Comparing the preliminary and main task

The preparing for the main task compared to the basic preliminary task was a lot more in depth and complicated as it required you to take more care and attention into detail of every aspect of your sequence.  Regarding sound for example, in the prelim task we didn't need to pay much attention on what lighting we used for what effect and we didn't consider changing it during our filming.  In our main task however, we spent a lot of time on and off set, thinking of ways in which we could possibly use lighting to create a tense and gloomy atmosphere.  In the prelim we had to follow a set storyboard whereas in the main task we had to write our own storyboard with dialogue and choose our own costumes.  Consequently, much more planning was needed as we had to think about what we wanted our sequence to look like and how we wanted to represent it, instead of following a set guideline.  Much more planning was needed as in the Prelim Task, in terms of mise-en-scene, there was nothing but in the Main Task, we had to sort out costume, sound, camera work and editing.  As well as planning, mise-en-scene was also important as it made our Main Task look a lot more professional and sophisticated compared to the Prelim Task.  It also left a lot of problems on the shoot day our group had to figure out:  the main Russian didn't have the correct shoes so we decided to to film his feet and the set looked boring and unrealistic on camera at the start so we found Russian posters and symbols to put up on the walls.

I found storyboarding quite tedious as it took a lot of time to choose what shots best fit with the dialogue.  I wanted to use certain shots that would express the contrasting characters and their different moods instead of just representing this in the dialogue, which we did in the prelim task.  In the main task, we had to develop our basic prelim brief of wide-medium-close to a sophisticated sequence with a visual narrative where we used more advanced shots such as high and low angle.  In our main tasks we cut between different shots during one action such as when Simon gets punched at the beginning of the sequence.  This was a lot more sophisticated in contrast to our prelim task where we only cut to different shots between dialogue.
Example of match on action in Main Task

Consequently, since our prelim tasks I have developed and improved my skills on camera by using more advanced shots.  I also found the main task easier to film because I had the experience in the preliminary task where I learnt how to shoot basic shots and how to set up the camera.  Since the prelim task, I have payed more attention on what shots I would use to express the characters in the way I intend to present them and make sure I presented a attractive visual narrative, which will appeal to my target audience.  In the main task I used close ups of the Russian men and Simon to show their different emotions. Furthermore, this presented the Russians in a more evil and aggressive way in comparison to Simon, which is how I wanted to present them to my audience in my planning. 

The more advanced shots I used in the Main Task demonstrated my developed skills since the prelim.  An example of this is a high angle shot of Simon getting punched:

In the Basic Preliminary Task, no sound effects were added when using Final Cut Pro so dialogue and ambient sound was only used.  In my Main Task however, my use of sound had developed as sound effects of punches, water and a heart beat were added as well as backing music in the opening sequence.  By the Main Task, I payed a lot more attention to details, such as sound in comparison to the prelim task, which recquired a lot more work in editing.

I found my ability to master new technology when using Final Cut Pro quite good as I found it very interesting.  Therefore, I improved my skills in cutting between shots and learnt a lot of new ones, such as adding/editing sound.  Looking back at the Preliminary Task, I can see that cuts between shots are jumpy and unpleasant to watch as an audience.  In my Main Task however, I improved on cutting between shots by spending more time in editing and using 'cross fade'.  Consequently, the cuts between shots are a lot smoother and more natural to watch.  Another new skill learnt in the Main Task was to extend and withdraw shots, making them longer and shorter for the audience to watch, which helped fit them in between other clips and as a result, also sometimes helped cut between shots.  An example of where we extended a clip was when Simon is being dunked in the water.  Originally, that clip was only a few seconds long, but this was doubled and put in slow motion during editing for our Thriller to create a better effect (more fascinating for the audience to watch).

Audience Feedback

We first asked, "What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?" and our response was:

• A story about Russian bad men, who caught a man as he knew something they needed
• Man being tortured for information
• A Man who was being tortured for information and then they brought in his wife
• Terroists interrogating a man and getting his wife involved in the struggle
• A hostage
• Spy being tortured
• Man being held hostage by Russians, they bring in his lover so eventually he will have to talk in order for them not to hurt her
• Torturing because they want a code

We then asked, "What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why?"

• Very convincing, good editing and actors
• Props and setting were very convincing
• good use of sound
• the atmosphere and speaking russian
• blood in the water
• good acting
• editing very good
• good music that creates suspense and good effect with the accents
• water shot of Simon
• different types of camera angles
• effective lighting - water relecting on the wall, make-up done well
• punching realistic

Finally we asked, "How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why?"

• Sound effects
• poor lighting - difficult to see
• include more torture shots
• acting wasn't good
• swearing is bad
• need more convincing ending
• title could have been more effective
• cleaner cuts
• made the girl looked more roughed up

To conclude, I am quite pleased with the Main Task, however, there are a few things I would amend if possible.  In my view, I think more care should have been taken over the storyboard as on the shooting day, a lot of things were changed, which, as a result made the beginning of our sequence quite abrupt as it starts immediately with Simon being punched.  Furthermore, you don't get a sense of the set or the characters until half way through the sequence, which is quite confusing for the audience.  The feedback supported this by saying that the ending could have been improved however, it seemed that most people understand the storyline quite well according to the answers in our first question.  In addition, something I didn't consider that was pointed out in the same question was the girl as many people believed it was Simon's wife and not her daughter.  Therefore, if I were to redo this task, I would use a younger girl to amend this or change the storyline and use an older woman and have them bring his wife in (similar to the Spooks episode we studied).  In my view, I believe a key weakness, which wasn't pointed out in the third answers was the dialogue, which was quite boring at some points, such as when the Russian repeats 'still being a tough guy' in between the water-dunking scene. However, in the the third answers, it is pointed out that the swearing wasn't good, which I do agree with to an extent as swearing in some points was appopriate but there was a bit too much of it.  I think that the main strengths of our project was our set, the use of  lighting, the Russian dialogue and some camera work, which seemed to be the most popular in the feedback also.  I think the reflection of the water on the walls in the background worked very well in the mood we were trying to present.  Furthermore, after editing, I believe that the water-dunking scene was very successful on screen and was our best shot in our sequence.