Depict Research

'Make Music Not War' By Deny Kushnarov, Oles Seredytskyi and Roman Orlov

http://www.depict.org/2015/make-music-not-war/?category_request=2015

'Make music not war' is a beautiful short film juxtaposing peace and war within a minute. There are several panning shots within the short film which expose different environments. You see a peaceful community area near a fountain with several happy people, which then cuts to a war zone with burnt down areas. This makes the audience reflect on war and peace, and shows the effect that it is having in the world. There are some still shots which allow the audience to view what is going on in the scene, such as a burnt down building or a band playing. The music worked really well within the video as it set a peaceful atmosphere and allowed different emotions to be felt through the power of music. I also really liked the recreated scene of the children running through the damaged house which the bomb and gun shot sound effects as it portrays real life events that are constantly taking place. I really liked this video as it got across the main message of peace and war instantly, and made me reflect on the incidents that are happening in everyday life.

'No Words' By Kike Arroyo 

http://www.depict.org/2014/no-words/?category_request=2014

'No Words' is a very basic video with no speech, however sets a eerie and suspenseful scenario. The first still shot of a dark empty bathroom instantly creates a gloomy atmosphere. The next shot is a close up of a woman and you can instantly tell she is on edge, with the added effect of a flickering light the film starts to become very suspenseful. I was shocked to see the reaction of the woman crying after the point of view shot of the pregnancy test being positive. I felt this was clever as it left the story line open for interpretation, for instance her being in an abusive relationship etc. The music really created a dark atmosphere and added to the tension of the film. This short film really got me thinking about why she was so upset and what could possibly be happening. I really liked the same shot at the end of the dark bathroom to finish the film.

'The Here and Now' By Keith Wilhelm Kopp

http://www.depict.org/2013/the-here-and-now/?category_request=2013&doing_wp_cron=1476713192.9336009025573730468750

I loved the short film 'The here and now'. I felt it had a beautiful story of two strangers sharing a moment with one another. The setting was basic using realistic elements such as cars going past, as well as the man just waiting for the bus. I like the close up shot of the mans face where you can instantly hear his music through the headphones, as well as seeing the emotion on his face as he glances at the girl sitting down. The close up shot of the girl instantly informs the audience that she is upset and in pain possibly due to the loss of someone after putting up a poster. The simplistic still shot of the man and woman holding one another created a heart felt moment as they both share a moment of pain. The shot reverse shot worked well as it allowed you to see the woman's emotions whilst hugging the man. As the woman leaves another close up is used one the mans face where you can instantly see that he has been in a similar situation and know how she feels. The no speech or music worked extremely well as it set a realistic scenario. I really enjoyed this short film as it showed the connection between two strangers over a situation they have both experienced.

Elements of low budget film making in The Blair Witch Project

There are several elements of low budget film making within the film The Blair Witch Project which allowed a successful movie. This is the first film to have used hand held camera which instantly allowed a low budget. In addition to this it created a naturalistic setting which made the story line of The Blair Witch Project more believable. The film also used unknown actors who will not expect a high pay, this saves a large amount of money as if well known actors were used a lot of money would be spent. The actors also wore basic costumes, this included jeans, jumpers, hats and coats. This meant that less money was spent on costumes due to being cheap and basic clothing. The film also used the natural daylight and used the nighttime to their advantage to film the suspenseful events. This saved them time and money as no big lighting was necessary when using the natural light when filming. The environment of the film allowed a low budget. They used a basic forest and within the forest was an old house. They used basic props such as rocks, twigs and red paint to set the scene and make it based around The Blair Witch.
These are the main elements of low budget film making that are evident in the film The Blair Witch Project.

Change of hands "Get over it"

Evaluation:

When filming our change of hands induction task, we created a plan to work off in order to ensure that we had all the correct shots needed. I feel that the continuity of our film flows and is understandable. We filmed everything in one day which allowed us to be in the same clothing and have the same props and items throughout the whole film. This also made our film understandable for the audience when watching it. However, one section of the film does lack continuity which we could've filmed again if we had more time. When the boy points to Arina and I walking down the corridor, we are walking in the same place we already had in the previous shot. This may cause confusion for the audience, and also reduces the continuity within our film.
I feel the extreme close up of the eye worked really well within this piece, as it instantly creates a sad atmosphere. In addition to this the black and white filter also allows a dark and gloomy environment to be created. The point of view shot was also very effective as the audience can see the individual writing a note, this instantly informs them about what the storyline of the film is. The change of hands is very clear with a close up shot of two hands and a not being passed between them, this meets the criteria of the change of hands.
I feel our video worked well, however there are a few improvements that could be made. In the first shot the camera is very shaky and a shadow can be seen, I feel that the layout needed to be thought about more, and to possibly have the camera on a moveable tripod in order to reduce the movement of the camera. In addition to this, the third shot of myself sitting in an armchair writing has lots of noise within it. This could be because of the black and white effect, so we could have edited it to reduce the noise or not have used the filter. When the group of students open the door there is a long pause before they walk through it, personally I feel that this causes the realism of the video to be reduced, making it look staged.
I feel as a group we could have planned ore and decided on one certain story and stuck to it. Due to disagreements we lost valuable filming time, causing us to have to film in one day, which also reduced our editing time of the video. Despite this I feel we worked well as a group and listened to one another's views and ideas. We also created a good video with a clear change of hands in a short amount of time.
Overall I feel that our video contains continuity, and has a good and interesting storyline which keeps the audience involved. We also worked effectively as a group despite our disagreements.