What was the preliminary task and what were its main aims?
The preliminary task was set to give each group first hand experience on what it is like to create a media product. We were all set the task of creating a short thirty second production which allowed us to show what we already know about film production and to experiment with the different types of technology we would be using. The aim of the preliminary task was to give each person in the group to experience working with all different production roles and seeing which ones suited their preference the best. In our group we noticed that Katie enjoy directing and that Carlie enjoyed acting and editing. Whereas myself I enjoyed editing the footage we had.
Identify four things you are now better with and more confident with doing in terms of filming and editing.
Since producing the preliminary task, my group has realised that when it comes to filming we have a strength at portraying and using a variety of cinematography throughout our production.
A personal improvement I have achieved since the preliminary task, is being more confident when filming with the camera. I am now able to make clean and precise shots which will lower the amount of editing me and my group would have to do after.
Looking back at our preliminary task we see that we have used transition from one shot to another, that are unsuitable and overdramatic.
Whilst we edited our thriller production we learnt how to use appropriate transitions and effects that benefit our end product. Another personal skill I have improved upon is cutting and editing footage; I have learnt to be much more precise and time things in a better manner.
The preliminary task was our first group activity that pointed out our weaknesses and our strengths. After the preliminary we got together as a group and decided on every aspect of what our thriller would need and involve. This includes location, actors, risks, hair & make-up and a filming schedule. We also created a storyboard which allowed us all to involve our personal input into the narrative of the film, the shots and angles we used. Another thing that was vital during this period of production was the group roles that we distributed to each other. I was picked to be camera operator because I was the most confident with the camera and had previous experience of filming, this also counts editing. However I was distributed the role of location manager because the premises we used was my house, so it was vital I communicated to the owner when we used it and what rooms we needed.
My Groups Roles:
Me:
Camera operator
Editor
Location Manager
Carlie:
Producer
StoryBoard
Sound
Actor.
Katie:
Director
Costume, Hair & Make-up
Lighting.
Overall reflection:
I believe the thriller I created was successful because we followed the themes and conventions of similar thrillers such as my bloody valentine and obsessed. Themes that engage our target audience are those of death, love and revenge; these all fit in with the thriller genre.
As a media student I thoroughly enjoyed the filming process of the production and the editing, as much as the sound producing. This is because it allowed me to use various types of media in a creative way. It also helped me building confidence in certain creative ideas I have.
In my final product I can see where improvements can be made. I believe the footage that we have could have been expanded by filming a lot more. I also believe I could have better quality angles and shots. This would help create much more tension and drama within my thriller.
In conclusion I have learnt that working in a team is important when creating a product for the public, I have learnt to do this in an efficient way. I have learnt and become more confident with various types of media formats such as Logic and final cut pro. Another lesson learnt was that listening to other peoples ideas and opinions can help create a product that will really appeal to our target audience and what they want to see.
The opening credits are where written information is presented to the audience on who produced the film, who is starring in the film and all the production roles. Opening credits are most effective when accompanied by sound, this creates tension and fear which keeps the audience interested. The opening credits can also be very effective when the images displayed do not make sense, this will make the audience question what is really going on. The information shown in the opening credits is essential information that is used to connect with the audience so they know more about the production.
What information they provide? Order of appearance (screen shots/examples)
name of studio
name of production company
producers name
directors name
starring
films title
edited by
music or music composed by
storyboard by
costume and make-up by
How do they make the audience feel?
They make the audience feel more comfortable about what they are watching. It acts as an introduction to the film which will make the audience feel more involved and they will find it easier to withdraw meaning from the film.It will also the audience on what type of genre they are watching so they will know what to expect.
Example from a thriller opening that has been analysed.
I have analysed the opening credits from the film "Panic Room". In the opening credits of this film, tension is built very easily. They do this by being very simplistic, there is very little movement in the background of the opening credits. The music helps build tension because the dynamic of it goes from soft to quiet harsh and 'in your face'. The only movement in the opening credits is the cars driving, everything else is very still.
Conclusion: What will you use and why? (mention size, colour, etc.)
In my thriller the opening credits will display the name of my production, actresses and actors and the editors and all the information that the audience will be interested in and need to know.
Typography:
What is typography?
Typography is the writing presented to the audience. It is the fancier word for 'font'. When we analyse typography we look at the style, size, letter case and colour. Each genre has a different style of typography that connotes with it and helps the audience withdraw meaning from it.
Typography and connotation (screen shot from various genres)
The type of font you use is extremely important when it comes to making a film. It helps the audience identify what type of genre or sub-genre they are watching. Each genre has their own type of font that connotes with them.
The importance of secondary research into existing films:
The importance of doing secondary
research into films is vital. It enabled my group to look into the various
types of characters in thriller movies and from this enabled us to explore different
genres and sub-genres available to us and what audiences prefer what kind of movie. This process was also used to guide my
group into deciding what type of thriller we wanted to film, thus, picking an appropriate target audience. Secondary research and the target audience: From our secondary research it
was safe to say that people from the ages of 15 and over are most interested in
thriller films because of the intense atmosphere they bring. Both genders are
equally enticed when it comes to watching thriller films. A part of information
that was not needed during this research is the person’s gender; the person’s
gender does not matter because it does not affect their view on the film.
What the audience enjoyed in terms of conventions: As a spectator I believe that
the audience enjoyed certain conventions and connotations of a thriller that
lead them to feel uncomfortable. Conventions such as dark colours and abandoned
settings make them feel on edge. This guilty pleasure of emotions is something they enjoy the thrill of. The audience would enjoy that because it leaves them in suspense and
gives them a sense of mystery because it is unclear what it going on.
Spectators may also enjoy music used in the thriller may also enjoy music used
in the thriller as it adds to their experience by adding tension in the
atmosphere.Whilst watching the thriller opening the audience may have felt uncomfortable and uptight. This means that it was successful for us, because those emotions are typical to the thriller genre.
Attracting our target audience - Questionnaire: In order to gather... relvant Image of questionnaire:
Some key questions in attracting our audeince: 1) An example of a closed question:
2) This is an example of a multiple choice question we decided to give to our target audience to gain feedback. In this question we were aiming to find out what sub-genre appealed the most to them, this would attract the target audience because it will encourage them to watch the film if they know the genre was something of interest. 3) "What would you like to see in a new thriller film?" "Something i would like to see in a new thriller, is a lot of violence and disturbia". When asking open questions it allows the audience to give specific feedback, this is were it helped us develop ideas on what we wanted to show our target audience. 4) open - with feedback. Data analysis: Once we carried out the questionnaire, we used the results to create graphs that showed our data in a clear and efficient manner to draw conclusion from in order to ensure we were attracting our target audience. Here is an example of the results from the audience of one of the questions we used: This question was asked to see what age ratings the films people watched were. We asked this question so we was able to figure out what age rating we would use for our own film. This data helped us because it showed us the most popular age rating within our audience and what type of things they will look for and want to see in our evaluation.
This question was asked to find out what our target audience would be most interested in seeing. By asking them whether they wanted the victim to be a male or female, allowed us to figure out in what ways we were able to either follow or challenge the forms and conventions of a thriller film.
To conclude all the work done with our questionnaire, I believe it gave us a big advantage within our research by doing it. It allowed us to gather information by using open and closed questions, so our future audience would be able to deliver us vital information that would benefit our end product. It showed us how important research is and that when creating a film the audiences input is one of the most important as you are aiming to please them. Audeince feedback post-production:After producing my final product, I held a focus group because I wanted to see what my target audiences reaction would be once they had seen it. The group of people that we had asked to come and view the production were aged between 15 and over. The focus group allowed me to receive criticism that was both positive and negative.
Here is some of the criticism I received:
When receiving this feedback, it made me feel as if I did a good job when attracting my target audience. I feel like it was obvious that they were able to empathise with all different characters because there was a variation of feeling and emotions. I feel as if the editing was much improved and helped keep the audience interested, as well as the soundtrack. Receiving negative feedback made me feel as if there will always be room for improvement. The representation of my characters could have been structured better in order for my target audience to be really involved in what they are watching.