Past Student Video Evaluations

I chose Awake first and the genre is thriller. I knew the genre as it was very clear which is good. It fitted it genre very well and wasn’t at all unclear. I understood what was going on so I didn't feel alienated.

At the beginning the music instantly pulls you in and you have one shot of a hooded figure dressed all in black which instantly makes you think he is a villainous person. This is a good use of mise en scene. The girl who is running looks vulnerable and this makes her look like the victim as she’s being chased. When the girl wakes up you know it was a dream and the panic is over and the tension is lost. When the other music is turned on it makes you feel safe and like the panic is over. The knocks at the door start to build up the tension again as the tense music returns and the knocks turn to bangs which frighten the audience. The ending was very good as you could see the surprise on the girl’s face which left you wanting to know what happen which is a good enigma code.

The titles were very basic and hard to notice which I didn’t like as you had to search for them instead of them being presented to them. The text was very bland as the font was boring and white.

I would give this piece a level 4 54/60.

   

This is the opening sequence that students made for a film called Element 115. The genre is horror/action as it involves zombies which are thought to be in action and horror movies.

You can tell the zombies are zombies by the way they looked as the mise en scene was outstanding in this piece. The setting was just right as there were no people which made it look like the two boys were the last people left. The props were used to good affect and the special effects were very good. The gunshots and blood splatter was done very well and looked very impressive. The sounds such as the birds gave a sense of how alone they both are. The dialogue was good and so were all of the actors. The camera shots were very good. There was a lot of variation and I especially liked the shot of them running away from their view.

I think the titles were done okay as they fitted the genre and scene. They looked like they had been written in blood; this went with the scene as there was a lot of blood and death involved with the zombies.

I really enjoyed watching this and looking at the criteria I would give this piece a level 4 58/60.