Production - First draft: Feedback

Here is some of the feedback following my first draft of my production piece:

• "Love the lighting, angles and feel of this."
• I felt this was a key part of my original plans for this two minute opening piece which, seemingly, has worked effectively as my audience seems to have noticed it.
• "The lighting works very well"
• This reflects the point made about how effective the use of low key lighting has been. 
• "The shadowing was really effective" 

Some areas for improvement have also been pointed out, which include: 

• "I'd suggest making the cuts between shots smoother. Plus audio, obviously."
• I think the transition between shots is an area which I could focus more on, and if it would allow the audience to connect more with the film then it is something which I will definitely consider. I did initially try to make the piece and disjointed as I could without distancing the audience from the story line, and in doing so I extended the transition between shots. However, this feedback helped me to realise that perhaps a greater compromise is needed in order to fully allow the audience to engage with the story line, thereby making it a more successful piece. 
• Audio is also an important issue which I intend on facing. This first draft has allowed me to get an idea for the type of music which I think would work best for this piece. It also allows me to clearly see where foley sounds are needed, which are: Character dialogue, footsteps (to be included in the transition between the ident and the first cut), a light switching on, paper sliding across a table, wind, footsteps (to be included in the graveyard scene). Voices are a necessity for this piece and I intend on including them in my second or third draft. I feel these would enhance the piece, making it more effective and engaging. 
• "I would spend more time working on titles" 
• This is a very crucial aspect of a film opening. It introduces the actors and acknowledges everybody behind the making of the film. In order for this to be a successful movie opening, I must spend more time on making the titles suitable yet effective. In my first draft, I included titles introducing myself as writer and director, and a title for which a music producer would be inserted. I intend on introducing more titles, thereby making it a more successful film opening. 

Production - Second draft

Here is the second draft of my 2 minute opening film. In this draft I have added a non-diegetic sound track as well as some footsteps at the end of the piece. The point behind these changes is to just get a greater feeling towards what my final productrion piece will end up like after all of the non-diegetic sound has been added.

I also modified some of the video footage for added effect. This includes video transactions between shots which creates a more uneven, dreamy atnosphere to reflect the situation of the main character.

Please leave feedback!

Production - First Draft: No Audio

This is my first draft of my final production piece of my AS course. It has no audio since I am still in the process of recording Foley sounds and producing the background music to go with it.

 

 

I have got a few ideas of ways in which I can use non-diegetic sound to good effect. There will be a continual drone which is played throughout the piece, and will increase in dynamics during the part when Sean Saunders says "I can't" since this is an important section of the film opening. I will also include footsteps during the black transition between the ident and the first shot of the film. I believe this will have the viewers engaged from the beginning. The footsteps will also get gradually louder and the climax will be during the first cut to the scene. 

Evaluation of equipment - Dolly

The equipment I used to film my film opening proved to be very useful which, for some, came as quite a pleasant surprise. For example, the dolly which I borrowed from the school, I thought, may be very cumbersome and difficult to achieve smooth and effective shots. However, as it came to filming day, I used it to achieve shots like these:

 

 

I found this use of camera movement extremely helpful, and effective, as it enabled me to give a greater impression of the characters by distancing the viewers from them. Also, it allowed me to give greater infomation to the audience about the scene, for example, the close up on the handcuffs gave the audience a clue about the character's situation, and allowed them to make up their own judgements of the plot. This is a part of what I hoped to achieve in my film opening. I wanted to make it as opaque as possible, thereby making the audience think for themselves, and getting them more engaged in the story.