Final Evaluation - By Bethany Keerie

Final Evaluation- By Bethany Keerie

• 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?  

Thriller opening and movies are films that use 'Suspense and tension' taken from wikipedia. Thrillers also create phsycological tension by including mystery and drama in the opening  sequence to get the audience enaged and wanting to know what will happen next. The main conventions of a thriller are camera work, Mise en scene and editing and sound.
Our Thriller opening includes these conventions of a thriller as there is little dialogue which makes tension build up as the sequence goes on. Also over egaratted sound effects help to over empathasize on certain object which could be significant further on in the story line. Also we included a flashback into our thriller piece which helps create a mystery as you don't know any detail about the story or what the flashback has to do with the story so far. Another thing that we used which is a convention of a thriller in our opening is camera work, such as over the shoulder shot and close up so that the viewer can clearly see the characters reaction and facial expression. 

Shot 1. In our Thriller opening is an establishing shot to show where one of our main characters (The little girl) is and why. Which in our example this shot shows that the little girl is in a children's park, however we purposely had to  swing the swings before the shot was taken so that it would looks fairly realistic like a sterotypical thriller film almost like they were swinging by themself.An example of swings being used in a real thriller would be in Hide and Seek. 

Shot 2. Our second shot is an extreme long shot. However this is of the little girl's memory, almost like a flash back of when the little girl's mum was pushing the little girl on swing. Also why we made the shot itself so high key is so that it comes across as more of a dream,and as it's a thriller a more eerie ghost like feel. Also in this scene there is a lot of dialogue included bteween the child and the mother, which is a complete constrast to some of our other shots. 

Shot 3. Our third shot is an extreme long shot aswell, this kind of shot can be used to make a character appeal insignificant or weaker in this case it could be the little girl. Also this shot is taken from directly infront of the little girl on the swing. This is also the viewpoint of what the mum character is seeing, from this we can also clearly see the facial expression and body language. In this the little girl is happy and eager in a way to keep swinging because she's enjoying herself. 

Shot 4. This shot clearly shows the little girl by herself again, which shows that the little girl  is 'back in reality' and where she was in the first shot. Also in this shot the girl walks over to the far left side on the shot so that she is still on screen where she picks up a picture. Also because this shot doesn't include any dialogue it's creating an atmosphere and building the emotion up on what the little girl is feeling.

Shot 5. This shot is an extreme close up which is focused on the eye's on the little girl's face. Which represents her facial expression which clearly shows she's upset. Eyes are a good indicator of emotion and what the character is feeling and thinking. This is a big difference on how she was feeling in her memory.

Shot 6. This next shot uses an editing technique to change from one shot to another while still being able to see the previous shot faintly underneath, this is called a 'fade'.In our case this shot goes from this to another memory but of a painting.

Shot 7. This next shot is a medium shot of the little girl walking up the stairs then going into a room to the left (the bathroom). There is still no dialogue included in this shot as it's meant to represent a thriller which will create suspense and enigma as you know something is going to happen very soon and suddenly. This shot also includes natural back lighting which is when the lighting comes from behind the character creating more of a silhouettes. 

Shot 8. This shot is of the little girl washing her hands in her bathroom, Also in this shot you hear a scream (diegetic sound), The lighting in this shot is alot lighter than the shot previously  which could make the audience re think that something bad is going to happen, however it also take the audience by suprise which makes it more of a thriller. 

Shot 9. This shot is of our ending title sequence. Which shows a ripped up version of the painting that was in our thriller sequence earlier. However it's missing the part with her mum.

Which's creates mystery as you don't know why she has vanished. Our Title 'Alone' appears on the top left hand of the screen. We also included a soundtrack of a music box over the top which is non diegetic sound while this shot is being viewed as it makes it more eerie. This sound is a typical thriller sound track, however it also relates to our little girl as children often have music boxes aswell but as it is creepier it comes across as a thriller.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I feel our media thriller opening represents particular social groups such as families, as our main characters shows a strong relationship between mother and a daughter as they have a very common bond to each other. An example of this would when the daughter character shows the mum her painting of them together and the mother then praises her to show that she cares for her.Also when the daughter has a flashback of her mum and her in the park, while her mum is pushing her on the swings suggest a that she is a traditional caring mother. Also the costumes worn throughout the sequence makes our characters come across to the viewer as being quite middle class as they are both wearing quite classy clothes, especially the daughter who is wearing an evening dress. Which comes across as being quite formal and upperclass for just a normal day out to the park. However our thriller also could represent a single mother and we know this because throughout this sequence there is no mentio of a 'father' figure. Another reason why we know this is because when the daughter paints the mother a picture she doesn't paint a dad figure. 

Our media thriller opening also represented a few examples of thriller programmes and films. One example would be Marchlands, and Hide and Seek. As they both include a strong relationship between a mother and daughter figures.

This screen grab is from the film Hide and Seek which we were inspired by, which similarly show a mother and daughter characters playing in the park.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Now that we have finished filming our thriller opening sequence we have to choose a media institution that will distribute our finished product.

Distributors get legal rights from other film producers to release a film, also knows what attracts the target audience. They will do this by communicating what the film is about in a interesting way which will appeal to correct target audience and show them exactly what the want to see in a film. Then if it successfully appeals the distributors pay money to distribute to the exhibitors. Like printing the film, and showings in cinema, also onto portable devices such as mobile phone and ipod's where it can downloaded, then finally printing DVD's and selling onto other companies which then advertise on the TV. 

An example of lots of Distributors is taken from this link where it shows the list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motion_picture_distributors.
I have chosen the distributor 'Paramount Pictures'. Mainly because they are a film distributor who have released quite a few thriller films. 

This is the logo for 'Paramount Pictures'.

It has distributed films such as 'Shutter Island', and 'The Godfather'.

The picture on the right is the front cover of 'The Godfather'. 

The picture on the left is the front cover for 'Shutter Island'. 

I think if our Thriller opening was released in mainstream cinema's it  would be more successful as it could be seen by a much larger group of audience. Then if it does become even more successful we would take the nect step up and maybe allow it to be shown in independent Cinema's.

4.Who would be the audience for your media product?

I feel the audience for our Thriller opening would be teenagers in an average age of 16+ because it should appeal to viewers that are strongly enjoy thriller and the psychological suspense but at the same time it won't have elements of horror in it, and it won't be too  violent for an 16 to watch. Also our thriller opening isn't aimed at an audience of 15 and younger because they might find it confusing to follow the plot and story line as our opening thriller includes a flash back scene so they might get confused between the real time and the past. As well as it being to inappropriate for that age group. 

• 5.How did you attract/address your audience?

I felt our Thriller opening was a good example of addressing and attracting our audience as we successfully created a thriller opening title sequence which created a sense of enigma and made our viewers want to watch more. Also the calm and very ritual  common day to day life normality of the relationship between the mother and the daughter going to the park seems very similar to most families lives so it almost makes it more obvious that something bad's going to happen very soon.  

I feel that the use of our flashback does make our audience more involved as they want to find out what happened too the daughters mum and if she actually did die. You can tell from our opening that its made to look like a flashback as you can see in the screen grab to the right there is an image of the daughter character who is staring at the swings that her and her mum were playing on. Also the editing of the fade overlaps the past with the present as in a way you can see both the images at the same time.
Audience feedback here:

Sister:
"I like the that the painting that the daughter does in the opening links everything together, and how it also leaves a sort of cliff hanger in the title as you see the ripped painting without the mum, however an improvements could be made in some shots like the kitchen scene when the girls painting he picture as they accidently talk over each other, overall nicely done!"

Friend: 

" I think you've come up with an interesting opening idea and it has worked really well, There are lots examples of a thriller idea in your sequence. Definitely creates mystery!"

• 6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

From constructing a thriller opening i have learnt a variety of  how to use different technologies, which we included into the construction of our opening. Such as using the HD quality camera and how to set them up and how to set white balance which is an adjustment setting on the camera which is used in wherever there is light to make everything that is white like objects in frame appear white on screen. This is vital because if you don't set it every time you change location or somewhere that has a different light level to before it won't match everything in real life that is white.

An example of this can be taken from our first abandoned thriller sequence called 'Scarlet'. White balance was just one of the many problems we had with filming which made us head towards creating our new opening which is 'Alone' 

This screen grab shows two shots from our opening of our Preliminary 'Scarlet'. The one on the left with White balance not applied. Then the one on the right when the white balance was applied.

 Instead it will either give off a yellow or blueish tinge to your film. 

We also learnt about the 180 degree rule which is when two characters who are in dialogue have an imaginary line going through them which the camera must not cross over to the other side because this will be breaknig the 180 degree rule as the shot of the two people having a conversation switched sides.

7.Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?    

Looking back at our Preliminary task i feel i have learned loads more as we personally have progressed over time to now where we have produced a thriller opening sequence. Probably from producing a more successful story board in a short amount of time however i still think that alot of planning still went into it. 
Although our first thriller opening did cause some problems with location, and camera settings i feel we have learnt from out mistakes taken it on board with us and in a way we've had more experience as we know what went wrong  and we have corrected it so if it happens again we know how to solve it.

We've also progressed in a way that our camera work has more match on action and shot reverse shot compared to our prelim. 

As well as our editing skills such as transitions between shots.  

Prelim Task

First Thriller Opening 'Scarlet'

Final Opening Thriller Opening 'Alone'

Overall i feel we succeeded with out task which was to create an thriller opening which was no longer than 2 minutes that had a unique story line



.

Final Evaluation - By Ghislaine Moolenaar

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The definition of a Thriller is a suspenseful adventure story or play or movie. Source from wordnetweb.

What makes a Thriller is called the ‘conventions of a Thriller’. This is the use of good Camera Work, Sound, Mise en Scene and Editing.

High Angle. Extract From Doctor Who

Low Angle. Extract From Doctor Who 

·         Camera Work; will be high/very high angles is to make the antagonist/protagonist (mainly the protagonist) look ‘smaller’, it also shows being vulnerable and scared. And low/very low angles is to make the antagonist/protagonist (mainly the antagonist) look ‘bigger’, it also shows power, and bravery.

No Dialogue. Extract from

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

·       Sound; there will hardly be any dialogue, which creates tension, and there will most likely be a sound track – non-diegetic sound. However, in some Thriller openings there will be no dialogue at all for example The Disappearance of Alice Creed and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Cross Cutting Diagram

Parallel Editing Diagram

·        Editing; The cuts and transitions will be quick, to keep pace, and keep the audience watching the movie/opening. Thrillers can be either cross cutting, where two different things will be happening in two different locations and the characters will eventually meet up. Or Parallel editing, which is where there are two separate actions happening at the same time but never meet. These two editing techniques create suspense because if it was cross cutting, the pace will be faster and the transitions and shots will be quicker and shorter. And with parallel editing, they will wonder why those two locations are connected.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed - Mise en Scene - One of the beginning shots.

·         Mise en scene; sets the mood, and places the actors into their characters. Mise en scene includes 11 elements: Body Language, Facial Expression, Composition, Settings, Props, Decor, Lighting, Colour, Costume, Hair and Make-up.

      Our Thriller:

•      Body Language

Relaxed when on swings, both mother and daughter, however, a much slouched position when the little girl is thinking of her mother and is feeling sad. When the little girl goes up the stairs she is very energetic and happy, and almost bounces when she walks.

•      Facial Expression

When she is in ‘real life’ she as a very plain but sad face, but in the memory she is having fun, laughing and smiling. The mother has also got a happy face and looks like she is having fun.

•      Composition

The characters are mostly in the middle of the frame.

•      Settings

The setting is mainly outdoors in a playground with swings, and indoors in a kitchen and in a bathroom.

•     Props

We used props such as swings, painted picture and a paint set.

•     Decor

The shots that where shot outside, the decor was trees, swings, houses and grass. And indoors, it was, tiled walls, table cloth and kitchen utensils

•     Lighting

When we were outside and shot a big shot of Kirsty, we used lighting to lighten her face up so that we could still see her features, instead of having dark shades. We also used lighting when we where indoors, to make it look like a sunny day.

•     Colour

The colours are very spring colours and light and happy in both, however in the ‘real life’ the way she looks makes everything seem a lot darker and sadder.

•     Costume

The costume for the little girl is very sweet and innocent and very girly, which is stereotypical because when we think of girls, we think of pink frilly dresses. The mother’s costume is very fashionable for a mum, because we wanted to make her look like a young mum, with a young daughter.

•     Hair

The hair for the little girl is down with a hair accessory – pink headband with a flower on it. The mums’ hair is also down, so it is mostly natural, no hair styling gel or any products in it.

•     Make-up

There is no make-up for the little girl – too young, and the mum has little make-up very natural, and very naturally pretty.

·         Our Thriller Opening is very much based on what an opening is meant to do; give a brief explanation about what the film is about. So we tried to make it so that it wasn’t all Thrillers based, but enough to create enigma in the audience and so that they watch on and we also wanted to see what the audience thought it was, to create suspense and enigma. We also used flashbacks a lot, so that the audience don’t know which ‘time’ is real and what is a memory. We have done this so that it is restricted to the audience, and so they have to make their own mind up about it.

·         We used a mother and a daughter as the two characters, which are mainly used in Thriller’s. Such as Marchlands, Flight Plan and Pans Labyrinth. At the beginning of the opening, neither of them are protagonists or antagonists because they seem happy, until we hear a scream, which is from the mother, from downstairs when the child is upstairs. Then both of them suddenly become protagonists. We have been influenced by TV programmes and movies such as Marchlands (TV Programme) and Hide and Seek (Movie).

Hide and Seek

·         Shot 1 is an establishing shot, where we see the little girl (main character) in front of swings, swinging by themselves. This is a stereotypical setting, however we find it very good, because then the audience will know that it is something to do with a thriller based story line. We tried to get the lighting a bit darker than the memory, because then we can tell what is ‘real life’ and what is a memory. We can also hear silence except for a high pitch swing squeak. I have seen swings being used in Hide and Seek

·         Shot 2 is an extreme long shot. This is where she is in the memory – her mum (another main character) and the little girl. We have created a high key lighting to create a ghost like look. There is a lot of dialogue here between the mother and daughter.

·         Shot 3 is also an extreme long shot, but we see the little girl on the swing head on, this is so that we can see her facial expression – happy, exited and thrilled. This is to show that she is neither a protagonist nor an antagonist, so that the audience cannot make a judgement on her straight away.

·         Shot 4 shows the little girl back in the ‘real world’ walking towards a picture she has found. There is no dialogue here, because she is in thought and has no one else to talk too.

·         Shot 5 is a big close-up of the little girl’s face, to show her facial expression – sad. This is a contrast to her memory – happy. This could imply she is a victim of an accident that has happened in the past.

·         Shot 6 is a fade (an editing technique and a transition that indicates the passage of time) to another memory of the picture she was holding which is now laying on the table.

·         Shot 7 is a shot of the little girl walking up the stairs. The lighting is a lot darker, which means that something is about to happen which has made her upset in the real life. This creates suspense and enigma.

·         Shot 8 is a shot of the little girl washing her hands, and the lighting is a lot lighter, this could put the audience off track slightly because they thought something was going too happen. But then she hears a scream (diegetic sound), with the lighting the same, this then answers the audiences questions about how it is a thriller.

·         Shot 9 is the title – a ripped painted picture of her and her mum but with her side insight, with the title ‘Alone’. This creates mystery and suspense in the audience because they are wondering where the mum painted picture is. There is also a soundtrack of a music box over the top which is non-diegetic sound. A creepy music box is a stereotypical thriller sound. When you think of a high pitched slow tune, it reminds you of ghosts, however, ghosts are supernatural, which is linked to horror.

• 2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Hide and Seek

• Our Thriller opening represents a few social groups. For example, we have a very strong Mother and Daughter relationship, since they like to go to the park together and have fun.

Marchlands

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

• The little girl is a very stereotypical girl in a thriller movie/TV program. We wanted her to wear pretty and girly/feminine clothes. So we got her to wear pink and black. This creates the appearance to be innocent. We also got her to wear a pink flower Alice band in her hair, to make it look even more feminine. She walks and her actions are very dainty and careful, so make her look innocent and that she can be hurt or broken very easily.
• The Mother is also very stereotypical because she is loving and caring and wants the best for her child. When she is pushing the swings she is also in very close contact with her daughter, as if she doesn’t want to let go, but when the daughter is in the sky, the mother can feel and see her happiness. They also keep eye contact, as if they do not want to let go of each other, and that they have a very close bond. The Mother is wearing very classy clothes, which gives an impression she is a young mum, and also because her daughter is still quite young it backs up that theory.
• We wanted to create this particular look for both the Daughter and Mother because we wanted them to be fragile, and that they are very easy victims to get killed, raped, murdered, kidnapped etc. Anything that would be included in a Thriller. We also wanted the light to hit them to make them as if they are angels, or ghost like, and to make it as if even though they are fragile, they cannot be harmed, however this then contrasts with the end of our thriller opening. Examples of this is Hide and Seek, Flight Plan and Marchlands. We could have also broken these stereotypical characters, so that it isn't easy to predict what is going to happen, or what the characters will wear and look like. We could have broken the stereotypical characters by making the mother a very bored, and uncaring person, who doesn't want to have fun, or she might have a disability, which makes it hard to communicate or play with her daughter. And we could have made the daughter very emo, and so she would wear dark clothes, however, children at that age do not have an appearance to look after, but the mother could have dressed her up as that, or maybe the little girl has to dress herself, and so she looks scruffy. We chose not to do a non-stereotype because then younger  audiences and older audiences can relate to the characters.
• Our audience is for anyone over the age of 16, because the younger generation like thriller movies, because they get a ‘thrill’ from it. And even though this is going to be aimed at the older generation too, it could make them even more protective about their families, because kidnapping, rapes and murders happen in real life too. However, this is not for the children, because it can scare them, and can also make them weary about loosing their mothers. 

• 3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

·         Now, because we have made our Thriller Opening, we have to choose a media institution that will distribute our product.

·         A film distribution company ensures that the film reaches the target audience. (British, age, mainstream/independent) The company will know what attracts people to films and so they will tailor their marketing campaigns to appeal to what audiences want. They will need to communicate information about a film to audiences in a way that will make them not only aware of the film but also in a way that will make them want to see it

·         There are lots and lots of different film distributors. Here is a link to a list of all of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motion_picture_distributors

The Silent House
Front Colver

Optimum Home

Entertainment Logo

  ·        I would choose the film distributor Optimum 
      Home Entertainment. This is because they have experience in Thriller and Horror Movies and they 
      are English and also have experience in shooting films in England - Sussex.
  ·      It has distributed films like 'The Silent House', 'Brighton Rock (filmed in England)' and ‘The Last Exorcism’ and many more.

  ·         I think our film could be shown in Mainstream Cinemas and Independent Cinema’s. This is because when we release our Thriller, we can 
      show it in Mainstream Cinema’s first, so that a lot of people will be able to see it, and also all over the world (hopefully) and then after a few years, the movie will be then shown in Independent Cinema’s.

  ·         The Years in between showing our Thriller Opening in the two different types of cinema, we will be releasing DVD’s, Games, Posters, Merchandise and a lot of other things which will help increase the knowledge in which people know about our Thriller.

The Dark Night Front
Cover

• 4.Who would be the audience for your media product?

• I think the audience for our Thriller should be rated 16+. This is because younger audiences might find it hard to understand but also might get a bit scared of loosing their mum (if they do understand the plot).
• This will also be for the older generation; however, it could make them even more protective about their families, because kidnapping, rapes and murders happen in real life too.

• 5.How did you attract/address your audience?

• We are going to attract our audiences by showing them the Opening of our Thriller. And hopefully then they will like it and tell their friends. However, if they do not like it, they will tell everyone. We will also create merchandising, posters and cardboard cut-outs. This will promote our Thriller Movie, and hopefully bring more people.
• A good idea is too bring our families and friends to watch our Thriller Opening, and then comment on it afterwards, on what we can improve and what was good about it.
• People will like our Thriller Opening because it is about a Mother and Daughter relation ship, but in the Daughters memory. In the little girl’s memory she remembers having fun with her mum in the park, then in their kitchen painting a picture. She then goes upstairs to wash her hands because they are dirty from painting. She then hears a scream, which is from her mum. We then see a shot of her in real life crying. Then it goes to the title. This suspense of not knowing what happened to the mother makes the audiences want to see the whole of the Movie. The Characters are stereotypical, so the audience will know what to expect, however that isn’t always a good thing, because then they will get bored easily because they will know what will happen.
• Comments from family and friends inserted here:
• Dad:
• 'I thought it was amazing, i liked the way they have edited it to make it flow from shot to shot nicely. It was also a very good story line, and i also found the music box at the end with the girl crying very creepy and mysterious. However, i do think that the beginning bit is a bit long and i think the audience might get drifted away from it slightly. But overall, i found it a very good piece'.
• Sister:
• 'It was very creepy! I liked everything about it and how it was put together amazingly. But I agree with dad, that it can be a bit boring at the beginning, but i really like it at the end!'.
• Friend:
• 'Wow. I really like the plot and how they have come up with that all by themselves. it was very engaging and very 'thriller' like at the end, with the music box and the little girl crying. Overall, a very well done piece!'

• 6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/89544785198694e6/
• Since starting media studies and having finished our coursework – A Thriller Opening, I have learnt a lot of new things which helps in making an even better quality product.

• I have learnt about:



Colour Temperature
of Pictures



Example of White Balance
applied and non applied

• White Balance. White balance is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. You need to set white balance because otherwise your picture will look either very yellow, or very blue, depending on what time of day it is, or where you are shooting. We had the problem with white balance when we where filming our first idea outdoors, when the light was changing very quickly: 

White Balance Applied

White Balance Not Applied

• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/895449207aa90a29/
• But then when we new what to do and do it when we changed location, it became easier to not forget it, and then it became natural to do it, so we had fewer problems with White Balance in Alone.
• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/89545475802c59d1/



180' rule

• 180 Degree Rule. ‘The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.’ Source from Wikipedia. We had to use the 180' rule when we shot the view of the mother and the view of the daughter when she is swinging. If we broke the rule, it would look like the daughter and the mother are facing the same way, and would be confusing to the audience.

Mother's View



Daughter's View



Tripod

• Voice Over
• http://www.zshare.net/video/895451934b07f60e/
• Using a tripod. Using a tripod was fairly easy. This link shows how to set up a camera: http://www.ehow.com/how_298_set-tripod.html

Highest part of Tilt

• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/8954551296993e5f/



Lowest part of Tilt

• Panning, Tracking, Crabbing and Tilting. These are the different types of camera movements and positions. These all contribute to the Thriller experience. They create suspense, enigma, sympathy, empathy and many more emotions. We didn't use many camera movement techniques, but what we did use was the tilt, when the little girl walked up the stairs. However, we didn't use this to create a thriller experience.

• Voice Over
• http://www.zshare.net/video/89545393779174ba/
• Knowing the different Angles and Shots. Knowing these are very important, because they will all contribute to the Thriller experience, just like the different camera movements and positions.
• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/895455630ad5ecbf/
• Also knowing how to edit is important and all the different transitions when in the production stage because one wrong edit, which is too short or too long, can make the difference between a good flowing piece or a jumpy rubbish piece. Also, if you have a transition which doesn't work, it can make the whole sequence look bad.

• 7.Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

Our First Idea - Scarlet

Our Preliminary

• Because we had some problem with our first idea for our Thriller Opening – Scarlet, we needed to quickly think of another idea. We did this well and succeeded in creating a better story line than the preliminary task and our first idea for the main task.
• I think we have progressed a lot since the preliminary task to the main task.
• We have learnt a lot, especially from our mistakes, for example:

No Lighting Used - Door Handle

• We used to forget to set the white balance, at one part, when we filmed a door handle as an extreme close-up; it was very dark, since we forgot to use lighting. We have then been very careful where to use lighting when necessary. We have also learnt that even when you want to create darkness, you have to create it with light. So you can use soft lighting which is created with several light sources and so create less defined shadows.
• Our editing had also become better, because we will look out even more for continuity and flow between the shots.
• Our camera skills have also gotten better, because we can now pan/track/crab/tilt with more flow.
• We didn’t use any extra Foley sounds, because we thought we didn’t need them. So when we did our main task – Thriller Opening, we had little knowledge about how to use Garage Band, however, we did spend one or two lessons learning a little about it and how to use it. But for our Main task, we used water running to enhance the sound because it was very faint. We wanted to use this foley effect because then it distracts the audience, and then when they hear the scream, it becomes a shock.
• Overall i think we have improved a lot since our preliminary task, we have learnt not to do things and to do things more often, we have also gotten used to doing things we never thought of doing when filming. 
• Overall i think we succeeded what we aimed to do and what our aim was - to create a 2 minute Thriller Opening.