Preliminary task

This is the final result of my preliminary task, The only criteria to this project was that I had to include a shot/ reverse shot, a sat down conversation using the 180 degree rule, and an action match.

I started off this project with a different idea of how the final product would end. I expected that the plot would be much easier to understand. As you can see by the video, it starts off with a POV shot of the 'murderer' following a girl. and then having the main character find her after the crime had been committed. This then cut to the next scene where my sat down conversation takes place and the audience learn that maybe this wasn't a one time thing, because his boss says that hes been late before. This was done in the hope to create mystery surrounding the main character but also reveal more of the story line to the audience. When being filmed these scenes were the other way round, as the main character was meant to be shown at work, bored, and waiting for the time to pass, as he was walking home from his dead end job, his alarm will sound and his whole persona will change to panic, this adding pace and tension to the text. however this was too difficult to put across to the audience with the maximum time we had been allocated for this project.

The filming process got more challenging as I went along. I started with the action match, which was the easiest shot to produce. As long as you keep it within your continuity and make sure little things like opening the door with the same hand and having your head up or down in both shots were the same, as it makes the whole thing much more believable and smoother when it comes to the editing process. One of the shots I struggled with the most was the 180 degree rule as when I was shooting it, I broke it the first time. Because of this my group and I had to go back and re-film it. One thing I was certain of however, was to film in the same room as the action match, in order to preserve the continuity and continue that streak of believably. After correcting this mistake I was happy that I had successfully completed all of the given tasks to complete. This meant that in the scenes with the murder I would be able to include other shots and show off my skills and knowledge.

When filming for the next scene I was adamant  that I wanted to include a dutch angle, this is because it creates pace and tension, and shows to the audience that either something has not gone to plan or some sort of moral code has been broken, in this case it was taking the life of another person. This also made the murderer seem much more dangerous. The next few shots I also wanted taking from different angles so that when it came to the editing process I could cut them and make it very fast paced and make the whole scene seem more action filled. One aspect of the task I wish I had changed was the costume, I feel that The main character should have been wearing smarter clothes to symbolise hes at work and not at school, His shirt could have been un-tucked implying how low his quality of life is at that moment. and showing to the audience that he too doesn't love his job and could maybe make them feel better about their lives as they're not as bad as his, giving them a cathartic feeling.  I also feel that the murderer could have been dressed in more intimidating clothing as in the film, he converged with the stereotype of teenagers in hoodies, rather than a mass murder.

when editing, i was grateful to be using premier pro as it is easy to use and gave my work a polished, professional feel. I now know for next time that i need to take as many takes as I can so that I have a range of choice for when I am editing, and that I need to consider how I can manipulate the shadows in order to bring focus to certain object with mise-en-scene.