Sunday 27 March 2016
Saturday 26 March 2016
Film Review Development Part 7!
This is my final version of my film review. It has been improved upon from my last one, as I have added in a information box, a larger quote, a large first letter. I also have made the text fit into 3 columns to better fit the page, and edited the screenshots to look slightly more cinematic.
Friday 25 March 2016
My Meticulous Editing
Throughout the process of editing my film I have been very meticulous in making sure everything I produced was up to scratch. I decided to document my editing of a 6 second clip, to show my attention to detail which I have put into each second of my film. The clip is of a reshoot I had to do where my actor looks up in reaction to a line another actor says in my kitchen scene.
This was the clip before I re framed it (above) and after wards (below).
This is the extent of the effects on this 6 second clip, which includes but is not limited to: resizing, motion (keyframe by key frame to ensure it is exactly where I want it at all times), time remapping, changing the white/ black levels, colour grading it, more precise colour grading, warp stabilising it, and adding the aspect ratio bars.
However I felt to fully show the level of detail I needed to show the clips side by side, so here they are playing after each other in a clip for your comparison.
Thursday 24 March 2016
Film Review Development Part 6
This is the first time I have put the text of my film review to the template I have made. I will continue to improve this to ensure I create the best film review that I can.
Wednesday 23 March 2016
Film Review Development Part 5
The purple text has been improved upon.
EMMA
"Emma" is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after having been kidnapped.
She tries to remember and figure out what has happened to her, while dealing with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Her character arc is engaging and intriguing as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is deliberately ambiguous and open to interpretation, as is the film itself, and despite the strong narrative I would place the film firmly in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, as the director specifically designed the film as to not give Emma a voice. This creative idea is deliberately symbolic and says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault and feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully halfway through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try to help and to keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, whose flawless acting prevents the film from becoming lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her, and girls like her, to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing in them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary by the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, highlighted by the fact that none of the other character have names.
Whilst the film was clearly made on a limited budget, you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the resources that they did have to be as effective as possible. The film does suffer because of this, as with some more time and money spent on it it could have been even better. The director, Mariella Devoil, is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has definitely made a splash with this, her latest short film.
The setting of the film was a bit basic and stereotypical at times, however the locations were believable and the set design was certainly up to scratch. The audio is dramatic at times and the film uses the technique of silence very effectively to make the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy. The rest of the sound design is suitable as the sound effects and ambient music fit the scenes and mood and ensure the film to be believable.
The cinematography however is really excellent and looks elegant and professionally effortless. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, as this has been expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film. It adds a level of gritty realism as both a beginning and ending scene, tying the film together nicely. The mise en scรจne has been carefully constructed frame by frame. The kitchen scene (image above) intensifies the feeling of entrapment for Emma on her return to work. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate scenes feel a little disjointed. The order of the scenes can be confusing but the film succeeds on the strength of its stylisation, meaning that the plot is not the only thing holding the film together.
"Emma" far exceeded my expectations, given it was from newbie director Mariella Devoil, filmed on a limited budget and with its strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and engages the audience effectively throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic. With "Emma" I have no doubt that Mariella Devoil has earned her place firmly on the map of the country's most promising up and coming directors.
EMMA
"Emma" is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after having been kidnapped.
She tries to remember and figure out what has happened to her, while dealing with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Her character arc is engaging and intriguing as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is deliberately ambiguous and open to interpretation, as is the film itself, and despite the strong narrative I would place the film firmly in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, as the director specifically designed the film as to not give Emma a voice. This creative idea is deliberately symbolic and says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault and feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully halfway through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try to help and to keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, whose flawless acting prevents the film from becoming lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her, and girls like her, to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing in them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary by the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, highlighted by the fact that none of the other character have names.
Whilst the film was clearly made on a limited budget, you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the resources that they did have to be as effective as possible. The film does suffer because of this, as with some more time and money spent on it it could have been even better. The director, Mariella Devoil, is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has definitely made a splash with this, her latest short film.
The setting of the film was a bit basic and stereotypical at times, however the locations were believable and the set design was certainly up to scratch. The audio is dramatic at times and the film uses the technique of silence very effectively to make the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy. The rest of the sound design is suitable as the sound effects and ambient music fit the scenes and mood and ensure the film to be believable.
The cinematography however is really excellent and looks elegant and professionally effortless. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, as this has been expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film. It adds a level of gritty realism as both a beginning and ending scene, tying the film together nicely. The mise en scรจne has been carefully constructed frame by frame. The kitchen scene (image above) intensifies the feeling of entrapment for Emma on her return to work. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate scenes feel a little disjointed. The order of the scenes can be confusing but the film succeeds on the strength of its stylisation, meaning that the plot is not the only thing holding the film together.
"Emma" far exceeded my expectations, given it was from newbie director Mariella Devoil, filmed on a limited budget and with its strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and engages the audience effectively throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic. With "Emma" I have no doubt that Mariella Devoil has earned her place firmly on the map of the country's most promising up and coming directors.
Tuesday 22 March 2016
Improvements: Emma - The Fourth Version
- fade shots into each other more
- cut the focus pull shot to end before it refocuses on jenny
- Reshoot calendar shots
- Reshoot a reaction of Lydia for the kitchen scene
- Tweak Audio and add more background noise and sound effects in
- Static over George talking
- Cut shots of Lydia playing with the ring down in length
- Colour correct George's opening
- Add in some train noises to increase flow of the plot
- recolour correct the calendar scene
- stabilise the calendar shots
- Re edit the audio to the calendar scene as it is out of sync
- tighten pacing even more
Monday 21 March 2016
Sunday 20 March 2016
Saturday 19 March 2016
Film Review Development Part 4
The pink text has been improved upon.
EMMA
Emma is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after being kidnapped. She tries to remember and figure out what has happened to her, through her PTSD. Her character arc was engaging and intriguing as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is left ambiguous and open to interpretation, just as the film itself whist holding a narrative is firmly placed in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, and the director specifically created the film to not make Emma speak. She is also the only character in the film who has a name. This creatively has symbolism intertwined in it. It says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault, she feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully half of the way through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try and help and keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, who's flawless acting carries the film from being lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her and girls like her to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary of the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, hence the fact that none of the other character have names.
The budget was extremely low, and you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the budget that they did have to be effect as possible. the film however, does suffer for this, as I feel some more time and money could have easily been spent on it to make this film as good as it could be. The director, Mariella Devoil, is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has defiantly made a splash with this, her 6th short film.
The setting of the film sufficed, even if it was a bit basic and stereotypical at times. Locations were believable and the set design was up to scratch. The audio is dramatic at times and the film uses uncomfortable silence effectively to make the audience feel uneasy. The rest of the sound design doesn't have much impact but is suitable, the sound effects and ambient music fit the scene and mood and help make the film to be believable.
The cinematography is really excellent, it looks elegantly and professionally effortless. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, it is expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film, and adda a level of gritty realism as both a beginning and ending scene, tie-in the film together nicely. The miss en scene has been carefully constructed frame by frame it seems. The kitchen scene (image above) intensifies the feeling of entrapment for Emma on her return to work. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate films feel a little disjointed with one another. The order of the scenes is confusing but the film got away with this by being stylised based, rather than the plot being the only thing holding the film together.
Emma far exceeded my expectations, as its from the newbie director Mariella Devoil, with its small budget and strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and effectively engages the audience throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic. With Emma I have no doubt that Mariella Devoil has earned her place firmly on the map of the country's most promising up and coming directors.
EMMA
Emma is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after being kidnapped. She tries to remember and figure out what has happened to her, through her PTSD. Her character arc was engaging and intriguing as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is left ambiguous and open to interpretation, just as the film itself whist holding a narrative is firmly placed in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, and the director specifically created the film to not make Emma speak. She is also the only character in the film who has a name. This creatively has symbolism intertwined in it. It says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault, she feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully half of the way through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try and help and keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, who's flawless acting carries the film from being lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her and girls like her to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary of the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, hence the fact that none of the other character have names.
The budget was extremely low, and you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the budget that they did have to be effect as possible. the film however, does suffer for this, as I feel some more time and money could have easily been spent on it to make this film as good as it could be. The director, Mariella Devoil, is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has defiantly made a splash with this, her 6th short film.
The setting of the film sufficed, even if it was a bit basic and stereotypical at times. Locations were believable and the set design was up to scratch. The audio is dramatic at times and the film uses uncomfortable silence effectively to make the audience feel uneasy. The rest of the sound design doesn't have much impact but is suitable, the sound effects and ambient music fit the scene and mood and help make the film to be believable.
The cinematography is really excellent, it looks elegantly and professionally effortless. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, it is expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film, and adda a level of gritty realism as both a beginning and ending scene, tie-in the film together nicely. The miss en scene has been carefully constructed frame by frame it seems. The kitchen scene (image above) intensifies the feeling of entrapment for Emma on her return to work. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate films feel a little disjointed with one another. The order of the scenes is confusing but the film got away with this by being stylised based, rather than the plot being the only thing holding the film together.
Emma far exceeded my expectations, as its from the newbie director Mariella Devoil, with its small budget and strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and effectively engages the audience throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic. With Emma I have no doubt that Mariella Devoil has earned her place firmly on the map of the country's most promising up and coming directors.
Friday 18 March 2016
Film Review Development Part 3
This is my first draft for the text of my film poster. I will get comments on it and subsequently improve upon it to make the best version that I can.
EMMA
Emma is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after being kidnapped, and tries to remember her and figure out what has happened to her, through her PTSD. The character arc was engaging and entering as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is left ambiguous and open to interpretation, just as the film itself whist holding a narrative is firmly placed in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, and the director specifically created the film to not make Emma speak. She is also the only character in the film who has a name. This creatively has symbolism intertwined in it. It says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault, she feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully half of the way through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try and help and keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, who's flawless acting carries the film from being lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her and girls like her to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary of the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, hence the fact that none of the other character have names.
The budget was extremely low, and you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the budget that they did have to be effect as possible. the film however, does suffer for this, as I feel some more time and money could have easily been spent on it to make this film as perfect as it could be. The director is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has defiantly made a splash with this, her 6th short film.
The setting of the film sufficed, even if it was a bit strange at times. They were believable and the set design was up to scratch. The audio is dramatic and the film uses silence effectivly.The rest of the sound design isn't very special, the sound effects and ambient music fit the scene and mood but aren't anything to really shout about.
The cinematography is really excellent, the miss en scene has been carefully constructed frame by frame it seems. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, it is expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film, as both a beginning and ending scene, tie-in the film together nicely. But apart from that the lighting, camera angles, and mise en scene have been carefully thought about for each shot within each scene. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate films feel a little disjointed with one another. The order of the scenes is confusing but the film got away with this by being stylised based, feather than the plot being the only thing holding the film together.
Emma far exceeded my expectations, as its from the newbie director Mariella Devoil, with its small budget and strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and effectively engages the audience throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic.
EMMA
Emma is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after being kidnapped, and tries to remember her and figure out what has happened to her, through her PTSD. The character arc was engaging and entering as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is left ambiguous and open to interpretation, just as the film itself whist holding a narrative is firmly placed in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, and the director specifically created the film to not make Emma speak. She is also the only character in the film who has a name. This creatively has symbolism intertwined in it. It says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault, she feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully half of the way through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try and help and keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, who's flawless acting carries the film from being lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her and girls like her to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary of the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, hence the fact that none of the other character have names.
The budget was extremely low, and you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the budget that they did have to be effect as possible. the film however, does suffer for this, as I feel some more time and money could have easily been spent on it to make this film as perfect as it could be. The director is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has defiantly made a splash with this, her 6th short film.
The setting of the film sufficed, even if it was a bit strange at times. They were believable and the set design was up to scratch. The audio is dramatic and the film uses silence effectivly.The rest of the sound design isn't very special, the sound effects and ambient music fit the scene and mood but aren't anything to really shout about.
The cinematography is really excellent, the miss en scene has been carefully constructed frame by frame it seems. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, it is expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film, as both a beginning and ending scene, tie-in the film together nicely. But apart from that the lighting, camera angles, and mise en scene have been carefully thought about for each shot within each scene. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate films feel a little disjointed with one another. The order of the scenes is confusing but the film got away with this by being stylised based, feather than the plot being the only thing holding the film together.
Emma far exceeded my expectations, as its from the newbie director Mariella Devoil, with its small budget and strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and effectively engages the audience throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic.
Thursday 17 March 2016
Film Review Research and Progress Part 2
This is my updated and revised layout for my film review. I have included all the parts that I found out were important from my research in this template and will be subsequently making my film review from this.
Wednesday 16 March 2016
Focus group Feedback 2!
Feed Back Questions:
(X= number of times it was commented on)
Did you understand the
narrative?
Did you sympathise worth the
main character Emma?
Have you figured out who
kidnapped her?
Do you my think my film has
improved from the last time you saw it? How?
- Pacing improved X4
- Scenes run smoother X2
- Shots look cleaner X2
- Edits are tighter X3
- Good that the councillor scene has been removed
- Easier to follow/ understand X2
- Beginning is more effective
- Aspect ratio
- Its been tidied up more
- Makes more sense
- Works better
Any specific comments on
sound/ editing/ camera work/ etc?
- Good use of high pitched sound
- good use of silence & minimal sound
- Jenny's line is unnecessary
- dramatic music could be used in calendar scene to increase suspense
- Camera warp is great
- jitter/ jump cut is effective
- Pacing is improved
- Blur effect is cool
- Fade to blacks are effective
- Liked the whole kitchen scene
- The editing is really good
- Good mise en scene
Overall Improvements?
- Could be spread up slightly
- Callender scene could have a bigger range of flashbacks
- Ends a bit abruptly
- Maybe put and extra scene at he end?
- Maybe put music over the CCTV footage?
- Tweak Editing / continuity
- keep the aspect ratio the same throughout
Overall Positives?
- Its very good
- Very well directed
- Ring scene is much better
- Pacing is slick and effective X2
- Kept me interested throughout
- use of silence was effective
- Shots are clear and well thought out
- Story is good
- Acting is good
- Mise en scene is excellent X2
- Very good cinematography
Tuesday 15 March 2016
Improvements: Emma - The Third Draft
- First CCTV shot is too short
- Longer transition between George & kitsch scene
- Cut train scene down even more
- switch order or train & ring scene
- Longer black transition between last scene & CCTV scene
- Maybe ADR for George's line in the kitsch scene
- Train noises instead of/ and car noises in ring scene
- Sort Sound out
- Try and edit it to be under 5 mins
- Muffel George's opening audio
- Cut Jenny's line
- Super close up of Lydia reacting in kitchen scene
- Cut George's line in Kitchen scene too
- Increase volume of dialogue
- Shorten Lydia's look more
- Louder tints when Lydia is looking up
- Increase background music volume
Thursday 10 March 2016
Wednesday 9 March 2016
Changes in Edit no.3
- Re ordered the scenes and footage
- Blurred George's opening
- Cut Lydia's walking out
- Re framed the kitchen scene
- Cut up ring scene to shorten using jump cuts - also provides confusion to the narrative
- Speed up some shots to shorten them and provide a fast pace
- Tampered with and edited and added the soundtrack a lot
- Added Sound Effects throughout
- Fixing the calendar scene - still gotta re shoot part of this scene due to narrative changes.
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