AS - Movie Introduction - Final Cut & Evaluation

Dear Moderator, 

My name is Shona Reilly and this is my blog; it contains all of the work undertaken as part of the G321 AS Foundation Portfolio Unit within the OCR CGE course in Media Studies. 

I chose to work by myself to produce a film opening in the thriller genre. The project lasted four months, commencing in September 2013 and cumulating in February / March 2014.  

I hope you enjoy my work and find it both successful and interesting.

Please use the labels to the right to navigate between the stages of research and planning.
Yours thankfully,

Shona Reilly

Film Introduction:

Note. Please watch on Youtube and in 1080p HD so it is in its highest quality. 

Please click here if the embedded video does not work.

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Note. Please watch on Youtube and in 1080p HD so it is clearly readable. 
Please click here if the embedded video does not work. 

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

A still of the antagonist 'Mason' from the 2007 film Spiral and a still from my film 'Something More'.

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

(Because my film's genre is a thriller, it's the sort of film that would attract quite a wide audience, and because of its popularity, will bring an audience into the cinemas. My films story line is also quite unique with there not being many art based horror films on the market. In order to obtain a cinema release date, I would have to cast an a-list celebrity to the interesting role - the artist. In order to secure my chances of a cinema release, I would choose to approach Columbia Pictures – a film production company which is a subsidiary of The Sony Entertainment Group and has produced thrillers such as Salt (2010), The Tourist (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), proving to be a very successful company with a variety of choices of film genre.

However, Twisted Pictures is more specific to my genre - thriller, having produced the film series 'SAW', they would be an amazing company to work with to produce my film world-wide due to the companies successes with the series.

If I were to specify my production company search further, I might at first only be able to distribute my film within the UK, so I would contact the smaller production company Hammer Film Productions which is a UK based film production company that only produces gothic thriller films such as The Quiet Ones (2014) and the famous, world wide block buster Woman In Black (2012). I chose this film company because of its experience as this shows confidence in the genre and the company would have good marketing techniques, appropriate to thrillers/horrors.)

Q4. Who would be the audience for my media product?
I created a basic questionnaire consisting of  these five questions to ten 16-19 year olds- my target audience. Thrillers do not consist of people which like certain types of music etc. compared to people who like Chick Flicks. They tend to prefer more mainstream, pop music and maybe dislike thrillers/horrors. This played to my advantage because I could then see how a wider audience, coming from many different 'clicks' would perceive my film.

 

Overall, I think the group of young adults I asked are my target audience due to the results above. The graphs show that they enjoyed my film and the general consensus was that they would like to watch the rest of the film.

Q5. How did you attract/address you audience?

AS Media- Film Introduction Evaluation: Q5 from shona_r

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this project?

Note. Please watch on Youtube and in 1080p HD so it is in its highest quality. 

Please click here if the embedded video does not work.

Q7. Looking back at you preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

The opening shot I can see that the camera was on a slight slant shown by the paneling on the wall and that her hair is slightly cut off, out of the frame.

We then see my example of match on action. I think I edited the two shots together well buy t there is a large contrast in distance making it seem unrealistic.

I then pan across the classroom. I drag the subject through the shot well until the end when she does to sit down. By then, she has gone to the left of the shot, pulling the camera.

Here is my example of the 180º rule and shot reverse shot. I do keep to correct side of the subjects which shows I did apply to the rule. I kept the eye line between each character accurate by adjusting the height of the camera when switch characters. 

From my preliminary task, I also learnt how to use a lot of more complex types of shots, camera movements and editing such as:

• Loose Frame- The mise en scene surrounding the character is visible, therefore the character/s in shot are not all that is clearly seen.  

• Rule of Three- The frame is divided into nine. When shots use this rule, there are there points which are generally more pleasing to see: 1/3 the way up the frame, 1/3 and 2/3 horizontally along the frame. Here she is the in first vertical 1/3 and the bottom 1/3

• Cross Cutting- alternating shots cutting from one separate sequence to another, usually in a different location, time and person. Eg. shots of photo frames, boots etc. 

• Cutaway- like cross cutting but it links to the sequence currently playing . Eg. My black and white shots

• Contrapuntal Sound- makes the audience question what they are seeing because at first, it does not match the action in the shot. Eg. My music is sinister and at first, it would not seem like it matches the calm and serene setting of the artist painting. 

Final Cut

Since my last edit, I changed a number of things in my film edit. I added some more eerie and menacing music, cut some shots of the moving of furniture in order to speed up the story, cut a shot of a pair of boots as they did not match the storyline, changed my end credit's font to red to make it more exciting and filmed some new shots of a knife covered in blood and blood dripping from the top of the camera.

Link Here

2nd edit- feedback

After I sent my editing 1st draft, I emailed it to my teacher and she kindly showed this to a friend of hers who is a professional cameraman. He said the shots were lovely however, he did still not quite recognise the film was a thriller and that the digging looked like someone was gardening in their back garden. He suggested that I got some clothes, covered them in blood and threw them in the hole. I took inspiration from his suggestion and took a hoodie, put in it a plastic bag and then buried it.
My teacher then noticed that there was no diegetic sound and that it would be more effective if there was. I had forgotten about this and glad someone had brought it up. I decided to include the sound of a shovel scraping along the ground and voice overs where I thought them appropriate. She also noticed that the painting action did not look realistic as it was a splattered painting and my actress was stroking the painting with a brush. I refilled the action of painting quickly and replaced all the visible shots.

Second Edit Movie Introduction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhxvucGp8qY

Part 1 of exam

The first shot we see is a bird eye view of the two main characters. This is an example of verisimilitude. It then leads into cross-cutting of the same two characters, one watching the other sleep, combined a pan around the same characters face while he keeps his eyeliner off shot to the other character gives the audience the impression that character staring (David) is menacing, determined and plotting while across from him the character still sleeping (Ben) is vulnerable, innocent and weak. There is a voice over talking of how one of the character's plans to kill his brother: we can assume this is the menacing character David.

There is an example of old-fashion CGI which symbolised the story of evolution as the voice over compared modern, average man to his 'potato with eye tentacles' brother, saying his brother is a step back in evolution. The next shot is of his brother eating in an animalistic way. We know David is disgusted by this as in the next shot, we see an close up of his face.

There a many interesting point of view shots. During an elipsis,  David is in a tree, he watches his brother who is below, looking up at him. This shows that Ben is inferior to David (whiz helped move the story over time periods effectively) . Also, when David is looking out on his brother from a window he is holding a toy gun,  the voice over talks about how he is going to kill him 'smartly' as the frame is then edited to look like the viewer on a rifle, focussing the audiences view to the 'target'.

There is a sound bridge of a radio which cuts across the establishing shot of a block of flats to the kitchen table where there is an example of shot-reverse-shot of the speakers during a conversation. When the authoritative figure of both the characters, their dad, is speaking, shots are longer compared to others and the frame is shot from slightly below him to show superiority.

The opening credits are subtle and only start to appear at 2:27 which is quite late into the film. the director may have wanted to delay them to introduce the characters and the story effectively without any distractions for the audience.

Whilst in a classroom scene, we are shown Davids point of view on what he is doodling on a desk. His teacher's voice is muffled until we hear her call him name. The banter between the students and the teacher show normal life which contrast drastically with David's life with Ben having to always he with him.

The bus journey Ben takes is a mixture of shot and long shots., contrasting with each other giving the impression of dizziness. There is a soft focus on everyone else other than Ben showing his confusion. The piano music is slow and weak with no beat, drastically contrasting with the music which is played throughout the clip which is up-beat.

EVALUATION: Foundation Portfolio - Q1 Notes

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

A.
Title:
My title 'Something More' would encourage the audience to continue to watch after my film after the first 2 minutes due to its sense of mystery and intrigue.

Setting/location: 
The setting of my film is in a modern day, average looking room the with an overlook that complies with normal, daily life. However, in accordance with the conventions of a thriller I cross cut the 'ordinary' with a secondary storyline which creates an enigma for the audience. 'Elementary', the TV thriller series about Sherlock Holmes, uses a similar style at the beginning of some episodes as a way to hook the audience into the storyline and make them curious to find out more.

Costume & Props:
My main character is dressed, in plain, ordinary and casual clothes which look unsuspecting. I created verisimilitude by filming in a real home with the usual furniture and accessories. Films of this genre use this technique to convince the audience that this familiar scene could be happening to them in realty and then enables me to play on their fears when action is introduced. The shovel used in my contrasting shots symbolises, the fact that there is a secret buried along the storyline. I selected the items which can be scene throughout the sequence within the room specially as I wanted to keep with the convention of the overlook being normal, but on close ups, the products prove to be unique and eerie.

Camerawork:
I used slow moving panning shots to create the effect of the audience being able to submerge themselves in the scene by being able to look around. Shots of the character vary: long shots are used to get her portrait and canvas in the shot and to contrast, I used close ups of what she is working on and shots positioned so that we cannot completely see her face. Because both of these types of shots do not give a clear view of the main character, it gives her a sense of mystery and distance. In the film series 'SAW', we never see the antagonists face, just a puppet through a TV screen- giving a sense of the unease and un-known, making it become more terrifying as we (humans) fear the un-known.

Editing:
I cut my film very quickly so that it would be fast-pace and interesting to the audience. By having multiple shots from different angles of the same action, I was able to do this so that the story was not too fast but not boring for the audience. By having the contrasting, black and white shots the audience would be altered- keeping their concentrations. Nowadays, films are moving so quickly we expect to see so much change and movement particularly in the beginning of a film to keep the audiences appeal. 'CSI', the cop, TV drama uses black and white shots as well particularly at key moments of drama.

I also shot each frame several times from different angles and heights allowing me to have multiple types of shots to work with when editing to create the correct type of impression on the audience and a fast yet fluid rate.

Title font and style:
In my production credit I used the font Baskerville Old Face throughout the titles and LiveType to create my opening credits. I used an app called Motion to create the smoke like effect to introduce the film title establishing a further sense of unease.

Story and how it is set up: 
From my studies I know that that narrative is not that repetitively engages the audience fully with the text. According to Tzvetan Todorov's Narrative Theory, my story starts with a state of balance, wholeness, equilibrium and harmony.Just like in the Lord of the Rings, the narrative starts in the tranquil starting in the rustic peaceful place of Hobbiton. I have then shown that something while break the state of peace shown in my cross-cutting which will cause disequilibrium.

Genre and how the opening suggests it:
I used eerie music to set an atmosphere from the beginning of sequence. I searched YouTube for un-copyrighted, sinister music. The Harry Potter series has been known for its use of eerie music - Hedwig's Theme over the opening titles of each film.

How the character is introduced: 
She walks through the door in the second shot. She is the only full bodied person we encounter and so it is assumed that she is our main character (protagonist or antagonist is unclear).

Special Effects: 
Once I uploaded my footage in iMovie, I edited the lighting of every shot by giving the frame a dark, blue hue. I used LiveType to create my production credit and Motion to create my film title. Most thriller films rely more on makeup and props than special effects to create the tormenting mood.

Exam Preperation- Disability Analysis - Coming Down the Mountain

Camera Work

• Pan around face while subject keeps a constant eye line off shot - making the subject look menacing and obsessive
• Bird eye view of both subjects - verisimilitude
• Point of view whilst in tree, also shows inferiority
• Focus changes
• Handheld while the characters POV is moving
• Distanced long shot which contrast with the previous frame making it look like a drug deal which symbolises his bad decision 
• Isolation when on bus due to the background and foreground being out of focus and the subject being in-focus 
• establishing shot with zoom
• Shot from beneath dad - superior

Editing

• quick cutting / short shots - creates a sense of speed because they are cut very quickly 
• cross cutting between the two subjects one watching the other sleep - makes him look vulnerable and innocent and week with cuts to david looking menacing, determined and lotting across from him
• Cross cutting- of movement over time 
• When he is shooting his brother - editing of the frame narrowing the audiences ability to view the whole frame therefore only focusing on the 'target' - he doesn't like his brother due to his disability
• fade in & zoom to ariel view 
• zoom in on subject with voice over talking about him - helps to tell the story in the voiceover by focusing us more closely on the subject
• shows old documentary, ancient CGI video during (black and white) - symbolises evolution and his brother is a throw back of the evolution - he is a potato with eye tentacles, then it cuts to a shot of him eating in an animalistic way
• several uses of ellipsis to more the narrative along  
• front on then side of same thing happening to explain while voice over
• credits appear at 2:27 - quite late on into the film. Director may have delayed the credits to introduce effectively the characters and the story 
• shot reverse shots of the speakers - conversation 
• Dad treated them more =ly, the mum favoured Ben and did not say goodbye to David
• Dad eats a full english, ben eat all week-a-bix, david eats nothing - ladder of superiority 
• Ben tries to steal from the dads plate - he can get away with things more 
• Cuts longer on dad 
• Cross cutting from bus stop to holiday - David is always leading Ben and it has always been that way
• Shots in classroom are long - banter between teacher and students = normal life, only time he is away from Ben prolong normality, David will get a better job than Ben (ASDA reference) 
• reflection of the explosion (could be CGI) behind his head - bad idea
• bus journey short and long shots to contrast - dizziness, also soft focus on everyone else other than Ben 

Sound

• voice over of subject continues story
• music - weird upbeat but not too exciting 
• explosion onto old documentary, music continues
• Sound Bridge- radio across two shots, quietens when voiceover comes on and dygetic sound 
• voice over is over music again
• teachers voice is fuzzy while he concentrating on unicorn
• voices on bus is slightly muted with voice over 
• music is slower and weak, sad piano, no beat 
• dialogue- Ben is mumbled

Mise En Scene

• Costume is very average, working class
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First Edit - Film Introduction

• This edit does not have the final title of the film's name at the end. 

1st cut- feedback

I showed a rough cut (see above) to a focus group devised of people I had interviewed previously about my film opening.
The general consensus from this first edit was that it was a bit boring to watch and they were not quite 100% sure that it was a thriller.

To improve, I decided that I was going to add a secondary plot line, shown with the use parallel editing of black and white shots showing someone digging a whole.

Discuss the issues of media ownership in the production and exchange of media texts in your chosen media area.

"Discuss the issues of media ownership in the production and exchange of media texts in your chosen media area." 

In this day of global media conglomerates there has never been a greater issue concerning the way in which films are delivered to today's modern audiences. In the 21st century, movie piracy is on an all time rise and with advancements in new technology, it is becoming easier for younger generations to download films from the internet illegally and be untraceable. However, more quality, short films are being created and uploaded onto the internet-making it easier for young, aspiring film directors to get a foot into the industry.

Using cheap digital cameras and sites like Youtube, many more amateur or 'indie' films are being created although 2/10 make any viral audience because of media giants like Disney who still come up on top of media sales due to their ability to use 'cross-media ownership'. Many ammeter film makers upload their low budget films to film maker competitions or festivals such as the 2014 'Your Film Festival' which is currently being held and ending in March 2014. The festival gives low budget film makers a chance to showcase their work and have a chance to have their short film shown at the 2014 Venice Film Festival and win for a prize of £300,000. An example of a very successful short movie that was uploaded to Youtube in... was... This film was put into the cinemas and made a  gross of....

There are several styles of releasing a film to public viewing in order to gain certain types of audiences and generating the most income from the film. Simultaneous release is when a film is released in the cinemas and onto other formats such as DVD, the internet and television around the same date. This strategy's main advantage to the consumer is that the consumer may choose when and how they view the film. 

• In the course of the years simultaneous release approaches have gained both praise, with Mark Cuban claiming movies should simultaneously be made available on all media allowing viewers to choose whether to see it at home or at the theater,^[3] and disapproval, with director M. Night Shyamalan claiming it could potentially destroy the "magic" of moviegoing.^[4] 

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