Research into Various Images

Other things I analysed were various images of domestic abuse, and violence. I chose to research into these as they were the main themes in our opening sequence. Therefore we needed to make sure that the audience knew they were the main themes in our opening sequence. I connoted that in most of the domestic violence images it was always the female that was getting hurt and never the male. This showed a stereotype of couples by only representing the women as vulnerable.  

Research into Newspaper Headlines

I analysed various newspaper headings saying things such as ‘Teens break free from dating abuse’ and ‘Murdered as her little boy watched’. The headlines were basic and got straight to the point of the story. As we were using headlines in our opening sequence I thought they would be a good thing to research into to see the types of wording they contained to make ours seem as real as possible. They were usually one sentence headlines that included a very brief description of the story. This therefore grabbed the audience’s attention and enticed them into the story.

We therefore thought we’d do the same and use headlines to give the audience brief descriptions of the narrative to lure them into wanting to watch the rest of the film.

Research Thriller Film Posters

When researching into the thriller genre some of the things I analysed were previous film posters. I connoted that a common element which most of the posters possessed were using the colour red. This was mainly used in the title of the film or on other pieces of writing for example release date etc. The colour red is denoted to represent violence, anger, death and also romance. This therefore suits our film as we have a hybrid which includes violence, anger, death and also romance. We therefore thought that we’d include this in our opening sequence. We used it on the images, on some elements of the costume and on the lighting.
Also, other times when red is used is when blood is shown on the poster. This states the obvious that the film is likely to be a thriller and therefore brings in its targeted audience.

Opening Sequence Analysis - Thrillers

One opening sequence of films with the genre of thrillers I analysed was Inception. I thought this would be a good film to analyse due to its pshycological elements as well as the thriller element. In this film the characters minds are played with to an extent where they dont know whether theyre dreaming or not. This is similar to our narrative as the character Jonathan sets up a room which shows the character has serious pshycological problems.

Also, the soundtrack to this film is very a very mysterious sound which causes the audience to be on the edge of their seat at all times and be left in suspense. Therefore we thought to do something similar to this and also keep our soundtrack very mysterious and tense.

AS Opening Sequence Inspiration

One of the most significant opening sequences my group analysed was 'Momento'. We all agreed that we liked all of the elements it contained. For example, the only way in which the characters are introduced to the audience in the film is through pictures of them. We thought this would be a good idea for us to do as we were trying to leave the audience in suspense and wanting to watch on to find out more. Therefore by only briefly showing them to the audience they would be left challenging their minds wondering who these characters are and what their role is in the narrative.

Another element we liked was the non diegetic sound of characters speaking from the past. Again, this added to the element of suspense as we were not able to see the actions of these charcters but we were ony able to hear them.

We therefore incooperated these ideas into our opening sequence as we too did the same and introduced the charcters through pictures and also had non diegetic sound from the past.

Moodboard

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I chose to use these images as I thought they represented our narrative very well. They showed the romance aspect in the film and also the stage of pregnancy and the domestic violence stage. I think this will give our audience a good idea on what our film will be about and intise them to want to watch it.

Character Profile - Nicholas

  

• 20 Years Old
• Been in loads of relationships
• Aggressive
•  Violent
• Sweet talker/ smooth
• Athletic
• Wealthy
• Sly

This a clear representation of the character Nicholas. He is depicted as a sterotypical thug because of his costume, facial expression and the steroetype that most thugs are of a black ethnicity. 

Character Profile - Sarah

• 19 Years old
• Sensitive
• Opinionated
• Virgin
• Usually involved in long-term relationships
• Daddy's girl
• Independent woman

This is a clear representation of the character Sarah. Sarah is a student, who has taken a gap year to gain more experience and money. She adores her father, and respects him as he brought her up by himself as her mother died giving birth to her. She is an independent woman, she does no rely on her father for anything, instead she tries to look after him more then he looks after her. She is highly sensitive, she has a fragile personality and tends to get emotional quite easily. Although she is intelligent, she can be easily manipulated, especially by males, but nevertheless she strongly believes she does not want to loose her virginity unless she is in a relationship she knows will be very long-term.

Character Profile - Jonathan

• Over Protective
• Easily Jealous
• Incredible strength
• Hatred for all of Sarah's previous Boyfriends
• Sadistic
• Reckless
• Relentless

This is a clear representation of the character Jonathan. Jonathan loves and devotes his life to his daughter as we can see he has his arm around her. After the death of his wife he swore to protect his daughter. However, Sarah is unaware of Jonathan's childhood, and what actually drove him to become so twisted an over-protective when it came to males that tried to enter her life. He appears like a normal big stocky man, but possess incredible strength and willpower. Since the death of his wife, he has found it hard to have another relationship, and believes his daughter is the most important woman in his life.

Final Script, Prelim

(Manager is seated, anxious as he fiddles with a pen on the table..)

Player: (on the phone) alright I’ll see you later.

(To manager) how’s it going gaffer?

Manager: I was hoping I’d run into you actually, can I see you for a minute?

(Player walks in and sits)

Player: yeah sure what’s up?

Manager: Well I’m in a bit of a situation. I owe some people money and there is only one way I can think of getting the money back.  

Player: And that is… (Sceptical)

Manager: I need you and the boys to fix the game

Player: (Amazed) But that can jeopardise my career

Manager: (Leans foward) I know I'm asking for alot here. You won’t come out of this deal empty handed. I guarantee it.

(Player, contemplating)

Manager: I’ve got contacts in Spain. Real Madrid. They need another centre midfielder.

(Slides and pen a contract to him)

Player: £90,000 a week?

Manager: I take that as a yes then.

(Both stand up and shake hands.)

This was the script that we chose to use for our sequence. We thought this would be the better script as the topic was basic and also current as a similar story was recently in the news. We have given clear indications for the actors to follow as stage directions which we did not do on our draft script. This therefore helped us structure our script.

Pre-lim Script, Final Draft

(Manager is seated, anxious as he fiddles with a pen on the table. A young man enters as he limps.)

Manager: Mr (Players name), you alright.

Player: Well, I could be better. My knee isn’t fully healed yet.

Manager: Oh well that’s too bad. Would you take a seat? 

Player:( sitting on chair) Sure.

Manager: I've asked for you to see me. - do you know why?

Player: Actually sir, I thought you wanted to finally put in me up front. 

Manager: Not quite son. There’s actually a problem.

Player: What problem sir?

Manager: Well the lads aren’t really that happy, you see.

Player: Okay…

Manager: And do you remember how you told us about that/

Player: /about my sexuality, that im gay.

Manager: Let’s use Homosexual instead. And yes, the lads aren’t comfortable/

Player: Comfortable about my sexuality?

Manager: Well…

Player: Sir, that’s not my problem. They’ll have to deal with it themselves.

Manager: On the contrary son, it is your problem and my problem. They won’t change or even play football with you anymore.

Player: What? That’s so absurd sir! Surely you can’t be considering this!

Manager: Look; it’s my job to take care of any problems they have. You have, unfortunately turned out to be a problem.

Player: So what are you trying to say? You're going to kick me off the team because of my sexuality?

Manager: Yes and no. We’re going to, lets say, let you move on. Its nothing personal.

Player: Personal? Let me be the judge of that!

(Player walks away very unsettled and angry)

This was our initial idea for our script during our preliminary preparation. It built a history between bboth characters however was a legnthy script. For the time we had to shoot the clip this was far too long so we decided not to use it. Also, the subject may be a slightly touchy subject and one that we would not want to risk offending anny of our audience.

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q1

Q1. In what ways does your media product USE, DEVELOP, or CHALLENGE the forms conventions of real media products?

There are many ways in which our media product uses, develops and challenges the conventions of real media products. One way in which our product uses typical forms of other media products is the formation of our opening sequence. For example, our opening sequence gives the audience clues about what is going to take place throughout the rest of the film and why only one character is shown throughout the sequence. We produced a montage sequence which we thought would challenge the typical convention of films which start right from the beginning. Therefore ours begins at the end. This idea was inspired after watching the opening sequence of the film ‘Momento’. In ‘Momentos’ opening sequence we were shown pictures of various characters throughout the film along with non diegetic sound of that character speaking eventually followed by a character being shot. The non diegetic sound was of certain characters speaking of or from an event which takes place either before or after the scene we are being shown. We thought this challenges the audience’s interpretations of the narrative as they are wondering why someone has just been shot and are also unaware of other characters in the narrative. We used a similar idea in our product as we began showing the mysterious setting which was eventually followed by the main character tied in ropes on the floor. Whist showing the setting we faded into a few black screens which had non diegetic sound of characters speaking of events that happened in the past. This challenged the audience as whilst they were wondering why there was an unknown character tied up on the floor, they were briefly hearing of events that happened in the past which created a jigsaw effect. This meant that the audience were putting together pieces of the film to try and interpret the narrative of the story and create meaning themselves without it being handed to them.

We had elements of possessiveness and obsession which were shown through our setting. This was seen on the walls of our setting which was a confined and mysterious room. There were newspaper trimmings which read ‘Happy Family’ with a cross through it and red writing which read ‘Murder’. This made the character who had obviously captured the boy seem obsessive and possessive as he had spent time trying to track down the boy and capture him to get his revenge. This idea was similar to ‘Shutter Island’, not in the sense of our location or things such as the newspaper articles however the psychological aspects of it. In ‘Shutter Island’ the audience were played mind games on and were constantly left thinking about the truth to the narrative as it was a lie shown to be truth to a particular character. This made it very hard for the audience to understand and follow as usually the audience would look to the main character to try to understand the narrative and follow their actions etc. However in ‘Shutter Island’ the main character was confused himself and was unaware of the truth which made it very hard for the audience to grasp. The difference in our narrative was that the main character was aware of the events that were taking place however as we began with the end of the story it challenged the audience’s thinking and left them wondering why the character was tied up which is similar to ‘Shutter Island’.

Another way in which our media product used typical conventions of media products was due to characters. In our product we only showed our main character. Although he wasn’t introduced to the audience straight away he was established through the non diegetic sounds of the past. We chose to only use one character as we thought it would make our product more effective. This was because by only introducing one character the audience where left in suspense wondering who else was involved in the narrative, also who it was that captured him. The characters were to be introduced later on in the film however were established in the opening sequence in a creative way. This was by showing the setting having pictures of various characters on the walls along with the credits. We only showed the main characters in the pictures, for example the girlfriend and the father. The establishment of the other characters was reinforced b y the non diegetic sound of events which happened in the past. Therefore, although not all the characters were introduced, they were still established briefly and also left the audience in suspense wanting to know who everyone else was and why the event was taking place. This would hopefully make them want to continue watching the entire film as they were left on the edge of their seat.

Another way in which our media product used conventions of other media products was due to the narrative. We used a montage sequence which had a full story line however was shown through flashbacks. This made the narrative unpredictable as the audience would be unaware whether or not they were being shown the future or the past. This is similar to ‘Inception’. This is because in ‘Inception’ we were continuously shown memories from the past which confused the audience and left them wanting to carry on watching to understand the narrative fully. However, in some ways our product developed other media products conventions as it was a generic hybrid. Although generic hybrids are common in today’s films our product challenged them further as we did not just include 2 genres. Our product took elements from romance, thriller and action. We thought this would be a good idea as it would attract a variety of audience who would be interested in various different genres.

Another way in which our product used conventions of other media products was due to sound. In our product we didn’t use the diegetic sound of dialogue. The only diegetic sound we used was of one characters footsteps walking into the room. The non diegetic sound we used was of the non visible characters speaking from the past. They were not shown on screen just simply heard. Also, we have a soundtrack playing throughout the entire opening sequence. This is a parallel sound. We thought this would add effect as it would add even more suspense to the film and again, leave the audience challenged and wanting to know more about the narrative of the story. This challenged some other media products as they usually have diegetic sound which matches most characters or objects on the screen. That makes it easier for the audience to fully understand the narrative from the beginning without leaving them challenged. This therefore adds no suspense.

Finally, another way in which our product used conventions of other media products was due to mise – en – scene. This is everything we see in the camera frame. Colour was one convention we used throughout our opening sequence. As you may notice the main colour is red. We chose to keep the colour red as a reoccurring element throughout the film as it can be connoted to all of our chosen genres. For example, it can be connoted as showing romance, blood, danger etc. These are all parts of our narrative. We see the colour red in many things in our opening sequence, for example, in the main characters hat which is on the floor. The hat is red. The lighting is tinted red and also the writing on the walls is written in red. The lighting acts as a spotlight which is shining on the main character who is on the floor which shows he is in danger. Also, the writing on the walls is also in red which again, suggests danger and violence which is then reinforced by saying ‘murder’ on one wall. Also, in a close up of a picture of two of the main characters you will notice the main character is placing his red hat over his girlfriend. This is to make sure the audience notice the hat and the colour red as it is not simply in an image but is being used and played with.

Heena

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q2

Q2. How does your opening sequence represent particular social groups?

Representation is to portray someone or something in a particular way through their costume, props, body language, facial expressions and dialogue. It tells the audience what the certain character is like and about personality. Whether or not the audience want to follow the characters actions or create their own interpretations and stereotypical views is up to them.

Throughout our film we have created 3 main characters. The main character is Nicholas who is an abusing and cheating boyfriend towards his girlfriend. He abused his girlfriend so much that he murdered their unborn baby of which the girlfriend was carrying for 9 months. Another character is Sarah. She plays Nicholas’ girlfriend. Also, her father Jonathon who is out to seek revenge on his daughters ex boyfriend for abusing her so much that they lost their baby.

There were many ways in which we tried to represent Nicholas in a particular way. For example his costume. He was wearing a grey and black hoodie with black combat trousers and black trainers. From this the audience would have been able to connote that he was a mysterious character who kept himself to himself as he was dressed in all black. Also, he looked stereotypically like a typical teenager by wearing typical teenage boys’ clothes. This was simple yet effective. Also, the way in which we first introduced Nicholas was through a close up of a picture. This would have immediately caught the audience’s attention as close ups usually signify that the audience feel a bond with the character as it is invading their personal space. They are also commonly used to show a characters true feelings and build a relationship with the audience. Therefore by the first shot of him being a close up is immediately questioning the audiences mind. The audience will immediately want to know who this character is and what his relevance to the narrative is. It will also tell them that he must be a significant character as he has been introduced in a very personal way. A hobby Nicholas possesses is ‘MC’ing’. This is when a singer/artist raps his lyrics instead of singing them. In today’s society it is highly common for teenage boys to ‘MC’. When they ‘MC’ they are said to be letting out their true feelings and attitudes about certain things usually of which took place in their past. Therefore by showing a close up of Nicholas the audience are shown a representation of his true feelings and attitudes by being introduced to him in a particular way. He therefore represents a particular social group by being able to be linked with a mass amount of teens in today’s society.

There were also many ways in which we tried to represent Sarah in a particular way. For example, the only time she was introduced in the opening sequence was through a close up of a picture. By doing this the audience were able to connote a true representation of who she was and her particular body language would have told the audience what kind of character she was as they were also shown her attitudes. Also, this would have told the audience that she played a significant role in the narrative as she was one of the few characters who were actually shown. By Sarah being a teenager and pregnant she represented a particular social group. As we are aware in today’s society the number of teenage pregnancies has risen massively. Therefore the audience would have been able to connote that Sarah plays this role, thus representing teen pregnancies.

There were also many ways in which we tried to represent Jonathon in a particular way. For example, the only time he was introduced in the opening sequence was through a close up of pictures. One picture was him with his daughter Sarah and the other was of a mug shot on a poster which read ‘If you see this man call 999’. This would have made the audience think he was a violent man due to his immediate link with the police. It would have also portrayed him as a protective character due to the length he is going through to get revenge for his daughters upset.

When choosing our cast members our job wasn’t particularly hard as we only needed to cast one member. One person in particular was very keen to play the role of Nicholas so we thought it would be best if he played it. As he was a member of our group he knew the narrative very well which was an advantage as it meant we saved time on explaining the narrative to another member. Also the fact that he knew other traits of the character as he took part in inventing them. We knew he was reliable and dedicated as we knew his personality and how much he enjoyed media studies. When we were deciding what we needed out of our cast member we knew good acting skills was definitely one of the factors that played a huge role. Although our cast member was good at acting our group benefitted as no acting apart from laying down was needed.

When directing our cast member we had to make sure his actions were staying true to the representations of our character. As our cast member was also a member of our group we made sure that we all agreed on the decisions we were making about the actions of the character. In order to do this we had to make preparations beforehand and discussed what traits of Nicholas we wanted to portray to the audience in order to represent him in a particular way.

Heena

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q3

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our film would be shown in a small screening as it is a low budget film. It is likely to be shown at places such as film festivals, through the internet on websites such as YouTube. After the film has been completely put together the final print of the movie will be sent to distribution companies. They will show it to prospective buyers representing the movie theaters. The buyers will then negotiate with the distribution company on the movies they chose to lease, after which they draw up an agreement. The prints are then sent to the movie theatres who show the movie for a certain amount of time. This time is called an engagement. After this the prints are sent back to the distributor who makes the payment to the theatre on the terms of the agreement.

The better the director and producers of the film mean the better media distributor the film will get. As our film has only been produced by students who made it on a low budget, we are unlikely to get a big named distributor as we will be unheard of. Therefore it would be more likely to be distributed by a small independent distributor. These are companies such as ‘Dogwoof’, who have distributed films such as ‘Enemies of the People’ and ‘Into Eternity’. Also companies such as ‘Artificial Eye’, ‘Metrodome Distribution’ and ‘Short Circuit Films’. I feel that companies such as these would consider distributing our film as they are small and independent.

Our film will be shown in small screenings at small cinemas which will be attracting a free audience. The audience will not have to pay anything. By doing this we will get recognition as film makers. It will also mean that we will be able to network with other film makers and even perhaps potential film distributors or other potential workers who we may be able to work with in the future.

Other institutions such as the internet may distribute our film. For example, Twitter and Facebook. They can post our film on their website in order to attract a niche audience. As statistics show users of Facebook and Twitter are mainly teenagers. This is likely to be because they have a lot of free time to spend using such sites. By gaining a teen niche audience we will be able to network with other young people who may also be trying to get recognition from producing such things. For example, short films or clips. This would mean that not only would our film be being watched however it will be being watched by others who also have knowledge in the field which would benefit us. It would benefit us as we would be getting constructive criticism from people who have
Also had experience in this field.

Other ways in which we could distribute our film would be to enter competitions such as the ‘Young Filmmakers competition’. These are usually organized by media institutions such as Film Four. This would help us as we would of course be getting recognition from the public. Also, Film Four is a well established company who attract a wide mass audience although they specialize in independent films. This would help us as it is probably one of the most well known institutions our film would be able to work with therefore our film would have more of a chance at attracting a mass audience. Also, by entering such competitions we will be able to work with famous filmmakers and directors who would have a lot of knowledge and experience in this field. This would therefore benefit us as we would be able to get feedback and in some cases even get help from them.

Heena

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q4

Q4. Who would be the audience of your product?

We aimed to target our film at a wide variety of audience. This was so that if our film was to completely be produced it would make enough profit and it would also make it memorable. The ideal profile (primary audience) of our target audience would be males aged between 15–30. Their main interests would be things such as football, socialising with friends, being involved in relationships, interested in money and money making (for example jobs.). Ideally they would be interested in the genres of thriller and action. The main ethnicity of our audience would be Black-British and White-British. Our film is likely to attract the Black-British background as the main character is Black-British himself. This would make the audience fell more comfortable with him and maybe even in some cases feel a bond or relationship with him. Also, it is likely to attract a White-British background is the UK is originally White-British. Therefore the film would appeal to them as it has been produced in their home country. It would also mean that people of a White-British background may feel that they can associate and understand the film as for one reason the film is set in their home country and two because the main character is of a different ethnicity. This may make the community feel closer to one and other and realise that people are similar in many ways. Perhaps even in some cases create bonds.

The demographics we needed to take in consideration of our targeted audience include factors such as the social class of our audience, their income and their region. The social class we are likely to attract would be students and the working class. This is because the film is about a typical teenage boy who comes from a working class family. It would mean that he may be similar to some working class people today who are interested in perhaps his roots, his upbringing or even his working life. The film would be likely to attract students as it is about two young teenagers which students would be able to relate to and feel comfortable with.

The average income of which our targeted audience would be likely to earn may be between £18,000 - £32,000 per year. This is because this figure would be a similar amount to what our main character would be earning. Also, this amount is typical of a working class person to earn. Their region is most likely to be in central areas in regions of Europe. For example, London in the UK would be a popular area for most of our target audience, as well as places such as Scotland, New York, LA, and Paris etc. This is because films are more likely to be most popular in these areas as these areas attract tourists as well as being the most populated parts of cities. Therefore by targeting these areas more than others will attract more of our targeted audience. These areas may be targeted by posters, adverts, premiers etc.

Also, the psychographics we needed to take into account were factors such as personality, lifestyle, types of assets, labels, jobs, etc. The personality that our targeted audience would ideally have would be something along the lines of having characteristics such as humour, strong emotions on certain topics, enjoys playing sports, likes being involved in a relationship and is easy to get along with. Their lifestyle would ideally be revolved around expensive things, for example lavish cars and clothes. This would be a good quality for our target audience to have as it is very similar to Nicholas who is the main character in our film. He himself is interested in living ‘lavishly’ and is use to having expensive things for example his BMW X5. It would therefore be ideal if our target audience possessed similar assets, interests and live similar lifestyles. This enables them to feel more connected to the character as they are similar to him and perhaps may feel closer to him. Our target audience would have a high paid job in which they are likely to attend daily on weekdays. Thus giving them more money meaning more expensive items and assets. Our target audience are likely to watch this film in on weekday evenings or during the day at weekends. This is because they will be busy during weekdays at work.

Our primary audience would be, again males aged 15-30, with a high paid jobs and sporty interests and expensive assets. They are going to be audience who are interested in the actors who star in the film and the director that produced it. They will also be interested in the production companies as they are the reason as to why the film has been produced in the first place. This is because the audience may have seen films that have been produced by these production companies before and enjoyed watching their productions.

Our secondary audience will be people who are not particularly interested in the film itself but who are going to watch the film for different reasons other than personal interest. For example, they may be going to watch the film due to friends or family who are interested in it and are inviting them to go to watch it with them. It may because they are interested in the director or the actors who star in it. For example, they may have seen the actors’ films before in other genres and like their work. I.e. Will Smith. He starred in ‘iRobot’ which was of the science fiction genre however he also starred in ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ which is the complete opposite. This may be similar to our film as they may have seen actors perform somewhere else and may be a fan of their work. Another reason the secondary audience may go to watch this film is because of certain film timings. For example, they may plan to go to the cinema at a certain time only to find that when they arrive there their chosen film isn’t available to be viewed at that time. They may therefore see the advertisement for our film and choose to go and watch that instead. Females will be amongst the secondary audience for many reasons. Two reasons being they may be girlfriends and their boyfriends are interested in watching the films. Also, females may be interested in the domestic violence/pregnancy side of things therefore may choose to watch it for that reason. The film is likely to be rated a certificate 15 as there is slight violence, no explicit words and no sexual scenes. Therefore it should be appropriate to watch from the age of 15. We made sure this would be the certified age as we want as many people to be open to watching the film as possible.

We chose to target this type of audience as we thought they would be best suited to watch this film. Mainly because their profile would be similar to our main character Nicholas therefore they may be able to relate to him and understand the narrative from his point of view. Also, even if their profiles do not fit the profiles of our targeted audience they may still be interested in films like ours and films similar to this. Some films they may have seen in the past six months may have been ‘Salt’ as the genre is similar to ours.

Heena

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q5

Q5. How did you attract/address you audience?

There were many ways in which we aimed to address and attract our target audience. These methods were shown through the use of camera, sound (music, non diegetic sound, and diegetic sound), costume, hair and make up, lighting and effects.

There are many ways in which camera angles and type of shot have been used. For example, in the beginning we begin with a pan of the set. This immediately introduces the audience to the main location where the most important part of the story takes place. Straight away the audience are engaged as there is a lot for them to take in due to the set design and they want to know what is happening. There are many articles posted all over the wall and various sinister writing written everywhere. Such as ‘Happy Family’ covered in a red cross, and ‘Murder’ outlined in red. As this is an unusual setting the audience will be intrigued to find out more about it, especially as it is the first shot they see.

Another shot they see is a close up of a picture which has been stuck onto a wall. This is telling the audience that these characters are involved in the film as they are the first people that have been shown. Also, a close up of other pictures showing the main characters Nicholas tells the audience that he is the main character as he has appeared more than others on more than one picture. This immediately engages the audience as they are establishing the main characters straight away. Also by showing a close up, the audience are being shown a detailed image of the characters which makes them feel closer to them and makes the shot slightly more personal. It may also feel like the shot is invading their personal space as the audience may not feel comfortable that the image is so close to them.

Another shot is a birds’ eye view of the phone when it is ringing. This is giving the audience a clear understanding of what the shot is showing as it shows them from an angle of which they feel they have authority to. They feel as if they are looking down on the phone thus giving them a sense of power to the shot which may perhaps carry on slightly throughout the film. As this gives them a sense of power to the shot it will lead to them feeling closer to the film and its characters. Also, this is when we first see the girlfriends name appear. The audience are unaware of her name and are therefore left wondering who she is.

Another shot is when the audience are shown an extreme close up of the characters eye when he realises there is someone watching him. As this shot is so close the audience almost feel as if they are in the characters situation and it allows them to try to understand the position Nicholas is in therefore making them feel closer to him as well as showing extreme emotion. Also, by showing this as our final shot before the title of our film is shown leaves the audience in suspense as they want to watch on to find out why Nicholas is in that situation and what the rest of the narrative is about.

Another way in which we attract the audience attention is through the use of sound. There isn’t much dialogue throughout our opening sequence. this is because we thought that the less dialogue we use the more interested the audience will become as they will not be getting the full picture through the opening sequence. Therefore they will be left in suspense wanting to know more. We have used music throughout our opening sequence, we thought this adds more interest instead of having nothing. It keeps our audience interested as the music may interest them keeping them engaged for longer and not bored. An example of a non diegetic sound we used was when our shots quick cut into the other. As they cut we added the sound effect of ‘Boom. Boom. Boom.’ This adds to the tension created in the shot as it creates the element of ‘thrill’, not knowing what is coming next. This attracts the audience’s attention as it keeps them interested and wanting to come out of the suspense to see what is coming next. A way in which we used diegetic sound was the dialogue. We used dialogue from the past of events that have happened before Nicholas found himself in this situation. E.g. ‘I told you its over and I ain’t havin’ no baby!’ said by Nicholas. Through this dialogue the audience are not told the narrative and are not explained as to why Nicholas is in that situation. However, they are given clues about events that have happened in the past which have lead to this situation. Therefore, by only giving them a clue about the past they want to continue watching to find out more which thus keeps their attention focused.

Another way in which we attracted the audience attention was through the use of costume. The only character we see who is directly on screen is Nicholas. He is wearing black combat trousers, a stripy hooded top and black trainers. By putting him in this costume not only expresses his character but relates to stereotypical boys in today’s society. This is because the costume of which Nicholas is wearing is a typical costume you are likely to see teenage boys wearing in today’s culture. Also, his costume contains mainly dark colours which adds the mysterious effect. This will add mystery to not just the character but the film itself leaving the audience engaged and wanting to know more about the mysterious side of the narrative.

Another way in which the audience are attracted is through the use of colour. The main colour lighting that has been shown throughout the opening sequence is red (along with white). The red acts as a spotlight which is shined directly onto the character lying on the floor. The colour red can be connoted as to meaning many things. It can represent love, anger, danger, violence and blood. These are all themes throughout our narrative. This will attract the audience as it represents many things which will interest them as it shows that our film does not simply have one theme throughout it but it has many. Also, the colour red is an unusual light to see anywhere therefore by using it we are attracting the audiences’ attention further due to how unique and different it is.

One final way in which we attract the audience’s attention is due to transitions which are used in the editing process. For example, we have used fades. This is so that every time a shot changes into another a fade is used to change it into the next shot. This makes the sequence look smooth and also attract attention as it is different rather than simply cutting into the next shot.

The themes we have chosen are romance, thriller and action. I think this is a good range of themes as it is a wide variety. The audience are likely to be able to relate to at least one of the themes that we have used. For example, for romance some of the audience may understand as they may have been in a similar situation or a situation involving romance.

Heena

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q6

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

There was a lot of equipment we used when filming our opening sequence, this was:

- Canon XAHi (Camera)
- Libec LS200 (Tripod)
- Sennheiser Microphone & Headphones (Sound Equipment)
- Boom Pole & Windshield System
- Clapper Board & Chalk
- Battery Pack (Battery & Charger)

The camera was obviously our main piece of equipment as it recorded all of our shots. We were able to take each shot as many times as we needed to and retake any that we made mistakes with. Also, we took extra shots that we did not include in our storyboard. This meant that if there were any mistakes when we digitised our shots we had ‘back up’ shots that we could substitute instead. This proved a great help when we were editing our shots as we noticed that we had made quite a few mistakes. This was mainly due to our limited visibility as out lighting created a big problem for us as it made everything darker and meant that minor things where hard to see on the camera. For example, any faults in our background were hard to see through our camera and were only noticed when the shots were digitised. Although we created extra shots (back up shots) we were not able to substitute every shot as most of them were necessary and could not be changed as it would confuse the audience. If we were to re-shoot it would have taken too long and also would have broken continuity as the set and main character would not have looked the same. The camera was easy to use as it was lightweight, compact and portable. This meant when using it our filming was made easier as it wasn’t a burden to carry around a heavy camera, we had a lightweight portable one that was kept in a bag when it wasn’t being used.

The Libec tripod LS200 proved a great help when we were filming as it made sure our camera was kept still. We attempted to record some ‘back up’ shots by hand which meant that the camera operator needed to have a very steady hand. This didn’t work in favour for our group as unfortunately none of us had a steady hand and it broke the realism of the scenes and made the shots look amateur. When we were using the tripod we had to make sure all the legs where of the same length other wise the view would have been uneven and again the element of realism would have been broken. After all the legs were set up evenly we had to make sure the spirit level was correct. This was a small circle on the top of the tripod which needed to be changed every time the tripod was being used whist filming. It meant that the camera was evenly balanced on all sides of the tripod to ensure the angle would be straight. This kept the realism of our shots going.

We didn’t need to use the Sennheiser microphone and headphones very much as most of our sound was non diegetic. The only time we needed to use all the sound equipment was when we were recording the sound of one characters feet walking into the shot and some voice over’s. When we were recording the sound of the footsteps we used the microphone and headphones and boom pole. We did not need to use the windshield system as we were not in an area which is affected by the wind. When recording the sound we needed to make sure that the microphone was placed close enough to the feet so that we could pick up the sound loud enough but not too close that it came into the shot. We also used this equipment for recording the voice over’s. Again, we did not need to use the windshield system as we wee not in an area affected by wind.

We used the clapper board and chalk when we were recording each individual shot. On the clapper board we wrote which shot we were about to film and the take number. The clapper board was then held in front of the camera and the director read out the shot and take number. This helped us when we were digitising our shots as instead of playing each shot through we immediately knew which shot we were digitising which made the job quicker for us.

The battery was charged for a full 8 hours the day before filming so that it was ready and fully charged for us to use the next day. This saved us time on the day of filming as it meant that we did not need to wait around for our battery to be charged. It also meant that our battery wouldn’t die therefore saving us time throughout the day trying to find another one to use.

The software we used when editing our opening sequence was Adobe Premiere CS4. I found this software very good when editing our opening sequence. It had various things on there which allowed us to change the volume of sound, add effects onto the shots for example colour and brightness and allowed us to add transitions to our shots. The main transition we added was fades when switching from one shot to another. This made our sequence look smooth and it did not look jumpy when changing from shot to shot.

There were many filming techniques we learnt when filming. One particular technique we learnt when filming was tilts. This is when the camera is taken off the tripod and put at an angle which appears tinted on camera. However, due to the fact that the camera needed to be taken off the tripod we were unable to do this. This was because none of our crew members were able to hold the camera steady enough for the shot to continue realism. Therefore when trying to do this the shot appeared wobbly and was unsteady so we thought it would be best not to use this type of shot.

There were many editing techniques I learnt when editing our sequence. These were making sure the volume of sound was correct and at the same level throughout. We also had to make sure that our lighting looked the same throughout the sequence otherwise continuity would have been broken. This was extremely difficult as the lighting created a different shade on our location when you stood at different angles. Therefore some shots had to be brightened and in some the colour effects needed to be adjusted so they were the same. We also needed to include our own titles so we needed to play around with the software to find different ways to do this to make our film look interesting and creative.

The key lessons I learnt whilst using technology and equipment was to always take every shot more than twice just to be on the safe side. We found that we made quite a few mistakes when filming as the background wasn’t right or the camera was shaky. Although this may have been because it was the first time we were filming a big sequence I have definitely learnt to do this in future work.


Heena

Opening Sequence Evaluation Q7

Q7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

There was a big difference between our preliminary task and with our main task. Our brief for our preliminary task was to ‘Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. A couple of lines of dialogue must then be exchanged between characters & match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule should be demonstrated.’ Our main task was to produce ‘the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes (all video and audio material must be original, produced by candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source).’

I will begin by discussing the pre production in my preliminary task. Our initial idea to film for our preliminary task was to have a football manager talking to a member of his team and asking him to ‘fix a match’ as the manager was in desperate need of some money. The player then shakes hands with the manager and the audience see that the entire conversation was filmed on CCTV. We produced a treatment, story board, script, shooting schedule, and a timetable for the time of filming. We did the same for our main task as we produced a treatment, script, storyboard, photo storyboard, location recce, cast list, shooting schedule, rehearsals and a timetable for the day. We found that at the time of shooting our preliminary task we didn’t have enough time as we had not planned properly. Although we produced a shooting schedule we did not allocate enough time for each shot to be filmed. If we were to stick to our shooting schedule we would have had to rush through our filming meaning our shots would have been bad and of poor quality. Therefore we did as much as we could do in the time that we had. This was not enough time to complete all the filming therefore we had to run over to another day and continue filming. After experiencing this I have realised that planning is a very large part of filming as it sets out what needs to be done and within what time limits. Therefore for our main task we made sure that we had set enough time for each shot to be filmed including extra time if any mistakes had been made that meant reshooting.

During the production stage of our preliminary task we set up all the equipment we needed as well as got the cast together, arranged the set and filmed our shots. This was similar to our main task as we set up all the equipment, got our cast together, designed our set and filmed our shots including cut aways, filming a variety of shots and reshooting. When going through the post production stage of our preliminary task we realised that we had made a few mistakes. This was mainly due to not framing shots properly and getting objects in the shot that we didn’t want to be there. Therefore when filming our main task we needed to make sure that multiple shots were taken just in case mistakes had been made in previous ones. Also, we needed to make sure that a variety of shots were taken including cut aways. This was so that if any of our story-boarded shots had gone wrong we would shots that we could replace them with. Unfortunately, although we did this in our production stage of our main task we had not carried this out adequately. Due to our dim lighting we were unable to see the mistakes we had made when filming which meant that we had only realised this when in our post production stage. In some cases we had to reshoot some of the shots that were unable to be replaced by other shots. After learning that we needed to change this after carrying out our preliminary task I think that if we had the opportunity to do this task again we would perform much better as we would have learnt from our mistakes even further.

In our post production stage of our preliminary task we needed to make sure that we left enough time for all our editing to be done. I think that in our preliminary task we did this adequately as we finished the editing process in the correct time that we had set for it. However I think that in our main task we took too long to complete the editing process. This meant that we needed to spend a lot of time outside of lesson hours to complete this. In my opinion I think we took far too long to finish the editing which is definitely a lesson learned for the next time we need to do a task like this. In our preliminary task we did not use any music however in our main task we did. Originally the music was to be produced by myself using software that was available for me to use in the music department. The production of this music began too late. This was because so much time had to spent on completing the editing. Because of this the music was not originally produced by myself and we had to use it from a copyright free website. The next time music needs to be produced I will make sure I leave enough time for it to be made and I would make sure the timetable for the post production process is followed. When incorporating feedback from others in both tasks I think my group performed well as we listened to others suggestions and changed our work so that it was improved.

Heena

Pre-lim Evaluation

Evaluation of preliminary task

For my preliminary task we were put into groups of four and told to produce a short clip on a narrative which was to be no shorter the one minute but no longer than two minutes. We were told to use all the camera operating skills we had first learned whilst starting the A-Level Media Studies course. In my group was Janelle who took the role of director, Heena (me) who took the role of camera operator, Abdul who took the role of an actor and Alex who also took the role of an actor. One initial idea of a narrative was to include a homosexual character however since none of us had much background on homosexuality we thought it best not to use that idea as we did not want to offend anyone. Eventually we came up with an idea which was to have a football manager asking a player to “fix the game” as the manager was in desperate need of money. We chose to use this idea as it seemed current in society as this has been happening around the world and has been broadcasted via the news.
Firstly, we had to produce a storyboard, as we all had various ideas we sat down together as a group and discussed each shot and each idea. We noted down each idea as well as the dialogue we thought would suit the narrative. We then took out one hour and separated ourselves. There was me and Janelle who produced a complete storyboard containing each shot and the description. Then Abdul and Alex who produced a completed version of the script. We then came back together as a group to make sure everyone was happy with the ideas and began to tweak some of the script and storyboard until we had the finalised product which everyone was satisfied with. A storyboard is a very important element when producing any type of film or in our case a short clip. It details every angle of every shot and the dialogue that goes with each shot. This helps us plan out step by step exactly what needs to be done. Also, a script is very important in pre production as it outlines everything the actors need to say. This directs them and guides them when they are acting and it should be rehearsed before hand so the actor can practise the way in which they are going to perform this and the facial expressions and body language they are going to use.
Organising a time to suit everyone was difficult as one member of a group (Alex) was on the football team and therefore had training when rehearsal and filming times planned to take place. We therefore had to complete as much work as possible in a shirt space of time. The first time we began filming was on Tuesday 12th October. We were allowed to take our lesson times to begin filming. During this time we had 2 hours and thought that it would be easier to film of Alex’s shots first as it was hard for us to find a time which suited him due to his training. Therefore we completed all the shots of Alex first and began shooting the two shots and over the shoulder shots of which both characters were involved. Unfortunately, we did not manage to complete much of the filming. This was mainly due to us having to set the location and move around objects to make it look as we wanted. Also, we were far to slow when we were filming as we ended up discussing each shot over and over again and problems that arose with it. This had a negative affect as it took out far too much time from our actual filming time which therefore put us behind schedule. Another problem which we faced whilst filming was that we were unaware that all our filming had to be completed in those 2 hours and that any other filming that needed to be done had to be arranged out of lesson time. We thought these 2 hours were simply a part of our filming time which meant we were not rushing whilst filming we were taking our time. After our 2 hours had passed we packed away our equipment and took it back down to the storage room when our teacher told us that we will not have any more time to film during lesson times. We were all able to continue filming however our location was out of use for us as it needed to be used to hold a meeting by the school which therefore meant we were unable to do any more filming this day. This set us even further behind schedule. Fortunately for my group we were all free at the same times the next day therefore agreed to meet up then and continue filming. We also made sure our location was free for us to use and that it did not need to be used for anything else. However, one other problem we faced when filming the second day was that Alex had a football match half way during our filming time. Unfortunately the rest of the group were unaware of this until the day of filming which meant we needed to be quick with our filming.
I think my group managed to deal with these problems very well as we did not make a fuss about the issues we faced we simply pulled together and agreed on how we were going to resolve these issues. For example, when we found out that we would have no more lesson time to use in order to continue filming, not one of us was disappointed that filming would have to take place during our free time. We simply got together as a team and completed it.
When planning our sequence the first step we took was agreeing on everybody’s roles within the group. As me (camera operator) and Janelle (director) wanted to do our roles as well as each others we thought it best to carry out our specific roles as camera operator and director individually however take times out when we wanted to carry out each others roles as well. I think this worked in our favour as both of us had input on how we wanted the shots to be directed which meant a more successful shot. Whilst Alex was happy being an actor Abdul also wanted to carry out a small part in directing which we were happy for him to do. He therefore directed some of the shots of which Alex was solely taking part in.
Our next step was to come up with a narrative which we could all agree on. There were many initial ideas which eventually came together to create one final narrative. The narrative was about a football manager asking one of his players to “fix the game” as he was in desperate need for money. The player was agreeing to “fix the game” as in return he would be getting a higher job in a better team abroad with a huge salary. However, the twist at the end was that both characters were to be shown caught on CCTV shaking hands and exchanging contracts.
After producing a final narrative we began producing a script and storyboard which initially used only 12 shots. After analysing this with the script we managed to plan out 20 shots to suit the dialogue and to also use the camera skills we had learned in class. Some of these skills were to carry out continuity, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule. Continuity is making sure that all elements stay the same throughout each shot to maintain the aspect of realism. Shot reverse shot is making sure that when characters are having a conversation the audience are able to see the first character talking to the second character and then showing the second characters reaction. Put simply, it is showing action – reaction. 180 degree rule is making sure that the camera movements do not go 180 degrees out of the area of the first shot. This makes sure that the narrative is told properly and does not make it confusing for the audience.
Whilst completing our task the equipment we used was a Libec tripod and a Canon camera. When setting up the tripod and camera we needed to make sure the spirit level was correct otherwise our shots would not have been level and therefore would have given an unreal aspect to the audience. Also, the Canon camera had a lot of settings which we were unfamiliar with. Initially we had forgotten which setting we needed to be using in order to record our shots and therefore thought we should figure out ourselves without any help which setting needed to be used. After going through each setting we eventually found out which one we needed to be using in order to film and record and which setting we needed to use when we had to play back what we had just filmed.
When using the cameras I learned that a lot of care needed to be taken care of them to prevent them from damage. I was told that each camera was worth around £2000. Also, as I was camera operator I learned that a steady hand was needed when filming, even when the camera was positioned on the tripod. This was to prevent any jitters or slight movements which broke the element of reality in the narrative.
When planning, shooting and editing many factors needed to be taken into account. Time being a main issue. As I have mentioned before one of our group members had either training or a match when we needed to film. This meant that all the things we needed to do in the allocated time we had to film needed to be rushed in order to be completed otherwise we would have been set even further behind task than we already were. Another issue was money. Obviously we did not have any money to produce this short clip which meant that any extra ideas we had in mind were to be thrown out the window.
In my opinion I think my groups’ project was very successful however, in hindsight I would change a few things. One of the things I would change would be the continuity throughout the shots. Unfortunately as we had to film on different days the location and characters looked slightly different. On the first day of filming the location was set to exactly how we wanted it to be. The tables were positioned how we needed them and everything else was out of frame. On the second day of filming the room had obviously been put back to normal again which meant that our location looked different. We played over the shots we had taken on day one of filming and tried to recreate the exact same look. As much as I can notice I think we managed to recreate the same look however I think in the second day of filming a chair was only slightly in the foreground which only came to light when we were editing, which by then it was too late to change. Also, on the second day of filming some elements of Alex’s (actor) costume had changed. On the first day he was wearing a white watch with black trainers and shorts. However on the second day he was wearing a blue watch with red and grey trainers and trousers. Luckily for us we managed to correct some elements as on the second day he was able to roll his trousers up so it looked as if he was wearing shorts. Also, you are able to see the different watch in one shot. We eventually noticed that you were able to see the different colour watch and therefore told him it would be better to remove the watch altogether and pull his sleeves as far down as possible. However in hindsight I think it may have just been better to keep the watch on as this now meant that he had three different looks – one shot with a white watch, one shot with a blue watch and one shot with no watch at all. This would have broken the element of realism as we did not keep continuity throughout the shots. Also, on day one of filming we filmed a long shot of Alex walking through the door. In this shot he had on pure black trainers, however the next day of filming he had different colour trainers on which meant we had broken the continuity in another way. When we realised these issues we had no time left to re film therefore had to leave the shots as they were. One final issue we faced was the clock in the background. On the first day of filming the time read something close to 3 o clock however on the second day read 12 o clock. We noticed this would be an issue on the second day of filming and attempted to remove the clock from the wall to change the time however it was screwed on to the wall and was not able to be removed. This left us no choice but to leave the clock as it was and try to keep it out of frame whilst filming.
Although we faced many issues with continuity we also had our good points when filming. One good point was that our second actor Abdul managed to wear the same clothing on the second day and tried his best to keep his hair the same as well. This worked very well as it meant that Alex’s character was less noticeable with his changes. If Abdul had looked different it would’ve broken the entire element of realism. Another good point was that we remembered to look over the shots from day one to see how the room was set up so we could try our best to reproduce the same thing.
If I had the chance to reproduce this project I would definitely make sure we planned out our time effectively and did any preparations before hand rather than on the day set for filming. For example, the discussions were not necessary on the day of filming and should have been done before hand to save time. I would also make sure all characters knew they needed to wear or bring in the same costume if filming was carried over to another day to keep continuity. I would also make sure the timing of clocks was changed or if they were not possible to change then I would make sure they would not be in frame at all.
From completing this task I have learned that time management skills definitely need to be set out well before days set out for filming or rehearsals etc. I have also learned that many elements need to be considered when producing a film or a short clip to keep continuity in order to withhold realism. I have learned that when working in a group it is very hard to be able to set out a time to complete each task that needs to be done as different people have various things going on some days. I have learned that working in a group is beneficial for both individuals and the project. I see it as beneficial for individuals as it means we get to socialise with people we generally wouldn’t if in any other situation and we get to know others. I see it as beneficial for the project as it means the project gets elements from every member of the group. This is good as we all have different ideas and which we inject into the group to try and make our project better. Finally, I have learned that high technical skills are needed in post production as when switching from shot to shot the same dialogue has to be maintained otherwise the shot would be breaking the element of realism.
Whilst editing I learnt many things. I learnt that to keep continuity very precise editing must take place. For example when a character is having a conversation with another and the shot changes during the middle of the dialogue, the dialogue must remain within the same sentence or speech as the previous one. This is very tricky to get right as when editing it is hard to get the same sentence to continue into a different shot. To do this I think characters need to speak slightly slower which I will bear in mind next time I film. Whilst making decisions in editing we needed to hear what the whole group thought instead of just one person doing it all. This meant everyone’s ideas were incorporated and everyone would be happy with the final product. We planned out how we were going to have the finished product in the end therefore when editing we didn’t find it that hard as we already had the basic idea of what we were going to do. We made sure that everybody had taken part in the editing process therefore we were coming back in our free periods and staying behind after school to finish it. This meant that we could take our time whilst editing and make sure that every decision we made was the right one as we spent a lot of time editing the clip and adding effects and transitions in the beginning and end. My weakness within the editing process was that I wasn’t the most experienced with using the programme we were using to edit the clip. Although no one of my group members had much experience I felt that if I did something or changed something I may just ruin the entire project and we would have no time to re shoot. Therefore I thought carefully about my next move just to be on the safe side. Next time I would make sure that I had played around with the editing programme a bit more so that I was familiar with and, also so that I knew what other options I had when finalising the editing.

Heena Safdar

Pre-lim Storyboard - FINAL DRAFT