Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression of making your full product?
This is a comparison from where we started filming at the start of the course and when we ended filming with our final shots of our opening title sequence. There is a clear improvement and shows clear progression, this is due to our location choices which fitted well with our genre. There was no set location for our prelim so we filmed it in a quite room in the school, not focusing with location.
Steadiness of the camera:
When comparing both extracts of our filming we wanted to pick out the differences in order to see where we had improved, one of these differences was the steadiness of the camera, when filming our preliminary task we did not use a tripod and therefore got a shaky outcome of the scene. Comparing this to our OTS it was clear to see that we thought about all of the things which we could improve such as using a tripod in order to help us achieve a better outcome and grade of our filming technique.
By having both of these photos next to one another it was easy to compare the differences such as the particular shot. With our preliminary task I followed Tyler from down the stairs and on to the chair, when changing angles i became shaky and this showed through our footage. We also noticed how in a preliminary the centre shot was off and every time that we followed Tyler he was not always in the shot, it was always either his head or feet missing within the shot which did not show the audience facial expressions or the actions taken for this shot. However in comparison to our OTS we used a tripod as Shannon walked in and out of the toilets which made our shot a lot more equal throughout the whole sequence and because we was focusing on her picking up the perfume it was the perfect shot to get her into the centre - we also had the great use of the mirror as we was able to see her face which allowed us to show her facial expressions when entering and exiting the toilets.
Camera angles:
Another comparison which we found when comparing both extracts was our camera angles. Within our prelim we only used 3 techniques which was a close up, neutral view and the 180 degree rule. These were very basic techniques and didn't influence our prelim or audience to do any good and made our dialogue very boring. Whereas our OTS including a variety of shots such as off-kilter, high angle and a 360 degree shot. The 360 degree shot enhanced our OTS due to the audience being able to see Shannon's facial expressions the whole time when she is about to pass out, it also enabled us to create a disorientated feel for the audience as they are able to see how the poison is effecting her. The high angle was also effective as we was able to see how vulnerable our victim was whilst being dragged by the killer.
Within our 360 shot we used an effect on Shannon to make her face look blurred and puzzled - by doing this it confounded the audience and their reaction to the sequence. By having these two together it showed us how having different shots made the sequence better and allowed us to take a different effect onto the dialogue/storyline.
Location:
Another way in which we progressed was the usage of the location in order to create different tensions within out sequences. With our prelim we stuck to one room which wasn't effective for the audience at all and made the task boring for the audience as well as us when filming. However, when planning our OTS we wanted to include a range of locations in order to make it more enjoyable for us as well as the audience as it would create more tension and not create a dull atmosphere. A few of the places in which we filmed was the school- girls toilets, science block, media suite, and corridor, we also used outside of the school by going to Gloucester car park and filming in some of the car bays and up the top where we was able to look over to other buildings. These locations helped build our OTS, so it was able to hold the audiences attention.
In our prelim the room we used was extremely basic. This location didn't intrigue the audience or capture their attention. Where as our OTS used a range of locations. This held the attention of the audience and kept them intrigued whist creating a more dramatic sequence. The use of the car park created a dark and rustic feel, which held the audiences attention.