Working process and evaluation of "one minute film" project

"One Minute Film" Project : Interrogation

Since this is was our first project, I personally found it quite challenging to piece together a short film in one minute. This is because of the new apparatus we used such as the tripod, functions on the camera or even the editing program (adobe premiere) but soon we familiarised ourselves with it and adopted many filming techniques along the process.

wide shot-similar to batman/joker's interrogation scene

Creative process

Idea: we decided to work under the title of  “interrogation” which to me, I thought was difficult, as we had to create a script from scratch. However many ideas were suggested, mostly inspired or similar to movies I watched that included interrogation scenes eg CSI. Most of our ideas were based on stereotypical interrogation scenes where there are two people sitting in a room, one usually in authority and the other less superior acting a the person being interrogated which this case is the criminal. Initially we wanted it to have a twist to the ending where we find out the criminal did not actually commit the crime but due time limit of the film we thought it would not be effective. However we decided to build up the tension throughout each scene but make the ending more mysterious by not fully revealing what crime/victim was involved – leaving it to the imagination of the viewers to decide. Our ideas were added throughout filming and editing and so did not turn out the exact way we originally thought.

Filming: I found this very interesting as we had to decide on the types of shots that will be used that are created through the different angles and camera work. Before we started filming we planned out the types of shots used for each scenes so that it will be easier for us to shoot, these includes (long shots, close up, panning etc). We wanted to use a variety of shots to satisfy all the microelements and so builds up the tension towards the climax. I believe that we had quite a strong teamwork as everyone contributed fully and all ideas/suggestions were taken into account. Tanya and I did most of the acting whereas Smart filmed the shots and edited the movie and we delegated the tasks reasonably well.

Technical process

These two shots are obeying the 180 degree rule

Camera: in the beginning we found setting up the camera to the right position with the tripod quite difficult as there are many adjustments such as the functions on the camera (zooming/focus) and also the angle in which the camera is set up in order to create different shots (bird eyes view shot would require the camera to be filming from directly above the actions). Half of the film is the dialogue between the interrogator and the suspect which is filmed through the basic technique that we see in a normal conversation scene – obeying the 180 degree rule. This is when the camera is placed behind one actor where the body/head of that actor is still shown in the shot (usually a third or less of the frame) but the camera focuses on the other actor who is speaking. This is to show that the dialogue is still between these two where the eye contact is kept between the actors so the camera is from the audience points of view. We filmed the whole dialogue twice, one where the camera is placed behind the interrogator and another from the suspect’s side. We also filmed many close ups of actions which in this case only the actions being done are shown, not the face of the person doing it to create suspense and tension. Again this is shot from many point of view so that we can play around with it during editing.

Editing:  Editing is very significant in this film as it is the main tool in building up suspense and tension. This is done through adding sound effects, adjusting the colours/tone of the scene or putting together different shots. One scene in particular which showed how editing is effective is the match on action of the gun being slid across the table. This scene is put together using two shots (one overhead looking down on the gun and the other from a wider angle showing the full action).  Another way in which editing is used in the film is through changing some of the scenes to black and white for the actions of the criminal. This is to suggest that these actions happened in the past or in other words is a flashback of the event and is not occurring simultaneously to the interrogation scene. We decided to do short inserts of these scene between the interrogation to build a sense mystery and also allows the audience make sense of what kind of crime was committed as it was not mentioned in the dialogue. Lastly the sound effects added such as the constant sound of clock ticking and heartbeat also added an element of suspense where it was louder closer to the climax of the film

Audio: We did not use any external audio equipment therefore all of the audio was recorded through the camera while filming. This caused some problems as it also absorbed some background noises and so disrupted the dialogue. We did not realize this until the footage was put into the editing program however we tried to minimize and stabilize the noises as much as possible and due to time limit we could not re film those parts that were affected.

Final product

What we did well: One of the things that I think we did particularly well on was filming and including the different types of shots (eg wide shot, close up or panning) as it shows a variety which makes the film more interesting. Another thing that links in with this is the editing and how we were able to put together the shots to complete a scene, which gives a sense of continuity and. I also think how we delegated the tasks and split up the work was done quite efficiently which made it easier for all of us to contribute to the final piece and so this represents our strong teamwork and communication skills. Lastly I believe that we included each of the micro-elements for example (gunshot sound effects, the gun itself creating a complete mis-en-scene, different camera angle and the editing), sufficiently in each scene and so over all executed this task reasonably well.

What we can improve on and what can be done differently: One of the main things that we can improve is the sound as it seems to be the major problem in the film where some dialogue cannot be heard and so might “kill” the tension being built up. In the future using an eternal audio equipment to record the dialogue or inserting a voice over so that we can eliminate the background noises can fix this. Another thing is the lighting as it is not the same throughout the whole film and so prevents it from running smoothly. This is because we filmed it on different days therefore can be simply fixed by finishing filming the same scene all on the same day to ensure same lighting.