Evaluation

Here is my evaluation of my A2 course.

Final media products

Here is the final cut of Field of Snakes

Password: media

Here is my final poster

Here is my final film review

Field of Snakes review

Prior to drafting this review I looked deeply into the construct of film reviews from various sources of paper-based articles and web-based articles. Following this I applied my findings by drafting a basic template using Pages.

I then chose the images I would use which would hopefully establish the films one without giving a way important plot points. I then continued to write a basic summary of the plot, followed by a minor evaluation from a third person perspective.

Once these were both completed I inserted the text and images into my template, editing some text to fit into the margins.

Here is my final film review for 'Field of Snakes'

I contemplated adding titles and social media links as a footer, but decided not to as it is not featured in the majority of reviews I have analysed.

Future reshoot problems

Although my I now consider my filming complete, if urgent re-shoots are needed I cannot film at Elk Meadows as the owners will not give me permission from now on. Fortunately, I am happy with the interior shots and are unlikely to reshoot them. The outdoors shots and filler shots can be changed as I have access to other locations which look similar, although in order to maintain good match-on-action I would have to reshoot entire scenes in some cases.

Field of Snakes poster (draft 3)

Final editing session

Over the course of this project, with the help of friends from my class, I have been able to edit the raw footage to create a cohesive story structured in the way I had initially intended. However, through discovering the capabilities of iMovie and various other editing softwares I have developed my ideas further and made slight adaptations to my initial plans.


Unfortunately some unplanned changes I've had to make are due to limitations and flaws with the technology I have been using. To counter these problems I should have tested the software and hardware that I would be using. My lack of understanding of the equipment led to needed re-shoots in order to fix lighting and audio problems which I had initially planned to fix in editing. Perhaps using software such as Adobe Premier as oppose to iMovie would have granted me better ability to fix some flaws.

Field of Snakes (draft 5)

Here is my final cut of Field of Snakes. I have reshot the opening scene and edited the rest of the footage to match. Slight adjustments have been made to the script and costume design as a response to feedback from crew as well as my class.

Password: media

Class feedback (FoS draft 4)

This screening was far more successful than the one prior. Classmates commented on how lighting had improved as well as pacing and audio. Most issues revolved around narrative problems between the first and second segments. I can improve on this as I plan on reshooting the first half in order to support the second half further.

Most notably, classmates identified both crime-thriller and western genre elements which is a great achievement as I am aiming for a hybrid genre of both crime-thriller and western.

Field of Snakes (draft 4)

With this draft I have reshot and re-editided the second half of my short film. With this draft I ensured that the light would stay the same throughout filming, so that the confrontation would appear to take place within 3-5 minutes.  For instance I put the blinds down so that if the light outside did change it would have a nullified effect on the interior lighting. This also resulted in the lighting being more natural so I would be able to apply filters without them looking too strong.

I also took more time preparing the placement of objects within each shot before and during shooting as I saw mise-en-scene as one of my weakest points in the first draft.

Unfortunately due to the cast not being very focused from he start, it took a while for steady filming to take place. Despite this, we managed to get each shot featured on the shot list with some extra filler shots.

Field of Snakes poster (draft 2)

Animatic

Here is my animatic. This has helped me to structure my film as I have been able to rearrange shots through the use of iMovie. I have developed my skills using this software and feel more confident about the editing and filming process of my short film.

Film review research

I began my research by reading two film reviews featured in magazines as I had initially planned on creating a magazine-based review for Field of Snakes.

For each review I briefly noted components in each one which I may replicate in my review. The may later help as a guidelines when creating my own review

Star Trek Into Darkness review

Spider-Man 2 review

Despite wanting to create a magazine-style film review, I have decided to review two types of web-based film reviews in order to compare similarities and differences.

The Dark Knight review (web-article)

Mad Max: Fury Road review (Youtube review)

Field of Snakes (draft 3)

On my second day of filming I filmed the first half of my short film. Unfortunately the location was right next to the M25- resulting in a lot of background sound that was hard to remove in post production. Furthering this, there was almost no cover from sunlight and I do not have the equipment to overcome this through software or hardware. This resulted in the draft requiring heavy filters on both visuals and audio in order to hear and see the characters clearly. To prevent this in re-shoots I will film in another locations, I am planning on Elk Meadows which will hopefully be free to film in during the half term.

The content itself I am overall happy with, the performances and script may need to be improved slightly, but at least I now have a better idea of how to shoot on the next day of filming. Props and continuity also need a greater focus on as they are flawed in this draft.

Survey feedback further analysis

After reviewing my previous two survey feedback I feel I have achieved the criteria that I planned to follow from those responses. My film so far meets the boundaries of a 15-rated film whilst displaying elements of both crime-thrillers and Westerns.
Once my final products are completed I will brief them to an audience of 15-21 year olds for further feedback in preparation for my evaluation.

Field of Snakes poster (draft 1)

 I haver created a rough draft of what I want my poster to look like. Through the use of typography I have incorporated a Western style to this poster whilst maintaining the simplicity of British crime thriller posters. I still feel there is great room for improvement as I am not completely set on using this image. I was also unsure of tinting the background blue instead of white. Whilst making this poster I used a horror-like font but decided the poster then looked too much like a horror, which is misleading. Therefore I decided to use more colour and change the font.

Filming update

I plan on filming the other half of my short film all in one day (Tuesday 9/2). This should take roughly 3 hours, and I will edit this in the evening. After screening this full draft to my class and teachers, I plan to re-shoot scenes throughout the half term coming. I should then have a full second draft to show teachers after, and hopefully require less work for my final product.

Typography research

Typography is a subject that I explored in my poster analysis blog post, and is a skill I wish to improve on in order to create more meaningful and suitable titles and credits. In my poster draft I looked at two genres of films and the text they use- Western and horror. I still plan on incorporating conventions from each theme heavily in my short film, however I plan to use some text associated with British crime thrillers. This being bold and simple text which covers the majority of a shot. Tarantino notoriously used a Western font for the film 'Pulp Fiction', yet applied it in the same fashion that a British crime-thriller director would display a film title.

I am considering using a similar font for my poster title, although I will not use this text for the rest of the text on the poster. I may also use a font like this for the opening title, but again, the credits would be presented in a  different font.

Although my film would not often be considered 'film noire', films from that movement have broadened my understanding of film-making significantly, most notably the act of conveying meaning through clever mis-en-scene. Therefore I have considered using a font similar to those used in film noire title sequencing for the opening title.

Django (1966) is a Spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Corbucci. The font used in the title sequence is similar to that used by Tarantino in Pulp Fiction, and identical to the font used in D'jango Unchained. Similarly, it uses a bold colour for the foreground with a darker copy of the text layered behind it to give the text a 3D effect.

I plan on experimenting with this technique for my poster and title sequence for my third draft.

Field of Snakes (draft 2)

Class feedback

After filming and editing my first draft of Field of Snakes I was able to screen it to my class and receive feedback. I took questions and notes from the audience in order to understand how this draft was the revived.

The main problems with this draft pointed out by many classmates were the bad colour correction as well as audio issues. These are both technical issues that I faced by not anticipating how lighting would change/appear in the editing process. I therefore had to over-filter both audio and visuals to which resulted in it looking messy.

This is an issue that can be avoided next time during both filming and editing. I will ensure that lighting is clear and clean so that skin tone stays the same and everything in shots remains similar between shots.

People however could easily identify my short film as a crime-thriller which I consider an achievement. This, I would imagine, is a result of both the writing and mis-en-scene.

Field of Snakes (draft 1)

Here is my first draft of filming which I filmed and edited on the evening before I had to present to the class. By presenting this to the class I was able to record feedback from my peers and make improvements on this draft. This draft features only one scene from my film which I will later rewrite and extend to last two minutes.

Filming went smoother than I expected as we got a lot of shots within a short time. My main concern with this filming were the flaws in my script that need adjustment. I feel that more dialogue would enable me to hold shots longer, build tension, and present the characters in a more realistic scenario. Furthering this, hearing the way various actors delivered lines has benefitted me with a greater insight into which lines to give to which characters in order to portray them in the ways I want.

This was also my first experience with using a DSLR camera for filming, and I have noticed that some early footage is out of focus at the start. This was hard to notice when previewing the shots on the small camera screen. To change this next time I will ensure each shot is in focus before filming, then take multiple shots so that I can choose between them in editing.

Editing itself was another task which I was new to. By using various tools in iMovie I was able to remove background sound and adjust volumes of dialogue to the levels I wanted. Inserting music and applying filters to make is sound diabetic was also a task made easy by the various tools. The hardest part by far was colour correcting the piece as I was unsure of what look I wanted to go for. This is a problem that could have been avoided by planning more thoroughly before editing. Instead I chose to warm up each shot and give it a red tint to connote the evil and dangerous atmosphere Jimmy is in. However, due to various shots being unclear I will lower the volume of this tone and possible desaturate each shot. Another huge problem was lighting, as we filmed from afternoon to evening, the sun went down throughout filming. This meant that half of my shots were in daylight, and the other half were purely in artificial light- breaking the match-on-action. I plan to avoid this problem by beginning filming in the late morning on my next shoot.

The opening title's font is also something I want to change, I will do this after exploring typography.

Equipment list

I have made a check list of the essential equipment I will need before filming tomorrow. Before filming I will ensure all of this is available and ready to be used.

- Charged Camera
- SD card
- Microphone
- Costumes
- Prop gun
- Furniture (table and chairs)
- Car
- Fake blood

Music choice

I have chosen to use segments from three tracks within my film, although this may be reduced to only two due to lack time.

Here are various song choices I have to play throughout sections of the film:

Intro:

Mid:
Al Green - Let's Stay Together
Smokey Robinson - You Really Got a Hold on Me

Outro:

One dilemma I am faced with is whether or not to use the song 'Let's Stay Together' within my film. I will use it as reference in my first draft, but am exploring other music of the same genre which may fit the film the same. The reason for this being that the song is famously used in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 classic 'Pulp Fiction'. As I am already taking heavy inspiration from this film, I do not want to be seen as copying the song from that film.

I first realised this issue after viewing the latest Suicide Squad trailer which uses the song 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen, which I immediately associated with Wayne's World. This connection lessened my immersion somewhat. This is also a problem I have with the use of 'Be My Baby' by the Ronettes in Dirty Dancing. I personally find the use of this song in Mean Streets to be very powerful, so when it is used in Dirty Dancing it sounds out of place and disappointing.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Mexican standoff analysis)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly', directed by Sergio Leone in 1966, is arguable the most prestigious Western ever directed. The film is categorised in a sub-genre of Westerns called 'spaghetti Western', being directed by an Italian directed in the late 60's. Although this is not a crime-thriller, I feel that aspects of this genre, particularly this film, can be very influential in my making of this short film. I have not yet planned how to construct my films ending, however I feel that with the influence of Sergio Leone's Mexican standoff direction, I will be able to build suspense through music and camera work despite lacking dialogue. I believe this is necessary as an overuse of dialogue can be deemed as uncreative and boring for the audience- aesthetics are far more appealing.

Before starting this analysis, I have already considered the fact that my short film will only last 5 minutes, and it is unlikely that I will be able to build up a similar level of suspense within a segment of that time.

The idea of using conventions from Spaghetti Westerns arose to me after viewing 'Reservoir Dogs' in which Tarantino includes a torture scene contrasted with happy music; similar to one in 'the Good, the Bad and the Ugly'.

(The actual standoff begins at around 2.40)

This scene is constructed using multiple conventions in order to build suspense- most Western-defining conventions were first used within this film amongst other by Sergio Leone. The use of extreme long-shots cutting to closer shots such as medium-shots and extreme-close-ups lead to a far more intense tone. This is partly due to the images of guns and shifting eyes featured in the close-ups used towards the end, but also due to the shots beginning to change faster as the suspense grows, building pace. The finale of the standoff cuts to an extreme long-shot that is inclusive to all characters, clarifying the conclusion, as well as expressing a tone of relief.

Accompanied by a score from Ennio Morricone, transitions and builds and declines in tension are perfectly cued through multiple instruments. Classical music in reflects the epic scale of the event. However, other works by Morricone, such as 'The Man with a Harmonica', have used instruments such as electric guitars and harmonicas. I therefore feel I can use almost any genre of music with a scene like this, so long as it is exclusive of vocals, and builds to a crescendo.

The scene takes place in a large open area with not much detail in the surroundings, other than gravestones. This lack of detail allows for the viewer to focus heavily on the only thing in frame- the characters. Therefore immersion is maintained throughout the standoff. Although it unlikely I will be able to film my final scene in an open area like this, I believe I could somewhat replicate the tension and immersion built through various other conventions.

The final aspect of this film I would like to talk about is costume design amongst other character aesthetics. Blondie wears a draped cardigan featuring colours of gold and brown- reflecting his good morals. Tuco is dressed in scruffy clothing with a mix of colours from red to brown- he has bad interns and is not as 'sharp' as the other two characters. His scruffiness also reflects that of a greedy scavenger, who wants all the treasures to himself. Angel-eyes is dressed in all black- he is clearly the bad with immoral intentions. Furthering this, both Blondie and Angel-eyes are wearing hats accompanied with other smart clothing which reflects their purity of good/bad, and sharpness. Tuco is excluded from this as he is just a middle-man, not a serious contender like them, this is reflected by the plot of the film. I believe I can possibly recreate similar costumes to play homage to these characters, but with a far more modern and simplistic take.

Ideally I would like to feature a standoff-like scene within the last minute of my five minute-short; the first four minutes building up to this point. 

Poster templates and inspiration

Horror thriller poster template

Western template

Snatch poster 1

Snatch poster 2

Filming update

Unfortunately over this past half term I have not been able to film. After already delaying from the 22nd of December to the 24th and eventually to the 29th, I have been delayed again. This problem has occurred due to other cast and crew being required for other people's projects, as well as the filming location not being available for a period of time.

I now plan on filming my first draft on Sunday the 10th of January. All props and costumes as well as a storyboard and script are still in my hands and I am ready to film.

(Edit: I have since been delayed again and had to reschedule for the 19th of January)