MAIN Post 12.7: Question 7

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

Looking back at the preliminary tasks, I have widened my knowledge of the way film companies work and the different stages of production. I now have a very good understanding of camera knowledge which applies when filming such as the cuts, close ups and 180 degree rule. By the help of the audience and their feedback my group and I noticed we had made mistakes. However now i have a better understanding of our mistakes, I know for a fact that i will not make the same mistakes. From showing the class our prelim film they told us that some of our scenes were too long which made them loose interest. However thanks to the help of premier pro we were able to correct this problem. 

Another mistake we made was we kept on laughing which resulted in us rushing some of the scenes as we didn't have the time which we wanted. This caused some scenes to ruff and un professional like. However due to these mistakes, we learnt and didn't rush our main task and we remained as calm as possible, as a result of this our film looked better due to the extra time we had. Also it meant the audience enjoyed the film more and found it a lot more exciting and interesting.

MAIN Post 12.6: Question 6

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

During the construction of the opening sequence I have learnt how to film using the tripod and the micro-phone to produce clear sounds. The main thing I have learnt whilst doing the opening sequence is how to edit a film sufficiently and apply appropriate non-diegetic sounds in order to make the scene more exciting which will hook the audience in. I have also learnt how to cut takes of scenes out in order to make the opening sequence more effective.

I have also learnt how to use Prezi which I had never heard of before so with the help of youtube and my teacher I learnt how to use it to complete posts and also how to embed it to my blog effectively. 

MAIN Post 12.5: Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract our audience we used different techniques. Due to the fact that our film is action comedy we used elements from both action and comedy films to make the film exciting. A lot of shots of from action films such as running and jumping things have been adapted in our opening sequence. By doing this it adds tension and suspense. Below are the pictures of some of the action shots. 

To attract the action audience we made the room very dark to portray our villain and to show Nigel pure evil. This makes the audience more involved in the film as they take sides with the agents and immediately dislike Nigel and wish him no luck. Below is the picture.

We tried to attract the our comedy audience by adding funny shots of our agents messing up humorously. Below is a shot of Agent Barry running into a locked door while trying to find and capture Nigel, being silly and hitting his face. 

MAIN Post 12.4: Question 4

 Who would be the audience for your media product?

From looking at box office statistics and from the questions I done in the pre-production research, it showed me which age group like what genre and the amount of money the genres turn over. After analysing my research I concluded that my groups target audience would be 15+ males.

By narrowing down my target audience, I came to the conclusion that males aged between 18-20 who were still in some kind of education, would want to see the film. As these students will be in education they will usually have time in the evening to do something and a good way to kill some time would be to go to the cinema. They will also have money in their banks due to student loans etc, which means they will be able to go and watch the film. Also as they are still in education, they will have a lot of time off during the holidays which means they will have the time to go out to the cinema. From the research I found that males prefer action and comedy film compared to other genres hence the reason why so many big name films such as 'the hangover' are aimed at the younger male population because that is where the biggest audience will be which results in higher profits. Also 18-20 year old males spend a lot of time of the internet and especially on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. With them being online so much they will be able to see what other people have said about the film and decide whether to go watch it or not. Also this age group would be stress free as they don't have to pay big mortgages and can have fun, before they have to start paying money back. This age group would be vital if I wanted to make my film successful and that is why this target audience is an important part for my media product.

MAIN Post 12.3: Question 3

MAIN task post 12.2: Question 2

Insert picture.




Above is a screenshot of two characters from my group and I opening sequence. The boy on the left is Zeus (played by myself Sean) and the boy on the right is Barry (played by Henri)t, these two are both similar in character however Barry is meant to be a bit silly.



















A comparable character to agent Zeus would be Sergeant Angel in the action/comedy film, Hot Fuzz. They are both similar as they are both determined, positive attitude and believes he is the best around. Zeus would be in a 'un-popular' social group because he is more worried about doing a good job and completing the task than he is to make friends

A character who is similar to agent Barry would be the clumsy policeman in Hot Fuzz, 'Danny Butterman' . They are both similar to one another as they both are only in the force because of the father's being high up. They are also very similar in the way they act; as in they are both silly and very clumsy. Barry would fit into the social group as 'immature but popular'. In our opening sequence Barry is portrayed as clumsy and silly by doing numerous silly things.

MAIN task post 12.1: Question 1

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

Below is the video of the directory commentary;

We have had problems trying to upload this video.

Below is a director's commentary highlighting how my opening sequence uses or breaks away from conventions.

The way my group and I constructed our opening sequence was similar if not exactly the same as the original plan expect we cut out the final scene were Nigel gets hit in the face by an orange, as a way of finishing on a cliff hanger, making the audience want to watch more.

My group and I spent a lot of time finding the appropriate sound for the opening sequence. We made sure that the music we selected would create tension and suspense, hooking the audience in.

Mise-en-scene and Camera:

Cuts: We used a lot of cuts to make the scene look fast and exhilarating, also as another way to hook the audience in. However after getting feedback from the audience we could have used more close up to the characters faces, so that the audience could see the characters emotions better.

  My group and I decide that the most suitable place to film our opening sequence was in and around the school premises as our film is about an evil man stealing the exam papers from the school. This was a perfect place to film as we had the ability when inside to make the light dark enough to portray the pure evil one of the character has. This would not have been possible outside. At the beginning of our opening sequence we used long shots to show the location and to set the scene. Throughout our opening sequence it is full of scenes of running, to portray the excitement and action in the film. 

During the opening sequence we have edited in the credits of each character, in different colours. The colours we chose for the credits were colours that would stand out when the good guys names came up but would show dark and evil when the bad guy name came up.

My group and I opening sequence uses the traditional conventions of both action and comedy in order to to straight away tell the audience what genre it is and too hook the audience in and get them excited.

Post 12a MAIN task:Evaluation - Audience Feedback

Below is the link to the video of my group and I commenting on our film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E0aVCEBq_s

I asked the audience some questions, here is the question i asked;


1) what did you think of our film?




(i have had trouble trying to imbedding the video)

The audience told us that our film was very exciting however the blue writing we had on the background saying who played who, was too dark and hard to read. They said there was some really good editing in the film however we needed to show more close ups on the characters faces in order to show more emotions.



From listening to what the audience thought of our film and what we could do to improve it, we adapted the film and made it that little bit better.

Below is a link to our audience feedback

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9MYToYzcOM

Post 11 MAIN Task: Final opening sequence

Below is the link to YouTube for my opening sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moc4E_5rJFs&feature=youtu.be

Post 10 MAIN TASK: Post-production

 I have learnt how to use the premier pro when editing. I have learnt how to fade the title in and how to cut clips and how to insert non-diegetic music which will be relavent to the opening sequence. Through my pre-lim tasks I have learnt how that the pace of scene will create tension which will make the scene look more realistic.

Post 9 MAIN task: Production

     Our production for our title sequence went well and I felt that my group and I worked well and I found it fun to work with my group. Our location made us really consider how we could construct the film and how to make it look real and realistic.
     When we were filming we faced an issue of the amount of time we had. We had to rush the last few film footages as we didn't realise we would take that long to film and we nearly ran out of time on the camera. Also as my group and I are from another school we could only film on one day so we had to get it done quickly. However as my group and I are good at editing it meant we could spend more time on the filming side if we had to re-do any scenes as it wouldn't take us long to edit. By my group and I working well together we managed to complete it all smoothly without any problems.
    When we watched our film back we noticed that although we may had rushed the last few scenes we still had a number of shots of which we could have used so were able to choose a variety of good shots.  In all of shots we didn't realise that the wind would be so loud but luckily our opening scene doesn't require diegetic sound so we could edit it out as we will be using non-diegetic music in the opening scene.
     If my group and I were to improve our production next time we would make sure we used the tripod more in order to keep the camera still but as our opening is a fast paced, it makes the scene look more realistic as the camera is moving at the same pace as the characters. 

Post 8 MAIN TASK: Pre-Production Documentation

Full Synopsis of film:

     The film is set in the middle of May, when students are preparing to sit there A level exams in a couple of days. An evil man who failed his A levels many years back has been planning to take revenge on the exam board for failing him. He is a very troubled man with many issues. Nigel (the evil man) has decided that this year is the year he will take revenge on the exam board. 

      Throughout the film, the writer presents to the audience how disturbed Nigel is and how angry the man is. Making the audience straight away dislike him. 

      However what Nigel doesn't know is that Secret agents from OFSTED have been on his case for a long time as they were tipped off by a source very close to Nigel and were worried he would do something silly. As a result of the tip off the agents have been training hard so that they will be strong enough to beat Nigel. Nigel thinks he is un-stopable and believes everything is going to plan and begins the first stage of his revenge by breaking into the school who have the A level papers ready for the students. However what he doesn't realise is that secret agents Zeus and Barry have followed him and have arrived to spoil his plans.
      Nigel whilst in the middle of his plan soon realises that he must exit quickly as he notices the agents, trying the break the door to the room of which Nigel is in. Nigel manages to steal what he needed and makes a swift exit out just before agents Zeus and Barry could get in.
      However whilst Nigel is running to escape the agents find a way to get out and chase him, Zeus with his arm of pure muscle which is stronger than a bull, faster than a cheater throws an orange from long distance which travels far and strikes Nigel causing him to collapse and to be captured. The agents have managed to save the day and the education system for now...

Full synopsis of Opening sequence:

     The opening sequence begins with agents Zeus and Barry looking into the distance. It then quickly cuts into scenes which shows them training hard in order for them to be ready to face Nigel however Zeus's partner Barry isn't the strongest of men so he needs a lot of help when he is training. Continuous cuts to both of them doing different types of exercises. It then goes quickly into a fasted paced selection of scenes throughout showing Nigel trying to escape and him running away. However it ends with a slow motion scene of a orange hitting Nigel in the face and him collapsing to the ground.

     Our opening sequence will include loads of jump cuts and a few long shots, showing the fast paced action in the film hooking the audience in. There will also be a face paced non-diegetic music in the back ground as a way to add tension and excitement. This as a result will hook the audience in making them want to watch more. It will create tension, excitement, giving it a more realistic feel.

Risk assessment:

My group and I decided we were going to shoot our film in and around the school premises. Our opening sequence had a few risks in it so we had to make sure we worked in a safe manor. The first risk was our film required a lot of running so we made sure that Sam practiced before we filmed and that he didn't run a full speed. Another risk was when Henri jumped off the wall. We made sure that there wasn't any danger when Henri fell so he wouldn't hurt himself. The final risk was when Sam got hit by the orange. We made sure that when we threw the orange it wasn't hard so it would not hurt him. After we assessed the potential risks and addressed them we began to film.

Location Recce:

Shot List and shooting schedule:

 

Crew List:

Nigel: Sam Nourbaksh 

Zeus: Sean Kelly

Barry: Henri Mullany

Mise en scene:

Set Design/Location:

Field: Natural look.

Class Room: Dark room, giving the sense of danger.

School playground: showing Nigel running away.

Props:

A big bag so Nigel can place the exam papers.
2 oranges

Lighting:

When filming outside we will be working with natural light, so our location outside will be bright. When filming in the classroom, barely any light will be used as the room will be dark as it creates a sense of danger.

Costumes/hair make up:

All characters will be wearing suits in all scenes.

All will be looking natural.

Character Movement:

As our film is an action/comedy film, there will be a lot of character movement from the start and throughout. It will be a fast paced so the characters will be moving quickly throughout. Our film will consist of running on a playground, into a classroom and a quick throw across a playground.

Shooting schedule:

Individual report:

Our film was created to show an effected action/comedy opening sequence that gives the audience a good story line that is funny and powerful. Our target audience was aged 15+ males. Our biggest problem when producing the opening sequence was the amount of time we had to film it and how we were going to make it look excited via the fast pace of our scene. With the help of editing we were able to add the music which made it that little more exciting.

In my opinion I believe my group and I worked well and decided the best plan for our opening sequence without any disagreements. Hopefully the audience will enjoy our opening sequence and wish to see the whole film.

Post 7 MAIN task: focus group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNn2z_sXJoE

Above is the video of our focus group, I (Sean Kelly) asked a group of males (17 years old) what they thought of plan for the opening sequence and asked them if they could give me some feedback so I can present my group with what others thought. (write about what they thought)

Post 6: history of the genre

Action/comedy


Action

This film genre are films in which there are heroes and bad guys, of which the heroes usually face many challenges which gets the audience hooked and gets them excited. These challenges which usually are very physical and include a lot of violent scenes. In these films the hero usually seems as if they have been beaten but against all the odds they manage to defeat the bad guys in a big battle. 

Over the recent years there has been a big advancements in technology such as CGI. As a result of this advancement it has made it a lot cheaper and much easier to create action sequences and other effects that would have required the efforts of professional stunt men and women in the past which would have cost the producers more money. However, although this advancement has made it cheaper and easier it has had some negative reactions to action films containing loads of CGI as it has been said that it makes it look unrealistic. However it is still used in many action films

During the 1960's a new sub genre was formed. This was called spy adventure. These films such as James Bond was an instant hit as it was something new which the audience hadn't experienced before. In these films there was a lot of high speed car chases, big explosions, beautiful women and a lot of gadgets. This genre is my favourite.

Comedy

Comedy is a genre in which the main base of the film is on humour. These types of films are aimed to make the audience laugh throughout the film. Comedies are usually fun, happy dramas and are designed to entertain and make the audience have a fun time. During these comedy genre films, the writer often humorously exaggerates scenes and how the characters speak and react to a situation.

Comedy is the oldest of all genre's, dating back to 1895 during the silent films. However even though they couldn't use speech as a way to get the audience laughing, instead producers had to rely on slapstick and burlesque humour. Slapstick humour is; it includes very energetic comical conventions such as chases and collisions and often practical jokes. Charlie Chaplin was a famous slapstick director. Burlesque humour is; theatrical entertainment, such as sketches and parodies aimed at the adult audiences due to the explicit scenes such as the striptease.

There are hybrid genre's in comedy, these are;

Action comedy: 

Films in this sub-genre are a mixture of comic antics and action where the film stars combine silliness and one-liners jokes along with a excited thrilling plot and daring stunts. Films such as Hot Fuzz, Rush Hour, 21 jump street etc fit into this hybrid genre.

Comedy horror:

This hybrid genre is a type of horror film in which it includes the usual dark themes which are associated with horror however there are treated with a humorous approach. Scary movie films fit into this.

Fantasy comedy:

These films are types of films which use magic, unusual mythological figures for comic purposes. Most of these films include an element of parody. Shrek and Night at the museum fit into this.

Black comedy:

Similarly like comedy-horror, black comedy, or dark comedy, is a type of comedy film that often uses cruelty as the way to make it humorous. The cable guy fits into this genre.

Sci-fi comedy:

Like most hybrid genre of comedy this type uses the elements of Sci-Fi films to make and exaggerate science fiction stereotypical characters. GhostBusters fits into this type.

Military comedy:

This type of film involve comic situations in a military way. It uses comedy to make a situation such as a battle funny. Tropic Thunder fits into this type.

MAIN post 5a: macro/Micro analysis of an opening sequence from your genre.

Film 1: The hangover

Macro 

Narrative:

Representation:

Genre:

Micro

Camera:

Sound:

Mise-en-scene:

Editing:

Special effect:

Film 2:Iron man 

Macro 

Narrative:

Representation:

Genre:

Micro

Camera:

Sound:

Mise-en-scene:

Editing:

Special effect:

MAIN Post 5 - Title Timeline

I watched hot fuzz opening sequence which is an action/comedy film like my group and I. Whenever a title, sound or jump cut came on i noted it down and made a time line from it. This film is the same style of which my film will be hence the reason why i choose it.
Below is my time line:

Main Task Post 4b: Narrative/character research

Character: Agent Zeus

Background information:

Zeus is an agent which all other agents try to follow. He is strong and brave Contrasting to his partners characteristics. He never meet his parents as they were killed at a young age, hence the reason why he selected to become an agents. He is very clever and likeable, and never fails at anything. He feels no pain and is dedicated to what ever he puts his mind to.

I have looked at other films of the same genre to get a rough idea of how my character should be and what his background info should be like. I have learnt from films such as James bond and Mission impossible that most of these agents never have a family hence the reason they feel no pain or have little emotion. Also I have learnt that they are all strong and brave people. By doing this background research i believe will help my character to become more realistic.

Main Task post 4a: plot development

Title:


Target Audience:
15+

Genre:
Action/comedy


Logline:
A very evil man tries to corrupt the education system by stealing the exam papers but will the agents stop him?

Synopsis

A few days before the A level exams papers are about to be given to the students to take. Evil character Nigel tries to corrupt the education system by stealing the exam papers and has plans to reveal the questions. However what Nigel doesn't know is that Secret agents for OFSTED have been on his case for a long time and have been training hard so that they will be strong enough to beat Nigel. Everything seems to be going to plan for Nigel until secret agents Zeus and Barry arrive to spoil his plans.
  Nigel soon realises that he must exit quickly as the agents are now trying the break the door to the room of which Nigel is in. Nigel manages to steal what he needed and get out before agents Zeus and Barry could get in.
 However whilst Nigel is running to escape the agents find a way to get out and chase him, Zeus with his arm of pure muscle and power throws an orange from long distance which travels far and strikes Nigel causing him to collapse and to be captured. The agents have managed to save the day and the education system for now...

Opening sequence outline: 

It starts off with agents Zeus and Barry looking into the distance. It then shows them training hard so that they will be ready to face Nigel however they aren't the strongest of people so a lot of help is needed. It will have loads of cuts to different types of exercises. It then goes into a faced paced selection of scenes showing Nigel trying to escape. Ending is a slow moving orange hitting Nigel in the face.

In our opening sequence it will include a lot of jump cuts and a few long shots, showing the fast paced action in the film hooking the audience in. There will also be a face paced non-diegetic music in the back ground. Hooking the audience in making them want to watch more. Also creating tension and giving it a more realistic view.