Appropriate technical competencies

Holding a shot steady

The camera was placed on top of the tripod during the filming, except when there were point of view shots. It is important to have steady shots, as it will be easier for the audience to follow the actors. The steadiness of the camera will make the film look professional. I am glad I achieved many steady shots, as I believe the consumer will engage with it more.

Framing a shot

When the girl was getting changed, I placed the camera a few feet away from her, I made sure you could see her surroundings, as it tells the audience more about the character. There was back lighting, to build tension slowly up to the point of her running through the back garden. When there was a medium shot of me running, I was framed in the middle, so you can see my exact location. The point of view shot, tells the audience she is on the run from the police. This will make the audience question themselves, why is she on the run? What crime has she committed?

I wanted to film in broad daylight as the light symbolizes hope and innocence. Which is ironic as the girl is not innocent. Sara has hope to escape the police, what she wanted killed her. Her drug dealer occupation was aimed in making money, unfortunately her obsession for money lead to her own destruction.

Using a variety of shot distances

I am very proud to announce I have used numerous shot distances. In the beginning the camera was near me it was a medium shot. When the police officer was walking towards the house the camera was quite far -it was a long shot. The camera was obviously very close with me when I shot all point of view shots, it was held in my hand through the strap, to make sure it was secure and would not fall as I was running. when the camera was driving off, the camera was on the side of the car. It was a few feet away from it, as it drove of the camera grew more distant and distant from it. When I was dragged onto the floor the camera came closer to me by zooming up on me.

Shooting appropriate material (for a thriller)

From my audience research, (the focus group and the results from the questionnaire), I found out males like car chases. unfortunately I could not have any car chases with the police and the drug dealers customer, as we would have had to consult the council and they could take a long period to respond. It is unlikely they would give a 16 year old director permission to film car chases in local areas. We would also have to consult the Minister of Transport, to make sure roads are clear when we are filming, and this would cost money.

Instead I involved a normal car scene conversation, I think it adds the same effect as a car chase, because the last thing you expect is a customer to turn round and kill you. When I was running I think it added tension, it will make the audience feel the emotion of thrill, they will feel anticipated to see if i can escape from the police before he barges in. I have understood what a thriller movie is, and what aspects are needed to make a thriller film. I have shot appropriate material for a thriller, we did not film a murderer going on a killing spree as that plot is highly associated with horror films.

Editing
The editing was a long process, I have finally realized how hard the process is, especially when your on a tight deadline. Me and my group used many dissolves,overlaps and wash outs. The wash outs were only used when there was a point of view shot, of me running through the garden, this was effective as it quickly moved from the perspective of the drug customer to the drug dealer. When you saw me on the floor dead, it washed out to a close up of my face. I used dissolves and overlaps because they were the only transitions that made all the scenes flow together. It gave my film a polished look.

Use of Varied,captions,effect

The only captions I used were the candidate details and titles. Just before the movie starts, I had a faded black background with grey captions which said Jannath Production Present. These captions were reflected at the bottom, this made the film look professional, the other grey captions, of job titles were moved from right to left. At the end of the film, two large words came across the scene, expanding which showed the title of our film 'Dead End.' Not many people used this titles background effect, I think this made our film more interesting to watch, also it has taught the audience, the important people behind the film.


Mis-en-scene
Mis-en-scene was a very important aspect of our film. It tells the audience everything about the characters, and gives clues on what will happen in the film later on. Mie-en-scene is made up of 5 parts,
1. Settings and Props
2. Facial Expression and Body Language
3. Hair,Costume and Makeup
4. The positioning of object and characters within the frame
5. Lighting and Colour

Settings and Props
In the beginning you could easily see my surroundings - the props- you could see magazines perfume, the mirror I was looking into. You could easily see the setting I was in a bedroom.

Hair, Costume and Makeup
I straightened my hair and did my makeup. It was raining before so my hair went a bit wavy. I wore tights with black shoes and a floral dress.

Body language and Facial Expression
When I was searching for my bag of drugs, my eyes were open, my eyebrows were arched and my head was creased together. This facial expression showed that I was worried- worried because I could not find my drugs. While I was looking for the drugs my back was hunched, my arms were loose because it was easier to grab the drugs. All the objects were positioned at the bottom while I was positioned above it. The policeman's back was straight, his arms were by his side. This body language showed he has power.

Lighting and Colour
The scenes in the house are lit in back lighting, I used this lighting because it creates a tense atmosphere. I did not use any lighting for the outside scenes. I used the natural resources - sun. I wanted the film to be in normal colour as it would have looked odd having scenes in different colours. My group member wanted to use a black and white effect on some scenes of the film, I told him it would look odd as black and white images are used to tell the past/flashbacks.

Positioning of objects and characters within the frame
You could easily see I was in a alleyway there were broken fences and tins of rubbish. When there was a point of view shot of the drug dealer and drug customer, we were positioned at then end of the camera, so the audience could see the tins of rubbish. We were near each other to show we had a close deadly relationship. When the car was speeding off, the camera was in the centre, then when the car stopped the camera was on the side of the car.


Sound

We used many non-deigetic and diegetic sounds.

Non-Diegetic Sounds

We made sure the music was low, when my phone was ringing and when she was talking. The volume of the music increased until you could see the police knocking on the door. We wanted the audience to hear the knock as well as Sara. To emphasise the fear of the criminal, (thus she quickly searching for her drugs). she was afraid that she would get caught. You can hear the car gearing this will make it more interesting for the audience to watch.

Diegetic Sounds

The only diegetic sounds I used was the gunshots, this continues onto the next scene you could hear the booming of the two gunshots, the music was low so the gunshots could be heard. This immediately engage them further, as they cannot see the person getting shot, this will make them wander who got shot? In the end they get their answer as I am pulled out of the car.