1) All good. You made a mistake with high/low angle. Good thorough start
2) Didn't really get to grips with social groups- a fairly basic post about teenage boys
3) Good to see a different method. Some sound points here but not much in depth- what kind of problems might a film company be faced with? (slide 4) You're making all of the right points but perhaps not explaining them in enough detail. You make an excellent point about the age of Netflix users but you could have expanded upon it.
4) Two audience profiles but no attempt at an explanation of psychographics, primary/secondary audience, BBFC
5) Not a bad post- I do like the poster. I thin you could have said a lot more about marketing on the internet other than Twitter.
6) reasonable post which covered technologies
7) I liked the director's commentary. Not much on progression.
Level 3 12–15 marks
• Proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.
• Proficient understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms
and conventions in relation to production.
• Proficient ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes.
• Proficient understanding of their development from preliminary to full task.
• Proficient ability to communicate.
Ella 12 Rebecca 12
Sunday, 14 May 2017
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Film Opening- Marking
Level 4 48–60 marks
There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
• material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects
I think this is great!
The material is clearly apt for the audience in that it's a thriller/crime drama. Someone being chased is a giveaway.
It's a shame that the titles are a little inconsistent both in terms of length and when they appear. The poor costume designer hardly gets a look in! They do follow conventions.
The music works very well with this in that it is dramatic yet reasonably downbeat. There is no diegetic sound which I think works well with this.
The mmaterial is really effective. I think it starts a little abruptly. Perhaps we could have seen the area before we saw the character. However, after that you pace things very well. The use of slo-mo is very effective and you did well with the match on action. I was a littl concerned about the shot when he looks backwards as it kind o breaks the 180 degree rule but it doesn't rally matter too much and the shot itself is nicely done with him running through shot and a static camera. The shot of him silhouetted in the sunlight (you used it for the poster) is terrific.
The editing after the rushed start is spot on. The one shot we get of the pursuer- he/she appears to be walking which is a little weird.
Very well done.
Rebecca and Ella 52
There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
• material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects
I think this is great!
The material is clearly apt for the audience in that it's a thriller/crime drama. Someone being chased is a giveaway.
It's a shame that the titles are a little inconsistent both in terms of length and when they appear. The poor costume designer hardly gets a look in! They do follow conventions.
The music works very well with this in that it is dramatic yet reasonably downbeat. There is no diegetic sound which I think works well with this.
The mmaterial is really effective. I think it starts a little abruptly. Perhaps we could have seen the area before we saw the character. However, after that you pace things very well. The use of slo-mo is very effective and you did well with the match on action. I was a littl concerned about the shot when he looks backwards as it kind o breaks the 180 degree rule but it doesn't rally matter too much and the shot itself is nicely done with him running through shot and a static camera. The shot of him silhouetted in the sunlight (you used it for the poster) is terrific.
The editing after the rushed start is spot on. The one shot we get of the pursuer- he/she appears to be walking which is a little weird.
Very well done.
Rebecca and Ella 52
Sunday, 7 May 2017
Evaluation 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout the process of making our film opening we have used many different types of technology. They have helped us in many ways, including creating an appealing blog to show the progress of the film opening and helping us create the best film opening we possibly could.
Blogger
We have used this site to illustrate the progress and ideas behind our film opening. As it easy to setup and is also is available on a variety of different technology products, such as phones, computers, laptops and ipads, this site has helped us with producing our final piece and documenting our ideas. One problem we have had with this site is that it was a bit inflexible as we were unable to put the blogs in exactly the order we wanted, however we were eventually able to make the template work for us.
Iphone 5S
We used the Iphone 5S as our camera to film our opening sequence. The reason we chose to film with this camera is that when we filmed our preliminary task using the Panasonic camera, we found that the quality wasn't very good. This was not the case with the Iphone 5S. It was also easy to use and made it easy to upload the clips to the mac book. The one problem we did face was that the phone did not have enough storage for all the clips, therefore we had to make room on the phone by deleting other apps and uploading photos to our personal computers. Had we not done this we would have had to edit on the day of filming itself, instead of being able to review all the footage and then choosing the shots we wanted.
PowerPoint
We used powerpoint to present some of our blogs in a different way, making our blogs media rich. We also used powerpoint to create our mood boards as it was easier to copy, paste and put the pictures in formation and then group the pictures together. Powerpoint we feel is much easier to use and move things around than Word which is why we chose to use it.
imovie
Imovie is the app we used to edit our preliminary task and our film opening. We chose this app as we have more experience using it. Another advantage is that it is easy accessible, you can access it from many products that carry this app. From our experience of using it before, we found that it was clear and very easy to use. However, we did come across a couple of drawbacks. Once you have exported the edited footage on imovie you can no longer go back and change anything. Because of this we waited till the last minute, until we were totally happy with our final piece, before we exported it, as we knew there was no going back. Also, we found imovie to be very sensitive, therefore while editing we had to be very careful and precise in what we were doing.
Imovie is the app we used to edit our preliminary task and our film opening. We chose this app as we have more experience using it. Another advantage is that it is easy accessible, you can access it from many products that carry this app. From our experience of using it before, we found that it was clear and very easy to use. However, we did come across a couple of drawbacks. Once you have exported the edited footage on imovie you can no longer go back and change anything. Because of this we waited till the last minute, until we were totally happy with our final piece, before we exported it, as we knew there was no going back. Also, we found imovie to be very sensitive, therefore while editing we had to be very careful and precise in what we were doing.Voice notes
We used voice memos when we were recording our focus group. We decided to use voice memos as it was a different way we could record and also it clearly records everything, with a very good sound quality. One problem we faced was that when we tried to upload the voice memos to the blog it wouldn't work, it was taking far too long to upload, so eventually we decided to cancel it and upload the voice memos to imovie. We then later uploaded the clips on imovie to the blog, this worked much better.
Evaluation 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
Profile 1:
Name: James Olatunji
Age: 18
Likes:
Name: James Olatunji
Age: 18
Likes:
- Shops- Levi's, Boohoo, Jack wills, Armani
- Music- R&B, Rap, Dubstep
- TV programmes- 'Game of thrones', 'Family guy', 'Skins'
- Films- 'Se7en', 'Shutter Island, 'The interview'
Bio: James is currently in his last year studying at Seevic college, His A level options are Media, creative writing and film studies. When James is not studying for his A levels, as a physical outlet from studying, he is a member of the football team and tennis club, this is mostly where he socialises outside of college. However, whenever he can get the chance, he loves to go to the local cinema with his friends to watch a film, usually he goes to watch a thriller. To pay for for all his interests and socialising, James got himself a job working at his football club, coaching younger children.
Profile 2:
Name: Natalie Jones
Age: 16
Likes:
Profile 2:
Name: Natalie Jones
Age: 16
Likes:
- Shops- Pretty little thing, River island, Topshop
- Music- House, R&B, Pop
- TV Programmes- 'Gossip Girl', 'Death in paradise', 'pretty little liars'
- Films- 'Beauty and the beast', 'Gone Girl', 'Clueless'
Bio: Natalie is in her first year of A levels studying psychology, media and English literature at the Fitzwimarc sixth form. Her hobbies include going out with her friends and dancing at her dance school. To get some extra money to pay for trips out with her friends, Natalie gets up early in the morning to do her paper round before school. As well as going out with her friends she also loves to stay in and watch films, her favorite type of films to watch are murder mysteries as she loves to guess who the murderer is with her friends.
Research and Planning- Marking
Rebecca and Ella's mood boards drew lots of the right conclusions. I'm not sure about the victims being absent as they are 'usually killed at the start'. The second board seemed to provide more appropriate conclusions such as conflict and the use of colour. The points about genre were accurate rather than insightful but I liked the inclusion of Propp. I thought the analysis of Dark Knight was very good and showed an understanding of opening conventions and audience expectation. I would like, perhaps to have heard a little more about how the character of the Joker was introduced- being the of the film's primary antagonist. The analysis of Shutter Island picks out lots of interesting details but then never really gets to grips with explaining them which is a shame (eg 'monochrome with a blurry background creating a flat space'). The post on Title sequences offered a good understanding of the different types.
The posts on the Health and Safety and the BBFC showed an understanding of the regulations placed upon industries although, in the case of the latter, it would have been nice perhaps to have used some examples in order to demonstrate a further understanding of these issues and the impact on the girls' own production. The posts on Film Company and Logo showed some insight into the way that companies tend to specialise.
There was some evidence of market research although I wasn't particularly convinced by the value of the questions. I liked the focus group with the 'podcast style' questions and answers although some of the issues raised were crying out to be explored in greater detail. There was some evidence of an understanding of marketing but it would have been better if there had been more specific ideas about, for example, how to go about guerrilla marketing. I really liked the film poster.
The posts on '1,2,3 days filming' and Changes were fairly detailed and showed the willingness of the girls to adapt and change as they went along. I Thought the music chosen was very good and the post explaining this likewise. The posts on Location, Props and Costume, Storyboard, Pitch and to a lesser extent, Script, demonstrated the girls' ability to plan carefully and think about how their choices would impact on the audience.
It would appear at first glance that Rebecca was responsible for considerably more of the blog than Ella. Ella had some issues with Blogger at the start and therefore often would post with Rebecca together or, on some occasions under Rebecca's name. I do feel that Rebecca was more of the driving force behind the project. Ella's early posts were of a poor standard though, to her credit, she did go back and rectify this. The blog as a whole covers all of the things that I was expecting and is varied in its approach. The analysis was fairly good on the whole. There was a good understanding of institutional approaches and the girls planned the project in detail whilst demonstrating an ability to adapt.
Rebecca 15/20
Ella 13/20
The posts on the Health and Safety and the BBFC showed an understanding of the regulations placed upon industries although, in the case of the latter, it would have been nice perhaps to have used some examples in order to demonstrate a further understanding of these issues and the impact on the girls' own production. The posts on Film Company and Logo showed some insight into the way that companies tend to specialise.
There was some evidence of market research although I wasn't particularly convinced by the value of the questions. I liked the focus group with the 'podcast style' questions and answers although some of the issues raised were crying out to be explored in greater detail. There was some evidence of an understanding of marketing but it would have been better if there had been more specific ideas about, for example, how to go about guerrilla marketing. I really liked the film poster.
The posts on '1,2,3 days filming' and Changes were fairly detailed and showed the willingness of the girls to adapt and change as they went along. I Thought the music chosen was very good and the post explaining this likewise. The posts on Location, Props and Costume, Storyboard, Pitch and to a lesser extent, Script, demonstrated the girls' ability to plan carefully and think about how their choices would impact on the audience.
It would appear at first glance that Rebecca was responsible for considerably more of the blog than Ella. Ella had some issues with Blogger at the start and therefore often would post with Rebecca together or, on some occasions under Rebecca's name. I do feel that Rebecca was more of the driving force behind the project. Ella's early posts were of a poor standard though, to her credit, she did go back and rectify this. The blog as a whole covers all of the things that I was expecting and is varied in its approach. The analysis was fairly good on the whole. There was a good understanding of institutional approaches and the girls planned the project in detail whilst demonstrating an ability to adapt.
Rebecca 15/20
Ella 13/20
Saturday, 6 May 2017
Evaluation 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The character Trevor from 'Kidulthood' is similar in ways to the character in the opening of our film. He is a teenager who got caught up in some dodgy business and ended up getting himself in trouble that got him killed. However, despite that he was a kind character but just acted the way he felt he had to due to his uncle being involved in a lot of crime and from other people around him. This is the same as the character in our opening who truly is a good person, but made some wrong decisions and got involved in this he couldn't handle which led to his murder. They both have similar dress sense, wearing jeans and hoodies as this portrays their character and is a typical stereotype for teenagers up to no good or involved in crime. Having a male, instead of a female, is more stereotypical when people watching a piece of media think of teenagers committing crimes and getting into big trouble over the sort of things they'd imagine most girls would get up to in relation to that.
There are some differences with the two characters though, like Trevor was at a school full of people that influenced him acting in some of the ways he did and his family are not seen much in the film and from his uncle seem to encourage the behaviour. Where as, the character in our film goes to a school with a mix of people but not many who would encourage to do criminal things and his family will be very shocked about the murder finding it unexpected as they were unaware of what he had been up to.
Evaluation 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
1- The title of our film:
The title of our film is 'On the Run' and we chose this for many reasons. Firstly, it is a short simple title that people will find easy to remember compared to if it was a longer title or had more complicated words in it. Also, it goes with the story line for our film which is about a teenage boy who has got himself into trouble, which the audience would discover later into the film, and is on the run from it when he gets murder in the opening of the film. The title also sparks a lot of questions, such as; 'who is on the run?', 'who are they running from?', 'what is this about?' etc., which is what we want all aspects of our film to do as it is a murder mystery so the audience should be questioning everything and thinking about the story.
2- Setting/ location:
The setting for our film opening uses forms of murder mystery conventions as it is showing a scene where parts of the rest of the film will take place, as it is where the murderer happens, so it sets the scene a bit from the start. Also, the area that our opening is set in suggests some things about the character shown, as it is in quite a doggy looking, vandalised area, suggesting crime and maybe rebellion of the younger generation with the graffiti on the walls of the underground walkway.
3- Costumes and props:
The costume of the character in our opening scene is simple and casual, with quite dark colours as we want him to appear as an ordinary teenage boy at first glance so the younger audience watching will feel like they can relate to him more. Also, we decided on the darker colours to add to the mystery and show he's got a darker side. We decided to not use any props for our opening as we felt like none we needed for what we decided to have happening in our opening and we didn't want anything to over complicate what is happening in the scene.
4- Camera work and editing:
For our camera work we wanted it to look as professional as we could, so used the steady cam to try to avoid any shaky camera work. We used a mix of different camera shots and angles such as; close up to show the characters expression and of his feet when running away, long shot to establish the setting and make it seem as if the audience are watching the character more from the distance to begin with, and low angles of the character at the start to portray his weakness and vulnerability.
5- Title font and style:
The font of the title of the film has a very clear, bold text with pointed sharp edges on parts of it to make it look more edgy and suggest the crime/ violence from the murder that takes place in the film. The title of our film is 'On The Run' and we chose this name because it goes with the story line of our film, suggesting the genre, and is short but effective, sounding quite mysterious.
6- Story and how the opening sets it up:
The story of our film opening is about a teenage boy who has got into some kind of trouble, which would be revealed later in the film, and ends up getting murdered because of it. Our opening sets it up as it shows the character running away from someone, who is not shown, and then cuts to him on the floor dying which sets up the story of the murder mystery where the rest of the film would be following a detective solving the murder.
7-Genre and how the opening suggests it:
The genre of our opening is murder mystery/ thriller. Our genre is shown in the opening by the mysterious soundtrack chosen which adds tension to the action in the scene. We also made use of shadows to, like shown in the shot on the mood board, to represent the murderer showing the character is being chased but not who it is to add to the story.
8- How characters are introduced:
The only character that is introduced in our film opening is a teenage boy, who is the murder victim for the film, and he is introduced in the first shot running towards to camera over a bridge and he has no dialogue throughout the opening, to add even more mystery as it means the audience don't get to know much about him and can discover things throughout the rest of the film as the detective is solving the murder.
Sunday, 30 April 2017
Saturday, 29 April 2017
Film Poster
The reason why the font is white is it too make it stand out as it is on a dark background which draws attention to the title and the credits. The fact the title is in the middle of the poster draws the viewers eye to it. We also put the production company logo on the poster as it tells the audience who created this film and to give them acknowledgement.
We decided that the main feature in the poster would be the picture. This is why the information on the poster is either at the top or bottom of the poster as we wanted the image to dominate. The image we chose is a screenshot of a scene during the film opening which shows the main character running through a subway. We think this is the most interesting shot as it doesn't expose the genre and narrative too much but gives enough of a clue to intrigue the audience and hopefully make them want to watch the film. The fact that he s running out of the dark towards the light suggests he is trying to escape from danger and hoping to reach salvation, though the glare of the light is so strong it is impossible to make out what, or who, he is trying to reach.
Production Company/ Name/ Logo/ Ethos
We decided that the name of our production company would be BW Umbrella Productions. The reason for this is that it is gives a sense of an all encompasing and wide ranging outlook.
We have decided to be an independent company as we wanted our film to have a unique and different feel. This wouldn't be possible from a main stream studio. We also decided to not do a logo as we believe that the title and our film can speak for themselves, so it doesn't need a logo to be recognised, our name alone will bring the necessary recognition.
We decided that the text would be white over a grey, cloudscape background. However it has black outlines so that it is clear to see. From this we go straight into the credits. The white / black text combined with the grey, almost colourless background of the urban landscape gives a bleak feeling which fits with the murder mystery/ thriller genre of our film.
Institution/ Film Studio
Script
We did not need a script for our film opening as we decided dialogue wasn't needed. We made this decision as we felt our opening would be more effective without dialogue, where the audience could just focus on the action taking place in the scene and the soundtrack we chose to go with it. We didn't want to over complicate what was happening in our opening and just having the slow motion running and mysterious music playing suggested the genre and gave the effect we wanted, so having dialogue could have ruined that.
Friday, 28 April 2017
Pitch/Brief
We both decided that the tone of our film is a murder mystery/ thriller as the mix of these two genres would be the best way to intrigue and hold our audience. The opening shots reflect this and our idea was to have someone being chased while running through the underground pathways in Southend. We decided this location would be effective as the audience are unsure of where the pathway leads, which reinforces the mystery and tension. The graffiti all over the walls suggests crime and the fact that it is dark and dirty also indicates danger and the thriller genre. We used a dark place during the day so any light coming in would create shadows, which is another convention of a thriller.
We wanted to keep the audience guessing, this is one of the reasons we chose to film the chase in slow motion as for a long time the audience don't know why or who the main character is running from. Another reason we chose to film the chase in slow motion is because we wanted the audience to feel more involved and engulfed by the story-line, doing this made each moment longer creating a mysterious effect.
The main character is just a normal boy. we thought that if he looked like 'anybody off the street' the audience would believe that this could happen to anyone including themselves, helping the audience identify with the character. This is obviously beneficial as the impact on the audience could result in the audience getting more involved in the narrative as well as making them think about it during the film.
The title is 'On The Run' we decided on this because the film starts with a chase. We figured that we should make the title relevant to the narrative so the audience knows what it is about and what they are getting. However its the mysterious side that intrigues the audience as they don't know who it is that's running, who they are running from and why.
Our influence has been a murder mystery TV programme, 'Death in Paradise'. We wanted to have a similar narrative and effect but transfer to a film, giving it a more cinematic look. As in every episode of 'Death in Paradise' a murder takes place so that is what we have decided to do with our film opening, start it off with a murder and the rest of the film is a journey to find out who did it and just as importantly, why. We were also influenced by the film 'se7en' as the story-line is similar. We liked the fact that the film is so gripping, we aspire to make our film opening as engaging with the audience, inspiring them to conjure up their own theories about who did it and why.
The main character is just a normal boy. we thought that if he looked like 'anybody off the street' the audience would believe that this could happen to anyone including themselves, helping the audience identify with the character. This is obviously beneficial as the impact on the audience could result in the audience getting more involved in the narrative as well as making them think about it during the film.
The title is 'On The Run' we decided on this because the film starts with a chase. We figured that we should make the title relevant to the narrative so the audience knows what it is about and what they are getting. However its the mysterious side that intrigues the audience as they don't know who it is that's running, who they are running from and why.
Our influence has been a murder mystery TV programme, 'Death in Paradise'. We wanted to have a similar narrative and effect but transfer to a film, giving it a more cinematic look. As in every episode of 'Death in Paradise' a murder takes place so that is what we have decided to do with our film opening, start it off with a murder and the rest of the film is a journey to find out who did it and just as importantly, why. We were also influenced by the film 'se7en' as the story-line is similar. We liked the fact that the film is so gripping, we aspire to make our film opening as engaging with the audience, inspiring them to conjure up their own theories about who did it and why.
Shutter Island Film Opening Textual Analysis- Ella
Firstly, when the main character is coming out of the door the zoom and pan moments cut between the foreground and the background, shifting the focus. First the focus is on the handcuffs dangling from the ceiling, it then shifts to the main character walking across the room. The camera then zooms and pans around him as he moves to the other door, indicating that we're following his every move. Through the use of colour, music, montage shots and quick cuts it distinguishes between the reality and flashback. This draws the audience into the main characters reality.
The film starts with an establishing shot of a boat in the middle of a mist covered sea. The lighting throughout the boat sequence is low-key/ gloomy creating an eerie atmosphere that hint towards a thriller genre.
When the main character is first introduced in the bathroom, the light comes through a single window and is stark. The light is cast on the left side of his ace where as the right side is lost in shadow. This use of lighting indicates a personality split, a dark side and a light side, reinforcing the idea that the genre of this film is a thriller. This type of setup is a typical convention in thrillers. However during the first scene there is no dialogue implying that the director is unwilling to definitively expose the genre right away, so keeping the audience guessing.
During the first scene with the boat there is a low orchestral sound which sounds like a steamship horn. This also helps create a mysterious and tense feeling right from the start and throughout the begining.
During a flashback scene the steamship horn sound is still there but is complemented with a lighter soundtrack which could resemble a woman's voice. This intrigues the audience as they haven't been introduced to a second character, this scene could also give a clue to the women's character. Later on in the opening the second character is fully revealed and is the main characters wife.
In the background of one of the flashbacks there is a record player, shown playing a song however, you cant hear it, at this point the audience is only allowed to see it.
Right at the beginning the company logo of Paramount Pictures is prominent. The font used has been identified as Agency FB Bold, with white text on a black screen behind. They have continued to use the same font for the opening credits, the font looks quite old suggesting that the film is set in a different period of time. Using different coloured text highlights the credit and due to the fact that it is red signifies that the film is to do with danger or maybe death. however it only chooses certain credits to be in colour as the rest are in one reinforcing the importance of the people.
The very first moment you're introduced to the main character you see him from the distance however you only see the bottom half of him, which still leaves the audience guessing. Seconds later you see his face reflected in the mirror giving you a clear idea who the main character is.
During the flashback you see two characters, one woman, one man (the same man, main character). They are both lit up by directional back light creating a surrealistic look compared to the dampened light of his reality in the film opening.
The women's face is frozen in a freeze frame, this is the only freeze frame throughout the whole opening, emphasising the focal point of the plot, allowing the audience to acknowledge her role in the film.
The camera tilts with the waves, provoking a feeling of seasickness from the audience side as well, connecting us to the characters physical state.Camera angles play an important role in convincing the audience of the characters reality from the start.
During the freeze frame (of the woman's face) it is the first time you hear the water and it carry's on into the freeze frame linking the water and the woman together.
The main character is talks to another man on the boat. When the other man speaks the camera is usually static, however when the main character talks the camera tilts reinforcing the audience to his physical state.
The scene on the deck consists of medium shots resulting in the ramping up of tension and at the same time making it difficult for the audience to grasp a sense of location, adding to the sense of mystery.
The colours out on the deck are monochrome with a blurry background creating a flat space, contrasting with the cold blue and green atmosphere in the scene. The flash back scenes are colourful, made up of mixed colour temperatures; yellow, green and red. creating an almost sickly feeling.
Thursday, 27 April 2017
Marketing
We could make accounts for the film on social media sites such as, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. With these accounts we could share updates about the film, for example actors that will be starring in the film and when the trailer is released. Using social networking sites to advertise the film could help get it a lot of publicity as so most teenagers/ young adults use social media so would be able to share and see all the advertising for the film, which is what we want as they are the target audience.
Guerrilla advertising could also be a good way to advertise the film as it is a bold statement and a cheap way to get the message out about the film being released. This is because of social media where people would see the advertising and starting filming it or taking pictures that they would then share on their social media.
Using posters and billboards to go up at cinemas once the film has been released and in public areas will get people noticing the film and draw them in to then go on the watch the trailer for it and then go to watch the film.
We can also have the trailer for our film shown before films in cinema of similar genres as the people watching would most likely be our target market as they would be watching other films of the same genre, so this would be a very good way for us to get the trailer seen by our target market.
Guerrilla advertising could also be a good way to advertise the film as it is a bold statement and a cheap way to get the message out about the film being released. This is because of social media where people would see the advertising and starting filming it or taking pictures that they would then share on their social media.
Using posters and billboards to go up at cinemas once the film has been released and in public areas will get people noticing the film and draw them in to then go on the watch the trailer for it and then go to watch the film.
We can also have the trailer for our film shown before films in cinema of similar genres as the people watching would most likely be our target market as they would be watching other films of the same genre, so this would be a very good way for us to get the trailer seen by our target market.
Focus groups
To ensure that our focus group feedback is useful, we need to construct a focus group that is made up of our target audience which in our case it is for teenagers/young adults. We will ask questions and collect their feedback ; which type of character do they like, why they like the genre etc. We will also use that feedback to decide what we are going to do for our film opening.
This question was asked as we wanted to include the reasons why people want to watch murder mystery's. The question would help us because the reasons why our focus group watch it are the reasons our audience will. The outcome of this question was that they like to become a part of the narrative and guess who the murderer is as well as finding out who it is.
Question 1 : 'Which character do you feel more emotionally involved in, the protagonist or the antagonist'
We asked this question because we wanted to see if we should highlight or make the antagonist known, however the results showed that everyone in our focus group felt more emotionally involved with the protagonist as they relate to the character more. Therefore we didn't really include the antagonist just the idea of one, this also helps keep the audience guessing who they are.
Question 2 : 'What makes you want to watch murder mystery's'
This question was asked as we wanted to include the reasons why people want to watch murder mystery's. The question would help us because the reasons why our focus group watch it are the reasons our audience will. The outcome of this question was that they like to become a part of the narrative and guess who the murderer is as well as finding out who it is.
Question 3 : 'If you were to film your own murder mystery, what location would you film in an why?'
We decided to ask this question for the reason that we didn't know where to film and wanted to get their opinions on where they think is best to film a murder mystery. Due to the fact the locations that were suggested in our focus group were too far away to film, we couldn't take those on board. However we both liked the idea of the caves so we found some local underground footpaths which would give it a similar effect.
Question 4 : 'Do you prefer murder mystery/ thriller films age rating 15 or 18?'
As we were both unsure of what age rating the film should be for our film opening we asked this question. It was a split opinion from our focus group, two people preferring a 15 when the other two thought its should be a 18. We came to a decision and chose that the age rating would be a 15 as we would receive a wider audience and it would be better for our target audience as younger people would be able to see it.
Wednesday, 26 April 2017
Editing Diary
The software I used to edit our film opening was iMovie as I am are not used to using any other forms of editing software and know people who are familiar with this if I was unsure of anything. Also, from editing our preliminary task it gave the chance to practice using the software effectively preparing for when we had to edit our final film opening.
Firstly, I imported all of the footage we filmed off of my iPhone, onto the Macbook using the phones USB cable. Once all of the footage was imported I went through each shot filmed deciding which were best to use and roughly putting the clips in order of how I wanted to add them together and cutting any that were too long or had bits in them that were not needed. I did this first to see how well they would transition from one cut to another and if it all fit together showing the genre well. From looking over the shots this way and getting feedback I decided to re-film a couple more times for the beginning of the opening and the final shot for it until it was filmed in a way that looked best all together to look realistic and give the effect we wanted to achieve.
Once I was happy with the order and shots we had in it, I then went through to make sure all transitions ran smoothly by adding transitions where they looked needed and cutting clips anymore if necessary to make the match on action join up right when the character is running and the positions he is being filmed in change. I also muted the sound on all of the clips as it wasn't needed and music would be added to play as a soundtrack later.
Then I went through all of the clips in the opening and changed the speed of them so they were in slow motion, which I felt looked a lot more effective and would help to build up tension as it puts the audience in suspense, anticipating who the character is running from and wanting to find out what is happening in the scene.
Then once I was happy with the editing on all of the clips, I added the music that I had chosen for our murder mystery that I feel fits the genre, making sure it faded in quite quickly at the start after the production company logo and I felt this fit with the fact it goes straight into action and then I also made sure the end of the song played at the end, so had to alter the length, as I felt it faded out nicely going well with the final shot that is panning up to the sky.
Finally, once I was happy with how the film opening looked I just needed to add our production company name, the credits and film title at the end. When adding the text I went through all the options for where I could position it putting in places where I felt it looked best with the shot it was appearing over and I went through many of the font types choosing one that I feel looks professional for a film opening and is clear to read.
Firstly, I imported all of the footage we filmed off of my iPhone, onto the Macbook using the phones USB cable. Once all of the footage was imported I went through each shot filmed deciding which were best to use and roughly putting the clips in order of how I wanted to add them together and cutting any that were too long or had bits in them that were not needed. I did this first to see how well they would transition from one cut to another and if it all fit together showing the genre well. From looking over the shots this way and getting feedback I decided to re-film a couple more times for the beginning of the opening and the final shot for it until it was filmed in a way that looked best all together to look realistic and give the effect we wanted to achieve.
Once I was happy with the order and shots we had in it, I then went through to make sure all transitions ran smoothly by adding transitions where they looked needed and cutting clips anymore if necessary to make the match on action join up right when the character is running and the positions he is being filmed in change. I also muted the sound on all of the clips as it wasn't needed and music would be added to play as a soundtrack later.
Then I went through all of the clips in the opening and changed the speed of them so they were in slow motion, which I felt looked a lot more effective and would help to build up tension as it puts the audience in suspense, anticipating who the character is running from and wanting to find out what is happening in the scene.
Then once I was happy with the editing on all of the clips, I added the music that I had chosen for our murder mystery that I feel fits the genre, making sure it faded in quite quickly at the start after the production company logo and I felt this fit with the fact it goes straight into action and then I also made sure the end of the song played at the end, so had to alter the length, as I felt it faded out nicely going well with the final shot that is panning up to the sky.
Finally, once I was happy with how the film opening looked I just needed to add our production company name, the credits and film title at the end. When adding the text I went through all the options for where I could position it putting in places where I felt it looked best with the shot it was appearing over and I went through many of the font types choosing one that I feel looks professional for a film opening and is clear to read.
Questionnaire Results
1) How old are you?
65% of the people that answer our questionnaire are in the age range 15-17 which is helpful as our target age for our opening is teenagers/ young adults, so getting responses from more younger people will mean the responses should relate more to what the audience want.
2) Are you male or female?
Half the people that took the questionnaire were male and half were female which is helpful as we will be getting a mix of responses from both genders as our film will be targeted for both.
3) Which is your preferred sub-genre for a murder mystery?
The answer that got the most responses was 'thriller' which is the sub-genre we have chosen for our film opening.
4) Do you like murder mystery films that have a double crossing of a character?
The majority of people answered yes (85%) meaning if we made our idea into a full film, this idea would be included at some point.
5) Do you like to relate more to the protagonist or antagonist?
78.95% of people answered that they like to relate more to the protagonist, so this would be considered and if we made this into a full film we would make sure the protagonist has qualities and features that makes them easier to relate to.
6) What do you prefer as the age rating of a murder mystery?
70% of people answered that they prefer a 15 age rating of a murder mystery and that is the rating we have chosen for ours so it is suitable for the audience we are targeting.
7) What do you think is the most important convention of a murder mystery?
These are all of the responses we got for what people would consider important conventions of a murder mystery, we can use some of these suggestions to help us develop our film opening and make it something the audience will want to watch for the reasons given in our questionnaire.
8) Do you prefer the protagonist to be male or female?
It was almost half and half with the responses to this question, maybe showing that audiences aren't too bothered what gender the protagonist is.
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Our Film Title
We found it quite hard trying to think of a film title that we felt suggested the genre and went with the story line we envisioned. At first we thought a one word title would be effective as lots of films have titles like that making them memorable and being a word that sums the film up. However, after thinking long and hard we struggled to come up with a one word title that we were happy with so decided to think of other length titles too. That is when we came up with the title 'On the Run' which is still a short effective title, sounding quite mysterious, and also it relates to what the film is about with the character in the opening on the run from something that the audience is unaware of, then the film would go back following him on that journey as the crime is solved.
After deciding on a title we then needed a font for it, and I found the font by looking through a lot of the fonts on iMovie until I found one that I liked and thought went with the film well. There were two fonts that stood out to me that I chose between.
The first font was 'Wanted LET' which I thought was effective for this film as the font type is like the writing you would see on 'Wanted' signs, suggesting crime, and it is a clear, thick text that stands out.
After deciding on a title we then needed a font for it, and I found the font by looking through a lot of the fonts on iMovie until I found one that I liked and thought went with the film well. There were two fonts that stood out to me that I chose between.
The first font was 'Wanted LET' which I thought was effective for this film as the font type is like the writing you would see on 'Wanted' signs, suggesting crime, and it is a clear, thick text that stands out.
The other font was 'Zingende' which I also thought would be good to use as it is a very clear, bold text and how the text has pointed, sharp looking edges on parts makes it look more edgy and suggests the crime/ violence from the murder that takes place in the film.
In the end I decided on the font 'Zingende' as I feel it looks more professional and stood out better against the end shot of the sky, which the text needed to do as it is the title of the film so needs to be clear to see. I made the font colour white as I felt a simple colour would be suitable for a mystery where not a lot is given away about the story line until the film progresses and things are gradually revealed, which this colour choice portrays.
Interviews with Actors, Directors, Cinematographers and Editors
Actor
Why did you agree to be in the film opening?
I agreed to be in this film opening as I love murder mysteries and thought it would be a really good experience getting to act in part of one myself for this film opening.
Were there any problems as an actor that you faced?
As an actor I faced the problem that as I was having to run down a walking round a corner where I couldn't see if anyone was walking round from the other way, I had to be really careful that I checked if I could see anyone coming first, and if there was wait, and then when I was running I just tried to not run too fast at my full speed so there was less chance of a collision with someone walking by.
How did you find the whole experience?
I really enjoyed the experience of getting to take part in filming a film opening and helping with this media project, the only parts I did not enjoy as much were when I had to be on the floor for the final shot as it was being filmed in not a very nice area and was not the nicest to be laying on the floor in. Despite that, overall I would definitely still take part in this experience again if I could.
Director/ cinematographer
Why did you decide to film the opening the way you did?
We decided to film the opening the way we did as after brainstorming a few different ideas and then re filming some more new ones we came up with on the days of filming we felt that what we came up with would look cinematic and have the mysterious effect we wanted the opening to have, establishing the genre from the off set.
Were there any problems you faced while filming?
As we were filming in a public area, we had to re film some of the shots a few times as sometimes people would walk/ cycle through in the middle of us filming.
How did you find the whole experience?
We found the experience really interesting getting to see what it is like filming our own film opening and seeing the different problems we faced, finding ways to overcome them.
Editor
Why did you decide to edit the film opening the way you did?
I decided to edit the film opening the way I did as I felt having it all in slow motion and how I transitioned the cuts between shots made it look most effective, seeming mysterious and giving the audience a chance to take all the action and setting in with the slowed down shots.
Were there any problems you faced when editing?
When editing I faced some problems with matching up the match on action, getting them timed perfectly but after spending a long time working on it I'm happy with how well they all match up together. Also, I wanted to have a longer cross fad between the final two shots, however when it came to adding it I couldn't work out how to make it longer even after googling how to, so sadly I was unable to do this.
How did you find the whole experience?
I really enjoyed the whole experience, getting to develop my editing skills and bring our film opening idea together making it something I am very proud of doing.
I really enjoyed the whole experience, getting to develop my editing skills and bring our film opening idea together making it something I am very proud of doing.
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