Review of Silent Minds (Evaluation)

So I could get a better idea of how a film review should sound I looked at a review by Empire Film Magazine of the new film out in a couple days, Contraband.

From this I was shown that as well as your personal opinion that you should also include a short plot description however it is crucial you do not give the story line away as this will ruin the film for the viewer.


My Review of Silent Minds
Plot
This is the story of a young girl going through her last year of college. The stresses of an average teenager are always there, but on top of all this an overpowering mother and abandoning father, Lucy Write is forced on the periphery of society. Easily swayed Lucy soon falls into the wrong crowd and when they turn on her she is forced to be alone. Festering in her own disturbing thoughts it is abundantly clear there is something seriously wrong.

Verdict
This unconventional thriller really feeds the mind both creatively and factually. Engaging the audience from the very first sequence the film shows many teens out there how important it is to have that network of truly caring people. Chaos from the outset and throughout and a taunting tone that shows the audience just how soul crushing a disease like schizophrenia can be to a person.
The mixture of micro elements highlights the tension that is constantly breeding through the film and due to the contemporary editing techniques it gives the film as a whole a fresh and open minded look on the youths of today and what they are really having to deal with and face in modern society on a day to day basis.
Unlike many of the films out on the big screen a the minute the opening to this thriller is crucial to the plot. This is the first time we are introduced to Lucy and immediately we are drawn to her and intrigued by this issue that is engulfing her. The mish-mash of clips engage and involve the audience with the disease making us feel her crippling pain and there for dragging us through the ordeal with her.
In all the thriller, although is very much thought provocative is in a twisted way refreshing as we are able to see today's youth in a way he haven't seen before and I would advise anyone who wants a ride that will not be forgotten to go and see this film.     

What skills have I learnt?

During the process of making the opening sequence to Silent Minds I have both learnt new skills and enhanced those I already had.
The first is the most obvious, using Final Cut on the mac. When starting the editing I already had a basic knowledge of how the programme worked however this was extremely simple and whilst editing the preliminary task it looked very juvenile and not professional at all.
Since then I have learnt;

• How to add transitions and how to make them both longer and shorter.
• How to fade clips and audio manually 
• How to add credits and customise them to fit the genre of my film
• How to split clips so I am able to use specific parts at specific times
• How remove the audio replacing it with more appropriate material
• How to layer one clip onto another so you are able to see both at the same time  

Additional Credit Planning

Adding to Billys initial planning of what the credits will include I looked at some of examples opening credits.

From this I was able to see that a majority of the credits were the actors involved in the film however there were also crucial members of the film production team.
The ones that related to our film were;

• Casted by (Billy Stocker, Chloe Fielder)
• Costume Designer (Charlie Hall)
• Co-producer (Billy Stocker)
• Sound Producer (Billy Stocker)
• Music Director (Sarah Gilchrist)
• Editor (Chloe Fielder, Billy Stocker, Sarah Gilchrist, Charlie Hall)
• Production Designer (Charlie Hall)
• Executive Producer (Chloe Fielder)
• Produced by (Sarah Gilchrist, Charlie Hall)
• Screen play written by (Billy Stocker, Charlie Hall)
• Directed by (Billy Stocker)
• Art Director (Chloe Fielder)

The First Soundtrack Idea

'Another Creepy Song' I found on the internet I thought this would fit really well in the background as the base sound of the voice overs which would be then be layered on over the top.
This would add depth to sound and mean that at the same time there would be both diagetic and non-diagetic.
The only thing that I have found wrong with the music and would mean that it would make the music hard to use is at 1:44 the sound becomes far louder than previously in the sound clip. This could be easily fixed as al I would have to do is reduce the sound and enhance the voices which I would then overlay.