What new skills, techniques and knowledge have you learnt from producing the preliminary activity?
For the production of the preliminary activity, I had to learn how to use a camera for filming, the skills required and different features on a camera to film are much more different as compared to a normal camera to take photos, which was a different media form I learnt before. During this task, I played around with the features of the camera and had to get used to how the camera works, for example, I advanced my skills by learning how to put on the camera on a trip-pod properly, being able to smoothly zoom in a and out whilst the filming has started, taking different filming shots such as an establishing shot, panning, close-up etc. This preliminary task has taught me the importance of organisation and being able to plan properly so that filming can be done. The clips of the filming has to be clear and professional or else it will have to be shotted again. Another skill I have developed is learning how to use the software iMovie, this was the first time I used an editing software to produce a short trailer. From this software I learnt how to trim and edit clips which needed improvements, from trimming the clips i have learnt accuracy is important as you can trim and delete out an important part. As the genre of my preliminary task is horror, fast cuts and jumps cuts were used through out the editing, to be able to successfully do this I had to film different angles and shots of the same scene, this way when editing I was able to create fast cuts, creating suspense to the horror trailer. Through the software iMovie I have also learnt how to transition my clips and a soundtrack to the background, adding soundtrack completed the clips. To be able to add a soundtrack from youtube and onto iMovie, the file had to be converted to mp4/mp3, Due to this I also learnt how to convert youtube videos onto iMovie. There were also titles and text which can be added, which I later on found out, it was important that the font and text suited the genre of the trailer.
How did you work with other people in your production team?
I think we worked well as a team, we was able to plan and schedule dates which were suitable for everyone. As a team we was able to film different scenes and work effectively. Our team consisted of 4 members, which meant everyone wanted to film at one point, to ensure everyone had the chance to film and take part, everyone had a role, we would take turns and let each other film. One of the shots we wanted to film was difficult to film, this shot was of a box flying across the room, which required the camera to track along with the movement of the box and someone to throw the object across the room without showing their hand. We had difficulties filming this because the hand would be visible, due to this everyone took turns to try and film this scene to see if one of us could film the shot, after telling each other what we're doing wrong and telling each other what to improve, we was able to successfully film the shot. This shows as a team we was able to overcome problems. As a group we put in extra hours to film and ensure the shots were as how we wanted it. Everyone communicated and had a clear role of what they had to do, which made the production of the filming faster.
What role did you play in the production?
I had multiple different roles in the production, my main role was acting, I was the female ghost of the horror trailer and because of this the correct costumes, expressions and makeup had to be done to fulfil the character.
Another role was improving the lighting of the room, for some scenes we needed a better lighting to make the shots better, to do this we incorporated lighting by using our phones flashlight. Using our phones flashlight helped create shadows which made the shots even scarier. I positioned the flashlight in various different places, such as above the subject, in front, and below, these positions created different effects in a dark room. The third role I had was filming, I had to film scenes which I wasn't in, an example would be when the three girls found the book, this was the first scene which needed to be shot. To ensure everyone was able to edit and create their own unique trailer, I filmed the same scene and had the characters to repeat themselves to be able to get different angles and shots. When filming I had to have a clear vision of what the shot looked like, due to this I had to tell the rest of the members of the team on how to position themselves so that they come out on camera perfect. At one point I had to film and control the lighting of the scene. This required concentration and steady hands. Another role I had was creating the props that were used, I worked with another member of the team to do this.
Would you have done anything differently?
During the process of editing the clips together, I would have spent more time editing the clips, as looking back at the final trailer I produced, some of the clips/scenes ended too quick, and this was due to the trimming and fast cuts I wanted to produce, to improve I would prolong and edit some clips a few seconds more longer. For example, the shot where you could see Gemma texting. This improvement would allow the audience to be able to read the text Gemma is sending, which therefore will improve their understanding of the trailer. I will also film more shots of the staircase scene, a shot I would've added in would be a tracking shot of when Gemma was running down the stairs. This would show the audience a clear view of the gammas scared expression.
What parts of the process did you find most challenging?
When editing, I found what scene to start with was the most challenging, I didn't know which scene to start with, and which scene to end with. I had to edit and play around with the clips, as I didn't have a clear vision of how I wanted my trailer to look like.
How did you overcome this?
To overcome my poor vision of how I wanted my final trailer to look like, I spent some time looking at existing horror trailers. By watching existing horror trailers, I was able to connect and pin point which features and common conventions all the trailers used. I was able to get inspiration from successful trailers and used the common conventions of a horror trailer for my trailer. This ensured my trailer looked like a professional trailer as I had a much clearer view of what my trailer would look like.
How successful was your final media product? What are the strengths and the areas that you need to work on in future projects?
I think the filming of the clips were successful, as we was able to film various different types of shots including different angles. This made it easier to edit. The filming of the shots created the exact effect and impact I wanted. Part of this impact depended on the soundtrack I used, The most successful thing about my final product was choosing the soundtrack first then editing the clips to suit the instruments of the soundtrack, this created an intense horror effect. I think the steps as how I edited the clips together were the strength of my final product, and as mentioned the soundtrack was important. Horror movies consists of fast cuts and jump scares, to enhance the impact of the editing soundtrack is added to intensify the shots. Due to this I used the method of editing my clips to adjust to my soundtrack. Which was a great benefit and strength of my final product. Although there are successful aspects of this preliminary task, there are also areas which I need to work on, the first area is being able to get used to all the features of the software iMovie. I think that if I knew all the features back to front I would've been able to improve the visuals of my final product and make it look more well put together. Finally, another aspect which I will need to work on is using the tripod, throughout the filming I was uncomfortable in using the tripod, resulting me to film using my hands. This made the camera slightly unsteady and shaky, which could be seen in some scenes. To improve I would use the tripod instead of my hands to film to ensure the outcome of the clips were professional and not tacky.
