
Originally Posted by
TimStannard
The problem with the lighting wasn't just the graininess, but the contrast between one shot and the next. Whilst I'm sure it's useful and much easier to get good results with proper lighting, I'm sure you could have found odd lamps around the house which would just hav improved the general level. Also there seemed to ebe a lot of autoexposure going on. Not good.
I'm with the other Matt on the audio - it started very abruptly, though I take your point about wnating to make a connection with the lights switch. Normally you woudln't fade in music so much as start withquiet, suspenseful passage (which may, admiteedly rise out of nothing or "fade in") so that when you switch it up a gear - start to bring in percussive sounds (heartbeats never fail) as the light switch is turned off - it is a natural progression rather than a jarring sound which serves to remind us we are watching a video rather than part of the story. You want to avoid anything which takes the viewer out of the story.
Personally I quite liked the vampire(?) being there one second and not there the next - we never knew where he was going to appear next, but this is harder to carry off than the more standard approach of cutting between vampitre and victim. Truth be told, it didn't quite work here, but all credit for trying.
I enjoyed the opening, scene setting shot. That was well constructe. Our focus is unquestionalble on the radio. Having and everyday activity out of focus in the background sets the scene that this is am ordinary, everyday scene, but with the focus on the radio, there is no doubt that our attention should be on what is being broadcast. Yes, it could have been lit a bit better (just a bit of light on the other side of the radio to separate it even more from the background) but I thought this was a pretty good example of how a shot can be very simple to set up, yet still very effective. Static camera, little required in the way of acting, sound added in post (I'm guessing the tea making sound was live, but it didn't have to be) - really easy to shoot and edit. But very effective.
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