I wasn't too sure on which group(s) I was supposed to be peer-reviewing, so I've decided to do a little bit on all of them! Spoiler: they were all REALLY good!
Group 1: CRIME SCENE
I loved the lighting of the shots in this because they all created a really nice contrast which was complimented by the black and white. The only thing I can really nitpick in regards to the shots is that one of the earlier ones with a pan was a little jerky which slightly took me out of it, but that's about it! I liked the score in this, my only critique (which is most likely just a 'me-thing') would be that I would've rather had it at a consistent volume throughout the entire film rather than it fading out when the voiceover stops momentarily as he's speaking throughout the majority of the film anyway. Speaking of the voiceovers, I really enjoyed the change in the accents and the argument between the detective and the voiceover! I found really amusing and I think this group did a great job :)
Group 2: TELLING THE BEES
It's always a challenge with figuring out what shots work best when the character's placement is static (which is something I struggled with last year), but it's clear to say that the cinematographer did an excellent job with the shots they took! From an editing perspective, I felt that the colour grade on the shot at 2:29 was different and slightly oversaturated to the rest, but I liked how we continue to hear the rest of the letter while getting a sense of the character's reaction to the letter's contents :)
Group 3: A NOCTURNAL SCENE
Extremely impressive, I was blown away when I first watched this. With this being a little over the 3-minute cap, I feel that it could've been cut down from the first shot/the beginning as it didn't really contribute too much to the rest of the piece. Continuing from that and agreeing with some of the things I heard in the crit, maybe the pouring of the whiskey could've been cut out as well to shorten the length. Their choice for the aspect ratio was absolutely perfect, and it does well to conform to its genre -- on top of this, the framing of each shot was pleasing to see and I enjoyed it a lot!
Group 4: DINNER DATE
The first shot was definitely my favourite. It's really satisfying to see bits and pieces slowly come into focus as we get a sense of the cues that contribute towards the narrative. The sharpening of the knife sounded nice, but it came with a sound of white noise which made it sound abrupt when it ended/faded out. I would've also liked John to not have sounded so clear (more like they're on the phone, but we can still just about hear what they're saying). I liked how we continued to hear the phone call, but I would've personally preferred the sound of the call ending to happen when it cut to black. With cutting it down a few more seconds, I'm not sure on how necessary the shot at 54 seconds is - both times it appears. But overall, I found the cinematography really impressive and I absolutely loved the narrative.
Group 5: PASSAGE
I found this really heartfelt and I think the group did an outstanding job! My only critiques are that the actor's face in the first shot was slightly overexposed at times. I liked the close-up shot of her face when she was on the phone, but I found the cut to that a little jarring. Finally, this is just a personal preference, but I didn't like the pause after the voiceover said "the worst thing I remember saying was...", but again, that's just more of a personal thing. To finish off, I really liked the pacing of the film as a whole, and the timing with the score and how it flowed into the piece really nicely.
Group 7: SAVING THROWS
J's performance was really nice, and I think they did a great job (especially since they were the writer as well, that's really impressive). I enjoyed how disorientating it felt at the start. The visuals and the sound really compliment each other nicely! The separation between the fictional world and reality was a really nice concept, and the desk in the forest was a nice touch as well! The only bit I can really nitpick is the cut from the shot of them pulling up the bow and arrow to them about to shoot - I noticed a bit of action missing there, but it's not extremely noticeable. To conclude, this film was definitely one of my favourites so well done to all of them!
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