Q7 Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your final product?

During the Preliminary task, we found it hard to understand the 180 degree rule. We thought that we was not breaking it when recording our footage. When we started editing we realised it looked like the characters were both looking the same way and this is a big error. When doing our final product, we understood what was meant by not crossing the invisible line and we overcame this error quickly to avoid bad habits. The second issue we faced in the preliminary task was jump shots. We recorded a shot of the door then zoomed in on the handle. At the time we thought it looked good to add suspense. Now looking back it was not a good idea and looks out of place. When editing for our final title sequence, we almost made this error again by having a shot of all 3 criminals then a close up of the one in middle which would of made it a jump cut. Instead, we did a close up of another character which actually worked well in the end. 

One of our biggest improvements we made as a group was not breaking the 180 degree rule. We ensured we used the rule correctly and in fact it made our final product look better as it flowed better and did not confuse the audience. Also, we varied our camera angles around unlike in our preliminary task where we just used mid-shot throughout. This was a big improvement for us as it involved moving the cameras around and also editing correctly to avoid jump cuts like we did previously. our editing skills progressed dramatically. Our preliminary task was slow paced due to us leaving big unneeded gaps between dialogue. This made it too slow and jumpy and not flow. After understanding how to cut properly and put it together, our final production flowed neatly. This would not of happened if we did not increase our camera skills. We used more advanced cameras as we used the filming studio and needed to ensure we used them to the best of our ability. By using his equipment and using it right, including the microphone, the quality of picture was sharper. In the Preliminary task, we attempted to use tracking shot and it looked unprofessional and jumpy. We knew to avoid this shot in our final product. Due to our general knowledge about the filming studio enhancing, we looked into lighting and dialogue into greater detail. We took more care and attention over writing the script to make it fast and exciting. When organising the final product, we all had a role each and one of my jobs was to create the script. It was a huge improvement to the preliminary task. Lighting was a great tool once we knew how to use it to our advantage. By experimenting with it, we now know how to create different types of atmosphere just from changing the filter or position of lighting.


Overall, my knowledge and experience. my editing skills, camera, script writing, directing and organisation has grown due to this project and i know i am gong to be using these kills later on in life.

Q6 What have You learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Camera

We used the camera in the filming studio which was called the Canon XL1. I have never used advanced technology like this before and i learnt how to set it up, how to record on it and stop. I used it to film all of my my footage to keep the quality of footage consistent and sound quality the same. 


Adobe Premiere Pro

We used Adobe Premier Pro to edit our film and used it to add effects, edit the green screen parts and cut down parts. I learned how to cut out footage which was not useful, change the background on a green screen, add sound effects and music. I also used it to add titles and add transition effects to the titles.






Blogger

Blogger.com was the website we used to explain the process while making our film. We are able to add pictures and videos when appropriate and do weekly posts. By using this website, we are able to go back to previous posts and edit them if needed and add for information while the film is being developed










YouTube

Youtube was useful for looking for previous at previous title sequences which was similar to mine. Also, it helped to recognise the conventions of a crime film which would be useful for the audience. 








Powerpoint

I used Powerpoint to create pictures of my screen shots. I print screened my film , cropped down to the part I need then saved it as a picture. I also used it when I made a pitch to tell my class about my movie.

Q5 How Did You Attract Your Audience?

Q4 Who Would be the Audience for your media product?

Lucy Jones

Age -  19

Location -  England

Likes -  being with friends, listening to music, going to the cinema, hot guys

Dislikes -  Reading, people who cant hold conversation, doing homework

What films they like -  Comedy, romantic, chick flicks

What T.V programs they watch - CSI, Big Bang Theory, Hollyoaks

What music they listen to - Chart music, dance

My movie would appeal to this person as she enjoys comedy movies and thats one of the genres of this movie. She enjoys watching CSI so she will enjoy the crime aspects in this movie and will recognise the crime conventions in the movie. She likes going to the cinema with her friends so this will appeal to her as it will be in the cinema and she can go with her friends as it is aimed at that age rang. There is a 2 attractive guys in the movie which will attract her to go and watch it for them but she will also enjoy the story line. Each character has something special about them to make them interesting which is great because she does not like boring people> the music used is upbeat, just like the music she likes to listen to.

Q3 What Kind on Media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A production company are the people who actually made the film. in ours, it was myself along with 2 others in my group and we decided to all ourselves 'The Slightly Inbetweeners' Our own company created this whole film ourselves independently and funded it all ourselves.

A distribution company is the company which would actually put the film in the cinemas and out to sale for the general public. there are many options of how to actually produce a film. first, there is the option of going to a big company such as Universal studios. There is also the option of doing it independently and using resources such as iTunes or Youtube. There are also local small production companies which is an option.

An existing film which is most like ours is Starsky and Hutch. We took a lot of inspiration from this movie for the type of comedy we are using, costume and hair. The movie is based on a 70's police duo which is exactly the same to us. There movie includes some action scenes which is again same to us. 

The money to produce our film would come from ourselves. Another possibility is getting a grant. there are a number of groups which is keen to help young producers make there dream come true. Some specialise in certain genres of movies or target audience and I am sure their is one out there that would be interested in our film.

Our titles run in this order:

1. Producers - A Slightly Inbetweeners production
2. List of Cast:
1. Harry mercer
2. Jae Jones
3. Luke Bowen
4. harry Jones
5. Dom Harrison
6. Camera By Emily Jones
7. Edited by Nick Malings
8. Title - Chip 'n' Dale
9. Directed By Charlotte Brown

 

Q2 How Does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media mostly represents the police due to our main characters being a police duo.

We have decided to represent our social group by showing the police to be not very reliable and liars about how good they actually are. For example, we have shown that our police duo say they both have a secret talent but in fact they actually are just mocks. This adds to the comedy of our film. the police duo end up being hurt in the fight when in fact a good police officer would be the one to save the day and stop the villains and not get hurt themselves.

The mice-en-scene has helped up create this funny representation a lot. First, the wigs were outrageous but also typical of the period. There clothes were casual and did not have anything that was similar to the police on there costumes. They dressed typical of the period to show how relaxed and laid back they are about there jobs and fighting crime. The way that they act also shows how inexperienced they are. The way they hold onto there guns also shows how scared they are when usually police are fearless with criminals as they are used to dealing with these types of problems.

By betraying them in this way, we are showing the police to be good in the end even if they do not get to the end result straight away. in our, one of the police duo is hit in the face by a door and also gets hurt in the fight. But after the fight we see that they are victorious. So we are showing police in society to be challenged sometimes but in the end they do get the job done.

In the media, in proper crime films we see the police being challenged with extremely twisted minded people who think of new and inventive ways to commit crime that the police haven't even thought of yet.  In most films we see that the police always find out the answer in the end and go many lengths to get there. in ours, we have shown the police to sometimes be idiots but in the end save the day. So it is similar so existing representations but ours is a more comedic way to betray them 

Q1 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media productions?

Title Of the Film
This is a screen shot of the title of my film. This title is similar to the existing film 'Starsky and Hutch' so that is the film I am going to compare my titles too. First, the title of my film is in a groovy, funky, font which represents what type of characters the police duo are. The existing title of the film is in a jazzy font but not colourful and only uses white text. We have included the characters in our title sequence for the audience to see who Chip and Dale are. In the existing one, there is an image of a car which leaves suspense, but then we see the characters getting into the car.This is developed to the existing film. They both show the time period and help to show the genre of the film.


Location

This is a screen shot showing the location our film is first set in. The criminals are set up in an undercover basement which is dirty, dangerous and abandoned which is a typical convention of a crime film. In a previous  crime film, it began with a car chase so the location was outside. We have therefore challenged this location but I believe it still works. They are both similar though as they are both trying to track down the criminals and save the day. The original shows the period of the film due to the make of cars where as our don't do that apart from the costume and music. They both show the location to be dirty and dangerous though which makes them both similar.


Titles

Our titles were formal and very open to what they could suggest. They were a plain font and white which fits into the tense atmosphere at the very start. This is also a convention of the crime film due to it being mysterious and not giving any clues away. The transition for the titles was a simple fade which is mature and sophisticated, also not giving any clues away to what genre the film is. In the Skarsky and Hutch film, the titles are still in the jazzy font that the title of the film was in. This is giving clues to what type of genre it is unlike ours. This is us challenging the typical conventions by not giving away at the start the type of genre. the titles also appear quickly, like a blink. this is quite exciting compared to our gradual fade in. This is again giving clues to the pace of the film unlike ours. Crime films are full of mystery so we support this with our titles.


Costume
Our costume was very fitting for the 70's era and help the audience know the period easily. The costumes were already very funny and some aspects exaggerated. For example, the hair was exaggerated on the cops to add the comedy effect. The criminals wore dark colours which is a convention of ''bad guys''. The cops wore brighter colours which is a semiotic message to the audience that they are the ''good guys'' this makes the audience ant to support them and hope they do well. In previous crime films on this genre, they also wear clothing fitted to the era and also make it look trendy. The cops are seen as cool to make the audience want to support them.


Lighting
The lighting in ours changed de to the atmosphere and mood changing and the characters that enters. First, it starts off with the lighting being low. You can see where the light source is and that's from the lamp which is directly above the table. This is a typical convention as lots of crime films as this. The lighting was produced from the back and with the smoke over it, it seems hazy and grim to make the audience feel slightly uneasy. When the cops enter, it changes and becomes brighter with a yellow tint to make the colours seem brighter. this is due to the characters changing the mood of the entire film to a comedy and that the criminals have been caught out. in Starsky and Hutch, the lighting is neutral due to them being outside on a car chase. it is bright which represents the pace of the film.


Characterisation
Our characters were typical crime film characters by having the divide of ''good guys'' and ''bad guys'' that everyone is familiar with. We had the criminals smoking which is a convention that people recognise easily. By giving each of our characters an accent, it was also a convention that people recognise. The good cops were funny and tried there hardest at everything which added to the comedy and this is recognised as what the ''good guys'' in a film do. By having them smoking, we have used the convention and not developed it much. 


Camera Angles
We did not use many camera angles in our film due to keeping it a mystery of what was going to happen. Our camera angles varied from mid-shot to close up of each criminal to see there true reactions to each other. Even though they are all in the criminal gang, one of them hate being in it and the close ups show the audience this. When the police duo enter, the camera angles are varied de to the pace now becoming hectic and manic and the variety reflects this. In Starsky and Hutch, the car chase is fast and includes lots of movement so lots of varied camera angles are needed to show the pace of the film.


Editing transitions/visual effects
We used many effects and transitions in our film. First, we used transitions for our first titles. This consisted of plain fading in and out. Secondly, when the titles for the police duo were out, they changed to represent the true genre of the film. AS you can see in the screen shot, the title of 'master of disguise' is in the middle of doing an exciting twirl out of the shot this shows the pace of the film to be fast and shows the comedy elements. Also, we used the green screen as a visual effect. by being able to change the background easily to show different locations, it helped with the humour of the master of disguise being in a variety of different places.


Genre

To begin with, our title sequence suggests its a normal crime film with lots of tension, suspense and drama. The titles suggest this, the music and lighting. The acting is also serious and does not suggest comedy at all. When the police duo come in, due to the change of music, lighting and acting being over exaggerated, we instantly see that the film is going to be a crime/comedy. It still includes elements of crime such as guns, police, violence while also including slapstick comedy and exaggerated costume parts. Due to it starting to look like a serious crime film, it makes it exciting for the audience to see a change and allows them to laugh at the cop's expenses.