The Final Product

       
My section of this product is the first 43 seconds.




             

Evaluations: Question 7

Looking back at my preliminary task what did I learn in progression from it?

Before the preliminary task I had no real previous experience with filming or editing, so the preliminary task was the first time that I had a chance to do this, so in short I learnt how to film and edit from the preliminary task.

The narrative for our preliminary task was thought out in 1 hour meaning we didn’t know what the actors would say and we didn’t have time to think through where we would film. Whereas, the main task, we had a while to think of the narrative we even had time to update the narrative, we also had months of time to research the genre and compare our ideas meaning we can have the best chance possible. In the preliminary task I didn’t think to film from multiple angles and multiple times meaning the actual scene looked really scruffy. Whereas the main product is totally smooth as we filmed each shot from 3 different angles, we also waited 3 second before and after we were ready to get as much clip to edit as possi
ble.

Lighting in preliminary task

Lighting in main

In my area of the product I think that I filmed well, the camera work in my opinion was not bad at all, I think this comes down to the fact that we did quite a bit of practice on filming and we filmed quite a few times each shot, this is because in the preliminary task I didn’t shoot from multiple angles meaning we had a tough time when it came to continuity. When it comes to quality of lighting, my part was filmed in the morning in the morning so we got alt of natural lighting, we wanted natural lighting as it shows that the character is outdated, old and retired, I thought long about the lighting as the lighting in the preliminary task was poor and had artificial lighting which made the colour of the whole thing was yellow.

The quality of sound, I would say is our strongest point, in our product we have a long news broadcast that we actual got Dominic McGuiness from talk sport to voice act for, this was done in a professional studio meaning the quality of sound is pristine. I think that I edited the sound very well when it came down to it, the quality of sound in the preliminary task was a very bad point for us, during the filming we had chairs screeching, the dialogue was quiet and we had no music in the task what so ever. I managed to include a sound bridge which is great for continuity. Also the music in my part is a smooth rhythm classical tune that connotes he’s living a boring, alone life but there’s a chance for happiness.

In conclusion, I am extremely happy with how our final product turned out, I was actually worried that it would be a total disaster but I feel I came through to create the best product with the potential I had, I put 100% effort into the creation of my section, the only problems lie with Alex’s section as he had problems filming on the day, with many poor shoots meaning the time ran down and he had a dark set to film with.

Evaluations: Question 6

Evaluations: Question 5

Evaluations: Question 4

Who would be the audience of your product?

Our demographic will be from the ages of 12-21 I know this from doing the survey that allowed us to get the specific needs of our audience. They will also be 50/50 male female as we have challenged the male gaze theory so we will have less male viewers as expected, and because we are going to distribute to cinemas we are aiming for working and middle class viewers, that is the demographic of our audience. The demographic is known as the Hollywood demographic, they are famous for flocking to the cinema to watch any movie that contains action, another reason why we are doing this is because recent stats show that 40% of spy/action genre movies are of the ages 15-24, this means we can theoretically fill half of the cinema with our intended audience .This is relevant to the demographic of our audience as they are male and female 12-21, this is the Hollywood demographic, meaning they want a lot of action in the movie, however our audience said they wanted some psychological aspects to it so we gave the antagonist a mental disability that he fights off gradually. 

 Our audiences psycho-graphic is that they like action, at fast paces too, they also like a little bit of psychological aspects, I also researched that they like to build adrenaline whilst watching the movie, hence the need for fast paced action. We have also added a dual narrative into the product which means the ideal age range may find It harder to follow the plot but they will be satisfied with the product. Given that our audience likes mission impossible and spectre it’s a good thing that we based our product off of the James Bond franchise with a twist. This why I think we will have success in the UK box office.

We have a secondary audience that is the age of 25-40, this would be older people or parents taking the younger end of the main audience to go and watch it at the cinema, the main demographic could recommend the product to the older audience meaning the words spreads faster.

Evaluations: Question 3

Evaluations: Question 2

2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our product represents the middle and lower class, the lower class is represented as criminals and thieves also wear chavy clothes, our antagonist is a lower class person as he is stealing the prime minister’s son, but it’s a little more difficult to class this as lower class as he doesn’t want ransom for his crimes he wants more of a personal satisfaction from the crime. This also leads to the representation of disability in our product, we have represented the antagonist as a psychotic person, meaning he has some sort of mental disability as he is doesn’t realise what he is doing wrong in his current state of mind. Disability and lower class are both represented negatively in our product this is shown through the antagonists, choices and actions. The soundtrack when the antagonist pulls the victim out of the car changes to a fast paced action track, this is showing the stereotypical violent traits of the lower class as he is ready for a bit of action. The fact that the antagonist is male also shows the stereo typical male representation as he is violent and forceful towards other people.

I also represented the elderly as a social group, our protagonist is an elderly man at 50 years of age, this shows the audience that he is the underdog, he is also shown as alone, from the no photos around the house, and the minimalist atmosphere in the scene.

Another class that is represented is the middle class, the protagonist is middle class in our product, this is to create a binary opposition with the antagonist, the difference between rich-poor and good-bad, this is also shown by the ability of the characters, shown through the dual narrative that flicks between the two classes. Our opening sequence contains a dual narrative. The dual-narrative shows the difference in class as the protagonist wakes up and makes a brew then hears the news of the incident, whereas at the same time the antagonist is pulling the victim out the car and head butting him for speaking, also the soundtrack changes from a peaceful tune to a more upbeat action track along. This shows the correlation  of the middle class compared with the negativity of the lower class.

Evaluations: Question 1

Change In Credits

After my most recent editing session i have come to the conclusion that I need to change the font of the credits.

I have decided to go with the combat ready font as i believe it makes the credits look not to childish but suits the action style that we are aiming for in the task.

Combat Ready

Editing Session-3

On my third editing session I began to edit the sound and credits.
I started by selecting the template from the available presets, after that I set the font to impact and the size to 61 for the names and 66 for the titles of the there names.

I proceeded to create each credit in the order selected by Alex Grandage through his research; production, distribution, directed by, written by, staring.

When distancing them apart I did not take into account the overall time it takes for my scene, so i made the mistake of putting them to close together, i realised this instantly and added it to my plans for  next session.

When I started to edit the sound i need ed to make sure that the news announcement was in perfect place, after this i downloaded, detach, from Epidemic Sounds this website offers unsigned, no copyright, free music.

I cut the song to size after dragging it into Final Cut Pro.

I added fades to the beginning and end of the music this allows it to ease the audience into the atmosphere.

I then lowered the decibels of the music because i don't want it to take over the whole thing.

Editing Session 2

In editing session 2 i am still using the editing software Final Cut Pro, in this editing session, i started to smooth out the transitions between shots, I also extended some clips, this made the flow smoother as it wasn't as jumpy as before.


I also removed some of the fades that were between shots, i did this because they are typically used between scenes not shots I didn't want to confuse the audience, with the wrong transitions.

I also altered the sound levels of most of my shots as the sounds were going to clash with the soundtrack that will be implemented at a later editing session.

I noticed a continuity flow problem in my section, Johns hand didn't match up when he reaches for the cupboard, this was easily fixable as we filmed for 3 seconds after we were happy, this is an example of how our preparation has given us the advantage.

I finished off the session by implementing the layout for our credits before the lesson ended, i used the typography research when deciding this, i picked the font Impact as it looks very compact and relevant to the spy genre, the size is going to be 61 as it is small relative to the screen meaning it doesn't attract the attention of the audience.

Editing Session 1

Firstly, my scene is from the start to the radio.




The first time editing the main section was the hardest to do as i had to decide which clips worked best at certain times in the scene.


I started off by selecting the clips that we recorded and put them in the order necessary, then i began to cut down the ends of of the clips to make them flow perfectly, Also added a fade into the start of the scene to set the scene well. There are some jump-cuts throughout my section which allows the continuity of the scene to flow as it doesn't look stupid and cartoon es-cue.

I also added the detail close-ups, so that the audience understands the symbolism of the on screen props, for example, the kettle steaming shows that there is rising tension somewhere in the near future.

Also the radio closeup shows that the radio is talking to him specifically and there is a reason why he is listening to the broadcast.

This is where I used ken burns to show that the kettle stopped and he is in his own peace in mind and he doesn't know about anything that could go wrong, my part of the sequence is all about showing him before the news, so its crucial i focus on the key hints for the audience.

When filming we shot multiple angles multiple times, for each shot meaning when it came to editing, i had a huge range of clips to choose from.

Filming- Day 2

On day 2 I arrived at Matt's house at about half 12:00. On arrival I began to clear the set of non needed props, I then waited for the actors to arrive when they arrived I explained the hole situation of the shot lists, and they were confident with the new ideas.

I started off by telling John that he will walk in through the door and get the cup turn the kettle on, i did this so i can film the extra detail shots of each individual action. When i first started filming the detail shots, the kitchen counter had objects which needed to move as the weren't supposed to be in the shot. I re-shot the shot of the cupboard a few times each time from a different position for example was from the counter one was from the Island. I then made a close-up from the counter which shows the kettle boiling.

At 1:15 we had began filming again and proceeded to film the second half of my section, when we came to the John(lead actor) reacting to a news clip that he couldn't hear, we took a lot of time getting the perfect expression out of him, this put us at 1:45 with all-shots complete.

Filming - Problems with the shot list

When we came up to the day of filming , I noticed that the shots that I decided to run with were un-realistic and didn't flow very well. On set, I decided to change up the shots to make it flow much more smoothly and, still take into account the 180 degree rule. I think my adjustments worked well as i was able add closeups to add detail to movements and an incite on the characters life.

I originally decided to start with a POV but then changed it to a pan across the kitchen, this allowed the audience to see the scene as appose to straight way just looking at a kettle, this means the pace of the scene created as it starts with a slow moving pan which sets the steady pace.

Also, we knew we wouldn't be totally happy with the recording on the day so we decided to record 3 seconds before and after, the needed shots, this allowed us to edit the shot at different times to create continuity throughout the scene.

Shot List

The story board

The Focus Group

The focus group for the guys agreed quite well with our initial audience research, being the survey, this is because we got the same answers and can base our plot/ idea accordingly. We also found out that the target audiences psycho-graphic is dominantly action packed when they think about spy/action.

Production Schedule

Saturday 10th

Sunday 11th

11:00 AM-15:00 PM—We will go to Longhay field to film the scene where the Victim is in the car boot and is hit by the villain when he is grabbed out the car and hit by him. For this scene we will need the victim and the villain as they will be in the car and the boot. In this scene the victim will need to bring light coloured clothes and the villain will need smart but dark clothes.

11:00 AM-15:00PM—We will go to the house and film the scene where the hero is preparing his breakfast and also where gets the call from his old boss. The hero will be needed for this scene and will need to bring a mix of both light and dark clothes. There will also be a watch which we will edit into a smart watch. 16:00 PM-19:00PM—We will shoot our 2nd idea for where the victim and the villain meet where they are in the room and the villain has the victim chained up.  The hero will need light clothes but ragged to show he is been damaged by the villain who will need dark clothes. We will also use a knife and other dangerous objects spotted around the room to denote danger.

Conflicting Idea

We have found our selves arguing over the main part pf the opening sequence, this has led us to designate two shoots for filming both the ideas meaning we will be able to try them both and see which one flows the best.

One idea is told in the updated idea. The other idea involves the victim in a room and he looks tortured which shows the audience that the antagonist is not very humane and he wants more than a ransom,  the camera zooms out and you see a silhouette of the antagonist.

The updated idea

As a group we discussed our idea and how realistic it is for us to film. we have made some changes to our idea.

The first scene is in the kitchen the main character is cooking his breakfast, he sits down and turns the  radio on, the radio is playing music as he goes to the sink to wash up. Then it cuts to the villain in a parked car and there is a screaming sound coming from the boot, he gets out and hits the victim and puts him back, there is another cut the main character as he gets a call from 'ex-boss' who tells him about the kidnapping of the prime ministers son, as this happens the radio changes to the news which says the same as the ex-boss.

Preliminary task

The video above is our preliminary task and it shows a range of filming and editing techniques, for example when the dialogue is on screen we followed the 180 degree rule. At the start we also used a tracking shot to show that there is movement.

This will help in the final task because it gives us some practice before we film the main task this means we take less time learning the camera and more time using it, the same with final cut pro.

Examples of Fonts.

Me and the rest of my group are discussing the six fonts that are shown above, they all suit our genre and target audience as they are smart clear and look like they would be shown in a spy genre movie.

We are going to use size 10 for the names and companies but the size for the title will be around 30.

We are going to show them on screen and edit it into the actions that the character does.

But it would be ideal to check the fonts of the actual software that we will use.

Typography in London has fallen.

This clip is the only one I could find and I think it has been edited to be a quicker speed than normal.

The typography of London Has Fallen is really good for the genre as it suits really well, the text is a decent size and is a good font for the spy genre as it is a very professional smart font.

The editing used for the opening credits is also a good idea for us to use, as it fades in and out meaning it doesn't, look to childish and creates a professional and clean look.  The credits are also off in the corner which means they don't take the audiences attention off of the action.

The scene cuts through a montage of different shots, which are all edited to look like a news report or an old tape, this gives the audience a hint towards, what is on the screen is important to take in.



The main title appears in segments through fades, it creates anticipation from the audience as it stalls them, the credits are also displayed whilst there isn't much going on in the scene which means the audience doesn't get distracted further on in the movie by the credits.


The credits momentarily stop as this appears on the screen as if it is a camera, the editing shows a box around his head telling the audience he is a character of importance and the audience should remember him.





The typography in London has fallen is really good for our main task as it really applies to our thoughts of the credits, we will definitely try to add similar font size, font type, and a location on screen in our main task.

Mise-en-scene analysis on Kingsman

This shot in the scene shows the interrogation of the man in the brown suit which shows the contrast between the antagonists and the victim, the antagonists are all similar if not identical in costume as they all wear the same black outfit and have the same bald heads almost as if they are members of a gang, the audience knows they are the antagonists from the moment they see these people.

The window in the background contrasts with the mood of the scene as there is a picture perfect view out the window. The lighting also contrasts with the mood as it is ordinarily bright for an interrogation it doesn't follow the codes and conventions. Even though the antagonists are out to harm the victim he still kneels down to the victim in this wide angled shot which shows he isn't the boss or he isn't the most powerful, it tells the audience there is a more powerful person coming, they instantly know its going to be a classic spy movie where the hero comes along to save the victim.

This shot shows the four antagonists they all look out of place, on the left the guy looks huge and muscly in a tiny chair, he appears to be waiting for something, he looks calm but uncomfortable at the same time. In the back the guy in the middle doesn't look like he even notices the interrogation he is sitting there reading a newspaper it confuses the audience as the don't know why the antagonists aren't being harsh and forceful.

The peaceful environment is then interrupted by the knock on the door, the interrogating guys facial expressions show the audience that something isn't right even though all the signs pointed towards someone else arriving. This tells the audience that something isn't right and they know there will be a conflict soon.

The previously calm antagonists now seem to be on edge and are looking uncomfortable and less nice, even though there is the peaceful background to contrast the mood.

The door is opened and the characters spring into action when the obvious protagonist shoots the guy who opened the door, the other three antagonists begin to show the violence that we have been waiting for but still something doesn't seem right as the conflict is over within 10 seconds that doesn't seem like the sort of action the audience has been waiting for.

The camera pans to the door again and this time the protagonist has to answer it he doesn't expect this, we know because he is standing with a drink and his disturbed facial expressions tell us he is caught off guard.

The protagonist is brought to a halt as he is walking towards the door and we don't know why, the camera tracks to the side of the protagonist, as a female hand comes from off screen and grabs the drink from the antagonist. This is shows binary opposition as the previous male power holder of the scene is now unable to do anything or dead but the woman is now the most powerful.

 This is further enforced through the male character splitting in half to reveal the female character in smart black work attire, standing the exact same way that the male was previously stood. The clothes that she is wearing tells the audience she is professional and this her job.

The camera pans down to focus on the females prosthetic legs to show the complete opposite to the conventions, as the leading powerful character so far in the movie is a female with prosthetic legs it almost tries to degrade the male protagonist.

We don't really know who is the antagonist or protagonist in this scene as the power has changed multiple times within 2 minutes, the woman begins to cover the dead bodies with white sheets almost to show respect which we know from the sheets being whit, she even covers both halves of the man she killed, this enforces her professionalism, but also shows the audience she still has a female side to her.

We are going to try to use this in our final product through the use of colours in costumes and props. This will help us to get the audiences mind working and have less predictability of the final outcome.

Analysis of an opening sequence

Survey Analysis

From question 1 we see that the demographic of the genre is 12-21 as 80% of the answers were 12-21, this allows us to base our task off of this and meet their needs.

This also adds to our knowledge of the demographic as we know the gender of the audience is split 50/50 so we will be able to us this and utilize it to allow us to fit both  of the genders needs.

we expected this to be the answer as it ties in with the regular codes and conventions of the genre which means the protagonist will be male as the audience is asking for this directly.

This also shows us that the audience's psycho-graphic is for an action sub-genre which then allows us to make our opening sequence for the main task similar, in concept, to other spy/action movies.

This question allows us to get an incite on the amount of mystery our target audience will like to see in our task from the answer we will use mid shots from behind the back to allow us to show the villain without giving his identity away.

This answer was a shock for us because we had already discussed the hero to be a favourite but the question also tells us that we would have been doing it wrong and we discussed this problem we are going to change it around and have a retired veteran instead of a currently employed MI5 agent.

The audience wants the hero to be an underdog so we are going to have the favourite die at the start as it then allows an underdog to steal the spotlight.

The last question was not really relevant to the main task it was more for our aid as it gave us an understanding on the types of movies to watch for the research.