Analysis of the Exchange

1. My responsibilities for the making of the exchange was that I played the character Spencer Valentine who is destroyed by the femme fatale. I also did the editing of the film. This involved trying to keep the transition between the shots continuous.
2. I felt my contribution was very good though I also believe the whole team contributed very well. We all helped out with each others roles giving our own opinions between the shot types and shots taken, also when it came to editing everyone’s opinion was taken note and many times were used. I felt my editing between the exchange of the letter was good though I feel that next time I do begin to edit I think I may try to plan it before/during the shooting so that I have a rough idea on what the film will look like in the end.
3. New skills I have learnt during this production would be that the whole concept of editing has improved in the sense that I can now start putting ideas into play before many shots have been taken. Also I have a better understanding of the software that we use to edit with on the apple mac’s. it doesn’t feel as confusing as it did to begin with. Before starting the programme my skills within editing were none so I am quite happy with the improvements I have made as an editor.
4. The overall technical quality of the finished project I felt was good. The more we started the filming the more ideas came flooding through that were improving on idea’s that had already been made such as a shot from above of the exchange. This wasn’t used in the final piece though as we thought that it didn’t make the scene flow continually. The non-digetic sound used I felt added atmosphere to the scenes being watched whilst the editing kept the action taking place continuous. If the project was allowed to be completed again then there wouldn’t be much I would like to change. Maybe introduce a few more shots to add more to the story. Also try to film without so much disruption as this proved to be difficult amongst other students needing to get to class. This caused many of our shots to be re-done because some of them became useless with someone walking into our shots. Maybe a change of location could be taken into account next time also.
5. The editing felt effective and I believe looks effective as it keeps the flow of action continuous. Our cinematography incorporated noir like characteristics of shots such as a Dutch tilt to show the audience that our male protagonist had been killed. Jump cuts were used to cancel the scene to bring up titles and a fade out to close the scene completely. An upwards tilt is also used upon the femme fatale. This was also used to try to express to the audience how superior she is compared to our male character featured in the scene. The location used, we felt would be great as it’s an open space which was very different to the closed spaces used within the original film noirs though other aspects of film noirs were including within the exchange therefore making it a more modern re-make, a contemporary noir I believe is what this is called. The lighting was from the ceiling lights as well as natural light. The narrative wasn’t hard to understand as it clearly indicated the male character perishing at the hands of our femme fatale whilst leaving an enigma on how did he die and is he dead at all? The intertextuality and representation I believed was shown within the scene. Characteristics of film noir were intertwined with the story bringing old characteristics of noir and placing them into a new environment of modern locations and clothing which will be seen in our later productions.
6. This areas weren’t of my purpose but I think that the idea’s I did introduce along with the others were used and used well. Such as different ideas for new shots and changing the angle of the camera to include more of a background ect………………..
7. The feedback received for the exchange was actually pretty good. The initial impressions were good. The initial impressions by the audience were good. The non-digetic music used was seen as a great piece and helped raise suspense within the film. Our narrative was also praised and was seen that it left great enigma’s. why was josh killed, who is the femme fatale and what role does she play?
The editing was also seen as good and that it kept the film in continuous flow.
Our weak areas were that one vital shot had been missed. During the film a letter is passed to Joshua and once opened, the card reads BANG to represent death for our protagonist. The shot missed was the expression on Joshua’s face when he opens it. This could have encapsulated the surprise/worried expression which could clearly indicate to the viewer that the letter would only bring something bad.
The shots used were Dutch tilts to give a distorted look after the death of Joshua. Close ups to show the characters. Long shots and other shots were used but it was felt that one of the more important ones were missed which was the expression of Joshua.
The use of mise-en-scene were praised. The use of costumes were seen as a great similarity to the film noir genre’s.
The suitability of stylistics(visuals and audio) to film noir thriller genre was seen as a positive replication of the film noir’s and has film noir stylistics.
The narrative was seen as easy to understand and that it leaves a great little enigma which is how has josh died and why?
Suitability of creating a representation of typical noir characteristics was answered as yes by everyone.
Production values and technical ability was answered as yes by everyone.
Does the work meet the brief? Everyone exclaimed that it did.
I feel that the piece of work we produced met our target audience who are those who love the noir genre and enjoy its stylistics/characteristics presented in a modern way.
8. What went wrong, I felt, was getting used to how a film can look a lot different on camera then it can do within your mind. Some scenes couldn’t work as well as we had all hoped and also filming in a busy college didn’t help neither as this proved difficult in a few shots in which some students walked into the direction of our shots. Also some vital shots were missed like expressions as a story can be told within the expression/eyes of an actor. Though what I felt went right is what I also said didn’t worked…the location. Even though there were difficulties the corridor used added great lighting and a great meeting place as it allowed the exchange to go completely unnoticed to the public eye which is what we were hoping. The clothing chosen by our actors really emphasised the feel of noir. Our femme fatale really looked like a femme fatale and our male protagonist who was taking the fall looked like a private eye. All that was needed was a trilby hat and a modern day Humphrey Bogart would have been within our film.
9. I feel that the noir stylistics are there. Our exchange saw the defeat of the male by our femme fatale which is a usual occurrence within film noir. The rest of our project is a story of pessimism and betrayal which in the end will see that no good comes from game playing with a femme fatale. I feel that film noirs shown such as the Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity, within our media classes were a helpful aid to have had. This allowed the world of noir to be viewed and notes to be taken which in the end will help our project stand out as a contemporary noir as well as our own individual research.

After seeing the finished product of our Exchange I felt that overall, the short film was good. Not excellent but good. There is areas that needed to be improved such as an increase in variations of shots I.e. more of them. As well as shots missed that were vital such as expressions between characters as these can truly show what is about to happen. Our vital shot missed was the shot of Joshua’s face after opening the letter.
If I were to approach the project again what I would do differently is that is that I’d plan a lot more. I’d try to visualise how the shots would look in the editing room and all the different approaches I could take in making the chain of events look continuous, especially with the added shots that would be included.