2012 Post 18:Evaluation Questions & Tasks

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

1.   This is the title of the short film, I think this is artistic and stylish compared to the other short films I have watched. It is unconventional as the short films normally use a plan title over the image of the man character. When chose to go for a creative title as it was written by the character developing a link before the audience and the actor before they have met.

2.-7. This sequence is conventional of short films, we have included the most important people which are conventional and used fairly plan text in the style of titles. The sequence in which we have down the titles is also conventional; we have included the most important first. For instance in clip 2, we have introduced Rewan Harper next to a picture of himself which is conventional. We have also edited the titles to appear in the first scene of the film where the audience is being introduced to Billy, this is conventional of a short film to have the titles in the opening of the film although sometimes they only include the title of the film

8+10. Clips 8+10 we have used a variety of shot sizes this is conventional of short films especially clip 8 as this is very artistic shot, short films are usually creative and artistic compared to general films this is down to the arty audience that they aim for so we have considered this and included some artistic shot sizes to make sure we target that area of our target audience.

9. In clip 9 this is a long shot of Billy which takes up a fairly long time. This is conventional of French new wave films to use long shots so we have included this. French New wave influenced what shot sizes and styles I wanted to include in my short film and I particularly like the long shot and a slow starting pace to the film.

11. Clip 11 is a close up of our main character, from watching other short films it is really important that the audience connect with the main character due to their social realist genre. We have include lots of close ups of Billy showing his emotion this is conventional as it is a way of the audience connecting better with the main characters ensuring they read the film as how the director prefers.

12-13. Clips 12-13 are clips of the end and start of a sequence of shots, we chose to break from continuity and edit breaks into the short film as jump cuts are also conventional of films in the style of French new wave so it was important to use to show these influences in our short film.

14. clip 14 is a shot of our running scene this was also inspired by a French new wave film but from watching other short films, I have noticed that they like to film outside and show the surroundings their characters in so we decided to use the style of the running scene and show the surrounding Billy was in which is conventional of short films as a big open space symbolises emptiness and loneliness.

15. Clip 15 is of a freeze frame of Billy this is unconventional of short films to use freeze frames as they generally are artistic and creative in natural ways for instance using shot sizes not being creative through editing. We decided to use a freeze frame as we really liked the effect it had on use as an audience when we watched Truffaut’s 400 blows.

16. Clip 16 is of our ending credits these are conventional of short films as they show all the people involved in making the short film. We have also been conventional is showing our ending credits at the end of the short film.

Film reviews are used to make films know for either being bad,good or the average but Sight and Sound avoid this label and critically assess the film.  My film review has been influence by Sight and Sound which is written by academics and editors giving it a professional and reliable source of opinions. My short film review is critical throughout given two points of view ensuring the audience have to watch themselves to decide what they agree on.

I have chosen Sight and Sound as it relies its buyers to be academics and students. This is my target audience especially students and due to our artistic influences in the short film I believe this would go down with students as they may find ideas from the short film

The layout of this is traditional and I have stuck to the basics of the traditional layout of the film review I have decided to do this as it will ensure my film is watched by an upmarket audience as I believe they would appreciate the artistic influences to the film due to their experience.  I have on the other hand not stuck to the traditional 4 columns that Sight and Sound are known for, I have done this so I could include some pictures, although their is normally one rectangle picture I have opted for and picture blurred around the review. I have gone for this style as it reflects the feeling that Billy has in the film as if he is fading away and he may want to. As my film review is a little different it would stand out more in the magazine especially as it is a short film their sections would be smaller and general readers may just flick past the pages.

Postcards are used as a form of marketing, all the things I have included on my postcards are to enhance the response I would receive from the audience. I have decided to got for a portrait front to my postcard as I believe it looks different. Due to my postcard looking different I believe it would make more people take an interest what is on the postcard. The portrait format of my postcard also creates the stairs to be the main focus of the postcard which is important as they are of an iconic importance in the short film. The main picture doesn't give much away but it is still related to the film in a important way.

The back of the postcard is much busier than your conventional short film postcard. This could put people of looking at the postcard as they are usually given out when you are out and about walking around, and it make be hard for them to read all the information. I think the information I have on my postcard is the right amount and would hope people would read the postcard when they had the time. As the front of the postcard is so eye-catching it allows the back of the postcard to be left as the last resource to look at for information, the QR code has helped this as the audience could just scan and the information would be right at their finger tips.

Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?


Bellow is a video of me commentating over the short film I created pausing at parts of the short film where I have combined areas or images of the short film in my ancillary texts. These are the short film film review and the front and back of a postcard.

Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?


I asked a variety of people for their feedback of our short film, firstly I asked a man and a women adult aged 45+ what their thoughts on the film where, they proceeded to say that they liked the overall outcome and style of the film and they found the opening titles to look very professional. Similarly they understand the storyline about Billy going to stay with his grandparents and that his mum did not want him, they did on the other hand suggest that one of our last scenes it would be a good idea to make it more obvious that Billy stops to look at this place under the stairs that makes he feel comfortable, they suggested maybe Billy taking a longer pause to create a more obvious purpose of the stairs.

I then asked 2 teenagers a 17 year old female who is an art student and a 19 year old male who has also studied art. Their feedback was quite different they both understood the storyline the male said 'is that the boy’s area under the stairs?' which provides us with the knowledge that he understood the deeper meaning to the film. The film also commented on the created atmosphere noise she said it creates an ere feel and when it just stops with the freeze frame it has an effect on the audience. She did also say maybe for people who are not familiar with this style of film making to make the scene where he looks at the stairs a little bit more obvious. Overall from the younger feedback it provides us the reassurance that this is our target audience and that with the way film are being made towards this generation it is easier for them to understand what the narrative of the film is.

I have asked some more people of similar generations to create a general knowledge of feedback the video below will provide this.

Feedback1:

Feedback 2

Film Feedback what have I learnt


I have learnt from my feedback that the younger generation seem to understand and read the preferred reading to the film. The two boys in the first feedback have no artistic or dramatic experience and they still understood the storyline. I have learnt from my feedback that people with artistic experience noticed the artistic choices we made in our film, this could be down to the fact that they take it in as it is a personal interest. I have learnt that you shouldn't be afraid to make artistic choices that people may not understand. From my feedback the adults seemed to take into fact more that Billy was sad and how his behaviour made them feel, this is down to their lack of knowledge of the artistic flair to short films. From the feedback we did ask the question about the stairs and whether the audience noticed them as an icon. Everyone I have received feedback from which is 8 people they all said that they didn't notice the stairs being a special iconic part of the film. I have learned that we should have made the stairs more of an icon by displaying them more in the short film i think we were wrong to try and use them as a subtle message and we misunderstood the ability of our audience to recognised subtle messages. 


Feedback of my postcard and Film Review

 Feedback 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onV6hk8K-G0


Feedback 2:

What I have learnt from feedback- Postcard


I have learnt from my feedback on my postcard that it stands out and is in the right layout, the feedback has taught me that it is important what picture you use on your postcard and you have to think how the audience will interpret the meaning behind the picture. I have also learnt that the postcard works better when it looks like a postcard for instance the back having the right layout is important as it would like professional. I have also learnt that it is beneficial to include a QR code as my interviewee commented on how it was a good thing to include as someone like her could scan the code into her smartphone and be taken straight to the website, which would be a great distribution method.


What I have learnt from feedback- Film Review


I have learnt from my feedback that I have created the layout of my postcard effectively, I have been able to make my film review look professional and in the style of sight and sound, but without copying their whole layout. From the feedback I have been told that my content/ text of the film review works well as I have criticised the film without being biased which was my aim. As my film review has been written properly and the audience of sight and sound would understand it i have learnt that my film review would help in distributing my short film and making sure I target the right audience.





Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
New Media Technologies from 'Wise Geek'
"New media technology is any type of application meant to transfer information via digital techniques, computerized systems or data networks. First established in the 20th century, new media technology is most readily associated with information transfers meant to be manipulated in some way. Most forms of this technology are interactive and contain compressed data designed to be accessed in a variety of markets. The most prevalent examples of new media technologies include Internet-based concepts like websites or digital mediums such as CD-ROMs and DVDs. Anything that is considered old media, such as television, film or paper-based products, are not part of new media."

New media technologies are the most popular form of technologies to use at the moment due to their performance and outcome. New media technologies are all around us and some examples of these Internet based products. The opposite of New media technologies is Old media technologies or 'Traditonal Media', examples of these are film, television and paper based products.

1. Blogger: This is used to put all of our coursework into an online 'folder', we use Blogger as it is the best way to display our coursework as we have to include lots of use of I.T such as videos and pictures. Blogger also allows you to edit the layout of posts and come back and add to them which is extremely useful as a student.  If Blogger was not available it would be hard to provide a area to keep our coursework. Other ways to display our coursework if Blogger was not available could be other blog sites such as http://www.wordpress.com/.


2.Google: Goggle is a search engine, I have used this frequently for my coursework to research and help expand my knowledge of certain aspects to ensure I can write to a high standard. Google has also been helpful to find pictures to include in my blog. If Google was not available I could use other search engines such as http://www.askjeeves.com/ or http://www.bing.com/ on the other hand I could look at encyclopedia.


3. Adobe Premier Pro: This software is used to edit our final products, this allows me to edit lighting, audio, cut scenes out and add text and a variety of effects. This gives us a professional end result that is easy to upload to youtube and CD's. We can go back to the file and keep editing whenever we like with this software. If we did not have this software it would be very hard to edit the footage, the alternative I could use is  Final Cut Pro but this would involve having an Apple Computer.


4.Youtube: This is an online website that allows you to upload,subscribe and watch videos online these could be videos of anything. We use this to upload videos of feedback, videos of us filming and the final product.I also used it a lot for research into other short films. If this was not available we could use an alternative video upload such as vimeo.com or www.flickr.com/help/video

5.Flipcamera: This is used as a form of video recording, these are helpful when filming small files such as feedback, some information on an area of coursework or showing some work and talking about it. This is good to use as it has a USB which allows you to upload the videos to the computer and internet making it fast and reliable. If this was not available, you could use a phone camera or a digital video camera, but these may not be as good and would be harder to upload.


6.Cannon Digital Camera: I used this to take pictures for my postcard and certain blog post, this was also used to take pictures for our location Reece and photos of us filming. We use this camera as you can plug it into the computer which allows you to transfer them to your computer. These cameras also allow you to look at the pictures you have taken, change the lighting and add effects. If these cameras were not available you could use a non-digital camera but the pictures would have to be developed and would have to be scanned to be uploaded on my blog.

7.PD150 Camera:. This camera is used for filming footage for our film, this camera gives us a better focus and overall clearer image. This camera is also easier to use as you can plug in a microphone to it which will also give a better clearer sound. If this was not available you could use a digital camera recorder which also goes onto the tripod, it just wouldn't be as good as ending finish.

8. Adobe Photoshop: This software is used to make our postcards and film reviews. This software allows you to edit photos and create anything you wanted. You can add text pictures and shapes you can add colour and create images out of other images. If this software was not available it would be hard to create the postcard and film review. The other software you could use instead are http://www.gimp.org/ which is slightly the same as photoshop except its on the internet.

2012 POST 17:Post-production report

We created a logging rush to help the group decide what footage we wanted to capture what what shots did not work. This speeds up the process of capturing as we do not need to capture everything we filmed we can just captured the shots that are down on the logging rushes as shots that we are keeping. This also makes it easier to edit as we wont have to take up time deleting shots we do not need. Logging rushes helps the group to be organised and efficient when the editing process begins



As soon as we captured our first piece of footage we knew that there was some re-filming needed, this problem happened because when we looked in the camera the natural lighting did not look too bad but when we uploaded the footage on to a computer we realised that the colours were too bright. So we came to the decision that we needed to re-film this problem happened as we did not have a dimmer set on the camera. Another problem that we found with the same scene was audio problems as it kept cutting out and we lost sound in certain parts of the footage. After taking time to review the footage we worked out the it was better if the sound crew did not walk along side BILLY as this was causing the loss of audio. When we re-filmed these scenes they worked they were the right colour and we had no audio problems

Quite a lot if our shots were dark so we shared out between the group who would be changing what shots to make them brighter. To make the shots brighter we used a lighting effect on the editing software this took some time as we had to make sure the effect did not make the footage look too grainy and artificial another problem was getting the lightening effect in the right area as we found that it would make some areas brighter then we wanted it to be and some areas would not change at all. This took some time to get right on certain shots and it need some playing around to ensure the lightening looked professional

This is screen shot of changing the lighting

Audio was also a problem that appeared in a couple of our shots, in one scene the footage was perfect but the audio kept cutting out and was too loud so we used the audio from another shot and layed it over the top. Luckily this worked well and the movements of the the actress fitted in with the new audio.  We also recorded a soundtrack to go over the top inspired by UK film council short films, this sound is like an atmosphere sound that insinuates a emptiness feel, as a group we felt this sound would work well with the vibe we wanted the audience to feel.

Screen shot of changing sound levels

One of our post production decision was to use jump cuts in the running scene, we decided on this as we wanted to break away from continuity and create our own style within our short film influences. Jean Luc Godard's  film Breathless used  jump cuts in the "Patricia in the car" sequence and this influenced as to use them too as well as still using the naturalistic style Truffaut's '400 Blows'. We felt that the jump cuts were needed in our running scene, we wanted the audience to feel that our main character BILLY is rushing he's desperately trying to run away. Although the jump cuts speed up the running sequence I feel it gives the pace that is needed to the sequence to make the audience emphasis with BILLY's thoughts and the jump cuts do this by jumping within the same location,  showing the extent to where he is running too.

2012 Post 16: Production Report

Wednesday the 7th March was our first day of filming, we were filming a class of students, we allowed time before to set up which was helpful as we were ready and organised. From the filming I have learnt were to position the microphone and how I know it is hearing the sound, I have also learnt that we need to say action loud enough for the actors/actresses to hear. Because we gave the actor and actress clear cut directions the filming went well and did not take up too much time and we will be doing this in everything else we shoot. From looking back at the footage that we have realised that we have made the mistake of filming towards the the window so there are some lighting issues.

Wednesday the 7th March after school, this session of filming went well, we had to use the reflector as we were filming in a really bright area but under a flight of stairs so we need to brighten up our actors face. Another problem we had was noise from after school clubs but we managed to film all of our shots without noise interference.

Friday the 9th March we also filmed, we went down to the primary school to film in the alleyway next to the school. When we arrived we realised that the area we wanted to film in would be too close to the children and would be too noisy so we had to relocate further down the alleyway where it was a bit quieter. Problems that arise where that we were finding it difficult to pick up the sound of the actor in the right amount of distance we had between the camera and the microphone. To resolve this problem we directed Rewan to start talking before he turned the corner so we could get it within the distance we were allocated

Monday the 12th March today we filmed the scene involving the mum talking to the teacher in her car; this took quite a while as our actor was having trouble remembering the lines. We also filmed after school we were scheduled to film the scene between the teacher and the pupil but the teacher couldn’t stay for as long as we wanted, we were also meant to film all the exterior running scenes but the weather was not good enough. We filmed some running scenes, these scenes were done quite well and quickly as they involved catching all the movement in one shot, we had some trouble panning the camera and the movement of the camera had to be practised to ensure we got the shot in one frame. After this scene we went to a corridor, this scene involved tracking and we had the chance to use some tracking wheels we had to practice running backwards whilst guiding the camera. I am glad we got the chance to use the tracking wheels as it made the shot look fairly professional. The next scene we were meant to have 3 different shots but we decided as it is a running scene and all the over scene were filmed with only one shot we wanted it to flow like the other scenes. We thought if we used the two other shots then the scene would look too disconnected compared to the 2 previous running scenes.

Tuesday 20th March this session of filming involved all of our exterior scenes, we had some trouble filming these as the weather was very bright so we found it hard to get the angle of the camera right.  The scenes which involved the Teacher and Billy talking did not take too long, we had a problem though as we wanted to film Billy running out the door from inside the staffroom but we couldn't film towards the light so we had to have him running out the door which was another scene.  The next part we filmed was Billy running across the field this took quite a long time as we had to track using a car, this took three trys as the first time we had someone standing in the shot and second time the camera was rested on the window so it wobbled. The main problem filming on the field was trying to get a straight camera without a tripod but we managed to over come this. The main problem of todays filming was trying to work with the sun, we also had a problem filming our last scene which was likely and panning shot as the tripod broke. We were able to tap the tripod back together which was good enough to keep the camera in a straight position.


Wednesday 21st March today we had to re-film we decided to re-film as we had some audio problems and we did not have a dimmer setting on the camera so the footage looked too light. The re-shoot went well we did not have any sound issues this time round and because the primary school children were not out we were able to film in the same position as we had first planned. The footage works a lot better as it flows more with the other footage, so we are happy with the end result.

2012 Post 15: Ancillary Task 2 - Film Reviews

Conventions I have noticed from analysing these 3 different film reviews are:-

-The title of the film is always in bold

- There is always a picture from the film

- The picture is next to the film review

- The film review text is usually in a box format/article format

- The film review include a star rating, details such as producer/ director and the running time of the film or the classification

- The review has a verdict these verdicts will be different depending on the industry such as sight and sound their film review verdicts will be very professional and literate whereas total film is aimed more at teenagers and their verdicts are jokey

- Good and bad points

These film reviews are structured quite simillary for instance the main body of the written codes are in collums which are always more than 2, a visal code is also placed to one side of the written codes the size of the visual code and the placement varies from magazine. For instance Sight and Sound have a smaller, thinner rectangled shaped visual code this is because they written code is more important to their audience as that is where the majority of the interest lies. On the other hand Total Film have a large sqaure pictures which takes up the majority of the film review as their review is written fairly basically the visual code is what is going to bring the audience into reading the review.
 

Overall the different styles depend on the target audience of the film review for instance Sight and Sound has more text and less of a picture as the text is what the audience are most interested in. The way Sight and Sound is written is very knowledgeable and professional and these type of people will want to read these film reviews as it is written in their style.

Whereas Total Film includes jokes and references such as 'Twihearts' which are twilight film lovers and this industry expect their readers to understand this reference. The bulk of their film reviews are comments against the film which did not work and what did work but turning it into a joke. Their film reviews are based for easy ready and the picture takes up a lot of space and colour.

Here is my design for my film review this has developed from my research and analysing of film reviews I have also annotated it with my thoughts.