Evaluation 1

 

1. In what ways does the media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media

products? (ESSAY?)

During the filming of the short film, our group used many different types of shots to create more depth and dimension within the scene. One of those shots is a long shot that establishes to the audience the character in the scene and the environment of which he is in. We used this shot because we feel that the environment he is in is key to set the atmosphere for this scene, using the long shot shows the viewer of the eerie, ghostly church like surroundings. It also intrigues the viewer and asks the questions like 'why is he there on his own?' and 'why is he walking like he is not happy?'

Another reason why we used long shots to establish the first scene is because the viewer can see what the character is wearing, the little details that may/may not be important to the rest of the film such as the helmet, ,gloves and boots. These little details may not be seen up close but the viewer can depict what type of character he is and that he rides a motorbike.  

Another shot we film, that we thought added more drama into the scene, was the over the shoulder focus pull during the intro of the film. Adding this focus pull means that the viewer can see that the charter is doing but does not know exactly the details that are in the foreground, then by pulling the focus, the viewer can see exactly what the details in the shot are. For example, you can see art of what the character is wearing, such as the helmet where u can see part of in the wing mirror of the bike. This means that the mise-en-scene of the shot can be seen by the viewer. I feel like details like this make the whole shot more interesting for the viewer because they are not looking at one static shot for long periods of times, their minds are always guessing on what is going to happen next or what other little details they can pick out from the shot. In psychological thriller, keeping the viewer guessing is a key characteristic that makes it a good film under that genre.

 To make the viewer feel what the characters are feeling in the film, we used a number of close up shots to give the viewer more of insight of the characters facial expression. a good close up shot is the part where Edwards dead wife, appears at the bottom of the stairs and you see her finger slowly clasp the stair banisters. Then it moves to her face. With the close up, you can see the details of which, his wife is wrapped up in bandages, giving a ghostly vibe to the scene. This would make the viewer feel slightly scared of what could happen but also intrigued of why she is there and what Edward is going to do about the situation. Close ups in the film add more intensity in a film, as you can see details in their face that could express how they are feeling. the expression of which his wife shows, is a cold, lifeless stare. Being able to let the viewer see this, creates a lot of tension in the scene and the viewer gets more interested of the final outcome.  

During the most part of the film, their is none diegetic music throughout. By adding music, it adds pathetic fallacy by emphasising the characters emotion through the none diegetic music in the background. For instance, when Edward was having flash backs, a sad, melancholy song is chosen for the background. This is because the flashback he is seeing is one of his wedding and he is remembering his dead wife. As he is remembering this, he is already feeling mournful and the music adds to that. Slow, steady music is adds a better connection with the emotions the characters are feeling, and makes the viewer feel sorry for him or even sad them selves because they can relate to the emotions they are feeling.

Towards the end of the film, the tempo of the none diegetic music is increased, a percussion instrument is added. Adding percussion instruments, builds up a scene, this is done building up suspense within the pervious shots to maybe the penultimate part of the film. We used this music because we could build the tempo up of the actions of the film and sync it to the music, this is done by the rhythmic editing done in the shots. Doing this results in the viewer feeling the suspense build up and pulls them closer to the film and wanting to see what build up leads to. This makes our film more enjoyable to watch as it unpredictable, fore filling the psychological thriller genre. 

When we were in the research process of the film, we wanted to take characteristics from other films to inspire us to make it a film that truly reflects the genre but till integrate our ideas into the film. One of the film we took inspiration from is 'Eyes without a face'. We decided to recreate the girls costume in our film. This is because the film is a popular French horror film that has a girl with a bandaged covered face. This, we feel, bring out a more chilling feeling from the viewer because you do not know what is behind the bandaged and all u see are the eyes, penetrate in the close up shots, intensifying the scene.

Another feature we incorporated into our film from another popular film is from the film 'Quadrophia', we chose to copy the long shots they have in the film to track the main character on his motor bike in the film. I like this shot because this shot makes the viewer aware of the characters surroundings and something but also the you see the characters clothing and other features that close up shot do not get. Having this shot, makes the scene more interesting as the viewer can see everything and the details are less obvious making It harder to find features o the bike that has meaning through the film.

In this film we include fast pace editing at the end to make the film more entertaining to watch from the viewers point of view. Richard Dyres theory and utopia says that one of the sensibilities of the utopia is energy, having energy in the film makes the film a lot more entertaining. Having fast pace editing, makes the viewer feel tense and unease.

Another thing that Richard Dyer talks about is intensity, our film involves a lot of intense dark emotions, from sadness to depression. A sad part of the film is where he flash backs to his wife, the sad music amplifies the emotions that the viewer is feeling. A thrilling part of the film that fore fills the theory, is the ending sequence when Edward is feeling an intense emotion of depression. He is doing the suicide and this makes the scene intense and thrilling to the viewer, Fore filling the utopia sensibilities.