This is our completed project which we will be submitting titled 'The Enemy'. Sam was responsible for most of the editing however me and Michelle also voiced our opinions to help improve the film.
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Directors Commentary of 'The Enemy'
We also did a directors commentary to further describe messages of which may not be clear to the audience without being prompted that they are there; this is shown below:
Preliminary Task
This was my preliminary task which was the first video that we created during the course. I have uploaded this video so that when my final project for this year is complete I can look back and see how I have developed certain techniques since I began the course. This was prior to forming a new group with Sam and Michelle and deciding to use horror and demonic possession as our genre and sub-genre.
Friday, 10 December 2010
Evaluation
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product represents both male and female teenagers as there are two boys and two girls that feature in our film opening. The main characteristic of teenagers that is shown through our film is naivety; naivety is displayed when three of the characters are joking around singing songs whilst doing the Ouija board. The naivety of the characters can be perceived in two ways, the first being that they do not know what they are getting themselves into as by contacting the spiritual world it can release demons etc. which could lead to possession as we later see in our film or the location or participants could become haunted. This was the idea that we hoped to display to the audience. The second perception of naivety of the characters which can be made could be that the characters are not completing the Ouija board as they should be; I believe this would be the perception made by those who are more interested in the spiritual world and have previously done Ouija boards etc.
This supports the theory made by Stuart Hall of preferred/dominant reading; this theory i
s when the producers and different members of the audience will have different perceptions of what is displayed in the film. The preferred reading is what the producers hope the audience will take from the text; in this case that the characters are naive by doing a Ouija board as it could ‘open the spiritual world’. There is also oppositional reading which is when members of the audience reject the producers view and have their own views on what it is showing e.g. believing that the characters are naive by doing the Ouija board properly. The last type is negotiated reading which is when the audience is aware of the preferred reading however they modify the reading to suit their own opinions.
Another example of how our film opening could fit the theory of Stuart Hall is the debate whether ghosts/demons are real or not. Our preferred reading would be for the audience to believe in ghosts as then audience would feel the fear of which we were trying to achieve. The oppositional reading however would be that they do not believe in ghosts/demons, this would defeat the concept of our film of which is to scare the audience through demonic possession. This would also apply to films such as the Exorcist.
Our film also represents modern society as in the group of friends there was different ethnicities showing how times have changed and now people of different backgrounds are accepted into social groups as anyone else would be.
As well as showing a modern society through ethnicity we have also displayed it through gender as Mollie played a similar role to the boys and took the lead in conducting everyone whilst doing the Ouija board therefore challenging past stereotypes which would have been made that men are braver and more daring than women.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by structuring it around films which are similar to ours in genre such as the Exorcism series. By attracting an audience through genre it makes the product easier to market as there are guidelines available for us to follow which previous horror films have used to market their own film. Another advantage of attracting the audience through genre is that it is easier to make, this is because previous ideas that have been used in other films can be recycled. We used similar id
eas to that of the Final Destination opening of which is shown on Sam’s blog as we slowly panned across items and features of the shed such as the skull and also the handprints to foreshadow events which are yet to come in the film as well as creating tension with a slow pan. It is also easier to get an audience as they will want to watch our film as they will want to be scared and therefore watch horror films as that is the most common genre known for scaring people of which we believe our film opening supports. Also using genre to attract an audience you would also be able to choose and market your star however as we did not have a high budget we were unable to attract a high profile actor/actress and therefore we were unable to use this promotion technique. By structuring our film around films of a similar genre which have previously proved to be successful we were hoping for a similar reaction; I believe that we have achieved this as various members of the audience that have viewed our project have complimented our work.
We also hoped to attract our audience through the production and distribution company Vertigo Films; we chose Vertigo Films as they are one of the most successful British film companies to date producing films such as The Football Factory and Shrooms which have received fairly good reviews. Another reason we chose Vertigo to be our ideal promoter and distributor is because the films which they have previously funded are low budget films which our film falls into the category of. We also wanted Vertigo to produce and distribute our project as we believe that they do not currently have a film similar to ours with Shrooms being the only horror film of theirs at the moment, therefore we believe there is a gap in market for a film like ours displaying the genres of horror and demonic possession.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since beginning the media course I believe my knowledge of the subject both practically and theoretically has dramatically improved, I am now able to link theories into the planning process of any film I make allowing me to define and focus the target audience for my product to a better standard than before. I believe I have shown this as looking at my preliminary task there was no ‘real’ genre to it and the script was rather aimless; however since developing my knowledge through both the teachers and my own independent research I was able to identify a disruption in the equilibrium (Todorov) in the opening sequence of our film of which was the most favoured option when voted for on our questionnaire.
Another way in which I believe I have shown I have developed my knowledge is by using Pinnacle as by observing Sam I picked up several tips of which me and Michelle were able to put into practice when editing when Sam was unavailable for one of our lessons due to other commitments. Also in my final product the editing is much smoother and much more professional than it was in my preliminary task, this was largely down to Sam’s editing skills however me and Michelle also had an input on several editing ideas.
I have also advanced my talents in media by realising the importance that mise en scene and the setting can have in a film. In my preliminary task our setting was of no importance to the film and therefore irrelative as we were in a science classroom. In ‘The Enemy’ however we put a considerate amount of thought into where our location would be, we settled on the shed as believed the ‘rundown’ theme of which came with the shed would be extremely helpful in creating a ‘scary’ environment, also the limited lighting available helped build tension and also exploit messages which are not apparent through the dialogue such as foreshadowing that something other than the characters shown (being the demon) is hiding within the shed. A particular
piece of mise en scene which best foreshadows what is to come is the bloody hand prints on the wall of the shed showing the audience that bad events are to come in the film such as pain and death.
I am also now aware of the importance that the type of shot which is used can have and also how they can be used to again show alternate messages as to what is included in the dialogue and actions similar to
how the setting and mise en scene can. In my preliminary task we mainly used long and medium shots and the occasional close up however in our final product we used a various amount of shots such as a crane shot over Shell to show that she is in a weaker position and therefore more vulnerable than the other group members foreshadowing that she will eventually become possessed.
In addition to all of the above a major improvement of my final product was the titles as my preliminary task had plain writing whereas for ‘The Enemy’ we pushed ourselves to find a font and colour
Overall after comparing both my preliminary task and ‘The Enemy’ I believe I have progressed well throughout the year of my coursework developing several skills in script writing, editing and also general ideas of which shots to include to portray alternate messages; all of which I will be able to use to assist my group in next year’s A2 coursework.
Sam and Michelle also completed this question as to how they thought they have improved since the beginning of the course which can be seen here:
Our media product represents both male and female teenagers as there are two boys and two girls that feature in our film opening. The main characteristic of teenagers that is shown through our film is naivety; naivety is displayed when three of the characters are joking around singing songs whilst doing the Ouija board. The naivety of the characters can be perceived in two ways, the first being that they do not know what they are getting themselves into as by contacting the spiritual world it can release demons etc. which could lead to possession as we later see in our film or the location or participants could become haunted. This was the idea that we hoped to display to the audience. The second perception of naivety of the characters which can be made could be that the characters are not completing the Ouija board as they should be; I believe this would be the perception made by those who are more interested in the spiritual world and have previously done Ouija boards etc.
This supports the theory made by Stuart Hall of preferred/dominant reading; this theory i
s when the producers and different members of the audience will have different perceptions of what is displayed in the film. The preferred reading is what the producers hope the audience will take from the text; in this case that the characters are naive by doing a Ouija board as it could ‘open the spiritual world’. There is also oppositional reading which is when members of the audience reject the producers view and have their own views on what it is showing e.g. believing that the characters are naive by doing the Ouija board properly. The last type is negotiated reading which is when the audience is aware of the preferred reading however they modify the reading to suit their own opinions.
Another example of how our film opening could fit the theory of Stuart Hall is the debate whether ghosts/demons are real or not. Our preferred reading would be for the audience to believe in ghosts as then audience would feel the fear of which we were trying to achieve. The oppositional reading however would be that they do not believe in ghosts/demons, this would defeat the concept of our film of which is to scare the audience through demonic possession. This would also apply to films such as the Exorcist.
Our film also represents modern society as in the group of friends there was different ethnicities showing how times have changed and now people of different backgrounds are accepted into social groups as anyone else would be.
As well as showing a modern society through ethnicity we have also displayed it through gender as Mollie played a similar role to the boys and took the lead in conducting everyone whilst doing the Ouija board therefore challenging past stereotypes which would have been made that men are braver and more daring than women.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by structuring it around films which are similar to ours in genre such as the Exorcism series. By attracting an audience through genre it makes the product easier to market as there are guidelines available for us to follow which previous horror films have used to market their own film. Another advantage of attracting the audience through genre is that it is easier to make, this is because previous ideas that have been used in other films can be recycled. We used similar id
eas to that of the Final Destination opening of which is shown on Sam’s blog as we slowly panned across items and features of the shed such as the skull and also the handprints to foreshadow events which are yet to come in the film as well as creating tension with a slow pan. It is also easier to get an audience as they will want to watch our film as they will want to be scared and therefore watch horror films as that is the most common genre known for scaring people of which we believe our film opening supports. Also using genre to attract an audience you would also be able to choose and market your star however as we did not have a high budget we were unable to attract a high profile actor/actress and therefore we were unable to use this promotion technique. By structuring our film around films of a similar genre which have previously proved to be successful we were hoping for a similar reaction; I believe that we have achieved this as various members of the audience that have viewed our project have complimented our work.
We also hoped to attract our audience through the production and distribution company Vertigo Films; we chose Vertigo Films as they are one of the most successful British film companies to date producing films such as The Football Factory and Shrooms which have received fairly good reviews. Another reason we chose Vertigo to be our ideal promoter and distributor is because the films which they have previously funded are low budget films which our film falls into the category of. We also wanted Vertigo to produce and distribute our project as we believe that they do not currently have a film similar to ours with Shrooms being the only horror film of theirs at the moment, therefore we believe there is a gap in market for a film like ours displaying the genres of horror and demonic possession.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since beginning the media course I believe my knowledge of the subject both practically and theoretically has dramatically improved, I am now able to link theories into the planning process of any film I make allowing me to define and focus the target audience for my product to a better standard than before. I believe I have shown this as looking at my preliminary task there was no ‘real’ genre to it and the script was rather aimless; however since developing my knowledge through both the teachers and my own independent research I was able to identify a disruption in the equilibrium (Todorov) in the opening sequence of our film of which was the most favoured option when voted for on our questionnaire.
Another way in which I believe I have shown I have developed my knowledge is by using Pinnacle as by observing Sam I picked up several tips of which me and Michelle were able to put into practice when editing when Sam was unavailable for one of our lessons due to other commitments. Also in my final product the editing is much smoother and much more professional than it was in my preliminary task, this was largely down to Sam’s editing skills however me and Michelle also had an input on several editing ideas.
I have also advanced my talents in media by realising the importance that mise en scene and the setting can have in a film. In my preliminary task our setting was of no importance to the film and therefore irrelative as we were in a science classroom. In ‘The Enemy’ however we put a considerate amount of thought into where our location would be, we settled on the shed as believed the ‘rundown’ theme of which came with the shed would be extremely helpful in creating a ‘scary’ environment, also the limited lighting available helped build tension and also exploit messages which are not apparent through the dialogue such as foreshadowing that something other than the characters shown (being the demon) is hiding within the shed. A particular
piece of mise en scene which best foreshadows what is to come is the bloody hand prints on the wall of the shed showing the audience that bad events are to come in the film such as pain and death.
I am also now aware of the importance that the type of shot which is used can have and also how they can be used to again show alternate messages as to what is included in the dialogue and actions similar to
how the setting and mise en scene can. In my preliminary task we mainly used long and medium shots and the occasional close up however in our final product we used a various amount of shots such as a crane shot over Shell to show that she is in a weaker position and therefore more vulnerable than the other group members foreshadowing that she will eventually become possessed.
In addition to all of the above a major improvement of my final product was the titles as my preliminary task had plain writing whereas for ‘The Enemy’ we pushed ourselves to find a font and colour
of which we thought best represented what our film was about, also by using the Vertigo animation featuring in our film we believed it represented the demonic possession genre well as lights flickering is often associated with demons when they reveal their presence in the film.
Overall after comparing both my preliminary task and ‘The Enemy’ I believe I have progressed well throughout the year of my coursework developing several skills in script writing, editing and also general ideas of which shots to include to portray alternate messages; all of which I will be able to use to assist my group in next year’s A2 coursework.
Sam and Michelle also completed this question as to how they thought they have improved since the beginning of the course which can be seen here:
Michelle
Michelle and Sam also answered several questions as part of our evaluation as shown below:
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Who would be the audience for your media product?
What kind of Media Institution might Distribute your Media Product and Why?
What have you Learnt about Technologies from the Process of Constructing this Product?
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Props
There are various props which we will use during the filming process of our coursework to help create a 'scary' environment, and to also make the film seem realistic. These props include:
As we felt it was too risky to use a real Ouija board we created our own as Michelle has demonstrated on her blog: http://shheeellllyyyyy2.blogspot.com/2010/11/making-o
uija-board.html
We are going to use candlelight in our opening as by using candles there will be limited lighting which can foreshadow bad events, also by there being limited lighting it suggests that somethign is hidden which at the end of our opening is revealed to be the demon inside of Shell.
- Ouija board
As we felt it was too risky to use a real Ouija board we created our own as Michelle has demonstrated on her blog: http://shheeellllyyyyy2.blogspot.com/2010/11/making-o
uija-board.html - Candles
We are going to use candlelight in our opening as by using candles there will be limited lighting which can foreshadow bad events, also by there being limited lighting it suggests that somethign is hidden which at the end of our opening is revealed to be the demon inside of Shell.
- Fishtank
- Skull
To enhance the 'eery' effect we desire the audience to feel we will place a skull into the fishtank as it foreshadows death which is a characteristic often associated within the horror genre.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Shooting Schedule
Shooting Schedule - Sam completed the shooting schedule as the link shows, however we did not stick to this shooting schedule as we were forced to change our location for filming due to us being unable to film at Michelle's.
Location Planning
Michelle has provided a brief explanation as to why we chose 'The Shed' as our location and also how we will utilise our surroundings to the fullest extent. The link to Michelle's location planning blog is provided below:
http://shheeellllyyyyy2.blogspot.com/2011/01/location-shed.html
http://shheeellllyyyyy2.blogspot.com/2011/01/location-shed.html
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