Western Shootout Scene

 Western Shootout Scene

The initial brief was to create a western style shootout film. We started this by researching these types of scenes in western films such as the good the bad the ugly. We found that shot reverse shots were a very popular choice in these sorts of films. I believe this to be because the directors want to show the audience what is going on with the character and let the viewer make their own decision on what they believe is going on inside the characters head. 

As a whole the shoot and film went very well. We managed to shoot more than enough clips so we had plenty to work with, some of the clips were not used because of details that could have been improved but we didn't have time or the resources to re shoot the particular scenes. We used a variety of shot types such as extreme close ups of the characters eyes in order to build suspense which progressed into normal close ups of the faces and so on and so forth. The framing of each shot was mainly just single shots with just one character in frame at any one time. However, this does change for the collision of the 2 characters which then puts the framing in a two shot frame as both characters are in frame both in clear focus.This helps gain tension as we the audience sees the collision between characters and then the stare down that comes as a consequence of it which makes them think what will happen next (builds suspense). We used over the shoulder shots in order to show the viewer what the character was seeing when they were walking, This created tension and it shows how both characters are approaching each other and the different body languages being used. This could help the viewer make a decision on who they believe to be the stronger one of the two. We didn't change the angle to much as this would have caused the feel of the film to become un natural with the way the camera wold drop or increase in height. We kept the angle at eye level for close ups as this helps the viewer to focus on the eyes and then make their own decision on how the character is feeling by looking at the face and the characters facial expressions. The depth of field does change through out the film. We use a shallow depth of focus when we are using close ups. This is because we want to keep the viewers attention on the characters as opposed to the background so decided to blur the background out so it isn't to much of a distraction. But when we record the collision we use a deep focus so we can show the collision in focus and not have a blurred background as that would look out of place. While filming the shots of the characters walking we held the camera with out hands this allowed us to achieve a swaying affect almost mimicking the characters movement. This also shows the audience that the environment was natural as the ground wasn't all level so added an element of realism into the film. When the collision was recorded this used a tripod in order to achieve a level shot with no motion in it. 

If we were to re shoot this there is a few things i would change that didn't go so well in this film. One of these things would be the final scene where the camera glides over the dead body. For this I would make sure there is no one else in the frame at the time or recording this is because on this run through we had someones foot in the shot which when noticed ruins the dramatic effect of the person being dead. Another thing i would change is the sunglasses Jordi was wearing. This is because they reflect the camera in them so the audience can see what is happening which ruins the emersion of the dramatic shot. 

The editing stage went quite well as well. I edited the film with simple but effective transitions and didn't over complicate it. I played music which fit the style of film over the top of the footage. I made the transition fit with the music by aligning the cuts with the changes in the music. This effectively engages the viewer as it satisfies them by having well times cuts. If there was a few things I could change it would be alter the length of each clips so that they are equal and fit the music even better. I used the cut tool in order to alter the length of each clip and rearranged them to fit the music. If i had more time i would of tried to fit some foley sounds into the film in order to add realism and dramatic effect.