Link to group blog

Here is our group blog: http://southdusk.blogspot.co.uk/

2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Within our portfolio, we have completed both the film and the ancillary texts – these texts consist of our film poster and magazine review. As a group we worked on the film, however we split into twos to complete the post-production ancillary tasks. Myself and Chris worked on the magazine review, whereas Jack and Jon were involved in the poster.

We knew ultimately it was the combination of these texts that would secure an effective portfolio – this means that each text had to match up to others. When our film was complete and we were happy with it, we knew that our other texts had to be just as good. Similarly, the positive feedback we had received meant we were avid for a similar standard in the poster and review.

Firstly I’d like to talk about our film itself in some detail, and how effective we thought the finished product was. The key was to create something similar to our original idea formed in pre-production, so the project had to be as we planned. We are pleased to say that it is highly similar in all respects – script, storyboarding, locations etc, so inevitably we knew that our original plans for effectiveness were successfully put across within the five minutes of our film. Our effectiveness comes from the gritty and retrospectual atmosphere that forces the audience to consider their own decisions and what they would do if they could change the past. This is ultimately displayed in a clear sense for example through the extensive voiceovers which are addressed with an openly questioning tone as our protagonist, Wesley, dwells on his decisions.

  Above: voiceovers offered a lot of explanation for our premise, and engaged the audience so that they could grasp some emotion and enthusiasm from Wesley. In this sense, we have achieved some effect from these voiceovers.

However at the same time there were certain elements that we feel have potential to distract the audience from reaching such meaning. A few things were not intended in production, and unfortunately we feel that some points could have been more effective in the finished project. For example, the shaky camera effect was used a little too much – this is reflected in our feedback too, and is probably the most widely accepted point – the camera’s path can sometimes distract from the action. You can see an example below. In this case the camera zooms quickly and momentarily confuses the audience. This is something we would certainly alter if we were to remake.

Above: an example of our camera-shake and a quick zoom, both of which are in the spotlight for potential distractions. 

There were a few other points, too, which meant our final project wasn't as effective as it could have been. The entire premise is certainly confusing, with multiple layers of narrative and time shifts. This is distracting in itself, as if the audience are in a state of confusion, the film isn't as effective as if they knew what is going on. One could argue that the confusion means the audience become so adamant to figure it out that they leave with the thoughts engrained, therefore the film is more memorable and ultimately effective. Yet it was our feedback that gave the majority vote – it seemed that most people felt a little uncomfortable.

Above: many found the reflection motif to be the origin of confusion - it's a little unexplained - maybe the film would more effective with a clearer explanation

In terms of our ancillary texts, again we are mostly pleased with the results. The magazine review looks vastly professional and the film poster had received much praise for its illustration. The review is effective in the sense it is highly informative and it’s highly attractive for the eye. The only problems we had were involving a few formatting and spelling errors – these could certainly have lost some effectiveness, but in the end we spotted these and managed to correct the errors. Similarly, on the poster there was one spelling error which was swiftly addressed. The poster fulfilled its ultimate aim which is to attract the eye: this is achieved through a combination of colours and eye-catching text.

Right: a repeated word error on the magazine, with a spelling error on the poster

Overall we’re really pleased as all of our texts are effective, certainly to us. The key to the combination is certainly the similar standard between pieces, which has successfully bonded everything together in a professional looking portfolio. 

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I used various sources to gather feedback on the various strands of our project. I asked some relatives - it was interesting to have a variety of ages and their opinions. Similarly, I asked some friends on Facebook and sent links out to the project on YouTube.

I've used Wordle to put together some of the keywords I picked up for our reviews:

The film

We received mixed feedback about our film itself. Fundamentally, though, the responses were positive - above are a few keywords contributed by those we asked for opinions. Thankfully, we were told we matcher our ideal gritty, British feel which apparently reflected well - something to be highly pleased with.  We learnt that this effect really worked well, and we would certainly use this style in future projects as it was so well-received. Similarly, it was described as 'inspirational' which is truly a confidence boost for our group. We interpreted 'complicated' and 'thoughtful' as positive points, as a strand of complication is something we were aiming for. However, it could be said that this could be interpreted in a negative away - it entirely depends on who you ask, so we are not too worried about this.

However we also had a few negative points raised. We took these well and agreed with many of the negative criticisms raised. The idea that the fights were awkward took us by surprise a bit actually - we were personally really pleased with the ways the fights turned out, but I suppose everyone sees theses differently. 'Surreal', 'unclear' and 'cryptic' were not surprising - because of the deliberately-confusing narrative, we expected this from some - however for others an element of surrealism and confusion is very much appealing. We went for a very modernistic approach, whereas some may appeal to the 19th century literature of simple narrative structure and tied-up endings. The idea that it was 'too yellow' is interesting as someone actually saw this as a positive, stated in the positives section above! I think fundamentally we learnt that the 'complicated' narrative was a risky path to take - people either love it or hate it - so in future projects we would have to be very careful with the clarity of our narrative.

The magazine review

Our magazine received positive reviews about both the design and the content itself. On the design side, the main positive was that it was professional, which inevitably meant it must resemble a real film magazine; very much the desire of our own magazine. We used an effective colour scheme apparently which was great to hear too. On the review side, it was 'concise' and had 'detailed-criticism', which meant the content was obviously received well by many. Similarly, the idea that it was well-rated suggests that our content was clearly researched and concluded in an appropriate manner, clearly a reflection of our hard work.

We didn't receive much negative-criticism, thankfully - we were enlightened to the things stated above. Some sentences were a bit confusing, apparently, and could've been structured a bit more clearly. For example, someone picked up on 'Except for a slightly surreal cross-over between between reality and Wesley's imagined world at the end, this is most of the film.' The structure is a bit odd, and could be confusing to understand. Another point was that the statement claiming Wesley's acting could've been better was wrong - many thought his acting was very effective in the finished product. We've learnt to be careful on the criticism side - we shouldn't generalise too much. On the design side, we were told that the glass-image was a bit confusing without any context, so if you read the review before watching the film you would be confused as to the relevance of the glass. 

The poster

The poster was mainly seen as a positive - it was highly 'visually-attractive' and stood out well. The symmetry was a prominent appeal for many - it contrasted the difference in time. Furthermore, the characters-in-text style was popular as a stylistic choice. Overall, the design side was highly praised. The tagline was pretty popular and reflected the film well, stated in general, and we've learnt that the punchier the better, according to our reviews.

Barely any problems with the poster - the only real three are stated above. Some didn't like the black background, which was praise by others, as it was a little dull and could've had a diversity in colours to draw the eye in further. Some didn't like the colour lines on the main image too - this was a deliberate choice which could be interpreted as an error in rendering of the image or a cheap filter, so we have learnt to be careful with the grading and colours in the future.

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

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

Final Poster

Here is our final poster, produced by Jack and Jon and completed before the deadline on Thursday.

Blog Update - 16th April

In today's lesson I started looking at the evaluation questions, whilst devising some ideas for the form and format in which I will present the answer content. So far, I have decided to create a commentary-based video in which I will discuss certain points for a question, whilst visually I will incorporate freeze-frames and selected moving image such as trailers for Run Lola Run and Pusher.

Finished magazine review/design

Here is our finished magazine review and design, double-click to see a larger version:

Designing the review page

In the past week or so I have been designing the magazine page for the incorporation of the review content. Originally, the first draft design (shown below) was A4 and portrait shaped. We had the essential content but needed to add a few more things like the page number, the film details and the overall rating:

I soon realised that to incorporate the large volume of text, we would need to change page size details, I decided to use a landscape setup, which meant we would still have the same design but it would mean more room and space to incorporate key content:

Then (we were fussy!), I enlarged this space because we still had more text left with little room to include it. Yesterday, our Media lesson was one of measurements, in which we checked the sizing of an actual Empire magazine review page. The sizing was 43.6 x 28.5cm in size, which was roughly the size of two A4 sheets side by side, with a few adjustments:

 So this is effectively our final design. I am just adding the final touches - page number, rating etc - and then our magazine review will be ready.

Finished Film

Here is our complete film, "After Thought"...

Adding some compression

I'm adding some final compression to our overall film sound in Ableton Live, which basically boosts the sound makes it more powerful, so that it's more cinematically pleasing. A more vibrant and colourful sound means a more satisfied audience.

Our project is nearly there...

Here's a little snapshot showing the editing of our project. Today I'm adding the finishing snippets of sounds, and waiting for Jack to send the opening sequence so I can incorporate this into the project at the beginning. I'm using Sony Vegas Movie Studio as you can see, along with Ableton Live (pictured below) for certain effects.

I'm using Ableton to add some vital post-production effects to our foley, such as reverberation to add a special touch to our project, stressing the mystery and space our film has to offer. Similarly, I'm using EQ effects in a more compulsory way - a lot of our foley was recorded indoors, when it needs to sound outdoors. Because of this, I take out the bottom, bass parts of the sound so that it sounds a bit more like it's outside (outdoor recordings never pick up bass!)

Initial Raw footage for Opening Sequence

Here is the footage I filmed for the opening sequence, in which our protagonist is running. From this, we will take individual snapshots and incorporate this into a sequence of pictures in quick succession. The pictures will be taken from this footage, graded, and matched with titles by Jack.

Today in the studio

Today I added the music to our project timeline, and have edited the levels in anticipation of incorporating our voiceovers in the next day or two. Below you can see our visuals matched with the music track itself, which will be built upon and extended:

Initial Magazine Review Design - draft

Here is an initial look at the magazine review design, seen in Apache OpenOffice Draw. 

Throughout the text areas are blank but ready to be filled with the actual review, 

which is being written by Chris.

Silent Draft

This is the first, complete silent draft that I have edited. After this we will refine transitions/scene lengths etc, whilst incorporating our opening credit sequence. Also now sound comes into the equation, with both diegetic and non-diegetic music to arrange in our project.

Blog Update - 12/2/2012

At the weekend we filmed the rest of the project. It was a successful shoot over about three hours and we managed to avoid the rain!

Later this week we will have rendered the whole sequence to hand in without sound, as our first draft. Then we will work on sound - both diegetic and non-diegetic, starting with background ambience followed by action sounds (such as walking and fight sounds). Then we will incorporate music. 

Analysis of short film 'Cotton Stones'

Jan 27th Blog Update

Initial Editing Sequence

This is an initial look at one of the pier sequences, without sound..

Magazine Review Research

For our project, we need to introduce a magazine review which will serve to summarise our successes or failures, whilst evaluating the process of filmmaking to render our finished sequence. Before we can begin to write or design our review, we need to research into the style we are looking for. 

The layout of film reviews such as the example above are often highly colourful, with a large picture background. Obviously this attracts the eye, whilst drawing the reader in to search for the text. In this particular case, the image shows a close-up of Orlando Bloom's face, highlighting the emotion and hinting at the film in review. 

The text is very much out of the way to the left, which is carefully places as to avoid blocking out the image. Yet the text is white which clearly stands out from the picture background. The initial text is a conventional quote from the article, larger and positioned at the top with quotation marks. This is carefully picked as the most dramatic or revealing quote from the entire article, designed to heighten the desire to read, much like the nature of a TV advert which picks the best bits. We are likely to use this technique with our own review.

The text is formatted into small paragraphs initiated by relevant questions to do with the interview with Bloom.  These questions are highlighted in bold so they stand out and clearly show the divides in text. This diversity in formatting and text style all helps to make the page appear more interesting to the reader. The small image on the top right with a white border again helps to add some more colour to the overall finish, along with a different perspective of Bloom. The bottom right features his name, with complete lower case letters used as a stylistic choice. Perhaps we will use this choice for our own film. 

Here is another extract, this time taken from Empire Magazine. The Bank Job is the featured film for review in this case - a 2008 thriller starring Jason Statham. In contrast to the earlier review, this one does not dominate the page with an image. Instead the picture is much smaller in this case, clearly defined at the top, leaving the text with a blank white background. The title is also much more clear, positioned as the largest piece of text in capital letters - black text on a white background stands out. A defining line of text lies below, differentiating in a turquoise colour. The format of the text is simply paragraphed this time around, without and questions.

Clearly variety is something prominent with film reviews in magazines. Each mag has a different format and layout, so it is important we do not copy complete ideas for our own; rather we should look for inspiration and then incorporate this into our work. 

Filming Photos

Some snaps from our filming can be found here..

http://southdusk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/filming-photos-i.html

Process of Footage Grading

Here is the process from raw footage to a finished render:

Raw footage, with no effects or filters..

 Contrast is added to footage, to bring out the darker colours so the shot appears richer:

Then I added a glow effect to create some more glare, emphasising the light from the sun. It is a very subtle effect:

Finally the colour correction is tinted towards a red/orange colour, to create a more dated and sepia tone:

Initial Filming Snapshots

Here are some initial snapshots from a sequence we filmed recently on Torquay pier. The footage has been colour corrected and stylised:

Blog Update - The past week

Last weekend (15th/16th Dec) we managed to begin filming. The crew - Chris, Jon and myself - teamed up with our two actors - Will Hayman and Ollie Iley. We had a perfect day weather-wise for filming the pier scenes. So we headed to the pier in Torquay and rehearsed through each scene respectively before shooting.

With the Sony 5K we shot some excellent footage. The pier was naturally a symmetrical setting, with equal benches on each side descending into the mist of the horizon. Consequently it was vastly cinematic and appropriate for the noir, dated washed-out effect we intend to portray. I brought my Rode microphone to pick up some sound which plugged into the Zoom H1 for recording. Jon recorded the sound, which we will be reviewing in post-production shortly.

I would like the sound to be very much 3-dimensional on the pier, because a spectrum of noises from all directions will create the feel of unease we intend. The pier is right next to a humble little marina, and when the wind blows the sails create an eerie sound which resembles something from a tense scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. I want to pick up this noise and represent it in the distance of our action, so it is possible our original recordings will act as references, before we artificially create the sounds for the pier.

After a successful day of filming, on Tuesday we had our first school lesson since. We began some initial cutting of the footage, simply drafting together rough ideas for the way we want the scenes to look. It was also a perfect time for us to start grading and colouring the footage (some examples of the before and after footage can be seen on my blog). As soon as we bought everything to life, the nature of the Mexican stand-off action we shot meant the sequence luckily resembled something of Boardwalk Empire (which is very much a period drama), which was ideal - meaning our sequence was successfully nostalgic.

So now we must continue to piece together our film. Once we have a silent editing draft, we will begin to introduce sound - both diegetic and non-diegetic - to start crafting what will eventually be our finished, hopefully impressive, project.

Storyboard Animatic

Here is our animatic, detailing the storyboard:

Audience Research

Colour Grading/Correction test

I have filmed a short sequence to demonstrate the techniques we will use to grade and colour correct our footage..

Storyboards

Below are the storyboards I have created and elaborated on. Some areas are not included at this stage as they are too complex to storyboard, and due to the nature of the recurring scenes (flashbacks/alternative scenarios), many scenes are repeated and therefore not re-storyboarded.

Camera Specifications

In terms of camera specifications and camera equipment, we have many of the resources we require at this initial date. The various technical equipment will certainly aid our finished product, and provide the professional touch we feel we deserve, after a thorough session of pre-production. For the shooting itself we will be using..

A Sony 5K will be our base recording device. This camera is highly efficient and delivers effective results through a crisp, clean shot. I myself already have this model, as I often use it for my own, individual extra-curricular film work. An example of the rich depth of field that can be achieved can be seen to the right.

In order to create the rich, professional-looking depth of field in our shots, we require a photographic lens which sits comfortably with the Sony 5K. We will use an 18-55mm lens, which comes with the 5K. This depth of lens is perfect and highly adaptable for a diversity of situations and scenes, whilst delivering a superb shot for post-production. 

As well as the capturing equipment, we need further equipment to assist in camera movement. We will of course be using a tripod for much of the shooting. Even when a dynamic and shaky shot is required, we will artificially create this using a tripod, to control the level of shake. Long shots especially will make use of the static outcome of using a tripod, in order to set a cinematic scene.


We have some further ideas and miscellaneous equipment we wish to make use of in order to 'put the icing on the cake' of a professional sequence. For example, I am considering storyboarding several tracking shots, which would of course require a camera 'dolly', which is effectively a device which shifts the camera along two parallel rails to give a real sense of movement. This will allow us to add to the dynamic theme and emphasise our planning in production.

Name ideas

We are currently in the process of devising a name for our film. We wish to base the title of the film on one of the key themes that occur within the sequence, such as these:

• Reflections
• Flashbacks
• Fighting
• Alternative scenarios

A standard day in the studio!

Camerawork Ideas

As Director of Photography, I have devised several ideas in terms of themes within the camerawork. One idea was to use a mainly handheld and shaky effect throughout, in order to contribute to the manic and fast-paced atmosphere. This effect would also be linked with a short shot duration in terms of editing in order to complete the effect.

This sort of camerawork can be spotted throughout the Bourne trilogy:

Dynamic camerawork is another style of the shooting we intend to use. This renders an exciting atmosphere which conforms with the conventions of our chosen genre. This style can be spotted in a key influence that we have aspired to - in this clip from Run Lola Run demonstrates a similar style, while focusing on the protagonist running:

South Dusk Films film pitch

20/9/12 - Blog Update

In today's lesson we finalised the pitch, adding anything extra we needed, especially on the topics of camerawork and editing.

Blog Update - 18/9/12

Today I researched into shot techniques for our short film - we are at an early stage but it is more efficient if we begin to mentally storyboard the filming techniques.

Illusion - an exploration

Illusion is a short, 3-minute film, which offers an abstract interpretation of the topic of schizophrenia within the mind of a young girl. The film bases itself around a young girl walking through an initially bare forest, whilst a repetitive reverberated loop of a humming voice dominates the soundscape. 

The opening of the film provides an instant sense of unease; before even any form of visuals are visible, the echoed hum dresses a convention of fear, provoking a significant lack of understanding as the further contents of the film. Following, a single title, 'Illusion', blurs out from the screen, emphasises between the contrast of a black frame with white text. 

Illusion's DOP clearly possessed a true confidence in expressing the sense of confusion and fear within the film; especially so within the first few shots: initially we only spot unconventional bodily areas - feet, a hand, a shoulder. In a subtle sense, this intentionally lacks identity, leaving the audience in a state of unease. However, the saturated grading of the shots, which appears to highlight the luscious features of the grass and forest in a bright sense, contrasts with the darkness of the sound and action of the shots.  Perhaps this is a deliberate effect chosen by the director in order to further distort the viewer. 

Illusion's structure appears to lean on two halves - a more upbeat and bright first half, proceeded by a darker, both literally and metaphorically, second half. These halves are cleverly weaved together using a transitional wipe as the camera circles the girl's face and closes in on her hair, before opposing this, rather in a different location: a darker and more autumnal setting of the forest, demonstrated by a dark blue tinted grade and a lack of saturation. Here the focus of the photography seems very much to highlight a prominence of death; the leaves and the bare ground dominate the frames, acting as imagery to symbolise a more serious death - a death of the girl's mind?