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

Our film opening uses and challenges the conventions of an Indie film which is our genre. However, we used typical conventions in order to attract our audience. Our film follows the teenage life of our protagonist Craig as he deals with being "socially awkward" and then falls in love with David.

Form:

The form of a film opening normally follows the conventions of

• Introduces the genre
• Introduces the narrative
• Introduces the main character
• Introduces the institutes behind the film 
• Builds up enigma

In reference to the conventions above we found some films that used similar form in their openings:

Submarine-2011

In this opening the character and setting is introduced. We also learn quite a lot about the main character through the use of a voice-over. We wanted to use a voice-over like this to learn what Craig was really like.


Genre (USED):

This prezi shows the conventions of the genres of our film and how we have/have not followed them:

Narrative Structure (USED):

A key theory that we used was the Todorov's Narrative Theory.

An example of this theory being used in a film is in 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' (2015). This is a teen comedy-drama where a social misfit, Greg, an American high school student makes films with his only real friend Earl. The disruption comes when his other friend Rachel begins chemotherapy. But there is another disruption when she dies. The resolution and new equilibrium is when Greg sends the film he made of Rachel and the book he wrote to the college he hopes to go to.  

Another key theory we used was Levi Strauss' Binary Opposites Theory.

The theory of binary opposites is also used in the film 'elephant' (2003)- which follows the lives of many teenagers including two gay boys who are bullied but then commit a school shooting.

For example:

• normal vs radical teenagers
• bullies vs bullied
• good vs evil
• everyday life vs sudden change

Within narrative theory we have used the character to tell the story and move the plot along. We have also used:

• Real time- in the bullying sequence
• Ellipses- in the fast paced b-roll of getting ready to go out and being at the lake
• Linear- following the natural order of him having breakfast, getting ready and then going out

Enigma Code (CHALLENGED):


Stereotypical Characters (DEVELOPED):

In our opening we have used stereotypical characters and ones that break conventions (Propp's Character Theory)

Here is an example of a bullying sequence with some stereotypical character from the film, 'I am Number Four':

 This is similar to our opening as there are stereotypical bullies who pick on the 'weaker' student. There is also the protagonist/hero who comes to help and a guy helping out another guy like our opening.

Style (USED):

Our film looks and feels like a British Indie film which we have constructed through the use of techniques such as grading, voice-over and shot types.

• Music= acoustic guitar and upbeat
• Dialogue= English accents showing it is a British film
• Pace= varies between fast and slow 
• Rhythm= some beats in the music match the cuts
• Colours= blue/orange in setting and costume-give a warm feel

We used a couple of jump cuts to increase the pace at times but also to surprise the audience.

This was the inspiration for one of our jump cuts where we swap from a mid-shot into a close-up.

Titles:

These are examples of the titles we used in our opening. The font we used is 'A Song For Jennifer'. The titles are slightly opaque which helps to create the 'quirky' nature of our film opening. We used our titles at the beginning on a pale blue background but then used them over the shots in the rest of the opening.


A film that was the inspiration for out titles was Submarine. We followed the idea of having spaced out text to create a rectangle but we adapted it for our film by using lower case instead of all capitalised.



Conclusion:

In conclusion, our opening conforms to, develops and challenges some of the conventions of a British indie romantic-drama. This allowed the audience to recognise some of the key features but also experience new ideas.

Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups we have chosen to represent is teenagers with a focus on sexuality.

This table shows how we have attempted to represent teenagers in a positive light and tried to contradict some of the stereotypes/misconceptions surrounding them.

However, we also used the stereotypical bully characters as a way of showing how different Craig was from the typical teenager stereotype.

Our key focus within the social group of teenagers was sexuality. Our two main characters/protagonists and we wanted to challenge the stereotype of gay people being 'camp' or 'feminine'.

Conclusion:

We chose to represent a teenager as there are misconceptions which have created stereotypes and we chose to represent sexuality in the way that we have to show how gay people are 'normal' people.

Evaluation Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media project and why?

Our Media Institutions:

We decided that our film would be produced by and independent studio-Quak Films and our distributor will be Film 4. The reasons for our choice can be seen below:

Our Production Company

Our Distribution Company

Marketing:

The prezi below outlines of Marketing Strategy:

 


I would expect that our production and marketing budget would be around $2 million which is similar to the budget of Submarine ($1.5 million) as it is a similar type of film to 'aglet'.

Distribution: 

We came up with a release plan from studying other films and how they were released:

Cinema;

Our film will be shown at UK independent cinemas such as an Everyman Cinema and it may have possible screenings at a chain cinema such as Cineworld.








DVD:

Our film will come out on DVD and Blu-Ray around a year after it is released in cinemas. It will be sold in supermarkets to hopefully reach a wider/larger audience ( which will profit not only the film but also the production and distribution companies).

TV:

Our film will be shown on Film 4/ Channel 4 after it's theatrical release because our distribution company is Film 4. Also, these channels are popular with fans of independent films.

Online:

Our film will be available for online-streaming from Netflix and Love Film for example. This will help reach our target audience as many young people use these streaming methods.

Piracy is also likely from websites such as Put Locker. This could severely damage the profits of our film as this method of viewing a film could detract a way from people paying to watch it. However, it could increase word of mouth about our film.

Conclusion: 

We decided to use an independent production company to produce our independent film and Film 4 to distribute it as they are likely to support a British Indie film.

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

After deciding on the storyline, genre and type of film that our opening would be we then decided on our different audience which can be seen in the prezi below:





We have aimed our film at 15-30 as they go to see films at the cinema most. This can be seen in the table below:

From the BFI Year book 2014

15-24= about 33% of admissions
25-34= about 19% of admissions (in 2013)

So from having the age range that we are aiming at hopefully we gain a large audience percentage.

Conclusion:

From the beginning of the creation process we had a clear idea of our target audience groups which made it easier for us to tailor our opening so it would appeal to them.

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

We attracted our audience through the Uses and Gratification Theory which can be seen in the Prezi below:




A factor that we took into account was our music. We decided on it very quickly and it helped to build the atmosphere for our opening. Also, I believe that it would be quite a recognisable song for the age  group of 15-30. A similar version can be heard below:

Our opening conforms and develops the conventions of film especially those in our style/genre which would attract our audience. This was outlined in Evaluation Post 1.

Our choice of film style attracted our audience as our audience is likely to be quite a specific group.

We used continuity editing to to create realism and plausibility making our film more believable for an audience.

The responses we got during creation where mainly improvements or shot alternatives. However, a comment that we received numerous times was how good the vinyl GoPro shot looked.

Here are some response to our final outcome:

We also received some constructive criticism which can be seen below:

Conclusion:

From the comments that we got it seems that people who watched it liked the opening and appreciated some of the individual shots.

Evaluation Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt a lot about the technology that was used in construction and post-production. This project has been an invaluable technical experience for me and my knowledge moving on from the preliminary task has improved greatly.

Hardware:

Camera: Legria HFG30 (microphone attached) & Tripod

In the table below I have outlined the advantages and disadvantages of these pieces of technology:

What I have learnt which I did not know before in regards to the digital technology used in construction and post-production can be seen in Construction Post 9.



Software:

The software that we used to edit our final sequence was Adobe Premier Pro. We had already used this to create our animatic and rough cut. In these two edits I learnt how to cut shots to the appropriate length but in the main edit I learnt how to grade shots and add transitions. Premier Pro was very useful as it allowed us to do non-linear editing as we could edit the shots in our sequence out of order. Below is a prezi that illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of this software as well as what I would do differently in hindsight:


Other pieces of software that we used and I have learnt about is Blogger which we have used to create our blogs and YouTube which we have uploaded our animatic, rough cut and final edit to.

Conclusion:

From creating this film opening I have learnt significantly more about the technology used in construction and post-production.

Evaluation Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you fell you have learnt in the progression from it to the full project?

Our 'aglet' opening sequence (Group 4: Georgina, Alex, Phoebe & Olamide)

Our Preliminary task (Georgina &Prudence)

Briefs: 

The brief for the prelim was to create a"continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule." and the brief for our opening sequence was "to produce a 2 minute opening sequence for a fiction film...It should be clear from your sequence who the target audience is."

A key difference between the prelim and the film brief was that the prelim gave very specific instructions and expectations whereas the film brief gave us more freedom with what to create. I think that it was important for the prelim brief to be very precise as without it I think I would have struggled with knowing what to do in regards to expectations and shot types.

My approach to the prelim was one of strongly sticking to the brief and to time. However, it was also a very educational experience as it was the first piece of media practical that I had ever done. The impact of my approach to the prelim was the same in the film brief in regards to following the brief and keeping to time. However, what I did differently as a result was to plan more clearly and take considerably more shots to increase our editing possibilities.

Pre-Production:

The prezi below illustrates the differences in the two periods of Pre-Production and the impact that Pre-Production in the Prelim had on Pre-Production in the Film Brief:




Production:

Prelim:

• In the prelim my role in the shoot was to film the earlier shots, to be one of the actors and I also set up the room. 
• We stuck very closely to the shooting script as we only had 1 hr 20 minutes to film all our shots. 
• We closely followed the shot order to stay on time.
• We attempted to achieve a seamless narrative
• Used a master which we could use to break up the shot/reverse shot

Film Brief: In the film brief my role in the shoot was to film some of the nature shots such as those at the jetty and some at the house. Compared to the Prelim we took many more takes to ensure that we had suitable shots for when we were editing our sequence.

Impact of the Prelim:

Learnt From The Prelim:

• the importance of taking lots of takes even if the first one seems good enough
• the importance of working to time and if necessary to run over (which happened in the Back-Up shoot)
• the importance of teamwork to achieve all we set out to achieve

Did Differently:

• worked less to shooting schedule as despite getting all the shots we also tried out alternatives
• we shot not fully in the order of the shoot board but then re-organised into locations which we then followed at the next shoot

Used From The Prelim:

• hopefully achieved a seamless narrative
• used master shots that we could always revert back to in editing
• followed the 180 degrees rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot to achieve continuity and give us editing possibilities

Examples of 180 degree, match on action and shot/reverse shot can be seen below:

Film Brief 180 degree rule

Prelim 180 degree rule

Film Brief Match On Action

Prelim Match On Action

Film Brief Shot/Reverse Shot

Prelim Shot/Reverse Shot

Post-Production:

The image below illustrates what I did on Premier Pro in the Prelim and the Film Brief and how the Prelim impacted the Post-Production in the Film Brief:

Evaluation:

The evaluation in the prelim was mainly how successfully we thought the task had gone whereas in these evaluation posts I have given examples and explanation in many different areas.

Timeline:

Below is a timeline which illustrates how my technical ability has increased from the Prelim to the Film Brief:

Conclusion:

I am very pleased with the final outcome as the final sequence looks very similar to what I first imagined. Given more time I would try to do the bullying scene differently and try to use less dialogue for it as I believe that the conflict scene is the weakest part of our opening.

My knowledge of the process needed to create a film opening has improved immeasurably but I feel that I have coped well with all these new experiences. My knowledge of filming, editing and equipment has increased greatly and I am much more confident in my application of theories (such as binary opposites and the enigma code). This project has shown me the time, effort and determination needed in film making and how important good planning and pre-production is.