Thursday, 23 February 2017
Monday, 20 February 2017
Evaluation 7 ~ Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Camera, Using a range of camera shots, Using
different camera angles, for what effect?, Using camera movement
(pan, zoom, tracking) for different purposes
In the preliminary task we didn’t really use a wide variety of camera shots, as the main focus of this task was to explore shot-reverse-shot, 180 degree rule and also match on action. As these were new terms to us, we wanted to make sure that we used the prelim task to demonstrate these three rules to the best of our ability.
Firstly we used a series of close ups and mid shots in order to demonstrate match on action in the most effective way. Mid shots were used in order to set the scene and show the position of the main character in comparison to other characters and the setting. Close ups were also used in order to focus on specific aspects of the clip, such as the grabbing of the door handle before Alice entered the room. From here we then used an over the shoulder shot of Alice, which presents her in a vulnerable position and emphasises the dominance that the other character has over her. Additionally, we then used an over the shoulder shot of Lois (the other character) in order to make the audience feel more involved in the action and to also enable the audience the clearly see both sides of the conversation.
In the preliminary task we didn’t really use a wide variety of camera shots, as the main focus of this task was to explore shot-reverse-shot, 180 degree rule and also match on action. As these were new terms to us, we wanted to make sure that we used the prelim task to demonstrate these three rules to the best of our ability.
Firstly we used a series of close ups and mid shots in order to demonstrate match on action in the most effective way. Mid shots were used in order to set the scene and show the position of the main character in comparison to other characters and the setting. Close ups were also used in order to focus on specific aspects of the clip, such as the grabbing of the door handle before Alice entered the room. From here we then used an over the shoulder shot of Alice, which presents her in a vulnerable position and emphasises the dominance that the other character has over her. Additionally, we then used an over the shoulder shot of Lois (the other character) in order to make the audience feel more involved in the action and to also enable the audience the clearly see both sides of the conversation.
In the
opening of our film we made sure to use a variety of different camera shots in
order to show as many conventions of the Teen Angst genre as possible – to make
the film realistic to the specific genre. We used long shots, such as when Ash
is walking to school to demonstrate a common activity that most teenagers do
due to the fact that school is a huge part of their lives. This adds a
relatable aspect to our film enabling it to attract our target audience
further. Close ups are used on specific objects that would be significant to
teenagers or to show emotion of the characters. An example of this would be
when Ash is putting in her headphones. We used this, as teenagers are known for
listening to a lot of music as a way of escaping reality, which means that they
would be able to relate to this part of the opening sequence and is a
conventional aspect of teen angst as teens are represented as very
technological. Finally, we used a point of view shot of Darcy from Ash’s
perspective. We thought this was a significant part of our film as it allows
the audience to experience a tiny part of Ash’s life and how she views her best
friend. This makes the opening more realistic as it shows the audience another
perspective, as if they were watching through Ash’s eyes, again making it more
relatable to our target audience.
Framing (what is in and out of the shots)
In the preliminary task, we tried to make sure that all elements that were insignificant to the action were excluded from the frame, as this would reduce how realistic the clip was. However, if I were to do this task again, I would focus on this part more as well as the setting of the task, as this would improve the quality of the clip and make it more realistic.
In the preliminary task, we tried to make sure that all elements that were insignificant to the action were excluded from the frame, as this would reduce how realistic the clip was. However, if I were to do this task again, I would focus on this part more as well as the setting of the task, as this would improve the quality of the clip and make it more realistic.
In the
opening sequence of our film, I think our framing went quite well. Everything
that was in the frame was supposed to be there as it emphasised the action
taking place and the over all story in order to make the opening more effective
and clear to follow. Here we also made sure to use a tripod, which we didn’t
use in the prelim task. This made the frames more steady and didn’t take away
any attention from the characters and/or the action taking place.
Mise en scene, Lighting, Costume, Props, Settings
Due to the fact our Prelim task was based on an interview, we wanted the setting and lighting to be quite formal in order to emphasise this serious tone. The setting we used was a classroom as this was what was available to us, which had the most resemblance of where an interview would actually take place in real life. In this classroom there were various props, such as tables, chairs, whiteboards etc… that did reduce how realistic our preliminary task was, however I don’t think that it made a huge amount of difference. The lighting throughout the task was naturally low key, which was appropriate for the action taking place and foreshadowed what was about the happen at the end – Alice getting fired. The biggest setback of our clip was the costumes. Due to having little time to plan and complete this task, we did not have any time to think about the costumes of our characters. As a result, the outfits worn are very casual and not appropriate for an interview, as this is a serious activity, which should be attended in formal clothing from both parties.
Due to the fact our Prelim task was based on an interview, we wanted the setting and lighting to be quite formal in order to emphasise this serious tone. The setting we used was a classroom as this was what was available to us, which had the most resemblance of where an interview would actually take place in real life. In this classroom there were various props, such as tables, chairs, whiteboards etc… that did reduce how realistic our preliminary task was, however I don’t think that it made a huge amount of difference. The lighting throughout the task was naturally low key, which was appropriate for the action taking place and foreshadowed what was about the happen at the end – Alice getting fired. The biggest setback of our clip was the costumes. Due to having little time to plan and complete this task, we did not have any time to think about the costumes of our characters. As a result, the outfits worn are very casual and not appropriate for an interview, as this is a serious activity, which should be attended in formal clothing from both parties.
In our
opening sequence all of these aspects were improved and we learnt that it is
extremely to match the mise-en-scene to the story being told within the film
because if these two aspects are unsynchronised the film becomes very hard to
follow and looks very unrealistic. The setting of the opening sequence was a
high school as this is a stereotypical setting for a teen angst film, which we
learnt from our research. The majority of the sequence was filmed outside which
made it extremely hard to control the lighting of our film. However, for the
parts we filmed inside, we used low-key lighting as this reflected the attitude
of our main character who has depression. The costumes used throughout, were
chosen to reflect the personalities of our characters and fit into the social
groups that they come under. This is a significant part of the Teen Angst
genre, which we again found out from previous research, as this enables the
audience to relate to particular characters and identify the types of people they
are/should be stereotypically. For example the innocent character, Darcy is
wearing light coloured clothing such as white in order to reflect this purity,
where as the main character Ash is wearing a lot of dark clothing to reflect
the mental illness that she has and negative attitude. Props that we included
would be items such as school bags, mobile phones and headphones are these are
objects that relate specifically to teenagers, as they are known for being
technological and school focused.
Mode of address, Way actors speak, words and
sentence structure, Gesture
The way that our characters spoke in our preliminary task was specific to their individual character. Alice spoke in a quiet, shy tone but also craved attention/another chance at the same time. This reflected her character as she was portraying an entrepreneur who could be fired during the interview. On the other hand, we had Lois who was portraying the experienced investor. This meant that she had to speak with a harsh tone and couldn’t really show any emotion as this could be interpreted as being weak in her line of work. At the end of the task Lois pointed her finger at Alice when telling her she was fired. This showed an element of dominance over Alice and was intended to make Alice feel weak and vulnerable. After this Alice is then shown bowing her head to demonstrate the fact she is upset with that has just happened and her weak position.
The way that our characters spoke in our preliminary task was specific to their individual character. Alice spoke in a quiet, shy tone but also craved attention/another chance at the same time. This reflected her character as she was portraying an entrepreneur who could be fired during the interview. On the other hand, we had Lois who was portraying the experienced investor. This meant that she had to speak with a harsh tone and couldn’t really show any emotion as this could be interpreted as being weak in her line of work. At the end of the task Lois pointed her finger at Alice when telling her she was fired. This showed an element of dominance over Alice and was intended to make Alice feel weak and vulnerable. After this Alice is then shown bowing her head to demonstrate the fact she is upset with that has just happened and her weak position.
In the
opening sequence Ash speaks in a low tone that is almost monotone but not
quite. We did this deliberately in the script in order to show the fact that
she is depressed and does not have a positive outlook on the world. The
voiceovers used throughout the sequence are Ash’s inner voice, which enables
her thoughts to be shared with the audience, emphasising the fact that she
thinks about things in a negative manner. This tone of voice was completely
appropriate in this scenario as it reveals things about Ash’s personal life
that the audience may not have figured out. It would not have been appropriate
for this character to have a happy tone of voice with a lot of intonation as it
would not reflect her true personality and would be confusing to the audience.
180 rule, Match on
action, Shot reverse shot, Cross cutting, Jump cut, Juxtaposition, Transitions,
sequencing, effects
In the prelim task, we used the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot as these were the focal points for this task. The 180 degree rule was used when our two characters are talking at the tabel. We made sure not to pass the 180 degree line as this would make the characters appear on the same side and their eye contact would not match up, which woud reduce how relasitc the film is. Shot reverse shot was also used at this point tto allow the audinece to follow the conversation and also to give an insight into the body language of each character. Finally, match on action was used throughout. This made the editing more fluid and allowed the audience to undertsand the storyline without having to watch unnecessary parts such as walking up to the door etc.
Throughout our opening sequence we used cross dissolves in order to add fluidity to our film, as the two shots would blend together without distracting the audinece from the main action. We also used transitions on our text, so that they would slide into the screen. We did this in order to create a leading line so that the audinece would follow the characters movements. We also used a transition on our "24 hours before" so that the letters would appear one by one to mimic a type writer. In order to emphasise this we also added a non-diegetic sound of a typewirter to make it seem as if someone was typing it on screen at the same time that the audinece was viewing it. This can also be seen as a teenager typing the words on screen, which would show that they are heavily involved in technology and always on their phones/computer. We also used shot-reverse-shot between Darcy and Ash on the bikes in order to involve the audience more in our film - to put them in each cahracters perspective. Finally, we used match on action as Ash was walking into the school. We cut out a lot of parts where the charcaters were just walking to make the film more interesting and reduce how boirng this activity can be to watch.
In the prelim task, we used the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot as these were the focal points for this task. The 180 degree rule was used when our two characters are talking at the tabel. We made sure not to pass the 180 degree line as this would make the characters appear on the same side and their eye contact would not match up, which woud reduce how relasitc the film is. Shot reverse shot was also used at this point tto allow the audinece to follow the conversation and also to give an insight into the body language of each character. Finally, match on action was used throughout. This made the editing more fluid and allowed the audience to undertsand the storyline without having to watch unnecessary parts such as walking up to the door etc.
Throughout our opening sequence we used cross dissolves in order to add fluidity to our film, as the two shots would blend together without distracting the audinece from the main action. We also used transitions on our text, so that they would slide into the screen. We did this in order to create a leading line so that the audinece would follow the characters movements. We also used a transition on our "24 hours before" so that the letters would appear one by one to mimic a type writer. In order to emphasise this we also added a non-diegetic sound of a typewirter to make it seem as if someone was typing it on screen at the same time that the audinece was viewing it. This can also be seen as a teenager typing the words on screen, which would show that they are heavily involved in technology and always on their phones/computer. We also used shot-reverse-shot between Darcy and Ash on the bikes in order to involve the audience more in our film - to put them in each cahracters perspective. Finally, we used match on action as Ash was walking into the school. We cut out a lot of parts where the charcaters were just walking to make the film more interesting and reduce how boirng this activity can be to watch.
Use of titles, Size,
Font, Positioning, transitions
We did not use any titles within our preliminary task as we felt that it wasn’t appropriate to the task. However, in our opening sequence we made sure to use a lot of different styles of fonts as well as colours as we knew that this was a conventional aspect of Teen Angst films. The title was written in a cloud font and positioned in the middle of the frame, as it is an important piece of information. It was put in a cloud font as this connotes freedom and having high aspirations, which our main character is yet to have. The credits of our film, we displayed in the same sans serif font, but in a variety of colours such as purple, pink and green, starting quite dark at the start and getting brighter as the film continues. We decided to do this as it reflects how our character is feeling throughout the film starting off very depressed but gradually getting more positive.
We did not use any titles within our preliminary task as we felt that it wasn’t appropriate to the task. However, in our opening sequence we made sure to use a lot of different styles of fonts as well as colours as we knew that this was a conventional aspect of Teen Angst films. The title was written in a cloud font and positioned in the middle of the frame, as it is an important piece of information. It was put in a cloud font as this connotes freedom and having high aspirations, which our main character is yet to have. The credits of our film, we displayed in the same sans serif font, but in a variety of colours such as purple, pink and green, starting quite dark at the start and getting brighter as the film continues. We decided to do this as it reflects how our character is feeling throughout the film starting off very depressed but gradually getting more positive.
Monday, 13 February 2017
Evaluation 6 ~ What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the production of our film a lot of different types of technology was needed, including hardware, software and online tools. A computer was the most commonly used media technology as it had all of the software and online tools on it that we needed in order to edit and plan our film.
The next type of hardware that we used was a camera. The camera that we used was a Panasonic video recorder that I had not used before. I had used other types of camera previously but not this type, which meant that being the main camera operator I had to figure out how to use this very quickly. When using the camera, we also used a tripod in order to ensure that our shots were steady and not shaky and also a voice recorder so that our voice overs came out very clear and easy to hear. Similar to the camera, I had not used a voice recorder before, which meant that we had to figure out how to use it and also how to play back the footage that we had recorded so that we were happy with the recording before we uploaded it onto the computer.
The last type of hardware used would be a memory stick. This was a very essential piece during filming and editing as we used it to transfer footage, credits, music and pictures etc, from home onto school computers.
We used three different types of software during the production of our film which included photoshop, premier pro and powerpoint. When using premierpro I learnt how to create freeze shots when introducing the characters to the audience, insert and change the different types of fonts to appeal to the target audience and finally how to insert transitions on to both the footage and the text. I had only used final cut pro before, which meant that premier pro was a completely new programme to me. There was a lot of similar aspects, however I felt that premier pro was a more complicated programme, but it was useful that Erin had used this before as it meant that it didn't take us as long to figure out how to use different aspects. Powerpoint was used in order to create our pitch and also to layout the planning of our characters. Although it was not an essential programme, it was very helpful in making things visually clear and made it easier for us to present our idea for our film. Lastly, I used photoshop to create the title for our film. Once I had come up with the idea to have the title in clouds as it represented freedom that Ash felt like she didn't have due to her condition, but that she was soon to have as a result of this art competition. I spent a long time watching various youtube videos and looking at websites in order to make this possible. I had never really used photoshop in this way, so I had no idea what I was doing when I first started this task. However, by the end of it I had leant how to create pathways, customise the brush tool and finally how to use the stroke tool.
The online tools that I used included Blogger, Niice and Bensound. Blogger was the most important online tool as this is where I kept all of my research, planning and updates on the changes made during the whole process. Using this website I learnt different ways to style my posts to make it more interesting, such as adding in pictures to break up the posts, videos and moodboards. I also learnt how to change the design and style of my blog, so that it was easier to find certain posts and clearer to read. Once I had done this I found it very enjoyable to create posts and then view my blog to see how they looked. I think this website was the most important of all as it enabled me to view all of the planning I had made about our film and compare the planning to the research I had previously made. I also used bensound in order to find the non-diegetic music for our film. This website was once again new to me and very easy to use, however there were limitations on the music as some of them required a membership. Besides this and the hours of searching through the internet for free, copyright music, we finally found one on this website that we are very happy with and we feel that this song fits our film perfectly. Finally, the last website that I used during research was Niice. This was a website where you could create your own moodboards. I used this to display the different characters in Teen Angst films and also the different settings. I thought that by using a moodboard it would break up the posts of long paragraphs and offer a visual aspect to the types of things that I was researching.
A Facebook group chat was very significant in the planning and creation of our film. We used this to communicate and discuss different ideas that we had as well as the changes we thought we should make. Although this was not new to me as I have been a member of this website for a number of years, it was essential for us to be able to plan when we were filming, editing and in general just sharing ideas and suggestions.
The next type of hardware that we used was a camera. The camera that we used was a Panasonic video recorder that I had not used before. I had used other types of camera previously but not this type, which meant that being the main camera operator I had to figure out how to use this very quickly. When using the camera, we also used a tripod in order to ensure that our shots were steady and not shaky and also a voice recorder so that our voice overs came out very clear and easy to hear. Similar to the camera, I had not used a voice recorder before, which meant that we had to figure out how to use it and also how to play back the footage that we had recorded so that we were happy with the recording before we uploaded it onto the computer.
The last type of hardware used would be a memory stick. This was a very essential piece during filming and editing as we used it to transfer footage, credits, music and pictures etc, from home onto school computers.
We used three different types of software during the production of our film which included photoshop, premier pro and powerpoint. When using premierpro I learnt how to create freeze shots when introducing the characters to the audience, insert and change the different types of fonts to appeal to the target audience and finally how to insert transitions on to both the footage and the text. I had only used final cut pro before, which meant that premier pro was a completely new programme to me. There was a lot of similar aspects, however I felt that premier pro was a more complicated programme, but it was useful that Erin had used this before as it meant that it didn't take us as long to figure out how to use different aspects. Powerpoint was used in order to create our pitch and also to layout the planning of our characters. Although it was not an essential programme, it was very helpful in making things visually clear and made it easier for us to present our idea for our film. Lastly, I used photoshop to create the title for our film. Once I had come up with the idea to have the title in clouds as it represented freedom that Ash felt like she didn't have due to her condition, but that she was soon to have as a result of this art competition. I spent a long time watching various youtube videos and looking at websites in order to make this possible. I had never really used photoshop in this way, so I had no idea what I was doing when I first started this task. However, by the end of it I had leant how to create pathways, customise the brush tool and finally how to use the stroke tool.
The online tools that I used included Blogger, Niice and Bensound. Blogger was the most important online tool as this is where I kept all of my research, planning and updates on the changes made during the whole process. Using this website I learnt different ways to style my posts to make it more interesting, such as adding in pictures to break up the posts, videos and moodboards. I also learnt how to change the design and style of my blog, so that it was easier to find certain posts and clearer to read. Once I had done this I found it very enjoyable to create posts and then view my blog to see how they looked. I think this website was the most important of all as it enabled me to view all of the planning I had made about our film and compare the planning to the research I had previously made. I also used bensound in order to find the non-diegetic music for our film. This website was once again new to me and very easy to use, however there were limitations on the music as some of them required a membership. Besides this and the hours of searching through the internet for free, copyright music, we finally found one on this website that we are very happy with and we feel that this song fits our film perfectly. Finally, the last website that I used during research was Niice. This was a website where you could create your own moodboards. I used this to display the different characters in Teen Angst films and also the different settings. I thought that by using a moodboard it would break up the posts of long paragraphs and offer a visual aspect to the types of things that I was researching.
A Facebook group chat was very significant in the planning and creation of our film. We used this to communicate and discuss different ideas that we had as well as the changes we thought we should make. Although this was not new to me as I have been a member of this website for a number of years, it was essential for us to be able to plan when we were filming, editing and in general just sharing ideas and suggestions.
Thursday, 9 February 2017
Monday, 6 February 2017
Evaluation 4 ~ Who would be the audience for your media product?
Demographics
The film that we created is targeted at females between the ages of 15-20 years of age. This is because the themes that we used in the film, such as the idea of depression and the importance may be too advanced for anyone younger than the age of 15. The age 15 is very significant, as around this age children/teenagers begin to understand more about the world and begin to develop more questions about specific situations, mainly ones that involve themselves, such as changes in their body. This is an important target for our film as part of the aim of our film was to make teenagers more aware of mental disorders that are worryingly common in teenagers and also the struggles they may face during their time at school.
The film is predominantly targeted at females, which is very stereotypical of a teen angst film. The reason for this is because the main characters of our film are 2 teenage girls and the story follows them and shows the audience the problems she faces on a daily basis. The class that the target audience come from would be one of a working/middle class, as the characters in the film come from the same background, which allows it to be more relatable to this type of class. Due to the fact our film is aimed at teenagers between the ages of 15-20, the target audience would have a low income level due to the fact they would potentially only have a part time or weekend job, providing them with enough money to spend on the latest trends or fashions.
Our film is aimed at all races and ethnicities, although it can be argued to be more aimed at those of a British ethnicity as this would be the same as the characters in the film, making it a more relatable situation.
Stereotypical psychographics of teenagers;
- Personality - Lazy, pessimistic, confident, rude
- Attitudes - Negative view on life, always wanting what they don't have and not appreciating what they already do have, don't take responsibility for their own actions and usually blame other people, sometimes ambitious but don't necessarily show it externally.
- Values - Family, friends, education
- Interest/hobbies - Using technology (social media) to remain updated constantly, hanging around their friends/boyfriends/girlfriend, attending parties, watching television/Netflix, listening to music
- Lifestyles - Part time job, in education, stay up to date with the latest technology/gadgets, conflict between friends and family and boyfriend/girlfriend, balancing social life with education
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
Script for Evaluation 3 ~ What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Audio copy - https://youtu.be/BaU2L_dFNTI
Our production company is called ‘snowball productions’. We settled on this because we liked the idea of combining the snowball effect – where things start off small then gradually get bigger with our film. We did this by linking the snowball effect to depression - the fact that if our main character Ash kept everything to herself and did not seek help then things will gradually get worse and worse. In our logo we used the idea of a snowball rolling downhill which would cause it to get bigger as it gathered up more snow. We then needed a clear and particularly large title so that our audience knew which production this film was.
The way that we incorporated the title would be that we used capitalised sans serif font at the same angle of the ‘hill’ behind the snowball, with a thick black line above it, which almost creates the illusion of the snowball moving at a significant speed. We kept the logo in black and white as we thought that this would be most effective, as the white connotes the innocence and sweetness of our character Darcy and the black connotes sadness and depression that could be linked to her best friend Ash. The contrast of these two colours could show how they are total opposites. This logo would appeal to our audience for various reasons – the first being that the snowball effect can be applied to various situations that vary in significance, from problems or fallouts with friends to illnesses or worries about yourself etc. The effect that this has on our audience would be that it gives them assurance that there are other people dealing with similar issues and that the films that we produced will help them and teach them different ways to deal with their issues.
Universal Studios
For our film we would use universal studios as our film distribution company because they have produced similar films to ours. For example the pitch perfect series, which also deals with the awkwardness and the difficulty of teenage life. this will relate to our film as our main character Ash and her best friend; Darcy are both awkward teens who are struggling with their lives, trying to fit in and finding their purpose.
We shall try and get funding from the government, The UK government invests tens of thousands into the British film industry each year, and all we would have to do is apply for funding via application form to the appropriate BFI-Funded programme and wait for a positive response.
We presented our titles in various ways throughout the opening sequence in order to appeal to our target audience and relate specifically to our film. The main title of our film is in a cloud font, which we produced on Photoshop. We decided to use this because clouds connote freedom and the idea of dreaming and aiming high. This is important to our film as the main character has obstacles to overcome which makes her feel emotionally tied down and unable to be free, which is a direct contrast to the style of our title.This will appeal to the target audience as it makes them think that the film is going to potentially be a stereotypical teen angst film, however the more they watch of it, the more they that realise we actually challenge some of these conventions. The credits that we used are in a sans serif font of various different colours, such as purple, green and pink. This is a stereotypical aspect of teen angst as these types of colours connote fun and happiness, which eventually our character finds by the end of the film. The first few credits that appear are quite dark but by the end of the credits appearing they are bright and colourful. This reflects the theme through our film, that things start out quite hard for the main character but as the film progresses things get easier and she is able to overcome some of the obstacles she had before. The way that the titles appear is also significant, as they follow the movement of objects or characters. This attracts the target audience as it enables them to understand the actors in the film and who is directing it without them being distracted from the events in the film entirely.
It highlights mental illness in order to create awareness as we feel that teenagers need to fully understand about what they can feel or others can feel, as it can effect up 10% of teenagers at one time. Teenagers are widely effected by depression and many are unaware of the consequences that can arise from not speaking to someone.It give them an insight into how others may be feeling and how then can help them. Also it allows them to see themselves in another perspective if they're feeling this way, and then they can seek help.
We will it make below the line advertising as it’s cheaper and more personal to our target audience examples of below the line advertising that we would think of using would approaches such as banners of stickers, possibly even brochures. Although our main approach to marketing our film would be using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. As we’re targeting a teenage audience, in our society social media plays a large part in teenagers lives, therefore I think we would reach a much broader audience this way.
We would release our film in the late summer holidays as this would enable us to have more effect in attracting our target audience. The reason for this is that during these holidays teenagers would be off school and potentially looking for a fun activity to do with their friends or loved ones, such as going to the cinema. We did not want to release the film earlier summer as we felt that during this period more fun and positive films such as high school musical are being released. Whereas the film that we have created is fun but does also have a serious message hidden behind it that would be more appropriate for the darker summer months.
On our poster we would include the title of the film "one night, one life" in large, white and sans serif font, making is visible for the target audience. The main image is 3 shots of the main characters Ash, Darcy and Hellen. Next to each character has a label saying who they are. This will be the main focus for the poster. For example next to Hellen it says 'Queen Bitch', next to Darcy it says 'innocent best friend', and next to Ash it says 'depressed individual'. We included these small labels to the characters because we wanted to relate it to the poster for 'The D.U.F.F' which also used small labels. In the bottom left corner we will have the 'snowball productions' production company logo, which is our own logo and in the bottom right we will have the universal studios logo as that would be our chosen distributor.
Our trailer will have the some of the best parts of the film to give people an insight to the film as well as hooking in the audience. It will include the release date of the film, so our target audience can know when to book their tickets and the actors names so then they will know who stars in the film. It will also include some of Ash's voice overs as its her telly her story. At the end of the trailer it will say the age rating (15) as our film covers some sensitive topics that may not be suitable to expose to younger audiences.
As we would be applying for funding through the appropriate BFI programme, we believed it only to be appropriate for our film to be shown in the BFI London film festival where we would enter the short film contests, we would choose the short film award programme 1 as it recognises works with a unique cinematic voice and I believe our film is unique for a teen angst film with the subject matters covering that of mental health. Which we believe doesn’t get covered very often with teen angst films, even though it can affect a lot of teenagers.
Our production company is called ‘snowball productions’. We settled on this because we liked the idea of combining the snowball effect – where things start off small then gradually get bigger with our film. We did this by linking the snowball effect to depression - the fact that if our main character Ash kept everything to herself and did not seek help then things will gradually get worse and worse. In our logo we used the idea of a snowball rolling downhill which would cause it to get bigger as it gathered up more snow. We then needed a clear and particularly large title so that our audience knew which production this film was.
The way that we incorporated the title would be that we used capitalised sans serif font at the same angle of the ‘hill’ behind the snowball, with a thick black line above it, which almost creates the illusion of the snowball moving at a significant speed. We kept the logo in black and white as we thought that this would be most effective, as the white connotes the innocence and sweetness of our character Darcy and the black connotes sadness and depression that could be linked to her best friend Ash. The contrast of these two colours could show how they are total opposites. This logo would appeal to our audience for various reasons – the first being that the snowball effect can be applied to various situations that vary in significance, from problems or fallouts with friends to illnesses or worries about yourself etc. The effect that this has on our audience would be that it gives them assurance that there are other people dealing with similar issues and that the films that we produced will help them and teach them different ways to deal with their issues.
Universal Studios
For our film we would use universal studios as our film distribution company because they have produced similar films to ours. For example the pitch perfect series, which also deals with the awkwardness and the difficulty of teenage life. this will relate to our film as our main character Ash and her best friend; Darcy are both awkward teens who are struggling with their lives, trying to fit in and finding their purpose.
We shall try and get funding from the government, The UK government invests tens of thousands into the British film industry each year, and all we would have to do is apply for funding via application form to the appropriate BFI-Funded programme and wait for a positive response.
We presented our titles in various ways throughout the opening sequence in order to appeal to our target audience and relate specifically to our film. The main title of our film is in a cloud font, which we produced on Photoshop. We decided to use this because clouds connote freedom and the idea of dreaming and aiming high. This is important to our film as the main character has obstacles to overcome which makes her feel emotionally tied down and unable to be free, which is a direct contrast to the style of our title.This will appeal to the target audience as it makes them think that the film is going to potentially be a stereotypical teen angst film, however the more they watch of it, the more they that realise we actually challenge some of these conventions. The credits that we used are in a sans serif font of various different colours, such as purple, green and pink. This is a stereotypical aspect of teen angst as these types of colours connote fun and happiness, which eventually our character finds by the end of the film. The first few credits that appear are quite dark but by the end of the credits appearing they are bright and colourful. This reflects the theme through our film, that things start out quite hard for the main character but as the film progresses things get easier and she is able to overcome some of the obstacles she had before. The way that the titles appear is also significant, as they follow the movement of objects or characters. This attracts the target audience as it enables them to understand the actors in the film and who is directing it without them being distracted from the events in the film entirely.
It highlights mental illness in order to create awareness as we feel that teenagers need to fully understand about what they can feel or others can feel, as it can effect up 10% of teenagers at one time. Teenagers are widely effected by depression and many are unaware of the consequences that can arise from not speaking to someone.It give them an insight into how others may be feeling and how then can help them. Also it allows them to see themselves in another perspective if they're feeling this way, and then they can seek help.
We will it make below the line advertising as it’s cheaper and more personal to our target audience examples of below the line advertising that we would think of using would approaches such as banners of stickers, possibly even brochures. Although our main approach to marketing our film would be using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. As we’re targeting a teenage audience, in our society social media plays a large part in teenagers lives, therefore I think we would reach a much broader audience this way.
We would release our film in the late summer holidays as this would enable us to have more effect in attracting our target audience. The reason for this is that during these holidays teenagers would be off school and potentially looking for a fun activity to do with their friends or loved ones, such as going to the cinema. We did not want to release the film earlier summer as we felt that during this period more fun and positive films such as high school musical are being released. Whereas the film that we have created is fun but does also have a serious message hidden behind it that would be more appropriate for the darker summer months.
On our poster we would include the title of the film "one night, one life" in large, white and sans serif font, making is visible for the target audience. The main image is 3 shots of the main characters Ash, Darcy and Hellen. Next to each character has a label saying who they are. This will be the main focus for the poster. For example next to Hellen it says 'Queen Bitch', next to Darcy it says 'innocent best friend', and next to Ash it says 'depressed individual'. We included these small labels to the characters because we wanted to relate it to the poster for 'The D.U.F.F' which also used small labels. In the bottom left corner we will have the 'snowball productions' production company logo, which is our own logo and in the bottom right we will have the universal studios logo as that would be our chosen distributor.
Our trailer will have the some of the best parts of the film to give people an insight to the film as well as hooking in the audience. It will include the release date of the film, so our target audience can know when to book their tickets and the actors names so then they will know who stars in the film. It will also include some of Ash's voice overs as its her telly her story. At the end of the trailer it will say the age rating (15) as our film covers some sensitive topics that may not be suitable to expose to younger audiences.
As we would be applying for funding through the appropriate BFI programme, we believed it only to be appropriate for our film to be shown in the BFI London film festival where we would enter the short film contests, we would choose the short film award programme 1 as it recognises works with a unique cinematic voice and I believe our film is unique for a teen angst film with the subject matters covering that of mental health. Which we believe doesn’t get covered very often with teen angst films, even though it can affect a lot of teenagers.
Sunday, 29 January 2017
Evaluation 2 ~ How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Ash - Erin Surkitt
The main character of our Teen Angst film is Ash, a socially awkward, unpopular teenager who is also diagnosed with depression. In some respects she is a very stereotypical main character in a teen angst film; however there are some aspects that challenge these traits. Stereotypical aspects include the fact that she is unpopular and classed as a misfit, which are demonstrated in popular teen angst films such as Mean Girls, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Juno etc. The social group that Ash represents are the less popular teenagers at school with a small circle of friends. I think that because there are a lot of people in this situation during school it makes her character more relatable to the audience as they can understand the difficulties that she is going through. Even the people who are not classed as unpopular can relate to this as at some point in everyone's life they are in a situation where they feel they are a 'misfit' and do not fit in. Areas where Ash challenges this stereotype would be appearance wise and the level to which she is unhappy with her life during school (her illness). The first time the audience is introduced to Ash they can see straight away that she is unconventional of a teenager - she does not have long blonde hair, she isn't wearing lots of makeup and she isn't dressed all in pink and skirts etc. We wanted to challenge this stereotype as we felt that the audience didn't relate to this very much but instead would relate to a character dressed in very causal, dark clothing. In teen angst films however, the main character does not usually fit this stereotype either so in terms of these films Ash could be argued to be conventional. The apart that makes her completely unconventional would be her mental illness. We wanted to include this as the number of depressed teenagers in increasing and we wanted to raise awareness of this and give those teenagers something to relate to in the hope that it would help them in some way.
Darcy - Alice Nutter
With Darcy, we wanted her character to almost be the alter ego of Ash. We thought that we needed to make the film more light hearted and stereotypical of a teen angst film, so we included a character who is the complete opposite of Ash. She is loved by most and always sees the light in every situation, which is the reverse of how Ash is presented. We based this character mainly off of Jas out of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. When watching the film we instantly recognised the strong friendship that Jas and Georgina have and we wanted to replicate that within our film also. This is a relatable aspect which is another reason way we found it so important to include a best friend for Ash. The majority have at least one person who they tell all their problems to and look to for support, whether that be a friend, family member or boyfriend/girlfriend; we wanted a relationship that most people if not everyone could relate to. Darcy is stereotypical of a best friend in a teen angst film both in appearance and nature. She is always there when needed and always has a solution. In the film she is seen wearing light clothing, such as a white top and cardigan with blue jeans, this also adds to the relatability of the film as this outfit is very casual and something most teenagers would wear.
Helen - Darcey Page
The last character in our film is Helen. In order to be a stereotypical teen angst film, it is essential that there is a 'mean girl', in our case this was Helen. She is very stereotypical of a 'mean girl' all a part from one thing which is her clothing. Instead of wearing lots of pink and light colours and skirts and dresses, she wears and all black outfit, which consist of a shirt and jeans. We decided to do this because we thought that in order to attract an audience we need to make the mean girl more appealing and challenge this stereotype a bit more. We wanted Helen to almost blend into everyone else at school and appear to be just like everyone else. That it's not until the two main characters meet that you realise Helen is in fact the 'mean girl'. Another reason why Helen is wearing black is to make her and Ash more linked together. This almost created the idea that they are more similar than the audience first thinks, which will be further emphasised as the film continues. We based the personality of our character off of Regina George; this is because when asking other people we found that she was the most iconic "mean girl". We wanted Helen to display the same sarcastic, rude attitude as Regina does in the film Mean Girls, however we found this difficult to do as Helen is only in the opening sequence for a very short period of time, but we felt that this attitude is still recognised by the audience anyway. Thursday, 26 January 2017
Evaluation 1 ~ In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The title font and style of the film (1)
The first screengrab shows the title of our film as it appears to the audience. We decided to call our film "One Night, One Life" as it relates to the life of our main character and suggests that no matter what your life is like, it can all change in one moment because of one event. The repetition of the word "one" connotes the importance of how easily situations can change due to one small thing. The way we presented this title was by displaying it in the sky in a cloud font. The fact that we positioned it in the sky was because we felt that the sky connotes freedom and is a space of no limitations, which is significant as this emphasises the life that most teenagers should live by. They should not let anything restrict them from achieving their goals and ambitions, which is a contrast to how our main character feels. We used the cloud font as this is a further emphasis of this connotation and also because the clouds are related to dreams, which connote a carefree environment and a place where there are no restrictions. The style in which we presented our title challenges the stereotypical title in most Teen Angst films. This is because in most films such as Mean Girls, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Juno, the title appears in a bright sans serif, which is a direct contrast to how we demonstrated our title. On the other hand, the title itself can be argued to be stereotypical, as there is no set stereotype of a Teen Angst title which I learnt from my research before we started planning. There is a variety of different Teen Angst titles that exists that range form being short, long, vague, specific etc. This meant that when we were creating our title it didn't really matter what the title of our film was as long as we could relate it to the film in some way. We decided to put our title at this point as it fades into the sky background in an almost effortless manner which relates to the idea of clouds - the fact that they look very delicate.
Setting and location (2)
The setting that we chose to set our film in was a School. This was important as it is extremely typical and an iconic convention of teen angst films, as it is the place where a teenager will spend most of their life, so it is a significant part of their daily lives. By using this convention allows the audience to identify straight away that the film is in fact of the teen angst genre and also makes the film more relatable to our target audience. An example of Teen Angst films that are set in schools would be Mean Girls, Easy A and Wild Child. We used ideas from these in order to set the scene more effectively. We used the fact that Easy A and Mean Girls use a voiceover that state they are currently in school and the tracking from EasyA to show the school and the main character walking through it.
The setting that we chose to set our film in was a School. This was important as it is extremely typical and an iconic convention of teen angst films, as it is the place where a teenager will spend most of their life, so it is a significant part of their daily lives. By using this convention allows the audience to identify straight away that the film is in fact of the teen angst genre and also makes the film more relatable to our target audience. An example of Teen Angst films that are set in schools would be Mean Girls, Easy A and Wild Child. We used ideas from these in order to set the scene more effectively. We used the fact that Easy A and Mean Girls use a voiceover that state they are currently in school and the tracking from EasyA to show the school and the main character walking through it.
Costumes and props (3)
The most used prop in our film would be the use of earphones and mobiles. Although the items themselves don't play an important role in our film, they are important in making the film relatable and allowed us to include aspects that are stereotypical of a teenager. The clothing that we used in our film was mostly counter typical of a teen angst film. The reason that we did this was because we felt that some people didn't relate to certain characters, possibly due to their outfit, especially with the "mean girl". Stereotypically the "mean girl" would wear skirts and dresses and lots of bright colours such as pink. When planning our characters we were initially going to use this image as well but when filming we decided to completely contrast this to wear she is wearing all black. This reflects the personality of the character and also adds a connection to the main character that most teen angst films do not have.
The most used prop in our film would be the use of earphones and mobiles. Although the items themselves don't play an important role in our film, they are important in making the film relatable and allowed us to include aspects that are stereotypical of a teenager. The clothing that we used in our film was mostly counter typical of a teen angst film. The reason that we did this was because we felt that some people didn't relate to certain characters, possibly due to their outfit, especially with the "mean girl". Stereotypically the "mean girl" would wear skirts and dresses and lots of bright colours such as pink. When planning our characters we were initially going to use this image as well but when filming we decided to completely contrast this to wear she is wearing all black. This reflects the personality of the character and also adds a connection to the main character that most teen angst films do not have.
Camerawork and editing (4)
The fourth screengrab shows a panning shot that we used in order to show a passing of time and also to introduce the title of the film. This is used in a lot of teen angst films in order to set the scene, follow characters or like we used if for, to show a passing of time, although it is not as popular for this reason. Easy A is an example that uses panning and tracking throughout their opening sequence to set the scene as well as a montage of the town and school in order to help the audience establish where the film is set. Other parts of camerawork that we used would be a lot of long shots and mid shots. These are very significant in Teen Angst as the long shots enable to audience to get to know the scenes and the characters, as it allows them to view their clothing, mood/attitude (body language) and also their props, such as a mobile.
Smooth editing and the use of titles and special effects are a huge part of teen angst. From bright, sans serif titles to introduce characters, to the use of sound effects and animations to target the audience. Using our research we tried to include some of these factors when editing in order to make the film a convincing teen angst film. One editing technique we used to emphasises the importance of technology and also to introduce the main event in our film was layering two clips on top of each other. This was used when the art competition was introduced, with one layer being the main character walking into the room and the other being the computer screen. This gave the illusion that the camera was behind the computer screen. Although I have not seen this used in a Teen Angst film, it can be seen as conventional as it signifies the importance of technology in a teenagers life.
The fourth screengrab shows a panning shot that we used in order to show a passing of time and also to introduce the title of the film. This is used in a lot of teen angst films in order to set the scene, follow characters or like we used if for, to show a passing of time, although it is not as popular for this reason. Easy A is an example that uses panning and tracking throughout their opening sequence to set the scene as well as a montage of the town and school in order to help the audience establish where the film is set. Other parts of camerawork that we used would be a lot of long shots and mid shots. These are very significant in Teen Angst as the long shots enable to audience to get to know the scenes and the characters, as it allows them to view their clothing, mood/attitude (body language) and also their props, such as a mobile.
Smooth editing and the use of titles and special effects are a huge part of teen angst. From bright, sans serif titles to introduce characters, to the use of sound effects and animations to target the audience. Using our research we tried to include some of these factors when editing in order to make the film a convincing teen angst film. One editing technique we used to emphasises the importance of technology and also to introduce the main event in our film was layering two clips on top of each other. This was used when the art competition was introduced, with one layer being the main character walking into the room and the other being the computer screen. This gave the illusion that the camera was behind the computer screen. Although I have not seen this used in a Teen Angst film, it can be seen as conventional as it signifies the importance of technology in a teenagers life.
The 5th screengrab shows the two main characters right at the start of the film on their bikes, laughing and having fun. This shows that the setting of the film is quite a small quiet town, which is quite stereotypical of Teen Angst as most of the target audience live in quite sub-urban towns which is the reason teen angst films such as Mean Girls, Wild Child and Clueless are set in these places. This allows the audience to relate to the film more and have a slight understanding of the characters situation. From this scene, the main character is then shown walking through the town on her way to school, enabling the audience to get to know the area and the small scale of the school. We got this idea from Juno, where the whole opening is Juno on her way to the shop. Although, the two characters are not going to the same destinations, we felt that it had the same effect on the audience, that the characters are lonely as they are by themselves and in our case, school focused.
Genre and how the opening sets it up (6)
The genre of the film is clearly shown in the opening by the main characters journey to school. This depicts the genre (teen angst) as you can tell that the character is school focused and that this is a huge part of her life, due to the fact she has to attend this place 5 times a week. This is further emphasised through the voiceover, where the character talks about her own struggles - like being the unpopular one, her friends and her attitude towards school, which is negative. This is stereotypical of Teen Angst as voiceovers similar to this as used in Mean Girls and Easy A and all are shown going to school in their openings.
The genre of the film is clearly shown in the opening by the main characters journey to school. This depicts the genre (teen angst) as you can tell that the character is school focused and that this is a huge part of her life, due to the fact she has to attend this place 5 times a week. This is further emphasised through the voiceover, where the character talks about her own struggles - like being the unpopular one, her friends and her attitude towards school, which is negative. This is stereotypical of Teen Angst as voiceovers similar to this as used in Mean Girls and Easy A and all are shown going to school in their openings.
How the characters are introduced (7)
The way that we introduced our characters was through a voiceover and titles on screen, both of which are very conventional of Teen Angst. The 7th screengrab shows how we visually introduced our character Darcy. We used a bold, sans serif font in a variety of bright colours such as purple, in order to target our audience and allow them to clearly read the text written. This is stereotypical of Teen Angst as many teen angst films use a bold font that can almost be seen as childlike in order to attract the teenage audience. The voiceover that we used to introduce the character is another stereotypical aspect as films such as Mean Girls and Easy A use a voiceover at the start of the films that explain their situation and their friends etc. We used this idea where our main character is talking about her life and introduces the other characters which adds a personal feel to the film. When introducing Darcy, we used a still image of the character amongst the clips, so that the audience could can clearly see what the character looks like without any movement. Special effects (8)
The special effects that we used in our film would include the typewriter effect of the words "24 hours before". We put these words on screen in order to make it clear to the audience that there is a change in time. We got this idea form the film 13 Going On 30, as in this film the main character changes ages, although it does not necessarily say this visually on screen as there is a bigger change in time compared to our film. Although this idea is used in 13 Going On 30, I would not necessarily say that this is a conventional aspect of Teen Angst as I haven't seen this technique used in any other film. For this reason I would say that the special effects that we used challenges the conventions of Teen Angst as most films in this genre do not give an insight into the end of the film at the start. The typewriter effect was added to make it look and sound as if someone is typing the words on screen as the audience watches. This adds to the stereotype that teenagers are always on some sort of technology.
Credit font and style (9)
The font that we used for the credits is a similar font and style that we used to introduce the characters. The only difference between these would be that the credit font was slightly narrower and the title font is more rounded and bubble like. We did this because the titles are more significant to the audience than the credits, so we made the font more appealing to teenagers as children are known for writing in a bubble style font for school presentations and titles on their homework etc. Although there is not a particular film that uses this, we wanted to add a visual element on top of the voiceover to make it more clear to the audience.
Credit font and style (9)
The font that we used for the credits is a similar font and style that we used to introduce the characters. The only difference between these would be that the credit font was slightly narrower and the title font is more rounded and bubble like. We did this because the titles are more significant to the audience than the credits, so we made the font more appealing to teenagers as children are known for writing in a bubble style font for school presentations and titles on their homework etc. Although there is not a particular film that uses this, we wanted to add a visual element on top of the voiceover to make it more clear to the audience.
Sunday, 22 January 2017
Friday, 20 January 2017
Feedback On The First Draft
What went well?
Areas that my teacher and people in my class said that we did well was that the cinematography that we used throughout the opening sequence was good and that it was relevant to the genre. Another aspect that they said we did well was the placement of our fonts. They said that the way in which we used transitions to make the credits appear on screen was very effective in appealing the audience.
What to improve?
Areas that my teacher and people in my class said that we did well was that the cinematography that we used throughout the opening sequence was good and that it was relevant to the genre. Another aspect that they said we did well was the placement of our fonts. They said that the way in which we used transitions to make the credits appear on screen was very effective in appealing the audience.
What to improve?
- The voiceover throughout the whole of the opening sequence needs increasing in volume as it almost gets lost within the music
- The last clip needs decreasing in volume as the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs is too loud and distracting.
- The part walking to school takes too long so it needs cutting down slightly
- Cut down the time that the art competition clip is on screen for
- Have the title of the film coming on the screen in 2 parts, maybe even with a sound effect
- The title sequence could be shown in another colour as white may not be appropriate, maybe have it colourful so that its contrasting the idea of the film.
First Draft of One Night, One Life
The first draft of our teen angst film - One Night, One Life
*Insert thumbnail of video*
https://youtu.be/uoOLzqxb-Ew
*Insert thumbnail of video*
https://youtu.be/uoOLzqxb-Ew
Friday, 13 January 2017
Changes Made Through Editing (5) - Alice Nutter
Update/ Entry 5- 13/1/17
Today we continued editing our teen angst opening sequence, we have now chosen our music track to go behind our voice over and footage called ‘Happy rock’. We felt as a group that it will give our opening sequence an upbeat feel, whilst also showing the ‘preppy’ ‘Angst’ side we were after. We didn’t want the music to be too uplifting as our film is about a girl with depression, so that wouldn’t fit the character or the story all too well, that is why we stuck to rock. As well as adding in our soundtrack and cutting it to the correct places in our timeline, making it start as Ash puts one earphone in but at a low level, and then as she puts both earphones in the music becomes louder, kicking off the opening the sequence, and setting it into motion. We looked at credits, and successfully added the cast list, and produced by credits into place. It was rather difficult to do, and at some points we had to be very careful, as to when they came in and the left the screen, it was also rather hard to choose what colour to make them so, they wouldn’t be hard to read. Although, for now we’re keeping them as white until they’re all in, and then we will change the colours, but for now our main focus is getting them in, and making them look good and flow nicely.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)