Evaluation

EVALUATION CRITERIA
Candidates will evaluate their work electronically. This MUST contain an element of audience feedback and may be either integrated with the presentation of the research and planning material or may be presented separately. Where candidates have worked in a group, the evaluation may be presented individually or collectively but the teacher must allocate a mark according the contribution/level of understanding demonstrated by the individual candidate.

The questions that must be addressed in the evaluation are:
1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

When I started creating my film I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like and the effect I wanted it to have on the audience. However I wanted it to comply with the conventions of horror/thriller films. I included titles in my intro, as this is a main convention of films of any genre. A prominent convention of horror films is that there is killing within the first few minutes, so I included a murder scene. As the genre I chose was a psychological thriller I choose the theme death. My character is a schizophrenic and the person in his head has a fascination with death, which is why he murders people. Another convention is that you never see the murders face, so I made sure that all my shots cut out the murders face. My establishing shot is fairly normal for any film; it starts off in a normal orchid with nothing-extraordinary happening. I also included a definition of schizophrenia, as it would have been difficult to portray this mental illness within the first few minutes of a film. Using the definition helps the audience understand what is wrong with this murderer. 

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

Both characters in my intro are from similar social groups, middle class, they are both young guys so there not going to be in really successful jobs, their clothes are pretty casual but not untidy. Until they get ripped and covered in blood.

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

I decided to use Universal Studios as I noticed that they distribute many horror/thriller movies such as Van Helsing, Hell Boy and The Grudge.

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

I have aimed my film at the older generation of the younger market, 25-40 year olds, as my film contains some quite gruesome scenes of torture. It also contains some scenes that could be upsetting and disturbing for younger audiences, e.g. when the voices in his head tart talking to him and he begins arguing with himself.

5.How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience by making the intro to my film quite confusing and made the shots quick, the audience would hopefully wonder why this man is torturing and causing pain to another person. Did this man do something to deserve this beating? Did he offend him in some way? Or is this man just doing it because he can? I was hoping hat these events would intrigue the audience enough to carry on watching the whole film.

  I made my actors look like normal people, so that the audience felt like they could relate and put themselves in the actors positions, this enables the audience to feel the horrific nature of the situation and get more out of the film.

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

  I have learnt how to use Adobe After Affects to alter shots, like my establishing shot, which is a pan of an orchid, and then zooming into a window on the side of a farmhouse. To give this shot greater affect I added a rain affect, this made the shot seem more eerie and gave the impression that something was wrong. Based on my audience feedback the raindrops seemed to be unrealistic and too random, which ruined the effect that had been created.

   I also used after affects to create my titles. I had to use many of the components available in after affects to make my titles, I used the camera and null object tool. I also used the sure target preset so that I could move between each title smoothly. The purpose of my titles was to create a confusing and weird environment that was similar to what was going on inside the killers mind, however, Looking back on my titles I think that they were to confusing and they may confuse the audience so they don’t know who’s has done what job. Based on my audience feedback I think that they were to fast and didn’t give the audience a chance to read them and take them in properly. The jobs and the people who did them also needed to be differentiated between somehow, such as putting the jobs in bold.  

  Finally I used after affects to create my definition of schizophrenia. I filmed my actor suing the iStop Motion software, and then imported the clip into After Effects. I blurred his face and then used the definition of schizophrenia that I found from wikipedia. The audience feedback I received on the definition was really positive, most people felt that the definition was important to understand the rest of the film and to begin to understand the introduction that I created. They felt that leaving it till the end improved the effect as they had a moment of realisation. 

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

I have learnt how to use Adobe After Effects to create effects on top of existing film and how to create titles that appear to travel using the camera and null object tool which I had never even heard of before I started this project. I have also learnt what shots are effective and how to create a particular atmosphere. I have also learnt how to edit and cut clips in iMovie and import clips that I have added effects to or created in After Effects. I also learnt how to use the iStop Motion software to create an eerie effect. I have also learnt that you have to make sure you are happy that the shot you have is the shot that you want and if its not then to try and try again until you are happy you have the shot that you want.     

Level 4 16–20 marks
Excellent understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms and conventions in relation to production.
Excellent ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes.
Excellent understanding of their development from preliminary to full task.
Excellent ability to communicate.
Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation

My Final Film

This is the final edit of my film. As you can see i have used Adobe After Effects to create my titles, my definition of schizophrenia and to edit my establishing shot. 

Now that i have finished my film i am starting on my evaluation. Which will answer questions such as which age groups i have aimed my film at, how my film applies to traditional thriller/horror conventions and who would distribute this kind of film. 

Rough Cut

This is the rough cut of my film, I still have lots of editing to do. I need to add my titles in and i will also be editing some of the shots in Adobe After Affects.

The Making of My Film

This is a clip of the preparation of my film. Included is the fake blood that i made myself using golden syrup, chocolate syrup, red food colouring and water. It tasted really nice!!!!

I have also started writing my construction, which will include all my thoughts about how my filming went, how i want the audience to feel at different points in the film, how i created my titles and how i created my definition of schizophrenia. 

Music

Today I started looking at music that wold suit the genre of my film. I went on www.audionetworkplc.com and searched Dark, Tense, Eerie and listened to the tracks listed and picked out the ones i could imagine featuring in my film. I tried to choose several that were creepy and would put the audience in an anxious state. 

As my film is about a schizophrenic i tried to pick several tracks that include voices in the background, this will confuse the audience but also create a feel of anticipation. 

I also started creating a filming schedule. This is a li

st of what I'm going to film and when, it also states when I'm going to do my test shots. This is what it looks like; 

My Film Poster

This is my film poster, as you can see I have used one of my actors faces (the killer) and put half his face in the dark, like the spawn film poster, I have also put sunglasses on him and have reflected a city (like the Hot Fuzz film poster) and a women, this is the women in his head who has told him to kill the man in the intro, however the audience will not find this out until later on in the film.

Film Poster

I am now designing a poster to go with my movie. I have looked at a wide range of genres of film and picked a couple posters that I hope to emulate when making my poster.
Wanted

Twilight
In this poster Edward Cullen looks slightly creepy, his eyes have been altered to make them more intense and supernatural like. I hope to emulate this in my poster. 

Spawn

In my poster i would like to have a picture of my killer but like this poster only being able to see half his face with the other half in darkness.

Hot Fuzz

In this poster you can see a reflection in their glasses, in my poster i hope to emulate this. In my poster you will be able to see one of my killers eyes and in their eye there will be an image of the women in his head that tells him to kill people.

Pirates Of The Carribean

Men In Black
In their glasses they have the stars reflected in their glasses. This is a similar technique used in the Hot Fuzz poster, i hope to emulate this in my poster. 

Batman The Dark Knight

Location Pictures

These are the images of the loft i will be using as unfortunately my basement was filled in with cement !!!!

These are the images of the outside of the farm house i will be filming.

Changes!!!!

I have changed the story line of my film slightly, i have decided that the murder has schizophrenia and his mind has told him to kill this man. Through the intro the audience will see him battleing with himself and arguing with himself, however eventually the evil side to his mind will win.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with approximately 0.4–0.6% of the population affected. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior. No laboratory test for schizophrenia currently exists. A person diagnosed with schizophrenia may demonstrate auditory hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized and unusual thinking and speech; this may range from loss of train of thought and subject flow, with sentences only loosely connected in meaning, to incoherence, known as word salad, in severe cases.

Universal Pictures

I have decide to use Universal Pictures as my picture company. I have decided to use an existing picture company because i think it will look more professional, they have also done a range of film genres so it will fit with the genre of my film. It will also save me time rather than having to come up with my own.

Titles

I have now planned the titles which will go into my film; 

Universal Pictures presents

A Lottie Fossey Film 

Directed By Lottie Fossey

Starring Axel Staal and Luke Wright

Produced By Amy O'Brien

Script By Zoe Gibaut

Music By 

Edited By Kimberley Dunne

Tzvetan Todorov Theory

We looked at Todorov today and applied his theory to my film. I have skipped the first stage (equilbrium) because i am jumping straight into the action and i am not adhearing to this first rule, which means that immediatly my film is in a state of disequilbrium.  Stage two involves a regintion of the distortion, this is the man torturing and killing the vicim. Stage three is a recognition of the disorder, so the audience will see the victim tied to the chair and being tortured. Stage four is an attempt to repair the distortion, so in my film even though it wont be in my final piece the tortured man's son will go looking for his fathers killer. Stage five is the restoration of a new equilibrium, so the killer will be killed by the tortured mans son. If i was making the whole film both stage four and five would appear and be followed.

Planning

Now that i have looked at films that are out, i will now look at my thriller in more detail. I plan to film at an old farmhouse, i will do a long shot so that the audience can see all of the farmhouse this will throw the audience off as it will look like a nice place, I will then skip to a shot of a dark basement with a little ray of light, the audience will not be able to see anything else, the audience will then see the titles begin to come up, they will be in blood red and slightly dripping. The audience will hear a voice over, someone is having an argument with themselves however it is all in code, so the audience doesn't know what is being argued over. The camera will slowly start to zoom in then a flash of a man smiling will flash up on the screen. The camera will then go back to the dark basement and the camera is still zooming slowly, the titles are still coming up and the audience gradually start to see a figure in the darkness. The image of the man smiling flashes up again, but this time he has a look of horror on hid face. The camera then pans around to see the victim tied in the chair the audinece can then see his face, it is pale and their is a small drip of blood from his mouth. The smilling man flashes up again but this time he has a blood stained trowel in his hand. The camera then goes back to the victim in the chair, the camera begins to zoom out and the audience can then see the victims injuries to his torso. He is wearing a shirt that has rips in it with blood trickiling out of his wounds. The image of the smilling man comes up again but this time he has a bloodstained gardening fork in his hand and he is stabing the victim tied to the chair, however the audience doesn't see this which will add suspense and horror to the scene.  

So far I have practised using IMovie and the camera equipment (Canon XL2), you can see the indroductory exercises i did in my blog. The first exercise i did with a camera was just basic editing, me and a partner just filmed a couple scenes and experimented with different angles and then uploaded them into IMovie and just cut them into 10 second films. The next exercise i did was my preliminary exercise where I used the Canon XL2 and filmed a friend walking through a door into a room and sitting down talking to someone. In this exercise i had to obey the 180 degree rule. I then uploaded the shots into IMovie and edited them.

I have also started to analyse what a thriller opening should include, this is what I have found;

The dictionary defines a thriller as a suspenseful adventure story or movie. All thrillers that are shot under sub genres must comply to certain generic conventions, there must be an ordinary person in a extraordinary situation because the audience must be able to see themselves through this person. Very often enigmas such as Red Herrings are used to mislead the audience and even the characters.

Shot List:
1)Universal
2) Old Farmhouse (Long Shot)
3) Dark Basement (long Shot)
4) Titles
5) Man Smiling (Close up)
6) Dark Basement, figure in a chair (Medium Shot)
7) Man Smiling (close up)
8) Person tied to a chair, just see his face (Close Up)
9) Smiling man holding bloody trowel (medium Shot)
10) Whole Body of man tied to a chair (medium Shot)
11) Smiling man now has a fork and is stabbing victim tied to the chair (Long Shot)
12) Name of film!!!

This is the my animatic storyboard;

I have decided on the props and costumes for my thriller. Costumes are just normal casual clothes jeans, hoodies etc however the victim will be wearing a shirt so that the rips and blood stains will look more effective and have more of an impact on the audience. For props I will have a chair, rope so the victim can be tied up and some gardening tools so the murder and torture will look unprofessional. The murderer has never killed any one before, however it is a premeditated murder.

I have researched how to make people look dead and how to create real-looking wounds. To make someone look dead i will need white face powder, red and black eyeliner for their eyes and their hair will need to be messy. For wounds i will need clay and mould it into the shape of the gardening tools, the moulds will then need to be stuck to the skin using spirit gum and then latex to make it mould into the skin. I will need blue and purple makeup to make the area look bruised, i will also need red makeup to make the wound look like skin. I will need black eyeliner to make the skin at the tips of the wounds look dead. I will then add blood gel to the wound to complete the effect. 

I have decided on the actors i will have in my intro. I have also decided on the titles that will appear in my intro, they will be blood red and faded in. I hope to emulate the titles at the beginning of Nightwatch (see research 8th september).

In my research i looked at many films and looked at how they introduced the film to the audience. I especially took note of the props, titles and settings they used. As i am planning on doing a thriller i looked at a couple of thriller/horror films and took particular note of how their openings would affect the audience.

I have looked at Nightwatch and the opening begins with the titles in blood red, the diagetic music is also very creepy which adds suspense. A voicer-over begins to tell the story, they have included sound affects such as flies which suggests that the army have been marching for a long time. The battle is very gory and graphic, they also look real, which i hope to emulate in my film. I want the audience to believe that it happened.
I have also looked at Van Helsing, the beginning begins in black and white with a mob breaking down a door, the music is very upbeat but at the same time scary. Flashes of lightning make it more creepy, the flashes also show the counts true face, but only for a second which creates intrigue within the audience, i hope to emulate this in my film but not using the same technique. Stephen Sommers creates more intrique by telling the audience there is a purpose for Frankenstein other than the ability to create life using bits of other dead people, but the audience wont find out till later, I also hope to emulate this in my film. When the monster falls into the burning windmill the audienece think that the 'Key' is lost and so cannot be used, this creates intrique in the audience because what is the count going to use for 'his purpose' instead.

Footage Taken Using The 180 degree Rule.

I took this footage so that it complied to the 180 degrees rule.

The 180 degree rule is when you have 2 or more characters in the shot and once you have established their position within the shot e.g. guy is on the right hand side and the girl is on the left hand side you cannot switch them around, otherwise the audience will get confused. Other shots can be used however, like a shot looking over a characters shoulder or over their head. You can also position the camera side on so the audience can only see one side of the characters face however if this shot is used on the other character it must be used on the same side of the 180 degree line.

The following link will demonstrate what i have said;



This is the footage i took and then edited in IMovie. As you can see i have not defied the 180 degree rule, I have established that Zoe is on the right hand side and Amy is on the left and have not changed that. 

First i have shown a shot of amy walking in the door and sitting down on a table opposite Zoe, this shot establishes where the characters are within the scene. The characters then have a conversation, i show each character as they are talking and do not change they sides they are sitting on. If i had wanted the characters to switch sides then i would have been able to do this by filming as i went round the back of the character and actually showing the characters places switch so that the audience doesn't get confused.  

Thoughts on My Film

I have started to think about what things i will be including in my film such as location, props, actors and music.

For my location i thought would use a run down house that is abandoned, the actual event however would take place in the basement, very dark and just a single light.

For my props i will just need a chair, some rope, some gardening tools, a shirt with several rips in it and some fake blood.

I have not decided on the music or actors yet as i am still putting the finishing touches to my final script.

For the costumes i want them to look real and authentic, a good example of this is the costumes used in Pirates of the Carribean, all the costumes looked old, weathered and appropriate to the time.

Imovie

This was the first go i had at editing camera shots that i had taken; 

Film Certificates

I have also started thinking about target audiences and age certficates that I would give my film. Doing something like a thriller/horror film normally contains younger actors as the target audience is normally people in their late teens early twenties, this is because if the film had older actors the target audience would not be able to relate to actors on screen. I looked at the criteria for certain film ratings and this is what I found;

To get a 15 Certificate the film can contain these things;
Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.

Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (eg 'fuck'). But the strongest terms (eg 'cunt') will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

Violence
Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

Imitable techniques
Dangerous techniques (eg combat, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.

These are the requirements for an 18 Certificate;

Sex Education at ‘18’

Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safe sex and health, exceptions to the normal constraints on explicit images may be made in the public interest. Such explicit detail must be kept to the minimum necessary to illustrate the educational or instructional points being made.

Sex Works at ‘18’

Sex works are works, normally on video or DVD, whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing material which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’, while sex works containing clear images of real sex are confined to the ‘R18’ category.

The bbfc do not interfere with adult viewing, they believe that adults posses the right to choose their own entertainment, they will only interfere if the film could be harmful to society e.g. promoting drug taking, violent attacks or sexual assult.

To get a PG Certficate the film can contain these things;

Theme
Where more serious issues are featured (eg domestic violence, racist abuse) nothing in their treatment should condone the behaviour.

Language

Mild bad language only.

Nudity
Natural nudity, with no sexual context.

Sex
Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.

Violence
Moderate violence, without detail, may be allowed, if justified by its setting (eg historic, comedy or fantasy).

Imitable techniques
No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons. No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy.

Horror
Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.

Drugs
Any references to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.

I have looked at these clasifications as i will need to classify my film

Research

To start my research I began looking at Intros to diffrent genres of films and writing down the sounds, music, props, shots, editing, special effects and dialogue, I then began picking out bits that i liked. These are the films I looked at;

NightWatch-
Beginning titles-blood red, suggest battle and little red light keeps audiences attention
Voice over explains the story-keeps audience up to date
Battle sequence right at the start-appeals to audience members who like battle sequences, there are also no titles to distract the audiences attention.



Spiderman-
Marvel Comics intro
Music appropriate for film
Actors names tangled in web-suitable for film
Characters and settings begin to appear-audience begins to become familiar with the surroundings that will be in the film
Intro- bit long- create suspense however some people may get fed up.
Show you the main character (the man behind the mask)

Hot Fuzz-
Police whistles and bells
Long shot-walking-footsteps getting louder
Speedily talking about career up to this point in her life
Squeezed in bit of action- Main character gets stabbed

Pirates of the Caribbean:Dead Mans Chest-

Dark Water-erie affect
Soft music, Rain-sadness
Sad girl in wedding dress
Invading soliders, chains
Will in old fashioned hand cuffs (irons)
Elizabeth and Will arrested-Jack brought up which carries on from the 1st one
Sea mist-erie, pirate singing traditional pirate song
Sound effects-Creaking wood, rippling sails.

Pirates of the Caribbean:At Worlds End
Props- Drums, Noose, Flag, Chained peasents
Lining up to be hanged
reading them their rights-all basic human rights suspended
Camera focus on little boy-shows a little coin- starts to sing 'The Song', then all the convicted people start to sing.
Excucioner pulls the lever-music stops
Coin falling through darkness-title then appears (coin chimes in the background)



I have used Pirates Of The Caribbean because they use props, costume and sets that are appropriate to the time, this film is set in a previous time which means most of the effects needed to make this movie real are not around any more so all the props and costumes must be made or bought.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Exciting music
Skulls behind bars-Weathered affect
Big snake-faint voice
Grave Yard
Title- lightning bolt as tale of the 'P'
Old man making tea on old fashioned stove and using old fashioned kettle-radio on old music
dark run down house-one light-sinister-Scary music
can't see scary man sitting in the chair-adds suspense (if you haven't read the books)

The Mummy-
Flash Back (pre-story)
Camera pans from sun to the head of a sphyinx then over the rest of the Pharaohs kingdom
Audience gets 1st look at Imhotep and Anck-sun-namun, audience realises they are lovers even though it is forbidden
Imhotep kills Pharaoh-Scandal!!
Eerie moon over magical city
Black pool makes evil noises
Leave gross bits to the Imagination
Imhotep is locked in his sarcophagus which chows just how bad he was.
Voice over creates tension by listing what would happen if Imhotep was resurrected

Voice over man one of Pharaohs Guards (medji) make sure Imhotep is never released
Titles having wrapping around them, then it blows away.

Troy-
Women singing slightly sad
Map of Greece-text to explain the story so far
One man speaks (Odysseus) Camera over canyon.
2 Armies face each other, stop meters apart-Calm before the storm-creates tension
2 leaders ride to middle-agemmenon mocks opposing king-bargin with soliders fighting ability
Audience first sees the hero, Acheillies
Audience understands why Achellies fights-so he will be remembered throughout history (obviously it worked!!!!)
Aceillies beats solider with one swing of his sword, audience knows the story will revolve around his fighting skill.

10 Things I Hate About You
Upbeat young Music
Animated, scripply writing
Camera pans over neighbourhood
1 Genre of music fades into another genre
Rock genre reflects girls personality/attitude towards life.

X-men-
Patrick Stuart voice over explains what happens to these people
Brain looking strands then contrasted with man made metal
rain, people walking through mud, audience discover this is during the war
Camera slow motion to worsen horror
family forced to seperate, child discovers powers, can manipulate metal, incrediably strong, audience confused. gate completely mangled

I have also started thinking about target audiences and age certficates that i would give my film. Doing something like a thriller/horror film normally contains younger actors as the target audience is normally people in their late teens early twenties, this is because if the film had older actors the target audience would not be able to relate to actors on screen. I looked at the criteria for certain film ratings and this is what I found;

First Idea....

.... My intial idea is to do a thriller/horror intro. Start off dark screen, then the actors names show up on the screen in blood red with a slight drip on them. Then a small light begins to appear in the background the camera then starts to zoom in on the light. The audience then begins to see a figure at the bottom of the light as the camera begins to zoom in closer to the figure a flash image appears on the screen of a man (only for a second). the camera begins to zoom in the audience then realises its a man tied to a chair, again the flash image of the man comes on the screen. The camera then moves around the man tied to the chair and the audience then begins to see the mans face. His face is covered in blood, still slightly dripping from deep wounds.The flash image of the man comes up again. The camera then zooms out and the audience then begins to see the rest of his body which is also covered in deep wounds, the man which has been in the flash images appears the audience can see the mans face is splattered with blood and he is smiling. Images come up of the smiling man torturing the man tied do a chair, he is using garden impliments, the audience then get a shot of his face and he is still smiling.