Evaluation Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full project?

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

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

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience? on Prezi

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

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media roduct? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? on Prezi

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

Powerpoint question 1

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Our Opening Sequence !!! :) LIFE AFTER DEATH

 

:) :D

OPENING SEQUENCE COMPLETED!

Today we finished our opening sequence after adding all our titles and sound! Now we have to start our evaluation questions!

Completing the sound.

Today I tackled the lengthy job of finding and fitting in some music to add to the atmosphere of our film opening.
I knew I wanted to keep the music relatively simple but still haunting at the same time. By keeping it simple I thought it would make the audience feel more mysterious about the event that may or may not be taking place in the opening. My other group member Lucksiga suggested that we should add a sound of some sort when the titles enter and exit the screen. We managed to find a sort of crackling noise that seemed quite effective. 
Lucksiga and I went through the opening and found particular sounds that matched the atmosphere of certain scenes.
For GCSE music I used Garageband so this was an advantage when using it for my AS Media project.
I am happy with the outcome of the soundtrack to go with our opening. It certainly finishes the filming off  and gives it that spooky edge! :O

The Eighth Meeting! :)

Today we went through our footage and changed the brightness and contrast in some of the shots. At points this was tricky as the contrast had to be adjusted at the same time. In some shots we adjusted the light to create a smoky scene because of the candle that features in the film. 
We also started using 'LiveType' to create more creative and original titles and credits. We wanted to have spooky titles to fit in with the genre of our opening.  
We watched the opening of the movie 'Seven' to see what kind of titles we should add and looked at the order in which they appeared :) 

The Seventh Meeting! :)

This week we have been thinking about adding title sequences.  Our teacher watched our opening sequence again this week and suggested that in some places we could add some titles to cover up jumps within the filming that had appeared through editing. 
She was impressed with our progress, however she wants us to go through the editing again to perfect slight jumps within the footage. Our teacher also suggested to be more creative on title design and to make it look more effective in matching our genre of film. 
We have been spending time playing around with the programme 'LiveType' to see what effects they have that we could add to our titles. :) 

The Sixth Meeting! :)

This week are still editing the film opening and certain scenes and shots are proving quite challenging in perfecting. Although we have now finished the complete rough edit there is still a lot of detailed editing to do. 

The Fifth Meeting! :)

 This week we will be re-shooting some of our missing shots. We got together as a group over half term and watched some more opening sequences for inspiration and ideas. 
We have completed the rough edit of the first half of our opening sequence. :)

The Fourth Meeting! :)

This week we started editing. We are working on the rough edit at the moment before we start on the complicated editing!

Whilst doing this we realised that some shots are missing and one scene will have to be re-shot.  We also had to leave out shots as the overall footage was too long. We have decideed to meet again and get the correct shots for more editing next week. :)

The Third Meeting! :)

We have decided that our film will be called "Life after Death". I think this is a very clever title as it is bold but it can also have many other meanings! It also sounds like a typical horror/slasher movie! :)

Film Research!

People are always frightened when watching horror/suspense movies because of the thrilling elements that are featured in such films.

A fierce or frightening creature is often used to make this sort of plot. Horror/suspense movies haunt people by using plots related to supernatural events. In addition, a murderer is often a main character who kills other characters one by one, making people feel excited and anxious whilst watching. These are three typical horror elements found in many horror/suspense movies.

A fierce creature is the first typical element found in horror/suspense films. Many movies in this genre use a fierce animal to don this. Making that animal huge, evil and intelligent can horrify people. Using characters who are frightened and who run away from the fierce creature, excites people. Some of these characters sometimes fail to escape from these dangers. For example, in Jaws (1975), the shark is the main horror element. Steven Spielberg uses the huge shark to thrill and scare people.

The supernatural is the second thing which is used as a typical horror element in this movie category. Supernatural beings are used to scare and haunt people, with many ‘beings’ having a unique style, these films have become very popular. For example, Dracula is one of the most famous beings which has been used as a horror element. A lot of people in the world know what Dracula is and how scary he is. There are also other fearful popular beings like Dracula such as Frankenstein and other vampires. Ghosts are another supernatural element that are always found in horror/suspense films. In many movies, directors use ghosts which always haunt a particular old place as elements to horrify people. A last supernatural element is some situation that is unexplained and results the death of people one by one with no reason. For example, in Final Destination (2000), a boy has a premonition of his flight crashing and tells his friends to get off the plane before boarding. He and his friends are survivors after the crash in his dream becomes real. After that, the survivors get killed one by one in mysterious ways. Another example is the situation in The Ring (2002). People who watch a mysterious video die. Nobody can answer what happens in this circumstance until a young journalist try to investigate the history of that videotape, and she finds a solution in the end of the movie. However, there is another typical element in horror/suspense movies.

The third horror element in horror/suspense movies is murderers. Filmmakers often use a scary human character to be the typical element. In some movies, the character wears scary clothes and a mask as he commits the murders. These movies always have a plot about a group of teenagers getting killed by a murderer one by one. People don’t know the reason why the teenagers get killed until there’s a revelation of the murderer in the end of the movie. During the time the audience is watching, it also anticipates who the murderer is, and it is always incorrect.

In conclusion, the main typical horror elements which are found in horror/suspense movies come from fierce creatures, the supernatural and murderers. People who watch movies in this genre are always scared because of these varieties of horror elements. Filmmakers are constantly trying to find new and interesting horror elements to thrill people in their films. This search can be an interesting reason to watch horror/suspense movies in the future.

Location pictures and photos from filming day!

This is a shot of where I enter the house. 

This shot is of the close-up we see of the keys opening the door.

This is the hallway, which leads down to the kitchen. Here we did many tracking shots.

This was a rehearsal of one scene in the opening. 

Close up of the spooky fireplace :O

Another shot of the hallway.

Rehearsal of Fay's character crying.

And again!

This is the angle at which I was filmed entering the house and calling "Mum"

                 

Kitchen.

Living Room

The Second Meeting! :)

 

This week was all about agreeing on the final storyboard.
I really like the idea and I am looking forward to filming :)

Our story!

Our story is about a teenage girl who returns from a party and can't understand why there are strange happenings going on around the house. She then realises that her mother cant hear her and that she must be dead!
The film would then be about her retracing her steps on the night she was murdered and finding out exactly who murdered her. There is a twist to the unexpected murderer, there are many suspects but we find out it was her brother who murdered her, even though he was supposed to be at bording school. We then find on later on in the film that it's because her brother is schizophrenic. By the ned of the film she will have accepted her death and learnt to deal with the reality of her situation, possibly creating a sort of happy ending as she still finds peace.

Individual response to the ideas/thoughts of the group choice :)

I am so excited about the idea that my group and myself have come up with! I think we are going to be able to come up with some amazing shots that are both interesting and creative. 
This idea fits into the genre of my favorite films horror/thriller/mystery/slasher.
Although many shots we have already thought of may turn out to be quite challenging we can wait to give it a go and see how our idea will come to life. 
Sadly the group has decided that I would be the best person to be the protagonist of the film opening. This didn't make me very happy as I don't like being filmed however, to reach our target audience, ill have to take one for the team! :) 

The First Meeting! :)

This week we discussed  location, equipment and character.  We decided that we are filming both outdoors and indoors. We also decided that our opening sequence would be filmed at my house! :) 

Preliminary Sequence.... Feed the fish!

Overall I was unhappy with our preliminary sequence of 'Feed the fish'. I felt that the camera work was too wobbly and shots were unimaginative. I also felt that the whole idea behind our version of the script was very boring. Harsh but true!
The story line was about two friends who were meeting up to go shopping but first having a conversation about my characters new fish and whether I fed them or not.
If I were to film this particular story again I would pick a more suitable location as the location used made the story line hard to understand.
From this however, our group was aware that we had to think of more interesting shots. From the preliminary sequence we picked up on the fact that zooming out like in this scene here: VIDEO

wouldn't work if we were to use it on our final film as it is quite tricky to get right.
We also realised that we should have used a tripod when filming, which would have prevented the wobbly camera work.
The one shot where my character is walking over to the table where Fay is sat is an over-the-shoulder shot which I think is actually quite effective as the viewer can see where i'm supposed to be going.
We also broke the 180 degree rule in the last scene as the camera follows us around the table, completely confusing the viewer.

My own initial idea!

Response to the brief!

My first response to the project was pure excitement. I thought of so many ideas on the spot that I could create in an opening sequence. I knew straight away that I wanted to create a film opening around a mystery/horror genre as this is my favorite type of film. 
I was also really excited about working with my group: Lucksiga, Fay and May. Our group consists of the same people in our preliminary sequence. I think this will act as an advantage as we have already worked together and picked up on each others strengths and weaknesses. 
Although I was extremely enthusiastic about the brief I couldn't help but wonder just how much work would be involved, but I'm still excited about what ideas we will bring together as a group and hopefully make a fantastic film opening!!!! :) 

Opening sequence of 'Children of Men' analysis! 3*

This opening sequence begins with a voice over and a blank screen at which the audience are automatically aware is a news report. This is done by the tone and exaggeration in certain expressions. This means that the audience are focused and drawn in on what is said instead of what is seen, which is nothing.  
We then see as scene of a room full of people. The first thing I noticed is that all the people in the shot are focused on the same thing. As a viewer this interests us further as to finding out what they are looking at. You then notice that there is in fact a television in the background perhaps showing the same thing. The people's expressions in this shot also suggests that something shocking has happened, 'breaking news'. The main protagonist (Clive Owen) then makes his way through the concerned crowd of people to order a coffee. As the voice over is going on the viewer can start to understand the genre of the film. It could be seen as a thriller as the news report is about a murder, however as it says the youngest human died at 18 makes it a sci-fi film as this is completely abnormal. 
The next camera shot is of the television screen that the people in the cafe are watching. We see that the television says 'BCC' news instead of the version we know of 'BBC'. This captures our attention as it is familiar to us, making us as the viewer have some sort of connection to the film. You then notice the date of 2027, this suggests that the film will have some sci-fi involvement as it is set in the future. This television is also at a low-angle suggesting that 'Baby Diego' was of some influence and superiority to those watching. There is also some dramatic and poignant music that enters here influencing the viewer to feel sympathy just like the people in the film are. The colours in the cafe and of peoples clothes are very dull and dim. The lighting is also quite dark which immediately sets the tone of the film and again hinting at the genre. 

After this the camera tracks the protagonist out of the camera who is clearly unfazed with the sad event and just wishes to get on with his normal life. 
The tracking shot then takes us (the viewer) outside of the cafe and reveals what the 'Future' could look like. It's noisy and dirty and still has a very dull and depressing feeling about it. 
The camera then turns back to the protagonist and continues to track him down the street. He then stops at an electricity box and the camera moves slowly in towards him. The camera then circles him so we can see the alcohol he is putting in his drink, showing us something about his possible character. 
As he is about to walk away there is a massive explosion causing the viewer to have a visceral reaction. The camera then moves towards the explosion in what seems to be a disorientated fashion as if it were the view of an actual person. This distorted camera feeling could suggest how the people around the explosion are feeling. A ringing sound is also apparent with lots of loud screaming. This ringing sound could also relate to the people in the film due to the loud explosion they have just heard. This is very effective as it makes the viewer think they are there. A haunting image of a woman then appears who comes out of the building carrying her arm which will create an emotional and uncomfortable feeling for the viewer. This image will frighten the viewer but also entice them into watching the rest of the film. 
The scene then changes to the title of the film which is 'Children of Men'. This is written in white with a plane black background. This simplistic shot is in contrast to the rest of the busy film we just saw, this steady and stationary image of the title is effective as it doesn't distract the viewer from the haunting image seen just previously. This encourages the viewer to continue watching the film. 

Opening Sequence of 'Cleaner' analysis! 2*

At the beginning of this opening sequence the first thing my attention is drawn to is the intense music playing when the words 'Millennium Films' and 'Millennium films presents' appears. This music creates a mysterious feeling gradually increasing the suspense. This kind of music is commonly used in films when there is a build up to certain events. Hearing this music the viewer is aware that this film will be a mystery/ thriller genre. The music alerts the reader that the scene may be leading up to a dramatic event very soon. 
The first shot we see is an aerial shot moving very slowly towards the city. This moving camera that slowly moves into the shot continues onto a 'sidewalk' where we see some people. Everything seems very 'dull' and the streets look dirty. The intense dramatic music is still building, keeping the viewers guessing about what will happen next. The moving slowly in shot continues onto a woman entering a building called 'Hamilton  Apartments'. This is when the voice over of a man (Samuel L Jackson) starts telling us a story; the music still playing in the background. Then the woman enters a very 'dull' room with very limited amount of light adding to the general 'dull' feeling of the atmosphere in the film. This low angle shot moves towards the woman and we see the name of the film 'Cleaner'.
The voice over in this shot says "she has a bag of groceries and a bouquet of flowers to brighten up the place". This particular line is quite comical considering the shots we have seen of the city and the 'Hamilton Apartments' have given an impression of the area being quite a depressing place that the 'flowers' could certainly 'brighten up'. 
Camera still moving inwards, we now see a shot of the woman entering one of the apartments. The dramatic music is still playing when we begin to hear the sound of flies buzzing. Some viewers who perhaps watch films like 'Cleaner' often will probably know what the woman will find however the voice over then continues his story and we as the viewer find out exactly what has happened. We then see only part of this 'deceased' woman's body which actually increases interest as not all details are visible. A reaction shot of the woman who entered is then shown and the intense music builds further building the viewers suspense. When she walks towards the kitchen to see her dead mother the camera jumps slightly hinting at the woman's stress and confusion of the event. The voice over here is telling us what we have  partly seen and some extra gory details, these extra details are not shown so left to our imagination which runs wild with gory images of the woman's dead body. We then see a closer and larger shot of what has just been explained to us and what has happened to the woman's body. 

After this the music changes to a beat, contrasting with the music at the very beginning of the opening. When the man says "but it's also big business", this provides another comical moment and the music changes to an upbeat tune. The 'Tell me something good' song by Chaka Khan is a complete contrast to the melancholic theme of death and decay that has been shown so far in the film.

After the shots of death and funeral related images the voice over then explains his role in the film; cleaning up the 'souvenir's' that dead people leave behind, aka: the 'Cleaner'. He then explains the process he goes through to clean-up the houses and we see some of the process he has to go through with different shots of different cleaning items. The 'dull' and 'dim' colours that signify death are still apparent. 

After this we see a close-up of our voice over man still speaking, this is the first time we see his face. We see a low angle shot of who he was just telling telling his story to: his audience in the film. Then we realise we were the second audience but that he is still the main protagonist. 

Opening Sequence of 'Constantine' analysis! 1*

 


Constantine, directed by Francis Lawrence is a supernatural film starring Keanu Reeves.


This opening sequence starts off by naming the film 'Constantine'. The background colour is dark hinting that the film too may be dark and mysterious. Although very short, the music accompanying this title is extremly menacing and ominous. This again hints at the possible mood or tone of the film. This then moves on to the sound of a boiled kettle (a loud squealing noise) and a blank screen, after this appears a kitchen scene where a woman enters and pours some tea. The light and atmosphere of the 'Los Angeles' apartment seems very dull which is a contrast to the loud and thrilling sound of the boiled kettle heard just before. There seems to be a background noise of a television or radio, adding to the normal setting of a house or flat. When the woman is walking down the corridor, she is in the middle of the shot, hinting that the viewer should be focused on her movement. As we are focused on her calm movement and listening to the normal, quiet sounds of a background television, the scream and dramatic fall to the floor comes as a shock as the viewers weren't perhaps expecting something dramatic to happen so soon.
The next scene shows a high angle shot of the woman seen previously looking terrified at something that we as the viewer have not yet seen, building the viewers suspense and tension. She then gestures a praying movement again captivating the viewers attention as we still have not yet seen what has caused this woman to become so terrified. The camera then changes to a low angle shot as the door into the room opens very slowly, this is when when we see what the short scenes have been leading up to. As soon as we see this shot of the girl upside-down on the ceiling we as the viewer are then aware of the genre of the film. From the shot where the woman is looking terrified up to when we see the girl on the ceiling there is tense music that builds until the woman screams again. 
We then get a shot of a long 'dull' corridor and a winding staircase showing just how loud her terrified scream traveled.
A yellow taxi then crosses the screen and reveals the words 'Angel City', which contrasts to the devil-like behavior we have just see and it may also hint at what the film will involve. Then there is a low angle shot of a hand dropping a cigarette with a close-up shot of that cigarette and an enhanced sound effect of this action perhaps hinting that this could be an important factor throughout the film. The camera then moves onto a High angle crane shot of the man (Keanu Reeves) exiting the taxi quite calmly and in no rush, perhaps suggesting his character. The camera then tracks upwards to a mid-shot and we see our main characters face who then lights up another cigarette. 
We then see a mid to long shot of him with a man appearing from behind a wall in he background. We then get a close-up of his face. After the scene between the two male characters, the main character who we learn is named 'John' walks off with the camera still at a low angle.
We then see the same corridor as shown earlier, except for this time it is full of people with a baby crying in the background hinting that the situation and atmosphere is stressful. The camera then tracks John who is smoking and seems very laid back which is in contrast to the next shot showing two distressed people. We also notice that John's tie is loose again hinting that his character is very laid back and perhaps doesn't care. The camera then tracks him into the room where we see the girl laying on the bed. There is then yet another close-up of his lit cigarette being placed on the side, we can see a blurred image of the girl in the background lying on the bed. 
The viewer is now fully aware in the next scene that our main character 'John' has some sort of supernatural/immortal power. We are also aware now that the film title is named after the main character as he reveals his name: 'John Constantine' do the demon girl. When he also says 'asshole' the viewer may get an idea that John knows or has some link to the devil. When the girl is speaking back John shows little reaction or any emotion suggesting to the audience that he is completely used to this kind of event. 
After a few shots there is yet again another close-up of his cigarette, this seems to be shown as it could suggest what John was thinking about at that moment because his first plan on the girl ovbiously didn't work as he said 'what the hell' as if shocked and unsure. 
When the camera moves into a close up of Johns head near the girls, it is very silent and the audience may be prepared for something shocking to happen. This is when something jumps up inside the girls body causing the audience to have a visceral reaction. 
After this scene its is clear from Johns orders and gestures that he knows exactly what he is doing and  as if he has done it many times before as thought of previously by his facial expressions and gestures.  
    We are then introduced to a new character who mimics John Constantine's scene from before where he introduces himself. This provides some comedy for the audience, retracting away from the dramatic scene just before. Then we hear Johns voice again calling to the boy in the car. This is when the haunting, mysterious music begins and we know we are going to be viewing the dramatic scene yet again. In the next few shots the demon is finally removed and killed and the girl is returned back to normal. Then we see John Constantine looking fed-up that his cigarette has finished, suggesting that he did not expect that event to go on for so long. This says a lot about his laid back and un-fussed character which we see more of in the rest of the movie. 

My first analysis of a sound extract! - Practice! :)

The sound extract starts off as very mysterious and eerie already giving the listener the kind of genre of film this would come under and creating the first impression. As the extract begins to pick up pace you still get the mysterious and eerie feeling that something bad might happen, making it feel very dark and ominous.

The sound extract throughout is generally quite pacy and gives the impression of someone running. As it moves on the song gives off a slight triumphant feeling making it quite majestic. However you also still get the feeling that it is very ominous. In the middle of the extract its sounds like and gives off a soaring impression which links in to the triumphant and majestic feeling.

Drums are played throughout the extract and at different points, making it very insistent, giving off a slight menacing feel again. At one part there is a rising feeling, which gives off the indication that maybe someone of importance or the main character in the film that we will eventually have respect for is visible in the screen shot, the music here will show his importance. The music, mostly due to the drums, sounds very military again maybe emphasising the importance of whatever is on screen which would again add the impression to the genre and general feel of the film. Another part that represents authority are the trumpets that are played. Scales are also played throughout, which roll, giving the belief that maybe there is something to solve within the story line.

At the very end of the extract the music slows and you start to hear what could be the beginning of the story, as we can hear background sounds. This slow down in pace makes the listener feel some relief so that they can start to get into the storyline of the film, this is why a slow, pensive end to the opening music sets the scene to the whole film.

Olivia

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