Kidulthood - British drama which centres around a day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up on an impoverished west London estate.

We are going to base our film on the aspect carried out in this film as it is based on teenagers growing up in an urban environment.

We will film around the Manchester area, focusing on groups of teenage boys.

We are going to develop ideas of the film into our project.

Analysis Of Film

The Usual Suspect
Aspects of the film suggest it is a thriller.

The opening scene starts off on the deck of a ship. The scene is low lit, the surrounding dark giving it an unpredictable and mysterious feel, leaving the audience in suspense of the action. As it is set on a ship it portrays the sense of no escape.

Eerie music is added to give the sense of suspense.

Introduced is a faceless figure, continuously obscured, identified as Keyser, who speaks with an injured man, called Keaton. Lay on the floor Keaton is seen as the inferior character as he is below Keyser when he speaks. The mode of address between them is tense, giving a sense that any second each of them could die. Keyser is stereotypically dressed in 1950’s gangster clothing. He wears a long dark black coat, and smokes cigarettes connoting a typical 50’s dark gangster film. Mid shots are continuously used to portray Keyser as a dark figure in the scene. This is further emphasized as he is seen as a shadow and silhouette. A fire is started by Keaton on the floor, spreading along the ship. This foreshadows that someone is going to be put in danger. Keyser puts out the fire. Mid shots of Keyser walking down to Keaton are shown. Once again his face is not shown. A gun is held out in his hand showing that he is the antagonist. Shots are fired.

The two talks briefly then Keyser appears to shoot Keaton before setting the ship ablaze.

Foundation Portfolio evaluation

Preliminary Task

Name: Kyle, Mike, Jahmel


What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

During the preliminary task, we learnt a lot about the cameras and editing software.
While filming we learnt how to use the camera itself. We used the tripod to steady our shots while filming. The camera had the function of zoom. This further increased the aspect of our shots. This meant we could focus of the character to show their emotion, which added realism. After a few practice shots, we found the cameras simple to use.
The editing software we used was Final Cut Pro. We found this software tricky to use at first. This software allowed us to cut our filming, placing each shot on the timeline in sync with each other. It allowed us to make each shot run smoothly with each other. We added credits to the prelim. This made it look more like an opening scene to a film.

In the filming and editing of your project, what worked well and what could have been improved?

In the filming of our prelim we found that we grasped well the aspects of filming different shots. We filmed different types of shots including match and over the shoulder. When it came to cutting and editing and piecing together shots, we found that each shot worked in sync smoothly. We could improve the actual shots themselves. This meaning the focus on the character and surrounding. Due to it being a practice, next time we could improve our filming and acting, including filters etc.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you have used a shot/ reverse shot combination in your film

In our prelim, we found the aspect of shot reverse shot difficult. We filmed shots of the conversation between Jahmel and Mike, but the idea of shot reverse shot was difficult to be seen. This can be improved in the final task as we learnt how to do this.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you achieved match cuts during the editing process

We used a match cut as Jahmel was opening the door before the start of the conversation with Mike. We had a shot of him outside the door pushing the handle down then we matched it from inside the room. While editing we found this worked well and it ran smoothly.

How did you make sure that you didn’t break the 180 degree rule? Or if you broke it, what have you learnt from this?

While filming we made sure we filmed from the same side each time. This made sure that we did not break the rule.

Prelim task - The Drop Off