Feedback

The feedback on our opening 2 minutes were mainly positive

one person said: As I have told you before the soundtrack is amazing it fits with your film really well and I cannot believe you found such a good non-copyright background track

another said: Hmmm, well this was pretty good but I really think, something to keep in mind for your next project is to work on editing. Like having a mix of quick cuts and fades to make it more dramatic. Also the narrative wasn't quite clear enough for the opening of a film. It almost felt more like a trailer. But on a positive note you did keep your shots nice and steady with good camera angles

Another said: I really like the swings it gave us a real sense of the atmosphere and mood the movie would be like

another said: I want to watch the whole film!!

another said: wow this is really good, it looks like you put your all into this

another said: nice choice of actors, a real sense of discomfort

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

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

 Through out the project i feel i have grasped a better understanding of the editing programme and how to use the cameras and i feel alot more confident and knowledgable about the whole process. As a team we have learnt to experiment with different shot types such as high angle shots (although they didnt appear in our final 2 minute opening). In our film we had to make a line 180 degree rule to create shot reverse shot in the interview scene between kate and the interviewer, to do this we should have used floor markings so we knew where to place the camera but unfortunatley this didnt occur to us at the time, whereas in our pre-liminary task we didnt experiment with shots like this and didnt think about how it would look when it came to editing it and so stuck to using the standard shot types and lengths. We also used match on action where shelby and rebeccas characters arehaving an argument, to do this we had to improve our editing skills to make sure that it competely matched and flowed as the camera shot changed. Not only did we vary our shot types and angles we also used a microphone in our final film which we didnt use before in our preliminary task. We also watched out for any mistakes and continuity errors like we had in our preliminary task e.g the two flushes in the toilets. We did experience this at one point though whn we originally uploaded our 2 minute opening onto youtube and we had mixed up some shots where we had made shots so it didnt match up. Overall i think we have improved alot since our preliminary task and the research and planning we did also helped as this included creating a script, a shot list of what type of shots we were going to use and a storyboard so everything was alot me organised and it elt like we were more incontroll of what we were doing and that we knew what we wanted to create.

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

windscreen microphone - This microphone enabled us to capture the conversation in the interview scene without any frequency or distortions. The windscreen enables the microphone to hear things really clear and picks up the slightest of sound really easily so when we were filming you had to be very quiet so that it didnt pick up any unwanted sound.

The tripod enabled us to move the camera smoothly and more professionally without the wobbling of free hand. I think we benefited from using the tripod because it made us feel more confident behind the camera and also made our shots alot clearer.



The cameras we used for our project enabled us to capture high definitive shots. The camera was really easy to use with simple, easy to use buttons, although we had trouble knowing whether we had stopped filming or not and accidentally caught footage of us discussing the film and directing the project but we figured it out towards the end of the project and had to reshoot the scenes and edit the unwanted footage out.

The camera enabled us to take photos such as our set and actors. It also helped us to decide what location we would be using as we took pictures of it then looked through them and decided which location looked the best on our camera and what we thought worked best.

Programmes we used :

• Adobe Premiere Elements 7 - our editing software was very hard to use at first but you learnt as you went along.

•  Photoshop - we already knew how to work photoshop so it was relatively easy although it wasnt used  much

• Paint - we used this for our mood board and putting together the 9 screen shots in our evaluation

• Youtube  - we used youtube alot throughout our project including uploading our videos and when annalysing other films

• Blogger - Blogger was fun to play around with and very easy to use, none of us knew what to do but it is now quite addictive. it was also nice to use a new programme and the method of displaying our work was interesting

• Facebook - Facebook and other social networks helped us to advertise our final product to recieve feedback and helped us to survey for our target audiences and questionnaire

How did you attract/address your audience?

We have annotated our youtube video with speech bubbles highlighting ways in which our film opening links to other similar films in order to attract our audience. Our annotations refer to genre conventions, our music and similarities with other films.

Here is our annotated youtube clip:

Who would be the audience for your media product?

We aimed our opening manly at people of a similar age group to us. This is Gemma wo is another media student in our class. We spoke to Gemma and decided to use her as •template for our target audience.

Our target audience:

•  is manly teenagers/young adults age 14-30
• Unisex
• •Someone into mystery
• •Someone who like to try and work things out for themselves
• •Loves the element of surprise
• Thrillers are generally particularly popular with theunder 25's and have a slight female tilt.

Gemma is really into rock/punk music and so loves shopping in HMV but is also style conscious and likes to shop at Primark as its stylish without the price tag. She's also into TV dramas with a murder mystery/thriller genre like Wire In The Blood. She also likes to watch Merlin and is a big fan of the thriller genre.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

similarities -

The two characters are vulnerable looking troubled teenagers.

Both costumes are casual and relatable to the teenage audience

differences -

The genre of film

Different ages

Our media product does not particuarly represent a social group all in all but our film could definitely fit in with the teenage society.

similarities -

both work in office environment

similar costume linking in with them both working within an office

differences -

different genres

different age

characters differ and have different personalities and habbits

In what ways does your media product use,develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e of film openings)

These are my nine screen grabs of our final piece that I have chosen to evaluate and write about how they are typical or not of opening sequences of the same genre.

Frame 1- Title of Film: This screen grab of our Title of the film is quite similar to other thrillers I have looked at and analysed. It is quite simple but very bold as the white font on the black background compliments each other and makes the title very vibrant. Most thrillers have a title that creates an impact on the audience. The title of our film "Homicide" uses the convention of a real media products because 'homicide' is a synonym of assasination where The Assassination is a real film.

Frame 2- Setting/Location: I chose this screenshot as there is a lot of background in the image, which shows the setting and the location. I think the setting and location we have used is quite typical for an thriller. The location we used for our film is a local council estate which we thought was perfect for what we imagined and expressing the mood we were trying to convey. Just behind Kate there is a park which we also used in our film so the location we chose was quite fortunate as everything we needed was around the same area. Our media product challenges the forms and conventions of a thriller film because our location is unique.

Frame 3- Costumes and Props: I have used this image as it has our only prop in the image. Our costume and props are appropriate for the thriller genre and are able to help set the scene. We did not want to use many props as we thought they would be a distraction so to add realism in the interview scene we used a piece of paper because not only did Harry not learn his lines but it is an extra effect that works as a prop and fits with the context of the scene. Harry is dresed smartly which is idealy suited to hs character as he is interviewing shelby's character.

Frame 4- Camera Work and Editing: I have chosen this shot from our opening sequence which is a medium shot of Shelby. The camera work and editing helped us develop the forms and conventions of a real media project. We found the interview scene challenging to match up with the 180 degree rule and reverse cutting. The one thing we did not include which could of got us extra marks is some over the shoulder shots.

Frame 5- Title Font and Style: I have used this screen shot because it shows the title font and the style we have used. Like the title of the film it is very bold and uses contrasting colours to make it stand out. The sophisticated and realistic font style we used portrays the conventions of a real media product.
  

Frame 6- Story and how the opening sets it up: The plot of our film is a flashback of a murder. Kate the murderer is in denial in the next scene and believes she has done nothing wrong. This is use of a real media product because it is a stereotypical interpretation of the thriller/murder mystery genre.
This shot shows the murder happening and could be interpreted as a match on action shot. Also because it shows characters, costume, setting and the characters in a compromising position, it conveys an idea of what the film may be about and the type of genre that it belongs to.

Frame 7- Genre and how the opening suggests it: The opening of the film suggests the genre because of the distributor Universal pictures. Universal recently released a crime thriller film called ' 4.3.2.1 ' By Noel Clarke. This might give the audience a hint into the genre. I think we achieved the genre but we could have made the narrative clearer.

Frame 8- Special Effects: The only special effect we used in our film was the title animation which was an effect already on Adobe Premiere Elements.   1 - starts off as normal text 2 - spins from side to side 3- transitions to number 4 where the effect introduces the next scene this challenges the traditional conventions of a real media product because it is rarely used.

Frame 9- How characters are introduced: Our main character Kate is introduced by a mid-shot of her bottom half. This creates mystery as the audience are eager to find out who she is. This develops the form of a our media product.

out takes

we manaaged to find some extra time and edit togetehr our outakes from the interview scene. we uploaded it onto youtube. here it is:

Final 2 minute piece

we have finally finished our final 2 minute opening and uploaded it onto youtube.

filming/editing

we finally finished all of our filming and got the interview scene shot. we are currently editing it all together and should finish very soon. the deadline is tomorrow so hopefully all goes to plan. we may even be able to start evaluating it today XD

final filming

we're finally gettting the last of our filming done today. the plan was to have it completed by next week but some of the cast didnt have their costumes prepared. all should go well today

music update

we have been editing our opening and have come to the decision that we no longer want to use the music we are currently using and are changing it to a non-copyright piece found on audio network.

you can find it on the following link: http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/track_mixes_ecomm.asp?type=3&parentid=9907&l1=Style+%2F+Genre&l2=Drama&l3=Urban&l1c=2&l2c=11&l3c=10130&TrackName=Buried+Alive

script update

we haven't filmed the interview scene yet but we thought that the script was too long for the scene and that some of the dialogue was unnecessary. this is our new shortened version:

Interviewer: So you were spotted outside one stop at 7:03pm. Had you seen Nadine earlier in the day?

Kate: Yes. I was supposed to meet her at 6.30 but she didn’t meet me till 6.45 because she’d just had an argument with her boyfriend.

---

Interviewer: People said they heard raised voices, shouting and then screams. You were then shortly spotted outside one stop. (Looks down at papers) The body was found at 8:00pm (looks back up), and passer-by identified the suspect with a description matching yours.

Kate: Well I was already home by then. My next door neighbour had to press the buzzer to let me i…

*knock knock*
-assistant walks in-

Assistant: I have your, uh, papers and you have an urgent message.

Interviewer:  Just leave them on the desk. This won’t take long.

Half term

we've just returned back from half term. unfortunately we were unable to complete any filming over the week because the shots we have left to film require being filmed in school and this was not possible. However we are all up to date with editing and our blogs so this should not cause any inconvenience for us.

we are scheduled to film next wednesday

editing

due to filming being cancelled we have now decided to edit. we have edited what we filmed last week and also put the music with it too. we are hoping to have the filming completed by the end of february. however, february half term is next week and the location we chose to shoot for the interview scene is located on the school site so  i dont think we'll be able to do any filming for that over half term. although, we return to school before the end of february, so as long as we are organised, we may be able to complete that within the week we return to school.
although it doesnt matter if we dont finish filming within this time limit. :D

filming cancelled!

we were going to go out filming today to get the train shot. unfortunately the weather has taken a turn for the worst and its raining so we are now unable to film as it would ruin the continuity.

train times

train times

Leaving	From	To	Arriving
14:32	Ashtead [AHD]	Leatherhead [LHD]	14:35
14:41	Ashtead [AHD]	Leatherhead [LHD]	14:44
14:51	Ashtead [AHD]	Leatherhead [LHD]	14:54

our filming includes a long shot of a train rushing past. we have planned to go out filming later to capture this, and so i have looked at train times to ensure that we can get this. however, the train times only show when the train is leaving and when it arrives and we will be shooting from a bridge between the two stations, so we will have to estimate when it will pass and be prepared for when it comes.

institution research

Universal studios recently released a crime thriller film called ' 4.3.2.1 ' By Noel Clarke. We thought it would be a good idea to also use Universal studios as our 2 minute opening film genre is thriller and the use of Universal might give the audience a hint into the genre we have chosen.

certificate research

bbfc ( the british board of film classification) set guidlines and certify films. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, non-governmental body funded through the fees it charges to those who submit films and video works for classification.
The BBFC classifies films on behalf of the local authorities who license cinemas under the Licensing Act 2003.


We would classify our film opening as a 12 as it has scenes of violence, although not brutal.

music update

I 've previuosly posted about what music we would like to use and what we want it to sound like. We have looked at various non- copy right music and found this on youtube:


its non-copy right so we will be able to use it in our piece and is similar sounding to what we wanted to achieve, although we are not certain that this is what we will end up using for the final piece.

We went out filming today as scheduled. It was a little bit sunny which i thought would effect our filming and the appearance of the shots but it didnt disrupt anything and came out fine. We've also loaded up the filming that we have done today and have started to edit it.

February Research and Planning Mark

Excellent research into different film openings
Some good audience profiling
There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes and props
Your blog is looking detailed, with good sue of online diary/screen shots etc

At the moment your mark is 14/20 which is a B because of what is missing (see below)

Target: Shotlists and storyboarding / animatic

time line

February

February half term - blog try and do some filming

Everything has got to be filmed by the end of the month.

Easter break maybe do some extra filming just incase!

Editing in chunks will be easier so we will edit as we go along

March-April editing

end of april - finished!

Today we loaded up we have filmed so far and edited it.
We plan to go out filming again on the 9/2/11. We will carry on filming shelby and the build up to the murder.

Opening title sequences of films

for our 2 minute openign we will be including the opening titles. i have looked at various films with similar and disimilar genres and the order which their titles appear, for how long they appear and how they appear; do they fade in? Obviously we don't need to think about this until editing but i thought it would be a good idea to know what is best and so that we know what we are doing and so we can combine this with our filming in case we need to extend a shot.
Here are the films i looked at and the ways in which the titles were presented.

Film	Opening titles sequence
John Tucker Must Die	Production companys (black backgound) Director (black background) Film title (black background) Cast names Casting by: Costume designer Music by: Edited by: Production designer Director of photography Executive producer/s Produced by:
Mr and Mrs Smith	Production company (black background) Distributer company (black background) Financing company (black background) Film title (black background)
About A Boy	Production company (black background) Director/s Cast Film title Casting by: Make-up & hair designer Music by: Costume designer Editor Production designer Director of photography Executive producer Co-producers
Broken Arrow	Production  (black background) Director Cast Film Title Casting by: Music by: Co-producer Editor/s Production designer Director of photography

Script

this is the script that we will be using for our final 2 minute sequence. much of our filming and shots are of kate approaching the location where she murders nadine. the script is for the interview scene

The Murder
Written by Shelby Robinson & Georga West

Harry Kent as The Interviewer
Rebecca Smith as Nadine Farland
Shelby Robinson as Kate van Sine
Nicole Watts as The Assistant

Interviewer: you need to start telling the truth Kate. You need to tell me what happened so we can get to the end of this. The sooner you tell me the sooner we’ll be done with this.
Kate: Don't call me Kate
Interviewer: The sooner you tell me what happened the sooner you we can be done with this
---
Kate: I was walking home and I saw her walking towards me with mascara smudged down her face, she looked upset and angry like she’d just had another fight with Tony.
Interviewer: I assume tony was her boyfriend?
Kate: Yeah. She started accusing me of having some affair with Tony. But I mean, I wouldn’t do that, she was my friend. Look, I’ve told you the truth; you can't hold me here, where is your evidence? I have an alibi
Interviewer: We have evidence showing you outside one stop minutes after the incident. In the post mortem the body of Miss Farland was said to have been outside in the blistering cold for an hour. (Looks down at papers) The body was found at 8:00pm (looks back up), and passer-by identified the suspect with a description matching yours. The witness was walking to the grocery store just 1/2 a mile down the road from one stop.
Kate: Well was I home at exactly then. My next door neighbour had to press the buzzer to let me in
Interviewer: We will have to…

*knock knock*
-assistant walks in-
Interviewer: this is a bad time, leave them on the desk and go..
Assistant: I need an urg -
Interviewer: GO! NOW

Filming schedule

To make life easier and so that we can make as much progress as possible we have created a shooting schedule as to when we can film and when we have free lessons.

Period 3 Tuesday week 1
Period 3 Thursday week 1
Period 3 Friday week 1
Period 5 Tuesday week 2 (enrichment sessions (although we can gain permission to film in this time)
Period 4 Wednesday week 2
Period 5 Friday week 2

filming

last wednesday we went out and started our first piece of filming. we went out to film the argument, building up to 'the murder' scene. we forgot to take a tripod out with us but still managed to film what we wanted. we were joined by becca as she plays nadine and is the victim in the film.

Costume

we have researched into the types of clothes our charcaters will be wearing and the types of costume that would be most suited to them and what the characters are like.


the interviewer is to wear a suit so he looks professional and powerful and so that he looks smart.


murderer. for the kate we wanted her to wear dark clothes so she comes across as sinister and threatening. we did this by putting her in black and by giving her some boots with studs so she looks tough and intimidating.


Kate will also have another costume as she will be involved in the interview which happens at a different day to the murder. she will be wearing a blazer, ripped jeans and a plain t-shirt. this is so that she looks smart but not to the extent that the interviewer and the assistant do.

 






like the interviewer we wanted the assistant to look smart and professional so she will also be wearing a suit.

victim. as nadine is suppose to appear innocent and normal, we put her in some leggings and uggs and so she looks like she's into fashion as this is typical for a young girl to be interested in. we also gave her  a blue coat so she looks young and stands out.

Cast

We took ideas for our characters from celebrities. We then went and found people who we thought looked like this to star in our film.

Kate - we chose the murderer to look evil and mysterious. frankie from the saturdays portrays this feeling in this photo as she looks scheming and evil. Shelby will star as Kate as she has a similar look and can also portray these feelings and emotions.

Nadine - we have chosen becca to play nadine as she looks innocent and like an everyday person. Because she looks innocent she would  make a good victim and seems easy to decieve. we wanted the victim to look pure and innocent.

Interviewer - the interviewer has to look smart and grown up. He should also seem smart and knowledgeable. we thought zac efron works here as he has his hair slicked back in a mature, smart way and the suit radiates power and knowledge. we felt harry could create this feeling too.

Assistant - we wanted the assistant to be smart and pretty. We also wanted her to seem quite timid. This is a typical stereotype of a red head and that they are shy. Nicole is obviously a red head and therefore suits the role. shes also pretty.



While we were out taking photos last week we started making a video diary of our filming and out opening 2 mins.
This was us on set:

Music ideas

Shelby and i have discussed what type of music we want to use for our opening, and what we imagine it to sound like. We thought it should sound dark and eery. We found this: paramore, decode, and imagined the introduction to be similar to what we imagined.

Shot list

Shot	Shot description	Audio and Dialogue
1	Long shot of urban area. Graffiti wall	Non – copyright music
2	Long shot of desolate woodland	" "
3	Long shot of train racing past	" "
4	Medium shot of Kate walking through alley way	" "
5	Long shot of Kate walking through woodland	" "
6	Medium shot to long shot of Kate walking up steps of railway bridge	" "
7	Medium shot of Kate walking across railway bridge	" "
8	Medium shot of swings swinging/ park	" "
9	Long shot of Kate standing in urban alley way	" "
10	Close up of Kate standing in urban alley way	" "
11	Medium shot of Kate standing in urban alley way whilst Nadine approaches	" "
12	Over the shoulder shot of interviewer interviewing Kate about her meeting with Nadine	Non copyright music in background with script over the top: Interviewer: So you were spotted outside one stop at 7:03pm. Had you seen Nadine earlier in the day?
13	Over the shoulder shot of Kate being interviewed by interviewer about her meeting with Nadine	Non copyright music in background with script over the top: Kate: Yes. I was supposed to meet her at 6.30 but she didn’t meet me till 6.45 because she’d just had an argument with her boyfriend.
14	Over the shoulder shot of Nadine and Kate arguing	Non – copyright music
15	Over the shoulder shot of Kate and Nadine arguing – switched angle	" "
16	Medium shot of interviewer and Kate	Non copyright music in background with script over the top: Interviewer: People said they heard raised voices, shouting and then screams. You were then shortly spotted outside one stop. (Looks down at papers) The body was found at 8:00pm (looks back up), and passer-by identified the suspect with a description matching yours. Kate: Well I was already home by then. My next door neighbour had to press the buzzer to let me i… *knock knock* -assistant walks in- Assistant: I have your, uh, papers and you have an urgent message. Interviewer:  Just leave them on the desk. This won’t take long.
17	Medium shot of Nadine unconscious on floor of alley way	Non – copyright music
18	Medium shot of Kate running away back over the railway bridge	" "
19	Medium shot of Kate hiding behind a tree in panic	" "