About Me May 12, 2010
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Candidate Name: Natasha Reynolds
Candidate No: 2457
Centre Name: The Bishop’s Stortford High School
Centre No: 17201
Please use the ‘categories’ on the right hand side and select film production.
Digital Storyboard- Final May 12, 2010
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Here is a link to our Digital Storyboard with the images used during location reconnaissance so that they were as accurate as possible.
AS Foundation Portfolio Resit Podcast May 10, 2010
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Foundation Portfolio- Critical Evaluation
My podcast can be found at www.natasha5.podbean.com
Intro
Following our preliminary task, our final assignment was to create the opening two minutes of a film; we chose to create a film of the thriller genre. I enjoyed working as a group of three, as I felt there were enough of us to contribute and offer variety of ideas but not too many people so that we had to shout across each other to be heard. Furthermore, we all equally contributed ideas for the plot and discussed possible shot types to include. However it was often difficult to incorporate each individual’s ideas into the final product, which sometimes caused some tension within the group.
Originally we had wanted to create an action film in the style of ‘James Bond’, as a contrasting genre to our preliminary video. However this idea was rejected by the group as it would have been extremely difficult to create a high quality action film on a low budget. Therefore we decided a horror/thriller would be of a higher quality as it requires less equipment. Following the idea to create a horror/thriller, we constructed the main outline of the plot, being that there would be two females. However we did not originally plan to have them connected through a ‘love triangle’ as we planned to create a film in the style of ‘The Ring’ with the main plot being based around white noise and a television set. This idea slowly deteriorated as the idea of a third person was introduced, the character Nick, however there is still evidence of our original concept at the beginning and end of the sequence.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When constructing our media product, we analysed and deconstructed similar media texts of the same genre to ensure that we included effective conventions of real horror films. For example we chose to cross cut between the footage and the opening and studio titles, to show snippets of the film without revealing too much, to create confusion on the audience. Furthermore we noticed that after two minutes of the film ‘Scream 3,’ the tone of the film suddenly becomes a lot more sinister as the plot begins. The first two minutes was occupied by setting the scene and familiarising the audience with the main characters. We decided to include this in our film, at approximately 2:10 minutes the title ‘One year earlier…’ is displayed on screen so that the story of Charlotte’s death becomes known to the audience, after two minutes of scene setting and introducing two of the main characters.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Although our film does not reveal the relationship between Charlotte and Emily, we discussed this in our plot synopsis and decided that Nick had left Charlotte to have a relationship and family with Emily. We felt that the fact that we chose the male to leave the female character, as opposed to the female leaving the male character reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. This is because stereotypically it is the male who leaves the female for a younger, more attractive partner. Furthermore the fact that Charlotte was so depressed (now bitter) reinforces the stereotypical belief that women are more emotional. Therefore within our film gender has been represented negatively.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Popular film studios such as DreamWorks pictures would distribute our film as they have been known to distribute similar films of this genre, examples include The Ring and What Lies Beneath. Furthermore DreamWorks might then distribute our film to multi-national cinema chains such as ‘Cineworld,’ ‘Empire’ or ‘Odeon’ who might screen our product as it follows the conventions of other films shown at these cinemas. Also by creating a trailer for our film we could promote the film within the adverts of an ITV mainstream programme so that we could attract maximum viewers. Similarly we hope that it may also be converted to DVD after cinema release.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
From our primary research we have noticed that similar media products such as The Ring and What Lies Beneath are mainly consumed by teenagers, therefore we have also decided to pitch our product at teenagers. We have not specifically aimed our product at one gender as it could be viewed by a group of single sex peers who want to scare each other as well as couples who may be on a date and may seek comfort from their partner. However it is more common that a group of girls will consume this product rather than a group of boys. Hence, our story is focused around a sour and bitter relationship to attract the female audience. Furthermore our questionnaire told us that over 70% of people asked, prefer to watch a film of this particular genre with a group of friends, socially. I feel that the use of females throughout this sequence attracts our audience, particularly the female audience as females can sympathise with the characters within the film. Also the use of a soundtrack can be used as a method of attracting an audience during promotion, as it is this element of a film that becomes memorable to audiences.
How did you attract/address your audience?
The audience research summary provided us with concise indication as to what is required in order to create a successful film amongst our target audience. However the final cut surveys provided us with a more extensive and detailed feedback. The comments we received were mostly very positive, unfortunately some still failed to fully understand the narrative. Therefore this allowed us to further simplify the clarity of the narrative to enhance understanding. Changes suggested by our target audience encouraged the group to consider elements we would do differently if we had the opportunity to carry out this project again. We decided that our project would a lot more effective if we had access to more advanced editing software such as ‘Pinnacle Studio 12’ as it features more complex and advanced transitions and video effects. However this starts at approximately £39.99 and I am not in a position in which I can buy this.
After surveying an audience, their feedback highlighted minor issues with the clarity of the film’s narrative, as the first version of the film was slightly unclear. Therefore we felt it was essential to tweak this to maximise an audience’s understanding. However we felt this was quite difficult, after deconstructing similar media texts we noticed that there was little time to successfully present a detailed narrative. We decided to cut out shots that may confuse the narrative, for example we cut a scene which originally came at the end of the film after the television turns itself off. This was primarily due to poor lighting conditions; the audience were unable to see what was happening at this point of the film.
Also we were unable to record the character’s verbal reaction to this particular scene. This was due to limitations with the equipment we had access to, for example we did not have access to a separate microphone to record the dialogue and the camera was unable to capture clear audio, this too affected the clarity of the narrative as the situation was difficult to interpret.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
From constructing this product and other similar products I have learnt to effectively use editing software such as ‘Windows Movie Maker’ and ‘Cuebase 2.0’ to record a voice over and a soundtrack and successfully combine them series of clips to create a continuous video. We used ‘Windows Movie Maker’ to edit our film into clips and add the voiceover plus effects and transitions in order to entice our audience. If we had the funding we would have used a more professional editing software such as ‘Pinnacle Studio 12.
In order to record the piece that Ben Cork composed for us, we used the music technology software ‘Cuebase 2.0’. We then imported the piece onto a USB stick and transported it to our editing computer and mixed the piece with the action on-screen. I am now able to synchronise a soundtrack and voice over with the appropriate footage, which requires separating the soundtrack so that the voice over can be placed in between the separated clip and then merged and faded in and out where necessary. I used this method throughout, to run a soundtrack through the majority of the film whilst incorporating a voice over without hesitation, therefore the merged soundtrack and voice over continues to play smoothly.
Furthermore, during the research process we were able to watch DVDs and browse online to deconstruct relevant scenes to borrow and adapt the decisions made by Hollywood producers and directors to enhance our creativity. Similarly the use of the internet allowed us to create an online audience survey, so that we could identify and target our audience and give them what they want. With digital technology we were able to send over 50 hyperlinks to our questionnaires via email to friends and family. This generated a wealth of response quickly and cheaply. With feedback from the questionnaires we were able to develop our creativity by including suggestions from our audience with our ideas.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
After creating a short film for our preliminary task I believe that I have learnt the importance of paying attention to detail, throughout both the filming and editing processes. After receiving feedback from our preliminary task it was highlighted that perhaps the soundtrack we had chosen did not match the style of the product, we had chosen to use a track from a local band. Therefore we were determined not to make the same mistake when creating the final product. We made full use of school facilities and asked a young musician to play and create our soundtrack with our assistance, this way we were able to control the content and the style of the music so that it was specific to our film.
Furthermore whilst creating our preliminary task, myself and one member of the group often found it difficult to encourage the third member of our group as we felt she was unable to use initiative to complete tasks. This began to build tension within the group, and as a result after the final cut she decided to work with another group for the final project. Therefore Naya and I needed to find someone to replace the girl who had left, but we wanted to make sure we did not find ourselves in the same situation so we were looking for someone we could rely on to work equally as hard. To begin with we believed we had made the right decision, however we slowly came to regret this as we felt she was not sharing the load but was relying on us to do the work. In contrast to this when asked she was able to complete a job to a high standard but had no initiative and waited to be told what to do, which created more tension and more pressure.
**Each of the actors and the musician were given talent release forms to sign, giving us permission to use their work.
Hyperlink to Film Trailer May 7, 2010
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