Media Project Analysis

Conventions of Art house and Independent Film When making my film I felt it was important to try and keep to conventions seen below but also to create my own which I would feel to be effective.

When researching the following conventions before making my film, these were the results I came up with:

•Interesting and unusual camera shots, (just fingers on hand, or objects, or the view from an object to a character.

•Use of black and white

•Subtitles and different languages

•Unusual/ not mainstream music

•Usually based around one character, and how they develop.

You can see the explanation of how I used these conventions later on in the presentation.In relation to the convention about interesting shots I believe I have achieved this to the effect I wanted. I also have appropriately used music that isn’t commonly found, as I felt it would represent the goings on of the film better than mainstream music, and achieve the feel I wanted to create. There are some conventions that now more research has been done I don’t deem to be as correct as originally thought, these being the use of black and white and foreign language film.

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to hear.

The conventions for a five minute film are often similar to those of Art house film, this is due to a large number of 5 minute films being in the Genre of Art House or Independent film.

Obviously I wasn't trying to make a film out of previously used conventions. i was taking them into consideration and seeing whether similar effects and ideas would be useful in my film. As this genre of film is one I am interested in, during filming there were points where ideas I had would fit perfectly into the conventions without trying to abide by them.

Conventions of five minute film

The conventions for a five minute film are often similar to those of Art house film, this is due to a large number of 5 minute films being in the Genre of Art House or Independent film.

As its only a 5 minute film, there are only so many issues, or ideas you can cover, because of this, 5 minute films usually only have one story/issue and have no sub stories that you would usually see in a full length film.

After reading the classification guidelines on the BBFC website, I decided that the age rating for my film would most likely be PG in the cinema and PG for DVD purposes. The reason for this choice was because of the differences under certain headings between the 12A rating and the PG rating. The description under titles such as Discrimination and Nudity were more appropriate in reference to my film than the descriptions under the same titles in the 12A classification. It is arguable that my short film could be classified as 12A however I feel this would reduce my audience.

Classification

Story board

My storyboard as seen on the right is my final storyboard, and is what I used to base my shots and camera angles on when filming. The final film did not match my storyboard exactly, as decisions were made during filming and blocking that would vary from the storyboard ideas.

I have talked about this on the next few slides.

To the right is an extract from my story board showing the close up shots of the main characters hands that I was hoping to achieve. To the left are the shots that were filmed of these ideas.

As can be seen on the left, my original storyboard illustration for this particular shot is different to the final shot filmed. The reasoning for this is because I felt that an over the shoulder shot in this scene would create too much of an atmosphere that the three people were together, where the feel I was going for was of divide. I felt that having the two shots separated as seen below would show the vulnerability I wanted to create.

Story board part 2

Storyboard 3

On this comparison you can see how I stuck to the idea of an over the shoulder shot, however due to set I had to reverse the shoulder I would film over and where the extras and characters would be sitting, this changed from the right to the left, as seen in the clip to the right.

These extracts taken from the ‘shower scene’ I left exactly how they were on the storyboard, this was because when it came to filming it was easily achievable and I’m not sure there was an alternative that would create the effect I was trying to achieve.

Storyboard 4

Originally following my storyboard I was only going to have 2 or 3 shots of the main character in the scene seen to the left and right. However when filming, I decided that it would create a nice effect to have more shots at different distances from the character. The image seen on the right is an example of how these type of shots came out.

With this particular shot I decided to add to it slightly when filming, I added a few shots from unusual angles to the one seen in the storyboard, these included the upside down shot seen on the left. I did this as I thought it would add a dynamic within the filming.

Script

Above is the script I wrote for my film, its mainly accurate to the final cut, however there are small changes in the script due to characters add libbing whilst filming. This did not bother me, as I felt the effect I was trying to achieve with the dialogue was still present.

New technology Throughout this year so far I have been using a variety of technology and software to create my film, poster, review and blog.

The blog: As a new media concept creating a blog was a good way for our work progress to be updated on a regular basis and is able to be viewed by anyone on the internet on a global scale. Personally I rate blogging massively, I think it is a great way to share with others what your doing, and give advice on certain matters such as filming techniques and other media related issues in my case. On my blog I was able to upload image and video on to the posts.

Video editing software: Pinnacle Studio 12: This software is widely available and highly credible, and is what I used to edit my film. I think a lot of Pinnacle, it’s a great, user friendly program that makes editing easy. With pinnacle I could add things like transitions and a range of video effects to my film, as well as titles and credits. Using the razor tool I was able to cut and edit together the pieces of my film I wanted to use and get rid of the clips I wanted to discard. Later on in the presentation I talk about how I edited sound on Pinnacle.

Photoshop: I used Photoshop when creating my Film poster. I have been using Photoshop for a few years now and believe I am going from strength to strength with it. I feel much more confident using it. It is by far my most preferred software.

When making my film I wanted to use a range of different camera techniques both common and unusual. My reasoning for this was to create a feel and the correct image for my short film, I believed that certain camera techniques would achieve this. The use of unusual techniques also abides by one of the frequently found conventions In Art house and independent films I discovered in my research. In my film there was common use of certain shots and less use of others, for example my film is mainly made up of Mid, Close up and extreme close up shots, and not so much of Long shots as I wanted the audience to feel closer to the main character and close ups would achieve this. I also use a few tracking shots.

Camera techniques

A lot of the techniques I used in my film were learnt during a camera workshop I attended earlier last year, which taught me a lot, including the rule of thirds which I have abided by religiously since.

Stop motion:

The opening and closing titles of my film i made with a technique called stop motion. This is where you do quick shots of still objects, and changing the positioning of the objects on each shot and then piece each shot together to get the movement from the object. My stop motion was in the form of letters being written on a lined piece of A4 and then scribbled out. I decided to do this as i thought such an interesting and unusual technique would fit well with the 'arty' feeling that I was trying to achieve with my short film . 

Unusual shots and close up’s:

To the right are two shots I used that I found particularly effective.

This is the tracking 3 clips of one of the tracking shots I used, it filmed from the characters feet to a mid shot of his body and head.

Editing of music and soundI have already talked about my editing process with film

and video, but now I'm going to explain how I edited the sound and music to create the effect and atmosphere I wanted.

Editing Music Obviously I had to edit the music so that it was in the right places in my film, and would compliment the scene of which it was behind. However I took the editing of sound one step further, I decided to edit the music in certain scenes so that the shot cuts in film would go with the rhythm of the music, this is especially apparent in the Opening Sequence. 

Editing of Sound This very much links on from the editing of the music however this also involved editing the audio from the film. My goal with this was to get rid of any unwanted sounds such as wind or background noises but to also amplify sounds that I wanted more prominent. For example in one of my scenes there was an irritating wind at the start but birds singing towards the end of the shot. As I wanted the bird noise but not the wind I had to edit the sound in a way that I would achieve the sounds I wanted but get rid of or lower the volume of un wanted sounds. This was done by volume and velocity adjustments of the film audio. I was pleased I was able to make the sound for this scene just how I wanted it without making it sound un-natural.

Editing of music in starting sequence.

Making of my film posterFilm poster, when making this on Photoshop I had to think of things such as the Fonts and colours I wanted to use. To start off with I decided that I wanted my film poster to create the same feel as my film would. I also wanted my poster to give the audience an idea about the structure of the film.

Choice of Font: I chose to use the font called century gothic, mainly for the reasons that it is a style of font that doesn't have any inappropriate cartoon like text. I chose this font as it was a simple looking text that didn’t look as common and boring as Times new roman, Arial or Verdana and would achieve the simplicity and feel that I wanted.

As for the colour, this decision was made after the photograph was taken. I wanted to use colours that would go well with the image I used. So sticking with the simplicity Idea I just decided to have a black border around the image.

At the bottom of my film poster I created still shot credits, which are seen on most film posters, to the right are my poster credits.

Poster without main image.

Finished Poster

Poster Credits

The combination of my ancillary tasks to my film is particularly effective for certain reasons:

When looking at my film poster the viewer can begin to gain an understanding on what the film will be about. For example the poster is made up of the main character and no other characters, the viewer can establish that the film is based around a single character. Also by looking at the design, structure and colour scheme of the poster the viewer can make a judgment of what type of film it will be, for example the poster does not indicate or stick to conventions of a an Action film poster, so the viewer can rule that out.

As for the Film review, this is a particularly important part of the combination. This is because of the high possibility that a potential viewer will read a review first to help them make a decision on whether to watch the film or not. A review also advertises the film to others and helps achieve a greater audience.

Ancillary tasks - Film

Audience feedback: Film

I asked 15 people the questions seen below in order to gain some feedback on my short film.

Do you think this short film is within the genre of Art house or Independent?

Did the use of unusual camera shots interest you and draw you closer to the character?

12 Yes, 3 No

14 Yes, 1 No

What is your gender?

6 Male, 9 Female

Which age category do you fit into?

Under 18 4 People

18-30 9 People

30+ 2 People

How were you made to feel during the film?

Happy 3

Sympathetic 10

Un-happy 2

Bored 0

How were you made to feel at the end of the film?

Happy 8

Sympathetic 5

Un-happy 2

Bored 0

Did the music used have an effect on your emotion towards the film or characters?

15 Yes, 0 No

Had you heard the music used before seeing this film?

2 Yes, 13 No

Would you say the film captivated you from start to finish?

11 Yes, 4 No

Overall rating?

0-2 Star 3

2-4 Star 10

5 Star 2

Audience feedback part 2

Below are expansions of some of the questions on the previous page, in which I allowed the audience to comment on the reasoning for their answers.

Did the use of unusual camera shots interest you and draw you closer to the character?

If so, why?

“ I found that the interesting and unusual shots related to the unusual problem that the character suffered from” How were you made to feel during the film and what was it about the film that made you feel like this?

Happy Sympathetic Un-happy Bored

“I think a mixture of the music and how other characters were responding and acting towards the main character, made me feel sympathy for him”

Did the music used have an effect on your emotion towards the film or characters?

If so, how?

“ The music had a big part on my emotion throughout the film, it was well chosen to fit with what was happening” Had you heard the music used before seeing this film?

If so, did this help?

“ Personally I am glad that I hadn’t heard this music before as I wasn't able to relate to it, It helped me focus on what was happening, and seem less like music on top of film and more like the two were bonded together harmoniously”

Audience feedback: Film

Summary:

The Pie chart seen below is an Audience satisfaction Chart made from the average results of my audience feedback questionnaire, this being based on general enjoyment of the film, showing the results in percentages:

88% of viewers Satisfied (Purple)

12% of viewers Un-satisfied (Blue)

Pie chart made in Microsoft Excel

Audience feedback: Subsidiary tasksI asked the same 15 people as my film audience feedback a group of questions about my film poster and review.

Does the Film poster reflect the image and feeling of the film? If so why?

9 Yes, 4 No, 2 Don’t know

Would you say the film poster gives enough away about what the film is about?

12 No, 3 Yes

Would you say the Film review is biased or does it give the film justice?

Bias 6

Spot on 9

Is the film review similar quality to what you would expect to see in a national film magazine?

Yes 12, No 3

Audience response.

“I’d say yes, but I’m not sure if that’s something that as a viewer I think about, but I can see that it does.”

Audience response.

“It sounds like someone that has an interest in this genre of film has written the review but I do agree with some of the points made”

Why audience Feedback is Important

Knowing audience's feedback is very important to improve the methods and techniques used in creating something, especially a film and the publications that go with it. Audience feedback is also a great way to gain an understanding on what techniques and ideas work and what ideas do not. By knowing this sort of information it can allow you to improve on future projects and creations.

What I’ve learnt from Audience Feedback

The main thing that my Audience feedback research has told me was whether certain techniques and ideas I used in my film were as effective as I hoped such as unusual camera techniques and shots. The results that came back were pleasing, the techniques I used had created the effect on the viewer that I was hoping for. Now I know that these ideas work I can think about using them in a future project.

Another important aspect of my film that I learnt about from the audience feedback was the choice of music and its purpose in my film. When I asked the audience whether the music had any effect on their emotion and feelings towards the film or main character, I was extremely happy with the results, all of the people that took my audience feedback survey all agreed that the music was effective on their emotion towards the film and the main character. This was an important discovery to make, as now I know how effective music can be in film, I can take this into consideration in the future.

In Summary

Throughout this evaluation presentation I have hopefully made the parts that I would improve on in future projects obvious.

I believe that my audience feedback helped me massively as it allowed me to understand and emphasised what mistakes I had made in the production of my ancillary tasks and film. These are the key points I know I could have done better:

• Most importantly the writing of the storyline and script, this is something that can always be improved in every project, and only really comes with experience.

•I also think that more unusual camera shots and techniques could have been used to create more of an effect within the film.

•On a positive I was happy with the choice of music, it created the exact effect I wanted.

•As for the ancillary tasks, I think that perhaps it may have been better to include more in the film poster, perhaps a mixture of animation and real image.

•The film review could have been more intricate and had more to it, although I do believe it served the purpose I wanted it to.

In conclusion, I am extremely happy with the final outcome of my film and ancillary tasks, and I’m happy about how much I have learnt, I have gained a great knowledge and understanding on many things including the use of Pinnacle, the Blog and an improvement on my Photoshop skills.

Fin.