Evaluation - Question 7

Evaluation - Question 6

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

By doing this task we feel that we have developed a lot of skills and a better understanding of the basic technologies in the film industry that are used by creating our film opening. We didn't use much equipment for our film opening because of money purposes and time. Therefore, our film opening didn't look of the quality of a block buster film. However, with what we had I think the film opening turned out really well in terms of quality in the frame and sound. We used equipment such as a Canon camera, a monopod, a tripod, and computers with software. We were considering to use a mic for under the tunnel when filming as the diegetic sound was quite echoed however once we filmed the shots the sound was clear enough to understand and didn't sound too bad. I found that using the equipment was quite difficult due to it being heavy to hold which is why we tried to use as less as possible when filming. This aspect however did effect the quality of the final product in terms of stabilisation.

Camera

We decided to use this camera for our film opening because form doing our preliminary task we noticed that the camera quality can give a big effect on the look of a film. Therefore, for good quality we used a HD camera to make the film appear more cinematic. Advantages of using this camera were that it was easy to function, we had clear shots in our image and it had a built-in mic so it would record our diegetic sound. However, there were some disadvantages for using this camera such as the fact that it was heavy, the sound recorded a lot of background noise, and sometimes it would be out of focus so the shots looked blurry. We were considering to use an iPhone 6S for filming because its light, easy to handle & function, and you can still get good quality footage from it. However we could get even better quality from the camera so we chose to use it. We stored the footage onto an SD card so it was easily accessible. We were concerned about the lighting in the tunnel when filming because we were planning on filming when it became dark so we thought it might give an effect on the quality of the image. Yet the footage came out better than expected so this wasn't a problem. The main problem towards the camera we used was the focus for it. We struggled to always get the focus correct on some of the shots, especially the close-up shots, as when the actors moved the camera would go out of focus. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to film these shots again but its not a big problem as most of the shots a really clear. Overall I think it was definitely worth using this camera because the quality of the footage makes it much more like an actual film for people to watch and the audience are going to want to be able to see the image clearly.

Research and Planning

Blogger

Using blogger as a tool to plan and research made this task much easier to organise what we needed to do. As it is an online service, we could access it on any device making it easy to look back at what we have done. And it was also useful that our posts were all kept in the same place so it was easy to find and access. By doing the research and planning I think it made our film opening a lot better because we were more prepared and we looked at every aspect for our piece to make it the best it could be for example from content like the mise and shots to target audience and genre to help decide our narrative. Many of our ideas changed along the way due to not being able to use them and thinking of better ones. But overall this definitely helped us improve our work.

Computers
We used the internet and computers to help us research and plan. The internet allowed us access to lots of online resources like facts and figures and services such as YouTube and survey monkey for our questionnaire. By doing all our work on a computer, it made it quicker and easier to complete and easily accessible.

Construction

Monopod

When doing previous filming tasks, we noticed that an important aspect we needed to consider was stabilization for our footage. We thought that by using a monopod it would help us with stabilization when filming shots that involved movement of the camera. It did help us to reduce the shaky footage, however it didn't fully prevent this because by using the monopod and the camera we chose, it made the equipment heavy and more awkward to hold and keep still. Yet this only occurs during a small amount of the shots and isn't completely noticeable. Using the monopod did make filming a lot easier because it gave us more support to hold the camera. To help prevent the shaky footage we could have used other equipment such as a dolly however with not much of a budget and not much time we couldn't get or create one to use. On the other hand, we could have tried out holding the camera in different ways to give it more support and to prevent the shaking more.

Tripod

For some of the shots we did use a tripod as we were struggling with stabilisation for our shots, however we could only use it for still shots as the tripod is for fixed movement. Therefore, we used it for theses shots and it really made a difference to the stabilisation of the footage as it looked a lot better. Due to it being heavy and having too much equipment to carry, we stopped using the tripod and used the monopod instead for still shots by stretching it out to reach the ground and holding it to support it. We didn't find a tripod completely necessary for our film opening as we didn't use many shots necessary for it, however we still found it use full and we can understand it purpose for filming in the filming industry. 

Computers and Software

The editing software we used for our filming tasks were Sony Vegas Pro 13. Earlier on in the task we were struggling with creating our cuts because the computers we used weren't functioning properly. This caused a lot of issues with time because we lost some work that we had to redo. However, the computer was then replaced which was a lot faster and better at processing. The software was Alex's so I hadn't used it before but by doing this task I learnt a lot of aspects on how to use it and its functions. For example, when I made the transition where Pete walks from the car park to the park between the shots which I had never done before but I researched on how to do it and it came out successfully. I think that this software was really useful for our piece because it allowed us to use many ideas create much from it. We used this same software for creating our director's commentaries for our evaluation as well.

Transition:

To animate our introductions that included our institutional logo and film title, we used a program called Cinema 4D. Animating was quite hard as we needed to choose the right clips and pictures that we felt would be best to move around on screen. We had to edit, pan and crop all the pictures frame by frame to ensure the best quality came out. We edited it in 60 FPS for the best smoothness and movement of the intro. We then rendered it in 24 FPS which is standard film frame recording so it would match the rest of our film which is also rendered in 24 FPS that was made on Sony Vegas Pro 13.

Evaluation

Blue Yeti White Edition Microphone
For our director's commentaries, we needed to record a voice over which we did by using a microphone. This allowed us to record our voices then add them non-diegetically on top of the video. The mic we used was of high quality so our voices sound clear making it easier to listen to for our videos. Alongside this we used computers and the software 'Sony Vegas Pro 13' to create our director's commentaries.

Conclusion

We encountered many issues throughout this task with same that we did solve and some that we didn't. However, our film opening turned out well and I think we did well to direct the film at the right audience we created our film for and make the genre of our film obvious. We learnt a lot from doing this task and developed many skills and experience so we know what it really takes to create a film opening and how much there is to it. We learnt skills like using editing and animation software's, using camera equipment and we can now learn from the mistakes we made and improve on them for the future.

Evaluation - Question 5

Throughout the construction of the film, we created a lot of rough cuts to get feedback from and improve for the future. Our audience said that the rough cuts were well presented but were lacking that tension build up and of course the credits. We improved by adding in non-diegetic music to make it sound creepier and build up that tension the audience wanted in order for the scenes to look more professional. The audience feedback consisted of implementing in credits, making the split cut transition smoother, and add in more props to get that full effect. Of course we took that feedback on board, and added in the Mars Bar (for comedic effect), the gun and the suits for all characters.

Evaluation - Question 4

Evaluation - Question 3

Evaluation - Question 2

Evaluation - Question 1

In our film opening, we incorporated generic conventions through the use of mise en scene, camera, editing and sound. Through the use of mise, we made sure that the lighting, location and costumes matched our main genre of action. Through low-key lighting it brought out the characters moods and personalities, we included this towards the end of our film as it would be when the protagonist met up with the antagonist. This would change the atmosphere between and would be able to feel that tension between the two. At the start of the film we added high-key lighting to clearly show to the audience that this was the good guy and can be connoted in different forms.

The location was small and under a tunnel when the two came together, this was to set the mood and the scene as it was quite dark and deserted building up to a climax of something about to happen. The costumes were chosen specifically for each character, they had similar costumes within the top half of the clothes. They both wore a smart blazer but with 'Pete' (Josh) he was wearing jeans to come across more casual. We made 'Sebastian' (Alex) wear a full suit to make him look more intimidating and more powerful in comparison to Pete. These aspects link closely to the genre of action, as all of these characteristics piece together the atmosphere and tension between the characters.

Through the use of camera, we included two establishing shots. The first one was to start off the film and understand where the protagonist was starting out, this was to create a dramatic scene for the audience and introduce the film. The second one was to set the scene, alongside with the non-diegetic sound it created perfect atmosphere for the audience to witness. We gave the protagonist a lot more prevalence through the use of editing and camera, as we wanted the audience to acknowledge he was the main character and his important role in our film. We did this by using him in the first half of our film by following him around until he made it to his destination. We used a variety of different camera shots to make sure our generic conventions linked to action. For example, we used a lot of over the shoulder shots to feel like someone was watching him, and made it a lot scarier for the audience.  The use of sound was the final but main aspect that brought the film together, for example, if we didn't incorporate the non-diegetic sound in our film, it would have looked very plain and simple, making the audience bored and not watch it. We implemented 3 different royalty free sound tracks that were tense and slow paced, to present our film in an atmospheric tone and so the film would be complete. Without this music, it would just be us following the protagonist but with no expression and meaning. We also added in small sound effects to finish off the final touch, for example when the phone vibrated we included a small text sound so the audience knew that the protagonist got a notification, hence why he picked up his phone. The last and final sound effect we included was the sound of a gunshot, to make it sound realistic at the end scene when the protagonist shot one of the antagonists. We didn't show who he shot to make it seem a mystery for the audience to find out later in the film, hence why we added a 1 year earlier frame at the end, making the watch the whole film to see the end shot of who he killed.
Comparing our film to other action films, they both have similarities and differences, for example the difference is we made the ending scene of our film at the start and then implemented a '1 year earlier' black screen transition. The similarities between our film and other films out there is that we made it so tension was built up throughout the piece through the use of sound and editing. We created this through non-diegetic royalty free music and use of transitions.  

Our Final Film

Rough Cut 3

Miss Barber gave us feedback for our rough cut 3 which has definitely improved since our rough cut 2. The mobile phone shot was much better than it was in rough cut 1 and 2, better quality and much clearer, to improve that though we needed to make it stay on for longer for the audience to see what it said without moving on too quickly.

During the transition from the car park to the park, there is a slight line at the top of the frame where the clip has not been set to it's full aspect ratio, just a small adjustment needs to be implemented before our final cut.

Miss Barber said it would be good to fade out the sounds of smoke when introducing the title of our film, to make it sound too dramatic, this feedback will be carefully thought about when editing our final cut.

Finally, of course titles were needed to be added, but as we said in the previous rough cut feedback, we were not going to put this in until the very end for the final effect! Mrs Willcox also mentioned to add at the end a black screen with text saying 'one year later' as this would help the viewer understand what is to come next and how the story will continue from the film opening.

Rough Cut 2

Miss Barber gave us feedback for our rough cut 2, many positive notes to add in comparison to our rough cut 1.
Our institutional logo looked great and matched the film perfectly, we needed to consider sound effects for the end scene, as it sounded out of pitch with the rest of the film. We needed to add titles in but felt as if we wouldn't do this until the final cut and then everything would be finished. We needed to re-do some of the shots as the picture quality was out of focus, just some small touches to finish the final product off.
Finally, a small but annoying mistake was made misspelling the word 'association' in the opening institutional logo.

Rough Cut 1

Mrs Willcox gave us feedback for our rough cut 1, what we needed to was add in logos and titles to make sure the opening scene looked professional.
We were also told to steady the footage so it wasn't too shaky and again look professional for a film. Addition to this we needed to make the phone text much closer and clearer so it would be easier for the audience to see what it said. The transition match was very slick and clear that was well presented, but we needed to slow the footage down to prevent it from going too fast and making it look finished.
We needed to ensure our film title goes after the first two actors names to follow the conventions.

Shot Layout and Plan for Editing

We have now collected all of our shots and now we need to put them together to create the film opening. I am creating a storyboard to help organise the shots and what order they are going to be put in to help prepare for editing so we know how the film opening will run and therefore the narrative will make sense.

 Institutional logo animation

 Establishing shot, over the shoulder shot - introducing the location and themes

 Medium shot - introducing the character Pete

Extreme close up shot - introducing some narrative so the audience have an idea of what is happening, foreshadowing what's happening as we see Pete and his wife on the background picture

 Long shot - Pete leaving the location he is in

 Close up shot - following Pete as he leaves

 Long shot

 Close up shot - varied heights to make more intriguing

 Long shot, panning shot - as we follow him leaving the destination

 Wipe transition into medium shot that is zoomed in - still following Pete but in new location

 Medium shot with slight pan - behind characters so you can't tell who the other character is

 Close up shot - make the film more interesting as viewer sees from different perspective, draws more attention to the bag he collected from the dealer

 Establishing shot - presenting what time it is

 Medium shot, tracking shot - as Pete begins to arrive at the destination

 Close up - on bag as that is what is being delivered so it is important for the narrative

 Tracking shot, slightly over the shoulder - so we can see other characters in the distance that he is about to meet

 Panning shot - as Pete arrives to meet Sebastian and the Guard

 Over the shoulder shot - Pete in centre of frame as he is the important character and new characters are introduced

 Close up using 180 degree rule - as Sebastian speaks

 Medium shot using 180 degree rule

 Long over the shoulder shot using 180 degree rule - so the viewer can see all the characters in action

 Long shot using 180 degree rule with slight pan - as he gives the package

 Medium shot

 Close up - on Pete as he gets more concerned

 Medium shot - both share shot as they become weaker characters in the situation (less dominant)

 Close up using 180 degree rule, 1st shot in a shot reverse shot - Pete becoming more dominant

 Close up using 180 degree rule, 2nd shot in shot reverse shot - Sebastian becoming weaker

 Medium shot using 180 degree rule, 3rd shot in shot reverse shot - Pete becomes dominant as he reaches for gun and begins to trick Sebastain

 Medium shot - as Sebastian opens package

 Extreme close up - so the audience can see what was in the package

 Medium shot - on characters as they are no longer dominant and realised they have been tricked

Medium shot - on Pete as he shoots but we don't see who he shoots leaving a cliff hanger