Evaluation - Part 7

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

The final product in comparison to the Preliminary task shows a huge difference; the preliminary task was really limited and personally I don't think the quality lives up to the final product. The shots that were used were very basic and we hadn't use a tripod for some footage resulting in jolts in the piece. Filming skills have definitely improved since then as I am now aware of the different modes that can be used and how to focus on a subject etc. Editing in Premiere Pro meant more practice on the software use however which is a positive; how to piece the footage together and for it to flow smoothly and in order, cropping out anything unusual such as jolts.  The audio was also quite unclear with very little lighting in the footage - it was good to learn from the mistakes as to how to make the final product more clean and professional. Due to the Preliminary task being a group task instead of individual - the progression to the final product was huge as I was able to be independent and take charge of my own work and the different jobs.  I wouldn't say that the preliminary task was a reflection of the work I was capable of/ that's been produced; the final product was a lot more organised and I was able to apply practiced skills properly such as editing, filming and overall work on the mise-en-scene. 

Evaluation - Part 6

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

Adobe Premiere Pro

I have learnt a lot about how to use technology in the process of my film-making which included using new programmes that I honestly had not used before.  The process of constructing my product did take a while whilst I finally got to grips with using software such as Adobe Premiere Pro - but everyone struggles at first. 

• First of all - Adobe Photoshop was used so I could design the logo for my ident/ production company after important the original sketch.  I had used Photoshop before therefore I knew what I was doing and made the effective iris design through manipulation of the colours and using a smudging tool to swirl it round.  
• Adobe After Effects was the software used to create the production ident after creating practice title sequences such as the Teletubbies and other opening sequences from imagination that use the blur tool and animation; I had gained experience and could then go on to create my production ident for 'Phantasm Films'.  After playing around on the software I learnt how to use it properly setting stopwatches where certain animation would appear and end.  For example I learnt how to make an effective title with technology like this creating noise on a composition that is animated and reversing a blurred effect and bringing it into focus after the set time - adding in effective audio.
• Adobe Premiere Pro was difficult to begin with but once I started using it to edit many of the class-room tasks such as the Preliminary Task, the recreating of a film opening (Hangover) and the 'Genre' documentary.  I was learning how to edit footage by cropping it and piecing it together, using tools to rotate or change the scale of the image and adding audio/ changing audio levels.  I applied those skills into making and editing the final production and inserting the suitable audio where needed.  I also imported the Production ident from After Effects; rendering the footage as I go along for the effects to be applied.
• I also used iTunes to import downloaded audio into the Premiere pro project when constructing the final product.  
• I was capable of using the Canon Camcorder to film the footage using the tripod having done previous photography before - knowing therefore what settings should be applied in what situations; therefore I had no trouble filming for the final product.  The camera was simple to use and produced high quality footage, with clear audio. 

Evaluation - Part 5

How did you attract/ address your audience?

To create a successful thriller; it relies on slowly creating tension and building suspense for the viewer, encapsulating them through aspects such as music/ audio, the mise-en-scene, characters and their appearance, effective locations and artistic camera shots and angles.  I had researched the kinds of films that engage me - thrillers such as Friday the 13th (dir. Marcus Nispel) engage you with a flashback at the beginning shown in dark lighting and scary ambient music that intrigue the audience and make us question what we are seeing.  Contrasting the typical dark and gloomy lighting; I opted for bright yet a low key brightness that will engage the audience making them wonder why it is set like that.  Using a horror ambience sound that contrasted strongly with the abrupt silence, it makes the audience intrigued as they are being shown the reality and the flashbacks whilst the suspense and tension is being built.  The telephone ringing and tap dripping intrigues the audience - making them wonder who is on the phone, why is the character not responding etc.  This way the audience feels engaged in the film and want to watch more to find out what is happening. I attracted the audience through interesting camera angles such as above the bath tub - they can be attracted through the character that looks directly upwards to the camera almost staring the audience straight into the eyes.  The make-up used to enhance the dark eyes and surrounding bags creates the tension in the characters face being an effective element of the mise-en-scene to address the audience.  Close-up shots of the character's face bring the audience in close and makes them more intrigued as to why she is visualising those flash-backs and what the story is behind the lake that is seen - along with close-ups of the hair that again attract the audience in.  The setting alone of the bath-tub seems to be strange, making the audience question why the character is there - what the strong focus on the bathroom is - what is the story behind this character?  Attracting the audience through the visual element and the TV static of the production ident makes the audience also wonder how it relates to the film itself - with the effective titling that appears on screen.  The editing of the film is fast give a disruptive feel to the film; being in sync with the long still shots to intrigue the audience further as to why some footage is shorter than the other.  I believe that I took all of these elements into account carefully and exploiting the visual elements strongly to create suspense and tension to attract an audience as much as I can.  The end scene was also a very effective way of making the audience intrigued as to what will happen next after the character has descended into the water - with the white fade out effect.

Evaluation - Part 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation - Part 3

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

Pan's Labyrinth - 

With Room Mate being a thriller that would aim to please small audience - being a low budget film; it wouldn't live up to the large expectations of highly produced CGI films that attract a large audience worldwide - such as films like Avatar which was the first film with a gross profit of more than $2 billion distributed my a large media conglomerate - 20th Century Fox.  Studio Canal, formerly known as Optimum releasing, distributes creative films across all genres such as Pan's Labyrinth and many others; and releasing many independent films including foreign films.  I think a media institution as such would distribute my media product as it depicts the thriller genre effectively with an interesting and new plot that is emphasised by the wide range of artistic camera angles - rather than being a film of the large media conglomerates such as Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks etc. that focus largely on distributing to a mainstream audience.  An institution that would distribute my film would take into account the emphasised idea of family loss, mental state and generally the thriller genre that is shown - through illusions and imagination and how the mind can play tricks on someone.  A film such as Pan's Labyrinth presents a character that escapes into an eerie yet captivating fantasy world - which my films suggests as in Room Mate where she is overtaken by the illusions and the world in her mind.  Therefore I was inspired by a media institution that would distribute a film as such (Studio Canal/ Optimum releasing) being independent yet attracts an audience; taking into account independent film and artistic ability - Pan's Labyrinth  won 3 Oscars and many other awards which I think suggests that independent film can be successful and largely appreciated as the company grows further - rising to become one of the leading distributors in the UK home entertainment sector.  

Evaluation - Part 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The plot of my media product suggests that my character is mentally unstable.  She is orphaned; being a student  alone in a house her mind begins to trick her into believing that what she imagines is real after her family's murder.  Personally I think the plot can seem far fetched on face value - but I feel that young adults/ teenagers would be able to relate to the idea of being an 'outsider' and not having a fit mental state as we daily face troubles and obstacles.  I wouldn't say that the film necessarily represented certain social groups in society that are stereotyped under a certain category - but I think Room Mate can be related to through many things presented.

First of all - it represents females and their vulnerability.  The character in the film seems to be very disturbed and mentally unstable after the events that she has been through - her family's death, living alone with no emotional support at such a young age.  It's not like Mean Girls - a film that represents girls and their negative traits and every stereotyped group of people at that school. It's just open to interpretation.. But females - especially young adults/ teenagers can relate to a female who is undergoing depression and sympathise with her. It would represent students that learn how to fend for themselves as they mature and slowly develop into being independent adults. My media products presents a strong thriller genre - I would say that it is therefore pretty unrealistic.. Or in very rare cases would someone have to face such difficult traumatic events and if they do - they would undergo strong psychiatric treatment. It could represent how young adults who are in strong need of psycho-analysis do not have anyone to help them through therefore get progressively worse - like 'Alice' in the film who worsens over the film. In a sense it could emphasised that it represents a strong male character and the power over a female in society - as the murderer kills her family we can see that she grows more and more scared of his 'presence' that isn't really there as he invades her thoughts and mind.

Evaluation - Part 1

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

I was inspired by independent film-making and thriller/ horror conventions and to overall make a media product that would leave the audience thinking - after all the suspense has been created in just those opening two minutes.  In Room Mate I used varied and artistic shots/ camera angles to give a new perspective - unusual shots that may have not been stereo-typically have been thought of to be used.  For example the Extreme-close up shot of 'Alice's hair strand was a creative choice - making the audience question why it was there but at the same time it works - making us seem closer to the character.  I found that my opening two minutes challenged but also developed conventions of regular films and typical thrillers by repeating similar footage a few times which prolonged the suspense of the plot making it seem like it is endless and that we are about to enter the story world of 'Alice's' life.

The Last House on The Left

I challenged the conventions of the stereotypical thriller by choosing to film in bight day-light being a contrast to the usual dark-room and blood sort of thing.  Filming in this lighting was interesting and I found that it worked well in building suspense suggesting that you don't always have to have dark and gloomy lighting.  It emphasized the surreal concept of the film and that it almost looked 'clinical' which later would be explained through my character's visions.  I found that it worked well and received audience feedback claiming that it still worked as a scary opening - meeting the thriller genre expectations greatly.  Choosing to dress the character in white challenged the conventions of real media products - contrasting to typical thriller's like Scream (1996, Wes Craven) where the typical mask-face killer goes on a stabbing rampage as we lose track of how many characters have now been killed after the 4th movie.  Filming in only two locations challenges the idea of a film having a strong sense of direction (which mine does - yet it builds up) as we only see a bath tub - and a forest/ lake.  It keeps the audience intrigued and wondering what is to come next - It is important to remember that in an opening two minutes the story-line needs to slowly unravel creating suspense and tension rather than being told all at once.  My media product doesn't give away a sense of character or make the audience get to know them through dialogue which is different - it is open to interpretation by the audience through the visual aspect of the film by using a varied amount of shots, audio (music) and effective lighting.  I used the conventions of a regular thriller media product by using effective audio to build suspense - eerie sounds that enhance the visual element yet contrasting it with abrupt silence to build suspense and bring us back to the character's 'silent' reality.

Being originally inspired by a disturbing film - The Last House on The left - I feel that my film challenged that in the sense that I aimed for a more independent film using artistic thriller conventions.   It develops the scenes such as those in the forest where antics happen with family members (rape scene in the Last house on the left and murder) - with flashbacks that would slowly evolve to tell a story of how her family was killed.