Five most valuable Minutes of Taxi Driver

I chose the scene where Travis Bickle goes after the people keeping Iris as a prostitute. I chose this scene because it confused me and didn't really seem fitting when I had first watched it. I wanted to analyze it and think about what these five minutes could mean for the whole film. The anti-hero, justice, and a corrupt society are all shown in some way that revolves around Travis' decision making and his views.

The entire point of the scene is to give some closure that would be expected of Travis. For the entire film he is building up, getting weapons and preparing himself. On the other side, the city is running filled with criminals and other scum as Travis calls them. I see this as a constant fight between good and evil. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."-Edmund Burke. This quote works very well throughout the film. As an anti-hero, Travis isn't the perfect hero but he definitely isn't a villain. He is basically in the sweet spot where he sees all that is wrong -like Iris being a prostitute at such a young age- along with other crime. Since Travis is so determined to "flush it all down" he is obviously more on the side of good than evil.

In particular find the scene were Travis is shot in the neck to be symbolic of the constant presence of good.

Regardless of any medical miracles, it is probably impossible that anyone could be shot the way Travis is, and continue to remain conscious let alone move. Regardless of that it shows Travis' determination, saving a young girl from prostitution may be the one good thing he has ever done in his life. He wants to save Iris and move on.

Iris' surprise shows that she is affected by Travis' actions. 

Later in the scene he tells Travis not to kill one of the criminals

which adds another layer to integration in crime. 

Travis tries to kill him self right after he saves Iris. His good deed is done and he is ready to move on, but he has no bullets left. Literally, Travis is likely trying to avoid prison, but this also symbolizes that he cannot escape what he has done. For the audience, they have been with Travis the whole time and can't help but see Travis as a hero. That is where Travis stands, he is good but worn by New York city and other problems with his life.



Here Travis is basically showing that he wants to die. Despite the close up, the blood on Travis' hand keeps the audience on the idea of what has just happened while letting us focus on Travis. The director is trying to show both of these aspects.

Overall this scene works as a climax to Travis' action against evil. It is important to note that Iris is returned to her family and Travis makes a full recovery after his incident. His good actions are all that kept him going and, could be the reason he is alive. Everything around him seems virtually unchanged, he doesn't even get to meet Iris' family he only receives a letter.


The directors intent seems to be something around the fight between god and evil, with the integration of an anti hero. This is not a new idea, it has been refined. Influence from westerns can be seen throughout the film. Travis and his taxi parallels a cowboy and his horse. The taxi is a generic car that isn't noticed, particularly in New York of all cities. Iris' pimp also refers to Travis as "cowboy", which seems to put Travis in a positive light since cowboys tend to be seen as heroes. Towards the end Iris' pimp also looks like a Native American with his long hair and bandanna, this goes hand in hand with Travis being a cowboy.

Overall I think the purpose of this scene is to give a fitting end to Travis' struggle and actions. Under the surface of the events in this five minutes is a lot that refers to the bigger picture of good and evil in the eyes of the director. Along with references to things that people recognize a certain feeling is achieved.

The American Anti-Hero

To start off, an anti-hero is the protagonist of a story who isn't a perfect self-sacrificing person, they have realistic flaws and personal dilemmas. These people tend to be looked down on by society, and don't socialize well with other people. These characters usually start off being very negative, but end up finding something that they care about which changes them.

These characters have been around for a long time, but began to rise in American Cinema around the 1950's. Not only was this a period of great change in the United States, but it brought many influences to create anti-heroes. People like "John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X" are important figures who fought for something in a rebellious way. Similarly, these figures ended up dying for what they fought and believed in, something anti-heroes usually end up doing. The general public also thought differently, films had to mean something, giving an opening to these new character types. Anti-heroes aren't perfect, they truly like are regular people. They have realistic opinions and issues, sometimes it makes the audience feel bad for a character.

This scene if from Gran Torino a film starring Clint Eastwood as a bigot, worn down by war and other family issues. In this scene he has just beaten up a gang member and is holding a gun to their face, all to try and protect his neighbors. He is putting himself at risk attacking a gang member, but part of his character is being fearless and above all, determined.

These rebellious figures tend to the fit the role of a "very likable rebel who was almost always the underdog." The way these characters, and people are portrayed make them seem likable since it is their perspective and their story. This means that a character who may not necessarily be likable becomes likable to an audience. People like Martin Luther King Jr. are seen in a positive light despite their rebelliousness. What it comes down to is that these characters aren't bad people, they are usually worn but very much human.

Part of creating these new characters is their environment, a perfect example is Travis Bickle from the film Taxi Driver. It take place in New York, and city itself "is a substitute for the wild west of earlier cinema..." This basically means that the world has changed, today people live in cities rather than the towns portrayed in westerns.

New York, big city, bright lights, millions of people, the city that never sleeps. Big cities like New York have become a crucial part of films. New York is important in real life, and more importantly it is iconic. Modern films have replaced the typical western with large cities.

This old western town has been seen in every western. People know what to look for, the saloon, the town drunk and horses. The simplicity of these towns match the characters of the time. The characters, more specifically anti-heroes tend to be drunk, with a high level of proficiency with a gun. The setting of a story is an important tool in characterization.

Anti-heros exist so much today because they are more realistic, and thus easier to believe and relate too. Audiences like these characters, and they are just one part of this time periods cinema.

Documentary Pre-pro

Purpose: To show the life of a recovering addict in his attempt to regain his life and be once again accepted by his family and friends.

Contacts: Tyson (Main character), family members, friends of Tyson.

Interview Questions: How has drugs and alcohol affected you?

How do you think they have affected your family and friends?

Do you think you’ll ever become mentally stable?

What are your future plans?

What will you do to become sober once again?

Shot List: Close Up’s on all those who will be interviewed. Variety of shots (CU, MCU, WS, MS, etc.) of B-Roll that supports what the interview is stating.

General Flow: Beginning - B-roll on different parts of his home leading into the opening interview of Tyson.

Middle - Interviews of family and friends, along with B-roll as to what they were talking about.

End - Variety of B-roll, officially signaling off the interview on a positive note.

Intensified Continuity

David Bordell believes that continuity in films has intensified because of rapid editing, lens length, close framing, and a free ranging camera. Basically film has become more focused on close ups and quick cuts with less camera movement. Many recent films have quick cuts throughout rather than moving the camera itself. It allows close ups to be seamlessly integrated into a film to deliver a more intense idea or emotion. "As we'd expect, action films tended to be edited more briskly than other types..." (Bordell). Action scenes in films are complemented by quick cuts because it increases intensity. For example in a scene where a protagonist and villain are crawling for and object -like a gun- cuts between the surrounding, the actors faces, and the distance from the object can be shown seamlessly. This event in a film would be much more boring in one longer shot. Of course this choice is left up to the director or editor. On the other hand "musicals, dramas, romances and comedies didn't really favor long takes" (Bordell). These types of films require smoother pacing, slow pans, and minimal cuts. Any cuts that are made should be slow and far in between in order to keep the audience involved in what they are watching. The pacing of shots and cuts is important to the emotion and effect of a film on an audience.


Lenses have drastically changed, today the telephoto lens can provide a wide range of shots with only one camera and even one shot. In addition, new technology like cranes and hovering rigs allow the camera itself to be moved around to provide coverage. "The new lenses yielded several stylistic byproducts..." (Bordell). Since cameras today are so maneuverable, shots like close ups can be gotten much more quickly than before. In dialogue scenes, no longer is a director limited to having a two shot, they have have the option of cutting between close ups and long shots. In a romantic scene, shots may get tighter and tighter to match the emotion being portrayed. 


New technology has also made showing different scenes from a film easier. Using two cameras can make continuity much easier in edit. Getting two angles at the same time can make a cut more convincing since a shot would be the same. This would be much easier and less time consuming than using one camera and having to re-shoot one scene. For example in a scene where there is an explosion, fire or collapsing building- multiple cameras can be setup to allow the most coverage without the need to re-do expensive scenes. Dramatic scenes can be shown from different angles giving the viewer more time to see something that looks cool through a heightened sense of reality. This may also be true in a scene where a character shows some great emotion that would have to be matched, if two cameras had not been used.


Skip to 2:30 on this video for a great example of using multiple angles to get the best coverage of a one time shot.

Comparison: "Arrival of a Train" and "Damsel in Distress"

The most obvious difference between these short films is the camera work. The Arrival of a Train is a single sequence with no cutting, narrative, or any real meaning. The Damsel in Distress on the other hand has a plot, suspense, characters, and a full story arc.
In the Arrival of a train the camera does not move at all, and shows everything that happens in that particular frame. It is one long sequence with no point, or characters to give value to the train or its passengers.
With Damsel in Distress, conflicts and characters are shown with cuts. The way the women is tied up is shown, followed by the hiding place of the villain. All this has to be clear because of the lack of sound in films of this time period. The cuts are fast paced for the duration of the film especially when showing parallel action. For example, the train is approaching while the dog and man come to the woman's rescue.
Although the key point of both these films is a training arriving at a certain location, the way that event is portrayed is very different. One is simply an every day event while the other is a life death situation.

Again the difference in these films is between the use or lack of film making techniques. There is no editing in the Arrival of  a Train, which does match the event. The Damsel in Distress has many quick cuts in order to keep the audience involved while telling a dramatic story without getting boring.

The Arrival of a Train is a realistic film, the audience is free to look at what they find interesting and interpret the events. The film is also very short because of the lack of a narrative. The Damsel in Distress is more formal, closeups are used to show what is important. The woman blowing the whistle gives the dog a motive to arrive, the close up on the chains show the woman's problem. When the mans bike is broken it is showing the problem that he has to face, not being able to get to the woman that quickly. Finally the resolution is shown with the train breaking the chains holding down the woman. There isn't much to interpret, the film shows the audience everything that is important.

Advanced Editing Notes

III. Soviet Montage and The Formalist Tradition

• Pudovkin created the idea of 'constructive editing'
• It is the idea of having a reason behind every shot that is shown
• a new meaning should be created, the meaning was most important, the shot was just a tool
• Pudovkin believed that close ups were too intrusive and alone had no meaning
• When he used close ups he would put them in a montage in order to drive across a particular meaning
• close ups were a way to help assemble important parts of a film
• Pudovkin, Hitchcock, and Kuleshov all agreed with the idea of breaking a film into fragments that would be assembled to create a meaning or a narrative
• The meanings that derive from a characters reaction to an object are called juxtapositions
• it is up to the audience to understand what the shots symbolize
• man+soup=hunger
• man smiling at woman and child=kind gentlemen
• man smiling in same way, towards woman in a bikini = pervert or something of the sort
• today it is used in film as more than two completely separate objects; a desperate man in a scene may see a large sum of unprotected money
• 1. Close up of mans face with eye line match
• 2. Close up of money
• 3. Close up of mans reaction
• 4. Mans action follows
• Eisenstein believed that life was about constant change, and film is about capturing important moments
• he believed that shots should be incomplete in order to allow other shots to complete meanings or ideas
• this technique is used in propaganda
• In the Odessa Steps scene there is a focus on mother and child
• The first mother reacts directly to what happens to her child, this is all done in close ups and the meaning is very clear; the mothers distress
• Key events are the boy calling for his mother, and his hands and body being trampled
• The second mother has a baby in a carriage, and the wheels on the carriage directly symbolize the mothers life
• When the mother is shot it is obvious that she is going to die leaving the baby alone
• as the wheels rock back and forth, the mother struggles between life and death
• Once the mother dies, the carriage falls down the stairs

IV Andre Bazin and the tradition of Realism

•   Bazin was a french editor; he believed that a film should portray the directors ideas, known as their stylistic choice
• this clashes with the idea of giving the audience what they want in films today
•  Realism involves long shots, using wide screens, deep focus, panning, craning or tilting-- otherwise moving the camera physically with minimal editing
• 
  

The Immortals Movie Trailer-Review

The immortals is based on the Greek Mythology story of Theseus. It has the basic idea of any Greek myth, an individual with great power and prowess in battle with a magical weapon given to him by the gods.

The trailer begins with the voice over from a disembodied voice. It establishes the basics of all the gods of Greek Mythology. The first scene begins with a large cliff wall with a small town carved into it, zooming out as the voice over explains what is happening. The main characters are established in the order of King Hyperion the Villain, Theseus the Hero, Zeus the King of the gods, and what appears to be a prophet who is also Theseus' love interest. Each character is appropriately voiced over, Hyperion having his goal of unleashing evil and Theseus being the only hope for both humanity and the gods. The epic story-line and its characters are introduced through voice over and in film dialogue.

The cinematography goes perfectly with what is being established. Many of the shots tend to have a golden color tint. The gods also have gold clothing which separates them from other non important characters. The shots help show the differences between the gods and titans through location. The gods are on top a mountain which over looks everything, in the bright sun. The titans are shown in a box deep inside a large hollowed out mountain. During a pre-battle scene, the entire landscape is shown, giving an idea of the shear size. During fight scenes the action focuses around the main characters, especially around Theseus.

The trailer is cut in a way that keeps some form of motion, shots last just long enough to be interesting before moving on. Action scenes go around characters talking, or pick up and drop depending on the music. The editing goes perfectly with the dialogue, sounds cut during certain quick sounds, or heavy music. There are many quick cuts as the action picks up and certain important plot points are stated.
The music is very well done, it doesn't interrupt other sounds, and it hypes you up to see the film. The beat of the trailer matches perfectly with the action sequences. It does not distract from the shots and scenes. It is appropriate and not overpowering.

The trailer is well made and delivers its plot and characters in a way that allows the audience to get an idea of the film, and want to go see it.

First Film Pitch

Michael Taylor

Justin Pieraldi

Daniel Afeaki

Ricky Jalilie

Logline: Adolescent boy talks about his struggle through high school as he’s forced into a role of maturity as a result of his mother’s terminal illness.
Genre: Drama
Tone: Relaxed, calm, depressed
Time Period: Today’s time period, 2009-2011
Three act structure:
1. Boy introduces himself directly to audience, he is sitting at a train station. He talks about how easy life was, having a girlfriend, captain of basketball team, straight A advanced classes. This is shown through flashbacks. He introduces his family and the fact that he never had a father but that it didn’t matter.
2. Tho boy is longer doing any of the previous activities he had previously mentioned, and his grades had dropped. He talks about the role that he has to take over, doing for his sister what his mother did for him. He talks about how his mother can’t be there as much as she should. He explains that it is constantly wearing him down.
3. The boy goes to the hospital with his sister to visit his mother. It is revealed that his mother had some terminal illness (cancer?) and that is what has been causing him all his trouble. The film ends there.

A train passes by the train station and reveals a boy sitting on a bench looking in the direction of the train. He looks around a little waiting for his train and checking his watch. We see him look in the direction of the camera and he begins to walk across the tracks towards us. Saying “I’m Ryan, you don’t know much about me and maybe you don’t care. But I’m gonna tell you my story anyway”. a Jump Cut brings him back to his bench and the train pulls up blocking our shot.

On the train we see him walking to his seat, from a front view he starts telling his story, explaining how hard things have been for him. Starting a couple years ago, i was only a freshman in high school at the time. [fade into flashback of school and activities] That’s when i really began to struggle, school was so tough. I was in all the advanced classes, played basketball, went out with the prettiest girl in school. Back then things were easy, top of the class, captain of the team... had the world on a string. I didn’t have a dad, but it’d never really been a problem cause i had my sister and mom.

[return to a shot of boy taking seat and looking out the window] Near the end of sophomore year, i knew things would be much more difficult... My grades began to suffer a little, nothing serious, just a couple A’s turned to B’s. [flash to mom working and helping around the house] Mom worked as a teacher, she didn’t make a lot but it was enough for us to get by. She was a great cook and we always had food on the table.

[transition shot and whistle sounds] boy gets off the train looking around [story pauses as he walks down the train tracks to the station and enters. [inside we see him stop and ask a woman for directions to an address, not knowing what the address means] saying thank you and walking towards the camera he walks towards the exit.

“where was i?.... o ya, it was sudden... you know, one of those ‘it’ll never happen to me’, kinda things. [flash of boy crying counselor's office]...Well it did and it was terrible. By this point in my story I'm a junior, I didn’t play basketball anymore, i broke up with my gf, and i had to pretty much care for my sister alone.

i had to grow up pretty quick. [still shot of crying, picture of basketball falls in(breaks) picture of girl and boy falls in breaks, picture of boy leaning over sister studying + picture of boy cooking). [back to boy talking, hands money to vendor and receives coffee] I even had to get a job.... (ha) sleeping became quite a luxury for me.

we see the boy walking out of the cafe and towards an elevator, sipping his coffee he enters the elevator, jump cut to his exiting the elevator on a new floor. This has been really hard on me and my Julia, my sister [nods to someone outside of camera => sister runs into shut and hugs him. She’s been realy strong and has helped me out as much as she could.

Boy and girl walk down the hall as the boy explains that as tough as it’s been he’s confident itll all work out. [stopping, and looking to the side] thank you for listening to my story, it’s been a lonely time for me and the company has been nice, maybe ill see u around [appearing on the verge of tears the boy fakes a smile and turns walking into the door].

As the camera pans to the left following the boy we see a sign on the door saying ‘Cancer Word’. We see the boy walk towards a woman laying in a bed. Hey mom, the boy and girl say in unison. [boy: how you feeling today, through muffled voice struggling not to cry] The boy and girl hug their mother, and the door shuts on the camera.

First Film Treatment

>There is a note under a phone which says something like "do homework study for SAT's DON'T GET DISTRACTED" the phone alarm then goes off and there is a reminder that today is the last day to sign up for the SAT.

 >The boy sits up in bed as his alarm goes off looking tired with messed up hair and looks up hearing their parents tell them to do their homework and not to forget to sign up for the SAT's by a certain date.

>The boy is then looking at his phone and goes on facebook, seeing several statuses about how people have done college applications and been studying all day. The boy fluffs his pillow and strongly lands back into bed. The boy is already fast asleep.

 >The boy is then sleeping in a classroom and wakes up asking to use the bathroom.

 >As he walks out he thinks about how he should do his homework and remembers the sounds of his parents telling him that he'll end up some loser if he doesn't. He walks by groups of other students talking about him and about what a loser he is going to be when he grows up.

 >Time flashes forward where he sees himself homeless.

 >He looks hurt but keeps walking pretending he never heard anything but he sees other groups of people saying the same thing and begins thinking that they aren't making fun of him behind is back. He goes to the bathroom and washes his hands and splashes water on his face, as he walks out all the people he saw are right outside saying the same things.

 >He begins to run and in the middle of running he wakes up to the sound of the alarm.He bolts out of bed and grabs a comb, only combing half his hair before he runs over to his desk and begins his homework. Through a series of jump cuts he is doing jumping jacks, writing, slouching in his chair, and the whole time the clock is ticking.

 >The clock is changing time rapidly, and the boy drops is pencil which is down to a stub with no eraser left, the boys hand is red.

 >Happy and smiling they go back to bed, but wakes up shocked when they remember the SAT sign up. They smile when they think of how easy it would be.

 >As they reach the computer and is about to finish signing up they see that they need a credit card for the online registration. Frantically he runs around the house looking for his mom or dad, he can't find either.

 >He begins rushing around the neighborhood looking for someone who would let them use their credit card, as the clock ticks closer to the cut off time. He thinks of who he could ask and relies on a woman, and thinks about the fastest route, he sighs when he realizes how far it is.

 >He pauses and looks up taking off without wearing shoes. He successfully reaches the woman is given a ride back to his house. He bolts through the door and pulls off his socks which have been worn down. He looks at the card realizing that it is a library card. He looks at the computer seeing a late registration day and falls off his chair and just lays there.

Run Lola Run Presentation-Critique

For my portion of the Run Lola Run presentations, I analyzed the Game Theory and how it related to Tykwer and the film. My interpretation was related to the film and helped people better understand the film. I interpreted the way the film is staged with three endings and how each one ends. I used other resources to understand the game theory, and compared it to the film. I mostly interpreted the use of the Game Theory as Tykwer experimenting in his films. I did a good job of using visuals that directly related to what i was saying. It definitely helped people understand what I was talking about. I also introduced my topic and gave a quick overview of where it is most important in the film. In particular the two charts i created between the films showed what i was saying better than I could explain it. It helped to have the material memorized before i presented since it made presenting and being clear easier. For the most part my presentation was well focused and summed up nicely. More examples of how the game theory related to Tykwer would have been helpful. Something about his personal life would have made the presentation have a good connection between the film itself and the director. Overall my presentation was very well made and presented.

Run Lola Run Analysis

Plot/Theme/Character	Camera Work/Visuals	Production Design	Sound	Editing and Effects
Lola is shown to be a very powerful character with almost supernatural power at times. The best example is when she manages to stabilize the guard when he is dying in the ambulance. There is also a switch in gender roles, as Lola comes to Manni’s rescue, taking charge throughout the film. Lola’s screaming also makes her seem powerful; she uses it to make Manni stop talking, and screams when she is the casino trying to guess where the ball will land.	There is a lot of camera work that focuses on clocks. Obviously an important part of the film is the 20 minute time limit that the characters have. The camera focuses on the clock to remind the viewer of time. In the first ending where Manni is about to rob the bank, the screen is split between him, Lola and a clock. When Lola just barely misses Manni, it shows how close she is to him, but how far she is from stopping him.	The film was based mostly around what Tykwer wanted to get across. Tykwer puts emphasis on side characters. This can be used to break up the scenes where Lola is just running. Tykwer has stated that he dislikes the way side characters are used and given no real meaning. For example, the woman with her baby has multiple endings between losing her baby and winning the lottery.	Sound is used to help the viewer get an idea of what is happening in the film. When Lola holds the security guard’s hand, we hear the heart rate monitor slowing down. This lets the viewer see that the guard is probably going to live. Without the sound, this scene would not really get this point across, the viewer is sure the guard will live now.	During dramatic scenes there are a lot of jump cuts and camera movement. When Lola was thinking about who she could go to for money, we see the characters flashing, and when she decides on her father, it stops. During the same scene, the camera is spinning around her, this helps build up tension before she even runs out of the room. It helps the viewer know what is happening without unnecessary dialogue.
The plot of the film is designed to the personal wants of Tykwer. He creates the buildup that most films do through a full plot arc, but instead going back in time, and having Lola act differently across the endings. He makes the characters grow and makes the audience feel for the characters in a new way.	During the bedroom scene, there is a romantic feeling as there is a red filter. It automatically sets the mood for what the characters are saying. Besides showing love, it makes the shot much more interesting to look at especially since the camera doesn’t move.	Tykwer had a central theme of love as the driving force between Manni and Lola. The only time where this is shown in detail in the bedroom scene. The red tint not only creates a feeling of romance, but it also hides Lola’s red hair. In the bed room, the two are equal. This helps show the relationship between the two.	In the first ending, the ambulance helps the viewer see just how close Lola is getting to Manni. We first hear the ambulance from Lola’s perspective, later it drives behind Manni showing that Lola is not that far away. This also helps deal with the lack of knowing where Lola is, and how far she had to run.	One effect that sticks out in the film is when Manni drops the gun when Lola dies. The sound the gun makes is off, and for a reason. It drags attention to the sound since it is wrong, it also shows how Manni has lost any will to fight or run after he sees Lola.
There are several themes in Run Lola Run, most important being love and fate. Love is what motivates Lola to find 100,000 marks in only 20 minutes. Their love is almost strong enough to get them through anything. Tykwer has said that love can move mountains and does, but he brings his film more down to earth by having Manni and Lola each die. This ties into the idea of having a set fate, and bending fate. Lola almost seems strong enough to change things that are set. Lola’s most powerful and rebellious moments occur in the final ending.	Tykwer also chose to use totally different cameras depending on what he was shooting. Scenes with Manni and Lola were shot in film. The shot looks clear, and helps the viewer’s focus on what is happening, not the quality of the shot. Other shots, in particular the one with Lola’s father and his affair looks grainy. This may represent Tykwer’s idea of what is happening that Manni and Lola are real or positive while everything is fake or wrong.	Tykwer put a lot of emphasis on time, whether it is in slow motion, fast motion, or simply being an obstacle for the characters. First off, it helps the audience see how little time Lola has, and how close she is to success. The best example is when she barely manages to reach Manni before he robs the store. Just a few more seconds and the robbery which ended in Lola’s death could have been avoided.	The music is also an important choice in this film. Most of the time it is techno/ dance music. This allows the films flow to continue. It seems like the kind of music used was best suited for the film, it was made specifically for this film. Tykwer worked very closely with two composers who he trusted when creating the music for his film. It establishes rhyme, and a dialectical relation which relates time in the film.	One of the best transitions of the film is between the first and second plots. Lola throws the bag of money in the air, and as it falls, there are cuts to the phone falling from the beginning. This provided a smooth transition straight into the action of Lola running. It also helps transition locations without confusing teh audience.

Freshmen Broadcast Critique

Pre-production: We came up with the idea of interviewing freshmen because it was the beginning of the year and interviewing the new freshmen would make a good segment. We didn't do any research for our segment, we knew that we needed medium shots and close ups. The problem was that we didn't think the film through, and the segment didn't totally fall apart, but it didn't come out to great. We planned on just interviewing freshmen, and getting b-roll of the campus in general. We didn't think of interviewing teachers that taught freshmen classes. Finding people to interview wasn't difficult because we went after siblings of people we knew. Unfortunately technical issues ruined some planning. We also needed to picture what would be said as b-roll was made.

Production: Quality: For the most part, we went after shots that were straight and static, framing both the interviewer and person being interviewed. Since we had a limited time to film, we just went with the location around us. Our b-roll was fine as basic b-roll, but it didn’t really shine or directly relate to what was being said during the interviews. As far as framing for the whole piece, it was mostly medium shots, with few exceptions. The shots really are uninteresting; it would make more sense with a more exiting interview. There was very little camera movement in the interviews, but the b-roll was shaky. Lighting wasn’t a real focus; we just wanted to avoid silhouetting and extreme brightness. Our audio was a problem at first, because it did not come out at all, but when we re-filmed our interviews the audio came out well and there weren’t any distracting noises.

Script: We didn’t include any voice overs, or music in the piece, so there is no real introduction or closure, just interviews. We didn't use the script as a tool to help us, we just went after opportunities to get shots and interviews.The script needed a lot of work before it could be of any use.

Editing: There aren’t any technical issues in the segment, as far as sound being too loud or any jump cuts. The only effect we used in the segment was a close up of an interviewee as they answered a question about Freshmen Friday to give it some horror aspect and a little comedy.  Another notable edit was zooming quickly in and out of a trash can as the interviewee talked about Freshmen Friday. During the interviews we added some writing that went with what was being said, making the more exciting to watch. B-roll was put in last minute and really didn’t add to the piece.

Overall: My favorite part about the piece is adding writing that went with what the interviewee was saying, it felt better to watch it rather than just the interviews in a regular shot. It had the same feel as b-roll. I would add interviews with teachers, or another staff member that would be important to the freshmen, the only other things I would add are necessary like music and voice overs. The most important thing I can take away from this project in picturing as you plan your piece. It may be difficult at first, but it is better to think when you are still in pre-production before having to improvise near the deadline.

Old Lady Character in Time

It's a nice sunny morning in London and it is time for Mrs. Swanson to get up. She realizes that she stayed up to late watching Saturday Night Live the day before and is going to be late to chat with her friend at the bus stop. She hurries to get dressed and thinks about all the days that she had made it to the bust stop at exactly 9:52am. She looks at the clock as it turns to 9:48. She thinks about the fastest way to get to the bus stop, remembering parts of childhood exploring the city, and as quickly as she thinks of it, she is out of the door. She runs down the stairs and realizes she has forgotten to take her pills which her doctor told her she had to take or she wouldn't be able to move her legs very well. She stands there for a second and sees Big Ben ticking closer to 9:52. She sighs and begins to jog, where to the bus stop where her friend is waiting and looks at her watch as it strikes 9:52. She sighs and looks at the ground only to look to her left where her friend is there smiling at her.