Q1: In what ways does your media product, use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?

Final Product: Insanity

 

 

I AM OMOLARA LAWAL: 7913

I WORKED WITH;

 

FATMA MUSTAFA: 7107

SUWEDA SHIRE: 7128

MOHYADIN HASSAN: 6070 

 

INSANITY

 

Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Task

A preliminary task is a quick shooting and edit of a short film, typically under one minute. There are a few aims of the procedure of this, including it allows you to demonstrate film skills such as acting and camera operating, then see it reflected in the final result. It's also a chance for the cast & crew to work together practically for the first time. Preliminary Tasks are intended to be of a low quality so you are able to identify how you have improved once your final movie is created. The disadvantages of a preliminary task may be that the deliberate low quality could be discouraging to edit. Also, typically more footage that allowed will be filmed, so it's tricky to pick with parts to get rid of, whilst keeping all of the informative sections. These decisions could lead to disagreements within the group.

Our preliminary task is approximately thirty seconds. To achieve this, we had to cut out some of the footage using Final Cut Pro.

The plot is based on two school friends arranging a date on the isolated stairs of Oasis Hadley.

Since the preliminary task was made, we've moved onto a professional production using high-tech programmes, tripods, storyboards, and more. There are four key things revolving around filming and editing, that as a group we feel more confident in performance.

1. Filming - We learnt different shots, when before we struggled to shoot a variety. An example is over the shoulder to allow the audience some key information (what the Professor is so intrigued by).
2. Filming - We learnt how to use the tripod more efficiently. This is reflected in the angles we have included like a high angle on the unstable state of Lara, to emphasise her vulnerability.
3. Editing - We learnt how to transition well so the narrative flows. For the flashbacks, we used a white fade to colour, as this is the conventional transition of time jumps in films.
4. Editing - After doing our secondary research we learnt how to single out all the edit techniques conventional to our particular genre which is a thriller. To make Ivy look more scary and foreboding, we lowered the lighting and included effects such as Bad TV.



1. Over the shoulder - gives the audience info



 

2. Tripod - high angle makes her seem defenceless

3. Transition - fade to white as she gets killed



4. Thriller convention - dark lighting

 

 

Using Final Cut Pro again, we created our final product. There are even more distinct differences in the quality of work which are explained using these three comparisons.

 

1. Our camera framing has improved. This means that the space on either side of the subject is even. In the preliminary, as shown below, there is too much unnecessary space next to Suweda - the staircase doesn't need to be visible. Also to our disadvantage that caused someone on the stair to be captured. Whereas in the final product, as Fatima approaches Lara, there is just as much white wall on her left side as on her right.
 

2. We learnt how to film on action. In the preliminary, the shots start before the actors start acting, causing pauses and delays that shouldn't be there. For the final product, we cropped each scene so it transitions into the narrative. LEFT: you can see Suweda standing and waiting for Mohyadin to talk rather than opening the door - RIGHT: I'm up and throwing the chair, which follows conventions; it's unexpected which was the intended structure of our narrative.

 

3. Our effects improved, or rather became considered, as in the preliminary we had none. Though it was supposed to be a rough idea of a narrative, the effect still does manage to make the clip look a lot more interesting, engaging, and sets certain moods, attitudes, feelings, etc. Without an effect, as shown on the left, it seems like a regular documentary - when added, it becomes a real movie which will earn a big profit.

 

 Our planning consisted of the following:

 

 

 

PERSONAL RELFECTION

 

Did you make a successful thriller and why? Yes, because our aims were to: create an interesting plot, distribute it professionally, while sticking to thriller conventions. I think we achieved all of these goals as our plot is a mixture of various thrillers such as Psycho, Se7en and The Butterfly Effect. We made final touches and changes using professional programmes such as Final Cut Pro, Logic, Garageband, and throughout we kept evaluating ourselves using platforms like Soundcloud and YouTube. It was easy to maintain the thriller aspect in our opening because before we started we did secondary research, which involved looking at other thriller clips on YouTube, analysing their camera tricks, narrative, acting (and more), to become familiar with the genre.

 

What did you most enjoy? I was editor, and it was fun playing around with things; even better, very satisfying when a shot or transition finally worked the way I wanted it to (as the programme is really specific thus frustrating). Playing back the movie over and over got tedious, though when watching for changes you've just made, it becomes twice as better to see.

 

What could be improved? There was no action that I could describe as wrong or not good enough, though our teamwork wasn't always up to standard. I think that the camerawork of some shots could be improved, as we had to crop certain scenes due to unexpected jolts of the camera or shaky filming. This is because the amount of work produced between members wasn't even, so more was piled onto others which lead to more frustration and panic over getting everything done. Next time I'd really like to work in a fair team, so there's enough potential time and energy for every aspect of the production; someone doing too much could result in one thing worthy of an A and one thing worthy of a D.

 

What are the main things you have learnt over the whole process? I realised that everything that exists starts from scratch - the hard way, because when we were filming, all I could do was worry about how I'd sort it into a timeline perfectly. When editing, if I had to change something temporarily in order to make another change, I felt as though the whole thing is ruined. so I learnt to take my time and accept any mistake made, because anything can be redone. Practically I got better at using the internet and it's different platforms - another realisation that hit me is that YouTube, Blogger and everything else isn't just for entertainment purposes. These websites offer an opportunity to do some work, be creative and make things, which is where the embed tool comes in handy as everything you do can be merged one way or another.