Date
|
Task to do
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17th Nov
|
Research films in a supernatural/drama genre.
|
24th Nov
|
Research films in a supernatural/drama genre.
|
1st Dec
|
Think about my own film – do a storyboard.
|
8th Dec
|
Think about my own film – do a storyboard.
|
15th Dec
|
Shooting.
|
9th Jan
|
Shooting.
|
12th Jan
|
Editing.
|
19th Jan
|
Editing.
|
26th Jan
|
Upload first version of my film.
|
2nd Feb
|
Get feedback from teacher and students.
|
9th Feb
|
Re do storyboard.
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24th Feb
|
Shooting.
|
2nd Mar
|
Shooting.
|
3rd Mar
|
Editing.
|
9th Mar
|
Editing.
|
10th Mar
|
Upload end clip of film
|
16th Mar
|
Get feedback
|
17th Mar
|
Editing for improvements
|
23rd Mar
|
Editing for improvements
|
24th Mar
|
Upload final cut
|
Monday, 27 April 2015
Time management
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Evaluation Q5
The opening sequence of "Hidden Fangs" will appeal to teens. The background music used makes the audience curious and it is relevant to my target audience. I also place my final product on social media as this is where my target audience spend over 40 hours per week online.
Evaluation Q2
How does your media product represent particular social groups ?
The music is set to create tension, and it is non-diegestic coming from outside the scene (background music).
The music should represent the genre of the film and the audience should be familiar with this sound.
The mise-en-scene with reference to the outfits should allow the audience to relate the characters as they are typical outfits teenagers wear.
I chose to represent teens because of the violence and mild terror in the opening sequence. This may be too much for small children .
The editing throughout raises the tension. This is another factor in why teens are my target group.
The music is set to create tension, and it is non-diegestic coming from outside the scene (background music).
The music should represent the genre of the film and the audience should be familiar with this sound.
The mise-en-scene with reference to the outfits should allow the audience to relate the characters as they are typical outfits teenagers wear.
I chose to represent teens because of the violence and mild terror in the opening sequence. This may be too much for small children .
The editing throughout raises the tension. This is another factor in why teens are my target group.
Monday, 20 April 2015
Evaluation Q4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
When starting this project, I decided I would like to base my film on a vampire/romance, being into that type of genre myself, I had an idea of what films to look at for ideas.
The more popular films currently are the Twilight Saga and The Vampire Diaries currently in its 6th season on TV.
These types of films target different audiences, many of my friends who are similar ages are very interested in this kind of film. The majority of the films fans are female between the ages of 13- 25. However they also appeal to a slightly older generation as several of my mum's friends also enjoy these types of film. This will potentially give my film a broader fan base.
I researched on the internet and discovered the following about target audiences for Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES AUDIENCE - http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/10/09/the-vampire-diaries-up-100-year-to-year-with-women-18-34/30066/
This is a profile of Cleo:
Cleo Brown is the leading female in my movie. She is 17 years old, lives at home with her parents & brother and is studying A-Level Photography, Media Studies and Art. She is a fan of any type of horror or scary movies. Her other interests include cheerleading and taking care of her cat.
This is a profile of Richard:
Richard Taylor is the leading male in my movie. He is 17 years old, lives at home and is studying A-Level Photography, Media Studies, Business Studies and Physics. He is a fan of horror and scary movies. Richard's other interests include tennis, kayaking and piano.
When starting this project, I decided I would like to base my film on a vampire/romance, being into that type of genre myself, I had an idea of what films to look at for ideas.
The more popular films currently are the Twilight Saga and The Vampire Diaries currently in its 6th season on TV.
These types of films target different audiences, many of my friends who are similar ages are very interested in this kind of film. The majority of the films fans are female between the ages of 13- 25. However they also appeal to a slightly older generation as several of my mum's friends also enjoy these types of film. This will potentially give my film a broader fan base.
I researched on the internet and discovered the following about target audiences for Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES AUDIENCE - http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/10/09/the-vampire-diaries-up-100-year-to-year-with-women-18-34/30066/
This is a profile of Cleo:
Cleo Brown is the leading female in my movie. She is 17 years old, lives at home with her parents & brother and is studying A-Level Photography, Media Studies and Art. She is a fan of any type of horror or scary movies. Her other interests include cheerleading and taking care of her cat.
This is a profile of Richard:
Richard Taylor is the leading male in my movie. He is 17 years old, lives at home and is studying A-Level Photography, Media Studies, Business Studies and Physics. He is a fan of horror and scary movies. Richard's other interests include tennis, kayaking and piano.
Evaluation Q7
Looking back at the prelim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
There were a
few mistakes within my prelim task. I had very little knowledge about editing and filming when we did our preliminary and therefore mistakes were inevitable. Also I had done no research for the prelim task.
During the coursework I have hopefully gained some good filming and editing skills. By researching, I now have ideas about what opening credits are suppose to look like and how different they can be for each genre.
In the prelim task, I was provided with a scenario, from this I needed to create a storyboard and film. But in the making of my horror/comedy/vampire film I had to make up my own storyline. Doing this helped me to understand some of the concepts of film making.
In the prelim task, because it was a 'practise' I didn't have to worry about target audience. But in making my own film, especially in the opening scene I had to think about the convention for the film and what sort of an audience it would attract. This was quite difficult to establish the exact target audience but I think I got there in the end. Although in my next media project I will create more surveys in Survey Monkey to gather more information before I start.
Filming and Photography has advanced significantly over the years.
The kind of equipment used now would not have been available 20 years ago to the general public and certainly the quality of equipment is now far more advanced.
In the past there were 'movie' cameras which needed to be developed by a camera specialist. To show these movies they needed to be projected on a 'movie projector' - usually a large piece of equipment. These movies were seriously lacking in quality. So by having access to a variety of technology made the process easier but I learnt editing techniques along the way. I also realised that by using only Windows Movie Maker my ability to edit was severely reduced to the basics so I need to look at different software packages for next year. This will help me create a smoother more professional looking media product.
The main task was not without its problems. I had to re-shoot a few scenes due to a file getting corrupted. I couldn't use the original file as I hadn't saved it. So that is one thing I've learnt, that I need to save everything and back it up on a number of different drives to prevent this happening again.
The main task also required far more planning, the prelim exercise was quite straightforward. The main task was much more complex with lots more to consider so I now know the importance of planning a media project. We also had to consider a plot, as the film went along I made a few minor revision to the original plot. This was due to having to re-shoot some of the scenes again because of weather and the file corrupting.
I also discovered shoot outdoors in England can cause a number of issues at anytime of the year. Therefore many a time that I had to re-schedule some scenes due to the inconsistent weather.
During the coursework I have hopefully gained some good filming and editing skills. By researching, I now have ideas about what opening credits are suppose to look like and how different they can be for each genre.
In the prelim task, I was provided with a scenario, from this I needed to create a storyboard and film. But in the making of my horror/comedy/vampire film I had to make up my own storyline. Doing this helped me to understand some of the concepts of film making.
In the prelim task, because it was a 'practise' I didn't have to worry about target audience. But in making my own film, especially in the opening scene I had to think about the convention for the film and what sort of an audience it would attract. This was quite difficult to establish the exact target audience but I think I got there in the end. Although in my next media project I will create more surveys in Survey Monkey to gather more information before I start.
Filming and Photography has advanced significantly over the years.
The kind of equipment used now would not have been available 20 years ago to the general public and certainly the quality of equipment is now far more advanced.
In the past there were 'movie' cameras which needed to be developed by a camera specialist. To show these movies they needed to be projected on a 'movie projector' - usually a large piece of equipment. These movies were seriously lacking in quality. So by having access to a variety of technology made the process easier but I learnt editing techniques along the way. I also realised that by using only Windows Movie Maker my ability to edit was severely reduced to the basics so I need to look at different software packages for next year. This will help me create a smoother more professional looking media product.
The main task was not without its problems. I had to re-shoot a few scenes due to a file getting corrupted. I couldn't use the original file as I hadn't saved it. So that is one thing I've learnt, that I need to save everything and back it up on a number of different drives to prevent this happening again.
The main task also required far more planning, the prelim exercise was quite straightforward. The main task was much more complex with lots more to consider so I now know the importance of planning a media project. We also had to consider a plot, as the film went along I made a few minor revision to the original plot. This was due to having to re-shoot some of the scenes again because of weather and the file corrupting.
I also discovered shoot outdoors in England can cause a number of issues at anytime of the year. Therefore many a time that I had to re-schedule some scenes due to the inconsistent weather.
Friday, 17 April 2015
Evaluation Q3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Distribution is the process of bringing the film to the market or the audience. There are 4 stages: production which is the process of making the film, marketing which is promoting or advertising the film, distributing which is getting it to the audience (e.g. getting it to the cinema or the internet) and consuming which means the audience using the product (watching the film).
My film is a low budget British film with unkown British actors in it so is more likely to appeal to a British audience as they can relate to the surroundings.
Mainstream Hollywood film companies wouldn't be interested and it is unlikely at this stage that Hammer Horror would be interested in my work as I am not an established film producer.
Self promotion of my product is the only possible solution at this stage.
Here are some of the sites that will distribute my film:
I have chosen these websites because they are free and they let me get a wide range of feedback from them.
I have also looked at youngcuts.com
"The YoungCuts Film Festival features filmmakers 29 and under, whose short films are under 30 minutes.
Young filmmakers compete with other young filmmakers on an equal footing, making this film festival a "must-submit" festival for filmmakers in this age group.
Globally recognized, the festival selects 100 films each year. This means that your film has a better chance of being an Official YoungCuts Film Festival selection."
Warner Bros won't distribute my film because I don't have that much experience making a film and it was shot with a low budget - we didn't have loads of money to help us.
Distribution is the process of bringing the film to the market or the audience. There are 4 stages: production which is the process of making the film, marketing which is promoting or advertising the film, distributing which is getting it to the audience (e.g. getting it to the cinema or the internet) and consuming which means the audience using the product (watching the film).
My film is a low budget British film with unkown British actors in it so is more likely to appeal to a British audience as they can relate to the surroundings.
Mainstream Hollywood film companies wouldn't be interested and it is unlikely at this stage that Hammer Horror would be interested in my work as I am not an established film producer.
Self promotion of my product is the only possible solution at this stage.
Here are some of the sites that will distribute my film:
 |
 |
 |
| Vimeo |
 |
| YouTube |
I have chosen these websites because they are free and they let me get a wide range of feedback from them.
I have also looked at youngcuts.com
"The YoungCuts Film Festival features filmmakers 29 and under, whose short films are under 30 minutes.
Young filmmakers compete with other young filmmakers on an equal footing, making this film festival a "must-submit" festival for filmmakers in this age group.
Globally recognized, the festival selects 100 films each year. This means that your film has a better chance of being an Official YoungCuts Film Festival selection."
 |
| youngcuts.com |
Warner Bros won't distribute my film because I don't have that much experience making a film and it was shot with a low budget - we didn't have loads of money to help us.
Evaluation Q6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Google: There are many search engines out there to collect information and I choose Google because I am familiar with it and I use it regularly at home. Google is the most well-known and popular searching engine. It helped me to do research and allows me to use Blogger. Also it allows me to make a survey about my target audience. I also used Google to research trailers, media products, music and film clips.
Wordle: Wordle assisted me in putting all the key words for the genre in a picture. This gives a visual representation of the genre and makes it clear to my target audience what to expect.
Serif Movie X5: I used this software to assist me in editing my movie. I had to learn how to use it and edit effects and sounds. I learned how to cut clips and overlap them so Richard ghosts in to the chase scene.
Even though the camera was straight forward to use, I had some technical difficulties with files corrupting, so I had to learn how to deal with that.
I learnt how to incorporate Stock Video clips into the opening title sequence, this improved the beginning of the film.
Choosing the right music was quite difficult and it took me a long time to pick this piece. The music is very important as it helps set the tone of the sequence.
Movie Maker: This I used as another piece of software to help me edit my movie and put all the clips together to finalise my film.
Survey Monkey: Survey Monkey enabled me to collect responses and feedback from my audience. From the feedback In was able to make alterations to my final draft film. It helped me get feedback on my production very quickly as I learnt how to embed the survey into my blog and put links on a variety of Social Media including Facebook and Twitter.
Overall the most important factor of using this technology was the opportunities it brought in terms of production valves, editing, special effects, which in the end makes the video more appealing to my target audience.
On the downside of technology the first edit corrupted which was very frustrating. There was also a number of issues uploading photos and films to Blogger from school. I got around this by working at home.
Although Survey Monkey was good it was limited due to the number of responses I could collect which could make my research inaccurate.
Evaluation Q1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My film is a horror/comedy. For the opening convention I used a location that is both dark and mysterious. I needed to make the audience feel curious about what was about to happen so I used mysterious, spooky sound.
During my research I had to think about what kind of an audience I was going to target with my film. My generation (young adults and teenagers) seem to enjoy these types of films.
To get a good idea of what convention I could use, I watched clips from various vampire/horror/romance films. Here are some typical conventions found in vampire films:
- Blood - it's a key point in vampire films, however some films have more blood in then others. In my film there are a few clips where there is blood but there isn't a huge amount. I wanted the horror to be subtle and not a gorefest.
- Neck Biting & Fangs - Fangs are one of the most important aspects of a vampire film. They are also the most recognizable feature of a vampire and each film does them a bit differently. For example, In my film, I went and bought some rubber fangs for the actor to wear and you don't see them until near the end of the film. As for the biting of the neck, you don't see it happen close up but you see the vampire lunge towards the girl and she screams, then in the next clip you see her with 2 bite marks and blood.
- Costume - In traditional vampire films, vampires are dressed in black capes (Bella Lugosi 1927 Dracula). Where as in modern vampire films the vampire dress in dark clothes (Robert Pattinson, Twilight). Because we didn't have a lot of money to make this film, the actor wore black trousers, a hoodie and a black coat. This still make him look creepy and vampire like.
- Make up/Pale skin - Pretty much in every vampire film, the vampires are very pale skinned, this makes them more scary and dead looking. Again because we didn't have a lot of money, we couldn't afford to go out and buy professional looking face paints, but luckily the actor(Richard) who played the vampire was tall, dark and pale skinned anyway.
Overall I think my final media product pretty much followed the stereotypical teen horror genre. The viewers would expect to see a number of things in the film, those that I listed above all featured plus the woods. In previous vampire films, like Dracula, Blade, any vampire coming outdoors in day light would explode but since the arrival of twilight it is not assumed that vampires can walk among us in daylight. So this shouldn't be a massive plot twist to viewers.
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