More Evaluation

How did you attract/address your audience?

We made a poster for our film giving our audience a hint of what is yet to come. We put a picture of a prison cell through Photoshop, raised the contrasts to add a chilling effect and put the title of our film in broken up typewriter font. The poster attracted people, because it is different and almost challenges people to watch it. The poster gives off a ‘not for the faint hearted’, it does not have pretty colours dotted with flowers, it is dank, dreary and makes you want to know what happens in the film. We also used interesting narrative techniques in the opening of the film by creating flashbacks which interest the audience and make them want to watch more.



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

During MaxAls time of developing our film we had many troublesome bridges to cross. One thing that always used to get us down would be the technology of the kit we used. Who ever said that modern technology was simple?! So many minor things would go wrong for us that disrupted our filming schedule for example, one of our crew members (may even have been me!) would rewind the footage to watch it and then due to carelessness and lack of experience we would wipe over our footage. On the brighter side of things, it was not always our fault for example, we had problems transferring the High definition footage from the camera onto the computer, we had to change the system preferences to accommodate its needs. We had mixed feelings about Final Cut Pro, personally I was pleasantly shocked about how much one can do on it, it is a technical genius. I would have never realised the amount of effects and how much you can alter the footage. But figuring out how to do simple things was what we struggled with. Although I feel that I have improved considerably since our first preliminary task. Back in those days I hardly knew how to import a film on final cut let alone edit and include special effects. I am pleased on how I managed to improve so quickly, ‘practise makes perfect!’ I found importing a text onto the screen very hard, and in the end we scraped that idea because we could not work it. But once I figured my way around the program I included some interesting effects that add a unique and chilling feel to the opening of the film.


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

I feel that we have taken things that we learnt from our preliminary and brought them into our final piece, for example, camera shots etc. But I feel doing the preliminary task has given me confidence to shoot footage and learn about editing. I really enjoyed doing both tasks and am very content on how they both turned out.



This is the final product which hasnt uploaded onto youtube that well because it is very choppy, but it is fine on the DVD.

Evaluation.....

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Our product certainly does use forms of real media products. Our ideas were based around what we conceive to be interesting and relevant. We did this by researching different areas of film to uncover what would work best and be the most practical. (we wouldn’t be able to film the beginning of a film in a different country) In pre production of the film we certainly did conform to the conventions of media products by doing research, discovering a target audience and making sure our ideas are practical. We looked at different clips from Bourne Identity and one from the new Quantum of Solace James Bond film. We used similar techniques to their media products of the idea of having a secret organisation.

But during production of our film our aim was to develop our product to a high standard, we found out that making a two minute film was more challenging than we thought. We tried to stick with conventions of real media products (using special effects, getting the costumes and positioning of the actors right) but at times, possibly one would fault our lack of experience, commitment or knowledge of the equipment. But we produced something that we are all proud of and feel it represents what we wanted to achieve.





How does your media product represent particular social groups

Our idea consisting of secret agents could be viewed as a representation of our social group in the way that teens are obviously not secret agents but in films they can aspire to be one or to get an insight of what they do. Although films have included teenage secret agents which have been hits because they can relate to them the most in the trials and tribulations they may overcome. That area of the media is usually targeted at boys who are interested in gadgets and controversy etc. Films such as Agent Cody Banks and Stormbreaker have targeted this area. We felt that we should develop an idea that we enjoy and that we could relate to.







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

Due to MaxAls lack of film making history the big distributors would see little point in investing their money into something that may flop. But if we were an established film making company such distributors like working title and film four would be interested. After a while as MaxAl’s reputation grows the big money making distributors may be interested such as Warner Bros or 20th Century fox. Although this would mainly happen if MaxAl decide to globalise there products and target an audience in America.



Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience we aimed to target was mainly males because the whole film is about a man who is targeted into a world he cannot understand. Males would be able to relate to the troubles he has to face in the way that the main character has to live in a world he cannot trust. Men can relate to the need for power and money and also whatever it takes to achieve it. The film does also contain cars, action, gadgets and of course the girl. The film does get quite dark, chilling and cold at times so we would not recommend or advertise to young boys.

Maxal have hired steven spielberg....... (jokes)

Sound

Throughout the prison cell shots there is a constant water dripping sound which adds a spine chilling effect. Also throughout the whole clip there is a low eerie wind just whistling, this adds uncertainty. This track is a non diegetic sound since the actors cannot hear it.







The opening section of the film does not have any dialogue which creates a hazy mist over the top of the plot which will keep the viewers interested.



Editing

We used final cut express to edit our film, we tried to use different effects, one of the most important for us was the dip to colour dissolve which showed the flashback. This effect was used between the different shots from the prison cell to the flashback. We used quick cuts to represent a heartbeat which raised the tension of the audience.

Planing our film.

As we set out to film our 2 minute opening of our film we had to consider many areas.

Mise en Scene:

We used a drama studio theatre to create a prison cell also so we could get the lighting just right, we used a faint blue light focused on Alex's face to create uncertainty which would keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

The flashback memory shots were filmed in our quad area, the setting gives the impression of an important and well-established feel, this is the feel we wanted to achieve. As the film is based around revenge and secret organisations we portrayed our school as an undercover organisation which is supposedly set at Oxford university. This is a juxtopostion because you would never put Oxford university and a secret organisation together, we did this to show a cutting edge to our film. We used some idea's from the bourne identity to help us create a feel for a secret organisation. For example, when Alex is seen walking through the redbricked cloisters he is wearing a suit as if he was going to meet somebody important, but he is still not at ease and is constantly looking around.



Cinematography:

We had plan out a number of different shots to represent different things and emotions. We filmed loads of different shots of Alex in the studio theatre so we could pick out a number of different shots that fit in too our film. The shots varied from, extreme close ups to show pain, distress and emotion to an over the shoulder shot with dramatic lighting to show isolation.

This is the extreme close up, which revels the distress and pain in Alex's face.

This is the over the shoulder shot

Planning Massacre 31

Open publication - Free publishing - More production

My main men..... MaxAl's post filming snaps :)

Just a Few extra bits and pieces from my Preminalary

This is my Storyboard, please excuse the rubbish drawings!