EXCHANGE EXERCISE EVALUATION

During the making if this project my responsibilities were to; brainstorm ideas with the other members of my group and come up with a final idea. All the paper work was shares between the group and was completed before we went any further. I also had to help film the sequence, which I then went on to edit and add a sound teach with theft help of the other member of my group. I think that my contribution to the making if this project was good, I tried to involve myself in every section of the exercise. Overall I think the exercise went well although we could have filmed a few more shots so that we has more of a variety, and more shots in general to break up the sequence more and to make it more interesting.

During this project I think that I have put the skills that I have learnt during this course to practise and learnt from the mistakes I have made previously, this gave me a chance to learn and practice new skills and techniques, for example different camera techniques. I think the exercise also gave the group a chance to get use to working with each other, which prepares is for the final piece.

The overall technique quality of the finished video was good, as the rule of thirds and framing was followed, also the 180 degree line rule was followed although we mixed some shots to make it look more interesting and used a variety of angles. To make the viewer stay interested we used shot reverse shot when one person was walking and another walking, this just made the film a little jumpy. I think that the camerawork and production values were good overall. Also the editing we had carried out made the shots flow from one to another.
Although the video as a whole was quite slow, this could have been improved if it had a few faster shots and had more excitement to keep the viewer interested. Also I think we could have chosen a sound track which for to the pace of the video better as the music we chose had a faster pace than the video itself, although the mood and tone did fit well and there was a change of pace in it which added effect to the piece.  If I repeated this project I would add some faster pace shots and find more appropriate music.

The stylistic factors in the exchange exercise were food but could be improved. The film noir style was portrayed well in some of the shots, for example the over the shoulder shots, although the amount of shots that this style was portrayed in could have been increased. I could have researched more into the costume that we used as it could have brought more drama to the video as it was too normal. Although the location was good, there were not many people around and off had different places we could film in that one location which made it look like the characters had moved more than they had. The narrative was clear and I think the viewer would follow well.

When I viewed the exchange exercise to the rest I'd the class I received feedback from them. I asked them three questions, the first being; does the video feel like a film noir/thriller? Overall the group said sort of. The second question was; did the video have good technical production values? They said yes it did. My last question was; did it have a clear narrative and storyline? The group agreed yes. If I was to repeat this task I would look at my feedback and try to make my video more noir/thriller like. So overall I think I received good feedback.

This project has taught me a lot about the skills and techniques I have learnt, it was also a good opportunity to practise them. I would change the music I used and try to add more pace to the video as a whole, if I was to repeat the project.

EXCHANGE EXERCISE

EXCHANGE EXERCISE

As part of my AS course work I had to carry out an Exercise, which involves filming and editing an ‘Exchange’. I am in a group with three other people, and everyone in the group has to participate in all the different stages of the production, therefore everyone must complete some of the paperwork before filing, also take part in filming the project and editing the shots to complete the exercise. When producing the ‘Exchange’ we have been told to consider the noir style and the characteristics of noir films.

IDEA FOR A FILM OPENING

Storyline: The beginning of the film starts with the end of the storyline and is told in flashbacks, a girl is tied up in a run down house, crying, with a man lying over the other side of the room, badly injured. You then see the two men discussing what they are going to do with the girl. During the film it explains how they got into that situation, the girl was abducted on her way home from school as she happened to over hear a conversation about two men responsible for a number of burglaries around the area, you see the conversation that the girl over heard. The man in the corner was a detective who had been trying to find her, but the abductor had beaten him as he entered the house to investigate. The film ends with the two men about to kill the girl just as the police arrive, one man is arrested, and the other man escapes but is later arrested when he attempts another burglary.
The film opening: The scene will open with a shot of a house on a run down estate, it then shows the inside on the house with a shot moving up the stairs in a room, where there is a girl tied up, screaming and crying, it zooms in to her face, which has tears running down it. The camera zooms out to a high angle view of the room, which is where you first see the body lying on the floor over the other side of the room. The girl is trying to talk to the person lying on the floor. It then goes to two men having a conversation about what is going to happen to the girl, both men enter the room and walk towards the girl, the girl cries louder and looks scared.

ANALYSIS OF BRICK

The film 'BRICK' by Rian Johnson, made in 2005, has typical noir storylines, scenarios and narratives. In the film there are is someone who is trying to be the hero. He is looking for answers about the death of the

girl he loves, and to find those answers he does a lot of fighting, and gets in to trouble although he attempts to stay out of it, this is down to the gangs some of the time. The main guy tries to make friends with everyone so that he can find the information he is looking for, which sometimes means he gets into more trouble. All he wants to do is look after and protect the girl who he is in love with. Like a typical film Noir there is a storyline based on love, but twists ad complications, and there isn’t a happy ending. Also the way the film is presented and the order of the film is done in a way which is Noir style, as they have flashbacks, and also they start the film from the end of the story line.

This film does contain typical film noir characters, for example, the women who dressed in a red dress at the beginning of the film would be the femme fetale, and she goes after the ‘hero’. Also the ‘bad guy’ has a sidekick, which looks out for him and they stick together. Although at the end they turn against each other which is not like Film Noir. In this film there are mysterious shadowy characters, like in Film Noirs. There is the main guy that is like the hero who gets in lots of trouble for example fights to help the victim.

Mise-en-scene is used in this film by the lighting; there are a lot of shadows, darkness, and poor lighting in places, like other Film Noirs. In places the sound isn’t what you would expect from a Film Noir as it is much more modern and doesn't always fit with what is happening, it is more abstarct, whereas at other times it seems to fit and follow the noir style. There are some particular editing styles that are typical of Film Noir, for example they use flashbacks, as at the beginning you see a flash of what happens at the end. Also they use fade outs throughout the film and other camera techniques to add effect.