Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Our main focus when doing our preliminar task was to fit in certain camera angles. With this being a success we produced the film pening sequence. I have learnt alot in this time that will help me in future media projects. Over the course of the project m knowledge of camera angles and shots has improved vastly. I began with a basic understanding of such shots as close up and mid shots, however know i have learnt establishing shots, low angle shots and piont of view shots through the production of our product.
I have also learnt more than just a basic understanding of how the film production world works. I now realise the time it takes to get different scenes and shots right and the time that must be taken to get it right. The filming proccess took around 5 days of filming. The scene came to around 2 minutes 50 seconds and that shows the extent of time it would take to film a whole feature film.
The software we used to edit the footage was something i had never used before and as a result i had to learn many new skills involving that. I learnt how to cut and move around different parts of the fottage, edit and import music into the scene and use different colour filters whilst editing. I have realised the skill needed to create a media product, however if you practise that skill whilst producing a product it can become very familiar and easy.
Overall i have learnt alot since the preliminary task part of producing our final product. I have learnt new skills whilst editing and filming, whilst at the same time increasing my knowledge of the film industry itself.
Monday 3 May 2010
Evaluation question 6
What have you learnt about technology from the process of producing this product?
Through the process of producing this product i have learnt many things about technology. Firstly i learnt how to operate a camera. During the preliminary task we filmed using a handheld camera, which was fairly simply to film with, however when filming the opening scene we used a much more technologically superior camera. The technology was hard to use at first however with practise it became easier. The end product shows that using this camera was a good idea, due to the better picture and sound quality.
I also learnt how to use computer software to create and edit the opening scene. First i learnt how to transfer the footage from the camera to the computer, which is done by connecting the two with a USB cable and letting the software record the already recorded footage from the camera. We used the editing softwae called Sony Las vegas movie studios 9.0 to edit the opening sequence. Whilst doing this i learnt many aspects of the process including how to cut and move around different parts of the footage. I also learnt how to use different colour and lighting filters in the software, that i used to make the film appear through a grey filter. The grey filter made the film apppear to be more moody and atmospheric.
After editing the footage i learnt how to use different technology to edit the sound in our product. I used the software called Audacity that was free to download from the internet to edit the sound. I learnt how to import music into it and as a result mix it to how i wanted it to sound. In the editing software i also learnt how to mute sound that was recorded by the camera, while leaving in noises that i wanted to be heard, e.g the sound of Dan jumping the gate. I then imported the sound into the software and played it over the footage.
Through the process of producing this product if i had not learnt new skills with technology i simply would not have been able to complete it. Technology will always keep changing and improving, i have learnt that i must keep learning new skills through first hand experiance using these technologies.
Through the process of producing this product i have learnt many things about technology. Firstly i learnt how to operate a camera. During the preliminary task we filmed using a handheld camera, which was fairly simply to film with, however when filming the opening scene we used a much more technologically superior camera. The technology was hard to use at first however with practise it became easier. The end product shows that using this camera was a good idea, due to the better picture and sound quality.
I also learnt how to use computer software to create and edit the opening scene. First i learnt how to transfer the footage from the camera to the computer, which is done by connecting the two with a USB cable and letting the software record the already recorded footage from the camera. We used the editing softwae called Sony Las vegas movie studios 9.0 to edit the opening sequence. Whilst doing this i learnt many aspects of the process including how to cut and move around different parts of the footage. I also learnt how to use different colour and lighting filters in the software, that i used to make the film appear through a grey filter. The grey filter made the film apppear to be more moody and atmospheric.
After editing the footage i learnt how to use different technology to edit the sound in our product. I used the software called Audacity that was free to download from the internet to edit the sound. I learnt how to import music into it and as a result mix it to how i wanted it to sound. In the editing software i also learnt how to mute sound that was recorded by the camera, while leaving in noises that i wanted to be heard, e.g the sound of Dan jumping the gate. I then imported the sound into the software and played it over the footage.
Through the process of producing this product if i had not learnt new skills with technology i simply would not have been able to complete it. Technology will always keep changing and improving, i have learnt that i must keep learning new skills through first hand experiance using these technologies.
Evaluation question 5
How did you attract or address your audience?
Through the production and editing processes of our media product we thought about snergy. This meant that if our product was real we would have had to come up with a marketing and advirtisment campaign. Existing products that we looked at in the research stage of production showed us that films use posters, trailers and other merchendise to attract their audience. I created an advirtisment poster that includes the films name, an image relating to the film and its release date. The fact the film is released on hallaween would address all horror fans that this is indeed a film that fits into the horror genre and as a result more people would pay to watch it. We got the inspiration for this from existing horror film promotional posters.
We also would create a film trailer to address our audience and make them aware of the release of our product. Film trailers often show a variety of short clips from different parts of the film, alerting people as to what the film is about. In many of the horror film trailers we watched whilst researching the genre we found that they use shots that would attract horror fans including suspenseful shots and jump scenes. Unfortunately we only created a film opening and thus didnt have enough footage to create a real trailer, however we gained enough knowledge that when creating a real product we would do to attract and address the audience.
We also made the public aware of our product on social websites such as facebook, where we posted the scene we created and let people watch it for free. By letting the public see a short clip from an up and coming film, producers can gain alot more profit as it attracts more people to want to watch the whole product. The best way to attract and address your audiance is to make the film known to the public through posters, trailers and sneek peaks, after this word of mouth will spread and many will pay to watch your product.
Through the production and editing processes of our media product we thought about snergy. This meant that if our product was real we would have had to come up with a marketing and advirtisment campaign. Existing products that we looked at in the research stage of production showed us that films use posters, trailers and other merchendise to attract their audience. I created an advirtisment poster that includes the films name, an image relating to the film and its release date. The fact the film is released on hallaween would address all horror fans that this is indeed a film that fits into the horror genre and as a result more people would pay to watch it. We got the inspiration for this from existing horror film promotional posters.
We also would create a film trailer to address our audience and make them aware of the release of our product. Film trailers often show a variety of short clips from different parts of the film, alerting people as to what the film is about. In many of the horror film trailers we watched whilst researching the genre we found that they use shots that would attract horror fans including suspenseful shots and jump scenes. Unfortunately we only created a film opening and thus didnt have enough footage to create a real trailer, however we gained enough knowledge that when creating a real product we would do to attract and address the audience.
We also made the public aware of our product on social websites such as facebook, where we posted the scene we created and let people watch it for free. By letting the public see a short clip from an up and coming film, producers can gain alot more profit as it attracts more people to want to watch the whole product. The best way to attract and address your audiance is to make the film known to the public through posters, trailers and sneek peaks, after this word of mouth will spread and many will pay to watch your product.
Thursday 29 April 2010
Evaluation question 4
Who would be the audience for your media?
For a real media product to be released for public viewing it would first have to be given a age certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). There are 7 possible age certificates that can be given to a film featuring U (suitable for all viewing), PG (Parental guidence), 12A (Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult), 12 (suitable for ages 12 and up), 15 (suitable for age 15 and up), 18 (suitable for age 18 and upwards) and finally R18 (The same as an 18 however used for films of a sexual nature).
When we were in the process of researching and planning our media product we had to take into account who would be the audience for our final product. Due to it being a post apocalyptic horror film our product would generally fit into the higher age bracket. The frightening theme of zombies and death would be unsuitable for certainly children and even maybe young teenagers. Despite there not being much dialogue in the scene, there is an occasion when bad language is used and as a result again shows that it fits into a higher age bracket. The film would not fit into the 18 age certificate based on the contents of the opening scene, due to the lack of gore and adult themes. For these reasons we decided our film would fit into the 15 age certificate.
I feel that a 15 certificate would be benificial to us as media producers. The certificate doesnt restrict most teenagers from buying and seeing our product meaning it would perhaps generate more profit than if it was given an 18 certificate. Our media product would also have a big audience due to the popularity of the genre. The zombie post apocalyptic genre has a huge fan base which has grown bigger through the years due to films such as Dawn of the dead, Shaun of the dead and 28 days later. This will ultimatelly lead fans of the genre to want to view our film and thus this would increase profits.
For a real media product to be released for public viewing it would first have to be given a age certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). There are 7 possible age certificates that can be given to a film featuring U (suitable for all viewing), PG (Parental guidence), 12A (Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult), 12 (suitable for ages 12 and up), 15 (suitable for age 15 and up), 18 (suitable for age 18 and upwards) and finally R18 (The same as an 18 however used for films of a sexual nature).
When we were in the process of researching and planning our media product we had to take into account who would be the audience for our final product. Due to it being a post apocalyptic horror film our product would generally fit into the higher age bracket. The frightening theme of zombies and death would be unsuitable for certainly children and even maybe young teenagers. Despite there not being much dialogue in the scene, there is an occasion when bad language is used and as a result again shows that it fits into a higher age bracket. The film would not fit into the 18 age certificate based on the contents of the opening scene, due to the lack of gore and adult themes. For these reasons we decided our film would fit into the 15 age certificate.
I feel that a 15 certificate would be benificial to us as media producers. The certificate doesnt restrict most teenagers from buying and seeing our product meaning it would perhaps generate more profit than if it was given an 18 certificate. Our media product would also have a big audience due to the popularity of the genre. The zombie post apocalyptic genre has a huge fan base which has grown bigger through the years due to films such as Dawn of the dead, Shaun of the dead and 28 days later. This will ultimatelly lead fans of the genre to want to view our film and thus this would increase profits.
Evaluation question 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
Institutions are established, profit based organisations that create and distribute media products including advirtisment and entertainment. The are institutions in all areas of the media world from computer gaming (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) to the film industry (Dreamworks, Film4 and 20th century fox). An institution can dominate a market in media, for example microsoft and Sony in the games market. In the film part of the media world, studios such as Warner Bros and 20th century fox are the main film producing and distributing institutions. For our media product to be recognised and seen in the world we would need to choose an institution to distribute our final product.
We have chosen to distribute our product through Film4 productions. It is a well known and popular film distributor that is capable of distributing high and low budget films. Due to our film being low budget this would be perfect. Film4 productions has created and distributed many high quality films that include This is England, Borat: Cultural learning of America for make benefits of glorious nation of Kazakhstan and slumdog millionaire. Film4 also has its own television channel, this would allow our product to get air time without having to pay extra money to another channel such as ITV, BBC or sky movies.
We included the text "In association with Film4" into the credits of our film to make the audience aware of this. Another reason we chose Film4 to distribute our product is due to another feature of the Film4 channel. They regularly show theme nights or seasons, for example fright fest, which was a season which included such horror films as Wolf Creek and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Since our film fits into the horror genre it could be shown in one of Film4's theme seasons or nihgts and thus get more airtime.
Institutions are established, profit based organisations that create and distribute media products including advirtisment and entertainment. The are institutions in all areas of the media world from computer gaming (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) to the film industry (Dreamworks, Film4 and 20th century fox). An institution can dominate a market in media, for example microsoft and Sony in the games market. In the film part of the media world, studios such as Warner Bros and 20th century fox are the main film producing and distributing institutions. For our media product to be recognised and seen in the world we would need to choose an institution to distribute our final product.
We have chosen to distribute our product through Film4 productions. It is a well known and popular film distributor that is capable of distributing high and low budget films. Due to our film being low budget this would be perfect. Film4 productions has created and distributed many high quality films that include This is England, Borat: Cultural learning of America for make benefits of glorious nation of Kazakhstan and slumdog millionaire. Film4 also has its own television channel, this would allow our product to get air time without having to pay extra money to another channel such as ITV, BBC or sky movies.
We included the text "In association with Film4" into the credits of our film to make the audience aware of this. Another reason we chose Film4 to distribute our product is due to another feature of the Film4 channel. They regularly show theme nights or seasons, for example fright fest, which was a season which included such horror films as Wolf Creek and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Since our film fits into the horror genre it could be shown in one of Film4's theme seasons or nihgts and thus get more airtime.
Wednesday 28 April 2010
Evaluation question 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Media products can represent different social groups such as teenagers, the elderly, rich and poor etc. In our product it is mainly teenagers that are focused on. The clothes that our main character is wearing would suggest that he is from a fairly modern, middle to upper class background. He is 17 years old and appears to have medium length hair. We did this as we felt that too many existing media products place extraordinary characters into unreal situations, we wanted to challenge this and so placed a very typical ordinary character into an unreal situation.
We also touched on the issue of a lack of social groups within the opening scene. The pub that Dan tries to enter is run down and locked, representing the breakdown of society due to the lack of social groups. Without adults to go to work, the country would shut down. We tried to create this world through imagery such as the run down pub and complete lack of traffic and people. The zombies featured in our final piece seem to be reasonably young adults. We did not do this for coincidence or because it was easier but because teenagers are often seen as rebellious and chaotic figures in society. We wanted to use that image to make the zombies appear more sinister and chaotic.
Whilst researching existing films that fit into the zombie genre we noticed that there were few times when children or teenage zombies were shown. We wanted to challenge this by using teenagers. In a different interpretation to teenagers being chaotic and rebellious they could in some cases show the purity of youth. By making the zombies appear to belong to this age bracket i feel that it makes them all the more disturbing; something meant to be pure and innocent turned murderous and animalistic. By choosing to show the zombies in this light it also makes the film controversial, making it spark a lot more interest in the media world among the viewing public.
Media products can represent different social groups such as teenagers, the elderly, rich and poor etc. In our product it is mainly teenagers that are focused on. The clothes that our main character is wearing would suggest that he is from a fairly modern, middle to upper class background. He is 17 years old and appears to have medium length hair. We did this as we felt that too many existing media products place extraordinary characters into unreal situations, we wanted to challenge this and so placed a very typical ordinary character into an unreal situation.
We also touched on the issue of a lack of social groups within the opening scene. The pub that Dan tries to enter is run down and locked, representing the breakdown of society due to the lack of social groups. Without adults to go to work, the country would shut down. We tried to create this world through imagery such as the run down pub and complete lack of traffic and people. The zombies featured in our final piece seem to be reasonably young adults. We did not do this for coincidence or because it was easier but because teenagers are often seen as rebellious and chaotic figures in society. We wanted to use that image to make the zombies appear more sinister and chaotic.
Whilst researching existing films that fit into the zombie genre we noticed that there were few times when children or teenage zombies were shown. We wanted to challenge this by using teenagers. In a different interpretation to teenagers being chaotic and rebellious they could in some cases show the purity of youth. By making the zombies appear to belong to this age bracket i feel that it makes them all the more disturbing; something meant to be pure and innocent turned murderous and animalistic. By choosing to show the zombies in this light it also makes the film controversial, making it spark a lot more interest in the media world among the viewing public.
Evaluation question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventionss of real media products?
We followed many conventions of real media products, in that we followed the same processes when creating the product. All film makers test different camera angles and shots to see which they prefer, similar to how we created a short preliminary task to try out shots and angles. We created a story board for each part of the film opening which is exactly what must be done for real media products. We also researched into existing media products to draw inspiration for our own, and spent a long time choosing appropriate locations and music to fit with the film opening.
In a real media product the opening scene must do a number of things, including introducing characters, establish the setting of the film and make it clear of the products genre. We established the main character, mainly due to the fact that despite the infected zombies, he is the only character remaining, and is thus the focal point of the film. The zombies can be identified by their messy domineer, ripped clothes and animalistic behaviour and movement. This is a key convention of the zombie sub genre. We did however challenge some conventions as in many zombie films, the zombies themselves are slow and sluggish and we decided that to have a more intense chase scene the zombies needed to be quick and agile. I feel that this worked very well and made our product stand out to others all ready in existence.
The setting was created in our opening scene to appear lifeless and desolate. We did this by only having Dan in the shot, and no traffic or members of the public. The music also helps the audience to feel the settings isolated and dead environment. Many other film openings use either fast or slow music to help set the scene and create an atmosphere. We used the atmosphere of the scene to make the genre obvious to the reader. The slow music at the start creates an atmosphere of isolation and desolation, typical of the post-apocalyptic genre, which is a sub genre of horror. The zombie scream and zombie characters themselves, who are covered in blood are typical of the horror genre, again making it clear to the audience. We developed this by using fast music during the chase to create a build of tension and amplify speed. This makes the scene more intense, again typical of the horror genre.
Overall i would say that our Film opening certainly follows conventions that existing film opening follow, however we have challenged some of these conventions by trying things differently and experimenting during pre-production and production. We also developed conventions of existing zombie films, for example making the zombies faster, in my opinion making the product better and therefore will become more successful.
We followed many conventions of real media products, in that we followed the same processes when creating the product. All film makers test different camera angles and shots to see which they prefer, similar to how we created a short preliminary task to try out shots and angles. We created a story board for each part of the film opening which is exactly what must be done for real media products. We also researched into existing media products to draw inspiration for our own, and spent a long time choosing appropriate locations and music to fit with the film opening.
In a real media product the opening scene must do a number of things, including introducing characters, establish the setting of the film and make it clear of the products genre. We established the main character, mainly due to the fact that despite the infected zombies, he is the only character remaining, and is thus the focal point of the film. The zombies can be identified by their messy domineer, ripped clothes and animalistic behaviour and movement. This is a key convention of the zombie sub genre. We did however challenge some conventions as in many zombie films, the zombies themselves are slow and sluggish and we decided that to have a more intense chase scene the zombies needed to be quick and agile. I feel that this worked very well and made our product stand out to others all ready in existence.
The setting was created in our opening scene to appear lifeless and desolate. We did this by only having Dan in the shot, and no traffic or members of the public. The music also helps the audience to feel the settings isolated and dead environment. Many other film openings use either fast or slow music to help set the scene and create an atmosphere. We used the atmosphere of the scene to make the genre obvious to the reader. The slow music at the start creates an atmosphere of isolation and desolation, typical of the post-apocalyptic genre, which is a sub genre of horror. The zombie scream and zombie characters themselves, who are covered in blood are typical of the horror genre, again making it clear to the audience. We developed this by using fast music during the chase to create a build of tension and amplify speed. This makes the scene more intense, again typical of the horror genre.
Overall i would say that our Film opening certainly follows conventions that existing film opening follow, however we have challenged some of these conventions by trying things differently and experimenting during pre-production and production. We also developed conventions of existing zombie films, for example making the zombies faster, in my opinion making the product better and therefore will become more successful.
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