Preliminary Task

17/01/10, Storyboard - The class was able to choose groups to work in and each group could contain no more than four members. I chose to work with Jonathan Hawes and Oliver Morrol, we also used William Stevenson as an actor from another AS Media class. Firstly we came up with a list of ideas to choose from such as an interrogation scene, chess competition etc. and then chose the best one which was an interrogation scene. We then came up with a story to pursue. The story we decided upon was a man interrogating a murderer who ate murdered the man’s daughter and had possibly eaten the daughter. Once we had chosen a story we began to produce a detailed storyboard which showed in detail the camera angles, editing techniques and some of the sounds that we will be using in the production of our preliminary task.

21/01/10, Storyboard – We carried on with our storyboard for the first part of the lesson so that it contained more detail such as the different camera angles we would be using whilst recording. For the second part of the lesson we went around the college and school to find a suitable location which is available to begin filming our interrogation scene. We then looked at the Mise-en-scene such as which props to use for the scene and we chose what to keep in the camera shot and what to take out. We also carefully planned out and chose which dialogue would be used when filming to add more effect.



The two images above are pictures of our completed storyboard which consists of 16 different shots however we had to change some of the shots slightly which included removing some because they would’ve have been too difficult to film in the location which we had managed to use. Although this happened we didn’t see it as a major setback and whilst filming we also came up with other ideas to use as a replacement. The storyboard indicates which props we have used and also parts of the costume such as the murderer wearing a hoody which makes him seem more dangerous and mysterious and also making him look similar to a thug. Also in the storyboard we added some editing techniques which we knew we would be using when it came to edit the footage we had recorded. The ‘black screen’ is an example of this because we decided to use this because it created tension and suspense because the audience do not know what has happened. Another point which was addressed in the storyboard was camera angles and techniques which we used, these included close ups, point of view, low angle, panning and a few more different shots. The storyboard made it much easier to film because we already knew what we were going to record which helped a lot. I believe that the first shot of the murderer in handcuffs breaking free was very dramatic and created a sense of fear for the audience and involved a close up shot being used. The next shot involved another close up of the eyes of the murderer which made the murderer seem more evil which was again used to add effect and a sense of fear for the audience. Another close up of the image of the young girl and the murdering smelling it also creates a sense of fear for the audience and shows that the murderer is dangerous and weird and that the little girl was innocent and the use of it being a little girl makes the clip more emotional. The point of view shot was another exciting shot which shows the murderer being grabbed from the other mans point of view this gives the audience a sense of that characters feelings and emotions. The black screen is very effective and engages the audience and allows them to guess what has happened and the close up shot of the hand covered in blood also allows the audience to guess the ending to the clip as we purposefully chose not to reveal this.

24/01/10, Filming – Once we had completed the storyboard and found a suitable and available location to film our preliminary task we began filming. One of the key props we decided on using was a pair of handcuffs used to keep to murderer locked up to show that he is in jail and has committed a sin and using this prop allows the audience to establish this view on the characters as a villain and someone slightly crazy and insecure. Also with the use of the handcuffs being broken by the murderer it implies that the murderer is strong and it is unsafe for him to be around. Another addition to the clip was when we used paint at the end of the clip which was used to show blood to indicate to the audience that someone has been killed, however we decided not to show the audience who had been murdered but instead left it up to the audience to decide which will also engage the audience and gives a sense of mystery to the clip. Whilst filming we used several different camera shots and techniques to make it look more professional. The only negative aspect of the filming was that we didn’t think enough about the costumes that the characters were wearing. Another prop which we used was the image of a little girl which we used as the victim in this scene which was the daughter of the man questioning the murderer. By using this it added prop it added more emotion to the scene because it was the man’s daughter who had been murdered and the image made this seem more upsetting and dramatic which is what we had intended the image to do. We also screwed up the image and had the murderer smell the image to add a sickening effect to the clip because we wanted it to be slightly scary and weird and the silence helped this to be created.

28/01/10, Editing – Once we had finally completed and finished all the filming we then began to edit what we had filmed. Firstly we edited everything that we have recorded into different scenes and made named each clip to make it easier to edit the film. Naming all the clips made it much easier to put the clips in chronological order so it the clip made sense. We then cut a couple of clips slightly so that time was not wasted in the film for no reason. After we had done all this we added some editing effects to make the clip look much better when the shots changed and this also made the clip look much more professional. Another effect that was added whilst editing was a slapping sound which occurred when the murderer was slapped and this was used to make the clip seem more dramatic. The editing was fairly simple and straightforward and this was made possible because of the fantastic editing software which we used. However before we added some effects and editing techniques we experimented with different ones until we found which we believed the right techniques to use because of the atmosphere which is created in the clip. Also to add effect and create tension we used fast paced editing which builds up the suspense and makes it look like a serious event is about to occur. The black screen was another editing technique we decided to use because this engages the audience to decide what happened and also adds effect because they do not know what has happened. We also decided as a group not to have any background music as we thought that the silence in the background made the clip more dramatic and exciting.