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 preliminary task was to make a short sequence which would focus primarily on continuity of the task, involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down into a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she would then exchange a couple of lines of dialogue. The main aim of this exercise was to demonstrate the continuity rules used in filming and editing like match on action, shot-reverse shot and the 180 degree rule, and become accustomed to hardware and software used in filming.

The brief of the main task was to create the opening to a new fiction film which would be 2 minutes in length and would included titles with original audio and video material, with the exception of music or audio effects which could be taken from a copyright-free source.

Technical

The learning in the preliminary task was all but brief but covered a large number of areas and was mainly just to get familiar with the different processes involved in creating a film. I learnt to use the camera and all the equipment, getting familiar with the different modes on the camera, setting up and using the tripod. It was my introduction to using Adobe Premier Pro and so the basics of non-linear editing were quite easy to grasp once I had hands on experience.

However, in the creation of the opening sequence to the film all of these skills were greatly improved, using the camera for a lot longer than in the prelim task I got to grips with the handling of it, the more technical sides to it like charging the battery, replacing tapes etc.. The biggest change was however with the editing of the sequence in which I learnt a lot more about the effects applicable to clips, and all in all the putting together of different shots; it helped my understanding of what shots were needed in the more tense parts of the sequence, and where to place shots with more expression as opposed to those more distant to the character.

Planning

The planning for the filming had to be much more planned and organised than that needed in the preliminary task as there were many more factors to it. The prelim was limited to school time and in-school location for the filming, and the actors and story were mostly sorted before we even started the planning. 

In the filming of the opening we realised we needed to plan our location before we could think of filming so a top priority was to take pictures of a suitable location that would be permitted for our filming. The actors changed during our production when we dawned upon the idea that Patricia may be better for the role than Bianca in the practise shoot, but our planning and research on the character we had imagined meant that it was very easy for Patricia to replace Bianca effectively. Our storyboarding and initial ideas had to be a lot more thorough, and so it took us longer but with the experience of doing it before we were much quicker and turned ideas in images.

Research

We had to do a lot more research for the main product as the idea was a lot more complex; the prelim task required very little research, it was a simple idea in a classroom so very little research actually took place. There was no fixed genre to the clip unlike the film opening and the same was with the audience, meaning that research was the part of the prelim with the least work on.

The main task however required a lot more intensive research to create an opening for the right genre type and to appeal to our target audience. The genre of the film was researched to see what typical horror movies included in the openings, looking at the characters, mise-en-scene, lighting issues, location, audio tracks, titles etc. We researched the look of the character we needed and the mise-en-scene of the house so that it would create the right atmosphere.

Production

• Running a shoot outside of school and that too at night, was a lot more complicated as the forms to take equipment home had to be signed, the camera and tripod cases had to be taken and brought back by people and so all of this had to be decided beforehand.

• The prelim didn’t have a test shoot which meant that there wasn’t a chance to look at our sequence and change any aspects of it for the main shoot. This was really helpful as I could see what did and didn’t work in the shoot, and gave us a chance to think up any ideas to change the film sequence.

• The process of shot logging in the prelim helped when we had to do it for our main shoots, as it made it a lot easier to check the shots and meant that our editing went a lot smoother. It also helped in keeping track of what shots were being done so we’d know it any had been missed or forgotten about.

• The shots used in the prelim were fairly simple but helped as a starting point for the storyboarding of the sequence, and made me think of more creative shots that would be different to those started with.

 Overall - I think the preliminary task was really helpful as it gave me things to look out for in the final film sequence, and gave me insight on problems that could occur such as the lighting not being sufficient to see the sequence properly as with the prelim; it has helped a lot and I have learnt from some mistakes made earlier on to create a great sequence. The teamwork in the film opening was a lot more evident as we spent a lot more time together, and this just made the whole experience better and more interesting!

Evaluation - Question 6

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

I’ve learnt a lot about the different hardware needed to make a sequence really work such as the shotgun and boom mics attached to the camera which i never really considered before. Using the camera and equipment on the shoots was really fun but also challenging at times, especially when trying to get a difficult pan of zoom to go smoothly. The software was hard to understand the first few editing sessions but then I got used to figuring out how to cut and re-position clips in Adobe Premier Pro. Working on a non-linear timeline made swapping shots and cutting clips a lot easier than I expected.

Hardware used:

Camera - We used a Canon HV30 Camcorder for the filming. I had used this before in the preliminary task but using it a lot more while not actually acting helped my understanding of shots and shot angles a lot more. It was easier to picture the different angles when actually looking through the camera, which helped the relocation of many of the shots, especially since it is very small and so portable. I’m very confident in using the camera now, I didn’t really have any problems with it apart from the zoom and pan shot on the test shoot; this took a while to get used to and try and do smoothly.

Tripod - this wasn’t difficult to set up, and after the first tutorial given on how to operate it safely there weren’t any problems using it, just with the movement of pans which had to be adjusted to perfection at times.

Shotgun and Boom mic - the shotgun mic was easy to operate and it was interesting to experiment with the different settings to see which setting was better for a long shot and which better for cancelling out background sound. The boom mic was mainly just about making sure that it isn’t seen in the shot and that you don’t hurt yourself over the long wire.

Paglight - we didn’t actually end up needing to take any paglights because we felt that the light in the first shoot was more than enough for the opening of the film, and since we didn’t end up doing outside shots of a man walking like in initial ideas we didn’t need any extra lighting.

Clapperboard - We used this for every shot which helped greatly during editing as we didn’t have to check the shot log for every entry and time code to know which shot was where on the tape.

USB mic - we used this during editing for clearer sound recording straight from the camera, as the quality wasn’t good enough from the actual answering machine.

The hardware was fairly straightforward to use especially after the health and safety session in school helped clear up any questions on how to use equipment and strictly told us what not to do with equipment.

Software used:

Adobe Premier Pro - All of the editing was done on Adobe Premier Pro for the footage we filmed, which was done on a non-linear timeline which meant that editing was easier as clips could be moved around as wished. I’ve learnt a lot about editing during the construction of this project such as adding effects to the clips such as fade and sound enhancers to the audio clips.

I experimented a lot with pretty much any audio effect on the program to add a distortion to the sound clips of the messages that were recorded using the mic, to make them sound as if they were coming from the answering machine. This way we could choose how much we wanted to enhance the messages leaving them clear enough for people to understand. However, after seeing the screening our test audience all said that they would improve the sequence by making the sound of the final messages more clear, which I would definitely do in hindsight of the problem.

Acid 5.0 - It was my first time ever using a recording program on a PC so I was quite excited to find out how to use it. We connected up a USB microphone to the computer and then recorded straight from the camera playback and also from the recordings on Patricia’s mobile to compare the two sound qualities and see which one would be more suitable in the film.

Mac - Livetype - We used this program to create the titles that were going to be exported into our edited sequence. I learnt how to do a lot of the program, with it being my first time ever using an Apple Mac. I learnt to reposition text and adjust the size to get the effect we wanted. We added a glow effect after choosing our font for the title, so that the film title would have a slightly eerie feel to it. I also played around with the different entering and exiting effects for the text and so understood the basics of how to use Livetype.

Our final finished title using Livetype.

Internet Explorer - This I was very familiar with due to using it all the time, and so the blogging, researching and production using Internet Explorer was very easy and didn't take too long.

Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address you audience?

A lot of the appeal to this film is about teasing the audience with the viral marketing campaign that will sweep a range of platforms, released onto them at the same time. This will work as an effective way of creating word of mouth and will make the film seem more exclusive, even though it will mostly air in independent cinemas at the start. The facebook and internet advertising talked about in question four will attract the niche audience that we're looking to appeal to, similar to how 'Paranormal Activity' did.

• We attracted a young audience by having a young actress playing the protagonist, so that the target audience could relate to her more. However, we used an actress that looked older than she was and got her to wear a dress that also made her look slightly older, so to address the mature end of the target range. The glass of wine she gets is also to add to her sophistication and appeal more to the older audience amongst them.

• The genre of the film was quite popular with our audience, and this was evident from the questionnaires answered at our first screening in which everyone realised that the film was either a thriller or horror film from just the opening sequence, and so with this being clear in the opening horror and thriller lovers were very interested to see more of the film.

• The use of the mobile and answering machine in the film is to appeal to the younger generation again due to the rise in the use of technology everywhere, thus making the film a lot more modern.
  
  
  

Evaluation - Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

As mentioned before the film will be targeting a range of youth aged between 16 and 24 primarily, which is a large  number of people as these are the ages that go to the cinema more often than any other. These teenagers and young adults go out to cinemas in large groups as a social activity, and groups starting from just a couple to anywhere from 10 to even 40 people means a lot of ticket sales for the cinemas.

Target Audience Profile

• Name: Julia Ruff
• Age: 18
• Currently studying at a sixth form college having chosen English, Geography and Psychology as her A-Level subjects.

LIKES:

• Going out on a Friday/Saturday night with her friends
• Watching TV dramas such as 90210, Skins, Waterloo Road, CSI
• Loves technology. Owns a Blackberry where she is constantly on Facebook  + Imdb checking out the latest films and their given reviews.  
• Has an unlimited cinema pass to Cineworld cinemas, and spends her Sunday nights watching a new film every week with her best mate, Sarah, whether it’s a blockbuster hit, or a low-budget production.

DISLIKES:

• Downloading/streaming films on her computer – prefers the whole cinema-experience.
• Being home alone at night
• Staying indoors on the weekend
• Taking public transport.

The horror/thriller genre will target a lot of boys and girls as it doesn’t appeal to just a single gender like a action/spy film might attract boys and a soppy romantic love story may attract girls; this genre appeals to both girls and boys thrills them with different parts of the film, either the suspense or the sheer terror or seeing what may happen next or as simple as the gore and death in a film, it applies to all. The different themes outlined in question 1 all come into play here.

• The advertising of the marketing campaign links to question 3, with the distributor predominantly using the internet as a gateway to a vast audience to market the film to. Social networking sites to advertise, make events on Facebook such as premieres, groups for films, create a virtual entourage online. Students joining groups, friends seeing them join; word of mouth at school and university where they spend a lot of their time. Internet provides a large selection of people that the film is reached out to, and so people outside the target market could also be interested; a cheap but highly effective way of advertising which is good especially for low budget films. 

• Youtube would be a free form of advertising by uploading trailers up onto it for everyone on the internet to see, a huge audience range to appeal to which could lead to an unexpected factor of the audience with increased interest in the film.

• Channels like e4 that teenagers watch when not on Facebook, shows a lot of programs for youth, perfect for showing advertisements on mostly around 8-11 o’clock when most youth sit down to watch TV. It will be advertised similar to Paranormal Activity (Peli, 2009), with the online campaign spreading like wildfire and word of mouth increasing this anticipation even more.

Evaluation - Question 3

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

Our production company is called Moonlight Studios which makes horror/thriller movies for a niche market of mostly older teenagers and young adults. They deal with lower budget films and tend to lean towards the more indie style of filming, and a much more gritty and realistic production.

Based in London, it makes British films based in the UK and so is very familiar with what is expected of a UK film compared to that of a glossy, high budget upcoming Hollywood blockbuster. The distributor is Black Rose Productions, which works together with Moonlight Studios to deliver films to the UK youth audience.

Black Rose is a distributor with expertise in the youth market, from 15 on through university students and to those in their early thirties; they know how to appeal to the niche market and particularly when it comes to horror, thriller and action/adventure movies. 

Dogwoof is a good example, a distribution company specialised in the independent film market. They choose to distribute ethical film-makers over those with get-rich schemes, and themselves state that they 'value individuals and interactions over processes and tools'. They try to use innovation to attract their audience and have many different tricks up their sleeves for marketing to different groups of people.

It will exhibit in independent cinemas all over the UK due to its low budget production and its indie film status; it will appeal to more youth at the start of the campaign if it is more of a unique film with promise of something genuine. However, it will all depend on the success of the film and its marketing campaign whether it will be released onto mainstream multiplex cinemas or not; if it is very successful and maybe appeals to a much broader audience than intended it may be released into more cinemas, with a lot more screenings. This all depends on the response to the film.

Evaluation - Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The film represents the young, teenage or even very early twenties with the main character, Jade, and of course focuses on the females of that age social age as she and her best friend in the film are both women.

• We see she's young as she walks in dressed up from a party and the first thing she does after putting her bag down is go straight to the mirror and do her hair even though she has just come into an empty house; she's one of many girls who like to look good all the time, regardless of who can or can't see. The typical teenage girl gives the audience we are appealing to something to relate to, and therefore they can gain a better understanding into the film.

• We've aimed to show the relationship best friends have, especially between two teenage girls. The calls and messages give an idea of urgency, which is important to the situation in the film but also the general reaction to any event today in the instant messaging lifestyle, where matters have to be shared instantaneously. The mobile phone is a good example of this, it is the reason that Jade doesn’t get to her friend in time because the phone is off; the reliance on technology is more than evident.

• We represent the film’s protagonist as an assertive girl; she unlike her friend doesn’t become too worried or reliant on others when she hears the bad news. We see her acting quickly, picking up her shoes, keys and bag as she rushes out to aid her friend, there is very little thought of how dangerous it could be at midnight walking out into the streets being a young girl.

• Her quick reaction is again seen when she slams the door shut in terror after seeing someone on the other side, but at the same time the audience is reminded how vulnerable she really is, despite her confident personality. The main woman is the victim in the film, seen in many horror films, showing how she can be both bold and helpless at the same time.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as a female victim 

in 'Scream 2' (Craven, 1997)

Evaluation - Question 1

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

There are a certain number of conventions that horror/thriller films all have in common that we've looked at and incorporated in our sequence, whether we've used it or challenged it and done the opposite. Thriller films often have the same themes such as suspense and mystery throughout the film, a high about of anticipation towards what will happen next and a lot of uncertainty; it aims to keep people on the edge of their seats and keep them guessing towards what happens next.
The horror genre was our main genre that the film is based on, and also has many indicators to make it clear the genre of this film:

• Darkness - it surrounds the character; very little light, sometimes just the single ray upon them.

• Victim - teenage/young girl, vulnerable, innocent, harmless, 'easy prey'

• Isolated - often the house or victim is in isolation e.g. in 'Scream' (Craven, 1996), Drew Barrymore is home alone in a large house, making everything seem more sinister.

• Contrast - the blacks seem darker and the light seems brighter even though there may be very little of it, and the emphasis of the colour red.
• Gore - death is prevalent in every horror film and is always gory to emphasise it more and make everything a bit more real, making it seem even scarier.

• Suspense/Mystery - all horror films run of suspense and mystery, as do thrillers, to keep the audience intrigued and keep them guessing till the end, the very best horrors do well to shock the audience right at the end and leave a lasting image with them.

We tried to incorporate these conventions in our own sequence, with the main character being a young girl in her late teens, alone in her house and in a way isolated once she steps into the house. She seems to be very vulnerable girl that just comes home from a night out. The lighting is very dark right at the start, with the glow out the lighting outside peeking in through the windows. This sets the scene of a horror; the close-up of the answering machine in a way indicates to the viewer of its significance later on in the opening.

An opening sequence very much like ours but just with a different narrative is ‘Scream’, where Drew Barrymore’s character is alone in her house and the phone is the main source of all the fear, no action actually takes place for quite a while until she sees her boyfriend out by the pool.

I wanted a slightly slow opening to the film in which the tension builds up slowly bit by bit, which is how most horror films do start rather than just jumping into the story too much. However, due to time constraints to only 2 minutes of a final sequence, we had to bring a bit more story in and display the generic horror themes a bit sooner than wished.

Todorov’s narrative theory that all stories begin with equilibrium where things are in balance before they are disrupted by some event or series of events can be applied to our opening too. The opening starts in equilibrium as mentioned, calm before the storm in a way, and the tension builds up with the messages until the final part right at the end of the opening. The audience thus want to see the rest of the film to see what happens to the girl and find out what it is ‘they know’ which is mentioned in the message.

Of the 5 codes that Barthes outlines, the Enigma code is the most prevalent in most horror and thriller films, and is seen in our film too. The start of the messages build up the sense of a mystery being set up and that there is more to the girl that meets the eye; and as this story develops more is revealed about the girl and the narrative becomes clearer until the resolution at the end. We begin to ask questions in the last message as to what they could know and why she's so worried about it.

Propp’s idea of the character roles that should be filled in every film doesn’t become too obvious in the opening due to the short length of the sequence and the introduction of very few characters as Patricia’s character ‘Jade’ is the only person visually portrayed in the 2 minutes.

These theories can be seen in successful films such as ‘Se7en’ (Fincher, 1995) where there is equilibrium at the start before Morgan Freeman investigates the dead body. It doesn’t shock the audience too much but instead strings together a series of events which begin to intrigue the audience into finding out more about the narrative. It also only focuses on the main character at the start like our opening, with it all being about finding out more about Freeman’s character, the starting to our film focuses solely on Jade and then introduces the concept of her friend in trouble.

The style of the film is very cold and chilling, the titles are all just black and white. The white titles have a glow to them in the middle of the black screen, cutting to and from the events onscreen. The idea of having a very plain title was given to us by the opening to ‘The Strangers’ (Bertino, 2008).

'The Strangers' title

Titles created for our film opening.

We didn't want to have the titles to play over the screen and distract people from what was happening, but at the same time we didn't want to have gaps where nothing happened in the sequence and each title popped up. So we inserted them on top of the film and had them replace shots that would be dominant in the sound over the black screen, so that the action wouldn’t stop but the audience would just be left out in the dark, a bit like the rest of the opening where they wonder what’s happening and who she is talking about in the message. The music stays calm throughout the opening, whilst being enticing and suggesting something may still be coming. It changes as the message gets more worrying and becomes faster and a bit louder, more going on in the scene and therefore more audio to build the tension in the atmosphere.

Exposed - Details

Cast and Crew
Cast
Patricia Ssemekula - Protagonist
Bianca Albano - Main character's friend, voice in message
Jay Vibhakar - Main character's boyfriend, voice in message

Crew
Bianca Albano, Patricia Ssemakula, Catharrin Ponnudurai, Jay Vibhakar - All aspects of Planning, Research and Production

Location
Bianca's House,
Enfield,
London

Filming Dates
1st shoot: 6th - 7th Feb
2nd shoot: 27th - 28th Feb
3rd shoot: 6th - 7th March

Music

For the background music during the sequence we wanted something very calm but sinister in a way; it wouldn't be too loud but instead subtle in the background. the audience should be able to notice it and get a feel of the atmosphere, but also be able to forget it and not let it distract them from Patricia on-screen. After searching for a lot of tracks to be used in our sequence, there were a list of a few that I've short-listed to use, and from those we picked two. These were taken from the website www.freeplaymusic.com, and had some sort of eerie feel to them which would suit our sequence.

They were called 'Evils Eyes' and 'Eerie Angel' and can both be searched on the site: http://www.freeplaymusic.com/.

3rd shoot

Filming

• The third shoot was just to do a few shots that were missing or needed to be re-shot for the sequence.
• It only took a few hours which was good, and so after it we celebrated having done our final shoot!

Editing

• The editing of the footage was not very long, but the editing week was still intensive as all of the finished touches had to be completed such as all the titles and music.