EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7

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

I feel that I have progressed a great deal since when our group filmed the preliminary task. This is because it enabled us to learn how to use the editing software and the video camera. It also meant that we could learn from the mistakes that we made when filming the preliminary task that we knew not to make in our final film. Some of these mistakes were to make sure the lighting was at the right brightness each time a new scene was filmed so the continuity of the shot remained the same, to make sure the editing was correct so that there are no pause where it is obvious that one of our characters is waiting for an instruction and also make sure that no background noise can be heard in the footage for example traffic or people talking. When making our film we made sure that we concentrated on our previous mistakes so they would not happen again and the continuity would flow.

In these screenshots below it shows both our preliminary task (right) and our final film (left)

 

In these two scenes we have used shot reverse shot which is when the first character is shown looking at a second character and then the shot changes to show the second character looking back at the first character. This makes the audience believe that these two characters are looking at each other whilst having a conversation as they are looking in opposite directions. We chose to use shot reverse shot in our preliminary task as it demonstrates the emotions that Amy is feeling and how Lauren is reacting to them. It also shows the audience the environment they are in as they can see behind both of them. We then chose to use this technique in our final film as the ‘over the shoulder shot’ looked different and unusual. We also liked this shot because it meant that the audience could see both characters facial expressions and characteristics at the beginning of the film which meant they got to know them as characters. The ‘over the shoulder shot’ also meant that the audience was put in the perspective of both characters which then causes them to feel the same emotions as the characters all through the film.

 

Match on Action is when something happens in a scene but the perspective of the camera changes, still showing the same action. This is used when the persepective of the camera changes but the scene still flows without any disturbances. We have used Match on Action in both our prelimenary task and our short film as we felt that it worked well and looked very effective when using different camera angles. The first screenshot, from our prelimentary task, shows Lauren opening the door to go outside. We chose to use Match on Action here as it means that the continuity of the scene remains the same and the audience can see that she is going to a different location. The second screenshot, from our short film, shows Amy knocking on the door. We decided to use this technique again as it deomstrates the action that Amy has made which causes a domino effect as our second character, Tara, opens the door. It also looks quite effective as the door knocker is quite sisnister and grey, which adds to our eerie atmosphere which we tried to create.

 

This shot was used both in our preliminary task and final film as we felt that it was a good connecting shot which showed the audience where the characters had gone and their movement. In our final film we felt that it was effective because it made the audience see the characters disappear off the screen which prepared them for the events that were yet to come.

 

In our final film we used both ‘fade in’ and ‘fade out’ which is shown in the above screenshots. We chose to use the ‘fade in’ effect when the scene changes from the hand going down the window to the villain walking away into the darkness as we wanted these two scenes to be significant in our final film as we felt that they were two very important ideas and created effective imagery. We also thought that cutting these two scenes together would not work as well as it would look unprofessional.

We then used the effect called ‘fade to black.’ This was used twice in our film: firstly when the newspapers fade out of the scene and when the villain has walked away. It was used at the beginning as we wanted the transition between the newspapers and the first scene to flow as well as possible. This is because the two scenes are quite contrasting so the bridge between them needed to be fluent to link the scenes together. It was used at the end as we felt that as the villain as walking into the darkness it could be portrayed to the audience that he was disappearing into the unknown and the audience would not know where he had gone.

In our final film we decided to use the 180 degree rule as we felt it was not needed as the 180 degree rule enables the audience to see the relationship between unseen movements which is happening around the characters. We also felt that there was not an occasion in our film where the audience would become confused as the line was not needed.  

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 

The video camera that we used for our film enabled us to film in any location that we need to as it was portable. This meant that when choosing the location for our film we had a range of options. The camera was also very good at picking up sound which meant that all the speech and sound effects can be heard clearly over the music.

A tripod is a portable three-legged frame which is used for keeping the stability and supporting the weight of a camera. Our group used a tripod which meant that we could shoot footage that wasn’t wobbly. This meant that all of our shots are at the right angle and the picture of the screen can be seen clearly. The only disadvantage is that it was quite heavy and bulky to carry to the location of the film.

The editing software that we used was called Adobe Premiere Elements which helped us to overlay the music for our film and edit all the shots so that they fitted together and the clip would flow. The only trouble we experienced with the technology was that the software would stop working and we would lose some of our footage, this became a problem near the end as it was difficult in stopping this from happening another issue that occurred whilst editing was that it would not let us put our screen titles on the right clip which meant that it took along time to get it right.

When we started our research and planning for our film we used a blog demonstrate our findings and evaluations of different films. This meant that we could publish our posts on the World Wide Web for everyone to view and read. This was made purely by me although some of the ideas and post were created by the whole group as we were working on a group production of a film. The blog was very useful as it meant I was able to post my finding and ideas wherever I was and they could be uploaded quickly and efficiently.

We used Photoshop when creating our film which means we learnt how to edit photos by adapting their colour, size, composition and the focus of the writing. We decided to use this piece of equipment as we wanted to change the look and mood of the montage of photographs that we have selected for the opening of our film. The functions and properties that Photoshop had enabled us to use a lot of techniques to change the appearance of the photographs such as injecting colour into a photograph which was originally dark and unattractive to being eye catching and a bit disturbing to the audience.

We used YouTube for our project, which is a world wide video-sharing website, where users can upload, view and share videos. We used this a lot when filming as we uploaded a range of videos from our group talking about film production to videos of our group on set of our film. This was an easy piece of equipment to use and we became formulary with a typical advertising tool of film companies.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

We have used the YOUTUBE tools to annotate our film so we can highlight the ways in which our Film Opening links to other similar films in order to attract the particular audience we have previously identified.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4

Who would be the audience for your

media product?



We decided that we would create a film with a horror genre. This means that our film is aimed at young adults (16-25 year olds) both male and female. This is because the young adult’s audience are becoming desensitised to blood, gore and violent actions from video games whereas adults are more easily affected and conscious as they didn’t grow up around those brutal and aggressive images. This audience seem to like suspense, being scared and having visceral reaction towards films this may be because of the adrenaline rush that it creates for the audience.

The shops that the girls may like to buy clothes in are New Look, Topshop, Republic and River Island. The boys may buy their clothes in Burton, Topman, Hollister and Superdry. Other shops that this target audience may purchase items in are HMV, Starbucks, Game, McDonalds and Apple.

They may listen to the top 40 charts and watch programmes such as The X Factor, Eastenders, The Only Way Is Essex and Hollyoaks. 

We chose all female characters for our film as we felt that the women would be able to relate better with them as they will place themselves in the situation that the characters are in, in the film. This will mean that their imagination will run wild and they will start to think about the possibility that something like this could happen to them as they could be in their position. Our film will cause the audience to feel fear as they may believe that their well being is being threatened,

Another reason that we chose girls for our main characters is because the male audience likes to think that they could conquer the evil villain in horror films as it makes them the hero. They will be led to believe they can as the girls are the victims of this attack who can’t fend for themselves.

Horror films these days seem to focus more on the victim suffering more that the build up of suspense although our film is more about creating tension as we felt that this would look the most effective and realistic with the facilitates and equipment that we had access to. Young adults like to feel tension and anxiety when watching a film as they like the adrenalin rush that it causes them to feel, like the thrill people get on roller coasters and from ghost stories. They also like to feel tension and fear in a film as they enjoy the euphoric sense of relief when it’s all over. Our film is mainly focused around the tension that is created by the characters and actions that they make. We chose this theme as we feel it is an effect way of making the audience feel fear and terror. It also keeps the audience on the edge of their seats as they aren’t sure what is going to happen next and worry about what may happen to each of the characters as they feel protective over them.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3

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

We have made a 'director's commentary' style voiceover which explains the key features in our opening film.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

One of our main characters is blonde and wears very pale colours. The main reason we chose this actor is because of her blonde hair which we felt fitted the stereotype of the ‘innocent dumb blonde’. Some ancient cultures considered blonde haired children to be a sign of purity. This is the theme that we wanted to portray in our film.

 

The first character is from ‘The Grudge’ and is a victim as she has to watch her husband commit suicide because of the evil supernatural force that is inside him. Although this character is different to ours as she has brown hair and doesn't die but she is wearing pale colours like our victim which demonstrates their purity and naivity. Both these two charcters are within their comfort zone as one is at home and the other is in bed. This makes the audience think that nowhere is safe as the places that you would feel most comforted are still dangerous and the character is still vulnerable.

In the second screen shot from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ it can be seen that this character is wearing pale colours and also has blonde hair which is very similar to our film although this character is the first to die whereas in our film Amy is the last to die as we didn’t want it to be too predictable as we wanted the audience to stay engaged and interested. The character in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is outside which would seem a lot scarier to the audience although as our character is inside and feels protected it is almost more disturbing that she is also attacted as the audience would expect her to be safe in her own surroundings.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 1

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

The first shot shown in our film shows the location in which it is set and establishes the surroundings for the story. This means that the audience knows where the characters are and how the location is so normal; this causes the audience to feel that it could happen to anyone as it is such a common situation. This shot last for quite along time as we slowly zoom in on the door, this reinforces the location in which it is set. As the genre for our film is horror we wanted the audience to be able to relate to the characters which is why we chose such an ordinary location. This may lead the audience to believe that something bad may happen because everything is so calm and quite.

One of the first opening title is shown on this screen grab. This sets the film up and causes the audience to have high expectations as the director has successful y directed a few horror films such as The Blair Witch Project. This shot is an over the shoulder shot which puts the audience into the characters (Amy) position. This means that they are already sympathizing with the characters and will be more affected by the disturbances later on in the clip. This is the first time the audience sees the characters which means that they are just beginning to relate to them and get to know them.

In this screen grab it can be seen using a mid shot that the two characters are wearing quite similar colours: we chose pale colours as we felt they made the characters seem more innocent and pure. This can be seen clearly from the character (Tara) closest to the screen as her top is pale pink with flower on it. This adds to her purity and contributes to the audience’s instinct to protect her as she is clearly naive and vulnerable. This shot lasts for a long time as we want it to be clear where they are established in the house and what the characters look like as it is the first time the audience can see them in full. The characters seem very relaxed and normal as they walk from the door into the sitting room. This may put the audience one edge as they know something is going to happen to these two characters but are unable to do anything.

This is a high angle shot of Tara opening the front door. This shows that we are looking down on her as she is vulnerable and submissive. This angle could also suggest that the audience has more knowledge that she does so are more dominate that the character, this will cause them to feel helpless and scared of what may happen to her next. This shot also allows the audience to see exactly what she is doing and where she is going.

This location is the same as the beginning except it has become a lot darker and sinister. This will causes the audience to feel unease as they felt so comfortable in this location before they may start to question what has happened here and what is outside. The top that Tara is wearing means that she shows up in the dark clearly which adds to her vulnerability and means that the audience can see clearly what is happening to her. The long shot means that we can have the two characters in the shot at the same time as the villain is in the foreground whereas Tara is in the background. This again reveals more information to the audience that the innocent character doesn’t know.

This shot shows Amy alone in the sitting room, which means the audience has empathy for her as something may be about to happen as she has no one around to help. She is in the centre of the shot as we want the focus to be purely on her. As this scene in our film is not very action packed we have put a title on to show the audience the creators of the film.

This shot is a cleaver as it can either put the audience into the point of view of the villain as it is an over the shoulder shot. This may frighten the audience as the villain is so close to the camera and is watching his victim or they could interpret it as the victim is so far away and the audience cannot help them because the villain is between them. They can also see that she cannot see him which may make them feel uncomfortable and frustrated. The black hoody that the villain is wearing means that the audience cannot see any human qualities or facial features to him. This makes him not normal and makes them feel the unknow. This also boarders the shot well and means that the focus is on the victim as she runs to the front door.

This low angle shot shows the victim (Amy) walking up the stairs to where the villain waits. This will really scare the audience as they know what is about to happen and suspense will be built as the shot lasts for a while. The clothing that she is wearing could demonstrate her knowledge and understanding as it shows she is confused and isn’t very clever.  This shot is very common in a horror film: usually the girl will start to walk up the stairs and then something stops her and her path will be blocked, although in our film we have decided to go against the usual conventions of a horror film and kill her at the beginning. This will make the audience tense as they will feel like they cannot predict what will happen in the future. In this scene the audience hears Amy calling out the name 'Tara'. This is giving the character personal qualities which may make the audience feel for her even more as they see her as a real person.

This is the final shot in our film as it shows the villain walking away from the house into the distance. This demonstrates to the audience that the villain could be anywhere and is very unrecognizable as he is wearing all black and his face is covered.

In horror films the title is usually shown right at the beginning of the film and is white in a simple font, although in our horror film we have decided to go for a bolder font which would normally be seen in an action film. We feel that this adds to the dramatic effect and demonstrates the villain’s character. The thick bold red writing shows the name of the film and means that the audience will associate it with the villain and his actions.

Final Film

Introduction to our Film

This video is going to be the introduction of our film, the newspaper clippings show the audience the events that have happened and the information about them. We decided to do this introduction as we were going to have a news report about the killer but our group decided it may be better if we did something more original and creative. Every newspaper clipping has something to do with our film and has been edited to make it look even scarier for the audience. We did this by using Photoshop, staining them with tea or burning them. We chose to put scary music on whilst the images are appearing on the screen so the audience is even more effected by the clippings that they are seeing.   

Video Diary of Set

We decided to make a video diary of us filming our film to show what we were doing and what we were planning on doing. We also chose to do a tour of the location for our film to show the layout of the house and the different rooms that we have filmed in. this shows how the hallway links all the rooms together and where the stairs are placed in the house.

On our set

This picture is of our two main actors in our film who play Amy and Tara 

This picture shows Ellis with the tripod and the video camera

 

This is the camera that we used to shoot our film

This is Ellis using the tripod and video camera to film the two characters watching a scary film

This is me using the camera and getting the tripod at the right angle

These two pictures show the tripod that we used and the Adobe Premiere Elements software that we used to edit our film

Editing Video Diary

In our lesson we decided to make a video diary of what we were all doing to the making of our film. We made this video diary in class so that it would show the progress that we had made with the editing process and putting the newspaper pictures together.

Introduction for our film