New Wave Rough Cut and Evaluation

The final cut of my New Wave film is very rough and lacks in effects due to my absence of experience with Premiere Pro and all it's features. As I got further into editing I got used to the software and felt I was able to add music to my footage, and chose a song I thought fit the footage well and towards the end of the film I began to edit the footage to fit the music and or lyrics. 

The American New Wave was a big influence of mine, since I'd studied it as a genre, the use of natural lighting to give a sense of verisimilitude to my film, also the use of unaware extras for the same reason as the lighting; it adds to the almost documentary style of film. The use hand held camera and long depth of field follow the conventions of the New Wave genre, in that it looks natural and a part of daily life without any sense of being staged and scripted. Also the French New Wave influenced me slightly in the use of jump cuts and unpolished editing, this was useful to me as it allowed me to get used to the software but to make a short film that demonstrated characteristics of my influences. In my film there's a shot on an escalator which is overexposed and the definition of the coat is lost. Despite the shot being overexposed I decided to leave it in the final cut because it compliments the genre as the genre as a whole is about capturing the shot and life rather than focusing on the technical components to each shot.

There are a several shots and edits that I am very proud of throughout my film; one being at the point when Eleanor is walking and smoking and shows to peace sign to the camera and the same time that the song says 'piece' although it isn't the same definition it was unintentional editing that fits really well and, I believe, adds to the film positively. Also the shot when it looks as though Eleanor throws the camera to the side as the music changes. I thought it was the ideal place for that shot and I edited it to be followed by the flickering light that doesn't quite fit the beat of the music yet fits so well to the feel of the film; nothing quite fits together and makes no sense but that's what makes it work.