Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction & research, planning and evaluation stages?

How did you use media technologies in the construction & research, planning and evaluation stages?

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Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from audience feedback? your feedback?

Audience feedback has really helped me adapt my ideas, especially in the final stages of production, as I needed to tweak a few of the areas in my products to perfection. I have also been able to design my products depending on how my target audience (males - 17-30) would react to it, and adjust it accordingly to suit their needs. Audience feedback has also been vital during early stages of production, including the filming for my trailer and the layouts and fonts for my ancillary tasks. After gaining all of my film clips I presented the shots and relied to audience feedback to suggest some ideas which they would like to see. Some suggested using inter titles as the plot and story was slightly hard to follow, so having been suggested the ideas i went about making the film perfect. After my First draft for my film, it was presented to the class. I took all feedback and worked on satisfying the audience. One of the main concerns was the sounds, however after the audience had suggested some ideas I set to work and immediately improved my film. Also the audience picked up on a few errors within my work that I had missed. So therefore, having constant feedback (another pair of eyes) has allowed me to adjust my work accordingly, and always improving my work.

The audience feedback also came in very help full with the production of my ancillary products, particularly within the production of my film poster as I had never made one before. I began by asking my parents, whom are both graphic designers. They made many good precise points which I acted upon ensuring that the poster was off a professional standard before showing my class mates and target audience. The feedback I received from the second draft of poster was positive however there were a few suggestions put forward. Such as the quality of my background image. I adapted to this buy taking another image and editing that in photo shop and in fact using that which seemed to please the members asked after showing them. Again if I had not received the feedback from my target audience my final piece would not be such as good standard as it is now.

Finally when editing my Horror film Magazine I relied on audience feedback as well as my parents feedback (although they weren't specified in my target audience). I set up a poll in Facebook where my friends could check my products and comment. I used all the feedback and edited as much as I could. After editing I would re post my product and repeat the cycle. Over all the feedback has been very useful as it has acted like a second pair of eyes, constantly improving my work and finding any mistakes I perhaps hadn't found. I feel the reasons why I'm so happy with the way my products is due to the feedback of my target audience. For this reason I have learnt that feedback is and listening to others will improve your work.

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

 Click here to view annotated version of this Magazine cover using Flickr.

Click here to view annotated version of this Poster using Flickr.

Over all I think all of my products are all very effective. They all follow very similar styles, from sticking to the same fonts, colour schemes and the theme. I feel that together all three of the products quite successfully advertise and sell my film as they are all very interesting, they hold all the relevant information and they are each have a very large impact on the viewer as they are simple but effective.

As I have stuck very close to the codes and conventions and tried not to break too many which may result confusing the audience, I feel I have produced very modern products which each sell and persuade the audience.

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

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Planning

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I have added this powerpoint to show preparation to my exam etc. I have also included information involving my trailer based on Genre, Audience, Representation and Narrative.

Final Film Teaser Trailer and Products

resolved, edited green layer slightly, added REC screen to clip. reduced the speed of inter titles.

Here are my final two ancillary products.

Here is a quick audience feedback example I asked using Facebook. If you can see I have edited my final piece so that it full fills the feedback.

Click to zoom.

Filming

The filming of my trailer was a great success, I managed to film all the necessary scenes with in only three days of shooting. I shot the film on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 (black).

Day One, I managed to film the majority of the shots involving both the swat team and the zombies as all the actors were available. I followed closely to my shot log and story board. Unfortunately the lighting was very low with the outside shots, which made it hard to see the swat team as they moved into the building.

Day Two, I self filmed the scientist shots as I had planned to be involved in the filming as a characture. I set the camera up using a tripod and borrowed a scientists lab coat from school and wore my own shirt and tie to symblosie authority and power. I shot these scenes against a white wall to give the impression of a lab. I also focused on making the shots here extremely bright and white which had a huge contrast with the rest of the shots as they are dark, which I hoped would create a heaven/hell theme.

Day Three, I finalised the filming prosess with a few clips of the actors who could make it. My brother included played a big part as he was the main zombie and a friend who played one of the two swat team members who was also featured alot in the filming.


Although I shot very early in the year, which may have raised a few possible problems, I managed to capture everything I needed and exactly how I wished it had turned out.

Final cut and logic film edditing

Here you can see the editing process I under took. Although this was not the first time I had used the programme, I did learn many new features.

 Firstly you will need to open final cut express. If you already have film clips or images you can simply find the files and drag them into the canvas. Here you can edit the clips and place them onto the time line.

 Here you can see I have dragged some clips onto the time line. The first black screen will only show the selected file. Here you can edit the length, speed, colour and with the effects bar you can add hundreds of effects to the clip. You will need to render the file each time you edit it by pressing cmd>r. You can also drag the clip to where you want. There are many layers so you can also have two clips running at the same time.
To disable sound press CTL and click just the audio to select it and then delete.

 Here you can also see I have included a Live Type clip I made. After rendering the text on Live Type I simply dragged the file to the time line. Fro here you can choose how log you want it.

 Here you can see some editing I under took for a film clip. I wanted to add a filter to the clip which I chose on the basis of other horror trailers. I chose a REC style clip which should show the audience that the clip was taken using a camera and it should remind them that t it was made on a handheld camera.

Here you can see Logic. Logic is a sound editing programme. This is where I added all of my sound to the film. Logic is home to thousands of small sounds which were perfect for my film. I used sounds such as horror drones and crashes. I also used bear roars for the zombies.

To add a sound simple create a new file and search for a clip. The clips are all placed under subtitles. I chose the title FXs. Here you will fine many effect sounds. I chose the sound Airlock which I will use when the zombies jump out.

 Simply find the file and drag it to the time line. You can change many of the features such as the length, the decibels. You can add many effects such as reverberation and pitch change.

To save the file so that you can use it in final cut you need to click on file>bounce. This will bounce the file to your documents.

 Next just click on Bounce to confirm.

 Here you can see final cut and my documents file. All you have to do it click and drag the file onto the time line. You an again edit the pitch the decibels and the length and live always there are many layers so you can play many sounds at one time.

Here you can see the sound which has been added to the time line.

When you have finished your filming and editing, you can export the film so that you can upload it to youtube. To do this you have to click, file>export>quicktime. This will same the file as a quick time move.

Poster production

Here you can see the production of my Poster.
I used Photoshop to produce this and the skill I obtained in year 12 to help me.
I aimed to create a very dark poster which followed the genre and style of y film (horror) I wanted the audience to instantly realise that the film was a horror or thriller just by looking at the poster. I followed strict colour schemes such as the all white font, and I used only 2 fonts, DEFUSED for the logo (lockdown) and mydrid pro for the other text. I did make the slogan above the logo bold so emphasise its importants, and I also eddited some of the type, to make it differ. Like the size, and the width.

My poster Production

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Producing my Mag cover

Here you can see the step by step production of my media magazine.I stuck to a very strick color scheme (Red, Black and White) which were all colours which either featured in existing horror or film mags, and that they all symbolised horror in their own ways. I also stuck to a strick font scheme. Tosca Zero for the mast head, Defused to the LOCKDOWN anchorage text and Mydrid Pro for the other infomation.

Production of my Magazine

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My film Posters

Poster

A portrait version of my Film Poster, I have made the theme of this version red as it symbolises blood, violence and death which relates to my film. I have included the title 'Lockdown' and set the font size to 190 and the font type to 'Requiem'. I put the poster image together in photoshop, but added the text in indesign. I have also added the names of the cast and actors involved in the making of the film along the top of the poster. I have used an image from my photoshoot with my brother Louis, I have edited his face using photoshop. I looked at a a couple of videos on YouTube, to give me tips on how to successfully edit and manipulate a face in photo shop to create a zombie effect. If you follow the link bellow you can find an exapmle of the videos I used to help create the zombie effect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUgyezb7Mqw This is similar to the first version of this poster, however I have based the colour theme around green as this makes the poster give a sicky, ill feel to it. The clips I have used in my film also have a green tint to them, which relates the poster.

Font previews

ALL FONTS DOWNLOADED FROM http://www.dafont.com TOSCA ZERO

Defused

28 Days Later

Here are the final 5 fonts I selected, I chose these as they look similar to a typewriter/stencil font which is what I have chosen to use in my film. They also look quite grungy which related to the horror genre. I asked my family and posted the image on line to get some audience feedback. Over all, I had 13 responses including my family. 5 chose the first font, (TOSCA ZERO), 0 chose the second font (heita), the third font (defused) got 3 votes. The fourth font (28 DAYS LATER) got 2 votes and finally the last font (UNSTABLE) got 3 votes. I will choose to use the first font (TOSCA ZERO) as this is the font I prefer and it received the most votes.

Updated Teaser Trailer

Issues* Missing 'REC' filter 0:37-0:42* Colour edit on all clips, (reduce green)* Sound jump (police sirens)* First inter titles to short an quick - reduce speed* Last inter title (Lockdown screen) too short* Resolved: Sound Problems, make sound louder and added impact where needed, added wobbles and more background noise, added police sirens and roars when zombie attacks. Added an animated ODIUM clip and lockdown clip. Added (THE RESULTS WERE TERRIFYING) inter title. Added a layer of green an REC transition, removed (APPROVED FOR ALL AUDIENCES).

Photoshop

This was the original image.

Here you can see I have edited the image dramatically, the most noticeable change would be that that image is now portrait rather than landscape. I did this by cropping the area of the image I wanted then I pasted it on to an A4 portrait canvas and blended the picture into the black background. The second most noticeable change would be the teeth. I did this but using the burn tool (creating a dark burn like effect) to cut out the teeth. I also added a 50% transparent red brush layer over the eyes and burnt the outsides too to give the eye depth. Most importantly i used 'curves' and 'levels' to edit the contrast, lighting and satuation of the image. I make the image deliberately very contrast which brought out the wrinkles and made the image more dramatic. I also reduced the satuation of the colour, which gave the face a paler more sick like colour. I also added a slight layer of blue over the image as my film is shot primarily with a blue tint which will now relate the two products better.

Masthead Font types

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CBDRXU385/

Follow link to vote for your favorite.

This Survey was posted

Magazine cover Layouts

I chose Layout 2 as it seemed to follow the conventions and layouts of most of the horror or film mags I looked at.

Photoshot for ancillary products

Here was my first photoshoot for my media ancillary products, including a film poster and music magazine front cover. I made the images extremely dark which conformed to the genre style (horror) very well. I wished to edit the images further using photo shop because I withed to make the majority of the images or the images I used to have a greater contrast. I used all of the props in my film when shooting so that the audience could clearly see the film and ancillary products were attached. I had a few problems when shooting, the light for example was too low, I used two torches and even a room light to light the set, however the camera was still producing very dark and low key images. I will tackle this issue by using photoshop and its 'brightness and contrast' editing tool. Using this I can make the images seem brighter or darker and I can even increase the contrast of reduce to to my preferred style. Over all I feel the shoot was successful as I managed to get enough images, all of which I could work with in photoshop to create my ancillary products.

Existing Horror film Posters

Live type Animation

Live type progress

Live type Screen shots.

This was the first time I had used the programme Livetype.
I found it fairly easy to use however I had a few problems such as how to colour the text and how to save the clip so I could import it into my film.

Firstly I opened Livetype and set up a new project. I then wrote what I needed to be written into the text box. Here you can see I have written Lockdown, which will be used as my film title screen.

Next I chose my effects. The effects will animate the text you have written. There are many different effects, so I explored and chose my favorite effects, which worked well with the genre and the style of the film. Thinking about this, I chose 2 effects under the subtitle ‘grunge’.

After you choose the effects they are placed on the time line in purple. Here you can edit the length, the amount they affect your text and how they affect the text. You can also now change the colours of the text.

Here you can see that I am changing the colours of the text. All you have to do is click on an area of the effect and use the colour wheel to select your desired colour. I chose red as it made the white text slightly more interesting, also I had looked at an existing film trailer titled REC2 and I noticed all the inter-titles were red. The colour red can also relate to danger, blood and violence.

When you have finished choosing the effects and they colours, you can now export your film. You have to click on file>export movie>quicktime. This will same the file as a quick time file which final cut will read. From here you have to drag the file into the time line in final cut.

Live type

Live Type is a program that is included in the Final Cut Pro suite and is used to create animated title and text sequences for your film project. These would include title cards and text slates identifying a person, and are of a higher caliber than those typically found in your editing software. When using a program like Live Type, it is first important to understand the layout of the program. The display for Live Type is divided into four parts. The upper left window is called the Canvas, and is where you can actually see the text you are working on. Though you do not actually type the text here, you can see the changes appear when you add words and effects. It is where you can the size and location of the text. In the middle of the display is the Inspector window, where you select the basic characteristics of your text, such as color and style. There are several tabs in this window that affect things like the timing of the text movements and the listing of the effects you have already placed on the text. This window can be seen as the record of the text you are working on as it appears. The window that rests in the upper right corner is the Media Browser, which is controls all of the fonts, transition effects and animations. The lower part of the display is the Timeline, where you see the actual video clip you are preparing. With Live Type, you are creating a movie file that will eventually be imported back into your editing program. This is where you can change the length of the clip and the effects/transitions you have placed on it. When you play the text animation, it will be seen in the Canvas.

1. 2

   Where you are creating a text slate, you first have to decide how animated and customized you want it to look. Go to the upper left-hand box in the Inspector and enter your text. The text will appear in the Canvas as a white, hollow-looking interpretation of your words. It will also appear as a bar in the Timeline, representing the length of the clip. From here, you can go to the tabs in the Inspector to adjust the nature of the text, such as its opacity and width. In the Canvas, you can reposition the text to where you would like it to appear on the screen. In the Timing tab in the Inspector, you can change how long the clip will stay on the screen.

2. 3

   Now you have to make the big decisions as to which font, effects and backgrounds you would like for the text. You can only apply one font, so you have to decide if you would like it to be one of the standard fonts or one of the animated fonts. Double-click whichever font you choose, and the text in the Canvas will immediately change to that font. You may want only the text to be on the screen, but if you are using “lower thirds,” as in a documentary or news piece, you may prefer to have a box background for the text. Click on the Texture tab and select a texture from one of the many available styles. Select the style you want from the Category menu, highlight the specific texture you want, then select Apply To New Track at the bottom of the Media Browser. The texture will then appear as a block in the Timeline; make sure that its track is below that of the text. On the Canvas, you will see that the texture is behind the text. Go into the Canvas and resize the texture as you desire. The Objects tab works in the exact same way, but the result is more animated and often stands out more than the text does.

3. 4

   Effects are one of the best aspects of Live Type, and often the main reason to use the program. You will again be given a Category menu, which, once you select it, will give you are variety of options. Double-click the ones you want; they will be applied to your text or background, depending on which block track you have highlighted in the Timeline. These effects range from the activities of the text while on the screen to simple transitions such as Fade In and Fade Out. Go into the Timeline and decide exactly how long you want the text, backgrounds and effects to last on the screen. There should be a nice synergy between all three. Make sure the transition effects do not take up too much of the text’s screen time, otherwise the audience will not be able to read it fully. If you are using a background texture or object, make sure they appear a little before the text, and not the other way around.

4. 5

   Once the clip is the way you want it, make sure to play it several times, watching the text video in the Canvas. When you are satisfied, go to File and Render Movie. In this menu, you give the text movie a name and set its location for export. Make sure you select both the background and the text to be rendered; otherwise, it will just render one or the other. Live Type will export the file to your specified location, and you will have a QuickTime file you can then import into whatever editing program you are working with.

Health and safety assesment.

Health and safety. Syringe under supervision of owner and parent. Staircases were a possible safety hazard as the lighting was very low and there was a possibility that the cast could fall. Low lighting could also be a danger for the cast as the visibility would be very low which could cause accidents. The wooden floorboards could be a danger as they become very slippery without shoes.

Final Cut Express

Final Cut Express is a non-linear video editing application created by Apple Inc. It is the consumer version of Final Cut Pro and is designed for advanced editing of digital video as well as high-definition video, which is used by many amateur and professional videographers. Final Cut Express is considered a step above iMovie in terms of capabilities, but a step underneath Final Cut Pro and its suite of applications.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&v=j4rjPFdrZyw&annotation_id=annotation_795769
A tutorial video which goes over the basics.

First Film Upload

Issues: Remove (approved for all audiences screen from begining)* Move all clips down* Animate (odium) screen* Add a bassy wabble sound throughout dr clips* Add intertitle (THE RESULTS WERE TERRIFYING)* Make high pitched sound louder and cut off when police are introduced* Add more of an impact when zombie jumps out on dr.* Add police siren sounds when swat are introduced* Add a layer of green colour over the police clips to give more of an impact/contrast between DR Clips and swat clips* Add an impact sound when zombie jumps out on swat team and add a roar soun when attacking* Add a Bassy wabble when zombie is dragged* Add a heartbeat when moving towards hole in the wall an add more sound when zombie jump out again* Add film title (animated using livetype) at end* MAKE ALL SOUND LOUDER*