Preliminary Evaluations

In our recet lessons we have reflected on the classes prelim task videos. We gave critiscism as well as praise on each other's preliminary

- we analysed them and made notes on what could be improved and what could be done differently
- we also received a lot of feedback from our fellow classmates and made notes on what to improve for next time
- below are the brief analysis' of the other groups in our class
- there were a variety of genres, not just Horror like ours including comedy and spy thriller.

Ben, George, Ellie and Amber

In our class, we studied each other's preliminary tasks first being Ben Bowen's group. As a class we all decided that the use of sound was very effective with the chosen song - What makes you beautiful by One Direction, cutting off when the camera changed perspectives, adding further detail and interest into the story. We also agreed that the cutting between diegetic and non-diegetic was very clean and used well within the opening. They also made the opening black and white reflecting an 'old romantic' effect.
Similarly, the camera angles, including pan and tilts set the scene, whilst at the same time establishing the location. They were trying to create a 'high school crush' typical storyline that stereotyped with America. The point of view of the person walking was portrayed cleverly depending on the high as well as low angle shots. Clearly, through the way George was portrayed when looking up at his 'crush', we are supposed to feel empathy for him when she rejects him. The dissolves and transitions were again, smooth and well used to match the genre i.e. romance. There was one transition we all agreed on as a class where George spots the girl he likes and the heart grows larger from the centre of the screen. This was cheesy and typical, but very effective.
However, there was a continuity issue with the opening where in one shot there are some people sitting in the background, and in the next instant, they were gone. Another thing was that when Amber closes the locker at the end, the door bounces open which ruins the effect of cheekily slamming the locker door.

Abbie, Hannah, Luke, Daryl

We similarly watched Abbie Lacey's group , which was based on a classic 'Spy/Thriller' genre. We previously had studied Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' in class which was clearly mirrored in their performance with regards to a power struggle. The envelope seemd to be the key contributor to this as Luke hands the money to Abbie, a slow motion effect creates suspense, but the two characters change levels i.e. Abbie was formerly sitting and is now standing and vice versa for Luke.
Cleverly Luke's eyes and shirt both matched (being blue), implying that he is the calm and innocent character in this situation.The low camera angles of lukes legs and he walked along were well placed and effective in the opening as we gathered that we were walking alongside him i.e. from his point of view.
At the very end of their opening, there is a sense of dramatic irony as we saw the gun Abbie was concealing in the draw, and in a flurry of movement had removed it and was pointing it between Luke's eyes. This matched with a sharp gunshot sound created the impression that she had killed him - Part of her mission perhaps. The camera movements throughout were shaky, however it did add to the general apprehension of the audience.
An improvement to the opening could be that although there is a clever mix of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound, they sometimes fight with each other, ruining the effects of the scene. Another aspect we noticed as a class was that in their chosen room, there were posters and colourful paper on the door and wall. This distracted the viewer and made us think too hard as to if they had any symbolic meaning.