During the preliminary task I firstly learnt to work as a team and co-operate as a group in order to work together well. I learnt that there is a process of certain tasks that you must do in order to produce the film, such as planning, storyboard, shot list, and script. I learnt the basics of it all to get started and to gain some knowledge and practise of it such as setting up the camera, using different lenses to film different shots, for example: close up shot; mid shot; long shot. I also learnt how to upload and import the video to the Mac and use final cut pro to edit the film by re-arranging the order of clips and cutting them shorter. It was all new and interesting to learn, however that was just the basics, I have learnt a lot more since then leading up to the full product.
From the preliminary task, I took my experience of working in a team and applying it to the process of working on the full product which helped as each of us in the group had a role to play and to work together in order to listen to each other. I learnt to draw a storyboard in more detail than the one which was done in the preliminary task, to make a detailed shot list and to write a screenplay instead of a script as we did not have anyone speaking in our film, but we still needed to write a screenplay of our film which included the screen directions. Even though we used the camera and lenses in the preliminary task, we developed our use of using the different camera lenses for the full product, meaning that we used a variety shots such as, extreme close up shot of eyes, tilt up, pan shot, long shot, which had been developed as we did not use many of these shots in the preliminary task. I also learnt to use the tripod and practise using the steadicam whilst testing different ways to shoot certain shots.
Personally, I learnt a lot more within the process of editing the film. As a group we used final cut pro, like we did in the preliminary task but we used it to do a lot more and advanced editing. I learnt how to edit certain scenes to create an effect which affects and changes the mood of the film for example, we put a black and white effect on a flashback scene in our film, we changed the lighting of it and put an effect on which created a 'hazy' look. I also learnt to colour grade our film, which could edit the colour of the scene, as we had to make the shade of the colours slightly darker as it was too bright, therefore we colour graded it to do so. I learnt how to put titles in the film, changing the font, size, colour and position of the text and how it would appear on screen, this was different to when we were editing our preliminary task as we did not put any titles in the film. In the preliminary task, we did not use any music, however with out full product we did, so I learnt to import music on final cut pro and to change the levels of sounding. When editing our full product, I also learnt to insert transitions within the scenes so it would flow and look effective. Overall, there was a great deal of development and improvement on certain skills and learning how to do more within filming and editing.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Within the filming process, I learnt how to put the camera together by choosing the correct lens of the camera and fitting it with the actual camera itself, and also connecting the microphone to the camera.
We used a canon camera which was very effective when filming, the quality of the film was very clear through out and certain objects could be focused by adjusting the focus of the lens on the camera to make it look more in depth and the background out of focus.
I learnt that to put the lens and camera together, you had to find the red dot on the camera, in order to match it up with the red dot on the lens
Then you have to match the lens with camera following the red dot as a guideline
Then twist the lens which will make a 'click' when you know that it is fully attached
In order to take the lens off when finished filming, there is a button on the side which you press and hold for the lens to be de-attached
So I have learnt that using this type of camera can create many different types of shot which is clear and have learnt to remember what type of lens creates a certain type of shot as only one be used for a close up, mid shot or a long shot. I have also learnt to practise and test the focus of the lens to test and change the depth of objects, foreground and background in a scene which can change the effect of the scene. Before I started the media course, I had never filmed with a high-tech camera, so I think that I have learnt a lot through the process and had the opportunity to put my thoughts into action with the use of the camera.
I also learnt how to attach the microphone boom on the camera, the microphone boom was used in order to detect the sounds within the scene such as water, wind and rustling leaves. We used it to record the sound of water, however when it came to editing, we decided to not use it as we wanted to have music (non-diegetic) play throughout the opening of the film.
The microphone boom would slide onto the silver part where it is outlined red shown on the picture on the right. You then switch the button on the on the microphone to 'on'.
I also learnt how to use the equipment appropriately:
I learnt how to use a tripod, the camera would connect to the top of the tripod, then there is a handle where you can control the angle and movement of the camera. Before I started media, I had always know what a tripod was but I had never used one, so this was something that I learnt how to use effectively in filming.
The gorilla tripod was interesting to use as it could be used to wrap around certain objects, such as a branch of a tree to get a high angle point of view. It is quite effective as the camera is stable when wrapped on an object whilst getting a clear shot.
The steadicam was used to place the camera on the top flat surface, and then you could film by holding the longer curved handle and it would film the scene without the shakiness of the camera, it would be steady and balanced.
The use of equipment helped me to develop my skills through out the process, as I learnt more and applied it to our film and therefore it has given me knowledge of what equipment is used and practice and experience of using the equipment for filming. It has also helped me know what particular equipment to use for certain shots.
I have a learnt a lot about the use of technology used within editing, the programme we used to edit our film was final cut pro. Firstly, I learnt how to import the footage and change the format of it so that it could be edited on final cut pro.
I then learnt how to add titles in particular scenes:
To do this you had to:
- double click on the timeline to display the clip in the viewing window
- Then click on the button which had the 'A' letter on it
- Click text and text again
- This will then appear:
- Click control and then you can type in your chosen title and you can then change the font, size and colour of your text
We then inserted the title of our film 'The Forgotten One'. We decided to use a simple and formal font which was 'Calisto MT', as it would be clear and easy to read and it was a similar font to some films which we looked at for research. We kept it white as it could be read easily, stand out and look formal.
Originally, the flashback scenes were in colour so I tested out some effects to make it look like a flashback. We then decided to have it in black and white and adjust the contrast to make it not look too dark or too light, this was edited by using colour corrector:
My skills then developed by learning how to change the position of the text on the screen, so you could see it on the viewing window just showing a black screen and the text, and then you can drag it into position whilst seeing it on another viewing window which shows the film and the text. The angle of the text can also be changed, however we tried it but it did not look very professional or easy to read on the screen, therefore we kept the text horizontal. I learnt that you should test certain aspects of the film to see what it will look like, as you can not know until you try it out, and if it does not look good it is fine as I tested a few different effects and I found that some worked and some did not, but I still tested it to see what the outcome would be which can help during the process of editing the film.
I learnt how to insert particular transitions within the scenes so that it flows and looks effective, it also effected the speed of the film which was slower and we wanted to create that slow and hazy/confused mood. And to add transitions for the titles was something new learnt, we added a cross dissolve to the titles as it would look professional and it was similar to some film titles which we researched, and then it would not be too fast to read as it appears and disappears on the screen.
Furthermore, once we nearly finished editing our film, we then imported our music, I learnt how to change the format of the music file as it had to be changed in order to be played in final cut pro. I learnt that the end of the music could be faded using cross dissolve:
This allowed the music to be faded at the same time as the end of the film, we did this as we wanted to make the ending not just as a straight cut, but faded as it would then go into the next scene. However, we had to make adjustments to the sound levels of the music by double clicking the music and editing it:
You can change the sound levels by moving the red dots up or down depending if you want it to be louder at one point and then quieter at another. As we wanted to fade the music, we had to align the dots starting at a high point and the gradually going down to the bottom so that the music would fade at an appropriate speed.
On the day of filming, it was quite sunny and therefore some scenes were slightly brighter which was not what we wanted as our genre was a psychological thriller. In order to portray that, we had to edit the brightness levels of the colours, to do this I learnt to use colour corrector:
By using colour corrector, we could adjust the brightness levels of the blue sky, to create a mysterious atmosphere. I also learnt how to colour grade our film, which was more specific to edit the colours of our film.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
As our film is a psychological thriller, it does not contain any violence or swearing and so our target audience were twelve years and older as the lead role in our film is played by a female who is sixteen years old, therefore it relates more to teenagers. Also, people younger than twelve years old would not fully understand the whole concept and meaning of the film, and at the end of the film, the main character who is played by a female commits suicide, so it would be too much for them to comprehend, therefore our film has an age classification of 12.
Our film would be aimed at a small niche market as it is an independent film, therefore it would not be so international like Hollywood films. It is a British film, with British actors and a British location (England) so it would most likely be aimed at British viewers. Our media product represents ordinary female teenagers as the clothes that are worn are casual. The film is aimed at any gender, however, as the lead role is played by a female, so it may relate more to teenage girls.
How did you attract/address your audience?
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?
Audience feedback
S. Sehgal (Dad):
- Great music- very appropriate to the environment and cinematography
- Images are good- possibly too quick in some camera movement, be guided more by music
- Great colours
- Concept and flashback is good
- Sense of suspense created leading to interest in what might happen after the two minutes of film
R. Sehgal (Mum):
- Interesting
- Suspense
- Nice shot of sun reflecting on water and then moving up to the sky
- Good filming of eyes opening/flickering within the flashback scene and questioning as to what is going to happen? Who is she?
- Exciting to see what would happen next
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