Descriptions and More Research

            My film opening so far is a young girl taking a store-bought pregnancy test in a public bathroom. She’s incredibly anxious as she takes the test and waits for the results. I’m either going to have her talking to herself as she tries to calm herself down, or have her be on a phone call with her best friend as she waits for the test to develop. If I do the latter, I want to edit the scene in a way that it starts off as a voice over, and then the audience sees that she’s on a phone call with her friend. I think I may film both options and decide in post, based on which one is more dramatic, and which one I like best. 

            I don’t think I want to show the audience the positive test results. The way I envision it is: the main character is waiting for the results, the camera shows the test before it says positive, it cuts to a low angle close up of her reacting to the positive results after it shows up, she curses, and then the film title comes up on screen.

            The fact that I mentioned which one is “more dramatic” when describing how I’ll decide what to include is important, as drama stories need to feature high stakes and conflict. Dramas illustrate stories that happen in real life and extreme situations with emotional characters. 

Some conventions and techniques I can use to emphasize the drama: 

• Narration (As I mentioned before, I’m considering doing a voice over.)

• Music or chorus that amplifies the conflict 

• Close ups on characters’ faces to highlight the emotion (I can utilize this when my main character is anxiously waiting for the test results.)

• Observations/showing the audience how events affect the characters (I can do this by stressing the importance of the pregnancy test. This Film Editing Pro article advises to do this with an eye shot, POV shot, and then back to the character’s face.)  

• Lingering shots/slowing the pace momentarily (I can use this to build up the tension as the character waits for the results.) 

  
  

  Thanks for reading,

  Michelle

  
  

  References:

Film Editing Pro. “4 Editing Techniques to Add Drama to a Cut.” Film Editing Pro, 7 Aug. 2021, https://www.filmeditingpro.com/4-editing-techniques-to-add-drama-to-a-cut/. 

“How to Identify Film Genres: Beginner's Guide to 13 Film Genres - 2022.” MasterClass, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-identify-film-genres#13-classic-movie-genres.