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?

Feedback

Today in class, we had a class screening of all the opening sequences created. There were feedback sheets pasted around the room with post its and this is ours...

Overall our feedback reflected our expectations for our opening sequence which is great! It's also nice to see what people thought our main strength was. The majority of people said that editing was our main strength which is rewarding as we spent a lot of time and effort on that aspect of the opening sequence.

Our finished opening sequence

After hours of hard work, we're finally finished! Here it is… Enjoy!

Editing: Bad TV effect

During our opening sequence we wanted to show the audience that the home movie and the woman in the garage were related but obviously we only had two minutes so it couldn't be explained that the little girl with brown hair was the woman when she was younger. The camera we used was a new model so it didn't give the effect that many old cameras used to when it was slightly fuzzy and you can see small lines in the picture. 

However on final cut pro we found an effect called 'Bad TV' which made our home movie of the children look a lot older and worn out as though the woman has watched this film over and over again. We also liked the effect on it because it showed a really nice contrast between the two time periods and as we were cutting back and forth between them, it proved very effective. This contrast also shows that it was a much happier time back then whereas it's dark and dirty now so the bright colours and old effect show this to the audience.

Whilst filming

                                             

The girls were more than happy to be filmed in the fair and their 5 minutes of fame got to them when they decided they needed to go on the majority of rides.

There was some unhappiness when  filming whether it was due to cold weather in the garage or when only one person could lie on the bench at a time (Libby).

The pond caused great amusement to the girls when they decided to throw bricks in the pond instead of stones and managed to hit a duck.

Filming Sessions

Our first filming session was on location in Clapham common on the 17th of February to film the home movie clips of Cassie and Faith when they were younger. We thought this session went pretty well as we shot all the footage that we needed plus some extra options if the others didn't work out. The weather was excellent for what we wanted to achieve as it was mild for February and sunny so that our actors wouldn't be too cold and also the natural lighting gave the footage an innocent feel reflecting the children playing and being happy. However, there were some issues with sound as it was a windy day and the sound of the wind blowing muffled our actors improvised speech. Although we solved this issue by deciding not to use any audio from the footage and instead use the Final Cut Pro X ambience sound effects.

Sunday's weather report

We then moved onto to the Clapham Common fairground filming session. We had sound issues here as well because the fairground had a sound system playing modern day music. This was an issue due to the fact that this music wouldn't have existed when Cassie was younger therefore making it an inaccurate portrayal of Faith's disappearance in that particular time period. To overcome this issue we again decided to use sound effects instead of the original audio.

Here is an example of the sound effects that we could possibly use.





Our next filming session was on the 20th of February in the garage setting. The temperature had dropped quite dramatically from Sunday's mild weather causing the garage to be very chilly so we all had to wrap up warm and move the heater in order to avoid catching frostbite! However, disaster struck! During the previous filming sessions, we kept leaving the camera on stand by mode by accident thinking that we had turned 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 COLD garage and re-film. YAY!

WE FOUND A NEW GARAGE!

YAY! We found a new garage location to film in! We actually think that this garage is the better of the two as it's even more cluttered, dusty and depressing than the last one. We can now keep true to our filming schedule as now have the location for Wednesday!

 The garage is extremely cluttered which is exactly what we need!

It has hardly any natural lighting which will help us create the dingy garage effect that we want.

 Cluttered shelves.

 Unorganised mess. 

An example of the lighting we are thinking of using 

AHH WE LOST THE GARAGE!

Disaster has struck! We have are now unable to film in our garage location! This is due to the unfortunate fact that we are unable to move a very heavy treadmill that is there.

In order to overcome this problem, we need to find a new garage and FAST! We are planning to film on the Wednesday of half term and if we don't find a location by then, we would have to run over schedule. This, in the film industry wouldn't be good as TIME IS MONEY!

Props

Fairground scene:

• Candy floss - emphasises the abduction when it's dropped
• Fanta Can
• Tokens for the rides 

Garage Scene:

• Mug with tea in
• Newspapers
• Scrap pieces of paper
• Photos
• File/Folder
• Tv
• Talcum powder - to create dust
• Lamp
• Chair
• Blanket
• Table

Pond Scene:

• Stones
• Pigeons
• Ducks

Birthday Scene:

• Birthday Cake
• Candles

Costume

Choosing costume for our opening sequence may have only been a small part of what we had to think about however we did have to take into consideration what the children would be wearing in the home movie and also what the older Cassie would wear when she was watching it back. Although it may be a small element of the make up of a film but in essence it can be a very useful tool. For example some films have such memorable costumes that they contribute to the success of the film and also possibly the popularity. For example:

• Johnny Depp's costume in Pirates of the Caribbean as Captain Jack Sparrow 
• Uma Thurman's costume in Kill Bill

For the children we wanted to keep it simple and have them wearing similar sorts of clothes to emphasise that they are sisters and that they're very close. We also knew that because it was supposed to be set years ago, as Cassie is watching herself on the video as a child, the children couldn't wear anything that featured logos, pictures or symbols that wouldn't have been around back then. E.g. Hannah Montana, Peppa Pig, Camp Rock or High School Musical. 

So we decided on plain bright colours that would contrast with the dark room and clothing that the older Cassie would wear as it would represent the happiness and also fit in with the bright colours of the funfair. We also had to consider the weather because we were filming in February outside so we knew the girls would be wearing coats. In the end we decided on plain leggings or tights with brightly coloured coats.

In complete contrast to this we knew that when we filmed Cassie sitting in a dark room watching these videos, she had to be wearing old dirty clothes of dark colours to show the deep depression that she had fallen into and how much her life had changed since she was a child. We thought a baggy tracksuit would show this and it's as though she has no care of what she looks like anymore.

These are the actual costumes that we put our actors in when we were filming.

We put Cassie and Faith in brightly coloured coats as it was cold outside and we also wanted to portray the fun that they we having and contrast it to the depression that Older Cassie feels. 





We put Older Cassie in a jumper, sweats and relaxed footwear. The colours aren't at all vibrant as this would distract from the depression she is feeling. 

The Cast

These are our excellent actors! We are very happy with our choices as they were all very professional and did what we asked of them. We chose them due to availability and we knew that they would be happy to be filmed doing what we wanted them to, plus the fact that they are all related to Ellie. 

Name: Libby Gardener
Character: Faith Lewis
Reason for casting: We chose Libby because she is the correct age for the part and was more than happy to go to the fair for the day. She has no acting experience but this was a good thing as we needed her to act naturally for the 'home movie'. As well as this, we were able to take her out for the day and not have a specific time frame.

Name: Casey Gardener
Character: Cassie Lewis
Reason for casting: We chose Casey because she was also the correct age for the part and as she is actually Libby's sister it meant that it was more believable that they were sisters. She also has no acting experience which was perfect and was also very happy to go to the fair. Their availability was very coincidental as the exact time we needed to film was when they were in the country.

Name: Claire Jackson
Character: Older Cassie Lewis
Reason for casting: We chose Claire because she was happy to do it and we needed someone with brown hair who was her age to play the part of Cassie when she is older. She has some acting experience as she was an extra in an episode of the bill once several years ago. She was very reliable and was fine with staying to film for as long as we needed.