Evaluation Question Seven

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

In our preliminary task on the left, our opening shot of me walking to the door was very unsteady, and we realized that the focus of the shot changed halfway through the clip. In my coursework video I made sure to use a tripod in order to ensure that the camera remained steady, and the focus was on what it needed to be.

Use of Camera

In our preliminary video, our group had a continuity error, as we see in the top left photo, I am wearing a gray crew shirt, and in the second I am wearing a dark blue t-shirt. In addition to having a continuity error, we didn’t edit or alter our footage in any way. Where as in my coursework video, I made sure that even the “wounds” sustained on certain characters stayed the same. The two shots in the up right were taken on two separate days, yet the wound looks identical. In my video, I altered the color scheme so that the rooms I filmed in were given a darker tone, and also to ensure that we got the feeling it was in the past.

Editing and Continuity

Mise-en-Scene

• Our preliminary task was made to seem like we were members of a high society school, the use of certain things like leather bound books and leather chairs in the scene presented that feeling. In my coursework video, I made use of a table, blood stains covering the walls, and an alto saxophone to present the image of jazz. My video was a representation of the serial killer known as “The Axeman of New Orleans.” He was known for his passion in jazz, and in order to present to the audience a hint to this characters passion I placed an alto saxophone leaning against a blood stained wall. The use of the basement and the dirt and blood smeared all over the walls presented the horror elements of death and darkness into my video.

Sound

• In our preliminary task video, we made use of diegetic sound only. In doing so, it lessened the effect it had on our audience. The video was less interesting to watch, and there was too much silence throughout the video. In my coursework video, there was no diegetic sound. The video was a kill montage of The Axeman. Throughout the video, I had The Axeman talking to the audience, reading out an edited form of the letter that the real Axeman sent to the press in New Orleans. Accompanying The Axemans monologue was a song based on him, called “The Axemans Jazz.” The use of a very upbeat jazz tune accompanying a sinister voice over a kill montage presented an interesting contrast to the audience. The jazz represented the killers joy and love for what he was doing, and his voice represented the sinister nature of his work.

Lighting and the Set

• Our preliminary task video was set in a dining room at our school, we reorganized it to make it look more like an office. In our video, we didn’t use any kind of lighting effects so some of our shots were too dark, and some of them were to bright. In order to fix that error in my coursework video I made sure to use a studio light. The use of the studio light in my video not only lit up the clip, but also presented a very interesting contrast of light. With the inside light off, and only the studio light on, it presented the shot with an interesting separation of light and dark, which sent the image that perhaps there was a bit of light in the character. I set my coursework video in the basement of my boarding house and in a WW1 bunker, still underneath my boarding house. The old, dirty space in the room reflected the time that the film is set in.

The Use of Titles

• In our preliminary task video, we simply put in a credits list at the end of the video, where as in my coursework video, I framed certain shots to fit in a title, like in the top left, I placed a credit in the slot being opened up by the body being dragged away. The use of blood red titles spread out over the span of my video added to the effect of my video, keeping a constant stream of red flowing throughout.