Wednesday, 11 March 2009

11th of March, Screening!

Screenings are my favorite part of film class, I love seeing everyones final products! I also especially like it when I am happy with my group's work, as I was with this project. We spent the first half of the class importing it (as it was filmed on an HD camera, it took ages), as did the rest of the class, but we started watching everyone else's during the second period. Today I think I was an open-minded learner (see below), as although there were groups who produced films that some would call 'bad', but I see how they are simply another persons perspective of how film noir can be conveyed.

Of the four films we watched in class, each had different strengths and weaknesses. A general aspect that all of them could of improved on though, was in sound editing. The transitions between angles brought with them an obvious change in background sound; either softening, which made the fact that there was background noise before evident, or becoming louder. This is acceptable if the transition is between scenes i.e. from one location to the next, like in our film where the location changes from the cul-de-sac to the waterfront. But it is not acceptable it if is a different angle of the same scene, as it ruins the illusion of what is happening and reminds the audience that the film is made (and badly, at that).

Some of the films were also quite poorly edited; I noted that the 180 degree rule was broken more than once. I have to admit that in our film we did this too, but ours was done tastefully, and it looked okay. The rule-breakings I am referring to were disorienting and weird. There were also some continuity errors as regards match on action shots, which again ruined the illusion of 'reality'.

I have to say though that I really enjoyed the story lines of all the films. They were very different to what I remember films being like last year, and much more 'risque'. We are now into the world of the damned, which I find makes for much more interesting film content than happy 'everything-is-great' stories. This is a great development as I feel that taking risks really opens up the world of film to us as students. I'm now really excited for our next project! 


Open-minded learners: Understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. they are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of views, and are willing to grow from the experience.

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