Monday 8 March 2010

Evaluation: Question 1

Question 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions on real media products?


1. A main convention of psychological thrillers are the twist at the end. We chose to use this convention as it is what the audience expects. In our film the twist was the main character finding out it was himself trying to kill himself instead of his wife.

2. Another convention is the dim lighting in a thriller. I decided to develop this convention and use all types of lighting. I used daylight in the clips outside, natural light in the house as well as artificial light. This showed different moods within the film.

3. A POV (Point of View) shot is also typical of a thriller. We used this convention. It makes the shot more intimate to the audience.

4. We developed the narrative in the thriller by having the view from another person instead of from the point of view of another character.

5. There is no typical setting to a thriller so I used an urban setting.

6. To use the convention of a mise en scene I took the typical 'kitchen knife'. This is used as a suggestion that it is Grace that is killings Ryan.

7. I developed to convention of a question at the end of the film and instead used a statement 'Thou shalt not lie'. This not only shows the religious elements but clarifies to the audience what has happened.

8. I challenged the convention of camera work by doing a clip handheld. Usually camera work is straight cut, however on the shot where Grace is running from hospital I chased after her holding the camera myself.

9. Another convention of thrillers is focus pulling. I used this when Ryan finds poison in his sandwich.

Evaluation: Question 2

Question 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

Here is the main product of 'Sin'. Here I will talk about camera work, cutting, editing, effects and sound. Also how this links in with the ancillary tasks


This film is about the ancillary tasks. I will show you the basics of what i did to make them along with what this means in contrast with the film.

Evaluation: Question 3

Question 3. What have you learnt from audience feedback?

After reading our questionnaire given to the audience we found that half the audience understood and the other did not. This was hard for us to improve because those who said they didn't understand showed understanding in the other questions however did not write how it could be improved.

Evaluation: Question 4

Question 4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

I will be explaining how to use, in the way I did, each programme during the film, however explaining the programmes on the blog.

Final Cut
I used final cut to realise my film. It was my main programme to complete all the editing and creating.
This programme gave me the tools to cut up, make transitions and effects for the filming I did. The construction of my film including the editing of black and white and time stretching is made easier with this programme.
Before this quick method of digital editing a monotonous method of literally cutting and sticking with a magnifying glass. Which is the same with transitions, to do this they removed the tape from the developing chemical earlier and overlaying it with the next clip.

Final Draft
I used final draft to create my script. This programme has a template already there, suitable for script writing. Completing the scene and shot with direction and lib is made simple.
Before this programme was available this use of time consuming pen and paper was used.

Storyboard quick
Storyboard quick was used instead of an artist recreating the directors vision. Our main use of this programme was to see what shot would work best. We also used it to help organise the shots for the shooting schedule. This was a faster and easier way to create each scene and shot.

Quark
I used this software to make a movie review. It enabled me to construct the review in a professional way so it mirrored the conventions of a real product. The programme had a more advanced template and menus to edit and create a more professional look. There is an excellent menu to add columns as well as advanced picture options.

Photoshop CS4
Adobe Photoshop was used to create my poster. This allowed me to create a professional product which would look realistic if used for a real film. Photoshop enabled me to create distorted images of the key characters and a dark background, conventional to other psychological thriller posters. The typography used is a sinister looking font. We used this to portray the film through the poster. Another way I portrayed the film is through the religious element such as the apple and the rosary beads. The subtleness of the pictures keeps the focus on the characters and name.

Sony HD camera
The sony HD camera opened many doors for our film. Not only is the quality excellent but the options available for the user are endless. For our film we used the manual focus pulling option. This gave a professional look and is a common convention in thrillers. On any other low cost hand held camera this may not have been possible. In the filming industry focus pulling is a separate job, which is very skilful and flawless.

Soundtrack Pro
After exporting my final cut file as a movie I imported it into soundtrack pro. Here, the programme allows me to create a whole new soundtrack with foley and instruments. The uncopyrighted range of music has options for any feeling or mood to be created. The presentation of my film was created as professional. Before a programme like this a band would compose a song and play live while recording. This is very temperamental as anything could happen, it could also take a long time just to get one piece correct.

Internet- Blogger and YouTube
A large part of the new technology that has made a difference to the way I have distributed my film is down to Blogger and YouTube. Blogger is an advanced way to keep a diary for others to see and comment on. This gave me the tools to keep organised and up to date on each part of my research and planning. It also helps me present my information in a new and professional way. YouTube however, has given me a way to distribute my film so everyone in the world can see, comment and evaluate it.

Filming: Ancillary Task- Film Review

Filming: Ancillary task- Film Poster

Filming: Final Cut