Week 7: Final Edit Due and Evaluation

Music:

Cool Vibes - Film Noire by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100863
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Spy Glass- Music by Kevin MacLeod. Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Night Falling- by JR Tundra

Year 11 Film, Television and New Media Film Noir Style Production 

Self-reflection and evaluation:

Please answer each question using complete sentences, including as much detail as possible.

1. Discuss your feelings about the production task: Please justify your responses:

• Are you satisfied with the result? (i.e. did it turn out as well as you hoped?)

Overall, I am satisfied with the end result as the group was well organized and manage to film with minor difficulties.  The film was close to what I have imagined however, I am satisfied the way it was turned out as the narrative is clear to everyone who saw it. 

• Did the project require more/less time than you originally thought?

The project did require more time than I originally thought. For instance, I thought that we would finish filming two weeks before test block but we actually finish filming the Monday of the next week. Furthermore, editing took much longer than I anticipated due to having the project go overtime.  

• Would like to change or improve any aspects of your final film (storyline, shots, editing etc.)?

There are some changes I would like to make to the final edit. The storyline could have cut shorter to be under the time limit and also make it flow better. I could improve the editing with better voice acting and have the colour correction to be correct and match the other's editing. 

• If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?

If I could restart the project, I would have organized the group's shot lists better so it would be easier for us to film and have a clear film in our heads. This would also allow us to know how long would the film be without being stress about the timing during editing. 

        2. As this task focused on the Film Noir Style, describe: 

• How you used specific elements of the Noir aesthetic and mise-en-scene to depict this visual style and enhance the narrative? 

There were elements of film noir featured in the film to enhance the narrative. In terms of characterisation, there were characters used from film noir conventions such as the femme fatale and the detective. They were an important aspect of our film as they serve a purpose to our story. Furthermore, even though it is set in modern times, some mise-en-scene matches the conventions of film noir. An office is a common setting for all film noir films and we used that to set the narrative.  We also have the detective character dressing in a coat and a hat which is a classic for film noir detectives. Lighting was the most important aspect of film noir as it makes the scene more dramatic. It also helps flesh out the characters such as the villains who were in shadows to show that they were mysterious. We also use the narrative of double-crossing to make the story interesting such as Nick, Catherine and Rachel betraying Dumpty for their own purposes. This would spice up the story. 

• How you used specific shot types to convey the story using visual language?

High angle and low angle shots were used to specifically to show power between two characters such as Boots' interrogation with Catherine and Nick. Extreme long shots or long shots were used to establish the scene and character. Slow paced shots were used to enhance the narrative since it is common in the film noir style. Finally, there were a small amount of camera movements because actual film noir films have less camera movement to add depth to the narrative and the scene.   

• Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly or if this could be improved?

The intended genre is crime, mystery and drama with film noir style.  The genres were depicted clearly in the films as there was crime into the storyline, mystery of who is the murder and drama since it deals with real-life complex problems. Of course, the film noir style is clearly depicted with the use of narrative conventions and lighting. 

       3. Personal reflection and evaluation: 

After your previous task, you were asked to reflect upon the project and identify aspects of planning, production, and reflection, which could be improved. Please explain which aspect you chose to focus on for this task and how you have made improvements.

For this task, I chose to focus to improve on lighting and updating my blog weekly. I have made improvements on lighting as I saw huge improvements the way the shots were composed. It made the scene much more dramatic and adds layer into the scene. However, I saw no improvements for the updating the blog weekly with much details, which I know this is what I really need to improvement on for the next projects. 

       4. Reflecting upon your completed task, respond to the following points:

• How did other people respond to your rough-edit? Did you use their feedback to make changes to the film?

After, handing our rough edit, we got a range of feedback from peers and Mr Andrew. Firstly, our rough edit was too long so we have to cut down some scenes to be under the time limit. Secondly, the music was louder than the dialogue and we need a better choice of music. Furthermore, we need to correct our colour correction. I used those feedback to make changes to the film and it made better. Personal feedback was that I need to straighten some shots and need to find better sound effects. Furthermore, some dialogue was echoing than others so I did my best to get rid of the echo. It is clear that I have used those feedback to improve my part of the editing and it is much better than the rough edit was. 

• Did you use the planning templates effectively? (shot lists, ingredients list, storyboards,).

I used the planning templates more effectively than any previous projects. My individual shot list was done effectively and it was a big help for the group. It also helped to plan the film better in my head too so I have a clear idea what I am going to do. In terms of the ingredients list, it was really helpful to not only me but also the group because we were able to brainstorm easily what would be in our film. 

• Were there any problems or difficulties during filming and how did this affect your project. (Difficulties may include; shooting, technical, time-management, teamwork, absences or editing etc.);

There were some difficulties that we faced such as during the filming of Boots in Dumtpy's office, I was not here for the shoot, one of the members of the group lost the footages they filmed on that day. However, we manage to refilm a few days later and we were not stress due to having most of the film done. It was mostly editing we faced because our film was way longer than the time limit so it was a hassle to cut down some of the shots. We also make sure we did not lose the narrative as it was really clear in the rough edit. Other than that, those were just the major problems we faced and it partially affected our project. We still have a complete film overall. 

• Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to support your work? (Look at your blogs and consider if it looks like a terms worth of work);

I fell that I have not took enough adequate and detailed reflection to support my work on the blog. This is because I fell there is not much to reflect on the project since my group has faced not many major difficulties. However, I tried to update as much as I can for the blog which is my improvements for next projects.