Final Film

Evaluation Question 7- Looking back to your Preliminary Task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Back in October we create a short film for our Preliminary Task. This was the first proper film we produced and published with very little experience in the advanced camera techniques and editing methods. We evaluated the task at the time to say what went well and what could have been improved if we ever did it again. 

Click here to view the evaluation of the preliminary task

Issues with the preliminary task

During the preliminary task, we said we had problems with the match on action whereby we couldn't match up two separate shot angles to make it look smooth and running as if it were all one cut. I learnt that you have to repeat the whole action starting from the same point as they did in the previous clip to then match them up in order to prevent continuity errors.

Another issue was that even though you plan things, you don't always follow them exactly word for word and you have to come away from following your plan completely as changes do happen.

Similarities of the creative process

• We had to write a script for both the preliminary task and the main task so that the actors and actresses knew what they were saying and when.
• When creating the main task we made use of match on action when people were walking through doors or up the stairs

Here are the match on actions used in both the preliminary and main task to compare. 

Preliminary task-entering door

Preliminary task- other side of door

Main task- entering gate 

Main task- other side of gate

As you can see the match on action shots are using the same sort of principle where the same action is followed through as if it were all one shot.

• Both required the basic ability to edit and film on location using the software and hardware that film industry's would use.

What was better about the main task than the preliminary task?

1) In the main task when editing we used filters and colour effects to make the day time shots look like night so that we could get the ambience and set the tense atmosphere for our film. We didn't use anything like that in our preliminary task, just added the footages to the timeline ready to publish.

2) No sound editing software was used during the preliminary task. The only sound that was used was music added on final cut and the audio made by the actresses on screen. For the main task we had to add and edit music, sound and the actual audio made onscreen. This made the process of editing a lot longer than that of the preliminary task through the advanced techniques needed to edit.

3) There were much higher quality match on action shots. For example when Luke enters crimsons house there are fast pace match on action shots so that it looks as though Luke was filmed all in one take. The match on action shots in the preliminary task were good but they didn't have the fast pace editing that the main task needed and had at the end of production.

4) Another thing about the audio that was different is that there was use of split editing where by the audio when Crimson is on the phone to Luke, he is still taking but we cut to her reaction so the audience can see her emotions towards what Luke is saying rather than it being a tense competition going backwards and forwards.

What went well on the main task?

I feel that the editing stage went really well for the preliminary task. The way in which the day to night was edited to make it look as though all the footage we collected was filmed at night. This took a long time to do but created a great effect on the film as the dark setting is typical to a thriller.
Another thing I think went well was the planning stage of the main task. Each step was well thought out and researched allowing the process of production to be a little easier than it would be without the planning. Things like the shooting schedule helped enabling us to know what we were filming when and where so we had the right equipment booked for the right time. 
I think the fact that we chose to re-shoot our film in such a short period of time due to being unhappy with the mise en scene our film had due to certain features of the setting that were ruining the tension and atmosphere of our thriller. Below you will see the comparison between the two shots and the improvement the location change made on the way the mise en scene looks now it is set in the correct place. 

This is the first location choice- rough cut 1

 2nd location that was chosen to be Crimsons room.

As you can see the location looks far better and more realistic than that in the first cut of The Black Widow.

Issues with the main task 
There were a few problems we had to face when producing our main task. Things like:

• Unreliable actor
• Bad choice of location that ruined the mise en Scene
• The sound matching with the actors movements on screen 
• Time!
• Keeping to the schedule causing unorganised approach.

Solutions to these issues

We may have had problems when creating our main task, however we found ways around them or ways to solve them. 

Location Change- as said previously due to the ruin of the mise en scene, we chose to change location in order for our film to look realistic and believable to the audience. This gave it its thrill factor even though the re-recording took up the time of editing.

Change in actor- we changed our actor in the re-recorded version as the actor we first had was always 'unavailable' and so to allow us to adjust and improve our rough cut we needed a new actor. Ryan was willing to step in and so we were able to capture new footages.

Matching the sound- the sound when edited was out of sync with the characters movement on screen. This was solved by re-entering the film and its original sound into soundtrack pro to ensure that their mouths and speech were in sync again otherwise it would look like they were a ventriloquist which isn't the idea we were going for!

Getting back on track- When we side tracked away a little too much we would stop and regroup to re-plan which prevented us from missing valuable points of the planning and  production process.

Working in a group 

There were positives and negatives of working as a member of a group. It was still hard work but the process of planning and production was made a little easier. Our group did split due to two of us believing the film wasn't to the standard we wanted it and nothing like the planned finished product but this didn't cause any issues between any of us in Reflection Studios.

Overall I think our group worked well together and I feel I played my part as a member of Reflection Studios even when it was tough and time wasn't on our side.
As a group we had a difficult time and faces many hurdles. We're now pros and colour editing on final cut and we learnt as a group that planning and listening to each other is the key to success.


What have I learnt about myself?

From the start of production right through to the final editing stages I have learnt a lot about myself and the work ethics I have. I've learnt that: 

• I work well with people who have the same work ethics as me. 
• I like doing things independently sometimes to ensure that the work in the chronological order I plan out to ensure organisation and a high quality finished product.
• I don't like to be up against a close time limit. 
• I like things to be organised and in an order (OCD).
• I just like to know I have always done my best. 

Overall

Overall I feel that the main task of creating an opening for a thriller was a success. The high ability skills used in this task can clearly be seen compared to the skills used in the preliminary task. Alot more planning and hard work can be seen in The Black Widow which is the process we have learnt we have to go through in order to achieve the best results!

Evaluation 6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Throughout all the processes of producing our final product from researching right through to the sharing of our film, we have used so much technology. Without half of the software and hardware, our film opening couldn't possible have been made. We have had our problems like all when it comes to technology but here is a prezi explaining the software and hardware used at each stage of our film production.

As said before, we've had our ups and downs with technology and so here are the problems we have had and the ways in which we handles the situation when technology wasn't on our side.

In conclusion, through the use of ever advancing software and technology, the production of The Black Widow, was made possible. Changes did have to be made due to technical issues like anything else but in the end we succeeded in producing our final product.

Evaluation 5- How did you attract/address your audience?

As stated in question 4, our male audience aged 16-25 will be attracted to our film through certain features in a film as shown by the gratification theory.
Question 5

Overall I think that the way in which we have attracted our audience has been a success through the use of actors and actresses, sound, editing etc to grab their attention through our thriller opening!

Evaluation Question 4- Who would be your audience for your media product?

The film opening "The Black Widow' is aimed at 16-25 year olds due to the violent themes and threatening behaviour that is shown by the characters. When looking at the BBFC official ratings it states that if the film has implied violence or minor violence shown then it must be a 12 or 12A. Here is the BBFC Classification for our film with justification as to why it has been given this rating:

The target audience is supported by the existing film evidence from Pearl and Dean data, showing us that the films in the genre and BBFC Classification rating of our film. These films show that the audiences are mostly males around the age of our chosen audiences range. These images prove that our audiences choice like the genre and themes included in our films from the similar films shown below.

For the Black Widow, a character profile was made for the typical audience member that would like to view our film. This includes their hobbies, likes and dislikes, their taste in music as well as other films that they are interested in that means they would be interested in watching The Black Widow.

The audience profile is based up people around us that we have seen and heard talking about films of this genre. This audience member is around our age meaning it was easier to spot features of their likes and dislikes in the world of film.

Our audience choice and Audience profile both follow the typical theories and gratifications that the young male audience want, thrill and a gripping storyline to follow that isn't too complex for them to understand.

Evaluation Question 3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

To create and publish a film, you need 3 things. A Production Institution, Distribution Institution and Exhibition Institution. Some big blockbuster films may have more than one of these depending on how big and successful a film is going to or made out to be.

So in order for our film to access its target audience, places of distribution and institutions need to be considered. 

Here is a mind map for Reflection Studios as to where our film might be distributed, who works in similar areas to Reflection Studios that might be interested in our film and most importantly why we would distribute our films in these places.

The mind maps states the ways in which our film would be released, why, how it is appropriate and the other existing institutions that work in the same or similar market to Reflection Studios.

If our film was to be fully produced, distributed and exhibited I feel our film would be appropriate for these institutions to partake in these 3 elements of film.

Production- Fox Searchlight Pictures- This institution is part of 20th Century Fox which takes on the low key films that 20th Century Fox don't feel will be so popular however many of them go on to win awards. Our film is an Art house film just like many of the films produced by this institution.


Distribution- Film 4- Film 4 distribute films like Slumdog Millionaire which is an Arthouse film. The Black Widow has a specific audience type even though I feel many more would be interested in the film. Due to its low budget and production cost, having Film 4 distribute it would be less money than if we were to get someone like Warner Bros. or Universal to distribute the film.



Exhibition- Regional Cinemas/ Netflix/ YouTube-  As said in the mind map, our target audience are more likely to visit these places and site to watch films than any other place. Most of the target audience spend their time on the internet meaning places like netfix would be a good place to exhibit our film. Having the films at regional cinemas means the exhibition cost won't be as sky high than if we were to exhibit it across all UK cinemas.

These 3 aspects were decided through research on production companies interested in the product in which Reflection Studios has created: 
Click Here for site details

So all aspects of distribution have been covered when considering the institutions we would have used and whether it be a big Blockbuster that wins a load of awards, or a small film designed to just be sent straight to DVD.

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

Reflection Studio's Thriller opening represents particular social groups. In some ways they follow hegemony (the idea that we associate with certain types of people, stereotypes etc) but there are examples of subversion where by stereotypes are twisted to form plot twists and unexpected actions.

Within the Black Widow there are different social groups represented through characterisation, costumes, editing, camera work, props etc. The main social groups that are present in this film are: 

• Teenagers- male and female
• The girly girl teenager who loves nothing more than to sit and mind her own business in her room. This teenage girl social group is also shown as being the Daddy's girl the with all her rich lush toys.
• The rough teenage boy who loves nothing more than terrorising and causing trouble. This social group isn't rich but has enough money to get by. 
• Criminal- the murdering type who loves nothing more than to kill those causing them or others grief.

Character representation

The characters within this film opening have used some typical conventions that would be associated with their social group. However there are some subversions that don't conform with what we would consider hegemonic for todays society.

Crimson- Crimson the female character is a stereotypical girly girl with her pink feminine clothes, jewellery and typical long blond hair. This follows social stereotype where by a;; young teenage girls are obsessed with pink and have long blond hair. A film that follows this convention too is Carrie where by the main female character dresses rather girly and has the long blond hair which is a main feature in our film.

Both the characters have long blond hair associated with the typical 'girly girl' teenager.

Also they are both dressed in very feminine clothes which again is the hegemonic idea of todays teenage girly social group.

However, lie in the film Carrie, the hegemonic ideas of an innocent teenage girl are challenged in that she ends up being the villainous killer. The way in which this innocent girl idea is flipped is similar to that of Carrie. The challenge to this social group allows the audience to be shocked and surprised at the events that finish the opening sequence.

Luke-The rough trouble making teenage male is dressed in the way in which you'd expect the 

'bad guy' to dress. With the leather jacket and all in black, the trouble making social group of the main male character is following the hegemonic views of today. This is similar in the film 'Divergent' with the male character 'Four' who is this tough mean male. He too is perceived as this tough trouble maker through his actions as well as his choice of clothing (all black)

The character from Divergent my be perceived as the bad guy however, we soon discover like in The Black Widow, he isn't as bad as we think. Or film and Divergent challenge hegemonic ideas where by the 'trouble maker' ends up being the victim of the real villains plans.

Props

The props used in The Black Widow clearly represent the social group included in the media film to help attract and entice our audience to watch the film. 

The phone used by Crimson represents her rich background as it is the latest phone released. By having the expensive phone it allows the rich Daddy's girl to come out and mask the idea if her being a killer.









Luke's phone is still expensive looking however it is an older model of Crimson's phone suggesting he doesn't really care about having the latest phone. This also fives the audience the impression that he isn't as rich as his 'girlfriend' and may suggest to the audience he is only with her for money or to manipulate her for expensive gifts. 

The females bedroom is filled with expensive dolls and bears. This shows again her rich background but also gives the audience the idea she is young for her age meaning it comes as a surprise when the audience find out she's a killer.

The hockey stick at the beginning of the film is an unlikely weapon to be used or carried around on a dark night. This may be show lack of experience or the criminal or suspicious figure. This may allow the audience to come to a conclusion of who the hooded figure was/is.








Costume

Costume choices are extremely important in telling us about the character. This can give us a hegemonic outlook on a character or in some cases can be subverted to hide the truth about a character like in the Black Widow. 

Crimson's outfit reveals the idea of her heing this rich good girl stereotype that is never in trouble. You get the idea from her rich coloured clothing often worn by those with wealth. All her clothes are pristine with no stains, scratches or scraps on any item of her chlothing. Her simple clothes suggest she doesn't want to stand out or be centre of attention in anyway which enables the shy aspect of her personality to be subtly introduced.

Crimson is also seen wearing gold jewellery. It is only subtle but it again shows her walth in that she can afford to have gold jewellery bought for her. The audience might get the idea that she is a snob before she speaks but the moment the events unfold the audience see her in a different light.

Luke is dressed in your traditional bad boy clothing. The leather jacket brings out the biker boy look in the male character, instantly causing the audience to jump to the conclusion that he's the villain in this opening sequence. The audience should see this character as the rebellious trouble maker as the idea of 'all black' is all part of the symbolism of darkness and trouble according to colorology of today. The audience are mislead as they find out towards the end of this opening sequence meaning the costume along with the dialogue have followed the typical hegemonic idea of a teenage male of today.

The Hooded figure at the beginning of the opening sequence follows todays hegemonic idea of your typical 'yob' that does nothing but cause trouble on the streets. By having the hooded figure dressed in an ill fitted coat instantly portrays to the audience that this person is up to no good and is obviously going to cause trouble. The hegemonic idea allows us to give the audience an idea about the character without having to verbally telling them. Even when the hooded figure is revealed, the character is still wearing the hooded clothing to reinforce the idea to the audience that they are the real bad person. 

Dialogue

There is very little dialogue used through the opening sequence which is typical to most thriller openings. However what is said does allow the character's social groups to be portrayed in both positive and negative ways.

The male character is the character that speaks the most in this opening sequence which represents the idea of the trouble maker being all mouth and not acting upon it. The aggressive tone he has towards Crimson is also part of the hegemony of the rebellious male teenager. The way in which Luke speaks gives the audience the idea that he is the bad guy taking them away from the motive that Crimson has to kill him.


The female character is the opposite to Luke. She hardly speaks and even when she does her sentences often only consist of one or two words. This follows hegemonic ideas where by the female shy character is quiet and obedient towards her rebellious boyfriend. The idea of her speaking very little also gives the audience the idea of her being quite secretive but this is overpowered by the male dominance that Luke has over Crimson.



Mise en Scene

The way in which the character react to each other and things they find out throughout this opening all add to the mise en scene created about their social group.

The facial expressions in which Luke has towards Crimson and the situation is the the hegemonic reaction of a rebellious teenager today. By having his aggressive facial expressions to go with the tone of his voice exaggerates to the audience his social group and the typical features that come with his group. The exaggeration also covers up the idea of Crimson being the villain and shows her as a victim instead.





Luke's social group reactions contrast with the reactions of Crimson. Crimson is shown to be scared and innocent. When she finishes on the phone with Luke her face shows this scared almost startled deer look. It's as though she doesn't know what to do or is panicking which allows the build up of the later events to increase as the audience watch further on into the opening sequence. This is hegemonic for a female being mistreated by someone they once loved. We soon discover this is all just a cover up for her later actions.

Sound/Music

The sound used in The Black Widow helps to build up the image of each character and how they challenge their social groups conventions and stereotypes.

0:05- The music here is for when Crimson and Luke have just had an intense conversation on the phone where by he has been rather aggressive towards her. This music does one of two things: 

• It emphasises the idea of Luke being the bad guy stereotype in that he is treating his 'girlfriend' badly which is typical to the social group in which Luke is from. This wouldn't be much of a shock to the audience as Luke's actions have caused the audience to jump to the conclusion that he is the 'bad guy' in this situation which causes a surprise when they find out he's really the victim'.
• The music can also represent the change in Crimson's attitude where she goes from the good girl shy teenager to this angry girl who is about to stand up against her aggressive boyfriend. This challenges the hegemony of her social group as the audience wouldn't expect the obedient girl to get angry like she does. It represents the emotions running through her head that build and build up into what the audience think at the end of the opening 2 minutes to be the murder of Luke.

0:12- The sudden eerie sound that echoes when the bear is beheaded, would be quite a shock to the audience as this wouldn't be expected of a girl who seems to respect all the riches she has been given by her parents. This represents the end of her time in the social group of a quiet girl and her step into the 'bad girl', killer social group that wasn't expected.

0:19- This music is used to mislead the audience. They think this is the music for Luke's aggressive entrance into Crimson's House but really it is there to represent the doom he is about to come to and the change in social groups that Crimson has undergone. The music again represents the idea of Luke being the ' Bad boy' rebel teenager from hell which again is hegemonic to his social group which as said before wouldn't be a great shock to the audience. This is why the twist at the end comes as a surprise to the audience as they feel Luke is the bad one due to his social representation rather than Crimson.

Overall I feel that the representation of the social group in The Black Widow opening were successful in both following and subverting their hegemonic conventions.

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

Media products can develop and challenge their typical conventions through different aspects of the film.
The video below explains the basic ideas of what our film contained to conform with a typical thriller and the aspects included challenges to the typical conventions of a thriller film.



As mentioned in this video our film follows the typical conventions of a thriller opening sequence. Here are examples of real films that support the challenges and similarities made in our thriller opening.

Ident- Idents are at the beginning of ever film and so we have included our production logo at the beginning. Like Paramount, we have used our name to produce an ident that 'reflects' it.

Title- the title used in our thriller opening is simple as it doesn't really need much effect as the shocking title name is enough to twist the audiences minds. Similarly 'Oldboys' title is simplistic with white writing on a black background to ensure it stands out and makes an impact.

Music/sound effects- The music used changes to build tension as we get further into the clip like in the Black Swan opening where as more drama unfolds, the music increases with it to build up the the tension and twists in a thriller.

Here is the Black Swan opening music.

Similar to our style of build up in The Black Widow.



So there is the way in which or film opening follows the conventions and challenges the conventions of a typical thriller. I feel that Reflection Studios have successfully challenged and conformed with conventions of a thriller film in a way that is clear and comparable to blockbuster thrillers of today.

Official Final Cut

So here it is, the final edition of the Black Widow thriller opening. 

Second Rough Cut

After refilming and making changes to the first footage we filmed, here is the new version of The Black Widow. Changes have been made throughout however the storyline is still the same. 

So here it is, The Black Widow rough cut number 2.

Original Final Cut

After all the editing of the footage and soundtrack, here is our final edit of The Black Widow.

However after the feedback given about the location and lighting issues, we have decided to re shoot some of our film, meaning this won't be our actual final cut. 

Things such as: 

• Lighting issues
• Locations not being convincing
• Actor problems 
• Sound issues

Need to be changed in order to make our film convincing as a Thriller Opening.

Rough Cut Feedback

We recorded the feedback in which they gave us allowing us to see where the changes needed to be made and in some places, audience members explain how we could change it to make it more suited to the film. 

Here is the feedback in which we collected.

                       

Some of the feedback give to us can quickly be changed such as the shortening of some of the clips e.g. the establishing shot at the beginning and the gravel shot when the figure walked in. 

A lot of the feedback means we have to re-film some of the film and we are considering changing location due to the trouble we had with covering all the existing materials that were already in the room before we started filming. 

As you can see the feedback we collected gives us the criticism Reflection Studios need in order to create a film that is entertaining with all the conventions of a thriller as well as address the needs of our chosen target audience. 

Some of the feedback we had was from our target audience, which is what really counts as they know what their age group and gender wants. Here is the feedback:

• Shot of the stones is too long. We get that it is stones and I can hear you have included a SFX but simply pause then within a second Ryma steps in, would be more effective. 
• Almost a jump shot to when the hockey stick is introduced. Feet seem to be in a different position and the cut alludes and tracts attention towards the error.
• o.35- shadow on the wall. Although not a vital importance, this could also show lack of 3 point lighting technique. Obviously going to be some shadow from normal lighting but this is too much. 
• Phone call SFX- Volume is too loud doesn't sound like a mobile phone. 
• Cut Alex during phone call is too quick. Change cut. 
• When Ryma picks up the teddy to be-head it, we lose the top of the teddys head in the frame. We partially miss the point of focus on the teddy. (i.e. to pull its head off), because of the framing. 
• 1.10 Jump MOA. Alex walking throughout he door, is not smooth. 
• Voice over doesn't mae sense. it is too much like he is actually talking and his lips are just not moving. You need to add effects to the voice ego try and convince us that it is a voice over. 
• Looks as if alex is speaking when he is in Ryma's room, but unsure whether it is the voiceover or alex actually speaking aloud. His lips don't move then they do a little bit- IT"S CONFUSING. 
• Alex picks up the picture of him and Ryma, don't pan to the picture let Alex pick it up then use a POV shot of Alex looking at the picture
• Some signs that don't fit in with the scene. Only minor but may be a little misleading.
• Cut on the hockey stick- You need to let the hockey stick get closer to Alex's head. There is obviously some distance and Ryma actually stops on the clip. It needs to look as though Ryma has hit him and then you should cut it.
• Titles- The titles are a little plain. Due to the SFX that is being used (a sort of lightening effect) you could have the titles flash and flicker to co-inside with this.

Now the feedback has been gathered, next up is the re-editing stage where we will be changing parts of the film according to the feedback we were given by our target audiences as well as any tweaks we as a production company feel need to be made.

The Black Widow-Rough Cut

Now the first lot of editing is complete we can now show you the first cut of The black Widow opening. This doesn't contain the ident as this will be put in when we are certain the film is all correct and to our liking.

So here it is, the first cut of The Black Widow...

         

Once we had completed the rough cut it was time to see what an audience thought. Our audience consisted of people in the age range in which our film is aimed at so that the feedback they gave us would be helpful and allow us to make it more suitable for our target audience. 

The next post will show you all the feedback we had and specific feedback made by people that are apart of our intended audience or that we agree fully with.