Year 13 Advice

The year 13s came in to one of our media lessons to offer advice for when we were making our thriller and preliminary task.

Preliminary Task

Keep it simple.

Thriller

1. Remember the tripod at all times, it will constantly be needed for steady shots. Travelling to a location and realising you have forgotten the tripod can mean a whole day of filming time lost

2. Choose a good location first and then base your story around that

3. Don’t use too much dialogue as it can lead to losing the quality of sound, as the camera is not great at picking up all sound

4. Setting is an important part of all thrillers. Filming at the same location must be done in the same season to keep continuity (when time has not passed)

5. Keep away from obvious or local locations, especially school, as it can at times ruin the thriller

6. Always be pre-pared for your day of filming, that means taking all equipment and props you may/will need to the location and a fully charged camera

7. Re-do all shots at least two times (in different angles) to make sure you have everything you need when it comes to editing and to make sure the camera is kept steady

8. Always remember to record more then you actually need so you have more choice of footage when shortening it down during editing

9. Read the sign on the door of the editing room to make sure you use the correct lead when uploading footage

10. Don’t use drinking, smoking or swearing within your thriller unless it is necessary. It doesn’t make you look ‘hard’ but childish

11. Always choose your lighting wisely as when it appears on the TV Screen the lighting can appear darker

12. Keeping the 180° rule is vital as to not to confuse the viewer

13. Plan everything properly and fully before even thinking about starting to film

14. Only use close and reliable friends in the thriller or people in your group otherwise you may be let down at the last minute

15. Keep clothes the same or continuity will be lost

16. Don’t leave shooting till the last minute or this creates a big rush to get it finished in time

Blogs

1. Write lots of influence posts

2. Use lots of pictures and videos

3. Share out posts equally between members in the group

By Kerry Sheehan