Our Final Cut for 'Paranoia' is a vast improvement on the rough cut. After viewing the rough cut, we decided that there needed to be many changes. We wanted to add music, credits and change the shots around.
Firstly we wanted to add music. In the rough cut we had no audio, so we decide to add in Jon's Garage Band music, to emphasize the effect that the thriller has on the audience. The boom at the end of the music allows the smash up against the wall to be more dramatic.
Secondly we wanted to add in Credits. If we were to add credits it would make the final cut more professional, and it would inform the viewers of who was involved in the making. Also the final black out and fade in of 'Paranoia' adds emphasis of the smash up against the wall of the two characters.
Finally we wanted to change the shot lengths and the shot order. In the rough cut the shots were not in the perfect order so for the Final cut we edited the shot order to allow better continuity and better effect, i believe it is done well.
Here is our final cut for the opening sequence for the film that we entitled 'Paranoia'.
It is a vast improvement on the rough cut, as it has music, and its edited better. There are also credits among the shots, we decided amongst ourselves who would get what role.
We took the opportunity to film a rough cut of 'Paranoia', to see what we could improve on, to test out the location etc. The rough cut seems very short and dosen't have much impact, but when it comes around to the final cut, and credits and music are put in, the sequence will have alot more impact, especially at the end of the sequence when 'Paranoia' explodes onto the screen. Here is the rough cut which has been edited slightly to maintain continuity, and an evaluation of how we thought it went.
Location
King's St, Cambridge. We thought the location was suitable as it was a dark, dingy area and fit conventions of the thriller genre. A dark alley way is a typical location for a thriller, however we did not feel that it was over-used. When seen it automatically suggests to the viewer that is belongs to a dark genre, and this in itself is effective. Also, the ground was damp, keeping the dark feel.
Shots/ Camerawork
We are happy with most of the shots. To show imagination we used a range of shots; low angle shots, medium shots, high angle shots, long shots, etc, yet maintaining continuity. We feel that the hand held camera makes it seem more realistic, and also lets us empathize with the victim as he appears vulnerable. If the shots were held steady it would not have had the same effect as it would have looked too polished and finalized, so we are happy with the choice of using hand held shots.
Acting
One thing we concentrated on when filming was not allowing the actor(s) to look at the camera, as the cameraman was supposed to seem like a 'fly on the wall'. It also seems more professional if the actor does not look down the camera. The actor, Jon, appears to be in character and does not get distracted.
What We Could Improve On...
We are happy with this as it is only a rough cut and we think that we gave included appropriate conventions of the thriller genre, and kept continuity throughout. However, watching the rough cut we realise that we could improve on some things;
-> keep continuity whenever we can, by showing action from different angles ->use a range of shots and make sure they are effective - not just using up time -> possibly a change of soundtrack - towards the end more of an 'impact' is needed, as the action becomes more intense -> we realised that the actor, Jon, looked at the camera a few times. Even with editing we could not exclude this from the rough cut without sacrificing continuity. We will keep an eye on this in the future.
You may notice that the credits at the end of the clip read 'The Alley Hunter'. Since filming and editing the rough cut, we have changed the name to 'Paranoia'.
