In class, in small groups of pairs, we had to film and then edit, using Premiere Pro, a montage sequence of someone getting dressed and ready to go outside. This task enabled us to again, broaden our understanding and help us practice the handling the camera and shooting from different angles but also to give us practice at editing together several different clips into a montage sequence. This knowledge and understanding can then later be used when we’re working on our thriller film projects.

In order to make this task a lot more efficient, we drew out a story board of sequence of shots. This meant that once we came to filming, we knew exactly which shots we had to film and when, improving the accuracy and speed of the process as we avoided confusion but also, gave ourselves more time to work on the editing side of things.

In the film production industry, storyboards are often used in the planning stages of shooting the film as they make it clear to visually see the shots you want to film. We will also be using the storyboard technique for when we come to make our own thriller.

Our storyboard is linked to the image below:

Our assessment criteria for this task included three things:

• Holding a shot steady
• Framing a shot
• (Shooting a) variety of shot distances

However, in order to create a successful montage, we had to include several other elements:

• To shoot for continuity using montage to condense time and space,
• To use speed to infer tension,
• use close ups to show reactions / expression of the person completing the task,
• to shoot and then edit at least one eye line match – significant object/person
• To later on edit in at least one match on action,
• To use one interesting transition – wipe, dissolve etc.

Here is the final product for our montage edit:

Overall, I believe that this task was rather successful, it helped us understand several things about filming the right amount of shots for the right amount of time and getting the editing job perfected. The storyboard was also useful in terms of organizing planning and I feel as though i’m more confident in order to film and edit my own thriller.

Some strengths I felt we had: 

• We used several different shots to create variety and make the sequence more interesting
• We edited several match on action shots and a jump cut, displaying our understanding of editing techniques
• We successfully used a tripod meaning our shots were steady, giving the piece a professional look.

However, some weaknesses: 

• We detailed several shots in our storyboard that we then didn’t have time to film, creating some confusion
• The clarity of some shots could be improved however we were rather rushed for time
• In some places, the editing isn’t spot on and there’s gaps where the actor is doing nothing which we could have edited out

However, I will take into consideration these weaknesses and try to avoid them when filming my own thriller. This task was good practice.