Evaluation_Task_No.7: What_Do_You_Feel_You_Have_Learnt_In_The_Progression_From_Your_Preliminary_Task_To_The_Full_Product?

Camerawork:

In our preliminary task, our main focus wasn’t to demonstrate a range of camera shots but to use the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot-reverse-shot. I included a high and low angle shot, with over the shoulder shots and a two shot, along with a close-up on the files. With these shots I created a slight intense atmosphere, making ‘Kyle’ (The older actor, wearing glasses) seem to have more power by giving him a low angle shot from over the shoulder of ‘Rhys’.

But for my AS product I wanted to develop my camera angle skills and the way in which I use different range of camera shots. From my research; I learnt from many ‘teen angst’ films such as “Easy A”, “Kidulthood”, “Juno” their opening sequence had various use of shots and where not limited to a few average shots, such as “Easy A” and “Juno” mainly uses long shots for the characters walking around the school. This was to help clearly connote to the audience the setting and environment, something I want to incorporate into the opening sequence.

Therefore, the majority of the opening sequence was long shots, connoting to the audience the tough environment of my film. However, just like in “Kidulthood” I include several close ups in the opening scene, to help emphasis certain characters emotion and to provoke a reaction from the audience. An example would be, after the close-up on the alarm clock, ‘Ben’, is getting up and ready very early, to help emphasis how tried he is, provoking to the audience the stereotype of teenagers, by having Ben look tried connoting how Ben is a stereotype to how audience typical see teenagers and allowing teenagers to relate and connect with Ben character. Which is something I couldn't create with my Preliminary Task.

Editing:

For my Preliminary Task the main focus was to use the 180 degree rule, a shot-reverse-shot and match-on-action.  I used a match-on-action when ‘Rhys’ knocks on the door and walks through the door. The match-on-action was used from two different areas, with different angle and shot. I also used the 180 degree rule to maintain the character being on their side of the table and to have a clear divide.

So for my Preliminary Task the editing was very basic; therefore I focused on progressing this in our feature film. A match-on-action was used when Ben walks into the living room to see ‘Beau’ and ‘Mason’, and when he leaves the school, after dropping off Beau and Mason. I didn't use shot-reverse-shot in the AS product as it wasn’t necessary for the scene to keep Ben isolate from everyone.  I used very slowly-paced editing to emphasis the depressive tone of the film, allow with slow-paced music that complicates the editing, connoting to the audience how this film isn’t a stereotypical up-beat teen angst film, but a counter-type that challenges certain teen films. By having a very slow-paced and a juxtaposition between Ben with the drugs in his room to the kids playing in the living room, allowing the audience to get a feel of the mood of the film.

Mise-en-scene:

My main prop in the Preliminary Task was an unmarked folder, to interests the audience in what Kyle is giving Rhys and why he had to call him.  I also used a table to helped show a divide between the authorities in the Preliminary Task.

All of the characters will wear shabby/casual clothing. This is because the characters attend sixth form. Additionally, the clothing will be casual and modern, to emphasise a stereotype that characters are young adults.
 Our main prop was a bag of ‘unknown substance’ this was to connote the dark tone of the film, and to get the audience hooked as they want to know what that substance is and weather they ever truly find out, making the audience keep watching to find out.

Titles:

For my opening scene I focused on using titles in the AS product. So for my sequence I named the film calling it 'Choices' and this appears in the colours of white with a black background, to symbolise what little innocents and good left in the world of the film, and to show the struggles our main protagonist has to face within this film. The Title is an informal and messy font with connotations of being a teenager, and to have look of drugs as it scatted along screen in the shape of letters. The main title appears larger and central and, when the camera fades out into a black screen, giving me a plain background for the main title to appear on. The rest of the titles appear in various ways, and the actors’ names appear in the font with different colours. Every actor had an allocated colour throughout the opening sequence, in order to make them clear to the audience. The creative ways of presenting the titles included the name 'Ben Stacey' right next to him as if it was on the pillow with him.

Sound:

In preliminary task I only used diegetic dialogue, this was emphasises the seriousness of the interview and additionally to make it more dramatic and tense for the audience. But for my AS production the non-diegetic music I discovered on a website called 'bensound.com', created by a friend of my called "Ben Tomalin" who allowed us to use certain songs provided in his library of royalty-free music free of charge. This website can be used by anyone, with only one condition that they would be credited as the source. Promising to do so, we selected four different audio tracks: 'Better Days', 'November', 'Sad Day', and 'Tomorrow', which were all considered for use in the finished product. And using 'Adobe Premiere Pro' I combined two different 'Better Days' and 'November' and was able to add them into the final cut.