Thursday, 29 January 2015
Evaluation Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?- Catriona Morgan 2108 (Videos of Interview)
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Evaluation Question 7: Looking back at your continuity task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression form it to full product? Annabelle Sherwin 2145
Question 7
Many techniques I used in the preliminary task helped me
film and edit our film opening. As I had used them before it gave me an
advantage as I could plan the exact shots which would fit in saving time. Two
techniques we used were the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. These are
very important as if they’re not used it distorts the audiences sense of
location of the characters. In the preliminary task we used these techniques
when the teacher was talking to the student. We used a medium over the shoulder
shot when shooting the scene so the costume could be seen as well as the facial
expressions. In our film opening we used the techniques twice. The first time
we used them was in a flashback when two characters are fighting. We kept the
camera in the same place so we didn’t confuse the audience as each clip only
lasted around 2 seconds. The second time was in a government scene when two
officers are talking. By using the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot we
were able to establish the location and characters without distorting the
audience’s deception. For this shot we used a medium long shot so the top half
and bottom half of the costume could be seen.
Another technique we used was match on action. In the preliminary task we used it when the student walked down the corridor, when she opened the door and then went into the classroom. This was challenging as we used it three times in a row to create a fluid movement. It took a few takes to get it exactly right as we had not used this technique before. But this then made it easier when using it in our film opening as we had knowledge of how it worked and slotted together. One of the times we used it in our film opening was when the protagonist walked out a room and then down the stairs, meaning we used it twice in a row. We filmed him opening the door, exiting the room and walking towards the stairs from inside the room, and the same movements but from outside the room. When we edited this shot it meant we had more footage than needed which was better than less footage as if we had had missed timed the movements there would be a delay. This then made it easier to piece together the shots as we were able to cut it to the exact moment creating a fluid movement. We also used match on action 4 other times within the opening. As we had gained previous knowledge of this technique from the preliminary task, it meant we were able to do tricky camera shots making our film opening more interesting.
One other technique we used was the zoom. This is a simple technique to use but you need to get it precisely right for the whole film to work. If it is not used correctly the shot could be too big so the audience miss something as there is too much to focus on, or there are unnecessary items in the frame. Contrastingly if the shot is too small an important movement may not be included confusing the audience. In our preliminary task we used this skill when the student pushed down the door handle to enter the room. We zoomed in so the handle and hand was in the centre of the frame with some of the door showing around the edge. This meant the audience focused on the pushing down of the handle as there was nothing else to distract their attention. We transferred this technique into our opening when the protagonist’s phone displayed an alert. We used a bird’s eye view of the phone which was on the table so the message which appeared was very clear and focused. As the phone touched the top and bottom of the frame it was the only item in the shot meaning the audience had to focus on it. This was an important shot as it gave a clue to the audience of what the whole film was about. These are the main techniques we used in our film opening to try and make it more interesting and professional.
Another technique we used was match on action. In the preliminary task we used it when the student walked down the corridor, when she opened the door and then went into the classroom. This was challenging as we used it three times in a row to create a fluid movement. It took a few takes to get it exactly right as we had not used this technique before. But this then made it easier when using it in our film opening as we had knowledge of how it worked and slotted together. One of the times we used it in our film opening was when the protagonist walked out a room and then down the stairs, meaning we used it twice in a row. We filmed him opening the door, exiting the room and walking towards the stairs from inside the room, and the same movements but from outside the room. When we edited this shot it meant we had more footage than needed which was better than less footage as if we had had missed timed the movements there would be a delay. This then made it easier to piece together the shots as we were able to cut it to the exact moment creating a fluid movement. We also used match on action 4 other times within the opening. As we had gained previous knowledge of this technique from the preliminary task, it meant we were able to do tricky camera shots making our film opening more interesting.
One other technique we used was the zoom. This is a simple technique to use but you need to get it precisely right for the whole film to work. If it is not used correctly the shot could be too big so the audience miss something as there is too much to focus on, or there are unnecessary items in the frame. Contrastingly if the shot is too small an important movement may not be included confusing the audience. In our preliminary task we used this skill when the student pushed down the door handle to enter the room. We zoomed in so the handle and hand was in the centre of the frame with some of the door showing around the edge. This meant the audience focused on the pushing down of the handle as there was nothing else to distract their attention. We transferred this technique into our opening when the protagonist’s phone displayed an alert. We used a bird’s eye view of the phone which was on the table so the message which appeared was very clear and focused. As the phone touched the top and bottom of the frame it was the only item in the shot meaning the audience had to focus on it. This was an important shot as it gave a clue to the audience of what the whole film was about. These are the main techniques we used in our film opening to try and make it more interesting and professional.
Evaluation Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Annabelle Sherwin 2145
Question 6
Camera
We used the camera to film the whole of our film opening. The camera is efficient to use, focuses well and has an efficient zoom which
makes filming easier. However it does not have long battery life which means
you have to stop filming to charge it for a while which wastes time.
Computer
We used the mac to create our film opening and upload items to our blog. The mac computer lets you organise your folders making it easy to find work as similar tasks are with each other. But there is not enough space to store all your work meaning you have to delete items which might be needed later on.
Blogger
Blogger is a fantastic way to store all your work in one place. It means your whole group can view it at any time. You can see what you have done and what you need to do. It lets you edit the work and change the uploaded date so you can create your perfect timeline. But the text does not always stay in line with the background making it look not neat. It also does not let you upload certain sized videos stopping us from storing all our content online.
Garage band
Garage band is the most appropriate and reliable software to use. It has a wide range of sounds and music in a lot of different styles helping us to create music for a sci-fi thriller. But you have to teach yourself how to use it as the software can be confusing. This then takes up precious editing time as you have to figure out how everything works.
Glogster
Glogster has amazing designs for different subjects and interesting layouts as they are all different with bright colours making them attention grabbing. It is like an online college as you can include videos, photos and text. But when I saved my finished product none of it saved meaning I have to redo the whole piece of work which wasted time. I used glogster to make a collage of the iconography associated with our film.
Camera
Computer
We used the mac to create our film opening and upload items to our blog. The mac computer lets you organise your folders making it easy to find work as similar tasks are with each other. But there is not enough space to store all your work meaning you have to delete items which might be needed later on.
Final cut
express
We used final cut express to create our film opening. It is a very effective software to edit you piece. It provides lots of options and tools helping you to create exactly what you want to the best of your ability. However you have to render the video every time you import, delete, move or edit a section which takes a long time and does not always work properly.
We used final cut express to create our film opening. It is a very effective software to edit you piece. It provides lots of options and tools helping you to create exactly what you want to the best of your ability. However you have to render the video every time you import, delete, move or edit a section which takes a long time and does not always work properly.
Blogger is a fantastic way to store all your work in one place. It means your whole group can view it at any time. You can see what you have done and what you need to do. It lets you edit the work and change the uploaded date so you can create your perfect timeline. But the text does not always stay in line with the background making it look not neat. It also does not let you upload certain sized videos stopping us from storing all our content online.
YouTube
YouTube is a brilliant website which allows you to have your own channel where you can upload videos for other to view. This permits others to give you feedback which can help improve your work. However it did not process the video which means our group could not upload any videos to our blog. We used Youtube to upload our final drafts of our tasks. We also used it for research such as trailers and tutorials.
YouTube is a brilliant website which allows you to have your own channel where you can upload videos for other to view. This permits others to give you feedback which can help improve your work. However it did not process the video which means our group could not upload any videos to our blog. We used Youtube to upload our final drafts of our tasks. We also used it for research such as trailers and tutorials.
Garage band
Garage band is the most appropriate and reliable software to use. It has a wide range of sounds and music in a lot of different styles helping us to create music for a sci-fi thriller. But you have to teach yourself how to use it as the software can be confusing. This then takes up precious editing time as you have to figure out how everything works.
Prezi
Prezi is like a fancy PowerPoint which lets you include interesting layouts and formats appealing to the audience more. The finish product looks a lot neater and professional. However it can get quite fiddly at times as everything is so close together you can end up clicking on the wrong item changing the whole presentation.
Prezi is like a fancy PowerPoint which lets you include interesting layouts and formats appealing to the audience more. The finish product looks a lot neater and professional. However it can get quite fiddly at times as everything is so close together you can end up clicking on the wrong item changing the whole presentation.
Glogster has amazing designs for different subjects and interesting layouts as they are all different with bright colours making them attention grabbing. It is like an online college as you can include videos, photos and text. But when I saved my finished product none of it saved meaning I have to redo the whole piece of work which wasted time. I used glogster to make a collage of the iconography associated with our film.
Evaluation Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product? Annabelle Sherwin 2145
Question 4
The audience for our sci-fi thriller genre would mainly be males because it is an action thriller which is stereotypically aimed at males. But it would still appeal to females as well. The age range would be 16-30 because the storyline is face paced. Their clothing would typically be darker colours with the logo of a film on the t-shirt such as batman, star wars and lord of the rings which are also films they would watch. They would be interested in watching programmes like the big bang theory and revenge as they are under the sci-fi and thriller genres because of the shorelines and included content. The music they would be interested in would be Green Day and Michael Jackson because it is stereotypical of that genre. Their hobbies would include computer games, movie marathons and film conventions.
In this interview we asked a typical audience member what they would expect from our film opening
The audience for our sci-fi thriller genre would mainly be males because it is an action thriller which is stereotypically aimed at males. But it would still appeal to females as well. The age range would be 16-30 because the storyline is face paced. Their clothing would typically be darker colours with the logo of a film on the t-shirt such as batman, star wars and lord of the rings which are also films they would watch. They would be interested in watching programmes like the big bang theory and revenge as they are under the sci-fi and thriller genres because of the shorelines and included content. The music they would be interested in would be Green Day and Michael Jackson because it is stereotypical of that genre. Their hobbies would include computer games, movie marathons and film conventions.
In this interview we asked a typical audience member what they would expect from our film opening
In this interview we asked the audience member if our film opening was what he expected
Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? Annabelle Sherwin 2145
Question 2
I am
comparing our main character with the main character from the film I am number
four as they both share differences and similarities. Both characters are from
the same ethnicity of the same age group (18-20) and speak the same language. Tony –from our film opening, has committed a
crime and is trying to run from the government who are after him. If he gets
caught it could be the end of the road for him as he could have jeopardised his
future. Therefore he is trying to blend in with everyone else which is why he
is wearing bland colours for his costume so he doesn’t standout. John –from I
am number four, is also hiding and running from people who are after him. When
they find him they want to kill him as well which is another similarity.
However they both have different past’s and stories as John has not done
anything wrong, he is from another planet and is seen as a threat to the people
who are after him. They are both trying to keep a low profile and not draw
attention to themselves. They both have something to hide that they don’t want
others to find out. The social groups they are both in is the ‘outcasts’. Neither of
them has had a normal life and so has been isolated quite often. They are
different from others with secrets to reveal their true identity.
The
other two characters which appear in the opening, work for the government. As
everyone in the country has a barcode and has to check in so the government can
keep an eye on them and their whereabouts 24/7. Meaning they are very
controlling and keep everyone in check and in order. In The Hunger Games the
capital is the equivalent of the government. They are also highly controlling
and keep the whole country in check otherwise they get punished. The characters
have high authority as they are in charge of everyone’s safety. However the capital
are in power because of a terrible war whereas the government in our opening did
not have to fight to get in their current position, the government just became a stronger unit. The social group they are in is the ‘manipulative’ group. They
convince others that what they are doing is right and persuade their
people to follow them. When really they’re doing it to benefit themselves. Barthes' theory of Semiotics suggests that features have a denotation and a connotation. The denotation for the government is that their offices are dark -where as Tony's house is brighter. The connotation of this is that they have a secret, something to hide.
Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Annabelle Sherwin 2145
Question 1
1. Name of the film
1. Name of the film
We created this title as a representation of the film. The film is
based around the fact that every person in the country has a barcode containing
the birth and death date. Therefore it seemed relevant to display this in the
title. The title ‘Barcode’ is centred in the middle with random numbers around
the edge. This symbolises an actual barcode where you have to decode a lot of
numbers to retrieve a password. Coding is considered a convention of the sci-fi
genre. Similarly in The Hunger Games the title is also based around the point
of the film. Katniss is known as the girl on fire, becoming everyone’s role
model. So the title is an amber colour to represent the fire which she is known
by. As the background is black it also stands out as it is a bright colour.
2. Location
The majority of the opening is filmed inside the main characters house.
This sets up the scene so the audience can get an idea of what the film will be
about. Receiving a view of his house shows the audience aspects of his
personality. The government section is filmed inside offices to give a sense of
high authority. Dark lighting is used to show they portray the bad character
and are mysterious. In Interstellar the opening scenes of the film is also
filmed in the protagonist’s house. This is to show where the family feels most
comfortable most comfortable. It also sets the scene for the rest of the film
as it is based around that location.
3. Costume
The protagonists costume is just simply jeans, shirt and jumper in blue
and grey. The simplicity shows how ordinary his character is and how he wants
to keeps a low profile blending in with everyone else. He does not want to
stand out as he is trying to hide what he has done from the world. Similar to
the film I am Number Four. The main character wears a t-shirt and jeans for the
majority of the film. As he has special powers and does not want to draw
attention to himself. I would say this is not typical of the genre of the
costume is too casual. Generally the characters wear specific uniform or
hospital gowns. However sometimes the characters in this genre have something
to hide and try to act normal, so his costume would be typical of the genre.
4. Camerawork
In this shot Tony looks in the mirror at himself
to see what sort of person he has become. As he looks up the focus is on his
shoulder in the foreground and the background containing his reflection in the
mirror is blurry. When he looks into the mirror the focus changes so his
shoulder is blurred and the mirror is focused. This is to show the audience how
he focuses on the wrong aspects then comes back into reality. I believe this is
typical of the genre as a lot of characters in thrillers take a minute to
review themselves in the unfolding situation.
5. Editing
To show the difference between reality and a flashback we inserted a
transition between the two. The first shot fades into the second by overlapping
as you see both shots at the same time. This then lets the audience know that
there is something different about the upcoming scene as transitions are not
used anywhere else in the opening. I think this is typical of the genre as
flashbacks are used a lot in thrillers and there needs to be something to
signify to the audience that this scene is in another time zone.
6. Titles
For the titling we decided to use white. I think either white or black
is suitable otherwise any other brighter colour would not look professional.
Out of black and white we chose white as the black would have blended in with
the darker surroundings, therefor white was the most appropriate choice. We
picked that font as we found it suited the sci-fi thriller genre as simple but
effective. Bolder titles are used in action films, and curled lettering is used
more for horror thrillers. The titling is placed upon objects in the shot
making it more interesting and different.
7. Opening
To open the film we settled on using to different angles to show Tony
attempting to scrub his barcode off in the bathroom. This meant the audience
could see the surroundings, what he was doing, his costume and his facial
expressions. By not making too much happen in the first shots it wouldn’t
confuse the audience but it would draw them in as they would be intrigued to as
what is happening. As he is trying to scrub his barcode off his arm it shows
that he has something to hide drawing the audience in as they want to know what
and why.
8. Character introduced
The main character is introduced in the first 7 shots through various
angles. As he is trying to get rid of something on his arm it tells the
audience he is trying to hide something suggesting he has done something bad in
order for him to end up in the situation. This gives the impression of mystery.
A close of him in the mirror is then show so the anger in his eyes can be
shown. This shot then fades into a flashback where the audience can see the
main character hurting someone else, giving a clue to his present situation. However
in the film Divergent the main character is first introduced by giving a
voiceover. She gives her views on the current situation and how past has
affected the present and future. It then goes on to her getting her hair cut by
her mother. This shows that she is changing to fit in with the new rules, just
like the character did in our film opening.
9. Special effects
One special effect we included is on the flashback scenes. To show that
they are flashbacks we changed it so the shot plays in slow motion. This makes
it easier to see what is going on, as it is a small fight scene the action
happens very fast. It helps to distinguish between the present and the past. In
Gravity special effects –CGI is used continuously. As the film is set in space
the entire background of the film is special effects. Therefore special effects
are one of the main features of this film and without there would be no film.
Monday, 19 January 2015
Question 4
The audience for our sci-fi thriller genre would mainly be males because it is an action thriller which is stereotypically aimed at males. But it would still appeal to females as well. The age range would be 16-30 because the storyline is face paced. Their clothing would typically be darker colours with the logo of a film on the t-shirt such as batman, star wars and lord of the rings which are also films they would watch. They would be interested in watching programmes like the big bang theory and revenge as they are under the sci-fi and thriller genres because of the shorelines and included content. The music they would be interested in would be Green Day and Michael Jackson because it is stereotypical of that genre. Their hobbies would include computer games, movie marathons and film conventions. Annabelle
This is the typical person we would expect to watch our film
as he appears to be in his late teens. I think he would be interested in Marvel
films, would play computer games, would like Star Wars and listen to bands such
as Green Day and Blink 182 etc. - Catriona
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