Reflective Analysis

For our AS film production coursework my group and I decided to create a sequence from an original film idea. The film would be a thriller and the scene we chose to film was a break in/ burglary critical to the films plot. We proposed for our audience to be between the ages 0f 15-30, being predominately male.  We decided on this because we felt that young adults would have the most interest in the films premise.  We thought men should be the most targeted gender because they are stereotypically the group with the most interest in thrillers; also our film has the sub genre of action which holds the biggest market for male audiences. Cinematography and sound were the micro elements we chose to focus on as a group. We chose these because when working together they can create the tension and threat needed for an effective thriller. I was mainly responsible for the sound editing of the sequence and directing myself and the other actress. 

 The sequence starts with an establishing shot of the girl’s house, which shows her going to bed and turning off the remaining light. The non diegetic sound starts from the beginning of the sequence and is parallel to the events on screen; it begins as a slow electronic sound which is reminiscent to a heartbeat. . The overall tone of the soundtrack is eerie, it’s also quite repetitive. This creates tension as it keeps the audience waiting for change; however we chose it to be like this to show that breaking in somewhere is a common occurrence for the antagonists. When editing I increased volume when we see the girls face, here she is established as the victim by the loud ‘heartbeat’, wearing white and being in a vulnerable position as she is asleep. The sound then stays at this level until the volume is changed for effect in the victim’s death scene. The soundtrack is increased parallel with the victim waking up then the shot turns black to connote her death; this creates effect as the sound has a sudden change compared to it being relatively slow throughout.  Now the sound is louder it indicates that the establishing shot of the house was more sinister that originally thought. This is confirmed when the camera switches to handheld and follows two people clad in all black, here my group and I followed stereotypical mise-en-scene by having them dressed completely in black: with leather, boots and balaclavas. This scene was to purposely show to the audience that the pair is the antagonists. 

The other feature of the sound in our sequence was the diegetic sound; I edited the sound so it would be heard with the soundtrack. I did this to keep in touch with the realism of the sequence and to build upon the tension. As when the audience hears diegetic sounds such as footsteps and rustling it keeps in their mind that the victim could hear them and wake up, which is why we cut back to close up shots of the victim in bed. However feedback from class members said it was too loud to be realistic so it was then turned down. There’s a short conversation between the antagonists in the victims bedroom, the non diegetic soundtrack volume is turned down so audience can get the full impact of the dialogue. Having the conversation about the victim’s death so close while she is unaware is the height of tension and threat within the sequence.

The cinematography is crucial to the build up of tension and the sense of threat within the sequence. This is because the majority of it is handheld and acts like a third antagonists view point, providing a sense of realism for the audience. The camera follows the antagonists as they enter and search the rooms. This creates confusion and tension in the audience as the only lighting is the Iphone flashlight, paired with close up shots of the search for the money,  the audience aren’t aware of where they are or where they are being led. Every shot limits what the audience sees, even from the first shot as all they can see is the window and the outline of the building. As well as to create tension this is also in line with the narrative of the film as the identity of the victim is not presented to the audience till much later. The camera also acts as one of the antagonists themselves point of view when they notice the victim asleep, the shot quickly pans up and down like their eyes would, this again adds to the realism.