1st and Final storyboards

Video Sequence

Evaluation

What worked well...

• I like the general 'Surreal' narrative structure, this works well because of the slow pace and the soundtrack (thank you Led Zeppelin), It also helps that the audience have no Idea what type of fruit stars in the film (Its a painted melon if you were wondering)
• I quite like the panning shot when the character puts the fruit down, this mimmics the action and gets quite intimate with his personality, It also establishes the character
• A range of camera angles and inclusion of 'deutch angles' to add to the uneasy surrealism and symbolise something not quite right
• I have got a mixture of horror/comedy related responses which was what I was going for in the brief
• There were a few memorable shots such as the carved fruit smile
• I stuck to the storyboard fairly well, although altered shots to make them work in the location or to better achieve the affect I wanted
• The Carving montage worked well and the impact of the knife was felt through the match on action

What I would do better next time...

• I would have got a different actor so I didn't have to be in it myself for the blue faced part and cpuld have stayed in control of the camera and the shots, on the part where I stand up the camera tilts up slightly too much which annoys me, the reason I had to be in it is because on the day my actor (who said they would do It previous to the filming date) refused to paint their face, so possibly I would employ someone more reliable in the planning stage
• I also would have given the actor a more in depth brief in order to get him into the state of mind and understand the surreal genre I was going for
• I would also practice and explore the editing software as it was my 1st time using it
• I Like how the 'Evil fruit' Idea came about but this was originally meant to be a pumpkin, however I couldn't find one of a decent size at the time
• I would also take a look at some techniqques used in similar films, I found a few, one in particular ( Cat with Hands ) that were similar to what I was going for but couldnt find something that matched the clear stylised idea I had in my head
• I would also think more about the mis-en scene, however because of budget and slim resources for a shooting space I could only make do with what I had but I tried to dress the scene as much as I could
• I would spend more money on the piece but because of a non-existent budget and my new student life I could barely afford the paint for the melon...

Feedback...

Video Sequence Annotation

The Chase, storyboard interpretation

Given a blank storyboard with shot descriptions we created a final chase sequence, This was so we could concentrate on shot composition.

Research: 1st Video Sequence - "Mean Kitty-Creature of the Night"

I really like this sequence, even though narrative-wise it is fairly pointless some may say. However through the use of a mixture of digetic and non-digetic sounds (digetic sounds being amplified) It builds an interest that instantly hooks viewers. The build up to events is much more important as it slows the pace, such as point of view shots of the toaster on the floor. The opening seconds realy establish the characters fairly normal and average equilibrium of his everyday life before something ‘spooky’ happens to stamp a different element to the piece. Watching this and the below video ‘The Cat with Hands’ I’m beginning to consider possibilities for what kind of generic characteristics to include in my sequence. I had in mind to film a horror/comedic sequence like ‘Shaun of the Dead’, but I am now thinking of only incorporating humour at the very end to stir the overall product up. I admire the smaller details that make me appreciate this sequence such as the cupboard jarring shut, this build up a certain ‘unknown’ tension. I find usually in a horror genre, the scariest things to an audience are the things not physically visible onscreen, such as the film ‘Insidious’, I thought was brilliantly scary up to the point when it started showing all the spirits which completely banishes the stimulated imagination nurtured in the audience, I thought ‘Paranormal Activity’ was far more successful (and by the same people) as it only hinted at the demon plaguing the characters and never just said ‘right…here is the Demon’ (so to speak). The atmospheric soundscape gives the energy of the film an 'other worldly' effect that truly makes it what it is, when I watch this with no sound it seems boring and strangely un-meaningful.

Research: 2nd Video sequence - "The Cat with Hands"

This is one of my most favourite short film which I stumbled upon on Youtube one day. This is the work of Robert Morgan the film-maker. I don't think I have ever seen something so successfully effective in such a short space of time, the style seems to be shared by people such as Stephen King and Tim Burton. I love the narrative mystery surrounding the cat, it is given no origin which adds to the unknown horror of 'what is out there?' or 'Fear of the unknown'. My favourite shot here is the high angle when the cat steals the boys face, it really gives it a good view and makes the audience sub-consciously think 'What has happened here?', it is a good example of a relationship between the camera and the events. Also a classic technique is used with the cats point of view as he drags the bodies towards the camera, however the camera stays in front of what the audience can imagine the horror that is happening, this is far more haunting than actually showing a consumption. This part reminds me of another classic example of the same technique in Resavoir Dogs, The camera pans away from the on-screen characters as he cuts someones ear off but we are left with the sounds, so we never see it actually happen yet we do inside our imaginations.

Research: 3rd Video Sequence - "Alien Prank Goes Bad"

This is a very clever sequence, because at first you can't tell it is a sequence because of the style. I thought of this because of the sudden 'shock' it used part way through, it is similar to something I want to achieve. This feels like something I would make because of the slight surreal unexpected elements within. I quite like the sequential repetition that gets disturbed toward the end, it is fairly effective in creating a 'laugh at yourself' response from the audience. The end alien scare is very effective because as a viewer I was concentrating on the subject in the distance, so when the alien jumps out it was like it projected from the screen and invaded my space. The sound effects need to be commended in this video, and are especially successful because I wasn't expecting it given the starting equilibrium of the narrative or the deliberate amatuer style. I have a similar style to this because I find when the amateur style is done intentionally it can provide a lot of subtle humour, also I like to create sorts of characatures for characters. This particular video is very viral in style and has 26,976,182 views so I think we can be sure it is popular and therefor successful.