Task 7- looking back at your peliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Looking back at our preliminary task, i felt since then i have learnt a lot more skills and knowledge of various programmes, such as final cut pro, sound track pro and using after effects.
By comparing screengrabs from our Preliminary task we can establish areas where we have progressed in.Here are some of our premliminary screengrabs of our project-


From this screengrab, we can see how basic our set was. We put hardly any planning and preparation into our set. we Simply used the film studio space, but a desk, chair, telephone and carpet to give a slight atmosphere and gave our main character a gun to add to the ambiance.

In contrast, our set for 'Resurgence' had a lot of planning and preparation. We did set sketches, which included detail sketches of our electric chair, the props, and the locations we were going to be working in.Here are the set sketches,Then after we drew some storyboards on each shot.

And here is a picture of storyboards we drew of each shot we took in our thriller of 'Resurgence'. These storyboards included a detailed description of the type of shot and a sketch to give a rough idea of what actions would be taking place. 

We also wrote a shooting script  and a script which requiered alot of drafts and a lot of editing until it was perfect. Also part of the planning process was writing down a list of props we needed to buy/build/use. Writing down all the appropraite shots we used was also very important, we wanted to get a variety and selection of shots in order to increase the standard of the video, contrasting to our Preliminary task.

And here is a picture of our actual set for our thriller, 'Resurgence'. We had to build the set, which included the walls, and provide the props which included the electric chair, table, spogne, bucket etc.

Also another aspect was working behind the scene, we used alot more specialist equipment in our thriller than our preliminary task. This included far more sophisticated work than in our preliminary task.

Another aspect which i feel i have progressed in, is the variety of shots i have used in our thriller. In our Premilimary task, we only used basic shots, we used a wide shot, over the shoulder and close up.

But with the skills and knowledge we have developed we were able to use a more advanced use of shots in our Thriller. For example a tracking shot, extreme close up and establishing shot.

This included using a various use of shots, which included a tracking shot. Where we had to use portable tracks and a spiderdolly to accomplish this.

Also in contrast to my peliminary task i have learnt and developed various skills which have helped my achieve a better standard and quality of my opening sequence of 'Resurgence'. Obvious skills and rules such as the 180 degree rule i have learnt and now understand in full detail. In my peliminary task i wasnt aware of the factors affecting this and also the consequences. Now by understanding what to do, we understood how to be aware of the 180 rule and how not to make mistakes that we made previously. I felt that we didnt cross the 180 degree rule so we were succesful in this area.

Here is a picture of a diagram potraying the 180 degree rule.

Another aspect which we learnt and used in our Thriller was after effects. In our preliminary task, we wernt aware of after effects and simple kept our footage the way it was. But in our thriller, we were able to achieve a sepia tint after effect by using Adobe after effects in order to create an appropriate atosphere for the time period we set it in, 1940s america. It was only the shadows of the lights and objects that created an effect on our preliminary task.

Here is a picture of our footage in the preliminary task and contrasting a screengrab of our thriller.

Our preliminary task screengrab.

And here is a picture of our after effects on our thriller 'Resurgence'.

From our preliminary task, our use of sound has developed alot from our basic preliminary recording we only really used a recording of dialogue which was from the set script. That was the only sound we used. In contrast in our Thriller we did a recording of sound from a microphone. In our thriller we have learnt how to import sounds from Soundtrack pro, this is all linked in with the editing process. Soundtrack enables you to choose a wide variety of sound effects, songs and a choice of music, which you u can choose, appropriately to your film.

 For the preliminary task we didn't use sound effects due to only using the dialogue we had recorded. For my preliminary task all the sound was diegetic, due to the audience being able to hear these sounds. And for my thriller 'Resurgence' we have used a variety of sound clips. Firstly the sound of a radio tuning, as these is a radio broadcast set in the 1930's playing at the beginning so this sound effect will firstly inform the audience what time period this thriller is set in and what is going on.
In 'Resurgence' we used non-diegetic sound, as the actors cant hear these noises and these noises are used to enhance the ambiance and overall atmosphere for our opening sequence. These noises are effects on the title sequences, such as electrocution noises, electricity pulse, and the radio broadcast on top of the sequence. 


Another aspect i can compare is the use of titles and graphics.

In our preliminary task we didn't use any titles or graphics which made it very basic, plain and less visually interesting. Although in our thriller 'Resurgence' we used title cards for introducing the producer, distributor, director, actors and the title of our sequence- 'Resurgence'. The way we portrayed these was through the use of final cut pro. We decided the credits would have a ‘typewriting’ font and would fade in and out on the left hand side of a blank black screen. The idea of using a blank black screen is used to heighten tension as they audience can only hear the sound of electricity and not see anything apart from the credits.

We have decided to use the same font styles throughout the sequence as if we used a variety of cartoony graphics our opening sequence will begin to look amateur.


Above is a screen grab of the font and style we used in our title credits. 

For our main title card which shows the name of our thriller, we created a particular title effect. In order to create this we used after effects using a layering system to create a glowing effect. We then seperated the letters so that we could move them to different sizers and invert them to give the title a sense of abnormality. I then placed a lighting effect underneath the text to give it an electrical feel.
To the left is a screen grab of our main title card portraying the after effect we used.

In contrast here is a picture of my preliminary task where as mentioned above we didn't use any title cards, just an establishing shot. Here demonstrates a photo of it.