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

At the research stage when i analysed other products, i looked at the opening of romance films, each one starts with a calm settling environment and relaxing movement and music which doesnt startle the audience at first glance, i used an opening like this when i created the opening dancing sequence, it is a very down beat tone and there is nothing that would jump out to the audience.
For example in Love Actually, the opening airport scene is showing happyness in various closeups and creating a good feeling for the audience.
In my product there is not genuinly happyness shown in the one character but we get emotion from the movement in the character in the close up shots. (image)

In my audience research, my results showed that people wanted to see things that actually happen in everyday life. Whereas usually in films they do show typical everyday things, but are usually exaggurated, although i think the film 'Love Actually' on a whole i would not class as an over exagguration and this is what i have tried to go for, so i stayed with quite a straight forward storyline which steps away from some typical usual conventions in media.
In my film i do not think there was sufficient attention payed to the direction of the film, some things could have been thought about more thoroughly due to positioning and filming things more than once to get a better final shot.

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

How does your media product represent particular social groups? on Prezi

Evaluation question 3 - "What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?"

I do not think overall that my product could have been produced by a professional institution as my film had a very low budget, and i think that to have great high standards there needs to be money involved in the making of the film and then distribution.
If any bits looked profesional i would say the performance of the dancing sequence has high standards as the quality of the dancing is good and often the cinematography and framing of the shots throughout the film have really been thought about in detail which can look quite professional.
As a result of the above it is more likely that my film would be distributed by an independent label due to the lack of money my product had therefore i could not use masses of special effects, editing and famous actors, which would make it a very successful film.
An example of an independent film company which could be one to distribute my product would be Dogwoof films, which specialise in social issue and independent films. This would be a good distributor for my film as my film is a very low budget film and completely independent.
http://dogwoof.com/
Unlike a major film company such as Paramount Pictures always distributing large budget films as they are a majoy company with a lot of money.
http://www.elysianpictures.com/

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

Who would be the audience for your media product? on Prezi

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

To attract my audience in my film I tried to use elements of detail which would interest the characters and relate to them in the best ways possible. The narrative should attract the audince appropriately as it will relate to many people of that age range. To maintain interest throughout i tried to make technical choices within cinematography and mise-en-scene which can make the audience feel sympathy for characters in high angle shots and the mise-en-scene of the young womans bedroom with the objects of teddies and jewellery.

In the flashbacks or arguments in my product i tried to create a shot similar to the well known romance film, 'The Notebook'.

Here the female is blocking the male out of her life for now by getting him to walk away, and she is getting into the car and closing the door. Just like my actress closes the door on Aaron in the breakup in my product.

I gave my audience what they asked for. In my questionaire hand out i asked what they liked to see in a film, i got responses of conflict and flashbacks, so i simply put them in to help create exactly what they want, they don't want a straight forward narrative, the audience want to think about the story and get into it, so i try this out right from the start.

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

In terms of using new technologies for my product i had to understand how to use more than just using a computer. I had to use Adobe Photoshop to create the logo for my product, ensuring that it was big enough, as my first attempt was not the correct dimensions and measurements to fit a regular TV screen, therefore looked too small when putting it onto my product. I had to make sure the file was saved as a Jpeg so it was suitable for my needs and that i had enough storage space in my memory at college as a lot of photoshop products etc could fill it easily, i also had to save everything in appropriate places and save a backup copy onto a memory stick.
For making my film i used a college camera and tripod to film. To complete my product i used an Apple Mac with Finalcut Pro to edit and complete my product. To use this i had to learn how to cut and edit each shot together making each one flow into another continuously. I learnt how to edit the shots to make some brigter if they were too dark to see and how to zoom into some shots to cut the longer shots up and make them more interesting with various framing. I used different effects and transitions in my product such as cross-fading and dissolves to fade from one shot into another, which came in very useful for emphasising the flashbacks. I then had to add my soundtrack, and learn how to fade the music in and out and cut it where i wanted it to play. I used opening titles by importing my logo onto the Mac and playing it at the start of my film to make it look of a professional standard, i inserted text into my opening titles on Finalcut pro with a typewriter effect for the words showing up.
Without new digital technology making this film would be very difficult to make, it was so easy to move digital data such as images and sounds from different file types and Windows on a computer to Mac OS. Physical cutting and pasting would have taken much more time and effort than using the technology we have now.
Although using very little technology would be very difficult, i think that actually using it and getting to learn how to use it has still been a difficult task of building on stills and multi-tasking, although it got easier as the skills developed, but i still think there is more to learn. In the future i will spend more time on attention to detail in the editing process and cutting the shots up into more detail and learning more skills on how to do thing like that. I will also film shots more than just a few times and from different angles so that when it comes to editing i will have more choice on detail.

This image shows the use of prezi. This is part of making my evaluation, i took on new skills to present some of my evaluation questions on this new website.

Evaluation question 7 - "Looking back at your prelininary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?"

With my new final product, in comparison to be prelim task, i see a massive difference in every aspect of the filming and producing. Making the final product helped me to build my skills of photoshop and Finalcut Pro much more and i learnt a lot more than when making my prelim. I learnt how to add a soundtrack to my piece and keep everything flowing in finalcut which is actually a difficult thing to do. My main task was also a lot longer and had much more planning and i think this is visible when watching them both together.

Final Product

Construction

Recce of Location

My first location is a simple street setting, i think this is a good setting for the dancing sequence as it looks as if the character is just choosing to be there dancing by choice rather than having to be there which would be more of a dance studio setting, this shows the character loves her hobby. The setting was also a good choice as it is set in the dark, at night, so the character wants to dance when no one is around. She is still in love and feels depressed and very down therefore the plainness and dull colours and open space connotes her feelings.


The second location is the bedroom which the male character, Aaron will be in. Aaron is also still in love therefore the colours of the bedroom again are not bright, instead they are black and grey. The room is not big or open showing his insecurity and the shots in the room will all be closed framed, and not much of the room will be shown as he will just be sat on the bed. This doesnt give much away about the character because we do not need to know alot about him, he is obviously a secretive person.

The bedroom Amber, the other female, is in will be colours of greens and brown that arent necissarily dull but will give a good mood as she is a cheerful open person and she will be wearing bright colours to show her mood and the green in the room will connote her jealousy. This room seems alot more adult like than the males room which could tell alot about the character, that they are mature or trying to be an older person which also shows in the way they dress. The girl will have a teddy and jewellery and other possesions on her drawers which can still show she is hoding on to her child like personality so she may not actually be a mature person, just trying to be, in the way she still has a teddy. This sort of thing is quite common in teenagers therefore the target audience may be able to understand and relate to this character.

Animatics

This is my first version of my animatic, it may not be exact yet, there is still more music to find and put into the end of the sequence, also there is still plenty of time to fill as it is not very long yet but when filming i can experiment with different shots and there is also a good chance i will need to hold shots longer than i have planned if the action cannot be shown in such a small amount of seconds.

Call sheets

Actor: Amber Marshall
Character: The pretty girl interested in the boy, but more focused on looks.
Shooting on day: On what day of filming are they required?
Call time:what time will you be shooting?
Day/date: date of filming?
Costume: Colourful skirt and top.
Make-up: Fairly heavy, but everyday makeup.
Location: Nice modern open bedroom.
Set:
Producer: Laurie Catherall
Director: Laurie Catherall


Actor: Rebecca Summerill
Character: The boys ex girlfriend, still in love.
Shooting on day: On what day of filming are they required?
Call time:what time will you be shooting?
Day/date: date of filming?
Costume: Grey baggy top with black dance leggins.
Make-up: Simple, mascara.
Location: Gym hall in youth centre.
Set: Gym.
Producer: Laurie Catherall
Director: Laurie Catherall


Actor: Aaron Carruthers
Character: The boy stuck between two girls.
Shooting on day: On what day of filming are they required?
Call time:what time will you be shooting?
Day/date: date of filming?
Costume: Dark jeans and black jumper.
Make-up: None.
Location: Grey/black bedroom.
Set:
Producer: Laurie Catherall
Director: Laurie Catherall

Storyboards

Institutional context

For the opening of the film i will be making i will not have a large budget as those of a larger production company. I will be taking on a lot of roles in the pre and post production of my film as i mentioned in my proposal, these will be roles beginning with writer, producer and director, going on to do editing and set, costume and makeup artist. Film 4 is an example of a media conglomerate which develop and co-finance high profile feature films such as Slumdog Millionaire and This is England, both british films with British independent talent which is what i am aiming for with my film and what Film4 took for in their company. With Channel 4 it is possible to submit your own ideas it a simple process laid out on their website. Just like making a new film for any producers you write a simple proposal and submit it to the online proposal system, there will then be a meeting with comissioning editors if you get a yes from the team. There are then 3 stages of budget approval, commissioning editor and programme finance manager, Head of department, Programme finiance committee. The programme can then be produced with lots of work and then set on the channel. Film 4 is geared towards develong feature length/short films with led british talent. They look for meterial which aims to push the boundaries within film genre, i think Film4 would be the right type of media institution to distribute my product as what they are looking for is my aim with the film i will be making.
There will be a large process a film goes through before it is completed and many of the roles in production i wil have to take on myself. The idea will be writted and passed forward to the producer and the director can make it happen. A pitch can then be written for the producer in order to sell the idea to the financiers to commission a script. Production companies will be approached for development money. The first draft is sent off to the financiers and once everyone is happy it wil be made into a final draft. Once the essential funding and insurance is secured the pre production will begin with storyboards and production design. Effects are planned and this can take months, obviously this is very different to my time scale and facilities. Next will be the shooting of the film involving the actors and cinematographers, now the post production, getting the film edited together, adding sound effects and finalising the product. I will be taking on almost all of the responsibilities listed above although some such as makeup design i may leave to the actors involved if necessary.

Mood board and Rationale

I made this mood board to show alot of things about the film i will be making. There are examples of good romance films which are very popular as proved by my audience research so i wanted to include pictures on them. When you think of romance it is all very bright and happy which i think my mood board shows using the hearts and the rose which connotes love with both its bright red colour and the fact it is a popular romantic flower. I have also given examples of a close up shot and shot reverse shot as these will be used in my film. I have put in pictures of groups of people, i would like to think these people are my target audience, teenagers through to young adults of any class. The actors ive put in are well known and actors play a big part in films as they can be the reason people would like to see a film so i think they are an important part in my mood board as they help to promote the product.

Initial sketches

Initial Treatment

The opening of my film will begin with a female dancer in a gym, the shots will consist firstly of close ups watching the movement of the feet at the same level as the feet, slowly the camera will begin to show close ups of legs, body and arm movements leaving the head always out of the shots so that we can not see the character. There will be diegetic music in the background to a sad love song and the dancing will go on until the song ends. Through out the dance and song there will be flash backs of this woman breaking up with her boyfriend so that we can begin to understand abit about her character in just the opening. These will be fairly closed framed shots of a break up out side of a house consisting of arguing and drama, the shots will not be held for a long amount of time to create the drama and tension of the break up. During the flashbacks the music will still play from the dancing scene non-diegeticly over the top without any other diegetic sound. The last shot of the dancer will be a long shot of her rolling down on to the floor and laid heavily breathing on her back as the music ends. The shot will then cross cut to a closeup of a picture of the dancer in a frame being held in a hand, there is then a cut to the front view of a male holding this picture in a medium shot sat on a bed, then putting it away into a drawer face down and we see a closeup of the draw being closed, the male character will be placed on the right of the frame to show he is in confusion and is lacking importance.
There is now another cross cut to a different female getting ready in a bedroom, she is getting ready, wearing a pink skirt and top and jewellery to show she is an open, happy, colourful person. The first shot we see is of some objects in her room which represent her as a person, such as jewellery and a tebby bead. We then see a medium shot of her applying mascara in the mirror and closeups of her putting it back into her full makeup back which shows she is all about her looks. She continues to sort her hair and clothes in the mirror as the camera pans down her from her head to feet to reveal what she is wearing. There is a cross cut back to the male which will show a shot from over his shoulder sending a text on his phone. Then the camera cross cuts back to the room the woman is in, a close up of her phone, getting a text, cut to long shot of her walking to get the phone and then a point of view close up of the text saying 'Leaving now'. Then to a close up of the expression on the womans face smiling.

Creating a proposal

For the moving image product i will be using DVpal 24 frames per second, and exporting it as a dotmov. My intended audience will be people ages 15 to 25 as it is a young age group so that they can relate to the film, with young romances they may have experienced themselves,.
The intended purpose of my product will be to entertain and exite the audience with the opening of my film, hoping they would stay interested and want to watch the rest of the film so i need to keep the audience interested.
There has been many pieces of media work produced on the same subject as mine, there are many popular romance films, but ive never heard of an opening to be amazing in a romance. This is why my piece of work will be different to the others, all of my focus will go into the opening and with all of my research it will be able to be outstanding.
My soundtrack is from a copyright free source, http://freeplaymusic.com/ and my soundtrack which will cover the sequence is called Natural Beauty.
During the course of making the opening of the film i will have many roles and responsibilites. i will be the writer, producer, director, editor, lighting and set director, costume and makeup artist. I may have a friend helping out who may also be an actress in the opening scene, they can help with choice of makeup and costume.

Audience research - Primary

I made this questionnaire to hand out to research what people would like to see in the opening of a film and how popular romances are today. I asked 5 males and 5 females to fill them out aged mainly 15-20. As my results are coming from this age group my target audience will be aimed at people aged 15-25, i chose this age group as most of my questionnaire results have good ideas from this age range and my film would be one containing things which happen in life which this age group could relate to which, from my research, is what people like to see in a romance film. The age range begins at 15 as this would be the certificate of my film which most people voted for and there would be no unsuitable content for anyone this young, which was the posibility for it being an 18 but the film would ensure there was nothing unnessesary. When i asked what people would like to see in the opening of a film, about 30% said a flashback, i agreed with this idea and think i will use flashbacks in my opening as it will help build a character in the short amount of time i have for filming. I found that females had more interest in romance films than males as males seem to prefer sex scenes and horror or comedy films rather than romance. The most popular romance films people liked were Love actually, The Notebook and The Titanc which was good information as i have already researched the openings of The Notebook and Love Actually.

Audience research - secondary.

The information on the website shows that the most popular age for watching this film, love actually is 25-34 year olds with 22% with 15-24 year olds just behind with 21%. Its estimated box office was 24,000,000 with a 60% female audience showing females are more popular with the romance genre than males.
The information for the notebook, another classic romance has a 62% female population and just 38% male. The Love Actually 25-34 year olds rank highest age group for the films audience with 24%. 4-14 year olds having 0%.

As these two popular films both have a main audience of 25-34 year olds that will be my aim for a target audience, but any age from 15 above would be suitable as that would be the certificate. although the certificat of the notebook is actually a 12A. It would be aimed also more at females because of the romance genre, this will make the box office less than it could as if it were a family film for all ages the film would make more with a more widespread audience.

Textual research - Opening of 50 first dates

00:00 - 02:07
The opening of the film is a long shot of a beach setting in Hawaii at nightfall, this straight away gives the impression of the romance genre as it is a romantic setting. The opening credits begin to fade on and off screen whilst non diegetic hawaiian music plays. The camera tracks to the left as the setting changes to a medium shot of a Kitchen setting and a pineapple places on the left of the screen which has been continued through the last shot, and the title of the film appears in the middle of the shot. The text fades as two actors enter the shot and sit down to talk about the womans holiday to hawaii. The camera then crosscuts to various shots of other women in different locations talking about the same man they had met on holiday, as the conversation continues through each woman. The mise-en-scen of each setting is always bright and colourful opening the film in a cheerful way with some slight comedy in the dialouge. Each woman ends up saying the same name of the person they met and that they will struggle having future contact, from this we can already work out the problem we are going to face during the film.

Textual Analysis - The opening of Love Actually

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsnruVriVYw

(embedd code disabled by request)

The opening sequecne of Love Actually is a short scene in the arrivals department of an airport. There is mainly medium close ups used in the sequence to see expressions on the faces of those greeting each other giving the viewers a feel good, happy feeling. We get a zoom in as children run to meet parents, this helps emphasise the happyness and feelings of the characters. The shots are all closed framed which encodes the togetherness and the closeness of families and friends. The scene is bright and colourful by the clothes of the characters also setting a warm environment for a romance film. The whole opening sequence has no diegetic sound, we dont need the dialouge to know what is going on or how people feel. About 20 seconds in there is a voice over by Hugh Grant, one of the main characters in the film, talking about the fact that love is all around, representing the whole narrative of the film. I think the voice over is a good idea for the opening of a film, especially the subject of the voice over, talking about love is a good idea for the opening of a romance.

Textual Research

In the opening sequence of The Notebook begins with the opening credits coming up on a black screen fading into and off the shot. There is no dialouge, the sequence is based on a series of establishing shots which are there to set a scene for the rest of the film. The film begins with a black screen and the opening credits showing up then as a pink sunrise sets over a river the names of the main actors show in the bottom left of the screen finishing with the name of the film, there is then long shot of a large white house with white Pekin Ducks flying past, this is a romantic setting fitting the genre of the film. The sound is nondiegetic music from David Sun, a relaxing soundtrack which also sets the romantic mood. There is only one character introduced in the opening and this is an old woman stood in the large house looking over the lake and watching the birds, from this we know nothing about her, but we know she will be involved. From the opening you can tell straight away what the genre of the film is whitout giving any big clues. The only other person we see is just a man in a small rowing boat, rowing calmly down the river, creating a calm mood ready to introduce the rest of the film.