This work has now been marked.
Thank you!
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Evaluation 7 - Daniel Wilson
Looking back on your preliminary task (The continuity editing task), what do you think you have learned from it to the full product?
The video on the top left is of my preliminary task, uploaded on September 10th 2011. This video contains a commentary of me and other people who were involved in its production. Most of it is pointing out the faults in the short such as lighting and camera issues. This was my first scene recorded for media and whenever I create another scene, I always bear in mind to compare it to this to see the improvements
The video on the bottom left is of the final cut of my Crime/Gangster movie "Interceptors". Many improvements were made to make this scene play out better than past versions.
One of the improvements is the increase of the variety of shots and the fluidity of the cuts. In the preliminary task, the editing was clunky and the shots were repetitive. In this, the editing, while not perfect, have been improved. Furthermore, a wider range of shots have been implemented.
Responses to the lighting in the final cut have been mixed. Some see it as a positive effect, claiming that it sets up the dark atmosphere. Others say that it was poorly lit, with the actors sometimes disappearing into the darkness.
Evaluation 6 - Daniel Wilson
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Camera & Tripod
Before this project, I already had some basic knowledge on how best to use a camera in terms of positioning to get the right angles and such. Get used to using a tripod rather than just holding the camera took some getting used to. I learned throughout this is that using a tripod is incredibly useful at getting still and panning shots. However, it is really impractical for moving shots.
Adobe Photoshop CS5
Even before this project, I was already very knowledgeable on how to use Photoshop, having used it several time for other current and past subjects. As a result, I haven't really learned anything new about how to use Photoshop as a result of using it in this project.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro was a video editing software that I had very little knowledge of, having used either I Movie or Window Movie Maker prior to this project. In the beginning, I found using Final Cut very difficult, it being a lot difference in terms how things are organised than the other two programs. After some familiarisation and assistance, I've managed to become somewhat competent with my editing now.
You tube
You Tube was used for the uploading of the final piece and any other video media that was needed for the project. Youtube was best suited for this as blogger allows easy embedding of videos from Youtube
Garageband
Garageband was a very minor program in terms of its significance to the project. The only time we used it was for creating the bass riff at the end of the opening.
Blogger
Blogger was without a doubt the most used technology in this project, it being used for recording my entire progress and development of the final film. Before this project, I never used a blogging site before and had little-to-no knowledge of how to create and maintain a blog. Now after this project, I have gained some knowledge on how to run a blog to a somewhat sufficient, if somewhat disorganised, degree.
Overall, I have gained some knowledge in programs I have never used before. By becoming more familiar with the use of these programs, I am able to create more professional work than what I could have made prior. However, simply knowing how to use these programmes doesn't guarantee an especially creative piece. A lot of it comes from the ideas generated before hand.
Camera & Tripod
Before this project, I already had some basic knowledge on how best to use a camera in terms of positioning to get the right angles and such. Get used to using a tripod rather than just holding the camera took some getting used to. I learned throughout this is that using a tripod is incredibly useful at getting still and panning shots. However, it is really impractical for moving shots.
Adobe Photoshop CS5
Even before this project, I was already very knowledgeable on how to use Photoshop, having used it several time for other current and past subjects. As a result, I haven't really learned anything new about how to use Photoshop as a result of using it in this project.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro was a video editing software that I had very little knowledge of, having used either I Movie or Window Movie Maker prior to this project. In the beginning, I found using Final Cut very difficult, it being a lot difference in terms how things are organised than the other two programs. After some familiarisation and assistance, I've managed to become somewhat competent with my editing now.
You tube
You Tube was used for the uploading of the final piece and any other video media that was needed for the project. Youtube was best suited for this as blogger allows easy embedding of videos from Youtube
Garageband
Garageband was a very minor program in terms of its significance to the project. The only time we used it was for creating the bass riff at the end of the opening.
Blogger was without a doubt the most used technology in this project, it being used for recording my entire progress and development of the final film. Before this project, I never used a blogging site before and had little-to-no knowledge of how to create and maintain a blog. Now after this project, I have gained some knowledge on how to run a blog to a somewhat sufficient, if somewhat disorganised, degree.
Overall, I have gained some knowledge in programs I have never used before. By becoming more familiar with the use of these programs, I am able to create more professional work than what I could have made prior. However, simply knowing how to use these programmes doesn't guarantee an especially creative piece. A lot of it comes from the ideas generated before hand.
Evaluation 5 - Daniel Wilson
How did you address/attract your audience?
The audience we are aiming for are male ages 18 - 35. Because of this, our movie has to appeal to those target audience's tastes. It is generally thought that males enjoy violence in media significantly more than women. However an over-saturation of violence and gore tends to cut off a large portion of the target audience Because of this, the opening contains some instances of violence and cold-blooded torture without going to far and disgusting the audience rather than entertaining them.
People who watch movies usually use it as a form of escapism from normality and view situations that they wouldn't see daily. Because of this, the opening scene is a torture scene, which is far from a daily occurrence in the life of the "Average-Joe".
We also wanted to attract people who enjoy gangster movies as a genre. We tried to recreate the old gangster atmosphere faithfully through mise-en-scene; from the costume design to the actions and mannerisms of the gangsters.
The audience we are aiming for are male ages 18 - 35. Because of this, our movie has to appeal to those target audience's tastes. It is generally thought that males enjoy violence in media significantly more than women. However an over-saturation of violence and gore tends to cut off a large portion of the target audience Because of this, the opening contains some instances of violence and cold-blooded torture without going to far and disgusting the audience rather than entertaining them.
People who watch movies usually use it as a form of escapism from normality and view situations that they wouldn't see daily. Because of this, the opening scene is a torture scene, which is far from a daily occurrence in the life of the "Average-Joe".
We also wanted to attract people who enjoy gangster movies as a genre. We tried to recreate the old gangster atmosphere faithfully through mise-en-scene; from the costume design to the actions and mannerisms of the gangsters.
Evaluation 4 - Daniel Wilson
Who would be the target audience for your media product?
Our film "Interceptors" is a Crime/Gangster movie. Typical conventions of this genre are that it will be bloody, the use of profanity will be unrestrained and will include situations attributed towards mature audiences. As a result this movie would result in being given an "18" certificate by the BBFC.
Our film "Interceptors" is a Crime/Gangster movie. Typical conventions of this genre are that it will be bloody, the use of profanity will be unrestrained and will include situations attributed towards mature audiences. As a result this movie would result in being given an "18" certificate by the BBFC.
All of the cast members are males and the theme of Crime and Gangster is typically suited towards older males. However, elderly people may not enjoy this film as they may find it a bit too bombastic and most of the characters would be the kind of people they would associate with. Because of this, it's relatively safe to assume that the best suited target audience are Male age 18 - 35.
Evaluation 3 - Daniel Wilson
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Most, if not all, films are typically funded by a studio so that it can get off the ground and into pre-production. Some studios are more likely to produce certain films than others. A lot of indie film producers are usually self-produced or produced by small independent companies. The beginning ident of the movie show's that our film is produced by "Little Devil Productions", a fictitious production company we created for the purpose of this movie. Below is the ident for that company, as well as a few existing companies that could also produce this movie.
Little Devil Productions Ident
Fox Searchlight Pictures
.PNG)
Miramax Films
Newline Cinema
One thing all these production studios have in common is that a lot of the movies they have produced where independant films with a lower than average budget. Both Fox Searchlight and Newline are subsidiaries of larger companies (20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. respectively). We believe that one of these production studios would be a suitable choice, primarily because they have produced similar genre movies to ours. For example, Miramax Films have produced Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction: movies that have inspired our one.
Most, if not all, films are typically funded by a studio so that it can get off the ground and into pre-production. Some studios are more likely to produce certain films than others. A lot of indie film producers are usually self-produced or produced by small independent companies. The beginning ident of the movie show's that our film is produced by "Little Devil Productions", a fictitious production company we created for the purpose of this movie. Below is the ident for that company, as well as a few existing companies that could also produce this movie.
Little Devil Productions Ident
Fox Searchlight Pictures
.PNG)
Miramax Films
Newline Cinema
One thing all these production studios have in common is that a lot of the movies they have produced where independant films with a lower than average budget. Both Fox Searchlight and Newline are subsidiaries of larger companies (20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. respectively). We believe that one of these production studios would be a suitable choice, primarily because they have produced similar genre movies to ours. For example, Miramax Films have produced Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction: movies that have inspired our one.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Evaluation 2 - Daniel Wilson
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The characters in the above picture are Mr. White and Mr. Edgar from Quetin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and Our film "Interceptors" respectively. I have chosen to compare our character to a character from Reservoir Dogs as it seems fitting to compare ourselves to the movie we drew a lot of inspiration from.
The characters of Mr. White and Mr. Edgar are quite similar in some regards. The first is that they are both addressed by the title "Mr." (Although we only find this out about Mr. Edgar in the credits). The fact they don't have full names or are presumably working under pseudonyms suggests that they are shifty men and must always be kept under close surveillance. Another comparison is that they are both "Boss"-like characters. They are calm under pressure and are typically the ones calling the shots. This is evident in Reservoir Dogs when Mr.White is the one ordering around Mr. Pink and taking care of Mr. Orange. It is also evident in our movie in that Mr. Edgar is the one ordering Mr. Cooper around.
Mr Edgar also resembles the "Boss" Archetype in general. He is the one in control and he is the one ordering around his subordinate (Mr. Cooper). He disciplines and punishes those who he does not like (DCI Woods) and tells his subordinate to finish the work for him, rather than do it himself.
The characters in the above picture are Mr. White and Mr. Edgar from Quetin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and Our film "Interceptors" respectively. I have chosen to compare our character to a character from Reservoir Dogs as it seems fitting to compare ourselves to the movie we drew a lot of inspiration from.
The characters of Mr. White and Mr. Edgar are quite similar in some regards. The first is that they are both addressed by the title "Mr." (Although we only find this out about Mr. Edgar in the credits). The fact they don't have full names or are presumably working under pseudonyms suggests that they are shifty men and must always be kept under close surveillance. Another comparison is that they are both "Boss"-like characters. They are calm under pressure and are typically the ones calling the shots. This is evident in Reservoir Dogs when Mr.White is the one ordering around Mr. Pink and taking care of Mr. Orange. It is also evident in our movie in that Mr. Edgar is the one ordering Mr. Cooper around.
Mr Edgar also resembles the "Boss" Archetype in general. He is the one in control and he is the one ordering around his subordinate (Mr. Cooper). He disciplines and punishes those who he does not like (DCI Woods) and tells his subordinate to finish the work for him, rather than do it himself.
Evaluation 1 - Daniel Wilson
In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (I.e. Film Openings)
Our film opening doesn't really step out of the typical boundaries set by the Crime/Gangster genre. It adheres to the general conventions and tropes you would find in your everyday mobster movie.
1. For the Opening title, we used a font named "Mobster" from a website called "www.dafont.com". We used this sort of font to stand out from the default font styles and to avoid the title from looking too amateurish. The font really suits the style of the movie, with "r's" being replaced by pistols pointing downwards. The opening titles also used still images of the characters with rumbling titles. This is similar to Guy Ritchie's "Rocknrolla", from which we took mild inspiration from.
2. The setting is at an undetermined location in a dark, badly-lit room. The poor lighting suggests it's at an unpleasant room, creating tension and discomfort among the audience. This kind of location is typical for a Crime/Gangster movie.
This room in actuality is a photographic dark room with only a studio light lighting it. Because of this choice of location, the doesn't look as seedy and run-down as we'd of liked it to have been.
3. Mise-en-scene is a very important aspect of a Crime/Gangster. As a result, we have taken many steps to try and recreate a Crime/Gangster feel. The gangster are wearing suit jackets and white button up shirts, similar to Gangster movies such as "Pulp Fiction" or "The Godfather". Other props such as guns and cigars are also used to help create the right atmosphere suitable for a gangster movie.
4: Our film opening uses a variety of shots. The most prominent types of shot are close-ups and low angles shots. The low angle shots are used to empower the gangsters and to male them seem a lot more menacing. The fact they are almost always shot in the shadows also make them seem a lot more sinister. The close up shots creates tension. The close ups give the gangsters a more commanding presence. The movie itself is shot in black and white. This creates a "classic" feel as a throwback to the old gangster films of the 1930's.
5. The character "DCI Woods" is introduced as a hostage bound and gagged to chair. Although he is introduced in a low angle shot, he is slumped over and feeling very week. In the exact same shot, the character "Mr. Edgar" is introduced. He walks into the shot and stands above DCI Woods with a commanding presence. He blocks out the light, shrouding him in darkness and making him look more sinister. The last character to be introduced is "Mr. Cooper" He walks in through a door and the shot is very dark, symbolising that he is a very dark character.
Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? By Johnny Wring
Looking back at my preliminary task, I can say that it helped a lot in the progression to our full produdct. The editing and camera techniques we learned from doing the preliminary task came into play a lot in our final product. Whilst filming we came across a lot of situations which made us think back to our preliminary task and solve the issues which came about.
Here is an example of our preliminary task coming into action in our final product. Camera angles played a big part in our movie opening and as you can see we used techniques from our preliminary such as the one above to the left (low angle shot) in our final product shown in the bottom left.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? By Johnny Wring
Throughout this project we used many different programs such as Youtube, blogger , Prezi and photoshop all of which have enhanced by knowleged of technology further.
As well as all of this I have barly used a camera in my life up until now, and now have a firm grasp of camera usage and the different options available.
How did you attract/address your audience? By Johnny Wring
When it comes to attacting/addressing our target audience, many different aspects of our film come into play. For instance our mascaline and dangerous characters play a big part in attracting the male audience. Many males will view the characters in our film and will imagine themselves as those characters. This then links with the genre. Many people imagine what it would be like to do this and be that, and in this case many males will be looking at this film and saying "Imagine if I was a ganster/criminal" as research proves that males are much more attracted to violence and guns than females.
Who would be the audience for your media product? By Johnny Wring
The typical target audience for our film 'Interceptors' would have to be, gender wise, males. This is because our film consists of only males and is crime focused. We have much violence, swearing and guns throughout, and this is all male orientated. Age wise I would have to say 18+, or mor specifically 18-35 year olds. This being because, from doing research, our movie would be rated as an 18+ due to the amount of violence, swearing, blood and guns involved. Restricting the audience to 18-35 year olds would be because of the age of our characters/actors. All of our actors look quite young, therefore much older people (50's, 60's +) would not be able to relate to the characters and story.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? By Johnny Wring
What does a production company do?
A production company is responsible for supervising the filming from concept to completion, and they hold the sole legal and financial responsibility of the movie as a whole.The production company has a number of responsibilities such as finding a director for the movie and the acting talent. Warner Bros. Pictures are one of the most popular production companies around and are know for films such as Lethal Weapon and the GoodFellas, both crime focused films.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A distributor sends the production company's film out into the world for the public to watch. They decide where and when the film will show and they also promote the film.
There are a number of steps in the process of distribution. Firstly the distributors have to determine how many copies of the film to make. The film is then previewed to prospective buyers - e.g. cinema owners. The film is then sent out to cinemas shortly before it opens. The cinema then shows the movie and after people have seen it, it will get sent back to the disrtibutors and payment is agreed. However with smaller budget films, there are many more steps to be taken.
Lionsgate would be an ideal company to distribute our movie. They do not focus on specific movies or genres, and have a variety of films under their belts streching from Rambo to kick Ass. This makes me feel that our film is already at an advantage. As well as this they have many a film produced which does not have a huge hollywood budget, which in our case is great as our budget is near to nothing.
The money for our film would most probably come from donations from the public. Idealy family and friends would be the first place to start. However with enough advertisments we could perhaps get finacial backing from a creative investor with an ambition equal to ours.
A production company is responsible for supervising the filming from concept to completion, and they hold the sole legal and financial responsibility of the movie as a whole.The production company has a number of responsibilities such as finding a director for the movie and the acting talent. Warner Bros. Pictures are one of the most popular production companies around and are know for films such as Lethal Weapon and the GoodFellas, both crime focused films.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A distributor sends the production company's film out into the world for the public to watch. They decide where and when the film will show and they also promote the film.
There are a number of steps in the process of distribution. Firstly the distributors have to determine how many copies of the film to make. The film is then previewed to prospective buyers - e.g. cinema owners. The film is then sent out to cinemas shortly before it opens. The cinema then shows the movie and after people have seen it, it will get sent back to the disrtibutors and payment is agreed. However with smaller budget films, there are many more steps to be taken.
Lionsgate would be an ideal company to distribute our movie. They do not focus on specific movies or genres, and have a variety of films under their belts streching from Rambo to kick Ass. This makes me feel that our film is already at an advantage. As well as this they have many a film produced which does not have a huge hollywood budget, which in our case is great as our budget is near to nothing.
The money for our film would most probably come from donations from the public. Idealy family and friends would be the first place to start. However with enough advertisments we could perhaps get finacial backing from a creative investor with an ambition equal to ours.
How does your media product represent particular social groups? By Johnny Wring
'Mr Blonde' is a character out of quentin tarantino's 'Reservoir dogs' played by Micheal Madison. This character is extremely similar to the character in our movie opening 'Mr Cooper' and shares a lot of similar traits.
'Mr Blonde' is a relitively relaxed and quite character, who shows very little emotion. However as we are shown more and more of this character in Reservoir Dogs, we soon realise that he is a very dangerous and slightly psychotic. In Reservoir Dogs he dresses in a casual suit, very similar to the ones being worn in our movie opening by our characters, specifically 'Mr Cooper'.
'Mr Cooper' is one of our character in our movie opening. He shares a lot common with 'Mr Blonde' from Reservoir Dogs such as dress sense and style. Both characters are quite quiet and portray a relaxed body image. Both are 'professional' criminals, and both carry a gun. Although 'Mr Blonde' is clearly more Psychotic than 'Mr Cooper', they still share a lot of similar traits both in image and personality.
As for whether our characters represent a more wider audience/social group, it is hard to say. Our character do not particuly represent any groups in society, however do challenge the typical male criminals you will find in crime movies. For instance our characters are clearly much younger than your typical criminal such as 'Mr Blonde' however image wise are very typical.
In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? - By Johnny Wring
1.The setting/location of our movie opening is in a small-darkened room, complimenting the crime genre and narrative we have chosen. Using the typical conventions of other crime movies, our location has a sense of isolation and crime infestation amongst it. Perhaps not developing the typical conventions of crime movies as much as we could have, our setting/location still uses many of the conventions found in other products of a similar nature.
2. Our movie focuses a lot on close ups of characters as well as high and low shots of the characters to create tension and show the authority of certain characters to help the audience understand what its all about and whats going on. These are the typical conventions you would find with similar products. As well as this we edited a lot of our movie opening in an attempt to use and develop the typical conventions of real media products. Our biggest edit would have to of been changing the
look of the opening to black and white, which perhaps challenged forms and conventions of real media products as not many crime movies are filmed in black and white, especially these days.
3.Our costumes and props are very typical of a crime movie. Another movie that could perhaps be compared to ours when it comes to costume and props would be ‘Reservoir Dogs’ which consists of professional criminals dressed to match their particular style. In our movie we are dressed in suits and have typical props of a crime movie such as guns and cigars/Cigarettes.
4.When comparing our title to the typical conventions of other real media products, specifically within the crime genre we can see that it isn’t far off. Many movies centered around crime such as Guy Ritchie’s ‘RocknRolla’ have a particular font and style to compliment them, and our product is no different. For our title we used a specific font called ‘mobsters’ which matched the whole crime genre perfectly, using the current conventions of real products as well as developing them further. The name of our movie opening ‘Interceptors’ was picked for many reasons, one being the fact that it matched our style of film and characters. Interceptors sounds aggressive and professional representing our characters and style of film within the opening very well. Just like in Guy Ritchie’s ‘RocknRolla’ the name of the film represents the style of film and characters perfectly.
5. There are three characters in our movie opening. 'DCI Woods', 'Mr Edgar' and 'Mr Cooper'. 'DCI Woods' is introduced to the opening as a hostage tied to a chair, in which we have the camera start on him and move up behind him slowly. Our second character (Mr Edgar) is then introduced to the opening with an intimidating walk into the only source of light in the shot where he then turns and stares towards the hostage. Our third character is then introduced into the opening 'Mr Cooper' when called by 'Mr Edgar' where he then enters.
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