Evaluation Question 4

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

When researching and planning before our production stages we used various different types of new media technologies. I used ‘YouTube’ when researching into different films and clips. Such as looking at clips of ‘Ray’ and ‘Blindness’. It helped us when looking at different codes and conventions of films similar to ours. I also used search engines such as ‘Google’. When using the internet I looked for various articles which where about blindness and stories where people overcame minor blindness and regained their sight. Also sites such as IMDb (a movie database) when looking into films and their cast. For example, I looked at the film ‘Ray’ on IMDb and the actors who where involved in the film. This helped us when producing our character profiles and the various traits some of our characters would need.

When we needed our main case member (the blind person) we did originally have someone in mind. However we thought it would be more original if we used a site called ‘Star Now’ to search for our cast member. So we put out an advertisement on the website stating what we were looking for. We put the age range, location of our filming, and the role we wanted our actor for. This proved very successful as we got about 10 responses. We went through every applicants profile and looked at their videos from previous work they’d done. Eventually, we narrowed it down to three people of which we only needed one. We spoke to each of them by messaging via the website and came to an agreement on one specific actor named Nathan Hector. We then exchanged contact details and spoke to him to keep him updated on our filming, the location and time he needed to be there. We agreed a time to meet him beforehand and we ran through the storyboard, script and treatment with him just to make sure he knew what we wanted him to do. We then ran through challenging parts of the script to make sure he would act the way he needed to on set.

Another media technology we used was using scanners. This helped us when we were uploading various things to our blog. For example the story board. We cut out each shot individually and scanned them into the computer. This was a great help as if we didn’t have scanners the only way we’d be able to upload our story board to the blog would be to take pictures of each shot and upload them as a JPEG. If we did this they wouldn’t be clear enough to analyse properly. Also, when producing our photo story board we had to use digital still cameras to take pictures of the actor in every shot. So we used a SAMSUNG ___ to do this. This was again very helpful as if we didn’t use the camera we would have to use things like our phones to take pictures. If we did this the resolution wouldn’t be clear and the pictures wouldn’t come out as good as we needed them to. When producing our photo story board we used the video camera on an iPhone 4 to record various moments of us directing the actor and taking pictures. After recording this we looked over it and we were able to see what we did well and what we needed to work on. We noticed that there were various ways we were directing the actor which weren’t exactly sufficient enough for him to do what we wanted. So we made sure that on the day of filming we corrected those directions so all was understood clearly.

When on construction stages of our film we used a Cannon x5 video camera to shoot everything. When we were filming we had to make sure that every time the camera was moved on the tripod the spirit level was set to the middle to make sure the shots would be balanced. We had to make sure that we had the camera set to the correct setting each time we were filming, for example manual or automatic. When we were using the zoom in and out keys we had to make sure the camera was set to manual so we could adapt the zoom settings. If in the case that we wanted the camera to zoom in and out itself, we needed to set it to automatic and put a time set on the zoom so that when it left ‘place A’ after 30 seconds it was zoomed out to ‘place B’. We had to make sure the white balance was set every time the camera was moved to a different location. If we had the camera on the street the lighting is different to that of the one in the house. Therefore we had to adapt the white balance every time the camera was in a different location to make sure everything looked natural and not as if it was edited.

When editing our film we used the software programme Adobe Photoshop Premier.

Initially we had to transfer all of our data onto Lacie drives. Then from Photoshop we had to ‘capture’ all our shots onto the software programme and ‘digitise’ them. This was the process of uploading all of our data onto the programme so we could then put it together and edit it. We then sorted all our scenes into separate categories so we were organised. After this was the process of putting each shot together. We had to ‘mark’ out a start point and a finish point of how much of each shot we wanted to be in the final film. These were called ‘marking points’. We then used tools such as ‘ghosting’ when presenting the flashbacks. This gave the effect of two images blended together. It made the flashbacks stand out to the audience, and made them more recognisable as flashbacks rather than part of the film. Another tool we used was ‘fades’. We used these when we needed a transition other than a quick cut to go from one shot to the next. It faded out the old shot into the new one. It gave the film a bit more excitement rather than just using quick cuts throughout the entire film. We also used ‘text graphics’ when producing the title ‘Light Through Darkness’. With the graphics we were able to fade in each letter of the title individually, almost as if light were coming through the screen so it would be well related to our film title. After all of the imagery was done we had to edit the sound. So we checked all sound levels and made sure they were clear, loud enough and of course correct. There were points where we had to cut out sound entirely due to the ambience not being right but on Photoshop we were able to cut out clear ambience from other places and place it into the empty slots to keep continuity flowing. After all sound was complete and all our music was in place we had to ‘mix’ the sound down to finalise it and improve its quality. Lastly, we had to ‘render’ each part of the film. This made sure that the quality and clarity of the shots were clear and not fuzzy or distorted. It finalised the film for us.

When producing our ancillary tasks we used Adobe Photoshop CS4. On this software programme we produced two poster ads and one billboard ad, as well as a magazine review. When I first began making the posters and billboard I had to make sure each of mine where the same size as real ones. So I changed the canvas size to make them a replica. After that I imported different pictures to see which ones I wanted to use for each individual poster. When producing the posters there were many things I had to take into consideration. There were so many different tools on the programme and they proved very handy upon post production. When editing the appearance of the images I changed the levels of ‘hue’ and ‘saturation’. Each gave the picture a different effect, it made them either brighter, or made certain elements stand out against others. It made the images appear differently and more exciting rather than to what they originally looked like. I had to add a ‘layer’ every time I added something new or changed something on my poster. This made it easy when I needed to delete a layer as it meant that I wouldn’t lose the entire work just that element that I had placed on it. I added text to each poster via a new layer when putting in all the important information – release date, producer, actors etc. Also, when I put in the ‘12’ rating I had to open the image in another document and use the ‘magic lasso’ tool to cut all around the circle shaped rating. I then ‘duplicated’ it three times so it could be used on every poster. When I was finished with each poster I had to ‘flatten’ the image which meant that every single element of the poster was merged together and they were all ‘stuck to each other; so nothing could be changed again. I then had to turn each one into a JPEG file so they could be uploaded to my blog and so they appeared as real images.

When evaluating my work over all I used further media technologies. I used Windows Media Player to watch and present our final film on and get feedback from the class and what they thought of it. I also used my Blog to post my posters and review up so that my peers could leave me comments to read. These comments told me about their opinions and what they had thought about how successful/unsuccessful I was. 

Evaluation Question 3

Q. What have you learned from audience feedback?

My group was fortunate enough to get feedback at all stages of pre production, production and post production. When we were presenting our original idea to the class we asked them for their thoughts and opinions on the idea and they told us what they thought. For our original idea we were going to have the main character being born with blindness and the setting would be within a school. They told us that there wouldn’t be anything to build up from if we started the narrative with him being blind. So we changed this to him having a car accident and losing his sight through that. Also, they told us that by using school as one of our main locations wasn’t very unique and was fairly ordinary. So we thought to change this to being set in a house and on the street. Also, we learned that it would have been very impractical if we set our film within the school. This was because we would have time issues, for example when students would be walking around our location. We would have to plan around this which would give us limited time. And also, the time we were filming was within school holidays. This would’ve meant that certain areas of the school would have been locked and for us to gain access to them would’ve been hard. From this feedback we learned to keep our locations simple, practical and realistic to our filming. We also learned to start the narrative off with a big shock. Thus changing our idea from him being normal to having an accident and losing his sight.

Another time we got feedback was when we wrote the script. Originally, our script was about 6 pages long and the dialogue was excessive. After presenting our script to the class the feedback we got was that we were ‘making it difficult for ourselves’. Peers said things like we included too much dialogue which wasn’t needed as our film was to have minimal dialogue. So we cut a lot of dialogue out of the script and shortened it. For example, when Kieran’s friends were at the door talking to his mother the original conversation was very long and included the mother calling out to Kieran and telling him his friends were here (which as you can see we cut out). If we had kept it at its original length it would have meant that we would have a lot more to pay attention to. We would’ve needed to redo takes over and over again as sound would have been an issue. By cutting down the dialogue meant we could focus on our mise en scene a lot more than have to worry about dialogue.

We also got feedback when we produced our storyboard. We showed the class what we had done and explained why we had each shot where it was. We also showed a cameraman who also gave us feedback. The feedback we got was that we needed to add more cut away shots in. Which are shots that flow one shot to the next. One piece of feedback we got was that our first shot which was intended to be a 360 degree pan of the room was very good and creative. Also, we decided to use tracks for some of the shots which also got positive feedback for being creative and exciting. We used tracks when following the girls’ feet as she was walking down the road. Also, when the mother was walking toward the front door. So upon redrafting the story board we made sure that we included more cut away shots which allowed the shots to flow from one to the other easily. Some examples of the cut away shots we included were the boys walking away from the house after the conversation and the boy walking back to the house after saving the girl. Although in editing process we had to cut out 3 minutes worth of footage as our film was too long. From this we learnt that after creating each shot we had to make sure every single shot would flow easily to the other and make sense to the audience without breaking continuity.

Another time where we got feedback was in the editing process. When we were using Adobe Photoshop Premier we did several drafts of our film. At each stage of our film we showed our film to the class and asked them on their thoughts on various things like sound, transitions and credits. We were originally told that we hadn’t included enough creative transitions. This was because we were trying to use minimal transitions so that we didn’t take away from the film itself by over loading it with transitions. So after that feedback we improved and added more fades where we thought they would be necessary. This added more interest to the film and made it more exciting by keeping audience interest. Also, when editing sound we got a lot of positive feedback. We were told that the music complimented the film very well and made it more emotional to the audience. Overall, we got excellent feedback for the film. We were told that the shots fit perfectly, the amount of dialogue we had was perfect and came across very well to the audience. And also, the title of the film was very creative and relevant to our film. As well as this we were told the credits we had at the end of the film were the perfect ending to our film.

I also got feedback when producing my review and my poster. The feedback I got from the review was that originally it looked like a review but didn’t exactly look like a review from ‘Empire’ magazine due to the colours not being exactly similar. I then spent time on adapting the colours to try and make them an exact replica of the review. It then looked as close as possible to the actual ‘Empire’ magazine review. With my billboard poster I got excellent feedback with the blend of the images and the title of the film. This was because the title of the film was almost transparent and linked to the actual film and loss of sight. Also, the title block of the film got great feedback as well for looking very realistic. I also got good feedback that the blend of both images was very contrasting. It showed how the main character was before hand with his sight and the change to what he’s like now when he is blind, unconfident and on his own.

Evaluation Question 2

Q. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

My main product combined with my ancillary tasks has been quite successful. After the film was finalised I produced my version of a film review for ‘empire’ magazine. The reason I chose to use Empire magazine was because it is one of the most renowned magazines around. It’s famous for its film reviews so I thought it would be ideal to include our film as a feature in there as the audience will be very aware of ‘Empire’ and trust its reviews. Therefore, trusting the review written for ‘Light Through Darkness’ and being drawn to read more and have an interest in our film.  Also, I tried to replicate my review to ‘Empire’ as well as I could. Again, allowing the audience to feel a sense of trust with the magazine and be interested in reading the review and going further to watch the film. I used phrases such as ‘a tear jerker’ to make the audience feel as if they were already familiar with the magazine.

The main image I used on the review was of our main character sitting on the bed. As we can see from his position in frame, the camera is looking down at him while he is looking upwards. This shows he is quite weak and unconfident. It portrays him as being vulnerable and defenceless to his situation. Also, he is wearing a white shirt which represents him as being a simple and straightforward character. This again, relates to his loss of sight as he isn’t dressed up in fancy clothes and such, he appears basic and minimal. His facial expressions immediately show him as being slightly agitated and perhaps even slightly hostile. Again, showing his un-confidence and weakness. This image is related to the film as the first half of our film represents Kieran as being a very unconfident character. When the audience see the image they will immediately feel sorry for him and want to know more about the narrative.

With the text, I read quite a few reviews from Empire magazine and looked at the way they spoke to their audience. It seemed as if they spoke to them in a formal way yet spoke as if they were well acquainted with each other. I tried to replicate this as well as I could but as our film had such a different and unique story line it wasn’t easy to get the same tone across to our audience. I say this because it was quite unusual for a blind person to be saving someone from getting hit by a car. The combination of the two are complete opposites, so when making them fit together was quite tricky. With this combined with our film, the narrative will attract the audience to the unique story line as it is a rare one that hasn’t been done before.

The only image on each poster is a screen shot of the main character. From this the audience get a sense of what the film will be about and its narrative. I chose not to use loads of images from the film and over whelm the poster but to keep it simple like its narrative. In the billboard poster two images are blended into each other. The left with Kieran and his friend shows what he used to be like before he lost his sight and the one on the right shows his struggle through everyday life due to his blindness. This image combined with the narrative gets across the films message very well. It shows what Kieran was like before and how he is after the accident. The image blend represents him overcoming a journey, which of course is the main message of the film. Also, it sums up the film in just two images. As the narrative begins showing what happened before the accident and ends with how he is after his confidence is regained.

The image I have used on poster number three is of Kieran opening the door and about to step out. Again, from this image the audience are able to see that Kieran is about to go through a journey, and the opening of the door symbolises this – as if he’s walking out of one chapter of his life into another. Again, a direct link to the narrative itself as the narrative is about him overcoming a journey.

The image I chose to use on poster number two is the image of Kieran sitting on his bed. This is the same image to the one on the review. I chose to use this as it is a very prominent image and I feel it portrays the character very well. Like I have mentioned before, it shows his vulnerability and weakness. This is what the film tries to get across in the first half. We tried to show his weakness as much as we could and this picture does just that. Therefore giving the audience a sense of what the character is like without giving away too much of the narrative.

You can see that in every poster I produced Kieran is in the centre. This is because he is the main character and by centering him shows the audience three different insights into what the film is about. It gets across the point that he is without a doubt the main character and obviously the narrative is centred around him.

The font I chose to use on my billboard poster is almost transparent. This is a play on the narrative of the film as it shows his transition from the time of the accident to now. By portraying it like this is a clever touch on the idea of blindness as it is almost like the title is appearing out of darkness. This is similar to the title on our actual film. It appears letter by letter as if an actual light is behind it making it stand out on screen. They are both a clever pun on the title of our film which come across very well to the audience. It’s as if the titles are ‘coming through’ the screen. Similar to that of them ‘coming through’ Kieran’s life showing he is going through a journey.

I have used star ratings in all of the posters and ‘expert witnesses’. By doing this the audience will feel as if the film has been prior approved by expert critics that have given it a high rating. Therefore the audience are being reassured that the film is one to watch and will want to go to watch it. I used the phrase ‘A REAL TEAR JERKER’ – ‘Empire’. This was the quote I put in my ‘Empire’ magazine review so I thought it tied in very well with the film and the review. Also, the audience will be able to link both together.

The main colours I have used in all my posters where black, grey and white. These colours are very minimal but do stand out to the audience. I chose to use black because of the narrative. I thought it matched the narrative very well as it was quite a sad, disheartening one so I thought the connotations of black would suit that very well. This is also linked to the film as we have included a few black fades as transitions from one shot to the next. So this tied in very well with the film and and created almost a ‘house style’ but for the film. I chose the grey again, because of the situation he is in. Grey represents uncertainty, and misfortune which originates from his loss of sight and un-confidence. And the white represents purity and overcoming a journey. This is the most significant colour as that is the basis of the narrative. The character Kieran is overcoming a journey which definitely needs to be portrayed to the audience beforehand. Also, in the film, each flashback has been made to have a grey light over it portraying it as black and white. So the grey is able to be linked to that of the film and again, create almost a ‘house style’ for the film and its advertising schemes. As you can see, each tagline is written in white with a glow outline. This is so that it stands out and so that the audience can note that as one of the most important element in the poster. It also shows importance as it has been highlighted so the audience can see that a journey is definitely taking place within the film.

Evaluation Question 1

Q. In what ways does your media product, USE, DEVELOP and CHALLENGE forms and conventions of real media products?

There are many ways in which our media product uses, develops and challenges the conventions of real media products. One way in which our product uses and develops typical forms of other short films is, if you look at other short films you can see that the basic codes and conventions are small budgets, short narratives, small time actors, and basic sets. This is similar to our media product as we looked into all of this when planning and producing our media product. As you can see, we have a small time actor ‘Nathan Hector’; we have a basic set of which we didn’t have to spend any money on (our main location is a house and a street.) We also have a short narrative with a strong moral and we did all of this on a small budget. The only thing we had to pay for was the props we chose to use, and a small payment toward the actors. This shows how our media product used and developed codes and conventions of other short films. As we kept it the same as other short films. We didn’t go for ‘Hollywood’ narratives and an unrealistic set that would cost us hundreds of pounds; we kept it simple and basic. The conventions we followed were those that we knew we would be successful with without taking too much of a risk and going against the odds.

Our media product also challenges other short films as the majority of short films start right from the beginning and go through the narrative from start to finish. With ours we had a non – linear narrative. We started showing the beginning by showing the audience flashbacks of what had happened previously. We didn’t show them step by step what had happened to the character, but they would have got the jist of it through the three flashbacks we showed in the beginning. This idea originated from when we were researching into other short films. We saw how other short films started the narrative right from the beginning and wanted to challenge this to make our narrative more interesting. For example in the short film ‘Blind’ the narrative started from the beginning and the main character was partially bling throughout the film. We weren’t told any explanation as to how his blindness occurred we were just introduced to him having a loss of sight. We also added non diegetic sound to make the audience glued to the screen; we thought this would be a lot more interesting than just showing images. This meant that the audience were putting together pieces of the film to try and interpret the narrative of the story and create meaning themselves without it being handed to them.

We had elements of sadness and despair which were shown through our setting. This was seen throughout the house. For example, in the bedroom and down the stairs. The location was plain, basic and empty. All that was around was the characters’ essential items. If you look at the colour of the stairway, you can see the walls are cream. This represents simplicity and innocence. It’s trying to tell the audience that he is a simple character, helpless to his situation and just getting on with his life because he had to.

Another way in which our media product used typical conventions of media products was through characters. In our product we mostly showed our main character. Although he wasn’t introduced to the audience straight away he was established through the non diegetic sounds of the past and the car accident. We chose to have only one main character as we thought it would make our film more effective. The narrative was then centred around him which made it more appealing to the audience as they were able to build sympathy for him and empathise with his situation.

Another way in which our media product used conventions of other media products was through the narrative. The narrative was short yet had a very strong moral throughout. Our film is a generic hybrid as we have included a genre of heartbreak and drama. We thought we would do this as it is developing conventions of other media products. Rather than just having our story based around one genre, we have included two which would draw the audience in more and make it a lot more appealing to wider audience.

Another way in which our product used conventions of other media products was due to sound. In the beginning we used non diagetic sound of seat belts and a car crash. We used the sound of a car crash against a black screen. This added an element of suspense as the audience where shocked when they heard the sound of the accident. Also, we have a soundtrack playing throughout the entire opening sequence. This is a parallel sound. We thought this would add effect as it would add even more sympathy to the film and again, the audience will feel sympathy for the character and want to help him in his situation. This challenged some other media products as they usually have diegetic sound which matches most characters or objects on the screen. That makes it easier for the audience to fully understand the narrative from the beginning without leaving them challenged.

An example of when our film challenged other short films was through the use of props. After researching other short films for example ‘Living in the Dark’ and ‘Blind’ I realised there has been no use of a walking stick or things to make blindness obvious. At the end of ‘Blind’ the character wears glasses but that is the only prop they use to show his blindness physically. From this idea we then thought we should make our characters blindness more obvious so we decided to give him a walking stick. We did this as we thought the audience would immediately be able to tell he does have blindness rather than him just walking around wearing tinted glasses.

Another way our film used conventions of other media products was due to costume. After watching other films such as ‘Blindness’ and ‘Ray’ we looked into the clothing they were wearing. We noticed that the majority of the clothes were just plain everyday clothes. For example a t shirt and trousers or jeans. So we thought we would build on this and put our character in jeans and a white t shirt. We chose to put him in a white t shirt because the colour represents straightforwardness and minimalism. This is good in getting across underlying connotations of our character as it portrays him as being simple, and getting on with his life regardless of his blindness. It also shows him as challenging himself, rather than staying at home and keeping to his un-confidence he goes out to try and gain more confidence on his own, which is a very brave thing to do.

A way in which our film used conventions of other films to do with blindness was due to use of camera. If you look at some of the shots used in films like ‘Blindness’ and ‘Ray’ there have been a lot of close up shots of the face to show the characters facial expressions. By using a close up of the character, the audience will be drawn to his eyes as they are most relevant thing in the context of blindness. Therefore, the audience can see if the characters eyes are open, closed, squinting, watering etc. This is very effective as the audience will be drawn to the screen wanting to know how this character is dealing with his disability, also through his facial expressions. Our main character always has a neutral face. He doesn’t look angry, or happy or even sad. He just looks as if he’s ‘OK’. This is very useful in drawing in the audience as they will feel sorry for him and almost want to help him in his situation. It shows his vulnerability and thus the audience will be able to relate to him in some way, or at least try and put themselves in his situation.

Poster 3

Poster 2

Evaluation of My Film Posters

The main colours I have used in all my posters where black, grey and white. These colours are very minimal but do stand out to the audience. I chose to use black because of the narrative. I thought it matched the narrative very well as it was quite a sad, disheartening one so I thought the connotations of black would suit that very well. I chose the grey again, because of the situation he is in. Grey represents uncertainty, and misfortune which originates from his loss of sight and un-confidence. And the white represents purity and overcoming a journey. This is the most significant colour as that is the basis of the narrative. The character Kieran is over coming a journey which definitely needs to be portrayed to the audience before hand. As you can see, each tagline is written in white with a glow outline. This is so that it stands out and so that the audience can note that as one of the most important element in the poster.

The only image on each poster is a photographic image of the main character. From this the audience get a sense of what the film will be about and its narrative. I chose not to use loads of images from the film and over whelm the poster but to keep it simple like its narrative. In the billboard poster two images are blended into each other. The left with Kieran and his friend shows what he use to be like before he lost his sight and the one on the right shows his struggle through every day life due to his blindness. The messages in the poster are primarily visual as the image is what captures the audiences’ attention.

The intended audience for this poster would be adults aged around 25 – 40. I say this because the narrative is very deep, its quite sad and something people will be able to relate to in one way or another. Therefore I don’t think it would be right to aim the poster at teenagers I think adults would suit it fine. Also, they would be the people who are interested in stories like this, a drama as its narrative is sophisticated thus being geared more towards them.

I have used star ratings in all of the posters and ‘expert witnesses’. By doing this the audience will feel as if the film has been prior approved by expert critics that have given it a high rating. Therefore the audience are being reassured that the film is one to watch and will want to go to watch it.

The poster gets across the main themes of the film to the audience in a few ways. Most importantly, the billboard poster. This is because it almost shows the transition of what Kieran use to be like before the accident and how is now. It shows how he is trying to get himself back to the way he use to be by blending both images. Also, the title on the billboard has been made to be almost transparent. This is a play on the narrative of the film as it shows his transition from the time of the accident to now. By portraying it like this is a clever touch on the idea of blindness.