PLANNING
Overall we planned quite well. There was one line which we didn't have a particular line planned but we improvised and it flowed very well. It was hardly noticeable in the final piece. We made sure that everyone involved in the project knew how we wanted to present the characters. The journalist was to be presented as an authoritative figure and in a position of power throughout the clip. The serial killer was to gain some power at one point in the clip, but this power was to be restored to the journalist as soon as he raises his voice in outrage. This can be speculated as fake power as he has now lost all the strength that he had, or true power where he doesn't take any lip from the serial killer and therefore uses his authority to intimidate him. The serial killer is presented as an untouchable figure, as although he is in a submissive position, as he cannot lose his temper, he is truly the one in the position of power. He is unphased by anything that the journalist says, and also reveals crippling information which ultimately ruined the journalist.
Costumes were used to present each character in a desirable fashion and to reflect their positions in the scene. The formal clothing wore by the journalist reflects his desire for authority. The casual clothing worn by the serial killer represents how he is unaffected by any insults thrown at him by the journalist.
We encountered one problem with the location that we filmed the piece in. There was a back board in the background of many of the shots of the journalist, which was not there the next day when we resumed filming. To compensate, we re-filmed all the scenes of the journalist. This was a small sacrifice to maintain continuity in the scene.
FILMING
We were, for the majority of the piece, successful in our filming. There were no immediate problems when it came to each shot.
We used a variety of shots when it came to this piece, from over the shoulder shots to low angle. The low angle shots were to establish the journalist's dominance at the beginning of the shot, although as the conversation begins the Journalist realises that he is not in as much control as he had thought. This explains the over-the-shoulder shot. As he storms out, there is a low angle shot of him as he stands up. This re-establishes his dominance as he loses his temper. Overall the use of shots were significant and well filmed.
Camera techniques were also put to good use. The rule of thirds was used to bring more attention to each character. An action match was also used to maintain the flow of the narrative. The 180 degree rule was observed throughout the entire piece, too.
Our worst problem came when Ryan had his hair cut when we were just about to finish filming. This was very problematic as we could not restart filming as we were too far into production, so we had to make it the least noticeable it could have been. This was our worse continuity issue.
Lighting was used to great effect. The lighting in the corridor was low-key which indicated the journalists hesitance and apprehension when it came to speaking to the serial killer. However when he entered, the high key lighting indicated that he was confident in the situation and was willing to overcome his hesitance. Costumes were also well done, the journalist wore formal clothing while the serial killer was in more casual clothing. This also suggests a class difference between the two characters.
EDITING
Editing went rather well. The software was mostly unknown to us so there was some fiddling about so that we could find our bearings but once we knew what we doing it was much easier. The software was useful in that it was very user friendly and that we had some sound issues in the clips we wanted to use and we were able to take the better audio from other clips. For example we moved the sound of the door to later than it would have been to add dramatic effect. This was one of our biggest problems of the editing. We also had some useless clips of the serial killer as the hands were in the wrong position. However we noticed this during filming and were able to simply retake a couple of shots. We were able to learn how to accurately and efficiently edit the video and audio. For example, at times there was sound over the dialogue that was interrupting the narrative. We were able to fix this with a quick audio editing tool within the software we were using which was iMovie11. We learned how to add video and audio effects, how to add credits and incorporate music into the production. Overall the piece was quite good. There were difficulties in the continuity that we edited out without much difficulty, our win obstacle was time. We found it quite hard to finish the production within the time period but we were able to complete it on schedule.
If we have learned one thing that we should do to ensure success in the next piece of coursework, it would be that we should improve the consistency in our setting, and also consistency in general.
If we have learned one thing that we should do to ensure success in the next piece of coursework, it would be that we should improve the consistency in our setting, and also consistency in general.
