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

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

In the basic preliminary task the story was very basic and short with little plot, thus required only a small amount of planning, and no research. We blocked out some very basic storyboards. In the Main task we had to research our idea and put a lot of thought into it. We put a lot more effort into the story of the main task as we wanted it to be an effective and complex piece, compared to the very basic preliminary task. In the preliminary task we didn’t even consider the use of special effect software such as ‘After Effects’ because there was no need, where as whilst planning the main task we were decided that wanted it to be visually stimulating thus we planned to use a great deal of After Effects. In the preliminary there was little need to plan location, actors, or Costume, as it was so simple, a class room was sufficient with the use of two students who were free at the time, wearing whatever, however for the main task we had to think through the use of location, seek permission and check suitability, actors were carefully considered so that fitter with what we wanted to achieve on screen.

FILM MAKING SKILLS

In terms of film making skills, our approaches to the two tasks were very different. In the preliminary task it was adequate to use dialogue between to characters to tell a story and use very basic camera shots, this made storyboarding and planning shots easy, because it didn’t require much exploration of different possibilities. In the main task, although we ended up using a great deal of dialogue, we combined this with other techniques to tell quite a complex story, this made story boarding a lot more complex because we had to take into consideration two different locations, or animated sequence, so it was important that when we cut between these options, the sequence still remained fluid and made sense.

USE OF CAMERA

The use of camera developed from preliminary task to main task, in that in the prelim we simply used close up, mid shots, wide shots, and touched on point of view shots, purely to experiment with the different shots, and aimed to tick boxes. In the main task, although the variety of physical camera shots used was less than the preliminary task, there was much more thought and reasoning behind the shots, for example; we aimed to replicate the view a webcam would get of a ‘video blogger’ sat at their computer, which was the main shot we used, so this was a fixed camera, with lights beneath to replicate the glow of the screen, this worked well. We also used POV shots, of the ‘stalkers’ hands typing,

we tried different close-up angles of the key board and mouse, and we used extreme close-ups in the ‘stalker’, in a way that did not reveal his identity, but showed the audience it was a male, this worked well and kept the enigma of the character.

Another use of camera was the virtual camera we set up, using Adobe After Effects, but this will be discussed in the final paragraph.

SOUND

In terms of sound, the preliminary task required very basic techniques; we did not use any Foley work. Dialogue and ambient sound was recorded concurrently with the visuals, directly into the camera on to the same tape as the footage, via a microphone fixed to the camera. No music was added. In the final task, some of the sound was recorded concurrently with the footage, in particular the scenes of the ‘internet blogger’, Angel 3323 (played by Chloe), because there was little ambient noise to worry about. In a lot of the typing shots, and animated sequences, we added separately recorded typing sound and mouse clicking sounds. Also, music was written exclusively for the sequence, by me, using ‘Steinberg; Cubase SX’. Without the soundtrack, the sequence feels like there is something missing, and the mood is unapparent, however with the music, the mood of the sequence is made very obvious, and helps give it the thriller edge. The music incorporates both techno/ electronic sounds, along with eerie sweeps and distant piano; this reflects the technology aspect of the sequence along with the eeriness we were trying to portray.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY

The preliminary task consisted of basic editing, which required only ‘Final Cut Pro’, it was a simple case of ‘logging’ (cutting the footage down, into individual clips, and organising them before putting them on the timeline) and then positioning the shots and cutting them further to create a sequence, where the dialogue flowed and transitions were smooth, in order to tell the simple story. However, when it came to the final task we combined the use of ‘Final Cut Pro’, ‘Soundtrack Pro’, ‘Adobe Photoshop’ and ‘Adobe After Effects’ to come to our finished product. To start with we used ‘Photoshop’ to create the images of ‘Artbox’ and ‘Facespace’, which later using the ‘mask tool’ on ‘After Effects’ we cut up into individual sections, in order to animate. A lot of our sequences were either completely made using ‘After Effects’ or a combination of footage with animation. We had to learn techniques such as; ‘key framing’ which is positioning the objects, camera view, and text that can be seen on screen in different positions at certain times on the time frame. This is the basis of our animated sequence. We set up ‘Virtual Cameras’, that replicate a physical camera and they can be positioned at different angles, rotations and depths, to alter what is seen on screen. We layered two pre-made transitions on top of each other, and altered the animation timings of them, to create the first crossover between ‘Facespace’ and ‘Artbox’.

To create the effect of a three dimensional image, we positioned different elements of the ‘cut up’ photoshop files (the Facespace and Artbox pages) at different depths, and altered the sizes, so that when the camera was flat on, it looked like a two dimensional page, but we then moved the ‘virtual camera’ in and out at different angles, past the different elements, to show the different depths of the objects. The footage of ‘Angel 3323’ (Chloe) was cut up using ‘Final Cut Pro’ and moments of silence were removed. This resulted in unnatural, jolted clips, which we decided would create the sinister and mysterious effect we wanted. Finally all the footage, including the ‘After Effects’ animated sequences, was then edited in ‘Final Cut Pro’ and positioned in a way that made sense, and told the story.

Task 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The annotations will talk you through our use of technology whilst making the sequence, in particular the use of Adobe After FX

Task 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Task 5 - How did you attract your audience?

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Task 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

‘Angel Dust’ will not appeal to a niche audience, a film that appeals to niche audiences would be one that aims to sell to a select group of people. An example of a niche film would be 'Last Days', a film by Gus Van Sant, which is the story of Kurt Cobain's final days alive, prior to his suicide. The film was primarily aimed at Nirvana fans, and people interested in his death, this target audience would be 'the niche audience'

Angel Dust’s unique selling points and themes are ‘social networking’, ‘stalking’, ‘drugs’, and ‘murder’. These themes are not likely to appeal to your typical elderly person as they are not the average cinema goers, or be looking for a psychological scare, nor will it be suitable for those under the age of 15. One of the main catchment ares of audience, will be the social networking user, users of internet sites such as ‘facebook’ and ‘myspace’ in particular, because this theme features heavily in ‘Angel Dust’. 17 – 24 year olds account for over 50% of ‘Facebook’ users around the world, so this will be a key feature in determining target audience.

This is an example of the ideal target audience member for my product.

These are people at a festival, and share similar characteristics that would attract them to my film, which is why they are a good example of who would be my ideal target audience; they are all students, they all have Facebook accounts, they are of the age that would probably be curious about drugs, they are of middle and working class families and they have disposable income that they are likely to spend on a night out at the cinema. Most importantly they are of the age and nature that are likely to want to see a thriller film such as 'Angel Dust'

Task 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A film distributor acts as the link between a film production company and a film exhibitor, such as a cinema (Odeon Cinemas for example). The distribution company is responsible for the marketing(promoting and selling) of films, whether this is in cinemas or for home entertainment, such as DVD or Blu-Ray Disc and later TV broadcast. A common choice as a distributor of thriller films is 'Lionsgate Pictures', who distributed the popular and hugely successful 'SAW' franchise.

Our choice of distributors for our finished product are ‘Magnolia Pictures’ and ‘Brain Damage Films’. Magnolia Pictures is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution, owned by ‘Wagner/Cuban Companies’ who also own a chain of cinemas across the USA called ‘Landmark Theatres’. Theydistribute a range of films from ‘horrors’ to ‘love stories’, but the majority of films they work with are thrillers. Theyhave distributed films such as ‘Shrooms’, ‘Donkey Punch’ and ‘Pulse’. These are all modernthriller films that centre around a group of teens or young adults, not disimilar to ours, and are aimed at similar target audiences as our film, this is why I think ‘Magnolia Pictures’ would be interested in our film.

In the film pitch for ‘Angel Dust’, it was detailed that the film will contain an element of gore and horrific narrative, despite this not being revealed in the opening sequence. ‘Brain Damage Films’ state that they are a ‘company dedicated solely to scaring the hell out of you!’. They distribute a large number of independent films, from ‘zombie films’ to ‘slashers/ serial killers’. The gorey narrative and twisted plot of our film, is what is likely to encourage ‘Brain Damage films’ to take on our film, as it will cater to a similar audience to the audience they currently target.

Task 2 - How does your product represent particular social groups?

‘Angel 3323’ (played by Chloe) is the innocent, attractive, teen, ‘internet blogger’ and ‘social networker’. She represents the stereotypical teen girl that is so commonly seen in popular media products, in particular media aimed at teens, students and young adults such as TV series on E4 and MTV. For example ‘The Hills’ and ‘90210’.

Within popular media products, it is not often that the attractive, ‘blonde’ girl is portrayed as an enigmatic or intellectual character, nor is our character Angel 3323. This is reflected in her narrative; her choice of subjects is very basic such as ‘a recent holiday’ when she talks about recommended night clubs, which is typical of similar characters in other popular media. Her dress is very conventional for her character, such as her ‘pearl earrings’ and ‘necklace’. However, her necklace does slightly challenge the stereotype, in that it is a skull necklace, which is not particularly conventional.

We chose to cast a male teenager in the role of the internet stalker/ murderer, Lester 727. This is keeps with convention in that he is male, but that he is a teenager is very unconventional and challenges a stereotype. Traditionally this role is played by an older man, such as in the film ‘Hard Candy’, in which it is a male, older than the proposed ‘victim’. We chose to challenge this convention, because in the modern day due to the way people are extensively connected via the internet, through social networking, it is easy for anyone, of any age to disguise their identity and fool victims, so it is not just older people that people should be weary of, but how fellow peers could be just as much of a threat.

Task 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challange forms and conventions of real media products?

As with a vast majority of title sequences in within in real media products, the production company (our made up ‘Awkward turtle productions’) in our product appears as a separate entity from our actual title sequence. It appears, with animation, before the sequence begins. This is so that you know who created the product from the minute the film begins.

Our production begins to incorporate elements of the completed film narrative, such as the ‘Face Space’ and ‘ArtBox’ themes. We embedded several sequences onto the designed web pages for ‘Face Space’ and ‘ArtBox’, which suggests to the audience that these are going to be important aspects of the narrative, and due to them both obviously being web pages, tells them that our film will have an internet element to it.

The soundtrack we have used on our production was purpose written for the project by me, using Steinberg Cubas SX and Steinberg Hypersonic 2. It gives the title sequence the sinister, ‘thriller’ edge. Visually our product dose not come across, as a typical ‘thriller’ in that there is little gore, and nothing that is visually ‘un-nerving’, it is a lot more subtle in this sense, despite the narrative and suggestive elements in our product being very perturbing, the music makes helps it obvious that it is thriller piece. This is an example of how our product up holds conventions of title sequences.

With in our title sequence we use a lot of text animation, as is quite conventional with in a majority of popular films, as it allows the film makers to give the audience sufficient detail to interpret what the film is likely to be about and give them necessary back ground information, with out the need to turn this information into footage, which would take up valuable screen time.

Animation is commonly used in the title sequences of existing products, often title sequences are purely animation, as with some of the products that inspired out product, so we chose to animate the vast majority of our title sequence. Animation allowed us to create a sequence that would not be possible through just the use of footage and simple editing. We used animation particularly to create interesting camera movement, transitions and moving text, this is a conventional use of animation in existing title sequences.

Within most title sequences that use text and animation, it is common that the credits appear interweaved with the text animation appearing on screen, however we chose to keep credits and text separate from each other, despite both occasionally appearing on screen at the same time. We made the separation obvious through to variation of use of font, size, motion, transitions and animation techniques.

The title of our product ‘ANGELDUST’ appears in large font against a motionless, dark image of an empty room, at the very end of out title sequence. This is quite conventional as it is common in existing forms of media that the main title is the emphasis of an opening title sequence, as we have tried to make ours.

Our product introduces the audience to ‘Angel 3323’ and presents her as a main character; however she is killed off at the end of the sequence (this is suggested by the empty chair). This subverts the convention as; the audience assumes she is a main character, due to her seeming importance to the sequence.

We chose to stick with quite a conventional aspect of title sequences, in that our killer/ internet stalker is kept concealed and mysterious, we only reveal a few seconds of a very small amount of his face and body, such as lips, hands and chin.

Location

The location requirements for filming our sequence are; a girl’s bedroom and a personal office like space, such as a small room with a computer. It is important that it is possible to block all, or at least a sufficient amount of external light sources out. We are using a girl’s boarding room, which has a desk and a bed in it which are suitably positioned, so that the camera can be set up to include the desk and the bed in one shot, also the curtains can be shut to block out sufficient external light. For lighting, we are going to recreate the light of a computer or laptop, from beneath the view of the camera, to enhance the fact that the victim (Chloe) is an ‘internet blogger’, blogging to the webcam on her computer. For the room which will be used to film our ‘internet stalker’, it is necessary that it is easily darkened with a computer in it. We are going to use a small editing room with no windows, just artificial light, and it has to computer screens and a key board and mouse.

Casting Decisions

The choice of casting was pivotal if our film was to be a success. An argueably sad but true notion, is that; attractive girls sell films (especially thrillers) in todays society. This is particularily true of Thrillers, a top selling recent thriller 'Hostel' which cast many attractive women, which appeals strongly to adolescent boys, in which the female actresses are exploited to be 'sexual icons'.
Paris Hilton is not renowned for her acting skill, however, she was cast in the 2005 film 'House of Wax', in which she is killed. The reason for her getting the role is probably because she is a 'sexual icon' and many adolescent boys and young men, would probably be more likely to want to watch the film, given it has a topless shot of Paris Hilton.



So it was important that we cast someone who would be considered an attractive girl by the audience.

Chloe Roberts was a suitable actress for the role as she is blonde and attractive, and was perfect for the role.

Further Research - The Dangers of the Internet

I found a film that is similar to the basic theme of our thriller, it is called 'Untraceable' about a serial killer who knows that people (being what they are - both curious and drawn to the dark side of things) will log onto an "untraceable" website where he conducts violent and painful murders LIVE on the net. The more people who log on and enter the website, the quicker and more violently the victim dies. It is similar in that it incorporates the idea that the internet is dangerous.





The film 'Hard Candy' covers the idea of Peadophiles stalking girls over the internet which is similar to the idea our thriller is trying convey.




From these two trailers, have taught me that the sound of our thriller should be sinister with long held swept sounds. Also the camera tends to be from lower angles, with a low amount of lighting. These combine to create tense and sinister atmospheres.The casting with in the majority of thrillers is not a priority, with narrative and spectacle being the most important aspect.


COMPARISONS WITH REAL LIFE

During the period of editing our thriller, a story took the headlines 'Facebook killing accused in court', a man found a girl on facebook and got to know her and got her to trust him, subesequently he convinced her to meet up with him. He raped and killed her. This has a close correlation with our Thriller, and highlights the real life risks that social networking poses to society.