Evaluation of Rough Cut

Taking a step back and looking at our thriller opening from an analytical stance is essential in ensuring our piece gets better and better until we finally consider it finished. Just like any piece I'll analyse it in terms of editing, camera angles and sound. In this piece I'll be evaluating the 'Rough Cut' version of our opening.

In terms of camera angles, we ensured we used a variety of camera angles. It begins with a wide shot swinging into an over the shoulder shot. This shot is very effective at making the park look isolated and in turn making the man walking in it more mysterious. The close ups of the man being held captive do an excellent job of capturing the worried emotion of the hostage. The over the shoulder shot/high angle shot brilliantly captures both the fear on the hostage's face and translates the danger Joanna poses as an interrogator with the bat. The high angle nature of the shot even shows her clear power over him. Also, Joanna lowering herself to threateningly say, "Time's ticking", could both literally and metaphorically represent Joanna having to bring herself down to his level.

The lighting in the rough cut is relatively effective. Most of the scenes are very well lit, giving each shot the focus they should have. The outdoor shots look like natural daylight yet are low key enough to look somewhat sinister. The indoor shots make use of a spotlight on the hostage, clearly outlining the importance of him as a character, or the importance of the information he carries. The indoor scene also purposely omits using a backlight to make the location seem more cryptic and casts an ominous shadow on Joanna which makes her look a lot more threatening.

The sound in this rough cut, thought clearly not finished, is of average quality. In terms of diegetic sound, there are pieces of dialogue which add to the tense atmosphere. The decision to make the odd man in the suit speak in a foreign language makes him more mysterious and creates more questions in the viewers' minds. The non-diegetic sound in the rough cut consists of a eerie background track which really adds to the suspense and enigmatic theme in the opening.

Now, finally, in order to improve our rough cut to transform into a final product, we will make a few changes based on the evaluation too. Firstly we will add bars to the top and bottom of the opening throughout it to make it appear more professional. This technique is often applied in real films and it helped cut out some unfavourable background visuals in our opening. The title card of the film will also be changed as it looks very unprofessional and has no connection to the theme or narrative of the film whatsoever. The title cards will also be shortened as they linger too long and break up the pace of the opening. With them shorter viewers will be less bothered at having to look at names for a majority of the opening. With these changes, the opening will be more professional and reduce confusion amongst the audience.

Rough Cut

A rough cut of our thriller opening. You're welcome. Constructive criticism is accepted :)



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Production logos

Production companies make films. Production companies have production logos. Since we are making a film, we must have one also. In this post I analyse some production logos in "the biz", as we "biz" people like to call it.

This production logo is from Grayscale, a small production company based in Pakistan. As the name connotes, the logo is designed completely in grayscale. Though this logo is well designed, as you can see with the cool looking gradients and scratchy-looking background adding to the grayscale effect, it is not really eye-catching. Grayscale are mostly associated with capturing raw and realistic photos and documentaries which make viewers feel the plight of the characters or people in the photos or film in question. Their relatively dull looking therefore matches the theme of the content they produce.

The next production company I will look at is Miramax Films. A much larger production company in terms of size and reputation. The company has produced hits such as Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting and Reservoir Dogs. The nature of the films aforementioned mirrors the style of the production logo created: big and bold. The Miramax logo is made to stand out despite being only black and white.

Now, lastly, an even bigger production company in terms of scale, reputation, wealth, pretty much everything. Paramount Pictures, included in the Big Six of production companies, have produced multiple box office success like Titanic, Forrest Gump and Star Trek. Their logo is much more colourful and eye-catching than the first two, making use of lush purples and blues to give a realistic and beautiful image, connoting their productions are of the same quality and beauty. The placement of the name of the company at the peak of the mountain also suggests that they are at the top of their game, or are above the rest. Even surrounding the name by stars to indicate that their pictures are star quality.

Storyboard 2

Storyboard 2! I bet you didn't see that coming. Especially with the entirely different script that just went up... Enjoy!

Script (2nd draft)

As per usual, the first draft of anything is never perfect, and I doubt this one will be either but   we've done our best to improve upon the first one. This second draft includes more speech and action to build up atmosphere and tension. Enjoy at your own caution.