The Book - ID# 214
Maine West
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description
A haunted book follows a horror movie obsessed teen on their way home.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/27 12:23 pm - So fun! Excellent attention to detail throughout - from the production design to the costumes (Scooby Doo shirt, scary movie posters, etc.). I love the humor - especially combined with the score, it reminds me of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Superb shot selection – every image felt motivated. I am not sure if you filmed it on manual or automatic settings. Everything was overall done "correctly," but I would suggest experimenting more with the manual settings and color grading. Still, most importantly, the camera style is consistent – so this is more of a mild suggestion than a criticism. One shot that I did have issue with was at 3:11 - there is excessive head room here. The camera work and editing from 4:30-4:30 was so well executed. Such great use of diegetic music with "Nowhere to run." The editing was both creative and clean. The special effects of the pages turning were very cool – I am not sure how you did that! Overall, I am very impressed. You are all very talented and I hope to see more of your work in future fests!
- 4/21 1:11 pm - Story: This story was fantastic! It really kept me engaged throughout! I was definitely able to follow the plot and where you were going with it. Your actors did a great job in referencing horror movie characteristics. Sound: You do a great job with audio, but some things can be cleaned up. At 0:20, you can hear the cut of your audio edit here. To avoid that you can use J and L cuts. This is where you layer your audio track on different tracks. You then extend the beginning and ends of each track. Sometimes these J and L cuts may not work depending on when your audio starts and ends. This helps blend the sound of your audio so you don’t get those harsh cuts where the audience can “hear” your edits. Great use of sound effects throughout to create suspense! You also did a great job with the mix at 2:43 with the music turning off and on! Camera: You have some really creative shots in your film like the one at 1:12! I also really loved the shot of the computer at 0:08 and at 3:32. Make sure that you pay attention to the focus on your camera. You have soft focus at 3:10. When framing your subject in a shot like this at 4:04, you want to make sure that you give them lead room (space in front of your subject). In this case, you would place your subject on the left side of the frame so that there is more room (lead room) in front of the subject. Right now, the way your shot is framed makes it seem like something is going to sneak up behind your character. Lighting: You demonstrate a great use of lighting. You did not have overly dark or super bright shots. Great job! Editing: Overall, your pacing was great. I think your film struggles a bit with match action. This is where you match the action to the next shot. 0:48 - This shot doesn’t quite match the action in the previous shot. In the previous shot, we already see your character go through the door. But here, we see her going through the door again. You want to match action between your shots so your characters don’t repeat actions. You can cut on the action when you switch shots. Match action doesn’t add up between shots at 1:20-1:21. In the first shot, your character is at the door and stays in the doorway. The shot that follows, your character is already out of the door. Match action doesn’t match in the scene at 2:05. The character with the plaid shirt leans on the wall but in the next shot at 2:08, she is not leaning on the wall and standing. Match action doesn’t match at 2:21. The character with the plaid shirt leans against the door here, but in the next shot she is leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the space. Match action does match at 3:13. In the previous shot, the character starts to turn to lean against the table but in the following shot she is already leaning against the table. The action of her turning and learning is cut off by your edit here. 4:16 - Match action doesn’t match. Here we see the character already grabbing the phone from where it was placed. In the next shot at 4:17, we see the character in a different spot in the room and grabbing the phone again.
- 2/23 1:42 pm - Camera: camera shots were proficient, focused, and compositionally appropriate. Good work. Lighting: lighting seemed appropriate in most of the scenes. This is so important, but you did a good job with this category. Sound: some of your audio levels were overmodulated. Music spiked a few times. Watch your VU meter. Editing: your editing pace was pretty fast, but it worked and it kept me engaged. Story: your set up for the character and the conflict was solid. I liked the references to the horror movie genre. To be honest, this film had more funny parts than serious parts and it almost felt more like a comedy than a drama.
- 2/23 1:42 pm - Camera: camera shots were proficient, focused, and compositionally appropriate. Good work. Lighting: lighting seemed appropriate in most of the scenes. This is so important, but you did a good job with this category. Sound: some of your audio levels were overmodulated. Music spiked a few times. Watch your VU meter. Editing: your editing pace was pretty fast, but it worked and it kept me engaged. Story: your set up for the character and the conflict was solid. I liked the references to the horror movie genre. To be honest, this film had more funny parts than serious parts and it almost felt more like a comedy than a drama.
Judge 1
Positives: • Great balance of drama, horror and comedic moments here- I think both characters played their parts very well from beginning to end. • The effects/visual tricks used on the book were so good! Very clever visual motif there.
Improvements: • The cinematography could have been a bit more crafted & intentional- being that this leans toward horror, the visuals should reflect that - while you can technically have a brightly lit horror film, for the budget & time you had, it may have really helped to shoot at night with less light, more contrast, etc. to benefit the storytelling. • Sound design & overall sound quality could be improved to greatly enhance the suspense, terror, etc.
Judge 2
Positives: Narrative is well structured; Variety in shots and action
Improvements: Sound can be too loud in some parts; Coloring/stylizing could enhance story
Judge 3
Positives: I liked that there was a lot of camera movements and movement within each shot throughout the film. I also think that the book flipping through pages was really unique and overall well done.
Improvements: Always remember to start any film with a frame of black. Some of the scenes could have had more of a variety of shots so that it flowed well together and didn't seem choppy in some parts. The music choices at the beginning were good, but I wish they had stayed consistent and didn't cut in and out.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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