Evaluation Question 2

Question 1

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

Continuity is an important convention to uphold as it helps maintain the realism of a film, without it the film would not seem to ‘flow’ and the concept would fall apart. We planned carefully to make sure there was continuity and although there were come small mistakes they’re not particularly noticeable due to the idea behind the story; for example originally in the story the day 'Carrie' gets the drugs from 'Oliver' is supposed to be the same day she takes the drugs with 'Jared' however on the day of filming we didn’t realise but as the filming had gone so well we kept it and because the story was things from her point of view if scenes seemed a bit unnatural or confusing I just related to the unravelling of 'Carrie’s' mind.

We used shot-reverse-shot in conversations, we were careful to follow the 180 degree rule again to keep the realism throughout our film and we also followed the 30 degree rule so any shots that got closer up or further away could be edited together more smoothly.

Typical narrative conventions of a drama film genre include; conflict, characters in a situation that is easy to relate to and usually a form of realisation at the end or a happy ending.

We reflect these conventions as we have ongoing conflict between ‘Carrie’ and ‘Jared’; two characters which are realistic and easy to relate to, where he’s trying to push her into smoking, drinking and taking drugs; the main characters are in a typical peer pressure situation that many adolescents face and there’s a huge twist at the end where ‘Carrie’ realises ‘Jared’ is dead. There is a not a particularly happy ending as we want it to be realistic and most stories like this don’t end happily, the most positive outcome in this is that ‘Carrie’ doesn’t die when trying to commit suicide.

We use strange colour effects through parts of the film to emphasise 'Carrie' losing her mind, which is something I'd seen done in the film Mental in which the majority of the film is in a bright colour that makes it look abnormal but works with the storyline and characters. This 'plays' with the conventions of the drama genre as it makes it look unrealistic, however it's done for a reason and as a whole improves the scene a lot.

I have looked at some typical stereotypes, which are important in our film, such as race. For example in many films the black characters are drug dealers and pushing it upon white characters, however in our film we have a white drug dealer and it turns out ‘Carrie’ is mentally unhinged which is why she’s taking drugs so it’s not the fault of ‘Jared’; so here we have broken this racial stereotype.

However a stereotype we follow is having a mentally unhinged female character, which tends to be the case in many films such as Sybil, Mental and Girl, Interrupted. Females tend to have weaker characters that are in some way broken not only in the “psychological” genre but also in paranormal films such as The Exorcist, as explained by the theory of the male gaze.

Gratifications Audience Theory has four categories; education, role models, socialization and entertainment. Our film educates the audience by demonstrating what it can be like to have a mental disorder and the severe consequences it can have on a person. Socialisation relates to our film as people may want to discuss the psychological symptoms our film demonstrates, the way we emphasised things and the shocking twist at the end. Also, as the audience would hopefully empathise with ‘Carrie’s’ situation, our film is quite emotional it is relatable to entertainment.

Also our film relates to Richard Dyer’s Theory of Entertainment which includes; energy, abundance, intensity, transparency and community. Our film relates to intensity due to the high emotions and ongoing conflict, between ‘Jared’ and ‘Carrie’ and in ‘Carrie’s’ own mind. It relates to energy as there is suspense and tension created particularly through the editing we’ve used. Finally there is transparency which flips the story and our ideas of the characters when the twist is revealed at the end.

 

 

Evaluation Question 4

http://prezi.com/fmxb9wialzni/critical-evaluation/#

Evaluation Question 1

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

In the format of an illustrated essay.

Throughout our film it was essential to use a variety of effective camera angles, shots and techniques through editing. By using these different techniques, it allowed us to portray the correct impression to our audience, which made it easier for them to understand what we were portraying. It also helps distinguish which emotion the audience are expected to feel when watching sections of the film which builds a better understanding. As you can tell on this first screenshot, the angle of the camera makes Oliver look more superior in comparison to Carrie.
The facial expressions also emphasize the power Oliver has in this scene, as his face is very serious and Carrie shows a look of confusion. This also projects the amount of tension displayed by both characters, which can distinguish the type of relationship Carrie and Oliver have, which is not a very pleasant one.

The editing of our film played a very important role as it allowed us to be creative with our film and help us project the correct message to the audience in a better way. It was essential that all the shots had a high level of continuity so each shot could flow to the next without any disturbances. In this second screenshot, the scene is based around Carrie consuming the drugs that are given by Jared and in terms of editing we used SFX to emphasize the use of drugs. By using small frames of the previous scenes, it created a fast paced, intense moment which also demonstrated the effect of drugs when they are consumed, this made it look and feel more realistic to the audience.




The third screenshot shows the dramatic ending of Carrie and Jared and with the use of editing, we were able to make this suicidal ultimatum look and sound realistic without any injuries. This consisted of making sure all the shots were smooth and all fit together.







Our film is a psychological drama and it concentrates on the main character, which is Carrie and also her psychological state. We did this purposely from our research of our genre and it clearly showed that the main character is always focused on especially their psychological state. In our film the twist is revealed at the end where it is obvious that Carrie has a mental disorder in which she is in denial about and has not yet accepted it but she comes to the realization at the end.Carrie seems to have brought to different lives together and is living in denial of Jared's death, in which she has created her own reality in order to come to terms with Jared's death.
     
In terms of the conventions of films, the stereotypical judgement would insinuate that African American people are associated with drugs. However, in our film we have purposely twisted the racial convention to the point where at first the audience would think that it is Jared that is peer pressuring Carrie into consuming those drugs, but in the end the audience learn that it was Carrie leading herself into that state and not Jared.


As a group when we first discussed our ideas about what type of film we were aspiring to produce, my research lead me to a film called 'Identity.' This film can relate to our film as it is about a patient with a mental disorder who believes in a different reality. There difference is that is based on one main character but their mental state means that they believe that they are five other people, which leads to them killing people. The twist to this film is similar to our film as it is only revealed at the end and the connection of the characters is revealed to the audience.





Our story line is similar to a short film on YouTube called 'Paranormal.' I used this film as an example for my research and previous blog work. This is about a boy who wakes up to a normal setting in his home with his mother and father, to soon be informed by a police officer that his parents were involved in a car accident. So he is left wondering to himself who was he having a conversation with moments before.

This moment of realization on this screenshot is very similar to the moment of realization Carrie experiences when she is informed about Jared's death. Both moments fit well with the concept of the twist and show that both characters are finding it hard to cope with the death of their loved ones.





Our film relates well with the Uses and Gratification Theory, which is sectioned into four categories;
education, role models, socialization and entertainment. Our film educates the audience about the severity of mental disorders and also demonstrates what it is like to live in a psychological state on a daily basis. It also educated the audience about the racial stereotype and how it is overly used in our every day lives and how it can be broken. It is also relatable to the entertainment side, as it is very emotional and the audience can also sympathies with the Carrie and Jared as it is not a pleasurable experience for any one.

Our film also relates to Richard Dyer's Theory of Entertainment, which is sectioned into four categorizes; energy, abundance, intensity, community and transparency. Our film relates to intensity as it contains emotional scenes, especially at the end when Carrie comes to terms with the Jared's death which is an emotional subject for Carrie.Transparency is also shown in our film as Carrie is displayed as a very vulnerable character when the twist is revealed at the end. The audience can only sympathize with Carrie as she is going through a tough time, which is understandable with her unstable psychological state.



Research into possible distributor

Research into possible distributor

The possible distributor i have chosen the, 'Warner Brother Picture.'

I have chosen 

Individual Analysis into similar films

Research into similar film and reviews ect.. from mandybearx

Individual Research into genre

Research into genre: Psychological Thriller

Definition:

Psychological Thriller

"Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre. However, this genre often incorporates elements from the mystery genre in addition to the typical traits of the thriller genre.

Generally, thrillers focus on plot over characters, and thus emphasise intense, physical action over the character's psyche. Psychological thrillers tend to reverse this formula to a certain degree, emphasising the characters just as much, if not more so, than the plot."

This is an example of a psychological thriller that has been produced. The film poster looks very odd and surreal, which is what makes a psychological thriller because it is something that is out of our disbelief. Psychological thrillers are known for the characters having some sort of mental illness and who act out of the ordinary. This is why they are interesting because they are different and not many people have the knowledge of having a mental illness.

Themes

In terms of themes, reality is one of the common themes because the character/s in a psychological thriller always demonstrate the difference between a mental state of mind and a more realistic frame of mind. Characters often determine what is true and what is not within the narrative.

Perception

The characters always show the audience what it is like to be them in their mind. They tend to do this through their facial expressions, tone of voice and gestures. Their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative.

Identity

The characters are often confused of their identity and through the films, they tend to find themselves in different ways. 

Existence and purpose

The object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative's conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose.

Individual Analysis of a similar short film.

 

Analysis of similar short film

PARANORMAL







     The film that i am going to be analysing will be a short film called, 'Paranormal.' This film is similar to our official storyline for our film because the main character thinks that his parents are still alive but really they died in a car crash. At the beginning we are shown a car crash with severely injured people, however the main character states that it was just a dream. He has conversations with his parents and has slow realisations to the fact that his parents are no longer alive. Eventually a police officer arrives at the house and nervously explains what has happened. The main character sees the ghost of his mother behind the police officer and then it becomes clear to him that he was hallucinating seeing his parents.



                                                 
Medium close ups are used when they want to show the main characters facial expressions. In this scene, the main character is suspecting something weird is happening when his parents keep appearing in random places of the houses. His facial expressions and gestures represent someone who is feeling uneasy and unsure of what is happening. The close up makes it clear to the audience how the main character is really feeling.

This over shoulder shot shows the moment when the main character finally gets the realisation of his mothers ghost. This is a good shot that can be used in our short film because it shows him looking over the police women's shoulder and facing reality.

Individual Idea 1

OFFICIAL FILM POSTER

This is the official Film Poster for our film DAZED...

We decided to use this poster as it includes everything we need, and has the right feeling that matches with the emotions of our film.

FINAL FILM

Here is our final film, DAZED.

Turning Digital into Film

How to make digital video look more like film using final cut.
I researched into.... These are the few tips that i found the most important;

1, Depth of Field - This refers to the the distance between which the closest and farthest images in the frame remain in focus. A narrow depth of field means that anything just slightly in front of, or behind, the subject of the frame will appear out of focus to give more attention to the subject. A deep depth of field  is where everything in shot is in focus.
A tip for making digital footage look like film is to try really hard for a narrow depth of field, and this involves the aperture being wide open. This should provide more emphasis on the subject.

2, Frame Rate - The average frame rate of digital is 30fps. Which is good, as it gives a good smooth video, but that is all it is good for. The default for a film camera is 24fps. The 24fps will give you an original traditional film look.

3, Shutter Speed - Make sure the 180 degree rule is in play when setting shutter speed. This means when you set the shutter speed of your camera, you need to make sure it is double that of your frame rate. So for example, if you are shooting 24fps, the best option for shutter speed would be 1/48.

4, Camera Movement - Not all filmmakers take much notice of this, but camera movement can be one of the most important aspects of getting the film look. There isn't a specific movement that would make your film more cinematic, as it can be anything from having the camera on a tripod to it being handheld, to putting you camera on a jib and getting a crane shot. The more importance that is placed on camera movement, the more cinematic the footage will look.

5, Blown Out Highlights - This is a big giveaway for digital film, and since digital cameras are less dynamic than film cameras, they are very prone to clipping or blowing out bright areas in the frame. When this happens on film it is much more pleasant to look at, and some directors even choose to let it happen, for example Stephen Spielberg, who intentionally blows out some shots to get a stylised effect.

6, Framing - in cinematic image there is an extremity of importance for framing. If framing isn't right in a shot, everything else you have worked on gets thrown out the window. So, if you have a well lit shot with good DOF, but the subject isn't framed right, everything else is diminished. Not only will great framing make your video look more filmic, but it will make your film better as a whole. A great example of this would be this frame from The Kings Speech, where an unusual framing has been used to  create a sense of emptiness int he character life.

7, Lighting - its a make-or-break situation when it comes to lighting, no matter what kind of medium you are shooting on. 

8, And finally... Although there is no exact formula to get the “film look”, by following all of the above steps you will be headed in the right direction. Watching a movie shot on film feels like you’re looking into a parallel universe. It almost looks the same as real life, but there are these subtle differences that allow it to feel more surreal, dreamier and pull you as the audience member into it. Doing this digitally is achieved by a combination of many factors, starting with how you set up your camera and finishing in the edit suite

Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts? in the form of a presentation.

Film Log for 11/12/2013 Film Day

Audience Feedback Results Summarised

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In the form of an illustrated
essay, shown here.

The low angle with the shop keeper in between shows that
they are doing something they shouldn't.

We have used different techniques in the way we observe the conventions of continuity through camera work as well as editing. In terms of camera work we tried to use as many different shots as possible to give a range within our film, also using different angles to give a specific sense to the scenes they are used in. For example, in the scene where Carrie is being persuaded by Jared to steal the bottle of vodka, we tried to use low angle shots to show the dominance that Jared is having over Carrie, but also to give a slightly different edge; emphasising the fact that she is doing something wrong.

Drugs Taking Effect...

When moving onto editing, it was crucial that we made sure we had the shots we needed to keep continuity, but there are also some parts of editing such as montage sequencing and special effects used to give a different feel to the scene. One example would be the montage sequence at the end of the film, in the scene where Carrie has finally come to the realisation

Carrie remembering that this last few weeks she has been alone
all along...

that Jared has been dead all along, which was used to help the audience come to terms using small frames of Carrie in the different scenes (but without Jared) giving the impression that she had been alone doing these things the whole time, giving a final twist to our complicated story. We also used SFX whenever drugs or something that might daze the mind was used, a good example being when Carrie first takes drugs, using small frames of previous scenes that were of importance to create a fast panicked shot showing the effects of drugs.

Carrie struggling to come to terms with Jared's death

Our film is based around the genre Psychological Thriller/Drama, and one of the main features of this genre is that it is heavily focused on the main characters psychological state. This is something that can be related to our film as we have one main character which turns out in the end to be someone who has huge issues with their psychological state. A main theme that would be relatable is the fact that sometimes characters struggle to determine what is real and what isn’t, and our character Carrie seems to have moulded the two together and created her own reality where Jared is still alive, as her way of coming to terms with his death. a main theme of this genre would also be death, and in the case of our film there is death, it just happens in the time before the film begins.

Peer Pressure takes over and Carrie takes the drugs

When considering conventions of films in general, racial stereotypes can insinuate that a lot of African American people are related to drugs. I think that we have twisted this racial convention on the head, as the audience is to believe that Jared is peer pressuring Carrie into taking drugs, and then suddenly find out in the end that all the things Jared was making her do were all in her head, as a way for her to cope with his death.

Resistance to the alcohol doesn't last long...

When we first came up with the idea for our film, I took a lot of inspiration from Fight Club, and there are small parts of our story that I did take from Fight Club and made them relatable to our film. For example, fight club is based around one main character, who’s psychological issues controlled his life for a short time, which becomes clear at the very end of the film. This is relatable as our film is based around Carrie’s unsteady psychological health, which isn’t discovered until the end of film.

Titles are very similar to ours.

When thinking of our storyline there was also a short film that I discovered on YouTube titled ‘Awake’ which is about a teen who wakes up one day to find that he is the only person left on earth. It is then discovered that the boy died the same day he woke up on ‘Earth’ in a car accident, and his empty earth was what he saw after life. 

The moment he realises that he was dead all along.

I took the huge story twist at the end of this story and put it together with the rest of our story which created the twist at the end; of Jared being death all along and just a figment of Carries imagination as a way of coping with his death.

I think that our film relates well to the Uses and

Gratifications Audience Theory, which has 4 sections to it; Education, Role Models, Socialisation and Entertainment. I think the one section that relates to our film is Socialisation, as I feel there are some shocking parts to our story that people may discuss between friends or family or colleagues. They may want to see what others thought of our narrative and whether they agreed or liked the twist at the end. It is also relatable to Entertainment as it would give an emotional experience at the cinema. The audience would hopefully emphasise with Carrie and her situation with Jared, experiencing her turmoil with Jared and his death.

Carrie and Jared together, or so she thinks...

The moment Carrie Realises that Jared died a while ago...

Our film also relates to Richard Dyer’s Theory of Entertainment; which includes Energy, Abundance, Intensity, Transparency and Community. Our film relates to energy, as it creates suspense and excitement with the editing we have used. It relates to intensity, because of the conflict going on in Carries mind as well as the conflict and surrender between Carrie and Jared. And finally there is a sense of transparency, which is then turned on its head when the twist of the narrative is used at the very end.

Carrie Surrendering to Jared and drinking the Vodka

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback? The Powerpoint below is my representation of Evaluation Question 3.

Wed 26/3/14

Music

     Today our main target was to find the appropriate music for our film. This has proven to be quite difficult with music being one of the important aspects of making a film. Our tutor gave us a list of websites that would have a list of different songs/music for any film genre. 

freesound.org 

When we went on freesound.org, it proved to be useful for sounds that are commonly used to express a certain emotion. We found sounds that seemed very peculiar and a lot of them didn't suit our film.

 

Audience Feedback for Final Film

Here is the Questionnaire that we asked our audience about after they watched our film.



After we got a few responses these were the results we got...

Evaluation question 1

In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Essay format:


Throughout our short film, continuity was a vital factor we thought should be included in our film, Dazed, so we did this through the format of both our camera angles, shots and techniques along side our editing methods and techniques used when placing the final film together. In regards to the camera work we have carried out we thought that it was important that we used a variety of different camera angles to give an impression of the effect we are trying to portray. An example of an effective use with the camera would be the scene after Carrie is manipulated by Jared and under pressure steals the vodka from the local corner shop, The camera angles show the lack of domination Carrie has over Jared, as the camera angle from her perspective is looking upwards when in discussion with Jared about the crime she has just committed. Where as Jared is looking down upon Carrie showing the empowerment he has over her. 


We used different techniques including match on action, 180 degree rule and also shot reverse shot. We made sure that we included each of these techniques in order to achieve the best possible edited version of our film. In terms of media language we have used a variety of different forms of rhythmic editing. When we began to edit the different parts of the film we thought it was important that we included the scenes that had the most continuity included in them, as it is important that it is known in our film. We have used some special effects on the scene where Carrie has consumed drugs and everything is rushing around in her head showing previous scenes and events occurred in the film before this moment, We believed this would created a rushed effect as the drugs were hitting her, reminding her of the bad things she has done whilst being with Jared. An example of using a form of montage editing would be the end of the film whereby the audience have just discovered that Jared hasn't been there all the way through the editing, it was all just part of her schizophrenia, imagining that he was there, when he wasn't, We put together different frames of the film creating a sort of flashback effect however, different as Jared wasn't in the scenes it was Carrie all along, only this time without Jared. This is the twist to our story when it is found out that Jared was never there to start with.


Shot reverse shot:
We decided to make a variety of the conversations on 'Dazed' effective as we used the shot reverse shot rule, where by we showed the characters facial expressions and reactions up close via using extreme close ups, close ups and medium close ups, showing each of these in a well balanced way. We used the shot reverse shot technique as it is the most useful way to show the characters reactions and feelings throughout the conversations straight after one and other via placing the camera behind each character during.

180 degree rule:
we have used the 180 degree rule a lot throughout our film also, as we use it mixed In with shot reverse shot when the two characters are in conversation. We found this helped us show body language as well as facial expression when the two people are speaking.




Match on Action:
when editing we felt it was vital to ensure every single cut we carried out, matched the next scene completely as we wanted to create a visual bridge. We used this mainly after every cut for example the scene where Carrie opens the door to enter Oliver's house, the door handle had to be opened the exact same way as it                                                   looked before we cut to create another camera angle.

The genre we thought was the most likely to suit our film was the theme of psychological drama, as we believed as our main character, Carrie suffers from a poor psychological mind set the film would create confusion with the audience also adding a touch of mystery to the audience, as Carries life had a hint of confusion and mystery, therefore we wanted to pass this onto the audience so they can get thurally involved in the variety of emotions that Carrie is feeling through the different scenes of the storyline. A theme we tried to carry out in a subtle way was the theme of death, in which isn't as obvious through this storyline, until Carrie and Jared walk in front of the driving car in order to commit suicide, this is the first trace of death, however in the final scene where it is discovered that Jared isn't there and hasn't been there for a while as he died in a car crash months previously before Carries Hallucination's. An obvious theme we chose to develop our film around was the lack of understanding Carrie showed to what is real and what is made up in her mind which again created a sense of confusion for the audience, as they share Carries confusion. As Carrie wakes up at the end of the film and realizes the whole situation was a made up reality in her mind, in which in a way she wanted to be true, As Jared is already dead, Carrie is in some form hallucinating that Jared is really there all along when in reality, he isn't


We got the idea of a psychological drama from a few similar films, I looked at a few films in which share a similar storyline to Dazed. I looked at films such as: Mental, Sybil, Girl-interrupted and compulsion. Girl interrupted was the film I felt was most similar to Dazed as Girl,interrupted was a story based about a girl who has schizophrenia and imagines so many events in her life that haven't occurred and it then placed into a mental hospital.

We looked into the different stereotypes in which we have made our film live up to and the ones we have broken. We looked into the stereotypical film history of African Americans being related to the use of drugs and violence, in films such as Gangsters paradise and juice. We believe that we have over come this stereotype as Jared isn't even real or alive throughout the short film, We felt this was an important stereotype to break in our film as we included a variety of different ethnicities in our film in order to make our film multicultural and appealing to a more varied                                                                                     audience.



Before the making of our film 'Dazed' we felt it was important to look at other short films with similar genres to ours (psychological drama) in order to achieve ideas or look at the different techniques that they used in the films. I looked at a short film in which I found on YouTube named 'Inside'. This story is about a young man who in which has schizophrenia, in which where he hears voices he cant control within his mind. In the video there are several different people of different ages all representing his mind, all saying different things to show the main characters schizophrenia

The Richard Dyer theory in which includes: Abundance, Energy, Intensity, Transparency and Community also relates to Dazed. 
However I believe that the most similar method is energy, intensity and community, this is because our film offers a variety of energetic scenes in which contain a lot of suspense and surprises.Like when the end scene when Carrie discovers that Jared isn't here anymore and she has created the whole situation in her head.


 Intensity is also an obvious addition to Dazed as it includes a lot of sitting on the edge of your seat in suspense desperate to know what happens next, for example the scene of where Carrie and Jared are committing suicide, it creates a tension of the viewer hoping they don't get hurt or die.







 In terms of the relation of our film to the uses and gravitations audience theory in which has 4 main focused sections involved in it, these include: Education, Role Models, Socialization and Entertainment. After evaluating and looking in depth at each section, I came to the conclusion that the most similar section to our film was between socialization, education and a slight touch of entertainment. 

An entertaining factor, in my opinion occur mainly towards the end of the film where it is discovered that Jared never even existed, this could create a shock, and in some cases cause upset for the audience in cinemas. I came to this outcome as I thought our film is a strong method of education about schizophrenia, relationships and the depths an illness can take to people. However, socialization is a strong contender in comparison as I believe this kind of film genre is more likely to attract the attention of a variety of ages and audiences in turn attracting more socialization between social groups and family.