Groups final thoughts on the final edit

As a group, we all sat down and decided to discus the final edit of our film. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the edit and what we would improve if we got the chance to make another in the future. I feel as if throughout the entirety of the opening the narrative is clear and our skills combined have been shown quite well.

At the beginning of the film, while planning and discussing, we found it quite difficult as a group to merge ideas together and make a strong narrative. However, after looking through some more things and discussing even further we then came up with a solid narrative. 

After the making of our first draft we were able to see and identify any shots that didn't work, enabling us to see what would need to re-film. From making the first draft we were able to see any continuity errors which would then allow us to go back and change them for the final edit. 

At the beginning of the edit we use a juxtaposition from the use of Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites. This is shown through the use of the collage going against the dark and death of when the camera pans across the body in the garage, showing the binary opposites of life vs death / life vs friendship. As a group, we thought the use of the binary opposites was a good way to entice the audience in, as it makes them question why the dead body is there after seeing the collage of photos with the person alive. 

One of my favourite parts of the final edit is the shot where you see the glasses on the floor of the garage and you are able to see the chair swinging in the background. The chair being seen swinging in the reflection in the glasses wasn't an intended shot as it was just meant to be a shot of the glasses. However I personally feel like it adds tension to the thriller. When I brought it up to the group in discussion they all agreed and also said it adds tension to the opening. 

As a group, we feel like the 360 degree shot is really effective within the opening as it ties in the feel of jealousy - Jasmine was the one who was jealous and now, since she is dead, its as if the jealousy has been passed onto Josh, this is shown through the zoom in on jasmines eye and the zoom out on Josh's eye. However we did notice that when the camera is zooming into jasmines eye, it is not central.This is due to the fact that we do not have the correct equipment which would allow us to steady the camera and centre it. 

Another thing we noticed with the 360 degree shot is that when we are doing the 360 shot it isn't steady, once again this is due to the lack of equipment. Where as if we had the money we could use a track to make it more steady. However, we feel as if the unsteadiness of the 360 degree shot adds into the narrative, showing the unstable relationship and the lack of control to keep the relationship steady.

The music is an something that we all agreed plays a very important part in the opening. This is down to our main song being ''jealousy' by Frankie miller. The song clearly denotes what the films narrative is to the audience. The song is brought in and out throughout the opening, reinforcing the narrative of jealousy. The way the song is brought in and out of the opening also allows the audience to see that this is a continuing theme throughout the film.

Overall, the final edit of the film successfully portrays the narrative of the film. This is done mainly within the photo collage which we took inspiration from the tv drama 'The missing'.