Film Review - Draft 2

Assembly Edit versus First Rough Cut

An assembly edit is the assembling of the material in story order, in a very unedited state. Once the material has been digitised onto the computer, and the material has been logged (allowing particular shots to be found more easily later), the selected shots are moved from the order they are filmed in into the approximate order they will appear in the final cut. Separate sound/dialogue is not imputed into the edit at this stage, this is just a very quick and simple process of organising all your shots following on from your storyboard/shot order.

A rough cut includes more shot selection and appropriate trimming. The sound and dialogue is unfinished and untreated, and will require some editing. Place-markers for titles, special effects, composites and graphics are placed in their appropriate slots, Colours are untreated, unmatched, and generally unpleasant.

Film Review Draft 2 Feedback - Key aspects to improve upon

·        Use conventional dotted lines to separate different sections of the review

·         Add a picture/snapshot of film

·         Reposition synopsis

·         Alter credits font size; make smaller (so they do not clash with font size of the actual review)

·         Make film heading largest title

·         Use more open critical language

·         Alter conclusion; replace it with final criticism of improvement points for myself

·         Reposition image (once placed)

Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 1 - Structure

Evaluation Question 1 - Structure (Finished)

Evaluation Question 3 - Radio Interview Script Draft 2

Evaluation Question Three - Radio Interview Draft 2

Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 3/Ancillary Tasks Notes

Position of title

Pictures/images on poster - can you identify any themes or issues, do they symbolise/suggest anything about the story?
Get audience to read review/look at poster - do you think poster translates aspects of translation/psychology/thematic elements?

Tone/mood of the film - can you tell anything about the tone/mood of the film?

Having read review/synopsis what do you think would be a good tagline? Use or develop your own

What does a polaroid connote for you? (polaroid = particular format represented on a camera (take picture, comes out of camera instantly))

The colours/lighting in photograph must represent aspects of the story, can you think of what they are?

They might say it represents ambiguity

Why has the lighting ratio has been used in the image? What do you think this represents? The use of darkness, light, etc...

Talk about posture of subject - reinforces what you're trying to communicate

E.g. for mine - have character hunched over, on knees, hands hiding face (crying posture)


Total Film, Daily Mail, Sight & Sound, Guardian, Empire - challenge conventions - trying to reach a more mainstream audience

Educational angle - my film would do well in education


Challenging form:

- sound (post-production) - go into music department, play instruments - recorded on camera - for character walking into water - have fun with sound!
- lighting
- the way the end credits move (style) - colour certain letters - gives your film more identity/engagingness

Titles - maybe design titles as plates

Titles are simple in social realism films


Challenge conventions

- of simple titles - use music and text together in an imaginative way
- roll into credits at start of the film instead of the end
- use of colour - most social realist films are "monochrome" in their titles

Evaluation Question 3 - Radio Interview Script Draft 1

Evaluation Question Three - Radio Interview (1)

Evaluation Question 1 - Prepration

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Use - where you take a convention and you use it in the same way as it is used in the same way as the practitioner of the genre, e.g. using untrained actors (people with little/no dramatic experience), as some used untrained actors (like Fish Tank)

Develop - using low-key lighting - going for a more thriller-esque lighting effect (just an example)

Challenge - Going against the conventions of naturalism challenge naturalistic performances altogether - using untrained actors to gain a level of naturalism, unlike using more theatrical trained actors - makes a point.
E.g. having my lighting evenly lit throughout the film in the outside setting - what genre is this representing? Does it challenge your genre of social realism?



Forms - Structure of the film (beginning - middle - end), shape of the film (wide shots - cramped shots, long takes - short takes), style (the elements that present its style to the audience - e.g. what the lighting represents) - what does Nil by Mouth represent by lighting (example)?
Example from my film: Shape of my film (wide shots - cramped shots): wide shots of setting, suddenly leads to cramped shots of my character's face)
How does the element of form manifests itself? ^
How it links to a professional equivalent: "Stripes" (wide shots of apartment and man - suddenly leads to cramped shots (close-ups) of two men, one being threatened) - does this use, develop or challenge this form? -
In my opinion, I am developing this practice, as the action in my film is at a slower pace, with less action/violence - mine is more peaceful (a man filming a woman (my film), compared to a man threatening another man (Stripes))

Conventions - anything the audience expects in the way of narrative, story, character, events, all connected to the genre.

Use images to support your writing

Film Poster Draft 3 Feedback

Image is tenouis/vague
Image must connect with the story
Prehaps use character in frame
What do we see in the LCD screen? The girl? Put her somewhere interesting - have her crouched near the waterfall area - something visually intriguing
Mimick play/pause buttons in photoshop

New draft - no titles - recreate the image


Bribe your actor if need be!!

Evaluation Question 2 - Structure

(Side note: use “Slide software” for this evaluation question)

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

How/why do my three products SYNERGISE and what is the effect/significance of this synergy?

 (Come up with two/three more of your own – how each differs from the other, etc.)

Poster

From looking at the poster what do we learn/understand about the style of/genre of/audience for the film?

How effectively does the poster reflect/represent the themes and issues of the film?

How far and how effectively does the poster reflect the style of the film?

How does my poster inform my audience about my film?

How effectively does my poster promote my short film?

What preconceptions does the poster develop in the mind of the viewer about the film?



Short Film

What key thematic elements are common to both the main and ancillary tasks? How are these explored/represented differently in each?

Do the review and poster convey/communicate the same message/meaning as the film or do they mediate narrative/characterisation elements?

How do my ancillary tasks impact on my main product?

Are my ancillary tasks a clear reflection of my main product?

How do the review and poster reference one another to promote/deepen our understanding/introduce extra layers of meaning into the film?

What stylistic elements are common to both the main and ancillary tasks?

What narrative elements are common to both the main and ancillary tasks?

Review

How does my review inform my audience about my film?

How does the way that the review attracts an audience to my film differ from the way that my poster does? (Different functions and purposes)

Is my review in any way biased and what might the impact of this be?

From reading the review what do we learn/understand about the genre of/audience for/director’s rationale behind the film?

How effectively does my Film Review break down the themes and issues that are the chief concern of my film?

Evaluation Question 3 - Structure

Question 3 - Structure

Film Review - Follow-up Questions, Responses, and Analysis

Film Review – Follow-up Questions and Analysis

Film Review: Follow-up questions

Follow-up questions for my Magazine Review:

1. How effectively do you think the review uses traditional Sight and Sound layout conventions? Where do you think they have been used most effectively? So they’ve been used well, is there any way you feel they could be developed? Example, or how doesn’t it?

2. What could be done, in your view that would make it challenge industry conventions? And how might you develop them?

3. How do you think font has been used effectively? Where do you think it could be developed? Where do you think it is similar to Sight and Sound, and where do you think it challenges it?

4. What about text size, do you think it’s been used effectively? Where do you think it’s been used best? How do you think it either challenges or develops from Sight and Sound?

5. Do you think language has been used well? Where do you think the criticism is most effective? Where/how do you think it could be developed to engage and inform, as well as critique better?

6. Do you think the register suits the magazine context for the review? Where do you think it is especially appropriate? How do you think its developed Sight and Sound conventions, or how do you think it could?

7. Do you think there was an appropriate use of ICT? Why? How do you think it could be developed or challenged to be more innovative and effective?

8. How do you think image could be integrated with text in an effective way? How do you think it could be done in a way that challenges Sight and Sound conventions?

9. How do you think the image could be framed well? Why? How do you think it could challenge, or conform to industry conventions? What makes you think this?

10. Do you think this works well from a mise-en-scene perspective? Where do you think mise-en-scene is used well?