Peer Reviews of First Cut Movie Opener

GROUP 1- (Two Peas in a Pod)

1. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?

-One of the first technical elements that stood out to me was the zoom-in at the end of the conversation they were having. During this scene, there is a wide shot happening showing three friends sitting at a table, with two of them chatting and leaving the third one out, later zooming in on his face. The zoom-in captures the emotion and highlighted how lonely and left out he felt in his group. Another element that caught my eye was the tracking shot of the lonely friend as he goes around telling each person something different. With this shot I was able to follow the story and figure out what was happening.

2. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

- An element in the film opening that I dislike was at the beginning of it where they show the front of the school for their establishing shot. I feel like this could have been left out and did not need to be included as part of the scene, it does not really make sense as it does not relate to anything, so it left me confused. They can maybe change it with an establishing shot of the media center.

3. Did this look like a movie opener, and did it make you want to know what happens next? 

-It did look like a movie opener to a certain extent, I feel like I can tell what is going to happen next from what I saw. It showed the characters at the start, so it introduced a beginning to something, but the story of the film finished to soon and did not leave nothing to be excited about after in finding out what will happen later on.

4. Was there anything that left you confused? 

-Yes, something that left me confused was the difference of sizes in different scenes. Some clips were filmed vertically while others horizontally having some not fill the whole screen which looked off. This made the film not flow all together and look like straight cuts instead of having a transition that makes all the clips flow together making it difficult for the viewers' eye.

5. What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

-To make the movie opener better I would definitely say to refilm the scenes that are filmed in portrait mode to make it look more professional and have it flow all together. I would also say to remove the first scene and replace it with an establishing shot of the media center since it is the location where the movie is taking place.

GROUP 2- (Mind Gaps)

1.What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?

- A specific element that stood out to me of the film opening was the close-ups on the girl throughout the beginning where the girl is telling the therapist her story. It focused on specific shots like her hand and foot, that was a really nice input since it shows the audience how the patient is feeling in this case nervous. Another element I really liked was the flashback of the story she was telling that happened, I was able to get a deeper understanding of the story. Another really nice technical element was the tracking shot of her where she was being followed by the camera while doing her daily routine.

2. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

- Something they can maybe work in is putting different type of camera shots or movement instead of repeating the same one but other than that the film had a really nice story and scenes. Maybe they can add an establishing shot for the viewers knowledge and know the location of where the action is happening. Something I did notice was the costume, what seemed like the therapist was wearing casual clothing, I do think he should have dressed maybe formal to show off his part in the film.

3. Did this look like a movie opener, and did it make you want to know what happens next?

-Yes, the film does look like a movie opener, it introduces the two characters of the audience, with every question the therapist asked you were able to figure out and get to know the characters yet not really know everything. It does leave you with wanting to know what is going to happen next in her story and if she is telling the truth or not, which does go with the genre of the film.

4. Was there anything that left you confused?

- Some things that did leave me confuse was towards the end where they had a variety of cuts like the one with the bottle I did not really understand if it was reality or a part of an allusion. Also, when the therapist was writing down in his notebook a then made a confused face, I did not really know what was going on if he may be taught, she was lying, or it was to leave us in suspense to want to know what will happen next.

5. What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

- A suggestion in making the movie opener better I would say to refilm the clip where the therapist is seen and have him wear a more formal attire, a dress shirt and pants. I would also suggest reducing the time of the cliff-hanger, it does leave the audience confuse because of how long it is. Also, adding a title sequence would make it seem more of a movie opener, which I have noticed most groups did not do including mine. 

GROUP 3- (The Ivy Chase)

1. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?

- A technical element of the film opening that I enjoyed was the point of view shot of the second character typing on the computer, the close up on the computer allowed the audience to engage in the film by seeing what is being typed which was really nice. Another nice camera shot in the film was the over the shoulder of the main character putting lip-gloss on, I liked how it was pointed to the mirror to see what she is doing.

2. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

- An element I would say I dislike was the lighting, it changes throughout each scene and makes the quality look not so good, I would say maybe edit it to look more appealing to the audience. Another element would be the transitions and cuts, the scenes look like they were just put together as they just cut from one to the next not having a smooth transition which does not appeal to the eye when watching as the audience. 

3. Did this look like a movie opener, and did it make you want to know what happens next?

 

- The beginning of the scene does not really look like a movie opener; it started with a couple extra characters walking in the hallway which had nothing to do with the story, but I guess it introduces the setting of the film and one of the characters. I am not really sure it left me with wanting to know what is next since I did not really understand the story being told.

4. Was there anything that left you confused?

- There was a specific scene that left me confuse which was when the two characters are sitting in the table scrolling on their individual computers with no audio. Another would be the beginning of the students walking, I do not really understand why this was added and what it had to do with the plot of the story. 

5. What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

- Something I would suggest adding to the movie opener would be some type of dialogue or sound effect. For example, in the scene where the character is searching "guide to confidence" they can add a keyboard typing sound so it can enhance some type of feeling to the audience and keep them interested in watching the rest. 

GROUP 4- (Betrayed Shadows)

1. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?

- The film is filled with nice technical elements from the beginning to end, one of them I really like was the first one where the camera started on the floor and went upwards to a tracking shot of the friend group walking what seems like a park. Everything is well put together, the casual attire which goes well with the story and the high-key lighting which is focused as in not too bright. One shot I really liked was the transition from when they are recording the group blogging themselves to the video on her phone of what is being recorded, I taught this was really cool and keeps the audience entertain.

2. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

- A technical element I did not enjoy was the sound, I had to put my volume up to be able to hear them sometimes, the audio would go from loud to low sometimes which caused me confusion because sometimes I was not able to hear what they said so I would have to rewatch it. Something I also noticed throughout the video was how the camera was always following and moving with them, I would have liked to see the camera still for a moment to capture an emotion or feeling.

3. Did this look like a movie opener, and did it make you want to know what happens next? 

- Yes, this for sure did look like a movie opener from the very beginning, it introduced the characters, setting, and story in a nice way. It definitely leaves me wondering what is going to happen next because of the unexpected ending of the film, I would have never taught that the friend was going to kidnap his own friend, I want to know why now. This film kept me engage with the unexpected twist, so it also did to the audience watching it. 

4. Was there anything that left you confused?

- There was nothing that really left me confused as everything felt organized. There was not really anything negative that came to my attention and made me question why they did this, the elements are there including lighting, transitions, cuts, and editing.

5. What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

- One suggestion I do have to make this movie opener better would be to maybe fix the audio while editing it. Make sure it is clear, and the audience is able to interpret what the characters are saying. Also, to make sure the audio does not overlap the scenes, there is a time where it jumps to the next scene and the audio is still going from the last one just so it can flow better.

GROUP 5 (Missing)

1. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you like?

- The first element I noticed that every other group did not have, and I really liked was the title sequence. The title was introduced with a transition while filming the camera followed them and later towards the sky to be able to put the title. The font used went well with the film since they used bold letters with a contrast of shadows which was titled "Missing", this gives the audience an idea that the film is going to be mysterious or scary. Another element I liked was the setting, it went well with the genre of the film and the story fits well. 

2. What specific technical elements of the film opening did you dislike?

- There was nothing I really disliked but I would say sometimes in the scenes the clips were there for too long with no context. Maybe if they cut them shorter and transition to the next clip quicker all together the films will flow more smoothly, and they will also keep the audience engage and not bored with what they are watching.

3.  Did this look like a movie opener, and did it make you want to know what happens next? 

- Yes, this film definitely looked like a movie opener from beginning to end. It started with introducing the character at the very beginning to transitioning to present the name of the film and ended with a cliff hanger which leaves me with suspense in wondering what will happen next and if the friend will be found. 

4. Was there anything that left you confused?

- The first time I watched it I was confused on what the film was about since they had found a necklace, and I did not know who it belonged to since the person is not presented throughout any of the scenes at the beginning and the characters did not talk about her. Later watching it again I understood they were talking about someone missing in their friend group probably got lost in the park they were at.

5. What suggestions do you have to make this movie opener better?

- A suggestion I do have to make this movie opener better would probably be to insert a clip of the missing girl with the necklace on, so the audience is able to understand better what is going on and who or what is missing. Other than that, this film was very well organized, edited, and put together. Now I just want to see the rest to see what happened and if they were able to find their friend.