Group Evaluation

Foundation Portfolio Evaluation: Group One on Prezi

Individual Evaluation Process

Each person in our group created an individual evaluation as a plan for our main evaluation. We each answered 7 main questions including:
-Our final product
-Camerawork
-Editing
-Who our target audience was
-Our research
-What we learnt about technologies from the process
-How successful we thought our final product was

This was a good idea for planning as we have all contributed and shared our ideas. It also shows we each have a clear understanding of the process of constructing our product and everything we did. For our group evaluation we have decided to make a prezi including answers from all of our individual evaluations, pictures and videos to show our evaluation in a more creative way.

INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION

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

Our media product incorporates generic conventions from real media products such as the professional film, Taken, a crime and action thriller, we developed ideas through the generic conventions of Taken. The film uses typical generic conventions to emphasis its sub-genre for instance short duration shots highlighting urgency and point of view shots so the audience can relate to what is about to happen. The film shows a clear antagonist and protagonist (which we have in our film) and the narrative is in an ordinary situation where extraordinary events occur... Therefore, in our production we used this to help make it fit well to the sub-genre. For example at the beginning of our opening sequence we created suspense, excitement and tension to the viewer through short shot durations, handheld camera shots and on specific scenes adding a blurred effect. Also, for the music in our production we wanted to add anticipation to the viewer like the way we felt whilst watching other crime thrillers. These were all ideas used from real media products, showing an indication that our use of conventions have been influenced by films like Taken, Eagle Eye and Disturbia. In certain scenes of Disturbia the shots have been edited into a blurred vision which gave us that particular idea, and in Eagle eye the music felt spine chilling and that’s how we wanted our music to be portrayed in our opening scene.   

2)    How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product is aimed at youth social groups, who go out socialising, underage drinking, partying etc. This is represented in our opening sequence during the flashback where you see the two naïve girl characters that have been drinking and are just spontaneously having a fun night out. The two girls are portrayed in a stereotypical way, they are very vulnerable and silly when it comes to getting into the strangers car, like two young girls would be like underage drinking in the realistic picture. The boy character challenges the stereotype as you would rarely see a young man take two innocents girls on a night out especially as they are both around the same age, and same social group. However in some aspects the young man does conform as he is the dominant one and is the one in control of the situation. This links into the target audience because it explains to the youthful groups that this could happen and could be seen as a realistic theory. The media product is more pushed towards this social group because through our research and personal view we can see that this would be something that they are interested in and a film that they would want to watch.

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

I believe that this could be something that could be produced by major Hollywood studios and other big production companies such as 20^th Century Fox who have produced worldwide crime thrillers. The reason for this is because our idea stands out from other crime thrillers and it is appealing to youth social groups and they are the main people who are interested and go to the cinema etc. Our media product is similar to existing worldwide crime thrillers such as Taken and Disturbia, and both films have been very successful and popular. In the opening scene of Disturbia the music is contrapuntal which is the opposite to our opening but through our research we decided that music that compliments with action conforms with the audience and are more likely to be interested. I believe that if our media product was to be released it could be as popular and could offer franchise/ merchandise because as seen from other universal crime thrillers like Taken, people our interested and merchandise like dolls and t-shirts are sold worldwide. Our media has realistic characters that can make ordinary people put themselves in that position which makes our film better than others.

4)    Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our media product is suitable for both genders. The reason for this is because the narrative is about two girls being abducted, therefore is not pushed towards one gender. For our primary research we conducted a questionnaire to discover the expectations of our target audience. We discovered girls would find our media interesting as they enjoy going out socialising, underage drinking and doing spontaneous things therefore could put themselves in the position of the two vulnerable girls in the film and decide what they would have done in the situation. Boys on the other hand, would find narrative attention-grabbing because it is a crime thriller and discovering through our primary research if boys were to go to the cinema they we most want to see crime thrillers or another type of thriller. We also used secondary research to find out more about our target audience, we used the Pearl and Dean website to find out about the audience of crime thrillers from looking at the results we discovered that crime thrillers were most popular between the ages of 15-24 and 25-34. The gender ratio was more popular with men than women; however, the percentage for women was still high showing us that both genders would enjoy the film due to its sub-genre. Our media product also raises awareness to the audience, like professional films such as Taken the youth generation can learn something from it.

5)    How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience by using results from our primary and secondary research. This helped us come out with our audience profile and who we wanted to be interested in the film, we discovered that both genders aged 15-24 would find our media product most interesting and would want to watch it. There are particular points in our media where it would appeal to those certain ages, for example during the flashback the two girl characters have been drinking and are singing, messing around and not really thinking about what they are doing. This could scare and worry the target audience because they can picture themselves in that situation.  We thought carefully about our camerawork during our opening scene, we used a lot of point of view shots so the audience could relate to what was happening, we also did a lot of short duration shots to emphasis the panic and tension the girl character was feeling. Another technique we tried was putting the camera out of focus to show the girls blurred vision, to show that perhaps she has been drugged.  For the mise en scene we created a stereotypical look for both girls, for instance, heels, short skirt and lots of make up etc. We wanted the audience to relate so that it gave off a more realistic feel. In the editing process we had no soundtrack music in the flashback so we could just hear what the girls were saying and how the boy approached them, this was to show realism but also some aspect of raising awareness. We used all these four micro areas to attract and addresses are target audience.

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

I have learnt how to use and do a variety of technologies from the process of constructing the media product. At the beginning of the production stage in the preliminary task we used a canon video recorder and tripod; we were then able to be more creative with our real project. This was one of our strengths because throughout the production of filming our media film we thought back to the prelim and what worked well and what didn’t. A weakness of the camera equipment was when we took it out to film and the tape didn’t work, this was a big disadvantage to us and the shooting schedule was delayed and our availability became a struggle. After this happened we made sure during the editing stage that we were more organised and gave plenty of time and space for mistakes if they were made. During the editing stage I learnt lots of new techniques on the editing software – Final Cut. After having a taster of how it works during the preliminary task it was much easier to use, we were able to be creative with our work changing the speed of each shot and using the razorblade tool to cut and paste different shots in the timeline. We found Final Cut very useful for creating our overall mise en scene, adding special effects for instance in our flashback scene we blurred the shots to emphasis the fact that she was dreaming and also in other shots we added brightness to enhance the daylight. When it came to making the soundtrack we created on the software – Garage Band. It was a useful programme for creating a suspenseful soundtrack because we could go through each sound effect we wanted and cut and paste or slow it down, making it sound the best it could be. The challenges we faced using the Garage Band software was that it was hard to certain sound effects of the exact shot type we wanted it, so as a group we went through the film and wrote down the exact time where we wanted extra suspense.

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

Looking back to the preliminary task it was challenging and all the equipment seemed overwhelming but now after completing the full product I feel a lot more confident in using all the tools and different software. During the planning stage it was difficult to put all our ideas into one film, we carried out lots of research (primary and secondary) to find out who liked  our ideas and what type of sub genre we wanted to go for. I evaluated all different types of thrillers and thought what was different about them, what was most popular etc. All the planning really helped when it came to coming up with a storyboard and presentation. We had an idea of what would be interesting to the target audience we were edging towards; for instance socialising, partying being spontaneous etc. After coming up with the storyboard and presentation we as a group completed an animatic. This was where we videoed the storyboard to how we would want it to be for the real product, we took to account timing, speed, how creative it was and even what sound effects we wanted then in their. In conclusion, it is clear that I have learnt a large amount from the start of the project to the finished cut. I know a lot more about the different software’s, the camera equipment and the amount of time that has to be planned.

Final Opening Sequence

How our rough cut feedback helped us

Our feedback from our rough cut improved the making of our final production in many ways.
By our audience noticing our editing techniques and smooth camera work for example the zoom into the main characters face, we know that we edited and filmed it well as we received positive feedback. We also got positive feedback on our location choice which we wanted, so that we know that people understand what is happening in our opening sequence. We used the constructive feedback, such as some of the cuts between different scenes affecting the continuity, and so we went back and edited it by adding things such as transitions to make it run smoothly. Our audience said that our lighting was the same throughout which added to the realism and made the filming smoother as it looks as if we filmed it all on the same day.

We've learnt from producing this opening sequence that next time we film and edit we will make sure that we have plenty of time so that we can make the continuity and camera shots flow and work the best it can be. We would focus more on the positioning of the camera and the characters to make sure it looks the same from the audiences perspective.

Getting feedback from our target audience has made us confident and happy with the making of our final opening sequence production!

Roughcut Feedback 2

1. How well do you think we constructed our camera techniques?
The extra close up when it zooms into Mimi's face is very effective and shows emotion.
2. How well do you think our location relates to our sub genre?
The location suits the sub genre well, as its in a woods and crime usually happens in isolated places like that.
3. How well do you think we have edited the rough cut so that it runs smoothly?
The zooms are very smooth, and the camera is very steady when focusing.
4. Do you think the lighting fits the scene? Is it too dark or too light?
The lighting is good because its outside so its it is natural light which matches the scene well, as crime is quite common to happen in early hours of the morning.
5. What enigma's does this opening sequence create? The opening sequence leaves me wondering why she's there and makes me worried for her and what is going to happen to her.

Research on credits

In order to add credits to our opening sequence we researched and watched different professional title sequences to see where the credits came in. From our research we found out that this is the order the opening credits came in.

1. ........... pictures presents
2. A .......... Film
3. Main actress name
4. Character name
5. Character name
6. Character name
7. Music by
8. Edited by
9. Produced by
10. Directed by
11. Name of film

This helped us decide on when our credits would come in.

Analysising Crime Thriller Poster...

As a group we have decided to analyse a crime thriller poster which gives us an idea of how we want to portray our film production. The poster we are analysing is a well known crime thriller, 'Memento'. We will focus on the font used, the positioning of the text and images, the actual images used and the story that the poster tells.


FONT
The font used in the poster for 'Memento' is in capitals which makes it stand out and draws attention to the title of the film. It has the effect that somebody has hand written it, and as we can see it is on a photograph which also relates to the story line of him loosing his memory and so taking pictures of the important events in his life.

IMAGE
There are 3 Polaroid pictures which make up the crime thriller poster, with a different character in each one. This introduces us to the characters in the film, and introduces certain enigmas which makes the audience wonder what the film is going to be about. From already conducting research on 'Memento' we understand that the images on the poster relate well to the narrative of the film. The title of the film is also written on one of the Polaroid pictures, which could be a good, creative idea for us if we were to create our own crime thriller poster in relation to our story. The way the man and woman are both staring, as if they are staring at each other adds enigmas and creates scenarios in the audiences heads about the roles they play in the film.

POSITIONING OF THE TEXT AND IMAGES
By positioning the Polaroid pictures one on top of the other it makes the content of the pictures more mysterious, and it is also a very creative way to present the different photos. As the title of the film is placed on top of the biggest picture on the white part it makes it stand out to the audience, and also suggests to us that the man on the photo is going to be the main character.

STORY THAT THE POSTER TELLS
The poster could tell us many things about the narrative of the film. From the imagery used we can guess that the film has something to do with the two characters, and with the Polaroid photographs. By the pictures not telling us a lot about the narrative it leaves the audience wondering what is to come. This is good as the point of the poster is to market the film and make people want to watch it.

Roughcut Feedback

1) How well do you think we constructed our camera techniques?
You have constructed your camera techniques well such as the smooth zoom in to the characters face. There is also a back view from behind the character to show us that her hands are tied up and that she is trying to get away, also the close up of the characters near the end emphasises the emotion on her face.

2) How well do you think our location relates to our sub genre?
The location relates well to the sub genre of a crime thriller, as its gloomy, dirty and mysterious. It also looks as if there is nobody around which would be the perfect time for crime to take place.

3) How well do you think we have edited the rough cut so that it runs smoothly?
Your roughcut has been edited well, as it all runs smoothly. It looks as if its its been filmed all in one shot as there are no jump cuts. There is a gap between two shots, which tells us there is another shot to be put there.

4) Do you think the lighting fits the scene? Is it too dark or too light?
The lighting looks as if its at early hours of the morning, between 5-6am, as the lighting is very fresh but not too bright or dark. The lighting fits the scene well as it suggests to the audience that something must have happened the night before and it is now early morning.

5) What enigma's does this opening sequence create?
This opening sequence creates enigmas such as what has happened the night before? what has happened to this girl? why is she there? where is she? whats she looking at that has made her so frightened? and why is she tied up? There are so many unanswered questions being left with the us, that build up tension and suspense and make us want to watch more.

Personal roles and contribution to filming

During the filming stage we all wanted to put in the same amount of work as eachother so we all have experience at doing different things. Mimi was the main actress in our opening sequence, and so she was infront of the camera for a majority of the time. Although, when she was not on camera she helped film certain shots such as the long shots of the man and the other girl. This also gave her experience on how to use the focusing tool on the camera.
Amy and Grace both helped equally in filming the opening sequence, helping and advising eachother on what looks best. This also involved directing the opening sequence, by telling the actors where to go, what to do etc.
Grace took the main role of organizing the costume and make up of the characters. This had a huge impact on the production as a whole as it adds effect and adds to the mis en scene elements.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Editing Stage

During our editing stage we have had some strengths and some weaknesses in producing our opening sequence and making it the best it could be.

STRENGTHS- We had creative ideas on how to put each shot together, and how to make sure that it flows correctly and looks like a professional opening sequence.
-We started our editing as soon as we had finished filming all of our footage, giving us long enough to edit it all, so that we arent in a rush to finish the opening sequence.
-We researched into the types of transistions used in other thriller films, so that we could add similar ones to make sure our opening sequence fitted the genre of crime thriller well.
-We have good knowledge of how to use FinalCut and so it wasn't hard for us to get straight into the editing process.

WEAKNESSES
-As we filmed our opening sequence on many different days due to the weather, avaliabilty etc, the lighting was sometimes different. This was a set back as it was harder for us to put together the shots we needed, and so we had to adjust the colour and brightness of some of the shots.
-As we created our soundtrack before we edited our opening sequence, it was hard for us to match the music to what is happening in the film. Because of this, we are going to have to go back to Garageband and edit our sound to make it fit into the imagery.
-Our logo didn't fit exactly how we wanted it in the first place, but we managed to decide on a new way to present it which we are now happy with.

Analysis of editing techniques used in an opening sequence

As part of our research on opening sequences, we looked at the editing techniques in a film that inspired us and that is in the same sub genre as our own opening sequence, 'Se7en'.


There is long shot duration used at the beginning when we are shown a book and a picture of a hand, which makes the audience wonder what the book is about, and leaves them wondering if this plays a role in the rest of the film. This is also when the production company is introduced. 
It turns into short shot duration when enigmas are shown, for example what looks like a razor blade. This builds up tension and suspense, as the music also speeds up when this happens. 
There are many fade in's and out's throughout the opening sequence which makes it run smoothly. When we see a pen writing on the paper, there are two images shown over each other, one with a higher opacity, which suggests to us the passing of time. 
The cuts in the opening sequence to 'Se7en' are very fast and racy, adding confusion and building the tension. The editing gets even faster near to the end of the opening credits, which is parallel to the music. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, and intrigues them to want to know what is going to happen next. It could also add a sense of fear to the audience as what is to come in the rest of the film.

Opening Sequence Credits Analysis From The Same Genre...

As we begin our editing stage, we need to have ideas to how we want to present our credits in our opening sequence. We have been looking at other crime thriller opening title sequences and have been taking note of what looks good and what we could use to make our opening sequence looks as professional as these experienced productions. 




VANTAGE POINT OPENING SEQUENCE:

• Production name shown first.. With a small light highlighting it as you read on.
• Showing flashing images of location but making the credits clearly stand out.
• Using transitions of the credits swiping in from the right.
• Uses small text and font, and putting the production name is capitals
• The title of the film is shown at the end.. Zooming in far away then rapidly zooming out towards you.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES OPENING SEQUENCE:

• Production names shown at beginning once soundtrack has started
• Film title shown the middle of the opening sequence followed by the main characters name
• Font is in capitals, very clear to the audience however is not shown for no longer then 3 seconds
• The credits are within the props shown, for instance the main characters name is shown in an photograph.
• The credits are getting faster, flowing well with the music... As the music gets faster and more tense the credits are simply flashes to the audience 
• Director shown again at the end in bold writing.

HOSTAGE OPENING SEQUENCE:

• Film Company shown at the very beginning
• Followed by main character names
• Font is shown in mainly black but the title shown in bloody red.. 
• The credits are shown in different ways, for instance some are shown on buildings and some are just randomly zooming out from the distance
• The main title is shown for the longest amount of time in the middle of the opening sequence..
• The directors are shown again at the end of the sequence... 

Watching these opening title sequences will give us an idea of what looks good what doesn't. Each of the sequences clearly have similarities of when certain credits are shown. however, the way they are presented are very different. Some contrast with the music where other flow with the soundtrack, some credits are randomly zooming out where other have been creatively put somewhere. We need to make sure our credits are just creative as what we have researched so far.  

Inspiration for opening sequence

Taken- Inspiration for opening sequence


Our main inspiration for our production was crime thriller 'Taken'. When we watched the film Taken all of us were on the edge of our seats, wanting to watch more.. We wanted our audience to feel this way when they watch our opening sequence! 
The idea of the two girls getting abducted is something that no one wants to happen, so our production of this happening shows to our target audience that its very easily done. Taken (2008) was a very popular film, and rated 7.9 out of 10 from viewers, and had very positive reviews from our target audience. We thought that we could use Taken as our inspiration and make our own crime thriller, this is when we came up with the idea of 'Buried Alive'. 


The plot of 'Buried Alive' is similar to Taken is some ways, however we made it our own by using more realistic ideas such as the boy being the age of the two girls and showing how easy it is for people to be trusted. Our opening sequence tells a lot about the story and edges viewers to watch more, we want our audience to have the same thrilling experience as we did when we watched Taken. 


Below is the trailer for Taken... Watching this will give you an idea of what we want our production to be like:

Strengths and Weaknesses of Production.. (Filming Stage)

When starting the filming process of our production we completed a shooting planner where we filmed certain scenes different days. Over the period of time it took to film we had some challenges but also some positives that we took on board each time we went out to film...


Strengths:

• We started our filming as soon as it was possible to do so, making sure we were ready and prepared. This was a strength because it enabled us to see how much time it takes and how much or little preparation time we needed.
• As we filmed certain scenes on different days we had to make sure everything was the same! Especially the mise en scene elements, such as make up and costume. This was one of our strengths because we handled it very well, taking pictures of how the make up looked and taking note of costumes etc... 
• On our storyboard we were very precise to what type of camera shot we wanted, so when it came to filming we knew where and what we wanted. 

Weaknesses:

• One of our main weaknesses of production in the filming stage was our availability. We had trouble making sure that the individuals we were using in our production was available and our shooting planner didn't work with their free time. This was a huge challenge for us as we became behind schedule and stressed.
• Another weakness in our production stage was not being able to get the same lighting as the previous time we filmed.. As we filmed scenes different days it was hard to get the lighting exactly how we wanted it. Some days it was too sunny and others too dark, which again changed our shooting planner. 

Although we had some strengths and weaknesses of production in our filming stage, we finished on the deadline and now ready and prepared for our editing stage. We can use our weaknesses to an advantage and make sure we use all the spare time we can and try and fit to the editing planner we have made, as we don't want to be rushing everything to the very end. 

Starting Editing Process...

After two weeks of filming, this week we started to edit on final cut... We had filmed certain scenes on different days so we took time to watch through each scene and cut and drag where and when we wanted the clip to go. At the start we found this easy, as we knew which pieces of footage we wanted and didnt want. However, once we played each section we had to change speed, the duration of the shot and then if we found that the continuinty was poor we changed the section completly.

We have already made our soundtrack using garageband but decided not to put it in to final cut, we want to make sure we have each shot cut and dragged exactly how and where we want it. We also needed to think about our logo and where it was going to go, as our logo moves we need to edit it on final cut, this is something we need to work on to make sure it looks the best it can be.

We have made a planner where we will be using our free time to come in and edit, we need to do this as a deadline has been made and its crucial for us to make sure everything is ready and done by this time.

Week A                                      Week B
Monday: P4                                 Monday: P4+P5
Tuesday: P2                                Tuesday:  P2
Wednesday: P2                           Wednesday: P1+P2
Thursday:P1                                Thursday: P5                       
Friday:P2+P5                               Friday: P2+P4

Rough Cut Of Opening Sequence

1) How well do you think we constructed our camera techniques?

2) How well do you think our location relates to our sub genre?

3) How well do you think we have edited the rough cut so that it runs smoothly?

4) Do you think the lighting fits the scene? Is it too dark or too light?

5) What enigma's does this opening sequence create?

Photos of Filming Process

The pictures below show us filming certain shots for our opening sequence... 

This is an example of us filming a close up at our location 

This is showing us filming a long shot.

This is showing the main characters make up. We used dark colored face paints to make a bruise on the side of her face. We used red lipstick which shows us that she would have been going on a night out with her friend, which we then smudged across her face to show she may have been hurt, which leaves the audience wondering what has happened to her. 

We also used face paints and real mud on her arms, chest and legs.

Animatic

Opening Sequence Title Analysis

In the opening sequence to 'Pulp Fiction' the colour of the font stands out from the black background. It is a bright orange colour and so it is easy for the audience to see and read. The font of the writing is very square and bold so it stands out and grabs the audeinces attention. It is also a quite old fashioned font, which relates well to the era of the film. The title of the film is then shown in a different font, and takes up most of the black background. It makes it obvious to us that it is the title of the film. The names of cast and crew are then shown over the orange title, but in a different font and in white. This makes the names stand out from the title and showing us that these are the names of the main characters. As more characters names are introduced, the title of the film in the background is gradually getting smaller and smaller. When the excecutive producers, editors etc are shown, their names are a lot larger than their job role. This is so that the audience focus more on their names.