Sorraya Begdeli - Assessment of previous work

For this vampire AS film, I feel it has many strengths in how it is created. Firstly, the most important aspect is that it actually looks like a horror film because straight away the surroundings and the mise en scene depict that of a night time, isolated and cold setting. As darkness has such a connotation of fear, I instantly recognised it as a horror film. The other most important feature that instantly stood out to me (and therefore making it a good strength to the film) is the use of sound. The sharp, loud noises which are played throughout almost appear like a pulsing heartbeat and create lots of tension for the viewer (myself). During a scene at roughly 2:11 seconds, a brilliant example of continuity is shown. The scene in particular uses quite a lot of cuts within such a short time space and does this without it being uncomfortable to watch for the viewer. The cuts made within this film flow quite well and therefore do not break continuity. I feel that the rule of thirds is used constantly throughout, although there may be some occasions where not all of the crossed sections are used, this is barely noticable to the eye as the viewer has so much to focus on such as both the sound and what is happening on screen.

Although this film does have many strengths to it and has been created very well, to me there are a few limitations that could be focused on if they were to look at ways of improvement. These limitations are both concerned within the area of mise en scene. When looking at the effects of the makeup used, I think that the makeup doesn't look very realistic and it becomes too obvious for the viewer that it is fake. Although I understand that it cannot be perfect, I feel that more work could've been used for the makeup of the vampire as it makes the film seem less serious from my perspective. The other limitation is that in some shots, it is very dark and although this helps to create fear and makes it look like a horror film, sometimes it is quite hard to see important features such as what the victim looks like and what she is doing. Although it is important to keep the setting dark, I feel if the lighting was just a little bit lighter, it would be easier for the viewer.

The limitations to this film are quite minor especially when compared to the strengths, it is instantly recognisable as a horror and uses a variety of shots to depict the footage. The sound used mirrors that of a beating heart and helps to reflect how the viewer is feeling when watching a chase scene take place. This is a very useful technique and is what I feel the most effective part of the film.

49/60