Friday, 15 January 2016

Analyse of another student’s work- part 2

State of mind’





When looking at another person’s work I also looked at one in which is ‘State of mind’. The boy is being watched and followed by another boy, including the boy standing outside his house. The boy continues to follow him through his daily life, in which is very similar to the other opening in which, I looked at. I felt it was portrayed in less effective way. The mise-en-scene in particular was a big issue as I could tell that they hadn’t thought about what the characters would wear and allowed them to wear what they want or feel more comfortable in. for example, the boy who is playing the stalker is wearing normal clothes that don’t portray the stalker type. They are not dark in colour and just seem like he has got dressed, wearing jeans and a hoodie. In my thriller, I would ensure that the colours represent the flavour of the scene and the purpose of the character within the scene. Showing they are significant to the scene, looking slightly odd to actually stalk someone in the first place. They also need something that makes them stand out such an item of clothing that we can recognize, throughout the scene to know that he is the person targeting another. This would make a more effective scene. 

Further, an element in which I found effective was the use of the sound as the scene, as it is very slow and basic but a sudden heightened change in sound, adds a sense of drama. It shows a significant change and a massive contrast against the scene. In my own scene I would defiantly use this at it shows the mood increasing and adding the drama that is wanted in the scene. It also could be used if something is going to be revealed or about to be revealed but then cuts away or ends. Therefore, leading the audience to want more and making a successful opening sequence. The change in sound comes very quickly and suddenly which could scare the audience rather than making them feeling the gradual build-up which I would link more to a horror rather than the criteria to be a thriller. In my own work I would have slow, soft build ups in music that is slight higher in key to very big bangs and heavy beats which occur less often than the slower music to imply, a real impact. Showing that, that particular part where it changes has the most significance and revealing a small part of the story. Therefore, increasing the knowledge of what the audience know and can make assumptions to know.

However, another area of weakness was the setting, as when the boy wakes, opening his curtains which are pink and floral. Completely contrasting against male stereotypes, this makes a big jump from the male colours of blue and greys. In order to change this I would use a more natural colour of white in the room. They should have chosen a room that is more appropriate for his age and gender to represent him in a more sufficient way. This also makes the scene look as if it lacks thought and lack professionalism, showing poorer quality against an official film. 

Additionally, another area of sound that I felt was strong was use of voice over, as it gives the sense of guidance of what is going on and the sense of  the stalking spanning over a long period of time. This makes the scene look like the final build-up of the stalking process and what he sees day-to-day in his life. However, I would use voice-over in a different way of people talking over one another as it would create the build-up of pressure on them or I would use it to reveal some information about the character. I could also use the voice over as introduction to the scene for the audience to grasp what is going on. Or when could use a voice-over to portray a voice from the character and way that they feel. 

In contrast, the boy in the scene is shown to be wearing pyjamas when he wakes, he then travels down the stairs but by the time he has got to the downstairs we see him dressed, this shows the lack of attention to detail as they haven’t showed him getting dressed. However, if they wanted to portray this they should have seen him wake but cut to opening the door dressed or actually shown the process of him dressing, cutting the use of the car reversing in the scene as it has no significance and is only really used to waste time. Within my opening won’t use this at all as it is too typical and known for thrillers, I want to create something that is exciting and new compared to the same ideas of being stalked or in the woods. We really want ours to create an impact that portrays the difficulties of mental health, with a slight thriller twist and sinister vibe.

Overall, the scene contains many flaws that need work on, for which mainly consist of the planning process in terms of what the characters are wearing and the setting; Making sure that the presents of something in the scene is productive and suitable in what they want to portray. However, the story line and concept of the idea is quite good but minor details pull the scene down. The use of sound however portrays the idea of a thriller but having low and high moods that creates suspense and tension; the larger noise defiantly have a vast impact, compared to the quieter background tracks. In conclusion, I found the scene very typical with great use of sound but nothing truly portrays any significance to the scene and lack of resources are defiantly shown, decreasing the quality and professionalism of the film opening. 

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