QUESTION SEVEN: LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

As mentioned in the 3rd slide, we experimented with different audio and visual transitions, like the exponential fade at the beginning of our non diegetic soundtrack.

We used the video effect called dip to white for our visual transitions, and shortened it. We had to look on the programme and experiment with other effects before using it, when we were editing the preliminary task we did not know how do to anything like this.

CAMERA ANGLES/SHOTS SLIDE:
As I have mentioned in this slide, I have learnt how to compose different shots. I have also found out more about how to compose shots that conform to the genre as well as them looking aesthetically pleasing. In the preliminary task, I only knew how to make them look aesthetically pleasing, I didn't really consider aspects of genre.

Having said this, some of our shots from our preliminary task are similar to those in our final. This is because they were successful in our preliminary, and the way they were framed was aesthetically pleasing so we decided to repeat them.

I have also learnt a lot about working to a specific brief, as once we had the initial concepts there wasn't much we could change about the plot, which I found slightly tricky because I had quite a few different ideas. 
I found it easier to stick to generic conventions because of the extent of my research, and I think I had already grasped features of the sub genres quite well. 
Without the amount of planning and research I have done, I do not think the final product would look anything like it does. 

QUESTION 6: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

Our main piece of technology that we used was the DSLR camera we filmed on.

 

 

 

We used a 18-55 mm lense, which is best for producing wide to mid shots. Overall, I really liked the camera we used. It helped us compose some really aesthetically pleasing shots, and create the mood of our thriller through all the shots of our location.

 

We also used a tripod to ensure that all filming we did was steady. We had some trouble with attaching the camera to the tripod but that was only because we had never used a tripod with this camera before. It was also hard to carry the tripod around, and we had a long journey. It was also hard to navigate a way round our location with the tripod.

 

We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our film, which we had used before for our preliminary task. Our group found it hard to work with at first, because we had never really been taught how to use it so was still quite new to us. Here are some aspects of editing:

 

SOUND:

We had both diegetic and non diegetic sound in our piece so we had various different audio channels.

 

 

Dragging and dropping the different mp3 clips into the correct audio channel was not hard.

However, changing the decibels on each individual clip was harder, because we had to listen to the mp3 first then listen to the whole film with audio to see the difference and whether it could be heard properly.

Something else we did was edit the sound clip taken from 'the Night of the Demon' because it was too short, so instead of it being at 100% speed, I changed it so it was 80%.

 

 

TRANSITIONS/VIDEO SPEED:

 

 

For the transition into flashbacks we used a white flash to demonstrate a change in time. This helped us to demonstrate the non linear narrative clearly. This was a fairly straightforward process, having said this we did have to edit the length of these transitions to suit the length of the actual video clip.

 

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We changed the speed of the clips where there were flashbacks, to help the audience differentiate. This was something we tried to find how to do for quite a while, so was crucial we remembered how to do this for all clips after doing it for the first time.

 

 

 

Overall, I have learnt an immense amount about editing, and the editing programme we used. I have used lots of different effects and editing tools which I have never used before, and experimented a lot with them to try and get the best result, reflecting the genre and making it look aesthetically pleasing.

 

 

 

FLIPPING SHOTS:

 

We reshot some of the bus scenes and got on a bus that went the opposite way. This meant that when we imported the clips we realised that they were the wrong way round so ended up rotating the shots to create continuity.

 

PRESENTATIONAL DEVICES:

 

I experimented with different kinds of presentational devices in order to create variety in my blog. It was my first time using Prezi as a form of presenting my ideas, and I found it hard to work out at first but the templates really helped. It also enabled me to add different media onto one document which is something I had never done before.

Something I did not know how to do was put a Powerpoint onto my blog so I screenshot it instead and then uploaded the PNG/JPEG images onto a post.

One presentational device I did not use was audio commentary, this was simply because I wasn't sure how to approach it and think I have managed to include all information I have without it.

 

TECHNOLOGY IN MY RESEARCH AND PLANNING:

The internet helped me in my research. I would say that Youtube was the best resource in my research because there is so much content people upload, and short clips from thrillers we have been inspired by can be viewed (see below).

 

 

There were other sites during my research like  www.lib.berkeley.edu which has several essays on aspects of film noir like femme fetales, I have cited some of these in my own research and essays.

 

The only extremely useful pieces of technology we used during planning were our digital cameras and phone cameras when location scouting, which we looked back on when finalising our location, as well as using a digital camera to capture some footage of the location which we also looked back on.

 

 

 

QUESTION FIVE: HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

QUESTION FOUR: WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

The audience for our film is people around our age and above, so we are targeting a young demographic (16-24).

I have based the audience profile and media text montage on my friends, as well as myself as I think our own interests are reflective of the audience we are targeting.

Audience profile:

Age: 17

Ethnicity: Irrelevant

Sexuality: Also irrelevant

Media texts they might be interested:

Magazines
#1
Wonderland: Describes itself as a publication that offers 'a unique perspective across all popular culture' which includes film, music, fashion and art. A magazine that friends of mine read. They often feature up and coming music artists and models, giving them publicity. For example, in their latest issue they wrote an article entitled 'New Noise', about a music artist, Adia Victoria; the 'best new songwriter of the South'. This is an example of how they find new talent and try and highlight it as much as possible, both online and in their paper publication.
Having said this, they also feature people who are popular with their audience (around 16-24), such as Emma Watson and Tyler the Creator, fitting into their description of commentating and featuring those associated with pop culture.
 As you can see from this cover above, Wonderland offers a well rounded review of everything from new trends to 'film's new faces.' Wonderland often collaborate with new directors and feature/review their work, as seen below. 

Consequently, Wonderland magazine not only engages with our primary demographic but also features content related to our film.

#2

DAZED

Dazed (formerly Dazed & Confused) is a monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. This magazine also covers 

different aspects of teenage culture, from music to new technologies and film visionaries. It has a slightly older target audience, although I know that they do have a large teenage following through social media. 

As you can see from these covers, they feature individuals that are perhaps more popular with different audiences. Because they started publishing in 1981, they will have more people in the 20+ year old bracket than Wonderland would, hence them featuring individuals like Tilda Swinton and Kirsten Dunst. However, they also feature artists like A$AP Rocky and female rapper Nicki Minaj (above), who is more popular with a younger audience.

Thus, Dazed is another good example of a media text our audience would read.

Both Dazed and Wonderland feature people of different sexualities and ethnicities, showing that they have a mutlicultural audience, and give a balanced example of popular/teen culture. This representation is reflective of our own audience. We are not targeting anyone based on ethnicity or sexuality, but are targeting an specific part of an age group, reflective of which media products we endorse ourselves in.

FILMS/TELEVISION

I am going to consider television programmes that are of a similar genre of our own media products, 
but are also reflective of our audience's viewing.
#1
TWIN PEAKS:



This TV drama has had a recent revival, with a new, younger following. It fits into the supernatural/pyschological sub genre. It is quite unique and strange, and I think it has an indie following, which is reflective of our audience. Twin Peaks is an example, another similar progeramme would be the X Files. Both of these have strange characters and are considered unorthodox for crime dramas, perhaps this is part of why they have had a revival. Another reason for this revival is because of websites like Tumblr, in which blogs are dedicated to these shows and characters(websites like Tumblr have a huge teenage following).

#2 AMERICAN HORROR STORY:



This is more of a popular TV show, and a large proportion of the audience who watch it are younger. Many people around my age I know watch it, and I think it is a good example of a media text they would engage in. 

FILMS

WES ANDERSON'S WORK:
This director is renowned for his cinematography/mise en scene and his unusual plot lines and unconventional characters. 


His films would be popular amongst the majority of our audience because they are quite different, and fit into the arthouse category.

MUSIC

   

These are some examples of the kind of music our audience might listen to. YOUNG TURKS is a record label that often release mixtapes. The album on the right is by artist FKA Twigs, who YOUNG TURKS put out records for. The kind of music featured by this record label has been described as both catchy pop and electronica. 
This kind of music is popular with a young audience (16-24+). 






The artist Grimes also fits into the electronica (witch house to be more specific) genre. 
She also has a large teenage following. 




NEWSPAPERS

This is a harder kind of media to look at, because many people in our chosen demographic do not tend to read newspapers.



However, when taking into account that our real audience watching our piece will probably be part of our target audience - our friends around the same age as us, it becomes apparent that the majority of them are middle class (C2, with some C1). This means that our direct audience's families will most probably read the newspapers above that are targeted at a primarily middle class audience.
In addition to this, both I and The Guardian have arts features and reviews.


WHY THESE PRODUCTS RELATE TO OUR AUDIENCE/WOULD ATTRACT THEM INTO VIEWING OUR OWN FILM:
I think our film fits into the alternative/arthouse category, and as previously mentioned it is definitely not suited to being exhibited or distributed in a mainstream way, like a blockbuster or major film would. 
The majority of media products I have mentioned also fit into this sub category of alternative, like the magazines which concern elements of pop culture perhaps mainstream teen magazines like 'Teen Vogue' wouldn't. They go into more depth and cover a much wider scope when looking at the arts, catering for teenagers with different interests, like our audience's. 
Also, the director I have briefly mentioned and the television show 'Twin Peaks' are more popular with those who identify themselves as 'indie' or alternative. These have links to social media like 'Tumblr' which these groups use, and I think because they are lesser known, our film would fit in well too as it is quite obviously a small scale film. Our audience, who might enjoy these films and programmes, and read these magazines might end up finding our film, if it were to be exhibited, through such social media or through reviews. 

QUESTION THREE: WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTIONS MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?