Test Shoot - Reflective Questions

After finalising our thriller idea, we notably relalised producing a test shoot is a main and key feature towards making an opening sequence. This is simply because we can see anything that went well or any problems before shooting the real footage. Unfortunately, as we weren’t able to have any access to a maze in our test shoot, we shot in a similar location behind trees and bushes. I used my iPhone to complete this task and afterwards considered some reflecting questions.

Has your idea translated well to a film? Have you made a thriller, or is it a different looking genre?

I feel, our idea fits suitably in the genre of a thriller, and is also presented well in the sub-genre of a Psychological thriller, by covering many aspects of it.  For example, using mysterious, daunting music and soundscapes, such as heavy breathing, heart beats, etc. Similarly, our simple story line of our opening sequence and our story on the whole unpicks nightmare qualities of a frightening man following a young, innocent girl. From viewing our opening sequence, viewers can suggest what the film will be translated like and from knowing the whole story line, it has helped to construct and develop our personal opening sequence.

Does the pace work? Is the opening the right length?

Personally, I believe the pace works well throughout our opening sequence, as we beneficially considered ways to build the tension and suspense through pace. Therefore, our sequence consists of a slow, mysterious introduction and steadily builds to increasing measures. I also believe our opening sequence is the right length to grip and engage viewers, and beneficially doesn’t give too much information away but leaves members of the audience asking questions and longing to watch more.

Is your idea clear to the viewer?

Our idea is clear to the viewer, as we hugely considered that ‘less is more’ throughout our thriller, as we felt the audience would be more engaged with a simpler effective opening sequence, rather then confusing the viewer. Similarly, we only wanted to use two characters throughout our sequence, so we do not complicate the viewer.

 

Has tension been created?

Tension in our thriller is viewed throughout, from mysterious encounters to being chased by a daunting older man. I found to build tension and suspense in an opening sequence is very important as this allows audience members to feel engaged and this also helps viewers clearly remember the sequence. As we feel silence plays a huge role in creating tension, we allowed pauses and silence where appropriate to continue to build the tension. However, we do steadily build the tension throughout as this varies the dynamics and creates more tension for a bigger climax to be created.

Have the angles and camera movement you used work? Or could they be developed?

I felt the camera angles we experimented with did successfully work as we were able to explore a variety of angles we wished to, personally I feel the low angle, close up shot of feet walking through the rushes worked the best and looked most beneficial. However, if we had more time I would of experimented more by using some more over the shoulder shots, but I have no worries to use over the shoulder shots in real footage as all the other angles used worked. If we had, had a proper camera and not an iPhone, I feel our shots would of looked and worked better. I feel we still need to consider using some more different angled shots for our real footage but from experimenting different shots in our test shoot, it allowed us to be constantly thinking of ways to visually explore shots further and continue to develop them for our real shoot.

Do you need to add or take away anything from your test shoot? If so what? And more importantly why?

 From our test shoot, I don’t feel we need to take away anything, but later in development and planning we might have to examine some footage so our sequence does not seek any possibilities of becoming complicated or too busy. I believe we should maybe consider adding a few more shots, for example, over the shoulder shots, so viewers can outline a range of different, varied, effective shots.

What has/ hasn’t worked well? And or could be developed further?

Overall, my group and I worked well to create an effective test shoot and have continued to work well together as a team to produce quick, successful work. I feel everything worked well and we experimented with different shots and movements. From some shots that didn’t work as well, we were able to consider improvements to be made. Everything went according to plan and even though some shots could be developed further, to explore the best outcome, we all worked very effectively and always listened to each other if one had any suggestions to be made.