Preliminary Task Analysis
Preliminary task analysis
This week, using Adobe Premiere Pro, we edited the footage of
our preliminary task to make it into a sequence. We wanted this scene to convey tension and
suspense, to leave the viewer wanting to find out more about the characters.
This tension is shown through the facial expressions of the characters. Honor
looked quite concerned and scared, whilst Sofia looked serious and angry.
Through this, it is clear that Sofia has the most status in the scene.
We also used props and setting to create
tension. Sofia held scissors in her hand which added tension and conveys the iconography of a crime thriller, however we decided not to use them as we were not
unscripted; this means in some shots the scissors were not there which resulted
in continuity errors. The costumes that they wore suggested to the audience that this sequence is set in the modern day.
We began with a wide
shot. This was effective as it simply established the scene and introduced
the audience to the set and the characters. The wide shot allowed the
audience to first see Sofia’s determined and angry persona through the
aggressive way she opened the door. The diegetic
sound for the door creaking was effective as it created a tense and ‘dodgy’
atmosphere.
For the rest
of the sequence, we edited a combination of Close Ups and Extreme Close
Ups. We did this as close ups
create suspense and help the audience connect to the characters. Through these
shots, we can clearly see the character’s emotions and focus on them more; this
is important when presenting a tense scene, as we want the audience to feel the
same level of tension as the characters onscreen. I believe this was
successful, particularly with the extreme
close ups, as we can really connect to the characters and want to find out
more about them and the story.
We tried to
make Honor look scared and hopeless through her facial expressions and voice.
This mise-en-scene is important
when filmmaking as it non-directly tells the audience the story and the
characters thoughts towards it. We also made the shots slow paced; we wanted the audience to focus on what’s happening in
the scene. We believe this was successful in focusing on the scene, as it
helped to connect the audience to the characters and feel their tension.
We used over the
shoulder shots of Honor and Sofia. This was effective as it includes the
audience into the scene as well as maintaining the sense of continuity, as both
characters are involved in the scene. We shot these angles within the 180-degree rule so the placement of the
characters in the scene does not disorientate the audience.
We then reverted back to a close up of Sofia, before transitioning into an extreme close up when Sofia says, “I
can’t wait for you” the cut from a close
up to extreme close up
emphasises the escalation of tension that’s building in this scene. The
audience know, through the cut between
close ups, that Sofia’s character is very serious and threatening behind
her words.
We then cut
to an extreme close up of Honor.
This graphic match of the eyes was
very effective, as it emphasises the threatening relationship between the pair;
and is the climax of the tension. This is a typical convention we may see in a Western genre, which is used in order to climax the tension between the
characters. The extreme close up
were successful in making the audience on edge, as it’s very personal to the
character. The audience feel quite uncomfortable, as they are so up close to
the faces. This was also supported by the slow
pace footage, which forced the audience to watch and focus, despite whether
they wanted to watch or not.
There is also a lack
of diegetic sound in Honor’s extreme
close up, this creates suspense as the audience is not sure of what will
happen next.
We then cut to a moving mid
shot of Sofia walking to the door. The lack
of sound continues so the audience is still on edge waiting for the next
thing to happen, this effectively drags the suspense. Sofia speaks the final
line “I won’t wait for you” her facial
expressions connoted to the
audience that she is very impatient in this situation, and clearly doesn’t
care for Honor. The audience want to find out what Sofia wants Honor to do and
why she can’t do it. It is clear through the mise-en-scene that Sofia will continue with her task without
Honor’s aid.
It then cuts
to another extreme close up of the
door handle opening and closing as Sofia walks through. This final shot was
very effective as its slow paced, which
forces the audience to watch and hear the door creaking shut until the very
end. This diegetic sound is repeated
from the start of the sequence, bringing back that discomfort we felt when we
first heard the door squeak. The audience continues to feel on edge and wants
to find out what happened next; its as if this final shot ended on a cliff-hanger.
However there is a black frame between the mid shot and extreme close up. This is where we did not place the final shot correctly
in premiere pro. This removes the verisimilitude
of the sequence, as the clean cut
editing is no longer realistic and smooth. Next time I will make sure that
every cut is smooth and shots are placed immediately after each other.
In addition to that, audio was fairly jumpy and in some parts
very quiet. Particularly in the first close
up of Honor where she says, “I can’t”, we had to duplicate the audio while
editing so that Honor can be heard.
We also
realised that while filming, the actors didn’t take long enough pauses between
lines. Because of this, we found it very hard to edit and cut audio, so for
many of the scenes we can hear a glimpse of the end of the previous line. Next time, I will make sure that if dialogue
is used, the actors will make long enough pauses to make it easier to cut and
edit shots together.
There was also static background noise, which takes away the
tense mood of the film, especially in shots where there is no diegetic sound. I will learn how to
reduce background static noise and perhaps add some non-diegetic sound such as tense instrumental music to really
support the conventions of a
suspenseful thriller.
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