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