Slug & Lede

Sin City Shooters employs the powerful sound of the gun within the first moments of the video. This natural sound is used with a close shot of the pistol being fired. Initially the sound level of the gunshots is high, as the first interviewee begins to speak, the sound is brought down to a lower level and used as an effective transition. The first interviewee is a lively personality and her voice is clear and full. Camera provides perspectives from behind the gun and in front of the barrel. Edits are clean and seamless. Filmmakers use the available landscape for backdrop of interviews well. Though the subject of the video is repetitive and seems hard pressed to find a sound bite worth adding to the piece. The content of the interviews is weak.

Evelio Contreras’ video Sin City Shooters explores a day at the shooting range, revealing a microcosm of culture that some may not be familiar with.

This was a short video, and rightly so. If it had gone on much longer, the viewer would be much more inclined to lose interest, as this video wasn’t particularly packed with interesting content. The film was well filmed, with each shot composed purposefully. When an interview was taking place, the interviewee was filmed in the right side of the frame speaking towards the left. This made good use of space and took rule of thirds into account. The shots of people shooting were quickly paced, and some were handheld to give a more exciting feel.

One thing to take into consideration about this film is that it is not very newsworthy. Contreras filmed something that many may not be familiar with, the but the video did not give any reason for the viewer to want to become familiar with it. While the quick pacing added to an exciting feel, at times it may have been too quick, leaving the viewer disoriented.

Contreras put together a moderately entertaining film, but would have done well to select a topic that was more newsworthy, or at least to demonstrate why it should be of interest.