Reflective analysis
During the creation of the production I controlled all of the micro aspects, camera, sound,Cinematography and editing and creation of the final production. Through out this evaluation I will be focusing in detail on two micro features, theses are Sound and Cinematography.I have chosen theses as I feel I can express the most detail in analysing theses and they contributed the most to the final production. Also as the sole producer of this film going into depth on the two I spent the longest working on. This film clip is the opening sequence to the movie UNKNOWN and the first scene highlights the films nature and beginning narrative.
Firstly, I will begin with sound. The sound has played a huge part in creating my production as many of the sounds relate to the codes and conventions of the hybrid SCI-FI / horror genre and without the extensive uses of sound the production would not make sense or flow in sequence.
Most of the sound was added during the editing process using IMOVIE sounds and from 'YouTube' sounds. These are non-diegetic they were added during the editing process.
After the small use of sound in the indent which make the production look professional and follows conventions of films the first sounds fade in slowly and gently getting louder.
Shot 1 - a screen shot of the indent opening sequence.
Shot 2 - shot of the house where the film is set
The sound track would leave the audience filled with suspense and mystery, subsequently building climatic tension.
The cinematography is this shot is showing an establishing shot of the setting (big creepy house). The intention of the cinematography in this clip is to set the scene and to help the audience feel a sense of familiarity and relation to the setting. The natural high key lighting denotes no presence of danger but it can invoke a sense of unease as it is a relatively 'normal' setting. Subsequently with the music and cinematography put together there is a building climatic tension. The camera appears to be stable but it gently moves and shakes slightly, this denotes enigma as it causes the audience to wonder whether it is a handheld camera and someone is looking up at the house or its a still camera moving in the wind to create an ambient feeling, this mysterious shot is typical of the horror genre as it causes the audience to question what is happening and be in expectation of what is going to happen.
An indent glides across the screen displaying text. As this is the opening sequence to a film theses indents are typical of film and the sci-fi genre they relate to ambiance of the film and subsequently narrate what the film is about. The indents are around 3/4 seconds long. The cinematography of the indents is dark, unlit and inky - connoting the films dark nature. The uses of this illuminated smoky effect foreshadows dark and sinister aspects of the film subliminally to the audience. This indent tells the audience what the film is about and potentially highlights what is going to happen. The dark ambient sound continues to play non-diegeticly over the indent again building suspense and tension.
The audience is soon shown the main character in a calm and stereotypically 'normal' setting. The camera is placed at a high angle shot, it appears to loom over the main character, this techniques is unusual for the audience as it may appear they are standing over the character watching her movements (drinking coffee).
The non-diegetic sound playing over the scene is a light relaxing sound track (from IMOVE sounds 'Shogun') sound sets the scene for the main character (protagonists) state of mind. This denotes a calm and peaceful atmosphere and can potentially build tension and mystery about whats going to happen.This sound track is also a meditation piece of music this potentially exposes the nature of the film and how it relates to the narrative (saving consciousness in the world and spirituality). The mysterious silence of having no digetetics in the scene makes the audience become transfixed with the action again building a sense of mystery, this is telling the audience there is more is to come.
There is also a gentle diegetic sound (Youtube - Alien factory (dark ambient music)) that accent the scene it is a deep scary soundtrack that plays throughout the open sequences of the film. This sound technique is highly typical of the horror genre and gradually builds up in pace and dramaticism, this conventional non -diegetic sound is what plays the biggest role in the production as it creates mood and exposes the danger of the action in the scene.
Cinematography in this scene is used to create a relaxed and familiar feeling among the audience, it fills viewers with a sense of identification with the situation (sitting on the sofa drinking a coffee).This makes the audience feel comfortable and confident that they know what is going on in the scene, it creates a homely ambiance as inside a warm, cosy home is personal and peaceful to people. Furthermore it creates a relative peace of mind among almost all member of the audience as they generally experience this action throughout there day to day lives.
Unbeknown to the audience the setting is more complex the typical slightly untidiness of the house and family pictures entice the audience to feel relaxed with the atmosphere (hoovers laying around and jackets on the backs of chairs) but contextually the setting is actually a domain of foreshadowing, the red blanket the main character is sitting is foreshadowing the connotation of blood, danger and death. The Aztec styled blanket hanging by the door presents a foreshadowing of ancient mystery and wonder and the ominous low key lighting with the accent of the fill light induces the darker ambiance and evil aspects to come.
As the character pans looking around her house from a handheld point of view shot it is clear that a climax is beginning. Another indent appears narrating more of the story line to the audience in the same dark cinematography as the previous indent this could give the audience satisfaction as they are becoming wiser as to whats going on in the sequence. As the shot quickly cuts back to a mid shot of the character the dark ambient non- diegetic music gently becomes louder and more prominent, the relaxing 'shogun' music quickly fades out and the audience are left with the sinister call of the dark music. my intention was for the audience to become aware that dark music is becoming heightened and regain that creepy sense of mystery and confusion as to whats happening; the action in the scene reflects the audiences atmosphere. The main character gets up from the sofa apprehensively and slowly turns to go outside. Another indent appears "ONE GIRL" again my intention to fill the audience with insight about what is happening it is clear to the audience that this girl in the scene is potentially the main character and the film is set around her.
A long shot of the character walking towards the door apprehensively is building a sense of unease and tension among the audience. The non-diegetic dark ambient music is slowly becoming louder and more intense yet the cinematography remains the same.
There is a another indent this on has appeared a lot quicker than previous ones connoting the pace of the action is quickening and building with the music. As The girl is at the door there is an over the shoulder hand held cam shot displaying what she can see but also showing her and her movements. The music has become loud and overpowering now and is all the audience are aware of at the moment. As the character follows through with her movements and steps outside into the garden the curtain shuts in front of the camera, this can make the audience question what is going on outside, why she is out there and potentially cause them to yearn to be with her and see what is going on.
The title of the films appears in an indent bigger and brighter than the others the dark music is louder and more intense than earlier in the film and there is a creepy sound within the ambient music that emphasises it is a title sequence.
As the scenes change the shot is a mid shot of the main character outside in the garden looking around. An overemphasised use of thunder and rain sounds as used to set the mood and connote the atmosphere of the setting. The non-diegetic ambient music is also at full volume now and is denoting the evil and mysterious forces getting closer, these over emphasised uses of sound was to give the audience a dramatic and sensual feeling, like they are in the scene with the character.
The cinematography used is casual, its a plain back garden of a house in the rain, high key natural lighting creates a sense of reality and the conventional British garden furniture makes it contextual and relate to the production company and producer of the film.
As the clips quickly cut there is a mid shot of the main character panicking as she hears a deafening noise sounding like an alien voice . This is represented by a sharp climatic sound (from IMOVIE) to show an unknown presence entering the scene, this mini-climax is to reveal a small expectation of the film and conventions of the genre, again potentially causing the audience a sense of mystery and bewilderment and they push to see what it is.
A bight light appears and the character is stunned and slightly blinded for a short second as the light clears she spots a lonely humanoid alien man standing confused in her garden.
This shot is accented by a conventional sci-fi whistling sound of an extra terrestrial, this shot is slightly flawed as the bright light looks slightly unprofessional and doesn't blend well within the scene the special effects could have been created better. The thunder and rain are still apparent reiterating the atmosphere and the dark ambient music continues to create tension as the character watches the alien (hand held cam) her shock begins to wear off and just as it does the alien disappears before her eyes, this action is emphasised by a loud shocking 'electric clap', indicating the mysterious being has disappeared, this could be overwhelming for the audience as they are shocked and scared of what could be the outcome. The character pans the garden furiously looking for the being, her frantic movements are connoted through the diegetic sounds of her voice breathing heavily this show the audience that the character is scared and shocked, it could also make the audience feel worried and as if they want to help the character by shouting 'RUN' at the screen.
AS the character turns around to run inside the alien appears in front of her, flashing a bright light in her face. The costume of the alien is conventional and stereotypical of sci-fi films the alien is seen to have a big head, strange makings on his face and have a strange purple skin/suit, this denotes to the audience that this is an alien and its clearly not something from this planet, this potentially enlightens the audience as to what is going on and scares the audience as it is something strange an unknown.
Finally, the alien raises his hand and touches the girls face, he does this and they both disappear into blackness, the sound in this movement is of an 'electrical charge' noise a strange yet majestic sound something conventional of sci-fi and aliens. The sound finishes with a deep bass drone noise as they both disappear on Que, this is the most mysterious part for the audience as they cant figure out what happened and why, causing audience members to question the scene and want to see more although they cant as the scene ends there.
Students peer assess
Response to peer assessments
After analysing my peers assessment I have leaned there is more I could add to my production to make the quality better for example, using special effects in the editing process could have been more of a perfected process as some of the editing appear to be unrealistic. I would fix this by using a green screen, this would have helped me add the background and lighting I felt necessary instead of trying to improvise.
Furthermore the cinematography did not appear conventional and representative enough of the SCI-FI and Horror hybrid genre. This could have been made more extraordinary and the setting needed to be more conventional and follow the codes. I could do this by changing the location to a more deserted, strange area or added specific props to reflect the conventions of the genre.
More camera shots could have been added to reflect the fast paced and exciting atmosphere, For example quick cuts and long pans to created tension and excitement.
Overall, I thing the production of this opening sequence to a film went well. my work independently was done on time and quickly, I think My reflective analysis reflects the production of the film well and the corrections I could use to make the film better have been addressed.
