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

Looking back from the preliminary task to the task I have just finished I have improved greatly (before the preliminary task I had not as much as used a tripod or a Mac computer.)
I was able to set up a tripod successfully (you may laugh but when I first set out in filming the prelim task I had to get someone else to show me how to set it up.) And I can now handle a camera pretty well. Some of the problems I encountered in filming the prelim was that I didn’t frame a shot well. When showing two people in a conversation I didn’t keep to the 180 degree rule and some bits did not look aesthetically pleasing. Although there were no two people in a conversation I did use the 180 degree rule and the previous faults I had made, made me more aware on framing a shot in the last task and getting it right. Having said this, I still have to more improvements to make for example when the character was speaking on her phone.

I used many more features on the imovie software with the opening sequence than I did in the prelim. For starters I used music! (Things I did are explained on the previous question.) I was much more aware of using the sound toggle for the music to fade away or not be too loud etc… which in the prelim I had not thought to use at all.

I learnt how to use special effects (which I found easier than it sounded) to enhance my film. Having opening credits to mimic a real film I had to find the right text font but I also used a couple of transitions to go from the credits to the film, and then a fade from the film into the title. Doing this project on my own, I had to rely on feedback from other people to get different perspectives and suggestions on improvements I could not perhaps see. I found the task difficult at times but fun and challenging. What’s great about doing a project on your own is sometimes too many people in one group means you can’t try all the different aspects of making the film, and also having to agree on a final idea!

What have you learn't about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

When I first began my project I was not great in the field of using the camera equipment, but I also wasn’t confident on using the software (imovie) on the Mac as the only practise I had had before was in the preliminary task. As I filmed more and more I became more confident in the shots I used and tried to achieve (such as pans or zooms etc.) I also tried several different angles of the same shot so I had much more choice in editing.

In imovie I used many more tools and editing functions to help me achieve my product. Apart from using effects such as black and white and soft focus, I also edited the music to fit the different parts of the film. The music changed and I had to make sure that it went appropriately with the footage. This meant some of the music had to be put on loop to make it slightly longer but without it sounding too weird.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Half way through production I asked some people for feedback on my film. Some of the people I asked fitted into the target audience, and much of the criticisms and suggestions made by them I tried to improve on.
As mentioned earlier the audience can identify or at least understand the main character as the age group would be similar (therefore the clothing and hairstyle etc… is very much recognizable amongst the audience.)

Choices I made in editing my product allowed the audience to identify with the character and the film. The choice of music was cemeteries of London by Coldplay. Apart from Coldplay being a band well known and recognised by young adults and teenagers, there were other adjustments I had to make to fit in with the actual content and genre of the film. I chose to use the instrumental version as the music was the tense and creepy element to the song. Apart from that, I took out the lyrics as I thought they would distract the audience from the actual film and they could also influence the viewer.

Laura finds the letter^

In terms of editing to show the genre of the film there were several things I took into account. One of the positives the viewers commented on was the effect of black and white I put on my film. This gave it an element commonly used in crime films to show ‘what happened’ but also as the shop was very colourful and bright, this did not give the right tone so it had to be ‘dampened down.’ Another comment which was commonly made was the lack of fast pace cuts used. I agree that thrillers should be fast paced, and to increase the tension (a build up) to the end of the sequence I realised I had to add quicker cuts which I managed to add when Laura was walking to the back of the shop and her reaction and the viewer seeing the light under the door.

Looking back at my original idea, not much has been changed. The main story line is there, but the choice of shots I used to make the film make sense has slightly altered my story board. I have used shots and editing that I had not thought about previously. For example, using black and white effect made my film much better but not to confuse the audience and thinking perhaps the whole film would be in black and white I had to add a small sequence after the titles to establish and show the audience the film wasn’t in fact ALL in black and white. Initially I had plans of inserting more establishing shots of the shop but the feedback I received (and I agree) it showed that it did not give the right tone and the cuts were too slow- the thriller had to be pacey.

Showing the audience the film wasn't in black and white- a shot from the scene in the office.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience of my media product would first and foremost be for people who enjoy watching thrillers in the mystery or crime genre. My product however is aimed more towards young adults and teenagers. Already as the character is a young adult with a small job, people around that age can identify with them.
This cannot for example be targeted to very young audiences as thrillers are too advanced and perhaps scary for children, and my product would most unlikely appeal to older audiences as the film would be primarily based around the one character and the behaviour of her would reflect that of a similar age group. To tie in with the earlier comment about it being too scary or advanced for children, I would probably put a certificate ‘15’ for it. Had it been an entire film, some of the contents may have been too violent, or even with some colourful language!

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

If my opening sequence was made into a film, the most likely production companies would be small independent companies or even studios set up for my types of project. It would not be advanced enough or even viable to become a blockbuster (unless of course I was given millions for a budget!) It’d be distributed on a smaller scale with not many profits. If it were produced it’d be a short film so it could also be distributed on special websites or even channels.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This product represents people (or victims) placed under witness protection programmes. This is so because the character is meant to have been placed into ‘hiding.’ This may not be clear in the opening of the film but I have tried to put across hints to the audience from the events that happen in the opening sequence to the character; from being watched to receiving a mysterious letter then someone breaking in. This gives the audience the clues but it allows them to feel involved in working out she is part of the witness protection programme. I chose the main character to be female because the audience may believe that the character seems more vulnerable as a female.

Laura is meant to be a teenager with a job (with a Saturday job.) The clothing she wears is smart as one would at work but still casual and it represents someone of that age group (she would not be wearing a suit to be working in a small shop business or something an older woman would typically wear.)

In what way does your media productuse, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My film was meant to be a thriller the genre being a mix between mystery and crime. I feel that one can tell it is meant to be an opening of a film due to the ‘red goldfish productions presents’ and the credits that roll in at the beginning, however it does not have a production company logo at the beginning as many films do and I could improve on that next time. Most films have one track at the beginning of a film introducing the setting and the characters, and I think the way I edited my film and the sequence used these media conventions and there was little dialogue. Using fast cuts and tense music gave the film so much more effect to it and added to the ‘thriller’ type genre I tried to recreate.

Wanting to create as much visual impact as possible I decided to keep the plot as simple as possible. Using the typical ransom letter may seem cliché but it’s successful and it gets the point across to the audience. This has typically been used in many other films, some not even part of the thriller genre.

I found in my research that most of the films did not introduce a character straight away but to make the film to the best of my advantage I had to create a focal point.
The way I introduced the character Laura was also an establishing shot, and I was pleased with the camera work (zoom out) I used to introduce the kidnapper watching Laura. I used an over the shoulder shot so the audience could see what the mystery character was watching (Laura) but also the audience could see the character.

The decisions I made in the filming process was to get as many different angles of the same shot so I had more choice in editing was a wise move as I sometimes found that a shot I had filmed did not look right or there was no continuity. I always had the vision in my head and I storyboarded the shots I wanted. This was altered (as explained in further detail later on) but it was always good to have something to refer to and check off what I had filmed. I researched different types of thrillers and noticed that most began with music to fit the shots and type of tension they wanted to create. I feel that I have achieved this as I built up the pace of the shots (and hopefully the tension) and used one music I felt built up the tension accompany the shots. Also I noticed many of the films showed the opening credits in big, bold, plain lettering; usually white on black. As I had the idea in my head of the torch fading into the title I felt it appropriate to do black on white, but still kept the BOLD aspect to it I believe the fading from the torch into the title went smoothly.

letter to the record company

As I was using a track of music, I had to write to the record company to ask for permission. I wrote to E.M.I and this is the letter as follows....

Dear Sir/Madame,


I am an AS media student. I am writing to ask your permission to use ‘Cemeteries of London’ by Coldplay in my AS coursework ‘opening of a film’ as the track playing alongside my shot sequence. I am not going to distribute my short film commercially or make any money from it. Thank you for taking the time to read my request.

Yours faithfully...

Audience feedback

I asked lots of different people within my target audience to watch my two minute opening of a film and comment on four questions;

what genre do you think it is?
What do you like?
What do you dislike (What I could improve on)?
Does it look like a real film opening?

I wrote several of the interesting and critical points the audience fedback to me, but not all. There was a lot of people saying the same things...

What genre do you think it is?

I got audience feedback from 25 people in the target audience range. Out of 25 people, 15 thought the genre was a thriller. 12 people specified to crime or mystery thriller, whereas some of the 12 just wrote crime or mystery. I believe that with that feedback I was successful in putting across to the audience that my genre was a mix of crime/ mystery and it was a thriller.

other suggestions included: psychological thriller, horror, action and one person said fantasy!

What do you like?

. Good music, very professional
. Good atmosphere
. Camera work, shot angles
. The music and how it all fits together
. Black and white was a good idea
. Like the torch fading onto the title
. I loved seeing the scene from the outside of the shop

What do you dislike (or perhaps needs improving?)

. I didn’t like the soft focus- it seemed a little too fuzzy
. I couldn’t hear the actress talking on the phone very well
. There was little dialogue (a few people said this)
. Confusing… what was the point of the people in the office?
. Does the music fit? Is it not a little too uplifting?

Does it look like a real film opening? (you could comment on music, credits, titles etc...)

. I liked the fading in and out of titles, perhaps the red could have been a different colour
. Definitely very professional… I want to see more!
. Yeah, really does
. It does, but the mystery may stop people from understanding
. Credits and title are really good and professional.

Most of the comments were constructive and I was pleased with the different aspects I got across to the audience successfully. There are contradicting views on different aspects of my film. For example, some people believed the music fitted very well, whereas others did not think it went with the shots at all. I guess it is just a matter of appeal and taste to different people within my target age group.

Some people said it was confusing and the people in the office did not make sense. I believe in a media aspect I needed to add an extra scene to show the audience the whole film WASN’T in black and white, but I guess to the audience it may have been a bit puzzling. If this were made into a full length feature film I hope that the audience would understand some of the things that happened in the opening two minutes and the clues solved. However this is not the case, but on the whole, I believe the feedback was very positive.

Shooting schedule

This is my shooting schedule, a record of when I went out to film and what etc...

4th March; Finished!

I have officially finished my film opening sequence. I am going to burn it to discs and collect feedback. Now all I have to do is evaluate my work and tie up any loose ends...

:D

editing (finishing; hopefully....)

I've edited and tweaked lots of clips so the music matches the film and enhances it. I've added several transitions and effects that mimic that of real films and added the opening credits. My film is nearly finished and is shaping up really well, there is just always these little faults I have to correct to try to get my film flawless! It just seems to never end, that all!