Evaluation of Peer Reviews

 Hello blog, this post is one where my group and I collaborate to look at the reviews on our video and basically say what we feel about these reviews and how we used them to improve our opener.

Peer Review #1 (https://alessajandro.blogspot.com/):

 

1. Technical elements I enjoyed were the chiaroscuro lighting, shadows, and low-key lighting used throughout the opener. They all contributed to building tension and uneasiness in the clip.

 

2. Technical elements I did not enjoy were the lack of brightness and the lack of sound effects in specific parts of the opener. For example, during the scene with the dark hallway it is harder to interpret what is occurring and could leave the audience a bit confused.

 

3. This did look like a movie opener and makes the audience want to learn more considering it is left on a cliffhanger.

 

4.  What left me confused was the volume of the dialogue throughout the opener as it would sometimes be too loud or too quiet. The dark hallway scene also left me confused as it was difficult to see what was happening.

 

5. To make this movie opener better I would recommend fixing the lighting in the dark hallway scene and adjusting the volume of the dialogue throughout for a more cohesive feeling.

 

This viewer liked the lighting used and contrast it made with shadows. They did not however like the minimal sound effects, dialogue volume, and dark hallway scene. I definitely agree with the dark hallway scene needing more lighting to differentiate between the characters. This would also make it easier to understand what the characters are doing. As far as the volume, I have tried to fix the volume issues, but have struggled because isolating the dialogue through editing is much harder than I imagined. Based on these comments, I plan to re-shoot the hallway scene with more lighting, and include more sound effects in the video.

 

Peer Review #2 (https://janellep27.blogspot.com/):

 

I really liked the use of chiaroscuro lighting toward the end of the film, where the key lighting is the light from the laptop. The use of shadow in this scene to create a sense that the teenagers are being stalked/haunted is a nice way to build tension. The tracking shots used to follow the teens through the school's dark hallways also help further the plot and the low-key lighting used further builds tension as the school's lore is revealed through the dialogue.

 

I would say that, while the dark hallway scenes do build tension, I think they should maybe be a little bit brighter because at times, it's hard to see what's happening. Also, at the beginning, the dialogue is kind of hard to hear because of the background noise. I also think some of the dialogue may be a bit unnecessary, as the audience can clearly tell by the dark hallways and haunting music in the background that something scary may be lurking in the shadows. Thus, the lore given in the hallway as to how the halls may be haunted may have been kind of unnecessary, and it may have been better if the audience just hears the haunting background music or more diegetic sounds of the doors creaking and footsteps and stuff.

 

This sequence also definitely felt like an opening sequence to a movie, as the technical elements create a sense of tension as the audience wonders what is going to happen to the teenagers. It did make me want to know what happens next, since it ends on a cliffhanger with all the teens being left in the dark classroom, presumably with the aforementioned ghost. The settings and lighting especially added to the sequence, and made it feel real to me, which only added to my wanting for closure.

 

The beginning of the film did confuse me a bit since I couldn't hear the dialogue that well, so I couldn't understand what they were breaking into until I saw it a second time. Also, the hallway scene was, as previously mentioned, too dark for me to really tell what was going on. It was also kind of hard to hear a lot of the dialogue in this part of the sequence, too.

 

To improve the sequence further, I would say taking out some of the dialogue in the middle of the film opener, when the group is in the hallway, and replacing it with more diegetic sounds to add to the ominous feeling of the dark hall or simply turning up the mysterious music in this scene could make the film feel smoother and less word-heavy. After all, again, the darkness and ominous aura that the technical elements create is more than enough I think to create a sense that something is stalking the teens or something bad is about to happen. I also think that it might be better for the hallway scene to be just a bit brighter so the audience can see what's happening (especially because it's kind of hard to tell what shot types/ movement elements the film uses in this scene). I also think that, in the first part of the sequence, the background noise should be kept to a minimum so you can hear the dialogue the characters are saying, as it is important to the development of the plot (i.e. with video editing software, lower the volume of the existing background sound and re-film the dialogue portions to be louder, so you can hear them over the background noise, if that makes sense).

 

In this review, the student discusses the removal of dialogue from our hallway scene to help build an ominous atmosphere as well as add more lighting. They also suggest re-filming the first scene to help make the dialogue more clear and comprehensible. I completely agree with these comments as I also felt that the limited lighted might be an issue for viewers. To fix the video, I plan to re-shoot the hallway scene with more lighting elements to help maintain the creepy atmosphere while also making it easier to see the characters. I also plan to limit the dialogue in this scene as I also felt that it was unnecessary. For the scene where the dialogue was hard to make out, I plan to use some vocal isolation techniques while editing, however, I am unsure how well that will work.

 

 Peer Reviews #3 (https://reinierluna04.blogspot.com/):

 

I really enjoyed the sound choices, especially the mission-type song, which fit perfectly as they were on a mission to break into the school and change Maya's grade. I also liked how they included a title sequence, which was a nice touch since most groups didn't get to do that. The technical element I didn't like was the lighting choice. During the action sequence, it was hard to see what was happening, and I had to rely on the characters' voices to understand the scene. It definitely looks like a movie opener, especially with the ending when the ghost turns off the light. The beginning was a bit confusing because it was difficult to hear what they were saying with the loud class in the background, but I understood everything else. My suggestion would be to redo the dark lighting shots with better lighting, so the audience can fully capture the moment of the scene.

 

This reviewer enjoyed the music choices we made and the title sequence. However, they were left confused by the the background noise in the opening clip and the dark shots in the hallway. Using these critiques, I plan to re-shoot the hallway scene. I too felt that the lighting needed to be better so the characters could be seen. I also plan to use vocal isolation to help remove the background sounds in the first scene to ensure that the character dialogue can be properly heard.

 

Peer Reviews #4 (https://brooklynne4.blogspot.com/)

 

I really liked the wide shot at the beginning of the film. Additionally, the tracking shots following the characters was my favorite as it made the characters’ conversation more dynamic. The mid-shot of the creepy figure also helped add a sense of mystery to the film. There was nothing I disliked specifically. This film was actually my favorite out of all of the films I watched because it felt like a real movie opener. This film does a great job at building a mysterious atmosphere. It leaves room for further story building and is ambiguous enough for the viewer to want to know more. The film does this by ending on the disappearance of the main characters. I was not left confused by anything in this film because of how clear the creators were able to make the story line. I would suggest adding more camera angles. This would make the film more technically interesting and add more depth to the current story. I would also suggest maybe including some type of music or sound to make it more engaging.

 

This reviewer liked the wide shot that we included in the beginning of the film along with the various tracking shots of the characters walking. They suggested that we add more camera angles to add more dimension and build upon the story more. Additionally, they mentioned adding music. I also agree that there should be more camera angles in the film to diversify the technical elements. I also plan to add more background music and sounds to help create a more intense atmosphere and make the film more interesting.

 

Peer Reviews #5 (https://johansenrey.blogspot.com):

 

My favorite thing about this opening sequence is the lighting while they sneak into the classroom. The red from the emergency exit sign created a suspenseful feeling. The Dutch angles made it feel like someone or something was watching them. The dark lighting was great as well, making the red signs pop out more and create a sort of dangerous atmosphere. This was also during the time they started talking about there being a ghost in the school, setting up the premise of the film. I wasn’t the biggest fan on the master shot towards the end though. I will say that the zoom-in they used made it a bit better and the ending itself was very good at making me wonder “well what happened?!” The diegetic sounds at the end really added to the overall sense of looming danger that was already present. I felt like the opening was understandable and wasn’t really confusing. I understood that the overall premise was kids sneaking into their school after hours to change a bad grade, but little did they know that some sort of entity was roaming around the school. It was easy to follow along and the sequence of events made sense. The only suggestion I have to make, is to maybe have more variety in technical elements at the beginning of the opening. Maybe like a low angle shot of the actor while the door is getting local picked at the beginning of the film. There could have also been like a close up shot at 1:27, since the light of the laptop is already perfectly lighting his face and bring the audience's attention to it. So, a closeup shot could show his expression of worry and shock even more.

 

This student reviewer appreciated the use of red lighting to indicate a sense of danger and excitement. They also liked the dutch angles used, the diegetic sounds used and the sequence of events. They did suggest, however, that we add more technical elements. I like this suggestion and plan to re-shoot certain scenes in the film where there could be more camera angles. This would help create a more dynamic sequence and draw audiences in more.