Review:
At this point I would mark it a level 2 high as it has some strong points such as stable, smooth and controlled camera filming, there are no trembles. The music and dripping sound effect when she is upstairs adds a sinister and creepy affect. The shot with a girl behind lit up by a blue light makes it subtle and spooky. The meaning is fairly clear however the fact that she sees herself in the photos is not this could be adjusted by a close up of the photos and of her eye.It could be improved through the sounds being merged smoothly so that where it ends and begins is not abrupt. Certain lines are lost such as "Come on Elizabeth, hurry up" is too quiet. The Martha and Chris scene is also not in good light so we will now choose to film it in daylight. There are not enough credits and the fact the title is at the end makes it seem like a trailer. We would adjust the font to what we planned earlier and make it come up during the action. The time where the girl reaches for the light switch there is no sound of the click of the switch therefore we will record the sound effect at a later point.
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ReplyDeleteThe Speculum – Group Feedback for Video
ReplyDeleteCurrent Level: Higher end of a level two
The genre of this film opening is apparent through your good use of mise-en-scene. There is a good variety of camera shots (on the whole) and the narrative is coming along but just needs a little more tweaking to have something which shows proficiency in your film making skills.
Ideas for enhancing/improving your work:
• I think the music needs to start sooner – try and aim for something that starts over the production logo and continues into the action.
• The V/O dialogue right at the start is a little hard to make out. You either need to reduce the echo effect or boost the volume so that the audience can hear what is being said.
• Outside the house: I am wondering if it would make more sense to show the child first (as they appear to be the main character – at least for this opening) and then cut to the dad coming outside with the box.
• You need an insert close up shot of the box – I am assuming this is the same box that reappears in the loft. This took me a while to work out because my attention wasn’t really drawn to the box and without a close up, I didn’t recognise it. The close up would also hint to the audience that this is something they should be taking note of.
• You need to think carefully about where and when the credits appear. They feel a little intrusive in places – I think you could afford to have more nearer the start. The credits in the loft scene are quite abrupt – have you used fade transitions? You might want to experiment with that.
• I feel you need insert shots of creepy surroundings in the loft – e.g. weird dolls etc… to really help establish an uneasy atmosphere. This could also help with the credits (e.g. instead of the black screen, the text could be on these insert shots).
• The shot of the box in the loft – if this is meant to be the same one the dad just put outside, could you insert a ‘what the…?’ from the kid? This would help the audience to make the connection.
• As discussed in class – we need some visual exposition to help establish the narrative. Is is not clear who the child in the loft is (e.g. a ghost? A weirdo!?)
• The pictures in the album – could these be creepier? For example, as the album goes on, some of the images have scratched out eyes or something similar.