Film Evaluation

I undertook the role of director as well as the lead character in the film extract we were required to create.
The opening of our extract shows two characters, whose names are not revealed, walking up stairsd and down a corridor in order to enter a secure room. I wanted this sequence to show that the characters were intent on completing their task so I decided not to write any dialogue for this part of the extract. I feel this worked however I admit if there had been a few lines of dialogue between the two character would have shown a little more about their personality in the short sequence. The reason I left the dialogue out despite this is because I was not trying to fit everything about the characters into a two or three-minute sequence, considering it is an extract.
As my character does not appear during this part of the extract. I was able to do some camerawork. I decided to do several shots from creative angles to add to the atmosphere of the film. For example, one shot shows the two characters walking up stairs from over the railings at the top of the staircase, once they get halfway up the stairs, the camera changes to a medium shot showing the characters get closer to the camera, which is placed in the middle of the stairwell to show the characters as they get close and further from the camera.
I liked this shot and I felt it gave a sense of the building that they were in, the walls are a plain colour and there isb't really much going on in the background, however had I the chance to re-shoot I would have considered making the scene slightly longer and showing a bit more of the setting.
The next shots show the characters approaching the door, one of the characters then places a keycard up to the door and a buzzer goes off, allowin them to open the door. I think the close-up shot of the key card being pressed against the door worked really well because it showed where the buzzer noise was coming from better than a medium shot would have. I also like the use of the sound effect, the buzzer is similar to that used in police interrogation rooms.
I liked the use of camerowrk when the two characters enter the interrogation room, the camera is positioned high up in the corner of the room, to make it appear as a CCTV camera. It follows one of the characters as they stand in a corner while the other sits down ar a desk, facing the third character.
Throughout the sequence a tapping can be heard, the scene cuts back and forth between the two characters approaching the interrogation roon, and the suspect tapping his finger on the table. This shot was a close-up to bring the audience closer to the action and build suspense. However I would have like to get some different shots of this motion in order to add variety to the extract. For example when the other characters enter the room, the finger-tapping cuts in for a short time again, in my opinion this becomes tedious and I would have liked to pad this part out with a different shot.
The central character turns out the lights by just snapping his fingers, showing the audience in this short extract that he has supernatural powers. I like how this was put together, instead of just turning the lights out in the room and filming that, the camera was covered up completely and a few seconds were filmed to emphasise the lights going out, almost as if the central character had put out all lights momentarily.
I composed the music. I wanted to create an electronic ambient sound in order to work with the theme that is sat in the extract. I used a quiet ambient noise as a background note and it can be heard during most of the extract, over the top there is a slow, reapating piano loop. The piano adds a slightly eerie feeling which I think also works well with the theme of the extract.
The music stops during the interrogation and starts again before the final shot of the extract. However this music changes and become a lot edgier and much more noticeable than previous. I think the edgy music works will with the shot in question as it gives a feeling of energy as the central character makes a break for freedom from isolation.
The final moments of the extract show the central character glowing, emphasising his control of light. The music continues after the screen has suddenly gone black, giving the impression that the action is not yet finished.
I took a lot of inspiration for this extract from the interrogation scene in 'The Dark Knight' when the Joker appears superior to his interrogators up until the point that they start to become angry, when he uses their rage against them in order to escape. The idea of the name 'The Escapist' came from a movie of the same name in which the central character attempts to break free from prison. I wanted to use the anti-hero concept shown in both films.
To conclude I think the choise of shots that I included worked well with the diting and the soundtrack however if I were able to re-shoot this extract I would have definitely added some more shots in order to add variety to the extract so that we can make each shot short, increasing the pace.