Evaluation

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Final Edit

This is our final edit we ended up having which i am very satisfied with. However I believe that if we where given longer time, and after having our group almost halved due to inconsistency of attendance we would have ended up with something much better in terms of the editing.

Changes in light of feedback from Roughcut

Rough Cut






Final Edit





Clearly the differences are highlighted here, the final edit has a far more polished look to it, the rough cut seems rushed and unfinished which was the situation. The sound i believe is the most significant part missing from the unfinished piece and once playing the final edit we can realise its importance. Diegetic and non-diegetic sound were put on to the sound and overall was one of the strongest point of our overall opening scene. The titles were added and you can see the lettering in font and effects created and show a huge gulf in difference involving the amount of suspense in the clip.

Skills Audit: Creation of Titles

Our titles were very significant in our scene, we had to make it similar to that of the art of the title sequence, following some of the conventions used in a professional paramount picture opening scene. Our sequence used a font that didn't look serious and boring but a quirky strange font that would ass to the creepy effect made in the opening. We had to set the title credits in areas where it would not clash with what was on camera, for example with the actors faces, by positioning them in the correct positions the opening would focus on what was on screen and not on the text.

We added fake names as the actors and directors to make it seem proffesional. Finally we added a shaky effect that made the text suffle, by doing this the text seemed sinister rubbing off on the entire clip.

Skills Audit: Creation of Soundtrack

After having the storyboard set and then after actually taking the filming shots we had an idea to use a slow stealthy sound which could help us amount high tension in our clip. I was in charge of forming a sound clip using soundtrack pro.

By selecting the right sounds and placing them on the timeline we set a regime to allow us to clearly define a link between the and the sound.

1st. The Sea saw that would be sound to the production company.

2nd. The sound of the furnace.

3rd. Sound of the diner adding diegetic sound in the background.

4th. The outside scene where you could hear surounding sounds e.g. birds

5th. There was too be a variety of hissing like sounds and creepy effect sounds which would largely contribute to adding tension.

These parts were all set out in the closest timing to that of the video, after when we actually added the sound to the video we were able to further make the transitions and changes in sound fit to what was on screen with simple editing techniques.

Rough Cut

This was our rough cut, it clearly has not been finished and a lot of time still spared for us to improve it, the sound was missing the titles needed doing also editing was needed unfortunately we were unable to edit adding effects.

Skills Audit: Editing

To make our piece to convey our desired suspense we needed to edit our clip, although we new and learnt how to do this we where unable to add effects as sadly our group was not able to come in for many lessons which almost dug us in whole.

New and Current affairs events

'A women is being questioned on supsicion of murder after the body of a toddler was found at a house'

'At least 54 aftershocks have hit Haiti's capital (port-au-prince) since the quake killed more than 200,000 people'

'A volcano in iceland leading to a stand still at airports and also left many people stranded.'

photo 'word' activity

Claustrophobia is being portrayed in this image, this shows someone who is scared of closed confined spaces. This picture shows this persons anxiety and distress, we can tell this by his facial expression and the position of his hands, it seems as though he just wants to escape as he is trying to push the ceiling up. Another reason this shows him in a venerable state.

Skills Audit: Filming

To start filming we gathered all the equipment needed, this included the film camera, the tripod and memory card mostly important, we had pre arranged the location where we were going to film our clip, in Springfield Park. Springfield Park was a perfect location, as it seems vacant and lonely, after setting up the equipment we headed towards the diner where we would film the start of the scene.

We had to ask for permission to film in the diner, and after buying some snacks we were granted a limited amount of time to get the shots we needed, this was quickly done as we worked hard an efficiently taking various shots so that our clip could have different angles of parts of the scene at our disposal. A combination of teamwork allowed and positive thinking let us grab essential shots such as establishing shots of both the park and outside the café, close ups of important things needed in the scene for example the fire place.

Our thriller named ‘Undiscovered’ was looking a prospect, the lighting on the day was perfect and the atmosphere was not glum but positively light, this was vital as a slight less required amount of light and the shot quality would plummet. During the opening part of the scene we had to take notice of the 180 degree rule, we did not break this which made it better in many ways, also by keeping all surroundings the same we where able to make the clip professional looking. The shots we took had to be at the actor’s height to add a sense of being involved so the audience could relate to the clip putting them at the edge of their seats.

After all the shots were taken in the diner we took our equipment outside, we were to take shots of the antagonist sitting on the bench, this was quick and again various angles where taken, finally we had to take shots of the protagonist, she was taken walking a dog, seeing that the dog was an unreliable source to film we spent a lot of time getting this piece of footage. In the end we were successfully able to get all the shots we needed then when we were satisfied we packed up all the equipment and returned it.

Introduction With Camera- Health and Safety Tutorial

Few lessons back we were introduced to the equipment that we would be using during making our thriller opening.The camcorder is obviouslythe most important piece of equipment that we will be needing. If we never had use of the camera we would have had to done a title sequence without no footage and i just don't think it would have worked well. We was given a camcorder, Battery and tripod.

We were shown on a presentation how to use the equipment correctly.We had one camcorder on each table which we was to follow each step to make sure we all had the understanding of all the different functions and use of the camcorder. The camcorder had a built in mic what was good at picking up sounds therefore wouldn't need a extra add on mic however we could get one of the technician if needed. Anyways the camcorder had no battery in at first that was one thing we had to do our self after watching the teacher show us where and how it goes in, also the memory cards would go in a different slot on the side of the camcorder. Everyone on the table had to each show that they knew how to use the camcorder correctly. This included the an on/off button, The viewfinder, Focusing and inserting the battery + memory cards.

We was told it was important to keep the lens shutter closed while not recording due to the fact if it gets tiny finger prints on or specs of dust it will show up when we go to edit the clips. While recording we could press 'QR eview' to play back the last few minutes of the last clips, This was good because we could see what we had recorded previously and could carry on without getting mixed up or lost within the clips.

memory cards: We was given two 'A+B' with our group number on. It was important we got the right card number so we had the right footage for our group. On each card there was up to 1hr40 minutes on each. There is a locked thing on the side what we had to make sure was unlocked before putting it into the camera or it would not let you record onto the Memory card. The card got inserted into the side of the camcorder and you can put both cards in at the same time. However if we needed any extra memory we could get some. Once finished with the cards we had to put them in little cases to make sure they didn't getdamaged.

The Battery, The two batteries given had 2 hours recording time on them each. We got shown where and how to insert the battery into the recorder. If no battery was inserted the camera would obviously not turn on due to no power.

The Tripod was given to us to make sure the camera was not moving around while we filmed, it and reduce the camera from shaking, It allows movement so we could take verious shots while the camera was standing on the tripod. It had extended legs so we could reduce the height of the camera.

Before being allowed any equipment every class member each had to sign a form showing we was responsible with it while in our hands. Each time we was to take a piece of equipment out we had to get one group member to sign a form telling the technicians where we was going with the equipment and how long we would be this needed to be taken with the 'media card'. We all had the chance to book cameras over night but you had to be quick if you wanted it due to the amount of groups that there was.

All the equipment was expensive and it was made clear that if anything got damaged then everyone in that group including the person who done the damage would all have to contribute to what ever the cost was that got damaged. So therefore we had to take extra care with all the equipment we took out and make sure nothing got lost.

Skills audit: filming and editing preliminary match cut exersise

Once our final idea for our match cut exercise was ready, our group simply stuck to the storyboard and hit off with the recording as soon as our lesson begun. We brought together the equipment with the tri pod and the camera, we set them up and began taking various and varied shots of what we needed. It was important to keep the camera in focus and also as we where told before hand to follow the ‘180 degree’ rule, simply by not breaking this rule by not having the camera shoot shots from opposing sides of the room, it allowed us to keep a sense of flow which was vital in making it successful.

The two actor in our sequence where Sanita Kaur and Rojda Dere, I did the recording and managed to catch an Arial shot, shot reverse shot when they where in conversation. When Rojda enters the room in our clip we caught a close-up of the door hand and then caught her in mid-shot closing the door, then instantly changing the camera position to the other side of the door catching her entering. It was essential to keep every prop in chairs, hats, clothes and chairs in place as by moving objects it quickly becomes obvious that this clip is unprofessional. When we were recording the sound was vital, there was a clear amount of dialogue and we had to keep the surroundings quiet in order to reach a high amount of clarity. Once Rojda was in conversation with Sanita in our clip we had to lower the camera by reducing the tripod legs slightly always remembering that it had to even.

After catching all our shots we hit the editing suite, and made our clips into compilation of clips, keeping the slightest glitch to a minimum allowing it to look professional. All the clips where match cut together and the sound in the dialogue had to fit on par to the others.

Evaluation - Task 7

Task 7 – looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

The Match Cut exercise that Rojda and I participated in went very well however, it could have benefited from many improvements. The shots I used in my media product are to establish a character, prop or show conversation. The shots (shot reverse shot) in the preliminary exercise, are not level and sometimes a bit wobbly, this makes it uncomfortable for the audience to watch. The shot that includes both Rojda and I, are both good and bad as it has many good shot but in some shots there is a big gap above our heads, the camera shows more of the classroom behind us than the actual characters. Perhaps this was due to the fact that it was our first time filming and it was a new experience. Our film shows major improvements; the shots were not as sharp as our preliminary task and we showed our characters feelings and expressions through the camera shots i.e. close ups, extreme close ups. The shot of Rojda and me in the café shows us in many different angles, we also used extreme close up on the prop; which was the glove, to suggest that were sad and also close up on the glove suggest that it is an important prop and could be related to something through out the rest of the clip.
After the café scene the camera cuts to Miguel sitting on a bench in the park and seeing the glove in my hand, the camera shot shows the back of Miguel’s head and the girls walking passed.
In the preliminary task, we didn’t really think about the classroom chairs and the mise en scene in the background, we just tried to get the most of our shot reverse shots and match cuts in as we could.
I feel that I have learnt a lot since filming my preliminary task and now. I have learnt to focus the camera before filming, to uses different shot to convey different feelings and the different types of characters. For example, a low angle shot is good for a bad character in a film as it shows that there big, they have power and it give you an idea about what they may be doing or about to do.

Evaluation

Evaluation

Task 1- in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

We can compare and trace similar conventions showing that our thriller opening follows a similar trend to that of professional clips. The film that I would be comparing my thriller opening to is the film, The Touch of Evil.
I have chosen to compare my thriller opening to this, as there are many conventions similar to ours, for example with the antagonist being dressed in a ‘street’ way; this creates the sense that he is the antagonist or he could be involved in something bad. In addition, the slow-paced opening is similar to that of many thrillers in which the director intends to get the audience in tension, also the slow-pace creates suspense.
Shots we have in common with the film is the shot of a significant prop from in the scene, this is similar to the close up of our pink glove, which is the most significant prop in our clip.
The second comparison is of a street, this is again similar to ours when we show the villain sitting when catching him from behind.
Another is of the back of a car which explains and shows something going on, this is similar to when there is a meeting up at the start of the sequence clearly something significant may happening.
a further similarity, is the scene of two people walking, this is similar to the scene when two of our characters are walking; leaving the café were they met up.
Finally, there is an establishing long shot in the film of the location, this is similar to when we establish that were filming in a park, however we use a panning to establish our location. This is very conventional in a thriller movie.


Task 2 – How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the opening scene of our clip, we can see Rojda and I clearly being sad and oppressed, however the audience is unsure why, this shows the protagonist, this is analogous to the protagonist in the film Marathon Man. The character Babe throughout the film is the protagonist and the antagonist is the German dentist, Angel. There is a clear line between the good and the bad, we try to bring this across in the most obvious way possible in out opening of our thriller. By using mise-en-scene, props etc, we are able to establish that the actor on the bench is a negative character because of the clothes he is wearing, which are dark and un-formal.
The music we have used for the various different actors also shows that the character on the bench is mysterious and creepy or up to something, this was done by adding hissing sounds and a slight beat, in comparison to the villains in majority of thrillers like Marathon Man.


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

I think that youtube will be the best media institution to distribute any kind of media product, as youtube has thousands of user browse almost every single day and the amount of hits will attractive much more of a audience. I think youtube is a perfect way of how distribution of videos can become popular to the nation, which could simply gain audiences world wide.
The fact that we put our work up on youtube, allows us to be able to also put it on other networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Vimeo, this way we can get as much hits for the video.the amount of hits we get would lead to more people watching the clip and hopefully commenting and rating the clip, as many people watch videos on youtube depending on the ratings and comments. By putting the video on the internet this could be used to further distribute and market the movie if they potentially reached a global audience.
I think that we could in-fact hit a good target, because of the simple fact that our generation is moving so fast with all the new technologies that are being made and people supporting.

Rough Cut

Rough Cut

This was our rough cut, our unfinished clip, we still had a alot of work ahead of us, this included the introduction of credits and sound most in particular.

Task 5 - who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product is between 15-21 this is because our movie is mysterious and the audience are playing the detective, so it would be more appealing for a 15 year old and up as it would be more understanding to them.

Tim, 18, is currently in his last year at college, he is aspiring to be a director, he loves taking his girl friend to the cinema, he lives in London and shops in top shop as he is currently is working in top shop.

He spends most of his time on the internet either on facebook or youtube and likes mind games.

Planning Preliminary Match Cut exercise including storyboard

In this media lesson we where given a quick yet rewarding task of predicting how a director would depict a scenario using camera shots, this exercise would allow us to think and understand how and what the director would have to do to convey his own message or to create his own feel to the scene. The synopsis for this scene was;

''East London. 3pm. A man chain smokes as he sits at his home PC, he copies confidential files and plans to a CD. He packages the and is seen posting them.''

We filled in a grid sheet which provided us with space to be specific about the camera shots including whether the shot was internal or external, camera shot type for example panning, arial shot, close up, long shot etc. the most significant gap we had to fill was what was actually happening on each shot. After having done this we where shown the clip and where able to see some similarities with the predicted storyboard, for example the stubbing out of the cigarette in a close up shot was guessed correctly. Also we where able to predict the smokers puff, in extreme close up which allowed us to learn how the director would portray coolness.

After having finished the exercise we then had to make a storyboard of our own clip in which we would explore the prime factors in making a good match cut scene. We were immediately informed of the '180 degree' rule, which was simple not to catch the proceedings on the camera lens from angles that brake 180 degrees, this would avoid confusion with viewer as to where and in what direction people are going. Our group made a quick yet effective synopsis which would hopefully allow us to use different types of camera shots,

''A girl is sitting in a room waiting for her friend, she is clearly not the best of friends as we quickly find out she is with the same guy that her friend is with. There are a clash of words, nothing serious yet with a lot of suspicion.''

When the character was to enter the room, there was to be a close up of the door handle, then quickly as the door opens from the other side we would catch the door opening right after a shot where you see the door closing. All of the camera shot where to be smoothy match cut together to give it a sense of reality and flow. Also an arial shot was to be taken of the two girls sitting along with a shot reverse shot while they communicate.

Skills Audit: Livetype and Sound

Live Type

For our thriller it was quickly obvious that it being an opening to a thriller, the titles, names of directors, and actors was needed on our clip, with Live Type it was more than easy to apply text on top of our piece of video work. With livetype there where a variety of fonts that would be vital in creating an adverse and scary feeling, also with effects such as fuzzy, smokey, hazy looking text it would further create a sense of negativity. After the live type file was to be finished the next step was making it a video clip style file, this was quickly shown to us and after the file was put into Final Cut Pro we could place it in any part of the clip, the position and size of the text could be changed at our desire which was very helpful.

Sound

In another media lesson we were introduce to the software this time that would be used to create our sound clip/file that was to be placed on our thriller opening which would add further conviction that it was a thriller seeing that music is vital to creating an atmosphere of tension and moods intended to create heightened moments of suspense. The software to be used was Soundtrack Pro, this software quickly gave a positive impression

as we were shown various options and editing tips that would allow us to take full control of our sound track. Editing such as the tempo of the sound where shown, we were able to learn that under the timeline one can open a separate volume timeline where you can easily change the volume of the track at anytime even adding increasing or decreasing effects. The number of sound clips was high and with varied instruments and beats along with sound effects the sound seemed a positive prospect that would boost our project significantly. Lengthening and shortening was easy once the sound clip was placed on the timeline, looping was also explored.

News and Current affairs

According to the online BBC news, a 50 year old science teacher beat a 14 year old pupil around the head with a dumbbell that weighed 3kg while shouting "die, die, die". I believe that this will make a great psychological thriller about a psycho teacher having a mental breakdown.

Final Edit

This is our final edit we ended up having which i am very satisfied with. However I believe that if we where given longer time, and after having our group almost halved due to inconsistency of attendance we would have ended up with something much better in terms of the editing.

Evaluation

In this sequence of still images there are conventions of an opening thriller sequence. These include a long shot to establish and set the scene. This long shot tells the audience that this is a film set in a city that contains violence. It tells them that this is a particular genre. Many of the images contain the two main characters of the film. This again sets the scene and informs the audience of the main protagonists. The sequence also contains a close up of a key prop, explosives and a motor vehicle. These props are vital for setting the scene.


In the film that we produced ‘Undiscovered’ we established a long panning shot of the park in order to tell the audience that the film is set in an urban place. Many of our images also contain shots of main characters in the film to give a clear understanding of who the protagonists and the antagonists are within the sequence. The use of the mid shot of the glove clearly defines it as our key prop as it reappears within the sequence. The extreme close up used on the dog emphasizes that it has an important role within the sequence.
In this still image of the film ‘Marathon Man’, you can clearly get and idea of the protagonists Dustin Hoffman as Babe and the antagonists Laurence Oliver as Angel who is also known as the evil dentist. This is clearly defined by the expressions both of the characters have on their faces.

Our thriller starts off with the two girls sitting down in a cafe looking upset of something that has happened. The facial expressions and the use of body language of the two characters within the sequence emphasizes that they are the protagonists within the thriller. This then makes our evil dentist Miguel, the guy who continuously stares at the two girls as they walk past.


I have an online marketing strategy and this is a step by step account of how I am going to construct that strategy. I am planning to make a trailer for my video and then upload it on websites such as Youtube and Vimeo.I would also upload it on social sites such as facebook and post it to friends which I would ask them to refer it to their friend’s as well. This will then create the snowball effect.

As well as facebook i could also distribute it in myspace, twitter, profile pic and other popular social networking sites to appeal to various audiences. The reason why I have chosen to promote my video on sites such as facebook, viemo, myspace and other social networking sites is because not only it allows people to watch the video it will also give them a chance to give any feedback which will be an advantage for me as I will find out more about the opinions to my video.

Another reason why I have chosen popular sites such as facebook is because I know a lot of people spend time on these sites socialising and watching videos which means that the distribution of my film will be successful.

If however my film gets popular amongst people, I will then take a further step by sending it off to film festivals such as Tribeca, Sundance, Montreal and other international film festivals across the world. Meanwhile I will try distributing my film to independent cinemas within the UK such as ‘Curzon’ etc.


The target audience for our thriller is mainly focused on a middle classed white skew. The reason behind this was that we tried relating our thriller to a daily citizen life. We tried targeting our thriller to 16-25 year olds by using a young cast in order to appeal to our targeted audience. We tried to appeal to both genders in different ways. We ended up by targeting our thriller 65% on females and 35% on males.


This is Amy. She is a 19 year old first year photography student who is studying in London away from her parents. She has a very good social life and enjoys going out with friends. One of her best hobbies is to take photos randomly. As every other young female, she enjoys shopping and loves putting on make up. During her spare time, she likes socialising by going onto networks such as facebook. Two things that she could never refuse is ‘Eating’ and ‘listening to music’.

Here are some Clips from both my prelim task and my final edit.








Looking back at my prelim exercise and comparing it to our final edit I believe that there has been a lot of improvements. These improvements include the use of camera. In the first video of our prelim exercise, we tried creating a shot reverse shot, however this was not as successful as we anticipated. There are two major problems with our clip 1 which can clearly be spotted. These two problems occurred because the scene was shot in the wrong angle, which then lead into us breaking the 180-degree rule. By watching second clip, a part from our final edit you can clearly see that the camera work has improved. We tried not breaking the 180-degree rule again by making sure that the camera was in the correct angle.










Clip 3 is taken from the match cut scene of our prelim exercise. Yet again you can spot the mistakes within the camera work and editing. The scene is again shot in the wrong angle. However instead of breaking the 180-degree rule, this time it just gives the audience an impression of poor editing. Comparing clip 3 to clip 4 you can see a huge improvements in the use of editing. In clip 3, the audience can spot the change in both shots from opening the door and closing the door whereas in clip 4 the match cut is run smoothly. Another improvement you can see from our prelim exercise to our final edit is that we have used different type of shots such as high angle, extreme close ups, mid shots which has enhanced our overall production.


Here are some of the feed back we got back from the audience. according to the audience, our thriller title sequence have managed to create suspense. One thing that mostly come up within our feedback was the improvement of our sound.

Yet again the most common word that has occurred is the word Sound. This clearly tells us that if we ever have a chance to go back and amend some parts of our thriller opening, it defiantly should be the sound used.

Wordle Activity

Cleary the most common word found by wordle is the word Sound seeing it is the largest size, we as a group must now keep an eye out for the sound in out clip.