Completed Opening Scene

Evaluation 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Compared to our preliminary task I think we have managed to work better and more successfully as a group, and we have also put a lot more effort into the filming and editing of our media product. My knowledge of the camera equipment and editing software has increased since then as well.

During the preliminary task I didn't know any media terminology, or the camera angles that were available for us to use. We were also limited to using match on action, shot/reverse shot and 180 degree rule, but because of this I learnt what they meant. Since then I feel that I have learnt about more of the different types of angles as we were able to experiment with more than the 3 we were previously restricted to.


One of the main differences between the preliminary task and the main task is that in order to keep track of our progress throughout our preliminary task we used Microsoft PowerPoint. This was very different to the blog as the blog was much more technical and allowed better presentation because we could create separate posts.


During the preliminary task we were introduced to the programme Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0, none of us had ever really used this software before, so it was a chance for us to familiarize ourselves with it and to make mistakes and learn from them so that we wouldn't make them during out main task. This was the same for the cameras we were given.


When creating our preliminary task we didn't put much effort into the editing. We didn't spend much time on it either, this is evident because when watching the clip back you see that it is very jumpy, we didn't know how to make the transition smoother, but after this task we figured out how to smooth out the clip and therefore incorporated it into our main task scene.




Our first shot in the preliminary task included the title. We used the colours red and white. We didn't think about why we used those colours or the links between those colours and the feelings associated with them, whereas in our main task we thought a great deal about what colour we were going to use and why we intended to use it. We also thought more about the font during the main task than we did in the preliminary task.

Another difference between the tasks were that in the preliminary task we didn't change much of the scene. We left it pretty much exactly the same, instead of editing the saturation and brightness like we did with the main task. This was partly because at the time we were creating our scene for the preliminary task we didn't know how to, whereas during the main task we learnt how to use the effects properly and therefore could use them more effectively.

I feel that since the preliminary task I have learnt a lot more about editing and the software best to use in order to do so. Also because we had to edit our scene for the main task twice due to technical difficulties I have gained a lot more experience using these programmes and therefore I feel that I will be able to use these programmes much more comfortably.

Evaluation 6

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

During the creation of our media product we have used a lot of different programmes and technologies in order to make the process easier and more effective.

- Sanyo Xacti Camcorder

- Blogger

- YouTube

- Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0

- VLC Player

- Paint

- Microsoft Word

- Microsoft Excel

I was familiar with most of these technologies beforehand, but I have improved my original skills with these programmes etc, but I have never used Blogger before and therefore have learnt a lot more about this site. I also can now use Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0 a lot more comfortably than before.

Evaluation 5

 How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience by uploading our video to a popular website called YouTube, therefore our audience could easily access out product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSaZ7jjjD8o

This is the link to our annotated video. We annotated it by using the annotation tool that YouTube offers so that we can explain how we have attempted to attract and address our audience.

Evaluation 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A production company is responsible for the physical production of new media. The company doesn't necessarily have to be a large corporation, they just need to sell their products.

A film distributor is responsible for releasing the new media to the public.

One example of a production company is Lionsgate which has produced films like

• Saw

• The Expendables

• The Lincoln Lawyer

In our case the production company could be our group, our teacher and the ICT office, as we all took part in creating the product.

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The key character I have chosen from our media product is the little girl, she can be compared to the main character in 'The Grudge' films.

The Grudge is about a curse on an old house. The general storyline revolves around an American nurse who lives and works in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim. This is quite a different storyline to our film Distorted, but they do share some similarities.

Similarities

• In both films you discover that the character was once a normal person, but what happened to them during their lives cause them to act this way.
• Both these characters are fairly young females. They both wear white dresses which contrasts with their dark hair, and also contradicts the idea of purity and innocence.
• They both look quite similar, they have dark hair and pale skin.

Differences

• They have different reasons why they act this way, the grudge character was violently abused and killed by her husband, whereas our character is not actually dead, also she was abused sexually instead.

Evaluation 1

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

The title of the film comes up on the screen right at the end of the scene. We decided to make it flash on at the same time that the dead character's eyes open, this is because it is an unexpected shot and therefore makes the audience jump. By doing this it should make the shot memorable, which therefore means that the audience should also remember the name of the film with the shot. The font of the title is 'Papyrus', which we chose because it is quite a creepy looking font, which matches the stereotype of the genre horror. We chose the colour red because it is associated with blood and anger, which are some of the main themes that run through films of this genre.

We thought about the setting/location carefully and decided that we wanted to use the church steps because they are very enclosed which therefore makes the audience feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable, and also it contradicts the usual connotations of a church, for example it is thought of as a 'safe' place for people, but after watching this scene it is clearly not true.

We also decided to use another setting, the forest, because it is very different from the church shot, it is far more open, which indicates that the little girl isn't just stuck in one place, she is free to roam around and obviously kill people, which isn't a very comforting thought, so hopefully this would creep people out.

We decided that we would use a simple white dress for the little girl, because white is seen as symbol of 'purity' and 'innocence', so then when we tore it and covered it in blood it would contradict every typical idea you usually receive when looking at a girl, the innocence and purity.

We decided to use typical clothes that someone would wear around the house, because the character just a normal person to anyone that doesn't know what he's done.

We decided to use the oblique camera angle when filming our product because we found that not only would it add an eerie effect but it would also make the editing process much easier. When editing we started by brightening the scenes in the church so that they could be scene better, but then decided to dull them down a bit because it would make the shots look creepier and more frightening. By doing this we created a gloomy setting, which is stereotypically associated with horror films.

I think this opening scene sets up the story well because it creates suspense and confusion, which causes the audience to want to watch further into the film to find out what happens. The opening scene is a clip of the main events that happen throughout the film, and then the rest of the film illustrates what happened leading up to those events.

We feel that the opening scene represents the genre well because it includes blood and gore, which is one of the main aspects of horror, as well as the colour scheme and also the settings.

After we evaluated our audience research questionnaire results we discovered that the most popular element of horror was Blood and Gore. From these results we decided that to create a successful opening scene we needed to include this element. We attempted to incorporated these ideas into our scene, and so created a bloody wound on the victim. We also put blood on the little girls dress to add to this element.

Within our opening scene the colour scheme mainly consists of dark, plain colours such as black and grey. This continues throughout the whole of the scene, until the end when the red title appears. This makes the red stand out as it is a far more vibrant colour than black or grey. Also the colours black and red are typically associated with death and therefore works well with our plot.

The setting is very important when it comes to presenting our genre. We decided to use the church stairs because they are very closed off, dark and claustrophobic, which makes people feel uncomfortable. We used the forest because they are quite isolated places, as not many people venture into wooded areas because it is difficult to see clearly due to the trees and leaves obscuring the view, which creates tension and a feeling of isolation. Both of these settings create feelings that are stereotypically associated with our genre.

During the opening scene only two characters are introduced, but they are the main characters. When you see the characters is it difficult to understand what is actually going on, therefore creating an element of confusion, this means that when the audience watches this scene they wont fully understand the characters that they are introduced to, because they are not properly introduced. This all would hopefully make them want to watch the rest of the film.

During our editing process we decided that our scene was too jumpy, so in order to try and smooth it out we used a special effect called 'cross dissolve'. After doing this we noticed that our scene was much smooth in transition, making it more pleasing to the eye because it made it easier to watch. The scene was still jumpy enough to fit in with the typical elements of genre, but not so much so that it was uncomfortable to watch.