What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We asked several people in our media class to watch our rough cut, with mixed opinions:

Pros:

• Visually well done, good camera techniques used.
• Good choice of setting, captured the social realist feel.
• Costume design stuck to convention, fitting props used.

However, there were also some cons:

• Story was somewhat confusing.
• At times, certain editing techniques (like quick cuts and fades to black) felt out of place or had the audience confused at was going on.
• The audio was off, meaning that at times it was too loud or too quiet. Or that the captured sound (like wind) created a static like noise.

From this, we realised that if we didn't make these changed in time for the final cut, the film would be confusing and overall poor quality. First, we tackled the problem of the story being too confusing, as we believed that without a coherent story, the film couldn't succeed. However, we wanted to find the right balance between just handing the plot to the audience and making them think about it and each member getting something personal from the film. So we decided that adding a first person narrative from the character would help the audience understand his motives.

Next, we decided to combat the confusing editing techniques that were holding the film back. We removed all colour correction and visual effects so that we could start completely from scratch. We played back the film and noted down what people thought was confusing. The quick cuts made the pacing off, so some scenes were too quick. So we attempted to make longer cuts on shots, like in the drug deal scene, we extended some clips as much as we could.

We played back the film and individually adjusted the audio levels of each clips. We then attempted to remove the wind feedback, but it was too difficult to do on a short time scale, so the best thing we could do was try and adjust the volume of the clip so the sound of the wind wasn't too overwhelming. We couldn't replace the audio of the clip entirely as it contained bits where the actors were speaking, so we had to compromise on what we could do. Also at times, we used sound effects to override the raw diegetic sound from the clip. For instance, at one point we had to use an outdoors environment sound effect to cover up certain things, like the audio cutting too early in a clip.

After letting the audience watch our second rough cut, the only problems that remained was that the music we used was too clichéd. Finally, people kept commenting on the story still being slightly confusing, although the voice overs did help. So we decided to remove the music entirely, as it only detracted from the film. Next, we developed on the idea of adding more voice overs to add to the narration, trying to make the story as black and white as we could whilst still retaining several shades of grey.

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

First and foremost, the iMovie application software was utilised the most as it allowed us to edit our film on budget cost, coming preinstalled on the Mac. Without the increase in applications software like this at low costs, we would have had no way to edit our film. It allowed to import footage, edit the length and size of a piece of footage and also implement sound effects separate audio effects. It also allowed us to add visual filters to footage, allowing us to lower the saturation and change the exposure, creating a different stylish look to the film.

Photoshop enabled us to create our ancillary tasks, giving an image editing suite that enabled us to create a convincing movie poster and film review that could actually appear in a magazine. Once again, without these software packages, we would not have been able to achieve any of these goals. Photoshop gave us the ability to crop our images, add text and also non-destructive editing (meaning the original file won't be changed).

Web 2.0 also was utilised when producing our short film, as it allowed us to upload our rough cut of a short film to a website called Youtube, which boasts a huge membership and viewing audience. We uploaded our film to a Youtube account and allow the whole the world to view it. If given the right amount of time, we would have been able to accumulate views and also audience feedback, as Youtube allows members to comment on a video. It also gives members the option to "Like" or "Dislike" a video, which shows whether the community who watched likes or dislikes it overall.

Web 2.0 also helped in the research phase of our product, as we could research films online through sites such as IndieMovies, which allows viewers to watch public made films. It also allowed us to look at directors websites, an example being Shane Meadows (the director of This Is England), which had interviews with the director on directing films like This Is England, which gave us an insight on how he wrote the script for This Is England.

The biggest utilisation of Web 2.0 however, was the use of Blogger, which gave us the ability to present our work in a digital format instead of on paper. This gave us the opportunity to follow each others 'blogs' and keep up to date about film schedules and group activity. We could sites like Scribd and SlideShare, which enables users to upload presentations and word processor documents to their website. It also has the feature of being able to 'embed' documents on websites. For us, this meant that we could place a SlideShare document on our Blogger and allow people to view it. It also allowed interactivity on our blog as these embedded documents allow users to interact with the document, like giving it a rating and sharing it.

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

For our ancillary tasks, we chose to do a film review and a movie poster.

The movie poster was designed around the idea that it had to portray core elements and themes of the short film to the audience at first glance. So we designed the poster with the ideas of grittiness and dark themes in mind throughout. We washed out the colours from the initial photo of the character to emphasise the seriousness of the story, and also so that people could understand the tone of the story just from looking at the poster. The idea behind this was that we wanted the poster to really demonstrate a snap shot view of the story so that the desired audience could recognise it as a social realism piece. The picture of the character is showing his head is down and looking at the floor. By hiding his face, we wanted to create an element of mystery about the character, to intrigue people to his story. We focussed the poster on the main character of the film wearing his costume, so the audience (when watching the film) could recognise the character from the poster.

The way we linked all three of our products was that we had the main character placed on each product. This way the audience would be able to recognise the film from just seeing the character in his familiar costume.

Ancillary task comparison

View more presentations from Alex_Thorne_Media.

To get a review like the one above, we would have aimed to try and get interviews of the director and cast and also press releases to get the name of the film out. Also, trying to get the film in a film festival. As our film is in digital format, we would also be able to upload the film to online competitions. Through this we would aim to have a review done to further the exposure of the film. This way we would hope that the genre would come through, attracting the target audience.

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

In our short film, we have used many conventions in order to portray a credible looking social realist film. We have used these conventions in several areas, such as what shot types we have used, the mise en scene, editing and the narrative.

In terms of shot types, we used a handheld camera, as it was a recurring theme in social realist films we researched. In this sense, we wanted .We took into account that social realist films are dominantly character driven, so we incorporated close ups to show the reactions on characters' faces. We also utilised tracking shots or panning shots so the camera was focused on the character. This was because it is essential in social realism that the audience make a connection with the main protagonist (or in this case anti-hero), so when storyboarding we made sure that the character achieved a strong amount of exposure.

Another aspect we focused on was the exposure of the environment around each character. In social realism the environment is another key aspect, as it sets the tone for the piece early on, which will determine the overall feel. An example of this would in London to Brighton, the opening scene takes place in a dirty, unkempt public toilet. This immediately sets the feel and tone of the scene as being gritty and quite dark.

                                           London to Brighton opening shot


Through this, we decided that the environment was important as well as the character focus, so we incorporated several establishing shots at the beginning of a new scene.


In terms of mise en scene, we used natural lighting without the aid of artificial light social realist films, such as Fish Tank and London to Brighton, used natural lighting to convey a sort of realism. We felt that artificial lighting would only distract the audience or even make the scene look worse.

Natural lighting from Fish Tank

Common conventions of social realist films in terms of costumes is that they are often just regular clothing trends, to recreate the style of the film's time period. This is done as social realism focuses on the people, so only regular clothing is needed, otherwise it would detract from the realism. To make our film convincing, we had to adopt this trend, otherwise it have felt out of place.

When editing our product, we detracted from the classic style of social realism, which would normally involve not adding any colour correction, special or visual effects. In our film, we put a bleach bypass effect over each shot, to add a stylised look to the film, but also to make it seem more gritty and serious by removing some of the colour from each shot. In this sense, we challenged this convention so that we could add a type of uniqueness to our film. Considering our narrative wasn't in chronological order, it also meant that we had to edit certain parts differently (like adding different colour filters to shots) so that people could understand that it was either in the future or that the scene was in the past.

When working on the narrative for our film, we decided that we wanted to keep many conventions and theme from social realism (drugs, violence and anti-social behaviour amongst youth) and incorporate them into our film. We felt this way as we believed that if these themes were taken away, it would ruin the illusion of modern day social realism.

Example of drug reference

In social realism, the audience is often left to wonder why characters behave in such a way, so they hold the moral high ground. Also, as social realism is centred on crime a majority of the time, it is up to the audience as to whether a character is actually a protagonist or antagonist. This featured heavily in our film, as we believed it added another layer to the film's plot, and encouraged the audience to think as to whether the character (our anti-hero) is actually a morally strong person and deserves the audience's sympathy. We wanted the audience to be more than just a passive viewer, to break the Hypodermic syringe theory (where the producers put the messages in the film, the audience passively take it in).

Film Log - 14/3/2011 - Second flashback

After the filming of our first flashback, we had a clear idea of where we wanted to go with our film, so planning for the second flashback was slightly easier than planning for the first. By this time, the type of locations we wanted became much clearer so going out to find a location was less stressful.

In this scene, the anti-hero is caught by the dealer and the client from the last flashback and engages in a chase sequence. Instantly, we planned several hand-camera shots so we could create a shaky camera, which would create a crowded, tense and constantly moving scene. Into the scene, the dealer and client break off from each other, so we planned to have shots that would track each of them, creating a triple perspective within the scene.

However, we didn't manage to film the whole thing as it was quite a lengthy scene, so we have planned to film next lesson to finish off the scene and to also film the parts in between flashbacks.

We have had a new member into the group the group


Alex T

• Cameraman
• Co-writer
• Storyboards
• Risk assessor
• Director

Alex P

• Costumes
• Location planning
• Co-writer
• Editor
• Actor (Main character

Ky U

• Music
• Co-writer
• Co-editing
• Actor (supporting actor)
• Ancillary

Now it will be easier to distribute roles and keep track of the project's progress.

Editing log -10/03/2011 - Editing first flashback

After filming, we uploaded our footage to begin work on constructing the first flashback scene and how it could carry on seamlessly in the timeline, especially since it isn't chronological order.

After putting each clip in order and cutting unneeded parts, we happy with the way the filming had turned out. At points however, some 180 degree rules were broken, although we managed to work around it and fix it by replacing the ordering of some shots that didn't affect the continuity. Also, sometimes on certain shots we hadn't filmed for long enough, so the pacing at points wasn't quite the way we wanted it, however we still believe it works the way it is.

To distinguish the flashback scenes from the present day scenes, we applied several effects to try and create a blatant although not overpowering effect. After adjusting the contrast and exposure and applying a bleach bypass, we believe it looks distinguishable but also implies a darker atmosphere.

Next we plan to film the second scene and will begin polishing and refining what we have currently got.

Film Log - 9/3/2011 - First flashback

Today, our group planned to film the first flashback the character experiences through the film. This was an important scene, so it was imperative that we planned each shot, the location was correct and that we had all the props as we didn't want to compromise the scene. As we were filming by roadside, we made sure that certain precautions were taken so that we could avoid injury and so that no shots could be ruined by cars driving past so that we could maximise time and do as little re-takes as possible.

For the first flashback, our anti-hero is overseeing a drug-deal between two people, for this scene, we chose a quiet roadside next to a secluded alley as we believed it was an appropriate place that a meeting of this sort could take place. As the scene starts, we begin with a close-up of the anti-hero to instantly establish that the scene directly involves him. We move on to show an extreme long-shot of the client meeting the dealer to show the distance between the anti-hero and the deal taking place. Overall, we have used several techniques while filming to create an interesting and visually appealing scene. For instance, for the final shot we have used a point of view shot of the client getting punched in the face to demonstrate his view in the scene to give a multi-perspective feel to the scene. We have used a mixture of low and high angle shots to show off the different powers between characters and also to show off the location so that audience could feel immersed in the scene.

We are now planning to film the second flashback, storyboarding it and planning the best location to bring out the scene. I believe we are well on our way to creating a fully fledged short film.

Textual Analysis - This Is England

Textual analysis

Allocation of roles

To maximise our efforts and to minimise time, the group ahs decided to allocate roles so that in the future we can focus on our own areas so that we can save time.

Alex T

• Cameraman
• Co-writer
• Storyboards
• Risk assessor
• Director

Alex P

• Costumes
• Location planning
• Co-writer
• Editor
• Actor (Main character)

As we have had a group change, someone leaving our group, we have had to absorb the other members duties and allocate them amongst ourselves.