Question 7 - How we've improved after our Preliminary Task
preliminary shots task compared with the final OTS
This is our Preliminary Task. This was made at the start of the course when we had a limited knowledge of effective shots and editing techniques. We used the only techniques we knew to try and make it best as possible. This included simple amateur effects like speeding up parts of the clip. A lot could be improved from our preliminary for starters the sound was at poor quality as we did not film in a suitable place for complete silence and we had a lot of background noise on top of the shots. In our real filming for our opening title sequence we made sure the audio was increased so the characters could be clearly heard and the sound effects were knowledgeable. In this preliminary task we only had the knowledge of three different shots that included an over the should shot, a close up and a mid shot. Through successful lessons in class we soon learned how to use new shots which consisted of 360 turn shots, high and low angle shots, establishing shot and longs shots. With this new knowledge of different camera angles/shots we were able to incorporate them into our final opening title sequence which made it look more professional and allowed it to convey certain horror conventions such as the 360 turn shot to show isolation and fear.
First horror compared with final OTS
This was the second practical task we did which was also a preliminary task. We named the short scene the killing of jack Tandy. This was our first rookie mistake in film making even for a preliminary task the name was unprofessional and did not meet horror conventions. However this mistake helped us to realize that horror films usually have a name which conveys what the film includes so this helped us to come to terms with naming horrors and so we decided to call our opening title sequence the care taker for obvious reasons. Although we filmed our final opening title sequence in the same location as the preliminary task was filmed we had a more suitable setting. In our preliminary task the setting is standard and almost boring as there is no horror conventions linked with a school courtyard. However we found that we could film in better locations that would link with horror in the right way. So with this in mind we filmed inside the school where it was dark and dingy making the setting seem not only creepy but dangerous and unknowing. It is also very common in horror for the sight of activity to be a home or a school which made our opening title sequence already seem more horror themed than the preliminary. The final thing we improved on was the colour corrector. Through interviews with peers on what could be improved in our preliminary we had a lot of feedback which commented on the effects used in the background. The most repeated comment was it did not seem dark enough to meet horror conventions. So with this in mind when we filmed for our final opening title sequence we made sure it was day time and then changed the time of day through effects. We did this effectively whilst editing as we continuously used the effects 'cool tones and 'day to night' which resulted in a successful night time darkness look in our opening title sequence.