Here we are,
The final product is here - after strenuous hours in the editing suite, clipping files, attaching text to motion track nodes, adjusting the pitch in our music - we finally have our finished product.
None of this would be possible without my team mate and mate Alex Hunter and a friend of ours Amy Heald, who came and helped us when we needed her. Thanks to you guys we have a thriller opening! Enjoy:
Saturday 30 April 2016
Thursday 21 April 2016
Evaluation: Question 7
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel have learnt in the progression from it to the main task?
The first stages required us to create our storyboard - which you can see in an earlier post. At first we thought that our film would end up exactly like we intended. What we slowly learnt through shooting however was that, some scenes might be improvised, or might be different to how we intended. The process made us aware that not everything goes to plan, which was mostly for the better. As our final product features shots we hadn't even thought of as well as scenes we shot different to what the storyboard envisions. There's also scenes in the storyboard which we decided to take out upon realising that it may not work or after coming up with something better.
From the preliminary, I gained some insight into the practically of filming certain shots, the actual type of shots we can do as well as effects different shots create. For instance the low, focus pull shot on the killer's foot indicates the killer's intention as the background contains the house where the victim is. This shot metaphorically demonstrated subtle messages to the audience without actually having to be told. I also learnt that planning is a large part of making any large project such as our thriller opening. We planned for our meet-ups and re-shoots as well, which just made life so much easier.
Learning how to actually create a film(opening) was a learning curve and challenge within itself. Knowing which steps to take, getting the right props, wearing the proper costume, getting the right angle, finding the right time of day etc. All became problems we had to overcome as a group and as film-makers. The entire experience was enjoyable and never became boring or uninteresting. The moments where we were stuck, for instance we wanted to incorporate a struggle scene with the victim and the killer, but didn't know how. We stood back, took a breath and really focussed as a team and collaborated our ideas to eventually come up with a scene that made it into the final product. Just realising that sometimes I did not have the answer, and being able to rely upon my team mates was a new step and experience for me.
Like I mentioned in my response to question 6, the technologies I had access to really made the editing process a lot of fun and educational as well. I really took a liking to editing, as we were there with all of our scenes, having the ability to create anything. The first time I sat down and started thinking of how to combine our clips, was truly quite a powerful moment. The abilities I realised I had with the editing software, Premiere Pro and After Effects, really made things worthwhile; teaching me valuable skills and techniques that I can take with me into the future. For instance titling was a brand new concept to me, and by the end of the thriller, I had made awesome titles and things that didn't make it into the final product. But I was not upset, because the skill remains with me.
I learnt of my new abilities as a leader in filming. As I often helped decide where to place the camera, how to shoot a scene, what type of atmosphere we want, the type of music, the titling, the direction of the opening etc. However the entire project was a team effort, where neither of us really took the lead but instead we combined our ideas to make one project. Our chemistry was great, we rarely argued, we both had similar ideas and goals for what we wanted our opening to look like. Overall, it worked out for the best as our thriller looks great and has actually ended up better than what how I imagined.
The first stages required us to create our storyboard - which you can see in an earlier post. At first we thought that our film would end up exactly like we intended. What we slowly learnt through shooting however was that, some scenes might be improvised, or might be different to how we intended. The process made us aware that not everything goes to plan, which was mostly for the better. As our final product features shots we hadn't even thought of as well as scenes we shot different to what the storyboard envisions. There's also scenes in the storyboard which we decided to take out upon realising that it may not work or after coming up with something better.
From the preliminary, I gained some insight into the practically of filming certain shots, the actual type of shots we can do as well as effects different shots create. For instance the low, focus pull shot on the killer's foot indicates the killer's intention as the background contains the house where the victim is. This shot metaphorically demonstrated subtle messages to the audience without actually having to be told. I also learnt that planning is a large part of making any large project such as our thriller opening. We planned for our meet-ups and re-shoots as well, which just made life so much easier.
Learning how to actually create a film(opening) was a learning curve and challenge within itself. Knowing which steps to take, getting the right props, wearing the proper costume, getting the right angle, finding the right time of day etc. All became problems we had to overcome as a group and as film-makers. The entire experience was enjoyable and never became boring or uninteresting. The moments where we were stuck, for instance we wanted to incorporate a struggle scene with the victim and the killer, but didn't know how. We stood back, took a breath and really focussed as a team and collaborated our ideas to eventually come up with a scene that made it into the final product. Just realising that sometimes I did not have the answer, and being able to rely upon my team mates was a new step and experience for me.
Like I mentioned in my response to question 6, the technologies I had access to really made the editing process a lot of fun and educational as well. I really took a liking to editing, as we were there with all of our scenes, having the ability to create anything. The first time I sat down and started thinking of how to combine our clips, was truly quite a powerful moment. The abilities I realised I had with the editing software, Premiere Pro and After Effects, really made things worthwhile; teaching me valuable skills and techniques that I can take with me into the future. For instance titling was a brand new concept to me, and by the end of the thriller, I had made awesome titles and things that didn't make it into the final product. But I was not upset, because the skill remains with me.
I learnt of my new abilities as a leader in filming. As I often helped decide where to place the camera, how to shoot a scene, what type of atmosphere we want, the type of music, the titling, the direction of the opening etc. However the entire project was a team effort, where neither of us really took the lead but instead we combined our ideas to make one project. Our chemistry was great, we rarely argued, we both had similar ideas and goals for what we wanted our opening to look like. Overall, it worked out for the best as our thriller looks great and has actually ended up better than what how I imagined.
Monday 18 April 2016
Evaluation: Question 4 & 5
Who would be the audience for your media product and how did you attract/address your audience?
For the first question; our audience is primarily young adults/older teenagers. The reason for this is that a key appeal for the target audience of Thrillers is characters which they can relate to and build a rapport with as the narrative continues. This can be seen in Scream which aimed to appeal mainly to a young adult audience - Through using a mainly teenage cast, each with their own individual story the audience was able to relate to the characters and therefore become more interested in the film and what happened to the characters.
The same can be applied to our thriller, with a young teenage victim, and if we were to create the rest of the film, a teenage antagonist. The ability to relate and communicate to the audience with their own age-group helps solidify our target audience and increase the chances of them enjoying the product and relate to it.
In terms of attracting and addressing our audience, we used social media to extend our reach out into today's huge online audience. The majority of younger adults do have some form of social media account, therefore and more likely to see and share our product if they see it online. Our thriller also revolves around a more modern form of bullying, so by linking our actual content of the film(including a young victim), with our target audience we're able to relate and interact with our audience more.
As we continued our focus around our audience, which included gaining feedback from the same focus group we had for the first part, we're able to gain information about our audience's likeness towards the film, there ideas for improvement, there ideas - at the end of the day our audience watches and either enjoys or dislikes the film. It revolves around them, which is why we took such an interest in gaining their responses and feedback.
Research surrounding our audience's needs were also conducted to gain further knowledge into how our audience might respond and how to best reach them on a personal level. I researched into Audience Theory Analysis: Uses & Gratifications, where I highlighted certain areas our thriller will focus upon and may perform well at and tick the boxes: Information; satisfying curiosity and general interest, learning; self-education, gaining a sense of security through knowledge. Personal Identity; Gaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy, finding a basis for conversation and social interaction. Entertainment; Escaping, or being diverted, from problems; relaxing. All of the research derived from audience needs, so by making sure that at least some of the gratifications were met, meant that our audience were more likely to enjoy and think highly of our opening.
Evaluation: Question 3
For this question I answered it in the form of a mind-map. With each branch explaining in detail why I chose the company I did, to distribute our thriller.
Advanced links with Dimension Films and Our Film's Distribution:
For Scream, Casey Becker(Drew Barrymore) opens the film with her terrifying death where she is tormented over the telephone. It quickly became an iconic scene as nobody could believe that this A-list actor died so soon in the film.
Our own film opening introduces with a similar scene, however our opening has no dialogue - we brought this feature in to try and cement our sort of filming style where we think that actions speak louder than words.
As mentioned previously, our thriller opening depicts the victim to be a young woman - like in 'Scream' and 'Halloween'. We've used this formula of a female victim as successful horror/thriller movies in the past have used the same technique. It's part of something that works for thrillers and we thought 'why change it?'.
When actually considering where to distribute our thriller, I believe our thriller would be suitable for cinema release as already mentioned, our thriller contains many links to successful cinema-released thrillers like Scream & Halloween etc. The target audience is aware of cinemas and often attend new releases at the cinema- The modern forms of marketing are also directed more towards the younger generation(our target audience), as social media sites are predominantly used by younger people. Adverts, videos and articles advertised on social media will more likely reach them, furthermore images from set, posters etc. again, are spread through the internet and social media therefore will attract a larger audience. Especially our target audience considering the fact that they use social media and the internet etc. a lot more in today's technology driven world.
Advanced links with Dimension Films and Our Film's Distribution:
Our own film opening introduces with a similar scene, however our opening has no dialogue - we brought this feature in to try and cement our sort of filming style where we think that actions speak louder than words.
As mentioned previously, our thriller opening depicts the victim to be a young woman - like in 'Scream' and 'Halloween'. We've used this formula of a female victim as successful horror/thriller movies in the past have used the same technique. It's part of something that works for thrillers and we thought 'why change it?'.
When actually considering where to distribute our thriller, I believe our thriller would be suitable for cinema release as already mentioned, our thriller contains many links to successful cinema-released thrillers like Scream & Halloween etc. The target audience is aware of cinemas and often attend new releases at the cinema- The modern forms of marketing are also directed more towards the younger generation(our target audience), as social media sites are predominantly used by younger people. Adverts, videos and articles advertised on social media will more likely reach them, furthermore images from set, posters etc. again, are spread through the internet and social media therefore will attract a larger audience. Especially our target audience considering the fact that they use social media and the internet etc. a lot more in today's technology driven world.
Sunday 17 April 2016
Saturday 16 April 2016
Evaluation: Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For this question, we answered using commentary over our actual product:
For this question, we answered using commentary over our actual product:
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