1. Preliminary Task
1.1. Pre-Production
1.1.1. When doing the preliminary task, we were only given 20 minutes to do the entire thing. This meant we didn't have a long time to plan and therefore we jumped straight into the filming after coming up with a quick concept- casting members of the group as the actors to save time.
1.2. Production
1.2.1. During the filming of our preliminary task, we only took whatever footage was needed and so didn't have any excess raw footage. We didn't have time to coordinate the lighting and therefore there was sun covering Shekarie's face within the final product. There was also the loud ambient which meant some of the dialogue was masked.
1.3. Post-Production
1.3.1. In the post-production, we added two different soundtracks which allowed us to understand how sound can effect a media product. We also tried our hand at understanding continuity editing as well as how to import and so foth. Since this was our first time editing- the two final products really varied from one another.
2. Thriller Opening
2.1. Pre-Production
2.1.1. However, when preparing our thriller opening we had more time to plan and therefore we could focus more on our concept and for a longer period of time. This meant we were able to brainstorm more than one idea, letting us each give our idea and then when deciding upon the final product- merging the ideas we liked and cutting those we didn't. This meant that our concept was more detailed and was well thought out, thus meaning we knew what we had to do before we set out. In addition to this, we were able to conduct questionnaires to get audience feedback and decipher what elements were important in a thriller, and adjusting our concept in order to meet such needs. Having attained audience feedback, we began planning our actual concept- writing up a script, storyboard and other aspects of pre-production such as determining which locations, actors and sound we would need. Beforehand, during the preliminary, we only had access to the locations within the school and the actors were pre-determined, having to use anyone that was available whereas when producing our pre-production for the thriller opening we were able to cast actors and actresses which fit our concept- giing us a consistent amount of age ranges and allowing us to plan how the versimilitude would be portrayed to the audience.
2.2. Production
2.2.1. When filming our thriller opening, we were able to decide on our own lighting as opposed to being forced to utilise ambient lighting. Through the control of our lighting, we wre able to decide how the light would affect our footage as we had studied and learned how to use three-point lighting to the best of our abilities, creating shadows and bringing our 2D actors into a more 3 dimensional fit for the media text- giving the onscreen action further depth. In addition to this we were able to control how our sound was used, in our preliminary we had rushed straight into the filming and so did not take into consideration weather conditions and ambient sounds. Due to this, we focused carefully on how we would create a decent soundscape within our thriller opening, waiting for any background noise to fade and also using a microphone to enhance the dialogue of the actors and any sounds created by our location- for example the tap and the drain. Due to the large amount of time we now had for filming, we were able to take as much footage as possible in order to experiment with different angles and introduce different versions of the final product. This gave us leeway when editing and meant we could shorten or lengthen our product as much as necessary. Due to our work in the preliminary task, we became more skilled with how to use the camera and so we could toggle settings on and off and allowed us to be more specific with our camera shots as we understood more abou them and how they would influence the audience. Having looked at the 180 rule during our preliminary, we were able to utilise it during the filming of our thriller opening. The 180 rule in terms of filming is a guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between two characters or an object, this creates an imaginary line which connects the audience and enhances the sense of versimilitude by making them an invisible bystander. Another production technique and skill we used is that of the rule of thirds which is known as a very essential technique used when filming as it can improve the composition and balance of an image. The Rule of Thirds is the mental division of an image using 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines before positioning the important elements within a scene along the lines or at points where they intersect.
2.3. Post-Production
2.3.1. During the post-production phase we were able to design our own titles and logos, cut and edit footage as well as adding effects and changing the composition of our footage, as well as the saturation and the highlighting and shadows to create more of a mysterious undertone. In addition to this, due to being more skilled in the editing aspect we were able to engage in continuity editing which maintained the fourth wall and enhanced he versimilitude and created the effect that the audience is the invisible bystander, giving them a role as a witness to the action that is unfolding on the screen before them. We also had more time for the editing process which meant we were able to create our own title sequence, which was very exciting to do and furthered our knowledge of certain programs such as fireworks and dream maker. While editing, we were able to reduce the background noise further and amplify the dialogue as well as natural sounds created by the location by the use of a slider. We also learned how to shorten clips, reverse them and speed them up to change the effect they had on the audience. Furthermore, we stabilised scenes to make them more professional and less shaky. We also used ken burns crop and other cropping functions to create a sense of professionalism and verisimilitude without breaking the fourth wall- building tension.
2.3.2. Through post-production we were able to experiment with a series of different sound effects and soundtracks to create different feels for our final product, eventually settling on one we altered its speed by a little and cut and moved certain aspects of it to create for tension and mystery- for example, the sound heightens when the actors speak and a sharp ending when the camera focuses on the girls face.