Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel that I have a more in depth knowledge on how to make a successful media product, developing both my camera skills and software editing skills in the progression from our preliminary task to our main task.
The preliminary task enabled us to make mistakes which we could learn from, giving me an insight into the use of camera angles, software editing, sound and 'Mise en Scene. All which are factors and techniques that cause a media product to become more successful that I needed practise on. Therefore the preliminary help me and my group to produce a more successful opening scene.
Camera Use
In our preliminary task our brief stated that we had to use three different camera angles, these were:
-Match on action
-180 degree rule
-And shot reverse shot
this gave me experience and a small depth of knowledge on different camera angles and why they were used in media products.
Software
In our preliminary task we uploaded our footage onto the software, only using basic skills to put our preliminary task together and add titles.
Friday 18 February 2011
Evaluation Activity 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the construction of this product?
During the process of creating our media product I feel that I have learnt many things about different technologies. The different types of media our group used to create our media product are:
- Two different camcorders
- Camera
- Computer/Internet
- Premier Elements Software
By using Premier Elements software my understanding of knowledge of how this worked grew and grew each time. The things which improved whilst using this software was:
- Developing editing skills
- Time stretch
- Transitions
- Duplicating
- How to upload video footage onto the software
I also furthered my depth of knowledge and understanding about camera angles and techniques. I have learnt to know what different camera angles are used for in films. This helped to improve our media product making it more successful.
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During the process of creating our media product I feel that I have learnt many things about different technologies. The different types of media our group used to create our media product are:
- Two different camcorders
- Camera
- Computer/Internet
- Premier Elements Software
By using Premier Elements software my understanding of knowledge of how this worked grew and grew each time. The things which improved whilst using this software was:
- Developing editing skills
- Time stretch
- Transitions
- Duplicating
- How to upload video footage onto the software
I also furthered my depth of knowledge and understanding about camera angles and techniques. I have learnt to know what different camera angles are used for in films. This helped to improve our media product making it more successful.
-
Evaluation Activity 5
How did you attract/address your audience?
The group was able to address our audience by exporting our opening scene into a movie file on our software, this enabled us to upload our video onto a website called Youtube. Once our opening scene was on Youtube we could then share our product with others by using a URL.
On my facebook page I then posted this URL to the age range of my target audience (16 - 25 years of age). Once our target audience had watched our opening scene we were hoping that if they liked it they would show it to their friends, who would also be categorized into our target audience. This is an example of 'The Two Step Flow'.
We were able to attract our target audience because our opening scene relates to an existing media product with the same genre. For example Paranormal Activity. This is because this film is also a home made media product, like ours.
The group was able to address our audience by exporting our opening scene into a movie file on our software, this enabled us to upload our video onto a website called Youtube. Once our opening scene was on Youtube we could then share our product with others by using a URL.
On my facebook page I then posted this URL to the age range of my target audience (16 - 25 years of age). Once our target audience had watched our opening scene we were hoping that if they liked it they would show it to their friends, who would also be categorized into our target audience. This is an example of 'The Two Step Flow'.
We were able to attract our target audience because our opening scene relates to an existing media product with the same genre. For example Paranormal Activity. This is because this film is also a home made media product, like ours.
Evaluation Activity 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The age of our target audience is around 16-25 years. This is due to 80% of the questionnaire samples being given out were students. For our film, this can be related to by the audience as our main characters are teenagers which provides a pathway for connection from the audience. The majority of our target audience will be made up of students due to the age range. Also because of how around 80% of my thriller consumption research proved to be thriller fans. The interests of our target audience are demonstrated mostly by other thriller films which they like such as, Jaws, Die Hard, Se7en and Silence of the Lambs.
The age of our target audience is around 16-25 years. This is due to 80% of the questionnaire samples being given out were students. For our film, this can be related to by the audience as our main characters are teenagers which provides a pathway for connection from the audience. The majority of our target audience will be made up of students due to the age range. Also because of how around 80% of my thriller consumption research proved to be thriller fans. The interests of our target audience are demonstrated mostly by other thriller films which they like such as, Jaws, Die Hard, Se7en and Silence of the Lambs.
Evaluation Activity 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A production company is reponsible for the development and physical production of a new media product. Therefore, me and my group members (Ellie, Amelia and Honor) were responsible for the development and physical production of a new media product, (being an opening scene) we could say that we have acted like a production company throughout the whole process of producing the thriller opening scene.
A production company may also be directly responsible for the raising or funding for the production of this media product. The budget which the media group had was £5, which is extremely low, but most of the props and costumes used were already owned by a member of the group. However, if we were to create a professional media product which could be defined as 'Category A' (meaning the film was made with entirely British sources and that most of the funding for our media product would be supplied by the British film council).
In the film instution, our thriller film would compete with other films such as:
- The Strangers
- Se7en
- Paranormal Activity
This is because, Paranormal Activity is a significantly low budget film which was produced on a hand held camera, which is similar to our film. Also, the other films listed above also have the same type of thriller effects which are portrayed and conveyed in our media production opening scene.
A production company is reponsible for the development and physical production of a new media product. Therefore, me and my group members (Ellie, Amelia and Honor) were responsible for the development and physical production of a new media product, (being an opening scene) we could say that we have acted like a production company throughout the whole process of producing the thriller opening scene.
A production company may also be directly responsible for the raising or funding for the production of this media product. The budget which the media group had was £5, which is extremely low, but most of the props and costumes used were already owned by a member of the group. However, if we were to create a professional media product which could be defined as 'Category A' (meaning the film was made with entirely British sources and that most of the funding for our media product would be supplied by the British film council).
In the film instution, our thriller film would compete with other films such as:
- The Strangers
- Se7en
- Paranormal Activity
This is because, Paranormal Activity is a significantly low budget film which was produced on a hand held camera, which is similar to our film. Also, the other films listed above also have the same type of thriller effects which are portrayed and conveyed in our media production opening scene.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Evaluation Activity 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product does not particularly represent any specific social group(s). This is because our opening scene comes under the 'thriller' category. A thriller is designed to put the audience on the edge of their seat and make them believe that there is more to the story than what is told. A thriller does not fit any specific stereotypes.
Common ideologies of the characters
In our product we decided to follow the common ideologies of the characters that are represented in our opening scene. For example, the scary figure is percieved as dark, mysterious and unknown. The group chose Amelia to be the unknown person in our film. Another ideology is that is commonly seen in people is that young girls are seen as petite, shy and thin. This has gave an advantage as to why the scary person will choose to stalk the two young girls, this is because they are so vunerable. The two girl characters that were used were me and Honor.
Our media product does not particularly represent any specific social group(s). This is because our opening scene comes under the 'thriller' category. A thriller is designed to put the audience on the edge of their seat and make them believe that there is more to the story than what is told. A thriller does not fit any specific stereotypes.
Common ideologies of the characters
In our product we decided to follow the common ideologies of the characters that are represented in our opening scene. For example, the scary figure is percieved as dark, mysterious and unknown. The group chose Amelia to be the unknown person in our film. Another ideology is that is commonly seen in people is that young girls are seen as petite, shy and thin. This has gave an advantage as to why the scary person will choose to stalk the two young girls, this is because they are so vunerable. The two girl characters that were used were me and Honor.
Evaluation Activity 1
In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The Title of the Film
The title of our film is 'Sranger'. This is so that the audience automatic know that there is going to be an unknown person in the film, yet they do not know how this person is going to be percieved. The word 'stranger is not significantly long, yet gets straight to the point. This is to represent the main character, whom is a obviously a stranger.
A simple, bubble font is used for the titles. This makes it clear to read. As the outline of the writing is in white and the inside is in black, which clashes with the background this shows dull colours. The group have done this to try and make our opening scene look like a thriller by just looking at the title. Also, the white outline has slits in it, which incates there could be some scaryness within the film. It also indicates the mood change, due to one minute being happy and then next being extremely scared.
Setting/Location
All of the frames which our group used to create the opening our opening scene storyboard in the picture above are taking place in the 5 different locations which we had planned to film our opening scene in. These are:
- Bathroom
- Bedroom
- Stairs/Stairway
- Games Room
- Swimming Pool Area
The stairs, games room and the swimming pool area are all dark and eerie locations. This is because the thriller effect of the opening scene then starts to kick in. The group thought that this would create a tension which would relate to the genre of our opening scene; 'thriller'.
Props and Costumes
In our opening scene there were few props used, but these were:
- Toothbrush
- Blusher Brush
- Make Up (for stranger)
- Water
- Torch
These props were used to emphasise the 'thriller effect' in all situations. I feel that these props may have made our opening scene more successful because they related to the genre our group was trying to portray. Also, these props helped us to create tensions and the perfect atmosphere.
In our opening scene you can see a couple of different costumes. The costumes used are the Katie (me) and Honor. We wear casual clothes as we are planning to go out therefore, we do not want to portray any other effect than just two girls going for a casual night out. One costume which we used was for the stranger. We decided to give Amelia (disguised stranger) black leggings, a hoodie which she wore the hood up most of the time to hide her identity. To make this look even more visually effective, we decided to put black eye shadow on which looked rough and also backcomb her hair lots, so it had volume and made her look like she wasn't a wealthy human being. This improved the professionalism of our opening scene as our costumes were believeable which also created tension and atmosphere and made our opening scene merely successful.
Camerawork and Editing
The camerawork is steady however, I feel the group could of benefitted with a tripod to make the camerawork more balanced. The group tried to put in place three different camera angles as best as they could within the opening scene. These were:
- 180 Degree Rule
- Match on Action
- Shot/Reverse Shot
These shots and techniques helped us to create a more successfull, effective opening scene.
We used the software; 'Premiere Elements Pro 7.0' to our advantage by creating distorted, repetitive footage the conveyed the idea of a nightmarish dream/premonition, we furthered this idea by using transitions that represented this theme in order to create a successful, polished opening scene.
Storyline
The plot of our film is about two harmless girls who are getting ready for a night out. Disaster strikes when the electricity goes off and they notice something strange around the house. Katie them decides to go and put the electricity back on and check everything is ok down the back of the garden, but she sees something and quickly scarpers. The stranger then goes after her and Honor and this is the end of the opening scene. The opening scene sets the rest of the film up as the stranger is yet to go after the girls and play physcological games with their heads.
Genre
The genre of the film is thriller and it is set up in the opening scene by using a lot of conventions from any other thriller film. These are things such a physcological effects, scaryness, putting the audience on the edge of their seat etc.
Characters
The two characters Honor and Katie are introduced by just going straight into it by getting ready and chatting. However, Amelia (the stranger) is introduced or seen properly at the very end the opening scene, when she is about to go after the innocent girls. She is seen once before in the mirror of the bathroom, however this was a one second shot.
Special Effects
The group didn't really use any special effects apart from an effect called 'ghosting' which we used on the title credit to make it more of a duller picture, and also made the writing broken. This effect causes the footage to become blurred and distorted, creating a feeling of panic producing tension and atmosphere and making our opening scene more successful.
The Title of the Film
The title of our film is 'Sranger'. This is so that the audience automatic know that there is going to be an unknown person in the film, yet they do not know how this person is going to be percieved. The word 'stranger is not significantly long, yet gets straight to the point. This is to represent the main character, whom is a obviously a stranger.
A simple, bubble font is used for the titles. This makes it clear to read. As the outline of the writing is in white and the inside is in black, which clashes with the background this shows dull colours. The group have done this to try and make our opening scene look like a thriller by just looking at the title. Also, the white outline has slits in it, which incates there could be some scaryness within the film. It also indicates the mood change, due to one minute being happy and then next being extremely scared.
Setting/Location
All of the frames which our group used to create the opening our opening scene storyboard in the picture above are taking place in the 5 different locations which we had planned to film our opening scene in. These are:
- Bathroom
- Bedroom
- Stairs/Stairway
- Games Room
- Swimming Pool Area
The stairs, games room and the swimming pool area are all dark and eerie locations. This is because the thriller effect of the opening scene then starts to kick in. The group thought that this would create a tension which would relate to the genre of our opening scene; 'thriller'.
Props and Costumes
In our opening scene there were few props used, but these were:
- Toothbrush
- Blusher Brush
- Make Up (for stranger)
- Water
- Torch
These props were used to emphasise the 'thriller effect' in all situations. I feel that these props may have made our opening scene more successful because they related to the genre our group was trying to portray. Also, these props helped us to create tensions and the perfect atmosphere.
In our opening scene you can see a couple of different costumes. The costumes used are the Katie (me) and Honor. We wear casual clothes as we are planning to go out therefore, we do not want to portray any other effect than just two girls going for a casual night out. One costume which we used was for the stranger. We decided to give Amelia (disguised stranger) black leggings, a hoodie which she wore the hood up most of the time to hide her identity. To make this look even more visually effective, we decided to put black eye shadow on which looked rough and also backcomb her hair lots, so it had volume and made her look like she wasn't a wealthy human being. This improved the professionalism of our opening scene as our costumes were believeable which also created tension and atmosphere and made our opening scene merely successful.
Camerawork and Editing
The camerawork is steady however, I feel the group could of benefitted with a tripod to make the camerawork more balanced. The group tried to put in place three different camera angles as best as they could within the opening scene. These were:
- 180 Degree Rule
- Match on Action
- Shot/Reverse Shot
These shots and techniques helped us to create a more successfull, effective opening scene.
We used the software; 'Premiere Elements Pro 7.0' to our advantage by creating distorted, repetitive footage the conveyed the idea of a nightmarish dream/premonition, we furthered this idea by using transitions that represented this theme in order to create a successful, polished opening scene.
Storyline
The plot of our film is about two harmless girls who are getting ready for a night out. Disaster strikes when the electricity goes off and they notice something strange around the house. Katie them decides to go and put the electricity back on and check everything is ok down the back of the garden, but she sees something and quickly scarpers. The stranger then goes after her and Honor and this is the end of the opening scene. The opening scene sets the rest of the film up as the stranger is yet to go after the girls and play physcological games with their heads.
Genre
The genre of the film is thriller and it is set up in the opening scene by using a lot of conventions from any other thriller film. These are things such a physcological effects, scaryness, putting the audience on the edge of their seat etc.
Characters
The two characters Honor and Katie are introduced by just going straight into it by getting ready and chatting. However, Amelia (the stranger) is introduced or seen properly at the very end the opening scene, when she is about to go after the innocent girls. She is seen once before in the mirror of the bathroom, however this was a one second shot.
Special Effects
The group didn't really use any special effects apart from an effect called 'ghosting' which we used on the title credit to make it more of a duller picture, and also made the writing broken. This effect causes the footage to become blurred and distorted, creating a feeling of panic producing tension and atmosphere and making our opening scene more successful.
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