Thriller Evaluation, Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Task:

The preliminary task was extremely helpful as it introduced me to the software and equipment we would be using for the thriller and helped me remember several important aspects which would be important in the film. I think the preliminary task went well and it was ultimately achieved with trial and error which made me much more competent in both the planning and production sides of film making.

Research:

Upon researching we decided that we wanted to include some inter-textual references and conventions to our film to make it more relate-able to our audiences. We initially decided on creating a conflict in our scene but prior to researching we didn't know how to achieve it. I suggested that we include a western-style standoff and we looked at 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and it's use of camera shots, particularly the close-ups on the eyes as way to generate emotional responses such as fear and tension for our audiences:

This Sergio Leone film isn't a thriller as such but being able to look at another film, understand it's conventions and implement those into your own work  was the single most important thing I learnt throughout the preliminary task.

Planning:

The planning for the preliminary task was slightly difficult at first as some members of the group had only just been introduced with each other. It ultimately allowed us to work out how we work best in a group and get to know everybody. The preliminary task was important in establishing this as it served as a task in which we made a group on Facebook in order to contact eachother on social media. 

After this, I discovered my communication skills in a group were more refined and we knew how the technology worked which allowed  us to share ideas which we knew would be achievable. For example, one of us came up with the idea of a dream sequence which through studying the dream featured in "Once Upon a Time in America" and shooting the preliminary task we knew that we would be fully capable in terms of film form capability to do this effectively. 

Briefs and deadlines:

Similarly to how a director would work with a production company and the film crew, we were given a specific brief and deadlines to follow. This improved my ability to work effectively as it ultimately made me a more efficient worker - particularly in a team. 

The brief we followed for the preliminary was simpler than for the thriller but it prepared us and gave us a guage of the flexibility of the course.

Film conventions:

The preliminary introduced us to film conventions such as the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shots and avoiding unwanted direct address of the camera which ultimately made our thriller both more interpolating and more professional than had we not known much about these. 

180 degree rule: 

In the preliminary task, our group learned that some of the film conventions would require adequate planning and some knowledge as to how we could achieve a realistic sequence. The most important one to know is the 180 degree rule as it keeps the audience aware of where objects are situated in the film world - similarly to how somebody would perceive objects in the real world. Furthermore, we learnt that the 180 degree rule could be broken sometimes but it would have to be applied effectively to avoid making it look unprofessional - which we briefly studied in 'The Shining' where Stanley Kubrick deliberately broke it to disorient the viewers.