Exchange Review

Firstly, our editing was a lot better on this piece in terms of slickness and continuity. We had good establishing shots and the story made sense to the audience. The use of cross cutting between different parts of the location was a success and enabled the narrative to be driven forward at a faster pace, hence creating more tension and possibly excitement. Additionally, the use of the flashback mechanism appeared to work and served as a hook for the audience to latch onto.

As well as that, our choice of location worked fairly well and suited the tone of the piece. It had a dark and murky atmosphere and served to supply additional characterisation to the muted performers. The location had a slightly claustrophobic feel and as a result it was easier to cross between the two characters whilst editing. Also, it fitted in with many noir traditions as many of those kinds of films have had scenes set in dark alleyways which had a slightly similar look to our chosen location.

Given that we had an already gloomy location the lighting was not a major issue as the natural light itself in that area gave off a rather doom laden aesthetic. The lack of artificial light gave the piece a more realistic impression which meant that the characters incorporated into it didn’t seem out of place or surreal. If there was one mistake with the light it was that in post production we changed the colour of the film to black and white as a nod to classic film noir traditions. However, our main coursework brief stated that we should be aiming our film opening at a mostly teenage audience and it is unlikely that a substantial number of teenagers would sit down to watch a black and white film. I would suggest that for our main piece we simply shoot it in a lowly lit style to keep in with traditions but to not change the overall colour to black and white.

Our basic rules, which included the rule of thirds and the 180 degrees line, were adhered to which gave the film a more professional look which is a marked improvement on the preliminary exercise. Also, as we had more time in length of the film and on location we were able to spend more time on establishing shots. One of the weaknesses of our fist piece was that we missed off some of the handles which meant that the film had a rather disjointed feel. On this film there was better pacing and we also added in a few Dutch tilt camera shots to enhance the noir feel of the piece. These went down well with the audience. I believe that the Dutch tilt shots and their solid incorporation into the piece showed a step up in technical skill.

There was however a few weaknesses in the film we produced. The main ones seemed to emanate from the sound area of production. Whilst our choice of music was met with approval and seemed to fit in well with the tone of the film, some criticisms were voiced about its introduction. Looking back at the film we noticed that the music comes in at high volume almost immediately and doesn’t have a chance to build in momentum. If we did it again I think we would probably start the music at a quieter volume during the titles and slowly drive up its intensity as the main action starts to kick in. this would hopefully add to the intensity and maybe even drama of the story and give added life to the characters.

Continuing on sound, another objection which was raised was that at times during the film the sound of the music clashed with background noise, most notably the cars on the road beside the alleyway. There were occasions when there was simply too much noise and it sounded disjointed and heavy handed. In some respects it drew attention away from the characters on screen and is a problem that can be solved by more vigilant sound recording on site or possibly during post production. Whilst editing it may be possible to mix together the volume of music so that it is quieter when there is more background noise. The background noise could then be used to add realism to the film and create a more down to earth feel.

Finally, when doing our final project I think it would be best to keep the main titles as low key and non descript as possible. This is because on the exchange the bold font types seemed out of place with the tone of the film and simply didn’t sit well. It may be a case of just keeping it simple and letting the main action on screen do the talking as it were.