Evaluation
As a movement from our AS Level work, I feel that I have become much more confident, not only within my self but with my media work too. This year, alongside Daniel Shippey and Iain Guy we were set the task to produce a trailer, poster and magazine cover for a new film that we created. This proved a greater challenge to our previous year, causing a demand for ambition, ultimately enhancing our skills and creativity.
Throughout pre-production, we analysed codes and conventions of various media texts. Since Eden Pictures is a Hollywood company, we knew that to a certain extent we were going to stick to the generic conventions of real media texts. One of the ways in which we developed the codes, was through our camera work. Using inspiration from the Hunger Games trailer, we decided to challenge the use of a tripod. When filming, we added various amounts of hand held shots, allowing movement within our trailer. Large companies tend to have advanced equipment such as a crane or dolly and tracks, however we did not have this. Therefore, our hand-held shots added a sense of realism to our trailer, challenging the usual portrayal of a Hollywood film.
Although we changed the use of a camera and tripod, the type of shots we used were generic of trailers. We used many establishing shots to show various locations. This is generic of trailers as it is vital to establish a place and loci for the film. Therefore, we felt it was necessary to use this convention.Other camera shots we used were close-ups and extreme close-ups; we tended to use these to focus on main characters and items such as the folder. By doing this, we could subconsciously let the audience know who the lead cast are and what is important to the narrative.
Hollywood Institutions, such as Paramount or Warner Brothers, tend to over-exaggerate the visual image and sound on screen. Therefore, we felt to create an epic and powerful trailer we need to hyperbolise the way in which we portrayed our film. Our use of high-key lighting (e.g during the chase scene with Fiona) and low-key lighting (e.g the campfire and at the beach) enabled us to portray the extremities of emotion and time frame within the plot. One major aspect that we dramatised was our soundtrack. Independent films often use Indie music unlike major production companies which us fast paced and orchestral soundtracks. Therefore, as a generic convention, we picked exaggerated music. Our dialogue was also very conventional of trailers using clips of speech. Declarative sentences such as , 'we can survive this' and 'we're going to have to fight for it' over emphasise the speech; it would be rare to see people speak like this in real life.Therefore, it creates a Hollywood style film.
At the beginning of our trailer we added a rating card; this is generic of all trailers. We used the American rating card as Eden Pictures is a Hollywood institution.
Major film companies often use the cast names as copy within the trailer. However, we challenged this by not doing this. This was because our cast is not made of A list celebrities and we felt it would ruin the pace of our trailer. Also, this use of actors names tends to be with genres such as action sow e felt it did not work as well within our trailer.
An over-used convention of Hollywood companies, is the idea of 'good' versus 'bad'. This binary opposition runs throughout many films and has for many generations. The two teenage groups are rivaled within our film causing a separation and dilemma. Levi-Strauss' binary opposition theory suggests that two opposing themes, characters etc can cause narrative tension. Therefore, by using the generic 'good' and 'bad' we followed conventions and created an exciting narrative. However, although we used this, we decided to challenge the stereotype by using the 'unlikely hero' (Daniel as Michael.) Moreover,w e focused heavily on the 'bad' group just as much as the 'good' side. This was to use The hermeneutic code. By ending the trailer with Haden slamming Michael to the ground, it misleads the audience into thinking that the 'bad' guys win the fight even thought they do not within the film.
As a trailer, it is a clear convention to have a non linear structure. Therefore, we decided to move scenes around in post-production to ensure that our trailer did not look like a scene from a film. We also ensured that the pace built up to reach the climax, like our influences.
For our poster, we felt it necessary to stick to codes and conventions to be able to give the right information to our demographic. Therefore, we developed our ideas on codes such as, reviews, release date and title. One thing we did challenge, was a tag-line on our main poster. Although we used one on our teasers, we did not on our main. Our poster was already crowded with information so we did not want to overload it anymore. Also we felt adding a tag-line may deter the audience's eye away from vital information such as the release date.
Our magazine cover also stuck to codes and conventions. This was not because we did not want to be ambitious, rather it was to challenge us t create something professional that we had not before.
When creating the three products, we had to ensure that they all complimented one another. We wanted our audience to recognise that the trailer, poster and magazine cover were all part for he same film so they were not confused. To do this, we focused heavily on the four main cast throughout (Clare, Me, Iain and Daniel); within our trailer, they had the most on screen time, in our teaser posters we used close-ups of the cast and within our magazine, the four characters were the main image. By doing this, the cast will become very recognisable through the distribution process, ensuring that the audience do not get confused.
Moreover, the theme throughout our products, was that of conflict and opposition.;the trailer focused heavily on the rival of groups, the poster followed this with the groups clashing and cast opposing and the magazine cover had the opposing group members within frame.The demographic will notice this theme and relate the texts together. It also helps to portray the transitive within each individually.
As for locations, we used similar settings through each text. The posters used the beach (a vital location within the trailer) and although the teaser poster of Clare and Me did not use a location from our trailer, it could easily be related to the forest/field setting. Moreover, the magazine cover used the corridor which was briefly shown in our trailer. The use of both external and interior locations, added variety whilst linking each product together.
Reflecting upon the three products, it may have been nice to have more people in the main image on the main poster. Very few people are shown to run so it may have looked more dramatic if the others were in shot. However, I did like that it gave us space to add the title and reviews etc. Another thing I think we could improve on next time, is the editing of our photos. It may be useful to work on our Photoshop skills and find new ways to add filters to our photographs.
The three products together have one aim: to market the film. Therefore it was clear that we needed them to promote our film within the distribution process. To help do this, we decided to set up a Facebook and Twitter Page.
Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TimeMovieUK
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/timemovieuk
Many film companies set up Twitter and Facebook pages due to the growing demand for social networking.
We update both sites regularly adding images, teaser posters and links to help promote our film. Not only is viral marketing a great way to distribute a film but it helps to entice the audience with teaser posters etc. The use of social media can cause word of mouth to promote the film, which in fact can be one of the best ways to market a film. As I mentioned in previous posts, we had people messaging us inquiring about the release date (as they thought ti was a real film) and someone offering to allow us to use their studio to take images. This not only gave us a confident boost, it gave us an insight into how effective this marketing method can be within the film industry. With almost 100 likes, we were discovered the ways in which you can market using the internet.
After the creation of our first draft of the trailer, we created an audience survey to find improvements for our product. Overall, the results were very positive with a few ideas on how we could improve. We asked fourty four people altogether, separating them into three classes that study media, film or both. We used two groups aged between sixteen and seventeen (college) whereas the other group was slightly younger (school). Once we collected the results, we tallied the result sup and converted them into results and bar charts on Microsoft Excel. I had sued this many a time within my GCSE ICT course so I was very familiar with the program.
After doing this, we added each of the data results together and converted them into an overall pie chart for each question.
What was the genre of the film?-
The results for this question varied. We knew that our genre was hard to pin point so we expected a result with many answers. However, we were a little surprised that almost half of the audience thought of our trailer was from the thriller genre. Since we studied the codes and conventions of a thriller at AS level, I could understand why they may associate our film with this genre. Our trailer portrays many aspects of all of the genres stated above so we did not feel that our results for this were negative, rather positive as they had elements of other genres.
I must note that the poster was beside the survey and this had the title written on it so this may have effected the results. The results for this question were almost split even. For our first set of data, someone walked into the screening as the title was shown on screen. Therefore, we thought this may have effected our results as the attention was turned to the person. However, after screening it to other classes, they felt the same that it was not clear (some people even thought the title was our tag-line 'they will fall'.). Due to this, we decided to find the problem. We realised that the release date and tag- line 'they will fall' was on the screen for much longer than the title itself. Therefore, we changed the timings around to ensure that he title was on screen for a good amount of time. We also slowed down the fade, when the title appeared. This was to draw more attention to it so that it would be much more obvious.
What age-rating would you expect this film to have?-
Although we had given our own film a rating of a 12A, the demographic seemed to disagree. The majority of people felt that our film would be a fifteen. As a producer I feel that this may be because of the implicated violence shown within our trailer. Although we considered changing our rating, we felt that we knew our own narrative better. The trailer does not show the full film and as the creators, we knew what the full film would consist of. Due to this, we kept our age-rating as a 12A.
Is it clear who the lead characters are?-
These results were very positive. With 70% of the audience knowing who the lead cast were was a great result. Since we had many actors within our film, we were uncertain whether the audience would be confused. However, our results showed a clear understanding stating that they knew due to the amount of 'on screen time' the actors had. With these results in mind, we did not feel it necessary to add or take away shots of certain characters.
Would this trailer persuade you to see this film at the cinema?-
A lot of people within our feedback stated that our trailer looked 'real' persuading them to see the film.
As a producer, a main issue is to ensure that people want to see your film, as you want a profit. Therefore, to have 86% of the demographic wanting to see the film, was a positive result. Although 9% decided that they would not see the film, they gave reasons that it was because they did not like the genre rather than the trailer itself. This gave us confidence that our trailer was a success as it fulfilled its purpose: to market our film.
List up to three things you would change about this trailer?-
Since this was an open-ended question, we left the results a bar charts due to the number of answers we received.
The first set of data, had a very positive outcome; most of the audience stated that they would change nothing about the trailer. Next in line, was the soundtrack and sound effects. Not because they disliked it, but because it was 'too loud' or overpowered the dialogue. Other answers were given by one or two people so we felt they were not as important as the others. Although we did not exclude them, we focused on the main answers.
The second data had high results on acting, editing and cinematography. We knew that we could not change the acting at this point so we decided to focus on the other criticisms.
For our final results, the action was clear answer. However, this varied from 'too much action' to 'too little action'. The results differed so we found this a difficult to work around.
With all three results in mind, we increased the volume of the dialogue and softened the volume of the soundtrack/sound effects. We tried to work on our pace to create a smoother flow when editing.
However, in reflection, our questionnaire gave examples within brackets. This may have influenced people's feedback. Therefore, next time, I would change this.
List up to three things you liked about this trailer-
Our first set of data really liked our soundtrack, contrasting with our 'what would you change' data.
Others liked the editing and narrative which was a positive outcome.
Our second set of data liked the acting the most, once again contradicting with our other results.
Like data one, they liked the editing, which we were very pleased with as it took a lot of time to structure our trailer.
Finally, in data three, the audience really liked our soundtrack, narrative and editing. I was very pleased with this result.
Although both results for did they like and what would they change were both positive and negative. We needed to take into consideration that it is possible that the audience may have copied answers off other students/friends if they did know what to write. This caused a contextual factor to take into consideration.
Are you given a good idea of the film's narrative?-
These results suggest that 86% of the audience understood the narrative or sub-plot. This may have a direct correlation with the 86% of people who were persuaded to see the film. If they understood the narrative, it is logical that they will want to see the film. One of our results stated that it reminded them of 'Lord of the Flies' which was positive since it was a main influence of ours. Since our film had many locations and characters we felt it may be easy for the audience to get confused. However, these results show that the narrative is presented clearly, giving good results.
Does this trailer compliment the poster?-
This pie chart only represents one of the three focus groups. This was due to the fact that we had difficulties presenting the other two groups with our poster, causing them unable to answer the question. Although our poster was only a draft, and the results were not as reliable as the others,we felt that we could use these results. Most people suggested that it did compliment the trailer so we decided to carry on editing the draft that we had used with the questionnaire.
What star rating would you give this trailer?-
Just over half of the audience suggested that they would give our trailer a four star rating out of five. This corresponded to the four star rating that we had put on our final poster. No one gave us lower than a mediocre three star so I was very happy with the result. We even managed to reach a five star from a few of the audience, giving a confident boost to our us and our work.
Throughout the whole process, from pre-production to post-production, we used many technologies (some of which differed from last year.)
From AS Level, we moved from Adobe Premiere Elements 9 to Premiere Elements 11 to edit our work. This allowed us to edit quicker, use different filters and trancistions and render our work more smoothly.
From creating the logo to finalizing the magazine cover, we used Serif DrawPlus throughout the whole process. Since I am very confident with it, I was pleased to be able to use it to its full potential. Using many tools such as the 'vector tool' and the 'cutout studio' we were able to work on finer details to create a professional look throughout. Although we used Serif PhotPlus we found it much easier to edit our images of DrawPlus.
Stepping away from our comfort zone, this year we experimented with Photoshop. Although we did not used the edited image, I felt that I had learnt new techniques and was able to use an advanced version of Serif.
As for camera and equipment, we used A Sony HD camcorder alongside various sized tripods. Although we had basic equipment, we had no advanced technologies such as a dolly or a boom mic. This caused issues and challenged us to think of new ways to improvise. For example,we had to use a jacket to create a smooth dolly for the shot of the teacher disappearing. For recording voice-overs, we had to use an Iphone. Although we did not have a boom mic, the quality of the recording sounded good and worked well on our trailer.
Moreover, whilst filming, we used additional cameras to take images for our posters and blogs. The models of these were: Fujifilm finepix S3400, Sony CyberShot DSC-HX300 and Nikon Coolpix P520.
For our research, we mainly used Google and YouTube as they offered the right resources. The media is growing across the internet so we felt it would be useful to use it for the planning stages.
During planning and construction we each had different photos, videos and tasks that we had taken ourselves. To ensure that we all had access to these, we used Skydrive to upload our files. For instance, if I had the storyboards and Iain had a video of us creating the magazine, we would upload them to our shared Skydrive and all three of us would be able to access them. This allowed us to be more organised than in our AS work and ensured that we could access our work anywhere (whether it was at college or home).
To organise dates for filming and to ensure all cast members were updated, we used Facebook as a way to communicate. We set up a filming inbox so we could add who we needed to the hat. Since most people have a social network account, we felt this was a suitable way to communicate without costing people money.
Here is an old screenshot form our group chat:
As well as blog, this year we decided to create a video file to talk about our work. Here is an un-scripted interview that we made. We decided to do this as we were influenced by 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' un-scripted interview.
The 'Hunger Games' unscripted interview:
'Time' unscripted interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBQxUJeLBv0
The whole project has taken many months to complete but it challenged us in a way that our first year did not. I am keen to start a new project after exams and I hope to pursue my studies for media further and create many more products with Iain Guy and Daniel Shippey. These past two years have taught me more than just the techniques behind creating a film, they have allowed me to understand the reasons behind decisions and how you can portray your creative outlet on the screen, on paper and across the web. My two partners of Eden Pictures have become much more than my fellow film-makers. I have made friends that I am confident I will grow with for the rest of my life.
Throughout pre-production, we analysed codes and conventions of various media texts. Since Eden Pictures is a Hollywood company, we knew that to a certain extent we were going to stick to the generic conventions of real media texts. One of the ways in which we developed the codes, was through our camera work. Using inspiration from the Hunger Games trailer, we decided to challenge the use of a tripod. When filming, we added various amounts of hand held shots, allowing movement within our trailer. Large companies tend to have advanced equipment such as a crane or dolly and tracks, however we did not have this. Therefore, our hand-held shots added a sense of realism to our trailer, challenging the usual portrayal of a Hollywood film.
Although we changed the use of a camera and tripod, the type of shots we used were generic of trailers. We used many establishing shots to show various locations. This is generic of trailers as it is vital to establish a place and loci for the film. Therefore, we felt it was necessary to use this convention.Other camera shots we used were close-ups and extreme close-ups; we tended to use these to focus on main characters and items such as the folder. By doing this, we could subconsciously let the audience know who the lead cast are and what is important to the narrative.
Hollywood Institutions, such as Paramount or Warner Brothers, tend to over-exaggerate the visual image and sound on screen. Therefore, we felt to create an epic and powerful trailer we need to hyperbolise the way in which we portrayed our film. Our use of high-key lighting (e.g during the chase scene with Fiona) and low-key lighting (e.g the campfire and at the beach) enabled us to portray the extremities of emotion and time frame within the plot. One major aspect that we dramatised was our soundtrack. Independent films often use Indie music unlike major production companies which us fast paced and orchestral soundtracks. Therefore, as a generic convention, we picked exaggerated music. Our dialogue was also very conventional of trailers using clips of speech. Declarative sentences such as , 'we can survive this' and 'we're going to have to fight for it' over emphasise the speech; it would be rare to see people speak like this in real life.Therefore, it creates a Hollywood style film.
At the beginning of our trailer we added a rating card; this is generic of all trailers. We used the American rating card as Eden Pictures is a Hollywood institution.
Major film companies often use the cast names as copy within the trailer. However, we challenged this by not doing this. This was because our cast is not made of A list celebrities and we felt it would ruin the pace of our trailer. Also, this use of actors names tends to be with genres such as action sow e felt it did not work as well within our trailer.
An over-used convention of Hollywood companies, is the idea of 'good' versus 'bad'. This binary opposition runs throughout many films and has for many generations. The two teenage groups are rivaled within our film causing a separation and dilemma. Levi-Strauss' binary opposition theory suggests that two opposing themes, characters etc can cause narrative tension. Therefore, by using the generic 'good' and 'bad' we followed conventions and created an exciting narrative. However, although we used this, we decided to challenge the stereotype by using the 'unlikely hero' (Daniel as Michael.) Moreover,w e focused heavily on the 'bad' group just as much as the 'good' side. This was to use The hermeneutic code. By ending the trailer with Haden slamming Michael to the ground, it misleads the audience into thinking that the 'bad' guys win the fight even thought they do not within the film.
As a trailer, it is a clear convention to have a non linear structure. Therefore, we decided to move scenes around in post-production to ensure that our trailer did not look like a scene from a film. We also ensured that the pace built up to reach the climax, like our influences.
For our poster, we felt it necessary to stick to codes and conventions to be able to give the right information to our demographic. Therefore, we developed our ideas on codes such as, reviews, release date and title. One thing we did challenge, was a tag-line on our main poster. Although we used one on our teasers, we did not on our main. Our poster was already crowded with information so we did not want to overload it anymore. Also we felt adding a tag-line may deter the audience's eye away from vital information such as the release date.
Our magazine cover also stuck to codes and conventions. This was not because we did not want to be ambitious, rather it was to challenge us t create something professional that we had not before.
When creating the three products, we had to ensure that they all complimented one another. We wanted our audience to recognise that the trailer, poster and magazine cover were all part for he same film so they were not confused. To do this, we focused heavily on the four main cast throughout (Clare, Me, Iain and Daniel); within our trailer, they had the most on screen time, in our teaser posters we used close-ups of the cast and within our magazine, the four characters were the main image. By doing this, the cast will become very recognisable through the distribution process, ensuring that the audience do not get confused.
Moreover, the theme throughout our products, was that of conflict and opposition.;the trailer focused heavily on the rival of groups, the poster followed this with the groups clashing and cast opposing and the magazine cover had the opposing group members within frame.The demographic will notice this theme and relate the texts together. It also helps to portray the transitive within each individually.
As for locations, we used similar settings through each text. The posters used the beach (a vital location within the trailer) and although the teaser poster of Clare and Me did not use a location from our trailer, it could easily be related to the forest/field setting. Moreover, the magazine cover used the corridor which was briefly shown in our trailer. The use of both external and interior locations, added variety whilst linking each product together.
Reflecting upon the three products, it may have been nice to have more people in the main image on the main poster. Very few people are shown to run so it may have looked more dramatic if the others were in shot. However, I did like that it gave us space to add the title and reviews etc. Another thing I think we could improve on next time, is the editing of our photos. It may be useful to work on our Photoshop skills and find new ways to add filters to our photographs.
The three products together have one aim: to market the film. Therefore it was clear that we needed them to promote our film within the distribution process. To help do this, we decided to set up a Facebook and Twitter Page.
Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TimeMovieUK
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/timemovieuk
Many film companies set up Twitter and Facebook pages due to the growing demand for social networking.
We update both sites regularly adding images, teaser posters and links to help promote our film. Not only is viral marketing a great way to distribute a film but it helps to entice the audience with teaser posters etc. The use of social media can cause word of mouth to promote the film, which in fact can be one of the best ways to market a film. As I mentioned in previous posts, we had people messaging us inquiring about the release date (as they thought ti was a real film) and someone offering to allow us to use their studio to take images. This not only gave us a confident boost, it gave us an insight into how effective this marketing method can be within the film industry. With almost 100 likes, we were discovered the ways in which you can market using the internet.
After doing this, we added each of the data results together and converted them into an overall pie chart for each question.
What was the genre of the film?-
Was the title clear?-
I must note that the poster was beside the survey and this had the title written on it so this may have effected the results. The results for this question were almost split even. For our first set of data, someone walked into the screening as the title was shown on screen. Therefore, we thought this may have effected our results as the attention was turned to the person. However, after screening it to other classes, they felt the same that it was not clear (some people even thought the title was our tag-line 'they will fall'.). Due to this, we decided to find the problem. We realised that the release date and tag- line 'they will fall' was on the screen for much longer than the title itself. Therefore, we changed the timings around to ensure that he title was on screen for a good amount of time. We also slowed down the fade, when the title appeared. This was to draw more attention to it so that it would be much more obvious.
What age-rating would you expect this film to have?-
Although we had given our own film a rating of a 12A, the demographic seemed to disagree. The majority of people felt that our film would be a fifteen. As a producer I feel that this may be because of the implicated violence shown within our trailer. Although we considered changing our rating, we felt that we knew our own narrative better. The trailer does not show the full film and as the creators, we knew what the full film would consist of. Due to this, we kept our age-rating as a 12A.
Is it clear who the lead characters are?-
These results were very positive. With 70% of the audience knowing who the lead cast were was a great result. Since we had many actors within our film, we were uncertain whether the audience would be confused. However, our results showed a clear understanding stating that they knew due to the amount of 'on screen time' the actors had. With these results in mind, we did not feel it necessary to add or take away shots of certain characters.
Would this trailer persuade you to see this film at the cinema?-
A lot of people within our feedback stated that our trailer looked 'real' persuading them to see the film.
As a producer, a main issue is to ensure that people want to see your film, as you want a profit. Therefore, to have 86% of the demographic wanting to see the film, was a positive result. Although 9% decided that they would not see the film, they gave reasons that it was because they did not like the genre rather than the trailer itself. This gave us confidence that our trailer was a success as it fulfilled its purpose: to market our film.
List up to three things you would change about this trailer?-
Since this was an open-ended question, we left the results a bar charts due to the number of answers we received.
The first set of data, had a very positive outcome; most of the audience stated that they would change nothing about the trailer. Next in line, was the soundtrack and sound effects. Not because they disliked it, but because it was 'too loud' or overpowered the dialogue. Other answers were given by one or two people so we felt they were not as important as the others. Although we did not exclude them, we focused on the main answers.
The second data had high results on acting, editing and cinematography. We knew that we could not change the acting at this point so we decided to focus on the other criticisms.
For our final results, the action was clear answer. However, this varied from 'too much action' to 'too little action'. The results differed so we found this a difficult to work around.
With all three results in mind, we increased the volume of the dialogue and softened the volume of the soundtrack/sound effects. We tried to work on our pace to create a smoother flow when editing.
However, in reflection, our questionnaire gave examples within brackets. This may have influenced people's feedback. Therefore, next time, I would change this.
List up to three things you liked about this trailer-
Our first set of data really liked our soundtrack, contrasting with our 'what would you change' data.
Others liked the editing and narrative which was a positive outcome.
Like data one, they liked the editing, which we were very pleased with as it took a lot of time to structure our trailer.
Finally, in data three, the audience really liked our soundtrack, narrative and editing. I was very pleased with this result.
Although both results for did they like and what would they change were both positive and negative. We needed to take into consideration that it is possible that the audience may have copied answers off other students/friends if they did know what to write. This caused a contextual factor to take into consideration.
Are you given a good idea of the film's narrative?-
These results suggest that 86% of the audience understood the narrative or sub-plot. This may have a direct correlation with the 86% of people who were persuaded to see the film. If they understood the narrative, it is logical that they will want to see the film. One of our results stated that it reminded them of 'Lord of the Flies' which was positive since it was a main influence of ours. Since our film had many locations and characters we felt it may be easy for the audience to get confused. However, these results show that the narrative is presented clearly, giving good results.
Does this trailer compliment the poster?-
This pie chart only represents one of the three focus groups. This was due to the fact that we had difficulties presenting the other two groups with our poster, causing them unable to answer the question. Although our poster was only a draft, and the results were not as reliable as the others,we felt that we could use these results. Most people suggested that it did compliment the trailer so we decided to carry on editing the draft that we had used with the questionnaire.
What star rating would you give this trailer?-
Just over half of the audience suggested that they would give our trailer a four star rating out of five. This corresponded to the four star rating that we had put on our final poster. No one gave us lower than a mediocre three star so I was very happy with the result. We even managed to reach a five star from a few of the audience, giving a confident boost to our us and our work.
Throughout the whole process, from pre-production to post-production, we used many technologies (some of which differed from last year.)
From AS Level, we moved from Adobe Premiere Elements 9 to Premiere Elements 11 to edit our work. This allowed us to edit quicker, use different filters and trancistions and render our work more smoothly.
From creating the logo to finalizing the magazine cover, we used Serif DrawPlus throughout the whole process. Since I am very confident with it, I was pleased to be able to use it to its full potential. Using many tools such as the 'vector tool' and the 'cutout studio' we were able to work on finer details to create a professional look throughout. Although we used Serif PhotPlus we found it much easier to edit our images of DrawPlus.
Stepping away from our comfort zone, this year we experimented with Photoshop. Although we did not used the edited image, I felt that I had learnt new techniques and was able to use an advanced version of Serif.
As for camera and equipment, we used A Sony HD camcorder alongside various sized tripods. Although we had basic equipment, we had no advanced technologies such as a dolly or a boom mic. This caused issues and challenged us to think of new ways to improvise. For example,we had to use a jacket to create a smooth dolly for the shot of the teacher disappearing. For recording voice-overs, we had to use an Iphone. Although we did not have a boom mic, the quality of the recording sounded good and worked well on our trailer.
Moreover, whilst filming, we used additional cameras to take images for our posters and blogs. The models of these were: Fujifilm finepix S3400, Sony CyberShot DSC-HX300 and Nikon Coolpix P520.
For our research, we mainly used Google and YouTube as they offered the right resources. The media is growing across the internet so we felt it would be useful to use it for the planning stages.
During planning and construction we each had different photos, videos and tasks that we had taken ourselves. To ensure that we all had access to these, we used Skydrive to upload our files. For instance, if I had the storyboards and Iain had a video of us creating the magazine, we would upload them to our shared Skydrive and all three of us would be able to access them. This allowed us to be more organised than in our AS work and ensured that we could access our work anywhere (whether it was at college or home).
To organise dates for filming and to ensure all cast members were updated, we used Facebook as a way to communicate. We set up a filming inbox so we could add who we needed to the hat. Since most people have a social network account, we felt this was a suitable way to communicate without costing people money.
Here is an old screenshot form our group chat:
As well as blog, this year we decided to create a video file to talk about our work. Here is an un-scripted interview that we made. We decided to do this as we were influenced by 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' un-scripted interview.
The 'Hunger Games' unscripted interview:
'Time' unscripted interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBQxUJeLBv0
The whole project has taken many months to complete but it challenged us in a way that our first year did not. I am keen to start a new project after exams and I hope to pursue my studies for media further and create many more products with Iain Guy and Daniel Shippey. These past two years have taught me more than just the techniques behind creating a film, they have allowed me to understand the reasons behind decisions and how you can portray your creative outlet on the screen, on paper and across the web. My two partners of Eden Pictures have become much more than my fellow film-makers. I have made friends that I am confident I will grow with for the rest of my life.
