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Monday, 2 April 2012
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Evaluation- 7
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?
(adam)Since creating our preliminary task we have both learned an awful lot about both camera work and editing.
The main thing which we have both learned about editing after creating our final piece was the importance of making the sequence flow. This took some time to learn and many failed attempts but once we learnt how to do it correctly, we found that our media product benefited greatly from it. The way in which we made the sequence flow better was by cutting down each scene in a specific way to make it compliment the beat of the music and making each scene short and to the point.
(jake)In our final product, we had a much wider range of camera shots compared to our preliminary task which made our film opening look more professional and also show the progress we have made since the beginning of the year. Below are some example of different camera shots used in our final media product:
For the first scene in our opening sequence we used a Medium close up as shown on the left of your screen. This was a very basic camera shot but it served a good purpose for what we wanted from this scene.
This scene in our opening sequence uses a range of camera shots where the character "Mick" is fighting someone. This particular shot of him on the left of the screen shows an extreme close up of the character. This shot gives the scene variation and works well for the type of film we are creating.
This particular camera shot is called a Cut-in where the camera is focused on a different part of the subject in more detail, for example in this scene, the camera is focused on "Billy Rich" doing his tie.
(adam)Since creating our preliminary task we have both learned an awful lot about both camera work and editing.
The main thing which we have both learned about editing after creating our final piece was the importance of making the sequence flow. This took some time to learn and many failed attempts but once we learnt how to do it correctly, we found that our media product benefited greatly from it. The way in which we made the sequence flow better was by cutting down each scene in a specific way to make it compliment the beat of the music and making each scene short and to the point.
(jake)In our final product, we had a much wider range of camera shots compared to our preliminary task which made our film opening look more professional and also show the progress we have made since the beginning of the year. Below are some example of different camera shots used in our final media product:
For the first scene in our opening sequence we used a Medium close up as shown on the left of your screen. This was a very basic camera shot but it served a good purpose for what we wanted from this scene.
This scene in our opening sequence uses a range of camera shots where the character "Mick" is fighting someone. This particular shot of him on the left of the screen shows an extreme close up of the character. This shot gives the scene variation and works well for the type of film we are creating.
This particular camera shot is called a Cut-in where the camera is focused on a different part of the subject in more detail, for example in this scene, the camera is focused on "Billy Rich" doing his tie.
Evaluation 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
(jake)In constructing our product the main pieces of technology used were the camera and the Mac.
Camera:
We used a HD ready panasonic camcorder to record our opening sequence. The camera was small which helped in the creation of the film because it could be transported and carried around with ease. The picture quality was good enough for what we wanted to create, however the lighting was a problem at some points, for example, in the first scene we had to experiment with a few different lightings before getting it right. The camera itself was very efficient at recording and playing back footage which aided greatly in the final filming of the sequence.
Software:
The software we used for editing the film opening was "Final Cut Pro" which helped greatly because it was quite easy to use. Since the beginning of the course we have both learned a lot about Final Cut Pro. Such as how to add music to the opening sequence and how to edit the sequence to make it look smoother and flow better.
Photoshop:
We used photoshop for a range of things, but most of all we used it to create our freeze frames. These freeze frames were made by taking a screenshot of the part of the opening which we wanted the freeze frame to apear. Once this was decided, we put the picture into photoshop and cycled through the different tools which give different effects. Once we found one we liked, we saved that picture with the characters names above. Then we added those picture into Final Cut Pro in the appropriate place.
Youtube: We used youtube to upload our final piece into so that we could share it with our friends and families to give us feedback.
(jake)In constructing our product the main pieces of technology used were the camera and the Mac.
Camera:
We used a HD ready panasonic camcorder to record our opening sequence. The camera was small which helped in the creation of the film because it could be transported and carried around with ease. The picture quality was good enough for what we wanted to create, however the lighting was a problem at some points, for example, in the first scene we had to experiment with a few different lightings before getting it right. The camera itself was very efficient at recording and playing back footage which aided greatly in the final filming of the sequence.
Software:
The software we used for editing the film opening was "Final Cut Pro" which helped greatly because it was quite easy to use. Since the beginning of the course we have both learned a lot about Final Cut Pro. Such as how to add music to the opening sequence and how to edit the sequence to make it look smoother and flow better.
Photoshop:
Youtube: We used youtube to upload our final piece into so that we could share it with our friends and families to give us feedback.
Evaluation 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
(adam)We are in a situation with our media product in which it is very apparent as to who our target audience is. We are ideally trying to tap into the young males demographic, this is the ideal demographic for our film as it is one that has a reputation for being the main audience for all action, thriller and gangster movies.
When choosing our genre and audience we wanted to pick one which both of us knew quite a lot about. This helped a lot in the long run because we both had a firm understanding of what Ganster/thriller films look like. The way in which to make our film opening apeal to our audience was by adding conventions of the ganster genre into our opening sequence. Some of these conventions include: Guns, Money and violence which seem to apeal to that age range of males.
(adam)We are in a situation with our media product in which it is very apparent as to who our target audience is. We are ideally trying to tap into the young males demographic, this is the ideal demographic for our film as it is one that has a reputation for being the main audience for all action, thriller and gangster movies.
When choosing our genre and audience we wanted to pick one which both of us knew quite a lot about. This helped a lot in the long run because we both had a firm understanding of what Ganster/thriller films look like. The way in which to make our film opening apeal to our audience was by adding conventions of the ganster genre into our opening sequence. Some of these conventions include: Guns, Money and violence which seem to apeal to that age range of males.
evaluation-3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
(jake)
When deciding which institution to distribute our film, we had to consider which would be the most effective in distributing our film we had to take into account the history of the company. After some research into many film institutions we decided that the best institution to distribute our film would be LionsGate.
We saw LionsGate as the best choice because of the films they have distributed in the past. They have been a very effective company in the distribution of films similar to ours both in genre and target audience.
(adam)
With the crime/gangster genre being a genre that is typically very male orientated we looked to a company which has marketed films to this audience before, with young male crowd pleasers such as "The Expendables", "The Mechanic" and "Conan The Barbarian". Films that were all a success in finding their target audience. More specifically Lionsgate have distributed crime/gangster films in the past such as "The Bank Job", "Harry Brown" and the currently in development adaptation of video game franchise "Kane and Lynch", another example of creating interest from this demographic (the young male demographic being the main audience for the video game media segment). By being able to target their audience so well Lionsgate have produced many box-office successes over the years which is what we would ideally want for our film.
(jake)
When deciding which institution to distribute our film, we had to consider which would be the most effective in distributing our film we had to take into account the history of the company. After some research into many film institutions we decided that the best institution to distribute our film would be LionsGate.
We saw LionsGate as the best choice because of the films they have distributed in the past. They have been a very effective company in the distribution of films similar to ours both in genre and target audience.
(adam)
With the crime/gangster genre being a genre that is typically very male orientated we looked to a company which has marketed films to this audience before, with young male crowd pleasers such as "The Expendables", "The Mechanic" and "Conan The Barbarian". Films that were all a success in finding their target audience. More specifically Lionsgate have distributed crime/gangster films in the past such as "The Bank Job", "Harry Brown" and the currently in development adaptation of video game franchise "Kane and Lynch", another example of creating interest from this demographic (the young male demographic being the main audience for the video game media segment). By being able to target their audience so well Lionsgate have produced many box-office successes over the years which is what we would ideally want for our film.
Evaluation-2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
(adam)One example of our media product representing particular social groups is, in particular, the character of "Billy Rich" who we represented as obviously Rich by name and Rich by nature. We aimed to represent him as a richer member of society first by using mise en scene in terms of costume choices, the suit is a common way of representing a certain degree of social status, it brings a feeling of class and style to the character. Another character from popular media that is represented in such a way is James Bond who arguably popularised the trend of the suave suited character in films and other media. We ,as many film-makers have in the past, took example from this character and used the same mise en scene conventions as them to create a representation that audiences would be able to identify instantly as that of a rich and stylish gentleman.
(jake)The most obvious social group our film represents is the criminals that surround the genre. There really isn't much that defines a gang member in terms of costume choices unless it is an Italian mafia gang, in which the members would wear suits, for example. Instead it was the on screen appearance of the gang members personalities that was most important in the representation of the social group. We made a point of showing our characters to be aggressive in the case of Ray, Mick and Don Galanakis and others to show greed, in the case of Andre.
(adam)One example of our media product representing particular social groups is, in particular, the character of "Billy Rich" who we represented as obviously Rich by name and Rich by nature. We aimed to represent him as a richer member of society first by using mise en scene in terms of costume choices, the suit is a common way of representing a certain degree of social status, it brings a feeling of class and style to the character. Another character from popular media that is represented in such a way is James Bond who arguably popularised the trend of the suave suited character in films and other media. We ,as many film-makers have in the past, took example from this character and used the same mise en scene conventions as them to create a representation that audiences would be able to identify instantly as that of a rich and stylish gentleman.
(jake)The most obvious social group our film represents is the criminals that surround the genre. There really isn't much that defines a gang member in terms of costume choices unless it is an Italian mafia gang, in which the members would wear suits, for example. Instead it was the on screen appearance of the gang members personalities that was most important in the representation of the social group. We made a point of showing our characters to be aggressive in the case of Ray, Mick and Don Galanakis and others to show greed, in the case of Andre.
Evaluation-1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
(adam)
When considering the conventions of the gangster film genre we were to include in our film, mis en scene was our primary concern. By paying close attention to mis en scene we were able to include many of the typical conventions necessary to establish our film into its genre. We included typical prop conventions such as: guns, money and drugs to do this. One film we can credit a great amount of influence to is "Snatch", from which we got our idea of using the updated western style freeze frames. Our opening remained fairly conventional of the gangster genre because of our mis en scene. Another convention we used was the choice of music. To identify our audience and to give the intended impression of this being a British gangster movie we used music from Brit-pop band "Oasis", a popular music choice among our intended audience of young males.
Freeze Frame
(jake)The first screen grab shows one of our freeze frames (Mick) in comparison to a freeze frame from the film snatch, this film was a major influence in the creation of our film. Me and Adam both felt that the use of freeze frames would give our film opening a sense of style that many gangster films utilise to mould the personality of the characters.
When using these freeze frames, the worry was that the film opening would look very similar to the film opening of snatch. Although this was the case, once our film had been edited and completed, its appearance was very different, but had similar themes.
(adam)
When considering the conventions of the gangster film genre we were to include in our film, mis en scene was our primary concern. By paying close attention to mis en scene we were able to include many of the typical conventions necessary to establish our film into its genre. We included typical prop conventions such as: guns, money and drugs to do this. One film we can credit a great amount of influence to is "Snatch", from which we got our idea of using the updated western style freeze frames. Our opening remained fairly conventional of the gangster genre because of our mis en scene. Another convention we used was the choice of music. To identify our audience and to give the intended impression of this being a British gangster movie we used music from Brit-pop band "Oasis", a popular music choice among our intended audience of young males.
Freeze Frame
(jake)The first screen grab shows one of our freeze frames (Mick) in comparison to a freeze frame from the film snatch, this film was a major influence in the creation of our film. Me and Adam both felt that the use of freeze frames would give our film opening a sense of style that many gangster films utilise to mould the personality of the characters.
When using these freeze frames, the worry was that the film opening would look very similar to the film opening of snatch. Although this was the case, once our film had been edited and completed, its appearance was very different, but had similar themes.
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