'Choice' Evaluation - A2 Film Studies

Film Studies evaluation

In this evaluation I will be self-assessing my creative realisation, looking at how my research led to the construction of my film as well as how I linked my creative realisation to my textual analysis. The main focus of my creative realisation was to create a representation of teens similar to that seen in contemporary British cinema. I attempted to do this through using certain aspects of mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing techniques. Within my topic of teen representation, I particularly focused on how males where mostly represented in a negative light. I feel that I was able to achieve the messages and themes that I wanted to portray in my short film inspired by British contemporary cinema in a way which made my aims clear to the audience.

In my textual analysis, I discovered that throughout British contemporary cinema, it was common that teenage males from the lower class were often represented in a negative light. They were portrayed as selfish, violent, intimidating and arrogant, which is a general stereotype of teens in Britain even outside of cinema. In my short film, I wanted to ensure that my actors suited the roles as it was vital that it was made clear to the audience which group I was targeting. I wanted to ensure that I had a cast of young males who could in some ways relate to role they would be playing, with the hope that it could give a more natural performance. I wanted to make sure the appearance of my cast also matched casts of other teen based films, using Kidulthood and Harry Brown as inspirations. As well as this, I also wanted to recreate the type of costumes and clothing used in the two aforementioned films. With my protagonist character Jamie, I felt the low-maintenance haircut and the wearing of a hooded jumper* made it clear to my audience that this character was someone from a low-class background and trying to conform to societies stereotypes of the rebellious male teen. When creating my antagonist, Olario, I wanted to make a new type of character that has not been seen in British contemporary cinema. The idea of making Olario a power figure that wears a suit and appeared wealthy and successful was to further explore the way that some teens are left powerless once involved with people who far exceed their power in a society where respect is key, as was the case for my main character Jamie. My third and final character, Tyler, who played the victim in my short film, was represented as an innocent character that seemed completely unaware of being in the danger that he was in. Through Tyler’s character I wanted to demonstrate the idea even the innocent people can be victims in a violent and cut throat society where people will do anything to ensure that they can survive.

When shooting my short film, I wanted to ensure that the cinematography would reflect the dramatic style I was attempting to achieve. I felt the use of various shots was important in order to ensure each moment was captured correctly, from the emotions on the characters faces, to the settings and locations used. In the opening scene, I felt that the fast paced, high intensity cinematography reflected well the scenario that was occurring. The use of extreme close ups* were used to portray the range of emotions that was being shown by my actors, from fear to anger and pure adrenalin. When editing this scene, I decided to back up the diegetic sound with a fast paced, high octane soundtrack in order to fully create a sense of rush for the audience. I felt that the opening scene was the most successful scene as it had a range of different shots, and gave a clear statement to the audience of the style of film I was trying to achieve.

In the central and final parts of my short film, I wanted to continue the cinematography style seen in the opening scene, however I did find it difficult to recreate this particularly in the scenes where Jamie was the only character. Although I feel the level of cinematography did slightly drop, I still feel that it was good enough to keep the films message and style of the film clear and consistent. The second half of the film has a more deep and dramatic tone to it, which I was able to create through editing. The use of longer lasting shots, as well as the use of a dramatic, slow soundtrack for non-diegetic sound helped me to represent the characters and storyline the way I aimed to.

Overall, I felt that I was able to critically evaluate my creative realisation effectively and fairly. By using my research I feel I successfully conveyed the stereotypes placed upon low class male teens in British contemporary cinema. I ensured that the textual analysis I constructed had a large effect on the outcome of my work, meaning that the research I had undertaken was used to good effect. I believe the planning towards my short film was of a good quality and helped me to complete my short film in an organized and effective way.