Jack Storer Final Evaluation

Evaluation


1. In what ways did your media use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The conventions that our thriller focused on include a restricted narrative. As in our two minute opening sequence the audience have been given no answers. Only know that a lot of people have gone missing and this man is collecting the posters together and that the newest missing person is connected to him in some way, friend, sister or girlfriend. I think this really helps for our plot to fit the standard conventions of a thriller as this restricted narrative and unknowing of the character helps to build a strong enigma code.
Also the use of Mise en Scene in our piece helped to further push this enigma code and help build a solid product. For example we took a lot of time picking the costume for the lead character; he wears a black pin stripe suit and matching trilby
yet he chooses to wear white trainers. We chose to use this contrast to make our antagonist a recognisable character the suit gives him a formal appearance yet the shoes bring him back to the norm a little bit. If the 2 minute opening was to continue into a full movie I would like to think that the use of iconography would be used to further push these white trainers.
Also the body language used helps to show this character is determined he walks solidly for quite a distance to this shack. In the shot where he rips down the missing poster he does so with meaning, he knows that this is his partner and he knows he needs to get her back and I think the facial expressions back this up, he keeps cool but knows what he needs to do. Another aspect we took along time sorting out was composition I really like some of the framing that we achieved such as in the sequence where the character climbs the gate I think this works well with the almost POV shot from the woods as if someone is watching from behind the branches.
We also took a lot of time sorting out the location and props I think this really paid off as the wall of missing posters looks really iconic, and really moving when the scale of this is revealed I also think we manipulated space well as this abandoned shack does look as if it is in the middle of nowhere, even though it is right next a house, also I think we used the editing well to manipulate
the use of space as it does look as if this shack is in
walking distance from the station. Our use of colour
also helps give our piece ‘real media production’ feel
as we did edit the colour in every shot to create a less
'college film' feel. Also we took one of the media
torches with us for filming and I think we used this
too light the shack well this low key lighting gives a
sinister feel and helps hide some features,
unfortunately like our peer evaluation pointed out on
more than one occasion, the shot of the missing poster
being pinned up is a little weak, I agree with them as the
reflection off the laminated poster catches the lens. All these
small things that add up to just a small percent of Mise en
Scene really helped develop the forms and conventions of
a real media product.
Our media piece challenges the form of a standard three stage narrative structure as we do not use a chronological order. This is quite common in thrillers and can work well to create more of an enigma code as the audience try and predict what goes in the gaps. Famously so with the film, Memento. Overall I believe our final product worked well which I believe has been reflected by our peers in this peer evaluation (see evaluation below)

• Holding shot steady. 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 4
• Camera framing 2 3 4 3 3 1 2 1 1 2 3 3
• Variety of shots 1 2 2 1 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2
• Appropriate shooting 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 4 2
• Mise en Scene 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 3 3
• Editing 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 2 4 3
• Varied transitions and effects 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 3
• Sound and Foley 1 2 2 3 2 3 2 1 2 1 1 2
• Titles and credits 2 2 1 4 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1
• Does it work as opening to a film 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1


Some of the main strengths included: a simple story, good use of credits, and good match on action.

Weaknesses included: reflection of torch on poster, and not making enough out of the
Shack sequence, needed more shots of the ‘missing wall’


From this I can tell that the effect of typing the titles on screen and matching them with the character walking was a success, yet things like Mise en Scene could have had more of an on screen impact. I feel we prepared a lot of Mise en Scene but it did not make the most of this with our final piece such as the wall of missing posters it took us a long time to sort out the fine details of this wall but this is not reflected nearly enough in our final product. I also feel that some sequences such as the train shots would have run a lot smoother if all the team had been able to make the filming.

I agree with a lot of the criticism but I strongly disagree with the 4 that we where given for appropriate shooting as I personally think the main strength of our piece is that we have filmed a strong opening for a strong plot line.


I think we struggled in the editing of this as we didn’t have a large enough variety of shots to play around with. I also think our editing time was severely cut down by the amount of time we spent making separate versions with the edited colour. We screened 2 versions of our rough cut too a select group of individuals and trued to use there opinions appropriately. (Quote from blog below)




“we produced two versions of our film to create one rough cut that showed the natural colour we get when we filmed and another rough cut where we tampered with the colour to create a darker image, we then got a group of 8 people to watch each version of our rough cuts.

7 of the people said that the edited colour gave a better atmosphere. as well as a couple of students mentioning that the edited colour helped our work step away from the normal 'this is a college film' style piece.

1 of the candidates said that the colour was too dark in places.....

we as a group have decided that this landslide of result suggest we should use the edited colour although we will have to go through and edit each shot separately to give a more fluid feel and carry along the narrative as well as continuity.

We will perfect this edit and then carry the same test out with another group of people

-Jack, Arran and Hollie”

We took this into account and our final cut was a semi edited version as oppose to the completely edited colour which the only one person disliked, I personally thought this was a mistake but the overall decision from the group was tone down the editing as the one person that preferred the unedited version was the teacher who would be marking our work.
I believe that if I could go back and change something about the process I would have spent a lot less time with these colour issues we could have spent more time improving our product. I believe that as both our peer evaluation and comments from our teacher on the blog suggest that we should have concentrated more on the editing of our piece. But I do agree that this colour change and all the other point I have made about iconography, Mise en Scene and the narrative structure helps our product look and feel like a ‘real media product’ and I believe that these common forms and conventions fit well within our plot line.




2. How do your media Product represent social groups?

Our media piece did not look at social groups in fact we based our story on the exact opposite, we looked at how a character would survive if his entire social group and everyone he knows slowly goes missing one by one. I think this is represented best through our use of camera work, iconography and body language. The camera angles such as the train sequence where we used editing on final cut pro to zoom into a selected area (the window) and dissolve into the next shot. This creates an eye line match which shows the empty fields using iconography to reflect the fact that this protagonist is alone and abandoned. We then further push this point with the shack. This derelict building in the middle of nowhere is suppose to work as a metaphor for the loneliness of the character yet shows the strength as this shack is still standing and I really hope that the audience would pick up on this. I think we managed to create a dark side to this character by using the low key lighting in the shack sequence and I believe that this shows the negative stereotype of the ‘loner’ as they seem to have a side that’s possibly a little weird. I think this is because no one knows them so you don’t know weather or not they are like everyone else. I also think the shot where Mark the lead character is stood in the shack using the window as a natural frame he is stood looking at the photo of his loved one who we now know is now missing. This shot really brings this character to life the audience now know that he has a purpose and that this determination has a reason. I really like this shot and think this helps Mark break the social stereotype of a loner as we are now getting to know him as a person. Another good example of our representation is the long cuts used while he is walking, yes some of the points made in our peer evaluation state that these shots are too long and possibly boring. I strongly believe that these shots really help to show the emptiness of Mark and portray him as someone who has a lot of time; I think this will help in the long run because as the film develops time will begin to pass quicker as Mark realises its now a lot more serious than he was expecting and he needs to take the law into his own hands to save the day.
Another way we tried to challenge these social stereotypes are by in the fact that this business man’s look is contrasted in both the shack and the white trainer.


3. What kind of media institution might your media product and why?

For distribution I would like a worldwide distribution company but not a major US name as I would like to try and keep this from the block buster mainstream. I think a company such as the French company ‘Europacorp’ would be perfect as I think they have a good reputation and have done well with such films as ‘Banlieue 13’ a French action film. And ‘Taken’ a film I think works really well as a comparison film with our thriller. I would like our thriller to have a theatrical release, followed quickly by the DVD release I think this would work well so people haven’t forgotten about it by the time the DVD is released this would also carry some of the positive buzz over to the DVD sales. I also like the use of ‘front loading’ where the distribution company spend a lot of money getting this film out where ever and how ever they can and this all hits the public at once as well as getting the film aired in as many cinemas across the country as possible. The only thing that would cause a problem is the fact that this company is based in France other than that this is the perfect corporation for my movie. And I believe they would cover everything from promo through theatrical and to the point of finding shops that would stock the DVD perfectly.




4. Who would the audience for your media product be?

As most thrillers I have researched and most blockbuster films this film would be aimed at 16-24 year olds-mainly male. But with the use of the love story and the fact that our character shows a sensitive side, this would appeal both to the machismo driven males, as our character has to take the law into his own hands as well as to the more caring side of women, I think that this film would capture the same audience as similar films such as 'Taken' a 2008 film by director Pierre Morel this is the story of "a former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter" (imdb) I am hoping to catch the block buster market of 16-24 year olds but hoping when they see this film it makes them stop and think. I would like to think of our product as more of an artistic film using strong iconography to create a more in depth storyline rather than the high concept blockbusters which are more of a special effect spectacular rather than a good film.




5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We used a few key points in which we used to draw in our audience firstly the idea of a Lone man, this would draw in teenage males as he is a good role model as he is determined to do what ever it takes
Other reasons I believe our film attracts this audience is a lot through the use of the restricted narrative, in this 2 minute opening sequence we get a lot of hints at what the story line will run on but nothing is directly given up, this is backed up by the concealment of Mark’s identity to start with this should make the audience feel as if they are getting to know him as the film goes on and finally connect with him on an emotional level and feel what he is feeling.
There is also an early hint at the love interest when, if you notice, the girl in the newest of the missing posters is also the girl in the picture frame photographed with the lead character as shown below

* see blog for image*

I also believe this key issue of a love interest is a common theme and issue that is covered in many films especially thrillers. The whole idea of saving the world and getting the girl. also our use of Mise en Scene when we where filming in the shack we had to paste the walls with news papers and missing posters, the fact that you only get glimpse' at the scale of what has happened/what is happening I hope will really intrigue the audience. The reason I previously compared the audience to a similar audience to that of 'Taken' is that taken is an action crime drama, and I think our audience will enjoy predicting and anticipating what will occur throughout the film like in most films that revolve around the idea of crime. A key scene that shows this is the shot where Mark is stood in the shack and he picks up the picture frame that shows him and his partner smiling away.





6. What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The main aspect that I have really enjoyed and learnt a lot more through this project than the prelim is the idea of Foley sound, this is a really fascinating subject and I think we got hold of the basics pretty well, we avoided making this a 'music video' as much as we can, I am really pleased with our Foley work such as the sound of the main character climbing the gate, this sound is a sound clip we took where we shook the fence outside the college but I think it sounds extremely believable that it is someone climbing a gate. Before this project I knew very little about Foley sound I think the only time I had seen anything to do with this was on the extras of DVD, I really enjoyed being taught how to work Foley sounds to the point where had complete control over what we did. I can also add that I know have a strong understanding of the uses of diegetic nondiegetic sounds, I also understand the way that sounds can be manipulated to carry continuity and I think that our peer evaluation backs up this point well. Another part that I have learnt to improve is the use of white balance, in our preliminary we should have used this a lot more often as the final product seems a lot more professional.







7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to this full product?

I think I have expanded my knowledge all round since the preliminary, both in theory and practical I have learnt a lot more of the technical side of film production as a whole as well as a lot of useful knowledge into thrillers in particular. In the practical side of the course I think that my understanding of low key and high key lighting has grown massively and I am now comfortable setting up an interview style 3 piece light set up and comfortable making executive decisions when setting up the lighting for a scene, in our piece we decided that natural lighting would look best for the out door scenes and used a ‘torch’ to create low key lighting in the shack. Unfortunately as the battery dies on the torch the lighting caused a harsh reflection as the light started to fail. But the harsh shadows give a sinister feel and continue to hide some of Mark’s features. As I mentioned in the previous question my understanding and abilities in Foley sounds have improved majorly

*Clip of climbing gate see blog*

As a group I think that we needed to put a
bit more work into story boarding as you can see
our story board is a lot different to our final product.
I believe that if we had created a more detailed
storyboard, our final product would have been a lot
stronger. I am going to point the finger at this point
and say that Ross was in charge of our full story
board after I doodled this one up in class. But this
was just one of the many set-backs we encountered.


Others included British rail not responding when we contacted them about filming times and timings with getting the whole group together
I also created a greater understanding of the editing process as we chose to edit this product in Final Cut Pro rather than in iMovie which we had used for our preliminary exercise I really liked this program and although we had some teaching on the program I found out that taking one session to just play around and investigate around the program gave me a much greater understanding rather than being shown how to do it task by task. I am really pleased with the final outcome as well as feeling that I have gained a much better understanding for the whole production process and the lesson as a whole.

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-jack storer