Deryn Doamekpor

College Film

17 November 2022

Archie’s Final Project

The movie I chose was Archie’s Finals Project. This movie is about a high school project.

Archie, the main character decides that he wants to document his suicide. He records everything

that happens in his life. During the film, he meets new friends and enemies. Many people are

upset about the “documentary” because they think he is doing it for attention. While Sierra

Silver, the popular girl, finds interest in what he is doing. She begins a friendship with Archie. As

they slowly bond, he starts getting happier with his life. He finally found someone that he loved

and that made him happy. As the movie continues, the watcher learns that Sierra’s brother died in

a car accident. This accident turned her suicidal. They fall in love with each other and are

trauma-bonded together. This movie not only had great acting, editing, and cinematography, but

it also has a great story.

The reason I pick this movie is that the editing and graphics are very different than most

movies. This movie explores all types of cinematography since the main character is “editing the

project.” One example is fast motion. Fast motion is a technique that accelerates action on

screen. The movie had a lot of quirky fast motion. Opposing the fast motion, this movie also

contains slow motion. Which decelerates the action on screen. This gives the movie a more

dramatic feel. Another example of cinematography is mobile framing. Since the main character

 is “recording the movie” himself, he uses mobile framing to show multiple things he is talking

about. Lastly, the movie contains lots of visual effects. The whole movie is filled with crazy,

colorful imagines and effects. This is what makes the movie look good and have watchers

hooked.

Mise-en-scène is a big part of this movie. There were a lot of props, costumes, actor

blocking, and lighting throughout this whole movie. Props were a huge thing in this movie. For

example, Archie loved computers. When the watchers saw scenes of his room, tons of electronics

and computers were everywhere. Another prop was his camera. The camera he used was how we

saw the “documentary” of his life. This prop was used throughout the whole movie. Another

element that was used throughout this whole movie was actor blocking. We are introduced to

some characters that are only there for a few scenes. They need extra characters to be able to tell

the story in the best way possible. Lighting was also a huge thing throughout this movie. There

are many types of lighting. The different types of lighting help express mood, tell the story, and

convey characters into the storyboard. Examples are hard light, soft light, key light, fill light,

backlight, and low key lighting. This movie used lighting to have the watchers feel emotion.

They would use soft light to look more flattering. Lighting can create highlights, shadows,

shapes, and textures for the movie. Using these elements helps the movie become more

interesting to the watcher. Lastly, the sets of the movie. To create the set, they have set directors

that are like interior designers for the movie. They also have different costumes, makeup, and

hairstyles to fit each and every scene. These can also show character growth throughout the

 movie. While watching this movie, the watchers can tell that Archie is getting more popular and

happy because he seems cleaner. The designers do this so the watchers can see the difference

throughout the film without having to directly tell them.

Another unique aspect of this movie was the narrative. Narrative is a story. Narrative

movies are fiction films. Narrative helps movies infuse culture and our lives into movies. Like

sporting events, relating a dream, recalling a memory, or even telling a joke. This movie uses

dialogue, voice-over narration, and direct address narration. Dialogue is a conversation between

the main character and side characters that tell the watchers the story. Voice-over narration is

when we hear the character's voice over the pictures and scenes without actually seeing them.

Direct address narration is when the character talks directly to the audience. In this movie, the

main chapter uses direct address narration to tell us the story and details. These narrations were

all omniscient, which means it knows all and tells the watcher whatever it wants us to know.

Many scenes throughout this movie uses all these narratives. The large range of narratives makes

the movie more interesting and intriguing. This hooks the watcher in and makes them finish the

film.

With all the elements of this film, it created an amazing movie. The way the director used

all these techniques makes the watcher hooked and finish the film. Overall, I enjoyed the movie

because of how different it was. This coming-of-age movie was different than most I have seen.

This movie can be shown to many different ages and keep them interested. The director used

these to also tell a story people can relate to. When the director relates to people in the real

world, it makes it much more interesting to watch. Finally, I would watch the movie again and

recommend it to other people.