Evaluation

For our film coursework’s creative project we had to make either a film sequence or a short film, of between three and five minutes in length. I was to apply my former knowledge about cinematography from my FM1 studies and new knowledge to make this film. Along with the actual film sequence we were to create a storyboard and synopsis, and my aims and context for the sequence.

In my creative project group, we decided to make a short film sequence for our coursework. The film sequence is the opening of a film called “Badge”, and we took a genre based approach to our sequence. We decided to make it in the style of gangster or, mainly, crime genre film and that it would appeal to a target audience of males aged 16-30: this we thought was typical of most crime films. Also, while filming our sequence, we decided that we would also try to use elements from film movements such as film noir and other genres, such as thriller. Crime films themselves can often be generalised as thriller films or even film noirs, so using conventions from these genres too helps make our film sequence adds to the authenticity of it.

In our group, we were each designated a particular role in making the film sequence: mine was to be the editor, though we all participated in the filming of the scenes. Since we were using a genre based approach to our project, I tried to edit the sequence in the style of crime films. I did this by using the codes and conventions of these films and then using them in our work.

We decided not start our film with an establishing shot, which is common in most films as it helps set the scene and introduce the characters. Instead, the sequence begins with a medium shot of the protagonist walking away from the camera and, when she drops her wallet, the camera tilts down to a close-up of it as she walks out of shot. The close-up draws the audience’s attention to the wallet, indicating its importance. Over the footage, a voice-over is edited in, of the protagonist’s voice. Using this non-diegetic narration from the protagonist is a convention often used in film noir, one of the genres we decided to use elements of. The narration is often used to convey the inner thoughts of the protagonist and, in our film sequence it hints at the plot of the film and what has happened to the character. The rest of our sequence, and the film, is told through a flashback, describing what happened up until this point. The use of flashbacks makes the film very non-linear as it doesn’t follow the convention of telling the story straight from the beginning to the end. Non-linear storylines are very common in film noir.

An establishing shot is used when the location changes throughout our sequence however: when the scene changes to the Pier for example, we used an establishing shot, then a close-up of the protagonist, setting the scene and showing our character straight away. A similar sequence of shots is used when the scene cuts to a house: an establishing shot, to show the change in setting, then a long shot to show our characters, and then finally a medium shot.

The use of tracking shots throughout our film creates meaning: the first tracking shot follows the protagonist to the office and during the second the two characters walk towards the camera. These two shots were to be steady but, lacking the proper equipment, the shots were changed into handheld tracking shots, creating a different feeling instead, of unsettlement and apprehension for the audience and protagonist. This contributed to a warning for the characters as to what was to come later in the film.

When filming, we tried to use mise-en-scene elements to create meaning. For example, in the scenes that are set in the police headquarters we filmed them in front of classrooms, to act as offices, making the setting more realistic. Also, during these scenes, we filled the desks in the offices with papers and folders, and a laptop and computer, to emphasise the point that it was set in a stereotypical police office. Another piece of mise-en-scene is the wallet in the opening scene, an important part of the story as it represents the police force the protagonist works for: therefore making the dropping of it a symbol of her rejecting the police. Also, the trench coat the protagonist wears is reminiscent of the type worn by film noir characters, such as Humphrey Bogart, an iconic film noir actor.

During editing, I tried to keep to the codes and conventions of gangster and crime films, as well as using elements from thriller and film noir films. The crime genre is very similar to film noir, and they share many of the same conventions. Our film sequence is in black and white for example, a decision made during editing. This fits with the film noir genre we wanted to use. The first scene in the film is a low angle shot of the protagonist walking away from the camera which I edited into a slow motion shot. The low angle shot of the protagonist show that she is strong and in control, while editing the shot into slow motion makes the beginning sequence more dramatic and has a bigger impact on the audience. Coupled with the voice-over, I believe I edited the first sequence into something dramatic that would make an impression on the audience and is reminiscent of the crime genre and film noir.

In our film sequence, with have multiple scenes, showing many settings. Throughout these scene changes I decided to fade into and out of most of the scenes instead of using straight cuts between them. By using a fade in and out between scenes, it shows the passage of time throughout the film, as the characters move from one location to another. Also at the end of our sequence I faded the scene out to black to give an idea of closure for this particular scene. During conversations however, I edited in fast, straight cuts between the characters. These fast paced conversations and cuts are a convention of thriller films, a genre we wanted to use in our film, which quickly moves the action along and creates tension in the audience.

Throughout the planning stage, before we started filming, we changed many things about our film. In our first draft of the synopsis, for example, our protagonist was male. This was later changed, to our protagonist been a female, mainly because of the problems it caused in being able to find another male actor for our film who was able to give his time for us. With hindsight, this change in gender for our protagonist was actually a good idea, not only giving more actresses to choose from but because it was an unexpected twist: one convention of most gangster and crime genre films is that the protagonist is usually male, so having a female protagonist was something different and it allowed us to change the personality of the protagonist.

Throughout editing, I encountered other problems. For example, the sound on our filmed clips wasn’t always the best quality in some scenes: on our scenes outside, the background noise was overwhelming and drowned out the speech from our actors. Because of this, we had to re-film some scenes, and re-record dialogue and sound, particularly at out scene at the Pier. I also rearranged some of the sound during editing, cutting out the loudest background noises, and choosing to put incidental music over some scenes instead. Non-diegetic music was placed over the opening shots, to build tension, and throughout the scene in the office and at the Pier to emphasise the emotional scenes, along with the reaction shot of the protagonist. The use of non-diegetic music to create tension in the audience is a convention of thriller genre films.

I believe that our film sequence was successfully done: that it used the codes and conventions of crime and thriller films and elements from film noir and that many scenes created meaning. However, in hindsight, I believe there are things we could have done better: for one, managing our time more effectively throughout the project, checking the sound on our clips closely and varying the types of shots we used. However, our film is recognisable as a crime/thriller, with elements from film noir, meaning we achieved our genre based approach to the project.