Communication within the group - Skype

We also used the programme Skype to communicate as it allows a four-way conversation or a two-way video call. It is a great way to talk about ideas, plans and issues when out of school. It is the closest thing to a face to face conversation which allows us to go into depth and describe in detail any topic that we wish to discuss.

Communication within the group - Texts, Calls and BlackBerry Messenger

Today I created a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) group as all four of us own a Blackberry Phone. We are now able to talk as a group on the go, we can all see each others messages and everyone is free to contribute anytime. We can also text or call one another to explain ideas and issues in more depth. This is a screenshot of our BBM group:

Communication within the group - Facebook Group

I see other members of my group in school however I wanted to create a way of communicating when not at school. I created a private Facebook group so only the four of us could see and contribute to our media work. In addition, it is a great way to post media files such as videos, and pictures as well as posting text. This method is far easier because it may be difficult to show everyone in the group a video or picture when in school. Another benefit of making such a group is that Facebook notifies all other members instantly. Then others can give their opinion or view on the post which stimulates discussion between members.

Experimenting with Different Types of Camera Shots

I wanted to experiment with the different types of camera shots so I filmed and put this short clip together to become familiar with the main types:

I learnt that each type of shot is used for a particular reason in any film/video:

• Establishing shot - to set the scene/location.
• Long shots - to allow the audience to see the setting of the scene and to put the sequence into context.
• Medium shots - to allow the audience to see the setting while viewing the characters dress code and body language.
• Close-up shots - to show the audience the characters facial expressions or to focus on key props or gestures.
• Two shot - to see two characters at the same time and show the kind of relationship they have.
• Tracking shot - to follow the action as it is moving. Usually to accompany a character on some kind of 'journey' within the video.
• Point of view shot - to make the audience connect with the character and feel what they are feeling.
• High-angle shot - to show someone/something as inferior or vulnerable.
• Low-ange shot - to show someone/something as superior or powerful. 

A wide variety of shots should be used to to keep the film intriguing and prevent it becoming monotonous. I hope to achieve this when we film our opening title sequence.

Our Film Classification

Before we started to think of a storyline/narrative we wanted to know what film certificate our thriller was going to be, so we could work around the boundaries of it and develop a suitable storyline for our target audience. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is responsible for deciding what classification a film should be before it is released; it is usually to inform parents of how 'graphic' the film is before they allow their child to see it. The classifications are as follows (least explicit to most explicit): U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 and R18.

We wanted to make our thriller film either a 15 or 18, so we looked into the definitions, advantages and disadvantages of each classification that we have learnt through our research:



Only people over 15 years old can watch the film (in the cinema or on DVD). Such films usually involve things such as bad language drugs, sex, and violence.

The main advantage of classifying our film a 15 is the fact many more people can see it, there is a larger 'potential' audience. However, we found that many people may feel it is not 'exciting/graphic' enough as there is always going to be the limitations of what can be put in a 15 rated film. This may deter people from wanting to see the film which is a negative aspect of classifying it as a 15.

Only people over 18 can watch the film (in the cinema or on DVD). Such films usually involve things such as strong language, detailed sex scenes and extreme violence.

As there are less boundaries as to what can be put into 18 films, the audience know they are going to see an exhilarating, (perhaps scary) film with no limitations. On the other hand, the fact that it is an 18 does reduce the 'potential' audience substantially as anyone from the ages 0-17 cannot see the film as they would be too young. This is a significant disadvantage as many people under 18 often spend money at the cinema and on DVDs. Therefore producing a film with a certificate 18 loses customers and money.



On balance we decided that we wanted to make our thriller film a 15 as more people can see it. Therefore our storyline must be within the boundaries of the 15 certificate regulations.

Research - Interviewing

As well as sending our surveys we wanted to talk to people about what they expect to see in a good thriller film so we filmed the (semi-structured) interviews that we carried out:

The advantages of using interviews is the fact it allows us to build rapport with the interviewee.We can clarify any misunderstood questions as well allowing the people being interviewed to elaborate on their answers so we could gather valid, in depth responses. This hopefully gave us a better understanding of what others wanted to see in the first two minutes of a thriller title sequence which we hope to apply when we come to making it.

Research - Survey Results

Research - Method of reaching target market

The advantage of making and sending the survey online is the fact that the response rate and the response speed is much higher than other methods. It is also a lot cheaper than sending them by post and a lot less time consuming than if I went door to door interviewing people. So I asked family and friends on Facebook to fill in the survey. I sent them the link to my survey in a private message. For example:

Research - The Finished Questionnaire

Research - Making the Questionnaire

I signed up to a website called Survey Monkey which allowed me to create the questionnaire. I wanted to include both quantitative and qualitative questions to give variety to my survey. I was able to customise each question as well as the type of response the public could give. In a multiple choice question, I could give multiple options and restrict how many the public were allowed to tick, for example:

On the other hand in some questions I simply allowed the public to answer the questions by giving them an empty text box to fill in - an open-ended question.

Research - Evaluation of a previous survey

Before I make the Questionnaire


I wanted to create a survey that included open and closed questions, to gain as much valid and reliable data as possible. However, before I made my questionnaire I wanted to see the mistakes that previous surveys had made. This questionnaire is from a previous year therefore made by another student/group - by c09harrison on Dec 14, 2009 (THIS IS NOT MY WORK):

My Evaluation of a Former Students Survey (by c09harrison on Dec 14, 2009)

Firstly, the first two questions on gender and age is not relevant in helping a group gather and evaluate their ideas for the opening title sequence. Furthermore, questions such as "how many hours of TV/Films/Thriller Films do you watch a week?" are not helpful as the information cannot contribute to the making of the film. In addition, question six is not helpful either; it does not matter where people watch the film but instead - why they go to watch it. This is what I aim to achieve when making my survey - what attracts the public to come watch a film, such as certificate rating. In my questionnaire I also hope to ask people for advice as well as resolving/answering questions that I have been unsure about in terms of things to put into the title sequence.

My Work Experience in Leeds

To view this Prezi I made of my Work Experience in Leeds, click the play button in the centre under the picture, press this button each time you wish to move on through the Presentation.

Work Experience on a Thriller Video on Prezi

Evaluation of The Preliminary Task

I felt our Preliminary Task was extremely useful in developing my skills with the equipment, I also learnt from the mistakes that were made:


Camerawork
This was the first time using the media suite cameras. Firstly, we had to put the charged battery and the blacked out tape into the camera, then attach the camera to a tripod and dolly. I found my way around the camera, for example I learnt how to focus and white balance the camera using a piece of white blank paper. Using the tripod and dolly we filmed still and sharp shots. I was able to view the footage just filmed on the camera screen. When necessary I used the rewind and play buttons to skim through the footage to find the exact shot to check. I made sure they were in focus and not shaky. If I were to film our Preliminary Task again I would include many different types of shots such as extreme close ups and low angle shots.


Editing
It was also my first time using the editing facilities. I had to find my way around the computer including uploading/capturing the footage we had filmed. The keyboard was new to me therefore the Preliminary Task helped me to find my way around the keyboard using mostly the cut/razor tool and the select tool. I became familiar with the 'timeline' and the view window as we edited our work. We were using Adobe Premiere Pro 2 which had many more features and flexibility than what I was used to using - iMovie. I understood that the software we have available to us is incredibly advanced. Now that I have spent time using the software I feel I am well prepared to edit our Thriller Title opening sequence (using continuity editing mainly) once we have filmed.

Sound
The first time we shot the conversation, we didn’t check that the sound of the characters speaking was being recorded, so when it came to editing, the dialogue was nearly mute. So we recorded it again and learnt that you must always check the microphone is on and working properly by plugging in a pair of headphones. Another mistake that is evident in our Preliminary Task is the fact we did not mute the background noise when there is no dialogue. The result of this oversight is that we now have people speaking in the background while Liat is walking towards the table which is very distracting and amateur. 

Overall lessons learnt from Preliminary Task

I have learnt that filming and editing take much longer than you would expect it to. Furthermore, I have learnt that the same shot needs to be filmed numerous times so the editor has a wide range of shots to chose from and is not restricted to one. If we were to do this task again, I would check the sound while filming, aim to improve on the continuity and film the same shot many times. In addition, when filming I would add a few seconds at the beginning and end of each shot as it would give us much more flexibility in the editing suite to make cuts. Finally, I would allow more time to film and edit as there is limited amount of equipment and editing time in school. 

Preliminary Task

Introduction to Preliminary Task

We have been given the task to film and edit a ‘Preliminary Task’ which will help us become familiar with the equipment, such as the tripod, dolly and camera. It will also be a great opportunity to experiment with the editing software - Adobe Premiere.

We have been told to include three important principles when filming, so we aim to included them in our Preliminary Task. They are as follows: 

• Match on action - opening and walking through the door - creates an impression of continuity as well as creating a visual bridge from one shot to the next.
• Shot-reverse shot - used when two characters are in conversation.
• 180 degree rule (see picture on the left). The camera must remain in a 180 degree area (i.e. green area) of the object being filmed. The axis of action can change position as the characters do. This prevents the audience from becoming confused in terms of the position of the characters/objects