Rumpelstiltskin Final Cut and Final Evaluation

The video above is our final cut for Rumpelstiltskin. I believe that this version is certainly our best as it improves on several aspects of editing and sounds that needed improving in the original cut. Overall I believe our group as a whole can be proud of what we've produced as overall it is a good production.

Jack Cullum: Screenplay
Fabian Harrison: Director of Cinematography
Greg Babstock: Editing and Sound
Max Shephard: Editing and Props

What we done well:

• I believe that the strongest part of the film is our cinematography. This is thanks to Fabian and his camera. We have a variation of shots and angles, but what stands out most of all is the pull-focus near the end.
• We also had good props. We had two different prop guns, one which used smoke like pop capsules which disperse smoke when shot, which was extremely helpful during filming. However we also had a much more realistic gun that was shown more on screen due to the fact it fit the theme and setting we were going for.
• Also our costumes as a whole are suitable. We all wear suits, (Except from Liam, who is part of the lower class, therefore he does not wear a suit.) to fit in with the typical conventions of Noir films. This also helps us fit in with our time frame.
• Another thing we did well is translating the story from fairy-tale to noir. Instead of having the string being woven into gold, we changed it to drugs being produced to not only make it fit in with noir conventions but also to give a more serious tone.
• The music used is well placed and fits well. In the original cut there was only one piece of music so in the final cut Greg made sure to include a variation of music. This helped set the mood and build suspense when needed. The sound effects were also very fitting and well edited.
• Finally I do believe that we used smoke very creatively in our film. It really builds up the atmosphere and fits the noir conventions very well.

What we can improve on:

• I do think that we could of improved on how we introduced Rumpelstiltskin into the film. While his lack of explanation means he has a bit of mystery to him it also means the viewers are left a little bit lost.
• We certainly can improve on our acting. I personally don't like the idea of hiring actors to perform in our media productions but if we cannot improve on our acting skills it may be the safest option, as our acting does take away from the seriousness of the movie.
• Variation of location also needs to be improved. We shot the entire thing in Max's house, in three different rooms. Max's room, Max's kitchen and Max's living room. While I do believe it is better than filming in school, we certainly could of improved our filming locations.
• Some of our transitions are a bit off due to the fact that some of the footage wasn't shot correctly. In future we should probably due scenes in several takes.
• We also need to improve our Mise En Scene. In the living room you can see an Xbox, glasses and cans everywhere. In Max's bedroom you can see figures and a massive flat screen TV. Things like this take away from the atmosphere but we simply did not realize this when we were filming.

Planning:

We went through several stages of planning our continuity task. We made storyboards, we discussed several different fairy tales to adapt and how we were going to adapt them. In the end we decided on Rumpelstiltskin, and as a group we decided on how we would change it to a more noir like atmosphere/story. Planning wise we could of done more, we could scouted more locations, possibly of prepared Max's house before filming and certainly could of how we were going to shoot the film and in what order, as this caused a bit of confusion for us later on.