Preliminary Video

Here is my preliminary video. I made sure that I followed my storyboard and had given this out prior to my actors.This made it much easier and less complicated when it came to me feeling as I was able to make sure all shots were filmed. As the actors were prepped before hand, it was a quick process and definitely something I will do again when it comes to filming my main horror trailer.

Preliminary Analysis

In addition to other peoples feedback I would also like to reflect on my own successes and improvements.

My first steps in getting ready to film my preliminary task consisted of gathering rough ideas and constructing myself a guideline. To do this successfully I sketched up several ideas and placed them in to my story board. From this I then applied my ideas in to a script. Taking on board my rough ideas I then began to create my video.

In terms of device I used my digital camera to and a tri-pod to film my footage. Overall this was not a bad choice however the tall tri-pod restricted my  flexibility to move to the height and distance I needed for an effective shot. This really impacted me when I attempted to create a filling the frame composition in my close-up shots.

Additionally, I also learnt my camera can not record high quality sound within the disruption of bad weather conditions. I wanted to challenge myself by attempting to shoot outside on a reasonably windy day. I thought this would be helpful in the preparation of shooting my horror trailer, as dealing with different weather conditions is a big aspect to consider. Especially in stereotypical and conventional elements such as the pathetic fallacy of rainy and windy weather, my camera still must be able to record high quality sound. In analytical terms, my preliminary task illustrates moments where the background wind is disrupting the speech. To overcome this issue, I could invest in using a pop filter or pop shield; this is a noise protection filter for microphones. It is used to reduce or remove distracting sounds caused by fast wind and other disturbing weather conditions affecting the speech whilst being recorded.Moreover, although my frames are photographically correct the shots themselves jump too far and the angle is slightly adverted making the shot look like completely different images. With this in mind, the 180 degree must have been broken enabling my captivating skills to not fade in to each other but to look disjointed, this means the conversation does not flow as well as it needs to.

Furthermore, in some areas of my filming, there is camera shake, although I was using a tri pod the wind would tend to tilt it every now again. To improve this I should consider the intensity of weather and to what extent should I allow filming time in these conditions or whether filming inside was a better option.

In terms of the cast, I should have directed their speech skills in sync with each other. For example, in places the characters tend to jump from a monochromatic tone to a very excitable tone. This also adds a harsh contrast of speech, which enables the video to not run smoothly.

Lastly, I additionally learnt that filming can be a time consuming process if your overly selective. A short conversation shouldn’t have taken so much time and this is evident in the change of lighting throughout the recorded day change. As we can see from the very beginning of the recording to the end the lightning becomes a lot darker. This is a massive disadvantage with shooting outside, its important to parallel a timing sequence, or things will become off balance.