Preliminary task evaluation

As I group of 4 I feel that we all pitched in a fair amount and worked hard to make our film to reach the best of its ability. In my opinion the film we produced flowed very well, and had a continuous rhythm about it from start to finish. For example at the beginning as I sip out of the mug, it starts as medium wide shot, then changes to a close up mid shot, however we did spend a long time making sure my arm was in the same place both times so it looked natural even though they were two different shots from two different cameras. Another example would be when after Jo speaks to me it starts as a close up however the shot then changes to a medium wide shot and everything is again kept in the same place therefore the viewer will not be confused.

We tried to do as much shot reverse shot as we could however we did not want to do too much as we feel the viewer would want to get the mood of the room around the characters. We did use the 180 degree rule because we placed the cameras so they would never take a shot from behind the characters. We used these techniques so the viewer and feel the characters emotions and feel part of the film.

I feel as a group we all worked very well together, we all contributed the right amount, supplying each other with ideas, talking them through then deciding if we feel it would slot in with the film well. We all considered everyone’s inputs, and made no decisions; I feel there was no “leader” of the group and no one who was left out.

If we had the chance to film the piece again I feel we would be able to add more effects to the film as we wasn’t sure how to use the programme we did to the best of its ability. Also I feel as a group we would decide to change the location of where we filmed the piece and maybe get people from outside the group to feature in the background.





We didn’t really plan the film, it was more improvising. As we was walking to the location where we filmed we got a rough idea what we was meant to do and what props to use however we feel the task didn’t need to be made complicated as it would be unnecessary and could confuse the viewer.

As a group we all felt using more transitions would make the film flow a lot better. The transitions we used included ones which showed a fade in, fade out effect for the credit then we simply just switched cameras between myself and Jo.

When editing the piece for the first time, I felt this lesson was to mainly get used to the programme which none of us had used before and see what it could offer us. We used Adobe Premier which none of us was familiar with therefore I feel next time we will be able to improve on videos as we will build our knowledge of the programme.

I feel we all have learnt a lot about using different cameras and media software’s during this task, as we all learnt something new and became more familiar which what camera angle would be best at what point.

Preliminary task

Mise-en-scene Homework

The clip I have chosen is the start of Jeepers Creepers 2, directed by Victor Salva, made in 2003.
Sound - As the scene is set in the middle of nowhere there are parts with minimal sounds, however the parts that do contain sounds are very harsh and very sharp, simple noises like crows, dogs barking, and wheat being moved is emphasized to create a spooky unpredictable effect. When the music is used a orchestra is mainly made up of very high pitch violins, and dragged out throughout the majority of the scene. As the character moves around a deeper sound fades in and out, which leads to a build up to add tension and fear to the audience. As the chase begins the tempo of the music becomes faster, then draws to a sudden stop, this resembles to quietness of the surroundings. A Diegetic would be the boys scream and movement in the wheat; this makes the audience feel part of the scene and venerable.
Costume - As the film is set on farmland all the characters are wearing typical farmers clothes. This could represent them being workers however as a viewer it doesn’t have much impact, The clothes show that the film has been set to look like something recent.
Lighting - The scene contains a lot of light from above to mimic the sun to add create a natural look; however in this scene you can’t actually see any shadows but later on in the film shadows play a huge part to adding suspense.
Camera Angles - The scene contain lots of tracking and establishing shots to emphasizes the emptiness of the area and vulnerability of the boy, a medium shot is used when the father speaks to, this shot also allows used to recognize that he is in a different area to the child. Using a close up to the boys face allows the audience to relate to his emotions and confusion, when the boy becomes suspicious of the scarecrow an over the shoulder shot is used to make the audience feel part of the scene. Another shot used with probably the most impact would be the low angle shot when looking at the scarecrow, this shows that the scarecrow has more power and is in a higher position in not just the shot but in the situation, this also adds a huge fear factor and suspense as if the scarecrow is going to pounce on whatever is underneath it. And finally the establishing shot when the scarecrow comes to life shows the audience what the scarecrow is capable of when he jumps, and how nothing is going to be able to escape the monster.
Set and Location - The scene is set in a farm and wheat field, because this location is so common it makes the movie a lot more realistic. Also being in a wheat field it almost gives off a disserted feel with no hope of savior.
The performers/body language - The child in the scene seems like a proper cheeky chappy, mumbling under his breath with a answer to what his father has asked him to do shows his typical teenage boy personality. Once the boy becomes suspicion of the scarecrow you begin to see his fear, curiosity and hesitation. As the boy squints we realize as an audience that this is because of the sun in the field.