TO THE MODERATOR

Dear Moderator

Firstly, a HUGE 'welcome' to my 'Super-Awesome' Foundation Portfolio and my Group blog! :) I'd like to thank you very much for taking the time to look at my blogs, I sincerely hope you like them, I worked pretty hard on them!

My group blog is linked to my individual blog, you will find the link for it on the right. There is also a link to the blogs for the other students I worked with and a link back to our teacher's central blog named 'Mrs B yr12 Foundation Blog', which has links to all the other student and group blogs.

On my individual blog, you will find all my initial ideas and individual research and planning, mainly from the early stages of the project before the formation of our groups. You will also find my work on the preliminary task, including the video clip, reflections on the development of the project as it progressed and my answers to the evaluation questions.

On my group blog you will find evidence of my group's planning and project development work, along with all the research we did together that inspired the creation of our project.

I have linked my finished film opening sequence, 'Remembrance', to both the blogs, for easy access.

I really hope you find it easy to navigate through my blogs. For maximum ease of use, everything is organised in date order from the start of the project (November 2008) 'till we finished it (February 2009). I have used labels to identify all the research, planning and evaluation work I have completed on my individual blog, as well as on the group blog. In addition to this, on the group blog I have also labelled the posts I was responsible for under my name.

I guess there's nothing left to say, except for maybe 'ENJOY!'

Many thanks,

Selina Mir 5586

BLOG CLOSURE!

Well, it's true what they say: all good things must come to an end!!

It's been a turbulent few months, but nevertheless, it's been an unforgettable experience and I am soooo sad it's over! I can honestly say I've loved every minute of it!!

I'm actually extremely pleased with our final sequence; I think we all worked really hard and it paid off! Thanks to everyone that helped, 'specially Ben and Tanya :)

...I now declare this blog officially CLOSED!!!
Until next time...

Take care
Selina
xoxo

Pre-Evaluation Summary

Title: Remembrance
Genre: Pschological Thriller/Horror
Plot Summary: A man wakes up, gets dressed and watches the news. The broadcast informs us that bodies of ex-soldiers have been discovered and are linked to recent 'Poppy Killings' taking place in the area. We see montages of newspapers showing more people being killed by the infamous 'Poppy Killer'. The man has a conversation on the phone with his mother about the deaths; where we learn he is also an ex-soldier. The final shots consist of him opening a drawer to reveal a knife and five poppies. He then takes the knife and a poppy and walks out of the front door...

Cast: Ben Tucker - 'Jack'

Crew: Camera, Lighting and Sound shared by Tanya Kenan & Selina Mir

Location: Filmed in a house in Southgate, North London

Shooting Dates: Monday 24th November '08 - Friday 2nd January '09

Evaluation Question 7

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

Preliminary Task Brief:

Shoot a simple continuous sequence showing understanding and application of the 180-degree rule, shot reverse shot, match on action and dialogue.

The Video Brief:

Make a 2 minute opening sequence of a fiction film with titles and music throughout.

Obviously, the second task was a lot less specific in terms of objectivity; we knew we had to create a sequence, but it allowed us to be a lot more creative than before. This is a list of the things I have learnt during the different stages of production

RESEARCH

For the first brief, I was unaware of how to begin planning, whereas when it came to the second one I knew that I had to start researching and planning straight away.

• No extensive background research into sequences for Prelim; we only watched a few in class and made notes. Very different to the research stage of the video brief – researched opening sequences of a specific genre; looking at iconography, themes, typical character roles, titles and music all specified to that genre. Research was a lot more structured and in-depth.

• Realised importance of a clearly organised storyboard, script or shooting script after under-valuing them in the Prelim. I set out to ensure we had a very detailed storyboard, because it would act as a framework for us when shooting. It is logical to shoot some shots together and not all in order.
  

• Always make sure you have permission to shoot where you want to - we nearly had a run-in with a teacher for choosing a location without checking it with her!

The first brief was realistically a practice for the second brief; we had to execute controlled camera techniques in the first, but had to be controlled and creative in the second, with perfection in mind.

PRODUCTION

The most important things I learnt were:

• TEST SHOOTS AND RE-SHOOTS ARE ABSOLUTELY VITAL - we didn't have either for the preliminary exercise - we had to ensure we got all the footage we needed the first time round. [Which is why we didn't quite get all the footage we needed]

• To follow the process of ''Camera ready?...Sound ready?...'' Otherwise you might not pick up certain mistakes [microphone might not be on etc]
  

• Take the shot from different angles and vary the range of shots you used to make it more interesting.
  

• Overlapping the footage, for better continuity, rather than just filming the footage we needed (e.g. if we wanted a match on action of someone opening a door we would take the shot of the character from both sides of the door, rather than trying to cut it perfectly on camera). This would create the effect of a seamless narrative.

The preliminary task was extremely helpful because I realised that anything can go wrong, no matter how prepared you are, therefore you need a test shoot and re-shoots if you want a successful sequence.

POST-PRODUCTION

Learning about the editing techniques in the first task really benefited me when it came to editing our opening sequence:

• I felt a lot more confident using the software and was able to develop my knowledge further by using programmes [Adobe After Effects, FireWorks] to add effects.
  

• Whilst editing the preliminary exercise, I became aware of the difficulty in arranging a narrative structure on the timeline and took that into consideration when planning our edited sequence for the film opening.

• Captured footage doesn't always come out as you'd expect it to [i.e. the microphone was in various shots, which wasn’t detected whilst filming, or we had noticed that there was a continuity issue etc.]. This was an on-going occurrence throughout both tasks, which we had to bear in mind whenever we filmed.

FEEDBACK

• Preliminary exercise was screened in our class; feedback was given by fellow media students only. The task was evaluated form a theoretical perspective in terms of which shot types worked/didn’t work etc. This was just a learning experience to prepare us for the main task.
  

• Feedback and evaluation stage for our film sequence - held an audience screening; open to people throughout the school. We handed out questionnaires which everyone was required to fill out during the screening. We got 34 responses, which was very helpful to us because it helped us spot trends depending on age group and gender and meant we could be more specific with our Target Audience.

Evaluation Question 6

6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?

During the process of constructing our sequence, we used a variety of different technologies, and needless to say, there were numerous opportunities for me to learn and develop new skills.

PRODUCTION - 'Hardware' skills

• Used a Canon HD Mini-DV camcorder to record all footage - previously used in the preliminary exercise so I was familiar with.
  

• Previous experience made me aware that the placing of the Paglights had a great impact on the shot quality and mood we were trying to achieve. Bearing this in mind, we strategically used natural light or implemented the use of house lighting in the sequence whilst retaining the atmosphere (e.g. when the killer walks into the kitchen and turns on the light).

• Recording the phone dialogue on the camera using an external camera microphone came out very muffled when we captured it on Adobe Premiere Pro. So we used a tie-clip microphone on the last shoot and re-recorded the conversation. This worked very well; the dialogue was a lot clearer.

• Being the director gave me the opportunity to improve my camera skills; allowing me the freedom to be more creative and experiment with different shot types and camera movements. E.g. when shooting the nightmare sequence; capturing footage from both close-up [for emphasis on his reaction] and further away [to establish the setting]; thus giving us a diverse collection of footage to choose from when it came to editing. [Examples below]
  

With hindsight, I would have:
-Experimented with the camera functions more i.e. turned the auto-focus off and tried to develop the skill of using manual focus.
-Liked to use the studio lighting kit to see if it made any visible difference in shot quality.
-Asked some of the other members of the group to help return the equipment after shoots - IT IS TOO HEAVY TO CARRY IT ALL BY MYSELF!


POST-PRODUCTION - 'Software' skills

Because I hadn't had much experience with editing beforehand, I feel this is where I learnt the most. Here is a list of the most important things I learnt about the editing process:

• Using Adobe After Effects Photoshop and Fireworks to create the newspaper articles and production logo
  

• Developing my skills in Adobe Premiere Pro; learning about key frames, additive and cross dissolves, capturing the footage and altering the speed/duration of a shot. [Which we used in this particular shot where the killer opens the drawer - we thought a slower shot would be more dramatic]

The software was easy to use and very flexible therefore there was a lot of scope for us to be as creative as we wished. The only limitation was our depth of knowledge of the programmes, which would develop over time after using the programmes more.By the end, I had a pretty good grasp of the CS3 programmes, and I now feel more confident to use them in future projects. The recent advancement in digital equipment definitely benefited us. We were able to use state-of-the-art equipment to make sure our product was as close to perfection as possible. However, we were using HD cameras, but did not shoot in HD; if we were to do this project again, I would like to shoot in HD and compare the difference in image quality.

Evaluation Question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

There are many ways we tried to attract our target audience; predominantly through the genre of our sequence. Thriller/Horror films are becoming increasingly popular amongst younger viewers so we thought it would be a good idea to look at the forms and conventions of these types of films. They generally consist of:

• A typical villain, lone psychopath
• Lots of murder victims
• Dark lighting, eerie music
  
• Suspense and enigma created from asking questions - enigmatic narrative
• Usually one person surviving, the villain is defeated

We knew we would have to stick to some of these, and break others, to create an enigmatic feel. It is through this idea, of repetition and difference, that we structured our sequence.

From researching this genre I found that typical fans of Thriller/Horror like the feelings of fear and isolation throughout the story. We tried to play on these fears by creating a shocking end to our sequence [when we realise he is the killer]. By doing this, we are advancing the 'Emotional pleasures' some fans get from watching these types of films. We specifically wanted them to feel a sense of fear/shock/disbelief when the audience see him take the knife from the drawer and when he glances in the mirror before he leaves.


[We got a few comments about how this scared some people during the screening, so it worked!]


We attempted to make a narrative enigma, whereby the audience’s questions could only be answered by watching the rest of the film; the mystery of the unknown is what captures their attention. This is an example of an 'Intellectual pleasure'. We tried to recreate this feeling amongst the audience by including a lot of montages of newspaper articles, again to create that sense of enigma. The audience read about the killings and try to piece all the information together just in time for the climax, and so are constantly trying to anticipate what will happen next.

We used a classic narrative structure, set as a continuous sequence, to convey the realism of the piece. Our intention was to create a believable sequence, whereby the audience are able to suspend their disbelief and get involved with the action.

All of these techniques seemed to work because 33 out of the 34 people we screened to said they would like to watch the rest of the film to find out what happens next!

Evaluation Question 4

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

When we initially began planning our sequence, we had to choose our target audience. This was difficult to do at first because we kept drawing on ideas that appealed to us, so it was hard to step away from our preferences and try to create something that would appeal to others. Finally we agreed on a Target Audience Profile.

PRIMARY AUDIENCE:

• 18-35
• Appeal to males more; Thriller / Horror stereotypically ‘male’ genre

• People that enjoy watching Thrillers and Horrors, predominantly young adults – the Thriller / Horror market targets young adults specifically with films like Final Destination (Wong, 2000), House of Wax (Collet-Serra, 2005) and more recently Disturbia (Caruso, 2007)

• British audiences – set in North London

We based our initial target audience on these main factors, however as the project developed, our audience profile altered slightly. For instance, as our actual plot progressed, and we decided that the protagonist would be an ex-solider, we automatically found ourselves broadening our audiences.

SECONDARY AUDIENCE:

• 16-40s
• Possibly attract people that have served in the war [majority male?]
• People interested in war-themed films…with a twist
• People that particularly enjoy watching young film-maker’s films, regularly attend film festivals or have a preference for niche films.

These profiles have proved to be quite accurate, as from our screening we found that 16-17 year old males rated our film highest, and all of them wanted to watch the rest of it. However, we weren't able to screen to anyone towards the upper end of our audience age boundary, but at least we know we're heading in the right direction so far!