Evaluation activity 6

Below is a list of the different technologies that we used to enable us to create the final product, the two minute opening to our film. We used various websites and various pieces of equipment to ensure that our film opening reaches a good quality. 

Camera: This was by far the most important aspect to our film, we used the Nikon D5000 camera as we knew it is a DSLR, therefore it is of high quality. This camera was very easy to use and provided us with film of good quality. The only minor difficulty with the camera was the fact that it did not allow us to use a deep focus effect which we had initially planned on doing by filming the Christmas lights. 

Tripod: The tripod was another element in our filming, this was because without the tripod our shots would have been quite shaky. The tripod also allowed us to use a smooth tracking shot for the shot of our main character crossing the road and the shot of her leaving the station. This really helped to make the quality of the filming higher.

Recording studio: We decided to record our monologue at a professional recording studio to ensure that the sound is of good quality. Using a set of headphones and a microphone, Lauren read the monologue for us and it was recorded and sent to us through email. We were very keen on the idea of recording at a recording studio seeing as our opening will not include any dialog, we really needed to make sure that the monologue sound is good to ensure that the audience do not get bored  and to make the film appear more interesting. 

Adobe premier elements: We used Adobe Premiere elements 10 to edit our film. This program offered a variety of different effects, transitions and other useful tools to make our film more interesting to watch and to improve the quality of it. In general we found it very easy to use, however when rendering our video it would only render half of it, therefore when uploading our final video onto Youtube only half of it would be uploaded. However we tried to render it again and it luckily worked. 

Blogger: We used this website, blogger, to blog about our whole filming process from our research of different film genres to our evaluation tasks. It has allowed us to put together a story of everything we have done throughout the course and to show our progression and setbacks. It has been a very handy program which is very easy to use. 

Evaluation Activity 8

Targets for next year:



Timing: One of my personal improvements is timing. From our initial ideas it was decided that we were to start filming during the run up to Christmas to make sure that the streets are festive enough for our production. As a result of various commitments my partner and our actor were not free at all during the run up to Christmas, therefore this meant that we had to film in early January. The Christmas lights still remained in the town centre however to our annoyance they were not actually switched on. We had to therefore shoot whatever Christmas lights still remained, we found some especially in the little alleys and in shop windows. Next year if I have any ideas such as this one regarding the Christmas lights, I will make sure that my group and I film earlier to ensure that we won't have any issues such as this one. In terms of our mise- en- scene I believe we ought to have used more props. It was suggested in the audience response task video that we use a cardboard sign which homeless people use to beg for money, in hindsight we should have definitely done this idea as it is very effective. 

Sound: From looking back at my preliminary task, I have become aware that sound especially is a very important feature in a film. In the preliminary task we did not use any soundtrack and our dialog was very limited. I believe we improved the sound greatly from our preliminary task to our final piece because we recorded our monologue. When listening back to the monologue combined in the opening with the soundtrack, I have noticed that the the monologue does not smoothly enter in time with the music. Next time, for the trailer, I will make sure that I make sure the timings for the monologue and music are much more precise.

Shots: We have learnt more about camera shots and how to use them in the correct way. In our preliminary task we used for example a high angle shot to show two people having a discussion. In our final piece we used a high angle shot to show our main character sitting against a brick wall on her own, this is effective as it makes her appear vulnerable to the audience. There was no proper meaning for the high angle shot we used in our preliminary task so therefore it was not effective. In our preliminary task we also used a over the shoulder shot which in this case was to indicate the audience that a heated discussion is about to occur. We used a similar shot type, a tracking shot, however in this case the point of it was to put the audience in our main characters position and give them an idea of what it is really like to be completely on your own. I also think that think I could have been more imaginative with my camera shots as I feel as though the shots I used were fairly basic shots. I also feel as though I should have used more exciting transitions to make the opening more exciting. 

Editing: In our preliminary task our use of editing was not of a good quality. The use of transitions was very limited and most of them did not fit well with the shots and looked a bit random. In our final piece however we used transitions that fitted allot better with the types of shots we used. We used the fade transition at the beginning of our film to show the scene of our main character sitting on the train. With the transition combined with the narration "This is my story..." this makes it clear that the main character is telling a story of a past experience and the fade to white effect enhances a vision of a flashback. 

Mise- en- scene: In terms of our mise- en- scene I believe we ought to have used more props. It was suggested in the audience response task video that we use a cardboard sign which homeless people use to beg for money, in hindsight we should have definitely done this idea as it is very effective. Next year I would also set myself the target of improving the lighting, the shop of the coffee shot was just too dark and did not clearly show our main character buying the coffee and the audience may find the shot misleading as they may not even be aware that she is in a coffee shop. 

Evaluation Activity 3

 

For the directors commentary I created a script for myself to read from and recorded my voice. I made sure that I answered all of the questions required and added my own findings.

Evaluation Activity 5

The Desperate Pursuit opening with annotations: For this task I added annotations so my film opening to show the shots we used that were inspired by films or TV programs we had watched. 

1) This is the establishing shot of a festive high street in L.A. in the opening scene of 'The Holiday' which we were aiming to recreate. The shot would have been perfect for our film as it shows a busy high street during the run up to Christmas. The Christmas lights are very bright and festive and there are plenty of cars on the road, therefore it conforms to the shot we initially wanted to create.

2) We were inspired by the quote which is used in the opening of 'The Boy In The Striped Pajamas.' This quote was placed here to obviously get the audience thinking for when they watch the film, the quote is eerie and reminds the audience that thousands of children were killed as a result of the holocaust. We wanted to create a similar effect however our story line is not as powerful as the story line of The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. We decided too open our film with the definition of Hope. We believe this makes the audience think of all the luxury things they have in their life however when they see the definition of hope, it reminds them that for some people hope is all they have got. 

3) For the introduction of our film title, we were inspired by the way the title for the film 'The Holiday' appears. We liked the simple font and choice of colour and also the basic transition between the two scenes so therefore this inspired us to use a simple font for out own title.

4) This shot is a shot from the TV program 'Life Unexpected.' The shot shows a young woman waiting at a set of traffic lights. We were inspired by this shot to use in our own film as it shows a busy crowed, this shot is exactly what we wanted to recreate when shooting our own film. 

5) This mid shot is very similar to the tracking shot we used to film out main character walking up the high street. We decided that the tracking shot effectively gives the character the main focus and helps to make the audience aware of their situation by seeing things from their perspective. 

Audience response task

For this task I had to discuss the result of the filming with other groups in my class and film the discussion between us. Unfortunately my partner was absent on the day of the discussion, therefore I had to speak on behalf of her. To start off the task I showed my film opening to the two groups through Youtube. After watching it they were set various questions to ask me and I would try to answer them in good detail however as it was a discussion, some of the questions I was asked were not on the list of set questions. 

Question 1: "How have you adhered to the genre of your film opening?" I don't believe I handled this question as well as I could have simple because I did not give the best examples when referring to films that also open with monologues I accidentally stated that Forrest Gump and Titanic open with monologues. I meant that they both open with quite simple music to convey the focus of Drama films being on ordinary people and their stories. The examples which I should have given that I have talked about in other pieces of work include The Holiday, My Sisters Keeper and The Blind Side. The monologues used in these films are effective in conveying the character's state of mind and to introduce them.

Question 2: "What did you think was effective about camera composition and what could have been improved?" I think I handled this question better than the last one because mentioned both the key shots, the over the shoulder shot and the high angle shot. I explained that the over the shoulder shot is effective in putting the audience into her position and see what the world looks like from her perspective being lonely. I mentioned the high angle shot makes her look vulnerable, and with the main character living on the streets this also helps to convey her feelings. 

Question 3: "What do you think was effective about the editing and the titles and what could you have improved on?" The groups did not get the chance to see the completed film opening with titles due to my partners absence. The second piece which had better titles was not uploaded onto Youtube which meant that it was saved onto her computer. I had to show the groups the original piece. I mentioned that I should have used more of a variety of to make transitions between different scenes more interesting to watch.

Question 4: "What do you think about the narrative structure of the film?" I struggled to answer this question however I mentioned that most Drama films open with monologues. Monologues are effective in introducing the main character, I could have also mentioned that our Drama film is focused on just one individual, this is common in other drama films including 'Forrest Gump.'

Question 5: "What do you think was good about the use of mise-en-scene and what could you have improved on?" I mentioned that we did not use enough props, we only really used for props a sleeping bag and coffee cup. One of the group members mentioned that we could have used a cardboard sign that most homeless people holdup to make members of the public sympathize with them and give them money. We had various issues involving the lighting, our shot through the coffee shop window did not clearly show our main character buying the coffee which may have caused confusion with the audience if they did not realize that, that particular shot was taken inside a coffee shop. 

Question 6: "Do you think this production is conventional?" I answered that I think it is, however after watching the opening several times again I do not think it is conventional. The film is quite unusual in comparison to various block busters where mainly Action and Horror films dominate the box office. Our film is most likely to be similar to 'The Kings Speech' in terms of budget and this film started out only opening in four cinemas in the USA, however as a result of it's popularity it soon opened in more than a thousand. This popularity was because of the cultural heritage theme in the film, I believe our film will only reach a small audience due to the unusual story line. 

Film Production Mark

The mark you received at moderation for the Film Production is a Level 4 - 48/60.

Targets: edit and shorten 'the hope' frame, it is on the screen for too long.

Include titles throughout the film: titles for the actresses, editor, producer, director (the last name featured at the end of the two minutes.)

Evaluation Activity 4