1. EVALUATION 7:
Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have learnt
in the progression from it to full
product?
BY: CIARA NOLAN

2. PRODUCTION STAGES
 Looking back on our preliminary task and comparing it to our final thriller product, there are major
differences and improvements I notice.
 The main process in film production is pre-production, whereby all the planning takes place; such as
locations, ideas for plot, actors and equipment are all gathered.
 Due to the fact we only had a short amount of time to plan for our preliminary task, it was no where near
as successful as our final product.
 In comparison, for our thriller opening we had the chance to plan over several weeks, film over many
days and spend as much time as we needed on it.
 This enabled us to gather the right necessities, including characters, scripts, locations and props needed.
– therefore when it came to the production process, everything was organised for us to begin filming.
 Our preliminary was completed in approximately 2 hours, meaning our filming and editing was rushed
and not a high standard.

3. ELEMENTS WE USED FROM OUR PRELIM
 When planning our final product we decided to go back and watch our
preliminary for any possible ideas.
 Although many of our shots in the prelim were very standard, we
thought from our knowledge gained over the months, we would be able
to improve our shots.
 From our prelim, the group decided that using a panning shot at the start
was very effective, therefore we incorporated it into our thriller opening.
It also worked well with the thriller genre, as the pan of the camera
created suspense.
 Match on action was the main focus of our preliminary so we felt like it
was important to do this successfully in our final product. Through the
use of our editing skills and camera angles we were able to create
successful match on action shots.

4. …cont
 We also thought the use of a close up of the protagonist’s face worked well by creating enigma and
tension. However, as shown in the picture (top right), the close up in our preliminary doesn’t reveal the
characters entire facial expression, for this reason we decided to capture the majority of the protagonist’s
facial expression in our final product so the audience can understand how she is really feeling.
 We also decided to create a panning shot of the protagonist’s feet while walking. This is another feature
we felt was effective in our preliminary, which is why we used it in our final product.
 Our music choices were also quite similar, as the one in our preliminary created suspense, just like the
one we used in our thriller opening.
 Furthermore, we included a scene of the protagonist walking, shot from behind as we thought it was
successful in our prelim. We also began with this shot out of focus on purpose, just like we did in our
prelim, as we believed it fit well with the thriller genre.

5. ELEMENTS WE DIDN’T USE FROM OUR PRELIM
 In our preliminary, without realising, we broke the 180 degree rule when filming. I believe
this was because we were rushed for time, so we learnt that when filming our final product
we need to take our time and ensure we are doing everything correctly in order for a
professional outcome.
 Some shots in our preliminary were also out of focus, which we didn’t notice until we began
editing. This makes the product look unsuccessful, which we did not want our thriller
opening to look like, so ensured every shot was in focus.
 The sound effects we used in our preliminary were very unrealistic and over the top, for this
reason we decided it would be best to use simple sound effects or even natural sounds in
our thriller opening.
 As well as this, the transitions used in our prelim didn’t quite flow with our editing, so we
practiced and tried out many different transitions when editing our final product.

6. EDITING
 The prelim task gave us an opportunity to gain some editing skills and use
Final Cut Pro for the first time, the software we would be using to edit our final
product.
 Editing the preliminary task allowed us to practice our editing techniques and
establish ways of improving our product. Things such as slow motion and
match on action.
 From our preliminary we knew what was good and what was bad during
editing so we spent ages making sure our editing was perfect and we stayed
away from over the top transitions and sound effects which would have made
our final product look unprofessional.
 My editing skills had improved dramatically from the preliminary task, this is
due to many videos I’ve had to edit before our final product, including
audience research and feedback interviews etc.

7. CONCLUSION
 Overall, I believe if we hadn’t done a preliminary task first, our final thriller opening would
not have been as successful because it enabled us to try out the equipment and improve our
camera angles, shots and movements, as well as allowing us to gain better editing skills.
 I believe our thriller opening was a success due to the previous knowledge from our
preliminary task and the chances we had to enhance their skills and develop them further,
which enabled us to produce a well directed, prepared and cast out thriller opening.
 I have learned a lot when it comes to conforming to a specific genre and what conventions are
necessary for it to work successfully. I created suspense and tension through the use of
camera shots and effective music to create the atmosphere.
 From the practice techniques in the prelim to the research and planning from other real film
products we were able to construct a product that I think fulfilled the task.