Final Media Product

41. Alex, Anil, Zubeir, Shumon from 283goswell on Vimeo.

Evaluation - Question 6.

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

Final cut pro:

In order to produce the opening of our media product, we used various technologies such as 'final cut pro', 'soundtrack pro' and 'sony vegas'. We used final cut pro in order to put together the film as a whole, we used this program in combination with soundtrack pro which was used to match the sound to our opening to match foley sounds. for instance footsteps, dragging of body and writing. Also we used it in order to create an effective diegietic soundtrack which works well to capture our audience's attention and keep the on edge.

Here is an example of a technique in which we used in final cut pro and how we did this:

Sony Vegas:

We used sony vegas as a separate programme in order to create the titles as we couldn't find the correct font in which we all agreed on. To make the title for my movie opening I used Sony Vegas Movie Studio. I wanted to use Livetype to make the titles but my group were behind schedule a bit so I decided to use a program that I was comfortable with and would be able to produce something. I thought about making the title a title on black screen. This would be placed at the beginning which would then be followed by the narrative.

the following screen grabs are some examples of how I used sony vegas in order to create the titles:

here I have chose the font in which i want to use, in this screen grab I am editing each titles in order for the titles to appear for 3 seconds each.

Here I have selected the time frame for each titles and testing it to ensure that they work correctly, after I will then import this into final cut pro and integrate each title in between scenes.

Soundtrack pro:

We used soundtrack pro in order to create an effective soundtrack for our media film opening. The ways in which we used soundtrack pro in order to combine all these technologies is that we used the final edit from final cut pro, exported this into a soundtrack pro, and then used the video to match sounds in the correct areas. we then combined all sounds to create one soundtrack which was the exported back to final cut pro and added to the overall film. We wanted to create an effective atmospheric sound in order to keep our audience on edge and to also attract our intended audience. 

To conclude, the above technologies have all been used in order to construct our film opening. We used sony vegas in order to create the titles effectively as we couldn't find the font in which we wanted to use apart from sony vegas. This helped us to create an effective title sequence to go with constructed opening of our media product.  Final cut pro was used in order to add shots together, and create different types of shots such as the match cut in which was used to show the before and after effects of the towel being thrown over the body. once our final edit was complete we then exported this to into soundtrack in order to create an atmospheric, engaging soundtrack for the opening of our media product. 

Evaluation - Question 7.

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

In our preliminary exercise our task we used various camera angles and shots In order to create an effective scene In which we used low angle shots during the conversation scene in which the patient was looked down on to portray vulnerability. Also a series of close ups were used for example the close up of the door handle and the patient to show there facial expressions which portrayed their feelings and thoughts.

Preliminary close ups:

Final film close up:

Compared to our final film opening our grouped gained a better understanding of the use of camera shots and how to portray a characters status therefore before we went out to film we chose different camera angle in which we may use to portray a character a low status. For example we used a low angle shot of the victim being dragged. Other camera angles used were match cuts and close ups. The match cut was used to how the towel being thrown over the victims body. Also close ups were used to show the antagonists feelings and emotions.

Match cut

One particular problem we had with the prelim was getting the titles to fit in with shots before they changed which we found quite difficult, therefore in the final filming of our thriller opening we decided to use titles over a black screen in which allowed us to build tension and suspense therefore keeping the audience on edge.

In our preliminary exercise are task was to show our understanding of the 180 degree rule in which I think we did quite well for example the over the shoulder shots were kept to the character right shoulder and therefore not breaking the 180 degree rule. In our final media product we also used our understanding of the 180 degree rule therefore we also kept the camera on the left side of the chapel in which the dragging of the body was filmed.

180 degree rule used in preliminary

180 degree used in final media product

In the preliminary of our product we did not use any particular sound apart from dialogue in which the conversation between the psychiatrist and patient was going on. However in our final media product we used soundtrack pro in order to create the sound for our final media product, we used Foley sounds in order to create a realistic scene. Also we used non-diegietic sound in order to create an atmospheric scene, which added to the suspense of our thriller. In addition the sound also worked well in time with our titles in which builds tension.

In addition we used a more complex range of editing techniques than we did in our preliminary such as the cross over fades and the opacity effects.

Evaluation - Question 2.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation - Question 3.

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

Evaluation - Question 4.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our media product may be linked to the following words/phrases which are accompanied with a thriller opening film. the audience emotions may also affect who is attracted to our media product.

Here is a quick clip of who we think would be the audience for our media product, here i have created a video of what they thought captured there eye overall.

Evaluation - Question 5.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation - Question 1.

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

Psycho uses various zooms in the opening of their film which ay create tension. our group decided to use a zoom at the beginning of the film which keep the audience engaged and n edge.

Tracking shots are commonly used in thriller as they are used to reveal something which may be the subject of the film. we have used a tracking shot in order to reveal the dead body. this is a media convention we used as it is very common in thriller and we wanted this to appear clearly within the opening of our media products.

psycho uses a classic opening which is based of the titles being presented on a black screen, the effects and transitions help to create a distinct idea of violence which is accompanied with a string of orchestra adding drama and suspense.

The main aim was to challenge the conventions of titles within a thriller. Originally we decided to use a string of titles before the narrative; although this did not work effectively therefore we integrated them in between scenes to add suspense and drama to our media product. The title font used was quite distorted, along with a sweep of light which appeared red, foreshadowing violence and death later to in the storyline.

Conventions of media products are usually used in order for the audience to immediately recognise the different kind of conventions within a particular genre. For example, the conventions of a thriller may be the different kinds of camera movement such a panning or tracking shots, sound, titles which are generally shown over a black screen. All the above conventions are all used in order to create what is thought of as a thriller, a film in which creates a sense of mystery, suspense and tension ending with a cliff hanger in which makes the audience want more. In the opening of our media product, our group have thought carefully about the conventions of real media conventions such as, camera angles, sound, titles, mise en scene etc. Our group researched on different conventions other real media products used within a thriller. We then as a group carefully decided upon all the different aspects in order to catch our audience’s eye. We knew that the key of media product conventions was to create a strong visual interpretation of what our audience, instantly recognise when watching the opening of a real media product. 

The conventions of ‘Psycho’ use many different forms of conventions, one of which is instantly is instantly recognised is sound in which a string of orchestra is used to create tension and drama. In addition, the sound also works well with the black and white cinematography of the film. The main title music is a very tense, dramatic piece which sets the tone of impending violence. Moreover, the sound also foreshadows the later events of the film which symbolises violence or even death. Psycho uses a classic opening which immediately hooks the audience through graphics, sound and editing. The titles are placed over a black screen which creates suspense. This type of title sequence was considered by our group however we thought this didn’t work well with the narrative of our opening media product. Instead we decided to place each title over a blank screen but in between scenes, this helped to add tension and drama to the opening of our media product which we decided was very effective. The use of camera angels within psycho allow the audience to create a sense of location. Also the use of zooms has been used effectively to add to the audiences fear and suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen next. 

Our media group thought of different real media conventions in which work well with thrillers, this included the use of sound, camera angles, titles and mise en scene. Many common camera angels used within a thriller a tracking, panning and close ups. As a group we decided to challenge these conventions by using the tracking shot which appears as a panic shot as we reveal the body. Another shot used was a zoom in which we were told to avoid however we thought this would work really effectively at the begging as it opened up to the main plot of our film opening. We have also used many close ups to portray the characters feelings and emotions which appear sinister. In addition, we also get a sense of location which is located in a cemetery in which the antagonist hides the bodies of his victims in an old ruin chapel. This again adds to his character, which may be portrayed as quite sinister and mentally disturbed.

Research - Previous Student Film Opening (Analysis)

Group 31. Czarina Baticos, Dennetta McKain, Kim Nguyen, Thao Ngo from 283goswell on Vimeo.
'Four Walls' is somewhat an enigma in which allows the audience to raise questions about what the whole film may be about.

Sound:
In terms of sound, 'Four Walls' is very successful in creating suspense and building tension. The non diegetic sound effects added in post production create a real sense of mystery. The foley sounds of the girl banging on the metal walls are very realistic and go unnoticed by the audience as it has been integrated into the film really well, the sound also really helps to engage the audience.

Mise en Scene:
The location of the set in which is in 4 walls as stated in the title. creates a sense of entrapment. the props such as the knife and pictures allows us, as the audience to interpret the actors identity. in this case the acter seems to be somewhat an enigma, and they seem to be mentally disturbed due to being trapped which is portrayed in their body language. The clothing of the actor suggests they have been trapped for a long time as they are quite ragged and dirty. In addition, the lighting is very dim, in which suggests they are enclosed physically again portraying the idea of entrapment. Also the props such as the knife and blood imply death which may foreshadow later events of the film.

Editing:
The special effects such as writing coming off the page, the ghostly effect of the actor, and the transitions (fade) all help in order to create a sense of distortion which may imply the actors feelings or portrays the idea of entrapment.

Camera:
Many of the camera shots used within these piece of students work are very much various close ups such as, BCU and CU. the use of many close ups helps the audience to identify the actors facial expressions and feelings.

Editing Titles on Sony Vegas

To make the title for my movie opening I used Sony Vegas Movie Studio. I wanted to use Livetype to make the titles but my group were behind schedule a bit so I decided to use a program that I was comfortable with and would be able to produce something. I thought about making the title a title on black screen. This would be placed at the beginning which would then be followed by the narrative.

To begin with I added the titles which were three seconds in length. The first font I used was Verdana however when I watched it , it looked really simple and plain so I changed it to another font while look much better. This one was called “SoulMission”.

After changing the font style and size, I added a hard flashed in-between the texts to add a more thrilling effect. 

A member in the group suggested that I should make the names with the same fonts and keep the other texts such as “Casting by”, “make up by”, “Directed by” etc as a normal font. I think this was a good idea as it made the names of the people in the production company stand out more. They deserve their names to stand out since they helped.

For non diegetic sound I had the idea of adding a cinematic boom as the titles changed. Originally I thought it sounded good. It had a nice effect but after getting feedback from my teacher, I realized that the cinematic boom made the movie more of an Action Thriller rather than a Crime Thriller. This was obviously wrong so I took it away and kept just a background track of Behold the Darkness by Medwyn Goodall. 

I started the track with a fade in offset so it builds up instead of just starting at a fixed volume. I also ended it with a fade out offset. 

Target Audience of Our Opening 'The Executioner'

Demographic Characteristics of An Audience:

Demographic characteristics include the following which are all factors affecting a persons choice of genre to a film in which they are most likely to inherit.

• Age 
• Gender 
• Ethnicity, race, and cultural background
• Sexual orientation

As our movie is in association with film 4, we are more than likely to have an inherited audience. Film 4 broadcast various movie ranging from different genres and sub genre's. However, due to the opening of our thriller being a thriller, our target audience may be narrowed down to male orientated, in which is most likely to be watched by a male instead of a female. This may be due to females being more feminin, in which would rather watch a romance than a thriller. Also age will affect our target audience, due to being a thriller we may attract an age range between 15+ as teenagers like to being on edge, scared and getting there adrenaline pumping. Ethnicity, race and cultural background may also affect the target audience, due to a persons moral values. (e.g. a specific ethnic background may affect if someone was to watch a film in which contains strong sex or violence.)

To conclude the opening of our thriller 'The Executioner' would probably inherit an audience of young teenagers of 15+ and would be mainly male orientated.

Foley sounds

Foley is the reproduction of everyday sounds, used in the production of films. These reproduced sounds can range from the scatter of leaves, footsteps, squeaky doors and breaking glass. Foley sounds which are so well integrated into a film can go unnoticed by the audience, in which helps to create a sense of reality within a film.

Foley artists search to recreate the realistic ambient sounds that a film may portray. Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of the movie. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of a movie during filming. Such as Birds humming or passing traffic.

As a group we carefully listened to the sounds we had already captured on set, however there were also some sounds in which we wanted to cover up such a background noise. In order to do this we created our own Foley sound to create a more realistic sound in which actually occurs within that scene. We have also used it to cover up background noise, such as the crew talking behind the scenes.

Below I have attached some sounds in which we, as a group created to integrate into our final product of the opening of ‘The Executioner’ a Thriller.

Here I have attached a foley sound in which we created for the opening sequence to 'The Excecutioner'.

Production - Rough Cut

The above video is our rough cut for our thriller opening sequence. We have taken the feedback given into consideration and will be further editing our sequence in order to create an effective thriller opening. 

.

Rough Cut Response

Although you couldn't post your rough cut due to technical difficulties I thought I would add some comments - I'm sure it will be posted.

I thought the chapel filming went well and Zubeir's part works well. The titles look good and the music is quite convincing alongside it.

I'm not convinced the 'blinky' effect is that effective (boom boom).

Having the long title sequence at the start delays the impact, so you might integrate this a bit more and work on the soundtrack.

I don't feel you need to do any more filming - just complete the editing so this becomes a really strong product.
Well done but keep working up to the deadline

Rough Cut - Evaluation

Many of the shots we chose were typically due to the media conventions of thriller films. for example, many thriller films contain tracking and panning shots to emphasis location and to reveal objects, in which we used a tracking shot to reveal the body. Many close ups were used to present the antagonist and his actions and facial expression which again would help to emphasis our understanding of who this character is and why he commits such criminal actions.

We have decided to use a string of titles at the beginning of the narrative behind a blank screen. which would work along with the sound in order to create suspense and allows the audience to raise questions of what may appear in the narrative simply due to the style of the fonts and the sound in which occurs with it. However we thought that we may integrate the titles in between shots rather than having a string of titles at the beginning. Due to our target audience being teenagers we thought that a string of titles behind a blank screen may become boring after a few seconds. Therefore we integrated the titles in between shots which again would allow to build tensions and keep the audience on edge.

We used various aspects of mise en scene within the rough cut of our media product such as costume, in which the protagonist in dressed in all black clothing, wearing leather clothes and a 'hoody', which portrays this character as violent and threatening in stereotypical terms. in addition the use of props such a the diary and the knife covered in blood suggests that this is a character who may be a potential serial killer in which records his killings and future intentions.

in order to finish our final media product, we need to change the titles in which are going to be integrated within shots rather than having a string of titles at the beginning as they would be behind a black screen and therefore may bore our audience as we are targeting teenagers aged between 13 - 17 years old. in addition, we have to create a soundtrack in which will go along with our finish product. the aim is to create an atmospheric soundtrack in which will keep the audience on edge, builds suspense and adds drama to our overall thriller opening.

To conclude to improve our rough cut and create a thriller audience targeted at our intended audience we have to rethink some of the effects used, such as the 'blinky' effect which we are presented with at the beginning of our thriller opening.

Arlington Road - Title Sequence Remake

This is our remake of the title sequence of Arlington Road. In class, we'd watched various clips of opening titles to films. Our task, using FinalCut Pro, was to place the opening titles to Arlington Road in chronological order and then edit the opening and ad our own titles. We had to include all the commercial information such as the production company, distribution company, film title, director, main characters, editor, producer, music composer/artist and writer. We had to make sure that we got that information in the correct order, like in a real film. We knew how to do this from all the different film openings we'd watched in class and did it in a similar way.    

Once we decided on the titles and their order, we had to focus on the font of the text, the position of the font, where in the clip it would be placed and the colour/s we would use. 

The clip below is the alternative opening titles that we have created to give the film a more interesting opening from the original.

In our version, we have decided to place our production company in the first scene when we see a blurry video. This works very well because it helps the text of the production company stand out and the blurriness represents the boy's point of view. We have used the colour red for the font in our remake of Arlington Road. This not only connotates danger but also help to make the information in the titles stand out.  

Filming - Shoot 1

As we prepared for shoot 1, our group was very well organised and everyone came equipped and we were on schedule. We were able to work efficiently as a team due to great communication and work ethic.  One of the key strengths was that our props and costume were spot on. Both of the actors featured in our movie were well prepared and dressed appropriately for their roles. We had also prepared our props well, such as the fake blood used to make the murder apear realistic. We also took a normal notebook and adapted it to appear old and dirty by using boiled tea bags and burning parts of the book.

One of the weaknesses within our shoot was the lighting, which we only noticed after we uploaded our videos to the Mac. Some of the shots appeared to be quite dark as the inside of our location was darker than expected, however we have used the 3 way colour corrector to lighten up those shots although it appears to be quite 'powdery'.  Due to this problem we may have to shoot parts of the film opening again, to get the lighting correct.



This is a picture of the chapel at Abney Park Cemetery. We filmed our scenes inside it, as it was a suitable location for our idea of the opening of the thriller. We also took some some extra videos and photos outside the chapel, but inside the cemetery as we may later decide to use some of them to create an establishing scenario.

Feedback From Ainsworth Dennis

  

During the first days of the editing process we decided to get some feedback of what we have done so far. We can then take into consideration what has been said which may help us later in the process of editing, to get it just right!

Planning - Target Audience

As a group we decided upon what our target audience would be due to the content in which will appear in the opening sequence of our thriller. However, we also discussed who would more likely be attracted to our film. Since our opening sequence will contain flashes of blood and a dead body getting dragged, we thought about making the film a 15 parental guidance. We predict that it will be favored by teenage boys more as they tend to watch these type of films often. This could be a form of an inherited audience. Also our title 'The Executioner' gives the genre of the film away therefore will attract an audience interested in Thriller/Horror. 

Planning: Title Sequence Inspiration

After watching a lot of film opening such as Taking of Pelham 123, Buried, Enemy of the State and many more the two most influencial title sequence are Seven and Momento.

the titles in Momento started with a black screen with blue titles. Then it follows with a narrative opening title sequence.

This is a very good idea to use. It starts off with the important names such as: Production company, Directors and so on and then it follows with the least important names and titles. We want to use something like this for our opening sequence. However we do not want any title to overlap to another shot. So if we do use this in our one then we will make sure one title goes on one shot and a different shot goes on another shot.

Another movie that influence us a lot is Seven but this time it isn't the titles. It's the book in the beginning. 

We want to use something similar to the book. In our one we are going to se an old dirty diary that belongs to the killer. There will be a shot of the pages in the diary flipping. We might put some titles on the page but again that might overlap in between shots.

If we do use the title sequence like in Seven then our writing will be in red instead of white. This is because we want to create a bloody thrilling atmosphere.