Ben- Evaluation Question 7

For Our Preliminary, we had the idea of doing a Thriller piece as this would give us some extra practice in this Genre. This (I feel) is apparent as the Thriller piece is seemingly more refined than the Preliminary, both in the Story, equipment used and Technical Codes.

Camera Work:

Framing

 Beginning with Camera work, what I like from the preliminary is the Action Cuts or Blur Cuts. I am unsure of any name this transition might have but the way it works is it starts with one shot, planned to have a fast Pan or Tilt at the end. We found it difficult to stop the camera exactly were we wanted it from the previous subject. Therefore we split the shots in two takes, and made sure there was a blur at the end of the first take and the beginning of the second. Cutting these two blurs together made it nearly seamless and as if it was all one take. We had little need for such a transition, but we had several shots we planned to increase Enigma and Suspense. Where as in the Prelim we stuck largely to Medium Shots. In the Thriller we had Extreme Close Ups, Big Close Ups, Close Ups, Medium Close Ups, Medium Shots, Medium Long Shots, Long Shots, Extreme Long Shots and Over The Shoulders.

Medium Shot, Preliminary

Action Cut Begins, Preliminary

Extreme Close Up, Thriller

Over The Shoulder, Thriller

Techniques

 However we replaced the hidden Action Cut with more apparent shots such as a few Point Of View shots, a slow Zoom out and turn, a Graphic Match, a Pan around and the last shot in the film that is only a Zoom In. Adding this wide variety of shots worked in our favor by keeping pace in the film steady but also by adding variety to the shots so they're not all static at Eye Level. Not all these interesting shots worked as intended, be it to inexperience while editing, or problems with the footage. The three that I believe worked the least are the Pan around, the Graphic Match and the Slow Zoom Out. The Pan was an idea at the start of Pre-Production that was something we wanted to try. Originally intended to be done using a Steadicam, we had to make do without. This ended up Handheld and very shaky. The Graphic match was simpler as it only needed the actor and camera operator to do the same shot in two locations. Despite for one shot being out of focus, framing for both worked. However, not enough of the background is showed in both shots. The point was to bring the film back from the forest to the graveyard however it only appears like a jarring Jump Cut. This is how we aimed it to be [Link]. The Background, Costume, Lighting and Sound all serve to make this less jarring. The last shot is the Slow Zoom Out and Turn. Originally it was a solo idea that got put in, it starts in a Close Up on the actor lying down acting dead, with the camera orientated vertically, parallel to the eyes. A slow Zoom Out begins and at the same time, the camera operator turns the camera to be level. When the movement stops the actor gasps as to give a surviving breath. Several things went wrong. The movement was rough and thrashed about several times, the actor was smiling and did not appear particularly dead, and the sound was interrupted by birds. All in all the Preliminary's shots worked very well but were far simpler. In the Thriller we did not succeed in all the shots, but experimented with a wider, more difficult variety.

Panoramic movement, Thriller

Out of Focus Graphic Match, Thriller

Slow Zoom Out and Turn, Thriller

Angles & Movement

 The angles used suffered in the Thriller. Where in the Prelim there is a Very Low Angle to show the superiority of an angry character, the most there was a High Angle, during the Pan shot. There are more angles throughout the Thriller, however they are only slight High and Low. This may be because we were focused on the framing, or we forgot to implement it, but if angles were there, they would most likely assist several weak or long shots. However it is the opposite on camera movements. The Prelim has one Tilt and two Pans, while the Thriller has one Pan and two Handheld Tracking shots from the different angles. The Tracking shots are Handheld because the ground at the scene was muddy and covered in leaves, making a dolly impractical. But these shots worked well nonetheless with the camera shake that followed the walking. Walking which I believe may not be apparent, be it not for the camera shake.

Low Angle, Preliminary

High Angle, Thriller

Slight Low Angle,  Thriller

ECU Handheld Track, Thriller

Overview

 What improved camera wise on the Thriller from Preliminary is the shot framing, with several different shots taken that could break up the scene and make it more manageable for viewers. Angles saw no improvement, while the Movements saw improvement, but it was only present for two shots. Focus was improved by leagues, where many shots in the Preliminary were out of focus, only one in the Thriller was. This is still something that needs working on however. White Balance was similar to the Prelim as it had no jarring orange colours excluding for a few seconds on the last shot where the White Balance was thrown off as the light in the room turned on.

White Balance Hiccup, Thriller

White Balance Stabilises, Thriller

Mise en Scene

Lighting

 The Lighting, and consequentially the video quality, was improved drastically from the Preliminary. In the Prelim, we had one umbrella light with a stand that was plugged into the wall and placed in the corner of the room. We wanted dark, minimal lighting to make the entire scene spooky and mysterious. It did not work. We did not think very hard on where to put it, in the corner by a power plug was good enough. This meant only one actor was properly lit, but the light still created strong shadows through the scene which looked unnatural and odd. The uneven, low lighting also meant the camera struggled as on the unlit actor, the ISO (The camera's light sensitivity) is on a high setting. This creates an ugly and grainy effect on the film that is somewhat distracting. The only times we moved the light was when it was going to appear in the shot, but we still did not place it anywhere better. In the Thriller however, things changed. After lessons and research on the subject, we all learned of the Three Point Lighting system that can be used to create both Low and High Key lighting. Unfortunately we were only able to acquire one light but it did not matter as much since our filming time presented large amounts natural light for us. The light we did get, a handheld, LED light came with diffusers that even out the light so as not to create the strong shadows seen in the Prelim. We had two kinds: one that clipped onto the light and came different colours, and a large fold out circle that worked considerably better despite being so cumbersome. This all provided soft lighting for when we needed it, and for one occasion where the harder light is what we wanted to create higher contrast in the image.

Strong Shadows but Grey Colours, Preliminary

Light and Diffuser to the Left, Thriller

Hard Light from Below, Thriller

Costumes

Where in the Preliminary we chose one actor for convenience of what he wears daily, in the Thriller we had specific instructions for costumes. The main character, Geoff, is a detective so we thought of a smart, respectable and cool outfit consisting of primarily of a shirt and tie with a long coat. As I was playing the character, I went through several wardrobes, adding what added to the look of cool detective. Because the shirt seemed too bright and contrasting against the black coat. The jeans, despite not being seen at all times show someone who is hardworking but also bring some colour. The dark colours also connote darkness, evil and death. The Assailant is the Third character that is never fully revealed. Because of that, the costume instructions were black long coat and everything else, black. This costume turned out to be near enough perfect. We had instructed for a black hat too but the addition of the scarf by the actor put everything together. The black colours were made to again connote darkness, evil and death, but also fear. This needed to be doubly so since this character is the Antagonist that attacks what is seemingly an innocent bystander. The second character shown, Susan, wears a light jogging outfit, The idea being she was on jog when she was attacked. We gave instructions to our actress to be as colourful as possible, unfortunately the best she had was a pink top. However her grey jacket and black leggings tied her costume in with the other two. Instead, with the Prelim costumes however, the first character was a long shot at stereotypical clothing while the second character was wearing that the entire day. The first character, again played by me was meant to be a henchman of sorts, therefore I attempted to hit a few stereotypes on 'chav' clothing. This was because when I thought of criminal organisations with henchmen disappointing the boss, images of young people with snapback hats came into mind. This is why I went with a sideways snapback hat, a buttoned up grey polo shirt and a hoodie with the laces together. 

Detective Geoff, Thriller

Assailant, Thriller

"Hip" Character 1, Preliminary

Running Susan, Thriller

Setting

The Preliminary had one location. A classroom within college with the door in the corner we needed. The one Setting meant filming was completed very quickly. However, the room was cluttered with computers, chairs tables and posters that made the background distracting. While in the Thriller we had three separate locations. The main two, The All Saints Church graveyard and Eastern Road Nature Reserve, were in wide open areas. The backgrounds consisted of trees and/or churches that, for the most part, was a constant distance away from the camera. The last setting is again in college. A small cubicle room with a light and switch inside at the edge of campus. The windows were blacked out with card to make sure that the only light source was from the light in the room. This room was used for the last shot in the film to round everything off.

Classroom location, Preliminary

Graveyard Location, Thriller

Forest Location, Thriller

Enclosed Room Location, Thriller

Sound

Soundtrack

The Preliminary as a very simple order in its soundtrack. A beginning, suspenseful track to set the mood. A middle track to shock the audience on the plot twist/big reveal. And the final track to sustain the fast pace through to the end. This is done in three separate tracks cut into them at different points to use them to the max. The second track for example, Unlight, is only heard for a few shots, a few seconds into the track, but it helps to punch up the gears and increase the pace quickly. What did not go so well are the transitions between tracks. There is one, obviously apparent second that is a silent gap between two tracks, while the other transition is rushed, sudden and also pops on the transition. The reason it pops is because the music files are .mp4. This has a different rate from all the other .Mov files and therefore pops. This was fixed in the Thriller by converting the .mp4s to .Wav files. Many things were improved in the Thriller. The transitions, the music and the use of music. The transitions were improved by following each track along with the action and also the upcoming track. For example, the first track Diminuendos on one last piano note, while the next track, Crescendos on piano and a low, bass hum that builds suspense. The piano makes it seem to be the same track. The next track is the plot twist/big reveal piece that is not exactly what was wanted. The reason this track (Ghostapocalypse by Kevin MacLeod) is not the best for this film is because the tempo is much faster than the other soundtracks. The reason it was used however was because of the build up and the drop at the end worked to introduce the sudden increase in action and then ease it out. It was just the very heavy percussions that off set everything and catches anyone watching off-guard. If we had more time, perhaps a new track with a build up and drop could have been found to replace the drums to keep the Pace more controlled. For the crime scene Scene, it was difficult to find something to fill that nearly minute long gap without taking away from it. One track had a looping, ringing noise that when inserted into the sequence it created an uncomfortable feeling. It makes it apparent that something is wrong as if by replicating ringing ears. The fifth and final track in the Thriller is there to finish everything off by saying "This is the situation, stay tuned"

Foley & Recording

In the Preliminary, our only sound recording was from the camera's onboard microphone. The problem with this is that as the camera moves around, whatever ambient sound the camera was recording originally, can change dramatically in volume. This was not a huge problem in the Preliminary as the small, enclosed location was relatively quiet. Some Dialogue was still shoddy however. To negate this problem, ambiance is recorded separate from the camera. This recorded ambiance, from all the locations, was then put appropriately into the sequence, removing any distracting sound level changes. A lot more than just ambiance was recorded. With a sound recorder we recorded dialogue, footsteps, post-filming dialogue and Foleys. There was a small use of Foleys in the Preliminary (Bird squawks) but the Thriller saw much more use. The ending was recorded using hand slapping. The scratch was done by running nails against carpet, however this is covered by the afore mentioned percussions. A few lines of dialogue was also recorded after filming. The recordings come out much cleaner than they would have from the camera. One problem that arose was that some audio files had gone missing. Whether they were not recorded or not transferred is unknown, but this made it necessary for some shots to use camera audio. Whether the microphones are recording or not is certainly something to look for in future.

Bird noises, Preliminary

Foley punching, Thriller

Editing

Transitions

Transitions remained for the large part, simple. The Thriller begins with a fade in from black but the largest majority of Transitions are Cuts with a few Cut to black. This is the same with the Preliminary, although instead of implementing Cut to blacks within the sequence to move along, it was used to end the Prelim. Other than this, we had a match on action in the Preliminary which we did not do on the Thriller. Instead there is a Graphic Match and a last minute transition out of a black screen. Clothes of the character obscure the lens. When he walks away the camera is exposed. It worked rather well but what would have improved it was locking the aperture and ISO settings to avoid the initial overexposure.

Overexposure in glaring white, Thriller

Title

The Thriller title sequence required to be ominous as to complement the film and the name 'Absence'. However there are technical skill limitations on our part. We cannot create a CGI clown to piece the title together like a jigsaw puzzle, not that a clown would make sense. Instead we were able to find a moving fog effect on a green screen that we were able to implement into the sequence. The we decided on the text moving in from the behind the camera and moving further and further away. An improvement from no title in the Preliminary, it could still be improved itself. For example, more appropriate colours (e.g. red) and and more themed or stylized font. The fog saved it from being an uninteresting black screen.

Text and fog, Thriller