DYM HW FEEDBACK

Well done Ciara. Your comparison was very well presented and showed excellent analytical skill and a clear understanding of the task.

Accident Sequence

What did you think was the point to the activity?
1)The point of this activity was to achieve success in film sequence continuity. This was to be achieved by filming six different shots to make a short sequence of an accident as the focus point.

In regard to your finished sequence, what worked well?
2) I think there were a lot of good points. I think there are a variety of different shots to make it more entertaining and to achieve different things, For example the first shot is an establishing shot that sets the scene. There is also use of LA so the camera is close to the ground making the audience part of the action. We used tilt and hand held also to give a variety of techniques. The narrative flow works reasonably well and makes sense to the audience without breaking any main rules. I think the timing of all the shots work well to make them link up. Overall the shots and angles used make our sequence live and immediate.


What would you aim to improve about your sequence?
3) I think if I was to make any improvements the main one would be one of the cuts because they weren’t matched well it breaks the flow and disrupts it breaking the match on action rule. I would also change the length on the first pan shot to make it much shorter as it takes along time. Finally I would change the pose that we see from the character in the first shot as it’s very random and does not fit well with the sequence.

What did you learn from doing this activity?
4) From doing this exercise I have learnt how hard it is to make sequences flow and how many rules you must follow to enable a smooth sequence. It has highlighted how important it is to cut the shots at the right time and to get timing and positioning right. I can now appreciate how much work editors must do to achieve a good film

Comparison

Comparison between two opening sequences “Legally Blonde” and “Seven”

Narrative Expectations
Legally Blonde

• We initially see the blonde hair as a close up and straight away we know that the main character is going to be a girl
• All clips of the girl are slowed down allowing us to focus of her for much longer
• The camera only shows parts of her we are unable to see her face therefore building suspense and making us focus on her more because we want to see what she looks like
• A letter is passed around the girls and the camera follows this with a close up of the name ‘Elle’. There is a lot of attention to this card suggesting to the audience the girl we keep seeing little clips of is ‘Elle’ and she’s the main character
• There is a lot of focus on labels such as Tiffany and Prada connoting affluence
• All of the girl’s possessions which are shown are all pink and sparkly suggesting a very girly film
• Music is very lively with happy lyrics suggesting a fun, exciting film
• High key lighting also suggests a fun and bubbly film
• We see a lot of girls looking pretty and boys looking masculine suggesting the film to be quite stereotypical.
• Campus seems very party like and focus of girls looking perfect
• At the end we see her blow a kiss to a picture of man which would mean there is a romance or love interest in the film

Seven

• Colours are all very dark nothing bright suggesting quite a scary eerie film
• There is no music so its much more serious
• There is conflict between brad pitt and Freeman suggesting that they will fall out during the film
• Everything is very neat and laid out nothing is out of place showing he is very in control
• One man alone is followed by the camera showing he’s the main camera
• Shown little clips of pictures and cutting outs from film strips and newspapers which would show this is a mysterious/detective film

Comparison

• There is a big contrast in both films and what we expect from them. In “Legally Blonde” we are expecting a much more upbeat and girly film compared to “seven” which is much more serious and mysterious. The colours are much brighter in Legally Blonde then in Seven. There is a contrast in music from Legally Blonde being very happy to there being no music apart from a heavy drumbeat in Seven. Both main characters are very different one is girly girl always smiling and quite comical whereas seven we get the impression of a very serious solitary man who focuses on his work. High key lighting in Legally Blonde contrasts the low key lighting in Seven.
  
  Character Information

Legally Blonde

• Blonde hair, seen doing her nails, looks perfect which would relate to a girly girl
• All of the main characters room and belonging are pink which is very girly
• Shown a sash on her desk showing she is president of her sorority which would mean she’s very popular amongst her friends
• All girls that are seen look perfect and everyone’s first priority is looking good
• All the titles are sparkly and pink which is also very girly
• We are shown lots of fashion brands to perhaps show her wealth or maybe that she is a bit stuck up

Seven

• He is always on his own showing solidarity
• Everything is very neat
• We see him dressing himself with his suit all laid out in a particular order perhaps to show he likes things done in a certain way
• Wears long trench coat and hat perhaps to portray he’s a detective
• Brad Pitt seems very relaxed on the other hand, chewing gum, leather jacket, trendy

Comparison

• We only get to see one side on there characters in the opening sequence. Reece Witherspoon is portrayed as being a popular girl that everyone seems to look up to and wants to be. Morgan Freeman is seen as a very hard working man quite solitary with everything done in a particular way. She’s very upbeat and doesn’t sound very clever compared to Freeman who isn’t particularly happy but seems very clever and work focused.
  
  Shot types

Legally Blonde

• ECU-this is used at the start to show shots of the main character it’s so we are able to focus clearly and in detail in order to learn about her further
• HA- this was used to show inside the mansion. It was as if we were looking down into the mansion to see it’s wealth and to set the scene of what this house was.
• WS- This is used to show the outside on the campus and to give us a sense of what everyone is like and where we are
• MCU- Of main character at the end this is the first time we see her face and its used to see her face features and emotions

Seven

• LA-used in dialogue with Pitt and Freeman along with rain noise it’s used to feel like everything is coming down on them and the audience-quite scary
• Slow Pan-Used to show him getting ready to show his organisation and placement
• ECU-used on him getting ready perhaps to show how well dressed he is
• LS-Used in the bedroom when he’s in bed to show how lonely he is
• ECU- of pages and film strips everything blurred quite mysterious-detective
• LA-used in dialogue so we are looking up to them as if they are more important

Comparison

• All the shots used are similar in both films. I think there are lot more establishing shots in Legally Blonde so we can see all the surroundings. However in Seven there aren’t as many so not as much information is given away to the audience. ECU are used very often in both films and are used to hold back information e.g. in Legally Blonde the main character was hidden until the end and in Seven we only see little buts of documents which may be uncovered later on in the film.

My Still Evaluation

My Still Shot Evaluation

1) Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be seen as representing 'horror'

My group have taken a medium close up shot this focuses in on the emotion on the character ‘s face. She is a young teenage girl looking scared and nervous this represents horror as she looks very innocent therefore is the victim. She is looking away from the camera and up at something this connotes a mysterious feeling and the audience no she is looking for someone. Her hands are clasped to the wall again showing how scared she is and also suggesting she is hiding perhaps from the attacker, which signifies horror. We used a night mode making the colour of the picture very dull and dark reflecting the horror theme. Her face is most in light again showing off her emotion and facial expression. The lack of lighting makes everything seem scarier and makes her look very alone. The composition of the shot is uneven the girl only takes up half of the shot and the décor takes up the other half this again signifies isolation relating to the theme of horror.

2)What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

To achieve this shot we used a slit of light to shine directly onto the face and we held the light up high to shine downwards. On the camera we put on night shot mode to create the grey look. The camera was about a metre away from the actress and taken on a camera stand. We used the zoom in button to get closer to the actress. the actress stood standing up holding onto a wall with her hand close to her face and with a scared expression therefore eyebrows raised mouth slightly open.

3)What is successful about your shot?

I think the composition and positioning of this shot went really well I like the way the actress is standing and holding on to the wall. The eyes look really good because the light hit them well. I like the night mode because it really helps to give the horror feeling and makes the whole picture dull and frightening.

4)What would you do differently in hindsight?

After looking back on my shots if I were to do this again I would make the expression on the actresses face much more over the top to really show how scared she was. I would also try and create some sort of shadow of the attacker behind her so she’s looking forward but the attacker is actually behind her making it even scarier. I would also make the light source more obvious therefore have it darker apart from her eyes lit up to create a contrast. If we zoomed in a little further we could make the shot look even lonelier and entice the audience even more. Overall though I think are shot went well and we can now improve with further tasks.