Post 44: Evaluation Question 4

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

I have used prezi to answer this question. 

Post 43: Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?






Here I have created a slide share, including information on my final films questionnaire feedback, I have created bar charts and pie graphs to display the results from the questionnaire, I found that the information received was very valuable as enabled me to evaluate how effective my groups final film actually was and to see if we had accomplished what we had set out to.  

Created with Padlet

Below is an example of a piece of feedback of which I recorded using a flip camera. I found their feedback constructive and allowed my group to improve our short film. The overall feedback i received and interpreted from this focus group was that they appreciated the high angle shot as showed vulnerability, which was the effect we set out to achieve. The composition of characters was effective but that we could improve on the sound of the voices as at certain points is difficult to hear the characters, I was unable to act upon this piece of constructive feedback as did not understand how to increase the level of sound without increasing the background sounds which did not make our piece any better, so had to leave it as it was. Another piece of constructive feedback was that should focus on Match on action more and check the positioning of the characters, so that they do not jump from positions, this was easy to correct as was able to slightly cut the shot of the gang down to avoid this from happening. 

Below is a sound cloud of feedback I gained on my magazine spread, after listening back on this feedback, I was able to learn from what I potentially could of improved and conventions of which were valued and effective about my magazine design. I found this piece of feedback unhelpful due to no constructive feedback being mentioned for me to act upon but overall am satisfied that a member of my target audience appreciated my Magazine Spread. 

Post 42: Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Below is Lino it I created with my main product and ancillary texts embedded within. Here is a link to the lino I created, just in case doesn't show - CLICK HERE

Overall View of Main task and Ancillary tasks:

• I feel that all my products compliment each other. 
• It is evident that all three products convey the same theme throughout and relate together 
• All products are of the same genre, which combines them together. 
• All three products reach out to target audience but don't give too much away about the narrative. 
• I feel that my poster and magazine spread together enhance the overall effect of my short film.
• In conclusion I feel I have effectively combined my main product to the ancillary tasks, as I have been able to distinguish the main codes and conventions in my short film, through my magazine spread and my film poster.

Post 41: Evaluation Question 1

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

 Directors Commentary, by Myself and Mollie. 

Commentary Consist of:

• Shot Sizes
• Camera Sizes
• Locations Choices
• Sound and Music used and its effect
• Editing Decisions

Evaluation Question 1 - Fiona Aldwin on PhotoPeach 

Consists of:

• Drama Conventions used
• How my piece is not subversive
• Editing Techniques 
• Mise-en-scene Evaluation
• Character Analysis

Evaluation Question 1 - Fiona Aldwin on PhotoPeach

Post 40: Final Products

FINAL SHORT FILM

POSTER - Made by Myself 

MAGAZINE: DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD - Made by Myself

Link to Magazine Review  - CLICK HERE

Post 39: Roles Within Filming

My Roles:

•  Organiser of Actors
• Co-Editor
•  Played a major roles within the Camera Work
• Costume  
• Made my own magazine and poster

Mollie Buggs Roles:

• Organiser of Locations
• Chief Editor
• Sound 
• Played a major role within the Camera Work
• Made her own Magazine and Poster

Ben Howard's Roles:

• Acting
• Contributed to Camera Work
• Runner
• Made his own poster and magazine

Rosie-Mae Christopher's Roles:

• Contributed to camera work 
• Contributed to editing
• Made her own poster and magazine

Post 38: Final Short Film

Post 37a: Short Film - Second Draft + Feedback

After my group member Mollie Bugg asked for Feedback from our media teacher, we were left with some big decisions and a lot of alterations were suggested, of which we have fully taken into account, but were not able to change and follow all of the feedback. Below is a list of changes she felt would make our film stronger. 

• To add more shorts of Josh and Amy in their montage, such as in different locations

Although we thought this was a good idea, we no longer had any time to re-film some shots. This however is something that we would do if we could re-film or had more time as it would give the effect of a more developed relationship as they have spent more time together, rather than just being on one date.

• To get rid of the panning shot at the very beginning of our film

This is because it is not a very smooth pan. Again, it is something we would re-film if we had time. We did try to edit out this pan by using a cut-away shot, however, we could not make this work so it gave a good effect.

• When Josh walks out of the room, have him get up off of the bed straight away instead of showing him sitting for a few seconds before

This is something we did managed to change and he now stands up off the bed immediately.

• To add the sound effect of a TV when Josh and his mother are watching TV in the living room, as this would make it more clear what was happening

We also managed to do this. We added a clip of the BBC news soundtrack over the top of the scene. If we could re-film we would also use a close up of the TV to add even more clarity tot he situation. 

• To cut down some of the shots of the montage of the gang in order to make it tighter, such as the shot of them walking down the street and also their handshake.

We did do this, we halved the length of the shot of the gang walking down the street, as this still gave the same effect but make the montage have more fast paced editing. We also cut off the end of the shot of the handshake as again, it still give the same effect without it and made the montage tighter. 

• Cut the shot of Amy walking over to sit next to Josh in the corridor, so that Amy comes into shot sooner

We cut a lot off of the beginning of the shot so now Amy is seen to walk into shot almost straight away.

• Add in a close up of the teacher shouting at Josh, as this would show more of his anger

-We had filmed a close-up of this already. However, because the actor was constantly moving throughout the shot, there was no time that we was able to add the close up in without causing a jump cut which didn't look nice.

• Add more shots of Josh's bedroom after he has destroyed it

Although we already had one shot of this, when Josh walks out of the bedroom, it would be good to focus on different specific elements of the room as this would focus more on it.

• To cut down the short of Josh walking over to the gang to give back the knife, as it showed too much of the walk over which was unnecessary.

We also cut down this shot and only showed half of what was in the first second draft, this makes the short shorter and more dramatic.

Post 37: Short Film - First Draft + Feedback

Here is a rough cut of our short film Dead End.

I asked two students for there opinions and feedback on my groups short film after they watched our first rough cut of the piece. There overall suggestions were that we needed to consider match on action more carefully and need to enhance the sound, so that can hear every character speaking clearly. As a group we have taken these suggestions into consideration and are going to develop on these ideas, making our piece as effective as possible. 

Post 36: Feedback on Magazine Article

Here I have used sound cloud to record feedback on my magazine spread. Overall the Feedback was positive, highlighting key conventions within my magazine spread, after receiving this feedback, I feel as though the comments made were effective and that if I had more time I would have acted upon more of these comments. 

Post 35: Magazine Article

Below is my Finished Double page Magazine spread. I have included main components from typical magazines such as a five star system and a verdict. I have also taken key photos from the short film that don't give to much away about the film, showing three of the key characters from the plot. In my review I have spoken about the characters and the actors who have played them, I have gone into depth and criticized whats happens within the piece, without giving to much away. 

Post 34a: Magazine Review

My Magazine Film Review  

The director brings yet another remarkable short film to the screens, Dead End. This prominent drama film, influenced by crime, conflict and romance, is filled with exhilarating action, which draws the audience in.  Starring faces, including Ben Howard and Liam McGuigan who are revealed within the short, the actor Liam McGuigan as constable Mike, although only on screen for a short period of time, overpowered the main protagonist and took center stage. The actor was well suited to his role and accurately portrayed his character. The relation and link between the police officer and the teen is unexpected and discreetly revealed in the end of the film, by a short significant shot of a photograph, exposing the harsh and dramatic reality of the story.

This unexpected film about the troubled teenager, Josh Miller, faces difficult dilemmas and situations throughout this five minute short film. The twist that his father is killed due to knife crime and Josh’s behavior mirroring the crime that took his fathers life, dramatizes the events within the short. As the Director follows the grieving process that the distressed teenager goes through, the audience is made aware of the rebellious behavior. Also significant to note that the character was once an influential figure, with awards and trophies which are established in the opening sequence of the short. Ben Howard as Josh Miller, although relatively new to our screens didn’t let the complex story overshadow his outstanding portrayal of a troubled, rebellious teenager and an emotional fatherless son.

The theme of knife crime is evident, but it is never really noted what the teen does with the knife to win the gangs respect, which creates a tense, secretive occurrence as the audience will never know. The dangers of knife crime are made evident and could be seen to educate the audience in some matters of speech.  But the sense of resolution is portrayed at the end which develops the characters background and growth, It could also be suggested that resolution is found through the influence and connection between the female character Amy played by Fiona Aldwin who is portrayed to develop more than a friendship with the protagonist Josh, which the director has shown through a short montage. 

It is impressive how the director has managed to fit such a diverse and busy story line into such a short amount of time, using effective film techniques, such as montages to portray the story and develop the characters friendships. The story takes you on an emotional roller coaster, with the dramatic climax revealed to the audience at the end of the short film.  It would be argued that the film is filled with Intensity and drama but just lacks individuality. Others would say that the short film is over rated as most would be able to take an evaluated guess of what happens in the end, But the twist is revealed in the end through a significant photograph, which is effective, original and unexpected, which makes the short film Dead End successful. 

Post 34: Magazine Ideas/ Development

Below shows how my magazine design developed and progressed as I gained and came up with new ideas, I have tried to document my progress and the build up to my final piece, through images and screen shots. 

Above is the development of my first initial magazine spread design, but I found this layout to bland and not effective which is why I then developed my Magazine spread further and used different images from the short film to produce an different layout.

Here is some screen shots of the new Magazine Spread Idea developing. I feel this layout and design is more effective and more eye catching, drawing the reader in to the article. To make the piece more effective I could have picked out key quotes from the article and highlighted them so the reader had something else other than the photo drawing them in.  

Post 33: Branding

After researching on Google into branding I came across the meaning of Brands. The definition I found was that "A brand is the name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's product distinct from those of other sellers".
The Branding of products is an important element to making a product successful as it gives the audience/buyer something to recognize, such as a logo for example. The term branding is usually associated with a product that is well recognized and consistent so that people are able to know if the product is trustworthy or not. For example food and drink brands such as Coco Cola and Cadburys, are well know to the consumer which draws their buyers in and forms a trust between the consumer, where as in film institutions such as Warner Bros, Disney and Universal, which are big conglomerate organisations are all integrated with well recognized logos and well created brands for themselves, which targets particular audiences. A brand normally has a logo or trade mark of which it is recognized by, which viewers or consumers are able to easily identify.

Products are branded so that consumers are able to identify individual products. Bright colours, unique designs and interesting shapes are all essential elements needed to successful brand a product, as companies what something that people are not going to forget easily. Each companies brands have separate names which may compete against other brands form the same company, for example Persil, Surf and Lynx are all owned by Unilever.  

In relation to my film genre 'Drama' the branding for products and films is quite versatile and has no real limitations. The only Idea to follow is that what ever I chose to use, will need to be consistent, being used for all my final products so that the brand is recognized. On this note I am going to use the same style title font in all of my products as my groups own individual type of branding so that audiences are able to relate and recognize that all of my three products are integrated not only through the short film, but also through a title font.