Once we had completed our evaluation posts we received feedback from the teacher so we could discover we done well and what we needed to improve on. I had completed all my posts which was a good factor however they were not to the highest standard and to my best ability therefore I needed to make improvements to them. I realised for a lot of the posts I hadn't provided as much detail as usual as well as not answering the question precisely. Therefore I needed to go back and change this. I also needed to make my posts more visual and appealing to the audience so I could add in more videos, tube chops and images as well as presenting my work in different ways. I also needed to make sure I also used examples from my opening sequence as well as other media products to highlight the similar conventions of the genre but also how we have made it unique.
Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
At the beginning of the project we had to create a short sequence highlighting a conversation between two people, this was our preliminary task. This was the first thing we done and it provided us with the chance to experience using the camera and learning how to edit what we had filmed. We had to create a story and use a shot reverse shot, 180 rules and a match on action. Looking back at this task even though we had to include these three shots it didn’t really test our skills in the different components of media. For example we didn’t have to use our imaginative of creating an interesting sequence as we had already been provided with the story as well as this we didn’t have to think of the mis-en-scene which was key in our opening sequence.
This first clip highlights how we were trying to use the 180 degree rule effectively. This was one of the main tasks so we had to work on getting it exactly right. This was quite basic filming and compared to our new sequence it doesn't look particular effective. Below is a section from our sequence displaying how our filming has improved and have managed to get more effective shots. This displays wide shots and closes up and how the shots are smoother and more fluent. This highlights how my continuity editing has improved. The shots are now cut more precisely and are not stopping and starting. This therefore gives our sequence more meaning because it creates more of a tense atmosphere. Additionally it makes the audience comfortable and gives them a clear understanding of the narrative. We also thought about the framing of the shots more to make sure there was space for the titles as well as allowing the setting to be seen. This meant we only displayed what we wanted in the shots so that we could withhold information from the viewer.
It is interesting to look at our preliminary task and then
at our opening sequence because it allows me to look at how I have progressed
during in the time and learnt new valuable skills in Media. Even though we have
had troubles along the way with our opening sequence I feel I have learnt a lot
about filming and how to use the equipment correctly. To begin with in our
opening sequence I was quite worried and took a step back because I was new to the
subject and wasn’t particular confident in taking the role of the leader. I
feel we rushed the sequence, which resulted in our shots not being executed
correctly, and appearing very shaky which therefore ended in a poor opening
sequence.
However after re shooting we managed to get the shots more precise and we thought about all the components in the shots. By thinking the sequence though more carefully it meant the sequence made more sense and was more appropriate for the genre of film. Above is a clip from the preliminary task showing the match on action. This wasn't very clear so it highlights how we have improved since then and how we now developed our shots more. Below is also a shot reverse shot which is also not the best shot because it is slightly wonky and not edited particular well. Therefore reflecting on this I realise how I have become more confident and able to produce a more effective piece.
Additionally as you can see in the preliminary task we did not take into account any of the costumes that the characters were wearing meaning the mis-en-scene had no meaning at all. This made it less effective and wouldn't be highlighting any particular characteristics or emotions of the character. However in our opening sequence we managed to use shot reverse shot when the female was taking the "selfie". This was one of our most interesting shots and clearly highlights how much we have progressed in the sequence. The female takes a photo of herself, then looks down at her phone to also see the male in the photo and then the shot goes back to her worried face. This demonstrates the meaning in the sequence that she has committed something and she cant forget about it and it is stuck in her mind. This makes the sequence becoming more intense and scares the audience because they are worried for the girl.
To add to this in our sequence I thought a lot more about the mis-en-scene than in the preliminary task. I believed we needed to make sure the female was wearing appropriate clothing in order to display the stereotype of a female. I feel by her wearing smart, fashionable clothing it indicates to the audience how females like to take care of their appearance. Furthermore the use of the setting adds to the sequence. When the female is getting ready in her room, her room is very pink and there are ballerinas on the wall which could perhaps be trying to portray her as innocent and someone who wouldn't do anything wrong whereas really she has committed a crime. This conveys how much more we have thought about our mis-en-scene and really developed our understanding on how to creating a meaning.
I feel I have developed my editing skills. When doing the preliminary task I wasn't as involved as I could be because I didn't have much knowledge of what to do whereas now I feel I have taken a bit more of a lead and learnt how to edit and produce something effective. I have suggested ideas in order to make the storyline clearer and thought of some interesting shots that we could do to get our sequence of a better standard. This clip below shows one of the flashbacks. This is something very different to the preliminary task and I felt this displaying how much we have improved because we have thought of different ways to display the meaning. It highlights how much my editing have improved because I was able to use the effects on Premiere Pro to work about how to change the colour of the shot into black and white to indicate how it is a flashback. I also have developed an understanding of how to make the shots look effective but still make sure they are cut correctly.
This displays our final media product that we created. It is named "The Unknown" and is a thriller and it is what we have completed during the project.
Question 5: How did you attract/address the audience?
We created a range of videos to be able to display our feedback and research we have found. Firstly we asked people to give us feedback on our piece so that we could see if people understood the story and whether they believed the final product was correct. We asked five questions that would enable us to discover about particular elements of the sequence such as whether they thought the music suited the piece as well as the setting. Firstly we asked the audience "do you think the storyline is appropriate for the genre of film we have chosen which is thriller?". This was essential to ask because we had to discover whether they understood what was happening and that they felt some kind of emotion towards it because they is what we intended to do. Next we asked "do you think the music contributes to the atmosphere of the piece?". We had trouble finding effective music for the piece so we wanted to see whether they believed it was appropriate and made the atmosphere tense and suited a thriller film. It was interesting to discover what they thought because it meant we could see if we had fulfilled our task. They all stated how they thought it create tension in the piece and made you want to continue watching to discover more. Even though we stuck to the conventions of a typical thriller films we also went against one main convention. In a stereotypical thriller film you tend to see the male as the antagonist whereas we went against this and used the female as the antagonist. We wanted to know if the audience felt this was effective and they said they found it made our sequence unique and wanted to continue to watch to discover why she killed him. Additionally we asked the audience about the setting of the film and finally whether it would prompt then to watch the whole movie. They all stated they would be interested to continue watching and enjoyed the sequence. Even though we were able to get lots of positive feedback from the audience, to make our voxpops more accurate we could have asked some older people closer to the age of twenty to see whether they would agree with the feedback. This would have meant we could have checked it reached our whole target audience.
We also created a screen cast. We did this by looking back at our original voxpops and looking at what feedback we got. We then filmed ourselves explaining what we done in order to achieve what they asked for in the research. We aimed to achieve what they wanted however we also wanted to go against some of the conventions to make our sequence and different to others. Before creating our sequence we carefully studied our research and looked at exactly what they wanted us to do. In our original questionnaire research we asked the audience how important the first two minutes of the film is to them and they gave us the following replies; they wouldn't watch the film if they had been told it was bad, it keeps them interested, it draws their attention to the movie and lets them get an insight into how good the film will be. They also said it gets them into the mood of the film and most importantly it can make or break the film for them. Therefore we had to ensure the first two minutes really caught their attention and made them want to continue watching. When looking back at our vox pops we also studied exactly what they said. We asked them specific questions that would help us create the best sequence for them. The first question we asked was what would they expect to see in the first two minutes of a thriller and we received replies such as wanting it to be entertaining and capturing their attention, also for the characters to be revealed and begin to get sense of what the film is about. Therefore we tried to create this is in our sequence and provide a tension atmosphere incorporating these elements. As well as this we asked how they wanted a thriller to make them feel and they stated they wanted it to excite them and thrill them and make them ask questions and keep them interested. We managed to do this through the use of low key lighting and using shots such as when I open the door and see the male character on the other side. This builds tension and makes the audience feel slightly uncomfortable. Additionally we asked what they would expect the main character to be like and we decided to go against their typical conventions and use a female as the antagonist instead of the male. We felt this would make our sequence unique and the audience would be more interested to discover exactly what happened. As well as this we asked about setting and realised they wanted an everyday setting but we that thriller feel so we created this by making the room dark to allow the tension to be build.
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I also completed a directors commentary. I created this by watching my opening sequence and looking at the elements in the sequence that related back to my research as well as what each shot represented. Whilst the sequence was playing I spoke over the top to highlight key information in the sequence as well as my favourite parts. I felt this was effective to allow me to reflect back on the sequence and check that we had incorporated everything that we wanted to into it.
Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? At the start of the year I was
completely new to Media and didn’t even know how to turn a Mac computer on but
throughout the project I have learnt about the technologies. I have developed a
variety of skills such as using blogger, using the cameras and using the Macs
as well as many more.
From the beginning of the project I
began to learn about the different technologies and develop my understanding of
Media. Using the Macs I believed was going to be the hardest because I was
completely new to it and unsure of how to use them. At first I was slightly
confused about how to use them but as we continued the project my confidence
grew and I feel I can now use them without worrying. There are still times when
I am not one hundred per cent sure of what to do but I ask and then learn.
I
had also never used the software Adobe Premiere that we used to edit our
sequence. This was very hard to use at first and I was slightly overwhelmed
about all the components I needed to learn. I began to explore and learn about
ways to cut the footage we filmed as well as add in sound etc. With the help of
the teachers and fellow members in the class I soon developed my understanding
and felt more confident.
Using this software I was able to cut the footage in our sequence so that it flowed nicely and wasn't jumpy. I had to make sure the cuts were precise in order for the sequence to look effective and professional. This enable us to create more of a meaning in our piece because the shots would flow building up the tension and keeping the audience engaged. It also meant the atmosphere was built because the sequence made sense and the narrative was displayed.
By learning how to edit correctly it also gave us the ability to add in flashbacks of the male character creating the meaning in the piece. I discovered how to change the shot colour to black and white which expresses how it is something that has happened in the past. This allowed us to portray many shots to the audience of the female getting flashbacks of the male and how she is extremely affected by what she has done. It indicates that see is worried and cant get it out of her head. Therefore my editing skills helped to provide something unique to the sequence and make the audience feel a connection with the female because they are beginning to get an insight into what she is seeing.
Additionally even though I had
previously used a DSLR camera similar to the camera we used it was still a new
technology for me to use and develop my skills in. For our opening sequence to
be effective we needed precise shots that were creative and help reinforce the
story therefore I needed to practice having a steady hand so that the shots
were not shaky and being able to use the tripod effectively. I found it very
easy to set up the equipment however I had to practice the filming because my
shots were sometimes out of focus and shaky meaning they were bad quality. I
tried to be more creative when filming and capture the subject better.
Once I was confident in using the camera it meant the sequence would be able to display more of an accurate meaning. It would result in my filming being less shaky meaning it gave a more professional look. To add to this my knowledge of shot types improved meaning I could create more imaginative shots expressing the storyline. This meant my sequence then created a better meaning of the fact that the girl has done something wrong but is trying to hide behind the typical stereotype of a female. This is effective because the shots allow information to be withheld meaning the atmosphere is build in the sequence and the audience ask themselves more questions about who the female is and what has she done.
Blogger also played an important part
in helping me to display all of my work. Throughout the project I have had to
think of news way to demonstrate my work rather than just having all text. Therefore
I went onto different websites that I could use to help me such as prezi and exam
time. I had never used either of these before meaning they were completely new to
me however I now believe I can confidently use them in an inventive way. Prezi
is probably my strength and I feel I can easily add in text and images to
analyse my work or highlight different components of a media product. I also
have established how to use tube chop which is when you can cut sections of a
video to show a particular part. This was especially important when trying to
back up the evidence of what I was saying as well as use it to compare two
different sequences and look how my opening sequence was different. I had to
then use these different elements to make my blog interesting and attractive to
the audience and make it visually appealing.
These helped me to create meaning in my work. The reason for this was because I was able to make my work visual so the audience were able to analyse my opening sequence and study how well it went. It allowed me to create something interactive for the audience and something they would enjoy looking at. I also tried to make my blog suitable for my target audience by using sophisticated but interesting designs to grab their attention.
Even though technologies took time to
adapt to and learn about, we also had to be careful about using them
effectively and making sure we had enough time to create our sequence. We had
to be efficient with our time and carefully plan out exactly what we were going
to do in order for it to be of a high standard. I believe this is where we went
slightly wrong in the project. We decided on times when we were going to film
and mostly stuck to these however where we were new with the technology we
didn’t focus even though to get the shots precise. I feel we rushed and this
resulted in a poor sequence. Therefore we had to continue to re shot to get the
sequence right. This meant we wasted time and had less time for editing.
However when we slowed down and checked the shots as we were going it resulted
in a better opening sequence.
To add to this the use of planning our storyboards in our sequence was very important. Once we had our idea we had to produce storyboards displaying all the shots we were going to film. This would enable us to check we had enough shots and that the narrative was clearly shown. At this stage we produced good storyboards however I feel we didn't have enough inventive shots to create meaning in the piece. The shots didn't flow particular well resulting in a lack meaning in our original sequence. Therefore we should have developed our use of using the storyboards further so that we didn't have to re-shot and change the narrative of our sequence. This would have saved lots of time and a sequence that created an atmosphere would have been displayed.
Without certain technologies our
opening sequence wouldn’t be the same. For example the music is essential to
help create an atmosphere in the piece and websites such as Sound cloud and
free sound enable us to do this. Music was a key part of our sequence and it helped to create a mood and atmosphere within the sequence. The sound was something that continued to play throughout our sequence and helped demonstrate the genre of the film. Without this our scene would be plain and boring and the audience would not feel anything from the sequence.
Previously there have not been free resources
like this, which would have made it a lot harder for us to find the sound we
wanted. If YouTube allows didn’t exist it would not have allowed us to compare
and capture screenshots of the videos meaning our work could not be very
visual. Therefore these new technologies have provided us with the ability to
create a more interesting opening sequence but most importantly a more meaningful sequence.
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