a2 media evaluation power point 555

8/6/2019 A2 Media Evaluation Power Point 555

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A2 Media

Evaluation

Katie Dent


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In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

For my A2 media short film I decided to do a horror/thriller genre offilm, therefore using the forms and conventions of a generic horror filmwas really important. We used a dark, spooky setting for our film. Weshot most of the scenes in the old, dark part of Toms house, which isnot currently occupied. The rest of the scenes from the film were shotoutside in the forest by Toms house. It was essential that we useddark, creepy settings in order to create an intense and scaryatmosphere, which is the main convention for any horror/thriller film.In doing so, this hinted to the audience that something scary was aboutto happen, without actually giving anything away.

An example of this is the beginning shot of the film, when the camera ispanning round whilst focusing on the characters feet as they walk pastin the wood. Tom and I specifically chose non-diegetic music to createthe effect that something mysterious was going to happen during thefilm. We chose mysterious, uplifting harmony of choirs, so that theaudience would be drawn in slowly and get the feeling that somethingstrange is about to happen. I also think that me and my partner (Tom)

have subverted the conventions of a generic horror film, by the specificchoice of characters. In most horror films the female character is themost vulnerable and usually dies before the other characters...


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However, in my film the female character (Katie) shows signs that she is

stronger than the other two male characters, as she is the last

character to supposedly die. Additionally, she goes with the character

Sam, to go and look for the other missing character Shaun, which shows

bravery. Although, as both the male characters mysteriously disappear,

Katie becomes more vulnerable as she is on her own and therefore tries

to escape from the thing thats inside the house.

Use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions Continued. . .


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INTERTEXTUALITY

Key term: the way in which texts refer to other media texts that producers

assume audiences will recognise.

I have used elements of intertextuality within my short film. An example ofthis is through the use of audience recognition. I used teenage actorswithin my film, allowing my target audience of teenage boys to relate withthe characters. Additionally, I used actors within my film who the audienceknow outside of filming. This aspect links with intertextuality of audiencerecognition, as the audience personally know the actors outside of filming,

therefore the audience can bring there own experiences to my film. Thespecific scene in my film where intertextuality is represented is when the

characters are all in the same room.

The character Shaun asks if the other characters have seen his energy drinkcan Relentless. The character Sam responds no I dont drink that rubbish,

I only drink tea. This in itself is humorous but for the audience who knowSam off filming it is even more funny, as they know that he would much

rather drink an energy drink than tea. This is because they draw on theirown experiences that they know of Sam and apply them to my film. This canalso loosely link to Barthes theory of negotiating meaning of media texts.

I feel that the overall use of intertextuality within a film can beeffective as the audience feel more involved because they can relate to thecharacters using audience recognition. I think that it specifically workswell in my film as it helps to add to the humour of certain scenes and alsomakes my target audience feel more involved/related within my film.


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CHARACTER PERSPECTIVE SHOT

In my film two cameras were used. An HD SLR camerawas used specifically to film scenes in a rostrumstyle (filming from the outside, looking in onwhat's happening in each scene). We also used astandard definition camera in order to film scenesfrom the characters perspective allowing theaudience to see/witness what is happening in each

scene through the eyes of the character. I thinkthe contrast between the two cameras is veryeffective, as it permits the audience to see each

scene from a variety of angles/perspectives.

An example of when this specific camera work isused when all the characters are in the same room.The female character (Katie) is holding the cameraand filming the other character (Sam) as he ispresenting his documentary on antiques. The othercharacter (Shaun) then accidentally steps in the

way of the camera as they are filming.

The entire scene is filmed through the characterslow-quality camera, therefore there are no cutsor panning shots because that type of professionalcamera work would be done on the HD rostrumcamera. The camera is mostly medium close-upshots, as the character hand holds the camerawhile focusing the it on the other characters who

are standing close by.


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LOW ANGLE CAMERA SHOT

In this particular scene the camera

is placed at the top of the stairsin the corner, filming thecharacters as they each walk up thestairs (one behind the other). Asthe characters reach the top of thestairs, the camera pans down fromthe top halves on their bodies, totheir feet as they walk upwardtowards the camera. I think this useof specific camera work is very

effective, as it allows the audienceto see the characters walking up thestairs from a variety of angles.

During this scene the mysteriousmusic from the beginning scene isalso carried on into this scene.However, we decided to fade the

music out towards the end, allowingthe scene to change smoothly to thenext scene. The sounds of thediegetic footsteps can still beheard in the background, which addsto the overall spookiness/tension ofmy film.

The use of colour is significant in this scene. The characters move from thevibrant yellow of the wall and up the stairs into the blackness. This contrast in

colour could represent the change from a safe atmosphere to a dangerousatmosphere.


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360PANNING SHOT - FOREST

SCENE In the scene where the female character (Katie) escapes

from the creepy thing from inside the house and runs

away into the forest, I came up with the idea of doing a

shot where the camera pans 360 around the character.

After experimenting with this shot, Tom and I thought it

looked effective and added to the horror/thriller

atmosphere of our short film.

The scene starts with the female character Katie (me)running through the trees towards the camera. The female

character then stops just before she reaches the camera

(medium close-up) panting and out of breath. While she

is getting her breath back and looking around, the

camera then pans around her whole body and ends up back

in front of her. The way we managed to do this was for

my partner Tom to walk around me whilst the camera is

pointing and filming me. We did a few attempts of thisspecific shot until it was suitable to use for the final

cut of our film.

An example of a 360 panning shot in an existing film is

from the 2009 film New Moon, directed by Chris Weiz.

There is a seen where the main character Bella is sat in

a chair, looking out of the window. The camera pans very

slowly around her connoting that time has passed. I felt

this effect looked very effective, as it allowed the

Comparison

shot


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HIGH ANGLE CAMERA SHOT In this scene the character of Shaun goes to find another room in the spooky

house, for the rest of the characters to finish filming their documentary on

antiques for their school project.

There is a low angle shot where the camera follows Shaun walking up the stairs,

then he walks around a corner. The camera then cuts to a high angle camera shot,

where the camera is high up but tilted downwards and focuses on Shaun as he walks

around the corner. This creates the effect that someone or something is looking

down on Shaun, connoting power and authority.

The way in which we did this scene was for my partner Tom to stand behind thecorner and hold the camera above his head but focus down towards the floor.

Also, because we were filming in a dark corridor the lighting was too dark,

therefore we held a torch behind the camera and shone it in the same direction as

the camera.

Also, continuing this scene, as soon as Shaun looks up into the camera his

facial expression is that of terror, which adds to the eerie and scary atmosphere of

my film. Shaun then turns away from the camera and starts running away down the

corridor. The camera stays at the same height, but follows Shaun as he runs down the

corridor.


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CLOSE UP/ZOOMED INCAMERA

SHOT This scene from my short film follows on from the previous high angle shot of the

character Shaun running away from the camera down the corridor. While Shaun is

running down the corridor the camera cuts from the high angle shot behind him to

a close-up camera shot of Shaun's face. This specific camera shot is very

effective and creative as it allows the audience to see the detail in his facial

expression close-up. Also, because Shauns face fills the whole screen, it allows

the audience to see the full fear in his face. This adds to the overall

atmosphere of my horror/thriller genre film.

The way in which Tom and myself accomplished this camera shot was for the

character of Shaun to hold the camera close to his face and run with it. Whilst

running with the camera Tom and I asked him to breathe heavily and look scared.

We also asked him to hold the camera in a specific face; just below his face,

facing upwards.

I feel that this particular scene is successful in

representing the horror/thriller genre throughout my shortfilm, as the use of the specific camera angle creates an

eerie and spooky effect. This camera shot is also used in the

exiting film The Blair Witch Project made in 1999, directed

by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Snchez, where one of the

characters is in a forest and holding the camera very close

to their face, whilst talking into the camera. This

demonstrates that me and my partner have followed some of the

conventions of a typical horror film by using a specificcamera shot to create tension and an eerie atmosphere.


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CLOSE UP/ZOOMED INCAMERA

SHOT continued Comparedto scene

from The

Blair

Witch

Project


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How effective is the combination of your

main product and ancillary texts?

Ancillary Text FilmArticle

My horror film poster consists of one main photo, which is situated, in thecentre of the page. The photo itself is a medium close-up shot of the threeteenage characters. The protagonist of my film (female character) isstanding in-between and slightly in front of the two male characters. Thisportrays to the viewer that she is the main character in my film. Also, thefact that she is standing slightly in front of the other two charactersalso connotes her importance and slight dominance of her characters rolewithin the narrative of my film.

The background of the photo

is completely black, which

makes the image of the

three characters stand

more then if they were

standing in front of a

colourful background.

The film is an essential

part of my final media

product, as it helps to

promote my film, so the

better quality the film

poster is means that more

people will watch the film.


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Use of red,

gothic font

(Eccentric ITC)

for the title

and tag-line and

other texts,

connotes

danger/horror

Black

background,

allows light-

coloured font to

be put over

background,

making it easily

legible

Title of film

placed at bottom

of page, instead

of the top,

challenging the

generic

conventions

Further

information

about

directors/produc

ers/actors in

film, used from

conventions of

real media

products

Characters wearing

bright coloured

clothes stand out

from the black

background

Con-caved/warpedeffect on the

overall image,

looks effective and

creative

Positioning of

characters is

significant,represents

importance and the

more dominative

character roles

within my film

Consistent use of

colours/font style

throughout film,

film poster and

double page spread

article to keep the

important factor of

continuity

throughout my

ancillary tasks and

my main product


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Camera Technology within my ancillary texts

Also due to the background being entirely black, it meant that using a

light-coloured font would stand out easily against the background, whichis essential on any film poster, as the viewers have to be able to readthe information. I also used a fish eye lens to take the picture on aSLR camera. This gave a more rounded, con-caved effect, which I thoughtlooked more eerie and creative.

Experimental photo

using my fisheye lens


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How effective is the combination of your main

product and ancillary texts? Continued . . .

Narrative Theories

The narrative of my short film is very important. I feel that

my short film follows the conventions of Levi-Strausss

theory of binary opposites. In my film there are the three

teenagers who represent the good characters and the

mysterious person/murderer who represents the evil

character. Throughout my film the three teenage characters

are constantly being pursued by the mysterious villain, who

is never revealed.

Todrovs theory of the equilibrium; where all narratives

have five main stages also relates to the conventions of my

short film. This is shown through the structure of my overall

film. It starts off with the three teenagers walking throughthe woods, while non-diegetic music is played in the

background. The music consists of a harmony of choirs, which

creates tension and an overall mysterious atmosphere, as the

audience doesnt know what is going to happen to the

characters during the course of my film. This is the

equilibrium stage. The next stage of Todrovs theory is

disruption. This is reflected through the scene where the

energy drink can of Relentless mysteriously goes missing,thus disrupting the equilibrium stage as something has gone


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product and ancillary texts? Continued . . .

Narrative Theories

The next stage is restoration. This is when the characters try to restorewhat has happened. The scene where the two characters, who are left, go tolook for the other missing character to try and find out what is going onand why it is happening, helps to represent this. In the end another of thecharacters also mysteriously vanishes, leaving only one character left (theprotagonist). The protagonist of my film then tries to escape from theunknown villain by running away. This leads on to the last stage which is anew equilibrium, as the last scene changes drastically from how it was inthe scene in the first stage in the equilibrium.

This is the most significant scene in the whole of my short film, as itmarks the change in the narrative and shows the

audience that strange and creepy things are

about to happen to the main characters.

Realisation is the next stage in the

equilibrium theory. This is represented

through the scene where the teenagecharacters realise that something

has gone wrong because they cant find the

can of Relentless and none of the characters

have taken it, which shows that something

or someone else has taken it.


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product and ancillary texts? Continued. . .

For this scene, there is the use of medium-long shots as the camera cuts

from each characters face, as they are asking each other where the energydrink is and who has taken it. This is effective as it allows the audienceto see each of the characters facial expressions clearly. Further on in thisscene one of the characters gets chased by the unknown thing/murderer andmysteriously disappears. This also adds to the realisation that something isnot right in the house, by that fact that one of the characters vanishes.

The next stage is restoration. This is when the characters try to restorewhat has happened. The scene where the two characters, who are left, go tolook for the other missing character to try and find out what is going onand why it is happening, helps to represent this. In the end another of the

characters also mysteriously vanishes, leaving only one character left (theprotagonist). The protagonist of my film then tries to escape from theunknown villain by running away through the forest. This leads on to thelast stage which is a new equilibrium, as the last scene changes drastically

from how it was in the scene in the first stage in the equilibrium.


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product and ancillary texts?

Ancillary Text Double Page FilmArticle

One of my ancillary tasks was to produce a double page spread for an article

for my short film. My double page film article consists of one main photo

which covers the entire A3 page. I edited the photo, using the computer

programme PhotoShop, and made the whole photo black and white in order to link

it to my specific film genre horror/thriller, as it looks more eerie.

The main image of the two co-directors (Tom and myself) are in the middle of

the page. Tom is looking directly into the camera to attract the viewers gaze.

I am looking up towards Tom. This pose suggests that there is some sort of

relationship between the two people (Tom and myself). I think the overall look

of the photo looks very effective as it connotes my specific horror/thriller

genre for my film.

I then added text, masthead, smaller pictures,

sub-title and page numbers; all aspects which

existing double page spreads have in order to

be successful.

I decided to focus the context of my double

page spread on an interview with the

co-directors, finding out what it was like to

work on set and with the actors.


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Black and white photo, fits

with horror/thriller

genre, eerie overall

look

Centre photo bleeds

into both A4 pages,

keeps articletogether

White text box over

part of the photo,

shows information,conventional

Smaller photos,

showing clips from

the film, enticing

reader to watch thefilm

Small photo

of the

interviewer

Fact box,

extra

informatio

n about

the film

and the

directors

Text of

mainarticle,

question

and

answer

based

Questions

are in

bold,

answers

are normal

text,

easier to

read

Masthead/tit

le of

article is

at the top

of the page,

captures

viewers gaze

Smaller text

underneath title,

additional

information about

film


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Ancillary Text FilmArticle & Double Page Film

Article

I think both the photos which I used within my final

film poster and my double page spread worked reallywell, as both the images helped to portray what theposter and article were about. The images were clearand creative. In my film poster I used a fisheye lensto take the photo. I found this added creativity andadded an eerie effect to the overall feel of the

poster, which was exactly the effect I wanted. Howeverafter looking back on my final product, there are someslight changes I would make if I had more time. Forexample, I would edit out the light from the torch inthe photo as it overlaps some of the text, which makesit looks slightly uneven.

Also would also make the tag-line Will it even stop?more bold, so it stands out more from the background,thus capturing the audiences gaze. Moreover, I feelthat the use of lighting within my film poster isreally good, as the mixture of blue and yellow

lighting (shone from low down focusing upwards)against the black background looks really effectiveand helps to connote the theme of the horror/thrillergenre, which is important to any professional filmposter.


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Ancillary Text FilmArticle & Double Page Film

Article

I feel that the main photo which I used within my double page spread article

works really well because the main image helps to connote to the reader what

the article is going to be about (the directors of a horror/thriller film).

The audience research I collected from a questionnaire I made, said that the

majority of people I asked (mainly my target audience: teenage males) would

read my double page magazine article if they saw it advertised. This alsoshows that my double page spread is successful as my target audience said

that they would read it.

I used specific colours to help

represent the genre of my film.

These colours consisted of red,

black and grey, which were also

the main colour which were used

in existing horror film posters

and films. The red connotes

danger, black could show mystery/

horror and grey portrays an eerie

atmosphere.


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What have you learned from your audience

feedback?

Film feedback: Overall I feel that my short film was successful, from the

positive feedback I received from the questionnaires I gave out. The

majority of people said that meaning of my short film was made clear andthat they understood it fully. Also all the people who answered my

questionnaire said that the use of camera work, style and editing was

suitable for my film genre.

Additionally, one of the questions on my questionnaire asked people what

they thought my films strengths are. People said that the use of the music

at the beginning of my film is good, the build up of tension is very good,

ideal location for my film, shock value at ending of film, music fits well

with genre, variety of camera work and editing are effective and the overall

plot line is good.

However, some people who answered my questionnaire said that there are a few

things that me and my partner could do/change in order to improve our film.

These improvements consisted of changing the fonts of the credits, slight

continuity error at end of film, brightness, some parts of film are slightly

cheesy and to make the difference between character perspective camera and

the rostrum camera more clear.

After taking all of these answers from my questionnaire into account, my

partner and I made some slight changes to our film regarding the lighting

and making the difference between the two camera perspectives more clear by

adding in another scene. Additionally, as my partner and I were limited with

time we couldnt make all the changes we wanted to. Furthermore I think that

my short film is successful overall as the meaning and genre is made clear

hr h h wh l film n min n m r n r f m r w rk n


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What have you learned from your audience

feedback?

Film poster feedback: In order to gain research and audience feedback for my

poster I made a questionnaire, which consisted of a number of questions about

the overall look of my film poster. Firstly, all the people who took part in

my questionnaire said that it is easy to tell what my film poster is about

and said that they recognized it as a horror/thriller genre.

The majority of people said that the layout of my film poster was effective

however, some of the people answered that to make my poster better I could

edit the torch head out of the image, to make the light source look more

mysterious and eerie.

Double-page spread article feedback: I also constructed a questionnaire for

my double-page article, which had the same questions as my pervious

questionnaire for my film poster. The majority of people who undertook my

questionnaire answered that they liked the choice of fonts and colours that I

used within my article. Additionally, over half of the people said that if

they saw my article advertised in a shop, they would read it.

Furthermore, I did receive some criticism, saying that the lighting in my

photo was too dark. However, on my computer screen the photo in my article is

well lit, but when I printed it out it became considerably darker.

Overall I feel that both my film poster and double-page spread article are

successful, as the majority of audience feedback I gained was mostly very

positive. I think that the genre of both my ancillary tasks is easily

recognized as horror/thriller by the use of dark, eerie colours and specific

use of mysterious lighting, along with chosen fonts and a variety of photos.


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How did you usemedia technologies in the

construction and research, planning and

evaluation stages?

CAMERA TECHNOLOGY - There were a number

of specific pieces of equipment, which

were used in the making and production

of my short film. These consisted of a

tripod, an HD SLR camera and a SD

Panasonic video camera. The use of a

tripod allowed me, and my partner Tom,

to film certain scenes without anyunstable camera shots caused by things

like accidental shaking of the camera.

It also allowed us to do smooth camera

pans, which was essential in specific

scenes where the female character is

running through the forest, as we wanted

to make it look more professional by

making the camera steady. However in

most scenes, which were shot

specifically in the characters

perspective, Tom and I deliberately made

sure that we didnt use a tripod, as we

wanted to create the effect that the

characters in the film were amateurs

with cameras.


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Camera Technology continued

This was represented through the narrative, as they were only in the

house to film there antique documentary, which therefore gave theimpression that they didnt take much care with what they werefilming. In order to create this effect, we decided to use a lowdefinition camera, which contrasted perfectly with the high definitionSLR camera. We used the high definition camera to film the scenes,which were seen from outside of the action (as if the audience was

in the film itself, watching the events happen from a distance). Thedifference in quality between the two cameras made it clear whichcamera was from the character perspective (filmed through the eyes ofthe character) and which was filmed from outside of the action.

Low quality shot High quality shot


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Adobe Photoshop

(a graphics editing program developed and

published by Adobe Systems Incorporated)

I used the computer programme Photoshop to aid with the changes/development I

made to any photos (altering lighting, saturation, contrast) which were used

in both my horror film poster and my double page film article.

I also used PhotoShop to construct my

film poster and also my double page

spread film article. I found PhotoShop

easy to use, as my skills have developed

a lot since I last used it for my AS

production work last year. I also use

PhotoShop a lot within my A-Level art

lessons, which has also allowed me to

develop and hone my skills.

Using PhotoShop allowed me to adjust

the hue/saturation/brightness andcontrast of my poster and double page

spread, which I found very useful.

Without the technology we have today, it

would have been very hard to construct a

poster and making changes to it that you

can instantly undo with just the click

of a button. PhotoShop also allowed me to add text to my background photo for my poster and

my double page spread easily and effectively.


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WordPress

(an open source Contents Management System

(CMS), often used as a blog publishing

application, powered by PHP and MySQL)

I used the blogging website WordPress in order

to present and publish my work in chronological

order, showing my research, planning and

development of my ancillary texts and also my

main media product. These were all representedthrough the use of different medias, such as,

YouTube and Scribd.

Using YouTube to represent my work allowed me to

upload videos on my blog, which was very useful

for showing changes and developments I made in my

short horror film. Also the use of the website

Scribd, which allowed me to upload any

presentations I had done on the computer

programme PowerPoint, which was quick and

practical.


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InDesign

(a software application produced by Adobe

Systems. It can be used to create works such as

posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapersand books)

I intended to use InDesign for the construction and production of my double

page spread film article, however I had many consistent problems with

loading InDesign. Therefore I used the computer programme PhotoShop to make

my article. This was more practical and efficient and I found it fairly

straight forward to use, as my skills with PhotoShop have developed a lotsince I last used it within my AS production work last year.

Theimage cannotbed isplayed.Your computer may nothaveenough memory toopen theimage,or theimage may havebeen corrupted.Restart your computer,and then open thefile again.If thered x stillappears,you may havetodeletethe imageand then insertit again.


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Scribd

(a Web 2.0 based document-sharing website which

allows users to post documents of various

formats, and embed them into a web page using itsiPaper format)

I used the programme Scrib in order

to upload any presentations I had

done on the Microsoft programme,

PowerPoint onto my Wordpress blog.

As I had used Scribd in last years

Media lessons, I was already familiar

with how it works. I think having a

combination of text and PowerPoint

presentations is effective, as itdemonstrates that I can use a

different way to present my research

and also it makes the overall look of

my blog more interesting and

captivating, as I dont just have

standard text documents.


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I-Movie

(a proprietary video editing software application which

allows Mac, iPod Touch 4th generation, iPhone 4 and iPad

2 users to edit their own home movie)

In order to construct my short media film I used the Mac computer editing

software programme, I-Movie. After filming all of the scenes from mine and my

partners film, we then imported the filming that we did from the camera onto

I-Movie, on the computer. After doing this everything we filmed from the

cameras were downloaded straight into a section below the box where the clips

can be viewed.

This then allowed us to view each clip individually or

all together and select specific clips, then

drag them into the section above for our final

film. On I-Movie we could also adjust many

aspects of a film slip, such as the lighting,

sounds, speed and many more. Tom and I

experimented with these factors and decided to

edit certain scenes from our film, such asmaking the lighting slightly darker in order to

make the atmosphere more eerie and scary.

I found I-Movie fairly easy to use and found it

interesting experimenting with different effects.

I thought the final outcome of mine and Toms film was successful because when

people watched our film they reacted as they would to an existinghorror/thriller film, flinching at the scary scenes. We also received very

a2 media evaluation power point 555

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