The Placebo, official film

            
             

The Placebo, official poster

The Placebo, official trailer

Q1- Conventions of real media products

Q1. I what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

               

Q2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancilairy texts?

         Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?         
     
       

Q3- What have you learned from audience feedback?

                                   Q3- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

               

Q4- How have you used digital technology in your research, planning and evaluation stages

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? 

       

          

Film bloopers

                

What I learned about filming making

There are many skills, which I believe I have gained through producing my final product and ancillary texts. I was able to use filming equipment such as camera, lighting and a tripod effectively and get competent with the settings on the cameras- specially the Cannon 600D camera. Through research and practice I was able to familiarise myself with concepts such as ISO, shutter speed, white balance and aperture.

One of the things about filming I learned is that although there is a script and a overall plan of how things should pan out- it does not mean you have to follow it religiously, during both production and post production there may be brilliant ideas that you come up with and work better than the original idea during planning stages, also as your creativity develops there's always new things to add and sometimes take away from the script because it's not as effective as you though it would be.

Using Audacity and Logic Pro to create my radio trailer taught me the importance of sound and how much of an impact sound makes on the overall product, it gives the extra scariness and horror element to it, as you can create dread and eeriness without the visual film. When creating my poster I learned how to use editing software Photoshop, manipulating pictures and adding special effects on to it to make them fit the horror genre.

One of the most important lessons I've taken away from filming my product and producing my ancillary tasks is to always keep noting down ideas no matter how trivial they may seem and keep building from them. Also that there is always room for improvement, even though a product may look finished and finalised depending on audience opinion there can be several changes which can actually enhance the product overall.

One thing I would do differently however, is keep a short and simple plot rather than trying to express many different ideas and thoughts into a short 5 minute clip, it's better to keep the story simple.

Analysis of sample audience watching final product

                            


After producing my final product I recorded a small sample of my audience watching the product and then discussed the film and gained feedback from them. I asked the group to think aloud whilst watching my film so I can make critical observations of their reactions and interpretations of their opinions. 
They seemed to be amerced throughout the whole experience and a number of times they all expressed their fascination with the film through words such as 'oh wow' 'I like that'. 

As scene 3 progresses it is clear that one member of the audience is easily taken back by the establishing shot which shows the protagonist walking like a zombie. As the flash back scene appears, I can tell that the use of editing and adding filters was highly effective as the audience members say: 'that's good editing' and 'oh that's her before', as well as commenting on the visual effects and making their own interpretations of 'it's distorted' and 'it makes you feel so..' and as they agree with each other.

It can be argued that my audience form part of the 'preferred readers' group, the theory put forward by Hall, (however it became clear to me that they’re negotiated readers after obtaining their opinions when I asked whether they idenitifed well with the protagonist one meber said that they feel as though a boy would also do the same thing- be curious and look for his friend). One member says 'that must be symbolic or something, why would she take that' in reference to the teddy bear, the reason they form put of the preferred readers group is because my intention with the teddy bear is to show that the teddy is a representation of the protagonists past life- which is symbolic in understanding the past and present in the film. 

As the zombie scenes appear there is a gradual raise of eyebrows and withdrawal from the audience connoting that they are somewhat frightful by the location and mes en scen of the shot. All the audience members jumped a little a the scene where the protagonist is alone and a sudden whack on the face appears, the sound which becomes low and hollow followed by an abrupt and sharp movement was effective in making audiences engaged with the film. The comment of 'it's so dingy' and 'the darkness is really good' reassures me that the use of locaion and mes en scen worked effectively in portraying a horror style setting. 

The member who says 'oh' when she realises various aspects of the film she didn’t know before this signifies how she had a few unanswered questions that made sense as the scene with the scientists appears. This tells me that there was enigma built throughout the film and the questions are now answered as the film comes together during these scenes. One member says 'it' like she can't hear' when the protagonist is trying to wake up out of the conditioning this implies that the use of editing sounds creates a major effect on the way characters are portrayed in my film. 

Overall, through this ethnographic observation I found that there was positive feedback in both verbal and facial expressions in regards to my short film as the audience members said they enjoyed watching it and thought it was a well produced film. 

Comparing my preliminary film to my final product

After analysing both my preliminary and final film, there are a few observations that I have made in regards to my progress and skills which i believe have developed greatly.


Production:  

When filming my preliminary task I had very minimal practise with the camera and framing techniques, for example there were many scenes where I was thinking of the different shots I can film from as I was filming at that moment also, there were other times where I was sat thinking for a moment which kind of took up a lot of time, nonetheless we completed it. In addition, when filming my preliminary task I wasn't able to adjust the settings on the camera, as I was not familiar with the concepts of ISO, Shutter speed ect. These two skills has progressed when filming my final product as I was competent with camera equipment and when filming no time was wasted as I knew how exactly I should film each scene and which angle worked best with each shot. This organised my time as well as gave me confidence when filming. I was able to change the settings on my camera making it look professional.



Post-production: 
 
I believe my skills have developed in the editing stages from my preliminary task to my final product. When editing my preliminary task I was unsure of how to crop and trim footage that's on the screen, so I was not able to use footage where the acting was very good because there was an unwanted item/actress in the shot. Whereas, when editing my final task I was able to create extreme close up shots on an over the shoulder angle due to having an unwanted item in the shot. Moreover, I added effects into my preliminary film, however, I was unsure that this type of effect of the 'underwater effect' would be appealing to my audiences, when editing my final production the faded ‘sun effect’ and ‘prism’ effect I believe was far more effective in expressing to the audiences that this is a flash back scene.


Overall, conducting a preliminary film not only equipped me with a set of camera skills but also helped me developed my organisation skills as well as gave me the confidence of using Final Cut Pro.

Feedback on all products

After compelting all my products I asked my audience whether they think all 3 products works well toegther and make sense together.

From this feedback I have gathered that my audience do think that my poster, trailer and film all create the same atmosphere and relate back to the horror genre well.

Audience feedback- final film

           
                    


The feedback for my final film was very positive, my audience feel as though they engaged with the film. When I asked for their first thoughts on the film one member said 'the effects made you feel uneasy' this is a convention of horror as the horror genre plays with real emotions of audiences.

The intended outcome was expressed clearly, I know this because one member said 'it creates a lot of emotions you can feel something weird is happening' which was my intention. When I queried about the narrative, they said that there were confusions in the beginning but recognised that, enigma is conventional of horror films and said it worked well.

When I asked if they identified with the film as a female audience there was differing opinions suggesting that there are different types of audiences in a film, which will go against my preferred reading and others, who create their own interpretations of my film.

Audience feedback- second edit

Audience feedback- 2nd edit from as14rk on Vimeo.

Feedback from my audience after the first edit was useful in knowing whether the changes made to the film enhanced viewer experience. The audience members said they liked that various shots and how there was different angles which mad it engaging.

They feel as though they identified with the protagonist as an 'explorer' and someone who questions what she sees on the news.

Overall, positive feedback was given. 
  

Editing

I have edited my film on Final Cut Pro which has grown on me, it's proabably now my most favourite editing software. Getting used to the features and tools took a little getting used to, nonetheless it was worth it. From my audience feedback I have made changes which can be seen below:


               

Response to audience feedback

New poster design

After careful consideration I have dicided to change my poster in reposne to adience feedback, this is my new layout creating intertextual like to Face Off. I agree with the audiecnes members who think that my previous poster layout was not as eerie and did not really give a horror style atmosphere to it.

In order to fix this I will take my photographs using the poster codes for example, I will make sure I use the rule of thrids and high headspace, moreover, I will adjust the settings on my camera, also when editing my poster I will be sure to realte back to Face Off as well as other conventional horror posters such as Saw as recommened by an audince member who said that the poster is eerie and it creates suspense giving the narrative a sharp and edgy feel to it.   

Audience feedback: First edit

Audience feedback: First edit from as14rk on Vimeo.

Feedback from radio trailer (draft)

 
Audience feedback: radio trailer (draft) (854 x 480) from as14rk on Vimeo.

After gaining useful feedback from my draft radio trailer, there are considerable changes that I will need to make to ensure that my audience are appealed and are full engaged with the trailer.

Strengths: 

One of the things that my audiences liked was the layering of sound, it worked well in portraying the horror theme, they specifically enjoyed listening to the "we shall not kill.." repetition.
The background sound seemed to please the audience they said that it give the trailer a suspenseful feel to it.

Improvements: 
There were many technical corrections that needed to be made such as the audio distortion, the fuzziness and the pitch of various sounds.

One of the key aspects of my trailer that I need to work on is fully expressing to the audience the theme of zombie horror- I asked my audiences whether they felt my trailer correlated well with the zombie sub-genre, almost all said that they felt as though  it was only specific to horror and they felt like they were listening to a horror trailer generally and not a trailer that's from the zombie genre, some members suggested that I use zombie gore and sound effects to connote the theme of zombies.

My audience a little idea as to what the monotone repetition is about but without me telling them the storyline so it is suspenseful.

The use of silence and sound effects was suggested to be used as it would give a more tense and edgy atmosphere to the trailer, also by using silence, according my audiences from past experiences of listing to trailers they think it will induce the scariness as silence and eerie sounds scare them as they don't know what's coming next,

They also expect to hear unexpected sounds, something to 'grip the accidence by' and 'to make them jump out of their seats' such as a long pause of silence and then a loud bang/sound.

Lastly, thinking back to the BFI trip when Hannah mentioned that in trailers the beginning and ending are the most important parts as they help grip the audiences attention and then maintain that focus and attention through out, my audience think that the beginning and end of my trailer should stand out so that the audience can sustain their engagement throughout the trailer and also go on to remember the trailer.

Changes in poster design

After analysing my current poster, I have decided to change the design of my poster. With an inter-textual reference to Face Off I believe I can create a more effective poster relating to the horror theme more clearly. Also, I would be able to create an enigma in my poster and fully express the theme of zombie and identity. with the changes in design.

Greenscreen background

This is the timelapse I have recorded with a Cannon 600D for the background for my news report. I wanted a background that is sophisticated and close as possible to how it looks in real news reports therefore I went to the highest building in my local area and left the camera on a tripod whilst I was enjoying the view of the sunset.

One thing I needed to be aware of the battery life and memory card storage before hand to avoid any technical problems during filming as the camera was filming for at least 2 hours.
One major issue that I faced was positioning of the camera, I recorded this from the 24th floor of a building and therefore due to health and safety there was a window as a barrier, when it started to get darker the reflection of the light on the window had slowly started to emerge onto the camera also, therefore it looked slightly out of place, I have overcome this however by editing and adjusting the lighting when I added it onto my green screen footage.

Filming day 2

Today was the second and last day of filming.

We started off with make up and all the actresses went through their script to remind them of their actions as there was minimal sound.

We filmed in chronological order from scene by scene, I'm very proud of the footage I filmed, The mes en scen, location as well the amazing contribution of my cast gave me something to look forward to edit. I think I have a lot of various types of footage which I can play around with on Final Cut Pro.

One thing that could've been improved is the positioning of lighting, perhaps if I used a different location which was bigger so there was more space to move around and place things also it may have been more effective also I would have had shots and angles from different background, nonetheless we managed to make it work well.

Filming Day 1

Today I filmed the flash back scenes, it went really well. I organised the filming in terms of scenes, so I filmed all the scenes that do not require all members of the cast on one day and will film the zombie (or basement scenes) in a few days provided that all memers of my cast are present.

Using tips and techniques from the preliminary task was useful. Originally we were supposed to film in a park however, it was very windy and the ambient sound would have been very distorted thereofre the main charcter- Sarah played by Hajera and I decided to film in my house instead which worked even better than the orignal idea.

Overall, it was a productive day filming the flashback scenes.

Photos from film for poster

These are a few still shots from filming day 2 which I could be potential use for my poster. The mes-en-scen is perfect for the look I want on my poster which is dark and creepy also this fits in well with the horror genre.

Preliminary task- using green screen

   

Carrying out this task has helped me uderstand how to use greenscreen, the exposure of light also how to edit it in Final Cut.

When I film the green screen footage for my film I will make sure that the exposure of the light is consistent and bright as news reports often have a bright exposure of light. Also, if the lighting is not consistent and is dark then this will create issues for me when I am editing. Moreover, I will use a microphone to ensure that the sound is clear and concise, I will then dub the voice with the footage so the audio has a nice smooth tone to it. Also, during my editing stages I will need to effectively dub the audio so it is in sync with the video. An important factor for when shooting the green screen scene I will make sure that I fully straighten out the green screen curtain as it did cause troubles for me when editing because the footage looked unprofessional and fuzzy.

Reflection from the BFI

Reflection from the BFI trip

The trip to the BFI which took place on the 5th of February gave me a detailed insight about posters and trailers.

We looked at a range of trailers and looked at key features in a trailer by commenting on the mes-en scene, sound, camera shots and the way editing was used in trailers, one of the trailers we collectively looked at was Frank audience members were required to comment on the various features such as the colours used alongside the type of sound, pitch and tone of the sounds used that made it effective and catchy. One feature of trailers that is very important is the continuity editing- the fast paced and montage of shots that are placed together in a rapid motion are very important to film trailers. We also looked at how trailers appeal to specific target audiences for example, we looked at The In-between 2 and how all the scenes induced humour to appeal to it's existing target audience.

We also looked posters and what makes a good and bad poster, commenting on the negative parts of a poster we were aware of what not to do which helped us keep a good focus on what we should include in a poster. We analysed various posters such as The Queen, and Submarine. I learnt that depneding on the type of story that iis being told and sold the types of colours, composition of subjetcs on a poster is vital. The fact that in the poster The Queen- the colours red, white and bloye werer used connote that the story will be about British history and the monarchy, I was able to point out specific techniques used by the editor- the colours used on the quotes, author and title were in sync with the picture of the Queen- started off as grey, (Queen's hair) then blue (her eyes) and then red (her lips) this is an effective way of editing as it's stylistic and has a unique look to it.
I learnt that the use of colours in a horror poster is often dark with low-key lighting, there are simple and minimal photography.

During the Q&A with guest speaker Hannah, who creates advertising products for various block buster films. One of the main things that caught my eye, was when she was asked why posters appeal to the second generation, her answer was thought provoking, she believes that posters are typical for thos who enjoy the art of photography and appreciate the traditional methods of marketing than our (21st) generation who prefer to watch and listen to trailers and enjoy getting a thrill off of the visual medium. Also, when asked about the conventions of male voice overs- Hannah said that there reason why there isn't really a shift in the male voice overs and the reason it stays as a convention is because it's something that is a cultural norm for film makers also a shift in the paradigm will not be as appealing to conventional audiences, she does however, hope to see a change in this and wants to hear more female voice overs in trailers!

One of the things that I will defiantly take away from this experience is the ways in which I chose to position my poster, the colours I use and the composition of all my items on the poster, also I will make sure that when I am producing my own trailer I use continuity editing and a range of sounds to make sure I meet my audience expectations. Also, I may chose to challenge the convention a female voice overs on trailers by using a female voice over. 

Updated treatment

Updated treatment

Updated film script with changes

The Placebo

Discussion with film practitioner Adam King

After a detailed discussion with film practitioner Adam King, I decided to rearrange a few scenes.

I told him my ideas and the key themes, he read my script and helped me improve the storyline.

I was fully aware that my film entails a complicated storyline and a complex plot, which is why I spoke to Adam about scripting to help me express my ideas fully. 

In my original script the flashback scenes were when the protagonist (Sarah) was a young child i decided to include this to convey the scientific element to the story, however when talking to Adam he advised me to open my story as Sarah as a zombie and then change into Sarah as a human (the flash back scenes) and to make present day as Sarah as a zombie in the haunted house. I agreed with this decision as I thought it would create a binary opposite also add to the enigma. He said that one effective way to show the connection between zombie Sarah and human Sarah is by using a physical icon of Sarah which when she sees/touches she becomes nostalgic and then has a flash back. 

I think this makes it more clear as to how Sarah ends up in the haunted house and what role and significance she has in film.

Radio trailer script (draft)

Radio trailer script (draft)

Audience feedback on poster

 

Poster draft

 

Initial ideas for poster

These are the initatil plans for the way I would like my poster: 
                                                                    

Youtube clips about camera work

These are a few youtube clips that I have watched on tips of filming and the type of angles along with camera shots in practise:

 

There are many tips which I will be using form these clips in my short film, I will make sure I pre-set the settings on the camera I will be using (Cannon 600D). I will adjust the Aperture and ISO to make it look as professional, also I will think carefully about the composition of my shots to ensure the angles are correct and I have a range of shots.

Preliminary task- film

Anamatic

\\

This is the animated version of what I want my final product to look like.

Final script

The Placebo

Updating my script using Celtx

Learning about camera work

 

During a class lesson we learnt how to set up, use and handle a camera and filming equipment.

We were taught the rulings of filming and how to take a shot- the 3 aesthetic rules: rule of thirds, lead room and head room.

Rule of thirds:

Rule of thirds involves dividing an image 3x3 the four points by the intersections of these lines can be used to align the features of the image.

When the subject is placed in the middle of the gird it makes the subject more dominant and makes it the most important thing in the shot. Aligning the subject onto one of the points creates tension, energy and interest in the photo making it visually attractive.

Lead room:

The lead room refers to the space in front and the direction in which the moving object is facing towards. When the human eye scans an image it expects to see a bit at the front of the subject.
For example a shot of a moving car, there would be space at the front to show that the car is not stationary and is moving, the space shows the direction is it travelling and also that it is moving.

Headroom:

Headroom refers to specifically the distance between the head and the top of the frame.
The amount of headroom that is considered physically attractive is a dynamic quantity; which changes according to the amount of space the subject is taking up. Headroom changes according to camera zoom, the closer the subject the less headroom needed.

White balance:

This is the method by which the camera knows the main source of light this is so an accurate representation is the true colours in a scene, this is done by matching the colour temperature to the light source.
White balance is required so that the camera can adjust to the lighting and temperature of the room, this is very important when moving from inside and outside as the colour temperatures are very different. This can be set both manually and automatically on a camera.

Depth of field:

The distance between 2 subjects in which one is more shaper than the other which is in a shallow focus. There can be small depth of field shots which give a shallow focus, where everything the background except the foreground is in focus. Whereas, shots with a greater depth of field there is deep focus where the subject in the foreground is blurred and the subject in the foreground is in focus so you can clearly see what’s in the background.

28 Days Later- trailer analysis

28 Days Later- trailer analysis

I decided to analyse the film trailer of 28 days later, as it is in my own sub-genre of zombie horror.

Some of the key elements in a trailer picked upon are that almost all trailers include the production company right in the beginning, so for this film the logo for ‘FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES’ was presented to make the organisations that contributed to the film known. The director’s name is another key convention of a trailer, which is included here as well as the credit in the end.

Aside from the conventions of a film trailer I have come to understand that the occasional use of wording is very important although the visual is available, in my opinion when there is writing it leads the audience gets them to think about what the director wants them to think about in relation to the visual. In 28 Days later key points were noted down such as ‘the first day’ ‘day 5’ ’28 Days’ and all that comes after relates to the fist day of the zombie take over to the last, the constant reminder in words excites and heightens the audience’s experience as it’s gripping and working both the imaginative and logical side of your brain.

The shots used for the trailer are often the raw and gripping parts of the film, which effectively sell the movie in general.  Within the first 30 seconds along with sounds, the trailer grips the audience’s attention by including graphic scenes such as a tragic fire and a naked man in a hospital bed. Another factor which makes the trailer exciting and intriguing to watch is the length of each shot, for example when it came to ‘Day 22’ most of the scenes were fast paced and passed in a glimpse, long enough to focus on detail however, when it comes to the naked man in the hospital bed, detail is drawn to that as the shots change from high/long distance/birds eye view to extreme close up and slow shots and then the pace is picked up again after the main character is revealed. Although the pace picks up the transitions are not as rigid and sharp as before there is a unique smooth flow in the shots not as intense but equally gripping. I have noticed that in this trailer after the plot is explained- a little context given to the situation the shots again begin to pick up and become rigid, sharp and the sound also intensifies. The trailer consists of a range of subtle to very graphic scenes drawing in all types of audiences.

The use of audio in this film trailer is very important. Sound is not only used clearly but also manipulated to interlink with the visual that increases the excitement levels. The very intense and loud eerie sounds are used straight away in the trailer, sounds of screeches and wails on top of the hollow, metallic and strong sound effects. As an audience I think it’s to grab the attention of the audience from the beginning and to bring the attention of not everyone who watches it but to the correct target audience as from the beginning the audience are fully aware that the film contains graphic and strong sounds which does not appeal to everyone. There are varying sounds when the words are presented on the screen ‘Day 3/15/28’ which are different to the diegetic sounds that are more harsh. In the trailer there are moments of silences with extremely low levels of ambient sound. The mode of address just form one character in the trailer varies from a sound of helplessness to confusion to sinister in the end brings an edgy atmosphere of self conflicting and gives the trailer a personality of distraught. Almost half way the soundtrack comes in, which is a contrapuntal music as it brings gaming/competition style music that could relate to the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’ in the dystopian society they are part of. Towards the end of the trailer, more and more speech form the film presented, almost like reeling in the audiences bit by bit by giving more information each time regarding the plot. Towards the very end, from 1:40s- 1:50s there is 10 seconds of slow, emotional music that makes the whole event a reality as it brings you back from the surreal, edgy and risk taking atmosphere to real emotions being felt due to the context of the film- people surviving an infection and then right in the end there’s the same gaming style/heavy metal music, these two pieces of music together play with real emotions which makes the film far more exciting and thrilling for audiences.

  

Dead Rising- trailer analysis

Dead Rising - trailer analysis

Conventionally the trailer begins with the production company at the beginning. The trailer begins with news report is being filmed and in that, narrating the story and providing the audiences with background information to the zombie take over. The audience are presented with the narrative but then get to see it through also, in which immediately is shown in the trailer where the zombies begin to break out making it in your face and up front.

The trailer is spilt into two parts almost one where the audience can see what is happening in real life, long and short camera shots of zombies climbing up and down and then on the other hand you have the commentary by the news reporters in the studio. There is a voice over in this trailer- the news reporter saying all the things the audiences are possibly thinking. This is quite a different trailer as the music and plot is based on a video game and therefore has the heightened element of intensified violence.

The trailer has key scenes in which may be important in the film, the graphic movement and imagery of the zombies is shown throughout the trailer. The trailer has highlighted its main parts and given a short yet detailed summary of the plots using both audio and visual elements. In this trailer the audio used is speech, sound effects and music which go hand in hand with the gaming side to the film.