Welcome

Evaluation - preliminary to final

Since my preliminary task I feel as if I have learnt a great deal, mainly about how to get the most out of imovie on the imacs but also another key thing I’ve learnt about are the range of shots and why they are used to convey different meanings. Before my media project was set if i was set a task of filming a chase scene i would have probably filmed the chase in one long boring shot, but over time and practise with the cameras and editing on the macs I’ve learnt how to make an effective chase scene. I believe the chase scene in my final piece is extremely professional, due to the various quick cuts to get the adrenaline pumping around the audience’s body. Over the time since my preliminary my knowledge of how to use imovie has majorly progressed. Watching my preliminary task after my final piece always makes me laugh because the quality of my preliminary is poor, I made multiple mistakes, ranging from the lack of different shots, to lack of knowledge of uploading music, to poor continuity. I made a naive error and deleted a clip thinking I didn’t need it, however i did and lost half of one of the characters dialogue, so I had to improvise and get the character to say the remainder of the dialogue into the mic on the mac and add it in, i doesn’t flow at all. I have learnt from my mistakes and didn’t delete any clips when editing my final piece, just in case i needed them.

Evaluation - technology

I have learnt that technology has developed a great deal and can be used to create incredible pieces of film.  Without the hi-tech imacs I wouldn’t have been able to edit my opening, meaning the continuity would be awful, also there wouldn’t be any special effects, titles or sound tracks. Therefore technology helped me out a great deal, however I have also learnt that despite its great help it can be very frustrating at times. For example loading my footage up to an imac should be a simple process, but it was made an irritating and extremely tedious task at times, because the fire wire cables didn't work properly with some cameras and was a time consuming task finding a camera which worked with the cable.

Obviously i used the internets technology to upload all of my work on to the blog and my film onto youtube.

Evaluation - audience/ how I attracted them

My target audience for my media product is obviously teenagers, because it’s a “TEEN” horror film, however, this does not exclude young adults either. After research, including questionnaires, I found that predominantly the male gender prefers the horror genre.

If I had to create a typical member of the audience who I am targeting, I would say they would be a 16 year old boy. I am targeting young females as well; however I know that more young males would be interested in my film.

To attract my target audience to view “The Woodland Massacre” I would have to advertise my film, and as pretty much every teenager uses social networking sites, predominantly face book, I believe facebook would be an ideal place to advertise my film as millions of youngsters using facebook would see my advert



mostly good feedback



As you can see from these print screens off YouTube and facebook of my film opening, the target audience enjoyed the opening and were drawn in wanting to watch the rest of the film. To ensure only people within the target audience commented I sent a link to my film opening to people in my year. Most of the feedback was positive; I received lots of positive comments about how the film “flowed” well and was “exciting” to watch. The only negative feedback I had was concerning the music used, saying it sounded muffled.  However, in my defence I admit the quality isn’t perfect but that’s because I had to improvise due to the copy rights law. I couldn’t use artists music because of copy right, so I found covers on YouTube and used them. I used two cover versions; one was a cover of “Duality” by Slipknot and the other was a cover of “wake me up” by evanescence. I used my initiative and did what I could to provide a sound track to my opening to make it even more realistic and exciting to watch. Maybe, if I had another opportunity to film and construct another film again I could right to the artist asking if I had their permission to use one of their tracks.

I attract/adress my audience by...

When constructing my film I was always thinking in the back of my mind “what can I do to address my audience?”

The main factor which will attract my target audience is the characters, the main characters (apart from the villain) are all teenagers, therefore the target audience can relate to them and put themselves in the characters shoes, making watching the film a more interactive excitable experience.

Talking of shoes, I decided to add in a quick shot on the ground of us walking past the camera, not only does it make the film more enjoyable and pleasant to watch because the audience gets to see a range of shots but there was a more cunning reason behind the shot to attract the audience. The audience sees a close up of the converse logo on one of the characters shoes; I made sure this was visible because converse shoes are hugely popular amongst teenagers all over the world. Pretty much every teenager I know owns a pair of converse, therefore when they see that recognisable logo most of the audience will take it in and think to themselves that characters like me in a way because I wear those shoes. This is another way of communicating to the audience and making them aware this is a film targeted at them.

Teenagers are renowned for having a slight rebellious side to them and most of the audience watching will have been in a situation closely similar to the characters in my film. By this I mean getting drunk with their mates in a woods, I know I have. And going back to that idea of relating to your audience, again, like the converse, this relates to the teenagers because most of them will have done something like this before. It will leave the audience thinking to themselves “woah this could be my mates and I in this film.” Therefore it addresses them.

That’s why I made sure the vodka and converse were noticeable in my opening because instantly the target audience is set up and addressed.

I also catered for my audience by setting up narrative codes, action and enigma. There are various action codes, for example: the teenagers go to the woods, this action has now motivated the action in a certain direction, basically by doing this they have now put themselves in danger from the threat. These action codes then create questions in the audience’s minds, these are called enigma codes. For example: when the four characters split up in to twos and walk deep in to the eerie woods, the audience will start asking themselves “where are they going, what are they going to do, are they safe, what will happen next?” These codes definitely address and attract the audience because without them the audience might switch off and lose interest but by making them ask lots of questions they will be hooked to watching the rest of the film to have their questions answered.

By including a track from slipknot in my opening this will also address the audience because slipknot are a well known band amongst teenagers, weather they hate or love the band it will still address them as their music is targeted at teenagers.

Evaluation - distribute

Slasher Films...

is the name of my distribution company for my film. The term "slasher" may be used as a generic term for any horror movie involving graphic acts of murder. Therefore as you may have already guessed, my distribution company focuses largely on horror films, specifically teen horror films. I think the name reflects the nature of my distribution company. Its also an independent distributor.

In reference to the real company “Dogwoof” I’ve based my company on Dogwoof, as they are a successful independent distributor, they only focus on certain genres which include, ethical and poklitcal documentaries and I believe this is the reason for their success, because they stick to what they know and by not having their “fingers in a lot of pies they can focus on one area (genre) and succeed at it.

I think Dogwoof would be an ideal distributor for my film “The Woodland Massacre” as my film is an indie. The company distributes Indies, not Hollywood blockbusters.

Evaluation - social groups

My media product shows clear examples of social groups, gender being one of them. By having the boy saving the girl this suggests that my media product is conveying males to be more independent and dominant over females.  Obviously I am the creator of this film, however I do not share these views at all, and I am merely following generic conventions to ensure my film is realistic.  It’s typical for the male to save the “damsel in distress.” I researched the meaning of a damsel in distress …”She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue.” This hero is typically male.

My product also represents sexuality. In the film it is clear that the two characters Ellie and Brad are in a relationship, I made this clear by having my arm around her in a few shots; also there is a shot which implies they have a sexual relationship too, because I take her coat off while kissing her, then it cuts to an ellipses so the audience are lead to believe they had sex. It is a clever constructed shot as it tells the audience what happens without graphically showing them. These two characters clearly represent heterosexuality, I decided to include sexuality in my film because it’s a very large part of a teenagers life and also because pretty much every horror film includes sexual relationships. By not having a homosexual theme in my film, I’m not saying its wrong; it’s just that I want to appeal to the masses, and it’s only the minority who are homosexual. Therefore heterosexual relationships within my film are bound to attract a larger audience than homosexual ones. However, after evaluating my work and looking back I could argue that showing homosexual scenes would be highly controversial and is almost certain to attract an audience just because of the sheer controversy which would be caused by it.

Evaluation - forms and conventions

My media product uses forms and conventions of real media products; I believe I stuck to generic conventions, which gives the opening a genuine feel.  The storyline, misenscene and range of shots are vital to ensuring my media product shares the forms and conventions of a real media product.

The storyline is a typical teen horror film storyline, which briefly consists of four rebellious teenagers who steal a bottle of vodka and a tent and explore deep into a creepy forest drunk encountering an evil threat who attacks them, but the antagonist (Bradley) saves the girl and restores normality by killing the villain. I decided to go for a typical storyline as I believe subverting the conventions might have been difficult to convey in a two minute opening and would only confuse the audience, also some of the audience might not enjoy a subverted storyline because it might appear to be unrealistic and unconventional, its not what audiences are use to. By subverting the storyline I essentially mean reversing the key conventions, for example: the girl is the hero and saves the boy. This isn’t typical of a teen horror film.  Drunken teens are typical in teenage horror films, we see it time and time again, it’s purely because by being drunk they’re vulnerable and signifies to the audience they are likely to be killed. Therefore the bottle of vodka is a symbol of danger.

A typical teen/horror film setting is a gloomy woodland area, so I decided on choosing my film to be set in the woods. The setting to the film is very important as it contributes to the misenscene, so a scary setting will set the scary tone for the film. Showing its importance I named my film on the setting:”The Woodland Massacre,”  sticking to conventions and to give it that real media product feel I got my inspiration to name my film this from researching successful films, such as: Texas chainsaw massacre, and nightmare on elm street. Both of these films give away the setting from the title.

I used typical shots used in horror films, such as the point of view. which I used twice, Shows a view from the subject's perspective, because I edited in such a way it makes the shot look blurry and strongly suggests to the audience it’s a POV of the threat as the POV is chasing the distressed girl, I believe this is an effective shot because it creates great excitement for the audience as it makes them feel a part of the film, they get to view the action from the subjects perspective.

However, I also believe I developed forms and conventions, as in a typical horror film opening the audience are usually exposed to some action or form of danger to entice them intro watching the rest of the film. I have done this but I have shown quick snippets of exciting footage which the audience will later see again. Some people might argue it could give away the storyline but I myself and lots of people I surveyed in my year (the target audience) believes it attracts them even more because by showing them clips of footage which will happen later on in the film, not only do they start to build am understanding of the characters but also they are left asking questions like why is the girl running? Who is she running from?  These are enigma codes and they attract the audience to watch the rest of the film to answer their questions.

Screen shots off the imac

                     imovie                                    imovie

The imac proved to be an important tool to contributing towards my opening film project as the programme imovie on the macs allowed me to upload and edit my film exactly how I wanted to.

To ensure the editing of my filming was effective I practised by randomly filming around school, uploading the footage to an imac via the fire wire cable and then editing the footage so the film had a sense of continuity. By doing this and experimenting with the various amounts of editing techniques such as: transitions, audio effects, and visual effects like titles, I gained a great understanding of how imovie worked and how to get the best out of it, this research and practise proved effective when it came to editing my actual piece because it meant I could get working straight away without needing help and could use more challenging and superior editing techniques. I also carried out practise filming on the Sony camera I used for my actual piece, so I could gain an understanding of how it worked, therefore I wasn’t stuck when it came to filming my final piece meaning I didn’t require the help of other people, which saved time. Preparation proved essential.

 imovie’s layout is user friendly, I found it very easy and effective to use. After importing my footage, imovie instantly separated the film into the different shots and from there I cut out the bits I needed by splitting the video at the play head then dragging the cut shot in to the area below to start building my project.

Props, actors, locations, filming, editing

 

The filming was very successful, as I took time to plan each shot thoroughly, every shot was thought about and was used for a specific reason, for example: I used a high angle shot to show the girl (victim) is vulnerable, also I another example of a crafted shot I used is the point of view shot which I used twice, Shows a view from the subject's perspective, because I editied in such a way it makes the shot look blury and strongly suggests to the audience it’s a POV of the threat as the POV is chasing the distressed girl, I believe this is an effective shot because it creates great excitement for the audience as it makes them feel a part of the film, they get to view the action from the subjects perspective.

Because there were only 4 of us and I needed 4 actors for some of the shots, for example; the wide shot of the 4 of us sitting on a log drinking, I decided to use a tri-pod, it proved extremely practical because it meant I could set it up in the position I wanted, press record and act in the shot with the others. Also it ensured better quality of filming; because the camera was securely attached to the tri-pod it meant the camera stayed in the exact position without shaking.

 As I mentioned earlier there are 4 actors, with me being one of them, not only did I set up every shot but I made sure the actors followed the scripted I constructed. Obviously it was quite stressful because I made sure we filmed each shot a few times to make certain it was just how I wanted it.

                                                 Ryan Marriott    Ellie Hicks       Bradley Hines     Steven meadows

Props/costumes and make up are vital for making the film look authentic. I made sure the actor Ellie (victim) looked like she was extremely distressed and looked like she had been attacked, I done this by: Smearing her make up, to give the effect as if she has been crying, telling the audience she is upset, roughing her hair up and ripping her clothes, which will leave the audience asking questions like “How has this happened? What has she been through? Has someone done this to her?” I believe the audience will want these questions answered therefore they will be attracted to watch the rest of the film to find out what distressing eventhave occurred.            

                                                          

This prop not only gives the film a realistic effect but has a second more important motive. I made the half empty vodka bottle visible in various shots as it’s a key part to the film, as it is half empty it tells the audience the teenagers have drank the other half, and therefore maybe drunk. Anyone who watches horror films know that drunken teenagers are extremely vulnerable and are likely to be killed by the threat. This vodka bottle represents danger.

  I thought deeply about the location of the opening two minutes to my film, and the rest of the film. I decided to film most of it at Bucklesham heath, a secluded woodland area. Woodland area is a conventional setting for a horror film as they are generally creepy gloomy places and also normally isolated from the rest town/village, so no one can hear the victims screams. I also based the name of my film around the location, which tells the audience this location is significant to the film, suggests its were the threat attacks. “The woodland massacre”

I also filmed some of the film in my front room, as it introduces normality, I thought about narrative structure while selecting the locations. The front room the teens are laughing and joking about in represents safety as it is their natural environment, and the woodland introduces the disruption to the normality.

The editing I carried out on the imacs has proved to be successful; it creates a more effective film, and allows the audience to understand what’s happening more easily. For example, in my piece I have used various ellipses to show what’s happening but much quicker, I have quick shots of me zipping up a cut, putting on a shoe, pulling up a door handle and then walking towards the forest. This all happens in a matter of seconds, without the transitions I have put in between each quick shot it would leave the audience confused, but the quick white flash I have added after each shot tells the audience its an ellipsis and they can still follow what is happening, it’s a clever effect. Another example of successful editing I have used is changing the focus of the shot and making it blurrier, when ever there is a POV shot it is of the attacker but the audience wouldn’t know this without the use of editing, the blurry effect suggests to the audience who’s ever POV it is they are perhaps not human, maybe a monster because the vision is blurred like a reptiles is, or there is something wrong with that person. I have included a few POV’s and it is clear it is the threat’s POV; also I have added heavy breathing so the audience are clear it’s a POV because it gives the effect that the camera is the persons eyes and we can hear them breath, makes the POV seem sinister as the shot is of two teenagers kissing.

Bradley's coursework

Preliminary Task

Story board and script





Distributors

A Distribution company is one that is responsible for getting a film into cinemas and marketing it to the target audience. Major media companies such as Sony, Universal, or Paramount have their own distribution arm, which guarantees the distribution and therefore the exhibition, by this I mean screening in cinemas and or DVD, of their own films.

The motion picture industry is very much dominated by large and very diversified conglomerates, such as The Walt Disney Co., News Corp., Sony Corp., Time Warner Inc. which finance the development of new products, in this case motion pictures, own vast libraries of older products, and often own distribution channels for bringing these new products to the public. Sometimes the distributor will finance the movie from beginning to end and other times, they provide a portion of the finances and subsequently receive a cut of the profits.

However, independent film companies will be reliant upon a distribution company to buy their film from them in order for it to be distributed. Some film distribution companies are also independent.

UK Distributors: Despite the intensely competitive market, new distribution companies emerge every year in the UK.  Here are some examples….

Buena Vista International (UK) Ltd.A subsidiary of the Disney Empire, Buena Vista is best known for its mainstream fare (Disney/Pixar). Although a clear major distributor it’s also been known to release a few low-budget UK movies, such as: Kinky boots.

The company has been responsible for distributing massive movies such as: pirates of the Caribbean, sin city, UK tittles include: calendar girls, and Breaking And Entering.

Dogwoof

Independent film Distribution Company focuses largely on ethical and political documentaries.

Titles include: The devil came on horseback, La Antena, UK titles include: Black Gold and The age of stupid.

Slasher Films...

is the name of my distribution company for my film. The term "slasher" may be used as a generic term for any horror movie involving graphic acts of murder. Therefore as you may have already guessed, my distribution company focuses largely on horror films, specifically teen horror films. I think the name reflects the nature of my distribution company. Its also an independent distributor.

In reference to the real company “Dogwoof” I’ve based my company on Dogwoof, as they are a successful independent distributor, they only focus on certain genres which include, ethical and poklitcal documentaries and I believe this is the reason for their success, because they stick to what they know and by not having their “fingers in a lot of pies they can focus on one area (genre) and succeed at it.

Classification

-Universal, there is nothing unsuitable for children. Films under this category should not upset children over 4.
-Parental guidance, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8.

-Ages 12 and over, films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence.

-Ages 15 and over, films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong words, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and mild non-detailed sex activity.
-Ages 18 and over,  films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed

British Board of Film Classification

All classification decisions are based on the BBFC’s published and regularly updated Guidelines. The Guidelines are the product of extensive public consultation, research and the accumulated experience of the BBFC over many years. They reflect current views on film, DVD and video game regulation.

 

After researching into classifications on bbfc I’ve decided to make my film “The woodland massacre” a 15, as I plan to include violence, nudity, sex, bad language and horror. Bbfc say…

“Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail.

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’).

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.”

I believe these quotes justify my decision to make my film a 15. Also I carried out some more research and looked at existing successful teen horror films such as: Jeepers Creepers scream 3, and the more recent sorority row. These films all carry the same classification. 15. It makes sense to be influenced by these films as they were all successful with e teenage audience, obviously another clear reason for making my film a 15 is that its targeted at 15 and just above year olds.

Choosen Film Idea

Idea 1)  A group of raunchy teenagers decide to steal some alcohol and explore deep into the mysterious forest with no more than a bottle of vodka, pack of condoms and a four man tent. However, they are not aware of the fact that there have been various reports of missing people in the area and it’s believed by the locals that there is a link between the missing people and the unexplained strange events taking place in the woods. There dodgy night out in the woods turns a whole lot dodgier, and two of the teenagers are tragically killed by the disturbed villain, but the remaining boy left saves his girlfriend from the villain and kills him. Closed narrative.

I have chosen film idea 1 for various reasons, mainly because I am limited to how professional I can make the opening look. Obviously I don’t have expert cameras, equipment, settings and actors available, so I have to be realistic and make sure the idea I have chosen is achievable in an effective way. I am fully aware that I only have to produce the first two minutes; however I believe that having a solid image of how the rest of the film unfolds will enhance my opening and will be more meaningful when reading the full synopsis, and in my opinion I think film idea 1 is the best, as it is exciting and I think the majority of teenagers can relate to the situation therefore drawing them in, because most teenagers have a rebellious streak and enjoy breaking the rules with mates and would enjoy watching a film suited to them as they can put themselves in the characters shoes, consequently heightening the horror. To make sure my assumptions were correct I carried out a minor survey amongst some friends at school who are aged between 15-18 (my target audience), the majority of them decided film idea 1 was the best, this is another contributing factor to why I chose idea 1 as the film I am making is targeted at older teenagers, and the older teenagers I asked preferred film idea 1 so if I want the film to be successful I should listen to the target audience.


Beginning                                                          Middle                                                         End
Equilibrium                                                      Disturbance                                                  Resolution

Teens enjoying                                                                Leave home to set                                                           Two characters are
thier lives and                                                                   up camp and get drunk                                                   are killed but the
having a laugh.                                                                in a creepy forest.                                                            main character
                                                                                                                                                                                      saves his girlfriend