Technical Evaluation of Ultra Short Film

Appropriate Techniques 

Throughout my ultra short film i have used various techniques, including jump cuts and parole editing. Jump cuts is a technique in which the camera stays in one stationary position, but the action is cut forward in time.
This can be seen in my ultra short film at (1:00) here we see the camera in a low angle, long shot but the action of myself getting up and walking away is cut 3 times. This connotes the speed up of time in this scene and mainly tries to get the ending shot of the scene to start and finish quicker. This is because the shot needs to be there for continuity but as i have cut the shot it speeds it up and adds to the style of the film.
The jump cuts in this instance are not only used to speed the shot up, but its also used to continue the style that I wanted to create throughout the film. The jump cuts have allowed me to continue this jolting style that was scene at the start of the film.  

Appropriate Transitions

During my ultra short film, there was multiple transitions that ranged from cuts, to screen wipes. The screen wipe, is a transition where one shot is layered on top of another, the existing shot then diminishes from left to right as the second shot moves through the screen.
At (1:39) we see the screen wipe that i have used, whereby one couple are standing at the front door and come together to hug, as the camera is tracking from right to left, the next visual then comes into frame from left to right, whilst the camera movement continues into this second shot. The second shot is again a similar set up as the camera continues to track from right to left, with again a character standing at the door and waiting to go in.
This transition is something that can be used for various situations, whilst it does have potential to have a comical connotation, in this instance, it was used to reveal the narrative. Whilst the scene leaves the audience asking questions, the transition almost acts as the answer and the big reveal as to where the main character has gone. The screen wipe acts as a very smooth transition to move the narrative along in perhaps a more technical way.

Appropriate Conventions

During the ultra short film there was many conventions that was used including cutaways. Cutaways are shots that visually show one thing but the audio or dialogue is coming off screen. Whilst this shot acts as a filler shot it also allows the scene to move on quicker but also gives the audience a chance to look at one thing whilst hearing another.
At (1:59) we see the camera pan from right to left as the main character walks into shot to go sit down, but the dialogue is off screen saying, 'through here, yeah.' This shot allowed the continuity of the scene to be shown but in a swiftly manner, i was able to move the scene along and get to the real crux of the scene whilst still able to have the technique.
This transition really helped me to move the scene along, because I needed to stick to the time constraints but also needed to make sure i had the continuity of the scene. It also makes the scene smoother as we could transition from walking into the house to sitting at the table during the conversation.  

Effective Pacing

Effective pacing is through the short film we see two clear distinctions of pace to portray certain emotions in different situations. They allow the filmmaker to add intensity or take it away depending on what atmosphere they want to create.
At (0:17) we see at the beginning of the short film they are multiple fast paced cuts to create an anxious, flustered atmosphere from the drugs that the character has taken. However at (0:42) the pace considerably drops as we go through the flashback scene. By using longer shots and slowing down the pace, this creates a very different atmosphere, instead of feeling very frantic it is more subdued and sad which is the main aim of the scene.
By having two different editing paces, it firstly allows the audience to see a clear representation of how drugs effect the person directly, but secondly it manipulates the audiences emotional state through the short film. As a filmmaker editing paces is very effective way of controlling the audience and making them translate their feelings to the characters to provide empathy.

Convey Information Effectively

Conveying information effectively simply means the visual and audio matches to correctly relay information to the audience in a clear way which is needed, especially in a short film from a narrative perspective.
At (0:29) we see the main character sitting down but then we actually hear a notification sound from the phone. This would simply convey the information that the character has a text message which becomes a pivotal point in deciding where he will go. Again at (0:51) we hear the same sound indicating another text message, to which we see the first one was from the girlfriend which intrigues the audience to see who the second message is from.
The short film conveys information correctly through the use of audio and visual, a short film does not have the time to convey a complex narrative which can be revealed by small details. This in turn, means that the short film needs to be more obvious when conveying information so that the audience dont have to think about the narrative and instead really invest their time in the emotional side of the short film.

Use Sound to Create Impact

Using sound to create impact is whereby the the audio evokes a certain emotion within the audience, or tries to create a certain atmosphere during the scene. Sound may also be used to reveal information within the scene.
At the start of the short film (0:04) we hear a slow paced heart beat sound, this created a slow, eary atmosphere surrounding the scene. However at (0:15) the heart beat sound effect had considerably sped up, which has changed the atmosphere of the scene but also the emotions that the audience are feeling. Here we can see the use of the heart beat sound effect being used to create impact in terms of the atmosphere that it creates.
The use of sound through this scene has not only allowed the intensity of the scene to significantly increase, but it has also heightened the emotion for the audience. The anxiety levels of the audience are constantly rising because of the heart beat sound effect.

Synchronize Sound and Vision

Synchronising the sound and vision is simply cutting to a soundtrack, this is when we cut the visuals to the beat of the music.
My ultra short film had a number of places where i cut to the beat but at 1:12 we see the technique being used more clearly. Here we see the character walking and waiting for someone to come, during the edit though the scene cuts multiple times, on every beat. This in turn does continue this theme of the short film being more 'jolty' and jarring.
Cutting to the beat allows the audience to be more entertained, through some scenes which may not necessarily be exciting by themselves. Whilst some scenes are needed either for continuity etc, cutting to the beat allows the audience to be kept engaged when watching these scenes.

Mix Soundtracks

Mixing soundtracks is where soundtracks are overlapping and the levels are changed so that one can be heard more then another, eg music and dialogue.
At (1:30) we see the beginning of a conversation between two characters happening, however we hear that the end of one piece of music fading out and a new piece of music fading in. Except the music stays at a lower level which allows the audience to hear clearly what is being said as opposed to being droned out by the music.
Mixing soundtracks enables for a clear distinction between emotion and reality, the manipulation of the audiences emotions stemmed from the music that overlaid the visuals. However when a conversation happens that's when the audience are brought back to reality and grasp the narrative.

Overlap Sound

Overlapping sound is when more then one audio track is used laid over the visuals of the short film. Overlapping sound can vary from sound tracks to dialogue or just a simple wildcat used.
At  (0:46) we hear 3 soundtracks overlapping each other, the first being a wildcat soundtrack of the surrounding background noise, the second soundtrack used was the voice over between the 2 characters telling each other that they love on another, and the last sound track was the music that continues to play in the background.
By overlapping the soundtracks it allows the filmmaker to create a certain emotion surrounding the scene. It allowed me to both show a clear narrative but further extend the emotion of the scene by using the voice over, however the music in the background heightens the saddened emotion that the audience are feeling at that very point.

Offline Edit/Online Edit

Offline editing is the process of going through the script and seeing what was filmed, deleted or changed etc. Opposed to online editing which is using the editing software to physically manipulate the footage into a finished product.
The offline editing process was the first job to do in the post-production stage, it consisted of me going through our shooting script and checking through what i had filmed and what we had decided to change on the days of production. During the online editing though is where i used the software to piece together the final product, i was able to use a number of effects and technical skills to portray a more emotional piece.
The purpose of offline editing is to be more organised when online editing. It allows the editor to have structure and to know what was shot and what was changed, making it easier for them to construct the short film. In terms of online editing this is the final stage in production, and perhaps the most crucial, it is where the themes, and emotions of the film can really come out which is whats needed to keep the audience engaged and excited.

On Screen Text

On screen text is the graphics and typography that are used mainly at the beginning of the film and at the end. They are the opening credits and title of the film and the ending credits of the film.
At (0:01) we see the title of my film come on screen which is all the screen text that was needed for the short film. Then at (2:25) we see the credits that scroll up the page featuring cast and crew that worked on this project. My on screen text was very simple mainly because i didnt want to distract the audience away from the actual ultra short film.
On screen text helps the audience to understand the narrative of the film, however during an ultra short film where there is not much spare time, it does need to be portrayed in a more quicker manor so that the audience can focus solely on the film.

Image Editing

Image editing is where the raw footage is taken and changed in various ways to produce a sequence, thus creating the short film.
At (0:05) we see the first visual of the ultra short film, in which the main character is sitting down in a slumped position starring at the TV, which is off screen, as the camera tracks inwards. The image though has been edited, as it firstly was cut down at the beginning and at the end because it didn't need to be the full clip length. But also the image has been colour corrected meaning image slightly has this blue tinge to it allowing the white T-shirt to almost stand out more.
The effect of image editing, allows the visuals to look more aesthetically pleasing for the audience, it gives the visuals a chance to look more professional and higher quality rather then leaving the colours raw. Also by colour correcting it means that the image feels warmer, or more distant and coupled with the audio it again manipulates the audiences emotional response to the scene.

Audio Editing

Audio editing is the editing of the audio that is used throughout the short film, this can vary from effects added to the audio or where it is cut and lowered in its levels.
At (0:27) we hear the heart beat sound effect fade out, in time with when the visuals fade out too. This then puts a stop to that scene and the intense emotion that the audience was feeling, the music then fades in to the next scene. This allows the audience to start investing their time into the narrative and start feeling new emotions towards the character as we unveil their struggles.
Audio editing, allows the filmmaker to further manipulate the audiences emotions and further allows them to decide when the scene should come to an end point and move on. Audio editing also makes the visuals feel fuller, it creates more meaning as opposed to having sound from the footage or just silence which would not engage the audience as much.