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August is usually a quiet time for club meetings, but not so for Surrey Border Film & Video Makers. Members turned out in force for a fun evening as film critics. Neil Cryer, the Club Publicity Officer entertained members with an evening designed to bring out the critical film-making skills of the audience. He started by showing some short clips from well known commercial thrillers and detective series which he had specifically selected to reveal the importance of music and sound effects to enhance mood. The first clip was from the opening scene of the 1955 version of The Ladykillers. He showed it twice over, first with the original background music and sound effects replaced with light music and then with the creepy original sound track restored. Everyone was struck by how the whole impact was so spectacularly altered! Next it was the turn of clips from the Poirot television detective series. Neil used these to demonstrate the effects of different types of lighting. He paused the presentation at appropriate moments to invite the audience to comment and to suggest where and how the lights had been placed to give the various effects. Finally members were shown, and invited to comment on, award winning films from the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers collection. Some films were shown in their entirety and others only in extracts, all with the aim of triggering comments and discussion. A great time was had by all. The audience respond enthusiastically; they showed insights and wisdom which revealed the wealth of talent within the club; and they appreciated the opportunity to learn from one another through discussion in greater depth than is usual at club meetings. Of course there is a down side to learning to become film critics, films may then be watched for the techniques rather than the plot. Let us hope that members enjoyment of television is not spoilt by a heightened awareness of the special effects used by filmmakers to enhance the drama. |