INFORMATION

To see my A2 work please follow the following link:

http://mediablogjezza.blogspot.com/

Research and Planning

StoryBoard:

Evaluation 7 Looking back at your prelinary task (contiuity editing task) what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

In our preliminary task we used three techniques: match on action, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule, these are the most basic techniques and so important. I believe that I took these simple techniques into account into my film.


Editing the preliminary task was simple and where I took charge, it was fun at the time. It took a day at most, when I say day I went a lesson or two. However editing the film sequence was not so pleasant. Alone i had to create a soundtrack fitting to the genre and edit my film, leaving out bits which were not important and creating an eerie non human feel to it.


Now i don't know if you have ever edited and used Garageband and the programs on the Mac. But if you want something just right it can get very stressful, getting things in time, you could just kill someone. I've been editing in my own time, I also filmed in my own time by myself with the help of my sister.


I learn a bit more about things about editing and i have become a wiz at editing! And I know how to use Garageband! YAY! But I also did learn how to use the camera a lot better, due to the fact that I needed to film without the help of my group this time. Oh the joys of a re-sit. But hey! I learnt how to work a camera, even discovered how to change lighting settings which helped tremendously.

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

This picture shows me with the camera which we used to film, tripod that the camera was put on and the (Apple) Mac desktop computer which we used to edit and compose the music and clips for our film.

Blogger. What can I say about this? Well you should know what it is, you are using it are you not? But it must be mentioned so, this is what i use to present my research and the evaluation of my film.......if you don't know what it is or how to use it what the hell are you doing marking my blog?

This program is Garageband, a program only for the Mac, which allowed me to create my own unique soundtrack. So basically it let me compose my own music. From using this I now know how to create sound clips, edit them, cut them down and extend them, and how to put them in rhythm.

I also used Youtube to conduct research for soundtracks of the horror genre. (Look to my previous post to see research).

And finally my greatest tool. Google. this search engine helped me find examples of horror movies and the typical plots, and ended taking me to many sights which aided my research. Wow isn't Google great?

Potentially the most important program I used, iMovie HD. This allowed me to upload my film to the computer, edit and add sound from Garageband.

Evaluation 5 How did you attract/address your audience?

I addressed my audience in the top shot by involving a masked figure which is supposed to be a monster that is the main focus of the movie. People like horror films because of that unknown element and the scare they get from the unknown and slightly disfigured monsters. Monsters connote evil so and that is one of a horror genre conventions so I decided I was going to use a mask to create a monster.

This attracts all different ages but the main focus is young adults I used a location that was dark because it connotes evil and empathises the creature’s ‘darkness’. This mid shot used helps the audience see that the creature is part human and that is what they would like to see in this movie, the unknown scary creature that hunts people down.

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

Well I know teenagers; I am one of them so I know what they should like. They like a bit of a scare and the trill of sitting alone feeling completely freaked out by weird monstrous figures.  This film would have blood and gore so a lot of weird sadistic people I know would love this film.

This group is a wonderful target audience. Many young people do not want to go to the movies on their own so will at least go with one other person so they don’t look like a 'loner'. And if people did want to go see this movie there is a high chance they will bring friends. The point I am getting to is that big groups will go see this movie. If they see it they may go see it again. For example if it is a ‘hit’ and a group of go see it all like it a lot they may go back each bringing 3 different friends. So more people will go see this film than if it was aimed just at adults.

I would give my movie a certificate rating of 15-18 because of its graphic content. This certificate would show the audiences it isn’t just another ‘scary’ psychological thriller which isn’t that great *cough* Paranormal Activity *cough*.

Evaluation 3 What kind of media instituion might distibute your media product and why?

Firstly, to produce this film i would need funding. I could get this from a few places. One of which is the UK Film Council that could help fund this film. I have been doing research into where the film could be distributed so a horror film that isn't produced by a Hollywood team full of American actors. My film would feature British talent thus I think this is suitable for an English audience. So how would this be distributed? A DVD? No, that is not the best idea. We as a group are not known in the industry so people would not buy our products. It could be shown at film festivals though.

Where else can this be shown? In local cinemas, but because we are not a well known label people may not want to see this new film. (This could be solved by co-producing with Working Title a British owned film company, who have had many successes including Four Weddings And A Funeral.) I think that my film should be suitable for local cinemas in the area, also small cinema companies.

 

Advertisement? We would advertise this in newspapers. Many people read the newspaper every day. This would be a cheap and relatively easy to do. Then many people could find about the film. We could also advertise on Television during the commercial break, other ways we could advertise is on the side of buses and on bill boards.

Evaluation 2 How does your media product represent particular soical groups?

So, on the top we have a shot from the movie scream. This woman is scared and at the mercy of a killer and the shot below is from my film The Unknown where this woman is about to be killed by a creature. Can you see any similarities and differences? Well to start they both have their mouths wide open screaming. This is representing women as easy targets to murders and the first to be killed. It could be argued that this scream is a convention of the horror genre and I wanted to enforce this idea. The only difference between these two shots is that one has a reflection of the masked man whereas in my shot I used eye-line match from the creature's point of view. 

I also used this idea of only seeing the face in the shot below, because it shows the audience that this woman is being watched and they know something is going to happen.
(The setting bellow is similar to a resident Evil Mansion which is a horror film (and game) which helps to show the audience that the genre is horror)

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

Camerawork and Editing

So what can I say about this shot? Well it is a low angle shot looking down at the woman in my film. In this frame there is a tree to the left, this helped to create a sense that she is being watched by something or someone. This is a convention of horror and is used in many horror films.
I also used an editing technique which allowed me to adjust colours to create an eerie ‘you are being watched’ feeling. This helped to show the audience that the film is a horror and created mystery from the beginning.

Title font and style

Short, simple and unoriginal, explains my titles. I did not want fancy elaborate titles; it would not fit my genre at all. The use of a serif font helped create a serious tone to tell the audience that it was no spoof movie like many others.

Special Effects

This frame is half way through, I used the special effect to darken down the image to create a sense of evil. It helped the audience see this character is a bad character. this follows the conventions of a horror film.

Costume and Props

In this shot we can clearly see a teenage girl walking in casual clothing. This helps create an image that she is innocent and to follow the conventions of a horror, the innocent girl is always the one to go first. She is wearing a purple hoodie and blue trackies. These colours connote calm innocense in comparison to red which connotes death.
Although not in this shot the creature is not human so is not shown wearing any human clothes.

Setting and Location

This frame is when the valnerable girl is walking home through the woods. I decided to chose this location because it suggests that the creature came from the forest. this develops the conventions of the pyschological part of horror because it plays on the mind. Some people believe there to be animals that have not been discovered and my film plays on the idea that maybe we are not to top of the food chain. Because there is natural bright light she is safe, becasuse it connotes safety whereas darkness connotes danger.

Story, how the opening sets it up

In this shot we can see a hand opening up a door. This is a point of view shot because we are seeing through the eyes of someone. This helps to open up the story that people are followed and chased. This grabs the audience because they will want to find out what happens to the creature and the girl.......obviously she is killed....or is she? 



How Charcters are introduced

 From this frame we can see a very scared woman. This helps develop the conventions of a horror because the women are always targeted. This character is only in the movie for the beginning so doesn't need a name. From the expression on her face you can see she is worried, thinking ‘’maybe it's all in my head’’.

The Title of the film

The Unknown, sounds like a good movie, would like to see it. I chose this as a title because it develops the conventions of a horror that there is an unknown force or creature, examples where this can be seen is resident evil, The Unborn and Nightmare On Elm Street. Behind the writing is a still image that I filmed but did not actually ad into my film but is adjusted the colour using the editing software on iMovieHD.




Genre and how the opening suggests it

What can we seen in this shot? If you look in the top left hand corner you can see a creature. I used the rule of thirds to help me here. Research shows that an audience will pay attention to the top left if the shot was cut into thirds. This draws the attention to the creature and the audience can see that there is no chance the woman can escape. This suggests that the genre is horror because there is a creature, it is dark and a woman is trapped these are all conventions of a horror film.