Peer Review for Camera Transitions

   

        Today in my blog I will be reviewing some of my peers' camera transition videos and commenting on what they should have done, as well as what they had done fantastically.

    First up, we have Davin's three videos, consisting of a whip pan, match cut, and smash cut. Beginning with the match cut, Davin, a 7 foot football NFL player, soon to be in the NHS club, is studying for his test on transitions with a low angle facing down towards himself to capture how vulnerable he really is. However, the camera tilts upward to reveal the he is really just watching football irresponsibly, remember that he is a tall NFL player, unlike a small human being like Randall Smith who is several inches smaller than him. However, because of Davin's judgement, he ends up doing poorly on the test. A match cut is shown from his house to him taking the test, but this is where I do need to criticize him on his work. Instead of Davin looking at the TV and then using the match cut, he should have shown himself looking at his desk, then match cut to him looking at his test on the desk in class. Overall, 10/10 for acting and story plot, but 7/10 for camera angles.

    Secondly, we have his smash cut which has such impeccable acting from both the Davinator and a surprise appearance from the world famous actor, Lazaro Alfonso. All I have to say for this video are positive things. From start to finish I was kept on the edge of my seat. Firstly, the two marvelous actors walk up the stairs, discussing how they did on the quiz. Next thing you know, a sudden smash cut to Davin's test, where we see his score up and center. The DRAMA, the TENSION. Davinator had failed his test, such amazing sound choices as well for this scene. I would give this scene 10/10 for angles and camera work, but that is overshadowed by the immense talent, giving an acting score of 10000/10.

    Last but not least, the whip pan. Such amazing camera work with the movement, with such a smooth transition between the scenes. First, we have Davin Williams the third (not really he is the only one) giving his all in this monologue. The camera whips to his bed, where we see a defeated Davin crying on his sheets. I will not live, I shed a saddened tear onto my laptop as I watched our protagonist endure this endless pain, but I believed, truly, in my heart that he would bounce back. All in all, Davin you score a 100000/10 for acting, but I do feel that the camera was too close to your body with the first camera shot. However, the whip pan was executed perfectly, with no cuts visible.

Next up, we have the spectacular Rebecca with such potential for movie production. 

    Starting with her dissolve cut, wow, what amazing editing skills that rivals that of even Davin. And remarkably, she is several inches taller than Randy. Her dissolve was quick and effective, having one image overlap with another. I was stunned by how smoothly this one done, I have much to learn from her talent. 

    Moving along, Rebecca implements the use of an iris movement to signify the end of her video. With one swift motion of the iris closing in, we have the use of a comedic effect in play, as well as being used with such a scene that truly brings a tear to my eye. The iris conveyed the friendship between the actors, and Rebecca was able to really pick out the details that she wanted in her video. Well done!

    Finally, her best video, in my opinion, would be her match cut. This was accomplished with such technique that I had not realized until a few seconds after the switch. The actors, angles, and camera were positioned so well that it looked like one continuous clip, I thoroughly enjoyed every action packed second of it, and hope her career skyrockets into movie making.

    Davin and Rebecca both created amazing clips that have inspired me to improve on my own clips, and I am glad to have received this great opportunity to review their videos. I hope I could do this again for future projects, but for now, I am signing off. Thank you for reading!

"Nope" Movie Transitions, Shots, and Angles

 

        What a movie this was, Jordan Peele's, Nope, is yet another thriller, horror film that features many terrifying scenes that are sure to give you nightmares, and not for the kind you would expect from a demonic or slasher movie, but more from a unique perspective that I could have never imagined. Now, enough with the review, were here to look at the various transitions, shots, and angles we were presented. Disclaimer: I will try my best to not spoil the true nature of this movie, as it really is a unique story that I hope you decide to watch, but your opinions may be much different than mine.

        A perfect movie opener, featuring OJ and his father in the scene. During the scene, OJ pulls out his phone and we get a low angle shot of him on it, but before he is able to use it the screen begins to go static. The focus on the phone while it begins to go off signifies danger to the audience, and that whatever is doing that is present.

        In this scene we get a cowboy shot of our two protagonists. This shot is very important to establish who are characters are and there personalities. First, Oj, the man in the back is not a man of words, but mostly actions, while his sister, Em, presents herself well with a speech about horses. These two are opposites, but still care about each other.

        Glenn? Oh nevermind, it's just Jupe, our Asian character who has a whole lot of backstory than the rest of the characters. In this scene, we have a mid shot of this man explaining the tragedy of the "monkey incident" where he describes the more positive aspects of it while ominous sounds play, eventually leading to a smash cut of his younger self covered in blood. It is effective to characterize this character as one who has been through a lot of trauma, but has recovered well enough to move on in life.

        A smash cut is implemented to transition from a scene with light comedy, to the build up of some dire situation that the characters are about to take part in. In addition, a low violin sound is played to put the audience on edge while transitioning to this shot.

        This next scene I want to discuss features grotesque imagery that I do not want to share on this blog, but I will discuss the effectiveness of the shot created. We are seeing from the young actor's perspective, the one that is covered in blood above. His perspective shows the killing of his fellow actors being murdered right in front of him, providing that fear that the kid will be caught by whatever is killing them. In addition, we also see a loose close up of him whenever something new arises in the scene, to capture those frightening thoughts of being caught.

        This shot includes the POV perspective of what our main protagonist, OJ, is observing from his car. Rain is pouring as it slowly approaches over his car, and while I cannot reveal the context of why the rain is bad, I assure you, it is. It is truly terrifying once you know why, and Peele does amazingly with the entirety of the film.

         The next scene features an extreme wide shot of OJ walking through mist and darkness as he approaches this house. The shot creates eeriness and presents potential danger for the character, effective for creating suspense before the final 40 minutes of the movie continue.

        A dissolve transition occurs as we see our characters enter into an apartment or house, then transitions into them sitting on a couch while one of them is using a VR headset. It provides calm, fresh air after the series of disasters that unfolded prior to this scene. The dissolve is much different than the numerous smash cuts being performed, as it is slow and steady rather than sudden.

        I did not want to include this final shot in my blog, but it is one of the best shots in the entire movie. Of course, I cannot reveal the context, nor show an image of what is happening because of spoilers, but the scene features an extreme wide shot of our main character, OJ, looking out at something spectacular happening in front of him. The excitement and sheer terror that the scene conveyed to me was something to behold, and the details that led up to this amazing twist in the plot is something unique to this story, that you would not get out of its genre. Jordan Peele did amazing with this movie in my opinion, he makes the "danger" in the movie actually feel scary, because it is something much greater than yourself, much different than the normal slasher tropes. Even with its mixed reviews, I suggest you watch the film.

        

My Transition Clips

            Hey bloggers, today I am publishing some video clips to show off some of my transitions that I created. I included the transitions: fade, smash cut, and match cut. Now, let's get on with the videos!

                                    1. Fade Transition

I wanted to begin my movie slow and steady with my character looking out at the green field, contemplating something in his mind that has not been revealed to the audience. The fade then begins to occur slowly as we transition into a black screen. However, we are then greeted with the camera providing us the POV of the inside of a drawer. This drawer is opened to reveal our character, looking down at an item, which is then picked up to show the audience that this item was money. The fade works perfectly with the transition to the inside of the drawer, as it would provide a smoother experience into the camera shot. I wanted my character to appear to be looking down at something, rather than having a high angle camera shot to make the audience question what he is looking for. Eventually, we do have the reveal of the $100 dollars that he has stored away. What value does it have to him 

                                    2. Smash Cut

                                        

                    For the smash cut clip I began with an extreme close up of my character's eye to convey negative emotions. It is unclear whether he is crying or angry at whatever he was contemplating about. However, seconds later our extreme close up is cut off by a sudden slap where we see our protagonist falling against the wall. Another character, our protagonist, is demanding for their money to be returned to them. The smash cut is utilized to express the violence and suddenness of the slap, which is the origin of our protagonist's negativity in the extreme close up.

                                3. Match Cut

                                        

                    

                      Finally, we have the third clip featuring a match cut. In this final video, our character sits down atop his bed, with the money in his hand. His gloomy mood turns into a cheerful one as he looks at the money gripped in his fingers, and begins to fall backwards onto the bed. We transition into the cut where we witness our protagonist's hand falling onto the surface of the bed, focusing on the money resting on his palm. The match cut expresses the similarity to his body falling to that of his hand also falling and making contact with the bedsheets. The money is the source of his emotions throughout the clips, both positive and negative. Therefore, it feels right to have the audience focus in on the bills.