Media Studies A2 Transition period 2014 Homework 1 (Becky)

Criticism- Recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

In our thriller opening, a variety of sound effects and foleys were used successfully to convey the thriller genre to the spectator and to increase the pace of the film creating more suspense.

 Unfortunately, where sound effects and foleys were added to our opening, we discovered sudden pauses of sound or silent periods between our effects.
This was unsuccessful as this can create confusion for the spectator as they may become aware of these sound editing issues which will cause the spectator to loose concentration and focus on our thriller opening and making them feel less engaged in the action unfolding. All our sound effects, folys and the soundtrack were put together on garage band.

 Also, when effects were used in our thriller, they were louder in volume 

in comparison to dialogue scenes or quieter settings. Having the effects louder than other sounds in our film opening was good as it allowed us to shock our audience and create more suspense in which they then become more engaged in the action.

 However this use of loud sound effects contrasting the quiet soundtracks and dialogue may not appeal to the spectator as it can create confusion at some parts during the opening,such as the math on action scenes (flashbacks) when in the investigation room.

 Another issue with the sound in our thriller opening was the use of dialogue. In the investigation scene, a conversation is generated between Mr Harvey Nd the investigator. In this scene the dialogue is quiet and at some moments hard to hear completely. There are some sound (silence) pauses between characters lines creating a disturbance in the continuity of the scene. I believe in order to counteract this unfortunate issue in our thriller, microphones attached and hidden on the character so that their voices and dialogue is picked up earlier than through the camera mic where they would have to talk louder to get a clear recording.

 To overcome these issues in sound, I believe closer investigation and research on sound techniques would be needed to develop our skills further to enable us to produce a more proficient use of sound and effects for our AS film thriller opening.

  

Moving onto the Advanced Portfolio - Beth's evaluation of our AS thriller opening.

Evaluating your own Foundation Portfolio Thriller Opening (Becky)

Evaluating your own Foundation Portfolio Thriller Opening.

Assessment Criteria	What went well	What did not go quite so well
Shooting material appropriate to the task set;	Shooting material successfully conveyed genre and presented a clear understandable narrative.	Murder scenes at the end of our short film were not presented proficiently as they were dark and unlit showing an unclear view of the setting and action tasking place in the scene.
Controlled use of the camera	Unstable camera conveyed thriller genre and created fear successfully. Controlled areas allowed for clear view of characters and no disorientation for the spectator.	Use of tracking shots would have increased the speed/pace of the film making it more exhilarating and more of a suspenseful rush. Could be used in murder scene as this would make it more suspenseful.
Attention to framing	Showed excellent knowledge of framing and applied to short film. Scenes were visually clear and conveyed the thriller genre.	Distorting the framing (such as canted angles) would have added to the thriller effect and disorientated the spectator for a more indulging viewing.
Variety of shot sizes	A variety of shot sizes were used to convey characters emotions, vulnerability and status helping to differentiate a crime thriller genre from one such as comedy.	More close ups should be included to express the characters emotions further and to create a vulnerability for victim so that the spectator and become engaged in the film and feel sympathy for the victim (Iona) / protagonist.
Close attention to mise en scene	Group members paid close attention to the use of mise en scene in their film to ensure and understandable and clear genre. Their use of mise en scene proficiently conveyed the given (Thriller) genre.	More ‘thriller’ like props can be included to excellently present the thriller genre. Make up and costume can be taken further by making the protagonist and victim (Iona) in a brighter colour, such as red or yellow, as this allows the character to stand out and suggests a more cheerful character in contrast the murderer (Mr Harvey).
Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer	Editing was effectively used to create and understandable story expressing the continuity of time and space proficiently. Cut transition scenes create disorientation adding the thriller effect.	Disorientating transitions can create too much confusion for the spectator and cause them to lose meaning and understanding of the story and narrative.
Making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects	Appropriate shot transitions, captions and other effects were successfully parallel (matching) to the action presented in the film. The effects and transitions used were typical to and convey the thriller genre.	Title of film not effective as it is not presented clearly, the title of the film possibly unknown as it is in a hidden area of screen. Title should be placed in the middle of the screen to make it more known and apparent to the spectator. Minimal variety of transitions.
Recording and editing sound with images appropriately.	A variety of sound effects and foley’s were used in this short film to convey the genre and speed to the film. Sound matched and was parallel to the action being presented. Title sequence sound track was effective as it contrasted to the ghastly, gruesome and murderous scenes being presented giving an effective chilling effect, typical of a thriller genre.	Sudden pauses (silence) create confusion for spectator and they become aware of editing issues pulling them out of the action in the film. Dialogue quiet and not very clear, sometimes unable to hear. Dialogue could be recorded on microphones to emphasise speech and become more prominent in the investigation scenes. This could create a more chilling effect when Mr Harvey ids talking as it may then appear that he it talking more to the audience rather than the investigator opposite him.

Moving onto the advanced portfolio-Evaluation of AS thriller opening- Megan

Assessment Criteria	What went well	What did not go quite so well
Shooting material appropriate to the task set;	The film was conveyed to be a thriller opening by the use of the darker lighting, close ups and the narrative in the police interview scene. Using restricted narration makes the audience wonder what is going to happen which you would expect from a crime thriller.	The lighting in the last scene is quite a lot darker than the rest of our film and is much harder to see and understand what is happening. Due to editing our lighting to make it lighter our shots become much grainier.
Controlled use of the camera	The use of hand held camera in the last scenes conveys thriller as well as using the tripod in the interviewing scene to convey the seriousness of the situation.	Using tracking shots during the last scenes would have added to the pace and suspense, furthering the idea of the thriller genre.
Attention to framing	Framing in the interview scene is used to show the whole picture without spaces to the sides of the shot.	During the end scene our framing doesn’t capture Mr Harvey dragging his daughter as the framing is very inconsistent and darker.
Variety of shot sizes	A variety of shot sizes were used to convey the characters thoughts and expressions through their facial expression and body language.	Need more use of close ups to portray emotion even further towards the audience to convey sympathy towards our protagonist.
Close attention to mise en scene	Mis en scene was portrayed through the characters clothing (school clothing) and make-up was used to show bruising. We showed Mr Robinson to be someone of importance by having him wear a suit. The idea of the killing being in woods rather than in a home adds to the thriller genre.	Mr Harvey’s clothing wasn’t easily recognised due to the lighting and him sitting down. The lighting in the scenes made it much harder to understand what was happening and who was who which would have been improved by re-filming at an earlier time or using lights and colours to use upon the characters.
Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer	The opening was able to flow with the use of jump cut shots to create mystery. We were able to use continuity within our shots so that our piece flowed.	Meaning wasn’t apparent at all times due to the lighting making understanding much harder to the audience.
Making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects	The use of cuts between shots rather than fades or wipes matches in more with the thriller genre. The effects and transitions were put in to the opening correctly without just being thrown in because they needed to and were used to convey the thriller genre even more.	Using small captions in the corner for our title made it harder to spot and didn’t match in quite as much with the thriller genre. The title should have been more appealing and bring it to the audience’s attention so it’s a film title they’d remember.
Recording and editing sound with images appropriately.	We used foleys to create a louder sound of footsteps as well as a variety of sound effects i.e. birds. We also made sure that it was easier to hear our narrative with no music playing over it.	There are places of silence where the camera has been cut for the use of continuity purposes. The contrapuntal music may bring confusion to the audience due to the thriller genre on screen. Dialogue can be hard to hear sometimes and could be improved with the use of microphones and voice overs.