Question 7

Q7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your final product?

Here are two shots, the top on from the preliminary task and the bottom from the final product. They both show two people having a conversation but both use different shots. The above is a mid shot featuring two people and the bottom is an over-the-shoulder shot. The bottom is a much better use of framing as the two people fill the frame unlike the top where there is a lot of empty space. 

Here are two shots, the top on from the preliminary task and the bottom from the final product. They both show a person walking but use different shots. The top uses a mid shot and the bottom uses a mid shot and the bottom uses a very wide shot. The top does not show the person's legs moving or their surrounding while the bottom does and therefore is much more effective. 


     When filming our preliminary task, we encountered many issues. The main problem was that after uploading our footage and coming back to edit it the next day, we found that our footage was missing and had to re-film it. Also we had a lot of waste footage which included shots where people began laughing or forgot their lines. When we edited our footage, we found that continuity was a problem as one of the people in our film kept moving their hands a lot which was a problem when editing. Because our script was put together quite late, when filming the two people talking kept forgetting their lines as they hadn't had time to learnt them thoroughly. 
     In our final product we made many improvements. We kept an eye on continuity and made sure that the actor moved in the same way, in the same place on each take. We also used a wider range of shots and angles by using wide shots and over the shoulder shots which we did not use in our preliminary task. When filming, we made sure that the lighting was correct and suitable for the scene we were filming such as the one overhead light in the hostage scene making it low key and using strong lights on the faces of the actors when they were being interviewed to show facial expressions. We also had much higher expectations as when we filmed our preliminary task we had low expectations of what was possible but we were much more positive with the opening sequence as we knew we could of done much better. 
     Over the course of this project, my camera skills when filming have improved as I have become more aware of angles and what is in the frame. My lighting skills have also improved as I learnt how to control the lighting better and how lighting can help create mood and atmosphere. I have also learnt how to use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit films by uploading them, cutting them, placing them in order, placing effects on them and adding sound effects and transitions. My organisational skills have also improved as as we had to prepare what we were doing each lesson and had to prepare when we were going to film outside of lessons, what we had to bring each day and who would do each job.

Question 6

Q6 - What have your learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Camera 

We used the camera to film our opening sequence. We used two cameras; a normal digital camcorder and a more professional HD camera. We used the camcorder to film the kidnap and walking scenes and the HD camera to film the interview scenes and the hostage scene. 

Adobe Premiere Pro

We used the Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our footage. We uploaded all of our footage on to it and then cut it down to the footage we wanted, put it in order, added transitions and effects and then edited the sound and added music and sound effects. 

Blogger

Blogger was used to create my blog from the planning and research through to the final product and evaluation. 

YouTube

We used YouTube as a form of research by researching existing films to find ideas for the opening sequence. When I evaluated an existing opening sequence I found the video on the website. I have also used YouTube on the blog by posting videos including distribution company intros and screenshots from films. Also, our preliminary task and the opening sequence were uploaded to YouTube. 

Microsoft Office

The programs I used on Microsoft Office included PowerPoint and Word. We used PowerPoint to create our presentation about our film which we pitched to the class. We used Word to write our script for the opening sequence. 

Question 5

Q5 - How did you attract/address your audience?


 The questions we asked an audience member after watching our film were 

1. Initial thoughts n the sequence.
2. Would you want to watch the whole film?
3. What films would you compare it to?
4. How did it make you feel?
5. What elements did you like?
6. What do you think we could do to improve?
7. What other element could we have added to improve our opening sequence?
8. Do you think we stuck to the crime fiction conventions?

This image appeals to the audience as it is full of suspense. The shadows suggest that something is luring in the background so would make the audience want to know what is going to happen next. The low key lighting also adds to the mystery which our target audience would expect from the film. 

This image appeals to our target audience as the kidnapper's facial expression implies that he is about to announce something that might be vital in the plot. The detective's hunched shoulders imply that she is getting annoyed which increases the tension which is one of the main features of our film. 

Question 4

Q4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Name: Steven Jones.
Age: 21
Location: UK
Likes: Reading, listening to music, playing video games.
Dislikes: Musicals, shopping, dancing.
Hobbies: Swimming, playing football.
What films they like: Crime films, James Bond, Harry Potter.
What TV programmes they watch: Crime dramas, witty comedies, serious dramas. 
What music they listen to: Indie, rock, indie pop. 


Our film would appeal to this type of person as they have an interest in crime films. Our film is quite a serious, mysterious film and so this person's dislike of musicals shows that they prefer more serious films like ours. Our storyline has twists so an intelligent person like this would enjoy watching our film and trying to guess what will happen next. Also, as this person if from the UK, they would understand the British language and slang better than a viewer from somewhere like America. 

Question 3

Q3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

      A production company is generally involved in producing media products. The production company is involved in funding and helping to facilitate the making of, and distributing films and/or television programs. They may also make important decisions including the budget, actors, the director and scripting  and are also responsible for things like distribution and marketing. Our production company is CFF Productions which is an independent film production company. 

      A distribution company is a company that specialises in releasing films for cinema and/or home release. There are two types of distributor,major studio and independent. Major studios usually have the money, resources and equipment to produce and distribute film, e.g. Universal. Independent distributors produce small scale, lower budget films, e.g. Working Title. For smaller films without the backing of major studios, the film distributors might also develop marketing and publicity campaigns. For our film, we have decided to distribute our film independently through channels such as iTunes, YouTube, social networking and reviews from magazines and newspapers.

     Our film's main plot is a kidnapping which is similar to films such as Taken and Ransom. The finer details of our film is that it is a male teenager who has became obsessed with two girls and so decides to kidnap and hold them hostage which makes it different from other films. 

     

     The money to fund our film would most probably some from deals negotiated from broadcasters such as the BBC. Also, we would be able to get funding from the British Film Council/British Film Institute. Also, we could apply for funding from the local council or regional screen agency.

     The titles in our film are as follows:

Production company - CFF Productions

Highest billing - Terri Ritchie

Highest billing - Will Griffiths

Title - Insanity

Director of Photography - Olivia Wright-Lewis

Editor of Sound - Laura Roberts

Director - Terri Wright-Roberts

Question 2

Q2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

     Our media product represents youths. The two victims in our film were teenagers and the kidnapper was also a teenager (although the detective was played by a teenager, the character is an adult).

     We have chosen to present the youths in the film not by the typical presentation of youths causing trouble, hanging around on the streets and being disrespectful, but as individuals who may have emotional and mental problems (the kidnapper) and as normal, well behaved teenagers going about their daily lives (the victims). We did not want our film to represent the normal idea of youth today, but as a representation of the youth that have problems and are often ignored and the normal teenager who is often overlooked.

     The mise-en-scene we used to present the youth was the actors (us) we used who are teenagers and the costumes. One victim was wearing skinny jeans which is one of the most popular clothing choices amongst teenagers and the other was wearing a vintage dress which is also a growing trend for youths. These two choices showed the normality of the two victims. The kidnapper was wearing a black hooded jacket which is synonymous with teenagers and crime. The hooded jacket indicates to us, even before we see what happens, that the character wearing it is up to no good as over the years the media has made us aware that it is something to beware of.

     The meaning we have created in our film is that people are not who they seem. The message in our film is that you should not trust everyone (like the two victims trusted the kidnaper but then he kidnapped them). 

     Compared to existing representations in the media, our presentation of youths is slightly different. Usually in the media (mainly in the news), youths are usually presented as being involved with crime, behaving badly and as being bad for the community. Our film does present a youth who is involved with crime, but only because he has emotional and mental problems - hence the name Insanity. On the opposite end, youths are also seen as high achievers, involved in many groups and very social. This type of youth is presented in programs such as Glee and Hollyoaks. The two victims are just two innocent, normal girls walking on their own from one college class to another.

Question 1

Q1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

 

The title of our film is insanity which represents the mental state of the kidnapper. The font is very simple which conforms to many other crime fiction films. Also the running order of the titles conforms to the conventions of a crime film. 

For our titles, we decided on a simple font which was white and on a black background. Light text against a dark background is a typical convention of a crime film as it goes against how normal text is written on a white background. It is similar to the below image of the font of the titles in the 2001 film 'Along Came a Spider' except our writing is in white and their writing is in red.

For our location we used a police questioning room for the interview between the detective and the kidnapper. For the kidnapping itself we used a path hidden from view and the hostages were held in a basement. These locations are conventions of crime films and are especially used in detective/police dramas.

The costumes in our film represent each character, help to show who each person is and identify their role in the film. The detective wears a white shirt and a smart black blazer to show they are a figure of authority which is a general convention of the detective/police drama. The two victims wear normal teenage clothes to show that they are typical teenagers and the villain wears normal clothes to try and show he is innocent but a black hooded jacket to try and conceal his identity, which is also a typical convention of the crime drama.

We used conventional lighting that often found in crime drama such as in the interview, the villain has less light falling on him which helps to partly conceal his identity. Also, we used low key lighting in the shots of the two victims being held hostage which helped to create an eerie, mysterious quality to the film.

Our character in the film are mainly characterised by their body language and costumes. The villain uses typical conventions of crime films with body language such as sly glances, keeping his head down and in the interview keeping his arms crossed. Also, the black hooded jacket gives the impression that he does not want to be identified. The victims' body language also stuck to conventions as they tried to pull themselves free when they were tied to the chairs and when they realised that somebody was following them they both started walking faster and looked worried.

We used many different camera angles in the film but mainly mid shots and over-the-shoulder shots. Over-the-shoulder shots are common conventions of the crime genre, especially when an interview is being conducted.

We used many transitions on our film, mainly when the footages switched to titles and vice versa. The main transitions we used were 'Fade to black' when footage switched to title and 'Fade' when some of the footage switched to other scenes.

Our opening sequence mainly suggests the genre through its storyline which is a kidnapping. Also, the general conventions of a crime film were in the opening and helped to show the genre, like the eerie music such as 'Room tone in a large and ominous space'  which is used to convey that it is an anxious film as the audience waits to see what happens to the victims. Also, the costumes are an indication that it is a crime film as we have a character dressed as a detective and a character dressed a s a villain. Another convention we have used is the locations of a police questioning room which is a clear indication of the genre and the basement which is often associated with crime and danger.

Completed Title Sequence

Editing

We have began editing our footage on Adobe Premiere Pro. We started by taking all of our uploaded footage, deleting the bits we didn't want and then cut and put the footage we needed in order. We then added all the titles, transitions from scene to scene and then will add sound effects and music. 

Kidnap scene - filming

Today we filmed the kidnap scene. We changed our location from a secluded road in Gwersyllt to a hidden pathway in college. We decided on the change as we are running short on time and it would take much longer to make our way to Gwersyllt, film and make our way back to college in the time we have remaining. Problems we faced were other students walking straight into our scene as we were filming which meant a lot of filming was wasted as people were wandering into shot. We overcame this by having somebody stand at one end of the path and one at the other and asked people if they could go another way to avoid walking into shot. 

Hostage film - filming

Today we filmed the footage for the hostage scenes. We filmed it in the TV studio using  low key lighting to make the setting look dingy and creepy. The two victims were tied to the chair with duct tape and objects like ladders and boxes were placed in the background to make the scene look like a basement.  A lot of our filming had to be deleted as it looked very horror as we filmed some with the kidnapper holding a knife to the throats of the victims. We overcame this by filming more shots of the two victims tied to the chair. 

Interview scene - filming 2

Today, after reviewing the footage we filmed of the interview scene we decided to re-film the scenes in the television studio. The original footage looked very amateur and the lighting was not suitable for the scene as it was much too bright. The new footage is much better quality, the lighting is controlled and the camera angles are better. Like the first time we filmed the interview scene, the actors again forgot their lines occasionally so we again put the script on the table but out of the view of the camera. 

Interview scene - filming

Today we filmed our interview scenes between the detective and the suspect. We used the room pictured below in the college LRC. To make the room look more like a police questioning room, we removed on of the tables and turned the other so that its shorter edge was against the wall and placed a chair either side. We also cleared small things like posters and the bin from the room to make it look more plain and realistic. A problem we encountered was occasional outside noise from cars passing the building but we overcame this by only filming when no cars were driving past. Another problem we faced was the two actors forgetting their lines so to solve it we put the script on the table but out of the view of the camera so they could look at it when they got stuck. 

The pitch

The pitch
We presented our ideas to the rest of our media studies class in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. The pitch for our film, named 'Insanity', included information on our overall idea, the mood board, costumes, props, locations, the conventions and how we will challenge them. The feedback we received from the class was mainly positive as they said that they liked our storyline and the element of horror. The negative feedback we had said that our storyline was maybe too scary and that we should show less of the kidnap scene. As a result of this, we changed the narrative by deciding to show less of the kidnapping and more of the interview between the detective and the villain. This change also helps our other feedback which was that we had to focus more on the crime. 

Script

Script
The following is our script for the film:

SCENE 1: INT. A STREET NEAR A SCHOOL______________________________

Snapshots of LAURA and LIV from various angles, walking down the pathway next to the school, giving the illusion of being followed or watched.

SCENE 2:INT. POLICE STATION________________________________________

DWAYNE TABLO the suspect is being questioned in a police station holding room by DETECTIVE INSPECTOR RITCHIE.

                    DI RITCHIE

Come on Dwayne, we know you did it, where are they?!

                    DWAYNE

(Sniggering smugly)

Hahahaha!

SCENE 3:INT. THE STREET NEAR THE SCHOOL_____________________________

Combined fast paced shots of LIV and LAURA being forcefully dragged into a car and the sound of muffled screams from both of them.

SCENE 4: INT. POLICE STATION________________________________________

DI RITCHIE questions DWAYNE using his bag for evidence, DWAYNE suddenly snatches the bag and pulls out a DISK from the side pocket and pushes it towards DI RITCHIE haughtily.

                    DI RITCHIE

Please look at Exhibit A, I believe this is your bag, it was found in your flat containing various photographs and it…

    DWAYNE

(Cuts across DI RITCHIE snatches the bag and produces a DISK from the side pocket)

THERE!

    DI RITCHIE

What is this?

 
    DWAYNE

Watch it…… before it’s too late (laughing to himself)

    DI RITCHIE

What do you mean?! Please elaborate Mr. Tablo…

   DWAYNE

(slowly)

No Comment.

   DI RITCHIE

Interview suspended 5.05pm, get out of here. I will call you back after watching the tape.

SCENE 5: INT. POLICE STATION________________________________________

DI RITCHIE watches the disk and finds LAURA and LIV tied up and hidden in what appears to be some kind of basement. She frantically panics and roots through papers and files.

                   DI RITCHIE

(Panicking)

Oh shit! Oh nooo!

SCENE 6:INT. POLICE STATION HOLDING ROOM____________________________

DWAYNE has been brought back into the holding room for further questioning.

                   DI RITCHIE

Interview resumed 6.30pm. Dwayne where are they? This is not a game!! WHERE ARE THEY?! If you cooperate the charges may be a lot lighter!

   DWAYNE

(evil and looking crazed)

That’s for you to find out.

Location

Location
For the opening sequence of the film we will be using three locations; a basement, a questioning room and a secluded road. The basement will be the setting for the scene where the two victims will be held hostage. The questioning room will be the location for the interview between the detective and the villain. The secluded road will be the location for the kidnapping itself. We will be using the TV studio in college to film the basement scenes, a room in the college learning resource centre will be the interview room and a quiet road in the nearby town Gwersyllt will be the secluded road.  

Props

Props
The majority of the props will be used in the interview room when the detective is interviewing the suspect. All the props will be props that would in real life be used in the situations in the film, e.g. tape to tie the victims to the chairs, police report file to use in the interview. Here is a list of the props that will be used in the film:

• DVD disc
• Tape
• Jewellery
• Police file
• Car
• Photographs
• Television
• Bags
• Papers
• Chairs