Analysis of band 4 final preliminary task

In this task, we was asked to watch a level 4 final preliminary task. We was then asked to analyse this preliminary task and identify the positive and negatives of this video according to the four elements listed by the mark scheme that you are marked on in your final piece - which include; Titles, sound, filming and editing.

Level 4 mark scheme:

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the technical skills:

- Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
- Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
- shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
-Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.




Positive elements of the film include:



Titles

Titles used in the correct places and the color and font of the text fits in well to the films genre. E.g. using white text on top of a dark background to make it stand out.

For example -
 












In the credits, we can see that they have used a very bold font with a white text colour - set on a dark background. They have decided to do this as it draws the audiences attention to the credits immediately - they have possibly used a dark background to display the credits in order to show that the film is going to be mysterious, evil and full of suspense as dark colors usually used to portray a sense of evil and mystery which is apparent throughout the clip. One could suggest that the colour white (shown in the credits) represents 'purity' and possessing a 'soul'. But, the colour white is shown on a background with water that is stained with blood which is being drained down the drain - which is possibly representing that an innocent soul is being washed down the drain - which is portraying the murder that the woman has commited. One could also suggest that the colour 'white' represents purity and innocence - as in this screenshot we see that the white is being washed away by the bloody water - possibly showing that the woman who committed the crime is having her innocence and purity washed away from her as she has committed a crime.




Sound


Sounds used in the film were appropriate and linked in very well to the film genre which made the film seem more aesthetically pleasing to its audience.  E.g. using appropriate sounds in certain scenes of the film to make the scenes seem more scary, intense and more hard - hitting.


For example -

In this scene, the audience can hear the subtle sound of the blood drizzling down the drain in the bath. From this we can gather that it gives the film a sense of eeriness which is apparent to the audience and it leaves them with questions such as - 'why is there blood in the bath?', 'who's blood is it? etc.





In this scene, the audience can hear the faint sound of a timer being used. This could be the woman's inner voices possibly telling her that she is running out of time to get rid of all the blood in the bath. From this we can gather that the sound in this scene creates a lot of suspense as it leaves the audience questioning what is going to happen next in the film and it puts the audience on edge.

In this scene, the audience can hear the sound of the woman coughing up her blood. This could be because she is disgusted with herself as to what she has done and this is the only way of trying to get rid of the disgust and sheer hatred she had with herself at that moment. From this we can gather that the woman is so horrified with her actions that she has thrown up - this could may have been used to show the severity of what she did.




 Filming

Within this video, there has been a broad and diverse range of camera shots and angles used which makes the video seem more engaging to the audience. E.g. extreme close ups used to show the true emotions within a character.

For example -

In this scene, the audience sees a close up of a vodka bottle with the main character in the background. They may have decided to create this type of shot as it makes the vodka bottle seem as if it is an important part of the story. From this, one could suggest that the reason the woman why she committed the crime was because she was drunk. In contrast, one could argue that she is having a drink of the vodka to drown her thoughts and emotions in an attempt to try and forget about the horrific crime that she has just commited.

In this scene, the audience sees a close up of the main characters hand. They have decided to take this type of shot as it allows the audience to view the fine details within the character. In this image we can see that she is rubbing blood off of her hand - we can see a close up of this as we can see that the blood has permeated through her skin and she is trying to relentlessly get it off in order to make sure that she has no evidence of it linking back to her.

In this scene, the audience sees a panning shot of the blood in the bath. They have decided to take this type of shot as it allows the audience to witness the magnitude of the horrific crime. From this we can gather that the crime is a lot worse than the audience was expecting which helps to create a lot of tension and suspense from within the film.







Editing

Within this video, there have been many different editing techniques - such as reversing the film which has helped to make it flow well and to keep it seem engaging to the audience.

For example -

In this scene, we can see that they have reversed the video to write the word 'delusion' within the blood. They have decided to do this as it allows the audience to come up with their own perception of why the word 'delusion' was written here. This shot is a POV (point of view) shot meaning that we are looking at this from the min characters perspective. The word 'delusion' usually refers to you seeing things so this could mean that the main character is just seeing things as she has become so hysterical because she

cannot believe what she has done

 

In this scene, we can see that they have deliberately blurred the focus of the camera. They have decide to do this as it enables the film to be more engaging and interesting to the audience. Within this scene we can gather that the focus is blurry because the main character has some vodka and having too much alcohol could result in having blurred vision so this makes the film seem more engaging as it makes it seem that the audience is the main character.






Mise-en-scene


Within this film we can see that mise-en-scene has been used. By using mise-en-scene this adds diversity and contrast from within the film to make it seem engaging to the audience.


For example -

In this scene, we can see that in terms of clothing. Mise-en-scene has been used. We can see that the main character is wearing a light coloured top which helps her blend into the background. By using a light - coloured top this creates an essence of 'purity' which has no been tarnished by the blood that is stained on her light coloured top. It also helps to make the blood stand out amongst the cream/white.

Genre conventions - Psychological thriller

In this lesson, we had to decide what genre we wanted to do for our final preliminary task. We also have to define the genre conventions from within the film and describe what usually happens in our chosen genre film. We also have to find YouTube clips that relate to our chosen film genre.

Chosen genre - psychological thriller 

For our final preliminary task we have decided to do a psychological thriller. 

In a typical psychological thriller you usually notice that they use a range of different camera angles such as mid shot, long shot, close up and extreme close up. They use a vast range of camera angles because it makes the film seem more engaging to the audience. We can also see that a lot of panning shots are used which helps the audience to become aware of the surroundings in which the film is taking place. The lighting in psychological thrillers is usually very dark - which helps to create a sense of mystery and uncertainty from within the film. There are usually very dark themes within the characters of psychological thrillers - this is emphasized by the use of characterization.  Psychological thrillers are also very suspense full which helps to add drama and to put the audience on edge.


Psychological thriller AS example




















Camera shots/filming techniques

Within this video, there have been many different types of camera shots and angles used such as  close up, mid shot, long shot and POV (point of view) shots which help to create a sense of uncertainty, mystery and suspense which is apparent throughout most psychological thrillers.

In this scene, the audience sees a close up of the main characters hand. Within this scene, the audience can notice that the main characters hand is on the ground. From this suspense starts building as the audience starts wondering why her hand is on the ground and starts thinking of questions such as 'why is her hand on the ground', 'is she hurt'. By using this type of camera shot you enable the audience to start coming up with conclusions as to what has happened to the character(s) and this causes drama and tension to occur from within the film. In this scene we can also see that the hand is on a dark background which helps to make the hand stand out and also makes it aware to the audience. We can also see that the sun is shining on the main characters hand - implying that it is either sunrise, sunset or dusk which could suggest that the body has been here for a considerable amount of hours as one could argue that the crime was probably committed within the night.



In this scene, the audience sees a close up of the main characters face. Within this scene, the audience is aware that the main character looks rather anxious and nervous which is common is psychological thrillers. Judging by her expression, one could say that the main character may think that someone is following her. Possibly someone trying to attack her which could trigger her 'inner evil'? The audience is also aware that the background is blurred in this scene which draws in more focus to main subjects face. This scene also creates a lot of suspense and it makes the characters the audience question what is going to happen next to the character.

In this scene, the audience sees a long shot of the main character by the side of the building along a pavement. The long shot in this scene gives the effect that the main character is vulnerable and unsure of what is going to happen next. This is a common trait amongst psychological thrillers as the films usually portray the characters to be vulnerable and unsure of what is going to happen next. By doing this, it creates tension and drama as to what will happen in the next scene.

In this scene, the audience sees a mid long shot of the main character departing her house. Within this scene, we can see that the main character looks rather emotional and distressed. This could be as she has just had a thought of someone slitting her throat with her house key - possibly her 'inner evil'. Which has left the character in a very vulnerable state which then puts the audience on edge as this adds suspense and drama within this scene.










Within these two two scenes, we can see that a POV (point of view) shot has been used. This type of shot has been used as it makes the film seem more engaging and enticing to the audience, as it makes it seem that the audience is the main character as you are viewing the key from the main characters perspective which entices the audience into the film. In the second image the audience is aware that the background is blurred which draws the audiences immediate attention to the key.









In this scene, the audience can notice that hand held filming is being used. By doing this, it makes it seem as if we are following the main character. By using this, it helps to engage the audience more as it makes it seem as if the audience is part of the video that is taking place and this helps to entice the audience further into the film.










Sound


Within this video, there have been many different background sounds which have helped to make the video seem more engaging, dramatic and full of suspense which has helped to entice the audience.

Within this scene, the audience becomes aware  of the main character getting her throat slit by someone - possibly her 'inner evil' with a key. In this scene, the audience cannot hear the sound of the girl of the girl screaming - yet, the sound of thunder rumbling in the background. The sound of thunder is a rather deep and mysterious sound. Thunder clouds are often very dark grey or black clouds. So this shows that as the girl is screaming she is letting out the darkness from within her and possibly her 'inner evil'. The audience becomes very engaged by this as it is unusual in psychological thrillers and any type of film to suppress the sound of someone screaming. By doing this, they are drawing the audience further into the video as it makes the it seem more engaging - thus, enticing the audience more.

Within this scene, the audience becomes aware that the main character is being followed by someone. From this scene we can hear the faint sound of a heart beating. One could say that the heart beating is the main character as she is aware of someone behind her - yet she is vulnerable and scared as she doesn't know if they could have a weapon on them to attack her. In contrast, one could argue by saying that the character in the dark coat may be nervous as she may be an innocent person and could be worried that the main character could attack her - even though the character in the dark coat seems to have done nothing wrong.



Mise en scene

Within this video, we can see that they have used things such as clothes and scenes to make it apply more to the psychological thriller genre. 


In this scene, we can see that the main character is being followed by another in a black outfit as opposed to her light colored outfit. By the main character wearing a very light colored outfit we can tell that the colour 'white' gives an essence of purity, innocence and harmoniousness which helps to portray the main character as being a gentle, vulnerable girl. On the other hand - we see a character behind the main character in an all black outfit. The colour 'black' and dark colors represent an essence of spite, manipulation and evil behavior. Within this scene, the audience could assume that the character dressed in black is the main character's 'inner evil' and that the image that we are seeing is a depiction of the main characters inner thoughts and personality. Although, one could argue that because the main characters coat is an 'off - white' this could mean that she posses a bit of her 'inner evil' in her normal personality.  Because of them using mise en scene this has helped to make the audience come up with there own conclusions as to what the colors are representing and if they do represent their personality traits or not. In typical psychological thrillers - one usually sees that the bad, evil people are usually wearing very dark clothes/outfits and that the innocent victims are usually wearing very light colored clothes/outfits so this links into the psychological thriller genre very well. By doing what they did in this scene it has helped to keep the audience engaged throughout it and to keep up the suspense throughout.




Editing


Within this video, we can also see that they use editing techniques such as match on action to help the video to become more engaging to the audience.



 

Within these, scenes the audience is aware that match on action has been used. Match on action has been used here as it helps bring the focus of a certain object to the audiences mind. In this case it is the key. We can see that they keep cutting and going back to the key to show that it is an important part of the film as we see that the main characters throat it slit with this house key - this intrigues the audience and helps to keep them engaged within the film.

Analysis of Sophie Barrett's band 2 (27 mark) final preliminary task

In today's lesson, we watched Sophie Barrets's 27 mark (level 2) final preliminary task. After watching this final preliminary task we was asked to describe the mistakes that Sophie has made in her film. We was asked to do this to further our understanding of mistakes made in this film and to make sure not to include any of these mistakes in our final preliminary task. We were also asked to identify the skills that she uses in her film that are needed of the practical element of our coursework.

Sophie Barrett's Level 2 (27 Mark) Final Preliminary Task


Mistakes that have been made in Sophie Barrett's film include;


Continuity issues - such as cutting scenes without making it flow.  For example -

    
From this we can see that one scene cuts to the next without making it flow. By doing this, we can identify that it confuses the audiences and distorts their mindset of the film - meaning that they start to lose interest in the film their viewing and start to get bored.



General mistakes - such as filming a screen with a reflection, and you can see the camera you are recording the film from with within the screen.  For example -

 








From this we can gather that the film loses its sense of being a story as the audience can actually view that the film is being filmed and from this we can gather that the audience don't feel as they are part of the film and the story, and the audience then start to lose interest in the film as it does not engage them as much now, knowing that it has been filmed.



Bad Acting - such as laughing in scenes that are very emotional and distressing. For example -

 










 
From this we can gather that the film loses an essence of reality, as the audience can assume that usually a person would not start laughing if they are mourning the loss of a friend. From this we can gather that the film becomes less engaging as it seems that the actors are not taking the film seriously and are not staying in their characters, from this we can see that the audience will start to lose interest in the film. On the other hand, one could argue that laughing is the friends way of coping with the loss of their friend.


Going over the time limit. For example -

From this we can gather that the film has gone over the time limit allowed by the exam board. By doing this, the audience start to lose interest in the film and start to get bored of it - as too much of the story has been portrayed.


Structuring of titles.

Throughout the film, we can see that the students that made the film did not follow the order as to here to put the titles within the film. Because of this, the titles are all over the place within the film. The audience is also never shown who made the film e.g. director/producers name(s). Meaning that the audience have no idea as to who made or directed the film.


Sound issues.

Throughout the film, the audience cannot always hear the dialogue between the characters. Such as, when the two girls are in the cemetery the audience can hardly hear what they are saying - meaning that the audience will not be able to know what is going on from within the story.


Filming issues.

Throughout the film, the audience is made aware of the bad filming. Such as; the camera shacking mostly throughout the film. By doing this, the audience find it hard to concentrate on the film and start to lose interest.



Positive elements of Sophie Barrett's film include;


Mise-en-scene - wearing appropriate clothes for certain situations. For example -














From this we can gather that the film uses mise-en-scene well as we can see that the friends of the girl who died are wearing black and very dark clothes as they are mourning- portraying a symbolic way of paying their respects to their that has died.




They have used a range of camera shots - such as long shot, mid shot and extreme close up.                 For example -


                                                    
The effect of the long shot is that it captures the whole subject in question, and it also helps to make the subjects seem vulnerable - in this scene - this is a very good shot to use as the friends of the girl who died are obviously in a very vulnerable and emotional state - so this shot helps to capture the emotions of the characters.


The effect of a mid shot is that it gives more detail of the subject in question, whilst still showing enough detail in the subject for the audience to still feel as if they are looking at the whole subject.




The effect of a close up is that it captures the finer details from the subject in question - this enables the audience to become more aware of how the subject is feeling and what he/she is doing. In this case the audience is shown the subject clasping the front door of her house with a jumper covering her hand - possibly implying that the subject feels very vulnerable and emotional.



A soundtrack has been used throughout the film. For example - 

The song 'someone like you' by Adele is the perfect for this film as it fits into the genre perfectly. But, alas a cover of this song has been used so it doesn't give the same effect on the audience as the original song would do, but by using the original song - then you would have been subject to copyright issues. Going on a no copyright free music website would be the best option for this film.



Good transitions used.

Throughout the film, there have been some good transitions used in some scene - which has helped to make the film flow a little but not greatly.

Opening credits analysis

Genre A: Romantic Drama

Film: Water for elephants - The opening credits for this film were not available on YouTube, so the trailer has been provided.

Sound/music - In the establishing scene there was gentle music playing in the background, but the audience can mostly hear the rain pattering down on the ticket office.

Visuals - In the establishing scene of the film, we can see the ticket offices that enable people to enter the circus, the establishing scene is from the films location.

Font -

How does it establish genre -







Genre B: Comedy drama

Film: The devil wears Prada - The opening credits for this film were not available on YouTube, so the trailer has been provided.






 Sound/music - In the establishing scene of the film we can hear the song 'suddenly I see' by KT Tunstall being played. This song has a very uplifting and joyful effect that helps set the scene for the film.

Visuals - In the establishing scene of the film we see the films main character Andrea (Anne Hathway) wiping steam off of her bathroom mirror implying that she has just begun her day and is about to begin her new career.

Font - A casual/informal font has been used for the opening credits. No capitals have been used for names in the opening credits, emphasizing an informal style. The colors used for the credits are warm pastel yellow and burnt orange.

How does it establish genre - The colors in the opening credits represent the emotion shown throughout the film as the warm yellow represents the happiness/humor shown throughout the film and the dark red represents the drama and devastation shown.








Genre C: Horror

Film: Halloween (1978)





Sound/music - In the establishing scene of the film we can hear piano music being played gently in the background but over a minute of this being played, the music becomes louder, more dramatic and more intense. This music implies that the film is going to be terrifying, dramatic and full of suspense.

Visuals - In the establishing scene of the film, it goes back in time to 1963 - when psychotic killer Michael Myers stabbed his sister to death with a kitchen wife.

Font - There was a very bold font used for the credits, this was used to make it stand out to the audience and to catch the viewers eye. The color of the font is orange. This color symbolizes Halloween as pumpkins are orange. 

How does it establish genre - The orange from the credits associate to Halloween as pumpkins are orange. The scary music that is played throughout the opening credits helps to establish the genre of the film to the audience.








Genre D: Comedy

Film: Last Holiday - The opening credits for this film were not available on YouTube, so the trailer has been provided.

Sound/music - In the establishing scene of the film we can hear gospel music being sung - this music creates a happy and uplifting tone for the beginning of the film.

Visuals - In the establishing scene of the film, we see a church group singing songs - this establishing scene also shows the films location.

Font - A very bold font has been used for the credits. The color of the credits is cream with a black shadow behind it. This has been used to make the credits stand out.

How does it establish genre - The white colour from the credits symbolizes the film's main character - Georgia as she sings in a church group and the white colour represents the purity and harmonious environment that is the church.






Genre E: Drama

Film: The Help - The opening credits for this film were not available on YouTube, so the trailer has been provided.

Sound/music - Gentle orchaestraic music is being played in the establishing scene of the film. The music creates a dramatic effect on the film and helps set the scene of the film immediately. We also hear the film's main character Aibileen and Skeeter having a conversation about what it is like to be a housekeeper.

Visuals - In the establishing scene of the film we see Aibileen sitting down and telling Skeeter about her life as a housekeeper and says that she was born into this

Font - A very formal and professional font has been used to display the credits. This has been used because as the film is a drama they had to keep the font dramatic as well.  The font colour is white which is set on a white background to make it stand out to the audience.

How does it establish genre - The colours in the credits are white and black. These two colours are separate in the credits and may have been used to portray and display the segregation of black and white people in the 1950s which was a very sad, distressing and depressing time. The orchaestraic music played throughout the credits and in the opening scene of the film implies the dramatic tones throughout the film.