Synopsis
The production me, Ellis, Jack and Joe made was centred around a man based in an urban environment who is forced into making a huge decision that can have a huge impact on his family life and life in general, hence the title "For Family". The main character is dedicated to his family although the money is running out for the family, meaning he ahs to do whatever it takes to get money for them and the children. Our opening sequence starts with the protagonist taking a phone-call which we understand to be from his girlfriend. This implies what the story line is going to be like straight away from the offset, giving the audience the understanding of what's going on in the early stages of the film. The main part of our opening sequence is the ending cliff hanger where the main protagonist faces a decision of whether or not to turn to a life of crime all for the sake of his family.
Successes
Sound- In comparison to our preliminary task the sound was much more creative and fitted the piece a lot better. This is largely to are high attention to detail and ensuring we got our sound perfect. We were careful when selecting the soundtrack we would use for our production as we knew it had to be perfect. We had to ensure it fitted the type of mood we were trying to set in our opening sequence and also reflected a dark and gloomy scene like the one we were trying to create throughout the piece. The other elements of sound were a bed of city sounds. We filmed in a city suburb rather than the centre so it didn't really sound as a big city. We added in sounds like police sirens for added effect which I though worked very well.
Camera- We used a wide range of camera shots and angles throughout our opening sequence. Some were more effective than others but all added to the piece. our first shot the audience see is an establishing shot of a tower block to represent where the protagonist lives and is bringing up his family. This is arguably the most important shot of our clip as it sets the tone for the rest of the clip. On one of the first outside shots we used a bus going round the corner and then panned the camera to reveal the main character walking up some steps behind it. This was our best example and best shot in my opinion throughout our opening sequence. Another shot that was extremely effective was the low angle shot from Joe's point of view towards the end of the opening sequence. This sets up the cliff-hanger perfectly and makes the audience feel as though they are at gunpoint.
Mise-En-Scene- In my opinion the mise-en-scene was successful in our piece. The lighting in our piece was light when originally filmed so we brought every shot down using colour treatment in post-production as we needed a darker scene to reflect the mood of the piece. The costumes of every character in the opening sequence fitted the mood we were trying to get across due to the fact we used dark, sinister clothing and hooded tops which reinforced the urban crime feel to the piece. For the setting we used Northway, which is a suburb of Oxford and used the tower block to show it isn't an area of the highest quality. It was again crucial in setting up what the audience would feel.
Editing- one of the main features and one of the best changes we made to our clips through editing was the colour treatment in each shot. This was key in post-production as it allowed the mood to not be altered by the high-key lighting we had when actually on set. The piece was dark in the story-lines so this editing move was key. Another technique was getting rid of the sound that was effected by wind on the microphone and replacing it with our own sound.
Areas for improvement
I think organisation of the piece and our costumes and ensuring they are the same in every shot they need to be the same in could be improved upon. A couple of times our batteries ran out meaning we had to rethink our plan. Also the continuity of Joe running at times with his hood up and other times with his hood down. Also, Joe's costume may not have made people feel as though he should be chased. The alley setting also perhaps could be improved.
Audience response
We had reviews from our peers and the overall feedback was successful. The storyline worked and was clearly understood from the beginning. The soundtrack was praised for keeping the correct feel of the piece and fitting in with the action. The city sound bed over the action during the protagonist moving was also good. The low angle shot was also praised. The phone-call was also singled out in the way it gave a clear flow from there for the piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment