The Extra Mile
Friday, 20 March 2015
Evaluation Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Evaluation Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
We also reached our audience through: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr. All of which are social networking sites that our target audience would use daily and frequently.
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?
Preliminary film
Final film
Password: student
Question 6 - Evaluation
Throughout the process of our film making we had to learn and develop our skills and understanding of the different technologies that we would have to use to create our title sequence. This was a trying and difficult task because it was mostly new to us. Having never used it before it was learning from scratch about how to make and edit music (Garage Band) , make title sequences (Motion) and To edit our overall filming (Final Cut Pro).
Motion
Motion was an application in which we had to make the titles for our film. This involved going through the process of finding a template that we felt best suited the pace and look of our film , and one that would look good when it came up.
This is what some of the title sequences looked like. For our group it was difficult to pic one because the looked good however we needed to bear in mind that the background and images wouldn't be shown anyway. So what we had to do was find one in which the words looked eye catching enough for the audience to watch it as opposed to plain white writing which most groups where going with.
Garage Band
Garage Band was useful for us but didn't come into our final piece. This application is used to make beats , loops and other forms of musical sounds which could have been exported and placed onto our soundtrack. This is an image of all the options that garage band has. However we were instructed to use loop to practice making our music. Garage band however wasn't really instrumental in our final products.
Final Cut Pro
The most vital and important piece of software we used was what we used to edit , shorten and infuse the music into our title sequence. Without final cut pro the creation of our film would have been impossible. Final cut pro taught me the most skills , how to cut and shorten videos and effects. From the reviews we got people felt our editing of our film , and the overall look of the film was very good.
Usefulness
Of all the software we used Final cut pro was the most useful. It allowed us to collect all of the other pieces we used , filming , editing , music and title sequences. It also allowed us to experiment and try other things and be more creative with our film before coming up with a final product in which we were all happy with
Motion
Motion was an application in which we had to make the titles for our film. This involved going through the process of finding a template that we felt best suited the pace and look of our film , and one that would look good when it came up.
This is what some of the title sequences looked like. For our group it was difficult to pic one because the looked good however we needed to bear in mind that the background and images wouldn't be shown anyway. So what we had to do was find one in which the words looked eye catching enough for the audience to watch it as opposed to plain white writing which most groups where going with.
Garage Band
Garage Band was useful for us but didn't come into our final piece. This application is used to make beats , loops and other forms of musical sounds which could have been exported and placed onto our soundtrack. This is an image of all the options that garage band has. However we were instructed to use loop to practice making our music. Garage band however wasn't really instrumental in our final products.Final Cut Pro
The most vital and important piece of software we used was what we used to edit , shorten and infuse the music into our title sequence. Without final cut pro the creation of our film would have been impossible. Final cut pro taught me the most skills , how to cut and shorten videos and effects. From the reviews we got people felt our editing of our film , and the overall look of the film was very good.
Usefulness
Of all the software we used Final cut pro was the most useful. It allowed us to collect all of the other pieces we used , filming , editing , music and title sequences. It also allowed us to experiment and try other things and be more creative with our film before coming up with a final product in which we were all happy with
Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Here is some feedback I received from a friend, after showing her my title sequence on Vimeo. I asked her to comment on the representation of the characters in our film.
Question 6 Media Evaluation
Conclusion
The two videos above demonstrate how I used Motion, Garageband and Final Cut Pro. These softwares allowed me to expand my knowledge on the use of these technologies. It allowed me to expand my creativity nd I also learnt a lot of useful skills to achieve my final product. I found Motion particularly useful as it allowed me to include my credits and this was a key aspect of my film opening. Also I found Final Cut Pro extremely useful and its utility was uncontestable as it allowed me to edit my film and add all transitions and filters to my film. Overall these three were very useful technologies along with other such as the camera and the Mac I used to store all my footage.
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Question 7 - Evaluation
Prelim
Earlier in the year , at the start of the media academic course we all got into groups and made up a very short clip. This was our preliminary task. In watching it we have seen the progress we have made from the start of the year into now showing how we have expanded our knowledge of media terms and methods in film making. The progress made has been notably obvious as we can compare and contrast the prelim activity to this current one.
Due to the prelim being filmed at the start of the year we had very little knowledge or understanding of how the technologies worked.
In our prelim we used simple camera angles. We remained close to the faces of the actors however used some shots we have recently learn about such as the 180degree rule and over the shoulder shots. This added slight complexity to our simple video.
Another thing we didn't really do was edit. The prelim has simple editing techniques such as quick generic cut scenes. Without the use of fading or other effects it made it rather dull or boring.
The Extra Mile
The Extra Mile is an example of progression from the start of the year to now. Our film involves so much more than what we started with. The skills of editing are evident. The use of fades , color change , rewind , and other complex editing techniques made our film popular among our viewers. Our prelim showed our starting process but this title sequence was a way to show our developed skills
Earlier in the year , at the start of the media academic course we all got into groups and made up a very short clip. This was our preliminary task. In watching it we have seen the progress we have made from the start of the year into now showing how we have expanded our knowledge of media terms and methods in film making. The progress made has been notably obvious as we can compare and contrast the prelim activity to this current one.
Due to the prelim being filmed at the start of the year we had very little knowledge or understanding of how the technologies worked.
In our prelim we used simple camera angles. We remained close to the faces of the actors however used some shots we have recently learn about such as the 180degree rule and over the shoulder shots. This added slight complexity to our simple video.
Another thing we didn't really do was edit. The prelim has simple editing techniques such as quick generic cut scenes. Without the use of fading or other effects it made it rather dull or boring.
The Extra Mile
Question 5 - Media Evaluation
This is a video of an interview with a member of our target audience asking them what it is about the film they found appealing. The interviewee is a member of our target audience as he is a young black male who is interested in rap music. I asked him how he how found out about the film, where he saw it and what he thought about the film. I also interviewed him as an actor in the film and I asked him how he found the promotional schedule and also what he did to promote his film effectively.
In summary, he responded positively as he said that the music was especially effective at attracting him and also it allowed him to relate to it. He said that the promotion for the film was effective as he was reached through social media which is an obvious tool for youths. If I was to redo the film I would make sure I include locations that are more relatable to our target audience.
This is one of the videos from the people at the cinema who watched our film. There where generally positive reponses from all people. The overall feeling was that the music and pace of the title sequence worked well and made it more memorable. They where able to relate to it more becase
a) The title sequemce was in an area they where all familar with - anegl
b) The use of music allowed them to connect with it more because it was a song everyone had heard before or at the very least everyone knew the artist Skepta.
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Question 1 - Evaluation
Question 1 (E maze stopped working for me so i posted it here , sorry for the lack of creativity)
A Title sequence is done to give the audience a glimpse into either what the film is about or what happened in the past. It often uses images , and videos of the characters and the situations in which will later be shown in the film or touched upon. Title Sequences are done to give recognition to the key members of the crew and cast involved in the film making. It also shows the production and distribution company logos , overall promoting everyone from these films from actors to music supervisors.
However not all title sequences will be the same. Teen Drama Films have two different categories. High School Drama's and Youth Dramas. High School Dramas often take a more positive , romantic or comedic role with their sequences and films. For example films like The Inbetweeners Movie has a greater reliance on their stupid , ignorant characters , where as Youth Drama takes a different route.
Youth Drama tries to connect with their audience more by using more realistic and gripping story lines. They try to use real life events such as Drugs and Gang Culture to appeal to the audience , because many teenagers actually live knowing people like that or being involved in a similar that life themselves. Critically acclaimed films such as Adulthood and Kidulthood have portrayed this very well which is why they are so popular.
Each title sequence is different however all hold some similarities.
All state the names of the production companies and distribution companies at the beginning. This allows the audience to know the companies that are involved in making the film possible in terms of budgeting and release. This is followed by the title of the film they are watching. Then the names of the main characters follow , allowing the audience to know who is in it , recognizing some of their favorite actors or new ones to the film scene.Next follows the behind the scenes crew who many people don't know about or consider when thinking about films. The film usually ends with the names of the people who wrote it and the director , two roles that could be considered the most important outside of the main actors.
In terms of our own title sequence we chose to conform to the conventions of some real media products , specifically teen dramas. Our title sequence relies on a more gritty storyline. We took ideas from 8 Mile and decided to make a title sequence about rap.
This was one of the shots from our scene. We used this to have the less privileged rapper be around this area to show that these where his living arrangements. In most youth dramas the main character lives in a run , down estate and so we kept to this convention and stereotype. However in teen drama's there is never really a privileged person or rich person so one way we challenged it was by having the other main character be rather wealthy.
A Title sequence is done to give the audience a glimpse into either what the film is about or what happened in the past. It often uses images , and videos of the characters and the situations in which will later be shown in the film or touched upon. Title Sequences are done to give recognition to the key members of the crew and cast involved in the film making. It also shows the production and distribution company logos , overall promoting everyone from these films from actors to music supervisors.
However not all title sequences will be the same. Teen Drama Films have two different categories. High School Drama's and Youth Dramas. High School Dramas often take a more positive , romantic or comedic role with their sequences and films. For example films like The Inbetweeners Movie has a greater reliance on their stupid , ignorant characters , where as Youth Drama takes a different route.
Youth Drama tries to connect with their audience more by using more realistic and gripping story lines. They try to use real life events such as Drugs and Gang Culture to appeal to the audience , because many teenagers actually live knowing people like that or being involved in a similar that life themselves. Critically acclaimed films such as Adulthood and Kidulthood have portrayed this very well which is why they are so popular.
Each title sequence is different however all hold some similarities.
In terms of our own title sequence we chose to conform to the conventions of some real media products , specifically teen dramas. Our title sequence relies on a more gritty storyline. We took ideas from 8 Mile and decided to make a title sequence about rap.
This was one of the shots from our scene. We used this to have the less privileged rapper be around this area to show that these where his living arrangements. In most youth dramas the main character lives in a run , down estate and so we kept to this convention and stereotype. However in teen drama's there is never really a privileged person or rich person so one way we challenged it was by having the other main character be rather wealthy.
Friday, 13 March 2015
Question 2 Media
Question 2 Media Evaluation by Slidely Slideshow
http://prezi.com/h0qkkrvgigze/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Using Social Media Further
I have decided to create a Tumblr page in order to connect more with our target audience as they are mainly teenagers. This Tumblr blog reflects our film and links you to the influences that we've had whilst in the process of putting our film together.
Saturday, 7 March 2015
Blogging Health Check 2
My next grade was improved at a C. I needed to add more individual blog posts for my grade to go up.
Blogging Health Check 1
My first mark was low at an E grade. This is because i had a lot of missing work and wasn't fulfilling the tasks or targets in time
Friday, 6 March 2015
Final Day of Editing / 6th March
Today was the final day of editing as the deadline is at 4pm sharp. I came in at 9am so that I could spend all morning and lunch, making sure that everything was in place and that the correct titles were included. This took longer than expected as there were a few bad shots put into the film and our title sequence was far too long (3:50), so I had to remove some unnecessary footage. Also, whilst organising some of the shots, I disorganised some of the shots that went with the music as I wasn't watching carefully at what I was doing. Once I noticed the mistake I was making, I locked the music in place by clicking on the padlock on the far left hand side so that the soundtrack wouldn't be affected. Another aspect I changed was the title at the end of the film. Initially, we wanted to place the title at the end as it adds that special touch and almost serves as a finale to the sequence. However, after watching it all back, it looked too much like a trailer. Therefore, I moved the film title to it's correct place in the title sequence (after the second actor's name) and it looked much better. Overall, I think today has been a stressful day of trying to complete everything. Luckily, our film is finished and ready to be marked. I am personally not 100% happy with the outcome as I am a perfectionist myself and some of the shots we had were quite shaky and not 'smooth' enough. This could be an evaluation point and something that could have been changed.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Editing Session / 5th March
Today's editing session was mainly focused on re-watching our footage, seeing what could be changed, and adding in the extra titles that were missing. Me and Joram looked through all of the shots to make sure we never left any important ones out and during this process, we did come across a few clips that should have been in the film already. We also asked Dan for feedback on our footage and his main points of improvement were to: make the rapping scene at the end longer (as that's what people are waiting for/expecting to see) and to change the beginning so that the audience can connect more with the character and get an idea of what he's like instead of just seeing the back of his face (which is what our initial opening was).
Blogging Health Check 3
My most recent blogging health scored an 8/20.
My improvements were to blog more about my filming. editing and also the obstacles I faced during these stages.
My improvements were to blog more about my filming. editing and also the obstacles I faced during these stages.
Extension Blog Task 37: Further Changes to the Blog
After changing the layout of the blog the first time, I thought it looked a little bit too 'plain' as a whole and nothing stood out to me in particular. Therefore, to fix this problem, I decided to add a top header with our film's logo to give the blog a main focal point.
At first, this was the header that I had created. I downloaded the font ('Street Soul') online as I couldn't find a better font and the one's we had first initially selected didn't fit well. However after uploading this onto the blog, it still didn't hold much character and the blog was too monochrome.
So to resolve this issue, I decided to add in the companies logos that will be producing/distributing our film to the bottom of the title. Not only did this add more information about our film, it also made it more interesting to look at and gave it more character.
So to resolve this issue, I decided to add in the companies logos that will be producing/distributing our film to the bottom of the title. Not only did this add more information about our film, it also made it more interesting to look at and gave it more character.
I created this header:
Here is the design of our blog now:
Blog Post 41: Blogging Health Check 2
My blogging work is now currently at a B (on target) with 15/20.
My improvements were to:
> Not leave any empty posts i.e Holiday Homework (which I have now completed and uploaded)
> Add some of my own points to my blog post on Motion, add some of my own research and skills that I have learnt
> Lastly, the post my re-make (however I was absent on the day so couldn't film one)
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Blog Post 40: Revisions to Pitch
As a group, we have decided to not include the bedroom scene that we originally planned on filming as our opening. This is because we thought that it wouldn't fit in well with the rapping 'theme' and the soundtrack we chose wouldn't tie in well with a bedroom scene. Hopefully this turns out to be a good decision.
Creating Title Sequence
I used Motion to create the title sequence. The challenges I faced were things such as making sure the template was transparent so that I could put it on top of my film footage. Unfortunately the first template I used was not working with my footage so I had to find an alternative option.
I tried different fonts to see which one suited the best with my film. I found one and used it in the title sequence.
Extension Activity: Wix Website
Here is the link to our very own website that I have created. It includes 4 different pages: Home (which introduces our film poster), Institutional Detail (which gives information about the companies producing/distributing our film), Information (includes the different equipment and software we used in the process) and lastly, the blog (which links to this blog).
Enjoy!
Film Poster
I have personally decided to create a film poster for our title sequence, to promote our film and reflect what it will be about. I used Photoshop to create the poster as I am extremely familiar with the software and I have used it plenty of times before.
Monday, 2 March 2015
Editing Session / 2nd March
Luckily today we had a 3 hour media lesson in the morning so that we had plenty of time to do some editing. In today's editing session, we mainly focused on completing the titles and making sure that they reflected well against the film. We chose a template and exported them all onto Final Cut Pro, however the particular template we chose wouldn't show up against our sequence (even though the background was made transparent). After consulting the technician, and finding out that we couldn't resolve the problem, we made the decision to re-do the titles with a different template. Again, we had many difficulties in making sure the titles appeared visibly against the sequence and didn't blend in. In some cases, the titles couldn't be seen against the background of the shot and this turned out to be extremely frustrating as I had to keep re-doing them in Motion. Another aspect of the sequence we did in today's lesson was work on the soundtrack. The track we chose is a copyright track however contains a deal of 'bad' words. In order to bleep out the most evident ones, we decided to lower the volume of music at that particular time. This took a while to get right but eventually it worked.
Reflection: Overall, I think that today's editing session was half a success. The panic mode has now started as our film is due at the end of this week. I'm most worried about getting the titles completed and looking somewhat decent.
Reflection: Overall, I think that today's editing session was half a success. The panic mode has now started as our film is due at the end of this week. I'm most worried about getting the titles completed and looking somewhat decent.
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