Question 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learnt in the progression from that to the final product?

Question 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

For my film opening, I used a few different programs that I have never used before. The main program I used was iMovie on my MacBook. I uploaded the videos to iMovie and started experimenting with the order of shots, and learnt how to do different transitions and chose a few to use in my opening for it to look smooth. I also learnt how to put music over the top of the film and adjust it where need be.

I also used the program Final Cut Pro X to make my titles at the beginning of my film opening. This program was completely new to me and I learnt several different techniques. Firstly, I learnt how to change the font of the title and the size and where to position it on the black background. I then could start making effects so that the titles would either move or glow. I then merged Final Cut Pro X together with iMovie and added sound effects to the titles, putting them with the rest of my film opening.

I realised a lot of work went into creating a film opening, but not how difficult it was, so using different programs meant I learnt a lot through the process.

With the camera I used, I could adjust the focus to make the depth of field more clear, and I am particularly proud of the close-up shots of my protagonist playing guitar and when he writes the titles. Here are a few of my favourite shots:

I am also proud of the editing, in terms of matching the music with the different camera shots and actions the character makes. This was difficult, as I had to start the music at the right time so that the guitar matched exactly what the character was playing so that it was not out of sync. This helped the continuity of the opening.

There was however a few limitations to my creativity. I obviously had a low budget, so I couldn’t use high end filming equipment, as it was not available to me. To fix this however I made my own dolly by using the tripod with only 2 legs, and holding the 3^rd to guide the camera when filming the wall shots. Also, the protagonist in my film opening is my brother, and he went to University straight after filming, therefore I couldn’t film anything extra if I needed to change anything and so I had to work with what I had. This was a limitation because I could not improve any shots, and had to work around it. This mainly included the voice-over I chose to add nearer the end of the process, where I had to use somebody else’s voice to act as his. This wasn’t too much of a problem as the audience would not be able to tell it is someone different, but it made the process a little more difficult.

Question 5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

I figured out the target audience for my film opening by firstly conducting a questionnaire and analysing the results. The results show that the dominating gender audience is male, with an age of 16-20. The audience would be familiar with drama films and their favourite sub-genre was a melodrama/teen drama. This shows that the target audience would be a teen themselves as they can relate to the teen character in my film, and my film is also a melodrama as it focuses on the character’s emotional journey to his dream. From my questionnaire, the audience liked the music that is included in my film, with Metallica being the most popular; therefore using their music in my film opening would appeal to the target audience.

 Earlier on in my blog, I outlined the typical viewer/audience member. This is the predominant target audience member wrapped up in one individual, so I get an idea of who would be watching my film.

Question 3. What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why?

From researching institutions, institutions such as Beacon Communications might distribute my film opening. This is because I researched the films Almost Famous and The Commitments (both similar films to my own), and found that Beacon Communications distributed The Commitments, and is low-budget and not a well-known company. This would suit my film more because mine is low-budget and is not aimed at being a worldwide big seller product, like Almost Famous.

For my film opening, I used my own institution and own logo that I created myself. This is because I didn’t want to copy an already existing one and wanted to experiment with different software on my Mac. I first made up the name ‘FUSION FILMS’ as I thought the word ‘Fusion’ worked well the rock music theme of my film. To create the logo I used Final Cut Pro X, which I have never used before, so experimented with this program taught me some new techniques. I then created ‘ROSIE SUTTON PRODUCTIONS’, which I created on iMovie.

Question 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Film Opening Final Cut

Responding to my audience feedback - here is my final cut, including the improvements people suggested.

Audience Feedback

Expert feedback / Family & friends feedback

What was good/effective about the project?

·      Continuity

·      Different shots back and forth to the character playing guitar

·      How the character is presented

·      ‘Fusion Films’ title looked good

·      Good narration

·      Close-ups of the character playing guitar – reminds you of what the film is about

·      Tracking shot of the wall filled with different posters – sets up storyline

·      Voice-over – explains that his dad died and shows that it has made an impact/went well with the music

·      Great cutting to the music, to the beat etc

·      Interesting variety of shots

·      Different camera angles

·      Music timing

What did you like?

·      Production companies

·      Several different camera shots

·      The camera shots

·      Good use of mise-en-scene

·      How the titles were written down on paper

·      Written titles

·      How the titles parallel edited with the other shots

·      Tracking shot of the posters on the wall – shows his role models

·      Character clearly established – we know who he is and what he wants

·      Overall theme

·      Hand written titling

Any suggestions for improvements?

·      Include music during production companies

·      Include credits?

·      Include the title of the film

·      Day/night transition – where is he going?

·      The pencil slamming down was a little distracting – not sure if necessary

What type of genre is it? How can you tell?

·      Drama/musical – voiceover (events have happened)/guitar (rock music)

·      Drama – domestic set up/motivation of father dying

·      Drama with music

·      Music-Drama

·      Teen movie? – Due to the age of the character and the rock/guitar theme

Is there a protagonist? What are they like? How can you tell? Is there equilibrium? Is there an agent of change? Do we see disequilibrium? Does it set up the theme, tone, storyworld, plot etc?

·      Clear protagonist  (Danny) – voice-over - been through a lot/music helps him escape

·      Clear equilibrium

·      Unclear disequilibrium

·      Disequilibrium hinted at – protagonist leaving house

·      Storyworld – music theme

·      Plot is set up well

·      Plot – character wants to go to University

·      Clear main character – determined and aspirational, maybe frustrated – due to facial expressions, body language and the sigh at the end.

 

A rough cut of my film opening.

(not finished)

Planning the Production Company Logos

These are some rough sketches of possible production logos for my film's opening titles. The boldest ones are the final chosen ones.

Research Into Institutions of Similar Films

Research into institution from rosiesutton

Storyboard for Opening 2 Minutes

MISE-EN-SCENE

To convey the protagonist’s characteristics I used mise-en-scene. I chose his own room as it had darker colours, which is more stereotypical for somebody who is into rock and metal music. I moved both of my guitars and my amp into his room to show that he plays guitar and to add further to the fact he liked rock music. I printed off loads of posters of bands the character likes and stuck them messy onto his wall, showing what music he is into and also he is passionate about it and has idols that he looks up to. I added an AC/DC vinyl next to the amp as another small detail of the music he likes, also adding to the rock atmosphere of his room.

In the close-up shot when he writes down the titles of the film, there is a letter from ‘Rockstone University’ in the background behind the paper. I came up with this name, as I wanted it to be clear it was a music university and I thought ‘Rockstone’ is a strong name for a university. To make the logo for the letter, I sketched some ideas down and then used Photoshop to create it. I then wrote the letter and showed that his name was Danny by saying “Dear Danny Cane”, a visual code for the audience to add to his character. I also put this letter in amongst the posters on his wall so that when the camera panned the wall, it would show this letter again.

His clothing was all black, and he wore a Motorhead t-shirt, again adding to the music he is into. He also wore converse to show that he is a casual person. 

The clock in the background when he is writing something and when the camera tilts up his wall, is purposely put on at 11pm, and then a fade out and fade in is used, to show he has been playing guitar all night. It was important to change the clock time to quite late at night to show that he doesn't sleep much, and is not extremely responsible. 

His bed was made to be very messy, representing the music he listens to as it can be seen as messy and loud itself.

Typical Viewer/Audience Member

 

This is my ideal viewer/audience member.
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Occupation: College student, studying music
Hobbies: Plays guitar, listens to a lot of rock music
He wears checked shirts, jeans, band t-shirts and converse.

My typical audience would be aged between 15-20, as the ceriticate for my film is 15, and the protagonist is 18 years old, therefore this age would relate the most to him. The percentage of male/females who are the target audience is:
Male: 55%
Female: 45%
This is mainly because the protagonist is male and so is the other main character that helps the protagonist through his journey, so males may relate more to the narrative. However, the protagonist is conventionally good-looking which would appeal to the female audience.
The typical viewer would be in college or university, studying a subject like music who wants to have a career in Rock music, but wants to rebel because of the type of music they listen to. They would like bands such as: Metallica, AC/DC, Guns n' Roses, Slipknot, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead etc. They would also most likely play an instrument, either drums, guitar or bass, or sing.

Certificate

My film would be certificate 15. This is because the narrative includes themes such as alcohol and drugs, but my film would include a lot of swearing, to represent both the protagonist and his helper's anger in the journey they are on. The character is 18 years old, so people around that age would be the target audience of the film anyway, so a certificaste 15 seemed appropriate.

Changes to Opening 2 Minutes to Film Opening

Opening 2 minutes

At the very beginning, instead of going straight into the film the titles that I will make for the film will appear on the screen before anything has started. Then, the music will start playing (Metallica – Enter Sandman) as it fades in to ‘Danny’, the protagonist, playing this song on his guitar in his room. There is several shots of him playing, his feet moving to the beat and different angles of the guitar. As the audience see him playing, a voice-over will be used where he talks about himself a little more, giving the audience more of an idea of who he is and characteristing him. He will say "Since my father died, music has been my only escape... My passion started when I was 9 and by the time I was 12 I reached grade 8 and could play 'Through the Fire and Flames' note, for note." There will be a long break from when ihe says this to the next thing he says. The camera tracks his wall which shows plenty photos of his idols and this shot is repeated through out the scene. While playing his guitar he writes music/lyrics and the title sequence will begin (he writes down the names of who I will mention in the title credits). There is a piece of paper behind the paper he is writing on which shows a letter from the 'Rockstone University', telling the audience that this character wants to go there and has a key role in the story. During this scene it will cut to the different shots, for example, there will be a shot of him tapping his feet for a few seconds, then the camera tracking the wall for a few seconds, and then cutting to an shot of his hand when he plays, then back to the wall, etc. He continues to play guitar and a tilt shot is used to show him writing something down, and this is when he will say "I could play all night..." with the clock showing the time as 11 at night, and as the camera tilts down again, he slams the pen down when the singer in the song starts singing, acting as a sting sound. A fade out is used in this shot to show that the day is over and then fades in again to show him walking up to his wall (where the posters are), which shows that it is the morning and has been playing all night. The song that he plays continues in the background as he gets up and looks at the photos of his idols. An eye line match will be used of him looking at his wall, and then a shot of the photos in which he is looking at. He grabs his backpack and walks out of his room and puts his backpack on, and walks out of the door. A few match-on-actions will be used for the continuity of the film. It ends with him walking out of the house, and he pauses for a moment, which is when the song stops playing as it plays "We're off to Never Neverland". This will signify that he is about to begin his journey and will make the audience want to know what is going to happen next. In one part of this scene, cross-cutting will be used to show another cahracter, the producer, who 'Danny' meets in the film. This is because it will show a relationship between the two characters and that they will meet at some point during the film to create a conflict or relationship between them, setting up the plot for the audience.

Audience Research Questionnaire

I used SurveyMonkey to set up a survey for audience research for my film opening.

LINK TO SURVEY ONLINE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RHNTPXB

Results Analysis:

Audience Research Questionnaire for Film Opening from rosiesutton