Evaluation: Romeo and Juliet

Our task in media studies was to make a film trailer for the modern romeo and juliet film. We were given the clips from the film to put together using effects titles and other mislaneous items. We were also given the chance to use music to accompany our work in the background which i decided to use as i thought it enhanced the sequence and made it more appealing to the viewer, however I also kept some sound from the  original clips, as I thought they added emphasis to particular parts. I deleted some un necacary noise from the clips aswell. When I was composing the sequence I used ‘additive dissolve’ a lot to blend clips together, it made the clip a lot smoother that it would otherwise of been. After having made my fist sequence I had a play with some of the tools and what they did, for example making text zoom in and out, spinning it round, having more than one clip playing at a particualar time, and making them move around the screen, also putting text ontop of the picture, changing the colours and also playing with different effects in the pannel, i got to grips with the basics to the programe Adobe Premier Pro. In the first sequence I kept the effects minimal, using just additive dissolve, basic video effects and title’s both ontop of the film, and with a background, I did this because I didnt want to play around with the clips as much, as it would give an immature viewing to the sequence which wasnt what i was after. I wanted it to appeal to the viewer.

Evaluating my Film Sequence

I think that my film sequence was good for a first attempt, however some things could have been improved, such as the POV shot which we used to try and show the killer walking into the office, however it didnt work as the shot didnt have much continuity, and didnt show the door, it just showeved the crack inbetween the doors, it also didnt show the hand knocking, so if i was to do the shoot again i wouldnt of put this shot in it.

However i liked the shot the dolly created where we followed the hitman along at his feet, i think this created alot of tension in the sequence and looked effective because you dont ever see above his waist. Another part of the sequence that worked well is when we cut between a shot of the hit man and a shot of the office worker, when they hand over papers. This worked well as the timing of cutting bettwen the shots was almost perfect and looked realistic. On the other hand the shots we had in the office cutting in closer on the office worker didnt work and looked quite wrong.

If i was to do it again i would of taken these points into account and would of done something about it, i think reviewing the film before its put onto the big screen is also quite a good idea.

Jaws

At the beginning, the shots of the sea are quiet and peaceful, which is contrasted by noise on the shore; music, voices and the distractions of small talk. Halfway through the scene there is a shift. The sea becomes turbulent with splashes and shouting and Chief Brody gets a relaxing massage.

The way that the camera keeps cutting away from and too the sea builds up the tension, and how it is positioned to make us think there is a shark is very clever. I particually like the effect that they have created at 3’34 when Chief Brody first sees the shark, the camera is obviously quite zoomed in and on a track, and as they zoom out they are moving the camera closer towards him, so always looks in the same position but the background changes.

The mise en scene is pretty good, they have good lighting, they have chosen a calm day to film on, so that there isn’t too much of a wind, they had also got good props, such as beach huts, a lifeguard tower, and everyone looks like they are having a nice day at the beach, a lot of childen running around and playing. However because it is quite an old film all of the costumes that they are wearing are quite dated.

This clip is a great example of polarising tranquility and tension to manipulate the expectations of the audience.

My Media Usage

Friday

8 Text Messages
Watched “Never Back Down”
Used Internet for 1 1/2 Hours- Msn and browsing
Played PS3 for 30 Minutes
Listened to Radio 1

Saturday

17 Text Messages
Watched “The last samurai”
Used Internet On IPhone
Radio 1 was on all day
Listened to IPod for 4 Hours.
Watched Inbetweeners-DVD-2 episodes

Sunday

26 Text massages
Used Internet in evening- 3 Hours
Listened To Radio 1 For 5 hours
Read Alliance wakeboard magazine.
Read Spiked Extreme Sports Magazine

Supp

Hello my name is Cameron Treble and i am 16 years old, i am a year 12 student studying media studies at ringwood school and this is the blog i will be keeping to track my progress through the first year of as levels.