Evaluation

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product is a film opening and it challenges the form and convention of a typical film opening by not having a production company logo at the beginning and also at the start it begins with the main character introducing himself and then the shot fades of into a light and goes into the titles and credits in a slightly developed form of a montage titles format.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents the social group of students and musicians. It does this by focusing around an a college student who is dedicated to music and spends his a level years trying to see as many of his favourite bands as he possibly can, but he is part of a working class family and can not always afford to go and see certain acts. Whilst also showing some of the backstage antics of professional musicians as he sneaks backstage to see his idols.

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Following films like The Boat that Rocked and About a Boy, my film would be distributed by Working Title FIlms based upon previous films of an independent, British and Comedic nature.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?
My audience would be male and female between 16 and 23 and anybody with a passion for music and independent film comedy up to any age.

• How did you attract/address your audience?
The attraction would be from Barney's young age inside the film and the massive span in time of Rock n Roll and Popular music interests of Barney's throughout the film to draw in music passionistas.
We screened our films in front of a fairly large and varied audience and here is some of the feedback I received;
'give it a go'
'different, not sure'
'messy graphics, supposed to be like that'
'the pictures do work'
'needs more movement'
'wondered where it was going, then 'sound' came up, liked it'
'the music was really quirky and funny which was very good'
'looked great - sounded great'
'more variation'
'made you want to see the rest of the movie, interesting story'
'was it meant to be set in the past, because the tickets had dates on them, i liked it'
'grasped music genre'
'good music'


• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt about aspect ratios for camcorders and the ability to ready the raw footage to the ratio of which you need prior to filming so as to set up your shot to it's best prior to editing. I have learnt about combining effects on iMovie and using advanced cuts and colouring techniques to gain a better effect than is preset on iMovie such as playing into a freeze-frame or playing then going into slow-motiong and back out in one shot, also using hue adjustments to be able to use a secondary effect on the clip aswell as having the colour/lack of colour/brightness/contrast you desire also.

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learnt how to pull off more tricky editing tricks and how to increase fluidity. Although a major thing I have learnt from my producing my film opening is that you should always do more takes of a shot that you need, for my preliminary task I felt I really should have re-done some of the shots but never had the chance, I took this into account when filming. Another thing that helped me was being patient and persistent and not rushing to get the perfect shot. In addition to all of this I've learnt that whilst it is wise to have a storyboard and list of shots etc. it's far more important to go over and check a prop list, as shots can be thought off at any point whilst out filming but if you've forgotten a prop it could potentially ruin a day's worth of filming and mean doing it all again, thankfully I realised I had forgotten the prop not far from home so I could quickly go back and get it, but much further and it could have delay the production by at least a day.

Preliminary Video Task

This is my Preliminary Task



I have learnt to put the camera into 16:9 ratio before filming so iMovie doesn't crop parts out.

Interviews

As explained at the end of the video I filmed Sam interviewing as we had similar questions and I edited my own.

Titles & Credits

Whilst watching the opening to Napoleon Dynamite it reinforced my initial thought to include the titles and credits in as part of the set/background. So during the montage the titles & credits will be made to look like cut out adverts from a newspaper.

Questionaire

For my questionnaire I will also post it on Facebook and hopefully get some more responses from there, and will also use some of the questions for my one-to-one interviews.

1. How would you define dramedy, and have you heard the term before?
2. Do you prefer higher levels of Comedy or Drama?
3. What would you expect to learn from the opening?
4. Would you say an opening with a feel-good music track would help you more easily settle into watching the film?
5. The film is centred around 4 teenage guys. Only one of them has a girlfriend, should she also be introduced in the opening, or shown later on?
6. As the film opening in centred around the four running to a gig do you think the time of day should be afternoon, evening or night?
7. Do you think the shots should pass fluidly and relaxed or jumpy and quick?

Foundation Portfolio

Action Plan
23rd/24th January - Location Research and Photography. Brainstorming session on opening, location photographs should help with gathering ideas.
25th-29th January - research Gathering through Facebook.
28th January - Audience research, filmed interviewing.
30th January - Post Poll about openings on a popular film forum site.
31st January - Write up Script for opening Dialogue.
1st February to 7th February - Sort out Actors and any props needed.

Audience Research
Questions for interviews could be what films they had recently seen, did it have a memorable opening, why in their opinion was it effective/how did it keep their attention, did it pass on to the next scene in a fluid manner?

After Hours - FIlm Opening
Mise en scene; From the old computer props and retro desk lamps we can straight away realise that the film is set in the 80's/90's, All the desk seems pretty much exactly the same and the general colour is a beigey sort of calming colour. This helps us identify the typical boring office scene very quickly.
Camera work; The camera work is fantastic as when 'Paul' walk over ti his desk and the camera tracks around him in a circle it then goes around the rest of the room showing his colleagues and such, and it's all done in one continuos tracking shot, which keeps the fluidity the scene and really keeps the attention of the viewer.
Editing; There is little editing as the camera only changes shot twice and these are quick and effective changes.
Sound; At the start we hear digetic sounds of bells ring very loud but echoing slightly as if they're very ambient, quite an effective way of making the viewer feel as if they have just woken up with Paul in the gutter. Also digetic sounds of leaves crunching under his feet and the plaster all over his suit cracking and falling of him as he gets up. We hear the elevator door open very rickety as if it's not a very well developed piece of technology i.e 80's technology. Once Paul sits down a Mazart pice begins to play. A very fluid cheery piece of music, it sort of creates the effect that they all the people in the office enjoy each others company and working there.

Boogie Nights - Film Opening
Mise en scene; Another 80's style film but this is an American 'hip' culture in a suburb of Los Angeles with a very fabulous mainly black cultured colourful parade of a night out. The Incredibly bright coloured suits with large lapels and massive shirt collars emphasises on the 80's vibe. We also see an American classic Cadillac style car parked outside the disco/club.
Camera work; The camera tilts and pans about then goes into a tracking shot following a car then dollies back to introduce us to our first character. We're then introduced to the club and another main character and his wife then the camera follows the lead character to the dane-floor and pans around him and a group of people who are introduced to us as more main characters. Then Dolly over to the table as we see the couple we met earlier then another character is introduced as the camera follows her across the club until the camera stops on the view of a young bar tender. Then the shot changes for the first time and we see the man who was on holiday again.
Editing; There is little editing as again most of the opening is just one fluid shot.
Sound; At the start we hear a Balkan style folk song which suddenly cuts out and we go in to a very cheery, upbeat Northern Soul/Disco track. Inside the club we hear lots of casual banter/chatter and glass clinking. Also when we are introduced to the main character's friends on the dance-floor we hear the unmistakable voice of John C. Reilly.

Film opening pitch.

Slow shot up to Barney, then close up on the eyes as he introduces himself. Shot going from eyes to street light and the light goes into the street light and then comes back out of the bedroom lightbulb into a montage of clippings of Barney's favourite band and music related articles. fading out onto a clip of a cut out of the title.

Action Plan for Research Gathering.

Interview people exiting the Odeon in Norwich who have just watched a film,

Questions could include; asking them the film they watched, were the opening 4/5 minutes of the film memorable, if so were they effective?

Audience Research - Ideas for Information Gathering

• Interviews
• Post Questions on Facebook
• E-Mail
• On-line Poll
• Brainstorm
• Post Question on video to youtube and ask for video responses

Interviewing skills.
I'd rate myself as an okay interviewer if I had had the time to research the topic and think of questions before hand, and also think about the sort of people I would be interviewing and look into popular topics of discussion so as to keep the interview fluid and not so awkward.

Audience - Film Production Project

My viewer would be teenage to early 20's, who understands and respects intelligent slap-stick, but also appreciates ridiculous comedy. they tend not care much about how they dress but will probably be sort of surfer/beach type person sorta style and very relaxed about pretty much everything.

Mojo Reader - Audience Research

Male Middle-Class, John Smith. Considers himself out-there, and a bit edgy. Not main-stream, not 'scene' but original never-gunna-die-out music. Aged 18 to late 40's. This is his only outlet to re-live his rebellious youth, mid-life-crisis magazine.