Evaluation of Depict 90 second short.

 Camera work: During our filming of our 90 second short depict we didn't vary much with the camera work because we were aiming for a documentary type of film but in a mocking sort of way. The way we used the camera was in a hand held format were Will would hold it usually at shoulders length and point at Stuart, we also had set different camera shots throughout the sequence towards the first shot in Stuart's house we started off by using a close up medium shot whilst he is walking towards the body, then when Stuart was bent down identifying the body it stayed at the same distance so it then became a full body shot which shows the whole of the character and the surrounding area which connotes the dead body's importance.

It then cut to a close up showing the bottom of Stuart’s body and the dead body on the floor then flipped over on their back we done this to connote the fact that Stuarts character (death) job and what he has to go through like prepping the body etc. It then was cut to the shot of Death giving an interview (talking to the camera) which is a medium close up and we used this because we think it shows him talking to the camera in a typical interview type of way where you can only the interviewee's chest.

We then cut back to the scene in Stuarts house where he is dragging away the body which is another long shot showing the surrounding setting also to connote how normal everything looks which fits in with what the short film was about (a day in the life of a grim reaper) as it looks like a normal house and just a normal dead body. Then cut to a medium close up showing the interview scene in which Stuart is looking directly towards the camera and speaking to it as if he was talking to the audience, the reason we used this shot is because it looks like he is addressing the audience and it looks more realistic for the documentary aspect of the short.

It is then cut to a close up of Stuart stood outside of the college building speaking to the camera about the location of where he works, we used this shot because it shows a tree and part of the building behind Stuart which gives the viewer a good perspective of where he works and the surrounding area as well as his character. It then follows through with an over the shoulder following Stuart through the entrance off the college we thought that this shot was effective because it gave off as if the viewer was following Death throughout his day 'in the life of death' it also gives an insight into

all the several other people in the background as well.

It then cuts to the scene where Stuart is in his office it is a wide long shot because we thought this would be effective in the way that it shows all of the surrounding area and once again connoting the normal life side of ‘death’ it then pans left following Stuart over to the filing cabinet. Then the next shot is an over the shoulder shot where Stuart is at his desk typing and talking to the camera man, this shot is good because it shows the viewer a perspective of Stuart. The camera is then placed down by the left hand side of the desk this shot is really effective because you can see the characters carry on talking and Stuart carry’s on doing what he was doing, it also shows the desk objects clearly in the shot.

The final shot is a long shot panning from the left corner off the office and then following Stuart to the exit of the office, this is effective because it shows him talking to the camera whilst walking out and leaving the room.

Mise-en-scene

Settings/locations

We only used 2 initial locations for our short film but we used various settings to set the scene, towards the start of the film you will see the surrounding area which are a couple of sofas, a coffee table and living room associates. This sets the scene for the living room where the body will be discovered, we thought it would be good to make it seem as realistic as possible if you were to find a dead body in a house. The location then switches to a shot in the college (the interview scene) this was filmed in the college even though all you can see is a cream background we filmed this directly outside the classroom, we thought that this would be effective because it was just a plain wall. There is then a switch back to Stuart’s house where he is seen dragging a body away, the other area of the house is shown this is a good place to shoot as it shows a wider area of the house to the audience.

In another shot the outside and main entrance of the college is being shown which is good for location because it looks like a big area and building in which you would find a normal guy working, also with the formal electronic door entrance and chairs. The office scene is very good for setting and location as it really ties everything together, with working in an office being his main occupation in the work place.

Costume, Hair & Make Up

The film is set in the present society and it is just the typical English culture therefore everyone acting normal and just day to day things, instantly it is confusing as to what the protagonist plays as he is just wearing an all-black cloak, but to some people they will instantly recognise the character as ‘death’ (the grim reaper) who is basically a made up character who kills people and collects dead bodies. This is the only type of costume that we used during the whole of the sequence and also no makeup was included.

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Because Stuart’s costume was covering his face you cannot see his facial expressions at all throughout the whole of the sequence, but we do see his body language showing the audience how his character is like throughout. The way he is walking is always quite a stern and authoritative way to show that he is deadly and dangerous, helping towards the element of his character, during the interview scene his hand gestures are very active in a way where it seems like he is talking to the audience through body language.

Lighting & Colour

The lighting changes ever so slightly between each sort during the sequence, at the start the lighting is rather dark with Stuart’s character adding to the dark element of the scene. When the scene is set in the college the lighting is changed to a more up beat and brighter light to show the happy side of the job compared to the dark lighting when he is sorting out the body.

Sound

Throughout the sequence it is mostly silent with just non-digetic sounds but at the start and the end we decided to put in a little tune to make the clip fit in with the theme more, which was a comedy documentary. The intro music is a quite sweet, soothing relaxing theme song the type you would here at the beginning of a nice story, we thought this would be good for an introduction because it makes the whole sequence seem jolly. The end music is the type you would think to hear at a fair ground or a circus; quite sinister sounding but playful, this tops everything off to seem funny. 

Continuity 

Our sequence followed a somewhat good continuity, the beginning sections where it is in Stuart's house and it flips between the living room and the interview scene, then back to the living room is a good form of continuity as the switching of the shots whilst the narrative is still playing over is effective and makes sure the character is drawn in, also the entrance to the college scene and the office scene match up because it's almost asif it has skipped the boring part of him walking to the office and just gone straight to the office. 

Editing

Our sequence didn't have much editing in it because obviously the main theme was a parody documentary and now a days the only editing you will see in documentary's are the cuts & music inputs. Also all of our shots were handheld so there was no need to stabilise any shots, the only editing tools we used were cropping the videos so they didn't over go 90 seconds, altering the audio so the speech was louder and sound effects such as footsteps were quiter, adding on music such as the introductory and ending tunes that were playing and the writing credits at the end of the whole sequence.