Final Products + Extra Blu Ray Cover

Evaluation Q4

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

Sony Vegas

During this A2 project, I used many different types of media technology. One piece of software I used to construct my short film was Sony Vegas, which is a video editing software by Sony.

This is a professional editing software and is easy to use. It also has a wide range of different editing features to use, such as being able to edit and animate visual FX, such as muzzle flashes. 

One of the main things I had to learn when editing my film was how to mix sound tracks to make the sound transitions smooth and unnoticeable, and also to cut them to my video tracks so they were in time. The music is a vital part of manipulating the audience so it was crucial that I got this right.

Photoshop

Photoshop is another major software that I used, but to create my ancillary texts. I learnt to do many things such as create vignettes, adjust the brightness, contrast, colour balance etc of images to make them look more appealing. 

Here is how I created my film poster:

 I began my poster my creating a new file, with the canvas size as an A4 sheet. I then used the rectangle tool to create the black background.

 I then imported a screenshot from my film to use for the main image. I chose this image specifically because I really like the high key lighting and silhouette effect this creates. This kind of image is common within the thriller genre as it gives it a sense of mystery and the audience perhaps may find it hard to tell exactly what it is - unanswered questions, which is a convention of thrillers. To get the audience to focus just on the outline of the face, I had to get rid of the light from the rest of the image, so to do that I used the polygonal lasso tool to select the parts I didn't want, and then I filled it in so it is all black around the outline. Then to soften this part I created a vignette by using the elliptical marquee tool and then selecting the inside area of the vignette, then using the gradient tool to create the actual vignette. Although it is not clearly visible where the vignette actually is, it blocks out some other parts of the original image so the audience's attention is solely on the outline of the face and it enhances the silhouette effect further.

 The credits are very important for creating a professional looking poster so I had to use the correct looking font. I searched google for the correct font and it is called SteelTongs. To create the credits I simply used text boxes and placed them in a conventional way. I used a variety of job titles for it from the obvious 'Written and Directed by' to 'Weapons Consultant'.

 The title, tagline, and release date were all created by text boxes too, however I have obviously used different sizes, colours, and fonts. For the title I have used the font Myriad Pro in white and spaced out the lettering as this is often done in thriller movie titles. For the tagline and date, I have used the font Couture Bold in red. I have used red because it is commonly associated with danger and is often used in thriller movies. 

I imported these logos from google images and they all had white backgrounds on. To remove the backgrounds, I used the magic wand tool to select the white, then pressed delete. This removed it leaving just the logo. I then resized the images to fit at the bottom, as is conventional.

Here is how I created my film magazine:

 The first thing I did when creating my magazine cover was create a black background using the rectangle tool. I then labelled that layer 'background' and locked it. I imported the same picture from my poster into here and scaled it to the size and position I wanted it.

 I used two text boxes to create my masthead. I rasterised the text box layers so it was easier to scale and position the masthead. Also by doing this, I could merge the two layers together to move them both around easier. 

 One convention of magazine covers are barcodes, as they are very important to keep track of various things such as how many issues are sold etc. I copied and pasted this barcode from google images and then scaled it to this size using the free transform tool. I then used the rectangle tool to create a white box behind the barcode so the date and price are visible. This makes it look more professional and like a real cover.

Plugs are conventions of film magazines, and so I made one by using the ellipse tool and text boxes. To make the red outline circle, I used the ellipse tool to make a solid circle, as labelled 'Ellipse 1' on the layers tab. To give the illusion of it being just a ring, I created another solid circle, however it is black and slightly smaller. I then used text boxes and different sized fonts to write the text out. Finally, I selected all 5 layers, rasterised them, then merged them together so I can move them around easier.

Canon EOS 600D

I decided to use my own DSLR camera for this project because it is a very good camera that is capable of achieving a professional, cinematic look due to the wide range of settings and lenses available. I used an 18-55mm lense because all of the action is at close quarters so a bigger lense would be too close - the smaller lense was the only option. With this lense I am able to achieve a shallow depth of field and incorporate pull focus into my cinematography for various semantic reasons.

I have used this camera for my A2 Film Studies short film so I knew what this camera was capable of doing:

Settings that I had to change to achieve the looks in both of these films were the ISO (changes how much light is let in), shutter speed, aperture (this is for depth of field), and a neutral colour balance. I used a 180 degree shutter because this is known to achieve the cinematic look, which is what I wanted. 

Blogger

Throughout AS and A2 media, I used blogger to store and present all of my work. This has been extremely useful because all of my work is in one place and I can work on it anytime, anywhere, via the iPhone app:

iPhone 5

I have used my iPhone throughout the production of my film. An example of this is writing my screenplay. I used the pre-production software Celtx to write my screenplay and they have a feature which allows you to, for example, write your screenplay on a computer, then upload it to the cloud, and then download it to the iPhone app to continue your work:

Evaluation Q3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Upon completion of my products, I asked friends and others to give me some feedback on them. I used different forms of social media to do this; Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. 

Film Poster
For my poster, I posted it on both Facebook and Instagram:

One person I asked to write me some feedback is Lucy Bell. I asked her specifically as she is also an A2 Media student and has successfully created a very high quality music video and promotional poster so she would be able to provide a critical review from a media perspective. Here is her video and poster:

Lucy

Roisin

Erin

As you can see, people think my poster is very good as I have only had positive feedback. The positive response on facebook and instagram, as well as the constructive feedback in the messenger group chat, indicates to me that I have successfully created a professional, persuasive, effective poster for my short film.


The Kill  Reviews

I asked a few friends to write some feedback to me via Facebook Messenger. Again, the feedback I have received has been extremely positive and has given me confidence that I have created a high quality package (film and promotional material).

Roisin Howard

** "bitmap" is a typo, it should say "hitman" **

Erin Miller

These reviews are very positive and have helped me come to the conclusion that the film ticks all of the boxes in terms of what effect I was aiming to have on the audience, such as the eeriness and increasing suspense. I have learned that I have been very successful in the production of my film and I have achieved everything I set out to do. 

Evaluation Q2

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

I believe my three media products, short film, film poster, and film magazine cover, all combine well with each other as a media package because they all look similar as I have kept the continuity between them all.

The mise en scene of my film is crucial in creating semantic connotations and helping the audience understand the characters and what their role in the narrative is. After researching the conventions of thrillers, and watching many thriller feature and short films, I came up with the following costume for my antagonist; black balaclava, grey jacket, black leather gloves, jeans, and a handgun. This is a typical costume which is worn by the antagonist of thriller films, depending on the type of story that it is. I used a balaclava because I wanted to keep the identity of the killer hidden until the very end as this gives a greater sense of danger and mystery. This mystery also helps build the atmosphere because the character seems unpredictable due to the connotations of balaclavas, which are that they are used by criminals and are often associated with violent crimes.

The costume I have chosen for my protagonist is: black jacket, black jeans, and styled hair. I have chosen to dress him in casual clothes because I wanted him to look like an average person as this is a convention of thrillers and it makes the audience feel like the same thing could happen to them, increasing the anxiety and suspense. 

I chose a garage location because for a similar reason - I wanted it to look like it could happen to any normal person . The garage was a good place to film this as it looks quite well-used, because it is, and it is located behind a house in a residential area.

The picture I used for my ancillary texts is a screenshot from my film. I used a screenshot from my film because many film posters do this as it gives audiences a glimpse of the style of the film, which is often a big selling point of a film.

You can see here that I have only used the right third of the frame because it is a very nice low key silhouette where we can see the outline of his face. This shot on its own gives an element of mystery and tells the audience what kind of film it is going to be because they can see the style of the shots uesd etc.

Evaluation Q1

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

Conventions of thrillers:

Conventions of magazine posters:

Conventions of film magazine covers:

How have I used these conventions and what influenced them?

To see exactly how I have used the conventional technical codes in my film, I have written a textual analysis:

Mise en scene

The mise en scene of my film is crucial in creating semantic connotations and helping the audience understand the characters and what their role in the narrative is. After researching the conventions of thrillers, and watching many thriller feature and short films, I came up with the following costume for my antagonist; black balaclava, grey jacket, black leather gloves, jeans, and a handgun. This is a typical costume which is worn by the antagonist of thriller films, depending on the type of story that it is. I used a balaclava because I wanted to keep the identity of the killer hidden until the very end as this gives a greater sense of danger and mystery. This mystery also helps build the atmosphere because the character seems unpredictable due to the connotations of balaclavas, which are that they are used by criminals and are often associated with violent crimes.

The costume I have chosen for my protagonist is: black jacket, black jeans, and styled hair. I have chosen to dress him in casual clothes because I wanted him to look like an average person as this is a convention of thrillers and it makes the audience feel like the same thing could happen to them, increasing the anxiety and suspense. 

I chose a garage location because for a similar reason - I wanted it to look like it could happen to any normal person . The garage was a good place to film this as it looks quite well-used, because it is, and it is located behind a house in a residential area.

Cinematography

The cinematography in my film is very symbolic both semantically and narratively. The first shot of the film is a handheld close up shot of Liam inside the boot of the car. I used this shot first because I wanted to being the film with the audience not being fully aware of what they are seeing/not sure what's going on, because this links to the state of mind of Liam as he also doesn't know what's going on. It then cuts to a low angle medium shot on the ground from the back of the car of Ben getting out of the car and walking to the boot. I have chosen to use a shot like this of his feet because, again, the audience do not know what's going on, where they are, and who it is. The next shot is a medium shot of the boot being opened and here we see Ben's leather gloves, which connote to the audience that there is some sort of criminal activity going on, before it is revealed that Liam is unconscious in the boot of a car.

After the title screen, we cut to the interior of the garage, however, the audience does not see the exterior so they may not know it is a garage, which is the intended idea - confusion, unanswered questions. The shot I have used here is a medium shot or Liam's head that tracks on a slider to the left, to reveal it is Liam. The floodlight is in the middle of the frame here, with Liam in the left third. I have done this because after seeing that he has been taken hostage, the light should connote to the audience that he is going to be interrogated, beaten up etc. We then cut to a high angle medium shot of Liam before panning and tracking left and up to reveal Ben stood in front of the light so we can see his silhouette. This is synced with the music as I wanted it to be an significant moment as I have revealed the head of the killer, even though his face is not visible - it indicates that he is dangerous.

A few shots later, when he picks up the duct tape and begins to tape him up, I have used a medium low angle shot to show this because I wanted a shot of both characters, the chair, the light, and part of the doorframe to show the full extent of the situation. The doorframe is visible in the right third of the frame because I wanted to give the audience another clue as to where they are, and even if they are still unaware, they have something else to go off - making the audience ask questions all the time by slowly revealing things, which is a convention of thrillers. 

I have employed low key lighting throughout the entirety of the garage sequence because this is also a convention of thrillers, and I have been inspired by old noir films that use a lot of shadows and high contrast lighting. Low key lighting is vital in creating atmospheric, suspenseful moods because the high contrast and shadows can make it difficult for the viewer to see everything, which adds to the mystery and the constant guessing game in their minds. 

Before the exterior of the garage is revealed, the music increases in volume and pitch, and I have a close up shot of Ben, with Liam in the background. I have used a shallow depth of field and a pull focus in this shot to switch the audience's attention from Ben, to Liam, and back again. I have pulled the focus from Ben to Liam when ben lifts his head up and looks at him because we are seeing this bit from his point of view and we are seeing what he is seeing. Also, this type of pull focus connotes to the audience that Ben is about to do something bad to Liam. Ben then stands up and grabs the smelling salts. I have used another shallow depth of field pull focus on a close up shot here as I wanted the audience to follow Ben's hands as he gets the salts, so I pull the focus to the bench as he grabs them, and then back as he holds them and open them - this coincides with the music reaching its climax. 

Sound

The soundtrack is a vital element in manipulating the audience in my film because I have mixed tracks to the clips to influence them. For example, when Liam is about to be woken up, the music increases in volume and pitch until he is awake. I have done this because I wanted to build suspense up until this point and make the audience full of anticipation to see what he's going to do to Liam. I have used several tracks from David Fincher's thriller Gone Girl, because I really like the way the music created a dark atmosphere in this film and this is the effect I wanted in my film. 

I have used sound effects of a gun firing to create realism when Ben shoots at Liam. The sound effects are essential for this because otherwise, the gun shots would not look real at all. 

Magazine Cover Final Draft

Process of creating my magazine cover

The first thing I did when creating my magazine cover was create a black background using the rectangle tool. I then labelled that layer 'background' and locked it. I imported the same picture from my poster into here and scaled it to the size and position I wanted it.

I used two text boxes to create my masthead. I rasterised the text box layers so it was easier to scale and position the masthead. Also by doing this, I could merge the two layers together to move them both around easier. 

One convention of magazine covers are barcodes, as they are very important to keep track of various things such as how many issues are sold etc. I copied and pasted this barcode from google images and then scaled it to this size using the free transform tool. I then used the rectangle tool to create a white box behind the barcode so the date and price are visible. This makes it look more professional and like a real cover.

Plugs are conventions of film magazines, and so I made one by using the ellipse tool and text boxes. To make the red outline circle, I used the ellipse tool to make a solid circle, as labelled 'Ellipse 1' on the layers tab. To give the illusion of it being just a ring, I created another solid circle, however it is black and slightly smaller. I then used text boxes and different sized fonts to write the text out. Finally, I selected all 5 layers, rasterised them, then merged them together so I can move them around easier.