Issues encountered in Preliminary Task - struggled to stick to the 180 degree rule, some of our group stuggled to stay focused.
Examples of Improvement made in final product - focused more, made sure all shots were how we wanted them, stuck to shot schedule.
What skills have you improved upon or gained over the course of this project? - Leadership skills, how to use a camera better, learnt how to use Adobe Premiere Pro.
Friday, 27 April 2012
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt how to record and play back on a camcorder, how to upload the footage on to the computer and how to edit footage on Adobe Premiere Pro, how to insert audio effects and video transitions, and how to use Blogger.
Adobe Premiere Pro was hard to get used to but it had lots of audio and visual effects and resources to use. Blogger was simple and easy to use.
Adobe Premiere Pro was hard to get used to but it had lots of audio and visual effects and resources to use. Blogger was simple and easy to use.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
Profile for a typical audience member:
Name: John Bradshaw
Age: 19
Location: Wrexham
Likes: Cinema, surfing, art
Dislikes: Being bored, cooking, cleaning
Hobbies: Going to the cinema, chilling out and relaxing with a film
Favourite films: Scarface, The Panic In Needle Park, The Notebook
Favourite TV programmes: Crimewatch, C.S.I Miami, Family Guy
Favourite music: Garage, drum 'n' bass, electro house
My film would appeal to John because he enjoys crime films and also romance films.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A production company provides the physical basis for work in the realms of film, television, radio, etc.
Our production company is called 'High Craze Productions'. If we were to distribute our film, we would do it independently to save ourselves money, and we would do it via YouTube.
Cast:
Kessiah Pattenden - Herself
Hayley Jones - Herself
Ben Jones - Himself
Harrison Pattenden - Himself
Our production company is called 'High Craze Productions'. If we were to distribute our film, we would do it independently to save ourselves money, and we would do it via YouTube.
Cast:
Kessiah Pattenden - Herself
Hayley Jones - Herself
Ben Jones - Himself
Harrison Pattenden - Himself
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
A social group that our film represents: Family.
A screenshot from our film 'Love Drug', Kessiah and her son playing together.
A screenshot from 'Cheaper By The Dozen' showing the family eating dinner together.
I have represented my chosen social group by the Mother and Son happily playing together, I used mise-en-scene to create this representation. It is natural lighting because its a sunny day, the costume is very casual so it doesn't matter if they get dirty, the props used is the ball they are playing with. This creates a meaning of love, socialising, and learning to play.
A screenshot from our film 'Love Drug', Kessiah and her son playing together.
A screenshot from 'Cheaper By The Dozen' showing the family eating dinner together.
I have represented my chosen social group by the Mother and Son happily playing together, I used mise-en-scene to create this representation. It is natural lighting because its a sunny day, the costume is very casual so it doesn't matter if they get dirty, the props used is the ball they are playing with. This creates a meaning of love, socialising, and learning to play.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Title of our film.
We have used low key lighting, the same as other crime films have, this makes the shot look very mysterious, as if something illegal may happen. Also the title is in white to symbolise the drugs he is dealing, but also glowing red to symbolise romance of the story.
Titles - font and style.
We used a font that looked to fit the crime genre in the colour white to symbolise the drugs.
Location/setting
The location for this shot is a dark, low key lit bedroom, it is typical of a crime film as a lot of crime films use dimly lit rooms to show mysteriousness.
Costume/props
The characters are wearing casual clothing to show they are relaxing as a family, the prop used in this shot is Harrison's ball, its not a typical prop for a crime film as it does not cause any danger/harm such as a weapon which is a typical crime film prop.
Lighting
We have used low key lighting to make the scene look dark and dingy, and because the character is a drug dealer, he may be paranoid of the police raiding his home so he would like to make the house look empty and dark as if no one was there.
Characterisation
Here is a shot of the exchange of the drugs, this shows how the character behaves, selling drugs to young people, it is typical of a crime film as drug dealers tend not to care who they sell to.
Camera angles
This is a point of view shot of the drug dealer answering his phone to a customer, it is a typical shot for a crime film as the audience can see what the criminal is doing through his own eyes.
Editing transitions
Here is a shot which is fading out, it is typical of crime films because when the next shot comes in it shows time has passed.
Genre
Here it shows the drug dealer smoking, you cannot see his face which makes the shot seem very mysterious, this is typical of a crime film.
We have used low key lighting, the same as other crime films have, this makes the shot look very mysterious, as if something illegal may happen. Also the title is in white to symbolise the drugs he is dealing, but also glowing red to symbolise romance of the story.
Titles - font and style.
We used a font that looked to fit the crime genre in the colour white to symbolise the drugs.
Location/setting
The location for this shot is a dark, low key lit bedroom, it is typical of a crime film as a lot of crime films use dimly lit rooms to show mysteriousness.
Costume/props
The characters are wearing casual clothing to show they are relaxing as a family, the prop used in this shot is Harrison's ball, its not a typical prop for a crime film as it does not cause any danger/harm such as a weapon which is a typical crime film prop.
Lighting
We have used low key lighting to make the scene look dark and dingy, and because the character is a drug dealer, he may be paranoid of the police raiding his home so he would like to make the house look empty and dark as if no one was there.
Characterisation
Here is a shot of the exchange of the drugs, this shows how the character behaves, selling drugs to young people, it is typical of a crime film as drug dealers tend not to care who they sell to.
Camera angles
This is a point of view shot of the drug dealer answering his phone to a customer, it is a typical shot for a crime film as the audience can see what the criminal is doing through his own eyes.
Editing transitions
Here is a shot which is fading out, it is typical of crime films because when the next shot comes in it shows time has passed.
Genre
Here it shows the drug dealer smoking, you cannot see his face which makes the shot seem very mysterious, this is typical of a crime film.
Blog post number 13: The Edit
Effects we used for our film:
- Video transitions -Fade in at the opening. Fade out after my character ditches the bag. Fade out at the end of the video.
- Audio effects -We used a variety of audio effects; birds tweeting during the establishing shot to add to the sunshine, this gives a very summery effect; a baby's laughter for Harrison, to make the shot seem very innocent, this contrasts with the 'guilty' feel the drug dealer omits; a mobile phone ringing to tell the audience someone is trying to contact him; a heavy breathing sound when the drug deal is happening to tell the audience it is a point of view shot and that someone is watching it; a dog barking to show that it is happening in a housing estate. We also used a voiceover for my character to show what he is thinking and feeling about his own drug dealing.
Blog post number 12: Production Diary
Week 1 - This was the original date that we were meant to film our original video at my house. However, we could not get hold of Emma (our main actress) or Carly (actress) so we were only able to shoot minimal shots, the ones that none of them were in, this was very hard as Emma was our main character.
Week 2 - We were unable to film at my house as Carly and Emma were unable to sort transport.
Week 3 - Liv, Emma and I went to Carly's house in Gresford to film, we managed to get about three quarters of the filming done over a 2 hour period.
Week 4 - Emma, our main character dropped out of college but agreed to finish the film, so her and Carly came to my house to finish the filming we were meant to do in Week 1 but couldn't because we were unable to get in contact with them.
Week 5 - We started editing our footage in the editing suite.
Week 6 - We edited a significant amount of our film.
Week 7 - Our teacher told us we'd have to change our film because of poor acting and lack of variety in camera shots, so we came up with a new storyline, we made a new shot list and a new storyboard.
Week 8 - I went to Liv's house in Rossett to film all the shots that I was in, this took just over an hour.
Week 8 - Liv and Kessiah went to Hayley's house and used her garden to film all the shots that Kessiah, Hayley and Harrison were in, this took just over an hour and a half.
Week 9 - Liv, Carly and I started to edit our new footage in the editing suite.
Week 9 - We continued with our editing all week, including trimming down clips and putting in the titles. As we had no sound, I needed to record a voiceover for my character the drug dealer. I then edited that into the final piece, and inserted all the audio effects and video transitions.
Week 2 - We were unable to film at my house as Carly and Emma were unable to sort transport.
Week 3 - Liv, Emma and I went to Carly's house in Gresford to film, we managed to get about three quarters of the filming done over a 2 hour period.
Week 4 - Emma, our main character dropped out of college but agreed to finish the film, so her and Carly came to my house to finish the filming we were meant to do in Week 1 but couldn't because we were unable to get in contact with them.
Week 5 - We started editing our footage in the editing suite.
Week 6 - We edited a significant amount of our film.
Week 7 - Our teacher told us we'd have to change our film because of poor acting and lack of variety in camera shots, so we came up with a new storyline, we made a new shot list and a new storyboard.
Week 8 - I went to Liv's house in Rossett to film all the shots that I was in, this took just over an hour.
Week 8 - Liv and Kessiah went to Hayley's house and used her garden to film all the shots that Kessiah, Hayley and Harrison were in, this took just over an hour and a half.
Week 9 - Liv, Carly and I started to edit our new footage in the editing suite.
Week 9 - We continued with our editing all week, including trimming down clips and putting in the titles. As we had no sound, I needed to record a voiceover for my character the drug dealer. I then edited that into the final piece, and inserted all the audio effects and video transitions.
Blog post number 9: Costume, Props, Location, Casting
We made our film at Olivia's house in Rossett, I acted in her brother's room because we were able to make it look dark and dingy, just like the room would be of the drug dealer I was playing. We filmed Kessiah, Hayley and Harrison in Olivia's garden in the sunshine, to show the contrast between the two spots.
Costume is very important to a character aswell as it can display a character's importance, wealth, etc. I played a drug dealer, so I made sure I wore worn jeans and a black, baggy hoody to give me a very cheap and lazy look. Also, throughout the whol video, my hood is coverng my face, this is to give me a very mysterious look. Kessiah, Hayley an Harrison all wore casual clothing to make them look like the regular members of a family.
Props are also very important to a film, they help enhance the drama, help the actors do their job, and they can be invaluable components of the overall story. My characters props included a cigarette, a can of lager and a backpack, these props are all essential as they show the audience my personality, my pasttimes, etc. Kessiah's prop was the air ball that her and Harrison were playing with, it's important because it shows the audience they're bonding and playing with each other.
Costume is very important to a character aswell as it can display a character's importance, wealth, etc. I played a drug dealer, so I made sure I wore worn jeans and a black, baggy hoody to give me a very cheap and lazy look. Also, throughout the whol video, my hood is coverng my face, this is to give me a very mysterious look. Kessiah, Hayley an Harrison all wore casual clothing to make them look like the regular members of a family.
Props are also very important to a film, they help enhance the drama, help the actors do their job, and they can be invaluable components of the overall story. My characters props included a cigarette, a can of lager and a backpack, these props are all essential as they show the audience my personality, my pasttimes, etc. Kessiah's prop was the air ball that her and Harrison were playing with, it's important because it shows the audience they're bonding and playing with each other.
Blog post number 7: Audience Research
We carried out research into our potential target audience by asking a short series of questions to media students. The questions were as follows:
- Name:
- Age:
- Favourite film:
- Favourite TV programme:
- Favourite actor/actress:
- Favourite genre:
- Hobbies:
- Dislikes:
- Name: Jeffrey Roberts
- Age: 17
- Favourite film: 'Blow', 'The Godfather', 'Lock, Stock and Two Smokin' Barrells'
- Favourite TV programme: CSI, The Inbetweeners, Scrubs
- Favourite actor/actress: Angelina Jolie
- Favourite genre: Crime, comedy
- Hobbies: Skateboarding, socialising, computers, watching films
- Dislikes: Watching the news, reading newspapers
here is a picture of the student we interviewed.
From my research, I have learnt that everybody likes different films, TV programmes, genres. I have also learnt that stereotypically, girls don't watch just romance films and boys don't watch just action films, everyone has a diverse taste in film. Our target audience is people aged 15 years and older, people that enjoy crime/romance films, people that enjoy a film with a drugs themed storyline.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Blog post number 6: Production & Distribution
Media Institutions
There are 2 ways my group could decide to distribute our film, we could either market and distribute it independently, using websites such as YouTube, or we could research into small local distribution companies that we could use instead. If we chose to do it independently, we would set up a YouTube channel with our film on it and distribute it over the internet, on the other hand we could use a local distribution company and they would distribute it for us.
We would give our film a '15' certificate, as the film would show frequent drug references and mild/strong language.
There are 2 ways my group could decide to distribute our film, we could either market and distribute it independently, using websites such as YouTube, or we could research into small local distribution companies that we could use instead. If we chose to do it independently, we would set up a YouTube channel with our film on it and distribute it over the internet, on the other hand we could use a local distribution company and they would distribute it for us.
Age Ratings
Content age ratings give viewers/parents viewers an idea of whether a film/television program will be suitable for the viewer watching it, it is determined by the content of the film, it may contain strong language/violence/gore/sex/nudity/drugs/etc. The age ratings are set by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification)
The age ratings are:
- Uc - Universal, suitable for everyone, children in particular.
- U - Universal, suitable for everyone.
- PG - The film will have some scenes which may be unsuitable for children.
- 12 - Suitable for people aged 12 and over.
- 12A - Suitable for people aged 12 and over, if under 12 they should be accompanied by an adult.
- 15 - Suitable for people aged 15 and over.
- 18 - Suitable for adults only.
Blog post number 5: Mood Board
This is our group's mood board we made on the theme of 'crime'. We made a mood board because we knew it would help give us more ideas on possible props/locations, etc for our main task. We chose to include a variety of settings including high-rise council flats, council estates and terraced houses.We inserted typical props for the crime genre such as guns, a variety of illegal drugs, boy racer cars, we put in a picture of police to let people know our main task is a crime film if they didn't already know so. Lastly we put in a picture of two teenagers doing a drug deal, one handing over money and the other handing over illegal drugs.
Blog post number 4: Analysis of a Title Sequence
For this post I shall analyse an existing opening title sequence for a crime film.
The purpose of a title sequence is:
(in order)
This title sequence was designed by Saul Bass, it displays the conventions of a title sequence in the correct order, alongside dramatic music for the audience to realise its a tense crime film, after it displays the top billing actors titles, it shows 3 gangsters in a car, they end up pulling over because of a curious noise they hear from the rear of the car, one of them opens the boot to a half-dead body covered in blood, the other 2 stab and shoot him untill he's dead. The driver shuts the boot and the frame pauses to a first person narrative of the driver saying 'As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster'. This instantly tells the audience they are viewing a crime/gangster themed film. We can also tell this because of the props used; a large butchers knife, a Magnum gun, a crowbar and the expensive looking suits the gentlemen are wearing. The lighting used is from the red brake lights which remain on while the men are killing the man in the boot, the colour red symbolises blood and danger. These are all typical conventions of a crime film.
The purpose of a title sequence is:
- To introduce the film/programme
- Tells us the setting/location
- Tells us the genre of the film/programme
- Tells us the possible themes of the film/programme
- Tells us the period the film is set in
- Tells us information about the characters
- It gives the show a recognisable identity
- Its a warning the film is about to start
(in order)
- Name of the production company
- Production
- Top billing actors
- The film title
- Featured actors
- Crew (editor, director of photography, producer)
- Director
This title sequence was designed by Saul Bass, it displays the conventions of a title sequence in the correct order, alongside dramatic music for the audience to realise its a tense crime film, after it displays the top billing actors titles, it shows 3 gangsters in a car, they end up pulling over because of a curious noise they hear from the rear of the car, one of them opens the boot to a half-dead body covered in blood, the other 2 stab and shoot him untill he's dead. The driver shuts the boot and the frame pauses to a first person narrative of the driver saying 'As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster'. This instantly tells the audience they are viewing a crime/gangster themed film. We can also tell this because of the props used; a large butchers knife, a Magnum gun, a crowbar and the expensive looking suits the gentlemen are wearing. The lighting used is from the red brake lights which remain on while the men are killing the man in the boot, the colour red symbolises blood and danger. These are all typical conventions of a crime film.
Blog post number 3: Conventions of a Crime Film
The main conventions of a crime film include:
- Violence
- Drugs
- No respect for law enforcement
- Lack of empathy for people
- Taboo language
- Weapons (including knives, guns, bombs, etc.)
- Suits
- Low key lighting
- Gangsters
This clip demonstrates the use of conventions such as violence, no respect for law enforcement, lack of empathy for people, weapons, low key lighting, etc.
‘The Godfather’ a
typical crime film which has the stereotypical conventions of this genre.
Our chosen sub-genre within crime is ‘romance’.
The main conventions of a romance film include:
- Love
- Typical boy/girl characters who meet and fall in love.
- Romantic, scenic setting involving birds, flowers, etc.
- Drama
- Obvious display of emotion/passion
- Obstacles (such as finances, physical/mental illness, etc.)
- High key lighting when everythings good, low key lighting when things turn bad.
Blog post number 2: Preliminary Task
For the preliminary task, we recorded a short 2 minute clip
involving filming and editing a character opening a door, entering a room and
sitting down on a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then
exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. The task demonstrated match on action,
shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
What went well:
We recorded enough footage to reach the required length of
filming after editing, we stuck to the 180 degree rule, and used a variety of
camera shots.
What I learnt:
I learnt the functions of a camcorder, and how not to break the 180 degree rule, and
I gained basic knowledge on how to edit a video after editing our footage in
the editing suite.
Areas for improvement:
Welcome Post
Hello, and welcome to my blog. My name is Ben and I am currently studying AS Media Studies in Yale College in Wrexham..
Blog
This blog will chart my progress from my Research and Planning, the Construction of our Main Task, through to the Evaluation of our final product. This is a creative task and my writing must be supported by evidence which incorporates the use of images, audio, video and links to online resources.
Prelim Task
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 Crime fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks will be completed as a group. Maximum four members to a group.
Blog
This blog will chart my progress from my Research and Planning, the Construction of our Main Task, through to the Evaluation of our final product. This is a creative task and my writing must be supported by evidence which incorporates the use of images, audio, video and links to online resources.
Prelim Task
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 Crime fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks will be completed as a group. Maximum four members to a group.
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