Evaluation Question Seven - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the main task?

Research and Planning

When creating my prelim task all I did was to make sure to follow the rule of thirds when filming and to overlap footage to allow editing to be easier. The conversation which takes place was completely improvised so the quality appears poor not only because of that, but because I paid little to no attention to cinematography, mise-en-scene, diegetic sound or lighting.

As I developed understanding of the conventions of real media products through my research and planning it became apparent to me the complexity that is involved when creating a moving image product. Not because the production itself is complicated but because it has to be well planned and every detail needs to be specific and to a high standard in order to achieve a professional looking final product.
My product was well planned in the sense that I knew exactly how I wanted everything to be and had it all planned to the minor detail but my time management was not what it could have been. Some sections of my product had to be altered completely from the initial idea due to lack of time.
I made sure that I paid close attention to each detail to ensure fluent edits in my final product and used a range of camera angles so that there was a wide variety for the audience.

Construction

The location of my film was difficult when shooting because I wanted to make the areas seen in the product seem bigger than it is in reality, to do this I purposely angled each shot so that it looks as though my actor was travelling through different areas as oppose to the small circle he was really walking in. Some camera movements appear more shakey than they should be, this is true because a still shot might have looked more professional but the constantly shakey edges of the screen ensure the audience isn't calm whilst watching the film. It was intentional to fit with the genre of my final product.

All diegetic sound in my product was kept, similar to my prelim task although I did add non-diegetic music for the entirety of the sequence, this was to captivate the audience more and the diegetic sound was left in completely so that it adds an aspect of realism to the product.

The two screenshots above display my final product (first) and my prelim task (second). One immediate observation when comparing the two is that the camera angle chosen for my prelim is simple, the one used in my final product is not. This shows that I became more confident with my skills when using a camera whilst creating my final product, using what I learnt from my prelim.

I did not choose actors for my prelim task, there are no genuine reason why it is those two people specifically in the sequence. For my actual moving image product I chose a character that may seem unusual to some people, as though he is up to something mysterious that no one can figure out. I also paid slight attention to mise-en-scene in my final product, the character is wearing a hoody so the audience gets a feeling as though he must have caused some sort of trouble, it's not raining and his hood is up. He didn't want people to see his face.

The lighting was not taken into account until I had to re-shoot part of my final product to improve it from the rough cut. I realised that it could be noticable since it was shot entirely outside, I scheldualed shooting on multiple days untill the weather matched what was in my original footage so the editing would be fluent.

Evaluation Question Six - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

From using the video camera to capture the footage for my product I learnt how to actually execute specific shots and camera angles as oppose to just having the knowledge of what they are and how to identify them. I also learnt about control with lighting and depth of field, and how both are factors that need to be considered when filming or I would risk poor quality in my final product.

With use of the tripod I learnt how it can greatly enhance the quality of some shots captured with the camera because it can maintain a steady shot, without this the footage would show signs that it was handheld (slightly shakey edges on screen). Although that was the intention of my product and none of the footage I shot with assistance of the tripod was put into my final product, I still learnt how it is useful and arguably required.

The Imac was something I was not at all familier with since I had rarely used one before and instead prefere a windows PC. Despite this the advantages of using the software available on the Imac became apparent once I had experimented with them and discovered how to use them efficiently. I've learnt that the Imac was the perfect piece of hardware when it came to finalising my product and putting all of the footage together. Editing and soundtrack creating was rediculously easy once I knew how to work each program too.

Photoshop benefitted my production as it was the program that I used to created my company logos and the title screen for my film, all were placed into my final product and were of great quality because of this software.

Final Cut Express is the program that I used to view all my footage once it had been shot and transfered (via firewire cable from tape) and to edit everything into place. This benefitted my production because without it, everything would have had to be one constant shot, with not editing of effects added at all. This would not only have resulted in a poorer quality product but would have massively limited creativity.

GarageBand is the piece of software I used to compose and create the soundtrack to my product. This

helped to improve the quality of my product as without it I would have had to record a soundtrack with real instruments and just imported it into Final Cut Express. With this program I was able to compose with small pre-recorded segments available on GarageBand itself, mix them together and cut it to size to match the requirements for my final product.

Prezi helped my production because it was a convienient way to display all my audience research and made it easy to reflect on it whilst creating my actual moving image product.

Evaluation Question Five - How did you attract/address your audience?

- Using Primary Audience Research

My audience wanted to see a product that would primarily keep them entertained through curiosity and a lack of understanding the narrative untill a subtle final reveal. This is the objective for other producs that share a similar genre to what I have created.

The way in which this is evident in my product is that it begins with a low profile action sequence, showing the protagonist fleeing from something unseen to the audience. This cuts to the protagonist leaning against a wall with a cigarette, the editing style I used added to the illusion of the narrative by cutting between these two scenes for a few shots before blending into the rest of the opening sequence of my product. This initiates a flashback sequence and therefore lays the groundwork for what to expect from the rest of the film, that the narrative would maintain entertainment whilst slowing revealing the backstory.

- How I Used Audience Feedback Throughout

The difference between the rough cut of my final product and my actual finished product is the entire first half of the opening sequence. The initial idea was kept but with an action sequence added as an extra prologue to grasp the attention of the audience immediately. I was required to re-shoot the wall scene with the protagonist smoking because in the rough cut it was a single 40 second shot with an unstable camera. Because of the genre of my product I needed more variety in my camera angles and editing so I filmed the sequence three more times and edited it together adding a more captivating technique.

- Final Audience Feedback



- Conclusion Of How I Attracted My Audience

What attracted my audience towards my product is the unique style of editing with a constant irregular pacing and the actual title of the product. Having 'Confusion' as the title for my film confirms what genre it was intending to be but also makes the audience expect a complex and difficult to interpret narrative. The main attraction for my audience is curiosity of what will happen after the sequence I created has finished and wanting to understand the narrative. My product shares similarities with other products of the same genre but displays alot of differences as techniques are 'borrowed' from different genre stereotypes to create a unique final product.

Evaluation Question Four - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Following secondary research in the initial stages of my project, I found the audience of Donnie Darko was a balance of male and female aged 16-25. I then conducted primary research which suggested that I should aim my product at a similar audience. Therefore the audience for my media product would be people aged 16-25 of both genders.

Evaluation Question Three - What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

The stages of production that my product would go through are:
  - Pre-production
  - Production
  - Marketing
  - Distribution
  - Exchange

The role of a distributor is to release films to the public for consumption. This includes how the final product is rated depending on content, where it is made available to an audience through theatrical release or home entertainment. It also includes the exchange of the product which is when it is sold either to consumers or the rites of the entire product are sold to a different distributor for them to do what they want with it.

A company that would distribute my product is Summit Entertainment, I think this because they have been responsible for distributing films from a similar genre to my product, such as Source Code and Memento. They don't specialize in only the thriller genre though, they have a wide variety of film genres that they have distributed.

Since both Memento and Source Code did quite well at the box officer I would say that Summit Entertainment have a decent knowledge of the target audience for this genre. This would give an advantage to distributing my product because they would know how to approach marketing, advertisement and exchange. My product is similar to some of the films they have already been involved with but differs greatly too, mainly because alot of what they distribute are high budget projects, although not all are. The company has a good reputation because it is still releasing high profile mainstream films newly on a regular basis, this is important because consumers will trust the company. I think that this also helps with more niche films as they can ride their reputation and take risks. My product is more of a niche film so it would fit with this company as they have done some similar releases already and are continuing to do so.

My film would be advertised through an online viral campaign as that is usually what works best for products whose genre is a twist on thriller. This combined with a poster campaign would be the most affective way to create awareness of my product and reach the desired target audience.

I don't think that my film would be suited for film festivals due to the experimental nature of the idea and the possiblity of it being only for a very small niche audience. The best way to distribute my product would be to premiere in cinemas and then make available for digital download on either a website devoted to the film or the production/distribution company.

Evaluation Question Two - How did you represent social groups?

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

Final Product

Rough Cut of Final Product

This is the rough cut of my final moving image product. I am required to re-shoot part of it so I have a wider range of camera angles in use. The section I will re-shoot is the very beginning when the protagonist is leaning against a wall as the opening credits roll.

Animated Logos

Creating Logos - Part Three

Above are screen shots of the third logo I had to create, this wasn't for a company but for the actual title of the film which will also be displayed during the opening sequence. As is visible through the images this was an experimental process in which I tried a few different combination until final deciding upon one which was a bit more simplistic compared to others I attempted. There are also screen shots above of me editing the image into sequence using final cut express, the final image shows the finished product how it will look in the film introduction, I decided I preferred the look when all color was drained.

Creating Logos - Part Two

This second logo is made for a distribution company, I came up with a name for it and decided to attempt to create a chaotic appeal for it.

To begin with I was adamant on having the first letters of each word stand out from the rest, my first try at this was to simply paint over them in black, this was not successful when adding effects though.

After adding the effects for the background that I wanted to use it was clear that the black text would not work, so I decided to change it to crimson red, which was much more effective. After this I added one last effect so that the background would appear to be completed. The finished logo is shown below.

Creating Logos - Part One

To begin with I chose the name for my production company and a suitable text to associate it.

Next I began messing around with different paint brush effects to try and find one that could accompany my chosen text. My aim was to create an image that would have a retro look and appear as though it could have been handwritten on stained paper.

With the added effect the image immediately appeared enhanced, there was still some blank spaces though and despite that being part of my aim I needed to add something else. I chose an altered version of the first effect I used.

Because of this second effect I chose it made the stain and splatter an illusion that it was not created by one spill, so that adds to the aim of a retro look because multiple stains would infer that it had been neglected for longer. With this aim I also managed to create an image that looked professional too. The image below is the finished version of my production company logo. As a final touch I added a relatively dull background with parts of the color faded. The color the text and effects are complemented by the background color so the whole image is quite effective and easy to read.

Soundtrack Construction

Below are screen shots taken during the creation of my soundtrack. It was made experimentally as I didn't initially think that the mix I chose would work together as a soundtrack or even simultaneously with my footage. The screen shots display how I edited the volume levels in order to seamlessly blend the entirety of the soundtrack together.

Research and Planning Feedback

I was instructed that it would not be possible to film my initial idea, so I had to alter what the content of my product would have been. By doing this, the sub-genre of action in the strong thriller genre that it is was removed.

The narrative of my product was actually made stronger by the removal of the action sequence idea.

I was also told that in the animatic, because I had indicated a 43 second long shot that the idea may have to be altered when it comes to creating the product. It is possible however that I can test how well the technique will work in my rough cut product.

Production Update

6 weeks until Easter
4 weeks remaining on product construction

Monday 5th March - Rough cut of final product

Monday 19th March - Deadline for final product

Monday 19th - Friday 30th March - Working on 7 evaluation questions

MONDAY 16th APRIL - COMPLETED PORTFOLIO HAND-IN

In next 2 weeks - Logos made, SFX + track, shooting

Vlog #1 - Film Idea Changed

Model Release Forms

Hazard Evaluation

Production Risk Assessment
Project title: Confusion                                              Shooting Date:
Location (One form per location): Vane Terrace

Producer: Alex Challies                                             Date:
Course: Media Studies                                               Level: AS

All Hazards that apply to this location:

- Audience / Public
- Heights
- Noise
- Roads
- Slipping, tripping, falling
- Smoking on set
- Stunts

Animatic

Primary Audience Research

I conducted primary audience research in order to:
 - Find out what appeals to my target audience
 - To discover any flaws or potential improvements that could be made to my film genre
 - To identify gaps in the market, and place a refreshing new twist on the genre



This is the chosen product I researched.
These are the questions I asked:

1. What did you think of the method used to display the title of the film?
2. What do you think of the locations used?
3. Do the opening titles give any indication towards the film's genre?
4. Can you understand the narrative from the opening sequence?
5. How do you feel whilst watching it?
6. What is the highlight of the opening sequence?
7. What is a weakness that you would improve?

From my audience research, I found that:
1. It felt somewhat forced and yet fluent simultaneously. This added an eerie aura as it was producing two conflicting views.
2. The locations appear to be random but later on in the film it is revealed that they are all significant to the narrative. This is affective because the audience feels a sense of joy from recognizing the introduction later on.
3. The opening titles give an indication towards a supernatural thriller, this is not the primary genre but the film has aspects of this.
4. There is absolutely no understanding of the narrative from the opening sequence, this is typical of the genre and equally effective as a technique.
5. Whilst watching this I feel like something is missing, which is the intention that the director had in mind. It shows an apparently random sequence but there is an unfinished sense in terms of the character.
6. The highlight of the opening sequence is how the very first shot lasts about 35 seconds, which is a long time for a single shot. From this it blends to reveal the film title.
7. One weakness that I would improve is the effects used to reveal the film title, although it fits with a strength it does feel slightly forced.

This tells me that the genre I have chosen is quite complex, there are many different techniques I could use for a successful execution but I must ensure that it all seems fluent, none of it forced. It also tells me that I can't show many indications towards the narrative right away, I need to maintain an unknown aspect and build to an understanding during the film. This does not come into the opening sequence however so I just need to make inferences towards a complex narrative.

Secondary Audience Research

This is the audience profile for the director's cut of Donnie Darko. The majority of the audience for this film is aged 15-34 years, this makes up 82% of the total audience. The percentage split for gender is almost equal, tilting only slightly towards more of a male audience compared to female audience. Understandably the film is targeted heavily towards middle and upper class, this is probably because it allows an easier relation to the characters for people who fit into this category.

This is the audience profile for Inception, the second film I analyzed was Memento but there was no profile for that, Inception is similar however and does display Memento as the comparable profile choice. The age of the target audience is primarily 15-34 years (the same as Donnie Darko) with 67% making up this total. Strangely, the percentage split for gender is exactly half for both male and female audience members. This film is also heavily aimed towards middle and upper class, with a total of 82% of the audience falling into this category.

Research Into Distributors of Similar Products

Donnie Darko:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/companycredits

Flower Films (II) is one of the production companies involved with the creation of Donnie Darko, other films that they have been involved in are:
50 First Dates
Charlie's Angels
Whip It

This shows that this specific production company makes Indie style films that differ from the usual blockbusters and are not what would be considered simple mind-numbing entertainment.
Despite alot of these films having quite a high budget, some don't so I think if I chose this company they could possibly be interested in producing my film.

Video Brief

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

Prelim Task (Moving Image)

Print Prelim Final Product

The front cover and contents page below are the end results of creation via the use of software Adobe photoshop and Indesign. The front cover was actually produced on photoshop and then transfered onto Indesign in order to save the image with the contents page; the contents page was created entirely using Indesign, because of these two variations in production the background colour for each page is slightly different although this was not intentional.
With the front cover I used a technique of it appearing almost child friendly and cartoon-like as the masthead uses a mix of bright colours, unusual for a display aimed at a primary audience composed of teenagers. The subtext to the right of the masthead and scrolling down the page is a preview of the contents page, for this I drew inspiration from a newspaper column layout. The main image is edited to duplicate the model in order to appeal to young people who are just starting college, it suggests that despite the large numbers everyone was in exactly the same situation.

For the contents page I used a layout with similar colour scheme to the front cover in order for some sort of imagery to remain consistent throughout. Inspiration for the contents page came from stereotypical 1960s american homicide police reports, the central page text designation and the layout of the title text is near identical and at least follows the same pattern. The yellow sections of text are used simply to highlight a quick caption of what is located on that page.

Photography Documents

Prelim Task - Flat Plan Rationale

I'll come back to this...

Photography Composition

Covers and Contents Pages of Inspiration

Below are examples of front covers and contents pages that I'm taking inspiration from for my prelim.

I like this front cover because it is unique, effective and makes the reader curious about the content before they even open the magazine to the first page. The masthead remains exactly the same in every issue, with the exclusion of the issue number. The main image is the only image on the front cover and is also fairly basic whilst managing to provide a successful horror genre feeling to it.

This contents page is effective because it uses a style that most magazines don't adopt, instead of just having a listing of the pages it has them in an appropriate and interesting layout. The magazine that this contents page is from is based on video game entertainment so the layout is made in a way that their target audience will immediately recognise the reference.

I like this front page for the same reason I like the first one, it is effective and makes the reader curious about the content. It is quite unusual however because the masthead is partially covered by the main image, considering the genre and assumed content of the magazine however it is quite effective.

This is more of a 'standard' contents page but is still effective as it uses a variety of images to acompany the text. On the larger of all the images there is also an enlarged page number which is showcasing one of the biggest stories in the magazine so the reader can go straight to that page if they wanted.

Brief: Print

Prelim exercise - using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school / college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.

Main Task - The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
A minimum of 4 images must be used. All images and graphics must be produced by candidate.