Preliminary task evaluation

Preliminary video - 'The Stuff' evaluation 


Video:
The final edit of my group's preliminary video has been posted previously and can also be seen below. 



Strengths, Weaknesses and overall evaluation: Our preliminary video titled 'The Stuff' is of a sufficient quality that meets the brief we were given as it includes action match, a shot-reverse-shot scene with dialogue and is of the thriller genre. The establishing shot with production company titles echoes the conventional thriller film and is somewhat effective, however, my personal favorite title is the film's main title layered over a shot of the protagonist walking through a door.

 This shot incorporates unique camera angles and shots whilst the incidental music creates increases tension which is conventional of thriller films. Though planning was sufficient our decided location and mise-en-scene was disturbed as we could not remove studio lights that were in shot, and any of the green screen curtains seen in the background of our video this is seen in the still below. 

This along with shoddy costumes has allowed the group to understand that mise-en-scene is a key aspect that should be looked into more depth when filming the real thriller opening.

Following on from this as a group we decided to utilise the preferred acting style of Oli and Ed;comedy. In order to do this, we decided to take on the sub-genre of comedy which is a very rare combination to choose with thriller films. This was a difficult task and eliminated some conventions of thriller films, because of this I would not be willing to fuse the two genres together for my actual thriller opening.

 One positive element of the genre fusion is the many shot types that were suitable for the clip, the still below illustrates one of the effective close-ups found in the edit.
When using a two-shot this effectively illustrated the characters involved in the scene ,however, lighting did let the shot down so if I were to produce this again I would ensure lighting is to a high standard and confirm this with the group. 

The use of incidental music and black and white video filter during the fight scene is unique and creates anxiety for the audience when watching the video. The action match was well edited and encapsulates the narrative well.Various straight cuts and cutaways were used to show the weaponry in the scene, I think the fast-paced editing of these increases the tension of the shots well and grabs the attention of the audience. 

The incidental music chosen over both sets of titles and the fight scene portrays the action well and enhances the entire video, one way that the video would improve is if sound effects were also utilised in the scene breaking up the dialogue and music. When producing our own videos this is something we will consider to ensure our end product is of a higher quality.

Overall, the camera angles and editing is of a good standard in our preliminary task, mise-en-scene could definitely have been thought out more thoroughly but as a group and an individual, I believe we all have learned from this. The division of group work gave me something to think about regarding the production process of my real video. 

The narrative of the preliminary feels somewhat rushed but the video as a whole is of an average standard, I feel as all negative aspects of the video have provided me with the information I need to ensure my actual video is of a much higher quality. 

I am happy with the video overall as it successfully demonstrates some conventions of thriller films in a unique way. The planning process was moderately successful and played a huge part in ensuring the video was produced to the highest standard. Every member of the group utilised their key skills fairly which resulted in a good filming process providing us with good shots that were edited together well. 

The decision to use premier pro and mainly straight cuts with little video effects allowed my team's vision of a simple thriller with comedic undertones to come through. My group all had a good work ethic and motivation which along with a high standard of communication skills made the production a lot easier. We all split the tasks up well to get experience, of each aspect of production and planning which contributed to the final effort. 

The film does communicate the comedic aspect well but as the deadline came nearer the editing process was rushed which is evident in the final edit. The roles were split well during planning but could have been more balanced during filming and editing to ensure the video had everyone's stamp on it. 

This has made me more aware that I should split tasks more evenly during the production of my own thriller opening. One way the video could we improved is the lack of serious filming seen in various shots where protagonists look into the lens before the scene begins. As the previous scenes were focused on building verisimilitude I would try to remove these shots from the edit to keep editing and narrative consistently tense.