Evaluation Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In terms of comparing our two tasks, it is clear that both our editing and camerawork have hugely improved by the time we made our final task. This could be attributed to the fact that we had better equipment to work with (a HD camera as opposed to a camcorder). This said, the much more coherent product which was our final piece came because we were given time to practise our techniques in both filming and editing, and this is evident from looking at certain aspects of our two films.

The Planning Stage

The difference in levels of detail between the storyboard
for the preliminary task (above) and the final task (below) is
one of the main reasons as to the huge difference in
 outcome between the two of them.

Most of the difference between the two tasks came from the huge amount of planning which I put into my final piece. This began with the analysis of several other film openings from a wide range of genres - this is what taught me what is included in a film opening, the order in which titles run, and gave me a rough idea of a suitable length for the opening. After this I spent time analysing film openings which other AS media students had made, in order to get an idea of the quality which my opening would have to be at. I did my own research into things such as the effect of certification, audience theories, and made questionnaires in order to find out what my
audience would want to see within a film opening. After this, the process of actually planning the film began - we planned it through producing three separate storyboards - an initial hand drawn one, a photographic one, and an animatic one. By planning this out, we knew the exact shots, with angles and movement included, so we were able to draw up a shot list to ensure that we filmed everything which needed filming. Additionally, this helped us to edit our film in to a much more cohesive product, because we knew exactly how each shot needed to go into the next, and how long each title would remain on the screen for.












In addition to this, we spent much more time filming, which resulted in us filming each individual clip three times. This meant that during the editing stage, we had much more footage to choose from, so that if one clip wasn't up to scratch, we could just replace it with another take of the same clip - it was a much more efficient way of managing time, because it meant that there was no need to do any reshooting. We wanted to make sure of this because reshooting was a big problem for the preliminary task, because it meant that different costumes are being worn at the beginning compared to the end of the clip.


Equipment 

Developing our iMovie skills allowed us too experiment with
the font and colour of our titles - this had not been available
to us when filming our preliminary task.

Not only did we have access to much better equipment for our final piece, but we developed our skills in order to make the product look as good as possible. This included using a much wider variety of camera angles, and perfecting the techniques which I have detailed below. In addition to this, we had access to a dolly for our final piece, which meant that we could film some really good tracking shots. The difference in camera quality between the two different pieces is clearly obvious - the preliminary task was filmed on a camcorder whereas the final piece was filmed on a proper HD camera, which means that there is a massive difference in quality. A final difference in the use of equipment was our development of iMovie skills - we were much more experienced with the more advanced features of the software by the time that it came round to editing the final piece. This was a big reason in the two products looking so vastly different to each other.

Match on Action

We included a match on action in our final piece in the same way that we included it in the preliminary - through the use of a door being opened. However, it looks much better in the final film, because we chose better angles to capture the shots from, had more time to film it, and had much more experience when we came to editing it. The most notable difference between the two different uses of match on action is the smoothness which is evident in the final film - this is because it doesn't contain a jump cut straight afterwards, which is what makes it look like more realistic continuity editing. 

Whilst the match on action in the preliminary was good, the
jump cut straight after it was very unrealistic.

This was completely different in our
final film, because the match on action
was fast and looked incredibly realistic -
it is a good example of continuous editing

180 Degree Rule 

I believe that we adhered to the 180 degree rule much better in our final piece than we did in our preliminary film. This is because during the bedroom shots, we ensured that the camera always stayed one side of the girl, to make sure that it didn't cross the imaginary line which would break the rule. This is a contrast to our preliminary task, because we moved the camera about too many times in order to stick to the rule whilst filming it - this means that the audience would find it difficult to judge where each character is in relation to the others, because the side they are being filmed from would be constantly changing. As you can see in the screenshots below, the 180 degree rule was adhered too in our final piece, which we strived to do after obviously breaking it during the preliminary task.

I believe that our end product has been very successful in filling the assigned task, which was to create a two minute film opening. Whilst it is nothing groundbreaking, it includes a variety of professional looking shots and uses of editing, meaning that it does fulfil this role adequately. It also contains titles which run in the order which they do in the majority of other film openings, which helps to show how the product is successful compared to the openings of other films. Whilst there are some parts of our end product which were not successful at fulfilling this role, for example the narrative which would be tough to develop into a full length feature film, I think that our end product was a massive step up from our preliminary task, and so does successfully fulfil its role of being a coherent and enjoyable film opening. 

Evaluation Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the production process?

I used many pieces of both hardware and software technology during the production of my opening. These included an iMac (plus software such as iMovie), a Canon HD CMOS Pro camera (and accessories such as a tripod and a dolly). I also talked about how I have used Blogger in order to keep all of my planning and research for the production in one place, which aided the process of making the film. 

Strengths of the camera

The HD quality which the camera filmed in was very
helpful in making a professional looking media
product.

The camera had an excellent assisted focus control, which made it easy to create a strong depth of field within certain shots of our film. This is because it automatically zoomed in to allow the shot to be perfectly focused, then was able to be zoomed out in order to film the shot. Another strength of the camera we used was it's high quality built in microphone, as I had feared that we would have to set up an external microphone - this was not necessary because the built in microphone on the camera was ample to be able to capture the audio which was needed for our opening. 

Weaknesses of the camera

The battery life of the camera was quite weak, which meant that we had to keep the camera plugged in for the majority of the shoot. This restricted the shots we could do, as we always had to keep the camera within a certain distance of a plug socket. Another weakness was the fact that it recorded onto built in memory rather than SD card - it meant that we had to wait until we had got the footage into school before we could edit it, whereas we could have begun editing at home using Final Cut had we had access to the clips via an SD card. Whilst not necessarily being a weakness of the camera, it would have been better to have a camera with an even higher resolution and frame rate - this would have taken our product to almost cinema levels of definition, although this in turn would have meant that the camera would have been much bulkier and harder to operate.

Additional camera equipment used

We only used a basic tripod, like the one which
is pictured. This is because our tripod shots
did not require much complexity. 

There were two main external pieces of enjoyment which we used in order to film our opening - a tripod for static shots and a dolly for tracking shots. All the shots were filmed on one of these, apart from the YouTube video which can be seen within the clip - we purposely chose to film this by hand in order to make it appear to be mobile phone footage. We chose to use a dolly for the shots at the beginning because it gives a much more stable tracking shot than we would have been able to achieve by hand - it will make this part of the product look much more professional. Additionally, we decided to use a tripod because not only will it make these shots more stable, but it will mean that the camera is always in the same place if we have to film a scene in multiple shots. 

Software

The hardware which was used for the editing phase of our film opening was a 2011 27inch iMac. This computer was chosen because it has 8gb of flash memory RAM, a huge 1tb hard drive and a larger screen than most computers have - it gave us a better gauge of how the film would look when being watched on a television or in the cinema due to it's adaptable screen ratio.

As the picture demonstrates, iMovie is basic software
which can yield effective results if it is used effectively

We decided to edit our film on iMovie. Whilst I know how to use Final Cut X, we only had Final Cut Express available to us at school, and I thought that using more simplistic software that I am skilled on would result in a more cohesive and professional looking product than creating it on more complicated software which I would struggle to use. In terms of things which I learnt about the software, I learnt about the different things which can be done with titles. For example, I learnt about the huge amount of options which are available for designing titles within iMovie - this is how we were able to create titles which we're appropriate to the drama genre which our film falls within.

Problems we encountered with the technologies

The problems which came about from using the technologies were mainly the difficulties of using equipment we had no experience with. This means that if we were to film our film opening again we would come out with a much better finished product because our experience with the equipment would be visible within the product. Another problem which we came across was following the storyboard exactly based on the limitations which we suffered due to the equipment, for example the bad battery life on the camera. This meant that we had to edit some of the angles in order to position the camera in a certain way, although we managed to embellish these new angles in a way that they didn't actually detract from the overall product - the product is still good despite the on the fly edits to plan which had to be made.

Blogger

I found Blogger to be incredibly useful in the production of my film opening - it allowed me to digitally store all of the planning I had done for my film. This meant that when filming, I had a digitalised version of our storyboard. This was much easier than having to carry around a paper based storyboard, as I could access the storyboard and shot list and any other material which I needed from the Blogger app on my mobile phone. 

Additionally, YouTube was a website which has been very important throughout the production and pre-production of my film. It has allowed me to watch and evaluate other film openings - this is how I eventually built up the inspiration of how I wanted my opening to run. Additionally, it has allowed me to upload my finalised film opening, and I can upload unlimited cuts of the opening - without YouTube I would be limited to a certain number of cuts due to a limited amount of space which would be available on the physical medium which I would have to burn my film opening onto.

Evaluation Question 5 - How did you address/attract your audience?

See annotations on the embedded video for the answers to this question

Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Certification

When I was originally planning the film, I gave it a certification of 15. I believe that this is still a relevant certification for the entire film, as the violence and language used are likely to become more strong, but the opening of the film on its own would be a 12A. This is because it only contains one use of bad language, although even then this is not spoken out loud, it is rather written down. Additionally to this, it contains some moderate violence, which is the reason as to why the opening could not be classified as a PG, because the violence could have an effect on children watching it at a formative stage of their lives. Whilst it doesn't glorify bullying, the opening certainly doesn't set up the simple bully and victim situation which is usually shown - instead, the characters are seen as victims of themselves, which means that the film would probably be certified as a 12A. 

 

Demographics 

The main demographic who are likely to be interested in our film are people who fall in classes between B and C2 - this is the middle class down to the skilled working class. We don't believe our film will resonate much with class A, because the gritty themes which will be explored in it will probably be alien to people who identify themselves as being upper class. On the other end of the scale, people who identify as being part of the unskilled working class and under class would probably not enjoy the film due to the characters being from the middle to upper classes - perhaps they would not feel able to relate with them. This idea is the same one which I decided on during the research and planning stage - I have always held the belief that the film will appeal to the classes in the middle, and not those at either extreme of the spectrum.

Audience Theories

A representation of the hypodermic needle theory - it suggests
that audience members will absorb any information which
they are told by a media text.

Our film uses the uses and gratifictations theory in order to explain why the majority of the audience would want to watch our product. For example, it suggests that an audience will want to use the product in order to fulfil needs which they cannot fulfil in their own life - an example of this is the bullying which is persistent throughout the clip, as most people will never be able to actually experience this within their lives. However, it also shows that the hypodermic needle theory can be applied, because our piece passively gives the audience messages about anti-bullying, and about why they should not copy the behaviour which is seen within the film.

Our Target Audience Member

Gender: Whilst the film will probably be of equal interest to both sexes, I think that certain choices we have used within the film, for example the extensive use of the male gaze theory, will mean that there will be a slightly higher percentage of men who watch the film.

Here is a photographic representation of what our
 typical target audience member could look like

Age: He is likely to be a teenager or perhaps a young adult (in the age range of 15-25), because this is the age which is represented within our film, thus meaning that the uses and gratifications theory would suggest that this will mean that he would be most interested in watching a film which is about other teenagers.

Shopping/Fashion: Our target audience member is likely to shop in high street stores such as Topman, River Island and Primark. This is because he is unlikely to want to deviate from the norm too much, but will occasionally buy clothes from charity shops or from small online boutiques, in order to buy something which is differing from his usually choices. This is reflected in his choice to watch our film, because it is a film which could quite easily be picked up by a mainstream audience, but also leans towards a niche audience for certain reasons. The film will appeal to him not only because it is niche and will give him a chance to break out of his normal horizons, but because it contains enough content which would be considered by a mainstream production company in order for it to reach him - he is not the sort of audience member who will go out of his way to find out about new independent films.

Music: He is likely to listen to is pop music, but with a taste for music which is outside of his usual boundaries as well. We have catered to this through the use of an alternative pop song in the background of the opening - whilst it contains all the signs which suggest it could be a mainstream pop song, it is not because certain features of it set it aside from the majority of other pop music. This again suggests that he will watch our film because it reflects his patterns - he likes media which has been produced in a way which could mean it could become successful with a mainstream audience, but is likely to not catch on with them.

Our film is likely to appeal to fans of Waterloo Road due
to our choice of setting. Additionally, the age of the shows
target audience is very similar to our one.

TV: He is likely to be in to documentaries aimed at youth, such as the ones with are frequently screened on BBC Three, and to a lesser extent, Channel 4. This is why he would be interested in a film which asks questions about real life issues. He is also likely to enjoy programmes which are based in school, as one reason as to why he may have chosen to watch our film is because he can relate with the school setting. An example of one of these is The Inbetweeners or Waterloo Road, as the uses and gratifications theory would suggest that he will be able to see parts of the characters within these shows as part of himself.

Evaluation Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your product?

Evaluation Question 2 - How does your media product represent certain social groups?

Here is my evaluation for question 2, I decided to film the question in a directors commentary style video, because I felt this would make it easier to include multiple references to the opening than if I was to do the evaluation in the form of writing and pictures. Below is the script which I used when filming the evaluation.

Gender:

In our film opening, it is girls who are presented in a negative light. This is through the use of the often seen stereotypical characters of two girls who are mean about each other for their own gain. 

However, within this, we have used a high angle on Rebecca, the girl who is being bullied, in order to show that she is subservient to Rachael, the girl who is bullying her. An example of this is when she is sitting on the computer watching the video, because the camera is pointing down on her in order to make her seem less important within the scene. 

This is meant to give the audience mixed feelings about the two girls, because whilst they will initially have sympathy for Rebecca as she is picked on, over the course of the two minute film opening they will lose most of this sympathy. This is because of her actions which make her arguably just as bad as her tormentor - it represents  the ever changing loyalties and friendships which girls have.

There is the use of the male gaze theory in the opening, at the beginning when the camera is focused on the legs of Rebecca as she walks. This is a different use of the male gaze theory to the one which is usually seen within films, because it is used on the character who is not supposed to seem as attractive as the other one.

Age: 

The age which is represented in the film are teenagers, and they are seen negatively in the opening. Whilst the audience doesn't know the reasons as to why the events of the opening are occurring, it shows the often repeated negative stereotypes of teenagers, because it shows the aggression and anger which has built up within the two girls. This complies with the stereotype which is usually associated with teenagers, as they have thin loyalties which can be broken easily. 

The characters wear two different styles of clothing, which we chose in order to set them apart within their age range. Rachael wears bright, colourful clothing, which immediately tells the audience that she is a lot more popular and thinks of herself more highly than Rebecca, who wears dark clothing and makeup. This also allows the audience to fit them into different teenage stereotypes in their head, for example describing Rebecca as an emo.

By creating two vastly different teenage characters, we will allow the target audience to see elements of themselves within the media product, which the uses and gratifications theory would suggest that they would watch the media product in order to gain these. 

Ethnicity: 

Both of the characters which can be seen in our film opening are white race, in order to show that they were similar in just about every way possible before they fell out. This means that we don't show any race as being dominant within the opening, although later on in the film, a mixed race character called Angel is portrayed as being more important than Rebecca - it shows a role reversal, as usually she would be the character who didn't fit in. 

However, it can be seen as a limitation of our film opening that we couldn't include this character of mixed race, because we couldn't think of an effective way to include her within the opening. 

Disability:

The opening of our film doesn't contain any disabled characters, primarily because a character like this would usually draw sympathy, and we don't want the audience to be able to sympathise with them.

Sexuality:

There are no homosexual characters in our piece, and only heterosexual characters. This is because homosexual characters would be seen as, like disabled characters, an object of sympathy, which is not what is desired. However, there is also the different stereotypes of clothing which are worn by the two girls - Rebecca's clothing is more masculine than that of Rachael, which presents her as perhaps having a deep rooted sexuality which she doesn't tell the people around her about in fear of further rejection - it ponders questions which will encourage the audience to watch the rest of the film.

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

These are the most striking similarities between our product and other existing media products, although there are many other similarities within the wider themes of our film, if we were to produce an entire film. An example of this is the genre of a coming-of-age drama, because as our story progresses throughout the whole film, it will emerge that the animosity between the two girls came about because of an argument about a boy - this representation of relationships between teenagers links the film to other coming-of-age dramas such as Submarine. In addition to this, the transition of the mood within our film from an upbeat one to one which is of sadness and melancholy links it with drama films such as Titanic, because that is a film where the mood of the characters changes instantly - this it what will happen in ours when the girls bullying takes on more extreme forms.