The purpose of this evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses of 3 student film openings, as well as suggest improvements, and be able to use these points to benefit the making of my film opening and avoid making similar mistakes.
Student Film 1 - Peephole Productions
Strengths
- The genre is clear and is evident in the use of blood and black/red colours.
Weaknesses
- The font seems misplaced. Instead of resembling the opening of a horror, the font represents stationary, stamps and DIY shops.
- The opening consists of fade to black editing techniques, which resembles a trailer as appose to the opening of a film.
- The pace of the clip is too fast. Too much seems to be happening in the first few minutes, and leaves the impression that the narrative is closed when it should be open.
Improvements
- A good improvement would be to leave out some of the content. The opening lacks subtlety and ease, when it should be an introduction to the film and characters. This could be done by using more enigma codes instead of giving away the whole film plot.
- Use a more relative font. A font that picks up on the genre of the film would benefit the atmosphere of the film and set the right mood for the audience.
- Avoid using fade to black too much. It's not often seen in film openings, and gives the opening a false trailer effect.
Student Film 2 - Fugitive Productions
Strengths
Strengths
- The non-diegetic music works well and fits in with the film genre.
- The setting is chosen well - the spookiness of the woods and the dark street build tension for the audience and create an appropriate uneasy mood
- The use of collages also work very well. The cuts are very fast paced and the noise is unsettling, reflecting the genre of the film and sparking curiosity in the audience to find out more about the film
- The font also corresponds well with the film genre as it is creepy and the flashing is spontaneous and jumpy.
Weaknesses
- The zoom in shot in the woods does not work. It's too quick and shaky, and is an immediate tension breaker.
- Although the pace of the opening is slow and doesn't contain too much content, the ending is left as a cliffhanger and leaves the impression that the narrative is closed when it should be open. It's more representative of a trailer as oppose to a film opening.
Improvements
- Leave out the zoom shot in the woods and stick to the long-shot. It keeps the pace of opening slow and retains tension for the audience.
- Leave the film opening with an open narrative so the audience are not misled and the opening leaves the right impression.
Student Film 3 - One Bad Apple Productions
Strengths
- The production company logo for 'One Bad Apple Productions' contradicts the genre of the film opening and looks more cute than horrifying.
- There is a good use of red and red colouring, conveying strong connotations of death and violence. This successfully supports the film genre and atmosphere.
Weaknesses
- The camera switching to outdoors after the male has entered the house doesn't seem to work. There is no apparent reason for the camera to switch positions, and confuses the viewer as the camera positioning is not consistent.
- The wind shield wipers change position in the clip, showing a lack of planning and detail awareness.
Improvements
- Keep the camera indoors to avoid confusing camera repositioning.
- Pay more attention to detail to avoid small mistakes that give the opening a bad impression when noticed by the audience.
From this, I have learnt what techniques to avoid in the making of my film opening to prevent misleading my audience and creating a trailer as appose to the opening of a film. I have also learned how certain props and aspects convey certain genres, and will use this to my advantage when creating my film opening.
