Evaluation Question 7

Looking Back At Your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learned in the Progression From it to the Full Product?


Below you will see the annotated versions of both our Preliminary Task and our Final Piece. The annotations show the elements of each that we liked, disliked, improved or had any comments on in hindsight. I feel that I have come a long way since the Preliminary task, and I have developed my skills, knowledge and ability to work with others. I am so grateful to have worked with Jessie; I feel that although our personalities balance each other out, we both have the same work ethic and also the same taste, which was a bonus. We both knew that the best way to get the project done was to play to our own and each others' strengths by allocating jobs to each other and ourselves to ensure an even split in the workload. I am also very pleased to have worked with such patient and helpful actors, who were no trouble and who (hopefully) had as much fun as we did when shooting! I have also developed an appreciation for the work that goes into the films that I watch now; I find myself thinking of the same things that went through the directors mind! I also appreciate how long all of the cast and crew work so hard for, as all of this hard work and time has gone into just the opening of a film, let alone the rest! Overall I am very happy with how the film turned out; I feel that it captured our quirky-and-charming concept perfectly and I really hope that all of this hard work pays off for us!





Please excuse the annotations of this video- they are from Jessie's point of view as they are on her account but they are supposed to be from the point of view of us both.

Evaluation Question 6

What Have You Learned About Technology/ies From the Process of Constructing This Product?


Pre-production:

Before I began this project, I had a personal picture blog on a different website called Tumblr, but I had never heard of Blogger before.I can now say, however, that I have become very confident with using the website and have really enjoyed learning about it and using it to post about the research, development and execution of our film opening, and can now say that I am a confident user of Blogger.

Although we only discovered Celtx after the Pre-Production stage, if we had the opportunity to do our project again, the use of the website would be very helpful. It provides templates for the vital documents that we need to include in Pre-Production such as call sheets, story boards and health and safety forms.

Google has been the basis of all of our research for our film opening. I would not say that I have learned a lot about using Google during our project, as I was an avid user beforehand, but do now feel much more experienced in using it.

Photoshop was used to edit some pictures, but its primary use for us was scanning and uploading the completed Storyboard, Risk Assessment form and Call Sheet. Out of the two of us, Jessie Worked the most with Photoshop, however I feel that although we may not be at the same skill level with it, my skills have developed from nothing (as I have never used it before) and I am pleased with the progress I made with Photoshop. I do still believe, however, that there is still a lot more for me to learn and a lot of m=new ways that I can use Photoshop. For example, it would be ideal for making a poster for our film.

Before this project, I had never used SlideShare. I now am a frequent and confident user and have uploaded 6 presentations so far. I find this website incredibly useful, as it allows me to store my presentations in one place and have them accessible and easy to share. I also really appreciate that the format I have uploaded my presentations in (Powerpoint for Mac- .pptx)has not been changed and I can view the powerpoints in that format no matter what type of computer I am on. I feel that the website is easy to use and I will definitely use it again.

Youtube was used in this stage of our project to look for inspiration. We viewed previous Media Coursework pieces both from Chenderit and other schools, as well as the trailers of films that we wanted to be similar to ours, such as (500) Days of Summer. We also found inspiration in a music video for a song with the title of our film; the song is The Story Of Us by Taylor Swift.




Production


Digital Camcorders


Jessie and I enjoyed taking turns in operating our digital camera. Neither of us had properly used one before and I really enjoyed how easily the camera was to learn about. We used this camera for all of our footage in various ways, including on a fixed stand, on a stand that we could turn to shoot a pan shot and holding the camera free-hand to give the sequence a more arty and 'indie' feel. The biggest lesson that Jessie and I learnt in dealing with this camera would have to be remembering to set the footage to save onto the SD card and not the camera's own memory (having not done so in the preliminary task, and therefore loosing a lot of footage).


Flip Camera


I really enjoyed using this camera. It was simple to use and its size made it easy to carry around and to shoot 'behind-the-scenes' footage with. Neither Jessie nor I had used one before, and we both picked up how to use it very quickly. I liked it so much, in fact, that I now have my own!




Post- Production

Final Cut Express 


This was another new technology to Jessie and I, and one that I am very confident in using now. I really enjoyed using this software, and was perhaps a little too enthusiastic when it came to editing our film, but we did share the task, with me operating the computer as Jessie and I decided on each detail of the opening. At first it took a few tries to get used to the program, but, as with most things, once I knew how to do it, it was easy! I would definitely use Final Cut again for any future film projects, and feel happy with the progress that both Jessie and I have made in using the software.

Freeplay Music 


This is a website consisting of many quality royalty-free music, and was simple to use as it features a search engine, so there was no trouble in finding the type of music that we wanted, the only trouble was deciding which of the many soundtracks to use!

Garage Band 


This was used to record the voiceover for our film that we ended up not featuring. It has lots of options for pre-recorded sounds and instruments as well as recording your own. We did have some rather time-consuming problems with the microphone used, which did get sorted in the end. If we were to use the program again for the same reason, I think that we would ensure that we recorded the voice in a room without an echo.

Live Type 


We used Live Type to construct our i-dent for 'Messy Productions'. Jessie took the role of operating the computer as we both made the decisions on how we wanted the i-dent to be. It was interesting to use, and I liked experimenting with the animation and fonts that were available.

Soundtrack Pro 


We experimented with the wide range of sounds and effects that this software offered us, however we found that to make an entire track that was to be the main audible feature of the film opening would be too time-consuming and decided to look on a copyright-free website instead. However, you will found the product of our experimentation on some of the behind-the-scenes footage.




Distribution

Internet Distribution 


If we were to distribute our film online, we would use a website such as Netflix of LoveFilm, as they are proving very popular with our demographic. It would also be a cost-effective way of reaching audiences across the world.

Social Networking Sites 


Websites such as Facebook or Twitter would be a great way to create a 'buzz' about our film, if we were to distribute it. Using websites such as these will be even better for us, as a very high percentage of our demographic have accounts on them. We would set up a long-tail marketing scheme such as a page or account for our film with competitions that involve the audience and other users of the websites.


Exhibition


Mind Meister 

I used this website to make mind-maps for various parts of our project. It is very easy to use and I found it very helpful, as I was able to see all of the different elements of something in one place. I would definitely use this again in both another project and in every day life to help me be more organised!


YouTube

We also used YouTube to upload our final piece onto, which involved creating an account (although Jessie and I both used her account as it was easier to keep all of the uploads in the same place). I also discovered how to use the annotation tool which allowed me to comment on our film opening part by part about how it appeals to our audience. I definitely feel more educated on how to use YouTube now and intend to keep using it and learning more about its features.

Evaluation Question 5

How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience?


For this question, I annotated the Youtube video of the version of our opening without a voiceover. Although we decided that we would use the version without a voiceover, Jessie annotated that video, therefore I used the other version.

Evaluation Question 4

Who Would Be The Audience for Your Media Product?




With the research we did when we were in the planning stages of our film opening, we came to a decision to make our characters similar to our target audience, as most teenagers enjoy watching characters that they can relate to or take influence from.

View more presentations from Molly Stirton.

Evaluation Question 3

What Kind of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product and Why?

Evaluation Question 2

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?


Stereotypical Teen Couple: I used Google to search for pictures of "cute teen couples" and the results were as follows:

Katy & Luke:I also collected some screen shots of the film opening on Youtube and compiled them together like so:

As far as I can see- despite the lack of will power in keeping their hands off each other(!)- the stereotypical teen couple are very similar to Katy and Luke in their appearance, activities and chemistry.


As far as social groups are concerned, the type that I was going for when coming up with the concept of our characters, I suggested a 'Skins Teen' style, which may need some explaining...
Firstly, 'Skins' is a very popular television show about a group of teenagers. The show's main audience is teenagers and in my opinion, the ability to relate to the characters is what makes the show so appealing and popular. Now, most of the teenagers on 'Skins' are the 'grunge' type and enjoy drinking, smoking, doing drugs and sometimes partaking in other rebellious behaviour, which is in no way what we wanted to portray with our characters. Why say that the characters are based on this show then? one might ask, the answer to which is that we did not intend on copying the characters from the show exactly, but make our characters have the sort of edge that most of the teenagers of today now have (minus the alcohol and drugs of course). We also considered (500) Days of Summer as means for inspiration for characters, since it is a very popular film with teenagers nowadays and it has been the main inspirational piece of real media for our opening as a whole. The two main characters are young, smart and quirky, which is the main image we want to portray through our characters. The female character, Summer, is strong-minded and intelligent but with a certain unpredictability that is very charming. I believe that this is the perfect description of Katy, who coincidently looks remarkably similar to Summer's actress, Zooey Deschanel! Below are their physical similarities.

As for Luke, we wanted to base one of our characters around another popular group among modern teenagers: the "geek chic" look. A style is deemed "geeky" if the clothes being worn are either based around games or comic books, or if the clothes are the type worn in an office, for example a shirt, tie and jumper. Another very popular show among teenagers now is The Big Bang Theory. All of the lead male characters are 'geeks' and we felt that Luke's character should be based on those of the cast of The Big Bang Theory with regards to looks. Personality-wise, however, we imagine him as more similar to Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, who is awkward, funny and sweet but tough. We did, however, wish for Luke to be a bit smarter than Scott, as his character tends to be slightly immature and dim at times. Below is a picture of Luke against a picture of Sheldon, one of the main characters of The Big Bang Theory, with annotations of their similarities in costume.

Evaluation Question 1

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?

View more PowerPoint from Molly Stirton

The Final Decision.

After playing both versions of our opening to a focus group of our target audience, we came to a decision to submit the version of our opening without the voiceover as our piece. We were told that a voiceover would have been good if it was constant but only having it occasionally made it seem disjointed. I am happy with the decision made, although I did like the concept of a voiceover, in practise, it wasn't what is best for the quality of the film.

The Story of Us: Final edit without voiceover

Here is the second version of our final edit. The voiceover from the previous edit has been removed and the sound levels altered accordingly. Since our rough cut, we have only made the small necessary changes that were gathered from feedback; we have cut a couple of small parts (for example the swing scene and the turning of one of the pages) out in order to get the length that was required, (as three minutes was too long for the specification) added another credit (as it looked slightly blank in a particular place) and experimented with a voiceover.

The Story of Us: Final edit with voiceover

Here is The Story of Us (almost) finally edited. We cannot come to a decision as to whether we need to include a voiceover or not, having received some feedback from our teacher saying that she found the voiceover unnecessary if it is in only parts of the film, and suggested we make two final edits; one with a voiceover and one without. We will show these two versions of our film to two small groups that have not seen it before, so they do not provide a biased decision. We will play this version to one group and the version without the voiceover to the second group as we ask the question (or something to the effect of) 'what are your opinions on the voiceover?' or 'does this lack anything in terms of sound?' depending on which version they are shown.

Rough Cut: Initial feedback Part Two

This is the second video about the feedback that we received after showing our film to a target audience.

Rough Cut: Initial feedback Part One

The Story Of Us: The Rough Cut.

Here is the rough cut of our film opening. We will show it to a target audience in order to gain some feedback and figure out exactly what changes we need to make.

Make-Up

 This is the first of three make-up looks that will feature on our main actress Amelia. This is the makeup look that she will wear at the beginning of the film in the opening scene and we considered it for the first date, but since it was during the daytime, we agreed that a bright red lipstick would not be very suitable. We like the indie look that the makeup depicts with the retro eyeliner flicks and lipstick, so we think that this should be the makeup that Katy is wearing the first time the audience will see her.

 This makeup look is Katy's 'natural' look, consisting of a small amount of foundation, eyeliner and mascara. This will be the look that Katy will have during the scenes in which she is relaxing at home and the bedroom scene.






This final look will be worn by Katy in the first date scene and the scene in which Katy and Luke first meet. It consists of a little foundation, eyeliner, eyeshadow and false eyelashes. It perfectly combines a natural and dressed up look in my opinion. It is perfect for both occasions because it is light and perfectly suited for a daytime look that is also slightly glamourous.

Final Costume Choices

Here is a short stop-motion film that Jessie and I made about costumes. It includes samples of the selected options for the daytime scenes in normal weather conditions and incase it is particularly cold, as well as pyjamas for the bedroom scene.

Costume Research

Costume research

View more PowerPoint from Molly Stirton

Classification

Jessie and I have independently looked at the British Board Of Film Classification website, and our opinions on our classification for our film differ slightly. While Jessie believes that our film will be a Universal rating, I have concluded- as somebody considering what this film would be like as a full length motion picture- would classify the film as a 12A/12 classification. The reasons that my opinion differs to Jessie's are that I am in the mindset of our target market- teenagers; most teenagers will not be instantly drawn to a film less than a 12 classification because they believe that PG and U films are for children and would not draw them to the teen culture that the film portrays. Another reason is that the film itself is about teenage-hood and the difficulties of relationships and, although a Romantic Comedy, will be oriented around teenage culture, which tends not to be a squeaky-clean Universal classification.


According to the website, 12 and 12A classified films have the same criteria. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.

Discrimination

Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned. None of our film would contain any aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail. Our film would not contain any drug use, however, some mild references would possibly be made in the script for example "She's got me so high on life."

Horror

Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained. As this is a Romantic Comedy, no horror or threat will be included or referred to in the film.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied, or appear pain or harm free.  Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised. There would be minimal/no reference to imitable behaviour, however as part of the storyline of the film would be about the break up of a hormone-charged typical teenage couple, some dramatic behaviour may be implied.

Language

Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language must be infrequent. Moderate language would be expected as this is a film about teenagers. Strong language would not be in the script.

Nudity

Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet. Little/ no nudity would occur. There is a scene in the opening in which nudity would be an issue (the bed scene) but we have assured that our actors are appropriately clothed in pyjamas.

Sex

Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable. No crude references would occur, and little/ no sexual activity or references would be included. However, it is important to consider the teenage culture of today. The only scene in our opening in which any sexual connotations would occur is the bed scene, in which our characters are talking and having an innocent pillow fight (fully clothed).

Theme

Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers. The film may feature connotations of mature themes, but nothing unsuitable for 12 year-olds.

Violence

Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification. The film would not portray themes of violence of any kind, and none would be written into the full film. Our opening contains a pillow fight, which may be seen as violent, but in context gives playful and fun connotations.