Completed Blog.

My blog is now complete, I have very much enjoyed making and producing my video and I hope you've enjoyed watching it. Thank you.

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?

The main aspect of improvement being with planning and preparation, after the first task we found out the importance of organisation concerning, technical things, such as computer and editing slots, actor/actress issues etc. During the preliminary task we learnt the importance of organisation, this is something that is necessary when arranging actors, props, costumes and locations. These things are all vital for a successful film. For the preliminary task I used actors that were ready and available at the time, they weren't very good and I had little time to explain the nature of the task to them so they were slightly out of the loop. This was different in my main task as we had time to organise casting and we chose an actress who suited the roll and description of my character, also, for the preliminary task we filmed at college whereas the main task we organised a specific location. I found it reasonably easy to keep on time for planning and research however organising filming dates was difficult as my partner, Hannah, lives a while away from the chosen location. The preliminary task allowed me to get to grips with the camera and it's different functions, how to create a good shot and how to use a tripod. It also helped me to practice using On Location and Premier Pro, I could practice editing such and cut and pasting film, this helped me progress to the full product. From the preliminary task I gained a better understanding of audience research, and how it effects the outcome of the film, if I had not planned my film and studied different audiences I would not have known what an audience wanted to see, doing these tasks helped me create a relevant horror film that was enjoyable to view.


The main aspect I have learnt from this project is the importance of all the different elements of creating a film, from research to final product, although these things may seem unimportant, they are necessary to create a professional and enjoyable film.

Evaluation - Question 6

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

To help with research and planning we used Facebook, I created a Focus Group to which me and Hannah added friends of ours who we thought fitted the target audience, these were all 16-25 and predominantly males. We asked them questions about our film and showed them new material, the blog and raw footage to which they responded positively (shown right).  We also used mobile phones to contact each other and arrange who was to pick up the camera, when etc. To produce out animatic we took photos of a drawn storyboard, these were then inserted into Premier and set to the right time. This was then saved as a video and uploaded to Youtube.com. Blogging our work as we went along helped us to present our work and research well to the audience and helped us to plan around what we needed to do, It also made it easy as we had everything we needed easily found and organised. We used Youtube and other websites such as www.artofthetitle.com to help us gather ideas, learn about a successful title sequence looks and help to gain research into genre and techniques used to portray that genre. Using the blogs and doing our work electronically has allowed us to gain internet based skills and easily access all of our work in one easy place, it is also safe and cannot be forgotten or lost. We used a college camera which we booked out with a tripod, this was very helpful as the tripod meant we could get canted angles and good shots without having to worry about having a steady hand. 


We used On Location to capture our videos from tape to the computer, these were then imported into Premier Pro. This would have been very quick and easy if the college systems weren't having trouble at crucial times. However we managed to get past these obstacles and the whole process of forming our title sequence was relatively easy, the software is easy to use and simple in it's layout. Using Premier Pro allowed us to use additive dissolves and cut up film easily, we couldn't have done this with some other software.


We exported the film from Premier Pro to a media file and then uploaded to Youtube.com, this process was very simple. We then got the 'Embed' code from the video and put this in the HTML code of the blog. 

Technology has helped me to create a interactive and stimulating evaluation by allowing me to easily add pictures, videos and prezi presentations. 


The technology was helpful although there were many technical issues and it took a long time to get On Location and Premier Pro to work, however we overcame these as a pair and managed to get the video finished. 

Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I showed my film to a few people who fitted my audience profile, I then interviewed them to get some response on my film, unfortunately only one person was able to be interviewed on camera. They said that the sequence was easily recognizable as a horror through the opening shots and montage effect. They said that they liked the use of montage and graveyard shots, they said it creates an eerie atmosphere. They said they would like to carry on watching the film and grabs your attention. She also said it suited the targeted audience and was good for her age group

Evaluation - Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience are generally young people, predominantly males but some females, likely to be students, I would say they all were drinkers, possibly smokers who enjoyed the cinema and followed the music scene. My audience would enjoy films such as, Thirteen Ghosts, The Ring, The Grudge, The SAW sequence and other horror/haunted/gore films. They might also spend their time reading comics.  I would say most of my audience spent their money on having fun, the cinema, DVD's, CD's and possibly student fees.




A typical audience member for my film will be between 15 and 25, generally male but perhaps female, middle class, perhaps a student educated to A level. One word to sum up my audience might be 'individualistic'. A typical audience member for my film might spend their spare time doing things such as going to live music events, surfing the web, studying, and might be a film fanatic. I imagine my typical audience may be drinkers, perhaps smokers, who enjoy socialising and reading.


Male: 70%

Female: 30%

Age Group: 16-25

Brands:

Clothes: Attitude, Darkside, Phaze.

Shoes: Converse, Doc Martens, Babychams. 

Alcohol: Cider, Spirits, Beer.

Bands:

Kings of Leon

Hed PE 

Metallica

Film and T.V.:

Film: The Grudge, Saw (1-7), Donnie Darko, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining, The Ring, The Mist, IT, The Others, Hostel, Final Destination. 

T.V:  Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Ghost Whisperer, True Blood, Being Human, Heroes.

Demographic:

My film is mainly aimed at males, aged 16-25

My film will be aimed at C1, C2 and D 

Psycho-graphic

Mainstreamers: people who don’t like to be different but are conventional in their tastes and aspirations

·   Traditionalists: people who don’t like change and are very
       set in their ways

·         
     Hedonists: people who just want to have a good time

·         
Individualists: people who want to stand out from the crowd
       and like to think for themselves

· Rebels: people who don’t want to conform but challenge the traditional way of doing things.

My film will be aimed at Rebels, Hedonists and Individualists.

Evaluation - Question 3

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

Ghost House Pictures, Copperheart Entertainment or Triwar Pictures would be ideal to distribute my film. Triwar Pictures are especially good at creating cost effective release strategies. On a very small budget they can make very successful films. Triwar are an independent distributer and specialize in horror/catastrophe films. This would appeal to my target audience as they probably all enjoy low-budget films aimed at them as a market. My film would be shown in small independent cinemas such as the Electric in Birmingham,  The Conerhouse in Manchester and  Cube Microplex in Bristol. Because my film is aimed at individualists and rebels there would be no point in having my film showing at Vue cinemas because my target audience wouldn't go and see it. My target audience are more likely to go to smaller, independent, cinema's so this is where I would show my film. 


An example of a film similar to mine is Ginger Snaps. On the opening weekend (July 1st 2001) Ginger Snaps (which was produced by Copperheart Entertainment) was shown in 17 screens and made £27,049. My film would be advertised through word of mouth and internet campaigns, this allows me to attract and address the correct audience. Perhaps even viral marketing.

Evaluation - Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

As there is only character in my film opening, and during the opening you don't learn much about the character, the main representation being displayed in my opening sequence is gender, more specifically, women. In the start of the opening we tried to give the audience the idea that our actress, Paige, was being represented as a young attractive woman living alone, strong and independent, these qualities were shown in her costume (individual, casual), her behaviour, her make up and the location. Paige was shown as these things as she ran up the stairs to investigate the noise, however this was then challenged as she then later became the victim after the door slams. This demonstrates residual ideology showing that women are weak and defenceless, perhaps need rescuing and are a 'damsel in distress'. The audience are likely to assume that she would be rescued by a man, demonstrating men as strong and powerful. The use of the sound effect gave the audience the idea that Paige was in danger, this also shows woman as weak.

Evaluation - Question 1

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

My film is very similar to other media products from the same genre, and it is easily recognised as a real horror film through use of effects, techniques, shot types and the narrative. Firstly the titles are in bold large writing and white on a black background, this is very similar to The Grudge 2 (as shown below in figure 1), however I did not use capital letters like The Grudge 2 does. Both my film and real media products use phrases, quotes or definitions to help create a scene and atmosphere, this is also shown in figure 1. I used different effects such as a flashing first title, this is also done at the start of The Grudge 2, this is shown below in figure 2, and also at 00:00 - 00:12 on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSHSuFJ_gro&feature=player_embedded) this adds atmosphere and allows the audience to recognise that the film is a horror. Additive dissolves and colour changes create an eerie atmosphere to this film opening, again this is done on The Grudge 2 video, at 00:37 - 00:42. This atmosphere that is cleverly created is connoted throughout all films in the horror genre and creates the correct feelings of tension and angst. It also makes the audience 'sit on the edge of the seat' and adds enigma codes.  Horror films generally have creepy openings with atmospheric music and a feeling of confusion, intrigue and a slight bizarre feeling. My film uses flashing titles accompanied by simple yet tension building sound effects, this is similar to The Grudge 2. I rewound the tape as I was capturing to the PC (using OnLocation) leaving me with a grainy shot, I really liked this effect so I used it, I also added a colour change to make the shot even spookier. This sort of grainy effect is typical of horror/haunting genre, for example it is used a lot in The Ring, and it also helps to make my film recognisable as a real film opening.  Also the use of a montage connotes the horror genre.

Figure 1

Figure 2

In our film opening we haven't challenged any conventions, for the original idea we did plan to have a male victim and a female villain/ghost, challenging the usual stereotype in horror films, the victim is usually a girl, attacked by another female or a male. However this storyline was impractical, so we changed the narrative and used a female victim, and we chose not to give the gender of the villain/ghost away. If we were to make a whole film we would have had perhaps a male ghost/villain and a female victim. There are many different definitions of genre, two of the best being, “Genres are not static but shifting and slippery, evolving over time” and “Pleasure is derived from 'repetition and difference' this means that there are elements within genres that must stay the same in order to make the film recognisable, however other elements must constantly change with new elements to keep the genre changing and interesting and keep new generations interested. In our film opening we didn't challenge or develop the genre, we decided it was best to stick to the genre, and use traditional effects in order to keep the feeling or the film opening real and recognisable.

Final Video

Raw footage posted to blog for feedback

Facebook Focus Group

In order to gain information on audience and genre Hannah and I started a Facebook  group, this would be used as my focus group. I selected group members from my friend list who I felt would be willing and interested to participate in my research, I then asked suitable questions about genre's of music, film, magazine etc. 




































Unfortunately only two people responded, these are the responses.

Risk Assessment

During our film there are many opportunities for injury or accidents to occur so in order to prepare for this we must write a risk assessment.


- Tripping over, during our film there are many times when Paige is running and may trip over things or fall, to try and stop this we will clear all routes and ensure Paige is familiar with her surroundings. 
- Shutting fingers in door, during the film the door is opened and closed regularly with some slamming, we will ensure Paige is careful and aware.
- Falling over pets, there is a cat in the house which may be hurt or tripped over.
- Tripping over the camera tripod, to target this we will be extra careful and ensure the tripod is not left out when not in use.
- Poking yourself in the eye with the camera.
- Trapping fingers in tripod.
- Electrocution from camera or camera charger (Perhaps if filming in the rain).
- Falling down the stairs

Planning The Film

Paige, who will play Anna

         In the film opening our main female character will be present, 'Anna'. Another will be present who will be our ghostly creepy character (which will be the ghost of Anna). The audience will know who the main protagonist is through the use of close ups, we will do this to allow the audience to really connect with Anna, also as she will be the only main character in the scene. There is one binary opposition in terms of Proppian roles, this will be Anna vs her ghost self. This fits in well with the theme of the film as the idea  is that she is her own worst enemy, and at war against herself. The audience will know this by the narrative and dialogue between her and her dad. In terms of casting we have an idea for a main character, she is a young dark haired girl with a slight rebel side (left). We want her to wear average teenage attire when she is playing Anna. When she is playing her ghost self we want her to wear a white nightie with bare feet, messy hair and ghostly white make-up.  We will film at a friends house. It is an average sized family cottage based in Ombersley, it is exactly how we want it and suits our storyboard. We want the interior of the house to look as if the girl is unpacking and just moved in, we will need props such as boxes. We'd like to create a slightly creepy atmosphere with tense moments and plenty of enigmas. In terms of mise-en-scene we will create an awkward atmosphere and the feeling of a paranormal thing being present through the use of camera shots, angles and close ups. Almost all of the filming is going to be indoors so we have little need to worry about weather. We are going to use the local churchyard for some filming and have asked the church verger, he said this was fine as long as we didn't film any new graves, as this is disrespectful to families. For example, we can't show a grave that was put there this year but can film the ancient graves. We will film just before dusk so the lighting shouldn't be a problem. We will use enigma codes to ensure the audience want to keep watching, we will do this by using shots to give the idea that another person or spirit is present and plenty of unanswered questions. Action codes will be used and by the end of the sequence the audience should feel on edge, tense and interested to find out more, they will know who the main character is and the basic story line. We will use white writing on a black background for our titles with eerie fonts. Smooth transactions mixed with sudden flashes of scene to credit. The information on the titles will be; "Decorus Nex productions presents", "starring Paige Sturgeon", "Filmed, edited and produced by Hannah and Georgia" and any other necessaries entered at a later date. 

The house that we plan to use

Time Plan

Casting: We chose our actress quite quickly after are planning began. But we wanted to get a actress at least by Christmas so we could record over the holidays

Location: Find the location was quick because our actress lives near a creepy looking graveyard and strange and creepy looking houses and abandoned areas. We were able to find this location at least 2 weeks before the Christmas holidays began

Rehearsing: First rehearse took place on Wednesday  1st of December at 4'clock at the found location, Another on the 8th of December and the of December.

Film: Filming took place between 19th of December ( first part of filming ), none filmed over 24/25/26th of December, continued filming on 28th and 29th for a short period and finished filming Wednesday 5th of January.

Editing: Editing started 13th of January, editing took a long time due to technical problems, finished editing on the Friday 4th of January. During this the technology didn't allow us to use some of what we filmed so between the beginning of the editing and the deadline we re-filmed a lot of our work.

Script

Our script was brief but necessary to the narrative.




Anna: "Hello puss"


Anna: "Hello? Hello? Hello?"


*Scream*

Animatic

This is our animatic, it shows our film in drawn stages.

Research and Planning - Planning the film

After discussing the plan with my partner, Hannah, we have come up with this unique idea and film title.

The proposed house

Our film will be called "Purgatory",  we feel is a nice title for our film, suiting the genre and the story line, as it reflects our characters inner feelings.
As our film genre is horror/supernatural/haunting, we have decided that our main character is going to be a helpless female, named Anna, who lives alone in a small cottage near a churchyard. She's unpacking boxes when she hears a funny noise and finds herself alone in a room with something evil. We will be using a lot of close up shots to allow the audience to really connect with the female character. The start of the film will mostly be montages and spooky shots using lots of canted angles and colour change, along with speed changes and darkening. 

At the moment we have a potential female lead, Anya, that hopefully we could cast but we are still looking into it.

We have found a suitable location. We want the set to look fairly new. The character lives alone comfortably in her own space so the house is relatively messy yet organised.

The film starts when our female character has just returned to her house, the location is right next to a grave yard, the scene will start with a montage of establishing shots of the area and graveyard.  Anna will then enter, filmed from within the house, as if someone is watching, the lights will be dark, as if it is night, the credits will then appear, the words will fade to black and the shot will reappear when Anna turns the light on, using a close up of the hand and match on action. Anna will then enter the living room and unpack a box, this scene will include match on action shots as the opens the door and POV shots as she looks at things from the box, such as family photos. The idea is that Anna has just moved out from her family home. Anna then hears a noise upstairs, she looks, gets up and goes upstairs, she will slowly and cautiously walk into a dark empty room, adding tension to the atmosphere. She walks slowly towards the door, opens it, enters and a scream is heard. The scene will end here on a cliffhanger. We will use lots of close ups, match on action shots, establishing shots, canted angles and mid-shots, accompanied by many titles with additive dissolve transitions to give a creepy effect. 

Audience Profile

A typical audience member for my film will be between 15 and 25, generally male but perhaps female, middle class, perhaps a student educated to A level. One word to sum up my audience might be 'individualistic'. A typical audience member for my film might spend their spare time doing things such as going to live music events, surfing the web, studying, and might be a film fanatic. I imagine my typical audience may be drinkers, perhaps smokers, who enjoy socialising and reading.


Male: 70%

Female: 30%

Age Group: 16-25

Brands:

Clothes: Attitude, Darkside, Phaze.

Shoes: Converse, Doc Martens, Babychams. 

Alcohol: Cider, Spirits, Beer.

Bands:

Kings of Leon

Hed PE 

Metallica

Film and T.V.:

Film: The Grudge, Saw (1-7), Donnie Darko, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining, The Ring, The Mist, IT, The Others, Hostel, Final Destination. 

T.V:  Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Ghost Whisperer, True Blood, Being Human, Heroes.

Demographic:

My film is mainly aimed at males, aged 16-25

My film will be aimed at C1, C2 and D

Psycho-graphic

Mainstreamers: people who don’t like to be different but are conventional in their tastes and aspirations

·   Traditionalists: people who don’t like change and are very
       set in their ways

·         
     Hedonists: people who just want to have a good time

·         
Individualists: people who want to stand out from the crowd
       and like to think for themselves

· Rebels: people who don’t want to conform but challenge the traditional way of doing things.

My film will be aimed at Rebels, Hedonists and Individualists.