Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Final Piece and Evaluation.


Final Piece


The Evaluation (Pt1)


The Evaluation (Pt 2)


The Evaluation (Pt 3)


The Evauation (Pt 4)


















Thursday, 31 March 2011

My Blog.



My pieces Relation to real Media.

When i started my The Truth piece i initially intended to use popular producers and actors, but still keep in the sci-fi genre. Before and during the making of this piece i thought it would work, though when i showed my teacher he said the nature of my editing clashed with my choice of actors and producers. Because my film, including it's soundtrack and other media such as images and videos wasn't in the best quality, so it didn't look like it had particularely high production values, which a film with popular actors would have. The piece looked like it was aiming at audiances of cult movies, though it did stick to story and have continuous running action. By making the choice to use these famous actors in credits but have strong caracteristics in cult movie i was chalanging the media, in that i was saying i could combine the two genre expecations. I got inspiration from Paranormal Activities, though that film didn't use particularely well known actors.

Paranormal activity trailer:



The Truth (original)



Actors:

Pierce Brosnon                                                                            Tom Cruise
               

 















So after some thinking i had two choices, change the nature of my film and editing, or change the choice of actors to slightly less known ones. I chose to change the actors, because i was really happy with the way my piece went and looked. I also made this decision in the end so that my film would be easier to market and distribute. Aswell as changing the actors i made some small editing changes to make the piece look a litle cleaner as far as editing. Though the storyline and continuation remained the same, and i was pleased with my final works.

The Truth (final edit)


Actors:

Roy Sheider                                                                             Jeff Golblum





Friday, 25 March 2011

Distributars of film.

Iv'e decided to have Lions Gate distribute my film because their studios haven't done as large number of big release films as other film studios, which will fit in perfectly with my artistic/ cult audiances. Though they are a well known and reasonably popular company, so my film should get good marketing and distribution notice. They would also be apropriate because they have distributed popular sci-fi, fiction films such as Battlestar Galactica, X Files (perfect for my initial inspirations) and The Fog. Lions Gate Eintertainment formed in Vancouver is a Canadian-American eintertainment company with headquarters in Santa Monika was co founded by Brad Pelmen and Laurie May. In North America is is most commercialy succesfull independant film and distribution company as of 2007. Lions Gate are also in convergance with the interenet video group Hulu, where it's vast library of Tv and Movies can be viewed, this could be very usefull in getting a viral audiance.

The Fog trailer:




Thursday, 24 March 2011

Character reprisentation comparison to existing media.

While looking through the exam questions for our final analysis and having discusions, we talked about social goups represented in our pieces. When we came to my piece, i said that teenagers where the represented social goup because teenagers played main roles in the piece. I also said that the teenagers whern't represented stereotypicaly, but they played the roles of much older adult characters, agnets, which was unusual and interesting. Sir told me to think of another piece that did something similar, i remembered the tv series MI High on CBBC where kids played serious roles as spys, but where still recogniseable as teenagers. So i thought it would be good to make this comparison with my piece to existing media known, it wouls also be usefull when it came to writing my my final analysis piece. Seing as sir said he wanted us to have it made up of media pieces that would answer the questions, with small sentances along side. This comparison and piece woud be usefull in answering the question "How does your media products represent particular social groups?".

Saturday, 19 March 2011

Audiance Research

For my audiance research i wrote up my final question air and gave it around to a number of different students, from that question air i found out a number of things. I heard of a program called Wordle that would make data and information look colourful and fancy. So after some difficulties with the program i figured out how it works, so i will input the information into simple terms into the program and sea what i get. After the question aires, i got inspiraton from the final analysis look over to do a video and recording of students watching my work, then their reactions. The video turned out quite well, i got some positive and helpfull feadback from the student, the recording was a litle shorter, the recording was because my other student didn't want to show his face, though i got some honest feed back from that to. Afterwards i decided after uploading the audiance research to my blog i would do another video and recording asking questions directly relating to the apropriatness of my piece to the target audiance. This research will help me in writing my final analysis.

Audiance Research video:


The response from this student tells me that their is an audiance out their that still craves for sci-fi fiction films, also that what my teacher told me about my peace not being long enough, was correct.

Target Audiance question video:
                 

After further questioning from the same student i found out that the features of my piece that he enjoyed, he believed that his friends, who share his interest in sci-fi/ fiction movies, woul be interested in to. They also watch sci-fi/ fiction films together as friends. This is good because it shows that their is an audiance for my piece. (all responses honest and withought point led).


Questoin air results:




Like Sci-Fi ? Yes 5 No 2

Seen Paranormal Activity ? Yes 3 No 4

Paranormal Activiy, opinion ? scary 2 boaring 1 Good 1

Film themes ? Topic 1 thrills 3 laughs 2 actors 1 laughs 3 Romance 1   adventure 2 exitment 1 drama 1 ending 1

Big stars ? Yes 3 No 5

Stars ? Jhonny Depp 1 Robert De Niro 1 Al Pacino 1 Keira Knightly 1

Genre ? Comedy 3 Action 3 Romance 2 Thriller 3 Fantasy 1 Drama 0 Sci-Fi 0

Sea films in, cinema or DVD ? Cinema 4 DVD4

Cinema ? quality, screen, new  DVD ? topic, home,

My film summary ? Yes 4 No 4

Like X Files ? Yes 3 No 3 Havent' seen it



Thursday, 10 February 2011

Talk from Collin Burrows on Special Treats company.

Special treats is a company that decides how many new and old succesful films are to be promoted and marketed and who to. He has worked on Casino Royal, Cemetary Junction and Never Let Me Go. He talked about what audiances expect from a film, what the producers add to the film, how to take parts from a film to sell it and the markets US and UK aswell and genres and their effects on the audiances. He showed ups a serious of clips his team had made for certain movies, aswell as trailers and behind the scenes. At the end of the talk he talked about how The Kings Speache was marketed, the film we just watched. On Casino Royal he showed us a small clip of Daniel Craige possing on a beach in shorts during filming of the film. This was a great marketing tecknique because it aimed the sex apeal at the famale audiances interest in the main character as aposed to the mail audiances in the bond babe. It also helped to get audiances to take daniel craige seriously as James Bond. He talked about how difficult Cemetary Junction was to market, because of the strong comical background that Ricky Jervaise and even Stephen Murchant had kind of ruined the film. Because the films genre was a very seriouse socioul realist period drama, and the audiances coulden't take it seriously with such a big actor as ricky gervaise. So selling a film on the producer doesn't always work in the films favour. He said on a note "he still coulden't understand after talking with the producers Ricky Gervaise and Stephen Merchant why they decided to do the film". He talked to us about how well taken Never Let Me Go was to the UK audiances, but didn't go down so well with the US audiances. They inteded to sell the film in the US and then move it to the UK afterwoulds, but this didn't work. Because the US audiances didn't understand the film, because the film didn't had a problem that didn't get solved, the american audiances like problems to be solved at the end of films. The film was all about how the people suffering fromt he problem delt with it, not how it was solved. american audiances didn't like this. Their was also a hint of Sci Fi element in the film, aswell as mystery from when it starts of when the main chast are children then to when they grow up. After all the clips had been shown and talked about, he started to talk about the Kings Speach and answer questions. The Kings Speach was very succesful in the US, because Americans like to sea the very posh and royal side of England, so the film impressed them. The film also gained notibility from the major cast, including Collin Furth who won a majour golden globe, aswell as Hellen Bonhan Carter and Geofry Rush. He answered allot of questoins, i asked allot of good questions he answered to, his talk was very usefull in helping me make decisions about my work..........



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After hearing the speach from Collin Burrows and my media teacher after hed'e seen my piece, i decided that because of the subject of my film and the style i wanted to do it in i might need to make some minor and majour changes. Because id'e decided to use some really big hollywood actors and director it meant my film would not be easily received if it wasn't a big production and didn't have succesfull movie qualities. Because i wanted to go into the direcetion of sci fi and abstract slightly artisic film. It may mean i would either need to change the way i filmed my material, or simly change the director, producer and cast to fit the genres expectatioin. I decided it would make more sence for keeping the story together and be easier if i changed my credits to fit the demands of the cult film audiance i had realised i was really aiming at from the beggining with the x files. This will make my film more easy to publicise and market, so makimg these changes will benifit my film.

Thursday, 3 February 2011

The Truth Intro/ Production Diary.

Two weeks ago on the friday instead of the wednesday (because i didn't get the opertunity on the wednesday while out with Phillip Mizen by the park at the sports centere i had the opertunity to take one of my photos for my material for the intro. The photo was the one one of a man pointing up at the sky by the road at spacecausers in the sky (editing of photo to insert space saucers). Because it was quite dark the scenery and setting was perfect, maybe the sky could be turned pitch black and the treas removed, phills posture was fine. The next week, during a media lesson i decided to take a selection of photos and a video for the material for the intro. I decided to use Vasco Xu, Sammy Radley in my work instead of my origonall choices because they decided to opt out. Though it turned out well, i first did the video with Sammy, because Vasco was buisy, after a few rehearsels of the lines he got it right. We did the final video in one take, i decided to film it sideways because it looked better and the window was more visible (so i could edit in alien face). I took a photo of Sammy in the same position with the same video camera fro the ending shot after the video. Though i wasn't entirely sure how i would turn it the right way round in final editing together. Then once Vasco was free I took a number of photos of them siting behind a desk with only apropriate clothing (mainly black), I took my shots from a variety of different positions and angles so i could get the right shot. My shots looked good and clear, so i was happy with them. Later that week at home i got my old primary school homework diary and designed a paper cover with the word "Top Secret" and no entry symbol with a space at the left for credit. Then placed it on the top of the book, wrote the words "No One Must Ever Know" on a page. Then filmed myself opening the book then zooming in on the words on the page with my HD video camera. Towards the end of the week i met up with phill at his place, using his Key Board he played me a number of tunes to the style i asked, i then recorded using my phone the ones i was most pleased with. That weekend i started to put my piece together with the media i had created. I could only do this once the videos i had done had been sent to a friend of mine for conversion. Once the videos where in the correct formate importing them wasn't a problem. First i imported all the media, pictures, sound and video. I first added the sound track, which was a combination of various recording that phill had played. Then i put the video of me opening the book on the first slide, removing the diagetic sound. Adding the credits was interesting, i found the correct font and size easily enough, i experimented for a bit, eventually placing the text exactly how and where i wanted it. Then i added the still image, i had a seperate apearance of the credit from the first slide, but withought the entrance effect, to show continuety. Then i needed to edit the image before placement, i used the background from the first still, and after cropping placed my image of Sammy and Vasco ontop of the background in black and white. Then after inserting a blur transition effect, i edited alien faces searched from google images onto the faces of Vasco and Sammy, turning the alien faces from black and blue to grey aswell. I had a credit much like the on the begining still image, entrance effect, then no entrance effect. Then i inserted an image of a flying saucer which i made sephia, with added credit. Then i inserted the video of vasco talking, his voice could be heard over the soundtrack, which was good, the credits i added where also visible. Then i inserted the still of sammy, with continuation of credit. Then i inserted the same alien face from my previous image at the window. Adding a blur transition between the two images. Then i had a final image that took some editing, inserting flying sausers that would be one colour compared to the rest of the image, making the sky all one colour was tricky. I added a credit to this image to. Then i copied all the still images in order of apearance and made stills of the videos and made them all one second long each, so it would creat the flashing effect. Then i added my final credit in large text in the apropriate font and size with a zooming out effect. In the end it all looked rather good.

After i showed sir my work he was very pleased, he said it had good continuation and was like my plans. Though he said i could make some changes, like editing out the pixelation and making the soundtrack not so live.

So i went back to editing, i decided i would re record the whole soundtrack and one sound piece in equaliser setting powerful, so it woulden't sound so live. When i showed sir he said the sound worked.

After talking to my friend i found out it would be better if i made the changes myself. After using the paint brush tool to create a smooth edge around the pixelation and even out the colours, it was easier than i thought.

The only final changes i made where to clean up the fuz at the beggining of the sound clip.

The final editation of The Truth Intro: