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

The main aim of the preliminary task was to become familiar with continuity and the 180 degree rule. It was also a good oppurtunity to gain more expereince in camera work, editing, and getting a good performance out of the actors. The preliminary video was only a short peice and only ivolved basic camera work and a small variety of shots.

In my preliminary, I used very basic editing skills when editing the footage. After watching the preliminary weeks later, I realised that when it came to editing my final piece, I needed to inlcude many special effects when editing to make it look more professional and more complex! In my final piece, I used many effects such as cross dissolve, fade to white and other transitions.

My preliminary video had a very limited variety of shots as it mainly consisted of close ups. Although close up shots is great to show a chatacter's features and emotions, I realised that my final piece needed to have a much bigger variety of shots in it. In my final peice, there are establishing shots, close ups, cut away shots, sceneray shots, mid-disatnce, long distance and many more. This made it a more interesting watch as the whole peice didnt consist of one type of shot.

My final peice contained A LOT more mise-en-scene than my preliminary video. The preliminary video had a very limited amount, if not any mise-en-scence what so ever.. so I realised that in my final piece I definitely needed to change that and thats exactly what I did - I PACKED it with the good old mise-en-scence. Some of the mise-en-scene in my final peice included the shot under the tunnel where Niall walks from the dark into the light, signifying how he's walking into a new life which will give him hope. I learnt that mise-en-scene is definitely one of the most, if not the most, important ingredient when making a film to create the certain mood you're looking for!





In my preliminary, I discovered that sound and music is a major contributor to setting the mood of the piece. The soundtrack in the prelimanry completley transformed the video from being a poor watch.. to a very good watch! The soundtrack worked perfectly with the video as is set the mood to just how i wanted it to be. This made me realise that i needed to do the same in my final peice. As I was aware that the soundtrack was such an important element of the 2 minute opening, I spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect song. I finally found a cover of the Coldplay song 'Trouble' performed by the unsigned band Obadiah Parker. The song fit the opening perectly and it created the exact mood we were hoping for.

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to address an audience, first I needed to find out exactly what that audience is, and to do that I needed to place the film within a genre. This was more difficult than expected as the film idea had elements of romance, adventure and possible comedy. This turned out to be an advantage as it allowed me to attract a wider audience.

The opening of the film is very much centered around Niall leaving home and his dysfunctional relationship with his girlfriend. I believe the ethos of this opening is what would attract teenage couples to come and see the film. Another main audience I wanted to attract and later address was teenage boys as they have the potential with this opening to relate to what Niall is going through. Every teenage boy can relate to the feeling of wanting independence, getting into trouble, and experiencing different situations, characters and environments for the first time. This opening sequence was addressing those teenage boys directly.



Although the film is about a 17 year old boy and his gritty journey to find his way, and could be easily compared with gritty teen dramas like Skins; I think the innocence of the opening (the slow start, the mystery behind where he's going, the location shots, etc.) would be something that may attract older viewers who may watch the film and see themselves 10, 20, 30 years previous and symmpathise with what he's going through.

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

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

Specialising in UK independant films, Momentum Pictures is a brand of Alliance Films. It has become one of the leading UK distributors of independant films, releasing around 20 films per year. Successful films that have been distributed in the past by Momentum Pictures include Lost in Translation and P.S. I Love You. It also ditributed the film The King's Speach which won Oscars in 2011 which means my film would be in VERY good hands. The company has recently been purchased by Paramount Pictures, which is obviously a globally well known and successful media institution.

This would be the perfect media instiution to distribute my product as it is known for specialising in UK independant films and thats exactly what my movie is. My film also has a very similar target audience to P.S. I Love You, as there is a lot of romance involved and its aimed at the couples market,  which was very successful being distributed my Momentm Pictures.

Also, BBC films and Film4 would be good as they are both very interesting in making UK youth movies and thats exactly what my film is! Similar to the programme Waterloo Road (BBC), my film is a product that all teenagers can relate to so i'm sure BBC films would show interest in distributing my Product.

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

During the process of conducting research into areas such as audience research, editing methods, mise-en-scene, costume design, music, original ideas and location research, the internet was my main source of gathering information.  

The HD camera I used to shoot my two minute opening was easy to use and produced high quality, high definition footage. Having never used a video camera before besides the odd family home video, getting to grasp with keeping the camera steady and using the tripod when possible was something I needed to learn in order to make sure my piece didn't look amateurish and unprofessional. Learning about camera angles, and therefore how to position the camera, possibly using the zoom feature on the camera was another thing that through trial and error I quickly picked up on what did and didn't look good. This enabled me to try and attempt different and maybe more adventurous shots. 

When it came to editing the software I used to edit my piece was iMovie. Having never edited before I struggled at first to use the software but having practised doing my preliminary task I found using it when editing Strange World was easy and useful. With iMovie I could cut and trim clips to the length I wanted them, add titles, create various transitions, import music, and piece little elements together to design my final cut opening two minutes. Although iMovie was easy to use and quick to pick up which was great for initial use, as I developed my skills and wanted to do more, I found extra professional tools were lacking and perhaps should have used another editing software.


To complete my answer to one of my other evaluation questions I put freeze frames into certain frames and then added audio clips of myself talking about and evaluating that particular shot in the opening, and saying how it used, developed or challenged forms and conventions of real media products. To record myself speaking I used a recording application on my phone as it was clear and easy to use, then uploaded the recordings from my phone onto my home computer, which I then converted to a format that was compatible with iMovie, and added the short recordings in over the top of my film. 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I orginally decided that the target audience would be teenagers. This is because I found out in my initial research that teenagers like to watch films where the character is of a similar age so they can try and relate to him. The main character in my film, Niall Fletcher, is 17 years of age so I was targetting this film at a similar age.

Also, reserach shows that 16-30 year olds are the most frequent cinema goers. Because of this, I wanted to aim the film at people within this age bracket to make sure I took advantage of the fact that they go to the cinema most often.

As well as teenagers being the target audeince for my product, I also aimed the film towards couples. This is because couples is a lucrative market in the cinema industry. At the start of the film, Niall is depressed about his long term relationship with his girlfriend coming to an end. The element of romace in the film will appeal to couples and younger teenage girls looking for love!

I also wanted this film to be an inspiration to teenagers, or anyone who just wants an escape from their everday life. This film shows people that there's nothing stopping people from going out into the real world and acheiving something new. Teenagers are constantly trying to understand who they are and what they desire to do and achieve. This is something that is reflected in the film (the idea that Niall can run away from home and start a life of his own, on his own).

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The main character, Niall is the perfect example of a teenager. He wants freedom, to live by his own authority, to do what he wants, to go where he likes and to do things his way. These characteristics of individuality are ones that can be seen in all teenagers and the social group as a whole.

Teenagers are constantly trying to understand who they are and what they desire to do and achieve. This is something that is reflected in the film (the idea that Niall can run away from home and start a life of his own, on his own). Teenagers often to music as a way of trying something new and different. Something Tangible that they can work with a mold to express themselves. This is one of the main reasons we decided to have Niall as an aspiring guitar player, and with very few possessions his guitar is obviously something very important to him. This enabled us to use the guitar as a clear symbol that represents this individuality. He's casually dressed in what he feels comfortable in (he wears what he likes, when he likes).

When thinking about the kind of teenager and social group Niall represents, I realised that the character we've created is actually very similar to the Robbie, a character in the recent film of the book, The War of the Worlds. Robbie is an adolescent boy around the same age as Niall who doesn't get on with his father and wants to get away and live his own life. He dresses similar to Niall and displays an optimistic view on life.

I believe teenagers, with some exceptions, like to dress themselves in a certain way that they wish other people to view them in. Some teenagers dress brightly and flamboyantly with lots of colours and different styles. Others do the exact opposite and choose darker, plainer clothes possibly because they're trying to keep their head low. This is the exact way I wanted my audience to view Niall. He's not noticed by others and he makes his journey from his house to the park because that's precisely what he wants! he doesn't want attention; he just wants to start a new, and do his own thing.

Teenagers are complicated, misunderstood, perplex beings which you would imagine would be very hard to translate on screen, but actually it allows for me to represent my character in practically any shape or form due to the diversity of the social group.

Strange World - Final Cut

AS Evaluation questions

In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:

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

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Who would be the audience for your media product?

How did you attract/address your audience?

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

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

Filming

Trying to find my director's eye.

Niall's House

Niall's House

and again..

Looking for alternative and interesting shot angles

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Musical frustration...

Camera Man

Location Research continued

I went out to certain areas around Norwich and took photographs of locations we had previously discussed and were enthusiastic about using in the film, as well as some other possible locations.

Picture 1 was the shot I was most keen on finding. This is where the opening two minutes finishes and ends and had to right. It's a plain bench, no graffiti, no litter, no rubbish bins. It's quite obviously in a park, and the natural background of the trees, the grass and the bushes give a tranquil and calming feel which fits in perfectly  with the song  we have chosen and the ethos of the opening itself.

Picture 2 & 3 are similar shots of paths and walkways within Chapelfield Gardens and for me just confirmed that Chapelfield Gardens is the right choice of location for what will make up most of our opening.

Chapelfield Gardens was a location we already knew well, and didn't need to think about too much. The real location research was to find locations within Norwich that would work well for the shots where our character (Niall Fletcher) has left home and is walking towards the park through various locations in the centre of Norwich. Most of the possible locations I found were alleyways or quiet streets, but Picture 4 is a location that particularly caught my eye as I believe it has the makings for what could be a strong sequence to fit into the opening. The bridge has the potential to be shot from below, showing Niall walking across the bridge but filming the shot from below. The tunnel below the bridge has a lot of interesting looking graffiti in it and if I was to film on a sunny day like when I took the photograph, I think a shot of Niall walking from the dark tunnel into the light outside could look really impressive.

Picture 1:   Bench - Chapelfield Gardens

Picture 2:   Scenery shot - Chapelfield Gardens

Picture 3:   Scenery shot - Chapelfield Gardens

Picture 4:   Bridge off an estate near the forum in Norwich

Character costume design and research

We want our character to suit a look of a teenage boy that loves music, has a relaxed attitude towards life, and wears casual clothes to reflect that. We want to show this in his clothing.

I've drawn a picture of the image I have in my head of what Niall should look like. The clothing is casual, and looks like someone who acts that way, but is ready for anything. His attire looks like it would be an easy way to stay warm, but at the same time comfortable, and easy to travel in.
There's another image below, which is an example of the kind of shirt/hoodie I'm looking for.

Further audience research

To get a more detailed understanding on what an audience our age is looking for I filmed or recorded five students of the 6th form, and asked them broad questions on openings and film, and then some more detailed questions that relate to my film.

Location research

One of the most important locations we needed to find was a park where the opening sequence would start and finish. This shot needs to be picturesque in order to portray the mood we want to open the film with. I suggested eaton park and Tom suggested chapelfield gardens. Both have the scenery we want to film, but we are yet to decide between the two. Each has certain aspects which we could use, and I think we could use them both, and make it look like they're the same park.

Production company - name and logo

We have decided to name our production company Optimus Productions. This is because 'optimus' is the latin word for 'the best'. And we want our project and production company to be THE BEST! We have created the logo and background for our production company which will we show at the very beginning of our film...

Our final production company name and logo. 

Music

Mat Weddle performing his version of Trouble by Coldplay

For our opening 2 minutes we needed to find a song performed by an unsigned group/artist that fit the mood and stroyline. We were looking for a slow, acoustic and a rather soppy song as it fit the mood of the opening 2 minutes. A while back we found an unsigned group on youtube called Obadiah Parker who we really liked! One of his songs particularly appealed to us and we realised that it was perfect for our film. Although Obadiah Parker is an unsigned group, we decided to send the lead singer Matt Weddle an email asking for his permission to use the song just incase he wasn't happy about it. A couple weeks later Matt replied saying he was more than happy for us to use the song for our project.

Actors

We were looking for a male aged between 16-18 to play our main character named Niall Fletcher. We imagined Niall as a good looking and rather stylish guy so that was what we were looking for when finding an actor to play the role.

In the end we decided to use Jack Gould as our actor as he fit the look we were going for. He's also featured in a small film before so he has acting experience and has been in front of a camera before. He also got an A grade in this drama GCSE suggesting that his acting skills are more than good enough. He is also a good friend so we know he is going to be reliable and he is very easy to contact when arranging dates.

Preliminary Task

Mood Board

Here is our mood board. It's a collective group of images that we feel represent the genre and mood of the film we're trying to portray, showing romance, adventure, depression and adolescence.

Opening Sequence - Our Pitch

We had to pitch our idea for our film and 2 minute opening to our media teacher and two other senior members of staff. The following week we recieved positive and negative feedback from how our pitch went:

Positives

- Fantastic location ideas
- Certainly fits the target audience
- Good overall idea
- Appeals to couples - lucrative market
- Good ude of powerpoint
- Clearly passionate about idea
- Potentially a great opening 2 minutes

Negatives

- Don't run away with your passion for the project, make sure you listen to people's advice
- Make sure you have a mix of ages...Parent actor needs to be convincing. Parents are huge facotrs in young people's lives and shape development.

Our media teacher also announced the 'top 3 pitches' and the 'top 3 ideas'... And our pitch and idea happened to be in the top 3 for both which was was very encouraging! This gave us further confidence in our idea and we believe we can make a great film opening.

Initial Audience Research

Having established that we're aiming our film at a teenage audience, we went out and found boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 to answer the following questions to give us a better perspective on what our target audience is looking for.

Five People Aged 12-18
Age	15	17	16	15
Gender	male	female	female	male
How many times do you go to the cinema each month?	2	1	2	3
What’s your favourite film genre?	Action	Rom Com	Fantasy	Comedy
Favourite Character?	James Bond	Bridget Jones	Hermoine Granger	Happy Gilmore
What’s your favourite film?	Golden Eye	Love Actually	The Lion the With and the Wardrobe	Green Street
Do you prefer a fast or slow paced opening?	Fast	Slow	Slow	No preference

Five People Aged 12-18
Age	15	12	14	15
Gender	female	male	male	male
How many times do you go to the cinema each month?	2	1	1	1
What’s your favourite film genre?	Comedy	Action	Action	Thriller
Favourite Character?	Rachel from Friends	Indiana Jones	Terminator	Wolverine
What’s your favourite film?	Role Models	Temple of Doom	Die Hard	The Matrix
Do you prefer a fast or slow paced opening?	Fast	Fast	Fast	Fast