Evaluation of Continuity Sequence

Lighting:

In my groups video, no artificial lighting was used; we chose to use natural lighting instead to ensure a realistic atmosphere in the story. I think this worked well because the light wasn't too bright yet wasn't too dark for the most part. The light brought out the colours in the costumes and made them seem a lot more vibrant and noticeable. Despite this,in a shot (on the right), the lighting was too dark and should have been rectified in the editing process.

Mise-en-scene:

In our sequence we used two costumes that conflict with each other; a suit and baggy casual wear (shown on the right). This worked well because it showed the contrast between the characters personalities without having to use dialogue as well as to show the more dominant out of the two, which adds to the twist ending of the story. The colours of these costumes also clash with one anther due to one being bright blues and the other being dark greys and blacks.We also chose to include the two tallest people from our group to act, this showed that the two characters are somewhat powerful but different personalities simultaneously. The backgrounds in the video also conflict with the characters as they are dark and dirty locations, so adds to the suspense of the story.

High/low Camera Angles:

In the video, we used a low angle towards the beginning to show the power of the character (on the right). This worked well because it matched the physicality and costume of that character. Despite this we only used one and did not include a high angle due to the constant level of power between the two characters and chose to use a POV over a high angle in the last shot. Looking back we could have used the POV in a different section of the video and use the high angle shot in the last few seconds to show the sudden change in dominance between the characters in an even more noticeable way and would therefore impact the viewer more.

Camera Movement:

We used our one opportunity of camera movement in the 6th shot in the video. We used a camera slider to capture the movement of the first character's feet (shown below). This worked well because the shot was slick and swift which mirrored the traits we wanted the character to have. As well as this, it added a variety to the range of shots we had and made our sequence unique. To improve this, we could have used a longer slider to make the scene last longer to add suspense and make the scene memorable.

Shot Distances:

We used a wide variety of shot distances, ranging from extreme close ups to wide shots. We used a extreme close up to capture the intense stare down between the two characters and capture the lack of emotion they both had during the scene. This shot could have been improved if it was zoomed in even more to capture only the eyes of each person, making the audience feel just as intense as they would have. We also used long shots to show the distance the first character had traveled as well as showing the full costume of he was wearing in order to show his personality.

Fades and dissolves:

We did not use any fades or dissolves in our sequence. We did not include them because our story was not set over a long period of time, so we felt the story would benefit having one normal cuts between each shot and scene with nothing to indicate a significant amount of time passing.

The Continuity System:

180 degree rule- In our sequence, we broke this rule. We shot an over the shoulder scene and had the camera on different sides when switching character. This was fixed by flipping the image during editing (on the right). Despite this, the end result was decent and captured what we intended it to. It made the scene more intense and kept the audience intrigued. 

Establishing shot- We used several establishing shots throughout our sequence. They were used in hallways, the car park and during the meet up (showed to the left and right). This worked well because it gave the audience an idea of where they character was travelling and where the meet up was meant to be. This gave a good atmosphere to indulge the viewer in the story.

Match on action- We used match on action shots to capture a character opening a door and walking out (showed to the left and right) . This worked well because the shot was put together well and turned out slick. To improve this, we could of used this type of shot in a more unique way to make the sequence more professional and entertaining to watch.

POV shot- We used a POV shot once during our sequence; we added it in, in the last shot. We made our antagonist pull out a gun and made a POV shot of him aiming at the other character (on the right). This was a good shot because it added a sense of realism and intensity  to the scene. Although we could improve it by making the gun lower to capture the other characters reaction to the turn of events, which would add more atmosphere and depth.

Eye line match shots- We used this kind of shot towards the end of the sequence when the protagonist checks his watch (on the right). This is done well because it establishes the time and refers back to what was mentioned at he beginning of the film. To improve this, we could make it more clear that the eyes of the character are looking at the watch. Other than this, the scene was well executed and looked great to the audience.