Depict! Evaluation

FINAL PRODUCT

MISE EN SCENE

For our final product 'Internet Blues' we didn't use a particular dress code for the actors as our short video was filmed during college. As our product is originally created in a working setting, a formal dress code would be more appropriate to create the effect which we wanted. We also required very little props which was available to us in the college such as a working desk, two computers, sticky notes and a white board pen. The working desk and computers was a major prop in our video due to the whole concept of the internet being over and the audience may find it difficult to understand our intention without these props. The lighting in our video was ambient the whole way through with the additional scenes which required light. 

This is seen in a majority of the scenes as there were many scenes which were slightly darker/lighter than other scenes. Although this brings realism to the video, to avoid different tones of light in future products lighting is available to us in the college to contain the same tone. The actors which were used provided facial expressions which allows us to have a wider understanding of their feelings. This reaction shot of this characters computer being switched of allows the audience to begin to identify that character.

CAMERA WORK

In the first scene of our short film, the first shot involves the three main characters by the use of a medium shot. This shot does not establish the main characters as they're not positioned in the cameras direction. To improve this shot, a wider shot of the characters whole features would be necessary to make sure the audience are familiar with these characters. A scene nearer to the end of the video also presents the reflection of the director filming that scene. This experience has allowed me and my group to be more aware of diminutive errors.

There was also a talented scene that involved presenting the time through a clock. This was recorded over a period of 20 minutes which was sped up due to the time limit. An advantage to this scene was that it allowed the audience to understand the perception of time passing by without the involvement of a typical fade.

EDITING

In terms of editing, continuity is a major process which has to be obtained. Although our video usually contained continuity, there were areas which could be be improved to enhance the flow of the film. For example the beginning shots which was initially meant to be a match on action but due to this scene only being filmed once, this shot did not turn out as smooth as we possibly could. Also, to establish the whole concept of the video, the shot which displays 'the internet is over' could have been made considerably longer to avoid confusion within the audience. We also used fades throughout the video as well as the clock scene which again allowed the audience to become aware of the time passing by. We also presented a shot reverse shot to maintain continuity which also made the conversation look more realistic.

SOUND

The dialogue in many of the scenes was not as clear as it could have been due to the actor not being fully confident in front of a camera. To improve this next time, a voice over could be recorded although you face the risk of making sure all audio matches the video. Another alternative is bringing the sound track higher which allows the audio to be clearer. Unnecessary sound which were included in a scene with dialogue such as the door squeaking could have been avoided by locking or muting this particular sound/track. We also created our own sound tracks on Garageband which came with advantages as we were able to make sound tracks fit in with our video. Although we had access to a wide majority of sound tracks/effects, using this software allowed the sound we used be unfamiliar to the audience.