About Me!!!!
- Joshua Freeland
- My name is Joshua Freeland and as you may have guessed this is my blog. I live in east london (sadly) and attend a sixth form in Barking. Im not going to preech like other people about how 'media has changed my life forever, and that I would swap my my cat for a camera, but I will say that I think this subject gets a lot if slack whichit dont deserve it. In my experience I have had amazing teachers and even better peers. I hope what you find something here that will teach you just how effective media can be......Love the Freeland
Monday 14 March 2011
Sunday 13 March 2011
Distribution and new technology- How to get my film noticed
The way films are distributed has changed greatly over the past decade. Distributes now have a range of different ways to reach the audience , and this means that independent films no longer have to use film festivals to get their film noticed. Media platforms such as YouTube and Face book allows small films to promote their films in new and exciting ways. The introduction of YouTube over 8 years ago has been a media revolution. Media is no longer personal and the audience is now seen as an individual. By liberating the audience YouTube has give them the power to make their own films and then to get feedback on them. This feedback is what they can use to change the film. To understand how powerful YouTube is the key to making your film popular. If you now how to use YouTube to gain feedback and more importantly views , only then will you be able get you film noticed. The video below is just an example of how social media has grown.
Independent film research
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Independent film research
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Camera Shots- Finding the right angle
One of the most important parts of production is choosing what shots and angles to use. There are so many to choose from and picking the right ones in extremely difficult. As we were the producers of a short film meant , our angles and shots would be different to Hollywood blockbusters. The reason for this is down to budget and accessibility ( being actually able to reach those angles). Although this does not mean that we cant attempt to use these angles. For me it is about trying to make your production look as professional as possible , and this w
ill be reflected in the shots we include. This shows how important angles can be and what they can do for a film. With have seen examples of films which are total rubbish (Disaster Movie ) which have a rubbish narrative and even worse charterers , but it is he shots they use which give them that professional look. It is as simple as that , we could come up with narrative which may sound boring but if we make it look good then our audience will be pleased. If you look in the dictionary under "film" you will see that it describes it as a "piece of visual art". It is the word visual which is the most significant because that is what shots and angles can affect. My research on shots started with just brief articles I found on the Internet. A website called free archive.net allowed me to type in film on the search bar and then to access loads of articles on the subject. I found one article written by Paul Williams about how it has become harder for short film makers to create films. His theory behind this was because that we now live in a world which films are just made for money and to keep the audience sweet. He continued to explain that if short film makers want to get their films noticed that they would have to include original and unique shots. It is the shots not the narrative itself which will get your film noticed. For me this was such vital information because it just made me feel more comfortable about my narrative , knowing that even if i came up with a complex narrative it would not matte
r if my shots were no good made me not worry too much about my narrative and made me focus on how I was going to show this narrative. My next piece of research came from a blog which I has come across early on in the year. The blogger name was John and he was an independent film maker. It may not seem a reliable source of information but for myself , I felt that if I could learn something from someone in the same situation as me it would be even better. On his blog he wrote about how to construct a good short film ,and one of the titles was " What are the perfect shots". In his blog he wrote about using simple but interesting shots , for example he talked about how powerful a low angle can be. His belief was that if you tried too hard to make your production look good that you will start to ignore the importance of simple shots. This helped me greatly pick what shots I was going to use as I was realistic about what we could do. I could have said that we were going to use amazing high angle or birds eye shots which will track the character s, or I could use OTS shots and low angles to show what I need to , the important parts of the narrative.
ill be reflected in the shots we include. This shows how important angles can be and what they can do for a film. With have seen examples of films which are total rubbish (Disaster Movie ) which have a rubbish narrative and even worse charterers , but it is he shots they use which give them that professional look. It is as simple as that , we could come up with narrative which may sound boring but if we make it look good then our audience will be pleased. If you look in the dictionary under "film" you will see that it describes it as a "piece of visual art". It is the word visual which is the most significant because that is what shots and angles can affect. My research on shots started with just brief articles I found on the Internet. A website called free archive.net allowed me to type in film on the search bar and then to access loads of articles on the subject. I found one article written by Paul Williams about how it has become harder for short film makers to create films. His theory behind this was because that we now live in a world which films are just made for money and to keep the audience sweet. He continued to explain that if short film makers want to get their films noticed that they would have to include original and unique shots. It is the shots not the narrative itself which will get your film noticed. For me this was such vital information because it just made me feel more comfortable about my narrative , knowing that even if i came up with a complex narrative it would not matte
r if my shots were no good made me not worry too much about my narrative and made me focus on how I was going to show this narrative. My next piece of research came from a blog which I has come across early on in the year. The blogger name was John and he was an independent film maker. It may not seem a reliable source of information but for myself , I felt that if I could learn something from someone in the same situation as me it would be even better. On his blog he wrote about how to construct a good short film ,and one of the titles was " What are the perfect shots". In his blog he wrote about using simple but interesting shots , for example he talked about how powerful a low angle can be. His belief was that if you tried too hard to make your production look good that you will start to ignore the importance of simple shots. This helped me greatly pick what shots I was going to use as I was realistic about what we could do. I could have said that we were going to use amazing high angle or birds eye shots which will track the character s, or I could use OTS shots and low angles to show what I need to , the important parts of the narrative.
Saturday 12 March 2011
COMEDY!-THE 101 on how to be funny
The genre of comedy is a very hard to define as there are so many different precept ions of it. Over the years we have seen some comedy greats , from Chaplin to Adam Sander , comedy has come a long way. You could say that short films do not usually cover the genre of comedy , as it is hard to make something funny in such a short period of time, but i can be done. I have took it in myself to research short films which have been recognized for the genre comedy. It was obvious 
where I should start , and that was with the great Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin dominated the comedy scenes int he early 20's and 30's. He was well known for his slapstick films and cheeky characters which he included in his films. I looked at his film's such as the Circus and the Stranger which Charlie has directed and stared in. The one thing which was consistent throughout his films was pranks and and silly mistakes made by the characters . Slapstick comedy is about obvious comedy , and what is meant by this is that that you would see the characters making really silly actions. The reason that a lot of this can be seen in Charlies films is because that is what the people found funny back in the day. Obviously now it is much harder to make people laugh through film, but if you look carefully you will notice that the same codes and convention still apply. You have to admit that Charlie Chaplin is the king and father of comedy. Even better , he use to make really sh
ort films , such as the "Man in yellow" which was only 5 minutes long. By watching how he crammed in all his comical plot points will help me construct my narrative.
This brings me on to my next piece of research , and that is on modern day comedy. Now this is where it splits into different versions. We now have black comedy and "Rom-com" which are a mixture of different genres. Although it is important to be aware of this , you never really see this type of genre is short films. This led me to start looking at films on YouTube , and this is where I found the film "Black hole". Now black hole covered some any conventions of comedy , such as basic jokes , and elements from charlie Chaplin's. Watching the short film showed me what you needed to include in a short amount of time , and that was a mix of comical plot points and obvious jokes.
where I should start , and that was with the great Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin dominated the comedy scenes int he early 20's and 30's. He was well known for his slapstick films and cheeky characters which he included in his films. I looked at his film's such as the Circus and the Stranger which Charlie has directed and stared in. The one thing which was consistent throughout his films was pranks and and silly mistakes made by the characters . Slapstick comedy is about obvious comedy , and what is meant by this is that that you would see the characters making really silly actions. The reason that a lot of this can be seen in Charlies films is because that is what the people found funny back in the day. Obviously now it is much harder to make people laugh through film, but if you look carefully you will notice that the same codes and convention still apply. You have to admit that Charlie Chaplin is the king and father of comedy. Even better , he use to make really sh
ort films , such as the "Man in yellow" which was only 5 minutes long. By watching how he crammed in all his comical plot points will help me construct my narrative.This brings me on to my next piece of research , and that is on modern day comedy. Now this is where it splits into different versions. We now have black comedy and "Rom-com" which are a mixture of different genres. Although it is important to be aware of this , you never really see this type of genre is short films. This led me to start looking at films on YouTube , and this is where I found the film "Black hole". Now black hole covered some any conventions of comedy , such as basic jokes , and elements from charlie Chaplin's. Watching the short film showed me what you needed to include in a short amount of time , and that was a mix of comical plot points and obvious jokes.
Friday 11 March 2011
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Character profile
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Character profile
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Film review research
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Film review research
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Thursday 3 March 2011
poster 3 research
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Copy of film poster 3
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Shooting schedule
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Shooting schedule
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Poster research 1
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Poster research 1
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Film poster research 2
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Film poster 2
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location recce
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Copy of location recce
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film poster research 3
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Copy of film poster 3
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The pitch
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The pitch
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Auditions sheet for media
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Auditions sheet for media
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Contract
Contract
By signing this contract I agree to the following conditions put to me by the production team.
Turn up on time
Bring props which I have confirmed I will bring in. (prom dress, home photo’s, school dress, Casual clothing)
Commit myself to after school shooting according to timetable.
To co-operate with the production team at all times.
To be professional at all times.
To attend rehearsal’s according to timetable.
Provide contact information (mobile number , address, email)
We understand that you are also in the process of you pre-production and are thankful for your commitment and co-operation. If at anytime you want to contact the production team our information is as stated below. Thank you
Signature of Student………………………
Joshua Freeland (Director) - freelandjo@babbey.bardaglea.org.uk
By signing this contract I agree to the following conditions put to me by the production team.
Turn up on time
Bring props which I have confirmed I will bring in. (prom dress, home photo’s, school dress, Casual clothing)
Commit myself to after school shooting according to timetable.
To co-operate with the production team at all times.
To be professional at all times.
To attend rehearsal’s according to timetable.
Provide contact information (mobile number , address, email)
We understand that you are also in the process of you pre-production and are thankful for your commitment and co-operation. If at anytime you want to contact the production team our information is as stated below. Thank you
Signature of Student………………………
Joshua Freeland (Director) - freelandjo@babbey.bardaglea.org.uk
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Monday 3 January 2011
How did you use new technologies in the research, construction and planning stages?
We had access to new technologies throughout every stage of the production process. To have the technologies available meant we were able to conduct research , plan efficiently , construct our film , and them be able to market it both quickly and professional. New technology can also be refereed to as digital technology , which has enabled us to create the production without having to budget at all. The Internet has become the brain of new technology , allowing everyone accessibility to all most anything , from free editing software to video archives. The Internet ables you to conduct research within seconds , which able us to progress at a good pace. When researching general short films I used YouTube , which has access to over 10 million video's , posted by people from around the world. Having this accessible to me at the touch of a mouse made my life a lot easier. By placing a key word into a search bar such as 'comedy' , I could find films similar to ours. Google, another giant within the Internet , let me research cinematographers such as Christopher Nolan and different script writers. Instead of having to read through books or magazines , I found the information I was looking for straight away , and even other pieces of information which was also relevant. Search engines like Google have meant we can conduct research within a matter of minutes, saving time and money. I also used the Internet to search for copyright free music , in which I used a website called the 'London Grid' to do so. I was given an amazing amount of choices with different genres highlighted right in front of me. From this I chose the soundtracks to my film , saving me having to buy or request copyright free music over the phone.
Throughout the production process we were given different deadlines for each stage. To keep up with these deadlines and to understand what was being asked of us we would go to our personal blogs. We set up our blogs a year ago when starting our AS production, and updated it throughout. The blogs are there for us to post different research and each stage of the planning processed could be followed on it. Having the blog meant I could keep all my research in one place , like a database. At the same time it allowed others to comment on my posts , providing me with vital feedback when necessary. This type of new technology has been a a great tool , as I was able to access my blog at any time , so I kept in touch with my teachers and was able to keep track of my other production team members. The teachers also had a blog , this is where I would be able to find out my deadlines and the what was the brief for each task. I can not stress enough how much easier it made it for all of us by having the blog. Its just another example of digital technology taking that step forward. Without the blog I would not have been able to keep all my planning and research together in one place, knowing that my work was safe and accessible was a great feeling.
The blog was compatible with other programmes , one being slide share. Slide share was a programme I found on the Internet which allowed you to create quick slide shows and post them on the blog , or even social networking sites. This was really helpful when creating my pitch as I could place my points onto it , and once the pitch was over I then placed it onto my blog for everyone to see. From this I gained feedback on it which I wouldn't of been able to do otherwise. Slide share also allowed you to place word documents onto it , meaning my location Reece , shooting schedule and script were able to placed onto my blog.
I was already familiar with the filming equipment from my use of it last year , and after a few workshops I felt confident to use it again. If you compare the equipment to the what film makers had 30 years ago , you can see that it has evolved greatly it such a small amount of time. The equipment is now easier to learn and much more lighter making it easier to move around. The cannon HD means we are able to provide the best quality picture , and compete we other films who have shot in HD. To have this available showed that you did not have to spend an excessive amount of money to provide quality. When shooting I felt professional which rubbed of on my other team mates as our equipment was at high level. We found it easy to move to other locations due to the weight of the camera , and finding different angles was even easier due to its compatibility with the tri-pod. Although our film was silent having the boom pole on set was necessary as we wanted to record ambient sounds for safety. The technology we had allowed us to do this when recording the bedrooms scenes. Even though we did not use it in the end , it was nice to have the option available. Although I was familiar with the equipment already I still learnt new techniques through out the process , such as how to auto focus or track smoothly. This was all due to the equipment being user friendly.
The software we used for editing was both professional and efficient. We were lucky enough to have the use of Adobe Premier pro which really help shape our film. As we had created our film so that each scene was themed , it was important that we distinctly showed the transitions between them all. We were able to add an effect onto our cowboy scene , and found splitting the screen surprisingly easy. At the same time it provided quality throughout and allowed to speed up our scooby doo so so that it looked like our characters were running at a faster pace. Being able to create an assemble edit meant we could gain feedback before placing effects onto the timeline , another beneficial aspect of the editing software. Placing the soundtrack onto the timeline was difficult at times but this was due to problems with the computer , not the software itself. Once the soundtrack was placed we could then experiment with the volume and the pitch , getting feedback from each version. Another piece of equipment we used while editing was the Lacie Drive. The Lacie Drive is a portable hard drive which allowed you to store over 360 gb of memory onto it. What the Lacie allowed us to do is place our digitized shots onto it, as well as the the production itself while it was being created. Due to the hard drive being portable it meant we wasn't restricted to only one members user on the computer. Meaning that anyone could edit at any time , allowing us to finish the production even quicker.
One scene in our production consisted of thought bubbles appearing from the heads of the characters. We had problems with this as the editing software did not allow you to create this , meaning we had to use another piece of software and then convert it to adobe. For this we used photo shop , which i a picture editing software. After many failed attempts we finally was able to place a picture into the thought bubble and then place it within our production. Without the use of of photo shop it would not have been possible to create this , which would have meant our production would have suffered as a consequence from it. Although it was difficult to create , the fact that it was possible meant that it was achievable. Photo shop was also what we used when creating our posters for the film . This stage was much easier as we only had to use photo shop to create them. The process was easy and the programme offered many different editing components which I used to create my poster. For example being able to crop my image onto a black canvas , or adding text along the top of the frame. Being able to create posters using professional software meant that our marketing campaign would be even stronger and would give it that realistic look.
Overall , the new technology I used was efficient and professional , which was important as our aim was to create something on a professional level. Due the evolution of technology we had the opportunity and resources to plan , create and promote our film , as long as technology keeps growing so will the number of high quality films.
Throughout the production process we were given different deadlines for each stage. To keep up with these deadlines and to understand what was being asked of us we would go to our personal blogs. We set up our blogs a year ago when starting our AS production, and updated it throughout. The blogs are there for us to post different research and each stage of the planning processed could be followed on it. Having the blog meant I could keep all my research in one place , like a database. At the same time it allowed others to comment on my posts , providing me with vital feedback when necessary. This type of new technology has been a a great tool , as I was able to access my blog at any time , so I kept in touch with my teachers and was able to keep track of my other production team members. The teachers also had a blog , this is where I would be able to find out my deadlines and the what was the brief for each task. I can not stress enough how much easier it made it for all of us by having the blog. Its just another example of digital technology taking that step forward. Without the blog I would not have been able to keep all my planning and research together in one place, knowing that my work was safe and accessible was a great feeling.
The blog was compatible with other programmes , one being slide share. Slide share was a programme I found on the Internet which allowed you to create quick slide shows and post them on the blog , or even social networking sites. This was really helpful when creating my pitch as I could place my points onto it , and once the pitch was over I then placed it onto my blog for everyone to see. From this I gained feedback on it which I wouldn't of been able to do otherwise. Slide share also allowed you to place word documents onto it , meaning my location Reece , shooting schedule and script were able to placed onto my blog.
I was already familiar with the filming equipment from my use of it last year , and after a few workshops I felt confident to use it again. If you compare the equipment to the what film makers had 30 years ago , you can see that it has evolved greatly it such a small amount of time. The equipment is now easier to learn and much more lighter making it easier to move around. The cannon HD means we are able to provide the best quality picture , and compete we other films who have shot in HD. To have this available showed that you did not have to spend an excessive amount of money to provide quality. When shooting I felt professional which rubbed of on my other team mates as our equipment was at high level. We found it easy to move to other locations due to the weight of the camera , and finding different angles was even easier due to its compatibility with the tri-pod. Although our film was silent having the boom pole on set was necessary as we wanted to record ambient sounds for safety. The technology we had allowed us to do this when recording the bedrooms scenes. Even though we did not use it in the end , it was nice to have the option available. Although I was familiar with the equipment already I still learnt new techniques through out the process , such as how to auto focus or track smoothly. This was all due to the equipment being user friendly.
The software we used for editing was both professional and efficient. We were lucky enough to have the use of Adobe Premier pro which really help shape our film. As we had created our film so that each scene was themed , it was important that we distinctly showed the transitions between them all. We were able to add an effect onto our cowboy scene , and found splitting the screen surprisingly easy. At the same time it provided quality throughout and allowed to speed up our scooby doo so so that it looked like our characters were running at a faster pace. Being able to create an assemble edit meant we could gain feedback before placing effects onto the timeline , another beneficial aspect of the editing software. Placing the soundtrack onto the timeline was difficult at times but this was due to problems with the computer , not the software itself. Once the soundtrack was placed we could then experiment with the volume and the pitch , getting feedback from each version. Another piece of equipment we used while editing was the Lacie Drive. The Lacie Drive is a portable hard drive which allowed you to store over 360 gb of memory onto it. What the Lacie allowed us to do is place our digitized shots onto it, as well as the the production itself while it was being created. Due to the hard drive being portable it meant we wasn't restricted to only one members user on the computer. Meaning that anyone could edit at any time , allowing us to finish the production even quicker.
One scene in our production consisted of thought bubbles appearing from the heads of the characters. We had problems with this as the editing software did not allow you to create this , meaning we had to use another piece of software and then convert it to adobe. For this we used photo shop , which i a picture editing software. After many failed attempts we finally was able to place a picture into the thought bubble and then place it within our production. Without the use of of photo shop it would not have been possible to create this , which would have meant our production would have suffered as a consequence from it. Although it was difficult to create , the fact that it was possible meant that it was achievable. Photo shop was also what we used when creating our posters for the film . This stage was much easier as we only had to use photo shop to create them. The process was easy and the programme offered many different editing components which I used to create my poster. For example being able to crop my image onto a black canvas , or adding text along the top of the frame. Being able to create posters using professional software meant that our marketing campaign would be even stronger and would give it that realistic look.
Overall , the new technology I used was efficient and professional , which was important as our aim was to create something on a professional level. Due the evolution of technology we had the opportunity and resources to plan , create and promote our film , as long as technology keeps growing so will the number of high quality films.
Sunday 2 January 2011
What have you learnt for your audience feedback?
Audience feedback is key at any stage of the production process. From small independent films to massive Hollywood blockbusters , feedback is used to make improvements and to gain opinions on different aspects. It was important that with he had consistent feedback at both the pre and post production stages. Without it we only had the views of the filmmakers themselves (us) , which would always be biast as it is our film.
The first piece of feedback we gained came from when we performed our pitches to our fellow pupils. The aim of the pitch was to explain what our idea was , why it was different , and how we planed on achieving it. Our first pitch consisted of a role play with the two and only characters in the film , an activity which saw the audience get involved and play the lottery with the prize of a sweet up for grabs , and an overall explanation of what our idea was. After the pitch was completed we conducted a question and answer session, this is where we noticed a few minor details had been missed out. We kept getting questions asking what our idea was again , and what was the meaning behind the idea. What this told us was that we had to make our narrative more clear when explaining it to an audience. It also raised the point of if the audience can not understand it now , then what makes us think that they will when watching it. After the session was over , we asked for general feedback from the first pitch in which we gained vital information what would help us shape our production. The audience said they found the activity really enjoyable as it got them involved, and at the same time they were placed in the shoes of the characters, helping them to understand their motives and feelings. Although from our feedback we had learnt that the audience thought the two characters had become enemy's toward the end of the film , which was the total opposite of what we had hoped for. This is why at the end of our short film we have the scene at the stairs, where the two characters share a comical moment of them coming to terms that they have lost the lottery ticket. This leaves the audience laughing at the end of the film and shows that there are no hard feelings between the two. This all developed from the feedback we gained at the pitch. Another piece of feedback we gained at the end of the pitch was that our audience were concerned about the practicality of our idea. Even though they thought the initial idea was good they didn't believe we had the time or the resources to accomplish this. They suggested keeping the initial idea but reallocating the scenes. This at first was both shocking and worrying as it meant that we would have to storyboard again and find new locations within a week , but after a review of our idea we had to agree. Our first idea was located within a park and on the streets. Shooting outside would have meant we would have trouble with sound,weather and lighting as the sun would only be up for a limited amount of time. This is why our production is now set in a house and within a school , it meant that we didn't have to travel far when changing locations and that we had control of the lighting. Looking back now I believe it was the right choice as the week we filmed we had terrible weather which meant we wouldn't of even been able to film outside anyway , just going to show how vital feedback is. Another part of the pitch which the audience really enjoyed was the hot seating with the characters , which gave the audience a chance to learn the characters names and there background. We made it very comical as it linked with our genre , and from the feedback we gained after, we learnt that the audience knew straight away what our genre was without having to be told , which is what we had hoped for. One problem we learnt from our audience feedback was that the characters didn't seemed balanced , and that one was too quiet and the other too loud. For me this was what I wanted the audience to see as we had created the characters so that one would lead and the other would follow , but I did not want it so that it became annoying for the audience when watching . So we went back to our character profile sheets , we changed the quieter character so that she had more of an attitude about her and was not scared to stick up for her self , but at the same time keeping that innocence which glows from her due to her being so stupid. Going back to the questions we were asked at the start , we knew that we had to make the narrative clear and easy to follow. As our genre was a comedy we had to make sure that we did not over complicate things so that our target audience (young teenagers -young adults) would find it funny. This is why we decided to make the different scenes themed ,making them easier to recognize. From cowboy scene to the scooby doo scene , each had their own features which made them funny , the transition between scenes was also made clear with a change of music. We believe that by creating themes for each scene will mean that the audience can follow the film and remember old scenes and identify new ones while understanding each.
Once we had shot and digitized we started to create our assemble edit. It is at this period which we asked a fellow media student for their opinion on different decisions. When editing the shots for the opening sequence a fellow student said they found it too long and boring. Once the assemble edit was completed we timed the opening sequence and it came to 2 minutes and 47 seconds. This was way too long for an opening sequence so we decided to create a montage and cut shots down so that it didn't drag out. It was from the feedback about the opening sequence being too long that we took the decision to cut it down. After we had edited it we showed it to the student again and they said they found it much more interesting due to the montage and the quick cut edits. This pleased us as we did not want to loose the attention of our audience within the opening sequence. After that we finished editing the rest of the film and created a rough draft to show an audience of year 9 students. It was important for us to show it to a younger audience as they were our target audience, and so it crucial to get feedback from them. Seeing their reactions while watching the film was brilliant as they were laughing and smiling through out. This alone put a smile on my face as I wanted to create something that made people really laugh and allow them to enjoy them selves while watching it. After they had seen it we asked they write their views on a piece of paper and pass them to me as they leave the room. From the pieces of paper we gained a great amount of feedback , both negative and positive. The cowboys and scooby doo scenes seemed to be the most popular , but a number of reviews said they wished the music was more suited to the scenes. After I went back and searched for both a western soundtrack and a quick upbeat soundtrack. Once I did I placed them onto the timeline and reviewed it again. The difference was noticeable straight away , and the scenes soon came to life and looked and sounded like the scenes they were suppose to be resembling. Most of the negative feedback came from the opening sequence which was disappointing as we had already taken feedback from it. What the audience said they did not like was the lack of comical material in it. When I looked back at it I agreed that it could have done with more funny moments , but our aim was not to be funny straight away but to introduce the characters slowly to the audience. I have to admit that I was stuck on what I had to do as I had not expected this type of feedback from the opening sequence , but I could not just keep it the same and run the risk of ruining our film within the opening minutes. After brain storming we decided as a group that the soundtrack may be key to making the scene more interesting. This is why now when the girls place their ipods into the dock a loud funny rap song is played. This juxtapositions next to the slow calm morning soundtrack is what we hope will make that scene funny.
Some of the last pieces of feedback in which helped me during the post production was during the creation of my posters. The posters were important as they would be the face of the film and what the public would first see. I brainstormed many ideas and drafted over 5 different posters. For feedback i placed each poster on a separate window and asked a group of 5 students to place a tick on the one they liked best. From the 5 the poster which was based on the city of god theme got the most ticks with the two independent posters coming 2nd and 3rd. This was perfect feedback as I was hoping that it would be them 3 which got the most ticks. This was because they all covered a range of character development and narrative description. Although I did not gain verbal feedback , to know which ones was the most popular was enough for me to have faith in the three which were chosen.
The first piece of feedback we gained came from when we performed our pitches to our fellow pupils. The aim of the pitch was to explain what our idea was , why it was different , and how we planed on achieving it. Our first pitch consisted of a role play with the two and only characters in the film , an activity which saw the audience get involved and play the lottery with the prize of a sweet up for grabs , and an overall explanation of what our idea was. After the pitch was completed we conducted a question and answer session, this is where we noticed a few minor details had been missed out. We kept getting questions asking what our idea was again , and what was the meaning behind the idea. What this told us was that we had to make our narrative more clear when explaining it to an audience. It also raised the point of if the audience can not understand it now , then what makes us think that they will when watching it. After the session was over , we asked for general feedback from the first pitch in which we gained vital information what would help us shape our production. The audience said they found the activity really enjoyable as it got them involved, and at the same time they were placed in the shoes of the characters, helping them to understand their motives and feelings. Although from our feedback we had learnt that the audience thought the two characters had become enemy's toward the end of the film , which was the total opposite of what we had hoped for. This is why at the end of our short film we have the scene at the stairs, where the two characters share a comical moment of them coming to terms that they have lost the lottery ticket. This leaves the audience laughing at the end of the film and shows that there are no hard feelings between the two. This all developed from the feedback we gained at the pitch. Another piece of feedback we gained at the end of the pitch was that our audience were concerned about the practicality of our idea. Even though they thought the initial idea was good they didn't believe we had the time or the resources to accomplish this. They suggested keeping the initial idea but reallocating the scenes. This at first was both shocking and worrying as it meant that we would have to storyboard again and find new locations within a week , but after a review of our idea we had to agree. Our first idea was located within a park and on the streets. Shooting outside would have meant we would have trouble with sound,weather and lighting as the sun would only be up for a limited amount of time. This is why our production is now set in a house and within a school , it meant that we didn't have to travel far when changing locations and that we had control of the lighting. Looking back now I believe it was the right choice as the week we filmed we had terrible weather which meant we wouldn't of even been able to film outside anyway , just going to show how vital feedback is. Another part of the pitch which the audience really enjoyed was the hot seating with the characters , which gave the audience a chance to learn the characters names and there background. We made it very comical as it linked with our genre , and from the feedback we gained after, we learnt that the audience knew straight away what our genre was without having to be told , which is what we had hoped for. One problem we learnt from our audience feedback was that the characters didn't seemed balanced , and that one was too quiet and the other too loud. For me this was what I wanted the audience to see as we had created the characters so that one would lead and the other would follow , but I did not want it so that it became annoying for the audience when watching . So we went back to our character profile sheets , we changed the quieter character so that she had more of an attitude about her and was not scared to stick up for her self , but at the same time keeping that innocence which glows from her due to her being so stupid. Going back to the questions we were asked at the start , we knew that we had to make the narrative clear and easy to follow. As our genre was a comedy we had to make sure that we did not over complicate things so that our target audience (young teenagers -young adults) would find it funny. This is why we decided to make the different scenes themed ,making them easier to recognize. From cowboy scene to the scooby doo scene , each had their own features which made them funny , the transition between scenes was also made clear with a change of music. We believe that by creating themes for each scene will mean that the audience can follow the film and remember old scenes and identify new ones while understanding each.
Once we had shot and digitized we started to create our assemble edit. It is at this period which we asked a fellow media student for their opinion on different decisions. When editing the shots for the opening sequence a fellow student said they found it too long and boring. Once the assemble edit was completed we timed the opening sequence and it came to 2 minutes and 47 seconds. This was way too long for an opening sequence so we decided to create a montage and cut shots down so that it didn't drag out. It was from the feedback about the opening sequence being too long that we took the decision to cut it down. After we had edited it we showed it to the student again and they said they found it much more interesting due to the montage and the quick cut edits. This pleased us as we did not want to loose the attention of our audience within the opening sequence. After that we finished editing the rest of the film and created a rough draft to show an audience of year 9 students. It was important for us to show it to a younger audience as they were our target audience, and so it crucial to get feedback from them. Seeing their reactions while watching the film was brilliant as they were laughing and smiling through out. This alone put a smile on my face as I wanted to create something that made people really laugh and allow them to enjoy them selves while watching it. After they had seen it we asked they write their views on a piece of paper and pass them to me as they leave the room. From the pieces of paper we gained a great amount of feedback , both negative and positive. The cowboys and scooby doo scenes seemed to be the most popular , but a number of reviews said they wished the music was more suited to the scenes. After I went back and searched for both a western soundtrack and a quick upbeat soundtrack. Once I did I placed them onto the timeline and reviewed it again. The difference was noticeable straight away , and the scenes soon came to life and looked and sounded like the scenes they were suppose to be resembling. Most of the negative feedback came from the opening sequence which was disappointing as we had already taken feedback from it. What the audience said they did not like was the lack of comical material in it. When I looked back at it I agreed that it could have done with more funny moments , but our aim was not to be funny straight away but to introduce the characters slowly to the audience. I have to admit that I was stuck on what I had to do as I had not expected this type of feedback from the opening sequence , but I could not just keep it the same and run the risk of ruining our film within the opening minutes. After brain storming we decided as a group that the soundtrack may be key to making the scene more interesting. This is why now when the girls place their ipods into the dock a loud funny rap song is played. This juxtapositions next to the slow calm morning soundtrack is what we hope will make that scene funny.
Some of the last pieces of feedback in which helped me during the post production was during the creation of my posters. The posters were important as they would be the face of the film and what the public would first see. I brainstormed many ideas and drafted over 5 different posters. For feedback i placed each poster on a separate window and asked a group of 5 students to place a tick on the one they liked best. From the 5 the poster which was based on the city of god theme got the most ticks with the two independent posters coming 2nd and 3rd. This was perfect feedback as I was hoping that it would be them 3 which got the most ticks. This was because they all covered a range of character development and narrative description. Although I did not gain verbal feedback , to know which ones was the most popular was enough for me to have faith in the three which were chosen.
Saturday 1 January 2011
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
So that we could market and promote our production we created a combination of posters and a film review. This is normal procedure for any film production process when placing your film onto the market. You may say that the posters would act as the first inital stimuli , which the public would see around their local areas or on the side of bus's. The aim of the posters are to create a hype and awareness for our short film. The film review would follow this and would target people who may need a little more persuasion, that's why we would have ratings and brief explanation of what the film is about.
When creating the first of three posters , we decided we wanted the posters to link very closely with our short film. This is why our genre is reflected in each, which should mean our target audience will know what the genre is , making them want to see the film more. The idea for the first poster came after conducting research into other film posters of the same genre. While I was looking I came along the poster for the City of God. Although the film does not share the same genre , the layout of the images (scattered around a black canvas) appealed to me. This was because it didn't follow the normal conventions for a film poster. We have taken the same approach for ours. As the short film itself doesn't really follow the normal conventions of a short film , I thought it would be fitting to try and covey this onto our poster. The images I chose to place onto the poster came were screenshots from the actual production itself. The first is of one of the characters during the cowboy scene. The lighting of the image is low key , complementing the black background. The image creates a serious feeling about poster , which may seem strange as it is a comedy. But it's for that exact reason why I used the images ; the images them selves are funny. And so if you mix something funny with a serious element you enhance the comedy aspect. For example , when you are told to be quite in a class your automatic reaction is to speak , as it will be funny if you do. Yasmin (who is the person in the image) has a angry but silly face gesture. This reflects the film itself which is comedy , and has many serious scenes but with a comical twist. The image below is a two shot of Becca and Yasmin who play the two characters posing as if they were gangstars. The description alone is funny enough but seeing the image itself is even better. It is placed there because its a part in the film which was created to make people laugh. Although we may be giving part of the film away , it an image which the public will remember , and if they laughed when seeing the image, they are going to laugh when they see it within the film. The girls are both wearing hoods which the audience can also use to recognize the characters. The link between the film is important , from past experience I know that the smallest detail can be the decider for a member of the public on whether they choose to see your film or not. With the other two posters , we decided on making them individuals for each character. The reason behind this was due to the fact that the production has been created around the two , and so we wanted to reflect this within our posters.Again screen shots were used so that the audience could have a glimpse of how our film presented itself , quality wise. Each image used came from the scenes in which the two girls had tracking shots taken of them walking down a street. Each has the same key lighting and the size of the posters are the same. This is so that the public know that the posters are linked , which at the same time introduces them to the characters. The characters share a really serious look into the camera, but their costumes make them look really silly. This is parallel to our film , which twist serious moments into comical genius. The whole point of the posters for the characters is to just slowly introduce them to the public. The members of the public who are drawn to to the poster will hopefully be our target audience as we are targeting younger people who will have a less mature sense of humour.
The film review would be the next step when marketing our film. Film reviews are written by people who analyse your film to it deepest depths. There words can be the difference between someone watching your film or not. For independent films , it is harder to gain good reviews from the top critics , as they only write for the mainstream film magazines. I thought that by placing our review inside the empire magazine it would be a great opportunity , as it would mean millions of people would read the review , instead of it being limited to only independent film lovers. Our layout was created to appeal to teenagers/ young men. This is reflected through our colour scheme of light blue and green. The bright colours are what will catch the attention of the readers , especially with the younger reader. Obviously the review was always going to be positive , if not then your just setting yourself up for a fail before you have even started. Within the review I have used words such a 'hilarious' and 'comical masterpiece' which are tags linked with our genre. These links are important because they will be associated to our film , and they will be used by the reader as well to describe our film to others.
Overall we believe that our production and ancillary text's compliment each other really well. Our genre is the stem which grows through both, highlighting that film is both comical and family friendly. We know that we have created a positive image and that not too much has been given away , creating that hype and promoting our film.
When creating the first of three posters , we decided we wanted the posters to link very closely with our short film. This is why our genre is reflected in each, which should mean our target audience will know what the genre is , making them want to see the film more. The idea for the first poster came after conducting research into other film posters of the same genre. While I was looking I came along the poster for the City of God. Although the film does not share the same genre , the layout of the images (scattered around a black canvas) appealed to me. This was because it didn't follow the normal conventions for a film poster. We have taken the same approach for ours. As the short film itself doesn't really follow the normal conventions of a short film , I thought it would be fitting to try and covey this onto our poster. The images I chose to place onto the poster came were screenshots from the actual production itself. The first is of one of the characters during the cowboy scene. The lighting of the image is low key , complementing the black background. The image creates a serious feeling about poster , which may seem strange as it is a comedy. But it's for that exact reason why I used the images ; the images them selves are funny. And so if you mix something funny with a serious element you enhance the comedy aspect. For example , when you are told to be quite in a class your automatic reaction is to speak , as it will be funny if you do. Yasmin (who is the person in the image) has a angry but silly face gesture. This reflects the film itself which is comedy , and has many serious scenes but with a comical twist. The image below is a two shot of Becca and Yasmin who play the two characters posing as if they were gangstars. The description alone is funny enough but seeing the image itself is even better. It is placed there because its a part in the film which was created to make people laugh. Although we may be giving part of the film away , it an image which the public will remember , and if they laughed when seeing the image, they are going to laugh when they see it within the film. The girls are both wearing hoods which the audience can also use to recognize the characters. The link between the film is important , from past experience I know that the smallest detail can be the decider for a member of the public on whether they choose to see your film or not. With the other two posters , we decided on making them individuals for each character. The reason behind this was due to the fact that the production has been created around the two , and so we wanted to reflect this within our posters.Again screen shots were used so that the audience could have a glimpse of how our film presented itself , quality wise. Each image used came from the scenes in which the two girls had tracking shots taken of them walking down a street. Each has the same key lighting and the size of the posters are the same. This is so that the public know that the posters are linked , which at the same time introduces them to the characters. The characters share a really serious look into the camera, but their costumes make them look really silly. This is parallel to our film , which twist serious moments into comical genius. The whole point of the posters for the characters is to just slowly introduce them to the public. The members of the public who are drawn to to the poster will hopefully be our target audience as we are targeting younger people who will have a less mature sense of humour.
The film review would be the next step when marketing our film. Film reviews are written by people who analyse your film to it deepest depths. There words can be the difference between someone watching your film or not. For independent films , it is harder to gain good reviews from the top critics , as they only write for the mainstream film magazines. I thought that by placing our review inside the empire magazine it would be a great opportunity , as it would mean millions of people would read the review , instead of it being limited to only independent film lovers. Our layout was created to appeal to teenagers/ young men. This is reflected through our colour scheme of light blue and green. The bright colours are what will catch the attention of the readers , especially with the younger reader. Obviously the review was always going to be positive , if not then your just setting yourself up for a fail before you have even started. Within the review I have used words such a 'hilarious' and 'comical masterpiece' which are tags linked with our genre. These links are important because they will be associated to our film , and they will be used by the reader as well to describe our film to others.
Overall we believe that our production and ancillary text's compliment each other really well. Our genre is the stem which grows through both, highlighting that film is both comical and family friendly. We know that we have created a positive image and that not too much has been given away , creating that hype and promoting our film.
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