Evaluative Commentary - Main Exercise

Our main exercise - opening sequence to 'Watch Your Back' - uses forms and conventions of real media products as we have tried to make our opening sequence realistic and conforming to conventions of opening sequences to films of the same genre which we researched before we planned our own. Our film represents particular social groups in a similar way that our preliminary exercise did. Again, we used a male in a hooded jacket to form a stereotypical young 'chav' as the antagonist, chasing and killing the female victim, another stereotype for horror/thriller films. The male in the hooded top represents a common stereotype that youths in hoodies are violent and anti social, and the female as the victim in the scenario is very typical as women are typically portrayed as being weak and helpless in horror films as they usually are the victims. We used these stereotypes after researching the genre and discovering common codes and conventions of horror/thriller films. Pathetic fallacy is used in our piece to add to the mis-en-scene, representing the gloomy and sinister atmosphere with dark, drizzly weather. The non-diegetic music in our opening sequence represents modern youth culture with drum n bass music. This links to the dress code of the male character in the opening sequence. We also feature flashbacks in our opening sequence to help the audience understand more about the situation; why the male is chasing the girl down the subway at night. We have highlighted these flashbacks in grey so as not to confuse the audience and to make it clearer that they are in the past and are hazy, quick flashbacks of the male and female fighting and arguing.

A media institution such as Film4, EM Media or the UK film Council would be likely to finance and produce a film like ours as it is a British take on a horror/thriller like 'Harry Brown', 'Eden Lake' or 'The Hole'. Potential distributors for a film like 'Watch Your Back' would be a company like Pathe who have distributed British films like 'Adulthood', 'Severance' and 'The Hole' which include similar themes of youth crime and violence with an edgy genre of either horror or crime.

The audience for our media product would be young people aged 18-25 who would be mostly targeted by the film because they are the general target audience for horror films. The characters being young would allow the audience to relate to them, and the film's contents would not be suitable for people under the age of 18. The audience would be attracted and addressed by the contents of the film and British films of the same genre or style have proved to be very popular in recent years among 18-25 year olds, for example; 'Harry Brown', 'Kidulthood' and 'Adulthood'. We addressed our audience by researching the target audience of the films we researched before our planning and found the general demographic for horror/thriller films as older people are generally not attracted to the violence and gore in horror films.

I have learnt about camera work by filming our product, and I learnt how to use the camera as in the Preliminary exercise I didn't use the camera. This gave me a more hands-on approach to making our film which I enjoyed more as it allowed me to get more involved. The editing process was also interesting and I got an insight into that so I have learnt a bit about editing films with Windows Movie Maker and Adobe Premiere although I wasn't the main person in the group editing the film.

I feel like I have learnt a lot in the progression from the Preliminary Task to the Main Exercise as planning, preparing, filming and editing 'Watch Your Back' have been a lot harder and a lengthier process compared to 'The Meeting'. Our group has had to understand that preparation is vitally important whereas last time our preparation and organisation was weak. I feel like I have become better at communicating with the group and taking my role in the group more seriously and I have learnt more about organising and planning the film with storyboards, scripts and location recces being extremely important to the success of our final product. We have still had problems with the groups communication and on the day of filming there were a few problems an changes of plan which were overcome to produce hopefully a good final film. I think this time round I have tried to take a bit more control in our group than I did last time to organise things and make sure everything that is needed as proof of planning has been completed to make sure we get a good mark as a group. By doing that I think my confidence in my ability and the groups ability has increased and I have learnt more about how I like to approach working in situations like this.

The filming process itself was much more enjoyable and a better experience in itself to help me understand and learn more about producing a real media product. It was a very interesting and fulfilling experience when we finally finished the editing process as you look at the work you did to achieve our very own real media production - the first for everyone in my group. It was exciting filming as we had so much more freedom and independance in planning and creating our production and I think we did a good job as a group in the filming process, especially with the problems of the weather and one person in our group not making it to the filming. We tried to use common shot types like over the shoulder shots, establishing shots, close-ups, long-shots and pans in our production to make it look more professional and we also tried to apply to the rule of thirds in shots as well as the 180 degree rule. For example, the establishing shot sets the scene and there is a pan of the seafront, then moving left and slightly downwards to show the mouth of the subway. An over-the-shoulder shot was used when the hooded male is watching the girl enter the subway, and we used this to also keep the character mysterious and unseen for a bit longer until he comes fully into view in the subway. Lighting was a slight issue although the subway was lit, the shots outside were not very well lit but I think that they worked well by representing the dark and sinister theme of the film and the weather worked well as a pathetic fallacy, despite it being a quite a problem when filming I think that it paid off.

I have found the process of planning, filming and editing the main exercise much more challenging and far lengthier than doing the preliminary task and it has allowed me to understand more about producing a real media. It has opened my eyes to how much effort and organization producing a film takes and it has been a very interesting and enjoyable experience. Researching genres and films with the same genre to the film we were going to make was very important in helping us develop our ideas and plan our opening sequence. Understanding common codes and conventions of horror/thriller films, especially British takes like The Hole or Harry Brown, also helps strongly in the organisation of our opening sequence. Using common ideologies or stereotypes (dominant discourse) let the audience relate to what they are watching, for example us using a female as the victim in our film and a hooded male youth playing a violent character. The location itself also adds to the mis-en-scene of the film as the walls of the underground subway are covered in graffiti which represents youth crime and vandalism. The dress codes and the music are also key in adding to the mis-en-scene and support our genre with modern British stereotypes and youth culture.

Overall, I am happy with our final edit for our Main exercise, opening sequence to 'Watch Your Back', and it has been a very interesting and fulfilling experience that has helped me improve my skills for film making and editing. There are only a few things I would change if we could film again as one shot of the girl in the subway, there is quite a quick zoom to a closer shot which is a mild problem in the camera work, and at the end of the film there is a buzzing where the music cuts off but we couldn't seem to get rid of that noise. Other than that, i am extremely happy with our final result. My confidence in my ability has also boosted as I feel like I have learnt a lot about the process of creating a media product and I am happy with the group's outcome. I think we have reached our target audience for the film and have taken aspects of common ideologies and stereotypes from society and represented them using character dress codes, location, music and behaviour/actions. I think that the group has strongly improved their skills and abilities and it is obvious when considering the improvement from our preliminary task to the main exercise, which shows that the coursework has been extremely beneficial by improving our individual skills as well as our communication and team skills which are extremely important when working with others creating a media product.

Here is the final edit for the opening sequence to Watch Your Back, posted on Youtube:

Copyright Information for Music in Productions:
Any use of music in the films embedded on this blog complies with 'Fair Dealing' under the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act (UK), Sections 6(i) and 6(ii); Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright.

Briefly these are as follows:

Section 6

i). Research and private study

Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.· The source of the material is acknowledged.· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.

ii) Instruction or examination

Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.· The source of the material is acknowledged.· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.

Copyright information for the music in our opening sequence to 'Watch Your Back'.

COMPANY: Music House

CD: Pirate Broadcast: Sounds from the Underground

CD CODE: MH15

TRACK NAME: Thugged Out

TRACK NUMBER: 6

SECONDS USED: 56.02 seconds

Filming & Editing the Main Exercise - 'Watch Your Back'

Today, Tuesday 23rd March, we filmed our main exercise in the subway under the roundabout by the Jubilee Clock, Weymouth. The brief was to film an opening sequence to a new fiction film to last around 2 minutes long. We chose to produce the opening to a horror/thriller film, consisting of a girl being followed down a subway by her ex-boyfriend who is seeking revenge.

The weather today was the first problem we had as it was drizzling and quite foggy, but this will hopefully add to the effect of the film as a pathetic fallacy, setting a dark and gloomy feel to our film. We overcame this problem by using an umbrella to cover the camera equipment when we were filming outside of the subway, but most of the time we were covered from the rain by the subway roof. Another problem was that as we were filming in a public place there was quite a lot of people which disrupted our filming so we had to keep stopping and waiting for them to walk past, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Despite interruptions, we managed to film everything we needed to in about 2 and a half hours and we did not have to go back and re-film anything.

We left college at half four, with a few changes of plan as Amy was ill and couldn't come and film, so we asked her to tell her friend who was supposed to be acting that we would use my friend James to take his part as it would be easier for him to get there as he lives a lot closer, he's studying Drama at college and he was willing to do it. After we left college we went to James' house to film the flashbacks which show the girl and boy fighting and arguing, explaining why he wants revenge and chases her down the subway. After we finished filming the flashbacks indoors we got the bus to the subway and started filming there. Earlier in the day I had called the local police station and got a reference number in case they were called as our opening sequence includes mild violence and screaming, so it was good that we had done that to make sure we were allowed to film there so we didn't have to worry.

We did various shots of the girl walking down the subway with the hooded male following her, and we added in an over the shoulder shot of the male looking down at the girl walking towards the subway which I think would be effective as it is further away and shows the point of view of the guy. This also hides the identity of the male for fe moments longer which i think adds suspense and mystery to the opening sequence. There may be a continuity problem, though, as it was getting dark as we filmed so it may be darker at the end of our opening sequence compared to the first shots of the girl entering the subway. This may be problematic as it is an issue of continuity if the lighting changes dramatically in our short sequence, but it may also work in our favour to add to the sinister ending of our opening sequence.

Overall, I think our filming went well and we did stick to our storyboards, apart from adding in a few shots that we think will work when editing it. We couldn't film the last shot of the moon as it was too foggy and we couldn't see it, so we shot Miaa's (our actress') hand grabbing a railing and then slipping down with a high pitched scream in the background. Then after there would be a shot of the empty subway, highlighting the eerie and sinister event that just occurred.

We edited the film on Windows Movie Maker and then added in the titles on Adobe Premiere Pro. We used effects like highlighting flashbacks in grey to make sure the reader understands it is just a flashback to avoid continuity problems. With Movie Maker we also blended the shots in together so as not to make each shot jump quickly to another and this adds to the continuity of it. We made sure that each shot leads on to the other correctly, with characters in the places they should be, having not changed their position etc. Adobe Premiere allowed us to use a black screen at the beginning on our opening sequence which blended into the establishing shot of the seafront on a drizzly, dark day. This transition makes the film look more professional as the company title first comes up reading : 'an Absent Friends Production'. We then put in the name of the director and then the names of the actors starring in our opening sequence. Then we added in the name of the Producer and Editor and finally the name of the film - 'Watch Your Back' in larger white letters more central to the screen. We put this in at an appropriate point when the male, hooded character starts to follow the girl down the subway.

At the beginning of the opening sequence there are just ambient sounds, diagetic noises of the road of the girl walking down the subway silently. The music only starts when you see the hooded male walk down the steps of the subway, and the tempo increases and builds up, adding suspense to the scene. The non-diegetic music only kicks in when he appears round the wall of the subway and into view, stalking the unaware female. We chose to make sure the music properly kicks in at the right point to add to the effect of the opening sequence and to the mis-en-scene. Ambient noises create and eerie feeling at the end of the opening sequence when there is a pan of the empty subway and this editing that cuts from the shot of the hand slipping off the railing with the girl screaming to an abandoned and creepy underpass would help signify the end of the opening credits and the beginning to the film, with the opening bit of action over, leaving the audience with a mystery and making them more interested and engaged in the film and finding out about the plot.

Screen Shot of Editing 1 - Adding titles to our film

Screen Shot of Editing 2 - Fading black to establishing shot

Screen Shot of Editing 3 - Fading between shots of girl walking

Location For Main Exercise

The location for our opening title sequence to our horror/thriller film 'Watch Your Back' is at the esplanade subway under the roundabout by the Jubilee Clock in Weymouth.

Photos of the location are from Google maps street view and photos we took when we visited the location.

I think this location would add to the mis-en-scene of the opening to the horror/thriller we are making as the graffiti on the subway walls would help represent negative stereotypes of youth culture and vandalism and crime. This will conform to the codes and conventions of the genre and will help relate to the audience. The subway is also very eerie at night time which will add to the mis-en-scene, with only artificial underground lighting.

Main Exercise Paperwork

Links to Production Paperwork:
Storyboard 1
Storyboard 2
Storyboard 3
Storyboard 4
Location - info
Location 2 -info
Location Recce - Subway
Location Recce - House
Script
Production Brief
Research of Films of the same Genre
SWOT Analysis
Production Call Sheet
Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment 2

The First Reflective Main Exercise Blog Entry

The main exercise has many differences to the preliminary exercise and I am aware that it will be much harder, but more interesting. Firstly, there will need to be more detailed research into our genre, which we have chosen to be horror/thriller. This research will help us construct our own opening to a horror/thriller movie, with the use of credits. It will allow us to learn about typical codes and conventions of the certain genre which will help us to plan our own opening sequence that is well produced and features and represents common ideologies or stereotypes in modern Britain.

This exercise allows our group to have more freedom which is good but quite a scary prospect as there are not specifications other than that it has to be a 2 minute opening to a fiction film, whereas the preliminary exercise was more specific. Our planning will also take a lot longer to do than the first exercise as it is longer, so longer scripts and detailed storyboards of all the shots in the 2 minutes will have to be produced very particularly and carefully.

As we are again planning to film outside in a subway in Weymouth, we have also got to think of the risks and hazards, especially as we plan to film when it is darker. We have thought and planned more carefully though and we have decided to film on a college evening so we will all be able to make it to the filming which was a problem that occurred last time.

The main stumbling points found by the SWOT analysis are mainly that often not all of our group are in Media lessons at the same time, so it is important for all of us to stay in contact if we can't make it to lessons and also to make sure everyone is involved in the planning of the opening sequence. Our strengths as a group are that we are all comfortable enough now to work with each other so we can all contribute significantly to idea in the preparation of filming. A weakness that faltered our filming last time was that one member couldn't make it to the filming because of transport but this can be overcome this time as all of our group plan to make our way to the location which is close to college at the end of the college day next week.

Personally, I intend to improve firstly, my communication with the group if there are any problems or if I can't make it to lessons because it is unfair on the group as a whole. I think now that we all know each other better and our group did't change round that we all communicate better as well. Secondly I want to improve my organisation in the planning of the film as I think last time I didn't fully contribute at all times to the planning. I think now that all of us feel more comfortable to contribute and share ideas which will hopefully improve the outcome of our film in the main exercise. Thirdly, I really want our film to be really effective as a horror film, so I'd like to make the filming as good as possible, making sure it is quite tense and scary. I also want to be more involved in the editing of the film as last time I wasn't so I'd like to learn to do that so I would have involvement in the entire planning, production and editing of our film, therefore feeling like I've achieved more from the final outcome. I also want to make sure I play a better role in the actual filming of our film because last time I felt I didn't take to my position as the director for it as well.

Filming and editing the Preliminary Exercise

We filmed our preliminary exercise in Bridport on Saturday 30th Janunary. We met at Bridport Coach Station at 12.20 when my bus got to Bridport and then we walked to St Mary's play park which was chosen as the location for our film. The first problem encountered was that Leah had missed the bus from Weymouth to Bridport so she wasn't there for the filming of the preliminary exercise, so this shows us that for the next film we make, it would be a better idea to not film in Bridport or somewhere quite far away.

Before we got to the park, the group, along with our actors, stopped at Bridport Police Station to get a police reference number for permission to use the site and also to inform them as our film was based around a fake drug deal. This reference number is important for our health and safety paperwork.

I had never seen the location before as that was left to the members of the group - Tom and Amy - who lived near to Bridport. I thought the location was very suitable for our film, as elements of the site added to the mis-en-scene of our film. The graffiti on the walls of the hut in the park was an especially suitable addition to our crime-based film as it highlighted our theme. The dress codes of our actors are also important elements in the film, and the characters were dressed in hoodies or sportswear brands which were chosen specifically as we noticed the use of these types of clothing in films like Kidulthood which we looked at for research. This is a way in which we created representations of youth crime and drug dealing among young people, especially in a child-orientated place like a playing park.

We were also very lucky with the weather as it was a very sunny day, so the lighting for the filming would be good. It was quite windy though which caused a slight problem with the sound, but this could be fixed or covered with music in the editing process.
We used our storyboards a bit during the filming process, but the storyboards were drawn before the location was visited so we had to adapt to the actual location so we changed parts of our plan. Our script was used exactly during filming, but some lines were switched to the other character because it seemed to suit more to them when we were actually filming. We still did use a long shot for our first proper scene where the dealer is walking towards the park, and we did use over-the-shoulder shots during the dialogue. Technical codes were used and we did follow the 180 degree rule during the dialogue between the Dealer and the Buyer to keep the film continuous. The rule of thirds is also present in our film, signifying the most important part of our shots.

Overall, I think our filming was successful as we managed to stick to our schedule and we finished earlier than we thought we would. The actors learnt their lines quickly and we ran through all the dialogue 4 or 5 times from different angles so we could, when editing the film, have more shots to choose from. The fact the whole group wasn't there didn't really hinder our filming, but for next time we now know to film in a place that is easier to get to for the entire group. Mild problems were encountered at the end of the filming when people turned up at the park with their children but luckily that was close to the end so there wasn't disturbances during our filming.

The film was mainly edited by Tom at college as he had the best knowledge of editing in our group, but we chose the shots as a group and the music was chosen to add to the mis en scene of the film, as we used music to represent the particular youth culture. We chose drum n bass music with a fast pace to add to the mis-en-scene of our short film and link to the representations of stereotypes and common ideologies of modern youth culture in our film.

Here are links to the Production Paperwork:
Detailed Research into Genre
Production Schedule
Script for Exercise
Risk Assessment 1
Risk Assessment 2
Storyboard 1
Storyboard 2
Storyboard 3

Here is the final edit for 'The Meeting' which is posted on Youtube:

First skills audit for the G321 foundation

My first impressions of the preliminary exercise was that it was very vague, and this allowed the group to be imaginative in our plan for the film. Our idea from the beginning was to make a film with a crime-based theme, and we brainstormed various ideas as a group and then came up with the idea for a drug deal. We looked at clips from the film Kidulthood as well to help us write our script which has the same kind of theme.

As two members of our group, Amy and Tom, don't live in Weymouth this highlighted a slight problem, but we decided to film in Bridport at St Mary's playing park and I think the group as a whole worked well to make decisions quickly and everyone contributed equally. I didn't find it hard to work with anyone in my group either as I had worked with Amy in a group before and Leah and Tom were both open in their ideas.

My role was chosen to be director of the film and I drew out the storyboard to show each frame for the short film, e.g Over shoulder shots and mid shots. The storyboard was drawn up after the script was written. Leah's role was initially camera work, Tom's was editing and Amy's was scriptwriter.

I had not been to the location in Bridport before but the location recce was produced by Amy who knew the location, and it sounded like a really suitable place for our specific idea of two people meeting in a playpark, exchanging money and drugs and having a short conversation.

The thought of filming and directing the film was quite daunting as I haven't done any kind of film making or media subject before, but it was quite exciting to be able to have freedom with the ideas instead if being told specifically what to do and this allowed everyone to be creative and contribute to ideas and roles. The amount of paperwork to submit with the final product was daunting as well, but I'm sure it will be worth it and the group will hopefully be pleased with the final thing. On the other hand, the fact this is just a preliminary exercise makes me feel glad that we are not just thrown in at the deep end, and that we have a chance to learn from mistakes and get the hang of things before the do our proper film.