Research and Planning

Research and planning

What real media and audiences did we look at - In the idea and production process of our film we were focused on was horror films and horror trailers this helped us develop and come up with our ideas. the film that we all enjoys watching the most was the woman in black we found that this type of horror film was best suited for us as we then started to research different types of horror film audience and what stereotypical aspects are in horror and what the audience of this genre likes to see. for an improvement this year we would explore different types of media such as online horror websites and analyses posters and tv horror shows as well to retrieve more information and knowledge to enhance our performance.

how did they inform your thinking about your media production - once looking at other horror productions it gave us more information and key features that we knew would improve our film. for example before looking at different horror films we were unsure on how we would make our own production horror worthy, as in including things like jump scares and tense scenes.  it also made us more aware of the different aged groups for horror and whats needed for a certain aged groups. One we completed our production as a group we were aware that there could changes made for next time improve our production that we were informed by after the film making. firstly after watching the films we were informed of the different camera angles to create different effects for our genre. this would make huge improvements t6o how our trailer this year is seen. another improvement for this year would be to add more stereotypical horror film themes such as more jumps scares and tense moments we were informed by the key factors when we carried out our research.

How did we record all the research - When we were carring out reserch during the idea prosses of our film we maid different mind maps and written plans to store our ideas. we wrote down a varity of different ideas then eliminated the ones we didnt like. and improvemt for this year when we make the trailer wouyld be to reserch more in depth and detailed so that our production process would run smoother and easier so that we would get a better and more proffietional finish. another thing that we would do is use more helpfull equipment to store our ideas for example on a safe computer document or a seprerted book so that we donty get confused or lose our ideas.

What primary research was undertaken - during our idea process and production process we carried out a lot of primary research to find out new information for our type of film that we were filming. for example we needed to find out what camera shots and angles would be good to use for horror films. another piece of primary research that we done was the different types of editing transitions would look best in horror films. this research was very important in the process as it helped us understand and gain new knowledge in the genre we were focusing on but there are improvements that could of been made that we will make this year for our trailer for example  as a group we could of carried out more primary research for our aged genre like what type of aspects in a 15 rated horror are most common. What secondary research was undertaken - once we had completed our primary research we needed know know the best ways to carry out the ideas that we had for example once we researched the different camera types of camera angles in horror films we then needed to know what was the best way to get that type of camera angle and the best way to film and capture it. also we needed to know what editing software was ended for the transitions we wanted to get. this type of research i found most helpful as it developed our understanding of these different skills.

What is the effectiveness of these kinds of research - both primary and secondary research are very helpful types of research. primary allowed us to discover new types of media techniques and filming techniques that would benefit us in a positive way. secondary research
is also very useful because it then helps us develop the knowledge that we found out. for example we found different types of camera shots for our film but we were still not sure the best way to capture then shots so these both types of researched helped us develop our skills as a whole. this year we have been assind to make a trailer to improve this we would do more primary and secondary research this was we would develop our skills more and make a better production this year.

How effectively was the story board and shot list and scripted followed - All of these three were very effective in the production process of our film, firstly the story board was very effective and helpful as it allowed us to structure our film scene by scene this made the filming process a lot easier and clear as we knew what order to film in we also added notes by the side of each scene that told us what camera shot was being used for each scene this was also very helpful. the scripted was one of the most helpful; pieces when filming as it made the scenes look more natural as were went just standing there wondering what to say. also by having a script we were able to structure the dialogue if we thought it is suited for a certain scene.

IT trailer analysis - Horror

Trailer analysis

the film IT is a horror genre that was organically released in 1990  and influenced and based on the novel by Stephan king the remake of the film that is going to be released this year. Stephan kings name is shown in the trailer this is a unique selling for the film as he is know in the horror film industry to fans which make them automatically think that its going to be a good film. the new IT film is being directed by Andrés Muschietti  and he has used the some of the same features that where in the old IT film. for example the clown stalking children and that the clown lives in drains this was the same story line as the older version of the film. this will have a large impact on the success of the film as more people enjoyed the original film as it was such a huge success.

due to the violent and horrific nature to the film the target audience is of a younger adult. but due to the original film more older people are more interested in it due to the remake from Stephan king novel.This trailer conforms to the general stereotype of horror as it includes dark sinister settings such as drains. This is effective as it is as continence of the original film and attracts horror fans due to the scary and jumpy nature that it shown in these settings. the use of the non diegetic and diegtetic sound is used for great effect in the trailer as it it used to build tension and make the scenes more intense are scary. for example the non diegtic sound would build up that stop for dialogue then a loud non digetic sound would burst through to scare the audience. without out the use of sound in the clip it would ruin the feel of a horror genre as it wouldn't be able to research the dramatic events with good impact.

In the past few years clowns have been seen as more scary dangerous figures rather than a happy funny character. This was influenced by the recent craze of clowns attaching people in different places around the world. Taking this into account the director new that people would now associate clowns as being more sinister which makes the new film more scary.

In the trailer the editing used throughout has is fade to black this is very effective in this type of genre as it make the cut from scene to scene more intense. the title of the film then fades in at the end as the last scene turns dark due to the setting this makes the title fade in with more of a natural look but still with good impact.

The use of the setting in the trailer is most effective as its set in an ordinary town in america, as its et in such a natural environment it gives the film a higher scenes of realism which comes across to the audience as being more scary. As the clown is stalking kids and young children that setting of a school is used for good effect as it makes the audience feel scared for the children due to how close the school is to the clown in the scenes. The costumes used in the scenes are traditionally linked to the age group the the children so very light colors and childish designs. This is effective as it makes the children stand out more in the film as they are set in a darker environment. The clown in wearing very stereotypical clowning for what type of character he is this makes him look more threatening alone with the face paint that a clown normally wears the directer has almost mirrored the same design but has a slight twist in the lines on his face this gives the clown more of a stereotypical look as they are known for wearing make up.

In the trailer a variety of different camera shots are used for different effects,

silinced of the lambs

Creativity

Creativity

Media forms that we came up with new and original - One type of form that we used in our media project was an opening sequence we were inspired by other horror films to create this type of form. this is something we would still consider when starting a new project but we would also try new types of form such as posters and trailers this would benefit our distribution stage to a larger audience.

Where did our ideas come from -   Our idea of doing a horror came from as a group being fans of this genre we came up with the ideas for our film ideas through watch different types of horror film opening sequences and seeing what was popular in the genre. As a group we wanted to include features of stereotypical horror films as we knew this we intriguing
and draw the right target audience in. We enjoyed filming the opening sequence for a horror film as we were able to use certain filming techniques that we enjoy seeing in horror films. we were more inspired and influenced by more jumpy horror films as the scenes of the unknown was appealing and could be used for good effect when done properly. we were inspired to have a target audience of 15 as after reviewing some of our most Favorited horror films the age rating for all was 15. something that we would change as a group for our new project was that we could subvert the representation to surprise the audience. for example having a vulnerable character as being the man not the woman as stereotypical the woman is seen as being vulnerable and dependent.

Working collaboratively to share our ideas - when coming together to film this production we all shared our ideas equally across the group and all compromised with each other to make our film best for us all. as a group we made sure we researched different genres and made different spider diagrams to help us come up with the right idea. Sean and Anna both came up with the idea of the ending scene being in a dark confined space as they new it would create tension, then as a group we thought the best place for this would being in Shannon loft. the idea of what to film the opening sequence on was a decision i came up with as i had a camera that would be best to use for the production i put across the idea to the group and we all agreed it would be the best idea. as a group we could develop our filming amount as this would help us decided on what footage fits best for our production.

How did we change ideas in our production - one thing that we decided to change in our production was how we wanted are antagonist to be played. originally the antagonist was portrayed at being more sinister like and for them to be positioned in  the house, this idea then got changed to the antagonist to be seen as being more creepy and not in the house at the begging. we thought it would fit our story line better because it fits more to the age group and link more to our story line as they would be shown as being non verable and more relatable to the target audience. as a group we also decided to change the costumes of the some of the characters to more of a casual look we decided to also the color of the costume to fit more of a darker setting this is shown in our film as the characters are wearing darker clothing the antagonist we decided they should be in all black as it would more clear to the audience who the evil character is and make them fit the role more due to it being more conventional to the genre type which is horror.

How did you use tools like adobe premier elements etc to achieve something imaginative - When using this software to edit our film we discovered different types of features enabling us to change and add more effective to our footage.We decided to add a fade in at the beginning of the
opening scene which is a transition that makes the scene fade in from black to white this helps start the opening in a professional way. we also added font to the opening and closing the the film to show the audience who staring in the film and whats the title of the film this was also joined together with a fade tool so that the font would gradually enter the screen rather than unnatural jump in. This made the scene look more natural. another feature we used in our production was a zoom effect on the antagonist face this was effective as it helped the audience know who the antagonist was and also created as light jump scare due to the quick zoom edit. An improvement to the editing on our production is that we would use different gradations and styles of color in certain scenes for example change the scenes brightness to darker in the horror genre to create and darker scene this would link to the general stereotyping of the genre setting.

what stylistic techniques were used to appeal to the audience - After doing some research on what types of camera techniques where used in horror films we added some to our own production. one stylistic technique that was used in our production was in the opening sequence a dolly shot that was used to follow up the character to the next scene we chose to use this techniques as we thought it would show a natural look. Another technique that we used in our film was move in to close ups we knew this would be effect as this is a popular technique to use in horror films to scare the audince and make them feel one edge. To improve our trailer for this year we would be to explore new sound techniques as in the horror genre sound is a big aspect of the scare theme as it helps keeps the viewer hocked for that period of time and creates scares when needed. for example we would use the build up of sound to fade in and out of scenes to keep the audience feeling tense. Another technique that we would add is more stylistic editing this would benefit the look of our performance as the editing pace and style has a huge impact on how the scenes link together. we could use edits like pace editing to build the tension in certain parts of the trailer.

what was the intend outcome of our production - As a group we want wanted our production to have most of the stereotypical aspects of a horror film. when putting together and planning our production we included jump scares tense moments dark settings and clothing. once our film was all put together and was viewed by the group there was areas of improvement that we can include for this year. In our previous production i noticed that we didn't include many visible scare moments which we know the genre fans look for in horror films. Another thing that can include this year is a larger area to film due to the lack of space we found it more difficult to explore different camera angles and shots due to space. over all our production was made and seen as we intended but was just missing some areas that we will add this year for our trailer.

How was these outcomes achieved in terms of page layouts and camera shot choices - The outcome of our film was due to different aspects but the main two was camera shots and angles and the layout of how the production was set. The different types of camera shots used in the film was a main factor of success and and outcome of the film as we used some common camera techniques and shots from other horror film, these include close ups dolly shots and zoom in shots. these where all used for effect to create the right atmosphere at the right moment of the film. for example for the jumpy areas and tenses scenes we used closeups and zoom shots these helped us as we wanted to have the right shots for the right moment and we thought these suited best due to a group decision and influenced by other horror films. Next time to improve our production we would put more thought in to how we wanted the scenes to look and come up with more than one idea so that once laid out in order of how we want to film it it will look effect as we would test different camera angles and shots for the right scenes. this will be seen when the clips are put together. to get more ideas for our trailer we would focus on horror film trailers and look how their layout is successful and copy the technique in ours.

Digital technology

Digital Technology

Software used in our AS Media - The software we used in the process of our AS  media project was adobe premier elements 10 this type of software was used for editing our film. we decided to use this editing software as it comes with a variety of different features that helped benefit our film through using the different editing options to add transitions,cuts. Another type of software that we used in the production process was Imovie we used this app to organise our footage in what clips go where. to make our editing look more professional we would film more footage using different techniques this would benefit our film editing stages as more of the features could be used in our production. for example our previous production was a horror genre and there was ares that we could've added more sharp cuts and quick pace editing this wasn't used in the production as we didn't film a wide range of footage this would be the improve i make this year using the software.

Equipment used in our production - Throughout our production a wide range of different pieces of equipment were used for effect. the first piece of equipment used was a compact canon camera, this piece of equipment was very useful when it came to recording footage for our film the quality was at a basic level of 1080p and the fps was at an average rate of 25fps. In the filming process we also used a iphone 7 to record some of the footage in our production when looking back at the footage it clearly shows the quality difference in the two cameras as the iphone shots in 4k at 60fps which is just above average as it performs better in daylight and in low light. this is what we would change in production as the quality of the performance is very important. another piece of equipment used in our production is a camera tripod to make the footage look more fluent and stable. to make the scenes look more professional the positioning of the tripod can be changed which would give a better effect in certain scenes. we could also research different camera techniques using the tripod to give the scenes a more natural and fluent look when edited. something that we could use next time for our production to make it look more prefinal is a green screen this would allow us to make the scene s more dynamic look.

Pros and cons of software and hardware - Throughout the
















production of our media project we found that software and hardware were both very useful and key aspects of the process but once analysing them both there are pros and cons to both. firstly software was an important part of our media project as it we used to help put together and mold our performance together. the pros of software that was used is that there was always new things to be learnt as we got more into the editing software which made our performance and us as media students more adaptable and keen to learn these new software apps. Another benefit of software is that its a very time consuming way of editing and putting together our film which meant we didn't have to wait to use a more difficult approach to our film and editing we were able to get on with it straight away. on the other hand there were some disadvantages to the software we used in the production for example when first being introduced to the piece of software called adobe premier elements 10 as a group we were unfamiliar with this program and had to spend time learning and understanding how it works and used. due to the wide range of technical elements in the program for example the build up of scenes and sounds combine to make on clip became very difficult to understand and work with. another disadvantage to the software is that due to the editing files being saved on just one account we were unable to transfer or work on our project at home due to no access to the software which was very time consuming. Hardware has many benefits to it for example in our production we used two main digital devices to film on a camera and a phone these two were both very easy to use and allowed us as a group to physically see the footage as it was being recorded so this meant we could see the footage how we wanted it before filming this was a big time saver for us. another advantage of hardware is that we were able to learn the abilities of the devices in a more hands on way which got us used to the devices very quickly. on the other hand there are also disadvantages to hardware due to the size of the devices we had we had to be very strict on the storage capacity in the camera and phone so when we were film we had to delete scenes as we didn't have room for them this is a big topic that we would improve this year. another disadvantage of the hardware was that we only had a set amount of time each production time as the devices had to be recharged due to the battery amoung being very low this prolonged our filming time.

Technology used to create production - In the production process of our film we used a different types of technology. firstly we used a compact digital camera and a iphone 7 to film the scenes. we found that both devices were very useful but more prefered the iphone due to better quality. another piece of technology used in our production process was a laptop and pc these were both used for great effect when it came to editing the footage that we had, by using these pieces of hardware it enabled us to access the software needed to do the editing on by using the technology of the pc and laptop. another piece of technology used in our media project was a tv this was used as more of a prop in the scene as it acted as a scenes of realism in the scene we were filming this is heard and shown clearly in our production. without the help of this up to date technology used in our production we would of been unable to create and make our film as we did so in the production stages technology played a huge part.

In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production to the developed - In the production to development throughout our project technology helped us and enabled us more to reach are vision of what we wanted to show in the film. firstly without the help of the camera technology in both devices we would of been unable to capture the clear natural scenes that we did. as a group we also would of been unable to clearly look over and editing our footage without the guide and support from the laptop and pcs we used which held the latest editing software on them. overall in our production process as a whole without the help of technology we would of been unable to complete and even start our media project and even finish it in a high standard.the only way in which he technology held us back was there was no way we could've made the quality of the performance better using the technology as it was at its highest setting, so this held us back from creating crystal clear footage.