Monday 28 April 2014

SLICE 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?

Just a few scenes and shots
then editing like robots
Match on action and the classic
"I've been waiting for you"
without the stroke of a cat
we had it in the hat.

Then onto some scenes
the most random of types
on a piece of paper 
with a dapper shoe lace tie
it ended with some walking
walking into a room
although it looked like stalking
even without a zoom

The camera captures your imagination
The process of a simple creation
Turmoil of a story
sometimes just as gory
From the start to finish
new skills i'll have to relish
with the good times and the bad
this time has been pretty rad!

Then it came to a remake
essentially a fake
opening to a movie
the costumes were quite groovy
it looked pretty simple
I found it was NOT!
The weather was a pain
and all it did was rain


The camera captures your imagination
The process of a simple creation
Turmoil of a story
sometimes just as gory
From the start to finish
new skills i'll have to relish
with the good times and the bad
this time has been pretty rad!

When deciding my shoot
I gave the large cast a boot
With a cast of three it made me see
how simple a small cast could be
Well,  I say simple, but it really was a pain
although not from the rain
I had learnt a lot from the past
and brought it into the future
I found my horizon was vast


The camera captures your imagination
The process of a simple creation
Turmoil of a story
sometimes just as gory
From the start to finish
new skills i'll have to relish
with the good times and the bad
this time has been pretty rad!



This is the first preliminary task I completed. This task outlined how to go about shooting footage for match on action and then the order or of the clips in order for this work in continuity. The second task with this preliminary was the footage and 180 degree angle for conversation 


A series of different shots from mainly playing to the accord of match on action. Match on action helps to give the footage continuity and also gives the footage the essence of a tense atmosphere as if the audience are walking into a trap of intense atmosphere and high action just before something big is revealed. This is one of the purposes, however for a more light hearted scene it could simply be for continuity, this could be used in a light hearted TV drama or a general soap opera. For the preliminary, I also experimented with different shots and different angles. These angles show the difference in a character but can also create tension as to what may happen next. In a group, we also filmed movements such as someone walking up and down the stairs.

The second preliminary which was more of an official preliminary a recreation of the opening titles to the film Reseviour Dogs directed by Tarantino. Through this I found how an opening could be created through very few shots, that opening, especially does not actually set up the narrative of the 
film but more introduces the characters, due to their stance there is an essence of the characters not being up to any good.
One main thing I learnt from doing this preliminary was to always plan ahead and have a plan B. During the first try at filming, one of the locations fell through last minute and some of the actors could not make the date of the shoot. Another problem I found with the filming was the weather. As most of the opening of Reseviour Dogs is on location outside, this became a recurring problem due to the rain. 

When considering the shooting for my thriller I tried to keep the cast as minimal as possible, this is because another problem faced was trying to find a date that would suit all people involved. Therefore I kept my cast to three people including myself. I also made sure of deciding more than one date for my scenes outside on location so if it was to rain I would be able to shoot the thriller another day. Luckily, the first date decided upon worked out as there was no rain on that day - however the clouds were covering the sun at times.

Sunday 27 April 2014

SLICE Evaluation Question 6

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

When capturing the footage for this thriller opening I found the Camera was flimsy on the tripod, this meant I had to make sure it did not slide down or spin around. This was a main concern when filming holding the camera fairly high up near the curtain railing (this footage is not in the final cut)



 the light I had used to film was not a conventional camera light but it still had the same effect of providing lighting to the shot to make the movements visible. Something else I learnt from this project is the objects and mise en scen which are visible. When shooting the second location I had placed a calandar on the wall that would have hopefully given some indication to the young girls age. This is because the band shown in the picture have been together for more than 10 years - indicating the general fan age ranges from about 14 to some in their late 20s. However, the general media interpretation depicts the fans to range from 14 - 20 years old. This was all planned, but looking back on the footage I realised only the bottom of the calandar is seen, not the actual picture showing the band. Through this I learnt to be carefull of where mise en scen is placed and whether it is visible with the camera shot or not.


 Through this project I found the importance of where the camera is pointing and the difference the amount seen makes. In the picture to the left the actress looks more like a 16-17 year old whereas the picture on the right makes her look a lot younger. I also found the consideration of the angle of the light. In the picture on the left she generally looks like a normal teenager, however in the picture on the right, it seems as if something big will happen due to the shadow cast behind.

this was something that may have been used in the final cut but I did not end up using it. This is because I found it to suit more of a trailer atmosphere with the different colour changing lighting. 



To show the effect of the home video I added reverberation to the sound. This hinted at the video not being part of the actual life of the thriller but being watched by someone else or a thought by someone else. This project is the first time I have made use of this effect and I am happy with the effect. I first came across this effect when I was at a live music concert and technician had placed reverberation on the singers voice. However, considering the sound at the live concert and the change in sound when editing the video had a different effect. The effect of reverberation almost gives the sound the effect of an echo along a long tunnel but the sound does not repeat - although reverb is to make the sound seem like the video was filmed in a very small room where the sound has been absorbed by the walls, it gives the right effect for this part of the narrative.

Another effect I used was on the actual footage of the "home-video", this effect was called Wind Blur. This was to slightly blur the footage to further give the emphasis of the "home-video". Although most home-videos today are of a high quality, I used this blur to show someone else was watching this footage - this becomes apparent approximately a minute into the opening.

This was also the first project where I made use of colour correction  and changing the  colour to add effect. I experimented with the different effects and the difference a simple change of a shade of colour can be. My original footage was bright due to being shot in natural sunlight, to add a more mysterious effect I tuned the brightness down. Although I did like the effect it had I did not use the colour corrected footage, instead I used the original to further give the natural effect of a home video.

Apart from adding reverb to the audio of the footage I also included twsoundtracks both from website with royalty free music available for YouTube videos and school projects, called Purple Planet. For the first 20 seconds after the ident both soundtracks are played together but the happier soundtrack is slightly louder than the eerie soundtrack. The tracks I used were simple versions of tracks specifically made to underscore scenes, these range from 20 seconds- 30 seconds so I repeated the tracks adding in a cross fade to the audio to make it flow more precisely.

SLICE Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
As mentioned in Question 4,  my thriller narrative has a similar narrative to "Mental".
Mental mainly attracted a young adult audience, this was due to the cast and names behind the production such as PJ Hogan, Toni Collette and Liev Schriber to name a few. Seeing as my thriller does not have the big names behind it I think it would attract the teenage due to age the main characters and their story.

To attract audiences to my thriller and to "get the word out there" I would first release a teaser trailer and upload this to YouTube. I would then tweet this video out with "hashtag's" relating to the different aspects of my thriller. This would spread my thriller to a range of people and not just those who follow me on twitter. 

Judging from the feedback I would have then made a descion on when to release the full trailer . Once releasing the full trailer on YouTube, I would then tweet out the trailer to the people who had some sort of responce ot the teaser trailer. The trailer for my thriller would be a lot more dramatic and would show many more cross cuts. I would include many more changes of colour showing footage and pictures with a black and white effect on them then change to footage and pictures with full colour. In my opening it is not clear there is a problem with the young girls' medication. In the trailer I would show the problem with one of the people who she holds dear changing around the medication required. 

I would plan for the release to be near the time of the London Film Festival. This is so my thriller would have a chance of being picked and presented at the BFI film festival. Film festivals attract many people of all ages therefore I may be able to attract people outside of my target age range too. One of the inspirations for my thriller (Mental) was also previewed at a film festival . The video below explains a little more about the London Film Festival and the atmosphere around it.

With the ever growing popularity of YouTube and it partners (YouTube partnership scheme) there are many vloggers and Youtubers around who talk about their general life. For the film festival I would invite some of them to view my thriller so they would be able to talk about my thriller if they thought it was good enough and worth talking about. Today more than ever, companies look to Youtubers to promote their product than other areas this is because they reach a larger audience of a younger age and are also well known and recognised on streets alike others in the public eye. There is an example of this, this example was not from the film festival but actually the premier of the spider-man film. In doing this, my thriller would be able to spread to more people due to the mass YouTube audiences. The second video is by the same YouTuber in the first video, this again is about the London Film Festival.


 I would go down this path if the film was chosen to be screened at the BFI London Film Festival.

If not the chosen for the film festival I would try something else for the general publicity. I would obtain the permits required then place posters around an area with directions and arrows, for people who chose to follow these directions and arrows they come across a stand and a screen showing snippets of the film to see if this catches anyone's interest. This would reach a lot of people and this combined with social media could help spread the word . I would also create all the necessary social media outlets to attract attention such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc. Before the cinema release I would upload small Q&As with the cast to increase the atmosphere around the thriller, the YouTube would also be open to the primary cast so that they can upload videos on their experiences with the film.

I would stagger the release by releasing the film in cinemas then when the cinema run is complete, there would be the online releases within one day. Depending on the online audience responce I would then release the film on DVD. For the online mediums, I would make it available to download on iTunes and make available for streaming on Netflix

SLICE Evaluation Question 3

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



Saturday 19 April 2014

SLICE Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The main audience for my thriller would be teenagers. Most films for teenagers consist of romance and high action. Whereas my thriller contains more twists and turns with the main character trying to find herself after multiple personalities. Seeing as most of the cast are teenagers most of the teenagers would be able to understand the story of the teen as she goes through her life.

There are also some older viewers who would be possibly be attracted to the way in which the teens are represented, this is they can see something different and teenagers not being represented in the same way they are in most thrillers. An example of another film with a different representation of youth is the film by PJ Hogan called Mental.

Mental stars Toni Colette and is directed by PJ Hogan, the same team behind the successful Muriels Wedding. This film however is not a thriller but is a comedy. This film portrays five teenagers who are convinced they have mental problems. It is at the end of the film when Shaz - a hitch-hiker picked up to look after the girls by their father, explains their thoughts. She states how everyone around them was suffering from mental disorders and therefore the girls who did not have any mental disorders were seen as the mental ones. The teen sisters were in fact not sufferers but were made to feel like they were. They were surrounded by people who had disorders such obsessive compulsive disorder. 





Considering my own thriller, I would aim this at mostly the teenage range of people. Below is a profile.





The feedback I received from my first draft was that the titles looked vey bland and made the thriller look like it was made in the 40s. I was also told to make the transitions tighter, another piece of feedback I received was to consider breaking the home-video sequence, this is because it does go on for quite a while and can become monotonous.

Friday 18 April 2014

SLICE Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My thriller opening shows a groups of teenage girls, in the typical thriller, a group of teenagers are normally represented as the people causing trouble because the fall into the sub-culture of "youth" this is known to have a bad connotation. Teenage girls especially are read with the connotation of "helpless" and "damsel in distress" this is until their help is required. Even when female characters help out and save the general protagonist, the male protagonist is still assumed to be and seen as the main hero. The antagonist is also seen as the big macho male who is generally very built up and walks with a mysterious manner.


Considering the costume of the character in my thriller I wanted to convey the effect of normality and the character in the film being unaware to the chance of something going down hill. The effect of this is so when the antagonist is finally seen, the audience would not expect it. With thoughts to the flexibility of the costume I needed the costume to be fairly loose so that the actresses could climb around the climbing frame and dancing around the park. With the look to the general actresses and their overall look, wanting them to look natural I asked them to wear what they would normally would wear on a day out to increase the natural persona of people representing that age. Another consideration is the colour of clothing the actresses are wearing; red is usually seen as something quite sensual, seeing as these were portrays as innocent teens I tried to stay away from wearing red.


Another aspect is when people think of teenagers they do not think of a group of people dancing around a park, they usually think of a bunch of people who are surrounded by drugs and alcohol, they also think the teenage girls especially as being those who are not wearing not much clothing. I wanted to go against this and actually portray teenagers to not be trouble makers. In fact not many teenagers are "off the rails" but these are the teens portrayed through the media and the news. Some may say having a bunch of teenagers dancing around an open space can be seen as fairly childish and pre-teen but this is more likely to occur than being "off the rails" especially in the open and in broad daylight.


Within my thriller opening there is the essence of one of the girls have dissociative identity disorder. When researching the affects of this disorder I found most of the videos were of people aged over 25, there was not any video showing younger sufferers even though people of a younger age can also have this disorder. When watching interviews with sufferers, I found some who knew of their conditions and others who did not know of their condition as they were interviewed when they were taking on the persona of someone else. Therefore my opening follows a recording of the girls then shows the actress with dissociative identity disorder looking back at the video and wondering why that video is there and who the people in the video are.


Alike any film, I had to show the age of the person other than their own look. To show the age of this person, in the background I had a McFly calendar to show the age of the person. however this can be said to not be a clear indication of age because the band McFly have been around for more than 10 years so there is quite a range in fan ages. I also placed some juice and books near the laptop where the person was watching the video. This was to show the learning age of the person to show they are still in school.