Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Our preliminary task was: 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 she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. We then had to use this to create the main task, which was to:  create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

Doing the preliminary task allowed us obtain basic skills and understanding of how to use the equipment we would be using in the main task, for example the camcorder and 'Final Cut express'. However, proceeding with the main task gave us more of an understanding of how it worked and allowed to develop our skills on how to use it correctly. 

However, we did not use any different methods between the two tasks.

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Whilst creating this product we have used many different technologies during the process. One of the first technologies we used was 'Celtx'. This software allowed us to create a script to a professional standard, containing all key elements to use to make the script easy to follow and understand.

An additional piece of software that was used was blogger. This has been a main technology as it has allowed us to log all the work we have produced into one place. It also allowed us to see what other members of the group have done.

We also used 'Final Cut Express' to edit together all the footage we filmed and insert effects such as text and fade in and outs during the title sequence. In personal opinion, this software was not the easiest to use, however through practice it became easier to understand.

We also used hardware to produce our media product. One example of this is the  'Panosonic HD Camcorder'. We used this to do all the filming we needed for the film clip and also the preliminary exercises that was asked to do. In relation to handling, the camera was small therefore easy to port during filming. Its wireless feature also became useful as it allowed us to film outdoors and away from any electrical sockets. The camcorder was also of high quality. However, the camera is very temperamental, therefore causing us to lose a large proportion of work in which we had to re-film in our own time. We also used a tripod to stand the camera on during certain parts of filming to ensure that the footage was still.

A third piece of hardware that we used was the 'Zoom Recorder'. We used this to record a realist sound of the girl getting hit with the hammer. This, like the camera, was very easy to use and
transport.

Evaluation Question 5.

Evaluation Question 4.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media and why?

We decided that Hammer would be the media institution that would distribute our film. We chose Hammer as it is synonymous with horror, after defining the genre in Britain with classics such as 'Dracula', 'The Curse of Frankenstein' and 'The Mummy', even though only a third of its movies were Horror. Hammer is also one of the oldest film companies in the world being established in 1934.
However, even though the film company has developed successful films such as 'Women in Black' and 'The Shawshank Redemption', it is only a small institution. Therefore the budget to make our film would not be that large. This means that the quality of the film may not be as good as higher quality cameras couldn't be afforded and the budget for distribution would also be smaller, meaning the film would not be shown in as many cinemas.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

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

To establish the plot of our film, as a group we decided which genre of film we would all prefer to do. After an easy decision to do a horror/ thriller film, we all wrote a brief story line containing three characters where one would murder the other. Later, we concluded that our final plot would be the best to use as it would be the easiest to film whilst including a non - linear set and flashbacks.
The genre to our film is horror/thriller/crime. To do this we used obvious, stereotypical scenes that would occur during these genres of films for example, the murder in the kitchen portrays the horror and crime, whilst the wood scene resembles the thriller.

During the clip, we used a variety of camera angles and shot movements and positions. For example, during conversations, shot reverse shot was using to show the two characters having the conversation and their facial expressions towards one another. We also used close ups and extreme close ups to represent the same point. Establishing shots were used to set the scene and to show characters that were involved in each scene and their clothing. Hand held camera movements were also used during the wood setting to create a shaky effect to create tension and convey fear as the girl is stalked through the wood. Fast pace editing was used during this scene to again portray the fear of the girl as she is walking through the wood. We edited in a sound clip we found to add more suspense to this scene. We also used other sound examples such as sound effects, when the girl is hit over the head with the hammer, which was recorded using a zoom recorder, dialogue which is frequently used throughout the film and another sound clip edited in for the title sequence.

For the mise-en-scene, we were very stereotypical to what each character would wear, for example dressing the mother in typical chavy clothes: joggers, trainers and a tracksuit jacket, whilst dressing the two girls in typical teenage clothing: jeans, jumper, coat. We dressed the murderer in dark clothing to create a mytersious and sinister look and always wearing a hood so their identy is never revealed.

For the fonts during the title sequence we used a bold font type and colour to make it look more intimidating. We also lined the text with red to link it back to the murder to convey blood and danger.