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

I believe that we have made massive amounts of progression, from where we started in the preliminary task, as for me I had to change groups in order for it to be fair in the class so experiencing two different groups was difficult at times but it gave two different perspectives to work from and be more effective with the techniques I had picked up from the preliminary task. In the two videos its is evident the changes and differences in the techniques used like the camera angles and camera shots are much more varied and into more depth in order to create more of an effect on the audience and be able to construct a bigger narrative e.g. a zoom in from the camera to go into a close up to show the information on the letter to the audience this helped create enigma in the film.

The steady camera movement and difference in the thoughts for the video like the setting was much more varied and made it much more interesting. As the actor for both I developed the skills of like positioning to the camera, plus being able to give feedback to what angles may look best and most effective. The setting after the preliminary task we knew had to be much more varied so we had shots in several different settings this helped the storyline to the film as well as allowing us to use good editing techniques such slow motion effectively when the agent is shot to show emphasis. The biggest progression from the preliminary task I believe would be our ability to use Final Cut as we then had to be able to use effects visual effects such as the gunshot effect, and many other stereotypical techniques that the film would need such editing in sound as well as making other editing aspects like the editing for our flashback etc.

With less team members than all the other groups, we had to be patient and work much harder than a group with an extra member at times it meant we had to borrow other people from other groups to make up the numbers. In the process I learnt many skills, firstly the technical skills so the use of camera angles as well as importance of setting and many more like the editing skills to put the film sequence together, but also personal skills like being able to work on a team together plus working past arguments to reach a compromise and keep moving forward to make our film as good as possible. Overall thou the whole group worked well and contributed fairly. The application of skills thou we learnt very quickly was going to be needed a lot more in the film sequence. We also learnt a great deal about the organisation and timing especially from a team with one less member so we had to follow this strictly in order to be effective as possible. In the preliminary task is was literally made up on the spot so it could become a frustrating and panicky atmosphere where as in the film production everything was set out but we still used ideas that we made up on the spot that we though could improve it further.

Overall we basically expanded and developed further skills for the preliminary task to the film production and we further expanded and developed skills such as use of camera angles, editing techniques especially but also other skills such as use of sound and any other techniques such as iconography etc. So I believe we continually developed these throughout the tasks.

In the video, Ciaran who also got moved groups is giving his opinion on what we learnt as a group and how we progressed.

Music choice on Prezi

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

Potential target audience on Prezi

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

I believe that we have made massive amounts of progression, from where we started in the preliminary task, as for me I had to change groups in order for it to be fair in the class so experiencing two different groups was difficult at times but it gave two different perspectives to work from and be more effective with the techniques I had picked up from the preliminary task. In the two videos its is evident the changes and differences in the techniques used like the camera angles, the steady camera movement and difference in the thoughts for the video like the setting was much more varied and made it much more interesting. As the actor for both I developed the skills of like positioning to the camera, plus being able to give feedback to what angles may look best and most effective.

With less team members than all the other groups, we had to be patient and work much harder than a group with an extra member at times it meant we had to borrow other people from other groups to make up the numbers. In the process I learnt many skills, firstly the technical skills so the use of camera angles as well as importance of setting and many more like the editing skills to put the film sequence together, but also personal skills like being able to work on a team together plus working past arguments to reach a compromise and keep moving forward to make our film as good as possible. Overall thou the whole group worked well and contributed fairly. The application of skills thou we learnt very quickly was going to be needed a lot more in the film sequence. We also learnt a great deal about the organisation and timing especially from a team with one less member so we had to follow this strictly in order to be effective as possible. In the preliminary task is was literally made up on the spot so it could become a frustrating and panicky atmosphere where as in the film production everything was set out but we still used ideas that we made up on the spot that we though could improve it further.

Overall we basically expanded and developed further skills for the preliminary task to the film production and we further expanded and developed skills such as use of camera angles, editing techniques especially but also other skills such as use of sound and any other techniques such as iconography etc. So I believe we continually developed these throughout the tasks.

In the video, Ciaran who also got moved groups is giving his opinion on what we learnt as a group and how we progressed.

Who would be the audience for your product? on Prezi

Locations, Actors on Prezi

Props and Costumes. on Prezi

Script on Prezi

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

Throughout this project I have gained a large amount of knowledge of the technology that we had to use while filming our film opening. Throughout the film we had the use of a professional film camera, as well as also the use of flips cam and a Mac computer, these were used for different stages in the tasks and or different roles in the task e.g. Mac used for the editing of the film sequence, flip cam used for the preliminary task.

The Sony HDV professional camera we used

When we began using the camera there were many issues that we were faced starting from the simplest turning it on, or putting the tape in properly etc. With the help of technicians etc and the time we had to look over the camera to improve our skills we began to pick it up. As the actor in the group I didn’t have to focus on the camera use to much but I did assistant in certain ideas for camera angles that we then had to position the camera in, which we had to see if it worked without stuff like the tripod etc. When we began by filming we had to make sure the setting was suitable for the camera use in terms of lighting or positioning etc, plus the fact that we also had make sure like the camera battery was sorted etc.

I believe that the most we learnt from was from the editing side and using the Macs to begin editing the sequence into an opening so we would have to any certain special effects like jump cut etc to keep the target audience interested. The biggest problem when we began using the software ‘Final cut’ was the lack of knowledge and experience we had about the program, so we had to spend a lot of time just familiarising ourselves with the program plus we all had to have some knowledge of it as we had one less group member than normal and everyone else. When we started to get the general idea of how the program worked we began in trying to edit the film sequence and chooding the appropriate effects for our thriller opening this still took some time to incorporate everything together and effectively. In the footage we did some slowing down of the footage in order to emphasis certain things like the agent getting shot etc. This helped create the tension in the scene and built up and created the right atmosphere.

In our film we only used ‘Adobe after effects’ for the titles in our film and because it was such a complicated software that we only used very briefly we had a some support in producing our titles, but we decided to go for a more natural but creative option for our credits which was the credits being on the clips of the folders in the file cabinet this fitted in with the job role of the character effectively.

With issues like rendering or other techniques like cropping etc when editing we initially struggled a bit with but with support from technicians and teachers we quickly overcame this and began using the software effectively and the film began to take shape.

How did you attract your audience

View more presentations from JaneenGatty.

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

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

There are several institutions that have a distribution of many type of film genres in the modern era so generally our film could fit in with the majority of them, this helps them be able to have a wider audience.

Eagle eye was the product the way researched was distributed by DreamWorks Pictures.

DreamWorks Pictures is an American film studio which simply develops, produces and also distributes the films so it covers a large basis in the film genre and is a very powerful distributor. They generally release films about serious subjects and more tense films but they do occasionally distribute lighter hearted films. Personally I believe this could mean that they could have played a part in distributing our product due to the serious subject that it involves, e.g. examples of films they have released films such as ‘Munich’ but then in contrast they also release films such as ‘Meet the fockers’ which a much less serious film and In the comedy genre this shows the variety in distribution from the company. The films that they produce do follow the typical thriller genre conventions and follows the dominant ideologies with it. Our film which is rated at a 15 certificate would fit fine into any policies that they may have as ‘Munich’ is also rated a 15 as well, so it would appeal to the target audiences well and effectively and they would have that expectation from it. Overall thou I believe that our film would attract the interest of other distributers as the thriller genre as it is a money making genre usually, but in films like ‘Munich’ it had two distributors, DreamWorks and Universal studios so we could also use them as a distributor, the film grossed a large amount as well ($130,358,911) this shows the popularity of the genre as well.

 How did you attract your audience?

When doing our project we generally wanted to keep it simple but effective as possible on our target audience. So for the beginning of our video we didn’t have a logo so for our video we decided to introduce it in a different manner of a flashback and good use of camera shots along with tense music

This instantly gives the audience the impression about the type of film that it is and is going to be. This also straight away starts to build a sense of enigma from the several different techniques e.g. music, camera use.

We did later on in the film after the flashback in the film then introduce the credits of the film we did with a sense of iconography and a more creative idea not using computer generated images, this ended up fitting it well as the storyline makes it have sense, as the folders are to imply the case and the people they are going after and their job role requirements which would include working in a office and having those files etc.

 

We introduced are credits in sections as this we believed it was more effective and attractive to the audience as it kept the suspense theme going and ‘putting the pieces together’ concept to it, and the final scene of the agent receiving the cheque the title of our film ‘The searchers’ then comes which works effectively and ironically to what the audience will believe what will happen which is this agent then get searched until they kill him.

Our group thought this would make the audience feel in suspense and want to watch more to find out what would happen next and attract them to find out more. The use of music to accompany it as shows sympathy but then adds still a tone of tensions which makes it very attractive to the audience as starts showing and portraying the emotions and shows the change of emotion as well so the music leads the narrative in a sense, the audience would have the stereotypical ideas before which would gratify their expectations. The use of simplicity of the font keeps the focus on scenes plus still leaves an agent theme to it as they way it goes across the page leaves a suspicious edge to it, which fits to the dominant ideology.

The conventional and at times unexpected techniques that we used for the credits for example I believe helps our film into being attractive to the audience.  I would say that our film does have a ‘A Bourne ultimum’ theme to it through little dialogue at the start and uses of flashbacks and early actions scenes that leave the audience suspicious to why, so the audience could have that impression to it. Through the film it does convert and subvert as you can never really work out fully who is the hero or protagonist of the film which creates more suspense and enigma.

Who would be the audience for your product?

The storyline to our film is basically two federal agents who work together as partners but one of them takes a bribe and becomes corrupt so his partner then ends of taking revenge on him by gunning him down while in the middle of a case and looking for suspects. This would attract a adrenaline fuelled audience with a strong interest in suspense and action.

From the beginning of the project we followed out the research tasks and from the questionnaires we tried to work and conclude on a target audience. In the end our target audience was varied from around 15-19 or older of both genders this help us in the producing of the film and the type of the scenes that we thought up to be in the film and whether we had to moderate them etc, the fact that we could appeal to both genders makes our film more appealing and means techniques used would have to of been to both genders taste to make it effective. From the questionnaire show that the age bracket generally that we got back was just over 20s this shows that the film should be rated at least at 15 or over if not then the film would not be appropriate to the audience. The age for our film has to be chosen carefully as it is essential for the content that our film contains is appropriate and effective enough on the audience.

Generally the feedback that we got about thrillers as a genre is films that are able to being different emotions such as high adrenaline, suspense, tension etc these are all emotions that we would have to create when filming the scenes in order to be effective towards the target audience so we tried to in cooperate these techniques into our film.

The techniques that most people believed are effective in thriller is the use of low key lighting as it helps builds the atmosphere and help create emotions like suspense etc, through the different scenes we would have to find the setting that fits for this if we chose to use low key lighting, in the film we didn’t use low key lighting at all due to the storyline and the way we introduced the film. We still thou made it effective through uses of other techniques like the setting and camera use.

The audience generally believed that the imagery was more important than the sound use in a thriller film so this shows for our film that aspects like the setting, costumes etc have to be good and stereotype to the genre into creating the right atmosphere and emotion when watching., These helped us take direction and inspiration to how we should do our film to make effective to the target that we will end up choosing so we chose effective music as well as made our imagery effective.

From the feedback over the types of techniques that people would use to make their film effective there was the use of low key lighting as, jump cuts, the shock factor to it and many more this gives us the idea of what the audience wants from the film to be effective and what they believe is effective in a thriller film so this is very helpful feedback to our group. So for our target audience we would strongly consider these ideas of low key lighting etc.

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

I believe that our media product uses several technical codes that help in into being effective as a film, throughout the film thou we have several things such as the use of camera angles and shots in order to help conform to the conventional thriller action film e.g. over the shoulder shot to show the perspective of the actor involved in thriller films I believe this is an important shot as it help create narrative and story in the film to the audience and can also give off certain parts of iconography. The use of other techniques such as the music used as well we keep a good use along with the film and we don’t change the music up to much as it can become too much so we have the use of two contrasting soundtracks which keeps the conventional use of music in thriller films. So for the film we use techniques in the film to be able to create the narrative, and to also make it effective to the audience, these are the main reasons for its use. At certain points in our film I believe that  we do begin to develop uses much similar to real media products like the use of our shot when the agent is about to be shot and we show the camera from his perspective and what he is seeing this makes for a very effective shot, but due to the low budget of our film as well limited equipment and resources we were not able to really develop on too may techniques and shots but if we did we could of got a better setting for certain shot as well as equipment to do better and more ambitious shots like overhead shot or a possible aerial shot etc.

Throughout our film I don’t believe that we challenge forms too much as I believe we kept to the conventions of a thriller film throughout the whole film, so we followed the use of tense music when editing but did use a contrast with some sympathetic music due to the fact that he betrays his partner and when he takes the money in the envelop he feels sorry for his partner. The use of camera angles we used a variety of too all make the scenes effective to the thriller genre so e.g. close ups, mid shots, over the shoulder shots, these are used much like the real media products to show the story as best as possible, plus be able to show different techniques like iconography, enigma etc. So throughout the film I believe we kept to the conventions of the thriller genre much like the real media products when using all teh technical codes as well like the editing and camera angles etc.

How does your product represent particular social groups?

I believe that our products can help represent different types of social groups but in terms of the target audience in represents on one type, which is the groups who have a strong interest in action or suspense, plus an adrenaline rush type of feeling from films. The representation through the characters shows the law enforcer type of groups though the fact that they are both federal agents but in our film we represent the contrasting actions of both through one being a good agent and having the right intentions in his job and the other who is corrupt and going against what he is supposed to do. So they are a team and partners and one is betraying the other, so in our film we represent the two in contrasting manners one through a positive way and the other the negative way which gets him killed so we have a balance to the narrative. This is a thriller storyline that is generally quite common in this type of action film so I believe we represented it effectively to make it appealing to the target audience.

For throughout the task we thought it was important to be able to represent different social groups in the short opening to shows different sides to the and help make it an effective story and narrative in order to make it as interesting but also as structured as possible.