SCENE 1 - ANALYSED

When editing any film I always aim to begin with a striking, eye-opening shot to capture the audience's attention. I therefore decided that the opening shot (shown below) best captured my vision of a strong opening. By cutting from black to reveal Jack laying by the lake, the audience are faced with many questions that need answering.

Shot 1 / Shot 2

I then wanted to explore the surrounding environment the main protagonist was in, so I cut to a static shot of the lake. Subtle movements in the image (an insect flying off the water) add to the overall atmosphere of the film. 

Shot 3 / Shot 4

Thirdly, I cut to a CU of Jack's hand in the water. Whilst colour grading the image I wanted to bring out the grit and dirt on Jack's fingers. I specifically ensured not to show the main character's face throughout the first half of this scene, as I wanted to maintain the levels of enigma this creates. 

The fourth shot (displayed above) wasn't initially meant to be in the edit, but due to the obvious dirt on the image shown below, I decided to replace it with the one above instead. 

Scene 5 / Scene 6

The pacing of this scene remains slow and subtle throughout to parallel the vast, calmness of nature. I also believe the pacing creates a sense of eeriness and terror due to Jack's circumstances, walking through the woods alone.

Cutting from a CU (shot 4) to a LS (shot 5) best portrays the secluded environment Jack is in. I then cut to a LS of the tops of trees, to act as a bridge for the next sequence of shots.

Shot 7 / Shot 8

Shot 9 / Shot 10

Shot 11 / Shot 12

Shot 13 / Shot 14

The woodland sequence was intentionally broken up to parallel Jack's fragmented state of mind. The jump-cuts and eerie atmos/sound effects work together to convey an unsettled world. The final shot originally featured the unknown man dragging Jack's body off-screen, however I felt it was more subtle and effective to cut to black as he bends down to grab his boots, this tells us that he is more than likely going to drag his body off anyway, and that we needn't see it happen. In my opinion it's more effective to make the audience think in some circumstances.

The video of the scene is shown below-

00:00 - 01:10



Home Away From Here from SHU Film & Media Production on Vimeo.