17/11/18 Review on Fantastic Beasts, The Crimes of Grindelwald:

Grindelwald-900x596 This week released the second film within the Fantastic Beast’s franchise. As most people are aware, there are plans for many future follow on films within this franchise, leaving harry potter fans with something to look forward to. After watching the first film I initially thought that the second wouldn’t be able to have a gripping storyline I personally felt it would lack entertainment. I was wrong. This films narrative gripped from the first two minutes. I found the film to be more encapsulating than the first film due to the simple fact of the characters being recognisable from the start. Throughout the film the references to the previous Harry Potter cast were never ending as it seemed. Towards the end of the film what I can only describe as the biggest Harry Potter twist was revealed leaving me on edge and already excited to watch the next film. As with most Harry Potter films the cinematography and attention to detail was outstanding. Constantly putting the audience into the wizarding world and leaving them in awe. One element that in my opinion let the whole film down would have to be the editing style. From the first scene conversations were shot from very close proximity to the characters creating a sense of discomfort and disorientation. I found that most conversation within the film didn’t allow the audience to understand the locations of the characters as much as they should, not to mention the variety of the shots was rather poor allowing nothing but establishing long shot or extreme close ups to be shown. As well as the poor framing the cameras within a few shots were shaky and didn’t help to immerse me into the wizarding world but instead took me out of it.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and narrative of this film with an immense amount of attention to detail however I would have been more in love with the film if the editing style was less confusing and more immersive.

12/11/18 Short monologue film feedback and reviews:

For our final piece on the Matrix monologue we received feedback from peers in the group with positive and negative feedback. Some responses expressed the use of reversed shots being effective within the film to create a sense of disorientation which links nicely back to the concept of the Matrix. Other positive comments included the use of balloons for the pills as this helped create a visual for the description that the monologue was giving and make more sense of the narrative. For improvements we were told that possibly using only blue and red balloons instead of white would have helped to link more to the monologue as white pills aren’t mentions and show no link. Another improvement given was to possibly have a few shots play forwards rather than everything playing backwards to create more variety throughout. We edited some shots before showing this to the whole group to switch up some reversed shots as one comment mentions about the same location being used in two shots next to each other. We broke this up with a different shot to make it less noticeable.

Overall If I were to do our film again, I have learnt that I would think deeper into the meaning of everything from the colour of the balloons to the locations and shot variety throughout.

After watching other short films made for this project, one that stood out was ‘As Greedy as a Pig’. I liked this film as the lighting and cinematography used really helped to show the creepy side of the monologue through low lights. The use of a pig’s head as the main object was also gripping and helped to leave the audience feeling uncomfortable through the close ups or gross butchered body parts. one thing I would criticise is the speed of the film and the variety of shots throughout. I felt this film moved slowly as most of the shots throughout followed the same narrative and looked rather similar creating a lack of interest at certain repetitive parts.

9/11/18 The Prestige

prestige

Recently I watched ‘The Prestige’, a thriller directed by Christopher Nolan in 2006. I found this film to be intriguing with its unique plotline and great casting. For the plot this film used a non-linier approach which I found to be a great way at hooking the audience for this type of genre. With its dark events of ‘accidental’ death the film gripped me from the beginning using the death of the main character as an opening and then following this scene flashing back a few years with another death during a magic act left me wondering how the film would get to the opening flash forward. One thing I would comment on about the plotline would be the fact that towards the middle of the film it didn’t seem to move forwards and often felt as though it was being dragged out creating a slight disinterest on my behalf.

Being based in the early 19th century England I felt the locations chose were okay, but I they could have been improved. The poor quality of the locations was nicely improved and hidden by a cluster of 19th century style props lights and furniture which added to the concept of the magic tricks being messy throughout the film. the accents used to create the 19th century London vibe could have also been improved to create a larger impact and were performed rather poorly.

Throughout the film the editing is one thing that works well, the use of parallel editing throughout the film allows the audience to jump to a self-conclusion of how the film scene will end. I loved how this film parallel edited a seen to do with suicide and created a false sense of ending before going against what the films editing has built up and creating a complete opposite twist than expected. Throughout the film hand help cameras are used to help the audience feel part of the magic act as well as the shakiness adding a sense of uncertainty. This was, in my opinion a good choice of style as it made me feel up-close with the tricks and added a bigger sense of reality of trickery. Tight framing and quick cuts helped to add to the feeling of being trapped and confined, a theme found throughout the film. the one thing that really need attention within this film is the music, it is the most boring repetitive music that creates the minimum amount of suspense and could really be improved to boost the film to a whole new rating. Overall great film with an engaging storyline, I definitely would watch it again.

6/11/18: The Haunting of Hill House, a Netflix original series

Recently I watched ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, a Netflix original series. Throughout the series created by Mike Flanagan, experienced in the horror genre, we follow a family of siblings as they have flash backs to a terrible childhood spent within the walls of a haunted house. The show approached the plotline in a nonlinear way allowing the audience to remain engulfed in the unravelling of strange events. Towards the beginning on the series I found it difficult to keep up and understand what was going on however this is what intrigued me as a viewer to keep watching more to understand the confusion that the show left you in. At the end of every episode I was almost always left in a state of question and curiosity which wasn’t solved until I began a new episode, this trend of mystery is what kept me hooked on the show and left me wanting more.

When looking at all the aspects of the series my favourite by far was the editing. Throughout every episode the transitions used helped the audience to understand and distinguish and pair both the children and the now adults to make more sense of the narrative provided. I found that framing within each shot also helped this element with the jump cuts from past to present leaving both characters in each frame in the same position. For example, while showing the kids at their old home in the past it would leave the audience looking at the older versions of the children stood in almost the exact same positions creating a subtle but helpful link between the past and the present. One of my favourite editing techniques used was one takes. This is something Netflix is known for. In episode 6 as the family come together for their sister Nell’s funeral the whole episode is done with only four cut aways. This use of one takes allows the audience to feel more involved within the episode and get into the scene more. Although it may be expensive to create during production, it is worth it when creating a show with a horror genre. As a viewer I felt the constant slow pans and camera moving as if capturing the view from a perspective of the viewer being at the funeral with the cast helps to make the jump scares and creepy movement more noticeable and frightening in my opinion. I found that because the scene was kept in the same room using the same camera, it allowed the audience more time to take in the surrounding of the room and therefore making the appearance of unknown figures in the background more noticeable when the camera pans round. The lack of cuts also adds to the sense of no escape and made me feel as a viewer as though I was unable to move because I felt the camera was my eye into the show and created a sense of not being able to move until the camera did. That one camera became me as it was the only source of insight into the show creating a thinner line between reality and the show.

The cuts within this episode were often linked through sound. For example, the banging on someone front door then allowed the show to cut to the flash back of someone fixing something using the same banging noise throughout transition between present and past. This helped to create a piece that allowed to keep me as the audience entertained and absorbed by not breaking the reality of the show through a break in image of noise. During almost every cut the show either kept the same audio or the same framing which allowed me to never break away from the show and constantly kept me within the shows reality unlike most other tv series of the horror genre.

Creating a horror show that isn’t predictable or unrealistic is seen as something very difficult within the tv and film industry however this show managed it. The plotline avoided falling into the stereotypical horror plots and instead constantly left the storyline on a twist with the audience becoming more and more confused before realising how every strange and abnormal twist linked together towards the end. The costume and makeup done along with other elements of mise en scene allowed the show to remain more believable. With its costumes, makeup and lighting all showing a realistic element and avoiding the typical over the top obvious ghost costumes it allowed myself to feel as though I could watch the show seriously, without being taken back by how poor or obvious the makeup, costume or acting was from the ghost elements.

One thing I would comment on about this show it the lack of a dramatic ending. The plotline was intriguing and kept me watching right to the end as I was expecting an interesting and gripping reveal to all the mystery at the end. However, I felt this wasn’t delivered as well as it could have been. The ending episode involved some major twist that I feel came to an end that was too obvious. I feel that some of the elements could have been elaborated on or drawn out more with a possibility of leaving the audience in question or interpretation rather than displaying the obvious ending and allowing no space for an audience reflection. Despite this defeasible ending I would watch this show again as the amount of details within the scenes and the twisted information given would always leave me noticing new things or understanding the plot more the second time around.

30/10/18: Monologue short film pre-production and production

For our craft skills module last Monday, we were been asked to take a monologue from a film and adapt it into our own short film. As a small group we spent this session discussing different monologue ideas and thinking about which would be the most ideal to use. We finally decided on the matrix when Morpheus is talking to Neo about the pills. To coincide with this monologue, we also needed an object to focus on. We decided that wind would be ideal as it is similar to the matrix with the idea of not being able to see it even though it is all around us. After this first session we all met as a group to complete the short list and create a story board with ideas and plans for the shoot.

Today was the day of the shoot. For the shoot we took different props that could elaborate on the concept of wind such as balloons, bubbles and light fabric scarfs. For our location, we decided to film at Hanley park where there is a lot of open space, little public and many natural objects to create the idea of wind blowing through trees or on the surface of water. I feel this shoot went well and as a crew we managed to capture the concept we want, however I found the object of wind was difficult to film as we couldn’t control the strength of it. To improvise when the weather was not as windy we would have used objects such as paper booklets to create a false sense of wind off camera during the shoot. Overall the footage recorded was close to the inspiration we had, and I can’t wait to encounter the audio and editing of the task.

23/10/18: ‘Brain on fire’

I came across the film ‘brain on fire’ story by Susannah Cahalan and directed by Gerard Barrett in 2016. After reading an article about the true story this film was based on I decided to watch it. Through the film Chloë Grace Moretz plays Susannah Cahalan who has an unknown illness in her brain that messes with her sensory nervous system. I found the editing in this film allowed the concept of going insane more impacting by using blurring shots and making imaging look distorted as if the audience were in her mind seeing and feeling how she feels. For the cinematography of this film I felt it lacked interesting shots and instead kept the same neutral colours throughout. This may have been purposely done to allow more focus pull onto the narrative itself however I feel the film would have drawn me in more with the addition of more visually stimulating images through colour and or framing. The narrative of this film could have been more interesting If the storyline was to be dragged out less and possible shown more key events throughout rather than the same reminder towards the audience that she is going crazy. Overall I wouldn’t consider watching this film again as I found the narrative and visual to be simple and easy to follow with an obvious ending to the film preventing me and future audiences from gaining the entertainment elements of the film once it has been watched once.

22/10/18: What is Editing?

In today’s lectures we discussed the concept of editing and what it entails. I know editing allows us to jump forward in time allowing the audience to avoid the film feeling as though it is dragging by avoiding the boring aspects however editing is a wide spectrum of different elements such as montages and parallel edits. After the discussions in today’s lecture along with the views of students surrounding my course I have realised that editing can change a film and completely affect and manipulate the way an audience can perceive what the director is trying to show. With editing we as film makers are able to prevent audiences from switching off and instead condenses time into a more enjoyable rate for viewers. This concept was discovering in the early stages of film and is what allows the film industry to keep forever changing and creating endless entertainment for its audiences. The idea of being able to show a character’s life story in the time frame of a two hours film is what allows to audience to stay engaged with a narrative. Editing is the element of film that can completely manipulate a films message and allow audiences to film in the missing information or build up a scenario that lets an audience perceive how the ending will end up without even showing them.