Evaluation

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

At the very beginning of this product, my group and I had chosen to focus on horror as our genre. We thought that this area would be interesting for all of us as we enjoy watching this type of film. As all of us have watched many horror films, we wanted to see what our ideas were and how and if they would work.

At first, our initial idea was to do a blood and gore, catastrophe horror as we thought we could make this happen using fake blood and special effects. In the film ‘Shrooms’, that we looked at in our research, we found that this was our inspiration to use fake blood and made us want to focus on that area of horror. This is because this film used blood trickling on the floor, splats on the wall etc. We liked the oddness of this film opening and gained ideas from this. At first glance, we thought that this would make our film extra scary and link in more with the genre by showing that one minute everything is fine and then something odd happens and the next thing you know, everything has gone wrong. When we spoke about this further after doing some research we thought that this idea can either go two ways; very bad, or very good. We decided that that idea was too predictable the same as one of the films that we researched called ‘The Ring’. Also, as all three of us aren’t familiar with either special affects or fake blood we decided to steer away from this area of horror. With these setbacks in mind, we decided to change what area of horror to focus on.

Our next idea was to try the more mysterious area of horror by including a creepy doll. We thought that we would be able to make this work as we would need the camera to move slowly to make it more eerie.

Location would be important as we had ideas for our film opening to be secluded to make the atmosphere seem more gloomy and tense for viewers rather than in a busy shopping centre or somewhere such as this.

We discussed how we would show the opening as a whole. Whether we would film it in the style of a video recorder and have the girls documenting what they’re doing or to show it from the dolls perspective, or whether to show it in a 3^rd person style with the camera following the girls showing what they’re doing, etc. We decided that we would use a variety of shots but mostly a 3^rd person shot so that it’s clearer what’s going on.

By using the location we did at the start of the opening (the local park), we thought this would contrast with the genre itself. As it’s a horror, using isolated, abandoned, desolate locations would be typical for us to use, such as a forest, a large field, in the mountains, an old warehouse etc. We figured that it would be better to set the scene in the park as two young girls are more likely to go here than wander round the mountains.

Instead of using the establishing shot right at the beginning of the film (used in horror films such as ‘The Ring’, ‘Let Me In’, ‘The Collector’, ‘Splinters’, etc.), we have used this shot half way through the opening to change it about. We showed this at night time of the house the two girls were staying in. This shot showed the light turning on inside the house to locate the room the girls have gone into. We made this to be synced with an ambient thudding sound to make viewers hearts jump a small amount which will increase the amount of tension they’re in.

Films such as ‘Splinters’ and ‘Let Me In’ showed the credits a differently by showing a black screen and fading the credits in and out separately to build tension. This is affective but we wanted to show the credits as the film was playing so that it doesn’t drag for too long.

2.  How does your media product represent particular social groups?

There are two different stereotypes of teenage girls: the innocent, bubbly type and the naughty, careless type. My group and I pondered on which stereotype we should use for our product to make it as best as possible. 

 As we were focusing on the horror genre, we discussed that the more rebellious teenager would probably go seeking for trouble, making the audience tense as they would be showing a sense of foreboding. On the other hand, the more vulnerable stereotype would make the audience feel scared and anxious for them as they would be totally oblivious of their surroundings.

For our second idea, the ‘dolly’ idea, we wanted to use the idea that ‘The Ring’ (one of the films in our research) included in their film by only involving two girls who are either sisters or good friends. The fact that they’re girls make them come across as more vulnerable. As there are two of them, we would be able to present stereotypical activities that two girls would be talking about and doing. We thought about what age they would both be and decided that as the main attraction is a doll then they should be young girls around the age of 7-11 as they’re at the age where they’re still playing with dolly’s and other toys.

For our final idea, we chose to use the more innocent and bubbly type as they tend to come across as more vulnerable and an easy target for someone/ something such as a stalker, creepy doll, etc.

For our final film opening, we have shown two friends who meet up happily in the park, playing pranks on one another with general 'chit-chat' to show how oblivious they are to what’s about to happen later that day.

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

           Institutions such as ‘Brain Damage Films’ will be a good independent distributor for our film opening as they specifically look at the horror genre. They have been the largest, worldwide, most respected independent distributor since 1 They distribute ‘100’s of horror and shock movies from 2001 and promote reality shock classics’ which is perfect for our film opening as it has the ‘shock factor’.

I wanted to find out what the description needed to fit into their brief and found this source from ‘Brain Damage Films’ website:

“What We’re Looking For:

Length:

 Feature films greater than 65 minutes in length. Compilations of short stories or films are acceptable as an anthology film.

Genre and Content:
We specifically license and represent horror films, though we will also review films in the action, thriller, suspense, or drama genres

Production Value:
Medium to high production value. This includes the audio/visual quality of the feature as well as the acting, directing, script, and overall presentation. We firmly believe that a film's budget is not always the best indicator of its value

Broadcastability:
Please keep in mind that should your film be licensed we have strict guidelines regarding the materials that must be delivered to us in order to distribute for your film. These requirements include a broadcast-quality, uncompressed or high quality digital master in NTSC SD or HD format”

These headings are quite apt for our film opening:

Length: This doesn’t apply as I’ve only created the opening of the film.

Genre and Content: Our film can class as a thriller and suspense.

Production Value: In my opinion, I feel that the audio and visual quality of our product is to a high standard. Also feedback from our target audience suggests this also, e.g.

"I thought it was good too, with all those camera angles and stuff. The plot was good too overall it was awesome!”

"Really impressed! Thought it was tense! Very well put together and the camera in the fridge was a great bit of production!!! Music in the background was very good too. You all did really well!”

“Everything is filmed to perfection and edited like an absolute boss. The sound effects are the bomb, the angles are the best, and the storyline is spooky”

Broadcastability: A HD (High Definition) camera was used to film this so is perfect for their standards.

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

At the very beginning of this project, when our goal was to create an opening with two young girls and a doll, we wanted to aim this at parents from 25-40 year olds. We hoped that this would stand out to them as they would relate more to someone without children.

When we changed our idea to having two teenage girls instead of younger girls, we were then able to widen the target audience to teenagers as well as young adults and parents. We thought that it’s better to have a wider target audience so that if we were to be making the full movie, we would attract a wider variety of viewers. We could widen the target audience because teenagers will be able to relate more to this as well as parents. This is because stalkers aren’t made up and events such as this do happen in real life. Our film opening could frighten and essentially, make the teenagers watching more aware of the people around them.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract the audience we had to include the stalker in the opening of the film to show what the film is about. In the first bedroom scene, one girl says to the other ‘Did you hear about that girl that got kidnapped down the road?’ This tells the audience that the person that keeps appearing is that person and they’re watching those two girls. We wanted the stalker to have an ‘unknown’ personality and appearance to create an eerie, odd affect about this man. We did this by showing different shots such as: 1^st person shots, shots from the waist down, over the shoulder shots, extreme close up of the side of his face, etc. This is so that the audience don’t get a clear image of his face making them feel uneven and wary that there is something wrong with him. The fact that he is hiding from them emphasizes that he isn't meant to be there making the audience wonder what he’s doing and why.

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

For a start, I've never used blogger before. It has been interesting and frustrating at times to figure out how it works. When I came across a problem, I found it tricky to overcome what it was I was trying to achieve. When I knew how to solve this, I was able to repeat this again if I came across the same challenge again. E.g. A few times during the research of this project I have worked directly onto blogger and saved as I've gone along. Unfortunately for me, little did I know at the time, the ‘save’ button on the website was a bit temperamental and didn't say when it hadn't saved properly. This then resulted with my work being lost without realising.  I overcame this problem by doing my work directly onto Microsoft Office Word and saving constantly. I then transferred this work onto Blogger when completed.

I also downloaded the Blogger app onto my iPhone so that I can update my blog frequently when I’m away/ don’t have access to a computer. This was useful as I could also add photos straight from my photo library.

During the making of this film opening have used a Jessop’s tripod which I haven’t used before. I found this very surprisingly useful. This helped keep the camera steady and was able to move smoothly when doing shots such as a tracking shot. The height was adjustable too as well as the ability to tilt the camera.

Transferring the clips from the camera to the Mac the first time round was a bit of a challenge. This was because neither members of my group nor I have used iMovie before. It took some time but when we knew how, this got the ball rolling.

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

          For the preliminary task, my group and I tried to include as many shots as possible in a short amount of time. For the final product we tried to do this also but I feel that we had more knowledge and ideas that were approached in a different manner which made our film opening how it is now. We did this in many ways such as: by using different transitions showing time passing, more camera movement, use of extreme close ups, the placement of the camera (e.g. when the camera is placed in the fridge looking at the girls face), etc.

Final Version For Our Film Opening

This is our absolute final sequence for our film opening. I am very pleased with how it has turned out and many people have congratulated myself and the members of my group for doing a very good job. Considering it's our first time putting a film together and have had to rethink our ideas over half way through to completion date I am thrilled that it's turned out as well as it has done.

Feedback Reviews From Our Target Audience

My group and I shared our final film opening on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to get feedback.
The criticism returned was plentiful and very useful to both myself and my group. These ideas have been taken on board as it is important to get it just right for our target audience so that it fully attracts and addresses them to a high standard. These final amendments shall be dealt with very shortly.
The feedback received are as follows:

YOUTUBE:

"This has got to be.... THE BEST FREAKING THING EVER!

Everything is filmed to perfection and edited like an absolute boss.

The sound effects are the bomb, the angles are the best, and the storyline is spooky.

I think this should get top marks!

Well done to everyone involved in making this :D

10/10

5 Stars

WAHEY! :)" 

FACEBOOK

"WAHEEEY! :D"


"You've done a really great job! I love that it slowly builds up, not giving too much away, especially through the use of over the shoulder shots so that the stalkers identity isn't revealed. It isn't made clear what is definitely happening (kidnap/murder?! is the film going to be about him or the girls?) so you want to watch on and find out. The POV shots of the stalker are very effective and the music is very fitting! It's good to see you using stereotypes with the girly sleepover. Also, the fade out at 2:10 is a great idea! A few ideas: I think that you could possibly slow down the shot of Amara dialing the phone number, and maybe try a cross dissolve at 1:23 as the two shots don't seem to link so seamlessly as the rest of the scene in the bedroom. Also: if you've got the footage perhaps you could extend the phone call at the end slightly? It seems like it doesn't ring for that long.. or maybe if you don't have more footage, you could slow down the footage and just have the ringtone play again? I just watched the previous version on your YouTube and the development from it to this one is so clear, for instance in that one the conversation at the beginning was quite long and you didn't see much to suggest that someone is watching but now those things have been sorted. Overall a great job!"

"This is really good Amara Bullen! I found it quite spooky, and scary how easily that could be real life. Also found it very strange seeing my niece being kidnapped! Well done, think you and your friends did a great job xxx
P.S -you sound well posh in the opening!            "

" You decided on a name finally! I love it, it's great! Well done guys!"

"I though it was good too, with all those camera angles and stuff. the plot was good too  overall it was awesome! but i had to start laughing when i saw charlies name in it, and i was like Omg! That's his red car  at least I've seen it now LOL but it was really good :L"

"Me and Kev just watched this, well done hon its fab, bit scary really! xxx"

" Really impressed! Thought it was tense! Very well put together and the camera in the fridge was a great bit of production!!! Music in the background was very good too. You all did really well! Can't wait to see the next episode!"

"Me and a friend are in the middle of editing and putting together our opening sequence for media, this opening sequence is so good though! i loved it, lots of different camera angles and shots, i really liked it  xx"

The Penultimate Version Of Our Film Opening

This is our penultimate opening sequence which we are soon to be receiving target audience feedback for. Feedback will be useful for us to make the final amendments which will be demonstrated to us from a fresh eye. As I've watched this clip many times, I feel that I need to step back and see what other people from our audience think about what we've done. I will ask of them to include any criticism that they may think will benefit our opening sequence in any way.
Currently, my group and I feel that this is very nearly at completion!

Some Changes

Having got some filming done and put together using iMovie, we have discussed that there are a few changes that need to be made.

Firstly the brightness on the majority of the clips is too dark to make out what's happening. We tried enhancing the brightness but this only made the picture pixilated.

Another thing that needs to be altered is that previously, we filmed 3 different shots of one of the girls going to the fridge. These shots, we thought, worked really well when put together as they flowed nicely and were timed perfectly to flow well. However, feedback was given to us and we had realised that this went against the all important '180 degree rule'. This was frustrating for our group as we felt that this was the best part of the film so far. We decided to keep 2 of the shots the same and change the first one from a different angle so it didn't go against this rule.

Lastly, a shot in the garage needs to be re-filmed again. This is because when one of the characters try to switch on the light, this takes too long as she couldn't find the light switch when filming which makes the clip drag on for too long.
Currently our product is 2.47 minutes long so we need to cut down on each clip where possible.

The New Idea In Action

This is our very first attempt to introduce the stalker idea into our film opening. It's unfinished as we've only just put the main shots together but this is the basis of what we'll be working with. A soundtrack would benefit this hugely and perhaps some more shots of the stalker so that it flows better.
Personally, I think it works much better than our last idea as the gender didn't fit the use of the doll. Also the fact that both teenagers were playing in the park was a bit odd.
We wanted to get as many different shots in as possible to keep the film flowing so it doesn't drag, but not overdo it. Finding this balance was tricky as when filming, we agreed to film more than we know we would need but have to choice to use them or not in future. This was more difficult when coming to the editing side as we had to chose which we should use and which we should disregard.

Storyboard #2 (Final storyboard idea)

My group and I are changing our plot completely because of the representation of female teenagers in our last attempt was highly inaccurate. We want to link the characters we use as best as we can to their age and gender. To do this we thought about the two types of female teenagers usually stereotyped and then thought about our target audience. We chose the more vulnerable teenage girl stereotype as we felt we could make this would work better. I thought that this stereotype would work well as we could easily show them talking and doing stereotypical 'girly things' such as: painting nails, pillow fights, talking about boys, watching movies, laughing, etc. This would emphasis how vulnerable they are as they're unaware of their surroundings.

Film Opening Idea #2

We looked back at the very beginning of our notes about what type of horror movie we would be focusing on. In our last idea we were aiming for a more mysterious, on-the-edge-of-your-seat type horror. Our idea for making the opening more scary was to try and make it relate more to the audience. This would be by showing a murder or stalker etc. These things happen in real life, whereas a doll is completely fiction and doesn't relate. This is how we came up with the idea of including a stalker who spy's on the two girls as they 'hang out' in the park and go back to their house. 

As a group, discussed about how teenage girls are be shown in society. We came up with the fact that they're either the vulnerable or rebellious type. The vulnerable type of character would be shown by laughter/ giggling, oblivious to their surroundings, etc. The rebellious type would be shown by mood swings, lash outs, smoking, drugs, use of language (not caring) etc. 

As a group we came up with the fact that vulnerable teenage girls would be more easy to target and can relate more to viewers. On the other hand, rebellious teenage girls may put themselves in more danger, soon to have the tables turn against them.

We decided to use the more vulnerable stereotype for teenage girls as they can over exaggerate and go off in their own mind wave, eg. if something happens they think it's the end of the world.

Back to the drawing board

My group and I have had some critical feedback for the clips we've put together for our final film opening. Unfortunately, we were told that the characters included look too old for the plot and don't show the real innocence of a child. We tried to see if we could overcome this problem but we couldn't think or find two girls that fit the description we wanted.
This meant that we had to use different ideas to think up another storyboard for a different plot and start from scratch.

Soundtrack

My group and I were discussing what we could use for the soundtrack of our film opening. We wanted it to link in with the mysterious side but have it innocent at the same time, just like a child.
We thought about having slow acoustic guitar or piano playing in a minor tone in the background almost unnoticed to give it a weird edge. We tried using the software 'Garage Band' on the Apple Mac to play around with the different sounds. By using this we then decided that the random strums of the guitar and the sounds from the piano wasn't what we were looking for as it didn't relate to the children being innocent. This is when we decided that we should use a nursery rhyme such as 'Three Blind Mice' or 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. We searched around for a simple yet effective nursery rhyme that we could use and found 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. I liked this a lot and started bringing it together using the different instruments on Garage Band. When putting the sounds together we made the start of the song sound normal and sweet like a child, but then the longer the song plays, the sound turns twisted and becomes out of tune and began to be played clumsily. This was played in time with our film as it starts to echo and turns twisted as the doll is seen on the clip.This creates suspense which is exactly what we wanted.

Our First Attempt At Filming.

This is our first attempt at filming and putting the main parts together on iMovie. We tried to get as many shots as possible from different angles and positions so that when it came to editing, we would have a range of shots to chose from.

My group and I understand and have spoken about the fact that it doesn't look very natural for two teenage girls to be skipping down the path with a doll and playing in the park. We thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that the doll could be affecting the way the girls act which would add to the weirdness to the sequence. We would possibly show this by showing the parents discussing how childish the girls have been acting since the doll appeared or a news report of a doll that has had an odd affect to teenagers.

A soundtrack still needs to be added which I think will make the clip a lot different. Currently, a few ambient sounds are included but I think we need some eerie, unnatural sounds playing when the doll is shown and a low humming sound in the background. The idea of using a low humming sound was inspired by my research done earlier for the film opening of 'Let Me In'.

Location #1 for our final film opening

In our storyboard, we have decided to use the park for one of our locations as this comes across as innocent and unaware. 

The picture below shows where we will be shooting a tracking shot of the car pulling up.

We are planning on using this path for where the two girls skip up towards the gate with the doll in their hand.

This is an establishing shot of the park which we are planning to be show as they enter it.

The see-saw will be shown with the two girls playing happily on it as the doll sits beside the tree.

An over the shoulder shot will be used at this point to see the unawareness and happiness in the girl's face.

These swings will be shown when the girls run from the see-saw to play on something else. 

Final Film Opening Story Board

This is our storyboard for our final film opening. We have had many ideas to make the movie come together, all of which we have tried to include.





Film Opening Planning

Below is our first attempt at looking at planning our film opening. From the research done, we planned out our inspiration and ideas promoted by the research.

We thought about including a flashback to something that has happened in the past to link to the current time later on in the opening. To show that it's a flashback we thought that when it came to editing the clip, we could change the appearance of the picture by showing it in a sepia/ old style look to it. Also the sound could be faded by being made quieter and echo more. Mise-en-scene would be a big factor for a flashback as if it was a flashback to the early 1900's, then clothing of any characters used would have to be war style and the area around them would have to look like it's from that time, otherwise it could be confusing if there's a car in the background or something of the sort.

From looking at research we found out that sound affects and how they're used is very important as they create suspense in many ways for the horror genre. Even sounds such as footsteps create suspense as it depends on the pace of them and if they're exaggerated (eg. echoing, gradually getting louder etc). For example, if the footsteps are fast pace then this can create suspense as questions may be asked such as, why are they rushing? Who is it that's rushing? Has something bad happened? Are they going to or from an accident? Etc. Or if the footsteps are stepping slowly, this can make the viewer want to see who the owner of the footsteps belong to and the more the sound is prolonged, the more the viewer is kept in suspense. However if the footsteps go on too long, it can get boring to watch.

The location of the film opening is very important as it needs to be realistic such as a graveyard, a park, a house etc. This is so the viewer can relate to the film as the majority of people have been to a graveyard and place like this. We thought about using a graveyard as these are stereotypical shown as being haunted places where spirits of the dead come alive which links in nicely to our theme.

With all these factors in mind we developed our ideas making sure it was possible.
This was when we came up with the idea of a doll. We wanted to make our film more mysterious so we all liked this idea very much.

As we decided that we were going to use a doll, we thought that dolls are usually associated with young girls. With this in mind we also thought of names that may go with this nicely.

Horror Movie Research - P2 (2007) - By Chelsea Neil

P2 (2007)

Analysis

 

 

The beginning of the film immediately starts in a highly dark contrasted and gloomy atmosphere, the camera shot slowly goes downwards on what looks to be like a pillar. The soundtrack almost compliments the camera shot - The way the song is very slow and gentle, yet happy contrasts with the dark and gloomy atmosphere, it seems as if the whole beginning is trying to mess with your mind.

I like how each of the camera shots run smoothly into another, not only this, but the fact the film title 'P2' is written on the wall makes the wonder what this place has to do with the whole film in itself.

 

The camera slowly moves round, giving an establishing shot of the whole atmosphere, it slowly moves around and then stops as if it is focusing on a particular thing in the room - It slowly opens up the audience to the main centre of the film.

 

 

When the car first comes into view, you can already see the writing of 'P2' on the wall right next to the car. It immediately makes you wonder what this particular car has to do with the entire film - does this car sum up the film as a whole?

 

 

I like how the camera shot goes from a small hole on the car boot and builds up to an eye peering out - Why is there a person looking out?

 

The music ultimately creates the whole camera shot - The person inside the boot begins to scream, the happy Christmas music then slows down and cuts out.

 

Ideas

From this film opening I have definitely taken a few ideas I may want to use in my actual film opening - The way the dark scenery and the contrasting happy music makes the film seem even more creepy and builds tension in a completely unique way, I also like how each shot makes you continuously ask different questions.

 

 

Horror Movie Research - The Gravedancers - By Chelsea Neil

The Gravedancers

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

 

Analysis

The film immediately starts with a girl and a light bulb sitting in the corner of the room, it immediately makes you start asking questions - Does this girl sum up the entire film? The fact that the room is dark, makes you realise that something is not quite right.

 

The extreme close up of this girl lets you know what she is thinking and feeling, her face stands out with the darkness of the room. The mise-en scene in this makes it seem as though the girl is quite dirty, her facial expression is obviously scared making you wonder what will happen next.

 

The way that the torch is focused on something on the right hand side immediately makes you wonder what it is, this shot builds tension and makes you want to know more.

 

 

This is one of my favourite shots - I like how the camera is peering into something that makes it seem quite fuzzy, this shot give us the fact that something/someone is watching her.

 

 

The camera shot continuously goes back from herself and then gives an establishing shot of the atmosphere to build up more and more tension.

 

The fact that the screen goes black immediately makes you wonder what will happen next - It makes the film unique by not having straight edits throughout and adding a black screen to add effect, this also contrasts with the room as it is a dark room.

 

 

 

The camera shots constantly go back to the girl and the torch and her trying to find what it is that is out there in the darkness, the fact that it keeps going back to the same shots makes it seem as if time is passing by and she is constantly trying to find what is awaiting her.

 

I like how each shot slowly opens the audience up to the surrounding atmosphere, the fact that the light is focused on one certain place and you can't quite see the area around it makes it all the more scary and builds tension.

 

 

 

I like how there is a repetitiveness of constantly going back to the girls face, this gets the audience involves and makes the film seem all the more scary. 

 

 

I like how this shot makes it seem slightly fuzzy, almost as if something is interfering with the image we are seeing.

 

I really like how this shot portrays being scared, the way it focuses on the main character and what she is feeling makes it more appealing to the audience.

 

 

The dark shadowy outlines makes you realise that someone is actually in the room with her, the fact that it doesn't show you the creatures face but rather just reveals the back of it makes the viewer hooked into the beginning.

 

This shot is repeated in this film at least three times, it constantly makes you think that something is watching her and is hiding behind the darkness.

 

I like the lighting in this particular shot, the way the curtains are closed and you can see a little bit of lightness contrasts with the darkness of the room.

 

 

 

I really like how the lighting is used in this film in order to portray a meaning - For example, in this shot, the stream of light is only below her nose, but not above her eyes. Not only this, but for these particular shots there seems to be a sequence - Surroundings, character, surroundings etc.

 

I like how all of these three shots run smoothly together - The first picture is of a close up of her face to the side, the second shot shows more of her body, then the third shot shoes a close up once again of her facial expressions.

 

 

I like how the tension continuously builds - Not only this, but throughout the clip, the main character has always blended into the room. The fact that there is a stream of light behind her suggests that something is awaiting her. 

 

As the girl is hanging from the rope and falls, there is flashing light surrounding her, brightening up the atmosphere as she is slowly jolting.

 

 

At this point, the camera is looking directly up at the girl, this makes the audience ask a lot of different questions - How did she die? Who killed her? What did she do?

 

 

The fact that the ending shot focuses on an envelope with a light border around it and darkness in the background makes you wonder what this envelope has to do with the girl dying.