Question Four: How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

The final evaluation question was on 'new media technologies'. Throughout the research, planning and evaluation stages I used many different forms of new media technologies.

New Media Technology - ("New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the later part of the 20th century.  For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation around the media content. What distinguishes new media from traditional media is the digitizing of content into bits. Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense, compressible, and interactive. Some examples may be the Internet, websites, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMS, and DVDs.") Source

1. Laptops/Computers Laptops and computers were used in all of the stages. For the research it was used to look up articles on the Internet on bulling and clothes worn by a teenage girl. This meant we had better knowledge on what our film needed to include for a good Mise-en-scene. The process was quick and easy, with bulling stories being able to be found in a matter of minutes. If the new technology was not available the research would most defiantly have been made in the library with books. The group would have also have had to do our own primary research into bulling, girls clothing and so on.

2. Sony PD150 Camera The camera was used in creating our short film Karma. It was an important new technology used as we could film our footage and was the most expensive piece. The camera was used throughout the filming and allowed us to be more creative with what we were filming. If this technology was not available it would have been very hard to film our project. The group would have had to find another technology which would allow us to record. The other technology may have had to be an older way of recording films which would have had to be used if the PD150 was not available.

3. Internet The Internet was another important new technology used in the majority of the stages. We used websites like YouTube and search engines like Google to gain research. YouTube allowed me to view short films which had already been created; post 5 involved this and would not have been completed without it. Blogger was used to present our work online making it easy to make changes to work and so on while Windows Hotmail was used for communication. If the Internet was not available most of the work would have had to be done using books from the library. If Blogger was not available a written portfolio might have had to be the way to present your work.

4. Digital SLR Camera The digital camera was used to take photos of the group when in production. These images were used to place on our blog to show us at work. It was also used to take images to use for our postcard designs meaning it was an important piece of new technology used. Without this technology a drawing could have been made of the group when in production showing off our "creativity" looked at in earlier posts.

5. Scanner The scanner was used to scan work onto the computer. This process was fast and effective as the group uploaded images of all of our pre-production work to the computer in a matter of minutes. The work could then be uploaded to blogger as an image to show the work. If I did not have a scanner I would have taken a picture of my work on the digital SLR camera and uploaded it to blogger.

6. Mobile phones Mobile phones were used to communicate to other group members. The group were able to communicate on filming days to send on messages or simply to find out where the group was meeting. This was an important new technology as it enabled the group to contact each other to inform on relevant information. Without this technology the communication would have had to be made through email or in a writing letter. It would have been harder to keep in touch with other group members leading to lack of communication.

7. Edit Suite The edit suite a small room in the school was used to create the short film. It helped us edit clips, play around with sounds and put the short film together. The edit suite consisted of a computer, sound system and two different views on the same computer monitor. Without this new technology we would not have been able to edit our film. The group possibly may have had to use a different program to edit. Or alternatively would have had to used the old fashioned way of creating films and make sure we filmed the whole short film in one.

8. Flip Video
The flip video was mainly used for the evaluation and recording feedback for my postcards and short film. It was also used when we was shooting our short film. The video software enabled clips to be placed on YouTube after a finishing of recording. This meant a different form of communication could be added into our blogs. Our group was filmed by Miss Shipp while in the process of creating our film so we could upload the videos to our blogs. If this technology was not available pictures would have been used instead of video to explain.


Conclusion
New media technology plays a big part in media studies to date. It is used greatly in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages. These technologies have become very reliant and are a key part creating any media product. I feel if the group did not have these new technologies making our short film Karma would have been very difficult. I thought of many ways of what would have happened if these new technologies had not been available however believe they had to be used to create our short film.

The technology has enabled me and my group to gain information and create work at a much quicker rate. The use of laptops and computers mean programs like Microsoft Word can be used to produce writing, allowing for an easy edit. I believe without these technologies time would have also have been added on to the process.

However is the new technology bad? For me it meant trips to the library and primary research were replaced by trips to Google. No doubt the technology helped but does it mean old education sources are dead? The new technologies were used in every stage of the creation of our short film. This shows modern technology has become very reliant in the media world today.

Question Three: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After finishing the three media products, - The short film, postcard and short film review page it was time to get some audience feedback on the three. The audience feedback is a key part of the evaluation as it is a great chance find out other people views on our products. For me it was a chance to see where I could have improved not only with the group's short film but my postcard and short film review page.

Classmates Feedback




After asking classmates their views on our short film I feel I have learnt much more than I originally thought about Karma. I have learnt about where we went wrong in our short film more than anything. After asking a series of questions it is clear from the feedback that the ending of the film could have been improved. I now believe our short film maybe should have had a clearer ending. The message could have been shown better as this was also brought up in the feedback from our classmates. Another query which was brought up when questioning was the lack of extras used in some scenes. Obviously this was down to availability of people which did not go for us on many days, when filming. However I also learnt there were many positives about our film. The music and when it was played, the different locations used and the camera angles were all brought up when what our classmates felt was positive about the short film.

If I could do this project again I would change the ending to the film. I feel our ending was rushed and didn't show the message we wanted to get across to the audience which was - what comes around goes around. This was brought up in our feedback and feel if this was improved our feedback would be improved. I would have also made it clearer with her friends leaving her in the scene coming out of school. This was an improvement raised by a classmate which I agree with. I think the clearer message would make our final short film overall easier to understand.

School KS5 Pastoral Feedback


Ensuring the group got feedback from someone older was just as important as our classmates. Like the feedback from my classmates I learnt a lot about how other people see Karma. This was one of a few videos we recorded of older associates giving us feedback after asking Miss Wright she kindly agreed to watch our short film and answer a few questions. Once again I learnt the ending was seen to be one of the big weaknesses of the short film as miss mentioned it a few times in the feedback. Like my classmates she also mentioned about the music and how she felt it fitted in with the short film well. She also brought up the dialogue saying that was also easy to follow.

Like before if I was to change anything about our film it would be the ending. This was not only brought up by our classmates but was picked up by Miss Wright. She mentioned something else maybe should have happened with the two hooded boys and I agree. I would have made the final scene longer and would have added more shots in to add to the atmosphere. Using the two hooded boys to do something with Lucieanne would have also had been edited if I had the chance to improve Karma.

Postcard Feedback


This was one of many feedback videos I recorded when gaining audience feedback. Before filming I gave an image of my postcard to my classmate so she could look at it while speaking to the camera. I have learnt a few points from getting feedback for my postcard design. The first thing I have learnt is that my fellow classmate believes I have followed many conventions like the production company logo which is very good. I had aimed to follow many conventions and having that backed up by my peer is pleasing. I have also learnt my classmate believes the big picture of our protagonist on the front design was a good choice. This has made me happy as I felt when creating this was the best image to use in the final design. My classmate mentioned about adding in a synopsis on the back design, however I disagree with her. I disagree with her because I feel the back design has already got a lot of information and feel if a synopsis was added it would make it look cluttered.

When I created my five different designs I asked around 11-12 people their views and thought on all of them and got them to vote their favourite. The postcard which was chosen I created however used the back design from postcard three was second choice. I think it was good asking people on their views as it gave me thoughts from another person's perspective. It did make me change the back design to postcard five as my audience who gave the feedback mentioned they liked the back design to postcard three better. So in the end it was worth the trouble of finding and questioning a group of people.

If I did create the postcard again the only change I would have made was changing the front image so the school sign was behind Lucieanne. I feel this would have added something more to the front design and am interested to see what I could have done to the image when editing it. The only change to the back may have been a different colour but overall am happy with the front and back design.

Short Film Review Page Feedback


This video was one of many I recorded to learn from audience feedback and place on my blog. Before filming I gave an image of my short film review to my classmate so she could look at it while speaking to the camera. Like my feedback for my postcard I have learnt a few points from the feedback. The first point which I'm pleased about is once again my peer does believe I have used conventions you would see on a real media product. She went through and named a few that I had included which backs up my comments made in the other evaluation posts on my review. When asked about the layout I learnt my classmate felt it was good but could have been improved by a small synopsis at the end. This time I do agree with my peer. The reason I did not write a synopsis was because I ran out of space to include it in. However feel it was not majorly important and hadn't been used in all the real media film reviews I had previously read. I have also learnt that my audience will find it easy to read. My classmate mentioned this when asked so I believe a reading audience will feel the same.

If I was to make any improvements to my final short film review page it would defiantly be to add in a synopsis. This was brought up by my peer who I questioned and I totally agree with her. Like I said before the reason why I did not add one was because I ran out of space. If I did have the space I would have defiantly added one in as it was a convention used on the Frozen review at the end.

Conclusion
To conclude the audience feedback has been a good way to see what people think from a different perspective. It has told me what I have done well and where improvements could have been made. Looking over my three final media products I am happy with the final outcome of all of them. The feedback has been mostly good but the criticism and improvement advice is what means the most. If I was to do these again I would not change much. For the groups film obviously the ending will have to be looked at however my postcard and short film review would have minor improvements to be made to them.

Question Two: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The second evaluation question involved looking at my two ancillary texts and judging how effective it was with the short film I created with my group members. My two ancillary texts were my postcard and short film review page. After being given a range of ideas of how to present our outcome I decided to produce a recording of myself explaining how my postcard and short film review page was effective. I also decide to add screen grabs into the post to illustrate what I was speaking about in the recording. I also decided to complete an additional task asking my audience on their thoughts on how my ancillary texts were effective.

I have inserted an image for the postcard and short film review page to illustrate what I am speaking about in the recordings. Each have screens shots from my main product with a coloured boarder. The colour of the border matches the Circe's drawn onto my two ancillary tasks showing where it has been effectively combined. The screen shots show the evidence I have from the short film Karma.

Effectiveness of Postcard
The first sound clip is myself speaking about how my postcard design is effective in the combination of my main product Karma. The image below the sound illustrates what I am speaking about.
Liam1 by MrsShipp100

Effectiveness of Short film Review Page
The second sound clip I have inserted is myself once again speaking about how I believe my short film review page is effective in combination with our short film. The image below the sound illustrates what I am speaking about.
Liam2 by MrsShipp100

Feedback on Effectiveness
After giving my thoughts on how effective I believe my two ancillary tasks are I decided to get feedback on what others thought was effective. In the end I decided to ask two classmates as they knew what they knew what they were speaking about. The first piece of feedback I received in the video was a classmate speaking about how effective they thought my postcard was while my second classmate spoke about how effective my short film review was.



After gaining the feedback I learnt that there were many effective points about my postcard which fitted with the main product created. I decided to ask two classmates as I felt they would have the knowledge and understanding to give me quality feedback. Before filming my two classmates I gave them both an image of my postcard and short film review so they could look at them while in filming. The first point raised in the video was the front design and how effective the chosen picture was. It was effective in relation to our film as the tension used in the postcard by choosing this image of Lucieanne effectively matched what the short film was like. He also mentioned that the style of writing was "eary". This matched in with our film and was effective as our film was like he said and our credits used the same font writing. My classmate also said the back was effective because it showed the director, cast and so on. This combined with our main product as it explained to the audience who help create it.

I also learnt my film review was "really effective", quoted from my classmate who gave the feedback. The picture was said to be one of the effective points as like in the postcard showed who the main character is in the short film. This connects the film review to our main product. The detailed box under the title was also brought up in this feedback as effective. It did combine to our film as it showed who created the final product. From this feedback my thoughts were back up on my short film review page which was it did combine with our short film, effectively.

After gaining this feedback on my two ancillary tasks my thoughts and opinions I recorded on this blog post have been backed up. The feedback I got was positive showing the parts which were effective that I had already and hadn't spoken about.

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

This was the first evaluation question and it involved looking at the short film me and my group created as well as my own postcard and short film review page. When looking back over the media products that were created I had to determine whether they use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product. After looking at the conventions of short films, postcards and film reviews this post will recognise if or not I have used them in my own work. This is an important review of not only the groups work but my own individual work.

Short Film - Karma

1. My first screen shot from our short film I feel uses forms and conventions of real media texts. This is because it is establishing the scene for an audience. The use of three shots cutting out from a close up to a medium shot tells the audience action is happening within the house. In all of the short films I have viewed the location is shown within the first few shots. With the character voices the audience can quickly pick up that this is a family house with an argument going on inside.

2. Like shot one I feel my second screen shot uses conventions of an existing product. I say this because after looking into short films I learnt it is important to establish the protagonist early on. This is a key factor to letting the audience know who the main character is and another way of gaining their attention. In many other of the short films I originally viewed before being involved in creating our own the protagonist was seen in the first few seconds, sometimes being the first shot.

3. The third screen shot uses and challenges real forms. It challenges because it is not placed at the beginning on the film, an example of this is Frendo. Some short films I have watched usually place their short film subtitle at the beginning. As well as challenging I also feel the white writing and black background is what is used in many existing products I have already seen. I felt keeping the titles neutral was important as it gave it a professional overall look.

4. The forth screen shot in my view uses forms of existing products. This is mainly because it is establishing the location with a long shot. Establishing the world and ensuring the audience understand what the location is vital and I feel this shot does this. It does it by using the shots distance to determine what viewers can see. From the shot you can clearly see Lucieanne is walking into school achieved by making sure the school sigh was in the shot.

5. This screen shot of Lucieanne in the science class challenges real media products. This is because a stereotypical bully usually only bullies others when they are with their friends and in large groups to impress. However this screen shot shows Lucieanne about to bully two workmates on her own. It tells an audience she bullies not to show off but to get a kick for her own from doing it. This reverts back to what I have said before about her taking her problems from home into school.

6. I chose this screen shot as I feel it does use conventions of a real media product. This is because from my research on short films I found out it was important to have a character with a problem or obstacle. This grabs the audience's attention. This shot does this because it shows her picking up her planner she had lost. Her problem is that someone stole it from her and wrote over it. It grabs the audiences attention as they see the shot and wonder why she has lost/picking up a planner.

7. I feel the next shot does use existing conventions. I feel this because it plays on the stereotype of her being a bully. This was another piece of information I found out when researching into short films. It plays on the stereotype as she is picking on a student who is less able to defend herself. She is less able to defend herself because she is holding a large amount of books which she drops when pushed. It plays on the stereotype that bullies only pick on others who are less likely to be able to defend themselves.

8. The eight screen shot I choose did and didn't use forms and conventions of original media products. I felt it didn't because the teacher's clothes could have been smarter for a teacher, for instance his tie. As an audience you can tell he is a teacher however it could have been improved with the clothing used. However I did feel it meet the conventions because it is establishing the location which I did speak about earlier on in the post as being very important. It establishes she is in a classroom as there is a teacher and other students.

9. I feel screen shot number nine uses conventions from real media products. This is because it uses camera angles to show someone's power. The camera angle this short was taken from what the height the victim was at when looking up to Lucieanne. By having the camera angle low down looking up at our bully (Lucieanne) it implies she has power over her victim. Using different camera angles to give a character a trait is commonly used in short films as it's an easy way to play on stereotypes, key to play on in short films.

10. Screen shot 10 in my view develops and challenges real forms and conventions. This is because the two boys are the two bulling the films protagonist Lucieanne. Its challenges stereotypes as stereotypically it is girls who bully girls not boys bulling girls. The screen shot does not play on stereotypes and because of this challenges what I have already said about the importance of playing on stereotypes.

11. I feel the next screen shot is unconventional. This is because when researching into short films I found out short films need to be kept at a consistent tone. The reason I say it is unconventional is because just as the films pace really picks up we are given this shot which slows down the film. However I believe it doesn't have an impact on the audience's attention which is most important. Short film Signs used this convention keeping the same pace throughout the whole of the few minutes which kept your attention.

12. For me I feel screen shot twelve does use the conventions of a real media product. This is because we see what is happening through the view of Lucieanne, watching it through how she views it. After Lucieanne pushes over the victim she watches her pick up the books which feel from her hands. This convention is used in many short films. It lets the audience view what is happening from a characters perspective.

13. This shot does meet the conventions seen in short films like Cubs and Does God Play Football. I say this because like one of my earlier screen shots it sets up the location with a long shot. Establishing what is happening in this scene was very important as it had to look like it was the end of a school day. The world and what is happening is an important part in short films as they are so long so ensuring the audience understand the location and time is very important. By using extras and noise made sure it set the scene.

14. After looking at my notes on short films I feel this shot does use conventions. This is because a short film must include something of significance that gives the film a plot. I believe this shot has a lot of significance as we found out she was being bullied as well as bulling others. Earlier on it showed her picking up her planner however it isn't till this point you realise the significance of that and what it really meant. All of the short films I have previously viewed have something significant all at different points though.

15. For me I feel this is conventional. I say this because the range of the shot distance is much closer than any of the others. This matches the convention that shots should be used to show what is happening. This shot shows it through the eyes of the student who is getting bullied. This convention is a bit like number twelve as it is viewing it through someone's perspective.

16. The last screen shot I have chosen meets the forms and conventions of a real media product. This is because it is placed at the end of the short film. In every single short film I have seen there has been credits at the end of the short film. This is conventional as well as the white writing and black background. I mentioned about this in my first screen shot however is black and white is usually the used in the end credits as well. It is also conventional because it scrolls up showing all the production team and extras names.

Postcard

I feel the front of my postcard has used many of the conventions used in ours I have researched. The image of our short films protagonist is a common feature on the front design of a postcard. It tells the audience who the main character is in the short film. The title used is also conventional as well. All postcard designs have the title of the film on the front of their postcard usually placed down the bottom or near the top. The only unconventional decision I made about the front was not having the production company's logo. I felt the front should be less cluttered so decided on placing it on the back. I feel I have developed my front design as on many other postcard designs the front has much more information. My feeling was to leave the front design with just the title of the film to entice an audience to look at the back.

The back design of my final postcard used a lot of the conventions written down in my post 17. In the end I decided to go against doing the information over an image as I wanted the content on the back to be the focus point. Opting for the grey-blue colour I felt stayed with conventions and forms in the real media postcards I viewed. Ensuring I included the details like information about the film, cast and credits, website link and directors name was key to matching real media products. My back design does also challenge forms of real postcards as I didn't include a synopsis. This was one convention I didn't include in my previous designs so wasn't too keen on putting one in when creating.

Short Film Review Page

After looking again at different film reviews I believe mine does use forms and conventions of real media products. The layout is a conventional layout. The large picture at the top of the page followed by a big title of the film and film detail all back this point. I also have set out the writing in columns so it's good to the eye, with the other short film reviews just to the right of the page making sure the main focus is on the Karma review. The picture at the top of the page is very conventional and is used on a common basis by real products. Its the part of the page which grips the attention of a reader. I wanted to used the lines underneath to make the reader look down the page in that direction reading the details about the film before the review.

Post 20: Final Products

Short Film Final Product - Karma
After planning, filming and editing this was the final outcome of the group's short film named Karma.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The sound is out of sync with the action due to a fault of YouTube. The size of the screen has also changed from 16:9 to 4:3 since being uploaded to YouTube. Short film has been sent to exam board in a different format.

Postcard
After looking at film posters and short film postcards I was able to take note of all the conventions and used most of them in my own postcard. I realised the importance of using postcards for short films and the impact it can have on the success of one. In total I created five different designs, ensuring I used as many postcard conventions as possible. After asking a selection of my target audience the feedback for design three and five got the most praise. I decided in the end to chose the front design used in postcard three as I felt this used the most conventions out of the five. I felt the back to design three however did not use many of the conventions I found on previous back designs. In the end I opted for the back design for my fifth postcard design. This is because it gained good reviews from my audience when questioning.

I choose the front design of postcard three not only because of the positive feedback but I felt it showed what our film was about and more importantly included an image of our protagonist. The first few drafts I created were initially in black and white however I decided it made the postcard look dull and boring. After choosing to have the colour in my postcard I felt it was right to keep the writing a neutral white. In my view it made the writing stand out ensuring it didn't look out of place. In my design I did design the writing to be a purple colour however after playing around with the writings colour opted with white.

For the back design I tried to use as many conventions as possible. The top left hand corner was used for all the core details on the film including name, the message, director and year. These were all conventions used on the majority of the postcards I viewed earlier on when researching. This is why I felt it was important to include these in my work. The section below is made for information to be written in for film festivals to give to an audience for information. The credits, cast and a website link were conventions also used in virtually all the postcards I looked at. I felt it was important to put these in because professionals who view this short film will be able to see who was also involved in the creation. The space on the right hand side of the back has been left blank for any writing. I thought the space can be filled with writing to an audience member specifically or space for feedback to be written from the audience. After creating several copies of a back design with different coloured backgrounds I decided to go for the grey-blue. This is because I felt it was a neutral colour once again fitting perfectly with the front design. 

Front Design

Back Design



Short Film Review Page

The film review page took time to research into, however after learning valuable information before hand I was able to create a review page with many conventions. After researching into magazines, newspapers and website reviews on films I deciding to use the conventions and layout of a magazine review. The magazine I looked at was Sight & Sound. I looked at their review pages on short films taking notes on one of the short film reviews Frozen. Many of the conventions written down in my notes I used for my own review page hoping to make it look as authentic as possible.

My main target when I started to create my film review page was to ensure the Karma review was the main focus of the page. Using a convention used in all of the other reviews I decided the picture needed to be large and have colour. This was the bait to draw in the audience to this review first. The picture captures what our film revolves around and that is our protagonist and the location of the alley way. Other conventions I used included the description of the film which explained the key details about the short film. I chose to put this before the main writing because it gives the audience a quick bit of knowledge about Karma. I chose the 15 certificate after looking at other short film reviews and what they had. The swearing at the beginning for me was one of the main factors to making it a 15. I felt it could have been made a 12 but after looking at other review ratings decided to stick with the 15 certificate I gave it.

In the detailed writing I followed my notes on the Frozen article bullet pointing what was in each paragraph. I felt this was conventional and made it easy to follow. I wanted to make it easy to follow because our short film is aimed at teenagers so I wanted to make it speak to them. The three other reviews on the right hand side were ones I found on the Sight and Sound website incorporating them into my own keeping my original layout. They are all real short film reviews which fitted in with the title of the page 'short film review page special'. This made the final outcome more of a review page.



Post 19: Post-Production Report

The majority of the work in the edit suite was completed during the filming was still in progress. Each time we filmed each piece of footage was logged, captured then edited. This meant when we finished filming completely we only had footage from that final day to work on in the edit suite. After filming the first two scenes successfully we found out when watching it over in the edit suite the sound was not turned on. This was a good learning curve however we could not use the footage to edit.

The first big decision made in the edit suite was made when group member Carolyn stayed behind after school to log and edit. She and Miss Shipp decided that the first and second scenes should have two different pieces of music integrating with each other. The two songs were completely contrasting with one being an upbeat rock sound while the other was a dark and mysterious sound. They integrated with each other when to help show the two different sides to our protagonist Lucieanne. Carolyn and Miss Shipp showed the final outcome of the two scenes the next day to the whole group. Agreeing it added an atmosphere to the opening of the short film, the whole group was happy with the outcome.

As we filmed more of the short film group members took turns in the edit suite. The group faced a few continuity errors which had to be played around with. One of them was the classroom scene. The problem we faced was with the teacher and the position he was facing in one of the shots. It did not match the following shots. Group director Emily's first idea was to fade the shot. This worked however didn't really make sense when watching the scene through. After a discussion with Miss Shipp and the group we decided to delete one of the shots to ensure the continuity worked.

After filming the three scenes we had left the group could finally concentrate on finishing the editing. After filming in the morning Emily got a good few hours of logging and capturing in before me and Carolyn joined her in the afternoon. After deciding to cut down a few shots and play around with the music we finally finished a rough cut for our short film.

I feel filming the scenes over a number of different days was not the best of ideas however in the end it worked out for us. As many of our scenes were in school we were only allowed to film 5 days a week until 6pm. This and ensuring our actor was free while having to find extras as well as booking the camera with many other difficulties made the whole process longer that what we first thought. The edit suite work was mainly done during the filming was still in progress, I feel if anything could be changed it would have been to film our footage in one day. This is because I feel the post-production work would have been done without having to worry about when the group is next filming.

Logging Rushes

Post 18: Production Report

We filmed out short film Karma over a number of different days. Having to ensure our actor was free to film, finding extras and staying in after school had finished was one of the few problems we faced. However we found a way round all of them and successfully filmed each scene over time. The first major problem the group faced after filming was discovering the first two scenes we filmed didn't have any sound. This was frustrating but could not be duelled on. As a group we took this as a learning curve, leading us to check the sound was working after practically every shot in future filming.

The first scene we filmed after the problems with the first and second was scene 5 in the science classroom. We filmed this after school as we wanted to film in a science classroom to follow the script and storyboard. In total we had only three extras which lead us to discuss whether or not it would look like a real lesson. In the end we all agreed many sixth form classes only have around 4-5 class members, leading us to believe the lack of class members was not an issue. When preparing to film we had to work as a team to ensure the classroom fitted the scene as well. Books, pens, planners, bags and science experiment equipment were all used to help do this.






After filming the first two scenes without any sound we came back and had to re-film. As we had already filmed these scenes the group got straight into the filming already knowing where our bags needed to be, to be out of shot and putting group member Carolyn's dog on a lead outside to stop him from barking inside. This made filming the first scene much easier. I would not call it a skill but learnt from filming this first scene again patience is important. This is because we had to wait on many occasions for cars to pass by, train noise and plane noise to stop before we could continue filming. We faced the same problem with scene 2. As the alley way we used was next to a primary school, we consistently had parents walking up and down. From filming first time around we had learnt the nursery finished at 11am, we tried to work around this however still had parents using the alley way. As a group we had to be very patient, thinking about the next shot in more depth while waiting. The big decision we made when filming these two scenes was adding in a shot of Lucieanne walking out of her road. We felt this would link up the first and second scene, leading to better understanding from the audience.



Scene 4 was next up which we filmed on the same morning as the first two scenes. As a group the only decision we made was how far away the camera should be when zoomed into the school sign then zooming out onto Lucieanne. We shot this scene very sharply, sticking closely to the storyboard. I think we worked well as a team discussing each shot before filming and consistent checking of the sound.

The next scene we went onto film was scene 10. This was the final scene so we wanted to ensure it was perfect. During filming we decided to add a few shots in, deciding as a group it needed more shots. The problem we faced was the weather; with rain starting to fall we worked as a group having director Emily holding an umbrella over the camera. We took many shots for each shot aiming for perfection however a few was ruined by rain drops on the camera lens. In the end we got each shot we wanted with a few more to add in if needed.  

After logging and editing after each filming session the group booked the camera for a day after school and a whole morning aiming to finish filming and be able to crack on with the editing. We decided as a group to get the other classroom scene, scene 8, filmed. The group filmed this scene after school. After finding and convincing 3-4 extras to stay with us to star in the short film, we faced the problem with finding a room to film in. In the end we decided to use the Ps3 room next to the common room. I feel this was a good choice of room as it was small and once again did not question the amount of class mates she had in the class. As I was the camera operator worked closely with my director in this scene discussing where shots should be taken from and from which angle. In the end I came away from the filming feeling positive about the footage we gained and the acting.

When we reached this point in the filming the group faced a problem. After logging and editing each of the scenes we had filmed our teacher Miss Shipp watched the footage. She explained to us the short film at this stage did not show Lucieanne as a bully. The problem Miss Shipp explained to us, made us realised how important the last scenes we filmed were. Two of the three we filmed were of Lucieanne bulling following students so the group felt this would solve the problem we faced.

The next morning the group filmed the final three scenes. The first of the bulling scenes we filmed was outside the technology block doors. We decided the change on of the shots were the student getting bullied fell to the floor. This is because we felt it would not look realistic so changed it to her getting knocked to the wall. However the group stuck to the script luckily finding a free girl who had ginger hair to star as the victim. From this scene we went onto film the next. After walking into the technology corridor we realised the sound coming from each room would have an impact on the sound when editing. This lead us to decide moving to the English block corridor was a better idea. In the end the second bulling scene was not followed from the storyboards.

The main skill I have developed from this short film is with using the Sony PD150 camera. I feel I have grasped how to use the camera helped a lot from the pre-practice I had with it pre-filming. The skills I learnt in the pre-production helped me as I knew how to work the camera, this saved stress when filming as I did not have anything thrown at me in terms of working the camera. From our AS opening sequence I feel I have also learnt different camera angles are key. At AS I knew it was important to have many different camera angles however understanding how a different angle or height can manipulate a shot is what I improved my understanding on.

Post 17: Ancillary Task 2 - Film Reviews Part 1

For our second ancillary task we have to create a film review page. However this cannot be completed without looking at conventions of existing film reviews. To enhance my understanding I will be analysing a number of different reviews. I will take a closer look at the conventions used in newspapers, magazines and website reviews.

Industry Magazine - Sight & Sound

The first film review our class read was from the Sight & Sound industry magazine. The magazine doesn't normally do short films however had a special section dedicated to short films. After the class was put into groups, we had to analyse the review for the 2004 short film Frozen. We took down notes fro each paragraph and the conventions used in each. Below is a breakdown of each paragraph and what they say.

Frozen
Paragraph One

• Prize winner,
• Her first feature film,
• Where she is from,
• Where it was filmed.

Paragraph Two

• Setting up the scene,
• Character,
• "Offers an emotional.."

Paragraph Three

• Talking about character relationships,
• Kath and her feelings.

Paragraph Four

• Metaphor about the ice showing Kath could be trapped,
• Location filmed.

Paragraph Five

• Setting scene,
• Drama/Conventions.

Paragraph Six

• Summary,
• Audience,
• Location.

Paragraph one opens straight away giving us information about the director Juliet McKoen, getting straight to the point that this is a prize winning short film. This immediately grabs the attention of a reader as any short film winning an award must be worth a watch. While the first paragraph looks at the director, the next four speak about the short film. Paragraph two immediately introduces us to characters from Frozen, helping to set the scene. The next three paragraphs go on to the same however go into depth with character relationships including the genre and so forth. Paragraph six is a final summary of the short film looking at the audience and location. The synopsis at the bottom of the review is for a quick and easy understanding for a reader. This is a convention used on all of the other reviews I glimpsed at while looking through Sight & Sound.

The language used in Sight & Sound is aimed at a more educated audience. This means the wording used is at a higher quality. It is at a higher quality because the magazine is aimed at people in the business meaning the understanding as professionals has to be targeted. The niche film audience needs to be addressed correctly as it is such a minority. This is why a magazine review might be the best way to market our short films to professionals.

Newspaper - The Independent

The next source I used to read a film review was the newspaper. I looked at two different newspapers, the first being The Independent and its review of the 2010 British historical drama film The King's Speech. The Independent wrote a short review for the film which I took note from of all the conventions used. Below is a list of all the conventions I wrote down from the review.

• Image from the film,
• Title; "Firth's stammering monarch is a sh-sh-shoo-in for an Oscar nomination",
• Introduction with mention of an Oscar recognition,
• Description of films content
• Conclusion - mentioning the sucess it will have.

This is a quick film review however is sharp and quick to the point. In comparison to the Sight & Sound review this is easier to read. In my view this film review is an advertising and informative review. It shows the film in a bright light encouraging the reader to go see the film.

Newspaper - Guardian

The next newspaper I went on to read was The Guardian. I took a look at their film review for the Oscar nominated King's Speech. The article written by Peter Bradshaw looked into depth about the film unlike the Independent which was short but sharp. Once again I took note of the conventions, which are listed below.

• Image of protagonist from film,
• Description of film in title; "Colin Firth is the stuttering monarch and Helena Bonham Carter the future Queen Mother in a richly enjoyable drama. By Peter Bradshaw",
• Introduction - Setting,
• Paragraphs on the film,
• Little box - Production year, Countries, Run time, Directors, Cast,
• Conclusion - "Not every ones going to like this film"

The Guardians review is similar to The Independent in relation to the conventions. Comparing the conventions many are the same throughout. The only difference between the two is The Guardian has more content. However like The Independent is very different from the Sight & Sound review. This could be down to aiming the reviews to different audiences.

Websites - FilmGuru

After looking at newspapers i went on to look at a website called Film Guru. It was a film website writing reviews with the slogan "Millions of people see bad movies. Don't be one of them." I read their review for the short film I F*cking hate You. Below is a list of conventions the review used.

• Introduction - The writers thoughts,
• Description of film,
• Image from film,
• The writers thoughts.

This review is different to all the film reviews i have looked at before. This is because the website is a critical view of films with the writers, writing what they really think. In my view this is the most appealing because you know the review your getting is real.

The language used is dumbed down to target an audience of online users looking for a quick read review. It uses these words to appeal to a wider audience and not professionals in the business.

Layout Drafts

Layout idea One



Layout idea Two

In the two layout drafts i have decided that the picture will be the main focus point. This must grab the attention of an audience and will be the pulling factor for a reader towards the artical. I feel the writing must wrap around the films details as its must look proffessional to the eye. The writing will be in two collums both being different sizes so it isnt boring. The right hand side of the review will be other short film reviews. I will look on the internet to gain these and place them into my review page ensuring they keep to the design of the whole page.

Conclusion

After reading through all of the film reviews I feel the one which might be best to market our short film Karma in the form of a magazine. The two Internet websites, The Guardian and The Independent and the magazine review all target an educated audience. However the Sight & Sound magazine review, targets the professionals in the media world. These are the people I want to market my short film to. This is why i have chosen to follow the magazine style of writing and layout route. After taking notes from the review in Sight & Sound on Frozen I will closely follow this when writing my own review.

The reason why I have chosen not to choose the website style route is because it doesn't target my audience I need to target. The language used in the website review is not for an educated audience and most defiantly not for professionals. This would not target my niche audience and is the main reason why I have decided to follow the magazine route.

Post 16: Ancillary Task 1 - Postcards Part 1

Film Posters

Before we went on to look at advertising short films through postcards we looked at posters for films. Posters are mainly used for bigger films rather than short films. This is because of the budget restraint, posters are expensive to create which is why postcards are used. We looked at what a film poster would normally include. Below is a list of all the usual details you would generally see on a poster for a film;

• Name of film,
• Release date, 
• Images, 
• Slogan - 'Tag lines',
• Quotes from the film,
• Unique selling point,
• Style reflecting the drama,
• Actors names.

After this we was asked to find two film posters and analyse the conventions. Below is the two images with an explanation of their conventions.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

This poster was from the 2008 return for the Batman film called The Dark Knight. From the first look at the poster we are immediately shown the protagonist of the film, Batman. He is looking down at the camera showing the dominance and power he has. We can see many of the conventions that would usually appear on a film poster. We soon assume from looking at this the film is going to be action packed shown by the burning building in the background. Next to the building there is a 'tag line' "Welcome To A World Without Rules." this pushes the idea the film is action packed but gives a sense there is going to be crime. The style of the poster very conventional reflecting the style of the film. Other conventions that are clear is the release date shown just below the name of the film and the actors names.

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY (2001)

This poster is from the 2001 British romantic comedy film Bridget Jones's Diary. This poster uses many conventions I have spoke about. Like the Dark Knights poster we are immediately shown the main character/characters from the film. The image is conventional showing Bridget Jones with her diary and pen thinking about what she is going to write next, while behind her, the two men interested in her. The name of the film is directly under the photo with the 'tag line' "Uncensored, Inhibited, Unmarried". This reinforces the idea this film is going to be a romantic, however the quote at the top if the poster shows it also has a comedy element to it. The only unconventional element I didn't speak about before is the mention at the bottom about the makers. It mentions other films the creators have made, this is a cheap way of interesting a market they already have.

In comparison between the two posters there is not a lot of difference. Both use the conventions I have spoke about before. The Dark Knight was made on a budget of $185 million while Bridget Jones $26 million. This is a considerable difference however looking at the posters you would not be able to see the gap spent. However the films both reflect the style of their film attracting many interested viewers with the posters. 

Short films will find it very hard to release bold posters like these two mainly because of the small budgets they have. Many of the short film money comes from funding like the national lottery but this funding is not even close to the $185 million of the Dark Knight. Wasp a 23 minute short film was made on a budget of just over £53 thousand which is only a little snip-it of the two films I looked at regarding film posters.  

Film Postcards

After looking at films posters we came onto postcards made for short films with smaller budgets. We spoke about the conventions and what is included on a postcards. Below is a list of the conventional elements you would usually find on a postcard;

• Info
• Website link,
• Designed by, 
• Description of film,
• Duration,
• Who sponsored,
• Style from front to back - kept same,
• Personal design.

Straight away we can see the conventions of a postcard are very different to a film poster. Postcards generally have less info than big film posters this is because there is less space to fit it all on. But we already see many elements like the duration of the short film and who sponsored the film are conventional while these would never be seen on a film poster. Postcards are very direct and the people making them know who their target audience are. Below are a few examples of postcards for short films.

This first image shows how less info but a good use of photos can still make the poster intriguing.

The back of a postcard can be used for all the detail. It can also be the perfect place to write a message when sending it to a target audience member. Other uses can be the use of them at film festivals. For instance information about the short film can be included, including the duration, cast and when it is being held at a festival.

Researching into film posters and postcards was a great way of learning the conventions of them both. This would help me when I came to creating my own postcards. Looking at examples gave me ideas and inspired me to go and create my own for our A2 short film.  

Below is draft designs of the Postcards I created for our short film;

Design One

For design one i used a large and bold title to grasp the attention of an audience when they first took a look at the postcard. My background will be a picture of the grass from the alley way scene with iPod headphones coming in from the top. The quote "What goes around comes around" is a message from the film and will be placed on the postcard just under the big title Karma.

The back is very conventional and i have used many of the techniques previous designs on postcards have used. For instance the backs main function is for writing. I put the postcard designers name through the middle to separate it into two parts. Like the second postcard i looked at earlier on in the post i included the main people involved in the creating of the short film. I also used the same convention of showing the production company's logo. This was the logo i made earlier on in the project hoping to use it on my postcards etc. I felt the back was the place where information could be placed on this postcard for all the details of the short film.



Design Two

Design two was very similar to design one. On the front of design two I want to take the atmosphere from the film and put it onto a postcard. With this in mind I intend to have a conventional picture of the letter Lucieanne picks out of the coat pocket on one of the alley way scenes. The letter will be on the floor open with Lucieannes headphones coming in from the corner of the picture. After this has been taken I hope to take put the picture on photo plus and play around with the lighting settings. This will help create the atmosphere I want to show through the postcard. Also on photo plus I intend to insert the name of the film Karma. This is going to be small and placed in the top right hand corner of the postcard.

The back is similar to my design one. I like the idea of being able to write to someone on the back which is why I used it on design two as well. Like design one it includes the director, produced by and the production company logo. This was my other logo design I created. However on this design i inserted the year of release for the short film. I have seen this used of other postcards and wanted to incorporate it somewhere on this design. The back on this design has been created to address a specific person or alternatively to be used for writing at film festivals.

Design Three

For design three I took a lot of inspiration from the first postcard I looked at earlier on in the post. I liked the little use of writing and effective use of photos. I believe the photos i have chosen to take are appealing and effective to an audience viewing the postcards. The front page includes a simple but effective photo of our actor Lucieanne. She is looking nervous, fragile and scared and i hoped this would show a little bit about the short film without giving too much away. I also included the name of the film and production company logo. 

The back is once again a simple but effective photo. The photo used will be of the alley way - an important location in the film. The inspiration i took from the first postcard design from earlier on in the blog, made me want to create a postcard with both sides used as images. On the back of this design i also included the key names in the production and name of film.

My other postcard designs;

Design Four

Design Five

Feedback

After asking a group of about 11-12 to give me their feedback on their favorite design it was clear to see which one the group liked the most. Design three got the most praise. The feedback I got from the group will help me when I come to choose a design to create. When asking questions to why the people who choose design three choose it I got the same answer. It was because the main character of the film was used in the picture. My feedback has told me my final postcard must have a image of my protagonist Lucieanne.

Below is a video of one of the group members I questioned on my different postcard designs explaining why he choose postcard design three.



Conclusion
 Looking at the conventions and examples of existing postcards has enabled me to create my own. I realised the importance of using them instead of film posters. By looking at film posters I have been able to realise the difference between the two. I will use my knowledge and understanding when i finally come to creating them on photo plus.

After creating these five postcard designs I hope to go on and choose one to actually create. The audience feedback has helped greatly in deciding which ones I should automatically not use. This final postcard design possibly might be all of these design incorporated into one. However I feel after getting feedback I must listen to what has been said and keep them thoughts in mind when creating. I will go on to create my final design on photo plus.

The postcards are a key way of marketing our short film to an audience. As postcards are aimed at a specific audience, creating a successful one for that group of people is vital. The need for creating postcards is very important as its one of the easiest ways of advertising. I hope to use this marketing strategy to reach out to our niche audience. This appropriate use of marketing will hopefully be successful and gain our short film Karma an audience.

Post 15: Reflecting on Theory

In previous posts I have looked at the three different theory's, Genre theory, Narrative theory and Audience theory. For post 15 I have been asked to reflect on the theory's thinking about how they can/t be applied to our short films and plans we are making. This is also an important blog post in preparation for our media exam in the summer.

Genre was the first theory we looked at, ("Genre theory is used in the study of films in order to facilitate the categorization of films. Genre are dependent on various factors such as story line, whom the director is, what are the audience expectations et cetera. In using genre theory we create a short cut in how we are to describe films. Genre theory through it's use is a method of shortening academic works.") Source

I looked at this theory in post 4, speaking a lot about Robert Altman's, Neale and Hartley's opinions. Looking at some of Robert Altman's views on genre i believe many can be applied to our A2 media short film. One of his views is "That genres are defined by producers and are easily recognised by audiences.". I believe this is a very important view we should try use in our short film. This is because after looking at short films in post 5,6 and 7 I learnt it is key for the audience to know what genre it is as the film is so brief. One way we can do this is with our lighting. After looking at lighting in previous posts I believe we can use what we have learnt to help change the lighting to create an atmosphere. This will not only create an atmosphere but will help show the genre of the short film - relating back to Altman's view genres can be recognised by audiences.

Robert Altman (1925-2006)  - American film director.

In the lead up to post 4 on genre our class also had a discussion on Tomato puree. We was asked were it would be found in a supermarket, then what would happen if it was placed on a different shelf in a supermarket. After this discussion I had to blog post my thoughts on how this could relate to film. I came up with the idea on actors. For instance if X actor was not chosen for X film would the audience for that film still be the same. One of the examples i came up with was would as many girls go to see Twilight if Taylor Lautner wasn't chosen to star in the film. I believe this cant be applied to our short film we are creating. This is because we have not had the joy of choosing an actor out of hundreds or thousands of people. We had to choose an actor who wanted to act and who was also willing to give up some of their free time. However I believe our lead actor is a great choice for the short film we are creating.

Tom Hanks - Audience hit.

Our short film Karma is being packaged and marketed to appeal to a teenage audience. The pre-production work, postcards and so forth have been designed to appeal successfully to this group of people. The genre is a drama. From family issues to bulling our short film is a hard hitting short film looking at real life situations.

The next theory we have spoke about earlier on in the year was narrative theory. ("In media terms, narrative is the coherence/organisation given to a series of facts. The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things. We connect events and make interpretations based on those connections. In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end. We understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous texts. Each text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience.") Source

After looking at genre theory we went on to look at a narrative theory PowerPoint. Once again we looked at different theorists such as Julian McDougall. On the first slide of the presentation there was a quote saying "In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end.". I believe this can be applied to our short film. I think our film has a starter, while including a action filled middle finished by an ending which leaves the audience in deep thought. Our starter was outlining the problem Lucieanne has at home with the closeup of the door with shouting over the top. The middle is filled with bulling scenes with Lucieanne being the bully and victim. While by the end she turns into the victim. I think its important we have this structure and keeping to the storyboards/shot lists will help us do this.

Following on from this we was introduced to another slide on narrative conventions. The four conventions were Genre, Character, Form and Time. These four conventions are important as they help an audience interperate a text. Once again this relates back to genre theory and how important it is for an audience to understand what is happening very quickly. I believe these conventions can defiantly be applied to our short film. All of the four conventions will help the understanding of our audience enhancing the pleasure when viewing the short film.

For our film Karma the storyline is very important. It is one way to grip the attention of our audience. How it is told can be enhanced by using many of the conventions we have learnt. Editing the final cut will help us show a storyline by playing around with how it is told.

The third and final theory we spoke about was Audience theory. ("Audience theory provides a starting point for many Media Studies tasks. Whether you are constructing a text or analysing one, you will need to consider the destination of that text (i.e. its target audience) and how that audience (or any other) will respond to that text.") Source

To improve our understanding on audience theory we was placed into groups and had to create a presentation. Our group did ours on David Gauntlett - Critism of the effects model. This improved our understanding, and was an early learner to helping us create our short films. Audiences have different views. This comes from how they interpret a text given to them. Our group of four must make sure the audience for our short film interprets Karma well. Click the link to view the presentation.
Audience Theory Presentation

From the first slide we found out Andrew Hart believes that audiences are vital in communication, if it wasn't for the audiences media wouldn't exist. After reading through the slide I believe this one jumped out at me. This is because we are making our short film to communicate to an audience. Communication is vital if we want our short film Karma to be successful. In the last few months I have learnt many ways to communicate to an audience but i believe our filming and editing will play a big part in communication to an audience. This is because if both are not completed to a high standard an audiences interest will not be there. When we do come to filming and editing i will be thinking about the audience, including how they would perceive it when watching Karma.

Further on in the slides I found out theorists Blumler and Katz suggested there are four main needs for audiences. These are Diverson, Personal relationships, personal identity and Surveillance. I believe our film cant show diverson which is escaping the pressures of everyday. This is because our short film looks at bulling and other problems. While personal identity on the other hand is a great way of communication to an audience. Our audience is going to be aimed at teenagers. With Lucieanne a school girl this is one way a viewer would be able to compare their life's with hers. Personal identity takes me back to communicating and this is one way our character who plays Lucieanne will have to relate to an audience.

Representation Theory & Media Language
The two remaining topics we have yet to speak about are Representation theory and Media language. These two topics are due to come up in the exam so it is very important I research into them both.

Representation Theory - ("Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.") Source

Media Language - ("Any specialized form of discourse has its own unique language and media literacy is no exception. Even experienced media teachers are often bewildered by the seemingly interchangeable terminology used by writers and speakers in the field.") Source