Evaluation 7

Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel you have learned from it to the media product?

During our Preliminary task I learnt and developed my basic filming skills involving how to use a camera and tripod effectively. This was my first opportunity to practise different skills such as 180-degree rule, match on action and dialogue. Fortunately, we understood how to incorporate the 180-degree rule and so it was implemented successfully.  We also used a shot reverse shot so help the flow of the dialogue and so it was easily understood who was talking to who. The preliminary task was helpful to me as it gave me a chance to improve my continuity editing on Final Cut Pro which boosted my confidence, without it I may not have been able to edit effectively on our final opening sequence.

There was diegetic sound on our Preliminary task but it was limited which was a downfall for overall. Without practising this in our Tea Project we struggled to record dialogue in the opening sequence. If we had used more dialogue in our Preliminary task we may not have had to re-film some sections of our opening sequence which would have saved us time. However, we did record some dialogue in our Preliminary task but it was not easily audible. From this we learnt to ensure that each actors/actresses spoke loud enough so that the actors/actresses were not misunderstood.  The actors/actresses also had to have a clear voice in the opening sequence as we were overlaying a soundtrack to the opening sequence. This soundtrack was required for our opening sequence as it is a convention of horror as it creates tension therefore our actors/actresses had to speak clearly.

In our Preliminary task we did have a set script to keep the continuity as best as we could which helped us when editing. However, in our opening sequence we did not memorise a set script, we decided to improvise most of the dialogue. We initially felt this was a good idea as we could keep all the footage even if one of the actors/actresses messed up if the footage was still useful. Unfortunately, having done this we realised in the editing sessions that some of the dialogue did not match up and so we had to re-film some footage. We did not learn for our Preliminary task to have a rigid script but we know for future filming that dialogue must follow a certain path.

Our Preliminary task was filmed in one go on the same day so costume was not an issue. However, we filmed the opening sequence on two different occasions and so it was needed that we wore the exact same clothing. Unfortunately, on the second day of filming Matt wore a different style of clothing and so we had to re-shoot most of our opening sequence. Although we had to re-film some of what we had already shot, we feel it was an improvement from our original version therefore improving the quality of our opening sequence.

On our final opening sequence piece is we feel good however there are a couple of unfinished edges we should change to improve the final product. This includes the lighting and coloration in one scene. We attempted to change this shot from a bright image to a warmer feel to match the rest of the shots. Unfortunately, this particular shot somewhat matches the rest but it is clear there has been a filter on it.

Evaluation 6

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

Evaluation 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?



Throughout our film "Redwood" we have used semiotics to connote the horror genre. We see the main protagonist played by Alice Buckton-Perkins and the antagonist played by Dan Campin which are the conventions of horror. These conventions included the protagonist wearing light clothes suggesting innocence and the antagonist wearing dark clothing conveying mystery. Alice is wearing a white t-shirt suggesting her innocence and we can immediately tell that she is the protagonist, she is also wearing a green jacket again suggesting innocence as green is associated with nature. This is portrayed in the Hollywood film Scream the protagonist in the opening sequence is wearing a white jumper conveying purity. Although Alice is wearing a white shirt she is also wearing dark pants which is associated with evil suggesting she has a diverse personality. However. Dan is wearing a black coat with his hood up suggesting he is the antagonist. the hood up creates an mystery around the character and so the audience are intrigued to continue watching.  In Scream we see the antagonist wearing a black robe sticking to the conventions of horror which we followed. This is evident as Dan Campin, our antagonist, is wearing a black hooded jacket to conceal his identity and remain an enigma for the audiences entertainment.We have looked at Scream for clothing inspiration for our own characters as we wanted to easily portray who the protagonist and antagonist are.

We have also implemented a heat beat into our opening sequence as it connotes death which portray what happens later on. The crows have been strategically placed early on to foreshadow the later events of the opening sequence. We have a close up shot of blood on a tree as the characters return with a shallow focus. This is so the audience can clearly see that an incident has occurred. The dripping connotes struggling which makes the audience wonder what has happened. The blood is also ambiguous which creates an enigma around the period that Alfie was left alone.

Throughout our opening sequence we have used the conventions of horror as we have used dramatic music to create tension that is typical of the horror genre, we have used long takes and short takes in combination to drag out and hype up the audience, it includes some blood suggesting violence and a mystery antagonist figure. Although we have used some conventions of horror, we have also challenged some of these traits. Alice is the main character and so we will have the final girl theory although it is not fully portrayed in the opening sequence. She takes control of the situation which can be seen as she more powerful as she mocks one of the male characters. She is centre stage in most of the shots and both Matt and I follow her to and from the car. We have attempted to use the final girl theory to develop Alice as a character earlier on to intrigue the audience.

As we were limited to a amateur budget we were restricted on our ideas and so we could not fully explore them. As a group we only had about £50 budget making it extremely difficult to purchase any props we needed. Therefore, we had to maximize what we already own costume for example. The characters needed a casual look and so we instructed the actors/actress to arrive in their usual clothing. The camera hardware was also used effectively as Ewan had a Cannon camera and Matt owned an iPhone 7, both of these allowed us to capture effective shots. However, with our amateur budget some changes had to be made to our opening sequence and so it is not as how we intended. This includes the range of shots as we would have used a stabilizer to keep our shots from shaking and an a abandoned house in the forest to give it a more eerie feel.

Target audience feedback

We asked our target audience, the Hollywood demographic, to comment their opinion on the film. it was relatively easy as our friends fit into the 15-24 year old gap.

Final opening sequence

Redwood

Editing session 2

Our opening sequence length was too long as it needed to be cut down by 50 seconds. In an attempt to reduce the length I cut down unnecessary shots when the characters were both leaving the forest toward the car and arriving back once they got the equipment. I shortened this section down as the original shots were too long and will have made the audience loose interest. Therefore, to keep or maintain tension the journey to and from the car had to be reduced. We also have in our opening sequence blood dripping from a tree which we liked as it connotes the horror conventions so in order to reduce time, I sped up the shot to double the speed. The shot is still just as effective and was not too fast that it did not match the rest of the shots before and after it.

I also helped Matt change the colour on one of the shots. I already knew how to adjust the settings but I needed conformation with Matt as it was in his section. We needed to adjust the colour settings as that particular shot was extremely bright and did not fit with the surrounding shots. The footage before and after were much warmer and gentle to look at. Therefore, I had to change the colour from harsh lighting so it would fit better in the scenes.

During my section of the dialogue there was a limited variety of shots. The only used shot was a medium shot of one single character and so it was hard to tell who the characters were talking to. To amend this I added a low angle long shot of  Alice, Matt and myself. After I implemented this into our opening sequence it was much clearer to see who was talking to who. It is necessary that the audience know which characters are communicating as if they are confused they will not understand the story line.

Filming Journal 2

After looking at our footage on final cut pro we realized we had insufficient shots and variety so we decided to re-shoot at a later date. I filmed the close up conversation between Matt and Alice to show the expression in that scene. This creates diversity in our film and with the different shot types that can explore different ideas. I also filmed a POV shot of us walking for the filming site location to the car. This has been done to create a sense of realism that we want to connote through our filming. A POV shot was necessary in order to create a reality as it shows the film from the perspective of one of the characters. Another shot that I filmed was the low angle shot of the murderer with murder weapon. The low angle shot was taken to create enigma surrounding the killer. This is key to creating a successful opening sequence as we want to intrigue the audience into watching the film.

Editing session 1

At the beginning of our opening sequence we had a shot that was 20 seconds long of the characters walking to their location. We realised that this shot was longer than necessary and we had to cut it down. We used the blade tool to cut the one take into several shorter ones. As a result with tampering with our footage we had to re-film most of the first 30 seconds which we decided to do in the upcoming days. We moved onto the the next scene where Alfie placed is bag over the camera to cut to the characters all set up. In order for this to flow we edited a black screen onto the footage so that the transition was clear. Some of our close ups of the characters dialogue did not work correctly so we added this to our list of re-filming in the upcoming days. Our opening sequence must be 2 minutes long and therefore in order for each of us to have the same amount of time to show our ability, we split the time into 30 seconds each.

Filming Journal

On the day of filming Ewan Matt Scott and I met up on location with our actors. We briefed them on what we will be doing and how they will be involved. We instructed them to remember their exact position to keep the continuity correct. My role was to be part of the opening sequence but I also contributed off the screen as well. I directed some high angle shots of the characters walking through the woods. I also directed the dialogue scene of the characters interacting about where different possible filming angles could be.

Fake Blood

For our film we required the use of fake blood which was needed in order to create mystery surrounding the disappearance of one of the members. The fake blood was my idea so I provided the prop and incorporated it in to our film. I ,as seen in the picture above, poured the blood onto the axe. I brought the fake blood from home as an extra prop and we decided to use it due to the fact that it is a stereotypical connotation of the horror genre and we will use it efficiently to show off a murder within our opening scene without showing any on screen violence or death.

Script version 2

*Walking to the location*
Alfie: "How much further is it?"
Alice: "Shut up.......stop whining we've been walking for 5 minutes"
Alfie: "Yh i know but my legs are tired"
Alice: "Should start excersing then"
Alfie: "Why would i do tha-"
Matt: "-It's just up here watch out for the mud"

*On location*
 Matt: "We will be filming here here and here, we just need to set up"
<group agrees>
Alfie: "Waht I think we should do is........" *places bag over camera*

*Setting up*
Alice: "Matt can you pass me the fake blood"
Matt: "I thought Callum had it...."
Callum: "I may have left it in my other bag"
Alfie: "Well where's the other bag?"
Callum: "In the car...."
Alfie: *gets angry*
Callum: "Calm down down I'll go get it now"
Alice: "I need to get the tripod and camera, Matt give me a hand?"
Matt: "Alright:
Alfie: "Don't leave me to set up on my own...."
Alice: "What.....are you scared?"
*Joking*
Alfie: "No...I'm....I'm not scared of anything"
Alice: "Yeah whatever you say big man. Alright come on you goons"
Callum: "I'm not a good"

Schedule Of Filming

Storyboard and Shot list

Script (Redwood)

SCRIPT:

Redwood:

(Inaudible chatter Improvised)

Alfie: Can you pass me the tripod

Matt: Yeah yeah, no worries… er… I can’t find it, Alice do you have it?

Alice: No? I thought you had it? Oh for gods sake did we leave it in the car?

Cal: Erm… I might have left it in my bag…

Alfie: Are you kidding me? You had one job Callum. Are you that much of an idiot.

Cal: (Laughs) Right, I’ll go get it then

Alfie: It’s not funny, we’re wasting time.

Cal: Alright, calm down chill out, can someone come and help me?

Alice: Yeah I’ll come… I need to grab my portable charger while I’m there.

Cal: Yeah alright.

Matt: Well I’m not giving you my keys.

Alice: (Sighs) Fine come on then

Alfie: Help me out here Alice?

Alice: What are you scared to be out here alone? (jokingly)

Alfie: Shut up, I’m not scared of anything (defensive)

 Alice: Yeah, yeah, whatever you say big man. (Laughing Lightly) Right come on then, stop standing around you goons, let’s go.

(Inaudible chatter as they walk out of frame)

Alfie: (Muttering under breath as they leave)

Distribution of our film

When distributing a film it is important that we choose the right distribution company and maximising profit.

Walt Disney:
Disney Studios distributes all across the world which would benefit to us as it will maximize our profits as we can reach a greater audience. However, the name Disney has a particular reputation of children's entertainment and will not want to damage this by distributing a horror film. Therefore, Touchstone -a company owned by marvel- will be available to provide the same service as Disney Studios. Touchstone will be able to distribute our film as it is also a large company that will be able to distribute all across the world. We would have to implement the Touchstone logo into our opening sequence as the audience would recognize the distribution company and instantly know what our film entails. Therefore the audience will know what to expect based on previous films that have been distributed by Touchstone and will think positively of our film as a result. For example, the film Signs (2002) was a suspense building film similar to our film.

Columbia Pictures:
This is an American distribution company of the Columbia TriStar Motivation Pictures group. This will aid us in distributing in America as it is where we would like to distribute to mostly. This is because the there are millions of people in the Hollywood demographic making it perfect to making a profit. Although, our film is primarily targeted at the British audience between the ages if 15-24 I believe that our film can be successful in America. Columbia Pictures is also part of Sony Entertainment and a subsidiary of the conglomerates. As Columbia Pictures is a part of Sony it also has a reputation of producing similar films that we hope will effect our film in a positive way. A similar film to Redwood is Underworld: Awakening which is a action/horror.

Universal:
This too is an American distribution company as it has a headquarters in California. Therefore, we will be able to distribute our film in America, helping us maximise our profit margin. But it also has one in the United Kingdom in London which is our primary location. Universal owns 15% of the distribution market which a huge amount that will be able to make our film a success. This is because they will have the resources such as capital to be able distribute across all of Europe and America. As we will only have limited finance, we may not be able to distribute across the world but only Europe and America. Which is damaging to our box office but Europe and America are both major places to distribute and we feel that these regions are necessary to distribute to in order to make a successful film.

Donnie Darko: end credits

Donnie Darko
The background for the end credits is white suggesting purity and innocence. However, it is also uneven with noticeable darker spots on it suggesting deeper aspects. This represents the main character as he is innocent at heart but cannot control himself. as he is mentally ill. This is also backed up by the font style as there are many. This could be interpreted as different sides to Donnie's personality which are much darker.

The music in the background as we watch the credits is very moving. This is to make the last scene of Donnies death more emotional and we connect more, If we can connect more to the characters then we feel a greater sense of happiness or sadness is something good or bad happens to a character, In this respect, we as an audience are able to sympathize with Donnie Darko's family. The point of building a rapport with the audience as it leeds to a better understanding and relationship with the characters.

Then the rest of the credits appear in a solid black font suggesting simplicity and lack of meaning. The colour of the font, black. sharply contrasts the white background conveying a bipolar or schizophrenic aspect to Donnie Darko which effects millions or people. We feel somewhat distressed by this thought as we find it hard to understand how it effects people and how to behave around the mentally ill and so become outcasts to society.

The transition of one the fonts is a fade which connotes peace possible for the death of Donnie Darko. The peaceful transitions working in time with the music create a tranquil atmosphere for the audience. However, the transitions for the next font are more ordered suggesting the more sophisticated and unforgiving parts of society who can not and will not understand other peoples view.

My group and I may use a similar font in order to create the same simple feeling that Donnie Darko has captured. If we do this then the music must compliment each other perfectly otherwise what we are trying to capture will not be done correctly.

 

Preliminary task

I edited the first 16 seconds of the video, Matt Lloyd then did the next 12 seconds until 0:28 and Ewan Griffiths did the last 24 seconds.

There is an initial establishing shot for 0:07 seconds long to show the audience the location. The a continuity low angle shot follows which flows with the film. We have purposely practiced continuity in order to improve our editing skills. We have also practiced the 180 degree during a conversation as we need to use this in our final film.

Recce

Practice filming

Technology changes

The increase in hardware has improved the quality of production, benefitting genres in particular that utilise CGI and 3D.  Force Awakens used a combination of real life locations and computer generated images for some scenes. Force Awakens used the best technology in the Dolby vision format with a dynamic range of 2020 colour. The development of hardware has also impacted Avengers Assemble as more than 2200 special effects were used in creating the 2012 film. Films are able to create a new world for the audience in higher detail than ever before.  From the audience’s perspective this is a huge deal as they can enjoy a much better quality. Therefore, Films such as the Force Awakens and Avengers Assemble are more successful.  Mark Ruffalo used a motion capture suit in order to bring the hulk to life in a way that hasn’t been done before. The result in ever improving technology has allowed characters like the hulk to be more lifelike as we can now capture facial and body expressions, to give the character a personality an audience can enjoy.

Digital theatrical distribution has become a much more common way of transporting a film. Traditionally, film companies would have to send a reel to the cinemas for them to preview the film. This was done through horizontal integration as third party transporting companies would deliver the film to each cinema. However, in more recent times a film company does not need the distribution company to distribute films, they simply can just download it from the company. This has saved cost as film companies do not have to produce reels specifically designed for the cinemas. Also, it has increased efficiency as it is much quicker to download a film than to transport it. This has also helped with releases as film companies can decide when is the best time for cinemas to download their film. As well, if you have to deliver a film via a third party company to 12 different countries – the amount of countries Force Awakens was released in, then the reels may be delivered at different times around the world so to combat this, downloading a film is much better as it reaches the cinemas at the same time.   It is much better to have the film in the cinemas at the same time as it keeps the hype around the film. If the film is slowly integrated in to cinemas, then spoilers will ruin the films atmosphere.

Home entertainment needs of audiences are satisfied by increasing home streaming. As a result of online streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, there has been a decrease in DVD and blu ray sales by 16%. This clearly shows that audience prefer to download a film online. It is much quicker to download a film the it is to go out and purchase a disk copy. This is reinforced by the 30% increase of online streaming. Technology has increased vastly and is much more commercialised then it use to be.  The increase in 3D, 4K, ultra HD and curved TVs in the home gives a wider range of ways in which a person can watch a film, therefore people are more willing to pay extra for a high quality film.

Digital content has increased the amount of piracy and also the means in which larger conglomerates and distributors tackle this.  Technology has allowed people to easily pirate a film then it once was. Traditionally people would record the film on their phone a distribute via selling it on DVDs. However, cinemas now have infrared cameras to easily spot if this is happening, but now it is much harder to catch people pirating films and it is much easier to illegally watch them. Illegal streaming companies hack into film company’s servers and download the films. People can therefore just go online and steam it without having to pay for it. 45% of Americans admit to streaming illegally online and it increases to 70% of people for a younger audience. Pirating a film can impact a film greatly, The Wolf of Wall street was the most pirated film of 2014 with 30 million downloads. The film only grossed $117 million dollars meaning it lost a huge amount of profit.  

We can implement the increase in hardware and software changes into our final media product. This is because technology is more readily available as we have access to high resolution cameras and efficient software. Ewan owns a Cannon camera which is able to take High Definition videos and Matt had an iPhone 7 which had the latest technology for smartphone cameras and so we are able to take some cinematic pictures and videos. At school we have Apple macs which will allow us to edit our footage in the Final Cut Pro software. Without these essential pieces of technology we may not be able to create an effective opening sequence. Therefore, our film will not be successful as nobody will have an interest as we did not hook them which is our aim.

Focus group

Our focus group will help me and my group as it will enable us to understand what the target audience want and what they think of our film. We need to know what the target audience want because if we create a film they will not enjoy then it will not be successful. If we make a film they want to see being made, then the film will get a positive response. If the target audience guides us in how we can improve our film as they will tailor it to suit their interests which in turn will make a successful film. From our focus group we can tell that our target audience particularly like the use of POV camera shots and our location, we will keep both of these aspects. However, they feel we should create a backstory to the characters so the audience can connect more. This adds a sense of realism  to the characters to make our film more believable.

Idependent study

Comedy: 

Mrs. Doubtfire was a comedy made in 1993 starring Robin Williams as the main role. This immediately connotes the genre of the film as Williams has previously done which is typically is comedy. Originally this film received mixed reviews but more recently it has been placed in America’s top 100 films.

Action:
The Matrix pushed the boundaries of SGI and created a new approach to films and it portrayed a different approach on the genre. CGI accounts for about 20 percent of the entire film as the visual effects range from bottomless pits to the stopping of bullets as well as the slow motion.



Thriller:
Reservoir dogs is a well-known thriller as it follows eight men as they attempt a diamond heist. However, thigs do not go to plan and we as an audience watch their struggle in pulling off their mission. This is one of the most controversial films in the 90s as the amount of violence portrayed was far greater than in any other film. This is due to the well known Quentin ear slicing scene insinuates torture. However we don't actually see the ear being removed, we can insinuate what is happening through the muffled screams.   

Spy:
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is a 1997 American action comedy film and the of the Austin Powers series. Mike Myers plays the protagonist role of Austin Powers as well as the antagonist, Dr Evil. Austin Powers takes a different approach to conventional spy films such as James Bond. This attracts a wide audience range as it takes a diverse approach to a saturated market.

Science Fiction:
Demolition Man stars Sylvester Stallone as Sergeant John Spartan and Wesley Snipes as Simon Phoenix. The plot of the film is watching protagonist Sylvester Stallone follow the antagonist Wesley Snipes into the future to prevent any crimes being committed. The film Demolition Man presents an unconventional take on the standard police pursuit. It captures the audience’s imagination as they wonder whether the future will look like how the film portrays it to be. Not only this but very few films risked implementing the future aspect like Demolition Man did so it creates a unique film.

Romance:Titanic is directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron based on the true events. The film follows Jack Dawson played by Leonardo DiCaprio from him winning the tickets to his death, he finds his true love on board called Rose DeWitt Bukater played by Kate Winslet. Jack proves his love to rose by sacrificing his life so she could live.

Historical context
Film prices were at an all-time high and were not as cheap as they once were. This may be due to the cost of the production of each film. More and more films were using CGI raising the cost from the average $53million to over $100. Not only did films use CGI but they also used more well-known stars with a higher asking price. They were used to bring a wider target audience due to their popularity which attracts mainstreamers who will only see a film if there is a popular actor/actress in it. Unfortunately, prices went up to $5 making it too expensive for some audiences. This suggests that the target audience has changed as now only some people were able to consistently afford the tickets.

VCRs were still very popular and so copies of the films were made and sold creating an even higher profit margin for the company. The DVD was an upcoming technology that only some films used as a format to sell their newly released films. This is because the quality of a DVD was far better than the VCR and it was slowly being replaced.

Typical, violence was never portrayed in films in the 90s so when Reservoir dogs was made complaints were made against the film for its graphic narrative and so it was cut and banned for certain countries. The most well know scene from Reservoir dogs is when Mr Blond removes the ear of an enemy. We dint actually see the ear being removed but we can hear the screams of victim creating an unsettling atmosphere for the audience.

1991 marked the end of the Cold War with Russia. After around 45 years of military tension between the US and the Soviets. Although there was no fighting like WW I and WW II each side threatened to use nuclear weapons on one another, Neither side used them.

Scream
Scream is a well-known film with extremely recognizable features. These include the costume the antagonist, the hack and slash style the questions the villain likes to ask. The film was very successful and became the highest grossing film in the US earning $173 million worldwide. In the 80s horror films decreased in popularity after many poorly made sequels were made which in term changed the face of horror film. However, scream is perceived to be a film that saved the horror genre as it was credited to being revitalizing. Scream also break the 4^th wall which adds a sense of realism into the film. This is done by the characters referring to other horror films such as “Halloween” and “Nightmare on elm st”. The effect on the audience is that they are more connected to the character feel as though they are involved with the film

Plot:
The plot of the film follows the killer as he immediately kills a character within the first ten minutes. This is to set the scene and create unsettling atmosphere for the rest of the film. This is to promptly engage the audience as the film creates an enigma surrounding the killer. The audience throughout wonder who the masked killer is. It also follows the struggle the one of the main characters as she attempts to live with the tragic past of her mother and the fleeing of the murderer throughout the film.

Sound:
During film the music perfectly complements the bloody scenes as it both the music and the scene are frantic. The music helps to create a sense of emergency within the film. This is called empathetic sound as it matches the mood of the killer. However, for the victims, it is more contrapuntal as the quirky music does not match the tragic events. There is also a wide range of monologue, dialogue and multilogue, this is apparent in most of the scenes when the characters interact. There is also ambient sound when the characters are stabbed as it emphases and exaggerates the sound of the knife. This is intended to unsettle the audience and create a uncomfortably atmosphere. There was also silence which creates a disturbing feeling and can often effect the audience more than music. This is because the audience are unaware of what could happen next whereas you can often predict what will happen just with the music. Therefore, the films unforeseeable ending captures the audiences interest.

 New Media
In the 90s the internet had not really become a reality for some people and so it was not widely used. It was not until 98 that Google Inc. Was founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page to promote and oversee the rival yahoo. This means it was difficult to use the internet and actually find the information you were looking for. After the search engines had been created the internet became simpler as information was easier to locate. However, the internet did not truly take off until 99 when users could upload information and videos. This is also when the first computer virus developed which could send itself to other computers