A2 Media

Planning

For A2 Media we as a group decided on a short film as the main product for this year

This is very different from last year as last year we had to follow the conventions and the style of Film Noire. This year we had to create a style of film and link that to genre of our choosing.

As a group we finally decided that our final production would be a short film. Reasons for this are that we felt comfortable within that style of production and felt it would be the best choice for us as a group, and that we would have enough ideas to do well in the task.

Now that we picked a final product the next step is to research into that product. Simply starting off by watching a variety of short films, ranging from comedies to dramas. By watching some of the short films we could start to see how they are structured and what they should and shouldn’t include.

The first short film I looked at was titled ‘’George Lucas in Love’’ and was a postmodern look at how George Lucas gained his ideas for his creation of ‘’Star Wars’’

Then I took a look at some of the short films exhibited on the Virgin Media shorts competition, where short films are judged and the winner gets a significant amount of money to go towards their next production. One example was of a comedy called ‘Sign Language’ looking at the character Ben, a sign guy, who’s last day of work. (http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/films/entry/345289/sign-language)

Another example is a teen drama called ‘Bus Baby’ looking at the increasing issue of teen pregnancy in a very post modern way by giving the baby a voice and the tone on an older man. (http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/films/entry/334701/bus-baby)

For our main media product we wanted to make our film postmodern, as it linked to our theory work. Also but making a postmodern film we could focus on a part of our film and narrative that would attract and ‘hook’ audiences into our product.

From our market research, we found that the majority wanted to see a thriller and how that could play out in a very short period of time. This also makes links to audience theory.

The idea of audience theory is that sets of people forms of media in different ways, these are effects models, from the Hypodermic needle model, where the viewer will just accept the product and leave asking no questions.

Another form of effects models is the concept that the viewer leaves questioning the use of character, the enigmatic story and opens topics of discussion. This is known as Reception Theory.

For our film we want the audience to ask questions, and question the use of camera and the narrative that the film exhibits.

The main hook we in our film was the idea of revealing the ending at the very start of the film but not showing the identity of the characters involved. The hope of showing the flash forward is there to hook the audience to get them to stay and find out the identity of the people involved.

Our final plot idea had the main focus point of bullying and how a vigilante student stands up to this. Another twist of our film is that the significant extra who isn’t in the main focus on all the action, but is always there when the bully picks on his victim. After we had our final idea we began to storyboard the story with the added focus on camera angles and who was going to be where and when.

After the story was completed we then began to look at characters and who to play them as well as looking at social groups and how they would be represented in our film.

For the ‘bully’ character we wanted to represent him in a very stereotypical way, by having him look rough and in rough clothing it separates him from the other characters. The bully’s friends are dressed in a similar fashion, however they are slightly better dressed, and we wanted this to create a real sense of separation between the bully and everyone else.

For the character of the victim we wanted him to be well dressed and be the complete opposite to the bully so there seems to be a reason to be bullied, however we didn’t want him to look weak or not socially acceptable, just a person who has a select group of friends that go about their business in their own way whilst not worried by social conformities.

For the significant extra, we wanted him to blend in, so there would be nothing obvious or suspicious about him. The significant extra is simply wearing a hooded jumper, jeans and white trainers, nothing outlandish that would make him stand out.

The look of our characters links with the mise-en-scene, we set our short film within a school/6th form enviroment.

We had to film when the main school was in lesson otherwise it would of been dificult to film due to noise and people trying to get into the shot

These are the findings from our video on our market research.

We found that the majority of our target market thought that a ''Thriller'' would be the best genre for a short film, as it would be interesting to see how the film can start and finish within the 5 minute filming period.

For all the 3 products we conducted market research so we could produce work that would appeal to people.

For the magazine review we used the shop/online film magazine ‘’White Lies’’ as it was an unknown film magazine and it would have been a more realistic choice to base the review on, as a magazine such as Empire would be an unrealistic choice due to the fact they focus on bigger films rather than small independent films.

Market research said that the main thing they look out for in a film review is a screenshot of the film as well as a clear star rating to see if they wish to read more about the film.

For the film poster the idea was to keep it very conventional, with a staged shot of the character or characters. Along with the title, what can be expected from the film. Also at the bottom it has the production credits.

For our poster our target market answered that they found the use of bold colours catch their eye, and if the colours reflect the mood of the film the film that was better at attracting an audience. Others answered that an action shot from the film was a good step towards attracting the audience.

Production

After we had finished storyboarding our narrative and assigning character roles we began filming.

For some of the camera angles and scenes we used direct inspiration from such films & programs such as ‘Children of Men’ and ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’

For the opening scene we used a scene from the film ‘Children of Men’ which used one long cut using a handheld camera, which followed one character to the other without cuts or transitions.

Our first attempt at filming wasn’t as successful as we would have hoped for, mainly as time constraints limited the times that certain actors could and couldn’t film, so as a result we filmed in a non-linear order, and as a result the product did look rushed and clips became confusing. As a lack of communication between all members of the group the final piece would look awful if we kept the film as it was.

After looking at the first attempt and realising it wasn’t good enough and decided to go back and re-film the entire thing. This time we had a greater communication between all members and we would re-think our casting decisions.

We re-casted the role of one of the bullies friends as we felt the original wasn’t the right fit for the role, we replaced him with a person who was a similar height to the main antagonist and wore clothes that would fit the character well

Our second attempt at filming was more successful as we communicated better and used a greater variety of camera angles and went into this more organised than our previous attempt.

Within the film there is a constant use of point of view shots which cut from a conventional shot looking at a certain character then cutting to a point of view shot in an attempt to get the audience engaged with the action, as well as the use of a makeshift dolly, used to help pan the camera from one side to the other.

The software used for editing our footage was ‘Sony Vegas’ as it is a professional non-linear editing system, it gives a wide choice of transitions and the ability to cut and produce our clips to a high standard.

As we filmed using a HD camera all the clips had to be rendered to a standard that can be played on all systems easily as well as giving high picture quality.

For the magazine review there was a particular style that we wanted to follow, the style featured in the shop and online distributed magazine ‘White Lies’ as it featured an artistic screenshot with text at the top of the page.

The problem that arrived during the production process was the text font and colour and having that blend in with the background as there was a set of different colours and shadows which proved difficult to find the correct font colour. So to correct the sides were cut to show a black box where white text can be shown and read with ease.

To capture the image that was going to be used for the magazine review was a 12.2 megapixel Fujifilm camera, which was good for capturing a good quality image as well as having the specific use of the panoramic setting which was used to get a complete view of the room.

The main editing was done using the program ‘Photoshop’ where the panoramic photo was cropped into separate parts to represent each page. After each page had been set out the black text columns were added and the corresponding text was added to each side. The font used was a type called ‘Arabic Typesetting’ which gave clear text while fitting with conventions.

For the poster we again wanted to keep it as conventional as possible, with the use of character faces in the foreground and star ratings from reviewers.

Looking back at our market research, our target market wanted a film poster to reflect the mood and the tone of the film. As the film is called ‘Past’ the poster reflects the mood that it has happened in the past and is old.

The poster shows the title of the film and the design and font of the title show a direct reflection of the film. The title looks dishevelled and stone like using emboss, giving the effect of age and that it is in fact in the past.

The main editing software was the program ‘Photoshop’ once again as it gives a wide range of tools to edit the poster and add layers and make the final product look professional.

ME: Filming, Editing, Production of text and image for magazine review, Photographs used for poster

Jamie: Filming, Editing, Production of text for magazine review, Production for poster

Ben: Acting, construction of text for magazine review

Distribution & Exhibition

Now linking in with our planning stage we had to think of ways of distribution that would be suitable for our product.

Ways of distribution for film are usually by buying big advertising spaces on billboards and the sides of buses, which would attract a lot of passing trade as it would get a lot of traffic viewing it.

For a short film using major forms of advertisement to distribute their product is out of the question as it is a niche product and it would gather large audiences.

Poster distribution is different as it can happen legally and illegally, legal ways include have the poster advertised in magazines, and in designated areas which are paid for. This is mainly used for big Hollywood mainstream films as they can afford to blitz city areas to force feed their product.

For small independent films its main form of advertising is by word of mouth for by putting posters up around high traffic areas; however this is a form of littering and is not looked at as a consistent form of advertising.

Small films are more likely to get reviewed by small niche market film magazines rather than magazines such as ‘Empire’ as they would be more interested in covering Hollywood blockbusters. A magazine such as, ‘White Lies’ would be more than likely to advertise and review small independent films.

Looking back at our market research the best way to distribute our film would be over the internet as that would potentially reach a large audience, on sites such as ‘Vimeo’ and ‘YouTube’ as that is a free service and can get a lot of attention for the film. We would agree with our target market with their audience feedback as it is something they would look out for and benefit us in the long run by saving money in distribution.

Feedback

After we showed our finished products to a select group of people who have media experience and some who do not as we felt it would be best to get the opinions of both sets. We then began to gather their feeback.

The main problem that came back from the feedback was the difficulty in understanding the narrative and knowing the roles of each character.

However the use of camera angles and the visual apperance of the film was considered to be good by many as well as how the charaters look, and how there is a consistency with the look of the characters and how they are seperate from on another.

When we recieved audience feedback about the magazine review it was very positive. The text was clear and easy to read as the white contrasted with the black background, the layout of the review was good and met conventions of other magazine reviews.

The poster was widely praised in our audience feeback due to its apperance and its conventional look, with the star rating from reviewers and how people were credited. The look and feel of the poster was said to set the tone of what the film would be like.

A2 Media Production

Conor Murray