Evaluation

Ancillary tasks - Movie Poster

Here is our Movie poster, once again we do not show her face, as she is not representing one individual, but a whole demographic (young girls who are vulnerable to crime via web 2.0) and is therefore a symbol rather that one single individual. The shading is dark and grey; this shade best represents realism as everyday surroundings are often this kind of gritty shade (concrete and tarmac in urban suburbia etc.) which brings the audience back to reality and makes them associate our product with the real world. We want this realism as we are reflecting reality within our narrative, portraying the cyber manipulations of modern society, which extends the threat of criminals.

I created this poster on Microsoft Word 2010; the same programme I used for the other ancillary task. This was a difficult process but after getting 'movie' style fonts off 'dafont.com' it elevated the quality of the product (in my opinion). Here is a screenshot of the task on Microsoft Word, I made sure there was a blank document on the right, as this was where I inserted all of the text box's and relevant features (if I put them straight into the left document it would have disrupted the layout - as I discovered on many an occasion)

I decided to add the eye (from clip art) as it represents the idea of 'being watched' and general crime. Perhaps it is a symbol of our male psychopath character.

With regards to the reviews, I researched the reviews given on movies with a similar genre and came up with the 'quotes'. Also, I had to download the stars off dafont.com.

Ancillary task - Magazine front cover

Here is our Magazine front cover, Me and Hebe used the photo from her Instagram. This photo was originally used in her photography (AS Level) but fit perfectly into our media project, as it represents the isolation and gritty realism we want to portray. I used Microsoft Word 2010 to produce this cover, which was extremely difficult as it is not designed for these purposes (e.g. moving text would change the layout of the whole cover, clearly as Microsoft Word 2010 is not designed for designing purposes) . However, eventually I was able to create this cover, and am fairly satisfied with the results. I feel I avoided the mistakes made in the ancillary task I evaluated previously (on this blog).

I used these effects to alter the photographs shade

Final draft of trailer 'Sweep'

Production company logo

For our film ident I opted not to adopt the concept of synergy, so did not want it to necessarily reflect the direct themes addressed in our trailer. I wanted to emphasise what our 'production company' would aim to do, which is, reflect (hence the chosen image) and echo (hence the title) what happens in modern society. This relates heavily to our film, as we are socially commentating on cyber manipulation and  the negative aspects of the freedoms which our liberal society offers to potential criminals. Some examples of the modern realities we are trying to portray are things such as cyber-bullying (which has led suicide - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26151425) and dangerous. 

The process of making this was fairly easy, I used microsoft word to make it. First I got the image on clipart then want on dafont.com to get the font (as the ones on microsoft word tend to look cheap and unprofessional). This was, in comparison with the ancillary tasks, an easy task as it required far less elements, and time. 

Day 2 of filming

For our second day of filming we planned out our goals roughly on a piece of paper by listing the shots we aimed to do. However as the day progressed the light became too dark to complete, so we had to leave out a few shots for a final day of filming. Here were our aims for the day:

-Shots of the male and female character leaving the house (experiment with a variation of distance shots)

-Male character getting in the car 

-Girl waiting to be picked up

-Male character picking up the girl; film from her perspective and do a pan of the car arriving, for a range of shots

-Her getting into the car 

-Car lock being turned on by male character; to make the clear implication that she was being kidnapped or 'swept'

One shot we particularly liked was the one of her leaving her driveway, for this we decided to film a still shot from behind a gate (half of the shot was the path she began to walk on and half was the blurry fence). This shot is called selective focus. This gave the idea that someone was spying and created an immediately uneasy feeling, which we felt would complement our genre of gritty drama perfectly. Moreover, the rusty, decayed and pointy gate has negative connotations; which encapsulate the dark and uneasy mood of our piece.

Another shot we liked was the static-crab shot of the male character. Here, he walks towards/into/over the camera and drops the cigarette next to the camera, this looked very aesthetically pleasing. The fact that he is above the camera reflects his oppressive authoritative role in the film. We also wanted to have him smoking to show the age difference between the two contrasting characters; him being older (the one who's taking advantage)

Sound for our Trailer

Me and Hebe decided that we would not use diagetic sound in our trailer, this is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the films supposed message is one relating heavily to the growing influence of social media (which doesn't include diagetic speech), so we thought we would reflect this in our trailer, by not including any diagetic sound and basing it on their online conversation. Also, good actors at this level/age are hard to come by, so in order to increase quality I thought it necessary to reduce the roles of the actors; removing speech from the equation. Furthermore, I believe that a trailer for a thriller should have much suspense, which, I believe, can be best exhibited through tense music and silence - not speech.

Here are some soundtracks and samples I am thinking of using for the trailer. With regards to permission, the ones I have looked at give permission underneath the video, e.g one says 'licence this for your project'. If I were to use one of these I will have to time it so that it reflects the events of the trailer; a task which I look forward to. I believe that these soundtracks will help emphasise the creepy and tense nature of the trailer.

Day 1 of filming

For our first day of filming we thought it would be best to shoot the computer conversation between the male and female character. We filmed both characters in the same house, however in different rooms (it is not visually evident that they are in the same house). In order to convey our adaptation of the binary opposition theory, we filmed the male character in a smaller and darker room; here he is lying on a bed, which adds the sexual element to the scene (done on purpose to show his intentions with this younger and more vulnerable girl). In stark contrast to the mise en scene of the male character, we shot our female character in a larger and more vibrant room, sitting innocently. 

We were fairly experimental with our shots, exhibiting a wide range and variety of lengths. For me, I particularly liked the over-the-shoulder shot for the girls scene, as it would make the ideal establishing shot. This is due to the fact that it shows the viewer everything they need to know (the female character and her conversation over the computer) whilst also maintaining a degree of mysteriousness as her face is not shown and it is peeking over her shoulder - as if we are sneeking around. For the male character I took a liking to the long shot facing him on the bed using the laptop. I believe this shot should be our establishing shot for his character, as it places emphasis on him being on the bed, and like with the female establishing shot, it shows the viewer everything they need to know and allows them to acknowledge the fact that these two characters are in conversation. We also filmed the male character lighting a cigarette (something which the female character doesn't do) due to the sinister connotations of smoking and also to contrast him with the girls innocence. 

Other shots I liked were the extreme close-ups of her hands when she was typing; I thought this would complement my future editing (whereby I will show the conversation in a typing format in the credits) 

Narrative theory

Taking inspiration from Levi Straus's theory, we wanted vastly opposing characters. Our female character (nameless - as she is representing a demographic, rather than an individual) lives a wealthy but sheltered life, only able to properly socialise via the internet as a result of this. We believe that by showing her wealth it will allow the viewer to understand why she is using the internet to interact with others. This is because, welathy young people often lead sheltered lives, and are not as socially intergrated with 'normal' society as others, which explains her activities on the internet (arranging to meet a 'boy' she has never met). We will show her wealth through the mise en scene in her opening scene: an expensive computer, big house, bright lighting and expensive clothing. Our male character will be vastly opposed to this, in that he is using a 'cheap' looking laptop, in a smaller house; his lack of wealth will help us understand why he has turned to crime and become an outcast. Darker and messier surroundings will also help, as they convey his criminal and psychotic disposition, while the brightness of the female characters scene illustrates her innocence.

                           Female Character Mise en scene            Male Character Mise en scene

Ancillary Task - Magazine front cover

In order  to create the best possible Magazine front cover I am going to analyse the different aspects of other ancillary tasks. The first I will be assessing is the one on the right; certainly possessing some good, but also some bad qualities. The spotlight helps to indicate that he is the protagonist. It also draws attention away from the realism and exposes the construction and its self consciousness. This spotlight technique is often associated with older hollywood films (black and white) which emphasise the flashy-show business style of their work as opposed to a more realistic and gritty approach used in more contemporary films. Therefore, in this respect, the creator of this front cover has perhaps made a mistake, because the light-hearted and happy association we make with the use of the  spotlight, does not coincide with sad, dark and even creepy nature of the image.

The mise en scene in this image is very effective, as the grey sky and leafless tree creates a feeling of emptiness and lifelessness, complemented by his disconnected facial expression. These factors all make the protagonist seem sad and at a loss. Furthermore, this mood is reflected in the film title 'Love Hurts'.

The font and the extra information (the irrelevant stuff down the side and at the bottom on all magazine covers) is of a very low quality. It is very disjointed and looks extremely unprofessional, with some of the film title even on the very edge of the magazine. Furthermore, there seem to be some small square images scattered around the image, surely not done on purpose. The masthead and background are certainly not things I will taking inspiration from and replicating.




                                                                     
In contrast to the above magazine cover, this cover on the right has a high quality background, and I will be taking inspiration from it. The quality of font is much better than the previous cover, plus, the background text does not infringe on the image. The image itself, is not something we will be trying to replicate, as it represents a different genre and does not entail the necessary mood of our film (negative, sad and creepy). The masthead is also of a high quality; when the text infringes on the image a white outline appears, which gives it a 3-Dimensional (due to its superimposition) feel as opposed to the one dimensional appearance of the above magazine cover (if you look at the 'EMPIRE' section of it)

Overall, we will take inspiration from particular aspects of both of the above covers; the image from the first one and the quality of text/background of the second.







These covers in relation to the mark scheme

- The 'Empire' cover is all in all at a low 'basic' level, and in my opinion, it is a 3/10. It does have a few strengths; the mise en scene (especially the colour, figure and lighting) is appropriate. There is also an awareness of the need for variation in font, although its quality is certainly questionable. The layout is not very good, as the different aspects of the magazine infringe on each other (for instance the + sign). The ICT skills are also of a low quality (if you look at the 'splash' on the left side containing the date) and their are unknown pixels scattered around the image

- The 'Premiere' cover is of a high quality (/9/10) this is because it is strong in all areas of the mark scheme, except for mise en scene (as their is not much) - which doesn't contribute to a certain mood - and the variation of font, which remains almost exactly the same through out the cover.

Storyboard

This was a hugely rewarding experience, as it provided a basis in terms of the narrative and the different camera shots e.g you can see the close up of the keyboard (a shot we used in our trailer).

Furthermore, despite the fact this storyboard only helped us with the opening part of the trailer (as this is when the computer scene occurs), it helped us visualise ideas more easily and triggered lots of creative thought.

This was a hugely rewarding