Sunday 16 January 2011
Final Film Opening - Evaluation - Question 1
Question 1: In what way does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The title of my film is EYESPY, I decided on this title as it plays on the game children play, normally on car journeys. I have taken it and put a limerick at the start to give people an idea of what the film might be about.
Many horror movies play on the innocence of children twisting them into something scary to just listen to, they also play on 'Damian' (son of the devil). Like me that take nursery rhymes and twist them this is where I got my inspiration for the title.
An example of this is in A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
I have used a simple font and the title is all in capitals this adds impact to it as it appears on the screen at the end you hear the scream which adds fear and tension. I had it in white and the background black I decided on this colour scheme as it goes with the simple font and having a black background seems to be in many thriller movies.
For example The Haunting In Connecticut and The Strangers.
However there are some films where they have the black background but have red writing as if it is blood where it have been splattered. I have chose to go with the simpler font to make it more clean as you don't know what happens to the girl.
There are many ways to make your title so it will impact the audience however I think I have made the right choice for the style of my film.
The Location
For this my film I used a patch of wooded area. I used this as the woods can be quite scary at night and there are many animals that can make noises and make you jump, I though this would be good as many people would not here her scream also it is a good place to hide (behind trees/ in bushes) so that the victim would not spot the killer. The rustling trees give off an eerie atmosphere. Woods and other 'wooded' areas are used often in thrillers for these reasons, in the day time woodland areas are known for dog walking, hiking, jogging and general days out, however when the night comes the woulds are cloaked with shadows and odd noises such as rustling and animal calls. Just like the children the woulds that seem so innocent twist into something eerie and unpleasant.
The Blair Witch Project and Cabin Fever
I think that if I did this again I would film it when it was darker and added more noises to emphasise the fear and the loneliness of the girl.
The Costumes
Costumes are essential in all films they show what the characters are like before they speak, they show what the have been doing and where they have been doing it. The Girl in my film is wearing business dress as if she has been to work and the boy playing her boyfriend is wearing casual dress as if he has picked her up but he has not been to work. In one of the shot there was a taxi we worked around this by forming the idea that they had got a taxi to where ever they were the taxi is the prop.
The Camerawork and Editing
My film hasn't been edited drastically however I have added transitions to the clips so they flow more and merge as one.
For my camerawork I used a range of different shot distances and when needed close up on the face to get the reactions of the girl. Most of the shots are from the stalkers point of view which makes the viewer feel like the stalk by giving different distances it gives the viewer a good look at the girls surroundings.
Many films have the close ups for the reactions and the long shots for the scene and setting, sometimes the action is put in a long shot however by putting it in a close up it make the viewer feel like they are in the middle of it, in an organised chaotic way.
The Last House on the Left (2009) uses these techniques.
The Story and How the Opening Sets It
My story is about a man who you don't know if he has killed before you just know that he is watching and waiting for this girl. The girl arrives with her boyfriend and says goodbye before she enters the woods. You see her walking through the woods via the stalkers eyes, she starts to hear noises, twigs breaking/rustling, and begins to get worried. She takes out her mobile an realises that she has not signal and is truly alone. You see the stalkers eyes and his eyes only which adds mystery - many real media products only show killers/stalkers features without giving off their identity or the killer/stalker would wear a mask.
Examples- The Strangers, Scream, Saw (1-7)
The Genre and How the Opening Suggests it
From the start the music hints that it is a horror, the limerick at the start carries that on. Most children play the EyeSpy game on long journey's By putting this in the title sequence it makes the film more sinister. You know it is a horror from the way the camera is positioned (behind trees) as the victim is being watched. You also hear the fear in the girls voice when she asks "Who's there?"
How Characters are Introduced
I have three characters in my opening, Chloe-girl/victim Bradley-boyfriend however I could not get a third person for the stalker so Bradley had to play them as well, this is one of the reasons I cropped the eyes.
The girl and her boyfriend appear in the first, second and third shots after this the girl is on her own until the stalker is introduced in shots seven and eight however the you can say that the stalker was introduced right at the beginning when he is looking at them through the trees.
Special FX
I did not use any special effects on my film however I did use a transition from one shot to the other so that could be called special effects. I didn't change the clips but I think I should have maybe manipulated them to become darker.
Saturday 15 January 2011
Final Film Opening - Evaluation - Question 2
Question 2: How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?
I have linked my character (chloe) and The Blair Witch Projects character (Heather) because they both go into the woods not knowing what they would find. They both are mild mannered and are students. Also they both go into the wood voluntarily, However Heather went into the woods looking for something and Chloe just wanted to get home.
Chloe is dressed more smart and doesn't look prepared to be walking around in the woods, on the other hand Heather is dressed in warm clothes and walking boots with her hair pulled back ready to have a weekend in the woods.
Both of the characters are young girls, but Chloe is on her own where Heather is with two other students.
Chloe is dressed more smart and doesn't look prepared to be walking around in the woods, on the other hand Heather is dressed in warm clothes and walking boots with her hair pulled back ready to have a weekend in the woods.
Both of the characters are young girls, but Chloe is on her own where Heather is with two other students.
Friday 14 January 2011
Final Film Opening - Evaluation - Question 3
Question 3: What Kind of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product and Why?
Victoria: For my production company's name I have chosen Black Thunder. For my logo I have chosen fork lightening over water, however I have inverted the picture so the lightning is black and the sky is a yellow/white colour.
The role of a production company is that they have responsibility for the physical production of a media product, they may have the responsibility for funding the film however this may be done via emissary.
Production companies can be big or small.
Production companies carries the the film from the concept to completion, when it comes to the financial side of it they will get a cut of whatever the film makes, However if the end result isn't very good they will be the one that get the brunt of the criticisms.
Production companies are the ones that get the writers and draft the movie, they may do several drafts before they find the right one. They are the ones responsible for doing the pitches and proposal to the studios. They are in charge of budgets and forming one for the movie.
They are responsible for hiring all the key players in the movie and there roles (director/actors/other crew). When the movie is in production they are the ones checking that the film is in budget and on task and that everything is running smoothly.
A film distributer is responsible for releasing the film to the public wether that be theatrical/TV/DVD.
The main aim of the distrabuter is to secure a producer's movie on another exhibitors screen however the distrabution also includes marketing as well.
A ditributer would have to convince the exhibitor to rent/book the film therefore they hold private showings for the exhibitors, they also use any other marketing techniques they have.
All this is nessecery as they need to get the film out there for it to start making any money, this is easyer if you have already made a name for yourself in the media industry.
To find money for the production of movies the producers would find investors (paramount) to help with the funding the other option is for them to fork out their own money for the movie.
Another option is to get almost sponsorships/licensing for example a beer company may pay money towards a movie for their brand of beer to be used/placed in a scene.
For my movie it would probably be low budget so most of the money would come out of my own pocket.
The people that are put in the title sequence are the most important people in the production team and the actors playing in the main characters. Some movies have taken on a trend where they don't put the credits in until the end (not even the title of the movie) However on television programs they credit all regular production members. In Lost for example since season two they credit all cast members even if they are not all in that episode.
I have put the main characters names and writer/producer/editor on my opening title sequence.
The role of a production company is that they have responsibility for the physical production of a media product, they may have the responsibility for funding the film however this may be done via emissary.
Production companies can be big or small.
Production companies carries the the film from the concept to completion, when it comes to the financial side of it they will get a cut of whatever the film makes, However if the end result isn't very good they will be the one that get the brunt of the criticisms.
Production companies are the ones that get the writers and draft the movie, they may do several drafts before they find the right one. They are the ones responsible for doing the pitches and proposal to the studios. They are in charge of budgets and forming one for the movie.
They are responsible for hiring all the key players in the movie and there roles (director/actors/other crew). When the movie is in production they are the ones checking that the film is in budget and on task and that everything is running smoothly.
A film distributer is responsible for releasing the film to the public wether that be theatrical/TV/DVD.
The main aim of the distrabuter is to secure a producer's movie on another exhibitors screen however the distrabution also includes marketing as well.
A ditributer would have to convince the exhibitor to rent/book the film therefore they hold private showings for the exhibitors, they also use any other marketing techniques they have.
All this is nessecery as they need to get the film out there for it to start making any money, this is easyer if you have already made a name for yourself in the media industry.
To find money for the production of movies the producers would find investors (paramount) to help with the funding the other option is for them to fork out their own money for the movie.
Another option is to get almost sponsorships/licensing for example a beer company may pay money towards a movie for their brand of beer to be used/placed in a scene.
For my movie it would probably be low budget so most of the money would come out of my own pocket.
The people that are put in the title sequence are the most important people in the production team and the actors playing in the main characters. Some movies have taken on a trend where they don't put the credits in until the end (not even the title of the movie) However on television programs they credit all regular production members. In Lost for example since season two they credit all cast members even if they are not all in that episode.
I have put the main characters names and writer/producer/editor on my opening title sequence.
Thursday 13 January 2011
Final Film Opening - Evaluation - Question 4
Question 4: Who Would be the Audience for Your Media Product?
This is Hannah Smith and she is in the target market for my film 'EYESPY' which is ages 15-25 this is not a restriction though.
Hannah is sixteen years old and is doing her A-levels at school, she has free time on the weekend and likes to go shopping and seen the latest films at the cinema with her friends.
She listens to all different types of music, some of her favourites are Ellie Goulding, Paramore and Rihanna. She likes a good horror film that can make her jump in her seat. Which is why my film would be perfect for her.
She is very fashion conscious and into new fashions and likes to be on trend to do this she shops in TopShop, River Island and H&M.
Her favorite genera of movies are horror/scary movies and her favorites are The Uninvited, Final Destination and Drag Me To Hell, However she likes to watch Romcoms with her friends for example The Proposal and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
She likes TV programs such as Scrubs, Vampire Diaries and True Blood.
We got comments from the class for our final products, some of the criticisms I got were that the scenes were in daylight instead of in the night so it would be unbelievable that no-one would see her/hear her or offer her help. I could have over come this in the editing time as I could have manipulated the clips to be more darker, this would have helped my opening as it would have added to the suspense. Another thing was a little error on my part as the girl had gloves when she was walking through the woods and when she was walking along the road she didn't have any gloves on.
On the other hand I did get many good positive comments for my opening such as the titles really work well as they were simple and it kept them wanting to see more.
This is Hannah Smith and she is in the target market for my film 'EYESPY' which is ages 15-25 this is not a restriction though.
Hannah is sixteen years old and is doing her A-levels at school, she has free time on the weekend and likes to go shopping and seen the latest films at the cinema with her friends.
She listens to all different types of music, some of her favourites are Ellie Goulding, Paramore and Rihanna. She likes a good horror film that can make her jump in her seat. Which is why my film would be perfect for her.
She is very fashion conscious and into new fashions and likes to be on trend to do this she shops in TopShop, River Island and H&M.
Her favorite genera of movies are horror/scary movies and her favorites are The Uninvited, Final Destination and Drag Me To Hell, However she likes to watch Romcoms with her friends for example The Proposal and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
She likes TV programs such as Scrubs, Vampire Diaries and True Blood.
We got comments from the class for our final products, some of the criticisms I got were that the scenes were in daylight instead of in the night so it would be unbelievable that no-one would see her/hear her or offer her help. I could have over come this in the editing time as I could have manipulated the clips to be more darker, this would have helped my opening as it would have added to the suspense. Another thing was a little error on my part as the girl had gloves when she was walking through the woods and when she was walking along the road she didn't have any gloves on.
On the other hand I did get many good positive comments for my opening such as the titles really work well as they were simple and it kept them wanting to see more.
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Tuesday 11 January 2011
Final Film Opening - Evaluation - Question 6
Question 6: What Have you Learnt About Technologies from the Process of Constructing this Product?
We could have used tripods however there we could have used one if we did want a steady shot and if it suited the scene.
We used the Apple Mac computers through out the whole journey from idea to completion. The computers were the ones that held all the applications we needed to complete our sequence, as they are a high quality computer this gave us the confidence to trust the computer with what we were doing.
The cameras were made by Sony and were very reliable they were perfect for what we were doing as they were not to complicated or technical, they had settings to help us get the best possible video such as night mode for when we were filming in dark conditions it gave the video a green tint which in many ways added to the scene.
We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our filming and to create our final result.
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- itunes
- Blogger
- Youtube
- Word
- After Effects
As a group we have mastered many different applications on the Mac’s and the cameras themselves, personally i have learnt more about the editing software than anything else I have used adobe premiere pro and After effects. Even though I did not use the titles I created on After effects in my final opening sequence I still created them and learnt the ins and outs of the application. I feel that I have progressed on the editing software to help my final product be the best it can be.
We have been using blogger and YouTube to upload our videos; this is straightforward and has minimal glitches.
We could have used tripods however there we could have used one if we did want a steady shot and if it suited the scene.
We used the Apple Mac computers through out the whole journey from idea to completion. The computers were the ones that held all the applications we needed to complete our sequence, as they are a high quality computer this gave us the confidence to trust the computer with what we were doing.
The cameras were made by Sony and were very reliable they were perfect for what we were doing as they were not to complicated or technical, they had settings to help us get the best possible video such as night mode for when we were filming in dark conditions it gave the video a green tint which in many ways added to the scene.
We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our filming and to create our final result.
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