Thursday 26 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(8)

When I started to work on the project, with Kayleigh, I was very excited to film and edit. We had many great ideas to choose from and we chose the one that sounded the most realistic to film. Kayleigh was very helpful at the beginning, but as time went by she was unable to help with the filming, editing and everything else. This was because of some uncontrollable circumstances that were out of my hands. I think if I was to create this media product again, I would work by myself as I would not want to rely on anybody. This is because when we had planned to film, Kayleigh cancelled a number of times. This made me fall back in filming, which then made me fall behind in editing. I do regret choosing a partner, however, Kayleigh really helped with creating the narrative and aided me in building on the storyline.
What things that went well during the duration of the media product was the constructing of the narrative and I think the editing. The narrative was engaging and people were interested in it, which was shown by the feedback from the pitch we presented. The editing went well because I found it easy to use Final Cut Pro although the footage was a disadvantage. I think that I could have gotten better footage and made more of a structure for the title sequence if given more time. This would have made it more interesting and it would have dragged on for less.

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(7)

Evaluation Part 7 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
For my title sequence, I have borrowed a DSLR Canon 500D and a tripod from school. This is to ensure that my title sequence looks professional and has a high resolution, which will make the title sequence have better quality. At first I was unsure if I would be able to use it correctly or not, but when I released it was very similar to the one I have at home, I became more confident in using it. I also learnt how to change the focus manually instead of having it on automatic, and overall I learnt how to use the camera in the ways I needed to. However, I do want to learn more about the camera and how it works, so I can try to take advantage of all the features on the camera.
I decided to keep the camera on the tripod throughout the whole title sequence because I thought that would look better then hand holding it. This is because having my title sequence still will make it look steady and unified. The techniques I used when using the tripod and the camera were panning, pulling focus and shooting from different angles.
For the title sequence, I wanted to get close ups of the characters picking up props, which emphasised the props and their connotions. The props connoted the action and violence in the Action Thriller genre. Having the characters pick up the guns and the masks, it shows the action and the violence, and also the mystery.
On the bank scene, I panned to show the banks in the city. I really like this shot because, it gave the title sequence an edgy look. The pan also allowed the audience to know where the girls were and it connoted that the girls were about to rob the bank. This shows the audience that the girls are bank robbers.
Me using Final Cut Pro on this task was not the first time I have used the application. I have had previous experience in using the application and have got the hang of it. Although, I did learn how to use new tools, that I didn't know how to use. For example the colour contrast 3-way, which allowed you to change the contrast in the footage to make the title sequence lighter, darker or with a hint of a different colour. Again, I did wish I learnt more about Final Cut Pro, so I could use it to the full extent.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(5)

Evaluation Part 5 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?


Monday 23 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(6)

Evaluation Part 6 - How did you attract your audience?
The target audience for the film was men aged 18 - 40, and girls aged 15 - 25, but over all 15 - 40 year olds.
I think I have reached the target audience that we were aiming for because our title sequence has codes and conventions of an Action Thriller film, which 15 to 40 year olds would be interested in.
When we were creating the title sequence, I kept in mind the target audience and ensured I was thinking about them when adding in features. I was thinking about what they would like to see and what would they want the title sequence to look like. I was able to use myself as a reference as I fall under the age bracket of the title sequence. As I am sixteen, I included iconography I would like to watch in an Action Thriller film.
I think we attacked the male audience with the codes and conventions we used to convey action and violence. The different guns that were shown in the title sequence conveyed the action side of the film and showed the violence that would happen. The female gaze theory would have also engaged men as they would be attracted to the women in the title sequence, as they are sexualised with them wearing make up and black clothing, which can sometimes be promiscuous.
The violence and sexual content in the film is why I set the age rating as 15. This is not shown in the title sequence but would have been in the film, if made. If we made the age rating 18, then we would be cutting out most of out target audience, which would make the film less successful.

Sunday 22 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(4)

Evaluation Part 4 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Saturday 21 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(3)

Evaluation Part 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?


Friday 20 March 2015

Thursday 19 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Evaluation(1)

Evaluation Part 1 - Brief
The brief that we were given was to make a title sequence that was constructed from the narrative that we had to create. This task allowed us to work alone or in a group, with a maximum of four. I chose to work in a pair with Kayleigh. For the title sequence we needed to film and edit the whole by ourselves. The requirements for this task were that it had to be two minutes long with the minimum of ten shots. We also needed to include diegetic or non-diegetic sound to pull the title sequence together. Whilst creating our narrative, planning to make the title sequence and making the title sequence, we had to document everything we did by writing blog posts on our blogs.  
The narrative that we had to create could be any genre of our choice. Kayleigh and I choose to construct a narrative and title sequence on the Action Thriller genre. We thought Action Thriller would be a good genre to choose it would be easy to convey with the codes and conventions.

Our narrative is a duel narrative between four girls, who rob banks with their intelligence and well-thought out plans, and a detective, who becomes obsessed with trying to solve the case of the mysterious female robbers.

Sunday 15 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Screening(3)

Today, we had to screen our final cut of the title sequence to the class. Below is the final cut of our title sequence.




The feedback that was given for the third and final screening was mostly positive, but also included some improvements I could have made. Below are the feedback sheets that were given on my third screening.





The only negative feedback was to have more outside shots and less make up shot. This is true because I think that having more outside shots would make it look more interesting. The positive feedback I got was that the outside shots were good and that the fast paced track went really well with the fast paced editing.

This is my final product. I have used the feedback from the other two screenings to improve it and I will not be able to make any changes.









Title Sequence Coursework - Editing(4)

I edited the footage I got from yesterday in to the title sequence. I added the man shaving, the third girl's part and the car driving down the road part. I will make sure that the speed and effects are continuous throughout the title sequence. Below are some screenshots of me editing the footage.

Title Sequence Coursework - Footage(5)

Yesterday, I filmed a man, playing the detective shaving, which added . This is because the lighting came out right and I did it from a number of angles to get a range of shots.

I also filmed the girls' car driving down the road, to show there were going on a journey, which is robbing the bank. I think adding the extra car section makes the title sequence look less boring and makes it look a little better. Below are some screenshots from the footage of the car I filmed yesterday.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Filming(5)

My teacher suggested that I should add in footage of the detective shaving before getting ready. This would make the detective more recognisable as a male, which also contrasts with the femininity of the girls putting on their make up.
I will be filming the third girl doing make up tonight and add the footage in tomorrow. I will be doing this by myself, which will make it hard to pull focus. It will be very difficult to get the camera positioning, lighting, etc. correct, but I will try my best to get everything perfect to make the footage as good as possible.

Friday 13 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Screening(2)

Today we had second screening of our title sequence. Below is the second cut of the title sequence that I presented to the class.


The feedback for this screening was very similar to the first screening's feedback, as I did not have enough time to make that many changes. Although I did add footage of two girls putting make up on and getting ready to rob the bank, which kind of shortens some of the shots in the title sequence. After the first screening I was meant to only put one more girl in getting ready, but it felt incomplete with only two of the girls in it. So I decided to film another girl getting ready and include that in the title sequence. This makes the title sequence look good because it shows how the girls are linked with their masks and guns, and the man to be on the side of law, with his badge on the gun holster and the professional clothing he wears.
I forgot to put the credits in before screening the clip, but I will make sure that the credits are put in for the final screening.




The feedback sheets gave me all the information I needed, on my title sequence, to make any improvements and changes. However, there were some advantages, people wrote down, for my title sequence. For example, many sheets stated that outdoor shots with the car were good; the pulling of the focus on some shots and one stated that the 'iconography to establish character' was good. In addition, they liked the fast paced editing and the close-ups, which the audience of my screening felt like it was building mystery. Furthermore, the title font, the different gradients and the music choice were all listed as advantages.
The improvements that could be made on the title sequence are to add the credits and too long shots. As I will add the credits in tomorrow whilst editing, I will decrease the amount of time a clip runs for. This makes the title sequence have fewer long shots and will make it more fast paced.

Thursday 12 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Editing(3)

I was just making improvements on the title sequence from the suggestions I got from the feedback sheets. Below are some screenshots of me in Final Cut Pro shortening the length of the shots and pictures of me adding credits to the title sequence.

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Screening(1)

Today we had the first screening of our title sequence. This was the first cut of the title sequence I presented.



I got a lot of feedback that I can use to improve the sequence. The improvements and the what went wells were given on the feedback sheets below. 

   

                                             





















The what went well features that were mentioned on the feedback sheets, were the music and how it suited the style of the title sequence, and also some of the fast paced clips that were parallel to the soundtrack. In addition, the shots by the o2, in North Greenwich, was complimented as they thought it went well with the style of our title sequence. On one of the feedback sheets is stated that they like the close-up and the effects. I agree with this because the close-ups show the intenseness of the title sequence.
On most of the feedback sheets is it stated that there are no credits. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time before our first screening because I fell behind in filming. This was because my partner left me to do all the filming last minute, which caused me to fall behind in editing. Before the next screening, I will add the credits of which production company is presenting it, the cast, the production designer, the composer, the editor, the producers, the writers and the director.
Another improvement that was mentioned was to keep the speed of each clip, in the title sequence, continuous. I agree with this because the clips were meant to be the same speed, but the only reason they were different were because I must have missed some clips out when editing. However, for the next screening, I will ensure that all the clips in the title sequence are the same speed.
On a few of the feedback sheets, it says that some shots a too long. To correct this I can make them shorter and split some into two or three. This might cause the duration of the title sequence to decrease, which means it will be under the minimum amount of time. However, some people said that the duel narrative was not properly separated in the first cut of the title sequence. A suggestion was made to add another girl in getting ready to rob the bank. This means I would be able to add another girl getting ready in the footage, which will increase the duration of my title sequence. By adding another girl it will make the title sequence more face paced with faster cuts because there will be more footage to use.

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Partner

Due to circumstances I could not control, my partner, Kayleigh, has not been helping me plan, film or edit our work recently, which means I have had to do it all on my own. Unfortunately, She will continue to not help me because of the circumstances, which means we will be no longer working together. I will be continuing to film and edit by myself the best I can and try to make up for lost time.

Title Sequence Coursework - Editing(2)

I have imported the footage of me, playing the role of the girl, getting ready, into Final Cut Pro. I have edited the footage into the title sequence and made sure that the footage went well with the other shots. Also I made sure that the new footage was the right speed and had the right effect on it, otherwise it would look different from the other shots and it would not look good. In addition, I ensured that no footage was overlapping and made sure that the footage was in the right laces. Below are some screenshots of me editing.
 Below are screenshots of me adding the footage in and then editing it.












Figure 1 & 2 - Adding the footage in.












Figure 3 - Editing the footage.

Title Sequence Coursework - Footage(4)

As I needed more footage, I have taken upon a suggestion that was given to me by my teacher and I have filmed myself getting ready, playing the role of one of the girls. As my partner, Kayleigh, could not make it, it made it hard to pull the focus when needed to on some shots. However, to make the footage usable I have kept to the 180 degree rule, made sure the lighting was right, shot more than one take and used a variety of angles. I will be using this footage and homely the sequence will be ready, with the new footage, before the first screening.

Below are shot screenshots of the footage.
















This is the footage of me playing one of the three girls and trying to pull the focus on the camera. Overall, I think this clip, of the focus being pulled, is good and I will be able to use it in the title sequence.


Tuesday 3 March 2015

Title Sequence Coursework - Filming(4)

I have finished editing all the footage I have filmed, but when I put all the clips together, it doesn't quite reach the amount of time I need it to. The title sequence needs to be 2 minutes long, where as my title sequence is just over 1 minute. I have decided to add another girl getting ready. This will add to the tension as one more character is being introduced. I will be filming tonight and I will try to make sure that I do more than one take from each shot to ensure I have a range of footage to chose from. Also I will use a variety of angles and use a tripod to keep it steady and avoid shakes.

Title Sequence Coursework - Editing(1)

Today, I was editing my footage, on Final Cut Pro, for my title sequence. I was able to successfully edit the footage in the order the title sequence needs to be in, but I did struggle with adding the effects on to the shots. I wanted to have the shots looking cold and mysterious, like David Fincher, but I could not get the right balance between the whites, the mid and the black to be able to get the cold, mysterious look. I had to ensure that the colour orange did not show on the shots as orange shows warmth, which is not the convention of the Thriller genre. After a while of trial and era, I finally got the collect amount of each to make the title sequence look cold and like the Thriller genre. Below are some screenshots of me editing the footage from filming.

Figure 1 - I am changing the colouring of the clips to match the genre of the film 























Figure 2 & 3 - You can see the difference between the two shots, as one looks normal and warm with it's orange colouring, and the other looks icy and cold with the bluish effect.