Final Evaluation

Overall I think that our short film turned out considerably well. Looking back retrospectively, I think as a group we could have done a lot more planning for the editing stages as the film was heavily based on editing. This project was a very valuable experience as I learnt a lot of new techniques and to improve the short film I had do a lot of reading in my free time on subjects like making the colouring sunny and bright. Having the Macs stolen in the final weeks of editing delayed the process. It was hard to get back into the flow of the project after having a long break, and therefore we were not able to complete the film exactly how we had previously envisioned it. In my opinion,if we had more time I would have found it interesting to compose our own soundtrack as I felt no particular music really encapsulated the piece.On the whole I am very proud of the end results, as I believe it is the piece that has created the most challenges and at the same time taught me the most.

Evaluation: Question 4

·         Who is your target audience and how have you reached them?

Our target audience are teenagers and we attract them by using actors of their ages, which makes it easier for them to relate to the subject we are exploring. We have also made the story more complicated by inferring that Raine’s ‘drinking’ has made her hallucinate, which is a current issue for teenagers.

Evaluation: Question 2/3

·         How have the short films that you have studied/researched influenced your own production? Be specific; think about use of cameras, music, titles, narrative structure etc.

·         What were your other influences? Music videos, films and news story, personal incident?

On watching the short film Beyond Words, I was struck by the way the director removed sound and the subsequent powerful impact that its absence created. The tap dripping as we see Raine’s slit wrists is one of the few diegetic sounds within the short, which separates and highlights its importance because the sudden nonexistence of sound places more emphasis on the protagonist’s suggested tragedy and the repetition of this soothing echo is a direct contrast to the visual, which is design to shock.

By beginning the short as though it is a full-length film with titles as is done in Mud Boy, the audience is deliberately led into the false expectation of security, and this works well because it allows us to produce a short that leaves the reader without security, using something as tangible as the subconscious state.

It can be suggested that every good narrative must have a turning point, and we represent this in the ‘proposal’ of the lipstick and the next of the camera zooming in on Raine’s shocked expression, allows us to bridge the gap between our two ideas. This is the point that lightening (see example Scarlett’s Witch),within both the filming and editing stages become integral as it supports this transition by using bright, exaggerated colours symbolic of happiness and then dark, shadowy ones, symbolic of the change in the character’s emotion – the breaking of her heart.

The shots that stand out in my memory are the ones of the protagonist’s eyes, which are influenced by the film Pan’s Labyrinth. The way the camera zooms into Ofelia’s eyes is a poignant shot as it represents the movement of the protagonist. In my opinion, the shot of the eye in Raine is also representative of the audience’s ‘invitation’ into Raine’s mind and thus her emotions, which we also try to depict in the camera angles as during the dream sequence a long of them are from her point of view. 

Evaluation: Question 1

·         How does this piece conform to short film codes and conventions; think both in terms of technique and content?

We decided to use friends as our actors and Roisin was the seductress. In keeping the cast small, we were enabled to retain Raine’s simplicity as a character and also the effectiveness of the visual despite its complicated and confusing structure. We also don’t have much speech or diegetic sound, rather relying on non-diegetic sounds to create the tone we need. The music is an integral component as it is the audience’s direct link to Raine’s emotions. The frequent use of handheld shots juxtaposed with static ones creates a gritty, realistic look and each shot is important and moves the narrative forward, so therefore, we have kept shots short or overlapped them so that we can show two emotions at once.
Overall, the short is determined to be outside of the box. During our idea generation sessions, we had problems creating one idea. The film is unique, because it explores the different states of the human mind, which we did by treading the tenuous line between dreams and nightmares using colours, overlaps and music. The shock ending by leaving it on a question (which is a similarity to some shorts, such as Mud Boy), encourages the audience to think for themselves, which is quite interesting because everyone’s interpretations are different. It does not conform to the boundaries of any particular genre (although the bright yellowy colouring might suggest a fantasy world), which keeps it engaging for the audience and makes it visually interesting.

Our Aims

Here’s a list of what we have to complete:

·         Finish editing the colour of the nightmare scenes

·         Finish the Overlays within the nightmare scenes (for example find a suitable position for the knife)

·         Edit the visual of Raine and the Seductress running from the bench – it is too long.

-        Cut down the visual of the candle

-        Maybe visual of the vodka?

·         Edit the stop frame pictures (i.e. make them darker etc, and more shadowy)

·         Put a voiceover over the nightmare scenes (i.e. the candle)

-        Find a scream/add the one that we recorded

-        Put the sound of the tap dripping on the stop frame segment

·           Create a soundtrack (dream like music which transcends to music that represents a nightmare)

·           Photoshop of the title Raine

Editing Process

In terms of editing, I have enjoyed this project more than previous ones. I have learnt many new techniques and have had a more active and hands-on role within the editing process, which has helped to solidify my knowledge.

During the filming and editing process, we have made few, but significant changes to our idea. For example, we cut the scene where the girl sees her ‘friends’ in the woods, as we felt it deviated away from the tone of the piece, by giving it a more film-like one. Problems with our camera during filming has had a direct impact on the style of the piece as the end segment is now in stop frame, which I feel has become one of the visual representations of the dichotomy we are trying to create.

I have learnt how to edit with precision and my attention to detail has allowed me to note problems which on first glance had been missed by others in my group. Working within a group has given me more moral support in my learning of Final Cut Pro, because I know I can rely on my team members to help me. In our short film, colour is extremely important and I have learnt how to change and exaggerate colour and make bright yellow colours, by adjusting the red and green in the RGB colour tool. This project has given me a chance to learn lots of new techniques, and also increased my awareness as to the importance of each shot, because of the strict time restraints.

At the moment, we are quite close to finishing and as a group have become more critical the closer we get to finishing, as we have all improved our understanding of the program and are able to work out whether things we thought weren't possible actually are.

The Presentation: Raine