Evaluation question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Without the media technoligy that we used our film would not be made to its highest standard, without any technoligy the film would also not be able to compete with other films with a similar genre.

One key piece of technoligy that we used was the computer, we could use the internet for research and use youtube to watch similar films to our own, we also used youtube frequently to import files to and from our computer. On the internet we could also use other programmes which helped enhanceour blogssuch as 'Prezzi'.  Without the computer we would not have been able to show our progress on 'Blogger' which showed all of our research and planning in making te film. The computer also came with programmes such as 'premier pro' and 'photoshop'
 which were key programmes when making the film and ancillary tasks. To communicate with eachother via computers we used email, which is a very quick and simple way of sharing information with the rest of the group.

When searching for other films similar to our genre we used google search, google search gave us the highest rated information about the horror genres and related films. Youtube was used to get inspiration from other phcological horrors e.g. we watched the trailer for the film 'Pi' on youtube which helped us with a few shots within our film. We also used a website called freesound.com which we used for all the sound effects e.g. the screem when the man in the mask is revealed.

During the filming ad editing procces we used adobe premier pro, this programme was perfect for editing as it let us put in the required effects to show our characters mood and state of mind. It the main proggramme for our film and without it we would have found it very hard to put all of the shots together. Premier pro also let us put in titles and headings which was usefull for our final peice. Adobe photosop was very usefull to for the making of our ancillary tasks (poster,magazine review) as we could create different colours and layouts to show the genre and meaning of the film. For the filming progress we used a standard digital slr camera and tripod which we obliously used to film the final product. The slr camera was very easy to use and the footage was easily transfered on to the computer via a memory stick.

For the evalution stage ofour project we used proggramms on the internet such as 'prezzi' and 'vokki'. Prezzi is a service which liks texts, youtube videos and images together to make your evaluation look more interesting as their are many features to play around with e.g. background colour. Vokki is a funny service in which you type what you want the on-screen cartoon to say and they will voice it out for you,it makes you blog look that bit more exiting instead of using just text all of the time.

Overall using technoligies witin your project is very important, in the making and planning of the film and to show your proggress in a tidy and fun way.

Filming and Editing

The filming process was relatively straight forward and was completed over four sessions spanning 2 months. The majority of was filmed at Sam (actors) house with the car scene filmed at Linford Bottom. Overall we think that filming went quite smoothly as we paced our filming over multiple sessions in order to take our time with the shots we used. We had a rough script of shots that we wanted to use and the general direction of the film however when we were filming we also experimented with different shots that we thought might work and we could try out in the edit. this gave us some variety when it came to the edit and gave us some back up shots too. The whole sequence was filmed on a Cannon HV30.

This camera has a HD option however we decided not to use it as we only had standard def tapes and HD also takes up a lot of hard drive space for a video that is going to end up on YouTube. The camera worked well enough on standard definition and also helped us to create some of the shots. For example we used the light on the front of the camera for the final shot to give the shot a dark and disturbing feel which I think worked quite well.

Overall I think our filming when quite smoothly as we did not encounter any problems with sound or with the footage we recorded, however we did have to revisit a couple of shots to get correct continuity.

The editing process was quite straight forward however was quite straight forward however quite time consuming as it was very easy to keep tweaking and changing around to make it more polished. To create the edit we used Adobe premiere pro CS5 which was able to cater for everything we wanted to achieve. The editing took place in between filming sessions, this was so we could get a rough idea of what it will look like as we were still creating the film. This helped us get a feel for how the film will look and also gave us some direction. It also helped us to receive our audience feedback as we were able to show roughly edited short sections from the film and gain valuable feedback to help improve and polish the edit.

Our film uses many different effects available on premiere pro that help to follow the conventions of the genre. For example there is quite a lot of blurs in the film as this is to help convey the characters state of mind. The sound in the film also helps to do this as it consists mainly of distorted drones and uneasy sounds that help the audience get in the head of the character. The sounds (apart from the songs) are all obtained from freesound and are layered to create a more polished sound as opposed to a single distorted sound. The sound also helps build up the tension in the film. This is most apparent in the last shot which I think shows his state of mind the best. The use of titles in our edit is particularly important as it highlights the time at which his hallucinations are occurring and also helps represent the story to the audience. The use of black clips in the film also and the flashing light also helps to create a distortion effect that the audience can relate to.

Story boards

These are our storyboards which we have created inline with out shooting script to give a visual representation of the shots we are aiming to use. This will help us when we come to shoot the film.

Similar products and target audience

The films which are similar to our clip are 'pi' and horror films such as 'dawn of the dead'.

The target audience would generaly be 16 year olds plus, and mostly male as there is a hint of violence within the film. The target audience would also consist of people intrested in phycological films such as 'pi' and horror films such as 'dawn of the dead'.

Names

19:22


The name for the film is 19:22 which is important as it is the time at which his hallucinations start. The tittle has significance however we have received feedback from people saying that 19:22 looks like the run time and may be misleading. If i were to crete it agin I would probably rename it to avoid confusion.




Purple Productions


We chose to call our production name purple as it is not related to any genre which prevents any “type casting” so to speak as the name is so ambiguous. We chose the colour purple instead of red for example; because as well as providing alliteration, making it roll of the tongue, it’s also a neutral colour not associated with any emotion. ( e.g. red being associated with anger.

Location and costume

Location-

For our location we have chosen to set most of the film at the main characters house as this gives the impression of an ordinary guy and the location does not give any false representations of the character. We also think that the home is an isolated spot away from the public which also makes it easier to film as well as helping to represent his isolation. The hallucination location will be filmed at Linford Botton in the forest. This location has great significance as was important for us to choose a location that added to the scary nature of the scene. The isolation and emptiness of the forest also represents the characters feelings throughout the film.




Costume-

the costume of the main character is quite insignificant as we wanted to portray and average guy to make it easier to relate to. therefore we are just telling our actor to wear some everyday clothes. However the costume for the character in Sam's location needs to be scary and add an uneasy element to the visual effect of the film. The gas mask adds mystery to the character and also creates a negative vibe as well as being scary. We are also going to have our gas mask character wearing a military dark coat. The dark colour of the coat has instant connotations to the audience and will also add to the negative atmosphere of the character.

Shooting diary

Our main task for today was to complete the first scene of the film where sam runs up to his room a begins his hallucination. All the equipment was charged the night before and ready to go. We arrived at around 11 at Sam's house in Poulner. It was quite straight forward however the battery for our microphone (attached to top of camera) stopped working and therefore there were some scenes which lacked sound. This was not too much of a problem as their was no dialogue in the scene so it will be easy top add sounds after. Next time we film I think we will use the internal mic as sound is not so important for us.

Second Session- 5th Feb

We got another scene of the film done today. We finished the scene after Sam's hallucination which went quite smoothly. We used the internal mic this time so their was no problems with sound. I have transferred the footage across to the computer and is on premiere pro. I have also started to get the footage in rough order so we can see where the film is going and how long the parts we have filmed are going to be in the final film.

Third Session- 19th Feb

Today we filmed the scene down at Linford Bottom when sam is having his hallucination. It went okay however we did have to do lots of takes as Sam had a bit of "trouble" with the car. Apart from that it went well. It was slightly dark footage but the car provided enough light to see whats going on. this footage has also been put onto the computer and added to the sequence

Forth Session- 5th March
We have now filmed the last scene which was very successful. We also played around with a few new shots to experiment with in the edit. Our only slight problem was getting the camera caught in the reflection but wasn't hard to fix. Overall I think that the filming has gone quite smoothly. I think that is mainly down to using the internal mic and not trying to use anything that could let us down.