Evaluation of Peer Reviews

 HEYYYYY BLOG !!!!!!! Today we had to go over our reviews we received from our peers. I am now going to discuss them with you and give my overall evaluation of what was given to me.

Review #1: Emily Morgan: https://emilymorgan2007.blogspot.com/

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?*

• I really enjoyed the parallel cutting when the friends were talking to eachother and the girl  was talking to her vlog and then it would cut to what it would look like through the vlog’s pov. Another technical element that was really nice was the different angles of tracking in the video.(from the back, front, and side)

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?*

• For this specific film, I wouldn’t say that there were any technical elements that I disliked. 

Did this look like a movie opener and did it make you want to know what happens next?  

• This definitely looked like a movie opener as the plot could be easily pointed out. They started the film off by talking about where they are planning to go, introducing the characters; one of the characters even foreshadowed the kidnapping that happened later in the film. I would also say that the Film did leave me wanting to know what would happen next.

Was there anything that left you confused? (be specific)*

• I wouldn't say that there was anything that left me confused by this film. From the start of the film, the audience could clearly tell that the plot was a group of friends going vlogging in the woods and one person kidnaps the other. Overall the plot was pretty straightforward and remained consistent all throughout.

What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?*

• Once again the film was good in my eyes and the technical elements all flowed together. If anything, I would say their film was a little bit more on the shorter side. Additionally, they are missing their title and title sequence. If there is one thing I would say is to add more variety of technical elements to the film.

My Response: I appreciate this response because it does help me to realize the things that might be missing and also allows me to evaluate what we did good. I do agree with the fact that our film is on the shorter side, which we do intend to fix with the title sequence of the film and with a few short voice overs in the beginning to enhance the mystery of the film

Review #2: Joshua Mateo: https://joshuatmm.blogspot.com/

In this film, I liked the dialogue. Their conversations and humor adds to the group, showing that they are good friends. This also adds better irony to the fact that one friend betrays them. They also added foreshadowing into the dialogue ("imagined if we got kidnapped"). The use of handheld movement also was a great choice, as it felt as if we were in their friend group. 
 

A problem I had with this opening was that the sound wasn't good. Besides the dialogue, every other aspect was empty. There was no background track to add to the tone. The sounds of footsteps and nature were unnecessarily loud. Also, it may have been better if the natural light was darker, meaning they recorded in the evening or at sunset. The lighting did not add to the emotion and tone of the film. 

This is an opener. The film introduces the character as a group of friends. The sudden attack makes the audience wonder what happened to them and who/why did the guy do it. This keeps the audience hooked and ensures that they want to keep watching. 

What got me confused is why there were noises, like the twig snap, if the antagonist wasn't the one to make it. If he is the one attacking, why lead us to believe that someone else was lurking. 

I suggest that they fix the sound on the film. It generally feels empty, not setting any tone that it needs to. I can see the attempts they are trying to make to make a creepy, mysterious tone, but without sound it isn't working. They did a good job, it just needs a bit of fixing. 

My response: I appreciate this feedback because it allows me to see what parts of the film we can fix to make the overall storyline come together. I had never really analyzed the fact that the lighting was too intense for the feeling of the story or that the twig snap would actually confuse people. We can now analyze the lighting and change it to fit the film better and we can add more sounds to complete the film altogether.

Review #3: Alexander Maguire: https://alexanderblogmaguire.blogspot.com/

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?

One element I liked is when the first cut is being filmed from the perspective of the character vlogging. This makes the clip overall seem more natural. 22 seconds in their is a shot with the group of characters walking by, this is done well and splits up the tracking shots. 

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

Elements I didn't like was where the shots were cut at some points. Sometimes you can hear some noise or someone say something and it is cut, making the cuts seem very abrupt. Another element is how long some shots hold like the tracking shot that held for about 10 seconds, if it was split up or some other angle was used during it it would of worked. 

Did this look like a movie opener and did it make you want to know what happens next? 

Yes it does make me want to know what happens next. This is mainly through the cliffhanger it is left on. Though it does seem to end too quickly, this makes sense as it is only 1 minute and 21 seconds. If more shots were added to pad out the time and maybe add more context it would be a better opener. 

Was there anything that left you confused? 

One thing that confused me in the opener is where the side characters went. It goes from all three walking together to the person filming the vlog being alone. Maybe this is explained in the 40 seconds that are missing or was an idea that was cut entirely. 

What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

A suggestion I have is review the cuts between shots again and to clean them up. They are a bit messy at the moment but it is an easy fix. Another suggestion is to fix the orientation at around 42 seconds. I don't know if its the devices I am watching on but there is a black empty space on the right and below the actual shot. 

 

My response: I found this review very helpful. It pointed out the specific spots we should look at and fix which no other review so far really did which really helped me pin point exact areas of concern. We plan to take a look at the points in our video that were mentioned and take a look to see if we can further edit to make it appear better.

Review #4: Anabel- Jade Laveus: https://anabeljade.blogspot.com/

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?  

I liked the upward tilt that smoothly transitioned into a tracking of the friend group in the very beginning. It gave a great introduction clip and shows all of the characters and location of the scene. I also like the jump cuts of the walk and showing the back angle that gives the audience a sense of interaction as if they are following behind them. 

 What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike? 

I did not really like the establishing shot because I didn't find it necessary. The camera man could have moved up to show the lake but establishing shots are usually placed in the very beginning of a movie. I also didn't like how there was too much tracking in the whole opening scene. It felt like the camera was constantly moving and there could've have been moments where the camera could have rested while the friend group walked. Other than that the technical elements were great and they worked smoothly together. 

 Did this look like a movie opener and did it make you want to know what happens next? 

This film definitely did look like a movie opener from the very beginning. The right elements were used to slowly introduce the character into the frame and have the audience engaged. It does make me question what happens next with the cliffhanger. The end plot was so unexpected and sudden that it would leave the audience shocked to find out it their own friend kidnapped them. It makes me wonder why would that happen.  

 Was there anything that left you confused? 

The establishing shot gave the impression of the girl that is vlogging switch to her phone to record the lake. I thought it gave the illusion of a point of view because the audience can see that she is the one recording but I saw her being featured at the end of the clip so she was not recording. That made the establishing shot not make sense in that area and may leave the audience confused. 

 What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better? 

I would suggest to add an establishing shot in the very beginning, and it could be off the lake, so there is a place to add the title sequence. They should reduce the tracking shots to stop motion in some of the clips and reduce the amount of mid shots they use by filming in other shots. They should also add a production company to have the full effect of a movie opening scene. 

My response: I find this review helpful because it gives us a suggestion to change the angles and why. It is a helpful review because it also give a suggestion on where to put the shot that this person thought we should fix. My group will most likely keep the same angles, but we may rearrange the angles during editing.

Review #5: Nestor Castano: https://nestorcastano.blogspot.com/

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like? 

In this film some specific technical elements that I like was the tracking shot at the beginning because it followed the characters and introduced the reason why they are at the park and make the video follow. Another technical element I enjoyed was jump cut , I really enjoyed this element because it helped support the idea that her friend was being paranoid at the park by showing the various angles

What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

In the film one specific technical element I did not like was the pan shot / establishment shot of the lake just because it was felt very out of place. I believe a point of view shot would have been better because it will help the audience set the scene from the protagonist eyes.

Did this look like a movie opener and did it make you want to know what happens next?

This did look like a movie opener and it did make me want to know what happens next because it all ran smoothly and it keeps the audience on their toes of what will happen next.  It was like a big adventure waiting to unfold, and ending this on a cliffhanger definitely makes the audience know what will happen next.

Was there anything that left you confused?

Everything made sense, and nothing left me feeling confused. Everything felt organized and in its right place. I didn't notice anything negative that caught my attention. Overall, it was a smooth experience, and I appreciated how well everything came together without any distractions or issues to worry about.

What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

One suggestion I have is to make sure the audio does not cross. In one scene the video shifts to the next scene while the other audio is still playing, it's a small miner suggestion but it can interrupt the flow and by taking this suggestion it can help the flow. 

 

My Response: I think this review was very informative, it gave detailed reasons and suggestions as to what angles did not fit and why. My group can't really change to angle of the establishing shot because its a little too late to but we did find the information helpful because we realized that the shot did not exactly fit the current part of the scene.