Before we could get on with filming our opening sequence, we had to produce a preliminary task, which ultimately, gave us the chance to experiment with the cameras, and different shots and angles that might be of use in our opening sequence.
For our preliminary task, we were given a brief to follow fully to show we were able to use new equipment and follow instructions. The brief was that we had to film a conversation, with the use of the 180 degree rule, film the opening of a door, and show that we have used continutity editing (the continuity editing was mainly used while filming the opening of a door, too make it look smooth and real). Also, the task was set to experiment with different camera techniques before we set out to film our footage for our full project.
Part of the planning process before we undertook the task of the preliminary task was to decide on a genre that we wanted as our opening sequence. The choices were, Horror, Thriller or Teen Drama. Having chosen the genre we wanted before we did our preliminary task meant that we could focus our filming of the preliminary task more toward thriller, in terms of plot and camera work and editing.
Following the preliminary task, sat down to discuss further the choice of genre and then to move on to create a plot that is conventional of this genre, before we could look at specifics such as costume and location. In our preliminary task, we filmed in school, which while there were restrictions, we didn't have to carry out reaseach to find somewhere suitable. Therefore, one major issue we came across was what location to use. We wanted to find a location that fully fit with the characters and plot of our opening sequence and we discovered we'd have to travel to find somewhere.
The planning involved in our first trip to do our owning filming included a reccie with the rest of the media students in our year to Wilderness Woods. Although the location was nothing like the one we had chosen, this trip presented us with a fantastic opportunity to play around with the camera and different techniques. Through this reccie, we discovered a couple of shots, mainly the dutch angle, that we thought presented our story incredibly well, especially considering our genre.
Before we could go to our first shoot, we had to know what we were doing on the shoot so we didn't waste time. To do this, we set out a plan in the lesson before the shoot and chose the shoots we were going to do, when and where. We used our storyboard to help us make this decision. We also wrote a small script for the small amount of dialogue we have in our opening, this meant we didn't waste time deciding what to say on the day of the shoot.
In terms of carrying out the filming and editing process, sorted 2 dates out where we set out exactly what we were going to film so we know we could get it done within this time frame. This gave us more time to edit the footage, which we did on premiere.
We didn't feel like we came across many restrictions. However, we did use a different camera to the ones the school were offering. This we thought would cause some problems in premiere but it turned out it worked exactly the same. The biggest problem we faced was not being able to have any interior shots at the Heygate Estate, meaning we had to find an alternative location for these shots. This wasn't a difficult task as Ali's garage presented the best option.
In terms of strengths and weaknesses concerning our final product, I think that there are plenty of each prominant in the sequence. I think the continuity editing and cutting rate of our running sequence was as good as we could have gotten it, and resembles that of a similar scene in many thrillers like ours.
Weaknesses definitely include the titles, mainly because we couldn't find a perfect place to put them, meaning they appear quite randomly. If we had more time this is one aspect we'd spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with.
I think the actual filming of our opening sequence went great. We only needed the two days we set as we knew what we were doing so got on with it and accomplished what we wanted. If we were to improve this in one way, I'd say the planning of the dates we go should be done further in advance, as we only planned these days a day or two before hand.
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