Individual Evaluation - Ryan Oldham

Use of the Camera
In many of the shots the camera is steady and smooth as we used a tripod to film each clip. However, in the first shot the movement of the camera is quite jumpy, this could be avoided if filmed again with care or if the movement was cut altogether. The last shot is also handheld, this is because there was little space on the landing to fit a tripod, this could be avoided by resting the camera on a stable object or by using a different type of tripod.

The  shows that we can frame a shot correctly as there is headroom and the characters or subject fits well into the shot. The first shot may be seen as bad framing as the characters head is slightly cut off and left out of the frame, this makes the shot seem to close and gives it a bad composition. During the 40 second clip we use a variety of clips, these include: Mid-shots, close-ups, extreme close ups and long shots. This makes the extract conventional and interesting to the audience as reactions of the actors become more exaggerated and shot types add tension. We used composition to help make better shots for the extract, this helped the shots flow together and look clean. We used no transitions as they were not necessary to the editing, only straight cuts are used between each shot or clip.

Use of Editing
Because we only used straight cuts between shots it helped the film flow together better. If fade outs or other transitions were used then it may create the wrong impression and confuse the audience on what emotion or effect is being created. Although only one type of transition is used I think that it works well as nothing else needs to be added.

Selection of Content
Our finished work shows that we thought about make up and costume to help fit more conventions of the horror genre, however most of the costume and props were naturalistic and didn't need much attention. Our location was good as it is an old fashioned style house which fitted with the plot of the video. The film wouldn't work as well if the setting was a well-lit modern home because it would not be convincing or believable. The actors used were appropriate as they played a convincing role and fitted the storyline well, It was essential that the main actor was a female so it matched the extract that we had to interpret. This also made sense for the video as it would not of worked as well if the main role was played by an adult or a more heroic character.

Self-assessment
For the film I helped plan the setting and location for the video to be filmed in, this also included where the shots should be filmed from and what effects this would have on the finished product. I edited various parts of the video and changed some lighting effects to create tension and exaggerate what was happening in the film. If I were to do this again I would spend more time planning where the camera should be placed to avoid some continuity mistakes (reflections in windows, moving/disappearing objects etc.) I would also re-shoot some of the shots a few more times in order to avoid little mistakes such as camera shake or bad composition. For my final film I will spend more time planning the location, camera positioning and overall composition of the film shots. I would also spend more time editing and using different effects in order to create tension or different emotions in the video.