prezi presentation

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

One of the technologies that we have learnt to use to develop our media project was the Apple Macintosh computer. We did not have much experience using these computers which caused it to be frustrating to use at times. The shortcuts differed slightly from the shortcuts on a traditional computer which made it more difficult to use. For example, the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste were set to different keys (cmd c/v instead of ctrl c/v), which had to be learned.
   

The different operating system required time to learn because of several features, including the task bar being on the side of the screen instead of at the bottom. Another thing that had to be learned about the operating system was how to navigate the files to retrieve documents. This differs from a conventional pc because it requires you to search through the computer using the task bar at the top

     I was not experienced with some of the actual software on the computer such as Photoshop and had to learn how to use the different tools available, such as the magic wand tool to select parts of a picture to exclude from the rest of the picture.

Another technology that I had to use was Blogger. This was used for uploading progress of the main and preliminary task. This website allowed us to post links about our work and for us to edit the posts that were uploaded incase of mistakes

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

to edit our two minute thriller opening we used final cut express, while is was easy to learn how to use it had sophisticated editing techniques and accessories which we could use effectively our advantage on our piece.

In our preliminary task we hadn't many of the tools and techniques available to us on final cut express because we had never used the technology before. we have gained a lot more experience since editing our preliminary, therefore our final task had a more authentic look to it, because we had more knowledge of the editing tools. for instance, we had a grey filter put on all the footage in the video timeline.

we found that tools such as the fade effect were very useful in our film. the fade effect which we had placed at the end of one of the clips between another, we did this in order to signify that a period of time had past since the last bit of footage which created a more credible smooth appearance to our piece

 We felt that music would play a very important role in creating the correct narrative and mood which fitted with the conventions of thriller. we imported two tracks onto the sound timeline, which would be used at two separate points.i learned how to change the volume of the tracks in order to drown out background noise (diagetic) or to fade the music so we could hear dialogue between characters. it was also important that the diagetic sound of cars was lowered as we didn't want to distract the audience from the story.

other technology we used included social sites such as: Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and tumblr in order to advertise and promote, to make people aware of our product. to advertise the film we needed promotional posters. pictures needed to be edited and made in to posters used the program Photoshop to edit the photos we had taken. i learned how to merge two photos together and add layers, cut a part of an image and paste it on top of another. these tools were useful when creating the black and white poster but izzys character remained in colour other sites that we used to vary our media formats that our work was in was the program Prezi which we used for elements of the evaluation

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

Throughout our project I have learnt how to use different programmes on the Mac's. One example of a programme I can now competently use is FCE (Final Cut Express). Below is the layout of the programme once our piece was finished. It allowed us to monitor sound, picture, text and music and edit it all until it was in a position that matched our ideas. We were also able to change the background noise of each shot on each layer to suit our intentions and further increase the quality of our piece.

Below is the audio bar. This is what we used in order to add music, and edit the sound so it was in time with the piece and also ensure it was accurately fitted together so it sounded as good as it possibly could. Using music really helped us not only make it easier for the audience to distinguish our piece as a thriller, but also help to build suspense and create tension. Following on from our feedback in our preliminary we used no music and the mood of the film was therefore harder to interpret. We used that constructive criticism as a positive and used it to improve our final piece.

 Below is an example of a Fade transition. We used this in between shots (blue bars) to show a time lapse. It is an effective way to change the scene as it is smoother on the eyes of the audience and not as confusing as some jump cuts may be. We used it after the three protagonists have gone into the shop to show that time has passed and something may well have happened in that time. When the fade comes back up Sam has vanished therefore allowing the audience to presume that the time lapse is the period of time in which he had been taken by the Pursuant.

 Over the course I have also learnt how to edit and upload a video to youtube. This is something that I may use for future preference as I enjoy online gaming. We also learned that for some low funded companies Youtube is a great place to advertise their product. We linked that in to Social Media. We used Survey Monkey for the first time to get audience research through questionnaires. We also used Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter to promote our ideas to a potential target audience where we subsequently released a promotional poster via Photoshop which may also have been placed on such social media. I completed a task on Prezi also. Prezi is a programme online which I had not heard of before starting AS media and it is a programme that I will use rather than Microsoft PowerPoint as it is more attractive and easier to learn from.

I previously had no experience handling a camera. Since completing our final piece I have gained the knowledge of how to record and set up a tripod in order to hold the camera steady. I will take the knowledge I have gained from using Blogger and the other programmes into A2 and the knowledge I have gained this year will enable me to achieve my full potential next year.

6. What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product? (Josh Jeffs)

The main programe we used was Final Cut Express, We used it for video editing and it allowed to do may things to our footage to create a better piece and a thriller atmosphere.

The picture above shows the layout of Final Cut Express, it has a viewer to allow you to view your footage after the effects have been added, a timeline for both footage and audio which allows you to move around clips and audio to put things in the correct order and fit music to correct scene. This allowed for us to take many shots from different positions and angles and edit in what perspective we liked best and when to put it in. 

  The Timeline above shows the audio and video clips for our final task, as you can see it is all in separate layers (top to bottom) which are separate audio pieces on the bottom playing at once and the above timeline shows the main footage with where the text shall be shown and at what time, the text is above the footage (the black squares) to make sure it is infront of the footage and not behind it so that it shows up when the footage is played. These Features allowed us to place credits over the footage and place music over the diegetic audio. 

      The grey area on the clips above represent the transition effect used to make the video fade from one scene to another. This was a useful feature since it allowed us to show passing of time with out having to create a huge time-lapse scene which would have delayed our filming by a long time.

The image above shows the audio levels for the music in the second half of our thriller. 

the dots and lines represent key frames which allowed us to edit the audio so that the volume lowers and raises at separate points. This was extremely useful since it allowed us to have the correct volume of non-diegetic sound (for example: music) when needed but still allow for diegetic sound to still be heard when needed e.g. dialoge.

We used video filters to make brighter colours less saturated and stand out less by using the de saturate highlights filter and this created a better darker atmosphere for the footage. 

The Video Transactions allowed us to make smooth transactions between clips, the main transaction we used was the dissolve effect, this helped us transition audio and video smoothly and make it look more professional. We also used it to show that time had passed.

Another program we used was Adobe Photoshop. This allowed us to edit stil images and do things such as create our promotional poster.The picture above shows our promotional poster, we used a black and white effect to create a mysterious atmosphere.   

We also used a darkening tool to hide the antagonists face, this helped continue the thriller theme and help create mystery and wonder of who the person is.

We also used layers to allow the protagonist to stay in colour to create the effect of justice and show that she is the 'good' character.  

 

How did you attract/address your audience?

The main target audience for our film is 18-21 year olds (who are interested in the thriller genre), this is due to the fact that we mostly advertised our product on social media websites i.e tumblr Facebook, twitter youtube etc.  Due to the content ( strong language, violence and scenes of a sexual nature) we felt that  18+ would be our main audiences as it was unsuitable for anyone under this age.The company ident in the opening of our thriller is intriguing to audiences because even though its quite simple, the idea of the camera and it flashing links to other themes which are delved into during the film; the investigation that follows the kidnapping of Izzy's character, the theme of stalking and voyeurism, both these ideas fit in with the conventions of a thriller and therefore will appeal to our  target audience.

The establishing shot draws attention to the three key characters first and foremost. The first shot is behind the characters which allows the audience to interpret that we are going to be following them and they will be the main focus in most of the shots in the opening. The first establishing shot also shows grass and trees signifying that our piece is set in rural setting thus acting as an opposite to what the audience may think as we usually associate the city with crime. The fact that the shot offers a wide scale view for the audience also allowed us to show the main antagonist the 'persuant' within the shot however in an unnoticeable state.

This shot is crucial in our piece in representation of character. It allows the audience to infer that the characters are students (school sign) yet also signifying that they are of post-16 education as they appear to not be wearing the same generic school uniform. That appeals to our audience therefore as our film certificate is 18 therefore people of the sixth form age will be a target audience for us and be able to relate to the story and therefore be more intrigued to watch the film.

This next shot is also important in the representation of character for our audience to relate to. The school sign in the background reinforces the idea that these characters are still at school but more importantly this sign is usually used for children to connote safety. given that this is a thriller this is clearly not the case .The fact that these characters come across as older in appearance does not matter as the idea of being a child may not be solely to do with age, but also with the element of innocence thus establishes their vulnerability to the main antagonist.

In this scene we get a clear view of the mysterious figure  for the first time in the shot. The music used during this sequence helps the audience to identify that Jamies character is the  main Antagonist. this idea is implied through the change in music; this is particularly evoked when Jamie is in the background of the shot and walks into a side road, the music heightens in intensity and there is a sharp plucking of strings as 'The Persuant' walks away into the side road (forboding that he is a danger to the students ). We felt that this would be effective in engaging and intriguing our audience as it is the first true indication of Jamies character being the antagonist and the music creates a rather unsettling mood and atmosphere which fits perfectly with the conventions of a thriller film, as this scene successfully creates tension and intrigues audience because they want to discover more about the Antagonist character as at this point they know very little. The costume helps to create mystery around Jamies character as most of his facial features are concealed by the tattered hat, glasses and large coat so as an audience we want to know more about the character.

The Church shot is very symbolic as the mood completely changes at this point; the two long paths emphasise the separation between Izzy and Matts character, but Izzy is more to the centre of the shot than Matt (who is to the right of the shot) so it is indicated that the camera will continue to follow izzy's character.  The separation of the characters fits in with thriller conventions as it successfully creates suspense as izzys character (especially as she is female) appears very vulnerable. We change the music at this point to 'darkness is coming, the music is very biblical and could be interpreted as an omen of death or loss and it links with the location of the church and graveyard effectively whilst still fitting with conventions. The fact that both Matt and Izzy are wearing dark clothing symbolises melancholy and could also be linked to death ( the attire of a funeral). audiences who notice the path Izzy is taking in the background will be stimulated and intrigued by the path as it is dark and obscured, the sense of mystery and the unknown forebodes at the uncertainty of Izzy's fate.

We felt that the over the shoulder shot of the Persuant watching over Izzy's character woud appeal to our audiences; the over the shoulder shot has the effect of making the female student looking much smaller and her back is turned so she is unaware of the Antagonist who is following her. Audiences will sympathise with Izzy's character, because the target audience is of a similar age to her character therefore will be able to identify with what she is experiencing and going through. The grave yard reinforces the idea of death and danger. Jamies character appears to be omniscient or supernatural because we cant see how he is elevated and also presented as more superior in the shot as he looks a lot larger.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? - Matthew Stone

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

Ideal Audience Profile

Age: 18-24
This is so that the audience can relate to the younger characters, increasing the emersion of the film.
Class: Lower Class
This is because the indie nature of the films production may attract people with more spare time
Gender: Male
This is because the films violent nature is more likely to stereotypically attract male customers
Location: In small villages
This is again to increase the emersion due to it being relatable to people living in an isolated place.
Hobbies: Browsing the internet/ into computers
This is because of the advertising intending to be mainly on the internet and on websites that relate to the rest of the criteria of the audience profile e.g youtube.com
Beliefs: Religious
This is because the religious imagery and christian themes in the film may be missed if the audience doesn't understand them

Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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4.Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product? ( Josh Jeffs)

An Example of An Ideal Audience Member

Name : George Smith
Age : 19
Gender : Male
Home Town : Cambridge
Hobbies:  George likes to watch both classic films and new films and like a variety of genres but mostly thrillers, His favourite film is Pulp Fiction, a highly rated thriller film by Quentin Tarantino. He is also interested in sports.