Reflective Analysis

Hi guys
sorry for the delay in this. the following should help in the writing of the reflective analysis:

• consider how the micro elements focussed on have been applied to the construction of the sequence
• show a clear awareness of the audience and their reaction to your idea
• state who the target audience is, and discuss their reaction to the piece.

below is an example, taken from the AS Film Studies book, available in the library.

Example of reflective Analysis: Storyboard The Crossing

I designed my storyboard for an audience of 18-25 year olds as they are in the appropriate age group for thrillers and the content of the film is likely to mean that it will secure an 18 certificate from the BBFC. I titled it The Crossing as this has several meanings, including referencing the border crossing, double-crossing and the rite-of-passage crossing for the central character. I based this character on an amalgamation of several of my friends in an attempt to better reach my target audience. The key micro focus of my storyboarding activity revolved around cinematography and mise-en-scène, and though the latter was hard to achieve, what I could not place literally in the pictures I was able to describe in the accompanying shot descriptions.

I was endeavouring to use the conventions of 1960s British spy thrillers (Ipcress File, Billion Dollar Brain) and while using colour I still tried to achieve a high-contrast look with a strong use of shadow. Light and shade is important in conveying some meanings at a basic level and, when coupled with both diegetic sound and a non-diegetic music track, this meaning can be enhanced.

In terms of composition I tried to make the sequences interesting and varied while maintaining consistent thematic shooting. Colonel Inchalyka, for example, is largely shot either from on or slightly above the eyeline to bring the audience on to his level. Similarly I used several over-the-shoulder shots to ensure the audience was brought literally on to his side.

I was quite surprised that when I showed the storyboard to representatives of my target audience the majority of people thought that Colonel Inchalyka was the bad guy – and yet I had worked so hard to signpost his honesty and integrity. Maybe I was too subtle, or maybe my audiences have a genre-based response to such characters which means that they are automatically suspicious of them. Perhaps I should have made Colonel Inchalyka a woman instead? I suspect that the music theme I applied to him may have impacted on their view of him (in retrospect bad guys often have a theme).

To help me storyboard the sequence, I looked at several books, and found the Film Education booklet on storyboarding very useful in terms of working through the idea and structuring the shots. Making the characters seem real without letting them speak too much was difficult and I kept having to invent ways of showing, not telling. The gunfight sequence was fun to do and I decided to use the techniques I have seen in other films such as John Woo and Sam Peckinpah, with lots of extreme close-ups crashing with long shots to create a sense of confusion and chaos in the audience.

I also looked at Steve Katz’s Film Directing Shot by Shot for some ideas on how composition works. I began to get interested in shot-to-shot structures and as a result designed several match shots. The oldest in my target audience felt that the match shots worked well and reminded hi of the work of Orson Welles. I hadn’t planned this, but in retrospect I can see a similarity with some shots from Citizen Kane. I am rather pleased with this, especially as it highlights the fact that audiences will read into images, irrespective of what the intended meaning is.

I worked through three drafts of the storyboard, showing each to my teacher (who is outside my target age group) and to a friend who is in my target audience. My teacher was able to offer some good advice, but my friend seemed to think each version was OK, and I didn’t find much use in his comments. Overall I am very happy with the finished piece and my use of micro aspects, and I fell I have learned a lot about the nature of making meaning and the structure of shot-to-shot relationships. I have also learned that I can apply learning from academic areas of the course to the practical areas, and this has increased my enjoyment of both.

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