G321: Analysing Student Films

In lesson we watched 3 student films in order to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each. In doing this we were able to take into account any errors that were made and bare in mind to avoid them ourselves. Furthermore, we can also look at strengths that we can apply to our own films to make them more successful.

Student Film 1



Strengths:


This film had a good use use to transitions, for example the white transition to show the flashback worked really well in highlighting the change in time. The institution logo was memorable and intersting and fitted with the genre of the film. Another strengths was the entrances and exits of titles. These were consistant and flowed well throughout the opening.


Weaknesses:


The main weakenss of the film was the way the shots were edited together. This together with the actual content of the film made the opening seem more like a trailer. The editing also made the narrative quite confusing to follow - they could have made it more linear, which would make it easier to follow. The title of the film had the same name as the institution logo, which was slightly confusing. An opening should be an open narrative as it has to leave premise for the rest of the film. However, this seemed more like a closed narrative and a lot of the plot line was revleaed.


Student Film 2



Strengths:


The use of jump cuts to show the stalker at certain points were successful and made clear to the audience. The overall filming of the opening was very good and steady nearly all of the time. The non-diegetic background music also fitted really well with the genre, adding to the tension of the opening.

Weaknesses:


The main weakness was the use of titles. They were in a range of fonts which meant it didn't flow as well as it could have if it was kept consistant. Towards the end of the opening the jump cuts became slightly confusing and there was too much going on at once. Again, this opening was more of a closed narrative in that a lot of the plot line was given away which left it nowhere to develop.

Student Film 3



Strengths:


This opening was the one that came across as an open narrative, which makes it more like a conventional film opening. Another strengths was the use of camera angles, these were very effective and the camera was kept steady throughout.


Weaknesses:


As with the previous opening, the titles did not flow very well due to the range of fonts used. It could be improved upon by keeping the font consistent. The institution 'One Bad Apple' wasnt really in keeping with the tone and genre of the film. The animation made if feel like a childs type film production company. Finally, some of the editing could have done with being checked again - things like the windscreen wipers moving and the actors laughing etc.