Peer assesment

Today we carried out peer assessments on each other’s opening sequences. We judged them of four main areas and scoring them out of 25 for each:

•          Titles
•          Cinematography/editing
•          Introduction of (this included characters, locations, storylines…)
•          Sound

I was really pleased with the feedback I received. I was given two lots of feedback, one final score being 87/100, the other was 91/100.

Here is some general feedback:

• "Clear characters and the relationship between them too -Protagonist (girl) and Antagonist (masked man)"
• "Good range of shot types (extreme close ups etc.) keep audience hooked"
• "I like how the titles appear  to the side/left/come in rather than just in the middle or top of the screen. The range of placements is very good"
• "The point of view movements were amazing and I felt like I was in the film with her"

The main area I lacked in was titles. This is what I aim to change and improve on before my final edit. Here are the specific comments I was given and what I intend to do about it:

“For the ‘ Bloody Nightmare’ title isn’t in the centre of the screen which I feel it should be to emphasise it” – I agree with this. All of the other titles are off centre but ‘Bloody Nightmare’ should stand out to show that it is the film title, not just someone that contributed to it.

Before: 

After:

It is a small change but one I feel is worth making.

It was also commented that the order my actor’s names appeared in was a bit unusual. At the minute ‘Dom Read’ comes up first, but Heidi is the main character. 

“You should make ‘Heidi Green’ appear before ‘Dom Clarke’ comes onto the screen” – This is something I hadn’t thought of but it makes perfect sense. It also follows the conventions of most films (how main characters actors appear first and then the lesser roles appear afterwards). So I have also changed this.

Animatic changes

Based on the feedback we were given we had the chance to edit our animatics. Here are some suggestions and my justifications for keeping it the same.

The pace is a bit slow when she is approaching the door
I have slowed down the pace down in contrast of the fast action at the start of the sequence. This is very conventional of the horror genre as it builds tension. The audience wants to get it over with but drawing out the time makes it scarier when something inevitably happens, in this case Heidi opens the door the reveal the Antagonist from her dream waiting for her in reality.

Possibly show a bit more of the antagonists personality
I have presented the antagonist as particularly illusive to make sure he comes across as scary as possible. Familiarity is comforting, the less the audience knows about the character the scarier he will come across because whilst we know nothing anything is possible.

Could use a dissolve transition when she wakes up
The quick cut is needed to show the urgency of her waking up from this terrifying nightmare. If I used a dissolve transition the pace would be too calm an not represent the emotions of the character, it would come across like she is gradually waking up after a nights sleep than waking in terror.

Could involve some low and high angle shots to show vulnerability
My opening sequence does actually include the mentioned shots but I don't think they come across very well in the animatic.

Animatic - peer assessment

In the lesson on Thursday did a peer assessment of each others animatics. It was also really insightful to hear what other people thought of my animatic and gave me a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of my current work.  I found this really helpful as I now am aware of particular areas to keep in mind when filming and editing.

I was incredibly pleased with this feedback as it put my mind at ease as to the certain aspects I was worrying about. For example the music. I thought it needed a lot of work as it was not the piece I had planned to use but it will be a good back up in case I don't get the composition in time.

I was also hesitant about the appropriateness of the pace of the sequence and I now know that the pace of the chase action is effective and doesn't need to be changed whilst the slower pace at the end when Heidi goes to open the door could do with some work. As a result of this I will make sure when editing that I take these comments into consideration.

I'm getting really excited to edit my footage to see the whole sequence take shape and this feedback will be invaluable in me.