Evaluation Question 7:

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

Before starting our final project, we had to do a preliminary project to help us become familiar with the equipment we were using and clear up any issues we had not only with the cameras and shots but also with the software and the mac computers. We were all given a camera and a tripod to use and made a short scene with little dialogue but there had to be conflict of some sort. Ours was supposed to be a policewoman interviewing a suspect. We believe that since making this at the beginning of the year, we have learnt so much and are much more confident with the equipment and also have a lot more knowledge of shots and editing.

Below is our preliminary project and when watching it back after our finished project now, we can see such a difference and realised how much it has improved.



Camera Shots and Editing:

As you can see in the preliminary project many of the shots are quite shaky and the continuity didn't really fit and flow correctly while you watch it. For example there is a continuity error when the girl is walking into the room because we tried to switch shots during editing from a close-up to a mid-shot however it looked like the shot jumped and she wasn't in the same place. Afterwards we tried to pass it off as a jump cut but nobody was fooled!



 However in our final project, we managed to edit our film so there was a jump cut that looked real and worked in the film unlike the one we claimed in our preliminary. The jump cut was one of the little girls throwing a stone in the pond.

Mise en Scene and Lighting:

One of the main differences between our preliminary and our final project, not only was the experience but also the resources we could use. This was because we were limited to stay in school and only had the day to think about it so we weren't prepared with props or costume. We decided to use the locker rooms because it was quiet, the lighting wasn't too bad and it was a plain environment. However it still didn't look very good but it was the best we could do, whereas we had a long time to plan our other project and we had the school hlidays to make it so we could film anywhere within reason and could take things with us like props and costume and actors for that matter.

The school locker rooms played their part wonderfully as a police interrogation room:

The final project was filmed in a fairground, a garage and a park with  pond which was pre-planned down to the timing and days.

The locker room lighting was very annoying as it would change the colours whenever someone opened the door outside so we couldn't use a lot of the shots because they were different colours. But we learnt from this as when we shot the garage scene we used lamps to manipulate the lighting and could light the backs of objects from different places when we moved them.

Evaluation Question 6:

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

During the process of making our opening sequence, we used various pieces of technology and programmes to help us create the finished product. 

Throughout the research period, we used various programmes to illustrate our findings and the development of our idea. 

Prezi was a very creative way to inform as it visually communicated what we wanted to say and in some way brought the information to life allowing us to show aspects of the opening sequence before we had even made it. We also used Keynote to show the thought process of our initial designs and moodboards.

We also used iMovie when editing our location video as we didn't have access to Final Cut Pro X at that point in time.

In the course of the production of our opening sequence, we used the following programmes and technologies:

When filming our opening sequence, we used a Panasonic HDC -SD90 video recording camera. This was a very good camera to use in our opinion as it was suitable for both filming the girls at the funfair and the garage scenes. This was because it was a handheld camera enabling us to utilise the shaky side effects that are commonly seen in home videos. We used a tripod for the garage scenes in order for them to be still and look professional. It was pretty easy to use, however we did have to keep re-filming both panning shots as the tripod kept getting stuck at a certain point of the rotation. Both of us had never used a recording camera for use outside of the occasional family home video, so we had to learn how to use the camera for technical purposes e.g.: Alter the focus. One thing that went wrong when using this equipment was that we kept leaving the camera on stand-by thinking that we tuned the camera off. This obviously drained the battery and made us rush the shots, but thankfully they were all decent and suitable for use so we didn't have to go back to the garage and re-film. 

The Apple Mac computer was our main tool throughout the whole process of constructing our opening sequence. 

Final Cut Pro X was our go to editing tool during the production of our opening sequence. This is where we uploaded all footage that was on the camera to then construct our opening sequence. We trimmed, split, merged and added effects to our footage to then end up with our finished product. We found it a bit tricky and a bit alien to start off with as we were used to editing on iMovie. However, it didn't take long to grasp the basics and learn the shortcuts. We actually found it to be the more precise and advanced editing software of the two and came to favour it over iMovie. There were many new effects, transitions and audio settings that enhanced our opening sequence. Whereas if we used iMovie, we wouldn't have had access to these things and our opening sequence may have been of a lower quality and standard. 

We used LiveType to create our titles as we wanted them to be a subtly animated because we didn't want to distract from the tone of our film. We found the programme easy to use, however we had some issues with the compatibility with Final Cut Pro X. Instead of exporting our opening sequence to then import it to live type in order to manipulate the timing of the titles, we had to export the titles as clips and then put them over our opening sequence. This was due to the fact that when we imported the opening sequence to LiveType, it slowed down our actual film and reduced the quality. 

Evaluation Question 5:

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

This is the Facebook post showcasing our opening sequence with the comments of our target audience.

Evaluation Question 4:

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Question 3:

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

This is the logo of our chosen production company - Warp X

Donkey Punch is one of Warp X's films that is institutionally similar to our film.

And also just to clarify, Working Title produce and distribute 4 TO 5 films a year not 45 as Beau suggested in the video. Oppssy 

Evaluation Question 2:

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Here's a short clip of us discussing the social groups represented in our opening sequence. 

Just a couple of points that we left out:

Older, female characters tend to play a more supportive role amongst a film e.g.: The mother or the teacher. It's quite rare to come across a film where a female character of this age is the protagonist. Women of this age are also seen as mentally stable and their purpose is to look after others that may not be in the best place. This can link back to the point that we made in our target audience video about maternal instinct. Overall, it is very rare to portray a woman of this age as unstable, which is why it was a niche social group.

Also... We made a large mistake as instead of saying that we discover throughout the film Ed Norton's character had schizophrenia, we said insomnia stupidly, oopsy!

Evaluation Question 1:

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