Research and Planning

My partner and I have been working on our music for the part two lessons. The track is 5 minutes long so we had to shorten it.

Good blog lesson

In this lesson we have been discussing what a good blog should be like. The class agreed that a blog should be regularly updated, have valid information on it and be creative. It should also have a unique layout to differentiate each person.

Flashback Friday

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

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

http://prezi.com/covr701u0iw1/copy-of-social-groups/

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

Further into the research we discovered a way our film could be distributed. It could be shown on the channels such as E4 and Film4. These are the channels that mostly target younger audiences such as teenagers with numerous shows. For instance 90210 which is about students in America that go through different aspects of their lives, similar to Skins where teens go through difficulties in their lives but still manage to stick together. Film4 shows films of big releases as well as the small ones; therefore we came to a decision that those two channels would be best suitable for the showing of our film. The viewing time would be 21.00 as this is the time around which the films for a younger audience are shown. The film would also be certificated as 15, due to the use of alcohol and drugs, which also signifies that 21.00 is the suitable time for the viewing. The film would also be shown on a Friday or a Saturday as this is the time when the channel’s films get most viewings, possibly because of the free time that people have. Based on the research and the information about the channels the conclusion was drawn; our film would be shown on one of these channels. 

Who would be the audience for your media product and how did you attract/address your audience?

In order to address our audience we used props, costume and mise en scene. In our mise en scene we used props such as empty or half empty alcohol bottles on the table in the living room, on the kitchen counters, toilet and near the characters to portray an after party atmosphere and to relate our teenage audience to the film, as they can face drinking on daily basis. Also the irony of everybody who took part in the party ending up in unusual places evokes humour within the audience as well as understanding and sympathy. The costumes such as sparkly party dress and traditional clothes, helped to address a wider variety of teens due to the stereotypes created by them.  Our film could appeal to teens that come from different backgrounds and have different lifestyles as it contains a number of stereotypes and ethnicities as well as possible hobbies of teens at the party. Therefore our film opening evokes interest within our target audience who can connect with the story from the first minute. Also as our film would be certificated as 15, which means that only people over that age limit can watch it due to the continuous swearing, alcohol and drug use.

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

In terms of technology, I have learnt a significant amount of new techniques. I have learned how to insert still pictures into the timeline, applying a filter to a frame, adding variety of video transitions such as cross dissolve and fade in and out, changing and altering music levels and dip dissolve. We also sped up some of the point of view footage of the main character as she walks through the house, to make it seem ‘oozy’ and disorientated. This would create the effect of the hangover and make the audience feel dizzy. Other appliances such as digital camera was used for taking pictures, YouTube was used for research and uploading our video

In order to adjust the volume of the music at the beginning, I cut the desired length of the music, separating the part which would sound diegetic. I then double clicked on the audio sequence and lowered the Level and the Pan until the desirable quietness of the music was desired. Then the change between the beginning and the rest of the sequence makes it sound like a switch from diegetic to non-diegetic sound. The music throughout the opening is quiet enough for the camera flash sound to be heard, just before the still pictures appear on the screen.

We also discovered how to insert the titles, save them as  picture and then located in a correct place on the screen. Changing the font and choosing this particular one helped us to make the film ‘light’ and fun to watch, representing the theme of youth by the ‘funky’ and immature looking font.

 

  

We also found out how to create the camera flash effect by experimenting with colours. In order to achieve the desired effect I clicked on the start of the picture sequence, inserted a dissolve, clicked on it n went to Dip to colour dissolve, then chose white. We also had to experiment with the length of the flash to see how effective the different lengths of flashes loooked on the screen.

    

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

Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel that I have learnt more aspects of working as a bigger team, considering and listening to the views of the other members of my media group. I have also learnt and made some improvement in camerawork with the light especially. During my preliminary task the camera was places against the light, making it hard to see what’s happening in the film. So during our main task we tried to avoid filming against the light, and everything is clearly seen in our footage. I have also learnt more about how the Macs work and how to create different effects on it. Time management and organisation is something that we also had to come across as our group was larger. Trying to organise the shooting location and for every actor to be available was very tricky, but with joint effort and commitment we were able to get everyone together and organise the filming.  We have also experimented with different camera angles to add some variety to our piece. Our preliminary task was filmed in the school canteen and as a result we had some unwanted background noise, so in order to improve in our main task, we used a microphone that was attached to the camera to get rid of the unnecessary noise. Overall I think our preliminary task helped us to make improvements to our main piece which we tried to make as good as it could be.

Flashback friday - Finishing the film

We have succesfully finished our 2 minute opening of the film called Flashback Friday. A few final touches were added to the footage such as frame transitions like Cross Fade and Fade In and Fade out. Some of the footage also had to be sped up in order to match the lively pace of the music. We altered the music by making it quieter and lowered the tone of it in order to make it sound diegetic when the first few frames appear on the screen. We then increased the volume for the rest of the music so it sounds non-diegetic and the change is noticable.

Planning and research - Titles Research

• (NAME OF THE STUDIO)

Name of the studio that is distributing the film and may or may not have produced it (Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia, Lions Gate, Universal, etc.).

• (NAME OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY)

Name of the production company that actually made the film or name of the investment groups or companies that financed a substantial part of the film (usually credited as "in association with" or "A (studio name) production.").

• (PRODUCER NAME) PRODUCTION or/and (director only) A FILM BY (DIRECTOR NAME)

Director's first credit, often "a film by XY or "a XY film".

• STARRING

Principal actors, (Sometimes the stars' and director's credits will be reversed, depending on the star's deal with the studio; sometimes, as in the Rodgers and Hammerstein films, or as in all three film versions of Show Boat, or, as in many of Disney's films, the title of the film will be shown before the names of its actors; sometimes, as in many of Cannon's films, the name(s) of the principal actor(s) will be shown before the name(s) of the producer(s), i.e. "The Cannon Group presents X in a Golan-Globus production of a Y film").

• (FILM'S TITLE)

Name of the film.

• FEATURING

Featured actors.

• CASTING or CASTING BY

Casting director.

• MUSIC or MUSIC COMPOSED BY or ORIGINAL SCORE BY

Composer of music.

• PRODUCTION DESIGN or PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Production designer.

As a variation some of the below may be noted:

• SET DESIGN
• COSTUMES or COSTUMES BY or GOWNS (older movies)
• HAIRDRESSER
• MAKE-UP ARTIST
• SOUND RECORDING (older movies)
• VISUAL EFFECTS DIRECTOR or VISUAL EFFECTS BY

• EDITOR or EDITED BY

Editor.

• DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Director of photography.

• PRODUCER or PRODUCED BY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Producers, co-producers, executive producers, 'also produced by' (credited for various reasons according to contracts and personal scrutiny of the principal producer). Often, though, the name of the producer will be the next-to-last opening credit, just before the director's name is shown.

• BASED ON THE BOOK (PLAY, GRAPHIC NOVEL etc.) BY or FROM A PLAY/BOOK BY (older movies)

If based on a book or other literary work.

• BASED ON THE CHARACTERS BY or BASED ON THE CHARACTERS CREATED BY

If based on characters from a book or other media.

• STORY or STORY BY

Person who wrote the story on which the script is based, gets "story by" credit, and the first screenplay credit, unless the script made substantial changes to the story.

• WRITER(S) or WRITTEN BY

Screenplay writers. The Writers Guild of America allows only three writing credits on a feature film, although teams of two are credited as one, separated on the credits by an ampersand ("X & Y"). If each works independently on the script (the most common system), they are separated by an "and". If more than two persons worked on the screenplay, the credits may read something like "screenplay by X & Y and Z and W" X and Y worked as a team, but Z and W worked separately.

• DIRECTOR or DIRECTED BY

Director. The Directors Guild of America permits a film to list only one director, even when it is known that two or more worked on it. Except in very rare cases (a death in mid-production) there is only one directing credit.

Planning and research - Channel

Based on research, our film could be shown on channels such as E4 and Channel 4 as their target audience is teenagers. The programms they show include Skins- which is a British teen comedy about stereotypical teenagers, Hollyoaks which is a teen drama that reveals the life of characters in Chester, made in Chelsea and 90210 also share the same audience. Misfits contain comedy and drama at the smae time, it is about teenagers with superpowers.

The viewing time would be around 21.00 as this is the time when most of the films are shown on those channels. The film would also be shown on a friday or a sunday, as those are the normal viewing times for the films.

Based on this informarion and research, we came to a conclusion that our film would be shown on either of those Channels, as they show modern programmes and films that appeal to a younger audience.

Planning and research - Pictures

These pictures were inserted into the film, in order to create variety and create a flashback of the previous night. The pictures appear in the film after a flash, which is done by going to effects - dissolve- dip to colour, then the colour is changed from black to white and the time lasting is changed to 4 seconds.

Planning and research - Pictures

Planning and research - Filming2

During our editing process, we have spotted some continuity problems so in order to fix them the refilming took place on the 13th March. some of the continuity problems were:

At the beginning the actress's hand was not in the same position in the two following shots. This has led to jumps in the films and made the continuity worse.

we also decided to film the main actress getting up from the floor, as the transition between the shots of her and the point of view shots were not as clear as we anticipated.
Also a few more shots at different angles were shot in order to show variety within the film.

Planning and research - Filming

Our filming took place on 23rd of february and we have filmed all the planned footage, however we will come back to refilm some of the film if we feel the need to.

Christina's manager has responded giving his and the singer's permission for the track to be used.

Planning and research - Music

We have found the track we want to use for our film, its by Christina Novelli and is called 'Our Way'.
We have contacted the singer's manager in order to gain permission to use the track.

Planning and research - Powerpoint

Planning&Research - Storyboard

Filming locations - Ideas

Hangover

The film begins calmly with midshots of a preparation for the wedding. The shots fade in gradually showing the wgite wedding cake and representing the calmness and that the preparation is going smoothly as people are taking their time to put everything up. These shots are accompanied by romantic music which makes the wedding seem perfect. The titles also fade in and they are in italic white, fancy font. This creates the false assumption that the comedy could be about women. A diegetic voice over of a man's voicemail is also repeted to show that someone is trying to get hold of the man who doesn't pick up. 

There are then some midshots of the bride-to be, followed by shet reverse shots of her speaking to her parents. This is done so that the audience can follow the dialogue and the characters expressions. The woman ( Tracy ) then gets a phone call from Phill. This is then followed by a close up shot of him and his background of a car in the desert. Phill's face is bruised and his lip is bleeding and he then says "We fucked up" which indicates that him and his friends are in some sort of trouble. He announces that they are not going to be there for the wedding. This dialogue is supported by the close up in order to show the characters' expressions.

 Then the heavy beat guitar music comes in, suggesting that it's in fact a guys' film. The new set of titles appears but the font is normal, and not fancy which again could  represent manlyness.Furthermore some long  establishing shots of the desert and the mountains were used in order to show the heros' surroundings.

Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo

the opening of the clip features "chilled" and humorous orchestral music which indicates that the film is of a comedy genre. The first frame gently fades in and pans upwards revealing the mise en scene of an aquarium, then a few more shots are edited in the same way. These shots give out the impression of calmness and relaxation so that the viever can relax and enjoy the film. The titles of the film also fade in, slowly revealing the name of the film which again is humorous.This gives the audience an idea of what genre the film is in.

There are then midshots of Deuse in his goggles cleaning up the fish tank, which makes him look rather stupid and indicates that he is the hero of the film. Then there is also a midshot of his naked backside: this confirms the viewers assumption of the film being of a comedy genre. In order to establish the setting, long shots are used when Deuce is chucked out on the street naked. a close up og his feet is used when he gets off fron the bus in order to show that his bucket is dripping with water. After this a long shot of a lady slipping on the steps is used to create sympathy for her but also to evoke laughter within the audience. A tracking shot then follows the hero as he walks into the fish shop. It also features matchon action as Deuce walks into it. Shot reverse shot is used to show the characters speking and the close up shows their emotions. This is all accompanied by the music which makes the begining of the film humoorus

Comedy

Comedy may be divided into multiple genres based on the source of humour, the method of delivery, and the context in which it is delivered.

Anarchic Comedy

Anarchic refers to a sub-genre of comedy that uses stream-of-consciousness humor. The humor in these films tends to be nonsensical with exaggerated characters and situations. Anarchic film often uses slapstick tendencies, yet is considered to be less psychically violent. Unlike classic comedy, Anarchic films tend not to rely on narrative to explain the context of the humor.

Examples: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Blazing Saddles, Animal House.

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Action-Comedy

As it’s names suggests, this sub-genre combines action with humor. Action-Comedy relies on the characters to bring out the humor, while the action scenes tend to be less intense than in the traditional action movie.

Examples: Beverly Hills Cop, Rush Hour, Hot Fuzz.

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Black-Comedy

Black Comedy is a sub-genre of both Comedy and Satire. These films often explore concepts and topics that are considered taboo. Black Comedy takes topics and situations that are commonly held as serious and explores them in a comical way. Because of this approach, Black Comedies often cause the audience to laugh and feel uncomfortable simultaneously.

Examples: Fargo, Harold and Maude, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

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Horror-Comedy

Horror-Comedy combines comedy with traditional horror movie themes and characters. Because of the subject matter, Horror-Comedy films can cross over into the Black Comedy sub-genre. Horror-Comedy films aim to scare the audience, but also provide comical outlets that let the audience laugh at their fear.

Examples: Beetlejuice, Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead.

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Dramedy

Dramedy film is a genre that has a dramatic tone, yet has important elements of comedy. In Dramedys, the amount of drama and comedy are almost equally balanced. This balance provides comedic relief for the audience, while still addressing serious issues.

Examples:Little Miss Sunshine, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation.

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Parody/Spoof

Parody/Spoof is a sub-genre of Comedy film that bases itself in reality. These films impersonate, ridicule, or scoff at serious situations and people. These films rely heavily on satire and can be used as a means of social or political commentary. Parody/Spoof films can also take the form in a fake documentary called a “Mockumentary.”

Examples: Life of Brian, Naked Gun, Scary Movie.

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Romantic-Comedy

Romantic-Comedy is a genre that attempts to catch the viewer’s heart with the combination of love and humor. This sub-genre is light-hearted and usually places the two protagonists in humorus situation. Romantic-Comedy film revolves around a romantic ideal, such as true love. In the end, the ideal triumphs over the situation or obstacle, thus creating a happy ending.

Examples: Roman Holiday, When Harry Met Sally, Knocked Up.

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Slapstick

Slapstick comedy is a sub-genre of film that incorporates physical comedy into the story. Slapstick uses visual action, such as harmless violence and horseplay, to depict humor. Slapstick film often relies on comedic timing and a controlled psychical performance of a single actor or actress.

Examples: Caddyshack, Safety Last!, Tommy Boy.

Our chosen genre is comedy. This is because this genre uses a variety of different filming skills and angles and would allow us to learn new techniques. Also it has a lot of sub-genres which could allow us to expand our knowlende and help with the making of our main task.

Brief for the main task

 Create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

Preliminary task Evaluation

The filming for our preliminary task took place in the school canteen. The setting was natural with an ambient lighting and a diegetic sound of students talking in the background. This helped to set a familiar theme and a calm mood. At the beginning we used a long shot of Amelia walking round the corner in order to establish the setting of the corridor and the way to the canteen. We used match on action of opening the canteen door which in my opinion worked really well and the transition seemed smooth and unnoticeable. This way the viewers can follow Amelia without being distracted by obvious cuts.  

During the filming we stuck to our storyboard and used all the shots we intended to. However, our actors helped us to alter our script in order to make the final piece more interesting. We used an extreme long shot from a high angle of Amelia from the second floor of the canteen to establish the mise en scene of the canteen. This was also a pan to show her walking to the cookie stand. We then shot a close ups of her face and then hand picking the cookie. This allows the audience to see her making the decision and then follow her choice as she chooses her cookie.

Whilst filming the dialogue we used shot reverse shot to show the girls’ emotions as they were speaking, this also brings the focus to their face. We also used the 180° rule so both of the characters maintained their original positions. However we were shooting by the canteen window, and although the light on characters’ faces was good during close ups, it darkened them in mid-shots. Therefore in future filming we will be careful about positioning the actors.

We filmed the footage in 1hr and 30 min and were done with editing in two lessons. During this process we learned how to cut and montage the film but in future we would like to explore sound in final cut pro. We would benefit from knowing how to add and edit sound and music, as we found that the background noise in the canteen was a little bit too loud and the dialogue couldn’t be heard properly. So in future we will use the mic for the camera in order to make the speech clearer. We also felt like we needed more footage so we could do more with it. The responses we’ve had were generally good but I feel that we could have done more research on final cut pro in order to edit freely; this will be done in preparation for our main task. We also only used straight cuts to keep the focus on the characters as we didn’t need to create any specific effect.

Overall I think we’ve achieved the brief of the Preliminary task, our continuity was good although certain improvements could be made such as the position of the hands of the actors. We will do further research in order to achieve the best results for our main task.