Introduction to Film

video/mp4 iconIntro Sequence QT-YouTube sharing.mp4

This is the introduction to my film. I have been told to add a little more before diving right into the story, perhaps a story of my father's or some background information.

Students: 
clee
Mar 25 2011
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Comments

Hi Chavella, Congratulations,

fsutter's picture
Submitted by fsutter on March 26, 2011 - 10:03am.

Hi Chavella,

Congratulations, this is a very strong start! I especially like your audio about how upset you were that the school kids got to see a piece of your dad's story that he hadn't shared with you up to that point. This piece of personal emotional info makes viewers care about you and your story, and creates that sense of mystery we talked about early in the film, so -- well done!

Now on to some much much smaller points, given the overall success of the intro: one piece of advice and two questions.

Here's the advice: once you're satisfied with the audio portion of intro, consider adjusting the pacing of the visuals so the cut to the next image is driven by the audio, whether by a key word in the audio, or by the natural pacing (a pause or end of a thought). Your audio is like music; cutting on the beat is a natural way to get audiences to start nodding their heads along to your story as if it had a great dance groove. This will help lead your audience where you want them to go.

And the first question: Have you considered brightening the video of yourself? It looks quite dark on my screen...

And the second question, related to pacing again: What kind of feedback have you gotten on the number of photos in the intro? (More photos=faster pace). To me (an older viewer, used to perhaps a more stately--er, slow--pace), I feel I would have absorbed the description of your relationship with your dad with fewer photos. I know, I know, more is better, right? I really liked seeing all the images, but for me, they distracted a bit from your audio.

This is where feedback from your peers really is important and helpful, because your generation may prefer a faster pace. If possible, show it to some people you trust who know absolutely nothing about your film and get their feedback; this is really valuable info, because they bring fresh eyes and have no preconceptions about your film. I find it's very challenging to see my own stories with fresh eyes as I edit them. If you do, too, take advantage of additional feedback whenever possible.

In any case, it's your choice how to prioritize all the feedback and choose the right pace for your story accordingly, and that's all part of the fun.

I'll be very interested to hear how the film develops next! Please don't hesitate to check in if needed.

Best,
Faith