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Video upload problems

We have had problems with the upload of our final film opening video. However, we we have it on a disc that will be sent to the moderater.

Evaluation Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Risk Assessment

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

Frame one - The title of the filmThe first frame that I have selected is the film title; My Name is Alice. Our film is set in the era of the 60's, so we have used black and white throughout the whole film opening, to ensure we continue this, we have used a black backdrop with write wiriting to ensure that even our film title is black and white to add to the whole olden black and white film. Having the white font against the black screen makes it stand out a lot, making it very bold to the audience. The title plays a key role as its what splits up the opening to the film and when the films then truly begins. It fits in well as we have a voice over, where the character is actually reading the title aloud to the audience, as well as them seeing and reading it. This creates an rememberable title for the film. The font we have used is kind of fancy, this again shows the innocence and elegance of the film.

 

 

A film that we got inspiration from and followed the codes and conventions from was The Lovely Bones. Our film and this film are the same genre, and therefore this had an impact on the way we decided to create our film title to be as effective as this film title. We have used the same type of layout but using a black background with a simple white font.
 

Frame two - Costumes and propsThere are two characters in our film opening, Alice (right) and Rosie (left). Our film was set in 1966 therefore we had to ensure we had costumes that fit this era. Rosie is wearing a black and white, knee length dress with brogues, her hair half tied up with a ribben with natural curls. Alice's hair is also naturally curly, with a floral collered blouse, high waist buttoned up skirt, white frilly socks and brogues. We have ensured that our costumes linked with the era we were trying to film in to make sure the audience feel as if they are actually in that era. The only prop used was a old fashioned bike. This is because the girls are young and the type of thing you would do in that day and age is bike around and meet friends. The bike really fit in with our era too as it was old fashioned.  

 

Frame three - Creating the enigma
With our genre being Fantasy/Thriller enigma is important to be shown. The enigma was created within our opening as the audience will find it difficult to see why Alice and Rosie have met up, and why Rosie fades in and out of the shots she is in. The audience will think by Rosie fading in and out she is the one that is dead however what they wont realise is that actually Alice is dead but thinks it's the other way round. This causes confusion for the audience as they are seeing things through Alices' eyes.

Frame four - Setting/location
This is a clip of one of the locations we used for our film opening, this was used in the first half of the opening as it was showing Alice's journey to the place she was meeting Rosie. This was located in Glinton, we used this location as they were many old-ish roads/paths, with a lot of greenery, this suited our film opening era as it is how life used to be. There is no sign of modern day houses of car heres, so it helps the audience believe its in the 1960's. We then used a different location for our second half of the opening as the setting was better. Our first location didnt have any field, or large grass areas where the two girls could sit down and meet, therefore this is why we changed the location. The second location had this setting and meant we could film there. A reason for using both of these locations is because they are located in random, isolated areas, showing that Alice couldn't/wouldnt meet up with Rosie in public.

Frame five - title font and style

Throughout our whole opening, we have stuck to one font and style, to keep the theme of basis but effective going all the way through. A lot of film openings do this, therefore we have followed them. Again, the colour of the titles we have used is black, which is to fit in with the black and white theme to create the era this is set in. The white is a contrast against the darker colours used throughout the scenes and shots in our film opening.

Frame six - Genre and how the opening suggests it
The genre we have gone for is Thriller/Fantasy. There are a number of ways in which the genre has come through in the film opening to the audience. This whole film opening is black and white, although its for the era setting it's also suggesting this could be a flashback of some sort to create the opening scene for the film. The way one of the characters, Rosie, fades in and out creates a kind of thrill and spookiness to the scene. The voice over adds to the thriller as it's quite deep and you can tell this girl has been to a dark place. The thriller also links to the fact the main characters are very young, being just 13 years old, which is quite weird to see a young characters speaking like an adult with the depth of emotions she goes through, this is expressed through the use of the voiceover. The opening consists of two young girls, meeting in a disurted place, where no one else is or goes, which makes the opening kind of odd as to why they are being so secretive.

Frame seven - How characters are introduced

The main character Alice was introduced at the very beginning of the film opening, this was shown as her biking down some paths. The actual introduction of her charatcer and her real self has been added through the use of the titles of her name on top of a shot when she appears on screen. With her being the first character shown, and her being there from the start to end, it shows the audience she is the main character and the one to focus on. This makes the audience aware that she is probably Alice from the title 'My Name is Alice'. Rosie is then introduced once Alice has met her at their own little place. Rosie properly appears through a fade in to make her look mysterious. It shows how the characters have a strong bond as Alice has gone out of her way to bike all the way to see Rosie. Another way the characters are itntroduced is through the voice over. Alice actually says "that's Rosie" and explains what Rosie means to her and what she's helped her through. She ends the voiceover with 'and my name, is Alice' telling the audience that the person talking about the top was actually the main character that was on the screen.

 

Frame eight - Camerawork and editing
Throughout our film opening we have used a variety of camera angles, shots and movements alongside a few different editing techniques. The first thing we done was used panning to track the bird that was flying through the sky at the very beginning of the film opening, this was neccessary as it linked to the song being played throughout the scene which was called 'Blackbirds'. We had then gone of to use a variety of shots and angle to capture Alices' journey to the place she was meeting Rosie. Once Alice and Rosie was together over-the-shoulder shots, medium shot, two shot and extreme close ups were used to show them talking and in deep conversation. We had also used cross dissolve to edit the scenes and different shots together well. We made sure the cross dissolve was either fading out to black or white, which again fits in with the black and white theme running through the whole opening. The picture I have attached above is a match on action shot of Alice off her bike and pushing it along where she then puts it down so she can sit down and speak to Rosie.

Frame nine - Story and how the opening sets it upOur film opening is about a girl who believes she is alive, this is Alice, the main girl throughout the whole opening. Alice goes to visit a friend, Rosie, in a isolated place where no one else goes as she believe Rosie is dead, however this isn't true. What Alice doesn't know is that in fact she is the one that died years ago but has been living as if she was still alive, as thats what she believes. The titles will appear after the end of this opening scene where the film would then restart and show the audience who Alice was when she was alive, what she went through, how she died and how she met Rosie. The narration that is said over the top gives away subtle hints that Alice isn't alive, same as some of the editing involved in this opening.

 

 

 

Evaluation Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Evaluation Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of construction this product?

One of the types of technology that we learnt about was the Sound Booth. We had used this because we needed to recorded Sky doing the voice-over for the main character Alice. None of us had used it before therefore none of us knew how to work it. One of the music teachers gave us a brief after school lesson to teach us how to use the microphone, the sound buttons and volume and the editor for the sound on the computer. In this picture me and Mollie are moving the buttons for when Sky has to speak to ensure that we get the voice-over clear and Laura who isn't in the picture was working the volume to ensure the speech wasn't going to be too loud and muffled.  

Whilst we were all controlling the buttons, Sky had to read over her speech into the microphone clearly to ensure we were able to capture the voice-over the best we could. To the right is the outside of the door showing anyone passing by that we were 'On Air' so they wouldn't disturb us. Again, at first we didnt know how to use the microphone but we had been briefly taught this beforehand. 

This picture was taking whilst we were out filming our outdoor scene of where the two characters meet and are shown together. The equipment being shown here is a tripod, this is where the camera is linked onto so that we can get still shots and also smooth turns. We had to position the tripod accurately to ensure we dont get the scenery lopsided, we found this difficult at times because we had to film on the ground, which isn't exactly flat.

The main techonology we used was the Adobe Premiere Pro. This was where our whole film opening came together. This is where we had put all of the videos and shots we had and put them into one video, whilst also including effects, the voice-over, the music and had edited everything together. This techonology hasnt been the best, but it done what we needed to do. Using this has been quite difficult most of the time due to constant freezing making it hard for us to see whether the video flowed well together and whether or not the editing looked good. 

For all of the filming we used my camera which is a 

Fujifilm FinePix S2995 Digital Bridge Camera, this was because this camera was better quality than the cameras we were given to used at the beginning. 

Scripting

The script we use for our opening scene is a voice-over that Sky speaks, this is the 'voice' of Alice.

Narration
Sky:

When I think of growing older I get a strange feeling in my belly. It’s like, it’s not meant to be.

And if I never grow older, well that will be a comfort.

That’s me. You don’t know about me.

But I know me

Like a black bird carries the sky on its back, I feel like I carry the weight of the world on mine.

I have so much I wanna say but no one to hear it. I just need to there’s someone out there that listens and understands.

I often spend my time out, my family never really acknowledge me.

And if you don’t know where your heading any road will take you there.

I’ve not always been this way, so negative.

My life used to be so good and happy, but you’re not supposed to look back, you’re supposed to keep going.

I used to think it would be nice if thinks made sense for a change, but now that’s all different.

Now I have Rosie, she listens to me and I like that.

We found peace in each other, when I’m with her I’m not alone and nether is she.

And I wouldn’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then. And life doesn’t stop for anyone.

So let me tell you a story, my name is Alice.

Codes and conventions of 'ParaNorman'

The hook of this is that because its a horror, the audience will want to know where these ghosts and monsters are coming from? Why are they there? Why are they doing things to these characters? There's a lot of questions that the audience will want to know which is why the hook is so important as its what attracts the audience in. 

With the film being animated you cant really see where the film is set, but by looking at the snippets of what the opening gives you, it looks like its based around a haunted house and/or area of some sort. 

Throughout the opening scene the characters were introduced in a visual code of convention. They would have a shot pause on a character for about 2 seconds, with the actors/actresses name to the side of them. With the characters being cartoon this means that it is showing the audience who will be doing the voice of what character.

The genre of the film is quite clearly for children, young teenagers. You can straight away tell as the whole film is cartoon. By watching the opening scene you can see it being a horror/cartoon for children. You get the idea of it being a horror through the use of the cartoons of ghosts, monsters and skeletons. The music is a lyrical song, with the lyrics repeatedly saying "little ghost". You can tell its aimed at children because the opening is introduced through comic book pictures, which is something children read. 

They use a range of colours and fonts for the titles. The spookiness of the film genre comes through in some of the fonts being red, and almost blood like. The colours add to the idea that its for children, as children are fascinated by lots of colours, and its a way for the title to catch their attention of the movie. 

Props

The main and only prop used in our filming opening is Mollie's old fashioned style, vintage bike. This is the bicycle that the main character, Alice, rides. This is used for Alice's journey to meet Rosie. With the bike being old fashioned, it suited our film opening which is set in the olden days of the 1960's. Our whole film opening would of been completely different without this prop, as it plays a massive part in the whole film opening. 

Costumes

This is a scene with both characters, Rosie on the left, and Alice to the right. Its hard to see but we have dressed the characters in certain ways to ensure they continue to flow with the era we are going for. Rosie is wearing a black and white dress just above the knee dress, with brogues and her hair loosing, naturally curled tied together with a bow to keep the innocent look of her young character.

Alice is wearing a high waisted buttoned up denim look-a-like skirt with a beige, floral buttoned up collared blouse with white frilly socks and brogues. This is again, to keep in the character of her young, innocent self.

Location

These are the two locations where we filmed our film opening. The bottom left image is where we filmed the second half of our film opening. This is when the two characters, Alice and Rosie meet. The two top photos are where we filmed the journey of the bike ride to where Alice meets Rosie. The two top photos were located in Glinton and the bottom photo was in Paston. 

Codes and Conventions of 'Edward Scissorhands'

The hook of Edward Scissorhands is shown throughout the opening, as the camera moves around a house. The house looks very old, covered in cobwebs and is very dark and gloomy. It creates the hook as it adds to the mystery of who’s house is this, and why is it so important? It also shows strange types of machinery being used which again adds to the mystery of what is being made?

From the opening scene you couldn’t really see where the film was most likely set, or the era it was based in. The camera remained within a house until the last scene where you just see the house from the outside placed on top of a very large, tall mountain.

The characters in this opening was only introduced through written codes of convention, for example, the main character Johnny Depp was only shown in written form as a title.

The genre of the film is also quite hard to tell, but with the titles and the music it shows the film being quite spooky, and a little weird. It’s more of a fantasy genre you get through, because of the constant use of the shots of machinery and the house.

The credits use the same continuous font throughout the whole opening scene. The font they use is quite basic however it has a weird, edge to it, which emphasises the film being a bit different.  When the title actually appears where it says “Edward Scissorhands” the word depart into a scissor shape which shows the relation from the film into the title. The white font on the black background is very effective as it stands out the most. The whole opening is very dark making the font very bold in contrast. 

Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our film opening will be more targeted at females, as it is an old-fashioned films, featuring young girls. The whole idea and film is rather girly and we assume that it will be more likely to be watched and liked by females than males. The females we are targeting are ages between 13-25, this is a similar age group to our similarity film ‘The Lovely Bones’. With both films being similar and having the same genre, it is more likely that this age group would be interested in our film as well as ‘The Lovely Bones’. However, older women could actually be interested in it, with the film being set in the 1960’s, an audience that was actually born and raised in that era might find it rather interesting to watch it as it might remind them of their childhood and when they were younger, making it more effective. 

Evaluation Question 3 - What kind of media instituation might distribute your media product and why?

To distribute our film we thought that Film4 would probably be the best and well suited option for us. This is because of Film4 being a low budget film company which distributes and airs independent films instead of the huge blockbusters, which ours is not a blockbuster. It is more likely that Film4 will be more willing to distribute our film as they are usually more interested in low budget independent films like our film, if we were to go with another distributor where blockbusters could be a competition it will be very unlikely for them to want to broadcast our film. Film4 also broadcast quite different films, they are a huge variety of film ranges whereas blockbuster distributors will be far pickier and will know exactly what they want. Our film logo and name is what the viewers will see before the film starts and is how Film4 would show when airing out production. We have put a lot of effort and time into making sure the logo and name for our film looks professional and attractive to entice film companies like Film4 to want to air our film. We would introduce our film genre and an outline of what goes on to Film4 following by showing them  short clip of the film opening to see whether they will be interested to take it further. Our film has the same genre and it is quite similar to the idea of ‘The Lovely Bones’ which has actually been played on Film4 in the past, this could give us a better chance of Film4 wanting to air our film with similar ones being a big hit. 

Evaluation Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This is Alice (bottom picture), this is the main character in our film opening. We have also chosen the main girl out of The Lovely Bones, Suzie Salmon (top picture). The Lovely Bones is where we got the inspriation from to the character of Alice following the genre of this film (Thriller/Fantasy). Both characters have similar characteristics as they resemble that 'young and innocent' vibe/look about them. Our film opening is mainly targetting young teenagers, most likely to grab a females attention however males are also targetted. Both of these films are set in the older days, with out film being in the 50's and 60's (hence the black and white effect) and The Lovely Bones being set in the 70's, giving it more of a modern look compared to our. Both characters of Alice and Suzie are also of similar age making them play the typical young, innocent girl look. We have used a young age like The Lovely Bones as it represents the thriller a bit better as it's more creepy to see that such tragic things could happen at such a young age, an age you dont expect.

Complications

We have had multiple chances to film our opening video however we have had many complication and difficulties to do this because of the weather. Our original idea was that the scene would be set in a spring days however with it being winter it is difficult for us to do this. Some errors that we have witnessed is that shooting in the opposite weather to what you want really is more difficult than expected. As we need a bit of breeze and sunshine we have been getting rain and snow. 

On the first Monday we tried filming it had snowed, we then planned to film later that week but the snow hadn't gone and just turned into ice. This would of been dangerous as we have to bike in the filming therefore it isn't good to put ourselves in danger. 

After that we planned to film the following Monday and Tuesday, but unfortunately we were expected heavy rain. 

We have decided to film on Sunday and Monday. With the complications we have experienced we have made sure to check the weather to ensure these complication don't happen again. 

Letter to Apple Records

The music we have chosen for our opening video is The Beatles - Blackbirds, for this we have researched who owns the song and have sent a letter to them to ask for their permission to use this song. We are currently waiting for a reply. 

Location

As a group we have decided to film on the outskirts of Glinton. The reason we have chose this area is because its a rural area that's just fields and worn down paths. With our film opening being set in the 1960's this area is good because there will be no roads around meaning no modern life so show the actual time of our filming.