Video - Film Opening - Evaluation Q6 + 7

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


During this task i have used many technologies to create this film, for one we used a mini-DV camera to film all of our footage on tape, we had to do all of the shots correctly and take them several times so we could choose the best one when it came to editing, all of our footage was filmed roughly in the order which it is supposed to come in the film this made it easier to upload and place in the correct positions when editing. We also used this camera when we filmed our audience watching our film and giving feedback.


I used Premiere Pro to edited my footage and put it all together in order to create a flowing movie. It was quite easy to use in the sense that we were able to fit together all of our footage in the order which we wanted it and also we were able to create match on action shots within our film to make it flow properly, we had to find a way to fit a certain shot to create a flowing match on action shot work properly because the shot we had to do this had the male character in the wrong position we had to find a way to cut him out of it, to do this we had to go onto video effects and crop the shot and then zoom to make it fit the screen, it is slightly noticeable but makes the match on action shot work, we also changed the contrast and brightness in our film when it came to the credits and day scene this made it more darker as it was a bright day and we thought that if we darken the image it would fit the genre more. We also used this editing suite to edit our feedback, we added in titles and a clip from our film and also we shorted it slightly.


We used YouTube to upload our finished film and also our feedback from our audience, this then meant that we were able to post it on our blogs. We used the Internet for our research into different films and their distributors, we have used the Internet for posting blogs and uploading footage of our film.


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


Looking back i have noticed i have learnt quite a bit from doing this task. The preliminary task has helped me to produce this film in some sense, but also it has been a new experience. The preliminary task taught me how to use the editing suite and also how to use the camera.


However it didn't really prepare me to create a whole two minutes of a film, allot more effort has gone into producing this than it did the preliminary task, for example, the editing and filming had to be precise to a specific genre of our choice, also we had to create story boards and think of an idea for a film, where as in the preliminary task we were told what we needed to film and what to put in it. From doing this task i have learnt how to use time management to help me prepare my time to make sure i fit everything in.


Our main worries when doing this task was time management to film, we had to arrange date in which both me and my partner were free to film and also the actors. This was the biggest worry as we were finding it hard to fit in the filming so we then chose to book a camera up to film during the holidays it took two day to get all the footage we needed. Another problem which we encountered was getting the props in time for the filming, we ordered two pairs of aviator glasses, one for the day scene and one to be broken for the murder scene, off eBay, which cost just under £2 for both, we managed to receive them just before filming, so we were able to complete the scenes we needed. The location was a worry for us as well as our original idea which was on our original story board, we were originally going to film around town and ask permission in stores to film there, but we rethought this after we considered the camera will attract pedestrians to look at it while we were filming, this would have drawn the audience away from the focus. So we then decided to film by the river, this was better as there wasn't many pedestrians, so no one got distracted by the camera.

Original Story Board:-

For the music we had a specific idea in mind, for this we were fortunate to have someone who does music for films as a hobby, Mike Dargan, he was then able to allow us to use his equipment and help us to create music which would enhance the mood and create effects of non diegetic sounds to make the scene lifelike, the problem we had though was finding the time to go to liverpool to do this, so we then arranged a day to drive up there together.

From doing this I have learnt that it helps to plan well as this will help to arrange time for filming and fitting in filming with the actors and producers calender. Also it helps to talk to someone who knows more about it, this will help to bounce ideas off people and it will help to create a more advanced film.

Video- Film Opening: Evaluation Q5 - "Pulse" FeedBack

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

We decided to record a small group of people to watch our video then asked them questions to do with it to see what there response was to our video "Pulse". (See embedded screening below)



From getting real responses from audiences, to a mixed gender audience of 17 year olds we were then able to see how we achieved the genre of the film we made. From our audiences response we found out that they got a preferred reading from our film so there for we met our target in getting it to match the genre we wanted. We know this from looking back on our response from our audience, I believe we attracted our audience by encluding conventions which are from the genre we chose do do which is stalker/slasher movie, we have included a murder scene which is part of the ending, which we chose to put as the main first scene, this draws the audience in to carry on watching to find out why this happened. Our audience's feedback reflects what we wanted our audience to feel, they recognised the genre and wanted to carry on watching to find out what happens. This is the feedback we wanted from our audience, as this is how we wanted them to feel. Our audience particularly enjoyed the first scene because of the way in which we see the girl about to be murdered in the aviator sunglasses, this made one of my audience members gasp.

The fact that all of my audience took the preferred reading of my text was very gratifying because they recieved certain pleasures from watching our two minute opening of our film 'Pulse' and also they were able to recognise the storyline and what they would expect to happen, this is pretty close to what we decided would happen in the film. Also because they took the preferred reading it makes us feel that we have achieved ourjob in satisfying our audience.

Our audience who watched and gave feedback about our film answered the following questions:-

Questions We Asked Our Audience:

1) What genre do you think this film was?

Audience comments: Horror/Thriller
This was in fact the genre we chose to do so therefore the audience recognised the fact it was supposed to be a Horror movie.

2) Which convention within our production helped you to recognise the genre?

Audience comments: Dark beginning, Vibrant red title, Music, Editing, Glasses in the beginning section.

These were the things we wanted our audience to pick up on.

3)What do you think the story line would be from watching the first two minutes?

Audience comments: Stalker murders woman, Man in second section is possibly the murder, he connotes bad signs.
This was the story line we wanted to make the audience think would happen, it was roughly the same idea which we had for the film.

4) Did the first two minutes make you want to watch more?

Audience comments: yes, wants to know how/why she dies
This helped us to know that we achieved what we wanted to achieve which was to draw the audience in to make then want to watch the rest of the movie.

5) What scenes did you feel had the best editing?

Audience comments: The first scene
We tried to make that our best scene as it would draw the audience in quicker, so we therefore edited this section more by adding in jump cuts etc .

6) Which scenes did you feel not relate to the genre?

Audience comments: The pigeons in the credits
We tried to show the pigeons following eachother to show the idea of stalking and that it can happen on any ordinary day, but because of the comments we did not quite achieve what we wanted to.

7) What atmosphere did the non diegetic sound create?

Audience comments: Eire beginning music, seagulls sounds like a sea side
We wanted an eire feel to the first scene as it was the most imposrtants scene within our first two minutes, we placed non diegetic seagul sounds in to make the scene more real.

Video - Film Opening: Evaluation Q4

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

Our audience for our media product would be teenagers male and female aged 15+, who enjoy horror films, we chose to make our film a rating of 15 this was influenced by our research into the fact that 'When A Stanger Calls' and 'One Missed Call' are both rated 15. I believe this age group as it would attract younger teenagers as most teenagers enjoy being scared. Their Lifestage would be Decision Pending, I believe this because it will be the ages of teenagers who are at College/University.

My audiences psychographics would be a aspirer and a radical, also the social value would be a hedonist and on the jicnar scale they would come under C2/D, this would be appropriate for this target audience as they would be in full time education who have aims and goals.

They would not read new papers as it would not interest them, they would prefer to read magazines such as Karrang and Metal Hammer. They prefer to be seen as individualists and would not like to be considered as the same.

They would like to watch our two minute opening to a film because of the reason of being scared, the way in which it goes straight into action in the beginning draws the audience in to watch more, they would enjoy to see how it ends and how she came to being murdered. They would relate to our film because the characters are young adults so they would be able to relate to the characters and enjoy watching the film unfold.

In conclusion i believe that our target audience would be that of mixed gender who are middle class and who enjoy watching horror movies.

Video - Film Opening: Evaluation Q1, 2 + 3

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

Our media product uses similar conventions of real media products within the same genre and sub-genre of a stalker/slasher horror movie, such as eerie music to create the right sort of atmosphere and mood. From researching films of the same genre we chose to do we then were able to see what type of mood and atmosphere we needed and how it would create fear in the audience. We have also used similar conventions such as jump cuts, when editing and close ups on important things which the producer wants the audience to notice, these jump cuts we discovered from watching "When A Stranger Calls" for or research. The mise-en-scene which we have used within our film such as blood and ripped clothing which helps connote the mood and also give hints on to what the story line could be, cinematography we used was close ups and different camera angles which gave different views and perspectives of the characters. According to Levi-strauss the binary opposites are similar in both our film and that in real media productions, as in the villains always seem to be male characters who dress in dark clothing also he is wearing a white and red shirt which connotes purity for the white and blood for the red, and the victims are mostly female and are seen in a lighter way, the males are considered as powerful and the females are made to seem powerless. Our media product is also similar to others when it comes to the Propp theory, our villain is a male and our victim is the female character this seems to be a common factor in this genre. From looking back on the research into other films for example our title for our media product is similar to that in 'When A Stranger Calls' with a centered white with a red haze around the words, this is the the same as ours, this was intentional, as we carefully chose the font types and colours to those in other media products like ours.

We came across a movie which we had not researched called 'Scary Movie' which we then noticed used the effect of changing the title from white to red, as we liked this we then included it in our title section which we used on the stalker characters real name 'Kris Roberts', this connotes his dark character and that he was the cause of the woman's death. Also it connotes evil and follows the conventions of our chosen genre. The white into red also signifies that



I believe that we have developed on the genre slightly through the music, for example the credit music is not that of a typical movie of our genre, we have chosen to do a more lighter softer sounding melody which in my opinion gives a sense of irony to the movie we have created. This could also be a way in which we have challenged this genre/sub-genre as we have not used the typical music which most of these films have, instead we have changed the mood of the music completely to give a different feel to the movie to show that we have gone back in the past to the normal day in which the woman's trouble started. Also because we had chosen to show the murder in a pair of aviator sun glasses which connote light, sunshine and happiness which is a contrast to the scene, this is also an unusual way in which to show a murder scene, this could be a development of the genre in which we were working with. Our film is not similar to other films according to Todorov's idea as it we have chosen to start off with a disruption and the go into a equilibrium when it jumps to the past. This is different to how films of this genre normally happen in the beginning as most start off with a slight equilibrium and then a disruption starts.

In conclusion I believe that we have created our own version of this genre and the sub-genre within it of a Stalker/Slasher movie. We have kept the same conventions in which this genre has to allow the audience to recognise the genre. But we have also challenged what this sub-genre normally follows such as changing the order of Todorov's idea and by starting our two minute opening with the end scene.

2) How does you media product represent particular social groups?

Our audience is C2/D for social economic group, they are teenagers to late teenagers, the gender would be of mixed sex, they are hedonists/rebels, they are more of a mainstream audience, we have chosen to make our rating as a 15 after researching further into other films like 'One Missed Call' and 'When A Stranger Calls' which are both rated as a 15.

We have used dominant ideology in the sense that we have used a male character as the powerful villain and the female as a powerless victim this is normally what other media products like ours does, as males are considered as powerful and females are not. We made the male character as a typical stereotype of a stalker wearing dark clothing such as a dark leather jacket with dark trousers which is a stereotypical view and also a residual ideology, his personality would be a person who works on their own as a photographer and would play video games as a hobby which is also on his own his social class would be middle/lower class. The female character is also a stereotype as she seems to be unaware of the danger she is in also her clothing is stereotypical of a female character, she would be a hedonist, she keeps her appearance presentable and seem to care about what males think of her which is considered as residual ideology, her personality would be fashionable therefore she would work in a retail store like River Island and would read magazines in her spare time, her social class would be middle/upper class. Our male character is similar to that in 'When A Stranger Calls' with dark clothing but also dresses quite normally, considering both characters play a similar role in both films we see that we have based our character on the male character in this film.

Our media product uses some emergent ideology in the sense that we have used different techniques in our film such as the murder scene in the aviator glasses, also because of the music choice for the credits it does not follow the same style as other media products like ours, in some sense it reflects the female characters personality. Other features in our media film uses elements of emergent ideology.

We have chosen a certain way to represent our characters within our media product this is to show the way in which they have a distinctive way in which they react. The male character is shown as a obsessive character we see this when he smells her hair as he was past, we also see that he doesn't stay far away from her and that he always seems to be close to her. The female character is presented as the unaware victim, we see this as she does not realise someone is following her and walks past her, this makes the audience feel sympathy for the female character, these representations are dominant.

Props we used throughout our media production were, a ripped t-shirt, ripped tights, white cloth, blood, aviator sunglasses, a large object for the murder weapon, leather jacket, dark trousers, red and white shirt. All these things were used in both scene, the murder scene and the day scene, all these things connotes violence and danger. We made sure our actors wore the same thing on both days to show that this happened all in one day. Because we filmed the night scene first the actress wore a cardigan to cover up the Rip's in the t-shirt. I believe these things did help to show the messages and values within our film.

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

Our media product might be distributed by companies such as Dimension Films this is because our media film seems to be an independent film, this is similar to the film 'Scream' we also researched because of the fact that they are also distributed by Dimension Films. It would not be distributed by a conglomerates such as Universal Pictures because of the fact it was not a large film, as it would have been made on quite a small budget, when we produced our opening credits we made up our own distributer called Media Life Pictures, because it is independent it would maybe come out in small festivals such as the Sundance festival it would not go to a festival as small as Raindance but it would still be a small festival.

It would not go to a large cinema such as Vue or Odeon because of the fact it is a independent movie, it would not be able to be in larger cinemas until it got larger. It would play in small cinema's such as The Electric House and Light House which are both in Birmingham which specialise in playing independent films. Our film would feature on internet site specialised for independant films and would feature in the cinemas which are for independant films. Such as The Electric House's website and others which advertise independant films.

We could also feature it on youtube and attract audiences, or make a trailer to allow audiences to know that their is a new film out, this would be good as it would allow audiences to get a preview of the film they are going to watch or whether they would enjoy it or not. Because our target audience would use Youtube alot they would be likely to see the film we have created. Most of the advertising would be done by viral marketing as being an independent movie it will not be advertised much.

The price of this as a DVD would be approximatly £8.00, the product would be a one disc edition of the film 'Pulse', it would be promoted through the internet as trailers and posters, also through magazines and independent film cinemas, the place in which it would be sold is online, on websites such as amazon and ebay. Also it could be sold in smaller shops.

Video: Film Opening- Finished Production- "Pulse"

Candidate Names: Sophie Price and Lauren Mullen
Candidate Numbers: 8309 and 8374

Video- film Opening: Music

Because we had a specific idea for our music we wanted to create it ourselves, this involved going to Liverpool to ask a professional, Mike Dargan, to borrow his equipment to then put onto our film opening. We then went through our film and discussed what we wanted for each section in our opening and then composed the music using an editing suite called Acid Music to layer different sounds on top of eachother which helped to create the effect we wanted. For the credit section we used a piece of music Mike had composed for another film he made but didnt end up using, we chose to have this music because it creates a sense of irony, and also it makes you feel like it all happened on a normal day. The other sounds we used for when the stalker is following her is all non diegetic sounds, we decided to do this because we had dialogue in our film which we did not want there. For the female victim in our film, Lauren dubbed over her voice. After we had finished creating the music we then rendered it and put it onto a DVD disc.

Video- Film Opening: Editing

After we got our raw footage of everything that we needed in our two minute film opening, we then used an editing suite called Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, we saved different sections of our footage separately so it would be easier to put in the correct places. We then put the section in a rough order and then cut them down to make all of it flow better, whilst doing this we kept watching it back to make sure it was how we wanted it, if not we would go back and alter it. In the beginning we decided to do jump cuts to emphasises that there has been some kind of murder also this creates a sense of fear into the audience.

Problems we faced during editing was that there was one section in our film that we needed to make it flow and to complete a match on action shot, but the shot we needed had the other character in the wrong position and he was there fore in the frame, we then had to crop the shot and put a zoom on it to take out the actor in the shot, this then helped to make the match on action flow better.

Video - Film Opening: Time Management

We have made sure we have planned everything in advance. We chose to do our filming during the half term holiday to make sure we have plenty of time to film everything we need to in time to edit after half term.

We have wrote letters to places where we may need to film to make sure it is suitable for us to film in these certain locations, we will send them as soon as possible in time to start filming. We have already chosen to compose our own music for our two minute opening and have composed a story board which will help us when planning out what we need to film and how we are going to film it.

We have asked our actors dates in which they are able to be filmed and planned out costumes and props which will be in time for filming. We have learnt how to used the equipment, learning different filming techniques such as manual focusing, which will come in use for our filming day.

We have also planned out which parts of our opening of a film we are going to record first and the different angles we will be filming at. We have also considered our analysis of "When a stranger calls" using techniques such as jump cuts and full focusing.

Video - Film Opening: Story Board

This is the first page of our original story board, we decided it was not how we wanted it so we then did a new more detailed story board to exactly what we had now decided to film. The reason we chosen to change our story board was because we had chosen to make it more practical and then we sat down together and planned out everything agreeing on what we have chosen to change it to.

This is our new story board including each page we have planned which will then become the whole of our two minute film opening. This first section is the night scene which involves jump cuts and close ups of important sections which will appear in the next scene such as the clothes, the props e.g. aviator glasses.

This is the next page of our story board this includes the credits, the images are of the surrounding of when the next scene is about to take place it helps the audience to understand that this is the place where something will happen. We chose to film Worcester's river as the place to film, so we then chose to think of places where we would be able to record which would give the audience a recognition of when the next scene takes place.

We then chose to think of where our characters will be when we are filming this section of our film opening. We chose to have the stalker behind the victim when she is walking down beside the river. We then thought of ways to film this. We have chosen to film the same section from different locations to then hopefully create a smooth run when we come to filming.

We then decided the postions of where they will walk and when they will stop. This will help us when filming because it will help us to explain to our actions when we start to film of where they will need to stand and when and where they will need to stop walking.

We chose to make a phone call in our film, so we planned out what will happen during this phone call. We have chosen to use the stalker phoning a girl called 'Pulse' (this is our films title). This will then cause a close up of the girl answering her phone to someone 'Unknown'.

We then chose to have the stalker walking behind the girl when she is trying to work out who is calling her to have the stalker smell her hair when he walks past her this will then make the audience know that he is the one who kills her from the first scene to the opening. We have chosen to have a mid close up shot of this to emphasise the importance of him smelling her hair.

Video - Film Opening: Logistics

Locations: Filmed Of...

• Worcester river side


• House/Flat
  

Cast/Actors:

• Harrie Mullen - Main Woman


• Kris Roberts - Villain, Stalker
  

Costumes:

• Harrie Mullen - Casual


• Kris Roberts - unusual, untidy clothing, smart coat

Locations: Filmed From...

• Filming down the river
• From the other side of the river to the actors
• Film the same side as the actors
• Film from the bridge
  

Meeting Spots:

• Worcester fountains


• House

Booked Equipment:

• Digital Video Camera, Video Case, Rechargeable Battery, Recharger, Tripod.
• February 13th (Friday) - February 23rd (Monday)

Time keeping:

We have chose to record on wednesday 18th evening between the times of 9:00pm and 10:30pm, we also filmed on the Sunday 22nd between the times of 11:00am til 1:00pm.

Video - Film Opening: Synopsis

Credits:

• Jump cuts of images appear for the first 10 seconds of the opening.

Beginning: House

• The main woman is lying on the floor with her aviators in front of her.


• reaching out for her house phone which has been cut off.


• She sees the villains reflection in glasses.


• He goes to kill her.

Jumps to Worcester High Street - jump back in time

• She walks by the riverside on the phone.


• Villain follows her.


• she stops to look over the railings.


• Phone rings "anonymous caller".


• Villain walks behind he and sniffs her hair.

End Of The Two Minute Opening Of Our Film

Video- Film Opening: Target Audience

Our target audience are teenagers 15+ with the social economic group of C2/D they would be quite a mainstream audience. We would rate our film as a 15 this is because other films we've researched are also rated 15 such as 'When A Stranger Calls' and 'One Missed Call'.

They would be hedonists/rebels who would not read news papers as it would not interest them like magazine would, the magazines they would read would be Karrang and Metal Hammer, this is because they would enjoy dark films and would also enjoy dark music.

They would be in full time education either in or going to college or going into university, this is because they would not be prepared to go into full time work as of yet, but wouldn't mind having a part time job to give them money to spend on personal things.

Video - Film Opening: Analysis Two Minute Opening

I chosen to analyse the film "When A Stranger Calls" which is a Slasher/Stalker horror movie, this film was produced by Davis Entertainment and Screen Gems and was distributed by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures. The target audience is teenagers or young adults C2 and are more of a mainstream audience.

The genre features in this film opening are that its set at nighttime, with a eerie house which has a lot of focus on. Also there is a fair ground which has children running and screaming. In our film opening we will consider using these types of features to make our film fit into the Slasher/Stalker horror genre, we will consider using the fast edits and eerie sounds to create this which will be similar to that in "When a stranger calls".

Also there is a sense of enigma in this opening, this is created through the fast edits which have been used, concentrating on certain parts in that area such as the house, fair ground, children and the strange man walking the dog. This enigma gives the audience a feeling that someone will get killed off which will create a disruption in the film, this is shown through the phone call with the girl not knowing who is calling her who we recognise as the villain.

In the opening non diegetic music has been used with the phone call over the top this gives the audience a sense of foreboding knowing that something is going to happen soon. This may be a good thing to think about for our film opening to create an atmosphere to the setting. Also we will consider using the fast edits which have been used to create this sense that the things it concentrates on will play an important part later on in the film.

This activity has taught me that we will need a lot of footage to create these fast edits and to create a certain enigma to the opening of our film. We will have to create a lot of footage to be able to pull off this effect and create a good tension in the start of our film.

Continuity editing will have a big impact on our film to make sure it runs smoothly without having any jump cuts we will do this by having shot reverse shot, match on action shots and using the 180 degree rule. This will help use to make sure we have a smoothly running film opening.

What we have to do next is to create a synopsis of what is going to happen in our film opening and to then create a story board to help us for when we have to start filming our deadline for this is the end of this first week in February.

Video - Film Opening: Similarities To Genre

For my video production I have chosen to do a Slasher/Stalker horror. I then looked at three trailers for films which have a similar horror theme. I chose to look at the films "Scream", "I know what you did last summer" and "One missed call". I then was able to see what the main things which appear in this type of genre which would help me to distinguish what to put in my slasher/stalker horror film.

The similarities in these films are that the cast seem to be young adults/teenagers and some mysterious character which causes a disruption in the films. Also the main character seems to solve the mystery in the end of the film. The locations are normally based in characters homes and schools etc. Slow edits tend to be used in mysterious parts to create tension and a sense foreboding. Rapid edits are used to create the fast pace of the film and create fear in the audience.

The mis-en-scene of these films is that character wear trendy clothing which are modern and props are used to create a sense of tension and gives a feeling that it will play some part in the movie later on.

Depth of field are used within these types of films as narrow focus is normally used to highlight the fear and the importance of the object in focus.

The target audience in these Slasher/stalker horror movies seems to be teenagers and young adult as they are more likely to watch these types of movies.

Video - Film Opening: Narrative and Genre

I then started to look at film opening because it would be important for me when coming to choose what genre i would like to produce and how i could produce it. We looked at 'Dog Soldiers' to see how the film used there genre and what conventions they used, also looking at the narrative structure. I then noticed that 'Dog Soldiers' is a Horror/Action hybrid. in terms of horror it's sub-genre is a werewolf movie. This is because of the things within the movie which connote the film as a werewolf movie, for example, a solid silver knife, set in the woods, full moon and howling noises.

This film has a clear use of binary opposition which shapes the audiences understanding of the narrative structure, an example of this good against evil, as well as using proppian character functions, we feel that the sergeant is the villain because he killed the dog and that the hero in the film is the man who stands up against him. There is a clear use of the todorovian stage for example there is an equilibrium when the couple are finding things normal enjoying their time together until, the Werewolf attacks the characters in the tent which is the disruption also when the sergeant shoots the dog there is also a disruption.

Because of these generic and narrative structures the audience can predict what is likely to happen. This means that they can feel more confident of the characters and the plot of the story. It would also give them pleasure to try and work out what will happen during the film.

I will need to use these structures in the opening of my film if i am to allow the audience to predict what will happen during the film and so they can recognise who is the villain and the hero's within my opening to my film and how the disruptions are solved.

Video - Film Opening: Initial Research: Institution

Hollywood Films are normally produced and distributed by huge multi-national conglomerates such as 'Universal', '20th Century Fox' and 'Paramount'. These companies tend to produce simple narrative films, using big stars with big budgets, these then produce dominant values.

Social Realist films are normally produced by much smaller companies compared to Hollywood Films, such as 'Woodfall Film Productions'. These types of films normally use much fewer stars and less special effects are used, this is because of smaller budgets. These tend to have complicated narratives and tend to challenge dominant/residual ideas.

Art-house films are produced by much smaller companies for example 'Diffusion Pictures' which have much smaller budgets therefore have less stars and less special effects compared to the main Hollywood films. These types of films have more complicated narratives and challenge dominant/residual ideas, they take more risks because they cost less. They are normally made for more personal reasons and have less need to appeal to mainstream audiences.

The companies that produces/distribute that type of film gives me a general idea of which companies tend to produced different types of films and the types of messages hidden within the films.

Video - Film Opening: Initial Research

I have chosen to do video production for my task so I will therefore produce the first two minutes of a film opening.

Firstly I started researching about a variety of different types of films, Social Realist films, Hollywood Films and Art-house films which would then help me through my own project this is important because it will help me to chose what type of film I will want to create.

From looking at Social Realist films i have found out that they tend to have a more difficult subject matter which are quite complex. films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', the narratives do not always have a happy ending and the characters are normally working class citizens. The story lines are quite realistic.

I found out from my research that Hollywood films have similar story lines, where action films such as 'Bourne Identity' and 'Die Hard' have basic conventions such as chase sequences fight scenes and special effects and also they have simple narratives which resolves themselves at the end. These types of films tend to have a mainstream audiences.

From researching Art-house films, e.g. 'Funny Ha Ha' I then discovered that they don't always have a conventional structure which are usually quite complex. There is a strong emphasis on the style. They have a difficult subject matter which are aimed more at sophisticated audiences.

Video Production: Evaluation

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

It represents teenagers because of the fact we included teenagers in our footage, also because it has a slight sense of humour with a subject teenagers would associate with.

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

It would be a BBC programme as it educates as well as entertains it audience who would watch this type of media production.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

It would be for teenagers or parents of teenagers who would learn from the subject of how teenagers drink excessively this would also provide answers to questions such as what to do to prevent this.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Because I used teenagers as the actors in my media production this would attract the audience also because I made it slightly humorous to keep our audience watching and also the subject matter would make the audience watch to entertain and educate.

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

I have learnt how to take shots within the 180 degree rule and to also make match on action work. This also helped me to learn how to edit in the edit suite to make the film run smoothly throughout and to make it work.

Video Production: Finished Video

Video Production: Editing

Once we had finished filming we then used Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 to edit our footage, we uploaded our footage from our tape in our camera in separate clips and put them in the timeline. We then cut the footage to make each clip run smoothly without any jump cuts. We had to make sure our match on action shot ran smoothly by making sure the foot our actor stepped through on one side had to match when he stepped through on the other side. Also we had to make sure the 180 degree worked while editing. This took us a few tries to make sure everything ran smoothly. We cut out part of one of our actors speech and put a noddy in the part we cut out to make sure there isn't a jump cut. We put the sound over the top of the noddy to make it seem more realistic. We also put in a clip of the connections sign for when one of our actors mentions connections we again put the sound over the top of the clip to make sure that it looks realistic. We then uploaded it onto a DVD and posted it into our blog.

Video Production: What We Learnt

Before we started filming we had to learn how to use the equipment such as the camera and how to set up the tripod. We then learnt the best way to film and how to do the 180 degree rule and match on action, by watching examples. While we were filming we also learnt from mistakes such as match on action, we weren't able to match it correctly during editing. We started filming in G7 and then changed the room to G8 because our class was using G7 while we were filming so we then changed to G8 because it was empty and we were able to do all our filming within two lessons.

Video Production: Planning

Before we are going to begin filming we found a room which will be available during our lessons for filming and we asked permission if we could use it. We have made a script of dialogue for our actors to learn. We have decided to have our topic as underage drinking as one actor asking another, in a documentary type film. Are actors are Dave and Matt. We also did a storyboard with where we will have the cameras and where we are going to film.

Video Production: Plan Of Location With Camera Positions and Movement of 'Talent'

Location; To film our scene we have asked permission to use G8 for our video production, we chose this room because its spacious and a quiet place to film. This room would be appropriate for our video production because there is plenty of seating and isn't by any noisy areas.


Camera Positions; the camera positions for this scene would be filming to the left of the door, filming the person walking down the corridor through the door which will then have a match on action shot going through the door on the other side. Then the camera will film the person walking up to the other and sitting down. Then the camera will film to the left side of the line of vision, filming a conversation.

Preliminary Task 2 - Video Production: 180 Degree Rule and Match on Action

180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule is when, for example, there is a conversation going on between two people, the camera has to be anywhere within the one side of the imaginary line called the line of vision, is it moves to the other side during a scene then the persons eye contact wont match. All of the filming for this scene must be on one side of the line of vision.

Match On Action

Match on action is where the same action is filmed in two different angles. If the action isn't filmed from the same point at a different angle then there will be a jump cut. For example, if there was a person walking through a door and two camera were on both sides of the of it when the person opens and walks through the door when the camera switches to the other the opened door must be the same width as when the other camera is filming to make the scene flow and would avoid a jump cut.

Magazine: Cover And Contents Page

Magazine: Evaluation

My text is similar to other magazines because I have used a bold masthead, cover lines and strap lines which will attract the teenage audience to read and purchase my magazine. I have also included a mid close up of a student who is in college so it will draw the reader in. the masthead is large, colourful and bold so it would appeal to the reader.

I used QuarkXPress to make my magazine cover for college students. It helped me to create it as it was an easy programme to use and it was quite a quick process to create the whole magazine. Also because they use boxed to create text or to add a picture it made it simple to lay everything out and if I needed to change anything all I needed to do was move or delete the box. I didn’t really find any difficulties to create my magazine and contents page using this programme.

I also used Photoshop to edit the image for the main sell of the magazine. I found this quite simple and I used the crop tool to make the image the correct size for the cover, the healing brush to clear up the skin and remove spots and blemishes, I also used the burn tool to darken his eyes. I didn’t face any major problems while using this programme.

I believe I was able to communicate to my audience effectively as we include cover lines and strap lines to attract my target audience e.g. freebies and how to get good grades, also how to get the best social life possible without ruining your grades. I believe that this magazine cover would attract my audience and would encourage them to buy the magazine.

My magazine cover which I created was targeted at the social group of teenage students aged between 16-19 years old who are currently studying AS and A2 levels. It is targeted at these by using cover lines and strap lines which would appeal to this social group. They are represented by the main sell and the other sections of this magazine which I created. I included messages which would attract my audience, and by using direct mode of address it makes the magazine more appealing and personal for the reader. The values I put into my magazine balanced out between the educational and social aspects of college. This would help the target audience in both ways. Also it could reduce the stress of a college life.

Magazine: Planning

Detailed Audience Profile

Age Range: Between 16 and 19
Gender: female

You will be interested in your future.
You will have a good social life
You will spend all the money you have enjoying yourself
You like watching teen movies
You enjoy spending the weekends with your friends and being youthful
You want to be rich and live a healthy lifestyle
You like the latest trends and having the new fashion items


You are an achiever (ambitious and you want to achieve things in life) and a radical person (You believe you are different).

Social Values: Materialist (have something now pay later)

Jicnar scale: D- Semi unskilled manual workers

Life stage category: Kids 12-18, decision pending.

Connotations for audience

To communicate this we will have cover lines and strap lines which will attract the reader into reading and purchasing the magazine e.g. how to get a good social life, without loosing your grades. We will attract the audience with the freebies. The free note book will help them during college. It will help those who need help to get the best grades, by learning the most appropriate way for them.

Schedule for production

Take a mid close up of a student for the main sell of the magazine cover.
Paste the image onto photo-shop and edit it to make it appropriate for the magazine.
Paste it into QuarkXPress and re size to fit the page.
Create mast head and make it stand out, change font, size, boldness, and angle.
Then create a puff and a website address, make it stand out by highlighting the box to a different colour.
Write the issue number and the price
Then go onto photo-shop to make backgrounds for the boxes. Create the freebie box and write in it, change the font and colours to make it more eye catching.
Visit Google to find a bar code, copy that onto your front cover and move it around to find the best space for it.
Then write on the cover lines and strap lines.

What we might find difficult….

Thinking of the different cover lines and strap lines; that would attract our target audience, without sounding to dull.

Thinking of an appropriate mast head to explain what we are trying to sell.

Magazine: Student Magazine Research

Sophie Price
Media Studies

In both of these student magazines their mastheads are written in a bold writing in sans serif font, this would create a more of a friendly and informal approach to the reader. Also they both have coverlines with straplines to explain what is in the magazine and to grab the reader’s interest. Also both magazines use direct mode of address this is used to involve the reader in the magazine personally.

In C.U.E magazine the main sell is taken in medium shot (MS), the main shot is used to sell the magazine; the main sell would need to attract the target audience, so someone they can relate to age wise, they chose to use a young lady for this magazine this would give the audience someone to relate to. This magazine has a website address, this would give the reader other options to explore.

In SPECTRUM magazine the main sell is taken in medium close up (MCU), the main shot would attract the target audience because it would be someone they could relate to. The main sell is a teenager who is smiling this would attract the audience, and persuade them to read the magazine.

Media Studies

I chose media studies because I am interested in having a future in media, e.g. journalism, photography, newspaper's. I also chose this subject because I believe I will enjoy it and be able to get a good grade.