Evaluation Task Seven

Evaluation Task Seven-

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 to my preliminary task in November 2012, I have learnt allot since producing my own opening to a horror film. These include things like; Camera shots, Editing, Mise-en-scene, and Settings, I feel that in all of these I have progressed and learnt how to use them correctly and in a way that I can address my audience and create suspense and a good horror opening.

The camera angles and shots used in my preliminary task were basic and I only used an extreme close-up on the door handle, but based on my feedback, the extreme close up was the only aspect we needed to improve on. In our film "Intruder" we used a range of camera angles and shot types including; High angle shots, Low angle shots, Extreme close-ups, Close-ups, Panning. Our CCTV footage shows the intruder in high and low angle shots depending on where he is in the home. By changing the angles frequently this changes the vulnerability of the intruder and this confuses the audience and makes them uneasy as they do not know whats going on.
 I used close ups to show the props and this helped to incorporate the titles of our actors into the title sequence, where as in our preliminary task my titles were a basic screen with a black and white title. The close ups also create a sense of realism to the audience.

The camera movement in our preliminary task was very static and only panning was used for a few seconds to show our main actor Harry walking along the lockers. In our final film we also used static camera movement but tried to move the camera as often as we could; We panned the camera along the police tape and also moved the camera during the CCTV footage as well. This created variety for the audience to ensure they didnt loose focus or get bored watching.

Framing is the key thing that i have learnt to do properly since my preliminary and i have shown what i have learnt in my final version of intruder. With framing of the family homes rooms we made sure the house looked like a proper family home to the audience and for example that the closeups of the prop of the police investigation file did not have anything on the desk that would show it was filmed at school. (e.g folders, letters, genral peices of work.) 
Whereas in my preliminary task there are shots with school posters and displays in the background. This shows I have learnt to frame my shots well and have learnt from the preliminary task that it ruins the mood and genre your trying to portray to the audience.

The mise-en-scene of our preliminary task was very basic and the lighting was light and the same throughout. The costumes and props were basic, minimal and found within the school, making it look amateur and shows it its actually filmed in a school. In our final film we used low key lightning to create the sense of night or early morning as we actually filmed the night scenes during the day. By using the cameras built in flashlight this gave the grainy low key lighting effect for the CCTV. This also links to the genre of horror as low key lightning is a well known convention of horror. For costume in "Intruder", we made sure that the main actor George was wearing black as this shows him as evil and is a contrast to the actor playing the mother (Susi) who wears white which connotes innocence. The props we used in our film create realism as the police tape is real and the police file look real in shot as well. This tricks the audience into believing it is true and real.

For mode of address in our preliminary task we didn't focus on this as well as we did for our final product. For our preliminary task we only had a few lines to exchange between characters and they were last minute and very improvised between the actors. This is shown by how the actors say there lines, they are very monotoned and unbelievable, the actors also sound uncomfortable and they do not come across as natural to the audience.
  However in our final title sequence we had planned the scripts for the 999 call at the begining and the police interviews throughout, we also made the actors rehearse their lines before filming on camera, this made the speech seem more natural to the audience and look more professional overall, creating a sense of realism to the audience.

 Editing was the aspect of this that I feel I  have learnt and improved most on as my editing for my preliminary task was very basic and easy and only involved very simple cuts and transitions. Whereas for our final film we spent many hours in the editing suites making sure the film was finished in time. The main feedback for my preliminary task was that I didn't cut the close up in time and it was too long which didn't look natural to the audience. The main challenge for our editing for intruder was the CCTV footage and getting all four screens to appear and match with timings and music at the same time. This involved layering the four different shots on top of another. Also another challenge we had to overcome was adding in our REC images at the bottoms of each of four CCTV screens, the hardest part of this was making sure REC buttons were blinking at the same time and also in the same place throughout the footage.We used allot more transitions in our film intruder compared to my preliminary task, we wanted to make these seem basic as we didn't want the suspense to be over-shone by colorful and interesting transitions.

Overall i think i have mainly improved on my editing and filming techniques as these are the key areas that i have learnt most about in producing my film. By using the technology I have and learning to use camera angle and movement and music to create suspense and leave my audience uneasy scared and uncomfortable. And I feel that I have improved greatly since my preliminary task and this shows in the final product of our film "Intruder".

Evaluation Task Six

Evaluation Task Six-

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

In the production of our film "Intruder" we used a whole range of technology to make sure the film looked as professional as we could. I have learnt allot from using this new technology.

 

Mobile Phones:

We used an IPhone 4s and a Sony Xperia U for updating Blogger from the online Apps and checking our posts on YouTube and on the Blog. We also used the IPhone 4s to record the 999 call at the start of our title sequence. We found this easier as we know how to use our phones effectively and having the Blogger app was practical as I could update my blog at any time.Although I knew how to use my mobile phone, doing this task has helped me learn more about what my phone can do, and just how much it can offer me whilst im out and filming.

Voice Recorder:

We used an Olympus voice recorder to complete the evaluation tasks and to help record the 999 call in the opening of our title sequence. This was simple and easy to use and upload to the computer through a USB.Before this task I have never used a voice recorder, so I have learnt allot from using this piece of equipment including how to record voices and then transfer the files to a computer or mac.

Mac-book Pro & Final Cut Pro

To edit our final film we used a Mac-book Pro and Final Cut Pro, these were a crucible part of producing our film and after a few instructions from a teacher we were able to edit and create the film ourselves using the program. We found it relatively easy to use as it is clear and simple to operate.Before this film I had never used a mac book or a mac to the extent that i did whilst editing for our final film. Overall I learnt how to use the mac book to its full potential and most of the programs on it as well.

Panasonic HDC-SD80

To film our whole title sequence we used a Panasonic HDC-SD80, this was easy to handle and attach to the tri-pod and easy and simple to use and film on. I have used a camera to film before but never a touch screen based camera i learnt this was allot more efficient and i learnt how to transfer the footage onto the mac book using the SD card.

Tripod

Using a tripod was crucile to our filming as all the shots for CCTV have to be static and still, filming handheld would have made the footage shaky and unprofessional.I found learning to use the tri pod easy and learning how to lower and alter the angles to get the shots we wanted to achieve was quick and easy.

TV

  We used a normal Panasonic TV, on AV to film the static footage, we found this allot better than taking a GIF off the internet and using it as it didn't have the same affect and quality we were looking for.

 YouTube 

To upload our final videos we chose to use YouTube as it is easily assessable and easy to upload and edit in titles for our the evaluation tasks. I have learnt allot about you-tube whilst producing and distributing our film.Skills like uploading and annotating my videos for my blog evaluation tasks, have helped if i ever needed to upload and comment on videos in the future.

Blogger  

To complete my work and keep track of our planning I used Blogger as it is a quick and easy way to keep all of my work in one area and embed videos from you tube. It also gave me an opportunity to make my coursework visually interesting. Before taking A Level Media I have never had a blog or looked at others blogs, by using blogger i have learnt how to upload and publish posts and embed videos from you tube to the blog. I feel using this has made me more confident about possibly producing my own personal blog in the future.

Facebook

I also used Facebook to upload pictures of our actors to Blogger and to communicate with the rest of the production company for days and times to film and edit. I learnt by using Facebook how to keep everyone up to date with dates of filming and how to stick to a schedule by using the social networking site to publish dates of filming and group chat to all the people involved in the producing and editing of the film.

Overall I have learnt allot from using all of the technology mentioned and I know  I can easily get the best out of all the technology and also know how to reuse the technology in the future to produce, edit and distribute my own films.

Evaluation Task Five

Evaluation Task Five-

 How did you attract/address your audience?

 

 

Using annotations on YouTube I  have shown clearly how I have addressed the audience and made them feel uneasy, uncomfortable and how I have conveyed the conventions of a horror film also linking and comparing our film to the films "Paranormal Activity" and "The Ring".

Evaluation Task Four

Evaluation Task Four 

                                       

 Who would be the audience for your media product?

Originally our target audience was 15-35 but reviewing the target audience thoroughly we have decided that is too wide for a target audience and we have now decided that the target audience of 18- 30 will be more suited.

 Demographics:

The age of our Target Audience is 18 to 30, this is because this is the age category that in my film questionnaire i found visit the cinema frequently and watch films regularly as well. The location of our target audience is local because being based in the town of "St Neots" we are reasonable distance from both London and Cambridge, which both have a large population, and are easily accessible making it easy to target our audience. The gender of our target audience is Male because this is the gender that mainly enjoy horror films. The income level of our target audience would be Category  E - Category C2 of income, this is a low - medium income because of the age of our target audience. The educational level of our target audience would be a wide range of both school and university students and workers. The marital and family status of our target audience would be single with no children, as these are the people that have allot more income to spend on watching films and going to the cinema. The occupation of our target audience could be varied from a part time job to a full time job as both 18 year olds and 22 year olds could be in college/sixth form/university making to difficult to work full time. The ethnic background of our film would also be a white as our cast is also white which will make the film more appealing to the target audience.

Psychographics:

The personalities of our target audience would be fun, out going people that enjoy having a good time and watching a film with friends and people that aren't that afraid of horrors. The hobbies and interest of our target audience would be thrill seeking people as watching a horror puts people on edge and they will have to enjoy this feeling to be attracted to watching our film. The lifestyles of our target audience would be people that go out with friends allot to the cinema and like to watch films, unlike people that do not like social situations and stay at home as these people would not spend money going to the cinema watching a film. The behavior of our target audience would be people that enjoy other peoples company and are okay with being scared in front of everyone as watching our film would make them uneasy and scared.

Evaluation of my decision:

Overall I think our decision of our target audience i precise as males at the age range we are targeting enjoy watching horrors and the location we would distribute the film has good access to watch the film from surrounding areas. The use of "word of mouth" would be good for our film as we know that allot of adults base there opinions on the reviews of others, and this could easily broaden our audience as our film is comparable to successful Hollywood films like "paranormal activity", as they are all filmed in the same style as ours.

Evaluation Task Three

Evaluation Task Three-

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

Using a voice recorder me and my production team have explained who would distribute my film and how it would be distributed to my target audience in a way that it would get watched and popular.

Evaluation Task Two

                                               Lenore- Taken            Susi Cracroft- Intruder 
                                               Single Mother                    Single Mother

Evaluation Task Two-

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Both of these characters are part of the social group of single parents (mothers).

This makes them similar they are also similar as they both have dark hair, and also both wear make up and look well groomed, this shows they are single as  they are trying to attract a potential partner.

 Both of these characters are clearly seen as single as they both do not have a wedding or engagement ring on their left ring finger.

Both of these characters play vulnerable single women, this is also seen stereotypical in allot of films, as the male is seen as more dominant and therefor more powerful over the woman character. They are both bringing up there children on their own, this shows they are both very maternal and care allot for their children. Also both of the characters have something happen to their children, making them similar as in the films they both are worried about there children.

Both these characters are scared in the films they are in.

The differences between the characters are the age gap between them, Susi from our film "Taken" is 38; where as Lenore from "Taken" is 49. Also they will both have different personalities in the films making them different people.

Evaluation Task One

Evaluation Activity One- 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

Frame One- The title of the film

In our first frame is our title "Intruder", this connotes the idea of danger, tresspassers, criminals, and being unsafe. The title feeds in letter by letter creating suspense and a sense of uneasiness with the audience as they dont know whats coming next and have to make out the title by themselves as each letter feeds onto the black screen.

Frame Two- Setting and Location

Our second frame shows our location and the setting of the film, which is the family home. The shot shows the CCTV of all 4 rooms in the home that we covered. These include; The living room, The kitchen, The landing, and The hallway/Bottom of the stairs. These are the rooms that you would most likely to see in a family home during the day; and not see at night, as everyone is asleep in their rooms. This makes the audience scared as they dont know what happens at night.

Frame Three- Costumes and Props

Frame Three shows one of the main props we used in our title sequence. In the frame is a Police investigation file that we made ourselves and used to help add in our titles to the sequence, we did this by sweeping the file allong the table infront of the camera and adding the title in editing to make it look like the title is appearing from the file. The prop ties into the narrative as their is a police investigation to find out who the intruder is.

Frame Four- Camerawork and Editing

Frame four shows a shot of the mother and police officer in an interview. This is using an over the shoulder shot, we chose to use this camerashot as it differs from the other CCTV style of filming and also uses crosscutting to show the interview taking place aswell as the intruder walking around at the same time. We also filmed and edited our title sequence in the style of CCTV as it creates a sense of realism and makes the whole narrative seem believable and realistic, it also makes the audience feel uneasy and as if they are watching in on something secretive

Frame Five- Title font and style

In frame five it shows our title font and how it appears and dissapears on the screen. The white font contrasts the black background and draws the attention of the audience and so does the block capitals we have used, this shows the importance of the title to the audience.

Frame Six- Story and how the opening sets it up

In frame six it shows part of our opening title sequence, the police tape shows the audience a part of the narrative aswell as the voiceover of the police 999 call over the top of this, it also shows the audience part of the narrative and sets the opening to the story.

Frame Seven- Genre and how the opening suggests it

The seventh frame shows the CCTV footage again, but instead of the audience watching the intruder; in this frame the intruder is watching the audience making them feel scared and unsafe as the intruder knows they are there. This shows the genre as it is scaring the audience making them feel uneasy and shows it is a horror style film.

Frame Eight- How charactors are introduced

In frame eight is the extreme close up shot of the witness statement being writtern. This introduces the charactors as the interviewer writes both the mothers name (Susi Cracroft) and the police officers name (Charlie Jenkins) aswell. This is also sped up so the writing almost looks scribbled onto the paper making the shot look unusual and making the audience uneasy.

Frame Nine- Special Effects

Frame nine is a shot of the effect that is most used in our film, this is the static transition and effect which ties into the CCTV style of filming. This same effect on the audience is used in films like "The Ring". The effect of the static could imply that someone/something is interfering with the cameras; creating suspense with the audience as they do not know what will appear after the static has finished.