We failed to upload the video onto my account, we tried many things such as;
- uploaded to youtube, failed
- e-mailed the film, failed
Only group member: Katie Flatters has the film on her accont this is the link to the blog: katieflatters.blogspot.com
Friday 18 February 2011
Evaluation
Question 1: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The title of our film is "Stranger", this came to a group decision reflecting the idea of the two girls becoming targets of a complete stranger. A simple edgy font is used for the titles, making it clear but effective to read.
The locations used are purposefully dark and eerie in order to create tension and atmosphere that relates to the genre of our opening scene; 'thriller.' Although we wanted it to fit in with the plot to seem life-like.
In our opening scene we used various props, these consisted of:
- blusher brush/ toothbrush
- torch
- black jumper
- black eye make-up
These props were used to empathise thriller situations, including making a ordinary person into a scary figure. These props also helped us to produce tension and atmosphere that related to the genre of our opening scene, making our media product more successful.
We used a range of different camera angles and techniques such as:
-A close up shot, which tightly frames a person or an object. This will help to distinguish our main character as well as to show detail; such as characters emotion. This shot should help to create atmosphere and tension for our opening scene causing it to be more dramatic and successful,
-A point of view shot, which shows what a character (the subject) is looking at. This will cause the audience to interact with our main character, as a point of view shot will force them to sympathise with his situation making them more emotionally involved.
Which helped us to create a more effective, successful opening scene.
We used the software; 'Premiere Elements Pro 7.0' to create a successful, polished opening scene.
Our plot consists of two girls getting ready for a night out, not knowing they aren't alone in the house. As one girl drops her toothbrush the scary figure appears in the mirror background, this creates a big impact on the audience of a sense of mystery. Then suddenly a power cut happens, one of the two girls enters the bottom of the garden to turn it all back on, this is tense for the audience, not knowing if the figure returns to haunt the girl.
Our chosen genre for our opening scene was; 'thriller.' We feel that our opening scene successfully represents this genre through the media conventions stereotyped with this genre that we have used;
-Sense of excitement,
-Tense situations,
-Suspense,
-Dark, eerie locations,
-Psychological,
In conclusion to this analysis we felt that we have used stereotypical media conventions associated with films that have the genre; 'thriller, ' making our media product relate and comparable to existing media products.
Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product focuses on a range of different social group to represent the characters within our opening scene. We chose different to play different roles in the opening to make full use of the ideologies that the audience are used to so they can relate to the product.
Common ideologies of the characters
In our product we decided to follow the common ideologies of the characters that are represented in our opening scene. For example, the scary figure is perceived as dark, old and mysterious, we chose to use this in our film, i volunteered to be this character by using the props. Another ideology that is commonly seen in people is that young girls are seen as petite, shy and thin. This has gave an advantage as why the scary person will choose to stalk on the two young girls, because they are worthless. We used Honor and Katie as the two characters, as they are both petite.
Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A film distribution company is literally that; a company which distributes films to cinemas around the country, or even around the globe in order for them to reach their target audience. There are many examples of these companies: New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Orion Pictures are just three distribution companies. I think that, from these three examples, our film Stranger would most likely be distributed by New Line Cinema. New Line Cinema distributed the Se7en which is also a thriller, and is the same kind of thriller as Justice as there are elements of both the psychological and action sub genres of thriller.
I considered Coffee Films as a possible distributor for our thriller, as it is a British Film company, and ours is a British film. Therefore, if our film was not popular enough to be distributed by Orion Pictures or New Line Cinemas a distribution company such as Coffee Films would be a good choice. Similarly, Lionsgate also distributes some independent thrillers, making this another option for a company to distribute our thriller Justice. Film 4 is another British film distributor that I could consider if I wanted our film to be distributed in the UK only. However, the obvious disadvantage to these companies is that they are smaller distributors, and therefore my thriller might not reach the majority of my target audience, as Justice may only by released in Britain or in certain cinemas.
We used these films to research what people are named in the titles. We found that the titles of a film normally include these people:
-The production company/producers,
-Cast and crew,
-Film distributors,
-Director,
-Film name,
-And sound producers.
Titles are normally used as a recognition for all of the various people that worked together to finish and release a media product. We chosen not to add the names in the piece because we felt it was best to keep it simple.
Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?
For our film, this can be related to by the audience, as our main characters are teenagers/young adults, providing a pathway for connection from the audience. The film opening will have a target audience of 15+ because it contains psychological problems.
The gender towards the film can change, for example: for the opening, the characters evolve around two girls, this would be more aimed at females. However when reaching to the end of the film when psychological takes place, male and female gender would be more interested.
Our target audience is based on the average teen like the ones that wear the average clothes, are sociable and are either left school or at college.Fortunately for us most teens fit into this bracket. I think this could be a possibility of expanding our target audience into the younger adult bracket but this would definitely be dependant on what type of thriller we included.
Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
Once our disc was burned, we then decided to get random people from school to watch the film for feedback. They filled out questionnaire's each to gain evidence and research. We didn't feel the need to upload the film onto a social network site, including YouTube or Facebook, mainly because anyone could watch the film and it is targeted at 15+. Therefore getting people together to see their expression was useful as we could see the reaction eye to eye, than to upload and just get results; which could be untrustworthy and incorrect.
Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During process of creating our media coursework I feel i have learnt many things about different technologies. the different media platforms i used in order to produce our Media product are:
--Camera,
-Computer/Internet,
I furthered my depth of knowledge and understanding on how to use the software; 'Premiere Elements Pro 7.0,' not only developing my editing skills and techniques, some of these including; time stretch, duplicating, use of effects and transitions; but also how to upload our video footage onto the software and export of finished product into a movie file in order for us to burn our media product onto a disk.
Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel that I have a more in depth knowledge on how to make a successful media product, developing both my camera skills and software editing skills in the progression from our preliminary task to our main task.
The preliminary task enabled us to make mistakes which we could learn from, giving me an insight into the use of camera angles, software editing, sound and 'Mise en Scene. All which are factors and techniques that cause a media product to become more successful that I needed practise on. Therefore the preliminary task was a learning curve that supplied the foundation knowledge i needed to produce a successful opening scene.
I also think that my knowledge of scripting and writing of films has improved.As we didn't have a lot of time in the preliminary task there wasn't a lot of time to edit,create and develop my work. During the main task we numerously edit and re-wrote parts of our opening and i think this combined with my research helped to broaden my knowledge on how to successfully develop a film.
The title of our film is "Stranger", this came to a group decision reflecting the idea of the two girls becoming targets of a complete stranger. A simple edgy font is used for the titles, making it clear but effective to read.
The locations used are purposefully dark and eerie in order to create tension and atmosphere that relates to the genre of our opening scene; 'thriller.' Although we wanted it to fit in with the plot to seem life-like.
In our opening scene we used various props, these consisted of:
- blusher brush/ toothbrush
- torch
- black jumper
- black eye make-up
These props were used to empathise thriller situations, including making a ordinary person into a scary figure. These props also helped us to produce tension and atmosphere that related to the genre of our opening scene, making our media product more successful.
We used a range of different camera angles and techniques such as:
-A close up shot, which tightly frames a person or an object. This will help to distinguish our main character as well as to show detail; such as characters emotion. This shot should help to create atmosphere and tension for our opening scene causing it to be more dramatic and successful,
-A point of view shot, which shows what a character (the subject) is looking at. This will cause the audience to interact with our main character, as a point of view shot will force them to sympathise with his situation making them more emotionally involved.
Which helped us to create a more effective, successful opening scene.
We used the software; 'Premiere Elements Pro 7.0' to create a successful, polished opening scene.
Our plot consists of two girls getting ready for a night out, not knowing they aren't alone in the house. As one girl drops her toothbrush the scary figure appears in the mirror background, this creates a big impact on the audience of a sense of mystery. Then suddenly a power cut happens, one of the two girls enters the bottom of the garden to turn it all back on, this is tense for the audience, not knowing if the figure returns to haunt the girl.
Our chosen genre for our opening scene was; 'thriller.' We feel that our opening scene successfully represents this genre through the media conventions stereotyped with this genre that we have used;
-Sense of excitement,
-Tense situations,
-Suspense,
-Dark, eerie locations,
-Psychological,
In conclusion to this analysis we felt that we have used stereotypical media conventions associated with films that have the genre; 'thriller, ' making our media product relate and comparable to existing media products.
Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product focuses on a range of different social group to represent the characters within our opening scene. We chose different to play different roles in the opening to make full use of the ideologies that the audience are used to so they can relate to the product.
Common ideologies of the characters
In our product we decided to follow the common ideologies of the characters that are represented in our opening scene. For example, the scary figure is perceived as dark, old and mysterious, we chose to use this in our film, i volunteered to be this character by using the props. Another ideology that is commonly seen in people is that young girls are seen as petite, shy and thin. This has gave an advantage as why the scary person will choose to stalk on the two young girls, because they are worthless. We used Honor and Katie as the two characters, as they are both petite.
Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that our film would be more likely to be shown in mainstream cinemas, as the thriller genre is a widely popular genre which benefits more and can be accessed better by its target audience through mainstream cinema as opposed to Art house cinemas, etc. I think that our film would work better being manually distributed in cinemas rather than being digitally distributed. This is because of the genre of film; thrillers are more effective and entertaining for the audience in a cinema because of the atmosphere. Therefore our film would be better received being distributed through cinemas rather than digitally.
A film distribution company is literally that; a company which distributes films to cinemas around the country, or even around the globe in order for them to reach their target audience. There are many examples of these companies: New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Orion Pictures are just three distribution companies. I think that, from these three examples, our film Stranger would most likely be distributed by New Line Cinema. New Line Cinema distributed the Se7en which is also a thriller, and is the same kind of thriller as Justice as there are elements of both the psychological and action sub genres of thriller.I considered Coffee Films as a possible distributor for our thriller, as it is a British Film company, and ours is a British film. Therefore, if our film was not popular enough to be distributed by Orion Pictures or New Line Cinemas a distribution company such as Coffee Films would be a good choice. Similarly, Lionsgate also distributes some independent thrillers, making this another option for a company to distribute our thriller Justice. Film 4 is another British film distributor that I could consider if I wanted our film to be distributed in the UK only. However, the obvious disadvantage to these companies is that they are smaller distributors, and therefore my thriller might not reach the majority of my target audience, as Justice may only by released in Britain or in certain cinemas.However, I would not consider using a company such as Working Title films to distribute our film. This is because this company does not distribute thrillers generally, therefore making it less likely for our thriller to reach our target audience. Obviously, I would prefer for our thriller to be distributed by a bigger, more international film company such as Orion Pictures or New Line Cinema, as our film would reach more members of our target audience if distributed by this company.I think that our film does not fully compare with professional films distributed by companies such as Orion Pictures or New Line Cinema, as it is not a professional film. However I do think that our film is as professional as we could make it with the equipment we used, and the previous experiences we had with filming and editing.
Institutionally our film would compete with existing films such as:
"Edge of Darkness"
"Paranormal Activity 2"Institutionally our film would compete with existing films such as:
"Edge of Darkness"
We used these films to research what people are named in the titles. We found that the titles of a film normally include these people:
-The production company/producers,
-Cast and crew,
-Film distributors,
-Director,
-Film name,
-And sound producers.
Titles are normally used as a recognition for all of the various people that worked together to finish and release a media product. We chosen not to add the names in the piece because we felt it was best to keep it simple.
Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?
For our film, this can be related to by the audience, as our main characters are teenagers/young adults, providing a pathway for connection from the audience. The film opening will have a target audience of 15+ because it contains psychological problems.
The gender towards the film can change, for example: for the opening, the characters evolve around two girls, this would be more aimed at females. However when reaching to the end of the film when psychological takes place, male and female gender would be more interested.
Our target audience is based on the average teen like the ones that wear the average clothes, are sociable and are either left school or at college.Fortunately for us most teens fit into this bracket. I think this could be a possibility of expanding our target audience into the younger adult bracket but this would definitely be dependant on what type of thriller we included.
Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
Once our disc was burned, we then decided to get random people from school to watch the film for feedback. They filled out questionnaire's each to gain evidence and research. We didn't feel the need to upload the film onto a social network site, including YouTube or Facebook, mainly because anyone could watch the film and it is targeted at 15+. Therefore getting people together to see their expression was useful as we could see the reaction eye to eye, than to upload and just get results; which could be untrustworthy and incorrect.
Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During process of creating our media coursework I feel i have learnt many things about different technologies. the different media platforms i used in order to produce our Media product are:
--Camera,
-Computer/Internet,
I furthered my depth of knowledge and understanding on how to use the software; 'Premiere Elements Pro 7.0,' not only developing my editing skills and techniques, some of these including; time stretch, duplicating, use of effects and transitions; but also how to upload our video footage onto the software and export of finished product into a movie file in order for us to burn our media product onto a disk.
Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel that I have a more in depth knowledge on how to make a successful media product, developing both my camera skills and software editing skills in the progression from our preliminary task to our main task.
The preliminary task enabled us to make mistakes which we could learn from, giving me an insight into the use of camera angles, software editing, sound and 'Mise en Scene. All which are factors and techniques that cause a media product to become more successful that I needed practise on. Therefore the preliminary task was a learning curve that supplied the foundation knowledge i needed to produce a successful opening scene.
I also think that my knowledge of scripting and writing of films has improved.As we didn't have a lot of time in the preliminary task there wasn't a lot of time to edit,create and develop my work. During the main task we numerously edit and re-wrote parts of our opening and i think this combined with my research helped to broaden my knowledge on how to successfully develop a film.
Tension Music
This is the soundtrack used in our film, we got the soundtrack sound of youtube as it was the easiest and quickest way to do it.
Film Editing: Uploading footage
Film Editing: Uploading Footage
We have decided to edit the film together as a group. This way we can individually express all out ideas, making decisions together and hopefully producing a more successful opening scene.
Below are screen shots taken to show some of the editing processes we used in the production of our media product.
The first one is of the homepage of the programme "Adobe Premiere Elements 7";
Once we had finally uploaded all of our footage that we had filmed onto the software we started the editing process by deleting all of the footage we weren't going to use. We when then realised that parts of the film had sounds that weren't appropiate to be there, these needed to be edited out. Below shows how to cut out clips off the film, and play the actual film.
The above square is where to drag the clips, this puts them in order and either side can give you special effects that overall is more effective.
The overall film produced tension and atmosphere relating to the our chosen genre; 'thriller,' making our opening scene more successful.
Film Editing
Before we uploaded our filmed footage onto the software; 'Premiere Elements 7.0' we had to consider other factors that would be included in the editing process of our opening scene. These factors are:-Film Name/Titles, Font and Colour
-Soundtrack and Copyright Eligibility
Film Name/Titles, Font and Colour:
We are going to use a simple, bold font for the title, making it clear to read yet still being effective and dramatic. We decided to use a simple font but edgy so the audience has most focus on the title.
Soundtrack, Copyright Eligibility and Letter
It was time to make a group decision on whether to produce an original piece of music or to use an existing piece of music as our soundtrack for the opening scene we are currently producing.
Our reasons for wanting to use a soundtrack
-The use of a soundtrack in an opening scene/film is an extremely common media convention used for films with all types of genre. Music is a form of media that can influence how an audience feels, playing with their emotions and portraying different messages and feelings. therefore we felt that a soundtrack would improve the success of our opening scene.
-Looking back at one of the three of the opening scene deconstructions of; 'Se7en' a soundtrack was used. This informs me and my group that a soundtrack is a commonly used media convention for films with the same genre as the one we chose for our opening scene that we are currently to producing: thriller. Therefore by using the media convention of a soundtrack, our opening scene can be related and compared to existing media products which we are aiming to achieve.
Original or Existing?
We sat down and thought about all the ways we could obtain a soundtrack; our options were to either create our own or use an existing soundtrack. Thinking about time constraints and the levels of skill we would need to create a original soundtrack that would be successful, we decided it would be best to use an already existing soundtrack.
However the major problem with using an existing soundtrack is that most of them, if not all, will have copyright protection. This is when a piece of work is protected from use by anyone who does not have permission to do so. in order to use an existing soundtrack you would have to obtain the right to use it by getting permission from the owner/s agreeing to let you use their material. They would also specify under what conditions you may use it.
Below there is some information about copyright that we found to help us understand more about the law and stipulations for the protection on different forms of media.Copyright Information:
© is the standard symbol stating that something is copyrighted and protected from use other than what is permitted.
'Copyright is the exclusive right granted to the author of an original work, including the right to authorise or ban the publication, distribution and adaptation of that work. Copyright only lasts for a certain time period after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright applies to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete and fixed in a medium. Some jurisdictions also recognize "moral rights" of the creator of a work, such as the right to be credited for the work. Copyright is described under the umbrella term intellectual property along with patents and trademarks.' - Wikipedia
'Document granting exclusive right to publish and sell literary or musical or artistic work' - Google Definitions.
Solution Outcome:
We thought about each aspect thoroughly and after researching all about copyright and protection on existing media products we decided to write a letter to the company who produced the soundtrack we wanted to use for our opening scene, stating that; we would only use the soundtrack for educational purposes and so it will not ever be publicly presented or used for any commercial purposes in hope that we would get permission for the use of this soundtrack.
Below is the letter we wrote to "Artisan Film's" in order to obtain copyright for the use of their soundtrack as well as an audio clip of the soundtrack we are going to use:
-Soundtrack and Copyright Eligibility
Film Name/Titles, Font and Colour:
We are going to use a simple, bold font for the title, making it clear to read yet still being effective and dramatic. We decided to use a simple font but edgy so the audience has most focus on the title.
Soundtrack, Copyright Eligibility and Letter
It was time to make a group decision on whether to produce an original piece of music or to use an existing piece of music as our soundtrack for the opening scene we are currently producing.
Our reasons for wanting to use a soundtrack
-The use of a soundtrack in an opening scene/film is an extremely common media convention used for films with all types of genre. Music is a form of media that can influence how an audience feels, playing with their emotions and portraying different messages and feelings. therefore we felt that a soundtrack would improve the success of our opening scene.
-Looking back at one of the three of the opening scene deconstructions of; 'Se7en' a soundtrack was used. This informs me and my group that a soundtrack is a commonly used media convention for films with the same genre as the one we chose for our opening scene that we are currently to producing: thriller. Therefore by using the media convention of a soundtrack, our opening scene can be related and compared to existing media products which we are aiming to achieve.
Original or Existing?
We sat down and thought about all the ways we could obtain a soundtrack; our options were to either create our own or use an existing soundtrack. Thinking about time constraints and the levels of skill we would need to create a original soundtrack that would be successful, we decided it would be best to use an already existing soundtrack.
However the major problem with using an existing soundtrack is that most of them, if not all, will have copyright protection. This is when a piece of work is protected from use by anyone who does not have permission to do so. in order to use an existing soundtrack you would have to obtain the right to use it by getting permission from the owner/s agreeing to let you use their material. They would also specify under what conditions you may use it.
Below there is some information about copyright that we found to help us understand more about the law and stipulations for the protection on different forms of media.Copyright Information:
© is the standard symbol stating that something is copyrighted and protected from use other than what is permitted.
'Copyright is the exclusive right granted to the author of an original work, including the right to authorise or ban the publication, distribution and adaptation of that work. Copyright only lasts for a certain time period after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright applies to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete and fixed in a medium. Some jurisdictions also recognize "moral rights" of the creator of a work, such as the right to be credited for the work. Copyright is described under the umbrella term intellectual property along with patents and trademarks.' - Wikipedia
'Document granting exclusive right to publish and sell literary or musical or artistic work' - Google Definitions.
Solution Outcome:
We thought about each aspect thoroughly and after researching all about copyright and protection on existing media products we decided to write a letter to the company who produced the soundtrack we wanted to use for our opening scene, stating that; we would only use the soundtrack for educational purposes and so it will not ever be publicly presented or used for any commercial purposes in hope that we would get permission for the use of this soundtrack.
Below is the letter we wrote to "Artisan Film's" in order to obtain copyright for the use of their soundtrack as well as an audio clip of the soundtrack we are going to use:
Audience Feedback Questionnaire
After we had completed our media product we decided to create an audience feedback questionnaire which gave us feedback on how successful they thought our opening was. We handed out 10 questionnaire's, and did a random sampling. We thought ten was a equal number to use, giving us the right feedback we needed.
We chose to type the questionnaire on Microsoft word, as it was easier and more quicker than using and other resources. My results were collected and graphs were produced with an in depth analysis for each question, this is shown below.
Analysis:
Question 1 - After watching our film did you feel it met the conventions of a typical thriller film, briefly explain why.
This was an open ended question, here are just half of our variety of results;
" a little it was dark and eerie at some points it did create some tension"
"yes, because it left me in suspense with the black hoody in the background"
"yes, because it had suspense and the supernatural"
"mostly, what conventions are included are good, though some were missing"
"yes, because it made me want to watch more, due to physiological effects."
Overall from looking at our results on question 1, the majority of the answers were that us as a group succeeded in meeting the thriller conventions including suspense, tension, eerie and physiological effects. However some results explained that most of the conventions were there, but some however were missing, but these weren't included in the answer so therefore cant improve this to our film.
Question 2 - After watching our opening scene do you think we have maintained a steady, professional use of the digital camera?
Yes - 6
No - 3
Mainly - 1
From these results, 60% of the people answered with "yes" meaning that they thought we kept a steady professional use of digital camera, however 60% isn't a significant amount. As a group we need to consider that this could be improved and that it wasn't the best camera use of our ability.
The film industry is extremely competitive and in order for our media product to compare and compete against other existing media products we needed our opening scene to look as professional as possible. The outcome of this question has informed us that they feel that we have met this level of professionalism, however it isn't as good to meet the expectations of other film industries, because of the low percentage of our results.
Question 3 - If possible could you briefly explain what you think will happen within the rest of the film.
this was an open ended question, below are some similar answers;
"the figure would stalk the 2 girls and eventually die"
"one girl will be stalked and found, which will destroy her both mentally and physically"
"the scary figure will continue to follow them, hunt them etc they will keep trying to escape"
"the 2 girls get kidnapped, only 1 escapes and die"
"the dark figure will torment the girls and they will become trapped in their house"
From these results, the opening scene has showed the audience that the two girls are the victims which is actually what happens throughout the film, however only 1 girl dies and gets tormented. Only one person answered this, meaning that we have succeeded in misleading the audience; that when they realise the truth towards the end of the film a bigger shock factor and impact will be created during the climax, making our film more successful.
Question 4 - Do you feel the use of a soundtrack and sound effects has contributed to creating atmosphere and tension for our opening scene?
Yes - 8
No - 2
From these results, a high percentage of 80% was answered "yes". Overall this shows that our group successfully used the soundtrack correctly giving the audience a more edgy feeling, including the sound effects that made the audience feel more tense.
Question 5 - On a scale of 1 to 10 could you rate how successful you think our opening scene is:
For this question I used a 'rating scale' which enabled the people who answered my questionnaire to rate how good or bad they thought our opening scene was. Was from 1 to 10, being 10 the brilliant, and 1 awful.
one - 0
two - 0
three - 0
four - 0
five - 3
six - 3
seven - 2
eight - 2
nine - 0
ten - 0
From asking this question it would give us as a group an idea if we succeeded a good opening scene. Looking at the results it shows that it was successful but not as successful as we hoped it to be. Closest to being good was an "8" from a scale of 1 to 10, and least was "5"; this is a fairly poor results. However, the results from question 7 will help us as a group to understand where we went wrong and how to improve it.
Question 6 - Could you give us some feedback explaining what you like and don't like etc
This was also an open -ended question, below are 5 answers i picked out at random;
"enjoyed the plot, editing could of been better"
"liked how it was a natural, casual setting could have been more smooth"
"like the darkness it was a good effect, dislike the way it goes too fast"
"liked the setting, continuity was a bit rough"
"liked the plot, how it was in one house and the characters went outside, could have run smoother"
The majority of the feedback was positive, including the plot and setting. however we did get some criticism's, mainly the editing. We have took into account these, understanding how we could improve our opening scene further if we had the chance to remake it.
Question 7 - How do you think we could improve?
This is the last open-ended question, from all 10 results here are the most variety:
"spend more time editing"
"make it smoother"
"drag it our more (more suspense)"
"create better lighting, and make it flow more"
"make it flow better"
Most of these results link one way or the other, the main way in which our group can improve is by editing. This is linked to question 6. As a group looking at these results, we needed to spend more time editing to take more care into making it more successful. We know that if we were to re-do this then we can improve in the certain ways the audience have suggested.
We chose to type the questionnaire on Microsoft word, as it was easier and more quicker than using and other resources. My results were collected and graphs were produced with an in depth analysis for each question, this is shown below.
Analysis:
Question 1 - After watching our film did you feel it met the conventions of a typical thriller film, briefly explain why.
This was an open ended question, here are just half of our variety of results;
" a little it was dark and eerie at some points it did create some tension"
"yes, because it left me in suspense with the black hoody in the background"
"yes, because it had suspense and the supernatural"
"mostly, what conventions are included are good, though some were missing"
"yes, because it made me want to watch more, due to physiological effects."
Overall from looking at our results on question 1, the majority of the answers were that us as a group succeeded in meeting the thriller conventions including suspense, tension, eerie and physiological effects. However some results explained that most of the conventions were there, but some however were missing, but these weren't included in the answer so therefore cant improve this to our film.
Question 2 - After watching our opening scene do you think we have maintained a steady, professional use of the digital camera?
Yes - 6
No - 3
Mainly - 1
From these results, 60% of the people answered with "yes" meaning that they thought we kept a steady professional use of digital camera, however 60% isn't a significant amount. As a group we need to consider that this could be improved and that it wasn't the best camera use of our ability.
The film industry is extremely competitive and in order for our media product to compare and compete against other existing media products we needed our opening scene to look as professional as possible. The outcome of this question has informed us that they feel that we have met this level of professionalism, however it isn't as good to meet the expectations of other film industries, because of the low percentage of our results.
Question 3 - If possible could you briefly explain what you think will happen within the rest of the film.
this was an open ended question, below are some similar answers;
"the figure would stalk the 2 girls and eventually die"
"one girl will be stalked and found, which will destroy her both mentally and physically"
"the scary figure will continue to follow them, hunt them etc they will keep trying to escape"
"the 2 girls get kidnapped, only 1 escapes and die"
"the dark figure will torment the girls and they will become trapped in their house"
From these results, the opening scene has showed the audience that the two girls are the victims which is actually what happens throughout the film, however only 1 girl dies and gets tormented. Only one person answered this, meaning that we have succeeded in misleading the audience; that when they realise the truth towards the end of the film a bigger shock factor and impact will be created during the climax, making our film more successful.
Question 4 - Do you feel the use of a soundtrack and sound effects has contributed to creating atmosphere and tension for our opening scene?
Yes - 8
No - 2
From these results, a high percentage of 80% was answered "yes". Overall this shows that our group successfully used the soundtrack correctly giving the audience a more edgy feeling, including the sound effects that made the audience feel more tense.
Question 5 - On a scale of 1 to 10 could you rate how successful you think our opening scene is:
For this question I used a 'rating scale' which enabled the people who answered my questionnaire to rate how good or bad they thought our opening scene was. Was from 1 to 10, being 10 the brilliant, and 1 awful.
one - 0
two - 0
three - 0
four - 0
five - 3
six - 3
seven - 2
eight - 2
nine - 0
ten - 0
From asking this question it would give us as a group an idea if we succeeded a good opening scene. Looking at the results it shows that it was successful but not as successful as we hoped it to be. Closest to being good was an "8" from a scale of 1 to 10, and least was "5"; this is a fairly poor results. However, the results from question 7 will help us as a group to understand where we went wrong and how to improve it.
Question 6 - Could you give us some feedback explaining what you like and don't like etc
This was also an open -ended question, below are 5 answers i picked out at random;
"enjoyed the plot, editing could of been better"
"liked how it was a natural, casual setting could have been more smooth"
"like the darkness it was a good effect, dislike the way it goes too fast"
"liked the setting, continuity was a bit rough"
"liked the plot, how it was in one house and the characters went outside, could have run smoother"
The majority of the feedback was positive, including the plot and setting. however we did get some criticism's, mainly the editing. We have took into account these, understanding how we could improve our opening scene further if we had the chance to remake it.
Question 7 - How do you think we could improve?
This is the last open-ended question, from all 10 results here are the most variety:
"spend more time editing"
"make it smoother"
"drag it our more (more suspense)"
"create better lighting, and make it flow more"
"make it flow better"
Most of these results link one way or the other, the main way in which our group can improve is by editing. This is linked to question 6. As a group looking at these results, we needed to spend more time editing to take more care into making it more successful. We know that if we were to re-do this then we can improve in the certain ways the audience have suggested.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Planning - Film Title
We decided to do a quick research on some titles for our film to come up with possible title for our film. We looked at the plot and tried to come up with a title that linked in well with our plot.Here are a few ideas;
"Best friends"
"End of friendship"
"Thana"
"Stranger"
"Stalker from Hell"
"Two girls descend"
We did some research into what some of the titles' meant, for example the name Thana means death.
"Best friends"
"End of friendship"
"Thana"
"Stranger"
"Stalker from Hell"
"Two girls descend"
We did some research into what some of the titles' meant, for example the name Thana means death.
Tuesday 8 February 2011
Storyboard
Slide 1;(top right) Honor is getting ready in room. Katie is getting ready in another.They are shouting to each other while in separate rooms.
Slide 2;(bottom left) Lights switch off, Honor gets scared, Katie explains that it is just the electric. When the light comes back on, the blusher has gone.
Slide 3;(bottom right) Katie drops her toothbrush, lights switch off while she bends down to retrieve it. when the lights come back on a hooded figure appears in the mirror.
Slide 4;(top left) After coming downstairs, Honor and Katie are talking about who goes outside to check the generator.
Slide 5;(top right) Katie walks out to the generator.
Slide 6;(bottom left) Katie walks towards the generator and noises start to happen, so she runs back.
Slide 7;(bottom right) Hooded figure appears in the mirror.
Camera Use
We had already booked out the equipment previously for our first attempt of the filming process. The equipment we had booked out from our school previously were:
-Digital Camcorder
We booked this equipment out on Tuesday 2nd January, which we are allowed to keep until we have finished filming, because we have kept the equipment since our last attempt of filming we were already to film on our new dates that we have already discussed.
Weather:
Most of our filming will be indoors, however some part of it is outdoors. Ideally we wouldn't to get the filming out the way so we could as a group have more time for editing, however the action shots we wanted to take were outside and during night. We wanted to shoot around dusk/night because we don't have access to any lighting equipment or technology to create a dark eerie atmosphere which relates to the thriller of our opening scene, therefore filming at dusk would provide the dark setting we desire. We didn't feel the need to check the weather that day, because if it did rain, then it could make it more effective.
-Digital Camcorder
We booked this equipment out on Tuesday 2nd January, which we are allowed to keep until we have finished filming, because we have kept the equipment since our last attempt of filming we were already to film on our new dates that we have already discussed.
Weather:
Most of our filming will be indoors, however some part of it is outdoors. Ideally we wouldn't to get the filming out the way so we could as a group have more time for editing, however the action shots we wanted to take were outside and during night. We wanted to shoot around dusk/night because we don't have access to any lighting equipment or technology to create a dark eerie atmosphere which relates to the thriller of our opening scene, therefore filming at dusk would provide the dark setting we desire. We didn't feel the need to check the weather that day, because if it did rain, then it could make it more effective.
Filming 10th / 31st January
The first time when filming was on the 10th January, we could only film when it was dark, this gave us a disadvantage as it was harder to place the time when to film as members of the group were busy. We filmed only certain parts, this includes; the bedroom, bathroom and games room. Because it wasn't as dark as suspected we chosen not to film outside as it wouldn't give the whole effect of a thriller.
The people who would appear in our media piece are three members of the group. They are Katie, Honor and Myself. We decided to do this because we wanted to see what it would be like to film a thriller piece, and I feel that it would also add reality as we would be creative with our scenes due to putting into practice exactly what we wanted to do. Katie and Honor both played the two girls roles, whereas myself played the scary unknown person therefore she was disguised. Ellie was the person who did the sound effects and also filmed the whole piece.
The next time filming was on the 31st of January this was the last filming session that our group would have to finish our Media Main Task piece. The reason we left it so late to do our media footage is because members of the group unexpectedly had work and therefore the filming had to be withheld until a day where we could all make it. The group managed to film the rest of the footage within this time and worked this limit to our advantage due to getting more done.
At the start of the night the group was making the last preparations to the script, and also practising the camera angles; this was before we started filming our footage. The group also had to wait for the darkness to come as a lot of the scenes which were shot were outside. This was to add a more mysteriousness to the thriller effect.
The people who would appear in our media piece are three members of the group. They are Katie, Honor and Myself. We decided to do this because we wanted to see what it would be like to film a thriller piece, and I feel that it would also add reality as we would be creative with our scenes due to putting into practice exactly what we wanted to do. Katie and Honor both played the two girls roles, whereas myself played the scary unknown person therefore she was disguised. Ellie was the person who did the sound effects and also filmed the whole piece.
The next time filming was on the 31st of January this was the last filming session that our group would have to finish our Media Main Task piece. The reason we left it so late to do our media footage is because members of the group unexpectedly had work and therefore the filming had to be withheld until a day where we could all make it. The group managed to film the rest of the footage within this time and worked this limit to our advantage due to getting more done.
At the start of the night the group was making the last preparations to the script, and also practising the camera angles; this was before we started filming our footage. The group also had to wait for the darkness to come as a lot of the scenes which were shot were outside. This was to add a more mysteriousness to the thriller effect.
Costume and Props
Preparing my costume:
As I was the scary person in the film, I had to look life like to succeed the image I needed to be. To prepare myself for this I needed a black jumper to look dull and fit in the black background. Also black make-up, to cover my eyes to look more scary.
Props:
make-up
phone, this was used for a torch
blusher
toothbrush
As I was the scary person in the film, I had to look life like to succeed the image I needed to be. To prepare myself for this I needed a black jumper to look dull and fit in the black background. Also black make-up, to cover my eyes to look more scary.
Props:
make-up
phone, this was used for a torch
blusher
toothbrush
Script
This is the script used for our filming, the characters consist of Honor, Katie and myself. Throughout the film Eloise filmed, therefore she hasn't been placed in the script to say any words. This script will help us to assess the framework on the film we have built.
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This is the script used for our filming, the characters consist of Honor, Katie and myself. Throughout the film Eloise filmed, therefore she hasn't been placed in the script to say any words. This script will help us to assess the framework on the film we have built.
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Media Conventions and Audience Theory
Audience Theory - It is virtually impossible to go through a day without encountering media in some form. Some types of media are; radio, iPod, billboardsm television, films etc. We are an audience for all of the different types of media products. There have been fears that media texts could make their audiences react in different ways, e.g. becoming more violent. The audience can be easily manipulated to buy a product due to advertisement.
Media Conventions - Things that we would class as media are 'recent inventions'. The things we call media now would have been fantasies over a hundred and fifty years ago. The times which are spent with media are either on our own or im small groups. Millions of people across Britain or the world experience the same media event(s). The media has an unprecedented power to affect us in negative ways.
The Hypodermic Syringe - According to the theory the media ia like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a poweless mass have little choice but to be influenced - in other words, you watch something violent, you may go and do something violent, you see a woman washing up on TV. and you will want to do the same yourself if you are a woman. However, if you are a man you will expect the women to do the washing up for you.
The Cultivation Theory - Because of difficulty of proving the effects of individual media texts on their audience, a more refined version of the theory has been created called the cultivation model. According to this, while any one media text does not have too much effect, years and years of watching more violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being mistreated in soaps will make you less bothered about it in real life.
The Two Step Flow - The idea of this is that whatever our experience of the media we will be likely to discuss it with others and respect their opinion, the chances are that we will be more likely to be affected by it.
Media Conventions - Things that we would class as media are 'recent inventions'. The things we call media now would have been fantasies over a hundred and fifty years ago. The times which are spent with media are either on our own or im small groups. Millions of people across Britain or the world experience the same media event(s). The media has an unprecedented power to affect us in negative ways.
The Hypodermic Syringe - According to the theory the media ia like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a poweless mass have little choice but to be influenced - in other words, you watch something violent, you may go and do something violent, you see a woman washing up on TV. and you will want to do the same yourself if you are a woman. However, if you are a man you will expect the women to do the washing up for you.
The Cultivation Theory - Because of difficulty of proving the effects of individual media texts on their audience, a more refined version of the theory has been created called the cultivation model. According to this, while any one media text does not have too much effect, years and years of watching more violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being mistreated in soaps will make you less bothered about it in real life.
The Two Step Flow - The idea of this is that whatever our experience of the media we will be likely to discuss it with others and respect their opinion, the chances are that we will be more likely to be affected by it.
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Target Audience
The target audience for many thriller's are aged 18+, this is because they include a lot of violence and some psychological issues that can be disturbing for younger ages. The reason why chose to use 15+ and not 18+ is because we researched other successful psychological thrillers such as "Final Destination" and "Disturbing Behaviour" and realised that it attracted interesting commentary from teenage society as young as 15. Furthermore, these films did not include any real explicit conduct in the film, it was largely based on violence, deception, betrayal etc. Such themes are typical for a thriller film. The target audience that we have chosen is 15+, however it will not be a 18+ because the content isn't overly explicit. For our film, this can be related to by the audience, as our main characters are teenagers/young adults, providing a pathway for connection from the audience. The film opening will have a target audience of 15+ because it contains psychological problems.
The gender towards the film can change, for example: for the opening, the characters evolve around two girls, this would be more aimed at female's. However when reaching to the end of the film when psychological takes place, male and female gender would be more interested.
Planning the Location.
When planning to find where to locate our film, it was quite difficult. there were many aspects we had to consider; somewhere dark, relates to our idea of the script, creepy and somewhere that the audience wouldn't want to be alone at.
Eventually we come up with the idea to locate it at my house, this gave us a big advantage because it matched the criteria of what we wanted. Because we wanted a power-cut i am able in my house to do this from the garage, which can be very effective for the film. Also that from my games room, it gives a clear view to the bottom of the garden, and when its dark at night it is fairly scary.
The filming then moves down the garden, when at this point will be pitch black and not a light in sight. At the bottom of the garden is a swimming pool with a roof over the top. This is where all of the scary things happen and therefore this is why we needed a creepy abandoned scene to make our film as thriller as we can get it. Having the swimming pool at the bottom of the garden means that we can add to the physocological effects of the watcher, by making them think that there is something/someone in or near the water. Another good effect for using this location, the monitor in one of the rooms, makes a loud whirring noise which can be effective when filming.
The first location we chosen was in my room, where honor plays the part of dropping her the blusher brush and shouting to Katie; who is in the bathroom. This is a good location for this specific shot, as it shows Honor getting ready, which is the best place for a young girl to get ready while playing music, this was the reason why we chose to add the radio this in later on.
This second shot was took in the bathroom, where Katie brushes her teeth when talking to Honor. A good place to choose for this location shot because mainly of the scary person appears in the mirror. 
This was only place in the house which has the mirror giving the shot the best effect possible. This location wasn't a main part of the film, this was only used when Honor screams and runs down the stairs. However when we filmed this part it was dark and therefore could not see any of the pictures just a glance of Honor running.
This location is linked to the one before, when the film shows Honor running down the stairs. However this particular part shows Honor actually running towards the camera, using match on action.
This is located in my games room, which is used when Honor and Katie discuss which one is going to the monitor at the swimming pool. However we chosen not to get a picture of the swimming pool as it was dark and not have a clear view of the scene. Using this location gave us advantages on the fact that looking out the games room it gives a clear a view of the swimming pool, and the games room was cold, giving the actress more of a effect of acting. Camera Angles
When we are filming our main media film, we have to take into account 3 main shots, this includes; 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot.
180 degree rule - This is a basic film editing technique used usually in convo’s and to distinguish the left/right relationship between 2 people. To do this, there is an imaginary line between the 2 people, and the maintain continuity, this line is not to be crossed. This is used in our film where Katie is in the bathroom, however we are going to edit this scene so it all fits into place.
This is a film technique used to show 1 character looking at something off screen. In our case for our film its another character in a conversation. Then the camera switches to the person that the original character was looking at. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer unconsciously assumes that they are looking at each other.This was locted in the games room when the character's Honor and Katie were dicussing who dared to go outside.
180 degree rule - This is a basic film editing technique used usually in convo’s and to distinguish the left/right relationship between 2 people. To do this, there is an imaginary line between the 2 people, and the maintain continuity, this line is not to be crossed. This is used in our film where Katie is in the bathroom, however we are going to edit this scene so it all fits into place.To the right is an example of what 180 degree rule; The camera can move anywhere within the half circle, but it shouldn't go across the red line otherwise from a viewers perspective it will cause confusion and disorientation, so avoid doing this.
Match on Action -
This is a cutting from one shot to another view that matches the action and place of the first shot. This creates an impression of continuity although the shot have been filmed weeks apart. If the character begins an action in the first shot and completes an action in the ext, a visual “bridge” is created which acts to disguise the cut from on to the other. A typical example of this is a car entering form one side of the shot and leaving then appearing from the left again.
In our film we used the match on action shot, when the character Katie is walking towards the door of the games room, to go outside. This gave it more effect, as you could see the emotion of the character coming to the screen.
Shot/Reverse Shot -
This is a film technique used to show 1 character looking at something off screen. In our case for our film its another character in a conversation. Then the camera switches to the person that the original character was looking at. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer unconsciously assumes that they are looking at each other.This was locted in the games room when the character's Honor and Katie were dicussing who dared to go outside.Questionnaire results
Question 1. What is you favourite genre?
This was asked to see if we have picked the right genre, or if it was close to being the most popular answer. If our genre we chosen; thriller, wasn't a high answered answer, then as a group would need to consider whether to change or improve our film based around thriller. However from our results Horror was answered 7 people people, making it the main genre, although thriller was just underneath with 6 people answered, meaning that we have made the right decision in our genre and should be a popular choice. The least favourite was Sci-fi, which luckily enough we didn't choose this.
Question 2. This question was related to question 1, asking why is this you favourite genre? we chose to leave out as it was an open-question meaning that it gives a wider answer variation. We couldn't put all the answers into one graph.
Question 3. What makes a thriller film?
This was an important question, because this will influence our main aspects to use in our film. It was a open question, which gives us a more valid response of what the audience really want. From looking at our results is shows that the main answer was "physcological", and second was "the unknown", both of these come under to what a thriller is, therefore as group consider to use the elements.
Question 4. Which of these thriller films have you watched and enjoyed?
Using this question it will help us to make the plot of our film, we can analyse the characteristics of the most popular answer and compare what it has, to what ours doesn't to improve the elements of our film. From the results it shows that jaws is the most watched and enjoyed film by far. "The silence of the Lambs" is joint with "Se7en", these two films wouldn't have an effect on the film just "Jaws". Although because jaws has many comparisons to our plot, we can still consider the suspense of the film and incorporate it into ours.
Question 5. What are the main aspects of a thriller film to get the full attention of the audience?
This question can also help our film which what are the best qualities of a thriller that we can incorporate. This is also an opened-question which can be more valid giving the audience there own opinion. The most popular answer is that the thriller film has "mystery" and secondly "jumpy", these two will be Incorporated into our film making it better and have more aspects of thriller involved.
Question 2. This question was related to question 1, asking why is this you favourite genre? we chose to leave out as it was an open-question meaning that it gives a wider answer variation. We couldn't put all the answers into one graph.
Question 3. What makes a thriller film?
This was an important question, because this will influence our main aspects to use in our film. It was a open question, which gives us a more valid response of what the audience really want. From looking at our results is shows that the main answer was "physcological", and second was "the unknown", both of these come under to what a thriller is, therefore as group consider to use the elements.
Question 4. Which of these thriller films have you watched and enjoyed?
Question 5. What are the main aspects of a thriller film to get the full attention of the audience?
Friday 21 January 2011
Final Decision
We all finally got together as a group to discuss, and were able to talk about what we actually want to do and how we will do it.
We thought of a couple ideas, but they only centered mainly around one person, and we all need to film parts of our project and act in it. It was a little hard coming up with ideas that focused on everyone, but we managed to get to a point where we knew what we were doing and just how we were going to achieve our goal and make sure it worked well.
Because our genre is a thriller, we wouldn't something that puts the audience in suspense with a sense of mystery. Our first idea was that we would base the idea around two girls getting ready for a night out, but with a twist. The twist would be that they aren't the only people in the house. From previous thriller/horror films they use the devil to creep up and appear in the bathroom mirror, because this is so effective we chosen to use this in our film.
We thought of a couple ideas, but they only centered mainly around one person, and we all need to film parts of our project and act in it. It was a little hard coming up with ideas that focused on everyone, but we managed to get to a point where we knew what we were doing and just how we were going to achieve our goal and make sure it worked well.
Because our genre is a thriller, we wouldn't something that puts the audience in suspense with a sense of mystery. Our first idea was that we would base the idea around two girls getting ready for a night out, but with a twist. The twist would be that they aren't the only people in the house. From previous thriller/horror films they use the devil to creep up and appear in the bathroom mirror, because this is so effective we chosen to use this in our film.Our group also come up with the suspense of the thriller, involving this in the film we chose to have a power cut, and the only way to reconnect it is by going to the end of the spooky garden. From using this as our main decision we have used the three main elements of what a thriller actually is: suspense, tension and excitement.
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Questionnaire and Results
We would like to think that the answers we recieved were genuine and their honest opinions, therefore will go ahead and use the opinions in order to better our opening scene.
Decontruction of Juno
The music that is used to go with this sequence is a cheerful, happy song, giving a buzz to the audience towards the film. In this particular clip it has changed into cartoon, this could be because of the target audience of the film is for young teenage girls. The font is scribble wiriting which also links with the target audience, so it is clear and easier to understand. From this first clip, the character would most probably be the main character or some type of involvement.
This shows someones legs walking, the clips before I'm guessing from the outfit its the same girl. the van in the background could belong to girl. although this character still shows that she is carefree as she is walking along without no hesitation. 
The opening credit shows the film title. Again the girl that we do not the name is yet, is walking down the street still with a carton in her hand. she looks like she is in a mind of her own, maybe she is walking to a destination, somewhere she wants to be.
Again this is carrying on from the previous clips of the girl walking through the streets. This one shows her passing a house, can make the audience wonder whether this is her house, or a friends that she knows. Because the clip is cartoon, the writing follows this by being scribbled to stand out from the clip.
This also shows what the girl might be walking towards, though this doesn't actualy show her in this clip. It shows from what looks like a alley way along next to houses. This could be important to the girl, in fact could be the girl in her visions. 
From the previous clip walking through the alley way, she is now walking past a music shop, the audience dont whether she has visited this shop, maybe she could be interested in the music. However she isnt carrying anything on her, except her carton. 
The last clip shows the name of the costume designer, also of her drinking out of her Sunny D bottle. Throughout the opening credit the audience dont get to see what the catron is she is drinking out of till now. This could be something she is interested in as she carries the carton around the whole time.
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