Evidence of time management

As you can see in my evaluation of the main task below, time management was one of the things I think we needed to improve. This is because we were set-back at the beginning of the task because of difficulties regarding outside weather and our audio. I have labelled each of my blog posts and you can see that each post is spread over a period of time which may act as some evidence that on the theoretical side, time was managed very well in reporting on the blogs.

Aside from this, we had storyboards that are also available to see on this blog- these boards helped us plan our time when filming because we had already done the hard work, so to say, we now had to put the plans into action and film the story we had in our hands.

Other evidence for time management is the blog posts included on here, such as planning for the scenes. The fact that we had planned well in advance for our filming shows that we knew what we were doing and at what point we had to begin. Deciding important factors like costume and location in advance really helped us save valuable time which we really needed towards the end.

Similar products to: Brian

Similar products to Brian include television programs such as:

The Inbetweeners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZlxbfEdy7Y

This is purely for the fact that it depicts a British teenager who is a stereotypical representation of a 'geek'. This is shown in the character 'Will' played by Simon Bird.

Simon Bird plays Will McKenzie

The Inbetweeners logo

We may also compare the television show which our film is actually based on. Brian Cox's wonders of the solar system was the inspiration for our piece, the character himself of Brian, is not based on Professor Cox- but he is referenced several times, so I believe it to be appropriate to add him in here.

Wonders of the solar system: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUfd7RLMScU

Prof. Brian Cox

Risk Assessments

When we were filming we needed to be sure of a number of things to ensure that we were safe throughout the production of our film. This in turn means that we should compile a risk assessment in order to enforce this.

Risk	Likelihood
The group should travel always travel around in two’s or more. This will ensure that nobody gets harmed by strangers, especially when carrying expensive equipment.	Low if in an open area and in a group, medium if in a dark, enclosed space and high is alone and down a dangerous place (e.g dark alley)
Injury could be obtained if equipment if not used correctly, can also be harmed if equipment is carried in a manner which is unsafe.	Low if all the equipment is used properly and carried safely
Tripping on wires or tripods that are being used during filming	Low if the group is briefed beforehand and care is taken

How have you contributed to the production?

I was the person in the group responsible for Mise-en-scene. This is definined as: "French term from the theatre that literally means “what's put in the scene.” In the cinema it refers to the elements of a shot—the set, the props, the actors, the use of color and light—and the way these elements are composed or choreographed."


This in turn means that I was responsible for a number of different things that I will go through now.

Props


This means that I had to decide on all the props for both tasks, retrieve them and then put them into the film. There was not much use of props in either of our pieces- for the preliminary task we only used a sheet of paper, which I got from college and my own ID pass which I have on me at all times. For the main task I provided the books that we used in the library- both of the Brian Cox books belonged to me.

Costume


The preliminary task required that both myself and Jack wear our day to day clothing. I decided that on the day, we were both wearing appropriate costume and we used what we had. For the main task I decided that Sean needed to wear a suit, so asked him to bring in this- (so that it fit him correctly). Mario, played by Alex- was also in need of a costume. We decided that a red hoody would be most suitable as it fits in with the stereotype of a bully- we asked for Alex to bring this in so that it would fit. We wanted to hood to be up to reinforce the notion that he is the 'bad guy'.

Location


As both of our tasks involved students, it seemed logical to have both locations in college. I believe this made it very realistic- we used various points in the college, such as corridors and outdoors to make this seem authentic. We also used a public library for a scene in 'Brian'.

Lighting


In the preliminary task we were filming outside, this in turn means that we did not require any additional lighting and used the natural sunlight (hard light). For our second piece we were inside the entire time because we had learnt our lesson from the preliminary task! The lighting inside was artificial light from the light bulbs inside the college, we also received some hard light from the sun which was coming through various windows.

From all of this we can see that I have contributed a number of things to the production, I have arranged everything that you see in the film and made sure that it all works together and is realistic.

- google images

Preliminary Task: Screenshots

Below are some photographs that were taken by Charlotte on her phone, they represent and show evidence for the preliminary task that was filmed in February 2011.

This is the bench that both Charlotte and Jack sat during the preliminary task. It is just outside of college and this encountered problems when the weather started to go bad.

This is a very long shot of the same bench that is mentioned above. In the preliminary task we also see Charlotte walking (in the Point of view shot) and this is close to the shot she sees.

This is the ID pass that we see Charlotte using at the beginning of the film, it is required to get in and out of the doors at the college we filmed at.

This is the camera which we used to film the preliminary task on. 

#2 of the camera we used.

This is the college which we filmed at. This was also a similar view that Charlotte would have seen when she was sitting down and talking to Jack (during the shot reverse shots)

Main Task: Evaluation

This is a personal reflection on what I think went well and what needed improving in the overall production of 'Brian'.

What went well:

• I believe that as a group, we worked well together and devoted our time to making our specified micro-element the best it could be
• 'Brian' is intended to be a comedy film, from the audience feedback we can see that it achieved its purpose of being humorous
• The locations worked well for the film as it made it realistic
• The costume added to the humour and suited the character perfectly
• We did not encounter any technical difficulties which would harm the making of our film
• The music that was used really emphasised the humour and made the film funny from the very beginning

What we needed to improve:

• Time management- as we got pushed back when our preliminary task encountered technical difficulties regarding the audio, we were then rather behind for the remaining time in the project. I believe that if we had more time then we could have perhaps made a higher quality video that was either longer or had more interesting locations. 

Main Task: The Video

Please see the completed main task video of 'Brian' below.

Preliminary Task: Inspiration and planning

In class we watched a few examples of title sequences  to give us ideas about making our own. We found that in many of the examples the characters were introduced in unusual ways (for example their name on a handkerchief) and the genre could be introduced through the use of music, sounds and the connotations that the audience can gain ideas about the genre (for example blood used on someones face can be seen as introducing the genre of action or horror. 

IMAGES OF THE TITLES

FILM		HOW IS THE STORY SET UP?		HOW IS THE AUDIENCES CURIOSITY PROVOKED?		HOW ARE THE CHARCTERS INTRODUCED?	HOW IS THE GENRE ILLUSTRATED?
Don’t look now	Music, voiceover, red coat, photo, girl dying.		Music shot of her out of by the river and then dead.		Girl walking, boy riding a bike, two parents talking inside.		The image of the picture running whilst the father is holding the drowned dead girl.
Halloween	The titles on the screen, the shot of the pumpkin revealing it is halloween, shot of the knife.		The killer is seen to be the little boy at the end.		Shot of them through the window and the little boy at the end.		Shot of the house in the dark and the clock ticking and chiming creates a dark atmosphere. The POV shot is used for the killer (little boy).
Kill Bill vol 1	Close up of woman and only seeing the man’s feet who is standing above.		Black and white. Close up image of the woman makes the audience wonder how she got there.		The close up of the woman and the handkerchief reveals her name and the POV shot of the man standing above her.		Footsteps, blood, close up of her getting shot in the head.
Stranger than fiction	The narrator and the drawings on the screen.		The narrator in the background.		The narrator’s dialogue reveals his name.		The comedic dialogue.
Casino Royale	The writing on the screen. The flashback reveals what has already happened.		The scene is in black and white. The flashback reveals the actions of the past.		The mention of ’00’ reveals he is James bond.		The guns and violence in the flashback.

Main Task: Audience analysis- Questionnaire

When undertaking the audience analysis the group composed a questionnaire. I have included this below in a written format which matched the actual hard-copy distributed to the class.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Media Questionnaire “Brian” – Charlotte Harbour, Rachel Davis, Vicky Hart

1.                  Did the opening make sense to you?        YES           SLIGHTLY         NO

2.                  Did you enjoy the film?                                   YES           SLIGHTLY         NO

3.                  This is a comedy film, how funny did you find it on a scale of one to ten? (one being the lowest)  

 1             2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9              10

4.                  Did this opening sequence make you want to watch the rest of the film?       YES                    SLIGHTLY         NO

5.                  Did the range of camera shots keep you informed and interested?                  YES     SLIGHTLY         NO

6.                  Were there any continuity errors that you noticed at any time?                        YES         NO

If yes please state what and where: _________________________________________________

7.                  Do you think it is a positive or negative representation of social groups?

 POSITIVE            NEUTRAL             NEGATIVE

Please expand on your answer:______________________________________________________

8.                   Would you recommend this film to a friend?         YES      NO

9.                  Did you like or dislike the fact that there was no dialogue, only a voiceover?         YES        NO

10.               Did you believe that the costume was appropriate for the characters?        YES    NO

11.               Was the setting believable/realistic and did it fit in with the representations of the characters?    YES     NO

12.               Would you buy a copy of this on DVD if it were available to you?   YES     MAYBE    NO

If no, why not? __________________________________________________________________

13.               Does this film follow the usual conventions of media products?     YES      NO

Please expand on your answer:_____________________________________________________

14.               Did you lose interest at any point, if yes- please expand?   YES     NO

If yes, please expand:_____________________________________________________________

15.               What did you think we were trying to achieve in our film?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

We tried to include a variety of different questions which were both open and closed. We wanted mainly closed questions because these allowed us to analyse the data more effectively. This also helped us because we wanted to included qualitative and qualitative questions too. 

Evaluation: Who are your audience? & How did you address/attract them?

This video addresses the questions: who are your audience? And how did you address/attract them?

As we can see from the movie, the audience I have targeted is British teenagers. This is because the film is set in a college and is about teenagers- this may help them to relate to the characters and therefore find it much funnier than someone who has never experienced it. I do not believe there is specific gender which would prefer our film, but based on audience feedback and the fact that both lead characters are male- I would guess that male teenagers would find this much funnier, and the feedback supports this. As I was observing when our film was watched, the males in the class laughed much more than the females and asked to see it again.

We addressed the audience by using a voiceover, we thought this would be much more effective and funnier. Originally we wanted a male to narrate- someone who sounded much like David Attenborough or Stephen Fry, but as there was no one available I did it instead. We have no dialogue in the movie, I believe this to be much more effective because it allows the audience to make their own story instead of us forcing them to interpret it. We attracted them by making the beginning the most humorous part, we used music which contradicted Brian’s persona and this has a very positive effect. Thus, making this the funniest part it probed the audience to watch the rest.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

From this task I have learnt a number of things, these are as follows:

·         How to operate a video camera: Before this task I had never used one, I had used digital cameras which were combined to make one item and I had used mobile phone devices. I believe this has helped me because I can now take this skill with me and use it throughout my life, I can also practice using them and discover new and exciting effects and angles which will enhance my work.

·         I have learnt how to edit a number of things on iMovie. Some of things consist of: Slowing down and up the film, adjusting the audio and adding in special effects. This is good because it means that I now know the basics, and can further enhance my knowledge thus making my future work better.

·         I have learnt that if you do not have the correct equipment- for example, a boom microphone cover- then you should never film outside on a windy day because it distorts the audio and makes it extremely difficult to understand.

·         I have learnt how to connect the camera to the tripod safely, and remove it in an equally safe manner. 

All images from Google Images.

Evaluation: In what way does your media product use, develop of challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Codes and conventions of media are defined as:

"The familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression. Technical codes include camera angles, sound, and lighting. Symbolic codes include the language, dress, and actions of characters"

- http://www.saskschools.ca

We aimed for our media product to be as realistic and professional as possible. We took inspiration from a number of comedy films and used the tilt upwards in the beginning scenes to add a comic effect. We started at Brian’s feet because we wanted to slowly reveal the rest of his features, we then added the music in which made this even more humorous

We have challenged the usual media conventions because we have stereotyped two people to the absolute maximum, we did this purely for a comic effect- as you can see from the audience feedback, this has been entirely successful and if this were to be distributed for real- then it would be a hit with the support of the target market.

Google Images

Evaluation: Questions via Animation

The following video addresses the questions: "What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?" and "What have you learnt in progression from the preliminary task to the main task?"

You may also watch the same video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khpgk991z2A if the video is not working.

Following on from the movie I have made, I would like to talk about what kind of media institution may distribute my product. As I mentioned, a firm such as Entertainment Film may do this- they are very well known in the UK and have distributed television programs such as ‘The Inbetweeners’. This is exactly the type of company we need to target because the shows that they are known for distributing are comedies, just as Brian is. 

 Entertainment Film Site

Here is a link to the Entertainment Film website: http://www.entertainmentfilms.co.uk/ 

Entertainment has had further success with other big box office hits such as Gangs of New York, Hairspray, Sex and the City ,Saw, 17 Again and The Final Destination franchise and British films such as Stormbreaker, Run Fat Boy Run and St Trinian’s 1 & 2.

There is a previous post in my archives which addresses the question further on what I have learnt from my preliminary task, it can be seen here: http://charlotteharbour.blogspot.com/2011/02/three-things-i-have-learnt.html

Main Task: Audience analysis- Graphs

Below are graphs which represent the audience feedback I collated in a previous post, this visual aide helps show the overall consensus. 

1. This graph shows whether or not the audience believed 'Brian' followed conventions, as we can see 8 out of 9 people believed that it did.

2. This graph shows whether the audience thought that the angles used in 'Brian' kept them interested and informed. There were three options for this question and as we can see that overall, the angles did keep them interested.

3. This pie chart shows whether or not the opening of the film created suspense and encouraged them to watch the rest. This was a very successful result and we can see that 100% of the people asked wanted to watch the rest of the film.

4. This graph shows the results when asking the audience if they would buy a copy of 'Brian' on DVD if it were available. We can see that overall the audience would buy a copy, with 6 saying yes, 2 saying maybe and 1 saying no.

5. This graph shows the results when asking the audience if they enjoyed the film. We can see that there is no question about the results, as 100% of the people questioned enjoyed watching the opening to our film.

6. This final graph shows whether or not the opening of the film made sense to the audience. This is an overall positive result as it shows that over 70% of people did understand (7 people)- with the other 30% saying 'slightly' (3 people).

Evaluation: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our short film depicts a stereotypical representation of a British teenage male who is academically successful and intelligent. The typical derogatory word for this persona may be: ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’. We have represented this character, Brian, comically by dressing him in clothing that provokes a humorous response. As well as this we have forced him to portray entertaining mannerisms which again provoke a positive response from the audience. Brian is an ambitious person who doesn't have much luck with friends, this may be considered a negative representation because it suggests that this social group is not liked by others and may be seen as discriminative.

We have also represented another type of social group: bullies. This is shown through our character, Mario. Mario’s costume consists of trainers, baggy clothes and a hat. This is a stereotypical representation of a bully- I believe it is difficult to judge whether or not this is a positive or negative representation because a bully is a negative character anyway; therefore some may say it is positive because it shows that a bully is not a nice person, but it may be negative because it suggests that everyone who wears this costume is a bully.

Define 'Geek' : (courtesy of Wikipedia) "The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to be overly intellectual"

"Bullying is a form of abuse. It involves repeated acts over time attempting to create or enforce one person's (or group's) power over another person (or group) , thus an "imbalance of power" - Wikipedia