There are some issues with the rough cut that become more and more evident the more one watches it. However, the technical aspects isn’t where most of the issues lie. Actually, the rough cut is pretty solid technically.
Continuity:
The continuity is one of the strong suits of the rough cut. Since the majority of the opening takes places watching Lionel rouse from his sleep and interact with objects near and on his bed, shots were easy to take and plan so that they flowed into one another. Additionally, the 180 degree rule, or the rule that states that the camera should stay on one side of an imaginary axis between a character and an object as to not disorient the audience (Indie Film Hustle). Our camera remained on the right side of the action, switching behind and in front of the character briefly, keeping the audience oriented.
Of course, there was the minor issue of a jump in time and action between when Lionel rises from his bed to when he is in the bathroom. Peers commented that this was slightly jarring and disorienting, so adding a bridge between these actions would smooth this out.
There was also a shot 1:13 in our rough cut that was accidentally out of place. Due to my lack of communication with my editor, this was placed after Lionel rises instead of when he grabs the cloth from the nightstand like planned. I will aim to communicate better with my editor after the next reshoot.
Here’s the rough cut again for reference:
Readability as a Film Opening:
Not quite readable yet. This is mainly due to the lack of titles and more precise editing that comes with the final cut. Sounds are also largely absent and the music is nonexistent. However, once these are added, the scene will read more like an opening.
Genre:
Thanks to the low lighting and creepy blocking, the opening is easily readable as a thriller. It does come off a bit like horror, too, which is okay, given that thriller is allowed to have horror aspects. In the reshoot, however, I hope to attain a bit more of a subtle, daunting vibe that overt scares like we used in this cut.
Overall, these qualities can be swiftly fixed and altered to fit the feel of the film. But, as I said before, the main problems did not lie in the technicalities of the film opening, which actually turned out better than expected. Actually, the main issues that my problem has was the film process itself and what could have been.
Sources:
Lucid Elucidation's Explanations 