Summer Work: Evaluative Essay

In my mini film, I wanted to succeed in creating a sense of tension. With that aim in mind, I made sure to watch the scene we were going to recreate in great detail. The actual scene from the film is incredibly tense and so I noted down how this was achieved so that we could incorporate certain aspects into our recreation.

 I think the main thing that added to the unease of the scene was the lack of audio. The only sounds playing were the repeated beat of a drum, a countdown and a monotonous drilling sound; there was no speaking. In order to achieve the same dramatic atmosphere, we used the same audio. We then focussed on different camera techniques that would work effectively.

To open the scene we filmed a close up of Rainbow, who was playing Katniss. Close ups are often used to underline a character’s personality, as well as focussing on their reactions. I think this is an effective way to open a scene as it means viewers can quickly make an opinion on the character – especially whether they think the character is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Another camera technique we included was ‘whip pan’. We included this by panning quickly from character to character. Doing this meant that the audience were introduced to the entire cast, while still maintaining the tension we created.

I think using extreme long shot works very effectively when filming the set. This means the scale and importance of the event is evident, as well as fitting in the whole cast. This technique shows the vastness of the landscape, which works perfectly with the film we chose. It’s effective at creating overall atmosphere and I believe it looks particularly dramatic in the way we’ve incorporated it.

I’m very glad that we used the “worm’s eye view” technique in our mini film. This angle looks extremely threatening as the character in shot is made to look dominant and with power. The clip we used this technique for is a very brutal clip, which I think fits perfectly.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with how our mini film turned out. Setting out the aims we wanted to complete before we started made it much easier to ensure it was a success. My main aim was to create the same sense of tension that is present in the actual scene which, I believe, we have definitely accomplished. I also really like the way it's edited; the smooth, fluid camera movements make it appear much more professional.