With the film Predator, the majority of the time we see the Predator through his own eyes, this creates a spooky and mysterious feel. To give more effect, the Predator's point of view would be seen in an abnormal range of colours which distinguishes the Predator from the other characters in the film but also adding more mystery to the film.We took ideas from this film and added our own take on it. We used the idea of using point of view to keep the identity of the character secret, this would make the character more mysterious relating to a theme of a thriller. We also took the idea of the using abnormal colours for the predator’s view, however we used our own use of colours using the editing programme. We used our own blend of colours to give our own unique twist to the film.
During the whole process we used a variety of technologies to research, plan and construct our product. During research and planning we used the internet to search for films that we could extract ideas from, once we had decided upon a film we would watch DVD's to inspect the ideas further and discuss how we could interpret them into our own film. For further research I used PowerPoint to make a slide show of a thriller. I looked at different techniques and related them to their desired effect. This part of the research extended my knowledge of what should be included in a thriller and what effect it would create. Ideas and scripts would be typed up on word so we could keep organised. We used CAM software to create a storyboard; the programme allowed us to create a good visual image of what are product would look like. After each process of planning and research we would post what we did on our blogs. With the construction of the product we used a recording camera to film, we took advantage of all the gadgets on the camera by interpreting a variety of camera techniques to give our film more creativity. The editing process allowed us to tidy up our film but also to improve it by adding special effects which we couldn’t do with the camera. We made the film more creative by adding quicker takes, appropriate sounds and lighting effects; as well as making the film more creative they also made are film more relevant to a thriller which was our target. Once we had finished editing our film we needed to upload it to our blogs. The site wouldn't let us upload it straight from the source so we had to upload it through You tube and then transfer the link onto the blog. Once the video was on the blog we could easily evaluate the film but also allow an audience to give us feedback.
The audience for our product is for people aged over 15, we chose to target people over 15 due to the violent nature and explicit language. We gained some positive feedback from people over 15. From the feedback we learned that we were capable of reading the brief and successful at exporting that into our own product. We received positive feedback on the number and quality of the camera shots. The feedback we got particularly liked the idea of using a point of view shot with special effects to create the mysterious phantom. The biggest improvement that was suggested was the opening shot, the audience felt the shot could of looked more professional. They thought the camera was not steady enough and did not establish the scene enough.
Over the whole process I learnt a great deal about different technologies. During the filming process I have progressed in my knowledge of using the recording camera, I am now more familiar with the buttons on the camera and how to use them effectively whilst recording. I have extended my knowledge of using the editing suite and feel comfortable using the software to produce well-made and creative films. Also, from the research and planning stages I have learned a great deal how to use different technologies to gain relevant information for ideas and planning. The skills I used in the preliminary task proved very useful for the main task. The whole process of the preliminary gave me a better understanding of how long each task would take, this particularly helped with the planning process. The filming of the preliminary task helped me understand more about how to use the camera effectively, this gave me confidence going into the main task to produce great quality camera-shots. The experience of editing on the preliminary was very useful as I developed key skills which enabled me to produce great visual effects for my main task.
