Evaluation Question 7

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

The aim of this task was for us to learn and use different types of shots and camera angles. It was our first time to film something fully, edit it on Final CutPro and present it. Through doing this, we learnt about match-on-action which is a technique where the perspective of the camera changes during a scene and the scene continues to flow. An example of this in our Preliminary task would be when Hannah opens the door and the camera changes to the inside of the room to see her walk in.
However we were very new to the world of filming, and especially our sound, which was recorded and taken straight from the recording camera. Thankfully now we have been introduced to the world of zoom recorders and the

 This establishing shot in our Preliminary Task was used to capture Hannah as she walked towards the door, but also enabled the audience to see where the action was taking place. 

The same shot was used when Bex and I filmed our title sequence as I placed the camera on the floor for the audience to establish the location, before seeing the feet to our protagonist walk in front of the screen. This is a similar idea to our Preliminary Task, yet due the the mystery we wanted to enhance, we stuck out with not revealing the face of our Protagonist until much later on.

This shot was just to capture our female character, from a side perspective as we see her take hold of the door handle and go to walk into the room.

This similar shot is to add to the mystery with the lack of identity being shown, right up until she walks toward the camera and the audience are shown a short snippet of her face and her reaction. 

Another technique we used was the 180' rule and shot reverse shot in editing during the conversation between both characters. Through our Preliminary Task we also elarned how to edit effectively, which enabled us to create better work throughout the course. The Prelim task is quite etchy and lacks continuity and variation of shots, but all this is expected with it being our first filming piece of work. However, what it does show is the great deal of progress I/we have made when you watch the final cut of The Remaining.

The variation of shots in the Preliminary Task were very limited, howecver we were able to sneak in an over-the-shoulder shot so the audience can see what I am looking at. This allows the audience to know what they are talking about, so they are nto completely in the dark with the conversation.

In the Final Cut of our Title Sequence I filmed over Bex's shoulder so the audience were able to see the old photograph she holds in her hand. Later I showed a reaction shot so we could see her face and shock at the photo with scratched out faces.

Overall, our Preliminary Task really helped us to learn how to use the cameras, tripods, and most of all, Final Cut Pro, accurately and effectively. It allowed us to practice and then improve on the skills which turned out to be more useful than ever when working on our Title Sequence. I finish with the piece of work I am proud of that looks both as I intended, and quite professional too as the final cut. 

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the 

process of constructing this product?

      Throughout the production of my media product, I used various pieces of technology, many, if not the majority of which I had not used before. Firstly I used the Apple Mac in order to put together, edit and upload all pieces of work for this task, which was beyond a new world to me! I have to say, the reverse psychology of scrolling up and the screen going down really blew my mind, and the lack of a right click is just beyond silly! At first I found them to be somewhat confusing, but now they are a little friendlier. However I did come across the generic problems of a dodgy mouse and slow connection/freezing, especially when having to export or upload work. We used the Macs in our media production a great deal due to the fantastic variety of programmes they have. 

      For the editing side of our work we used the fantastic Final Cut Pro. This programme stores all original footage, allowing you to edit, work, re-word, add things in, take things out an change practically everything right up until the moment you are happy with the outcome. It also offers a wide selection of titles, effects, transitions and modifications, generators and sound effects. 

When we first started this course, I'd just about heard of this programme, but had no idea of how to use it. Thankfully after a few short tasks we were set in class I was able to have a play around, learning what does what and how. I was able to really enhance or final cut of the title sequence after learning all new techniques which gave my media product a great 'real' look. Again with the comment of always being able to go back to make any last minute changes, this was really helpful after receiving feedback from a group critique we did which allowed us to make the changes that were mentioned in making sure the final cut was perfect. 

When shooting all scenes for our  title sequence we used a flip-camera (Panasonic HDC-SD60 FULL HD) which again I was fairly new to. However I am also a Photography student at this College, so I have a certain way with cameras. I understand how they work easily which came in handy. I also have a good eye for a shot, experimenting with angles and perspective, understanding how the viewers will see this and respond to it. I was complimented by a few people by our opening scene of the low angle and our Protagonist walking away which I am quite pleased with. 

When recording the sound for the voice over and the high-pitch scratch (which we decided not to use) we used a zoom recorder. The quality we got from this was very good, as long as we weren't in too much of a noisy area so that it could not pick up background noise. 

"There's a million digital recorders out there on the market, but the H2 Handy Recorder by Zoom is trying to capture the disposable income of those that need to record sounds coming from a variety of directions. Unlike other recorders, the H2 has three microphones, one in the center and two on either side, allowing for stereo imaging of the sound. You can also record from the front, or the rear of the H2 at 90' or 120' or in full 360', depending on what format you like your file to be. (WAV, MP3 or Surround 5.1) 

(http://www.slipperybrick.com/category/voice-recorders/)   

However, some of the technology that we had used came in handy, and with the mixed views and ideas that working in a pair benefitted us with, we were able to understand at least some of these programmes. Bex was on hand for the music and so found a track on YoutTube called 'Kiddie Land' by Prelude to a Nightmare (Creepy Lullaby) and mixed this with a short piece she created on her samsung tablet that we added to our final cut. For this, we had to use the 'Youtube to mp3 converter' and the tablet to convert and combine the two pieces to make the soundtrack that would be played in our Final Cut of 'The Remaining'.

We also used Youtube to upload our rough cuts and other videos such as indents which we later added to our blog :) Also, another primary form of technology was the site Blogger in itself. I don't know about Bex, but I had never used blogger before, yet thanks to the simple layout of the site it was really easy to understand and use, and before I knew it I was just casually 'blogging away'. Other sites such as Prezi were also new to me, but enabled us to create interesting and different blogs to present our work each time. 

"Prezi is a cloud-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prezi)  

The animated movement, variation of fonts and ease to follow it makes an interesting watch, yet again which wasn't hard to use or grasp.

Overall it isn't about how much you know about technology, it's about how much you're willing to learn. Bex and I for sure wanted to make this title sequence a success and where we could, we were learning new techniques all the time, always aiming to enhance our media product. Nothing in particular makes you any more or any less creative, as long as you have a good snoop around the internet for tips and a play on final cut to see what's what, you're fine! :) 

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Video with annotations etc :) 

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media production?

Please bare with, I am extremely new to the world that is 'Prezi'!

      This short 'Prezi' that I....present to you gives a little information on the audience our title sequence is aimed for. Overall the marketability of this film is around the age of 15-24 for the cinema-goers, although would also appeal to people watching thriller/horror genres. The teenagers would be the typical social net workers on facebook, twitter and youtube. 

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of Media Institution might distribute your media product and why?

      Throughout the making of our Title Sequence, Bex and I actually considered which media institutions might distribute our product. We included this in a post for our research. 

      This video is the ident we used for out title sequence, that I created a fair while back. This plays a big part in representing the type of institution that may distribute our film.

      I believe there is a wide variety of media institutions that would would be suitable to distribute my media product. Due to the particular nature of my film and how different it is from the average conventional thriller, I am torn between Lionsgate and New Line Cinema. Lionsgate for their distribution of all Saw films, Hostel, The Eye , The Last Exorcism and The Possession. New Line Cinema for their distribution of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Se7en. However after listing this, I think Lionsgate would be a fantastic institution to distribute my product due to the diversity of films it has distributed, many of which relate closely to our own genre: thriller/horror/psychological.

      The most obvious media institutions that would distribute my film would be Youtube and other on-line video websites. These are an easy and quick way of distributing media products for free. The world as a whole has access to Youtube without an account any anyone can view the videos which could gain Captured recognition.

      Another way of distribution would either be local film festivals or national film festivals. Other methods might include short film competitions such as the virgin shorts competition which is made for young directors who need a boost. This competition only allows film up to 2 minutes. 

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent

 particular social groups?

      Overall, Bex and I tried to make our protagonist similar to certain social groups, yet fairly different at the same time. Because of the voice over, she appears as a shy girl, one who cannot talk directly to people. She also moves quite slowly throughout, as if she is in deep thought or worried. This works well with the thriller genre and a stereotypical female character, something we wanted to keep. 

Mise-en-scene; Costume
                               Make-up
                               Old photograph
                               Handwriting

     

      


      Bex has very elegant, stereotypically neat feminine handwriting which worked really well with the sense of old memories and how people used to write, as well as working with the quiet female stereotype that we tried to remove. 






      The costume we used was plain -  a casual jeans and a jacket - were to portray her as a simple, everyday person, someone you would not expect this to happen to. The events of the sequence play on the audiences mind because of how vulnerable our protagonist looks. She is the only person to feature and therefore all eyes are on her (no pressure!) so we had to make sure she was someone everyone would be able to watch and get along with. The handwriting is very swirly, quite elegant, which is something related to girls in general. Her appearance is tidy and overall quite neat. 

      For as long as possible I wanted to hide her face, which also allowed us to vary our camera angles. This was mainly because of the build with mystery and the audience not being allowed to see her face yet, or be able to connect properly with her. So right up until 1:12, no shot exists of her face on. At the beginning I focused on her walking away from the camera, and with the photo later at her feet. This creates a real mysterious effect, and represented the social group because it shows her to be quite secretive and her not wanting people to see her face, who she is, or what she is doing. Overall, the particular social groups our media product presents is the typical teenaged girl. However we did not present her as 'too girly', but dressed her in every day comfortable clothes, with limited make-up and her hair down. We did this through use of camera angles and shots to display her facial expressions and distant mood, and also through use of mise-en -scene. 

Evaluation Question 1

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

      The reason Bex and I decided on our film being a combination of two genres; Horror and Thriller were because of the great variety of ideas it gave for us to challenge the forms and conventions of real title sequences. Together, Bex and I used different ways to make it fit within the conventions of both genres in order for our target audience to understand what type of film they are about to watch without the need for heavy dialogue. 

      Conventions of our certain genres were done to make it fit where we were able to add our own personalised techniques. For example we aimed to have a wide variety of camera shots, quite typical in a thriller to enhance the fear and mystery that is the unknown. Our main use of mise-en-scene was the photograph that suddenly appear scratched out after the panning shot is shown from our protagonist's perspective. Costume was that of a casual teenaged girl in today's society. Lighting was heavily used in our shots of the diary writing, where I wanted to capture the foreground in perfect clarity as the viewer's eye was led into the darkness. 

      In terms of location, we went against the stereotypical dark alley, late at night, deserted house attempt and replaced it with an old Pier, on a hazy day in a local area. Our main reasoning behind this, is because it is hardly somewhere you would expect a thriller to take place. It messes with the audiences mind, as they start watching the film thinking everything is cool and calm, when suddenly shock strikes that every other scene are flashbacks of a mysterious event. 

      

      When editing, I strongly used colour correction on all scenes. The diary writing shots have a 50's black and white hue over them to enhance the loneliness and mystery behind what she is writing. In comparison, the flashback scenes have been cropped for a more cinematic feel and have been colour corrected to 'spring summer' which has a perfect effect on emphasizing the past, a memory, something distant and faded away. This also helped with giving a feel for the genre for our film. 

      We used influences for shots such as The Woman In Black and Se7en. I was highly inspired to take the flicking through of the book from Se7en and the appearance of a figure through glass by changing the opacity and over laying. This overall worked quite well.

      To conclude, Bex and I kept a lot of the conventions of a thriller/horror such as the the mystery, the pace of shots, close-ups, reaction shots, tension and eerie music to help the audience identify our film's genre. We also used the ghostly convention of a hand that suddenly appears on the window behind our Protagonist and disappears before much can be made of it....mysterious....