Evaluation of previous examples

In the lesson I watched the examples of the previous students. The titles of the work were: South Paw, Fast Life, Damaged Goods, Bridges, Drained, Maze.

The first one we watched was 'South Paw'. When watching this I had to write down the strengths and weaknesses of the work. Also using the mark scheme I had to give an honest mark out of 60. Some strengths of South Paw were that the the music was good as it was urban, hip hop grime music that the people living in the urban gritty areas would listen to. Also the setting portrayed the struggles of the underclass people well as it was dirty and not perfect and landscape like the countryside. Some weaknesses of the work were that the plot of the story for me personally was confusing and not engaging enough. I lost interest and was more focused on the music of the work. Overall from looking at the mark scheme I gave it 38 out of 60- based soley on the fact it had very good camera shots/ language however it was not engaging enough for me.

The next work we watched was 'Fast Life'. Some strengths of this piece was that I believe it portrayed the daily life struggles of the underclass people very well.  Also the camera shots at times were very good. However some weaknesses of the piece was that the text (graphics) were not on the screen long enough. The music was not in my opinion as it's too strong and takes away from the performance in the story. One last weakness is that the shots at the start were on for too long and dragged on. Overall I gave this a 39 out of 60.

After that I watched 'Damaged Goods'. Some strengths of this work were it portrayed the real struggles that should be portrayed in British social realism films. It had a clear evident story plot and the music went very well with the story as it gave an insite to the story. However a weakness is that at times shots were a bit confusing as it was repeated many time. Overall I gave it a 50 out of 60.

'Bridges' was the next piece we watched. The only strength I could give this piece was their use of camera language was effective. The weaknesses of this work were that the text (Graphics) were not good at all as they were very small and were not on for long enough. Also when the shot changes at time you can hear a change in noise which sounds very jumpy which distorts the fluidity of the work. I gave this 27 out of 60.

We then watched 'Drained'. I believe some strengths of this piece was the camera language they used was very good, slick and professional. It was impressive. Also The setting they picked out was very unique and straight away gave me the idea they worked hard o this project. However personally the music did not fit into the urban, gritty grime sound. Overall due to the fact it was not too engaging I gave it a 30 out of 60.

Finally we watched 'Mazed'. Out of all the examples I gave this the highest mark. Some strengths of this piece was the text (graphics) were very good as it was dirty and not plain which fits into to urban theme well. It portrayed the real life struggles of the underclass people well. The main reason why I gave it such a high mark was because of the music. I believe that this had a great impact on the outcome of the work as it gave the story in the first two minutes not just through the shots but through the lyrics of the music. It fitted very well for the British social realism theme. I gave this 53 out of 60.


Drained- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWI6E_LCKjw&feature=player_embedded

(0.11-0.14)

This is the opening shot and I believe that it is very good. It is an establishing shot of the launderette. This already incite the viewer that this is an iconic setting in this film. Also it is not the most immaculate building, with fields of countryside behind it which is very good as it displays the gritty urban streets that should be shown in any British Social Realism film.

(0.19-0.21)

The lighting in this shot is very dull and dark which emphasizes the struggle that this character is going through. Also the room that is displayed is very plain with the basic necessities which portrays the underclass wealth struggle that the people go through in their everyday life.

(0.22-0.24) 

This shot is also very good. The text (graphics) is nice. It is not too small to read or too big that it takes away the action in the shot. It is bold and stays on the screen at a good time.

(0.39-0.41) 

This over the shoulder shot is good as it gives the viewer a shot of what the character is seeing. The character is a girl and as she is first shown it connotes that she is the main character and focus of the story. Also she is a girl which is not that common yet will attract to people of the younger audience as stories involving women usually include more drama.

(1.54-1.55)

This is a match on action shot. The camera language they have used throughout is very professional and this shot portrays that. I would not do anything different about this shot.

(1.56-2.00)

This final shot is very good. It is of the boss strangling the girl (protagonist). This is full of action and displays the theme of violence that is portrayed in the daily life of some people living in the underclass of Britain.


Bridges- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alfF2BESAw

(0.04-0.07)

This is the first opening shot. It is a pan- establishing shot. This shot is very bad when playing because the pan is very shaky and unprofessional which is not good as it makes the work look a bit amateur.

(0.12)

This is another unsuccessful shot. Mostly because of the text (graphics). The text is very small that you can not even notice it. Also the text is not on for long enough to even read. I think that this is very bad.

(0.57-1.00)

The transitions between these two shots is okay however the sound of it is very bad. The sound jumps between the two shots and it is clear that they have filmed the two shots at different times because the song playing in the shop changes between the two shots.

(0.45-0.53)

This shot including many is jumbled and very confusing to keep up with. This portrays the camera operator as unprofessional and makes the fluidity of the work distorted. This shot had a long shot of both the shop keeper and the character staring at each other. In my opinion this shot did not need to take so long.

(1.05-1.06)

 The graphic/ Text in my opinion is really generic. It's a typical Indian vibe font that you see in nearly every Asian themed work. This does not meet and fit the criteria of the British Social theme.