A2 Film Coursework Evaluation


The initial aim of the film ‘Smack’ was to produce a film that could be used by organisations such as the police or schools to educate people about the problems of drug abuse, and how it affects people. To this end I decide to make a film that would appeal to all classes and age groups found in our school systems, as I envisaged that school children, between the ages of 12 and 18, would be the primary audience. As such, the film itself also breaks down the stereotypes of drug films already found in the industry, such as ‘Trainspotting’, in that the addict is not from a distinctly lower class background, indicated by the location and costumes. Therefore it is easier for students at schools outside of inner cities to relate with the character and hopefully hit home the fact that drugs can affect anyone, regardless of where they live.

However, despite this there are several aspects that I would change if given the chance to make this film again. Firstly, I would address the issue of some of the editing between shots, as it doesn’t look as slick as I would like. There are several transitions, for example, that appear to show frames taken from other parts of the film. This was entirely unintentional and would have been fixed, had I noticed before the film was finished. Furthermore, the shots themselves appear to be slightly too long for the fast pace of that I wanted the film to utilise. This means that the overall pace of the narrative is slower than hoped. Secondly, I would have used a different soundtrack for the film, as I didn’t feel that it fit with the aesthetics of the film. I’d attempt to replace it with a grittier, more oppressive soundtrack, possibly changing the music’s genre from electro to British grindcore or metalcore. Whilst the song that I used (9000 Miles-Pendulum) was appropriate, it made the film more glamorous than is acceptable for a film that was trying to dissuade people from turning to drug abuse.

On the other hand, there were many strengths to my production that I was completely satisfied with, the main strength being the narrative of the film. The portrayal of drug abuse and the effects that it can have on an addict are exactly how I envisaged them turning out as. This is not down to any prior knowledge of the effects of drug abuse and how addicts cope, as I had to research these things to help the film be as realistic as possible. Furthermore I chose to link the effects of drug abuse in with the current rise in drugs related crimes, indicated in the scene where the addict mugs a younger child for his wallet and mobile phone, so as he can fund his habit. This is also shown through the increasing amounts of money the addict has to pay the dealer as he moves onto progressively more expensive narcotics, such as ecstasy and finally heroin. Another aspect that seemed to work out well was the special effects, such as the utilisation of fake vomit in the final bathroom scene. This was made simply by mixing porridge oats with chopped up carrot and warm milk, giving it the exact look and texture of typical human sick. In the test screenings I did this had the desired affect amongst the audience members, a mixture between revulsion and fascination. This was also mirrored in both the mugging scene and the plate smashing scene, although in these cases the feeling of revulsion was replaced by anger or shock. The final aspect that I was particularly proud of was the absence of dialogue, as this allowed the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the addicts, allowing them to submit their own scripts as it were. I felt that if this film was to reach the widest possible audience I needed to dispel any commonly held misconceptions and stereotypes held by audience members towards addicts, whilst allowing them to fully relate with them. Therefore I removed any form of stimulus that would jeopardise this, hence the lack of dialogue.

This particular project has helped improve my knowledge of both the film industry, in the sense of the planning that goes into a film, and the editing techniques needed to make a film, and how the wrong decision in this case can completely change the focus of a film. Before making ‘Smack’, I had no idea that directors needed to decide beforehand who their target audience where, the style of the film, lighting, sound etc. as I initially assumed that this could all be done off the cuff whilst filing. I was soon proved wrong as I realised that if a director did this, the production would inevitably suffer because of it, falling foul to inconsistencies throughout. I also had no appreciation of how difficult editing a film could be, and the amount of time and effort put into making a film look just right. This was further compounded by the fact that my first edited attempt at this film was lost and I was faced with the daunting prospect of re-editing the film in just two days. Luckily I found the original edited copy just hours before the deadline.

Overall I feel that this project was as successful it could be in the given time frame, excluding the aspects I was unhappy with, which are purely down to human error. I managed to fulfil my aims and contexts, and I am happy with the look of the final product.