U-22 FILM EXTRACT: Evaluation of film extract Tom Day
Sunday 1 March 2009
Evaluation of film extract Tom Day
The film we have created could be defined as a thriller, as it has the main characteristics of this genre. The premise of our film is based on many things, our main inspiration is from Resident evil Apocalypse. The element we have drawn out from this film is, when Alice wakes up all alone in a medical facility, with cameras watching her. Here is where the differences begin and our other inspirations our drawn out. Saw was a coherent choice to use, for the choice of landscapes. By this I mean the grimy and inhumane conditions the prisoners are kept in. We took these aspects and used them in our film. The amalgamation of these two ideas resulted in a creepy effect, as the viewer is somewhat disturbed and appalled by the conditions this person is kept in. There is a scene near the end of the film, where the main character finds, a phone, and it says unknown caller. The inspiration for this came from “When a stranger calls”, the whole film is about an unknown caller that calls people. It adds a sinister aspect to the film when you see “unknown caller.
The roles in the group were as follows Matt editor, Emma sound, china cinematographer makeup artist and me, Tom director. As director it was my responsibility to oversee the construction of the whole project. I worked closely with Emma as we both have musical expertises that were invaluable to the assembly of the sound track. Although we had these defined roles all of us had sub sections that we were in charge of. We all contributed to the paperwork, writing on the blog and deciding what props to use. I initially wrote the storyboard, as members of the group where away. However when they returned we all congregated together and altered parts of the storyboard.
The sound track was meant to sound ominous and eerie, however duo to some conflicting interests within the group, we had to change certain parts, to satisfy the other people in the group. The resulting democratic approach ,I feel has ruined sections of the soundtrack. For example when the person walks out of the room and into the open. The music changes into an almost happy violin section. This is layered wrongly with other instruments within the piece, and the resulting affect is grating. Not only this but we used stock garage band sounds, and didn’t change any pieces to make them unique. The only reason we didn’t change this is because of the clash of interests within the group, this took up time trying to resolve and therefore we lost the chance to alter it.
The camera work in our film is sufficient, the early scenes where there are lots of shadows are excellent, and they are remincent of film noir’s openings. The shroud of darkness and mystery that oozes out of our first scene, epitomises the atmospheres seen in these films. However there are many section that jump around, which can become quite disorientating, this is a result of editing. However negatives aside the special effects used within the film are executed well. The cameras that watch the main character in the film our done really well and make the cutting of the film bearable to watch.
As director I was in charge of the vision of this film, and also the execution of this film. I created the idea of the film, and thought of feasible ways to create the film. This includes trying to find a location and clothing ideas. Not only this I thought of what props were necessary to bring our idea to life. In conclusion, although our group have had some problems, our concept for the film is good. However our execution is highly flawed,. Our piece is riddled with technical problems and, synchronisation issues, some might not be as apparent as others but they are there none the less. By far the worst issue we have had has the slight repeating and sudden jumps from scenes. While this might be ok in the first scene, as it can be passed off as an effect to create a sense of déjà vu, and confusion. The film gets tedious and ultimately hurts the quality of the film. Not only this but because we compromised on the soundtrack, it doesn’t deliver the same effect as it once did. It sounds amateurish and jarring. Nevertheless as a whole film it exuberates mystery and suspense.
unknown caller. The inspiration for this came from 
