The short film that my group and I created is called "Discovered". We wrote the treatment and script as a group, although Jenna, our editor, did take the lead on it. The plot is about a teenage girl who is emotionally abused by her step-mother and fantasizes about three different murder plans. The household chores that the step-mother forces the girl to do gives the girl malicious ideas about ways to carry out the murder. We wanted to create this film in order to emphasize the significance of sound in cinema. We experimented with the mystery/ suspense genre, lighting, close-ups, camera movement, and sound. The target audience for this film would definitely be mature teenagers or adults due to the graphic images and the mature content. I think this short film is a very good idea because it explores the idea of children attempting to gain the upper hand through corrupt ways, though the outcomes may not be in their favor.
B. Commentary
1. My area of responsibility was the director and set designer. As director, I had to make sure the actors were in costume and in character as we were shooting. I had command the actors to do certain actions for each scene and make sure the cinematographer was doing her job. I had to collaborate with all my group members and make sure we were on schedule with the deadline. As director, I also helped create and maintain our film's website (run by Google). I also did minor jobs, such as creating titles, helping to write the script, compiling music, etc. As set designer, I cleared away unwanted objects and people on set and placed props where they needed to be. I made sure each scene is set up the way it is envisioned in the script.
2. Problems that arose in my area was the challenge of keeping unwanted objects away from the shots, such as people, tripod, and other objects. Another challenge was working with amateur actors because they were not used to acting. Keeping the set exactly the same between takes was difficult because a family was living in the house we were shooting in, so it was hard to respect their space while doing our job.
3. To solve those problems, I had to physically remove the objects from the shots and tell people to move away from the camera. I had to walk through their scenes with them and improvise on the spot.
4. The biggest problem that arose during the film process was shooting the film with two group members. Also, casting the actors was difficult because we needed a very evil step-mother and young girl to make the film a success. We had a very hard time with audio while filming. It was the first time we used a shot-gun mike and because it was a directional mike, we had to directly point it at the actresses' mouths, which was a challenge. When we transferred the footage to a computer, the audio was lost or very low. For some shots, the audio was absence entirely or the shot was very shaky.
5. To solve these problems, I worked with my cinematographer the best I could to finish the 2-column script, film the movie, create the website, and complete other responsibilities. We cast the most available actresses for the role of the mom and the girl by association, which made the casting process much easier. To solve the audio problem, our editor raised the audio levels on Final Cut Pro, but it still had a lot of static. We re-filmed the shot that was shaky and the audio improved a lot, mostly because we didn't use a shot gun mic, but the mic on the camera.
Critical Evaluation of Finished Product
Script/Narrative/Story
a. The film develops a clear story around a character that moves through 3 dream sequences: murder by pills, murder by stabbing, and murder by suffocation. As the girl gathers her potential murder weapons, she is unaware that her step-mother was one step ahead of her the entire time. The protagonist (played by Marie S.)is a very timid and obedient daughter whose step-mother treats her horribly. Her hatred for the woman accumulates and finally one day when she is completing her chores, her evil side overpowers her innocent side. Unfortunately, as the corrupt plan develops, her naive character prevents her from succeeding.
b. The film explores the theme of the tensions between mother and daughter and how sometimes emotions cloud people's reasoning. This usually leads to detrimental results.
c. I do think that the actions and lines are "in character" and is appropriate to the motivation and personality of the protagonist because Marie plays a very deceptive character whose intentions are to eliminate the source of her sufferings. Her actions are sly and malicious and she possesses the characteristics of an emotional unstable person who is a danger to herself and society (though she can use some practice in body movements). Her quiet and timid "Yes, Mam" line makes the audience believe that she is innocent and harmless, little do they know that she possesses an evil layer underneath. Her character in the real world contrast her character in the dream sequences.
d. There is more action than dialogue in this film because showing is always better than saying it. The only dialogue is in the first scene and its purpose is to establish the relationship between characters. The mother is mean to her step daughter, and the father loves his daughter, but is controlled by his new wife in all aspects of his life. The remainder of the film consists of the girl completing her chores while daydreaming about murdering her stepmother in different ways.
e. The climax was placed very uniquely. The climax is when the girl finds her stepmom and a detective sitting at the dining room table, with the murder weapons on the table. This shows the girl's defeat and the stepmom's surprising victory. It is shocking to discover that the step mom knew about the girl's plans all along.
Acting/ Casting
a. All three actors are appropriate for the personalities and physical attributes of the characters they played. Marie is timid and quiet and effectively manipulates the audience into believing that she couldn't possibly be so diabolic, yet she can be. The woman playing the stepmother is classy and loud and therefore is perfect for her role. The man playing the father is nonchalant and dresses casually, being suitable for the pushover character that we needed.
b. The two actresses were actually able to be their characters and work professionally, but the others were unable to do so. The actresses had great facial expressions and eccentric body movements to express their personalities. The other actors did not have emotion and were average in their acting.
c. The talent gestures are meaningful and appropriate to the close up medium of television because the actresses and actor's performance were disciplined, creative, and stylized.
d.The dialogue was difficult to record due to mic problems and raising audio levels did not solve the problem completely. We couldn't dub the audio or re-shoot, so we just stuck with the static filled audio.
e. The talent pacing and energy level of the actors were maintained throughout the shooting by giving them time to get into character and practice quickly before each scene. They were completely professional and all the actors were reliable. They were nervous, yet excited about their first appearance in a short film. It was a new experience for all of them and it gave them an opportunity to be someone else for a change.
f. The costumes are appropriate for the time period and setting because the story is set at a suburban house in the present. The actors just had to dress like they normally do, but be a completely different person. Marie had to wear a t-shirt, jeans, sneakers. The stepmom wore a fancy blouse and jacket, black pants, and high heels. The father wore a polo shirt and jeans.
g. The wardrobe/costumes do provide adequate visual separation between scene elements and fall within limitations of the medium's brightness range. It stands out but are not too distracting from the action in each scene.
h. Make up was only used on the antagonist, the stepmom. It was crucial to establish that she was over-the-top to show her obsession with looks and thought highly of herself. This established her as the character that the audience is suppose to dislike. The girl doesn't have any make-up and her plainness shows her depression and blank life.
Edit/FX, Techniques or Concepts
a. The style of the title is appropriate for the nature of the production because the black glowing font depicts the evilness of the main character as she daydreams about murder. The smoky background shows the mystery of the film.
b.The title does give enough time for the audience to read it, but it could have remained on screen for a few seconds longer for the audience to fully react to the title.
c. All the cuts and transitions are motivated and in harmony with the pace and nature of the subject matter. A lot of long takes and fade in/ fade out transitions are used to heighten and prolong the tensions and add a sense of mystery to the film.
d. The visual perspective is maintained throughout and the camera remains on one side of the 180 degree line. The camera only switches angles and we try not to confuse the audience.
e. Fade in/ fade out transitions are used to transition from the real world to each dream sequence (3). The black and white saturation of the footage indicates that it is a dream sequence and color indicates that it is the real world.
f. The shot selection does follow what the audience expects, wants, or needs to see at each moment. For example, when the girl walks over to the fridge to see the list of chores she has to do, we as the audience expects her to follow what it says. Marie walks over to the sink in an attempt to wash the dishes, but suddenly her eye spots a knife. We would assume that she would pick it in the next shot and the following would be of her reaction to the object. These shot selection methods are repeated for each dream sequence.
g. Technical and general continuity jump cuts have not been avoided in the film. It is difficult to keep each scene exactly as it is after each shot. During the shooting process, actors and crew members made mistakes, which was hard to correct in the editing process. Certain objects were moved between takes and it was difficult to remember how each prop was placed and exactly where the actors were standing in each scene.
h. The editing very smooth, which makes the film dynamic and entertaining. I especially love the jump cuts and the match action cut during the choking scene because it really emphasized the intensity of the situation. The most difficult edit to do are the dream sequences because the editor had to maintain the suspense and intensity of the scenes. We had to avoid long takes and had to ensure that the scene's shots were not too shaky since in was all shot handheld.
i. Each scene is long enough for the audience to have sufficient amount of time to grasp the information. Each shot in the first dream sequence is the longest because a lot of information had to be communicate. Some lasts at minimum of a couple of seconds and it is held long enough for people to generate the right emotion.
Sound FX/ Score
a. The type of music chosen is appropriate for the production because it compliments the action that is happening in the scene. Unusual or semi-fast tempo music is used during suspenseful scenes. Slow-tempo piano music is used during depressing or lonely scenes involving the girl.
b. The music is always loud enough to hear the piano songs, but not loud enough for the dream sequences score. It does not draw attention to itself or interfere with the intelligibility of the dialogue, but compliments it instead.
c. The audio is very clear in the kitchen scene with the father, step mom, and the girl, except the kitchen scene where in editing the volume had to be raised.
Cinematography
a. A variety of camera operations were used throughout the shooting of the film. Especially common was panning, extreme close-ups, zooming, different camera angles, over-the-shoulder shots, different camera heights and movements and loose framing. The camera movements are semi-shaky that usually it does draw attention to itself, but it does match the feelings of the chaotic predicament. The cinematographer made sure to give the actors enough head room and space to move around.
Production Design/Mis En Scene
a. The set design is appropriate to the time period of the film because it is set in the present at a family's suburban home. A set was not created, the film was shot on location in San Bruno.
b. The location is usually bright enough for each shot (maybe too bright even for some shots) having access to natural light sources or florescent lights indoors. There is sufficient key, fill and back illumination in all performance areas to render needed visual separation, depth, and detail. The locations are occasionally too loud due to outside noises and the voices of the home's owners.
Overall, the film was a success to me. It may not be what my group and I envisioned from the beginning due to the absence of one of our group members during the filming proccess, but it still worked. I'm especially proud of the actors/actresses and the overall theme/ message. I hope our emphasize on sound really comes through in our final edit. Enjoy audience members.
