appear to the audience that non diegetic classical music is playing, but then the antagonist will go over and stop the music from playing, so really it will be diegetic music. The classical music will create suspense and add an extra element of tension to the opening thriller sequence.  

Prop 5: Photos of girl's faces, newspaper clippings and missing people posters for the wall
On the antagonists bedroom wall, we are going to put up random newspaper articles, missing posters, but most importantly the photographs of the girl's faces which will all have red crosses through them, except from one, which will be the victim's face. This will be especially effective for the audience as this wall is a huge indication and insight into the antagonist's life. This conveys to the audience that the antagonist is obsessed with girls, a murderer and a stalker, but they will wonder as to why he displays them on his bedroom wall, portraying his twisted character. 

Costume Planning

Costume for our the opening thriller sequence

We would like the antagonist to wear something
 similar to this, but slightly more casual.

The antagonist



The victim will wear
 something similar to this outfit

As a group, we have decided to dress our character (played by Evan) in smart, black attire to reflect his dark thoughts and mood. This could be a smart shirt and jeans. He will be immaculately dressed to depict the character's OCD traits which will present his behaviour as deviating from the norm. Dressing an antagonist in dark costume is a typical convention of a thriller because it doesn't really tell the audience anything about the character or their personality, and also presents them as being mysterious and sinister. The character will also be wearing a watch, which will act as a prop, but also convey part of his personality and how the theme of time is a focal point in the narrative.
 

The victim

Again, my group and I have decided to dress the victim in normal clothes, such as jeans and a top/jumper. This character will be played by myself. This will convey to the audience the innocence of this character, and how she doesn't expect to be in this situation. The victims costume will strongly contrast the formality of the antagonists costume showing how he is prepared for the situation, expecting the victim to arrive at his house. 

Planning and research for the Titles

Title research and planning for our opening sequence

My group and I conducted a survey in order to obtain information about the best titles to include in our opening sequence. It is important to ask the audience what their preferred type of titles are, as these are the people we need to please.

Our questionnaire is shown below:





After handing our surveys to a random sample of 20 people each (both students, teachers and family members) I collated my data with the other members in my group in order to draw some conclusions, to help indicate the types of titles we should include.

 

From the research we established that the majority of people would prefer to see the titles appearing throughout the opening sequence, over the top of the action. This is important because it signifies that this is an opening sequence, and not the middle or the end. This will affect our production as we agree with this result, and believe it will be the best option to make our opening sequence appear sleek and professional. As well as this, our survey showed that the audience would prefer to have a sans serif font. Again, we agree with this result as the font will look sleek, crisp and professional, without distracting away from the on-going action.

 

With regards to the main title for our thriller, my group and I came up with 5 different titles which we thought would be best suited to the narrative. Unorthodox was the most popular name, with the majority of people surveyed choosing this as there preferred title. Among my group members, this was our favourite title and so we were very pleased that our audience preferred this one.

 

The definition of unorthodox: 'contrary to what is usual, traditional, or accepted'

 

This title therefore reflects the character in our narrative, as he most certainly displays abnormal behaviour, which is indicated to the audience right from the beginning of our narrative, but the title will really help to emphasise it. I will take inspiration from another students opening sequence to a thriller named 'Torn' as I thought these titles were particularly effective and well executed.

The titles for the opening thriller sequence of 'Torn' has inspired me.

 



Actors

Actors for our final task

For the antagonist role, my group and I casted Evan Jones, aged 18 to act in our opening thriller. We believe he is the best person to act in our opening thriller as he will definitely take the role seriously and perform to the best of his ability. He is an experienced actor who has played many roles within his school career during GCSE and A-level, as well as performing with independent theatre groups, therefore enabling him to use his expertise to play any role exceptionally well. After discussing our ideas with Evan, he has agreed with the idea of creating suspense and tension to help us achieve the best grade we can. 

The role of the victim will be played by myself. My group and I decided that I would take the role seriously and be confident enough in front of the camera in order to portray this role well. I also have common attributes of a victim in a thriller, such as having blonde hair and blue eyes to convey a believable representation of the characters innocence in the narrative, and that the antagonist is targeting ordinary, innocent girls. On top this, Evan and I have a friendship outside this task which will enable us to act and work well together.

First storyboard of final idea

Brief storyboard of the final idea

My aim for this week was to have completed the first story board. Although this storyboard is quite vague, we produced it in order to picture what each scene will look like, as well as ensuring that my group and I had the same idea of what the finished footage should look like. Later on in the stages of planning, we will produce a more detailed storyboard with a more thorough analysis of the shots and transitions, as well as details on the music chosen and voiceovers used. As there are 3 members of my group, coinsidently we were all able to produce one page of the storyboard each. 

The first page of the story board portrays the first parts of the narrative. Different shots are incorporated, such as establishing shots, extreme close ups and over the shoulder shots. These shots will be confirmed on our final, more detailed storyboard.

 

Here, we have drawn each shot to show the different stages in the narrative, incorporating more long shots and flash backs, with also non-diagetic sounds.

Here, we have shown where our two characters will meet, exchanging a few lines of dialogue. The titles will then appear.

Audience responce to the new idea

Qualitative Audience response data to the new plot idea

Person 1

Person 2

Person 3

 

Describe how the plot makes you feel?

Person 1: The plot makes me feel intense and I feel like the final footage will make me feel very suspense.

Person 2: I really want to find out more, and find out who the girls were and why he targets these girls.

Person 3: I felt very engaged and the plot is very confusing, which is good because a thriller is meant to make the audience feel on edge.

How this affects my production: This means that as long as we carry out this idea and follow the plot when filming, then the audience will be engaged and want to find out more.
 

What could be changed to make this opening scene more effective?

Person 1: There should be more sinister and strange aspects, such as tying the girl up.

Person 2: Black and white would make the thriller opening look particularly eerie and distorted.

Person 3: Dramatic, classical music should be used to make the scene more intense to add tension.

 

How this affects my production: This affects my production because I will be able to include these aspects into my final footage, as there is always room for improvements.

 

Would you want to carry on watching the film to find out what happens next?

Person 1: Yes

Person 2: Yes

Person 3: Yes

 

How this affects my production: This shows that the plot is engaging, and so when we film we will have the confidence that the final footage will be engaging and of good quality.

 

Who would you expect the girl at his door to be, why is she there?

Person 1: A neighbour or someone from the local neighbourhood

Person 2: A girl who he could be tutoring, he could be a tutor of some sort!

Person 3: A girl doing a paper round who gets drawn in.

 

How this affects my production: These ideas can be considered as we still haven't decided how the girls get there. I think that the tutoring idea is good, but I will discuss this with the rest of my group.
 

What do you think the antagonist's occupation could be?

Person 1: The antagonist could tutor girls

Person 2: I think that he is a tutor

Person 3: I think his job isn't connected to the girls going missing.

 

How this affects my production: We couldn't decide as a group how the girls get there, and so this suggests that the tutor occupation is what our plot implies, therefore my group and I will discuss this further and possibly add it into the narrative and background information on the characters.

The new idea

The reconsidered idea: The narrative

I carried out a quantitative audience survey to establish what they  would prefer to see in a thriller. Therefore, my group and I have based our ideas around what the audience would like to see. We have now come up with a new idea, which hopefully, when tested on our audience, they will approve. Here is the storyline my group and I have created:

The main antagonist will come out of the shower, put on his dressing gown, and put on his 

Here I am planning.

watch. He will then make his way over to a cupboard with a mirror in the bathroom. He'll look in the mirror and an over the shoulder shot will allow us to see his face. He puts on a watch and we hear the ticking, which at this point will be very loud. Inside the cupboard there will be rows of pills in bottles and needles. The character will then take one of the pill bottles, and put a pill onto his hand, shown through a close up shot.

He then takes the pill. The ticking sound will then become more muffled and it will represent the noises in his head, to which the medication has now tamed, and emphasises the focal point in the narrative of time.  He will proceed to get dressed into posh attire, such as a suit, and more unusual items of clothing, such as a ring. Then, he will walk into his bedroom where the whole of one wall will be covered in pictures of girls, newspaper clippings and articles about missing people. The rest of his room will be immaculate, almost as if the character has a form OCD, however this wall will contrast the room, as it will be disorganised and full with different artefacts. He will slowly walk alongside the wall, running his hand over the peoples faces. This will be slowed down in editing for effect. The audience will hear voices of news reporters talking about the cases of missing

Part of the unfinished story board and narrative.

girls, including their names, and this will cut to a flashback of a cross being drawn over that girls picture then return to him stroking the wall. The sound of these reports will be slightly muffled and sound out of tune at the end and also mimic strange voices in his head, making him appear disoriented and confused. Finally he will finish at the picture of a girl and smile (in a creepy way at it) and trace is finger across her cheek. Then, a noise will be heard outside, and so the character will cross the room to the window, look outside and the audience will  be presented with the girl in the picture shown on the wall, but she will be stood outside of his house. The camera will follow him through the house until he reaches the door and opens it for her. There will be a brief exchange of dialogue, then the opening sequence will finish.

I have started to complete a storyboard of the narrative to make the filming day run smoothly so that all the shots and locations are decided and thoroughly planned. I plan to finish the storyboard this week, as I didn't have enough time to complete this during my last lesson time.

The mind map of this idea:



Internet Audience research

Internet audience research

I have conducted some internet (secondary) research in order to obtain information about what kinds of people watch thrillers, why they watch them, and awards given for popular thrillers which have been released over the years.

 

Thrillers are watched for entertainment purposes, and are particularly engaging when they are more realistic, based in familiar surroundings for the audience, as well as the characters representing normal people. They storyline must be engaging, creating a strong connection between the characters in the thriller and the audience. Research conducted has shown that thrillers seem to appeal more to women, due to them enjoying the intellectual experience and the abnormal behaviour usually displayed by the characters. Thrillers are also usually rated 18, due to the disturbing images which could give younger children nightmares and have a negative lasting effect on them, and so our target audience could be women over the age of 18. However our opening thriller should appeal to both genders as it will not reveal too much of the storyline in the first 2 minutes.

 

According to the IMDb, the most popular thrillers (voted by users through a numerical scale) are Inception, The Dark Knight rises, Se7en, and The silence of the lambs which are amongst just a few of the classics. Se7en particularly inspired me, as the titles were very well executed and sent a shiver down my spine. Se7en was also nominated for a BAFTA and OSCAR award, but won a Saturn award.

IMDb most voted Thriller feature films.

 

However, according to further research, in 2009, 31 out of the 503 total films released in the UK, the box office only took 4% of the earnings, equalling to £42,578,104. This percentage could be low because thrillers mainly appeal to audiences over the age of 18, as commonly thrillers are rated 18, and so this automatically rules out a high percentage of viewers if they are below the age of 18. This then means that when visiting the cinema, families and younger people visiting with their friends will choose other genres of film over the thriller genre.

 



The URL's used:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booker-prize/8672150/In-a-menacing-world-we-flee-into-thrillers.html

http://www.imdb.com/search/title?genres=thriller&title_type=feature&sort=moviemeter,asc

Research into the thriller genre

Research conducted into the thriller genre and industry

Audience research: What do the audience really want?

What do the audience want to see in a opening sequence to a Thriller?

After deciding that our first idea wouldn't maximise our chances of achieving a high grade, nor did it completely fit the brief, my group and I narrowed down our choices and so I produced a qualitative survey to obtain information about what is essential to be included in our opening sequence. This will help establish our new narrative, and should provide us with a opening thriller sequence that the audience will approve of.

 

Here are the statistics for each question: (sample of 20 people)

 

Question 1- Would you prefer the narrative to be set in a house, a park, or a garage?

This piece of data shows that 80% of people asked said their preferred location would be in a house. This could be because the audience would feel as though a character is safe in their own home, and so this adds to the narrative enigma. I will therefore set my narrative in a house.

 

Question 2- Do you think the antagonist should be male or female?

This clearly shows that the audience would prefer to see a male antagonist. Including a male antagonist in a thriller is a typical convention of this genre, and therefore I will include this aspect in my opening sequence.

 

Question 3- How many characters should be in the opening sequence, 1, 2 or 3?



The favourite number of characters which should be shown in the opening sequence is two. I agree with this number, as this will add suspense and tension to the narrative, where as three characters may become too much for the audience to follow, but I do believe one character could be just as effective. However, we will produce our narrative based on my audience research.

 

Question 4- Should the narrative contain a chase or an eerie/chilling plot?

This data shows that an eerie plot is favoured over a chase. This supports the guidance our teacher gave us about avoiding a chase. An eerie plot should contain more of a narrative enigma, adding suspense and tension for the audience.

 

Question 5- Should there be any non-diegetic music for added effect?

Non-diegetic music will be used due to this data. I agree with the outcome, as the right genre of music can really emphasise the tension in the narrative.

 

Question 6- Should the narrative be set at night or during the day?



 



These results are extremely close, however day time was preferred by 2 more of the people surveyed. I personally think that day time will be better for filming, because the lighting will be better and so we will avoid producing grainy or poorly lit footage. A night time scene would be affective, however the cameras don't film particularly well in the dark and so this should be avoided.

 

How these survey results will affect production:

 

My survey results will affect production and planning because the audience are the people we need to please, and so we should go with what they have suggested, but adapt these results if needed by applying our own knowledge of the media industry, as well as thorough research into the thriller industry. My group and I should therefore produce a high quality opening thriller sequence.



 

First Plot idea: Audience Feedback

Audience feedback for the first plot idea

 

First Plot idea

Initial ideas

Initial Planning 

Initial brainstorm

In order for my group and I to start thinking of ideas for our thriller task, we decided to start brainstorming our ideas, shown on the attached photo below. From our research previously of typical conventions of a thriller, we were able to come up with ideas which we thought would best suit the brief given to us for the task at hand. 

Setting ideas

• A wood
• A Garage 
• A Park 
• A Shed
• A Local enviroment 
• A Shower scene  
• A messy, disorganised setting such as a abnormal bedroom which could suggest the character isn't considered as normal
• A loft 
• A neat, tidy bedroom to show the unusual behaviour by the character

Characters ideas

• Protagonist 
• Antagonist
• A litte girl, on a swing as a ghost
• A psycho man   

Possible Props

• Drugs
• Shower
• Dolls
• Swing/Park setting
• A Knife  

Original brainstorm:

Analysis of a project: Another grade A

Analysis of another students A grade project

The example named 'Torn' is probably my favourite opening sequence out of all the other students work that I have watched. I like that the font of this opening sequence is presented in a white, sans serif font, at different points throughout the opening. The font is very simplistic and so it doesn't distract away from the actors or the setting, especially when an establishing shot is used.

The sans serif font is classic, and doesn't distract away from any of the shots.

The use of non diegetic sound is effective, as prolonged string music is used which adds suspense, combined with the flash edits and random quick inserts of dolls in black and white at various points throughout the opening is very effective. This is because he audience do not know the significance of the dolls in the narrative, and the situation appears to be normal at first, but we soon come to realise it is rather abnormal, and the audience can't quite see what the flashes are, and so the narrative enigma is particularly effective.

An example of the flash edit of a doll, which appears and reappears frequently throughout the opening, at a fast pace. All flashes are in black and white.

The fact that the main character is in his dressing gown and slippers, is normal, but the audience question this factor as it isn't normal to go into a workshop in your dressing gown. We see him carrying out abnormal activities involving dolls which makes the audience wonder why he is so enthused by taking apart dolls and having detailed plans of them in his workshop.

A long shot of the character walking to the workshop, in his dressing gown.

The wide range of camera angles used gives different perspectives of the situation. The opening has been edited to a high, professional standard and flows very well and so the attention of the audience is directed on completely on the character and his actions. This is something I aim to do when I create my thriller. The lighting used is very high key inside and so allows the audience to view what is going on inside, whilst still creating an eerie mood of suspense due to the audience being able to view every detail.

High key lighting is used to enable to audience to see the intricate details of taking the doll apart.

However, when the actor is in the shed, the non diegetic music changes, but it doesn't quite match the sincerity and creepiness of the scene. This is something I will avoid when making my final thriller opening, as I don't want to make the same mistake. This could have been done on purpose, to make the audience question the music and the scene as it doesn't quite match up. When the actor brings the doll to his face, the non diegetic music increases to a crescendo, and then stops, so this does actually add tension to the opening sequence.  

Non diegetic music increases to a crescendo, adding tension for the audience.

This project has given me inspiration for my own thriller task and I hope to use some of the techniques which are presented in this opening sequence.

The clip analysed shown below:

Analysis of a project: C grade

Analysis of another students C grade project

The next project I am analysing is a C grade project, which is an average example titled 'The Search'. The titles are well executed, as they fade in and out of the screen in a sleek manner, and are very simplistic, displayed on a reverse block background, which really makes the text stand out. These titles continue to appear and re-appear throughout the opening sequence, however I personally would have preferred the rest of the titles to appear over the top of the video, rather than breaking up the pictures.


The titles are very simplistic.

The non diegetic music, involves short bell-like bursts, which does create an eerie atmosphere, especially when combined with the home video recording of a child, which makes the audience wonder what the significance of the child is, and if the child will be a focal point in the narrative. However, the footage is of poor quality, but could be down to it being an older clip and so the technology wasn't available. This makes the audience feel unsettled and uneasy, as this isn't typical of a thriller to include this, but never the less it is still very effective.


This makes the audience question the significance of the child, but the quality of the footage is poor.

Another good point to note is that a variety of camera shots were used throughout the opening, and so this shows good camera skills as well as the editing being well executed, and so this candidate obviously knew what they were doing. However, in parts, the lighting is too low key and appropriate lighting hasn't been used, making the footage slightly grainy in places. This will have limited the mark as lighting is such a huge element of filming. This is something I can learn from when I come to film my final task in order to obtain a higher grade.

Poorly lit footage has resulted in parts of the opening being grainy.

There is a fair amount of dialogue in this opening, especially towards the middle when a voice over of a lady is used. I think that less dialogue should have been used, and so the focus is more on the action of the character, rather than what she is saying. This would have added more of a narrative enigma and more suspense to the opening sequence, as already, too much has been given away, making the opening sequence appear too much like a trailer rather than an opening sequence resulting in a lack of suspense and a lack of building tension, which will have limited their grade as this task didn't really meet the brief.

The clip analysed shown below:



Analysis of a project: A grade

Analysis of another student's A grade project

This project is titled 'Invite'. This project was an A grade, and so therefore presents the audience with a good narrative, with good use of camera, sound, editing and mise en scene. The titles appear at various points throughout the opening, in a sans serif turquoise colour which isn't a typical colour associated with the thriller genre.

The titles appear throughout the sequence.

They also use a black and white effect when presenting the audience with an outdoor scene, but when the character is inside, the pictures are in colour. This is effective because the audience wonder what connection these colour changes will have on the narrative. However, I personally would have kept the whole opening in black and white, as this gives an overall sleeker and professional finish. The camera shots are done well, as close up shots, long shots, mid shots, and over the shoulder shots are just a few of the shots used throughout the opening sequence, which are smoothly put together.

Here, the extreme close up shot is presented in colour, but the previous screenshot on this blog post is in black and white, showing the two uses of the effect.

 

The non diegetic music uses deep, prolonged non diegetic sound which isn't typical music associated with a thriller, however it still works to add suspense and tension to the narrative, but wouldn't be the first choice of music for when I create my final thriller opening. This would have to be researched into and tested out on the audience using primary research. The limited use of dialogue also adds to the narrative enigma, as the audience do not know exactly what is going on, or understand the relationship between the two characters.

Minimal dialogue is used. Here, the actor says 'Do you want some coffee'.

The lighting is fairly high key, but the quality isn't brilliant but this could be down to it being an older clip and therefore the technology wasn't as advanced. The characters are presented in normal, casual clothing, which presents them as being normal, making the audience wonder what is going to happen in the narrative. The editing mainly uses straight cuts and the occasional long take, which is effective because it gives the opening pace.

Casual costume for a sense of normality combined with the abnormality of the storyline.

 

Overall, this is a really good example of an opening sequence as it is well executed and contains a narrative enigma, adding suspense and tension for the audience. 

The clip analysed shown below:

Analysis of a project: E grade

Analysis of another student's E grade project

This project is titled 'Ring of Trees' and is a poor example of a final project. The titles which appear are in a serif font, on reverse block. However, the font of the titles are more horror themed, and appear very quickly without any complex transitions.

The titles presented in the E grade project.

They then proceed to use non diegetic music, which does add a sense of eeriness to the film. As well as this, straight cut editing is used to show the different aspects of the location to which they have filmed, however some shots are not held still or completely horizontal, which makes their film look unprofessional. A drone effect is then used when presenting the audience with the corridor, which is very smooth which does look professional and well executed, and fits with the non diegetic music which crescendos adding to the narrative enigma, creating suspense.

Drone effect is effective.

 However, the narrative then appears to become disconnected and disorganised. The actors appear to be just walking through the street, which doesn't create any kind of suspense and shows a lack of planning and imagination. When outside, the sound is muffled due to not using  the correct sound equipment  for the environment, and the lighting is so low resulting in the images looking grainy, again making the film look unprofessional. The lighting then becomes even darker, as the narrative enters night time. This could have been intentional, but they haven't used any studio lighting or different camera equipment, such as infrared cameras. This means they resulted in using a torch to enable the audience to see the characters faces, but again makes their film look very unprofessional.

The lighting is poor and the camera is unstable, therefore not smooth and easy for the audience to watch.

A good aspect of their film is that they do use a variety of camera shots, such as close ups, long shots, and establishing shots, however this alone will not get them a grade C or higher.

The clip analysed shown below:

 

Starting the research and planning for the final filming task.

Beginning research and planning for the final task.

 

Preliminary Task- Evaluation

Evaluation for the Preliminary Task

Finally the planning, filming and editing is completed, and I am very happy with the finished clip. I feel as though the planning went well, and because of this, the filming went smoothly, despite the camera cutting out on the first day of filming, which meant re-filming the next day. This however, acted as a good lesson because it has taught my group and I to ensure the camera is fully charged and that we have spare batteries just in case. As well as this, costume is essential for the final task so that if we do need to re-film any parts that go wrong, the costume will not be too complex to recreate. I am also now confident at using a camera to film footage, as well as using the lighting and other equipment responsibly.

 

Some of the problems I had to overcome when editing (I have never edited before) was working out how to use Adobe Pro as a whole, as it is quite a complex software for a first time editor. However, by doing this preliminary task, I am now able to edit confidently, by adding transitions, trimming the material, adding sound effects and adjusting the sound levels, which are amongst just a few of the skills I acquired during this task. Another problem was that some of the footage we filmed didn't completely link together which made the editing slightly more complicated, but this has taught my group to get as much footage as we possibly can, so we have more choice on which footage we would like to use for the final thriller task.



Preliminary Task-Final Edit

Final Edit for the Preliminary Task

The final edit can be found via YouTube:

 

Preliminary Task- Editing

Editing the footage for the Preliminary Task



Adobe Pro was used for editing.

After filming, we edited the footage in order to put all the clips together by carrying out editing such as: adding effects, trimming the clips, adjusting the sound levels, adding sound effects and adding non-diegetic sound where appropriate. We also added straight cuts and transitions to make the final footage look as professional and sleek as possible.
 
This was my first attempt at editing, and so one of the problems that I had to over come first, was actually working out how to use the editing software. I did this by getting help and advice from the teacher, as well as fellow students who were familiar with the editing process. Learning to edit for the preliminary task will hopefully make the final task much more straight forward

I can be seen here editing the footage.

.

I found editing the sound levels the hardest, as finding how to fade sound in and out, without making it sound un natural was actually a lot harder than expected however I soon managed to work out the best ways to edit this aspect. As well as this, we found that some of the footage was slightly blurred, and so naturally this had to be deleted. Also, some of the footage wasn't continuous which posed as a slight problem, however this was easily solved by using the 'trim' tool on Adobe Pro. This however acted as a lesson for the final task, as we would need to gather more footage and repeat scenes twice in order to get successful and continuous shots to make the narrative flow.