Tyree
'The Ambush'
Narrative Drama Evaluation
My role: Writer and performer
We screened our short action film, 'The Ambush' to the rest of the class, it received a mixed reception. The action scene and its editing was praised, whilst the lack of story, character development and dialogue were mentioned as weaknesses.
The film's setting was said to have been appropriately chosen for the genre of the film, as a woodland area is perfect for an execution (and the drama itself). The editing had a lot of quickly cut footage to recreate the hectic and fast paced tone of an actual action film. The overly dramatic music was also hailed as appropriate and added to the film's comedic and melodramatic tone. The use of the camera was also said to have been good, with the camera being hidden within the trees to make it seem that Jazz and Josue's characters' were being spied on by the men involved in the ambush.
The fast cut editing technique mimics many action films that use this, we were looking and researching films such as 'Machete' and 'The Expendables' as influence, I myself see the final shootout to be something along the lines of the shootout from the Western film, 'The Magnificent Seven', to further demonstrate the 'contemporary Western' influences of the film.
Regarding the criticisms about not enough story and dialogue, I can explain; I wrote a full 5 page story explaining why Jazz's character (Jack) was captured by Josue (Kit), and it ran through about 3 pages before I needed to write in the action. But when we were in the middle of filming, we realised that there was too much talking, and that it took too long, and that the action was the most important and crucial part. So, we re- evaluated it and decided to cut the dialogue, and in a way, leave it to the audience's imaginations. Besides, film is a visual art and you don't necessarily need words to explain what is going on, although, I do see why the class could have been confused as to what was happening.
Overall, though, I think we made a good, fun action film that it up to a professional standard, I do agree that there should have been a build up to the story, but you have to make compromises, creatively in order for things to work.
The fast cut editing technique mimics many action films that use this, we were looking and researching films such as 'Machete' and 'The Expendables' as influence, I myself see the final shootout to be something along the lines of the shootout from the Western film, 'The Magnificent Seven', to further demonstrate the 'contemporary Western' influences of the film.
Regarding the criticisms about not enough story and dialogue, I can explain; I wrote a full 5 page story explaining why Jazz's character (Jack) was captured by Josue (Kit), and it ran through about 3 pages before I needed to write in the action. But when we were in the middle of filming, we realised that there was too much talking, and that it took too long, and that the action was the most important and crucial part. So, we re- evaluated it and decided to cut the dialogue, and in a way, leave it to the audience's imaginations. Besides, film is a visual art and you don't necessarily need words to explain what is going on, although, I do see why the class could have been confused as to what was happening.
Overall, though, I think we made a good, fun action film that it up to a professional standard, I do agree that there should have been a build up to the story, but you have to make compromises, creatively in order for things to work.
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