Assessing a Past Coursework Opening

The Second Personality



We don't see any of the criteria being excellent but we would say the variety of shots was fairly good and we would put in the proficient section. We think that the editing for meaning to viewer might fall into the minimal category, as the order of shots are poor.

The weakest feature of the opening is the unclear transitions making the plot hard to follow and understand. The girl in the opening only makes a very brief appearance making it unclear whether she is a main part of the film.

The strongest feature in this opening is the variety of shot types. At 0:07 the director has very cleverly used a shot of a radio to appear as the music starts playing, as if the music is coming from the radio. This creates the effect that the music is non-diegetic but appears to be diegetic  We thought this was a good way to introduce the music.

Shots:

1 - From 0:15 to 0:20, there is use of narrative enigma  as we do not see the characters face until 0:21. This is used to create a sense of mystery and suspicion. 

2 - At 0:21, there is a low angle, medium shot. The camera reveals the character here, when he looks into the mirror. This shot is a long take, lasting 7 seconds, without any form of movement. 

3 - At 0:28, the shot changes to a black and white scene. This suggests the scene is a thought or memory coming from the character looking into the mirror, but we are not entirely sure. The music also changes here, from the rock to romantic. 

4- From 0:28 to 0:50 the shots are medium, with no variety of angles. 

5 - At 0:51, there is a close up of the boy cutting a sandwich and placing it into a box. 

6 - At 1:01, we see the boy putting books into a bag, telling us he is going to school and the sandwich is for his lunch. 

7 - At 1:07, the camera goes back to the sandwich as he picks up the box, but the camera stays focused on the area even when he has taken the sandwich. He then goes back for the knife. All these shots are close ups, to show the importance. 

8 - We then see the boy putting the knife in his bag with a close up. It would have been good to use a dutch angle here, to signify something is going to happen but there is no angle.