Past student work analysis -Condemned

the opening to this thriller was very effective, showing the dripping of taps with crisp sound to an image of a woman laying what we perceive to be dead in a bath. Over this they have placed small noises almost unnoticeable. However due to the use of silence the minimalistic sounds can be heard clearer, adding to the overall tension of the piece.  This I found to be a very effective when followed by the listing on names and dates layered over the following action. Both sequences flow into each other smoothly with a single cut transition.

The majority of the shots used are following a man, tracking shots are used in succession to help build up a sense of movement. there are also a few sitting mid and close shots  used to establish the character and as we build up a sense of character. there's also a use of over shoulder, cut-in's and an interesting effect where we the motion of people showing the passing of time. I felt this was used very effectively, showing the both the pass of time and our initial characters isolation from society. However could be done better with the use of a green screen

as the people can also be seen as slightly distracting.

The shot's used in the opening also seem to flow, there are no random cuts into action or fancy effects. Which can be seen as both a good, and bad thing. It's due to this simplistic nature that the film flows so well, it's not been overdone or held back by a lack of technology. This is an amazing opening which seems as if it could be the opening to a real thriller giving just enough information; Without explaining too much backstory giving away whats to come in the rest of the film.

There were problems however with the soundscape, such as in the dub-over you can hear the actors breathing. This  takes away from the scene making it seem naive. As the opening is quite slow there's also a limit to sound variation. an example of this is the constant audio track running through the opening. This opening doesn't do much to add tension to the audience as it has a very slow build, personally i would prefer an initial piece of action.

My final criticism is in the titling, which although gives the necessary information doesn't  do anything to build tension simply displaying the names in readable white writing which fades into shot.