Group meeting... PART 2!

Today in class I had the opportunity to meet up with a group to bounce my ideas off of and to ensure that my project was on the right track. If you guys remember, earlier down the road we had already had one of these group meetings and it was super helpful. This time the group consisted of different individuals from the last one, therefore I was able to get raw reactions to my ideas and a new and fresh perspective.

After explaining what my group and I had accomplished over the last few weeks the feedback I received seemed to be overall positive. Which is a great thing to hear because it means I am headed in the right direction. Or it means that they did not want to voice their real opinions but we are just assuming that they're being honest here.

Although I did not get many suggestions for changes, I did acquire some tips and techniques on ways to improve my opening. The first thing that most people said was to make sure to incorporate quick editing and cuts in order to better depict my character as frantic in the beginning scene. It was also suggested that I incorporate dutch angles and possibly a dolly zoom. By incorporating dutch angles I think it would work by providing a subtle way for viewers to understand his panic.

However, although dolly zooms clearly show disorientation I am not sure if it would be as subtle. It might end up looking slightly cheesy if I incorporate this type of shot; therefore, my team and I will try it out and see how it looks. If it becomes a problem, we could always just scrap the footage and continue with our original idea. By creating an abundance of material to work with and overshooting when filming we will give ourselves sufficient room for mistakes where we can pick out the best shots.

Lastly, it was suggested that in the scene where our character is pushed into the garage, he should quickly and frantically straighten out his clothing and brush off any dirt that is on him. By doing this my peer suggested it would further explain to the audience what type of person he is and reveal his strange priorities. Especially since someone of a normal personality without a disorder such as OCD would be quick to panic because they are kidnapped and trapped, not because their shirt got wrinkled.

I think I benefited greatly from this group meeting and I am looking forward to applying the advice that was given to me! :)