Prelim Peer Assessment

What elements of this sequence did you feel were successful?

• The camera shots were appropriate as they capture the key moments of the sequence, eg when Sarah begins to sing, and then when Ben starts to sing.
• The use of editing was also successful, eg the change in music volume from inside and outside of the room
• Lip syncing looks real
• The sound was successful and it was played at the right point.
• The panning of the camera was also successful. It gave a full view of the classroom.

Were there any aspects of the sequence which you felt were confusing, distracting or missing?

• To give us the full understanding that it was a muscial, I think they should have sung for a bit longer and shown their full bodies on the table.
• There were very few shots of Sarah and Ben dancing, which were necessary to capture the musical vibe.
• There was no establishing shot of someone walking down the corridor
• When they laugh when singing
• Cut between them, not equal length.

What would have improved this sequence?

• Sung for a bit longer.
• More shots of the characters dancing around as it would have captured the musical genre clearer.
• More enthusiasm to make it more realistic

AS Media Opening Scene

This is a Video called 'Hurting' from Latymer Media's Youtube channel.

Timeout Evaluation

Our Film

This is our film we made, titled Timeout. It is the opening scene to a musical.

Gladiator Opening Scene

This is the opening scene from the film 'Gladiator'

Camera

The first shot is a close up of the main character, Maximus. This signalises that he is an important character because we see him straight away. As he rides through the army, we see shots over the tops of both the armies which go into battle. These birds eye views show the extent of both armies, one which is substancial bigger than the others. The camerawork shows different sets of people at different times, showing there are many different groups of people. The camera mainly stays at eye level of below, this could be representing the high stature of the roman empire.

Editing

The editing on this scene consists of lot of different camera changes.

Sound

From the outset, there is very deep, slow and eerie music which creates the dramatic effect. The sound of the horse running is made very loud purposely, to emphasise the fact he is on the move and moving by force. As he is moving, the music becomes quicker, to build the tension even more before battle.

Mise en Scene

The main character is Maximus, played by Russell Crowe. He is a general in the Roman empire and in command of this particular army. We know this already because he is dressed in heavy armour and a fur coat. We can tell the difference between the two armies because of the costumes, with the Romans in their typical, stereotypical attire. The lighting for the scene is dark, because it is at night. This also sets the tone of the movie as dark and scary; this ties in with the war theme. The main actor is Russell Crowe, who is a well-known actor and has been in various action films before. There are lots of props in the scene like the horses which the generals ride, and all the weapons held by the armies. The setting is in a dark forest. However, it is unknown which makes the scene more mysterious and makes us ask more questions about where it is and what armies are fighting each other.

TimeOut Preparation

 

Jaws Opening Scene

This is the opening scene of the film 'Jaws'

Camera

The camera work in this scene consists of many different angles. There are the long shots at the start and end of the scene, to show the scenery is exactly the same, despite there being an incident in the middle. There are close ups to her face and medium shots of her body as she splashes about in the water. There is one over the shoulder shot when she first runs into the sea. It really emphasises the point that she is isolated with the long shots, and the underwater shot are supposed to be a view of the shark as it closes in on the woman.

Editing

There are no special effects in the scene, but the editing is about the transitions from shot to shot. For example, the long shots have a transitional medium shot before going into a close up of the woman.

Sound

The sound makes this scene absolutely brilliant. The non-diegetic sound changes the scene completely. It is contrapuntal because it is a usually happy and cheery song, and even the mood is good but in the end the woman gets eaten by a shark. It gets louder just before she finally gets pulled under, and it just makes the scene very ironic. The sound of the woman laughing is also ironic, but we know more than she does at time, because she is not aware that there is a shark on her.

Mise en scene

The only character we see in an unnamed woman. Like I said earlier, because we only see one woman it makes us seem like she is alone and isolated in the big ocean. Her costume is just a bikini, which just signifies she is going into the water. The lighting matches the scene well, it is quite dark but we can tell it's about the evening time because we see the sun setting in one particular shot. When the camera goes underwater, the lighting goes a lot darker and this is reflecting the bad nature of what lies beneath the surface. The scene is shown in the evening which is the end of the day, this could link to the life of the woman in the scene, because her life ends due to the shark. We are unaware from this scene exactly who the actress is, so we can't make a judgement, also there is no visible make up or artwork. There is only one prop which is the buoy sitting in the water as the woman is attacked. This is significant because at one point she clings onto, before eventually being dragged underwater.The setting is the sea, although the exact location is unknown. From the title of Jaws, we didn't know it was going to be about a shark, but this is answered straight away because the woman is running straight into the sea.

The Other Guys Opening Evaluation

This is the opening scene to the film 'The Other Guys'

Camera

The film changes camera angles a lot in the opening scene, because it goes straight into action. The changing camera angles show a lot is going on, and most of the shots are close up or medium, although it's harder to gauge because they are in cars. The movement contains a lot of quick panning around, to keep up with the action. A crane was probably involved to get the angles above the cars as they go through the streets. At times, it feels handheld but there is no first person shots.

Editing

The editing consists of lots of quick changing angles. There is some special effects like the explosion at the end of the car chase which may have been added to make it more dramatic.

Sound

The sounds are mixed, with lots of different diegetic sounds, meaning the characters can hear all of the sounds. The main sounds are of cars going through the streets, gunshots and police sirens; these all remain constant. All of these sounds are common in action films, so we know the genre of the film straight away as we hear the police sirens.

Mise en scene

The characters have very distinct costumes. The two men we see first are in a black uniform with police vest, so we know they are police officers. The bad guys are also wearing black, but they have guns and are getting chased so we know they are the bad guys. There is suitable lighting, it is set in the daytime but it is overcast so we can see the fire better at the end of the scene. It could also be pathetic fallacy, because some crime has occurred previously, we expect, for the police to be involved. The main actors are well renowned for action films, so we naturally expect an action film when first see Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L Jackson. There is no noticeable make-up used, despite them being involved in a big conflict at the start of the film. The props are very common for action films: fast cars, guns and explosions. One prop which stands out is the police siren on top of the car, which gets shot and very quickly replaced. This could reflect the very efficient service the police offer in the city, by replacing the light straight after it got destroyed. The setting is in a city, which one is unclear. We know this because the quick cut at the start of the scene and throughout the scene we can see talk buildings and lots of people. This shows that it could damage a lot and is a meaningful chase.