Former Student Work
Former Student Work
1. Roll Call
The camera movements are one of the main strengths of this opening scene as it has a drone shot moving upward to show the landscape and where they are, which is the police station. Additionally, it displays a close-up of the file of the suspect, then backs out to see a person being investigated, which allows more information to be displayed as the audience can assume that they are being questioned. The editing of the mugshots felt very professional as this is a typical police scene in regular movies, and it had handcuffs and a camera flash clearly present. However, I felt that the sounds were a weakness as they could have added a police siren noise instead of the extreme music to further illustrate the police car since the red and blue lights were going off. During the interrogation, the intense music would have been more useful to create a more serious mood since it deals with murder. Moreover, the mis-en-scene was moderate as there was a police car, red and blue lights, and files of the suspects. I felt that they could have added dim, white lighting instead of bright yellow lighting to make it feel more demeaning and outfits that could show their personality better, such as a jock uniform and nerdy suit with a tie. The camera is shaky, which is quite distracting, and the mic is seen during the interrogation. I am not sure if it is intentional, but it makes it look less professional because films do not normally have a microphone present on-screen.
The sounds would be the best part of this video as it uses many different types of sounds, like an alarm clock, footsteps, and music, to signal what the person was doing in the video and what was going on. Additionally, the camera was steady, and there were many different types of camera shots, such as a tilt to the bed, a high angle to the clothes, and an invisible cut from the clothes to the door, using the blackness of the close-up of these things. However, the transitions were quite confusing as it was not conventionally used. For example, the fade from the upstairs to the downstairs, the iris wipes to transition to a new setting, and the ripple dissolves to the stairs of the school. In addition, the main character or the student was wearing basic clothing, which was a grey hoodie and black pants. This tells me nothing about his character. He blends in with the surroundings and does not stand out. Something more colorful would have helped the audience create their own image of him and why he is being focused on. Although his clothes are boring, the props in his room of a basketball glove and soccer decals in his room help me understand that he likes sports. A close-up of the person's face could have been used to emphasize his emotions and nervousness as the heartbeat noise is happening at the end when he is introducing himself.
3. Dreamland
The beginning was aesthetically pleasing, with very saturated filtering and flowers in a grass field and a picnic blanket. I could easily infer that this was a dream or inside her mind because it felt surreal and in reverse. The costume was brilliant as she wore what seemed to be a bright orange flower dress, which could somewhat symbolize happiness and contentment. I found it interesting that an overhead shot was used when she was lying down, slightly implying that she is not conscious or not actually in this utopian world. When it changed to the next scene, the lighting instantly became less saturated and bright, and the lighting was dim, and a J-cut was used to transition to a new setting and predict a new scene of a parking lot. A wide shot was used to show she was at Walgreens, which is a drug store, and the character wore a gray hoodie, which is very different from the bright dress from before, evoking a more gloomy mood. Plus, the use of jump cuts was appropriate for the scene to show a sense of rush and rapidness, and it felt more disoriented this way since she was stealing a bunch of drugs. The connection between the dream state and the girl buying drugs shows that the main character has a drug addiction and uses it to escape from the world. The walk away from the section leaves a sort of mystery of what will happen to her. However, I would say there was not much added sound as it seemed that it was all sounds from the videos, and there was a long period of serene music at the beginning, which lasted a long time. Maybe some ambient sounds could have been added to hide the lack of different sounds and more transitions to smoothly go to the next scene.
4. Dear Lover
The peaceful environment, music, close-up, and wide shots of different plants and props were good opening techniques. The voiceover suggests that this is a flashback and the character is reflecting on themselves, and it gives context to the story. The fade to her adult self in an interview gives it a more realistic feel, and the costuming was fantastic as it exhibits heavier dark makeup with a collared shirt, which reveals she has matured and grown up. The cutaway to her girlfriend to give more information on who she is was is super smart, and the grainy, low saturation filtering makes it look like a past memory, but a dissolve or wash could have been used to smoothly transition and further help the reader understand that this is a memory. The overhead shot of them holding hands shows their relationship with each other and allows the audience to see everything going on from below. The reference to "Dear Lover," which is the title of the opening, felt very movie-like, as movie directors usually like to sneak in or reference the title in the movie. In addition, the "Let's start from the beginning" leaves a passage to the next scene after the opening. I would say that the crying at the beginning seemed fake since no tears were present or redness around her eyes. Eyedrops and makeup would help it look more realistic, and the scene at the lake felt a bit lackluster as it was mostly her sitting down. It would have been better if she put her head down or thrown rocks in the water for a bigger splash instead of flowers to show her frustration towards her mother not accepting her.
It begins by displaying all the main characters and providing a landscape shot of where they are, which is a parking garage, and text on the screen showing that they are following these directions that tell them to steal a car. The lighting is dark and dim, which sets a mysterious and rebellious mood, and the hype music shows they are about to do something crazy. The dynamic editing calls attention to itself and contributes to the rapidly paced and entertaining atmosphere as they steal a car and drive off with it. The camera movement was very professional and of good quality. The close-up of the lights of the car demonstrates that they are about to drive off, and the red color symbolizes some sense of rush, like a rush of energy, and the car's speed accelerates quickly. I feel like they could have maybe implemented more types of shots rather than just them driving around to give more context and understand their characters a bit more because their outfits are a bit bland, and it does not use many props. When the music suddenly shuts off, some foreboding music could have been used or ambient noise to set a scary mood instead of being almost silent. I wish their screams were a bit louder to further hint at what is in the trunk that they open and indicate that it is something horrible. Additionally, the low angle also helps with showing that they are looking specifically at the trunk. As it ends, they back away from the trunk, and the audience is opened to many interpretations, which is very movie-like and shows that this is potentially a horror or thriller film.
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