Examiner's Reports 2011

• Titles in general are improving, but some work still lacked awareness of the institutional conventions of titling, with just cursory attention to titles. Given this is half of the task (the titles and opening of a new fiction film), it is crucial that adequate attention is paid to this area.

• Soundtracks likewise still tend to be limited to just a music track, with no attention to diegetic sound.

• Camerawork was often far too limited, particularly lacking in close ups and with insufficient attention paid to framing.

• Lighting was often a problem, with inadequate sources producing grainy footage.

• There were still too many opening sequences which tended to resemble trailers and once again the usual stalk n’slash incidents in the woods- with white masked strangers popping out from behind sofas and trees.

• Candidates should be advised against the use of such storylines as generally they reinforce the sense of amateurism rather than creating a believable professional product. Such scenarios are rarely done well and appear more like early experiments rather than finished pieces. 

• Candidates need to work on narrative and building an enigma; many of them still wanted to condense and conclude the story in the opening two minutes, which of course misses the whole purpose of film openings.

• Centres who worked creatively and imaginatively on the use of titling and the use of sound were much more effective than those who focused on trying to create a potted story.