In the period from the preliminary task and the main production, I feel that I have learnt a large amount about the film-making process. Although I had already the basic skills such as camera operation and editing, I also acknowledge that I have made progression in these areas and even learnt some new things entirely.
I did develop my basic skills to a marginal degree, as practise in any task would. Camera usage is smoother and I used for the first time the Panasonic Lumix G2 which meant I know more about DSLR's than before. I already knew how to use a camera and older technology such as a tripod but this extra experience was helpful nonetheless. Likewise, discoveries in terms of editing were limited, but I did learn of a few more effects and fades such as constant power on soundtracks.
However, I did learn a huge about the importance of good organisation and team work. As my group and I needed to film outside of school hours as well as early in the morning to get the right lighting and allow actors to attend, the creation of a Facebook group was one of the most useful things that could have been done. Another thing I learnt was the value of sticking to arrangements and remaining reliable, as some issues were caused by failure to do this. Without this kind of organisation, it would have been incredibly difficult to communicate and work out when the whole team were available, which would have slowed down the production process hugely. Again, in this aspect of the production, I learnt the value of set roles and tasks within members of the group. This allowed each person to focus on fulfilling their task to the best of their ability as well as preventing possible conflicts.
I also learnt how useful research could be in developing and informing my creative process. With the brief of producing a thriller film, I was required to find out about the genre and research was in-disposable for this purpose. Research included reading up on films, film techniques such as montage explored in 'Battleship Potemkin' and watching them. I watched many films I hadn't seen before such as 'The Third Man' and Jackie Brown as well as revisiting films I had already seen in a new light, such as 'No Country For Old Men' and 'Battle Royale'. I learnt this was useful in developing my understanding of genre conventions, as well as inspiring my own ideas.
This research leads onto another thing I have learnt, which is some of the many rules and guidelines in film. Although these rules are not completely vital in producing a film they are, for the most part, very good guidance in producing one of any quality and of any cohesion. Rules such as the 180 Degree rule and shot/reverse shot were introduced in the preliminary task but developed and used to their full potential in the final product. Moreover, I learnt the value and difficulty of maintaining continuity over the course of a longer shoot and what contributes to this, namely costume, location, props and lighting. I feel this made the opening itself of a higher quality but also improved my skills as a film-maker.
The cliff hanger is an oft-overlooked device in film, but is commonly used in TV, literature and as I learnt, Thriller openings. I learnt how cliffhangers work and how effective they can be when used correctly. This led to me changing my ending slightly so that the tension is built slowly using increasingly claustrophobic angles, mystery and cues in the editing. I felt that by including a cliff hanger I made the opening that bit more engaging.
Conjointly, It was important that the soundtrack for the opening met a series of tight guidelines, which put a large burden and restriction on possible choices. To combat this I needed to research royalty free sources as well as the sort of soundtrack that would compliment my opening. This led me to learn a little about how copyright works and where to go in order to circumvent tight guidelines. For example, I learnt that there were sites such as Incompetech.com that offered music for use in all sorts of productions free of copyright and free of charge, but also that there were some recordings that fell under different forms of copyright such as creative commons.
Furthermore, I learnt how the use of genre conventions can affect greatly the final outcome of a film. I learnt about the definition of genre itself and the power its conventions can have upon an audiences reaction to a text. If a film uses too many generic conventions it can become bland and formulaic, but conventions can also be vital in informing the audience as well as satirising and referencing tired ideas. I also learnt of the negative connotations of some conventions and based some of my decisions around them such as writing two female characters into the opening and giving one a position of power over the man, subverting the patriarchal stereotype in thriller films.
Much of this learning curve was informed by feedback and advice from my peers, my tutors and my audience. They had the benefit of the outside eye and therefore were well positioned to give me their honest opinion so I could address issues and improve my final piece. They were useful throughout the planning, researching and into the production stage of the filming process and really helped with seeing to the improvement between Preliminary and final tasks.
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