Question 7

Question 7- Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learned in the progression of it to you full product?

I feel that from the preliminary task we have come on a long way as in that task we had to make a 30 second clip with a small dialogue between the two characters and I feel that it was quite basic. Below is a table to show how I have developed since the preliminary task.

Preliminary task

Final product

Shot quality: The shot types used were basic as apart from the opening shot all of the shots were at a mid-shot angle. I did uses some close ups for example a close up of the characters and the door handle in the task which showed a variety of shots but overall not many developed shots. The camera was mostly steady but shook slightly in the opening shot where the character’s feet were tracked. Image quality: The image quality was ok in the preliminary task as it was all filmed in the same period however there is a slight lighting change where the camera changes from looking one way to looking another which we didn’t notice in the shoot however this showed a slight lack of quality. The composition was again mostly good but the head space on some occasions was poor and the character wasn’t always in the centre of the frame. Editing/ Editing continuity: In the preliminary task we didn’t show much for editing as we cut the shots together to a decent standard but didn’t insert and non-diegetic sound. We did however use a dissolve to change from the feat walking to an over the shoulder shot of the character but not much else. We also used and eye line match with the two characters looking at each other and where one character looks at the door handle. We also have one match on action in this scene where the character is walking down the hall. We stuck to the 180 degree rule as best as possible but couldn’t do it all the time.  When we had the person enter the room and the next shot of him walking into the room the match on action wasn’t correct and so we had re-edit it so that it matched better however it isn’t as good as it should be as the door doesn’t match. Continuity/ mise en scene: In our preliminary task the continuity was good for the most part as the characters wore the same costume and it suited the scene as it was a serious and formal meeting. There were no props used in our preliminary task.

Shot quality: I used many different angles in the final product as in my section I began whit a mid-shot and then went into a close up looking in at the villain. Next I used low angle shot to show the villain getting out of the car which suggests he is in control and a high angle shot of the victim in the boot to connote that he is vulnerable. The camera was also very steady and only moved when I wanted it to. This therefore shows how we have developed our shots a lot between the two tasks.  We also decided to leave time before and after shots so that we could have more time to play with if we needed to and also so that we could make sure that everything was set to go before the action started. Image quality: Our image quality was much better in the final footage of the task as we have much better lighting which is relatively consistent thought especially in the scene with the villain and hero but this was mostly due to the weather being consistent for most of that day. The composition in this product compared to the preliminary task is much better as we always kept what it important in the centre of the frame by sticking to the rule of thirds, and allowed for head space. Editing/ Editing continuity: The editing of the final product was much different to the preliminary task as in my section I had the sound of the radio broadcast which I used the blade tool to cut to make it so that the sound changed depending on how far the camera was from the car. I also cut the shots together much better and created some match on action with the villain from when he leaves the car which is shown with a low angle shot to a wide shot of the whole car when he opens the car boot. I used an eye line match in my scene where the villain looks at the victim and I also used a match on action a few times but most notably where the villain walks round the car which I think I synced well, which is good as it was an issue in the preliminary task. I think through the whole product we stuck to the 180-degree rule which was important as it therefore didn’t create distortion for the audience. Continuity/ mise en scene: In the product we see that the villain is wearing the right clothes thought and the fact that he wears black clothes which denotes that he is a bad character and the victim and hero both wear light clothes to show that they are good characters, mostly. We created the mise en scene of the villain scene by using jump leads and a ragged pillow and sleeping bag to denote how he is a poorer but dangerous person. The prop of the watch was also used in the scene with the hero as he looks at it and the information comes up this is so that we demonstrated the conventions of the genre.

Question 6

Question 6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?

By constructing the product, I have learnt a lot about the editing software on Final Cut Pro X which we used to edit the product as well as how to download sound clips and create them too add it onto the editing software and clips.

I now know that to get sound clips onto Final cut pro X which have been recorded by you, you must first download the sound clip onto the computer you are editing on and then import it onto Final Cut Pro X where you can then insert it below the video clip. This is what we did for the radio broadcast. I then learnt that by using the blade tool you can cup clips and sound clips into two separate ones if they are one continuous clip. I did this for the radio broadcast too as I had to cut the clip into sections to reduce the sound depending on where the camera is placed around the car. To create a diegetic effect to the sound of the broadcast.

I have also learnt how to insert text into the clip which allows for us to do the credits. This was not for my pat of the sequence however but I have learnt this through watching Bayley edit his section and Matt’s section where the film title “The Hunt” flashes up. Also through Bayley’s section and Alex’s, I have learnt how to use the Ken Burns tool to zoom into a character on who is in the shot.

I also developed my knowledge of how to embed videos from YouTube onto a blog so that people can view the video on the blog instead of having to go on the link and watch the clip on YouTube itself. I also wrote most of the questions for the Survey Monkey which we got people to then answer the quiz questions on which would help us with our target audience research. The other technology I used which helped to develop my understanding was Blogger as I have never before done a blog and so didn’t know how to do it but now I have a good experience on it. Now I can embed a video or slideshow onto a bog so that people can view it as a video in the blog rather than clicking on a link.

From the actual shoot I have also learnt how to set up the tripod and how to adjust the height so that it is set for a particular shot and certain height. I also now know how to attach the iPhone to the tripod as that is what all we used as technology to film the product.  

I did however encounter some difficulties as I first was unware of how to embed a video onto/into a blog so I had to ask Bayley to help me and after he told me once I knew what to do. We all at first struggled to get the tripod set up as we had to attach all the parts and then put the iPhone on the attachment for the tripod but found a way to do it in the end and from then on could use the tripod well. I also first struggled to get the sound right for the broadcast as I wanted it to change based on where the camera was set up e.g. if it was further away from the radio/ car I wanted it to be quieter and louder if it was close/ inside the car however in the end it worked and sounder exactly how I wanted it to and it is one of the best parts from my section of the sequence.

Question 5

Question 5- How did you attract/address your audience?

The target audience (people aged 15-25 mostly males) was addressed in our product as the product contains a duel narrative which may make the product more complex to follow however not too complex that they wouldn’t enjoy the experience as it is a spy/action film and so they would be going to watch the film for entertainment and not to have to think too much about it. The entertainment value is in the faced paced action/ violence in the product as it grabs the attention of the viewer and allows for them to enjoy watching the product without being confused by the storyline but still interested. This scene in which the villain grabs the victim and head-buts him after taking him out of the car addresses the action/ violence part of the product which we see the head-but addresses the convention of violence. The duel narrative allows for an interesting story which appeals to people around the age of 15 and older and this sticks to the convention that the hero is fighting against the villain whilst trying to complete a mission/quest as he must save the victim form the villain and also defeat him.

 As I said in my genre conventions post the 4 things usually created are excitement, adventure, suspense and tension and we see all of them in our product as the victim being head-butted by the villain is the action and the build-up is the suspense and excitement. The adventure is the fact that the audience know the hero will have to go out and hunt down this villain.

The audience will be intrigued as they will want to know what happens next although it is in the narrative convention of this genre that it will end which the villain being defeated and the victim saved. The main reason they will want to watch is that it will be an interesting film to watch the duel narrative unfold and also they will want to watch the action as they are mostly there to be entertained. Therefore, an enigma is created so the audience will be making up resolutions in their head but will want to watch on to see how the problem is eventually resolved. This is also demonstrating the Todorov native structure as we first see the equilibrium with the hero in his home with relaxing music and he seems relatively happy however the disruption is created by the scene where we see the villain and the victim and then the call to the hero and the radio broadcast which along with his facial expressions that show his disappointment at the what has happened create the recognition of the disruption. Then the story will continue with the attempt to repair the disruption and the return to a new equilibrium.

We have uploaded the film to YouTube and Facebook so that we can get peoples response to what they think of the film and compare it to our focus group at the start of the project before we made the film. We can see that the project did match what was suggested I the focus group for the most part and the audience were overall pleased with the final product. These points are both shown below in the video of the focus group and screenshots of comments:

We found from asking the people in the two focus group videos after showing them the final product what they thought of the product. Overall they thought it was very good and what they would expect from a spy film however they said that the camera quality is good but reduces the professionalism of the product as most spy films are very high quality but they were mostly happy with the music and the radio broadcasts as they believed that this was the strongpoint of the production. 

Question 4

Below is an attached link to a prezi with my answer to question 4:

Question 3

Question 3- What types of media institutes might distribute your media product and why?

The distributer that we chose for our product is Universal, this is mainly because they are known for helping out smaller companies by helping with the distribution process, such as our company (BOAMfilms). They have helped out smaller companies such as Working Title who were helped to distribute the film The Theory of Everything which made $123 million and over 50% of this was from outside the UK. Due to the support and money that they have used to get smaller budget films made by independent companies to be successes we thought they would be the best to distribute our film. Universal also have distributed other spy films such as the Borne films. To create excitement about the film we will make trailers to be released on YouTube and will also possibly have a Twitter chat so people can ask questions like how it was done with the Avengers (2012) although this was not an independent production company it was produced by Marvel and distributed by Disney it was a good and effective way to create build up around the film. We haven’t chosen a company such as Disney as it doesn’t suit their demographic and they aren’t known for helping companies through vertical integration.

For the film we will have it shown in around 100-150 UK cinemas and hopefully around 50 US cinemas so therefore a total of 200. However, depending on its success we may increase the number of cinemas it is distributed in. We will have around 5,000 copies made on DVD and maybe around 2,000 in Blu-ray but this will massively depend on the success of the film in the Box Office as we don’t want to make too many if it isn’t a success but we will still have room if we need more.

Question 2

Below I have attached my answer to question 2 in a prezi:

Click for prezi

Question 1

Bellow is a attached power point of my answer to question 1:
(pause at any point if it is too fast)