Analysis of Student Films: Traffik

Traffik (June 2013)

 

This student film is generally appropriate to task, as it is clearly a movie opening rather than a trailer. Additionally to this, it seems to be appropriate for the target audience as it is clearly a thriller movie. If the film opening wasn't suitable for it's target audience, then it would contain elements which don't adhere to this.

The title placement could be improved, and many viewers
would find the way the titles spell out, letter by letter
to be frustrating.

The use of titles in the piece is both a strong point and a weak point. The titles run in a fairly standard industry order, with actors names before the names of the crew. However, the name of the producer comes directly before actors names, which is not the order of titles which is usually seen in film openings, as the producer would usually be one of the last names to be listed before the directors name is shown. Another positive point about the titles in the clip is the styling of the font of the titles - it is appropriate for the genre because it doesn't look out of place, although if they had used a colour other than white then it would have looked more exciting, which would have been more appropriate for the thriller genre. However, an issue with the titles is the text effect which means they are spelt out one letter at a time - this would be effective to use on just the film title, but as it is used on

Displaying more of the titles like this would have been
a more effective way to present them.

each title, it starts to become frustrating for the viewer, as each letter is spelt out individually. This means each title is on screen for too long, but it is not visible for long enough. Finally, the title placement on screen could be made more appropriate - placing them in the bottom corner doesn't make them stand out, so they should have been placed higher up on the screen, and perhaps made
slightly bigger.

Throughout this film opening there is a good use of sound. The main non-diegetic sound which can be heard is the rumble of a thunderstorm, which is suitable for the thriller genre as it connotes that something bad is going to happen. However, this could have been made better if there was a thunderstorm happening on the screen as well, as the sound seems out of place in a daylight setting. The main non-diegetic sound doesn't change as the clips change, which is a bad point as it means the director hasn't considered the soundtrack properly. Additionally to this, including music in the background would have greatly added to the suspense - it is harder for the viewer to feel empathy because of the lack of dialogue or music, as these are the two best ways of conveying emotions within a film.

It is sometimes confusing as to why the shaky camera is
being used when it seems there is no need for it.

The shooting material is very appropriate to the task set, although there are parts where it is too appropriate to the point where it begins to detract from the overall meaning of the film. An example of this is the steady camera in times of panic, and a seemingly shaky camera when the character is not panicking - this confusion of shot types brings down the overall impact of the film opening. The framing of the shots are generally good, although there are parts where the girls head is cut off, or her pet dog is not visible. These shots should have been framed better for the piece to look as professional as possible. There is a good variety of shot distances, with long shots being deployed in order to show her within her surroundings, before close ups to show her panic. Finally, there has been some attention paid to mise-en-scene, as the film has been set in a forest which is a typical location for a thriller/horror movie. However, the lighting is not as appropriately used as it could be, because most thriller movies would start off in darkness rather than in daylight - this could have been because they didn't have access to lights in order to be able to film at night.

Finally, the use of editing in this clip is good, as the transitions between each scene do not detract from the tenseness. A particularly good use of them is the use of jump cuts when the girl is walking down - if they had shown the whole clip, then the mystery surrounding her would have been lost, however, as it has been condensed down, there is still an air of mystery about who she is, what she looks like, and where she is going too.

This will help me to make my opening sequence as it has shown me how important mise-en-scene can be when it comes to setting the right impression about the opening. I believe this film would be rated as a high level three, because it has good ideas although needs some improvement to make it to level 4.