Evaluation Activity 7

Adam : Since the preliminary task i have developed my skills in editing and using the camera greatly. My job in the preliminary task was to handle the camera and i knew briefly about continuity and the use of match of action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule but in the making of our film i became more comfy with using these shots in a more effective way. They became more natural to notice and use also i was familiar with the eye line match and rule of thirds. I learnt a lot about a typical thriller soundtrack and the reasons for this. Before i did not know that the music had such a big effect on creating the mood and making the finish product look better. As i made the soundtrack i learnt by using low and deep sounds of strings this would build slow tension then i found out that even using a classical piano this could give the same effect. During the preliminary task stage i wasn't confident in using final cut to edit but as i have spent more time using it for our final film i picked up many effects and things you can do to make our film look more professional and more like a thriller. For example the use of colour correction and dimming the light in the shot really brought a thriller look and darkness. When creating titles i was not aware at first that you could add effects on the screen to make it shake, blur or fade out so by playing around with final cut i learnt quite a few effects you can add to your text to make it more attractive. I discovered wire framing, adjusting the shot on screen and rotating it about to either make it look balanced or changing it for a reason to make your thriller more effective. Since the preliminary task i have much more knowledge on using the camera, lighting and editing and find it easier to spot mistakes because i know thrillers conventions better than before. 


Kieran: I have leant a lot since the preliminary task. My job was to edit it but at the time I only new about match - on -action and shot reverse shot at a very basic level meaning our final product looked very amateur as it only consisted of very few and basic editing techniques. I have learnt lots about Final Cut Pro and the various effects that can be laid over the top of shots as well as the tools it provides, such as colour correction which allows you to adjust the colour basis in the shot and this is important as it can really affect the mood of a scene, for instance a green tint can make a film eerie. Another handy tool I have discovered is wire framing as if you shoot a shot that turns out not to be level you can use this tool to straighten the shot.  I have also learnt how to edit a film so the action flows together seamlessly whilst the plot still makes sense. As well as this I have developed my camera operating skills as I actually ended up filming most of our film (apart from the bits I acted in) and I have learnt how many different types of shots there are and how they can affect an audience's interpretation of what is being shown to them, for instance a long shot of someone can make them look lonely as it shows them at a distance from the audience and a distance from people in the film. I have also leant about the importance of the 180 degree rule when filming as if you break it, it can really throw and confuse an audience as it will break continuity if the characters suddenly appear to be facing the other way. Another important thing I have learnt since the preliminary task is the rule of thirds which is vital when you are framing shots as proxemic codes can be a big factor on an audiences interpretation. I have learned about foley which is a technique where instead of the sound being recorded live, it is recorded separately and added on later. One of the main things I learned is the importance of lighting as we had to re-film an entire scene as it was a very dark and shocking death scene and the lighting we used was much to bright and warm, giving the audience the wrong impression.  

Evaluation Activity 6

Evaluation Activity 5

Evaluation Activity 4

Magg: I chose two members of our target audience and asked them if I could use their facebook pages as information about them. When they agreed, I screenshot their facebook pages and pictures. My target audience members live close to London, are still in education and working part-time. Also they both like rock music, socialising and enjoy watching films at home with friends. This would be the perfect audience for our film because our film is a low budget production so it would be released on dvds and our audience would be interested in trying, especially that their favourite type of film are thrillers, crime shows and horrors.












After carrying out some research into our target audience for our film i asked students and people i know out of school about there interests and views on the thriller genre. This helped give us a strong idea of how old our target audience would be. 16-25 years olds would be the most suitable as our film is quite modern and would be aimed at people with maturity or students in education, after searching i picked the two key people i think represent our target audience: 

Evaluation Activity 3

Evaluation Activity 2

Evaluation Activity 2 on Prezi

Evaluation Activity 1

Evaluation Plan

1. 9 frame analysis - 3 frames and detailed video and screen captures description each:
title of film (font, style, effects) - 2:05 - bad film, blur and courier font - Adam
setting a location - 0:02 shot of car in garage - Adam
costumes and props - 1:40 gun - Adam
camera work and editing - 1:12, 1:14 intercut from car to break in - Mag
sound & foley - 1:22 phone and disc - Mag
story (how it starts, how it sets up) - 2:00 shot of dead family - Mag
genre (how it's shown) - 0:30 - Police files - Kieran
characters introduction - 0:28 , 1:05 , 0:01- Detective, killer and family - Kieran
image control and lighting - 0:26 - Motorway - Kieran
 
2. Screen capture - find one character to compare each and screen capture ( Detective , killer and family) talk about comparison and why you chose this certain character - Prezi.
Adam: First slide :In our thriller film our killer is a very mysterious and sly murderer. This is similar to the killer in the horror film Black Christmas (2006) as he is anonymous and sneaks into the house just like how our killer breaks into the house to murder the family.
Second slide: images of character and stuck next to screen captures of killer from our media product
Third slide: I wanted to compare our character to another character in a thriller film so there was more relationship because of the genre. I chose John Travolta in the film Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 the reason for this is because of the appearance, the dark black costume and the murder weapon as a gun. In Black Christmas the killer has a knife so this is why i chose to make 2 character comparisons. This makes sense as well because we originally had a knife as our murder weapon but other influences manipulated our decisions.
Fourth slide: Images of character next to screen shots of ours
Magg: The main characters in Panic Room are the mother and the daughter alone in the house. The house is being watched by three criminals. Later in the night, the criminals break into the house with negative intentions. We have used the outline of the characters in Panic Room for our own sequence but we have modified them and added our own twist to the story to make it more dramatic and fit the conventions of the genre. The mother and the son in our sequence are vulnerable, alone in the house and unaware of being watched. Their dad is absent from the house. This reflects the two characters in Panic Room with the same characteristics, also being watched and without a father present. We used some similar shots to the ones in Panic Room. *(families comparison)*
Kieran: The detective in our film can be compared to the character 'Commissioner Gordon' from 'Batman: The Dark Knight' as he is a middle aged DCI who is retired. He also comes out of retirement to catch a serial killer which is the plot line to our film. Also in our film the Detective's wife and son are murdered. In 'The Dark Knight' Gordon's marriage is strongly affected by the case and it also makes his son turn criminal, so effectively both lose their wife and child due to their absence.

 This Screen capture shows the troubled detective.

3. Directors commentary - commentary over our media product,
split the questions into 2 and take turns answering around the 3 group members.
4. Audience profile - identifying the target market audience,
All group members will find 2 people in the target audience and explain these points
We will go on Facebook and round the school and ask people if we could use their pictures and profiles (interests, ages, workplace, income etc). "Our target audience are people aged 16-25, male and female. However it might attract more male than female audience. Our audience likes rock music, good quality films and they prefer to watch films at home on dvds with friends - it suits our independent low budget production because it would not be released in major cinemas, but might be released on dvds. Audience is well educated or still in education, working-class, young and deep-thinkers. (include pie charts and questionnaire results)

5. How did you address/attract audience? 
Kieran does genre conventions and use of characters and story line (explain with tags on our film)

One thing that I think addresses and attracts our audience is the characters, especially the family as it is easy for audience members to relate to them and after the mother and son have been killed the audience are placed with the detectives point of view and will be angered by the injustice of their deaths and will want to discover the killer just as much as the detective. The genre of 'crime thriller' we have chosen is one sure to attract as the audience will be left in suspense and will want to work out the crime along with detective and, eventually solve the crime.
Adam:  I am evaluating and discussing how the content might attract our target audience this consists of violence, location and props. I think for our target audience they will take interest in the prop of the gun and this suggesting the violence and also the dark scenes such as the low key dark street where the killer is stalking his victims. Music, visual style and titles, we had to make sure that these would fit into the target market we was aiming for. Since our audience are older and quite mature the use of strings for music create the classical atmosphere however still creating suspense. Our font and titles were simple but a serious style not to give the impression that its aiming at the younger audience. Lastly how can our product could be compared to existing thrillers or openings, i have decided to choose law abiding citizen because of the killers murdering his family i think this would be appropriate to link in with our story line.
Magg: Screen capture the comments and likes, and other evidence of feedback, comment on overall feedback: ''Overall, our feedback was quite good. We got good comments about our film and responses to the questionnaire online were positive. However, some audience commented on the storyline and some where not to sure about the characters and what role they played in the film. However, I think that our film was quite clear to understand and it made sense overall. Feedback comments said that the music fitted the genre but they did not like the quality of foley. They also commented on the focus of the camera and quality of shots but they were quite positive comments with few exceptions.''


6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Post screen shots & pictures/logos of software/internet websites/equipment we used and annotate it (not too much text) -  *(green screen)* video with pictures behind us.
Kieran - sound equipment, camera and lighting. I have learnt how to operate the camera and manipulate its settings to suit our surroundings, e.g white balance, how to record sound and put it over out film, editing the length and volume of the sound files to match film footage. I have also learnt about how lighting affects the mood of a scene and how lighting from different angles and at different volumes can create tension and mystery. As well as this I have learnt about ways to change the lighting, post production through the use of colour correction 
Adam - Logic Pro software/garage band/ copyright free music websites - I only used Logic Pro as i was most familiar with this software. I took screen shots while i was creating the soundtrack for our thriller this provides evidence how i created our music from scratch. I used all different types of instruments such as drums to build the tension slowly, the use of violins gave the mysterious atmosphere or sad mood. As i do music technology as one of my subjects this was a big advantage for making our soundtrack as we did not need to use any downloadable free music off websites. We also used garageband to record our voices. 
Magg - Final cut pro, photoshop, managing blogs and youtube etc..: I will use the screen captures we've taken individually when we were editing our film and put them in a video along with screen captures of photoshop in use and screen captures of blogs and youtube accounts.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what did you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Each talk about things they learned, video/text/ screen captures of the editing and camera work, describe how you developed and made progress from the first task we've done. Present it as a presentation/ just text and images/ videos or directors commentary.
Adam: Since the preliminary task i have developed my skills in editing and using the camera greatly. My job in the preliminary task was to handle the camera and i knew briefly about continuity and the use of match of action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule but in the making of our film i became more comfy with using these shots in a more effective way. They became more natural to notice and use also i was familiar with the eye line match and rule of thirds. I learnt a lot about a typical thriller soundtrack and the reasons for this. Before i did not know that the music had such a big effect on creating the mood and making the finish product look better. As i made the soundtrack i learnt by using low and deep sounds of strings this would build slow tension then i found out that even using a classical piano this could give the same effect. During the preliminary task stage i wasn't confident in using final cut to edit but as i have spent more time using it for our final film i picked up many effects and things you can do to make our film look more professional and more like a thriller. For example the use of colour correction and dimming the light in the shot really brought a thriller look and darkness. When creating titles i was not aware at first that you could add effects on the screen to make it shake, blur or fade out so by playing around with final cut i learnt quite a few effects you can add to your text to make it more attractive. I discovered wire framing, adjusting the shot on screen and rotating it about to either make it look balanced or changing it for a reason to make your thriller more effective. Since the preliminary task i have much more knowledge on using the camera, lighting and editing and find it easier to spot mistakes because i know thrillers conventions better than before.
Magg: (post my answer/record my answer/ with screen shots/ images/ etc) I learned a lot about different technologies and the world of media. In our preliminary task, I was in control of the lights and how they should be set up, also I helped the other group members with organising the shots. That helped me a lot with setting up the lights in our final sequence. I have learnt a lot about low-key lighting and how it sets up the mood in the film and changes the whole 'feel' of the film. I think that was really interesting and very useful as I could use that knowledge in my other projects as well. Also, when making the preliminary task I've realised how important is it to allocate appropriate actors for roles (a detective - middle 40's male character -so should be the actor) as otherwise the film does not look professional but silly. Also I've learned a lot about continuity and possible errors and rule of thirds as well as the differences between steady camera on a tripod and hand-held camera and how much of a difference it makes in the final production to pay attention to the camera steadiness and make sure that the shots are well controlled. Also editing is very important to make the film look professional and to make sense. We have not shot our film in order so it was very important that we paid attention to the shots and put them in the right order when editing our sequence. I was allocated the task to tidy up the edit and maybe trim or get rid of shots that were not needed anymore and to cut down the time, as well. Apart from that, I was allocated to do the colour correction and the titles over our title sequence. I have learned a lot how to use final cut pro for special effects and how to use after effects as well. I learned how to use colour correction to make the film look more professional and high quality. I filmed some our sequence as well. We were taking the camera in turns to film the sequence. I found filming quite interesting and entertaining. I learned on my own initiative how to focus the camera and sort out white balance so the shots look professional and appropriate for the scene. Also I took great care into making sure that high angle and low angle are used properly as well as close ups and extreme close ups are in rule of thirds and they are filmed appropriately. 
Kieran: I have leant a lot since the preliminary task. My job was to edit it but at the time I only new about match - on -action and shot reverse shot at a very basic level meaning our final product looked very amateur as it only consisted of very few and basic editing techniques. I have learnt lots about Final Cut Pro and the various effects that can be laid over the top of shots as well as the tools it provides, such as colour correction which allows you to adjust the colour basis in the shot and this is important as it can really affect the mood of a scene, for instance a green tint can make a film eerie. Another handy tool I have discovered is wire framing as if you shoot a shot that turns out not to be level you can use this tool to straighten the shot.  I have also learnt how to edit a film so the action flows together seamlessly whilst the plot still makes sense. As well as this I have developed my camera operating skills as I actually ended up filming most of our film (apart from the bits I acted in) and I have learnt how many different types of shots there are and how they can affect an audience's interpretation of what is being shown to them, for instance a long shot of someone can make them look lonely as it shows them at a distance from the audience and a distance from people in the film. I have also leant about the importance of the 180 degree rule when filming as if you break it, it can really throw and confuse an audience as it will break continuity if the characters suddenly appear to be facing the other way. Another important thing I have learnt since the preliminary task is the rule of thirds which is vital when you are framing shots as proxemic codes can be a big factor on an audiences interpretation. I have learned about foley which is a technique where instead of the sound being recorded live, it is recorded separately and added on later. One of the main things I learned is the importance of lighting as we had to re-film an entire scene as it was a very dark and shocking death scene and the lighting we used was much to bright and warm, giving the audience the wrong impression.

Audience Feedback

I have gained some audience feedback by playing it to the potential audience and getting them to fill out an online form and also make some notes on overall opinion.

One of the students said: "Great variety of shots. The music is very effective and very tense. Good use of colour scheme - dark, enticing. Good acting. Awesome title sequence, flaws brilliantly done.

Another one wrote: "I like the use of close ups and the titles fit well. The soundtrack is really good and fits the genre. Storyline is really intense, leaves at a good ending.

The Blood of The Innocent

Feedback Survey.

I have created a Feedback Survey, which will help us to gain audience feedback. We are going to use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube and try and gain as much of constructive feedback as possible.




Here is the link we are going to use to get audience feedback: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EYPSVWWRQ

WHO, WHAT, WHEN

Adam - Soundtrack - Friday 24th

Kieran2 - Individual edit, Group edit, Title sequence shoot, Foley - 23rd and 24th

Mag - Tidy edit, Colour correction capture night shot - 24th and 25th

Title Sequence - Storyboard

 

This is a storyboard for our title sequence. We spoke about it and discussed different ideas and decided on the final ones. We have taken rough pictures of the shots we are going to use in the finally shot title sequence. We are going to add our own titles to the shots, so that we demonstrate different techniques and skills that we learned.

Props we will going to need/use:

+ briefcase

+ profile files of the criminals,

+ protrait shots of group members

+ a blank CD

+ fake blood

Filming - photos.

 We took pictures to show the work we have done and roles we undertook when filming our opening sequence over the shooting days.

Re-Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule
Shots	Location	Date & Time
first dialogue scene (when mother talks to the son, change lighting and shot types) scene outdoors with the murder staring at the house, smoking a cigarette (lighting/shot types) - re-shoot the scene where the murderer is escaping (change props (gun), closeups/match on action) - re shoot "finding the dead family scene" with different lighting (low key lighting) and close ups on faces of the dead family (flashing close ups on faces) - shot of dad's shocked face (close up) - high angle shot when he falls to his knees and another close up of him holding his son (extreme closeup)	Member's House: Hawley Road 70, Dartford	Monday, 30th January 2012
establishing shot - night/day (sunset, sunrise)	M25 Bridge	Tuesday, 31st January 2012
snap shot: scene of phone call to the detective, detective is called in to come back on duties. (dialogue scene, on the phone)	Member's house	Tuesday 31st / Wednesday 1st of February.

Re-shoot.

After first film-shooting, and first editing we have established that we have to re-shoot some scenes regarding our use of lighting and we need to make some changes in terms of our idea and shots we are going to use. We need to do another weather check and shot schedule and we need to add some shots in to improve our film idea. We need to re-shoot following scenes:
- first dialogue scene (when mother talks to the son, change lighting and shot types)
- scene outdoors with the murder staring at the house, smoking a cigarette (lighting/shot types)
- establishing shot - night/day (sunset, sunrise)
- re-shoot the scene where the murderer is escaping (change props (gun), closeups/match on action)
- re shoot "finding the dead family scene" with different lighting (low key lighting) and close ups on faces of the dead family (flashing close ups on faces)
- shot of dad's shocked face (close up)
- high angle shot when he falls to his knees and another close up of him holding his son (extreme closeup)
- snap shot:  add a scene when there is a wake up phone to the detective, detective is called in to come back on duties. (dialogue scene, on the phone)

We need to re-think our choice of lighting - make it low-key lighting and use of shadows etc.
We need to set a new shooting date and plan our shots.