Welcome to Annalise Jones's AS Media blog

Our opening film title- 'The Trip'

Team members:

Lucy Wilkins- Camera, producer and editing.

Remi Kisson-Camera, sound and producer.

Beau Henderson-Smith- Antagonist and producer.

Annalise Jones- Protagonist, producer and part editor.

Voice recording of audience feedback for the film

https://drive.google.com/drive/#folders/0B9ZNKCzwdfAKdlpjMEZBMmFnR1E

I have done a voice recording of a member of our target audience who watched our opening film 'The Trip'. The link above will direct you to the page where the voice recording is. If you click on the file then it will automatically play the interview in which I conducted with an individual from our targeted audience. This member recently watched our film and this shows her answers to the same questions which I asked to other audience members but in a written form.

What I have learnt

By doing this opening film I have learnt a lot about camerawork, editing and producing.

From doing a storyboard for 'The trip' we were able to identity which camera shots would fit in best with the atmosphere which we were trying to achieve. By doing this planning beforehand it meant that we could try out these shots to the best of their ability during filming. We managed to stick to the shots which we said we would incorporate into our film from the storyboard. Some of these shots included match on action, over the shoulder and long shot. To emphasise these shots even more we learnt how to take the clip from different angles. We used both high and low angles throughout our film to fit in with the action which was happening between the antagonist and protagonist. From our preliminary task we learnt how to do the 180 degree rule and match on action which we then able to use in our opening film. From doing this I have become more confident with using the camera and finding which shots would fit in best with the action and setting which would be on screen.

Editing was a fairly new skill for me before starting our opening film and continuity task. I have now learnt precisely how to create continuity between shots by editing them and fitting them in to the right places. I have also now managed to add an effect on to the sequence which we have filmed. This has meant that the lighting of the shot could be changed to create the right atmosphere for the film. The main editing we did was for continuity purposes so that the film could run smoothly. However, we did add a dark effect onto the car park scene due to the fact that it was very light on that day which did not fit in with the rest of our shots. We also added music to our opening film. We had a few problems with finding the right music to fit in with the atmosphere that we were trying to create for our psycho thriller. We eventually found one from a royalty free website which we used two from. One of the music sets we used throughout most of the film until the end with the knife scene where we used a more tense, slower beat sound track.

I have learnt a lot about producing of films since making our opening film. We had to make sure that we were choosing the correct target audience in order to make our film a success. This meant doing audience research before and after the making of our film so we knew that we were targeting the right sort of people before we finished and would have produced our opening film. I have also learnt about what it takes to put together a film. Organisation is key and connecting to and being able to contact all members of the team is a very important thing to making sure that the film is created in the time frame and that the process runs smoothly. I have learnt to work with other people and how to assign people a certain role or task according to their ability. This meant that we could get what we needed to do to make our film a success quicker as we assigned each other roles within the group. This meant that the production of our film ran well because we all got on with each other and were able to get the opening film complete with enough time left over to work on our blogs, evaluation questions and audience feedback. 

Our opening film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlFzYzZzDpk&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=mrwaffleeyes

Our film, 'The Trip', is now available to view on Youtube. The link to  our opening film is shown previous to this screenshot of the title sequence on Youtube. The link will redirect you to the video of our sequence.

Analysis of Pshychological thriller films- Pyscho

Film title: Psycho.
Year: 1960.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock.

Representation:

• Females as the protagonist and also the antagonist are both of the female gender.
• The mentally ill, the antagonist seems to have mental health issues.
• The elderly, the antagonist is an elderly woman, a mother.
• The lower class, the motel which provides the setting is very run down and these are the conditions in which the antagonist and her son live in.

Mise-En-Scene:

• The colour in this film is black and white due to the time period in which it was made.
• The key props used are a shower curtain at the very start of the opening trailer and a knife that is shown at the start of the trailer also, this knife is what the antagonist uses to kill the protagonist with.
• The main  setting of the film is at a motel in America. It is a stereotypical shack which adds to the 'haunted house' effect that is shown in most psycho thrillers.
• Most of the characters in the trailer for this film have very slouched postures which could show their anxiety or tension but also the fact that the protagonist does not know what is going to happen to her therefore she feels slightly relaxed in the presence of the male owner of the motel.
• The lighting throughout the film is very dark which is a typical element used in the genre of this movie.

Use of camera:

• The camera seems to have a very slow movement at the start of the trailer due to the black outs between shots. This adds suspense to the film as every time a black screen comes on the setting changes, leading closer to the initial attack which the audience is expecting.
• There is also a tracking shot during the trailer where the camera follows the antagonist before the brutal action is about to occur.
• There are many close up shots throughout the trailer which emphasise the protagonists emotions. This means that the audience begins to feel the same way in which the protagonist is feeling, they feel a connection with her.
• An extreme close up shot is used when the antagonist is looking through the hole in the door into the hotel room where the protagonist is staying.
• Low angle shots are a common angle to use within  psycho thriller films due to the fact that they are often focused on the protagonist to make them seem powerless. This angle is used on the protagonist and the main male character in this film.
• An over the shoulder shot is used with the protagonist in the frame when she is having a conversation with the male, little does she know that this conversation could be the reason she dies.

Sound:

• The sound consists of one continuous beat which plays at a very quick pace to keep up with the actions that are beginning to occur within the film.
• The sound is extremely high pitched and screechy which is common in this genre. This builds suspense during the trailer as it speeds up throughout it and seems to change pitches depending on who is being shown on screen.

There is unrestricted narration used in this film with the addition of a high pitched spooky sound effect which reflects the antagonists voice at the end.

Media questions

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

Editing

• The concept of cutting out the clips that were not needed to make a smooth run between shots.
• Finding a sound that fit in with our preliminary task was very difficult, we had to make our own in the end from garage band. For our opening film we have now found some music that is not copyrighted which we will incorporate into our film.
• We learnt what effects looked good with the atmosphere of the room. This has enabled us to easily pick the right effect for the shots we have already filmed for our opening film.
• We now know how to create continuity between clips by ensuring that we place the shots we take separately in the right places.

Camerawork

• We learnt from our preliminary task that to get the right effect of certain shots such as shot reverse shot two cameras are needed to film with. We made sure that we took two cameras out when we went filming for our opening film.

• We learnt to make sure that each cameraman communicated with one another to ensure that we got the shots we needed/ they were filming at the right time.

• We found out from the preliminary task the shots that looked good and were really effective when watching it back and seeing the action. We have therefore cooperated some of the shots from that task into our opening film.

• During our continuity exercise there were a few occasions where the cameramen were accidently in the shot or other objects were without us wanting them to be. From these mistakes we have learnt to make sure the camera is only focusing on the things that we want it to and nothing else is in the background that we don’t want during our opening film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shots from our main task:

The shot types which we used in our opening film were close up’s when the protagonist was taking the drug, over the shoulder shot when the protagonist is in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror and also when the protagonist and antagonist bump into one another in the corridor, a long shot when the antagonist is walking through the woods and also through the fields, a low angle shot when the antagonist is standing behind the protagonist in the car park, we used match on action in our opening film also, this was when the protagonist and antagonist are on the car park and then suddenly the protagonist looks behind her and the antagonist is gone.

 

 We used a handheld camera throughout most of our film. This meant that the camera movements were quite frequent as we made sure the camera was slowly following the action and changes in shots. We made sure that are film also showed continuity like our preliminary task by filming in the exact same place and time without the actors moving but just moving the camera to different angles. We also used the 180 degree rule in our main task by switching between two cameras for certain shots and maintain the same line of action for the camera movement.

 

The editing techniques for our film consisted of lowering the lighting on certain scenes to add a more cynical effect to match what was actually happening. We also added fillers to make certain shots really stand out and create different effects with the lighting. We also added sound effects to the majority of the film and different sound effects for switch of the black screens between scenes.

We used a range of techniques for our opening film. These mostly consisted of trying to focus the camera on the main parts which we did by steading the filming process and also the technique of filming underwater which consisted of us having to get the shots right the first time as the protagonist and antagonist would look different throughout the time spent in the water.

Media questions- Media evaluation question 6.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• This camera was useful because it has really good quality and made our filming really easy to do. We did not have any problems with it not working or crashing.
• We used this type of camera to film most of our opening film.
• The flash on this camera did not work, therefore in some places we could not get the lighting we wanted due to this. We overcame this by editing the lighting once we uploaded the film onto the computer.
• The problem that we had with this camera was the fact that it did not fit onto our tripod therefore we had to handhold the camera to film our scenes.

 

 

• The tripod was useful because it allowed us to get some steady and still filming instead of the camera moving along with the actors. The tripod was also useful as it allowed us to get shots from different angles.
• We used a tripod for the scenes where the protagonist and antagonist were not walking, for instance on top of the car park.
• The tripod limited the movement of the camera. We overcame this by making sure we had another camera that was free to move around and follow the action.
• The problem we had with the tripod was there the main camera we used for filming did not fit onto it properly. Also it was hard to put up to the right level /height that we needed and put down again.

 

• We used this camcorder for filming the scene with the protagonist and antagonist on top of the multi storey car park and also to follow the antagonist walking through the car park and out of the door. We also used the camcorder to film the protagonist and antagonist running down the stairs.
• The problem we had with the camcorder was that it did not focus very well on the action, therefore much of the film we did with it was blurry and not as stable as the film we did with the cannon camera.
• The camcorder was useful because we were able to place it on top of the tripod for certain shots. It was also useful because it was light and easy to carry around, especially whilst following the antagonist walking.
• The camcorder limited the quality of our clips. It was also not very reliable as it was easily turn off or the battery would run out quickly.

 

• We used this phone to film the underwater shots for the swimming pool scene. 
• This phone was really useful to use because it allowed us to get the shots we needed from within the pool instead of outside of it. It was entirely waterproof so we could put it right under the water for as long as we needed.
• The limitations we had with this technology were that it would not stop filming whilst it was still underwater and would not start filming underwater either. We overcame this by pressing the record button before we put it underwater and stopping it as soon as we took it out. Another limitation was that the phone would not allow us to film deeper than a meter. We overcame this by making sure where we were filming was before the one metre mark.
• The problems we had with using this phone was the fact that the footage was not as clear as the camera because the quality varied underwater.
• This was a really unusual way to film as we could use it underwater therefore we got shots which we would have not been able to get had we not had this waterproof technology.

Blogger:

I used blogger as the site for my media coursework blog. I used it to store all of my blog posts and pictures from the filming process.

 

Blogger was useful because it allowed me to upload onto my blog via the app on my phone so I could upload from wherever I was I did not have to do it via the computer.

 

The problems that I have had with blogger are the fact that it will not work on the mac computers due to it being unsupported. Another problem that I have had is that it will sometimes not publish my work immediately so I have to go back to it and re-publish it instead of just saving it.

 

The limitation that I have experienced with blogger is the layout, the pictures which I post to my blog do not all show up on there; you have to click on the post before you see the pictures which does not show a very good visual layout. I have overcome this by posting some of the pictures on their own with.

IMovie

We used IMovie to edit the scenes for our film and also to store the shots that we filmed.

IMovie was useful because it allowed us to cut the scenes out that we did not need to use within our film. It was also useful because it showed us many effects which we were then able to see how it would look with our shots before we actually used it. It was also fairly easy to use and saved our editing each time after we shut it down.

The problems which we had with IMovie was that we did not know if it had automatically saved or not, therefore we weren’t sure if our work would all be there next time we came to edit it. Also we struggled to add the music from our documents onto IMovie and it would not allow us to put it over all of the scenes where we wanted the music to be.

The limitations which we had with IMovie was that we would not be able to access our film on any other computer or IMovie app apart from the one we first used to upload our film onto. We overcame this by making sure we were able to have access to that one computer where all our film was uploaded too and also fitting in times to edit our film when no one else needed to use that computer either. For example lunch or break times. Another limitation was that we could not save our film in the format directly from IMovie and upload it to our blogs. We would have to change the document of the film footage on IMovie to another form to enable us to upload it to our blog.

 

Youtube

We used Youtube to look at certain film openings and title sequences that fit in with our chosen genre. We also used Youtube to upload our preliminary task on to so we could then add that link to our blogs.

Youtube was useful because it allowed us to look at other physiological thrillers and gain ideas and inspiration from them. Youtube was also useful in helping us to get a real feel for the aspects of this type of genre that we had to include in our film opening also. We were able to watch the film clips on Youtube and then analyse them so we could add that process on to our blogs. Youtube was also useful because it allowed us to show other people our continuity exercise.

The problems that we had with Youtube was that it was not easy to upload our preliminary task on to  and it was even harder to find the film clip once it had been uploaded to Youtube. Another problem we had with Youtube was that it did not always show us the most recent pyscho thrillers when we searched for them, therefore we had to analyse the older films.

A limitation of using Youtube was that we could not access it on any of the school computers so we were not able to show other members in our group useful physco thriller trailers which we had found at home. We overcame this problem by emailing each other the links to these physco thriller trailers so each member of our group could watch and analyse them at home.

Google

We used google to research about our target audience which is 15 and over. We also used google to find our royalty free music which we then included in our opening film and to find out the key elements of a psychological thriller film.

Google was useful because it came up with many websites which had information that was key to our research. It also answered many of the questions which we had about the specific film genre that we picked as well as facts about the audience which we were trying to appeal too.

The problem we had with Google was that it did not really have much specific information about media filming in general. We had to look through many various websites to gather separate information that we needed to answer the questions in which we were trying to ask. Another problem was that we did not want to copy paste any of the text that we found on google to our blogs because of copyright issues.

A limitation that we found with Google was that a lot of the information that was on there was not really very relevant to our research. We overcame this by only copying text that actually fit with the rest of the answers we had for our questions about the target audience and the physcho thriller genre.

Facebook

We used Facebook for our media group chat.

Facebook was useful because it allowed us to communicate with each other. Since all of our group members had a Facebook account it was easy to contact each other and arrange things over this messaging app.

The problems we had with Facebook was that not everyone had the Facebook messaging app on their phones so if we had to contact each other last minute not everyone received it. Another problem we had with using Facebook to message each other was that if someone did not have internet access on their phone they would not be able to see any of our messages.

The limitation which we found with Facebook was that we could not message each other last minute as it would take a while for every one of our group members to see the message. We overcame this problem by sending a message to everyone in advance so they had time to read and process the information. We did this by sending messages earlier on in the day or in the evening after sixth form had finished.

  

 

Media Questions- Media evaluation question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

The genre conventions that we have used in our film link to similar films of the genre, psycho thriller. We have done this through the use of:

A protagonist and an antagonist who don’t know each other but have a mystery connection between one another.

The atmosphere we have used which is very dull, dark and gloomy. There is no dialect which creates a mysterious and tense atmosphere as the viewer does not know as much as the characters do/ what is going on in the character’s mind.

There is no sense of narrative in our opening film so the viewer gets what they are given on screen. There is no sense of knowing beyond what the character is doing at that point and the narration does not stretch to what happens in the final resolution between the antagonist and the protagonist at the end. Our opening film leaves the viewer on edge like thrillers are supposed to do.

The emotions of the characters are clear in our opening film. This could disturb the viewer as they may begin to feel a connection with our characters, this is a main convention of psycho thrillers.

 

The use of Mise-En-Scene in our film relates to psycho thrillers as we have incorporated many elements from our research into the conventions of this film genre:

We have used a lot of low key lighting in many of our clips. The main point of low key lighting within a psycho thriller is to build tension between the audience, the characters and within the setting. We have done this through making sure our effect whilst editing makes the film clips seem like they have been filmed at a low level of light and filmed on a dark day where there were many clouds, this enabled us to get a more natural effect and coincide the low level of lighting with the characters moods.

The settings we have used link very well with the typical settings of this film genre. One of the main elements of a psycho thriller is an urban setting. We have filmed on top of a multi storey car park which overlooks the centre of Bristol and all of the city buildings. Another common setting for a psycho thriller is a woods, we have filmed our main scenes in a woods which adds a very spooky and dense feel to our opening film. During my research I found out that a typical element of this film genre is water. We have made sure to cooperate this into our opening film as we are filming one of our clips underwater at the school swimming pool.

To relate to common psycho thrillers we have made sure that our characters clothing is dark, does not give too much away about their personality and provides a sense of atmosphere. The protagonist and the antagonist are both wearing black clothes which connects them in a more psychological way. Common characters from this genre often wear black clothing as it adds mystery and an insight into how the character/characters are feeling inside.

The use of camerawork in our opening film really emphasises our chosen genre. In psycho thrillers a lot of close ups and extreme close ups are used to emphasise the emotions of the characters without them having to say anything. The use of close ups and other camera shots in our opening film shows the characters emotions which relate to the tense atmosphere of our film genre.

 

The cinematography which has been used in our film links in well with other similar films of this kind as the camerawork within our film has been done to reflect common features of psycho thrillers:

 

We used a high angle shot to show the antagonist walking away from the protagonist. This built tension in our film as we view him walking at a high angle but then switch to see him behind the protagonist at a low angle shot. This adds a very psychological sense to our film.

We also used a medium two shot which is common between characters in this film genre to show the link between them without making it obvious. This is fairly mysterious as it switches between shots.

We used an extreme close up during the drug taking clip which is a very common shot. In psycho films such as ‘Requiem for a dream’, an extreme close up is always used when the protagonist is taking a drug to really emphasise the action in which she is doing and the true connotation behind it.

 

The editing of our film fits in with other psycho thrillers due to the fast pace and dark effects that we have used, therefore we have incorporated common elements of this genre through:

 

We added a dark, gloomy, atmospheric effect to the car park scene due to the fact that it shows the point where the antagonist is not a real person, just an imaginary figure. We made it stand out from the other scenes due to adding a different effect to it as we felt this was important because it was the turning point of the whole film.

The pace of film was fast and jumpy. This is due to the fact that the protagonist was meant to be tripping on drugs so we tried to interpret what the world would be like through her eyes. This relates to psycho thrillers as the main plots of these film genres are typically deviant teenagers and usually the viewing of hallucinations.

 

The USP of the film is fairly typical of psychological thrillers, however, we have added a few elements which are unusual and make our opening film stand out from others of this genre:

We subverted the typical gender roles within psycho thriller’s which are usually a male as the protagonist and a female as the antagonist. In our opening film plot which shows an element of stalking, it is especially common that a male is stalking a female in these types of films. 

We also made our film unique by using a wide variety of different scenery. We made sure that we used a variety of urban and rural settings so that we created different atmospheric scenarios. This meant that our film stood out because we tried to fit the setting with how the protagonist was feeling. For example the swimming pool scene reflects her sadness due to the fact that she is lonely.

Media Questions- Media evaluation question 4

4. Who would the audience for your media product?

We have made questionnaires and pie charts that have helped us to learn about what members of a 15 audience would want from films.





This 15 year old boy may shop in:


Skater shops.

Indie or hipster shops.

Young stylistic shops.

High street shops such as New Look for men or Topman.

Cheap shops such as Primark for men.

Online independent labels.


This teenager who is the age of our target audience may listen to music such as:


Rock/punk music.

Indie music.

Hip Hop or rap music.

Acoustic music.

Chart music.


Reasons why this teenage boy would watch our film:

It has a lot of tension.


It is fairly gory.

There are quite a few scenes that would leave this sort of viewer on edge.

They could relate to the protagonist and antagonist as they are roughly the same age.

It is thrilling.

It is interesting as you do not know what is going to happen next.

The setting may be familiar to the areas in which this aged boy may hang around.


The taste of this typical 15 year old boy who would be our target audience might be:


Indie/hipster style.

Informal, skater style.

Laid back and chilled settings.

The favourite TV programmes of this typical 15 year old boy:


Top Gear.

Car shows.

Music channel programmes.

Action/reality programmes.


’24 hours in police custody.’

‘Catfish.’

‘Pimp my ride.’

MTV shows.

Audience Feedback after showing our opening film.

These show the questions that we asked to students aged 16-17 after they watched our opening film. Two of the people we interviewed were prototypes of our target audience. One of these was a 17 year old boy. The other two people we decided to interview were not included in our typical target audience as they hadn’t experienced many psycho thrillers, however they were in the age group that we were targeting.


Questions that we asked:


1. How typical of a psychological thriller is our opening film?

2. Were you entertained by our opening scene?

3. Do you understand the plot of our film?

4. What do you think will happen in the end of the film?

5. Do you think we used lighting effectively?

6. Do you think the audio fits the scenario happening?

7. Have you left out any elements of a psycho thriller?

8. What is your favourite shot/angle during the film?

9. Have we done well to fit this genre?

10. Do you think there is anything we could improve on?

First interviewee, Shaunna Rees, 17 year old student






Answers to questions from above:

1. “It wasn’t typical due to the roles of the characters in the film. The setting of the college being included was an untypical feature also.”

2. “Yes I was entertained, it was good."

3.“I think I do understand the plot, the girl is imagining the man because she is on drugs.”

4. “At the end I think she will kill herself or she will die.

5. “I think the lighting was used effectively during the pool scene.”

6. "Yes, the music is intriguing.”

7. "No I don’t think you have left out any elements.”

8. “The knife shot was my favourite. The blood looked realistic enough.”

9. “Yes, the protagonist does seem like she is on drugs.”

10. “The jump into the pool could have been improved.”


 

Second interviewee- Hannah Heaps, 16 year old student.

Answers to the questions from above:

1.“The film was typical of the genre due to the unexpected actions that the characters were doing.”

2.“Yeah I was entertained because you wonder what is going to happen next.”

3.“I don’t entirely understand the plot of the film as I haven’t watched many psycho thrillers.”

4.“In the end I think at least one person will die, probably the girl and it will be an unnatural death like murder.”

5.“Yeah the lighting is good during the car park scene.”

6.“The audio does fit because it sounds surreal.”

7.“I wouldn’t know what elements you missed as I don’t watch psycho thrillers.”

8.“The shots in the woods are my favourite shots, you can tell a lot of effort has gone into it.”

9.“Yes you have done well to fit the genre because of the settings used.”

10.“To improve you could use more of a variety of music.”


                     Third interviewee- Ejaz Din, 16 year old student.



Answers to the questions above:

1.“It is typical because the film creates suspense.”

2.“Yes I liked the opening, it lead to me asking many questions in my head.”

3.“Yes I definitely understand the plot.”

4.“I think in the end the girl will go crazy because she keeps on seeing someone there even though the guy isn’t real.”

5.“Yeah the lighting was good when he goes into the car park and it darkens when he opens the door. You can tell it’s not a good place to be. Also the shot with the stairs in it, the bricks add a good effect.”

6.“I think the audio is good because it has a continuous tempo.”

7.“Normally in a psycho thriller there is an additional person included that the main character knows, like a side friend.”

8.“My favourite shot is when she turns around and the guy isn’t there anymore, that when I got the plot.”

9.“Yeah the genre fits in well as you have created a real and unreal atmosphere.”

10.“You could improve by adding another person that cares about the protagonist.”