Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Here i will be reviewing all of the new media technologies we have used during the research and planning, construction and also the evaluation stages of production.

Microsoft Word:

 

Microsoft word is a word processor and for us this was issential during the first stages of pre-production when we wanted to make it easy for us to transport and share the treatment with one another. By using this software we were also able to quickly make any alterations quickly, as well as make use of the built in spell checker in order to make sure we have not made any basic mistakes. This is an advantage over the previous methods of treatment writing as the old method involved using a typewriter which, should a problem or amendment occur, resulted in the entire treatment needing to be re-written.

Final Draft AV:

  

Final Draft AV is a similar software to Microsoft Word and offers similar advantages but it is specifically designed for producing Scripts. Again this meant that it became an essential piece of technology to have during the pre-production stages. The main advantage that it provided us was that it formatted the script in a proffessional, industry standard way, enabling us to become accostomed to the official layout of a film script. A secondary advantage of this software is that when the script accompanied with a Storyboard (See Storyboard Quick Below.) it can be very useful on set when trying to find the best shot angles and framing. As with Microsoft Word this software differed to the old method of script writing which again involved the use of a typewriter which would result in the document needing to be re-written if amendments were made. This digital solution on the other hand enables the user to simply open the old script and make any alterations without the need to write the entire script again.

 Storyboard Quick:

Storyboard Quick is the third piece of software that played an essential role within the pre-production stages. This software enables the user to digitally create any number of storyboards by providing a decent range of stock sketches of everything from characters, vehicles, locations and much more. As well as this there is the option to draw whatever you feel necessary so with this software you can produce an entire storyboard for a film, with every adaptation that you need, in a much shorter space of time. On top of the advantage of speed it also means that sketch artists are no longer needed to produce the storyboard unlike the traditional method which would involve a specialist team of artists sketching each individual storyboard. This method compared to our modern alternative was very time consuming and so, as i mentioned before, the main advantage of this software is the reduction to the time needed and also the accessability and userability.

Sony HD Camera and Digital Storage:

First of all I will explain the advantages of a HD Camera. The invention of a portable HD Camera opened up the world of film production to the mass market. This meant that general members of the public could produce high resolution, professional looking films whether they be for public viewing or simply recordings of life events. For us the HD Camera meant that when we came to the construction stage of the production process, we could not only record a high quality film but we were able to make use of effects that may not have been produced to such a detailed standard if they were recorded in standard definition. The best example of this being the shot in which we recorded the reflection of Chris' face in his mobile phone whilst the image of his mum is on the screen. HD Camera technology differs from the old standard definition as it allows for a much more detailed shot to be recorded. Often in many older films you will find the shots appear to be quite grainy and the pixels are easily spotted so with the introduction of HD Camera's, this was no longer an issue.

In combination with the HD Camera the added advantage of being able to record and store a film digitally onto memory cards adds a number of advantages when compared with the traditional reels of film. By storing the film on a memory card, transportation during and after production becomes a lot easier instead of carrying various films reels. The editing process becomes easier as it means the digital copy can sent via the internet (See Web 2.0) to other areas of the production company quickly. In terms of distribution this also means that the final edit of the film can be sent via the internet to the cinema's without the need for transportation of film reels.

Final Cut Express:

Final Cut Express is the industry standard software we used in order to edit our film. By taking the digitally recorded shots and editing them in Final Cut, the construction process became a much simplar one when compared with traditional methods. Whilst the traditional method would include literally cutting and gluing the specific film reels together to produce the film, destructive editing, this digital, non-destructive, alternative allowed us to not only edit our film quicker, but with much more illaborate effects and transitions which could not have been done in the past.

Soundtrack Pro:

Soundtrack Pro is a piece of software designed to record and produce sounds through a keyboard input. With this software we were able to produce our own score which could be applied practically anywhere, especially in our opening titles. This software removes the need for a range of musicians or an orchestra in order to produce a soundtrack for a film. This method being the old/traditional means of producing a soundtrack, it is still often used today, but the invention of this software opens it up to the independant user.

Quark Xpress:

Quark Xpress is another example of the industry standard software we were able to use in order to produce our products, in this case a magazine review. Quark Xpress is a professional piece of software used to design print media such as newspapers, magazines and so on. For us this software made producing our ancillary products to a highly detailed standard in a short space of time. The traditional method for producing print media before the introduction of software such as this was the use of a single copy being drafted by hand, or produced with unique specialist software and then being sent to print. This software not only makes this process quicker but also allows for a standardised piece of software that is easily accessable by a range of media companies.

 Adobe Photoshop:

Adobe Photoshop is a piece of image editing software which we used in order to produce our second ancillary product, a film poster. The range of tools provided by photoshop left us with an unlimited array of possibilities in how we could approach the construction of our poster. Compared to the traditional method of producing posters, this technology, similar to Quark Xpress and Storyboard Quick, enabled media companies to produce posters without the need for a team of detailed artists to produce a single poster by hand.

Steeltongs Font:

Steeltongs is a Font Style that we used within Adobe Photoshop. This font allowed us to produce a billing block which in turn made our poster look a lot more professional. This differs to the traditional method of producing this font by making it available to the mass market when in the past it would have been a font only available to the industry.

Web 2.0:

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.) Web 2.0 as explained in my AS Portfolio was;

"The future of media exhibition. With the arrival of Web 2.0 people are able to upload their own pieces of media to websites such as Youtube, share their work with people over facebook or even produce projects or presentations in Blogger and Prezi. Essentially Web 2.0 allows the user to store information or upload data onto the internet for use in a web browser elsewhere."

But as i progressed into my Advanced Portfolio i found Web 2.0 to be a lot more. In all the stages of production i feel Web 2.0 has played the most important role. Web 2.0 is essentially a web based environment in which the user can not only upload their own works but also an environment where their work can be commented on, taken and altered into a parody, made into a completely new genre, ie Fan Fiction, or an area in which they are able to interact with the many other users of a Web 2.0 mediascape.

Blogger:

This is the software with which we are able to produce the blogs you are now reading this from. With it we are able to upload images and videos, as well as embed a multitude of different media into one interface. Blogger has enabled me to store my portfolio of work in a professional and course related way. While scrapbooks could have been used we would have been restricted on what media we were able to show, images being the only one. But by using a Blogging site such as Blogger we're able to produce an interactive portfolio which can house the many elements we have studied with regards to television and film media.

Facebook:

Facebook was used mainly during the construction, exhibition, feedback and evaluation stages of production. First of all it enabled us to speak to one another and share any documents we had produced as well as exhibit these documents to the users of Facebook from which we were able to collect comments and feedback on what we had produced. This contrasts highly with the traditional method of exhibiting a media text. This method was and still is used in many areas of the media, for example gaming, in which the process involves exhibiting the media product to small group of people who are a part of the target audience or are experts within the specified market. Feedback would then be gathered from these audience members and then the product could be altered accordingly.

Scribd:

Scribd is an online document viewer. Once the document in question has been uploaded to Scribd it can then be embedded into our blogs. For us this played an important role when exhibiting our Treatments and Scripts on our blogs. Scribd not being the only site of its kind, the occurance of sites such as Scribd has altered the way in which we can share and transport media texts. Companies who are based quite a distance apart would have been forced, traditionally, to send media texts via courier or post but with the invention of sites such as Scribd this can be countered in a much more cost effective and less time consuming manner.

Youtube:

 Youtube is an online media player with which users can upload videos, favourite, like and subscribe to other users and also recieve feedback on what they have produced. For us as media students this played a vital role in exhibiting our short to the world. Because the internet is now a popular place for budding film makers to exhibit their work we felt that this would be the best place to upload our short. In turn we hoped to receive feedback as well as make use of the embed tool to show our first and final cuts on our blogs. This form of exhibition differs with the traditional method in the same way that i mentioned above in the segment for Facebook. Even though it is still being used in some areas of the media, the traditional method for exhibiting work is to show a pre-release before the final cut in which members of the targeted audience and perhaps even experts from the industry can sample the work produced and in turn provide feedback. After the release of the final cut of the film, the exhibition would be in the traditional format of being viewed in the cinema.

DivShare:

Divshare is a media hosting website which has provided me with the means to upload and embed two of my evaluation questions. Unlike Scribd, Divshare allows for the hosting of audio and video media, as well as images. This hosting is different compared to the traditional method of exhibition of media texts as it allows for a wider audience to view them and then in turn distribute the text further through the use of embedding, similar again, to the advantages of Scribd.

Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learned from audience feedback?

In order to receive the audience feedback that we felt would best enable us to improve upon our first cut we felt that it only made sense to show it to our peers. By showing it to our peers we felt that we were addressing not only our intended target audience, late teens and above, but showing people who are also educated in the media enough to provide valid technical feedback as well.

Below i have included a copy of the feedback we received on the initial viewing of our rough cut:

"Passion Of A Bleeding Rose" Rough Cut Feedback

Great first draft. Tremendous support from Josh's mom and great acting mom! Here are some things

for you to consider:

• Is the Binary Production ident best placed in the top left corner of the screen? Great ident though.
• After ident, music starts a little abruptly.
• Love the style of the titles, but I would like to see them fade or cross-fade rather than 'snap' shut. That would maintain the romantic feel of the titles and the romantic pace I think.
• Good choice of font for the titles; very floristy (is that even a word?)
• I didn't have time to read all of the individual titles; they go too quick. I know you are over on time, but you need to consider this (you may decide to dismiss this observation, but at least consider it).
• Camera isn't steady on the clock shot.
• Out of focus POV shot works well, but I think it needs to come into focus sooner. Perhaps accompany the out of focus stuff with a yawn so the meaning is clear to the viewer.
• Camera moves a little between the 'getting dressed' jump shots. Watch the mirror frame! Find some real examples in real films of this effect and research it.
• Good MOA as Adam leaves the bathroom.
• Chopping of music and OTT breathing effect doesn't work at 1.54. Easily solved.
• Who kicks the tripod just as Adam opens the bedroom door?
• Also, the changes in colour between the 'sleeping mom' shot and 'door opening' shot are a little distracting (sleeping mom looks like night vision lens).
• Kitchen scene a little too dark maybe. Camera struggling to focus.
• Ambient sound 'kicks' in at 2.42.
• Adam blocks mom's dialogue at 2.48. Perhaps an angle change was required (perhaps a close-up of mom's face when saying the dialogue).
• Unrealistic footsteps at 3.03; out of time with Adam's movement.
• Why is he still walking on gravel when first arriving at work? And why don't the footsteps fade as he moves away from the camera (the viewer)?
• Window and computer shots are out of focus. Are they meant to be? If so, why?
• Great shot at 3.48; the camera is the computer monitor!
• Love the zoom into the phone picture; very moving.
• Very professional crane shot of mom in the garden. Shame about the 'judder' at the end!
• Watch for changes in ambient sound when you change angle (for example, at 4.18).
• Dodgy lighting when looking up at mom picking the flower. You need to light from below to prevent her being in shadow. Contrasts too much with other shots in the scene.
• Better lighting at 4.36 (still shot from below though). Did the sun go in or something?
• Maybe we need some music or sound effect during the 'collapsing scene'. Something to represent the approaching doom of a near-death experience?
• Camera knock at 4.46 when mom collapses. Not deliberate is it?
• I think you need to show Adam finding mom collapsed so that the narrative makes complete sense. Then you can show him smelling and tossing the rose. (Don't know how this helps with the time issues though; you're already over time).
• Sudden ambient sound change at 5.41 is really distracting.
• Focussing issues at around 5.52.
• Love the freeze frame at the end. Shame it's so dark though.
• What about the credits?
• I think your issues here are to do with lighting and sound. Is it vital that these scenes are at night? Would they not work just as well in the daytime? That would solve many of your issues. Sound issues can be sorted with overdubs (including ambient sound). Also, some focussing issues connected to lighting. One of two shots require a more steady hand or the use of a tripod.
• I think a re-edit, with some rearranging of scenes/shots, would allow you to present the same story in less time. Would also give you plenty to evaluate!
• Some excellent stuff here, but occasional basic errors (including the fact there are no credits, lighting issues and it is significantly over the time limit) means that you will be slaughtered on the marking. Consequently, I'm not going to suggest a mark for the film in its current form; how would that be helpful? I'm going to wait until you've turned this highly creative idea and rough cut into a masterpiece!
• Seriously, you have the ingredients for a top film here, but you need to be more 'fussy' in the execution of the camerawork.

Below i have embeded an audio recording of my answer to evaluation question 3.

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Evaluation Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

For this evaluation question i will be embedding, via YouTube, a screen recording of our final cut with an audio commentary. In this commentary i will be reviewing the effectiveness of our film with regards to the many different areas of the films production, including the use of our company ident, special effects, soundtracks etc. Once i have then reviewed the film itself i will also look into our two ancillary products and explore how these compare to the film.

(Edit: Due to the length of the video for the first part of my Evaluation i have had to divide the video into two. This leaves in total three videos for the evaluation of the film and then two videos for both the movie poster and the magazine review.)

Part 1 (Film):




Part 2 (Film):




Part 3 (Film):




Part 4 (Poster):




Part 5 (Magazine Review):

Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In this evaluation i will be looking at the conventions we have used, developed and challenged in our own media products.

 Below i have provided two key frame documents in order to show in what specific areas our short and other pieces of film and television media compare and contrast. The first of which shows existing products and the second giving examples of where this convention has used, developed or challenged in our own product.

Key Frame Image 1: Ident.

 Looking at the idents of other media companies such as Revolution Studios (Pictured in the Keyframe), Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures or even in greater relation to Shorts, Future Shorts, the idents are often large, bold, centered in the screen and accompanied by a loud score all in the effort to make the company stand out.

 In our ident on the other hand, we wanted to stand out through developing and challenging the current conventions in relation to idents. 

First of all, majority of idents feature some relation to the name of the company in question, for example in the ident for Revolution Studios we see 2 full rings and a third outer half ring all rotating on different axis in order to show in a visually attractive and rememberable way, what the name of the company is.

 In the Binary Productions ident, we attempted to follow this convention and make it appear, through the use of a black background and then white digital font, that the companys name was being typed out on an older computer in order to link to our company name "Binary".

 The areas of this convention that we developed and challenged was in the remainder of the ident. We moved the object within the ident from the center of the screen to the top left corner and also only made use of a very subtle sound, ie someone tapping away on a key board in time with the characters appearing on screen. These two elements differed from the convention, as i mentioned above, because in majority of other idents the action is centered and accompanied by a loud and bold score.

Key Frame Image 2: Opening Titles.

 The convention for almost all film and television media with regards to titles is that they must make reference to some aspect of the product such as narrative, character, location or themes. For example in the television drama Eastenders, the titles feature an aerial shot of London which, when combined with the simple bold text "Eastenders" provides the viewer with enough information to make a judgement about the show itself. For me, when first looking at the Eastenders ident i immediately made the assumptions that it would be based in the East end of London, set in a middle or working class environment and then judging from the music and editing shown that it would be a drama.

 It is this effect that must be carried through every visual media product. If an audience member cannot make a judgement about the product in relation to the narrative, themes etc, then the company have not successfully told the audience member what the product will feature.

 In our short, this was an interesting convention to work with as we did not want to reveal too much about the narrative, but we wanted to provide the viewer with enough to make a judgement. Because of this we included a bold red rose in the background with petals falling past. This was to hopefully symbolise a loving relationship but with the possibility of it becoming frail and falling apart. On top of the rose and petals we included a calligraphy styled red font to use for the shorts name. From this we hoped it would show the genre, a drama, and also link back to the theme presented by the rose background, this being a romantic/loving relationship.

Key Frame Image 3: Theme of Young Carers and Dependance.

 In the current times when a character is shown in a situation where they are dependant on another character it is usually for sympathetic purposes. For example in documentarys based on young carers it is often portrayed in ways that the audience can sympathise with them. This is also the case in modern drama. An example of this can be seen in the romantic drama "A little bit of Heaven" in which the female lead in forced to become dependant on her doctor, again, showing her in a sympathetic light.

 In our short however we wanted to blur this light and show the possibility that perhaps not everyone who has someone else dependant on them is a good person and instead could have deep desires to even rid themselves of the dependant character.

Key Frame Image 4: Loving Mother-Son Relationship.

 It is often the case within modern drama that family relations, especially parent to child relations, are loving and caring as it is assumed that the mother being the stereotypical care giver, that her offspring will in turn love and care for her. In the first Key Frame Document however I have provided the example of "I Killed my Mother" in which the protagonist finds himself at odds with his mother when it is revealed that he is a homosexual. We tried to mimic this relationship in the initial scenes of our short, making it apparent that our mentally ill protagonist and antagonist hated his mother for a undiscussed reason regarding the missing "Billy" supposedly Chris' father.

Key Frame Image 5: Use of Props.

 In films, specific characters can reveal their personality through the way they interact with the world around them. For example in the drama, comedy, romance epic Forrest Gump we learn about Forrest easily through his interaction with the feather in the opening scene of the film. The feather for me being a symbol for freedom, innocence, childhood experiences and hidden complexity behind a simple appearance. These traits can then be applied to Forrest when he eventually catches the feather and keeps it with him.

 This convention was used in our short through the addition of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" tea cosy. The first time Chris interacts with the tea cosy he reads the saying present on it and then throws it to one side, to show his disregard for the belief and the context associated with it, instead, taking it upon himself to "fix" his current situation by drastic means.

Key Frame Image 6: Passage of Time.

 Films use different methods in order to show the passage of time. Often producers use fades to black or various other editing techniques such as quick match on action shots and the like to show how time is passing. In the film Groundhog Day time is repeated over and over, which is exactly the effect we planned to use in order to draw our audience back from a false ending. What struck us most about Groundhog day was the close up slow motion shot of the clock falling to 6:00am and the connotations associated with it at the point it is seen in the film.

 In A Passion of a Bleeding Rose we wanted to show the repetition of time through using this effect and thus show the audience that time has been altered somehow and now the story will begin again to a different end. Ultimately this was a development of the convention as we did not use the second appearance of the clock in the final cut, and instead adopted a quick cut from Chris lifting the rose from his dead mother to him making her a cup of tea again.

Key Frame Image 7: Costume.

 Many dramas feature teenagers being dressed in what it highly fashionable amongst the demograph or, taking the stereotypical view, dressed in jeans and a hoody with the hood covering almost all of their facial features. An example of this is seen in the teen drama Skins in which each of the characters adopts a dress that suits their personality and the social group that they are a part of.

 In our Short however we wanted to show the personality of Chris in contrast to what would be expected of an average teenager. Instead of adopting a dark hoody and jeans, we show him wearing smart casual office clothing and only on one occasion having him dressed in a hoody. This single point in the short was to simply prove to the audience that he is indeed an older teen but because of his situation at home he does not own high fashion clothing that would be associated with teenagers.

Key Frame Image 8: Shot Editing.

 In most dramas it is the case that the shot styles are all very similar and simplistic in order for the viewer to focus more on the narrative of the product with little distraction from special effects. By keeping the shots simple and making use of basic techniques such as match-on-action shots the audience is left to watch the drama unfold as if they were simply onlookers. This convention is specific to the Drama genre and so when we labelled our product as an adult drama we felt that in order to bolster this and appeal to our target audience, we would benefit from keeping our shots simple. But in order to twist and develop this convention further, we made use of special effects such as duplicate shadows when Chris is changing. This was in order to appeal to the "younger" members of our target audience who would most likely find the use of special effects more appealing and useful when reading and deconstructing the narrative.

Key Frame 9: End Credits.

 The convention of having the credits play whilst there is either a scene or a freeze frame still present on screen has become a lot more popular over time as it allows producers to keep the audience entertained when most would have disregarded the end credits. I have used the example of "Days of our Lives" which on a number of occasions used a freezeframe ending with a soundtrack playing over the top. But the convention does not only apply to television. In the feature film Rocky III we are left on a freeze frame when the two characters in the final shot are about to hit one another. The still image then becomes a painting with the credits appearing on screen with a soundtrack in the background.

 We developed this convention in our short by taking the convention of ending on a freeze frame but then allowing the voices of the two characters to continue whilst the credits scrolled up. This was done for a number of reasons, namely for the practical reason that it allows us to reduce the time of our short without disrupting the narrative. On top of this however it also allowed to provide an interesting ending in which the audience is left to ponder the still image on screen with what the characters are saying and where this will take the narrative further.