Evaluation 7

7) Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

I believe that I have progressed a lot since the preliminary task, I can now comfortably edit, film, and organise and plan the work that I have done. The preliminary task we put together was all a bit rushed at the end as we didn’t fully understand what it took the edit and film and get all our actors together at the right place and time. We underestimated the time it took to put everything together as a final product. Looking back we now know that we were quite naïve with the time we had allotted to complete the filming, and we were quite unorganised. In retrospect we now know that a clear plan would have made the organisation 100% better. The storyboards and scripts were crucial to our success so those should have been the first thing to focus on, as it gives us almost a step by step guide as to which shots we needed to make, the types of shots, and the angle from which we would shoot it. We also should have chosen our actors well before shooting rather than getting people together pretty last minute. This time when it came about there were no problems with these issues as we had already planned in advance for these issues to possible arise.

Camera work was very important in this section of the course, especially since we chose a gothic horror thriller genre which puts a lot of focus on the camera angles etc. I have come in leaps and bounds in relation my camera work skills. I now know what the different angles would look best in a particular scene and the reasons for it. We tried to in this film opening use low angle/ high angled shots and panning and tracking shots. As we pretty much ignore them in our preliminary. We wanted to show off the costumes and the effort we have made on setting and props etc so we especially chose shots that would highlight these- wide shots, long shots were not used that much however as they are not often seen in gothic horror, as you can see to much of the background which in turn, tells the audience that nothing is going to happen as obviously no one is near them; you can physically see the background rather than the suspense of not knowing what is there.  The camera shot we were most proud of coming up with was the end shot in the mirror reflection. This works so well as it is so unexpected. It isn’t jumpy particularly but is enough to make you want to watch more of the film. We purposely left the film opening on a slight cliff hanger rather than it being a mini movie in itself. We wanted to veer away from the prospect of it becoming too much like a short film, as it could easily have become that but we wanted to make sure we stuck to the brief.

Overall I am very proud of our progress as a group and of myself as an individual. Our knowledge and understanding of filming editing and camera work has improved so much as I hope you can tell through comparing our preliminary task and our recent film opening. Especially seeing as we chose quite a difficult genre to base our film opening on. I have learnt that to keep to a schedule and stick to timing is crucial, as something could go wrong later on down the line that needs time to be repaired.

Evaluation 6

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

In this process I have learnt a lot about certain technology, and now feel comfortable if presented with a task that involves using one. I have learnt a lot about how to edit film and even how to set up a camera on a tripod. Our group had a slight advantage as we had already got a camera to use and a general alright understanding of cameras and filming. But most certainly I can now feel a lot more comfortable and not fazed by the prospect of Editing film on IMovie. The software itself seems quite simple to use now.

Editing on the Mac. The editing software used was iMovie.

Setting up the camera equipment.

 

Blogger-
 

Blogger was a website I was completely unfamiliar with before the beginning of this media studies course. Blogger has proven an invaluable source to post proof of my media work and to also act as a sort of coursework diary of sorts to constantly update information, or add new lesson work or things we've learnt .
 

YouTube-
 

Obviously I knew of YouTube and used it before this project but I never really understood how to upload or actually put up your own videos to the site. YouTube is also how we found the music we put over the top of the scenes, and was also the medium through which we got in touch with the composer to be granted access to the music.

Evaluation 5

Chapel Lane (our film opening) we chose to be aimed at all ages above 15 (due to reasons discussed in evaluation 4). We wanted our film to be similar in content of that like Perfume, and From Hell; however wanted it to be on less of a bigger scale while still remaining true to the codes and conventions of thrillers/horrors.

We made a voxpop aimed at our target audience to get a feel of what they would like to see in our film opening, and made sure whilst making it that we kept to their opinions and views of what they thought that we should do to make the film opening alot more realsiatic, and more exciting to watch specifically to them as a mere sample of out target audience. This knowledge proved valuable as they gave us hints as to what they are looking for in a successgul film opening of the genre. The link to the voxpop is already on my blog.

By using this technique to gather information we knew that we had to make our content as realistic as possible and not in anyway transparent. They also put alot of emphasis on the importance of costume to a gothic horror- so we took this on board and got together the outfits you can see on our finished product; the end results i beleive do work very well and are reflective of the time. This also allows the type and genre of film come across to the audience in an instant they immediately understand what to expect from the film.


During filming we tried to keep strictly to conventional camera angles and editing afterward; so none of the work we did looked at all out of place, or as if it didnt belong there. Close ups and the odd extreme close up were valuable as they have a profoud effect on the audience and enduce an uneasy atmosphere and make the audience almost uncomfortable being that close to the character despite the fact that physically they arent actually there. We also used the classic over the shoulder shot alot to give off that something is going to happen and like she is aware of his presence near her. It creates a dramatic irony as if the audience knows something the character doesnt.

To draw in the audience we changed all the film opening to a black and white saturation during the editing process. Thsi is the first thing that the audience would recognise as being ' old fashioned' or at least the hint that the film isnt going to be 'modern'.. We also slowed the pace to add suspence and also added in diagetic sound to increase the emotion in the scene to draw the audience into and invest in the characters (mostly the victim). This also worked well as not much speech is in the film opening if any at all, so the music diffused the awkwardness of the lack of speech.

Evaluation 4

The genre of  thriller/ horror and also set in Victorian era leaves alot of ground covered when it comes to target audience. However we have decided that our main age range for an audience target would be late teens or early twenties. But would probably be suitable for 15+; from this age they usually do like to be scared when it comes to movies, and are also all in charge of their own decisions- Parents wouldnt be involved in their movie choices. Any people younger would probably have to get parental consent, and could prossibly get frightened by the consent. Especially as many of the themes covered are quite brutal. And i can't imagine older people being interested in a period type film.

An example of our target audience-

Profile;
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Likes to shop: Topshop, HandM, Missguided
Musical Preferences: Acoustic, RnB, Alternative
Favourite TV programme: Sherlock Holmes or The Vampire Diaries


We would aim our film at this age group and class, because they could possibly relate with other characters in the film; the emotional connections they create is also easier as they are younger. Especially with female viewers, they might associate themselves with some of the victims, therefore becoming attached to the chararcters. They could also be interested in the time period and want to see something a bit different to the movies set in modern day.

Evaluation 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
What does a production company do?

They assist in the making process of a film; they overlook the whole process from the beginnings and idea, to the final completion. They also handle the money coming in and out of the film, and the scripts they will use for the project, and finding the directore, actors, producers etc. Importantly they also work on the marketing and advertising of the finished product. The institutions also hold the role involving legal responsibilities.

What is a distributor and what does their role entail?

A distributor is an individual or organisation who  represents films at festivals and markets around the world and who will attempt to sell it to television (including terrestrial, cable and satellite), airlines and other companies that could be interested in showing it.

Our production company name and logo;

Our production company name is 'Cobble Productions'. We simply named it this as it went with the theme of our Victorian style film opening. It also is not a very outlandish name, and does sound more modest which suits the scale of the company. We incorporated a simple style to the logo so it doesn't look too 'busy', the golden colour we chose and the contrasting grey/silver both denote an upper class nobility and wealth which does suit the film opening we had created; it also contrasts well so it does draw the eye.

We also knew that our film would not have been picked up by major companies like, MGM or Warner Bros as it is an independent British movie, made in England, with British actors all of whom anonymous. Working Title although a British company I believe also wouldn't want to invest in our film as they are best known for their romantic comedy genre films and very popular through them. And to take on a gothic horror thriller genre, would be too much of a leap and too much of a risk to waste quite a decent amount of money.

So I believe that our film would most likely be picked up by a company such as Film4. They are small and independant but still are building a good reputation for themselves. They are not specifically catering to one audience like Working Title so that would work well as our genre of choice is not that common.

To get the money for our film we would go to the UK Film Council as on their website it states that: "We give audiences more choice by awarding Lottery funding to widen the release of films in the UK. We also develop the export oppurtunities for British films by providing funding to promote them at major international festivals". With the support of the BFI on our project the film distribution could be successful. The BFI have £15 million,  to invest in feature and short films- so as our film wouldnt cost that much compared to some due to the lack of special effects, funding and promoting could definitely be possible.

Evaluation 2

Our film opening, i believe does efficiently meet the needs of the target audience we were aiming to create the film for , and who we think would enjoy the horror/thriller mixed genre. This film could be ejoyed by people who are simly looking for a thrill or a slightly 'jumpy' film but as we didnt incorporated bloody, or gorish scenes those interested in that type of horror would be dissapointed.

 

John Whitlock (the killer character in our film) *above

 

Jean Baptiste Grenouille is a similar character in the film 'Perfume: The Story Of a Murderer' below*

 
 Perfume had been a silmilar film we have focused of from the very beginning of production as the main characters share many of the same characteristics and role i the films.

Similarities-

- They both are infatuated with women which eventually causes them to commit brutal crimea (although we dont see it the attacks in our film opening)

- Both are set in an old fashioned era so the settings are similar

-They are physically similar; eye colour/hair colour

- They have the same role as a main character in the films

 

Difference-

 

-Diffenet classes so they have a different manner about themselves, and how they hold themselves.

-This is also prominent through costume choice- John is upper class so wears a suit and top hat whereas Jean is lower class so wears dirty ripped material.

-Perfume is set in France, and our film opening is set in England; so accents are different

Evaluation 1: part 2

GENRE AND HOW THE OPENING SUGGESTS IT

The genre of our film opening is a horror thriller hybrid however could also be seen as a gothic variation. We wanted the era and genre of the film to be obvious from the very beginning so we made the choice to edit the colour of the film to a simplistic black and white this creates an image of less advanced technology so would automatically be associated with an old fashioned style, and the setting to be a long time ago. We also made sure that the costumes seemed as authentic as possible so the genre and era can be reflected in costume choice, as compared to modern  clothing the itching we chose  for our characters to wear are not usually seen in everyday society, whereas during the Victorian period the style of clothing we chose would have been what most wore.

HOW CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED

The characters are introduced pretty much straight away, and we see them physically; we do not hear about their character beforehand. The main male character is the first character we are introduced to  and  we are focused on his character for a long while before the  female character is introduced. The woman is in fact seen passing through the frame only infusing the male. So the fact that we see him as a priority and she is only a by product almost of our focus being on him shows the hierarchy of character a. We can tell that he is the main character whereas she will just be a fleeting character.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

 In this film opening we didn't include many special effects as the genre doesn't call for it, and it would have looked completely unrealistic and ridiculous, in what is meant to be a gritty gothic thriller set in the Victorian era. However  if we were to have used them, possibly  better lighting would have worked well to get a better stark contrast between dark and light.