Evaluation 7;

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

When creating the main task we looked back on the comments and feedback that we received from the audience after they had seen our preliminary task. One of these improvements was to concentrate more on making the camera work effective and believable. Also they asked for the camera work to be less jerky and tilted. However we found that the jerky effect of the camera created a good effect for our 'horror' and opening scene. Also the tilted camera angle would help to create a realistic effect and an effect of someone actually being there.

Looking back on the media product I have noticed that I have spent a lot more time planning the film. The planning I have done seems to have helped a lot as the clip was not as muddled with no story line as the preliminary task was before. Also I found that with the research into the target audience we have managed to create a much more suitable and aesthetically pleasing film.


Also in the preliminary task I was not as adventurous with the editing and effects. This may have been because I was a bit unsure. However in this final product I have used more special effects and found that they work better with this genre especially. The special effects we used also worked best with the genre and we went through a few to find the best effect for our film.


Another thing that I found was that we spend more time in creating the best of this were as in the preliminary task we used a simple setting and simple plot. Also the time we spend on making sure that the film created the atmosphere we wanted was a lot greater. This was because we found that within 'horrors' they can either be very scary and shocking or disappointing and a bit of a spoof.


Also when looking back at the preliminary task I found that there was hardly any organised planning, which differs from this final task, as the blog allows me to keep organized and everything up to date.

Evaluation 6;

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

The technologies that we used to help us with our opening scene were:

• Digital Camera
• Computer
• Two Handheld Camera's

During our media project I think that I have learnt more about editing and how to create the best effects in films, for example what transition effects would work best and how we could create the best lighting and colour.

Here is a screenshot of a programme we used throughout our media product. The programme was called Premere Elements 7. We had a few problems with this programme from having to search for things as they were not clearly shown. Another was when we tried to add the titles, as explained in our editing post. Also we found then when we were editing the brightness, ligting, contrast and saturation, that our options were very limiting and that we couldn't make the shot lighter without the clip getting blurrier or pixalated.

When filming we used a Sanyo Xacti. We decided that we weren't going to use the tripod that was available because we wanted a jerky effect to make appear that the person behind the camera is nervous and unsure. However we found that when we viewed the clip on the camera we could see it a lot better, than when we put it on the computer, therefore a lot of editing would be needed.

Also we used:

Paint: to edit pictures and create our initial storyboard

Microsoft Word: to plan out our work

Youtube: to evaluate and to be able to add the video to our blog

VLC player: to play the film and play the music

Also we had to use our email regularly to send each new ideas and group work. Also we used email to contact Mat who was creating our music for us.

Evaluation 5;

How did you attract/address you audience?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSaZ7jjjD8o

We addressed the audience by getting our friends and young members of our family. This was because we found from our research that this is the audience that would be attracted to this type of 'horror' clip. In this opening scene we have annotated what we felt was important in addressing and attracting our audience.

Evaluation 4;

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our audience would be aimed at a similar age as us. This is because we enjoy 'horror' films, also because we are looking for something to shock us, because our age range are looking for thrills and something exciting. Also we are looking for something different, and most 'horrors' are very different from each other, with new and mysterious story lines. Also we think that having an audience around our age will help create a 'horror' opening scene, as we may know how scary and gruesome it will have to be.

Evaluation 3;

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


A company does not have to be big to produce a film they can be small and not as well known. As long as the company is able to sell their product and create the correct genre.


A production company helps to sell the product by supervising and helping to create the final product. They basically are the people with the most responsibility in creating the film and will receive the most rewards after. One production company is shown in our deconstructions, this company is: Ealing Studios.

 Ealing Studio's is quite well known and has produced films such as:

• Dorian Gray (horror)
• Burke and Hare (comedy,crime)
• Imagine Me And You (romance)

This shows how a production company can create all types of genres as long as they know how.

Evaluation 2;

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 

These two girls are from popular 'horror' films, the one on the left is the young girl from 'The Ring' and the girl on the right is from 'The Grudge'. I choose to compare these two characters with our own young girl. This was because there were obvious similarities between them. One similarity is that all three young girls play the main role in which they are evil and distorted. Also each girls seem that they are tormented and driven insane. These are the similarities between the roles of the girls.

The similarities in appearance are very apparent. The young girls all have pale faces, this could be to show the frailness and torment they have been threw. Also the girls have dark eyes, this could be to show the restless torment and pain they have been through. Also their dark and large pupils make them appear to be evil and can be an opening to their dark and evil soul. However the girl from 'The Ring' appears to have a lot less darkness around the eyes and bags under them. Also another similarity between the girls are their dark long hair, this maybe because the darker the hair the paler the skin.

When we were creating and deciding on the characters appearance we tried to base it on contrast. We wanted the girl to be quite innocent to contrast with the evil in her. The girl is also to be very misleading and a bit crazy. Also she is meant to be quite and dangerous. We hope that we have created this character well with the use of costume and make-up.



Evaluation 1;

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

In the first still life it shows where one clip which was off feet and the girl walking and another clip off the person dead. These clips seem to be merged together I did this because it would show the dissolving transition we decided to use which seems to be effective. Also this still shot shows the setting quite well, we used a setting near the group in Whittlesey the setting appealed to us as it had a very eerie feeling about it and created the atmosphere we wanted. Also the setting looked a bit dull and dark which is the mood that we wanted to convey to the audience. Also you can tell that this area appears to be quite rough and hardly walked through as the leaves don't look stepped on and there is old rubbish around. This adds to the rough effect.


In the second still it is off a fussy screen. This fussy screen was added during editing; we added this screen as it would add to the transitions of the clips. Also this fussy screen would add to the mystery of what was going to happen next. The fussy screen was decided on by the group as it would add to the 'horror' and mystery effect. The fussy screen was made by using a black image which then had the fussy effect added over it. The effect was available in the programme (premere elements 7), that we used.


In the third still, one of the main character is introduced, this character is a young girl with no name. The young girl is meant to appear to be a bit misleading and dangerous. Also in this still you can clearly see one of the costumes that the group decided that we would make. The costume is meant to be a bit of a contrast. The little white dress is to suggest innocence and purity of which a young girl would have. The contrast in the costume is the blood and bloody handprint on the dress this shows danger and evil. Therefore the costume worked well for us as it made a contrast which added to the dramatic and horrific feel to the clip. 


In the fourth, fifth and sixth still images it shows how the opening scene flicks through the incident that has happened. This is added to the suspense to the film. Also the group found that when shots are flicking it makes the tension for the audience rise, as they don’t know what’s going to flicker on the screen next. We found it important to show how the clips change as it was one of the features we used to create the feeling and genre of a 'horror'.


Also in the seventh still you can see the other costume we used. This was just meant to be a simple everyday walking outfit. We used the brown raincoat as it was easy to tear and would add dullness to the setting. With this costume we added dirt and blood to show how this person had been viciously murdered.


In the eighth still image we are introduced to the young girl again. However here it is a clip of her face. This was to show the evil and strangeness to the characters personality.  Here we are shown quite a dark image, but you still manage to see the dark bruises and bags under her eyes, therefore suggesting that this girl doesn't get any sleep, possibly because she has been driven insane by a terrible accident. Also in this part of clip we are introduced to the phrase of ' If you go down to the woods today be sure of a big surprise' this phrase sets the audience up for what is about to happen without being too obvious.


In the final still image we have chosen to show a dramatic scene, which sets the audience up for the rest of the film. This sets the audience up for the rest of the film as it gets the audience asking questions, therefore appealing to their curiosity. Also in this clip the title is shown. We decided to place the title here as it represents the end of the opening scene and prepares you for the film, which is about to begin. We used a dark red, as the group decided that it is commonly represented with blood and danger. Which is the feeling that we wanted to create in this film. Also the font we used, seems to be a bit chipped, which for the group added to the mysterious and old effect of the opening scene. Also it added to the horror felling because the audience doesn't know what has chipped away at the font.


The genre is shown through some features in this opening scene. For example it is shown through the: make-up, effects, costumes and the soundtrack. It is shown through the make-up as it is dark and messy which is seen to be a bit scary instead of appealing or attractive. The genre of 'horror' is also shown through the effects we have used, like darkening the scenes and adding the fussy clips. Also the costumes are very dull and bloody which suggests there is going to be blood and gore in the film, which we found to be popular in some of the well known horror films. Finally the music adds to the genre of 'horror' as it is eerie and sends shivers down your spin which adds to the atmosphere for the audience.

Audience Review Results;

These are the results we gathered after an audience had watched our clip. The audience was aimed mainly at what we found would be our target audience from previous research.


Question 1

We thought it was important to add the age of the audience who is watching the clip as we thought it would relate to some of the answers. We used a similar audience as the 'target audience' we had researched. This target audience was either older teenagers or young adults. Therefore the result we gathered simply shows the audience we initially aimed the clip for. This is because we thought them most important audience for this horror clip and are the likely ones that would watch it.


Question 2

We asked 'What genre is this film clip?' as we found important to find out what the audience thought it was. This was to see whether we had created the genre we set out to create. Also it is to see if we have used the features in the correct way in creating a ' horror'. We were happy to see that the majority of the audience thought it was a horror. However we found that 8 people thought it was a 'thriller' this may be because we did not specify the difference between the two. Or could simply be because to them they saw it as a 'thriller'.


Question 3

Here we asked what age rating the audience thought it was aimed. This was important to us as it links with whether we had got our target audience correct. If they thought it was an age rating of 12 we would have aimed it at a much older audience, but if it was age rated 15, this would directly link with the audience. We found that most people would have placed it in this age rating. Also we found some of the audience would rate it at 18, which was quite appealing to the group as it suggest that the clip is much more shocking and scary than we originally thought. Which is a bonus when creating a' horror'

Question 4

The film title is important in an opening scene, this is because the audience needs to now the title, so that they are able to recommend the film, or just watch it again. Also the title will add to the story line. Our title we used is so that the audience can link it within the clip for example: in the characters, storyline and setting. Also the title allows you to understand slightly what you are about to watch and can sometimes be seen as a brief description of what the audience is about to see. 

Question 5

We added a simple and to the pint question about whether the audience thought that overall this opening clip works well. We asked this as some opening scenes we researched could be mistaken for a trailer, trying to advertise the film and thought that people may think this about ours. However we gathered a good result from the audience as only one person did not like the clip at all. Which is an achievement for the group. With this question we could have asked the audience and person answering the questionnaire to specify what improvements could have been made. Overall 14 yes is a good result.

Question 6

This question is to show the effect on the audience. This is because we found it important to create the right atmosphere and mood for the audience. This is because the mood and atmosphere of the piece is essential in creating the right effects for a 'horror' clip. We initially wanted to shock and create suspense and mystery for the audience. The results we received back shows how the audience got the reaction we were hoping for.

Question 7

We asked the question about our character. As it was important for the audience to think that the hair, make-up and costume matched the genre of 'horror'. Overall the audience liked all three which is good for us, as it means that we did this well to create a believable and horrific young girl. Also the make up, hair and costume was important as we wanted the girl appear to be tormented and restless and the audience seem to have seen this in all three.


Question 8

We asked this question simply because w thought it was important to know if our chosen location, had the effect that we desired. Overall 18 people out of our audience said that it did, which is high result and shows that our setting was successful in creating: suspense which is important in a 'horror'. We found that this was important from our deconstructions and previous questionnaire.

Question 9

One of the problems the group had was when it came to editing, we tried to as much as we could in the time we had. Therefore we were a bit worried that our editing would not be as good as it could be. However we found that quite a high result was happy with the editing. Which suggests that our editing fitted with the genre of 'horror' and helped create a good atmosphere of suspense and mystery.

Question 10

One main feature we found that helped to create a good ' horror' was the music. This was one of the biggest features that we found helped create an eerie feeling. We worked hard on creating a good soundtrack with Mat the effect we wanted was to relate to the film and create a nerve raking atmosphere. From our results we can show that we managed to do this and create the right music for the atmosphere of the film.


Question 11



One main uses of an opening scene is to make the audience want to watch the rest of the film. Also it sets the audience up for the rest of the story. We found that most people wanted to carry on watching for reasons like: they had many questions that they wanted answered. The clip created a lot of suspense and they wondered if the rest of the film would be just as good.

Audience Review Questionnaire;

Here is the questionnaire we used:    


1.       What age range are you?
15-20             21-25     26-30     31-35     36-40     40+


2.       What Genre is this film clip?
Thriller              Horror               Comedy                Action               


3.       What age rating do you think the clip is?
12                                   15                           18                           18R


4.       Is the film title clearly shown?
Yes                                 No


5.       Do you think that this works well as an opening scene?
Yes                                 No                                          Needs some improvement


6.       What do you as the audience feel from this film clip?
Suspense                    Uncomfortable                 Scared                  Humour              


7.       Is the make-up, hair and costume effective in this clip?
Yes, the make-up           Yes, the hair           Yes, the costume           Yes. All three           None


8.       Do you feel that the setting create suspense and an eerie feeling?
Yes                                                                 No


9.       Is the editing aesthetically pleasing?
Yes                                                                 No


10.       Does the music fit well in this opening scene?
Yes                                                                 No


11.       Would you want to continue watching this film? Give your reason why.
Yes__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
No__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Film Clip;

Here is the link to our opening scene;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSaZ7jjjD8o

Editing;

Whilst editing the film, we used a programme called premiere elements.  This programme helped us to edit the brightness of the clip, as there were parts were it was to dark on the computer and could not see the image we wanted to create. However we found that making the image brighter and visible made it seem a bit blurry. We brightened the clip by using the properties, such as: contrast, brightness and the saturation. We used different levels of each until we managed to achieve the effect and image we wanted. However we used this to our advantage by making it seem eerie. Also we edited the nature part to make the surroundings seem darker and to make it appear that it was closer to night time, than it actually was when we filmed it. I used the saturation to create a darker and dull effect. We also found that when we edited the saturation it made the character look a lot paler, which is what we wanted the character to look like .

Next we went on to deciding the order of the clips and how we would create the short snaps of each. We did this by using a tool which is able to cut the clip into section, and then we were able to move them around on the programmes storyboard. We tried out a few different positions for most of clips, however we knew that one clip was definitely meant for the end so we did not need to try out different positions for those clips.  We then went on to experiment with the different effects we would use which would show the transition form clip to clip.  We eventually decided to use one of the dissolving transitions, as we thought it would give the best 'horror' effect and would also add to the roughness that we wanted to get from the camera.

We then went on to adding tittles and who did what into the clip this is when we came to an error of not being able to find the sort of title style we want. Also there seemed to be a problem with adding the titles into certain clips. The problem was that the programme was unable to complete this function as it couldn't read what we were trying to do. This continued not to work over the next couple of weeks, we found that we were unable to add titles on my log in but when we tried to use a different log in we were unable to access the film.

This image is to show the reoccurring problem we had with trying to add the titles to our starting clip. Overall we overcame this problem by putting the clips onto another members computer and started the editing and lighting all over again. When we came to adding the title, we used a font called 'papryus ', we decided on this font as we thought it was the most eerie and the effect of loosing some bits in the font gave it an oldish look.

After we had added the font we went on to adding the music which Mat had help us to create.  The music was quite simple to add, as the music plan helped to create all the right timing. We simply just added the music after we imported the media. Then we went on to record the voice of the little girl. We did this by adding a narration to the clip we place this over the music. At the pint of when the girl starts talking we cut the music clip so that the music sound track could be made to appear quieter and so that we were able to hear the voice. We had some trouble recording our voice, this was because we wanted a whisper and was hard to whisper while you could everyone working around us. Therefore we had to find a quieter are and empty room to make the recording. We managed to make the soundtrack quieter at this point by using the properties and making the volume quieter.

Once we had finished the editing we went onto render the disc so that we were able to show it to an audience and get the review we needed, to evaluate our work.

Plot Synopsis;

In our planning and editing we decided to add a plot synopsis this was so that we had an initial and brief idea of were our starting clip was going and what it would need to include. We thought that this was important because the starting scene will be used to get the viewers and audience captivated, into watching the rest of the film.

The Plot Synopsis is:

A long time ago the man that is now lying dead in the woods used to sexually abuse the girl in the church. Therefore leading her to be traumatised and act out violently. Whilst on the way to the church her and the people driving were in a crash  and she escapes before the car explodes and sadly has to go live with her aunt. The girl goes to visit her parents regularly and one day a man decided to try and comfort and it turns out he isn’t as nice as he seems, and drags her into the empty church and begins to violently abuse her. He drags her up the stairs and she hits her head on the step and is killed. The man then begins to feel guilt as he see’s her everywhere. The girl then gains her revenge.

Her revenge is seen threw what is a flashback at the very beginning. The flash back is to show the main reason of why the girls life story begins. The girl is obviously traumatised and had never forgot the day where a man  abused her and left her on the chair stairs today.  This clip shows a bit of irony as he begins with thinking she’d dead and then at the ends of this starting clip he wakes, as she thinks she’s eventually killed him when she hasn’t.

Title Mind Map;

We decide to create a quick a brief brainstorm to figure out a good name for our film. This is because we wanted to include the title in the start scene. We decided on the name Distorted, as it adds to the theme of the girl being distorted and the story of her life being distorted. We found that this as the titles name would relate to most of the story and clip. Therefore the group as a whole thought this was the most descriptive and best related to title.

Camera Use;

11^th January 2011: Borrowed camera to film:

We used the camera and went round filming the main clips that we needed in the film. We had a problem when coming to the shot of the stairs, when the main character is walking down them this was because the stairs became steep and barely had room to fit a foot on. Thus it made it difficult to walk down. However we used this to our advantage and used to add discomfort to the character and awkwardness in the walk.  Also we had to go quite high as there was not enough light for the cameras until it closer to the top. Also it was very cold and wet when we came to do the nature scene so we had to shoot the bits we needed quickly so that the characters wouldn’t get to cold and ill. Luckily we got the clips we needed in this time; however we may need to take some more if they are not as good and detailed as we hoped.

Music Plan;

Whilst editing we had to create a plan to help Mat to create the music for the clip and to make sure there were noises exactly where we wanted them. This was because had a difficulty of sending the video to Mat so that he could add the soud. This is why we decided to make a small, but simple diagram to help Mat and to help the group understand our music and sound choices. Here is the diagram to explain:

Times	Until	Type of Sound
00:00:00:00 00:00:06:00 00:00:07:09 00:00:25:01 00:00:28:00 00:00:33:03 00:00:36:05 00:00:45:08 00:00:48:11 00:00:54:13 00:00:57:24 00:01:03:08 00:01:07:10 00:01:18:13 00:01:24:21 00:01:30:11	00:00:06:00 00:00:07:09 00:00:25:00 00:00:28:00 00:00:33:03 00:00:36:05 00:00:45:08 00:00:48:11 00:00:54:13 00:00:57:24 00:01:03:08 00:01:07:10 00:01:18:13 00:01:24:21 00:01:30:11 00:01:33:07	Fuzzy Noise Feet in rustling leaves Mechanical weird noises (like in initial clip at the begging) Fuzzy noise Tune begins (like in clip) Fuzzy Noise Tune continue Fuzzy Noise Tune continues Fuzzy Noise Tune continues Fuzzy Noise Tune Continues Fuzzy Noise Drown Noise Quietly. No MUSIC Tune begins to FINISH

This was a difficulty we had to come and this was the best way in creating the music and helping Mat understand how to help us as he was the creator of our soundtrack and the initial theme tune.