Evaluation question 3

Evaluation question 3

Response to Evaluation Question 3 from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

AC

Evaluation Question 6

I

IW

Evaluation question 7

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

One of the first pieces of filming I did this year was the preliminary task. We made this to prove that we could work a camera on our own and set up a tripod and get successful lighting and sound. We also had to show that we knew how to film and edit using continuity editing. We also showed that we could do a shot-reverse-shot and match on action shot. We also had to show that we knew to not and how to not, break the 180-degree-rule. Doing this task defiantly helped with our final media product, as it was a gentle introduction to film and editing together a film. It showed us how noticeable it is when the 180-degree-rule is broken and how badly it affects the whole product. Therefore, doing the preliminary task taught me that I must avoid breaking the rule at all costs.  This task was also were I learnt the very basics of editing the very user-friendly editing software, ‘final cut’. It was helpful learning how to edit using a very simple clip that wouldn’t be marked as it got rid of some of the pressure of learning how to editing too well and quickly. The other aspects of filming and creating a media product I learnt in the progression from starting the preliminary task are; planning, sound, camerawork, editing, and lighting.

When starting to create our finale media product the first step was planning. We started planning our film by discussing the ideas together as a group and writing down ideas that we came across and liked. We would refine our ideas of the plot by running through them together again and again. This is very different to the preliminary task were we could make up our shot and pointless plot on the spot. I also learnt the importance of distributing the work load as evenly as possible to get through the project. I also learnt that sometimes things that you planned, don't always happen exactly how you want. For example, we didn't get all our shots done in the first go of filming. To make this worse, our actress dropped out before we had time to finish filming her. This meant we had to very quickly find some one else who is suitable for the role and re-shoot every clip. Another way something which went wrong and we learnt from it, is one of my members of the team, forgot the story board both times when we were shooting. However this showed me the importance of carefully drawing and planning out the story board. This is because, even though we didn't have it on us, it was still very helpful doing it so carefully as we remembered it well. Another thing that didn't go to plan, was someone had agreed to write our music for us. However they also dropped out. This taught us to look for other resources. We managed to look online to find some non-copywrite music which suited our film well. Finally, something else which went wrong is we didn't manage to film the scene of the car pulling into the house in the first shot. We didn't manage to film the scene for quite a while after as the weather wasn't similar enough to our first day of filming. Although we manage to film it and edit it in in time, it was still very stressful and a very tight squeeze. What I learnt from this situation is the importance of filming much earlier than you need it, just so you do have long enough to reshot if some stuff does not go to plan.

The sound was very different for my final media product compared to the Preliminary. I didn’t learn that much about sound from doing the preliminary task its self, as we didn’t do much on sound.  I didn’t use music, foley sound, and I used no external recorder.  However, after having a double lesson about using external recorders and the importance of sound, and the location the sound is being recorded in, I learnt a lot. One thing that was very important to learn was the importance of adding atmospheric sound. However for the final media product, we used these many different sound techniques in our film. The double lesson on sound was a very strong starting point but the rest of what I learnt about sound came from practise when I worked on the final media product. I learnt how even a small amount of wind can be too loud to work with and can ruin the final product.   I also learnt that if an actor shouts some of the script too near a boom mic, it can ruin the sound and sound bad and crackly. I learnt hat it is important to keep the boom further away and to edit the sound louder if need be. I also learnt through doing our final media piece, that when filming, and at the same time recording with a boom mic, it is very important to keep it away from the camera and out of shot. Although I did know this was a problem prior to starting our piece, I did not realise how easily the boom can slip into frame without even realising. Also, although it was not possible without losing too much quality, you can crop the clip if necessary, in this example, the boom being in frame.

I have also learnt a lot about camera work since starting the preliminary task. Ive learnt how important it is and how much it improves the shot boy have a word variety of shots. In the preliminary task, I used the minim amount of shots, making it look simplistic and too basic. Adding a larger variety of shots, (close up, long, shot, over shoulder shot, tracking shots, point of view shots, hand held camera work, etc) add interest to the film. They also allow space for different shots to present different ideas and feelings. For example, the over shoulder shot of the man at the beginning, make him seem dominate as he takes up lots of camera space. In our film we used what we had learnt about 180-degree-rule and were very careful not to break it. There were many shots, especially when the man is walking through the house, where we easily could have broken the rule, but remained careful not to.

I also learnt a lot about editing since the preliminary task. In my final media product I think its successful editing in the film on the title and the black screen to create a devision between scenes (the running scene and the scene in the house.) Through creating the preliminary task, I learnt the very basics of editing. It was useful that we all did each preliminary task by our selves, which insured that I did manage to learn all that I needed to, rather than sharing the amount learnt.

AC

Facebook Page

The best way to get feedback and keep people updated with what we do is through a Facebook page we created at the beginning of this project, first showing the ideas for the location, asking for peoples input. We shared two different rough cuts of the film onto this site as well meaning that the followers were able to share and discuss different ideas for the soundtrack. The issue we found with having a Facebook page with our friends was that the feedback was limited as people would be too embarrassed or shy to comment. It was still helpful to us to post them as we knew how many people were watching and to promote our title sequence.

These are some screenshots from the Facebook page:



After these photos we have put up the final copy of the film and have changed the name from 'The following' to 'Stolen' as we thought it made for a more dramatic feel.

EB

Evaluation question 1

Convention Evaluation

( full screen to see full tags)

1. IDENT - We used the convention of having an ident at the start of our film, as this is what is expected to introduce and start the film.  We did a quite graphic, arty ident which is also conventional of an ident, swell as involving an animation aspect
2. SHOT REVERSE SHOT - We also used the shot reverse shot which is sued a lot in real media products, as we thought this would be a good shot to use as it establishes Maddie, and then shows that she's running, and where she is. It also encapsulates the audience as the point of view shot included in the shot reverse, gives you her perspective and increases the anticipation.
3. ENIGMA - We started our film with a clip of Maddie running through the forest that suddenly stops to go to the titles, which creates an enigma, also by how it suddenly cuts to her in a bedroom.  We chose to do this as we've seen this in many other thrillers, and it gives a snapshot o whats happened to the person without having to go in to much detail, so mystery is created.  So we used this form of a real media product as we really liked the effect it creates in films.  
4. TITLES - Like the ident, we definitely wanted titles in our film including the title 'Stolen' as it was a good way to break up the forest scene and the bedroom scene, and again we have seen this in real media products and the title also gives a hint into what happens to the girl as she is 'stolen'.   It also made our film look more professional and realistic, as you would expect to see titles.
5. ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC - Music is commonly expected in films and although this uses the convention, we decided to challenge the convention some films have of the music building from jolly music to serious as this sometimes makes the antagonist more creepy as the music is so happy.  We decided to go for high drama music from the start of the film to indicate the genre and set the scene.
6. LOW ANGLE SHOT OF MYSTERIOUS NEW CHARACTER - The low angle makes the antagonist look more powerful and this still has an effect even when its just a shot of his car pulling up into the driveway.  The cross cut to the car establishes a new character which slowly explains why the girl is in the bedroom, and if we hadn't done this and used the convention of slowing unveiling new characters, then our film would be very one sided and there would be no progression in the film.
7. REACTION SHOT OF GIRL+ POINT OF VIEW SHOT - Similarly to the establishing shot of the new character, the protagonist, we used a reaction shot of the girl looking shocked at the car.  We saw this composition of shots in our film research and wanted to use it as it slowly unveils the plot without the characters having to say it.  Then we also used a point of view shot as this , similarly to in the forest, creates tension.
8. CONTINUITY - We used continuity when Conor, the protagonist, unlocks the door and enters it as otherwise the shot would stand out and be very noticeable as he could open the door and then unlock that as that doesn't make sense.  This is sort of a convention, but we don't feel like we intentionally used this because we saw it in films, but more because otherwise the film would be messy
9. DARK LIGHTING, FACE OBSCURE - This is a classic convention used in thrillers, as the darkness creates fright and the obscurity of his face, makes him seem more daunting and mysterious.  However we challenged this convention in a sense that we did it subtly, as it was caused by there being dark lighting in the hallway, instead of us using a bright light and a blackout.
10. CREEPILY NORMAL ACTIONS - Although i have seen this in a few thrillers, where the 'murderer' leads a normal life and goes home and makes breakfast for example, it is common in thrillers for the antagonist to be very stereotypically angry and sharpen their knives for example.  But we wanted to challenge this and confuse the audience, so we made the antagonist drive home in an expensive car to a nice spacious house and sit down to watch the cricket, as this means it makes the audience question why he would feel the need to kidnap a girl, and this makes them think of what happens next and keeps them wanting more.
11. DISTRESSED ACTION BY PROTAGONIST - We wanted to create the idea that Maddie had been at this house for quite some time instead of it being a recent kidnapping, but we felt like the protagonist needed to show some signs of distress as it is common in thrillers, for the protagonist to be screaming or cry in, so we mad Maddie get angry and shout, but not in a very intense way which again makes the audience question how many times she has got mad, and how long she's been there.
12. NO VIOLENCE OR WEAPONS USED - A large way we challenged conventions of a thriller, was how we didn't use any weapons or violence, especially towards the protagonist.  We wanted our film to be very realistic, and as we wouldn't be able to do proper gore scenes, with fake blood etc. we thought we should leave that out, but also we chose on purpose to leave it out, and use the enigma of the angry man storming upstairs at the end as this leaves the question of is he/her going to be violent towards each other.

IW

evaluation question 5

Evaluation of attracting an audience

https://prezi.com/7bvk6zmb1iaq/edit/#1_24309637

Making of the Ident

Making of the Ident

In my last blog post i mentioned how I was intending on using Movavi which is a screenshot recording app, but after trying it out and seeing the many factors i had to take into account( such as the cursor being in the recording, and also it being hard to edit the speed because of its format), I instead thought it would be easier to use Motion.  I had never used it before and it was a different type of software which at first was quite overwhelming to use, as there were many different tools etc.  I started by drawing the final design of the ident on illustrator and after we were happy with how it would look I put it into motion.  Then i used a pen tool and recorded drawing over the doodle in white.  This covered up the design, but then i used the Behaviour 'write-on' which meant that when it played the lines were revealed instead of covered up.  I found this very tricky and time consuming though as i had to perfectly draw over the lines in a thin pen, so if i messed up one small part of the line i would have to start the whole doodle again.  As the doodle is all one line this meant this was a challenge.  I then changed the speed of the doodle, so it was all fluid, as sometimes i would take a break doing the line, and finally when i was happy with the final product, i exported it to put it on FinalCut.  When it was on FinalCut i trimmed it down to get rid of the the extra blank screens at the start and beginning, and thought it would be a nice idea to add a sound of a pencil scribble, which I've  seen before in animations.  I was happy with that as it otherwise i think the ident would have felt abit empty and dull otherwise.  Overall i was happy with the finished product and found it satisfying that what i had pictured in my mind was actually created.

                ( Here is the ident off Motion, without the music or it being slowed down)

IW

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

STOLEN 

Gender: 

F 11

M 10

We attracted both male and females to come and watch the film and received good feedback from both genders. These show positive results as it means that both males and females can relate to the characters. Having both genders watch our film stops bias results as well as helping us expand our target audience.

Age:

0-15 0

15-25  17

25-40  2

40-60  2

Having some people who were over the age of our target audience allowed us to know wether more people would be interested in viewing our film. The results show that we achieved reaching to our target audience of elder teens and early adults as they are the most likely to go to the cinema with their friends.

What is your favourite film genre?

Thriller  7

Comedy  7

Romantic  0

Sci-Fi  2

None  1

Crime Drama  1

Spy  1 

Surreal  1

Epic  1

These results suggest the film is hitting the target audience as thriller was one of the most popular genres put down. This allows us to get an idea of how many people would watch the film which is helped by the crossover of crime as well.

What would be your preferred thriller plot?

Murder  8 

Fiction  4

Kidnapping  0

Revenge  2

Psychotic  6

These results suggest that our plot in the film is not as popular as other thriller films as ours central around the girl getting kidnapped. Although, there have previously been popular thrillers showing people being kidnapped and is a regular theme which crops up through out thrillers.

Do you go to the cinema regularly? 

Not at all  1

Sometimes  17

All the time  3

These results are what to be expected due to web 2.0 and on demand access.

Do you prefer watching movies at home or in the cinema? 

Home  10

Cinema  11

This 50/50 split is to be expected.

Would you prefer to see the protagonist as male or female? 

Male  5

Female  7

Don’t mind  9

It's good that the don't mind is so high.

Was the ident realistic?

Yes  18

No  0

Did you understand the opening?

Yes  20

No  1

Did the opening leave you asking questions?

Yes  21

No  0

Would you want to watch the rest of this film? 

Yes  20

No  1

Improvements? 

Louder music 

Shot of man through forest

Evaluation question 2

AC

STOLEN Final Version

Animatic

I made an Animatic with the timings of our original vision. Our final media product may vary as we further refine our ideas beyond this point, but this is what we are heavily basing everything of.


AC