Reflection of Test Shoot

After reflecting on the final footage of our pre-production text shoot I have realised that many elements that we have considered initially work well when conveyed on camera, however there are also a few adaptations and changes that need to be made in order to create the best opening sequence that we can.

In my opinion our idea has translated well onto film because the conventions of a thriller are made clear to the audience and there are elements of suspense and anticipation which work well on screen. However, I also believe that in order to ensure that we create a thriller, we need to consider the comedic elements and the anti-climax created. The use of the anti-climax works well to create suspense, however we need to be careful that we do not make this part too comedic and that we maintain the thrilling elements throughout the two minutes.

I believe that the pace works well, particularly the juxtaposition between the action of the police officers and the psychopath. I am pleased that we were able to achieve the frantic and rushed nature of the police officers, which works harmoniously with the use of the soundtrack and this works well as a contrast with the calm and impaired movement which creates diversity in the pace of the opening sequence. The opening sequence  that we have created is 2 minutes and 35 seconds long which is the correct length for an opening sequence. However when eliminating the moments of comedy which don’t create tension we have to bear in mind that this could possibly bring the length down to under 2 minutes.

In my opinion our idea is clear to the viewer because when we explained our idea to our actors before we began filing the understood the narrative and believe that the characters and plot were very clear and that it would be obvious o an audience what is happening in the opening sequence. However we have to bear in mind that for our test shoot we used students as our actors for the police men however we would need to use teachers/adults in our final footage because this  will ensure that the actors look like police men because of their age and this will id us in ensuring that our idea is made clear to the viewer.

Tension has been created within the opening sequence in a variety of ways. Tension was created through the use of changes in pace between the action of the psychopath and the action of the police officers. I believe that tension was also created in the soundtrack, however I’m not sure that the use of stopping the soundtrack and just using dialogue works well as in my opinion it breaks up the action and makes it appear more amateur and reduces the tension created.

I personally like the use of the variety of camera angles and movements. I think that the use of the pan from the gravestone to the outside of the church right at the beginning of the opening sequence works well to create the atmosphere of the sequence and also the establishing shot of the outside of the church allows the audience to connect with the location. I also like the use of the mid shot of the police officers searching in the graveyard because it allows the audience to see the guns and torches in their hands which shows that they are searching and also conveys the seriousness of the matter. In my opinion the use of the long shot of the police officers entering the church and walking down the aisle works particularly well in creating the mood and atmosphere and also increasing the suspense. The darkness created with the light coming in from behind works really effectively in conveying the idea and also heightening the suspense. I believe that the camera angle of the extreme close up used right at the end of the sequence of the psychopath blowing out the candles  needs to be developed in order to make it clear that she is blowing out the candles and also to ensure that the audience can see all of the elements of the character’s facial expression in order to understand and realise what they are doing.  

I believe that in order to develop our idea further we need to consider adding more elements of religion due to the fact that our location is a church and this will work well to create suspense and also add to the creepy mood and atmosphere. I think that if we add in more elements of religion such as religious icons, or the sue of a hymn as the soundtrack this would aid our idea and also make it clearer to the audience. In my opinion our idea would work better if we remove the comedic element of the anti-climax as although he use of the anti-climax works well to subside the tension and suspense, the use of the comedy goes against the convention of a thriller and also could lead to the audience disconnection from the action.  

Personally I believe that at times the soundtrack that we used doesn’t work well at times in conveying our idea because it is quite upbeat. It works well in the elements of action of the police officers because it is upbeat and conveys action and suspense. However I believe that the cutting between the dialogue and the soundtrack doesn’t work very well as it decreases the intensity of the tension and suspense. I  think that in order to develop our idea further we could add in religious soundtrack or a hymn in the background as this would help create the mood and atmosphere of the church.

Many elements in our test shoot worked well such as the variety of camera angles and movements and also the cutting between the police officers and the psychopath in the church. I particularly liked the filter that was put over the top of the footage as in my opinion this works really well in creating the mood and atmosphere and also helps to build suspense and tension.  Another elements that worked well was the use of various sound effects, especially the use of the creaking of the door which is a typical convention of a thrilling scene.

Overall there are many element in the test shoot that worked really well and were conveyed well on camera. This exercise was very useful in establishing what elements don’t work well and need to considered and developed further in order to create a thrilling opening sequence.