Plan:
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The kind of media institute that might distribute our media product would depend on how we were to continue our film. If we continued with the objective of creating a film that would earn a large profit, it would be distributed by very different companies than if we were to continue with the aim of making our film as artistic and well filmed as possible.For instance, 'Disney Pixar', 'DreamWorks' and 'Marvels' tend to produce films that would sell to a large target audience, have well-known actors in their cast and invest in advertising. They also produce merchandise that extends the interest in the film and allows them to make more money and improves their casting opportunities merchandise (as actors often get a cut of the profit made from them). Due to this, they would probably want a film with clear heroes and villains or two distinct sides for the audience to choose from. They would also be looking for a plot that is relatively simple so it would be easy for younger ages to follow.
On the other hand, companies such as 'Warp films', 'Handmade films' and the BFI usually produce more artistic, original films. An example of a common type of film that is predominantly produced by these companies is cult films. Cult films are usually more transgressive; they don’t comply with the basic poles of good and bad. They tend to go against conventions and characters within them have more of a rebellious attitude or consider themselves outcasts.Due to this, I think our film would probably be more likely to be distributed by industries such as the BFI, ‘Warp films’ and ‘Handmade films’. This is because, whilst our genre (action) isn’t traditionally adopted by such companies; our use of different, interesting editing techniques; a variety of camera shots and angles, and the presence of anti-heroes, makes our film less conventional and less likely to be distributed by larger companies.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
Desolate Drone
Dripping Tap
Generic Movie Title
Industrial Vent
Mechanolith (Soundtrack)
Nothing Left To Say (Cover)
Prelude and Action (Soundtrack)
6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? + Editing
Plan:
Over the duration of the coursework for media, myself and the people in my group have progressively developed new skills and techniques regarding the use of technologies in our work. Throughout the coursework we heavily relied on computers and other forms of technology as a means of transferring data (such as video clips from memory cards) but also for editing tasks. When reflecting back on my preliminary task at the very beginning of the year, I can clearly see our progression in our final outcome. Initially, we had no real knowledge of editing, having only a basic understanding of how to use a camera and tripod. In our preliminary we were incapable of addressing technical issues and clearly did not plan our film beforehand. For example, we had not charged the batteries on the camera and did not know how to use the Tripod correctly which resulted in unsteady shots and a less professional video. From thence onward we have learnt new skills regarding how to use a camera to its full extent, allowing for greater quality footage but also by adjusting thing like exposure and shutter speed to create different effects.
Editing:
I think one of the main benefits to help catalyse our understanding of technology in our work was perhaps by creating several smaller short (2 minute) films. This allowed us to observe what would make a film successful and meant that we could analyse what went wrong. Our teachers set us deadlines for these short films and allowed us different amounts of time to give some diversity in our work and prepare us for working to deadlines later on. One of our fist short films was the recreation of the 2 minute opening of the film "Submarine" by Richard Ayoade. None of use in our group had watched the filmed before seeing the opening which meant we had no idea of what the film was about nor what techniques were used to film it. We were simply set the task of mirroring the opening scene by any means possible, replicating shots and lighting but also dialogue. This really challenged our skills when working with technology. I was working in a smaller group for this particular film which meant we couldn't rely on others knowledge of the camera or ideas to produce a higher quality outcome. Alternatively, I used sites such as "youtube" to help guide my work and learn more about how the camera worked and what techniques were suitable for the shots found within the opening. At this point our knowledge was still fairly basic and we couldn't completely mirror the film to the same level of quality. However, it was the editing side of this task that I really enjoyed. I realised that I could really manipulate the film despite its filming quality, somewhat upgrading its cinematography. At first I started with basic effects such as adjusting brightness, contrast, and applying various filters such as auto correct and stabiliser. Throughout editing I was assisted by peers on particular areas I struggled with and learnt how to scale the image correctly to the full resolution of the screen and how to export correctly. I also had some level of idea on how to construct titles and the ident at the very beginning ( I used a youtube tutorial for this) to help enhance the quality.
After this task we were set the "1 hour filming task" where we had to produce, film and edit an idea, having just an hour to complete the task. Before this we were separated into groups amongst the class which meant we could work with people we wouldn't normally work with. Some members of the team were to think of the concept for an idea, another set of people were to film it, and I was left to edit it. In this task I had no idea of the concept or the level of filming, meaning I had to use my initiative and understanding of technology to create a successful film. I also had a time limit of just 30 minutes to add different effects and audio. This was the ultimate test as to how I could rely on technology to produce a form of media but it also gave insight as to what the industry is actually like from Producing stage, Camera work and editing.
In my final opening sequence I have developed my editing skills significantly from the very beginning of my filming experience from the preliminary task and other filming studies throughout the coursework. In the film, I used additional software, besides premiere pro, to extend my editing capability. For example, I used both Photoshop and After effects to create the ident at the beginning of the clip but also for other effects. By using mostly adobe products throughout the work I could easily carry my skills across due to similar key commands and panels. By combining these different software packages (they worked coherently together by using adobe creative cloud) I could craft a much higher quality product than if I were to use just one form of software.
Throughout the editing stage I also relied on audio in areas of music and dialogue within the clip. From the initial films I used basic technologies such as mobile phone and camcorder sound recorders for audio playback in my films. However, the level of quality from these devices were fairly sub-standard and the sound appeared rather amateur. When analysing 2 minute openings in research throughout the coursework I realised that many relied heavily on the audio to assist the footage and create a more dramatic effect. This is something I feel I have achieved in my final product, using audio in the background but also with the footage which is something I avoided in earlier films due to lack of experience. In our final clip I used audio mics and professional recording studios to deliver higher grade sound which I think makes it a little more believable. By using studios and computer software I could remove any background sound and increase the clarity and volume of the audio in the clip. We also used small mics for our characters to record into whilst filming which meant we could deliver raw sound in greater detail than sound recorded on a phone. We used both diagetic sound (door slams, dialogue and footsteps) but also non diagetic sound (music). Without technology we wouldn't have been able to include these sounds as well as merging sound together for a more intense and believable end product.
To conclude I think that we have significantly developed our skills regarding technology which has been used effectively for our final outcome. All skills I have learnt from completing earlier filming tasks have meant I have had first hand experience of what makes a successful film product which can only be helped by the use of modern technologies. Without the aid of professional filming equipment such as the DSLR camera, Audio mic, tripod, rigs, and computer software our final product wouldn't have been as successful.
7.
Link to our Preliminary film: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6MOJQ2P-4koWWJ3OVRoTTJ5eHM/view
1.Final cut of your opening 2 minutes. In sequence, with titles.
2. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt in the progression from it to your main product.
When reflecting back at my preliminary task I am aware of how I have clearly developed and progressed as a media student, really building skills on filming technique, editing task, evaluations but also media as a whole. Initially, I had a very basic understanding of the film industry, only really watching films without much thought as to how they were made. I think this is somewhat evident in my preliminary task as I had hardly any knowledge of things like the mise en scene, dialogue and sound which resulted in a poor quality product. I can recall having to hand hold the camera instead of using the tripod so the camera aligning wasn't very accurate but also having issues with sound. We filmed it all in scene which gave it very little diversity compared to my final cut which I think is a mark of my improvement.
However, currently I feel I am a much more independent and creative person, having progressed my knowledge through the blog which gave me the opportunity to explore all areas of the media industry,. By Simultaneously doing the coursework I could go back and correct mistakes and ultimately learn new techniques which I wouldn't have been capable of doing without this knowledge. Furthermore , a vast majority of my work was assisted by the use of technology which helped rectify a range of issues through filming. Even when doing my preliminary the use of Adobe premiere pro resulted in a far more professional outcome. The program (even without much knowledge of adobe programs) allowed me to adjust a variety of things such as the exposure, contrast levels, and vibrancy. Although, one of its most beneficial features was the "stabiliser" tool which could smoothen out any shaky clips. However, in my final clip I experimented with far more complex and challenging editing tasks, using a range of software to compile the clip. For example, by using after effects (which worked efficiently with Premiere pro) I could create the opening ident which I wasnt able to do in any other program. I also used time lapsing, and "ghosting" in third party applications that I could then import directly into the main body of film. I also realised (from the very beginning) that the editing side of media wouldn't necessarily resolve issues made during filming; it would assist it a little. As a result I knew that for our final film we needed to capture everything to the last detail, even if it required us to film a particular shot multiple times. For example I used the blurring on one of the final shots to focus the audiences attention to the two characters, making them centre of attention. I think this worked really well and was something I wouldn't have thought about when doing my preliminary film.
Here is an example of just one of the many effects I used whilst editing our film:
A similar effect found within the tv program "Sherlock" I was interested in the crime/detective genre of this program, incorporating the security camera views gave a different perspective to the scene whilst simultaneously adding a sense of realism which therefore makes it more believable.
Additionally, I have learnt many new skills regarding filming too. By using a DSLR camera (as opposed to the hand held camera we used for our preliminary) I could experiment with many more effects, filming in a high quality (1080p) which gave the final outcome a much more sharper image and therefore a much higher degree of professionalism. In our final clip we used wide range of camera angles, such as the very long shot, long shot, medium close up, extreme close up, pan shot, and over the shoulder shot. All these effects gave the product much more interest instead of just using entirely just one or two types of shots. I also explored other effects whilst using the DSLR camera, including focal ranges and background blurring.
Ultimately, I feel that I have become a much more able student, being able to resolve issues without the need of others knowledge and but also being able to challenge the conventions of a typical film opening sequence in a new way - something I feel I have achieved in my FINAL CUT.
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