Beata Rumian AS Media

Over the few months between the preliminary task and the filming and editing of the thriller opening, I believe I have learnt a few valuable lessons on how to use my resources effectively, therefore improving the overall quality of my work. I have edited both, the preliminary task and the final thriller.

During the gap between the tasks I have learnt how to achieve a desired effect of suspense on the audience through the editing by adapting the length and timing of the different shots according to the situation presented.

I have used different shots to build tension like for example showing only Jakes leg while Afsana was cleaning up instead of showing the whole body straight away.

While working on the preliminary task we were mainly focused on getting as many different shots and techniques as possible. Which didn't really work out and some of the shots didn't look quite right, especially the jump cut in the corridor that was rather unnecessary.

We made sure to do a lot of research regarding thriller openings and how to keep the audience eager to see more of the film. I found out that it is important to catch the audiences attention within the first few minutes of the film, so that they will want to watch the rest.

Preliminary task beginning:

Final thriller:

When we planned the story line for our thriller we made sure to include different camera angles and practiced a lot to make sure they are effective and used correctly. We also filmed a lot more shots than me and Jake did for the preliminary task. We ended up with around 380 videos that I then had to go through and pink out the best ones to put into our two minute opening.

Whereas for the preliminary task we focused mainly on the storyboard and didn't have much time left for filming. Me and Jake did recorded most of it in one day and came out with only the necessary shots. We lacked variety however I managed to put it all together in a way that worked.

We learnt a valuable lesson through doing that, because when it came to us filming the thriller we focused more on the mise-en-scene and getting a a wide variety of shots, which turned out to work quite well. When we did the preliminary task the storyboard was our only planning sheet, but during the planning for our thriller opening we used many other planning sheets like:

Risk assessment
Animatic
Shooting schedule
Costumes & Props sheet
Treatment
Location sheet
Shot list

Since the preliminary task I learnt a lot about editing and how every little frame counts. If one frame is out of place it will all look wrong. Therefore it took me a lot longer to edit it all since I attempted to make it as close to perfect as I could.

In the preliminary task we have only used the basic shots like long shot, establishing shot, medium shot etc. which made the film not as effective.

However in the final piece we attempted to add shots that could help is create an atmosphere. Like a low angle shot, wide shot, etc. The low angle shot of Afsana shows that she is powerful as the villain.

I discovered the importance of diagetic and non-diagetic sound. We made sure that we had eerie background music playing during the opening because we felt like it added to the overall feel of the film putting the audience on edge. In the preliminary task we had no music playing and instead all you could hear is people talking.

Video transitions are also important when trying to connect two events together making a smooth transition from one shot to the next. While editing the preliminary task I was not aware of how to use those features effectively therefore ended up with a badly edited jump cut.

In the final task everything seemed to flow smoothly from one shot to the next...