Evaluation 6 What have you leanred about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

When I started to use Livetype because I had already learnt how to use it from last year, I did not have much problems with solving the program out. However I still needed help from the teachers because I had few errors coming up on the screen. But once they were gone i was back to being fun again, it allowed me to change my fonts into many other things, change my background to either still images or moving pictures making it look awesome. So you can be creative as much as you want on it, especially when the word you wrote blow up.

As for Soundtrack Pro they have installed the updated version, making it more confusing for me because I was used to the old one. It made me look like an amateur trying to figure out what the differences are. After I got used to the new version, I got the hang of it and started enjoying the new sounds they put on. There were a lot of choices of sounds you could use and effects which allowed me to create just the one for my movie. When you finished your Movie you could upload the movie to Soundtrack Pro and adjust the music fitting to the movie by changing the lengths or the volume.

The same as Livetype I already had the experience on how to use Final Cut Pro, so I didn't have any problems on editing the movies, once we had finished recording everything we needed for the movie and started editing, I was in the class for six hours editing, this proves how much I enjoyed editing.

When we were given the JVC Camcorder, it was a little tricky on how to put the Camera on the tripod, however after our tutorial in lesson it was a piece of cake. When you start recording you press the red button and again to stop recording. When finished you could press Quick Media to watch what you recorded, it was straight forward, So I didn't have many problems using it.

When using Google, it helps you find any source of information you need in Google. I found it very useful when I needed to upload some images to put on Blogger. However It does get a little frustrating when you cant find the things you want.

As for Blogger I was really lazy on going on it nearly every day to update my source, but when i got used to it, it didn't matter anymore. Also I have to admit i did get confused on using blogger because i didn't exactly know where to press, fortunately got used to that too.

When I fist used an Apple Mac, truly it was really confusing because i didn't know where the documents were, i didn't know where to press to get the other site on the screen. however when i got used to it it was actually easy and straightforward. After I got used to the Apple Mac I went and bought my own Apple Laptop :D

Evaluation 5 Who would be the audience for your media product?

22 years old Amarie, calls him self a posh high educated person. He loves going to cinemas and watches thriller movies and shops in expensive places. However when it comes to movies he doesn't care if its high budgeted or low budgeted films and watches them.

Our target audience is aged between 15 and over because it has meanings behind every scene. So I think people around 18 and over a group of people would go and watch it.

Evaluation 3&4 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? How will you attract/address your audience?

I have researched online for other AS level media student who have put their media work online. I went on YouTube and found one that grabbed my attention, it was called Cairo - Harrow College. It was a well created title sequence opening.



Is not a very long trailer, however it makes you understand the meaning of the movie. Therefore it does not make you think that its actually Short. this proves that it is a interesting movie. It also uses

The trailer uses hardly any music or even a theme music and uses a lot of dialogue but its a good trailer which doesn’t get boring.


the group members that produced this title sequence had a very good sense of what they had to be doing and produced an excellent work. They uploaded their trailer on YouTube and got about 2'638 views.

From this trailer, we have a better view in the future how better our movie will lead to. If i had to do the same thing and show it to other sites i will also put it on YouTube, Facebook etc, and see how many views our one gets. If the movie gets enough views and with enough feedback which would then relate to the trailer becoming popular even though it is a low budget, i think it will be known world wide for everyone to see.

Q4

The other way for distributing our trailer could be by advertising it as a billboard and publish them on buses or bus stops. There could be made so the film will get promoted to everybody on the road. This would definitely be an eye catching and attract certain audience .

In addition, they could also be presented on random websites, allowing anyone to watch it. Even though our film is aimed at people 18 and over, this will allow it to attract more audience.

Evaluation 2 How does your media product represent particular social groups.

Our trailer represents two very similar social clubs, which are Middle class people or High class people.

when we came up with this movie we wasn't really inspired by other movies and just came up with a man running in the woods.

If i compare my movie to Apoclypto our one is urban and their one is Classic in the olden ancient times. Our main Character wears jeans with shirt and a tie, however in Apoclypto they are half naked with wooden earing on their faces and ears. Also one definite difference is that we didnt go through the same danger as Apoclypto has. We wanted it to keep it simple and understandble.

Evaluation 1 Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challange Forms and Conventions of Real Media Product?

The Authority is the opening of a movie that my group and me. My group members are Luke Nightingale, Jack and Bilal Salli. We chose our production company as Candi Studios which is not one of the big six. this also shows it clear that our film is a low budgeted film.

Apoclypto is one of the films that has both similarities and differences. Even though Apoclypto does not start with someone running through the woods, further on the movie there are a lot of running scenes in the woods. Which has many smilarities of different shots in the film. For example, there is high angle shots, low angles shots, close up shot and extreme long shot. In our movie we have the main character tripping and rolling on the floor, in the Apoclypto they have the main character falling in to a swamp.

Health and Safety Tutorial on JVC Camera

Before we started to make a movie, we were introduced to the news JVC camcorder and were given lesson on how to use it individually and what we were not allowed to press. they teached us the basic functions, like how to switch it on and off, how to put the memory card in and out. Also how to change the batteries. In addition, how to zoom in with the buttons or turning the round thing at the front of the camera. Also the functions on how to focus and defocus. then there was the abundance of different functions on the camera and every individual function button had branches with greater, deeper setting of the equipment. Then they told us it was vital to take precious care of the equipment when filming. In addition there was the tripod, they toild us how to open it up and how to close it and what positions we can put the camera into. Also were were tought how to lock the camera on the tripod. Everyone in the class individually done what we were shown.

After we were tought how to use the camera's and the tripod, they told us what we had to take into considiration of the worstcase that might happen. Which was low battery, so take extra battery with you. Memory card full, always back it up before the next shoot. So due to these happenings we had to double check every equipment before going on a long jurney.

News and Current Affairs

Oil 'reaches' US Gulf Coast from spill

The US Coast Guard is investigating reports that oil has started washing ashore on the Gulf Coast from a leaking offshore well.

Up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day are thought to be spilling into the water after last week's explosion on a BP-operated rig, which then sank.
President Barack Obama has pledged "every single available resource" to help.
The US navy has been deployed to help avert a looming environmental disaster.
The US Coast Guard said it had sent investigators to confirm whether crude oil had begun to wash up on parts of the Louisiana shoreline.

'Mind-boggling'

"This is a very, very big thing," said David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He told the Associated Press news agency that the clean-up efforts could be "mind-boggling".
An emergency shrimping season was opened on Thursday to allow fishermen to bring in their catch before it was fouled by the advancing oil.

The US government has designated the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as an "incident of national significance". This allows it to draw on resources from across the country.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency and asked for federal funds to deploy 6,000 National Guard soldiers to help with the clean-up.

Speaking at the White House, Mr Obama also said: "While BP is ultimately responsible for funding the cost of response and clean-up operations, my administration will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal, including potentially the Department of Defence, to address the incident."

'Devastating'

Eleven workers are still missing, presumed dead, after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April.
The US Coast Guard said earlier that up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day - five times the previous estimate - might now be leaking into the water.

Skills Audit: Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Livetype

When I had my first lesson on editing It was pretty easy for me because i had already started using the programs like; Final Cut Pro or Soundtrack pro from last year. However even from than it did take me a few weeks to get used to it. First of all our task was to join up the different clips to make a one whole clip.

Later on the lesson our task changed on how to use Soundtrack Pro which we were to compose and create different sound effects which was going to be a major impact on out films. After break, we used Live Type, which allowed us to play with different titles, using different colours, fonts and styles. Also in Live type we learned how to use the effects to make our title use effects to come to the screen such as spinning or flying in to the screen and etc.

I found this lesson really simple however useful because i got to recap what i forgot from before. also i made me realise how important one shot is to make it perfect.

List of Thriller Sub-Genres

There are many sub-genres, they are identifiable sub-classes of the larger category of main film genres. The prominent sub-genres are; Biopics, 'Chick' Flicks, Detective/Mystery films, Disaster films, Fantasy Films, Film Noir, 'Guy' films etc.

One of the sub-genres that really inspires me is Fantasy films. Fantasy films usually are considered a sub-genre, because they are most likely to overlap with the film genres such as Science Fiction or Horror. Fantasies take the audience to another world or dimension where the events are unlikely to occur in real life. Because they have magic, myth , wonder and the extraordinary, it makes me watch the film even more also the other reason is fantasy films appeal to both children and adults, depending upon the particular film allowing it for me to watch it with kids or adults.

Photos

Taken by Luke with my camera whilst we were filming:

Bilal Sallli - These images are taken during the filming procedure of our thriller openings. It shows our team work and unique techniques in how to create different effects with various angles and shots. In one image we had to create a tracking shot of Onur running however, we did not have any kind of rails or trolleys that would work appropriately in mud, therefore i came up with the idea of using my belt which i tied to the camera handle and ran with it. The length of the belt broke the tension of the camera shaking a lot whilst running. If the belt were more flexible the running sequence would be much smoother. In another image i climbed a tree with the camera to get a high angle shot, this created an impact due to having a wide, high angle shot of our actor running.

Evaluation-Discussing progression and what we've learnt

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

Here we talk about our preliminary task:

Bilal Salli- In this video, we talk about the preliminary task we have been through and discuss the basics and how we have improved using the facilities. Our main challenge was with time. using the hardware such as cameras, tripods and still cameras was not difficult however the software was a bit tricky due to us being introduced to it newly. In contrast we have built up our knowledge on using the software and came to the point were we can use it without any help and add in our own effects. The exercises we done before our final opening sequence helped us on how to create different shots and what effect it gives.  

Evaluation-Who would be the audience for our media product?

This is Laura, she is 23 years old student and part time worker. She enjoys going to clubs having a few to drink. She also likes going to the park to calm herself and aspire the natural environment. She likes going to her local beauty salon often to get treatment to her self. She is an ordinary girl that shops from River Island, Topshop etc.

Our age rating for our Opening sequence would be 15+ due to it being a thriller and a bit of violent action in which it contains.

Evaluation-what kind of media institution would distribute our opening sequence?

This is a Thriller opening from another as student which had a large number of hits on Youtube. This is an example of low budget distribution due to it being only seen at youtube as an institution. Using Youtube to launch their video to a wider audience is the most cheapest way you can spread your work across. 99% of as students from over the country would search for different as thriller openings just to get a brief idea for their own sequence. Due to Youtube being free for uploading videos, choosing this website to spread your own sequence is easy and cheap. Social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook will also increase the number of viewrs for our sequence. because these social networking sites are free to upload, it will be cheap and a easy way to get our opening sequence across a wider range of audience.

This cinema is at the upper street Islington. It is not a a big cinema therefore would be suitable to screen a low budget film like ours.

Evaluation - In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms And Conventions of Real Media Products?

The two title sequences above belong to our film and to the film Deadwood, which i believe bears the closest relation to our film on the website - The Art of the Title Sequence.

Both sequences involve close ups, as well as longer shots to establish a scene - The close up of the computer screen compared to a close up of the water being poured into the glasses, and the horse running through the forest compared to that of the man running through the forest.

The title credits appear in a white font on a darker background in both, and this is the same for the title itself at the climax.

Evaluation-How does our media product particular social groups?

Our media product represents the stereotype of a guy running away from something or someone which interprets our opening as a bit of a cliche. Conversely our only actor; Onur Kavruk is wearing a suit and a brief case which can be considered as unique due to hardly any films have people in suits and a brief case running away in a forest. In addition we wanted to keep the whole thing as a mystery therefore had created various question marks for the audience to think of.

Evaluation-Authority Character Concept Sketches

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Because our title sequence only has one character in it,there are not many "social groups" to be found.With this character however, we tried to convey the stereotype of an office worker but with the added twist of this worker being scared and frantic.We implemented this fear mainly through the characters clothes and looks.I had a strong image in my mind of what the character would look like and what shots we would take to exaggerate the fear and chaos that would be in the characters mind.It was clear that we had to dress the character in a smart way as this is the typical office worker stereotype and our audience would have to identify this right away.We were trying to create the image in the audiences mind, of an office worker who was caught doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.It was the small touches we added to the characters costume that made character seem scared,cold and confused by the situation.

For example,we had the characters shirt only half tucked in,as though he had been hurriedly chased.His shirt had become untucked and he didn't care because he was on the run for his life.Normally the stereotype of an office worker is of a smart person that cares highly about his appearance.If our main character has a scruffy look then it is clear that something is really traumatizing them.Some of the touches I added to the character are explained in the concept sketches.

-Jack Simpson

Evaluation - Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback and Comment

The clips above, show the reaction's of our audience after they had watched our film opening.

Evaluation - Who Would Be The Audience of Your Media Product?

Jamie, 30, shops at Tesco, likes going to the cinema, hence a film geek, bit of a wannabe secret agent, he enjoys action/psychological films. His phone is very up to date and is an example of convergence - calls, internet, radio, music etc. His favourite music is punk-rock, in particular The Clash, hence the scruffy look he acquires.

Evaluation-Preliminary task,progression & learning

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

Although our first filming & editing tasks were done at a much more amateur level,they were huge eye openers into what it takes to make a film. Here we learned how the shot planning, active filming,raw footage and editing software all came together to make these short films. These films were instrumental in our experimentation with shot types and variety and I felt this variety came out the strongest in our final title sequence. I also think that it was this variety that helped create the feeling of momentum and speed within our films.It was really important to capture this feeling in our final title sequence so I am glad we were not shy to experiment with different shot types in our initial tasks.We really honed our editing skills in this period and I believe this was our strongest point.

I do feel though that we could have spent more time getting to know the special effects and their uses in Livetype and Final Cut Pro.If we had had more time I would have liked to experiment more with these programs and their uses.

-Jack Simpson

This task was intended to help us gain experience in using the camera and editing software and by prompting us to understand what shot types and editing techniques best create suspense, a theme that needed to be highly dominant in our final piece.

This meant that when it came to shooting and editing our final piece, we were much better equipped to do it in the least amount of time due to our prior understanding of how the camera and Final Cut Pro worked, and the various functions available to us.

In our preliminary videos, you can notice that our shots are of unnecessary length, which would have bored the viewer, and taken away from the fast pace we were trying to implement, thus suspense. Our lighting too has improved in the final piece as we knew how to manipulate it better to enhance the effect we wanted. There is also greater fluency in our shot transitions, which is evident in the part when the runner falls in our final piece. This shows the leaps and bounds we have come on in terms of editing.

- Luke Nightingale

-Bilal Salli

We have planned our match cut exercise and created a story board related to it. Our intention was to have two actors one which was a police officer and another which was a criminal. we had a variety of different camera shots including extreme closeup, mid shot point of view shot and different camera angles such as high and low angle. We have also used a lighting kit in order to create impact on the tense situation the criminal was in. the light was unseen in the mise en scene however the light was straight down at the criminals face creating tension.

Onur Kavruk

Our group had to do a match cut, over the shoulder shots, reverse shots and etc for our preliminary task. These were the two mini clip of practice shots we had done and gained knowledge and understanding about what is expected from the actual trailer we were going to create, it was to get used to the camera.

I think the editing in the preliminary was actually alright for a first time use on Final Cut Pro. However of course the final film/trailer was much better in terms of editing. Also as for the use of Final Cut Pro, we were much better at using it and gained better skills.

We did not use any editing in Soundtrack pro because we had dialogue in it and we though we did not need any sound or music. But now I think we should have used Soundtrack Pro and edited, making it much better.

For our Mis-en-scene, in the Preliminary we did not touch anything in the background because we didn't think it was that important, however in the final draft we took real serious on the mis-en-scene.

 

LiveType and Soundstrack Pro

We have used programmes related to editing, adding effects, soundtrack and titles which consist of three separate software’s. We had to use software called Final Cut Pro in order to edit, cut and add effects to our any footage we take. It was easy to learn the basic fundamentals of the software which include cutting a simple piece of footage and how to adjust the length and time in order to match the cut which comes next. Livetype was the software in which we had to use consecutively for creating title for our footage. I personally found livetype a bit tricky for the reason that it takes time and patience to adjust the text to your interest and place it according to your footage. Conversely, the software has various effects and adjustments that suit our interest which gave us a large range of different effects and transitions we can use.

 

Soundtrack Pro is a professional software in which filmmakers use to create sound in terms of diegetic and non-diegetic pieces. There is a large range of different instrument types and families such as ‘string family’ which includes violin, cello, double bass, guitar and much more; Brass family, drum kits, bass and many more. In addition the software includes a variety of diegetic sound such as footsteps, screaming, door shut, gun fire etc. Learning how to alter  the timing to match the sound takes time but concludes in a outstanding, professional finish.

Evaluation - What Kind of Media Institution Might distribute Yur Media Product and Why? How Will You Attract/Address Your Audience?

To gain fame with our video with a pocket money budget, we would need to explore various avenues to achieve such level.
Firstly we would upload our video to numerous social sites, including youtube, facebook and our blog. This would get the video out there, and hopefully prompt a circulation of discussion about it amongst other users, who would recommend/send to their friends.
This would mean that we now had an audience who we could target for investment, in ways such as setting up a donation site, on which people can donate to aid the production/improvement of the film.
We would also show our video to friend and family in the hope that they too, will help circulate the film, by telling their friends and family too.
As this was a college project, the film will be shown at a local cinema, to an audience of a few hundred people, mainly our class mates. The audience will include people we personally do not know, hence another good way to get the video out there, much like youtube and the other social networking sites.

The video above has received nearly 3,000 views and many comments, expressing feedback which is always needed in order to build on present work. The film may also be seen by a film producer, who is looking for upcoming film creators. Even though this may be unlikely, there is a slight possibility, hence the chance of mega investment.

Evaluation - How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

Our opening sequence follows a man running through a forest, grasping a brief case. This simple prop and his attire implies that he is a businessman of high stature. This immediately conveys a government based theme, possibly MI5. The fact that he is running, also shows that he is being chased, thus creating a sense of curiosity as to why, in the viewer's mind.
The only other character in the opening is a mystery person at the opening's climax, as we only see their foot. This allows the viewer to create their own image of the character, and their role in the film for the time being.
We took inspiration from a huge variety of films as a government based theme is common in thrillers, as too are chase scenes, and we thought that opening with this would be highly effective in catching the viewer's attention, as it throws up many questions - Who is he?, Why is he running?, What does he hold? and most of all, what happens to him at the end?

How does our media product develop or chalane real media products?

This 9 shots are from a title sequence of a film called 'Deadwood'. I have used the films title sequence in order to compare it with my group's title sequence. I found the both quite similar due to both involve a being running in a forest or a country side and flashbacks of something else occurring. In my group there is a man running in a forest, running away from something with a brief case as if he stole it. There are flashbacks of the same guy in a office typing confidential text which triggers a solution of why he is running. However in 'Deadwood', there is a horse running in a forest atmosphere and flashbacks of blood, meat and diferent humans.

Evaluation - Group Feedback

Audience Feedback and comment

This is some of the feedback we recieved from our classmates. We made a word cloud out of all the keywords in the feedback on the website,Wordle.

The 'Wordle' displays words that were used to describe our film in a feedback session in our class. The words that are centered and are shown bigger, were those that cropped up more frequently.
These words include running, man, action and fast. These words are of necessity when planning a thriller. As these were mentioned most, it shows that we adhered to these conventions well.
However, the 'Wordle' only picks out words rather than phrases, thus meaning it's very hard to pick out particular positives and negatives, needed when evaluating.

-Luke Nightingale

rough cut