1 minute film task – the detective.mpeg

I am happy with the final product, I believe that most aspects were effective in conveying the horror theme of the short film, however there was definitely room for improvement.

Things I would change for next time:

-Lighting, use extra lighting to make subjects fuller, and to decrease noise in a shot.

-Sound, use the more professional mic combined with the clap technique so that audio isn’t shrouded over environmental sounds and white noise, and becomes clearer. I also want to gain sound effects more practically next time, as I wanted to make C’s voice sound like it was behind the door, and I couldn’t achieve that through editing, so instead I wanted to physically record my lines from behind the door, but ran out of time to do so. Another thing I would like to do differently next time is utilising sound effects and underscores more to enhance the mood of the scene, which I feel this film lacked.

-scheduling, have a more organised schedule for actors, and possibly choose cast with a freer timetable as to leave room for error and reshoots.

-Editing, I need to learn how to use Premier Pro more effectively and fluently, as I struggled to move large chunks of clips around quickly, and I should also get inspiration from other short films to see how they edit their films, what effects they use, how they make cuts seamless, etc…

-Cinematography, despite the hand held feel of the film adding human elements, I felt that the film could sometimes benefit from the camera being more steady, and to do this I should prop my hands and camera onto a moveable box I could take with me to film certain shots.

The short film was filmed on the 18th of November at around 12:30pm, it was Me and Freddie Rowland at the film location being two of the characters and Osien Martian foley voiced another character at a later date. I’m glad with how the footage came out with the limited equipment we had and I like how I was able to experiment with the different camera angles some in the script and some improvised on the spot as well as parts of the plot. Though some props were used I could have improved the mise en scene as the lighting and setting could have been better for my story.

young people are represented in a raw and unfiltered way showing the struggles dealing with pressures and being influenced as well as the complexity of being young and impressionable as well as being rebellious whilst navigating through life’s challenges.

older people such as parents and authority are represented somewhat negatively as its subjectively reflecting many young peoples view of authority figures. parents are portrayed as being either ‘too clingy’ and controlling or absent from the characters lives, capturing the failure the of understanding between younger people and their parents. authority figures are seen as an obstacle because of the rebellious nature of the characters.

working class people are represented in an anaesthetic way, portraying the struggles and impacts that can come along with being working class, such as unemployment and a smaller choice of opportunities. the movie gives a raw view of poverty not often represented in movies for first world countries.

the movie represents Scottish people with things such as embracing use of humour, dialect and tradition embracing the cultural aspects of the characters, presenting Scottish people as proud and resilient which is at the heart of the movie.

addicts are not romanticised in the movie as it often is in others, showing horrific and realistic events caused due to the effects of addiction as well as exploring the easily influenced youth through the characters whilst showing the desperation for the substances and the lengths they would go for them. there are also un naturalistic aspects added to really emphasise the physical and emotional destructive effects these drugs can have.

women in trainspotting play a crucial role, though there aren’t many female characters in the movie. they play important roles in the male characters whilst we see how their addiction can impacts the women’s lives. the women help enhance the movies themes of vulnerability, desires and resilience. though the movies portrayal of women may be flawed in some aspects, it shows the struggles they face due to the consequences of others impacting their lives whilst being resilient

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men in trainspotting are portrayed with a wide range of characteristics whilst showing the complexity of toxic masculinity, accompanying things such as aggression, as the the protagonists are learning to navigate their lives.

Sound –

Needle drops of 80’s music alongside the accompanied piano underscores, Is used as the soundtrack for the film to help imply the 80s era this films set in as well as give connotations to the emotional impact for a scene.

Editing –

Montages are used at both the start and at the end of the Film to convey Britain’s sway of public opinion and the backing to Shaun’s story. It implies how Shaun lost his dad to the Falkland’s war, although it isn’t mentioned that he is dead, it shows this through footage of conflict, losses of life and an eventual fade to a picture frame of his dad in a royal marines uniform. Public opinion is shown through footage of protests to government, military and nationalist marches of skinheads.

Mise-en-scene –

Props used in this film mainly are associated with their characters, an example of this can be seen with Combo with his machete. His prop connotes his aggressive personality.

Cinematography –

Used in scenes, such as this extreme long shot, they are used by Meadows to establish the setting of the story and the environment the characters find themselves in.

Additionally close ups are used to convey, deeper emotions that the previous shots are unable to show.

Heroin addicts

The Heroin addicts of trainspotting make up the main cast and the story revolves around the themes of drugs. We see throughout the course of the film how the negative effects of Heroin severely impact peoples lives. We see this through the character of Tommy who gets addicted to Heroin after his girlfriend leaves him and it causes his death.

Men

Men in the film are often depicted as stupid and violent. Begbie is a great example of this, he often resorts to violence. This is seen in the scene where someone spills his drink and then he beats him till hes unconscious. They are also depicted as sex crazed as seen when they all make their lives worse after following the girls from the club.

Woman

Woman in the film are only really seen as accompanying the men and have little power. The only one who does is Diane as she can threaten Renton with the police for sleeping with a minor.

Working Class

The working class are depicted as freedom from the world of drugs. When main character Renton joins the working class he says the quote” for the first time in my life i was almost content”. This shows the world of the working class has it better than the Heroin addicts.

Old people

The older generation are often oblivious of what their children are doing and how they are affected by drugs. An example of this is whenever we see them in the bar just acting docile while the scene before we saw the horrible effect s of heroin had on their child.

Younger people

the younger people of trainspotting are shown as violent and commit very evil acts. For example Spud and Renton stealing from elderly people or Sick Boy shooting a dog with a BB gun. They are also irresponsible with their own and others life ass seen when a baby dies due to neglection.

Sound:

The Sound in trainspotting is used in a way to create a feeling of danger. Director Danny Boyle makes songs like Lust for life play extremely loudly over scenes which he uses to create a sense of anxiety. It is often used in scenes of danger or utter chaos.

Editing:

Danny Boyle utilises editing in many different ways. One such way is jump cutting. An example of this is in the interview scene with spud. In the scene the jump cutting is used to how spuds random and hyper nature.

Cinematography

Cinematographer Brian Tuffano uses various camera shots to depict what is going through the characters minds and gives a new way for the audience to be impacted by it. For example, in the introduction scene, a tracking shot is used to follow the characters and create more tension and immerse the viewer.

Mise en scene

The mise en scene in trainspotting creates very small and accurate details that provide a perfect setting for the film. The apartment the characters live in is worn down and messy, the addiditions of left over heroin needles and other drugs on the floor add to the quality of the film and immerses the viewer.

selection – choosing what to represent

organisation – structuring that representation

focus – encouraging the spectator to pay attention to certain aspects of that representation than others