In addition to conducting focus groups, I contacted related professionals to gain further feedback on the relevance and effectiveness of my project. I thought it was important to receive advice from specialists in their fields but was quite nervous to approach them as I appreciated that they were busy with their own work. However, I was heartened that they took the time and trouble to review my project.
Scott Breckenridge
Freelance Video and TV Editor
(Currently working on Gogglebox and Great British Menu)
I had received feedback from Scott for my second year project and have kept in contact, knowing this was an area which interested me. I told Scott I was creating a film for my FMP and he was happy to give me feedback on my final outcome.
"I’ve watched your film 5 times now. It’s got so much going on that I notice something different every time.
I think you’ve really created a piece of art that you should be very proud of. The story telling is clear - I can follow the protagonists journey from dark to light and the movements and sound effects really highlight an obsessive mindset and the destructive patterns that the mind can be trapped in.
I love the recurring visual motifs - the bars in the hair and the dresses - the way the shadows on the face at the start are mirrored in the hair styling later.
I love the way you’ve incorporated dance and rhythm in the simple repetitive movements that become more fluid towards the second half of the film.
From a technical point of view I think you’ve done great job - all the shots are nice and sharp, the lighting is striking and the soundtrack really works with the shots.
I also think the website is excellent.
The only thing I would do is possibly do another colour grade pass on the second half of the film ( where the close ups of the hands on the body start ) This section could be brightened slightly but to be honest I think you could do that at a later date, it’s just me being picky! Also I did think that some of the sound effects could be slightly louder particularly the eerie sounds on the desk section.
Overall I think it’s really impressive piece of work and I can see a lot went into it.
I don’t know if you’ve thought about exhibiting your work in a gallery?"
I was so excited to receive such positive feedback from a professional and really appreciated that he had put the time aside to watch the film a number of times to give such a considered response. I was delighted with his interpretation of the story, with the recurring visual motifs and emotional journey, and particularly pleased with his technical feedback from an editing point of view. I was excited that he suggested I exhibited my work in a gallery as I think it highlights how he thinks I should be very proud of my work. I appreciated the possible improvements he put forward, as I wanted to hear his honest opinion. I experimented with brightening the closeups of the hands on the body; however I felt that when I brightened it, it started to lose the sense that the hands were appearing out of nowhere because it revealed more detail in the background. I therefore decided to keep these scenes looking darker and more mysterious. Scott also suggested I made the eery sounds in the middle scene with the desk louder; however both Sharon and Sebastiane advised I lowered the volume of the background music to put more emphasis on the movement sound effects and so the music was not as dominant. I will therefore keep the music at the same level as I feel it gives a hint of a chilling and haunting sound, without it covering the sound effects on top. I felt so grateful that he had taken the time to respond in such detail.
Scott has offered me work experience, which I am excited to arrange during the summer!
Rosie Gunn,
Course Leader – Digital Film & Screen Arts BA, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham
I made initial contact with Rosie when my project was still at its proposal stage and kept in touch throughout. I was delighted to have input from not only a university tutor but one leading a course on film.
From first receiving my proposal, Rosie was confident her students would be interested by my project and was happy to see me if I felt I needed any advice. Her feedback on my final film was very positive, as illustrated by her comments below:-
“There are some really powerful images in your film. Well done for nice shooting and lighting. I thought the section near the beginning where the character is drawing and scratching, some of the dance duet, the highly stylized model undoing herself, the hands on the body were all particularly strong scenes. The ominous soundtrack is perfect to add atmosphere to the piece.”
Commenting on the ambiguity of the content to allow the audience’s own interpretation, she confirmed the usefulness of Ostracised “to start discussions with groups of young people about how the film itself may relate to the notion of ostracism”, but felt some guidance on interpretation would be helpful. This confirmed my idea of creating a brief project description to accompany my film to make it into a complete teaching resource package. Additionally, the dedicated website provides my contact details and an easy to complete form to give an opportunity to ask any questions.
Rosie was very helpful in giving feedback and made it clear she was happy for me to contact her again if I felt I needed any further guidance. This professional input was much appreciated.
Scott Breckenridge
Freelance Video and TV Editor
(Currently working on Gogglebox and Great British Menu)
I had received feedback from Scott for my second year project and have kept in contact, knowing this was an area which interested me. I told Scott I was creating a film for my FMP and he was happy to give me feedback on my final outcome.
"I’ve watched your film 5 times now. It’s got so much going on that I notice something different every time.
I think you’ve really created a piece of art that you should be very proud of. The story telling is clear - I can follow the protagonists journey from dark to light and the movements and sound effects really highlight an obsessive mindset and the destructive patterns that the mind can be trapped in.
I love the recurring visual motifs - the bars in the hair and the dresses - the way the shadows on the face at the start are mirrored in the hair styling later.
I love the way you’ve incorporated dance and rhythm in the simple repetitive movements that become more fluid towards the second half of the film.
From a technical point of view I think you’ve done great job - all the shots are nice and sharp, the lighting is striking and the soundtrack really works with the shots.
I also think the website is excellent.
The only thing I would do is possibly do another colour grade pass on the second half of the film ( where the close ups of the hands on the body start ) This section could be brightened slightly but to be honest I think you could do that at a later date, it’s just me being picky! Also I did think that some of the sound effects could be slightly louder particularly the eerie sounds on the desk section.
Overall I think it’s really impressive piece of work and I can see a lot went into it.
I don’t know if you’ve thought about exhibiting your work in a gallery?"
I was so excited to receive such positive feedback from a professional and really appreciated that he had put the time aside to watch the film a number of times to give such a considered response. I was delighted with his interpretation of the story, with the recurring visual motifs and emotional journey, and particularly pleased with his technical feedback from an editing point of view. I was excited that he suggested I exhibited my work in a gallery as I think it highlights how he thinks I should be very proud of my work. I appreciated the possible improvements he put forward, as I wanted to hear his honest opinion. I experimented with brightening the closeups of the hands on the body; however I felt that when I brightened it, it started to lose the sense that the hands were appearing out of nowhere because it revealed more detail in the background. I therefore decided to keep these scenes looking darker and more mysterious. Scott also suggested I made the eery sounds in the middle scene with the desk louder; however both Sharon and Sebastiane advised I lowered the volume of the background music to put more emphasis on the movement sound effects and so the music was not as dominant. I will therefore keep the music at the same level as I feel it gives a hint of a chilling and haunting sound, without it covering the sound effects on top. I felt so grateful that he had taken the time to respond in such detail.
Scott has offered me work experience, which I am excited to arrange during the summer!
Rosie Gunn,
Course Leader – Digital Film & Screen Arts BA, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham
I made initial contact with Rosie when my project was still at its proposal stage and kept in touch throughout. I was delighted to have input from not only a university tutor but one leading a course on film.
From first receiving my proposal, Rosie was confident her students would be interested by my project and was happy to see me if I felt I needed any advice. Her feedback on my final film was very positive, as illustrated by her comments below:-
“There are some really powerful images in your film. Well done for nice shooting and lighting. I thought the section near the beginning where the character is drawing and scratching, some of the dance duet, the highly stylized model undoing herself, the hands on the body were all particularly strong scenes. The ominous soundtrack is perfect to add atmosphere to the piece.”
Commenting on the ambiguity of the content to allow the audience’s own interpretation, she confirmed the usefulness of Ostracised “to start discussions with groups of young people about how the film itself may relate to the notion of ostracism”, but felt some guidance on interpretation would be helpful. This confirmed my idea of creating a brief project description to accompany my film to make it into a complete teaching resource package. Additionally, the dedicated website provides my contact details and an easy to complete form to give an opportunity to ask any questions.
Rosie was very helpful in giving feedback and made it clear she was happy for me to contact her again if I felt I needed any further guidance. This professional input was much appreciated.
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