Evaluation of Hero- 3 act structure project

Surprisingly, I knew exactly what I wanted to base my film on, when given this assignment-
Hero- 3 act structure. I specifically wanted to challenge myself to take helpful advice from
talks that we had in college, about taking risks in our film making and tackling current issues.
I hope that my approach to this film could help to bring about a potential change in the
audience’s opinions on topics and make them think more deeply about these issues. I
thought this was the perfect opportunity to do this, as the unit was on engaging with an
audience.

One issue that immediately sprang to mind was the ever-growing scourge of the use of
vulnerable young people in County Lines operations. I have been made aware of this
problem recently in my local community, however it is impacting communities all over the
UK. I wanted to highlight this issue through my film and to show the audience how our
choices can impact lives. My main character is heavily involved in County Lines and the
exploitation of young people, but chooses to change.

Initially, I had planned to go straight into the interrogation of my hero character in the
opening scene, however, I listened to advise on this which suggested otherwise. It was
highlighted to me that this approach did not build the hero character narrative and
therefore I would risk my audience not developing a full or detailed picture of the character.
So, reflecting on this, I decided to show my audience a glimpse into the hero character’s
world of criminal activity. I wanted the audience to be exposed to the hierarchy of County
Lines drug dealing and therefore gain more of an understanding of the issue. When I was
researching County Lines and in particular gang structure, it was important to me that I was
able to portray the shockingly young age of those involved.

The age of the hero character was accurate to a ‘Younger’, who is under 18 but has
authority over younger people, such as my second character. In the opening scene my
second character represents a ‘Runner’, aged between 12 and 15, who accepts drugs and
moves them on. When first planning the scene, I originally organised for two slightly older
teenagers to act in the film as accepting the drugs, but they were unable to commit to the
time of the shoot. In hindsight, this was overall beneficial to me, as in the end I used a much
younger boy, which was a far more accurate portrayal of the age of the character’s role, and
feel was more impactful for my audience.

I feel pleased with how the two characters evolved and are portrayed to the audience. The
hero character is portrayed to be a cocky, seventeen year old, who has dominance over the
younger character. The opening scene of him waiting, shows this attitude as he casually
kicks a stone and looks around openly. In contrast, the younger character is portrayed as the
opposite; vulnerable, tense, with hunched shoulders and looking around warily. To develop
this character’s vulnerability even further, I acted on feedback from one of my audience,
and made him look tired, pale, and even beaten up. I hoped to provide an accurate
portrayal of the two roles for the audience and I feel by responding to feedback, I did this
successfully. As the scene develops, I deliberately wanted the audience to experience
fluctuating emotions, almost like being on an ‘emotional rollercoaster.’ I specifically built up
the second character as a vulnerable child, but by introducing an unknown adult character
that tackles the hero character, I created a sense of vulnerability around his character as
well. This hopefully highlights to the viewer the vulnerability and exploitation of all ages of
children involved in County Lines.

I was very pleased with the location of the opening scene in particular; it took a long time to
find the perfect place, with the look and feel I wanted. The combination of the storyline and
location with the foggy weather conditions, created an impactful atmosphere and opening
scene. I also believe it created a desire to know more about the developing story and the
characters involved. When reviewing the feedback from my test audience, most people
commented on the suspenseful atmosphere I had created. For example, a 28 year old
viewer commented, “It was effective being filmed by run down, abandoned garages… the
tense atmosphere built quickly as I watched to see what the young person was going to do.
Lots of questions filled my mind as the second young person approached.” Another person
aged 16 said, “I think the use of young actors portrayed County Lines really well and the way
they were dressed added to this.” I showed the opening scene to a couple of people outside
of my target audience and it was interesting to hear their comments on my film, “We were
not aware of County Lines until we watched the film…. the drawn appearance of the 2 nd
young person told the story clearly and we realised he was very vulnerable.” This was
exactly the reactions I was hoping for. I wanted my audience to connect with my film
through my characters and to realise how vulnerable all young people are to getting lured
into County Line operations. My feedback encouraged me that I have executed this
effectively.

When considering the technical quality of my film, I was pleased with the framing, varying
focal lengths and the tracking shots throughout. By utilising these techniques, I was able to
produce variation and interest for the viewer. A good example of this, was the use of a
tracking shot at the end of Act 1. This shot allowed the viewer to feel as if they were
interacting within the scene, following the hero character as if present on the walk. It then
switches to an observational view as the hero character is tackled by an unknown male. One
addition that I feel would have improved my film was the use of drone shots. This aerial
view would have given an extra dimension and provided a bigger picture of the geography
of the location. However, using the drone was not a possibility at the location due to several
reasons, including legal flying restrictions and poor visibility due to the weather conditions
at the time.
My film was different from the other short films we viewed, as it was shot in several
different locations and times of day. I consider my film to be a good competitor when
compared with the other short films.

In conclusion, when reflecting on my film, I believe I went a long way to fulfilling the brief
and importantly my own aspirations for it. Feedback from the audience showed that I had
succeeded in opening their eyes and minds and deepened their understanding of the
problem of County Lines and the exploitation of young people. This was exactly what I had
in mind. I feel I created a well thought out 3 act structure. The completed project contained
two scenes in Act two, however I feel this was justified, as I needed to have all the scenes I
created to thoroughly develop my narrative. Each scene possessed its own individual quality
and theme, which brought variety and interest for the audience but also worked together to
create the film as a whole. Each Act revealed more of the hero character to the audience,
and I feel closely followed the 3 act structure. I was pleased with the overall outcome and
thoroughly enjoyed this filming experience, especially using my film to help raise awareness
of a current issue which effects many individuals nationwide.