Bye Blog!

I've done everything i can with you, and you've been a great help with my media coursework, but now i have to leave, so this will be my final post. SEEYA BLOG! :)

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

19. PRELIM - Aydaruus, Elizabeth, Hana, Thahmina from 283goswell on Vimeo.

 Mistakes that i have learnt from in this Prelim:

The video above shows my prelim from September, which was one of the first pieces of work i created alongside a group in Media. There are a number of aspects to this prelim that could have been improved, and i have learnt from this when creating the final production of our film opening.

Firstly, bad attention to sound was an issue i am now aware of in this prelim. This is due to a member of the group behind the camera making a noise whilst we were filming, which ended up being a part of the final edited prelim. This bad attention to sound can be seen between the 24th and 26th second of the clip. 
As well as this, we did not use the 180 degree rule, which means the camera should remain on one side of the actors shoulders when they speak, in order for the shots to be continuous and make sense. We did not follow this rule as we changed the side of the actors shoulders during their conversation, changing the perspective, and the view of what position they were talking in. This mistake can be seen from the screeshots below.

 

Mise en scene was also a lesson that could be learned from this clip. We did not use mise en scene to the best of our abilities in this prelim as the characters in it were supposed to be doctors in the environment of a hospital, but this was not portrayed using costume or location. They should/could have been wearing doctor/nurses uniforms, and been in a more realistic environment to get accross the idea that they were in a hospital. 

Blogging: Around the time of making the prelim, we had not long started the course, so blogging was an alien concept to me, and i struggled at first. I was initally only using things like text and a few images for blog posts, which has changed drastically over the time of the course. My blogs before had were simple and low in use of technology as displayed in the screenshot of one of my first blog posts below.

 

How i took these mistakes and learned from them when it came to the full product: 

20 - Jade Abrams, Marleyah Kelly, Elizabeth Rowan from 283goswell on Vimeo.


In this full product, bad attention to sound was not an isue like it was in the initial prelim. I learnt to be more careful when filming and editing, to make sure there were no slip ups or lack of attention. Not only did i learn from the bad attention to sound previously displayed, i also improved with the sound aspect altogether. This is displayed in the final product through use of music and voice-overs, which were not used at all in the prelim. By using these effects, the clip became better as a whole, showing how much sound can contribute to having a successful final product.
The 180 degree rule was also not a problem in the full product, mainly because there was no dialogue, so it was not neccessarily a requirement.

In addition, the use of mise en scene in this full product compared to the prelim was a vast improvent. The prelim showed our lack of mise en scene, whereas in this full product, we used a contrast of costumes to display the mood of the character/scene.
This screenshot shows the character in the full product about to commit suicide, and we put across her low mood using mise en scene by having the character wear black clothes.

 

However, in a following scene, where the girl in supposed to be happy, we used costume by having her wear a bright and light coloured top, in order to make the change in mood more obvious.

Another form of mise en scene i have improved with is location. As shown in the prelim, the location of a hospital was not put across accurately. This saw improveemnt in the full product as we used the location of a bedroom, a park, and a college; two of which can be seen in the screenshots above. This gets the story across to the audience better, and makes the product generally look better and appear more realisic.

 Blogging: In comparison to the prelim, towards the time of the full product being made/finished, i had seen a huge improvement in my blog posts. I am now able to use a range of technologies such as prezzies, timetoast, gifs, animations, and much more. This use of a technology can be seen in a later blog post, shown below.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, over the course of the year, pretty much all aspects involved in my media skills have improved. As well as the things mentioned above, i improved in other areas such as editing, camera work, use of lighting, and use of different types pf shots. Overall, this has been a great learning experience for me, allowing me to develop my media skills to a large extent..

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

Throughout the process of making our film opening, my group used a range of technologies for different purposes.
Before we actually started making the film, we put forward a presentation using 'Prezi'. We decided to use prezi as it is an exciting way of presenting, and keeps our audience interested. It also allowed us to present videos and graphics as well as text, to get every aspect of our presentaion across clearly and accurately. This helped with the opening of our film overall as it gave us a clear plan in terms of storyline, charcter, location, props, and mise en scene.
Below are some screenshots of our prezi used for the inital presentation.

Another form of technology we used for the opening was 'Motion'. We used this to make our production and distribution idents, and was reasonably easy to use. We decided to use this type of technology as it allowed us to make our own production and distribution titles for our company, as opposed to usig somebody elses, which made our film generally appear more original. We included these idents at the very start of the film opening, as that is the order most big films tend to go in. The reason behind the name of 'Ocean Productions' is that we wanted a name that would represent the type of motion we had chosen for the ident. The type of motion we chose was a blue wave, that would move the way in which the ocean would, therefore making the name "Ocean Productions' appropriate and fitting.

 When it came to editing, we used 'Final Cut Pro'. The reason we used this is because it provided the easiest way to edit the film as we simply needed to cut shots and drag them in, as well as allowing us to use effects such as darkening shots and fades. It also made it easy for us to export the finished product for use elsewhere. Overall, it was the best option for making our movie the best it could possibly be in terms of editing.

In order to make our film, we of course needed equipment to film it. To do this, we used a range of equipment, including a JVC camera, a tripod, a fig rif, a still camera, and a flip cam. Shooting the film on the JVC camera allowed us to get high quality shots easily, as the camera was fairly simple to use. The tripod and fig rig came in handy too as placing the camera on them allowed us to get more steady shots, at a range of different heights and angles. The flipcam could be used for us to record feedback from others on the progress of our film, making it easy for us to remember what we need to do in order to improve for future reference. Finally, we used the still camera to take pictures of ourselves throughout the filming process in order to show proof of fiming and in some way later promote our film.

We also used social networking sites to get the message of our film across and to promote it. We mainly used Instagram to do this, which helped as it allowed us to show our audience what was involved in the process of filming and editing, as well as giving us the oppertunity to appeal to a wider audiencer of people online. This helped with contructing our film as it allowed us to gain more feedback and get a better idea of who our audience would really be and what they'd be interested in seeing most.

 

 Overall, the technologies we used helped us in a number of ways. Not only did they add to the creativity of the film and generally improve/make it possible, but they also allowed us to realise how we could make the film better in other ways that may not have been completely technology based too.

Question 5: How did you attract/ address your audience?

Below are slides from a powerpoint presentation that i put together.

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

 Teen movies are typically watched by those between the ages of 12-21, with the exact age varying depending on the storyline and content within the movie.

The sub-genres in our film are drama/romance, and the target audience for these specific genres is usuall young females.

Therefore, our target audience is mainly females between the ages of 15-19. This is because we feel as though they will be able to relate to the storylines best, making it more interesting for them. However, males could still find interest in certain aspects of the film, so the target audience is not completely female based.  A specfic shot within our film opening that suggests the main audiencew would be teenage girls is a shot showing a girl in her bed, with make up smudged down her face as she is crying. This automatically brings forward the idea of boy troubles as this is typical in the context of a teen film when the main character is a young female. This shot/shots can be seen below. 

Below are a number of pictures showing the Facebook account i made to represent our idea of the typical target audience member for our film opening

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

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Thoughts and Emotions Throughout the Experience

Now that we have finished the film i have been reminiscing about the experience and everything that has happened throughout. Below is a word cloud full of thoughts and emotions that i have felt whilst making this film. Initially i thought the experience would be mostly fun and not too difficult, but i was shocked to discover how much time and effort goes into a project like this. The film may only last two minutes; which i first thought was way too short, but the filming and planning that goes into those two minutes was a huge surprise to me. Overall i have developed my understanding of the world of media and film making to a large extent over this time and have experienced a range of both positive and negative emotions.

WE FINISHED!!!

WE HAVE FINISHED!!!!

This is Marleyah Writing finished on the finished wall (should have used a darker pen colour... orange wasn't the best choice)!!!

Instagram Update

We as a group have been overwhelmed with the response of our instagram page set up for media specifically.We have gained 14 followers and we regularly get likes from these followers.

We even get people liking our photos!!!

This photo received 6 likes!!!

But we aren't complaining!!!

We put the link of our blog in the bio and i believe that this has helped us to get more page views!!

Motion

We used motion to make our production title, which we named "Ocean Productions". This process involved changing the text type, choosing colour schemes and a background to fit with the name we created. After this, i slowed down the particle emitter.

How We Improved Our Movie

When we began editing initially, we discovered that some of our shots were too bright or not long enough, or in some cases, too dark. We then re-shot everything to improve, but there were obviously still things that had to be edited in order to be made use-able. 

For some of the bedroom scenes, when shooting, we didn't want to risk making the shots too dark, so we used a top light to brighten them up, then in order to make it fitting with the scene, we made some of the shots darker. We also used effects such as slow motion and fades. This was due to the fact that we did not have enough footage for specific areas, so had to use slow motion to fill time and make it more effective, and use a fade to represent a jump in time. 

One piece of advise a teacher gave us that we did not do anything about was when we were told that our movie could be potentially woman hating due to the storyline of a girl sleeping with several boys and being hated for it. We did take this comment on board, but could not change or improve it as it would have ruined the storyline and meant we could no longer use this idea for a film. 

MUSIC

In our film 'Rumour has it,' we only used two pieces of music. The first piece of music used to emphaises the emotion in this scene, which is where she is swallowing pills to commit suicide, it is a sad depressing song but over the top of the music we have voice overs which can still be distinguished over the music.

The second piece of music is ment to be happy, which creates a comparison between the scenes, and shows that there also has been a change of scene and type of atmosphere. this is the part of our film when shes walking into college and she sees the boys which she is 'invested in.'

The first piece of music i use is called 'Transferring back to,' one of the both songs that i got off sound cloud which are not copyrighted and alright to use in our in our film this is the for the sad section of our film.

The second song is a remixed version of Nicki Minaj 'Star Ships' which has a really happy feel for this part of our film and which I also got from sound cloud.

What We Have Learnt from Editing

During our time editing, we have learnt that continuity is extremely important. In regards to our shots, this is important as in some shots the background was busy, whereas in a similar shot/place, the background was completely empty. This was beyond our control, but is definitely an aspect that should be considered for future reference as it makes editing shots a lot more difficult. We have also learnt to use different types of software and to make our own production title for the movie. Finally, we have realised that editing is generally a long process that requires a huge level of patience, and making shots look professional takes a lot of hard work and use of effects.

To add to the point of continuity, mise en scene was also an important factor in making shots believable. This meant we would have to wear the same costume for certain scenes, and have hair and make up and props the same when filming shots for the same part.
The weather was also something to consider. When filming outside, we had to try and film on days where the weather was similar, which meant filming would be tricky some days when the weather would suddenly change.

Reflection Post

Recently i have been focusing more on filming and editing and got a little bit behind and muddled up at times with blogging. However, now that we are further into the editing process, i have more available time to blog and keep myself updated and on track. I still need to go back over some blog posts and finish/improve them in order to boost my chances of getting a higher mark. I also need to add a few more posts on costume, music, and the editing process before the deadline.

Inspiration For Our Movie

My group had not yet come across a film exactly like ours, but instead saw potential for certain aspects in areas of a number of teen films. These teen films range from drama, to comedy, to romance, and allow us to explore all areas in the life of a teen. 

Mean Girls:

The popularity aspect, and everybody knowing your business idea could be taken from the movie Mean Girls, showing what simple school gossip can do, and how fast rumours are spread and believed.    

Cyberbully:

The intense and dangerous effects of severe bullying and torment can be taken as inspiration from this film, as we have a suicide scene involved in our movie. 

Juno:

The opening sequence of this film could be used for part of our film as the main character is seen walking to her destination and coming across/reflecting on her way there. 

Evidence Of Editing

We begun editing this week and deciding what music to use and the most appropriate effects for our shots. Below is a number of pictures we took during the editing process so far.

Rough Cut

Filming day 6:Journey to college

Today we filmed the girls journey to school as after looking at all our clips and the ones we can use we realised that they are all very short and we needed more footage.We thought that the journey to college would be a good idea as our previous shots have been close-ups and by filming her traveling into college gave us an opportunity to shoot some long shots and pans.Today was a successful day of filming as we have become aware that we only have one more part to film which is the girl walking away from the first guy.And then, we can begin editing!!!

Evidence: