Looking back, I feel more confident now with the editing tools such as cutting, credit text, and the stretching the film to short and long.
First of all, I learned about how important it its to be specific with choices of props to put in the background because it helps to signify the the setting of the film. What we were lacking in the preliminary task was that we did not have set the the background of the scene very well. There were not enough props and it looked empty. Moreover, there were unwanted objects in the background such as files and TV.
Through this experience, we ensured to bring the necessary props and set up the scene with purpose of what we are aiming to achieve and what indication we are hoping to send across to the audience. For example, our location of the shot was to be set in a homely atmosphere so we make sure that we set up the scene with table lamps setting by the side of the bed, two beds being put together to give an impression of a queen size bed, and we also clear the table by removing the make up and leaving the laptop and some books on the table to make it less girly. We also put the props that crucial to us which were gun and passport.
Secondly, the importance of control in lighting during the shooting process. During the preliminary task, we were inexperienced with the lighting which made the different shots of the film to be inconsistent. It also looses the mood of terror. Through this practice, we learnt to be more careful with the lighting by checking onto the camera first to see how does it appear in the screen. We then decide to put the lighting closer if we want brighter effect or to put further to reduce the lighting.
Lastly, choices in actors. It is important to choose suitable actors to be cast in the scene because they represent a stereotypical ideology for the media. Plus, it makes the audience to understand better therefore making the film more interesting to watch. In our preliminary task, we chose two people to be in our shoot without thinking carefully about why do we want this actor and what effect would they give us. We did not see it from the spectator's point of view. From this, we chose one actor ,Jake Cecil in our second shooting, who could represent the idea of young good looking man with full of action and mystery (like James Bond) because our thriller is about changing identities, action packed film. So we thought that it will be appropriate to Jake as our actor.
