Shot sizes and sequences

Soft vs Wasp comparison

Soft and wasp are both short films. Soft was written and directed by Simon Ellis about a father and his son who are terrorised by the same gang and are forced to face confrontation. Whereas Wasp was written and directed by Andrea Arnold and is about struggles a young single mum goes through with many young children. Both of these films are in the genre of Drama.

During the film soft a gang of youths are shown using a handheld camera, throughout this the camera is shaking and is slightly out of focus which shows that it is bad quality which may be portraying the quality of life that these teenagers. Where as in the same film another teenager is shown with his dad and the camera is stable and focused. This is showing the difference between the lifestyles of these two groups of people. Only the handheld camera effect is also used during the film wasp which would be used because you can tell that the main family in the film are living in poverty and do not have a very good lifestyle so by the camera being unstable it lets you know their life is also unstable.

The theme of family is the one of the main themes shown in both. In each film the theme of family is shown to be important and a necessity. Both families in each are looking out for each other and they show a close bond. Conflict is also a theme portrayed throughout both films. In soft the conflict is used to show a division in social status with the father and son being a higher class which contrasts with the status of the teenagers. However in wasp the conflict is used to show how a mother would protect her child when somebody else causes her children harm.

In the film Soft the father and son are shown to be locked away with no escape when they are trapped in their house with the teenagers hanging around outside, they feel in danger and uncomfortable during this scene. But in wasp the mother finds her freedom when she finally gets to go out with a man who she has feelings for. This is a major contrast as it shows the change in situations. At the start of soft the father and son feel they have freedom however when the teenagers are outside they feel they have lost this privilege. This is the complete opposite to Wasp because the lady gains her independence as the film develops and looses her sense of entrapment.

I enjoyed both these films because they explore similar themes that occur in everyday life. This makes it easier to sympathise with the characters and connect with both of the films as a whole.

Get off My land Review

Get off my land is a short black comedy written and directed by Douglas Ray about a young couple’s walk in the countryside that leads to a confrontation with the land owner.

At the very start a close up camera view is shown of some legs and feet walking along a muddy path. One person wears boots and the other white trainers. This is a good way for the viewer to make a first impression on these characters. From this they can tell what sort of lifestyle these people are used to.

Throughout the film natural light was used which helped the viewer to focus more on the characters and story. When the couple are talking to the farmer and the camera is facing the couple more sun light can be seen behind and on them whereas when the camera gives a close up of the farmer there is not much light and in the background there are many dark trees which may portray that the farmer perhaps has a darker more dangerous side. When any character is shown close up during the confrontation the background is blurred so the viewer will focus more on the tense atmosphere between the characters rather than the environment.

The camera work also made the conversation between the three people more realistic because close up’s were used for the majority of the time which really put the viewer in the position of the character as if they were having the conversation themselves, what made it more realistic however was that the camera moves up and down when the close up’s are used which makes it even more effective because it almost makes it seem like you are viewing it literally from the other persons eyes and they are fidgeting as they listen.

However the camera shots do not vary very much away from close up’s. The close up’s are used mainly to capture the characters facial expressions during different points in the confrontation to show how they are feeling or so you can understand their reactions. But only two other camera shots can really be noticed throughout. Long shots are used usually to show the location such as when the couple are first walking through the peaceful country and medium shots are also used but these are used in the same way as the close up’s.

The film had a simple linear narrative, more elements of the story were revealed as the film went on, however one element of the film was continuously repeated and that was the element of which the conflict was about; trespassing. By reminding the viewer what the conflict is about we are able to understand the seriousness of the situation and the strain between the characters.

Not many sounds were used in the background which added to the films simplicity. Dialogue was more dominant throughout the film and the tone of the characters voices showed how they were feeling very clearly but nearer the end birds are seen flying away from the trees to show a sense of fear from the event that has just happened. This camera view was interesting because if showed the reaction to the event from another point of view in this case animals. 

The Walking Dead Review

The walking dead is an increasingly popular American post-apocalyptic horror drama developed by Frank Darabont into a television series. Adapted from a comic-book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, this horror drama follows the survivors of an apocalyptic holocaust who are searching for a safe haven while being tracked and menaced by zombies.

The plot focuses primarily on the dilemmas that a group faces as they struggle to maintain their humanity during the day-to-day challenges of surviving in a hostile world. This includes battling the zombie hordes, coping with casualties, and dealing with predatory human survivors.

The first season mostly takes place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes played by Andrew Lincoln emerges from a coma to find his town abandoned with few people but far too many flesh-eating "walkers" who have died and come back to life now feasting upon the living.  Holding out hope that his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and young son Carl (Chandler Riggs) are still alive, Grimes embarks on a frantic journey to find them, and encounters many other survivors and obstacles along the way.

The second through fourth seasons are set in the surrounding countryside of northern Georgia, as the survivors search for security away from the shuffling hordes of predatory "walkers" or "biters" (as the zombies are referred to in the show), who eat any living thing they catch, and whose bite is infectious to humans. Without screaming or sobbing the characters have moments when they transmit a sympathetic sense of emotional devastation.    

The way the zombies have been made to look captures the simple desolation of an empty city at the end of the world; the zombie makeup is gruesome, skin hangs off their bloodied faces, mouths ripped apart (yet still chomping pointlessly) and chunks of their faces missing whilst they are strewn within the wreckage of cars and bloody chaos, but all this detail just makes the whole show more captivating leaving the viewer wondering where the next horde of wandering zombies will appear.

The world as we know it is gone, and in its place, for now at least, are only two things to think about: the ferocious onslaught of ravenous eaters of human flesh; and the struggle, sometimes with other humans, to live another day.

In my opinion this television series has pushed the horror genre into an area that allows it to be explored further. Darabont portrays aspects that would not usually be used throughout classic zombie movies or other television series; they use things such as empathy that really helps you to understand the characters feelings of each other that creates a final opinion of each and every character for you. It’s even able to create an emotional attachment between the viewers and the characters where the emotion quickly breaks out as you watch the characters fall into the limp hands and mouths of the zombies.

About Me Video Evaluation

What went well : I think that in my video the camera quality was quite good. For this I used my phone which had a clear outcome The lighting also helped to improve this because it was not too bright but it was also not too dark so you could easily see me without the light affecting the camera. Although I could have spoken up I still feel that it was easy to understand what I was saying. I also managed to fit a range of information in under one minute without rushing.

How I could improve : In my video I feel that I could have spoken slightly louder so my voice was clearer when the video was being played back. I also think I could have been more creative with what I did whether or not I was in the camera shot. For example I could  have used writing and pictures to explain my answers because I did not necessarily enjoy being in front of the camera but in this case due to my decision of being in front of the camera I could have been more creative with the shots and backgrounds depending on what I was saying. 

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