Evaluation Question Seven

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

At the very beginning of our course, we were placed into groups and asked to create a short clip from a script from the popular television show 'Casualty'. The main purpose of this was to practise our editing skills and camera work, as most of us had never even picked up a camera before let alone had to deal with Final Cut Pro. However, by doing this task I feel like I was able to learn a lot about editing, especially in terms of continuity. By doing this task at the beginning of our course the group as a whole had much more knowledge on aspects of editing to help us with our film opening, and as can be expected, a massive improvement can be seen.

One thing I learnt from the original preliminary task was the 180 degree rule when using a shot-reverse-shot. This ensures that the characters appear to be on the right sides when the camera switches over, otherwise it appears as though the characters are facing the same way, staring blindly ahead and talking to themselves.

I feel like I've improved greatly on creating a fairly decent looking shot-reverse-shot, as in the preliminary task there is a slight delay between the two sets of characters when the camera changes, which is better in our final cut as the pace is a lot quicker to reflect the fast paced atmosphere of the argument between characters. I was able to create this using the blade tool - something I learnt to use in the preliminary task which allowed me to cut the clip down to a more precise point than I could get if I just dragged the individual clips down.
The pacing of editing has also improved in other aspects, as even though it's supposed to be a fast paced and dramatic conversation, the slow and drawn out clips in the preliminary task don't reflect this atmosphere, something which is shown in the variety of clips and shots we have in our final cut.
One thing I'm really proud of in our final cut is the continuity when our main character Amber is walking through the woods, as I contributed most to the continuity of the woods footage, as well as going over and editing sounds to finalise our opening sequence. When creating the part where Amber walks through the woods I wanted to give it variety but at the same time make it flow smoothly between shots as if it had happened all in one take. Again I used the blade tool to cut things down to a more precise level, and tried to match the points where it seemed like it would fit and flow the most (for example when Amber is stood in the middle of the empty woods in a long-shot looking around, and then it goes into a close-up of this).

In the preliminary task a more basic version of this can be shown (walking down the corridor in a long-shot, to a mid-shot, to opening the door from the other side).

When filming Vendetta we made sure that we had this variety of shots, and even that we filmed so much that a lot of shots we didn't have to use after all. This is because in the continuity task one or two of the shots aren't of the best quality, especially due to the lighting. From this the whole group learnt to film more than we needed and to check our work first, as although you can add in filters and change a lot about the shot, not much could be done if the footage was poor quality in the first place.
One large improvement that can be shown is the sound. Although the sound continuity is okay overall in my preliminary task, there is still some obvious and abrupt endings to parts of the sound (such as when the door is opened). We later learnt as a group to detach the audio from it's clip. This enabled us to be able to fade out the sound and make it seem less abrupt, a technique of which proved very helpful when trying to get the sound continuity of the guitar to match between clips. We also added both diegetic and non-diegetic sound over the top of some clips, allowing us to build up tension in the case of the music but also to add to the sound continuity by adding artificial forest sounds over the top.

We were also able to add voices into our sequence at the beginning on the beach to give the sequence more exposition and explain some of the situations, like why they were event there in the first place. When filming the footage we had a microphone attached to the camera to make sure the sound quality was a lot better. This wasn't really an issue in the preliminary task, but as we were filming of a very windy beach this gave us the ability to get the best sound from filming.
However, one of the biggest things I've gained from progression of my continuity task is confidence in my abilities as an editor. I've learnt a variety of techniques using Final Cut that have helped me to improve my skills and knowledge of creating media products such as television and film.  

Evaluation Question Six

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

Research and Planning
After getting a general idea of what type of film we wanted to create we started to research films that were similar to our genre, giving up the ability to see what sort of conventions make up a typical thriller film. To do this, we searched for thriller films using Google and found a large list of them on the website IMDb. From there we were also able to analyse in detail the different aspects of thrillers, allowing us to choose what sort of aspects we wanted to include in our own film. These are some of the more simple aspects of technology, as not much knowledge is needed other than search for key words.

We then needed somewhere to display all this knowledge and our ideas. The whole group decided the best thing to do would be to set up a blog, as we could then most our research, diary entries on progress and videos to show the entire process on making our opening sequence. We were given the option to use a Tumblr blog, but given what we were using the blog for it seemed for professional and easier to use Blogger. I was quite unsure about how to use Blogger at first, going out of my comfort zone by choosing it over a more simple Tumblr style blog, however I quickly learnt how to use the different aspects of it which allowed me to put more content into my blog. Blogger was also really useful as I managed to download the free app on my ipod, allowing me to post diary entries at any time.

As text and images from google get a bit boring after 20 odd posts, we decided to think of more inventive ways to display our work. One of these is by using Prezi, a more inventive and interactive type of powerpoint. Like Blogger, I had never used Prezi before but after setting up an account and following the instructions I found it fairly easy to use and a lot more interesting.
Another different method of displaying work was by creating videos and screen recordings. Some of these were done in class on the Final Cut Pro, and others were created at home on iMovie (this is in the case of the behind the scenes footage). This again is a much more inventive way of displaying work that I learned to use during this project.

Creating the sequence
As you can't create an opening sequence without a camera, this is probably the most important piece of technology that we used. We borrowed a camera from the college, as well as a really old and broken one (to use as a prop) and a microphone to attach to the camera to improve the sound. We also used a tripod to hold the camera steady. I had never fully had a chance to use a professional camera before, and so this was all fairly new to me, however, with the help of my group and my research I knew about the type of shots and framing that would be appropriate for our film and so this made the whole process a lot easier.

We also used my Fujifilm Finepix S4000 to film some behind the scenes footage. This also made sure that everyone had a chance to film something during the process, whether it was behind the scenes or footage for the actual sequence.

In terms of editing our footage, the group as a whole decided it would be the best option to use Final Cut Pro. This is because we all edited our continuity task using this software and so we were all familiar with the basics. I later learnt a lot more about Final Cut editing our footage, such as adding filters, sound effects, the various tools (such as the blade tool), transitions and many more. I now feel a lot more confident in my abilities as an editor from learning these techniques during the construction, and I am also able to edit at a much faster pace and work on my own.

Another website that was vital to the construction of our sequence was DaFont.com, which we used to select and upload the font we used in the titles. This was important because although Final Cut has a variety of different fonts available, none of them really suited our film like the one we eventually found.  By learning how to upload different fonts we gained a much wider variety of the type of things we could choose from, improving our sequence.

Youtube
Youtube played a massive role throughout the entire project. From there, we were able to look at and analyse film openings, allowing us to compare and contrast them to our in order to give us the knowledge of our genre and create the best possible film opening we could.

By searching for Royalty Free suspense and horror music we were also able to find the music we needed in our sequence to create the all important tension. We later used Audio Hijack in order to download this music from Youtube and upload it into Final Cut Pro, a technology I learnt to use in the process of constructing our sequence.

Finally, Youtube was also massively important to us as this is where we uploaded our Final Cut, as well as our Rough Cut. This allowed us to gain feedback from a wide audience and see what went right and what we could improve on. Youtube allowed us to place annotations on our videos, which gave us the chance to display more clearly what we did and why.

Overall I learnt a huge amount about technology and how important it is throughout the process of making my opening sequence, and these skills I have learnt are sure to help me in my future media projects. However, even though technology is massively important it can be argued that it is the person themselves that has the creativity, and not there ability to use technology. Technology aids a persons creativity, giving them the ability to do a lot more with their information and understanding, as well as giving them the opportunity to create great content. It's up to the individual how they use this.

Evaluation Question Five

How did you attract/address your audience?

By adding annotations to our video as a group we have shown the ways that we attracted our audience, as well as the ways our film shows the classic conventions of thrillers.

Evaluation Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Question Three

What kind of Media Institution might distribute your product and why?

In the video above I talk about the type of production and distribution companies that would be best suited for our film 'Vendetta'.
The pictures used are either screen shots from my blog and the Vendetta opening sequence, or images found from Google. Some of the images may not match exactly with what I'm saying but are used to give a general idea.

Evaluation Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film represents the social group of teenagers. This is because of their appearance, such as the way they look young, and dress casually in fairly plain clothing. This is also shown in what they're doing, such as the way they're gathered around a fire on a beach; eating, drinking, laughing and in general just messing around like the stereotypical teenager.

To analyse this more closely, we can look at our main character Amber:

We tried to make Amber representative of the stereotypical teenager in the media; she appears drunk, looks easily bored and impatient of her friend and looks fairly alternative in terms of her appearance. This makes her stand out slightly from the rest of the group, who are dressed fairly plainly and laughing and joking around. This shows that although she's different to the rest of the group, she's still a typical teenager, which makes her more relatable of people of that age group - which is also our target audience.

One character from another film that you can compare in ways to Amber is Wendy from Final Destination 3.

Although fairly different in appearance, a few similarities can be made; such as they're both female, dark haired and dress casually and in a modern way, although Amber does stand out more because she appears to be more alternative than Wendy.

Both Wendy and Amber appear to be control freaks, focusing more on themselves rather than other people. They are both shown to be typical teenagers in the events they both do; Wendy going to an amusement park with her friends and Amber going to the beach with hers. However both of these events end up badly, with both of the female characters getting away from their groups, and both escaping a gruesome death. 

Both are the main characters in their films, with the story and camera focussing mainly on them throughout. Another similarity is that the are both considered to be the last one standing (although in Final Destination this is left fairly ambiguous), as in our original plot we have all of the teenagers on the beach killed one by one until there is only one left - which would be Amber. 

By being typical teenagers both of the characters are relatable to the audience, however in the case of Amber this is slightly less in the beginning because of her moody attitude and the way she pushes away her friend who is just trying to help her. 

Evaluation Question One

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

Looking back at our research into the conventions of a thriller film, many comparisons and similarities can be made between what things are in a typical thriller film, and the things and ideas we included in our own opening sequence.
A link can be made between our opening sequence and the opening sequences of other films such as Silence of the Lambs. Although these are quite different in terms of their storyline, they both give an introduction to their character, show titles in a similar way and share some of the typical conventions of their shared genre.

As you can see both sequences take place in one of the most iconic settings for a thriller film; the woods. Both of the main characters appear at first to be isolated in the woods, both of which seem dark and eerie, which helps to create tension.
Both sequence involve the camera following behind the main characters through the woods, which helps to create the feeling that they're being watched. Both also include close ups of the main characters face, showing their emotion but also emphasising their isolation, creating a sense of paranoia about what might be there with them.
However in both situations it turns out just to be someone they know. The sequences start to differ here, as this is where in our film we create tension by making the audience believe that our main character Amber is about to be attacked, when it turns out to be her friend Evelyn. They then have an argument (although both show over the shoulder shots in both sequences of the conversation) and Amber walks off back to her friends, which is similar to the main character in Silence of the Lambs walking away from the setting of the woods back to her normal life.
Both of the main characters are dressed in modern seeming clothes, suggesting that both films are of similar times, although in Silence of the Lambs the female character is dressed more plainly and shows more independence, where as both of the female characters in ours seem more like the typical female characters you find in a thriller film - helpless and in need of rescue.
The titles in both are of a simple style, both of which roll over the top of the sequence and both show a similar sort of order (e.g. main actor first and director last).
By following both of these characters you can tell the story is following them, and by the use of the setting, light and feelings of being watched it helps the audience to identify the film as a thriller.

Some additional things we included in our film that don't appear in the opening of Silence of the Lambs was the murder of one of our characters straight away, flicking between beach shots of the group and the our character being killed to give make it appear as though no one can hear to help, and so all of the violence is implied, which helps to create a sense of mystery.
Being upfront about the killing in the first few minutes allows us to follow the story of what happens next, and who is next and why the character was killed in the first place. By going straight into the plot line it helps our film to be more exciting and engaging for the audience watching, rather than giving a slow build up of the initial death.
In our opening sequence we didn't really use special effects, as this isn't really typical of the thriller genre. Most thrillers tend to be more realistic which was an effect we tried to get in our film because the idea that this could be real and could happen to anyone makes it more scary - another classic convention of a thriller.
The only effects we added was to darken each clip using a 'day into night' effect so it appeared darker and more eerie (as though it took place at night) and a record effect which was essential to our plot line.

In short, we kept with a lot of the conventions of a thriller - such as the darkness, the mystery of the killer, close-ups, tension and eerie music to help the audience identify our film as a thriller. However we didn't use all of the conventions, such as shadows and ghosts, because this would have been a sort of overkill of the film, making the audience feel overwhelmed and confused at the plot. We used enough conventions to make the genre clear, but not too many to make it overwhelming.