Evaluation task 7

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

In the preliminary we had a brief time to plan what were going to do before we started filming. We had a basic knowledge of shot types and other concepts, however the outcome showed us how vital it is to plan ahead. Doing this task helped saved us time because we knew what worked and what didn't work when we filmed our opening.
We put a lot of planning in to our final film to make sure everything went well and it was the best we could make it. We planned shots we were going to use, costumes, location and music. We used a range of different shot types to make our opening interesting. For example we used an extreme close up to frame the slippers as an object of significance. By doing the preliminary we learnt about rules that if we didn't abide by would effect the quality of our film, this was useful because before we learnt about it we might not even of noticed that we were breaking the rule. Through our research and exam revision we learned about pathetic fallacy and mise en scene and how they can effect the atmosphere and representation shot. We thought about these to elements and used them to the best of our ability to increase the quality of our opening. We focused on sound and how it could effect the mood of the scene and audience. Our research helped us to pick suitable music.

All the editing and researched has helped us develop ideas and skills. The skills we have learnt will help us in future projects to improve quality and time management. Overall I have learnt about editing, filming and working in a successful team to produce quality work.

Evaluation task 6

Since starting media I have learnt different skills to help me produce finished media products such as music videos, magazine covers and film openings. To practice different techniques we filmed our preliminary task, our preliminary task involved us demonstrating the 180° rule and continuity. This helped us remember the rule when we filmed our main task and avoid breaking it.

                                 

To film the preliminary we used a Panasonic camera and a tripod. We learnt about the 180° rule, how to frame shots effectively, how to ensure continuity and how important these things were. This helped us when we started filming our film opening because it made filming faster so we could edit more and had more time to re-film if we need to. It also helped because when we filmed we knew if we were breaking the 180° whereas before we wouldn't have realised. 

 To film we used a Panasonic camcorder, it was simple to use because the memory was an SD card so it was easy to delete footage we didn't need and to upload footage. One problem we faced with the camera is that it doesn't adjust to change of lighting very well, when Saira opened the door on the first session of filming we did the camera didn't adjust quick enough so when we uploaded it we noticed the lighting had changed. To resolve this we re-filmed and positioned the camera differently so that when Saira opened the door the light wasn't directly at the camera.At the start of our opening we had a handheld shot so we didn't need a tripod but in the second scene we needed one. The handheld shot went quite well but the footage is very shaky because we were running however the music we chose matches the pace of the running. We used a tripod to make our shots look more professional and of a better quality. The tripod proved difficult to use sometimes because of the width of the base it was limited to where we could put it and for one shot it wasn't tall enough so we had to put it on a table effecting the stability of the tripod.

We tried to stick to our shot list and script but we found that dialogue was hard to do because of the amount of noise the camera picked up also too much dialogue looked forced. We had a bit of dialogue and we cut before Saira could answer so it looks like the film continues.

We used editing machines that were placed around the class, there was 3 groups on each machine so we had to use and develop our time management skills to book a time slot on the editing machine. The editing machines had all the software we would need to edit our films

To edit we used Premier Pro, as a previous media student I knew a little bit about it Premier Pro but i had forgotten a lot of it. As we edited we learnt how to cut bits of clips that we didn't need, how to add effects and how to unlink sound. We had some problems with Premier Pro because we were fairly new to most of the techniques we were using. We learnt how to put titles over our shots in Premier and how to use all the different effects. I learnt how to render work because I didn't know how to do that before and its a useful skill to have for future projects.
We also used Adobe After Effects to create titles and add animation to them, this is useful because we could make our titles interesting and fit with the genre of our film. We used this to create our production company so we already knew a bit about it.

Everything we have used will help us with future projects because we will know skills and be able to develop them further as the course goes on. Knowing how to work the different software means that our future project will be done quicker and it will be easier to learn new things. When it comes to filming we know different techniques that will help us film quicker and more effectively. We also developed our team work and time management skills during the process, this will help with future projects and other lessons.

Evaluation task 5

Kezia is a good example of our target audience because she is a 15 year old student. She enjoys shopping and going out with friends. She likes psychological thrillers because they are mysterious and keep you guessing. She liked our film opening but she wanted to know the characters more.

Evaluation task 4

From my audience feedback I have learnt that the sleeping shots that we added in made it clear that it was a dream and the choice in music gave the audience the feeling we hoped for. Our title idea to give a clue about the rest of the film has worked because my audience member picked up on it. My audience member picked the extreme close-up of Aisha's eyes and the long shot of The Unknown Character as her favourite shots. If we were going to make the rest of the film we could include more of her favourite shot types to keep the audience interested.

Questions asked:
What do you think is going on in the opening?
Do you think the music is suitable?
What is your opinion on the location of the dream?
Do you think the titles suggest any themes in the plot?
What are your favourite shots?
Do you think the characters are a modern or traditional representation of women?

Evaluation task 3

To distribute our film we decided that we would use Columbia Pictures because we have done research and found out that they distribute psychological thrillers with similar themes to ours. We think this is suitable because one of our focus films was the grudge as the antagonist is female.

After further research we decided that our film would be distributed by a smaller company because of the hand held shots and low budget locations/costumes. The style of our film is similar to The Blair Witch Project  so we looked at the company who distributed that film. We could use Haxan because they are quite a small company. We have done research about Vertigo films in our exam revision who distributed Monsters, Vertigo would be a good company to distribute our film because it is successful when distributing low budget films.

To advertise our film we would use social networking sites like facebook, twitter and youtube because these are popular websites and will attract a larger audience.

Evaluation task 2

Textual analysis of our opening:

Evaluation task 1

Our finished film opening

Dream

We decided to change the music in our dream to make it more conventional. We thought that the dubstep would be good for our opening because it is fast but after the class feedback we decided we needed to find something that fits our genre better. We found fast paced music that went with the running and a heavy breathing sound effect to go with the music making the chase scene more dramatic.

Distrubution company feedback

When we watched our newest edit we had feedback about the distribution company we decided to use. We needed to research further in to our genre and films that we analysed to pick a suitable one.

Black Swan: Protozoa Pictures,Cross Creek Pictures,Phoenix Pictures
The Ring: DreamWorks, MacDonald/Parkes Productions, BenderSpink
Inception: Syncopy Inc,Legendary Pictures
The Blair Witch Project: Haxan Films
Paranormal Activity 3: Paramount Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Solana Films, Room 101
What Lies Beneath: DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Image Movers

Other production companies associated with Psychological Thrillers include:
Columbia Pictures, Shamley Productions, Summit Entertainment, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures

We have decided to use either Columbia Pictures or DreamWorks as the films they represent relate closely to ours.