Critical Evaluation

20 Key Frames

This scene displays the character of Hallie on the phone, the scene is dimly lit to reflect the mood of the shot. Hallie will be talking quietly and almost monotonously to create a sense of unease in the viewer. As this shot was intended to take place at night time i had to greatly lower the brightness and exposure of the image using photoshop. I also adjusted the contrast and other levels so that Hallie became the main focus and the background colours became less significant. I emphasised the light from her phone reflecting onto her face with photoshop as this makes it a focus point for the viewer which is key as the impact of technology on human life is a key focus point of the film.

This shot displays the date at which the events are taking place, throughout the piece there are many date slides as it conveys both easily and effectively the timescale over which the events of the script are happening. I created the image on photoshop using a simple grey background and writing the date over the top of it. I used the colour grey as it reflects the corporate technological feel that runs as a key theme through my script. After completing the image i lowered the brightness and raised the contrast to make it appear darker and more somber to tie in with the mood of the script.

Taken as a high angle shot this frame is meant to create a security camera type feel to represent how the couple is continuously being filmed and streamed. This image did not require much editing other than lowering the brightness and adjusting the contrast to make the colours more prominant. Although only being a subtle change adjusting the colours makes the image more hypereal which is essential to representing the idea of simulacra and through my key frames. Everything in the room was placed in an orderly fashion for this image to represent the mental happiness of he couple and also to allow for a greater contrast in later frames when the room becomes messy during their arguments.

This frame is intended to show Donnie's dependance on technology, as the first thing he does upon waking up is use his phone. The phone is in the top left corner of the shot making it a focus point through my use of rule of thirds. In photoshop i lowered the brightness and exposure of this image and raised the contrast to give it a hypereal, televised feel.

Although being a simple over the shoulder shot this frame required a lot of technological input. Before taking the photo i had to create the onscreen image of the Donnie website within photoshop to make the frame believable. In production i had to drastically lower the brightness and exposure of the image to make it appear as if it was nightime. This was mandatory as the picture was taken in daylight but was set as a nightime scene. I raised the brightness and contrast solely on the computer screen within photoshop to make it the key focus point of the image.

The composition of this frame was important as the characters had to have a large amount of space between them to clearly show the divide that was between them. This also allows for the messiness of the room to be made clear showing the deterioration of their home life from earlier frames. This photo again required the brightness and exposure to be lowered in photoshop to make it appear as if it was taking place at night time, as well as needing the contrast to be raised to improve the vibrancy of the colours. Whilst taking this image the male actor smiled, a detail that was not noticeable on the camera and i only became aware of once i began to edit the image. To attempt to cover up this problem i liquified the image within photoshop and dragged the corners of his mouth down to try and give him a scowl, or frowning impression. I feel this was successful as he no longer appears happy, but rather appears angry in the final image.

This shot again required the webpage design to be created in photoshop and then opened on the screen of the laptop. The same lowering of exposure and brightness on the entirety of the image other than the laptop screen was used to make the screen a focus point and to allow it to be the only source of light within the room. The character being on the phone and the computer simultaneously personifies humanities over reliance on technology and need to be in contact with others at all times.

Taken as a high angle to show the weakness of his character this frame is the first proper insight into the mental state of Donnie's character. For this shot I greatly raised the contrast in photoshop allowing for a dreamlike mask to be applied to the image giving the audience a chance to see from Donnie's clouded perspective. The high angle also reminds the audience that Donnie is being filmed 24/7 as the shot looks almost as if it has been taken from a security camera.

Taken as a wide angle, medium long shot to incorporate the whole of the room this shot shows Donnie and Hallie having one of the only close moments they share throughout the whole piece. I positioned them on the far right of the image as it creates a powerful feeling within the viewer. Having the whole room in shot also allows for the desktop mac to be seen continuing the theme of technology being ever present throughout their lives. In photoshop I lowered the brightness and exposure of this image to make it appear as if it was nightime and I also greatly increased the contrast levels to add clarity to the colours.

The same as key Frame 2, this shot displays the date at which the events are taking place, throughout the piece there are many date slides as it conveys both easily and effectively the timescale over which the events of the script are happening. I created the image on photoshop using a simple grey background and writing the date over the top of it. I used the colour grey as it reflects the corporate technological feel that runs as a key theme through my script. After completing the image i lowered the brightness and raised the contrast to make it appear darker and more somber to tie in with the mood of the script.

For this frame i took a longshot of Donnie and Hallie in a natural environment. I used a longshot to make them appear small and somewhat insignificant in comparison to nature. I chose to set it in this natural environment to juxtapose their use of technology with nature. Whilst taking this image i made a mistake with the framing so in editing as well as adjusting the contrast and sharpening the edges i had to crop and rotate the image to allow for better framing. This allowed for the final image to feel and look as professional as i intended it too.

Focusing on the charcter of Donnie this shot displays him trying to make eye contact with Hallie whilst she ignores him for the sake of her phone. This shot is intended to amplify the idea that humans can no longer live in the moment due to technology as they are always distracted and want to speak to people they are not presently with through social networks and online profiles etc. I had to do very little in the editing stage of this image other than to adjust and raise the contrast levels to improve the clarity of the colours.

Depicting a more intense argument scene than the previous bedroom argument this scene shows the full deterioration of the relationship between the characters of Donnie and hallie. For this photo i had to cover the out of shot kitchen window with a black sheet to give the impression that the scene was taking place during late evening. Although having some effect this did not make the room dark enough so in the editing stage I used Photoshop CC to lower the brightness and exposure to give the room that dark, dusk feel as well as raising the contrast levels to increase colour definition within the image.

Used as a tool to align the audience with the character of Donnie this shot shows the confusion that he is feeling and projects his inner turmoil onto the screen. Very little editing was needed for this shot other than the lowering of the brightness and exposure of the image to make it the same level of darkness as Key Frame 13. This shot shows the effect that technology has had on Donnie and is intended to make those characters in the film who would be seeing this through the live web-feed question the morality of what they have been doing by voting these ideas into his mind and effectively ruining his life.

Putting the camera at eye level with Donnie again allows the audience to align themselves with his character.  His head is placed in his hands to show his disorientated mental state and his ever-weakening grip on reality. There is little to no technology in this shot as the frame is displaying the aftermath of what over exposure to, and interaction with technology has done to this character. For this image I lowered the brightness and exposure and raised the contrast, there was no other editing required for this frame.

This shot reveals to the audience that the character of Donnie is dead. I used an over the shoulder shot for this as it allows us to see the character of Donnie but does not include the face of Hallie. I have done this so that the emotional reactions of Hallie to the situation cannot be seen, therefore dissociating her from the audience and from the events that have taken place. The use of a high angle shot also allows the idea of a security camera style aspect to be applied to the frame, continuing on the idea that the couple are always being watched. This frame took very little editing other than the lowering of the brightness and the raising of the contrast, this was as it was key that the frame look lifelike, bringing an end to the hypereal colours that had been amplified in some previous shots from the film.

Being a direct follow on from the previous frame this image just allows a more close-up view of the face of Donnie. I have done this to show how at peaceful and at rest his features look now that he is deceased. Made as a deliberate contrast to the last close-up of his face which took place during his and Hallie's argument in the kitchen. I once again used an over the shoulder shot to keep Hallie's face out of the shot, giving the impression to the audience that she may have committed the murder. Whilst editing the image i had to greatly lower the darkness and exposure to give this frame the dark feel that its content deserved.

Taken as a high angle shot this frame displays the error message on the Donnie website, giving final closure to the audience that the show is cancelled. despite being a simple frame in this actual scene in the film a lot will be happening. There will be a silent hum of the computer before hearing a muffled shuffling and a gunshot, implying that the nameless man who we have repeatedly seen staring at this computer screen has killed himself due to the cancellation of the show. I included this because the nameless man is a prime example of someone living in the 3rd stage of simulacra. He lives through Donnie without leaving his room, and has become so attached to this life that without it he doesn't feel that he can live his own. He is a warning to viewers that trying to live through technology and reality TV shows takes away from the importance of our own lives. for this frame I had to create the imitation webpage in photoshop which took some time, however other than this next to no editing was required other than the lowering of the brightness and exposure on the image on all areas other than the laptop screen.

This scene displays the character of Hallie on the phone, the scene is dimly lit to reflect the mood of the shot. Hallie will be talking quietly and almost monotonously to create a sense of unease in the viewer. As this shot was intended to take place at night time i had to greatly lower the brightness and exposure of the image using photoshop. I also adjusted the contrast and other levels so that Hallie became the main focus and the background colours became less significant. I emphasised the light from her phone reflecting onto her face with photoshop as this makes it a focus point for the viewer which is key as the impact of technology on human life is a key focus point of the film. Seeing this shot again shows that as the opening shot of the film it was in fact foreshadowing the ending. The shot will have a completely different effect on the viewer when they see it a second time as they will have more knowledge about the character of Hallie and what she has done throughout the film, the words she is saying on the phone will also have a different meaning as it is now clear that they are about Donnie.

Using a simple medium close-up shot of Hallie the final frame leaves a resounding image in the mind of the audience. It is the first time since the death of Donnie that we clearly see her face and she appears happy or contented with what has happened. This is intended to leave the audience with a haunted feeling as it makes it clear that she is pleased by the death of her long term boyfriend. This frame took very little editing as all I had to do was raise the contrast and remove some blemishes on the face of the actress making it a very simple image to create.

Recce Report