Dear moderator, welcome to me AS Media Studies Blog, I have been making regular posts all throughout the school year to make an up to date record of the activities I have completed and the things I have achieved during the course. Please find below a copy of my opening sequence 'When Two Became One' Thank you.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
This is an interview I set up to answer question 2, unfortunately the video is too big to upload in one go so I have cut it into two.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I think the main way we attracted our audience was by making our people realteable. Both characters are portrayed as average people. This means that people can relate to them easily and therefore make a connection with the opening sequence. I also think we attracted our audience by making our opening sequence a classic rom com feel good theme. We have jolly music and sunny weather, I think both of these things make the scene uplifting.
Finally, by making the two characters pass and clearly acknowledge each other I think we created a strong enigma to draw the audience in. They are likely to want to watch the rest of the film to see whether the two protaganists fall in love with eachother or whether Joe is the stereotypical character in a rom com that tries to get hte girl but has many failed attempts adn ends up getting the girl stollen from him.
6. What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Please find below the link to a website I have made outlining the technology I have used in different stages and what I have learned.
http://bethanyhutsonmediaevaluation.weebly.com/index.html
http://bethanyhutsonmediaevaluation.weebly.com/index.html
7. Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task I have learnt a lot of things.
I have learnt the most about the techniques I sue when filming. For example in our preliminary task there are many frames that have extra space and there is a panning shot that has cut the head of Ellie off.
Also, the coninutity of our production has improved, although our shots in the preliminary task followed each other reaonably well there were very choppy from our editing. In our final production we learnt how to ediot properly and added things like cross fading to make the scenes run into eachother more smoothly.
Finally, we kept within our time frame better on the main task which meant we didnt have to cut the end of our video off like in our preliminary task, causing it to be confusing.
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Voice Over
In our group we decided to include a voice over of the two protagonist characters talking whilst having the soundtrack playing quietly in the background.
We based Lily's dialogue (the female protagonist) on a Greek myth we found about what they thought about love in ancient times:
“Once upon a time, when gods and people existed together, people had four arms and four legs. They had two heads and two faces. They existed happily as they were, and grew more powerful as time went on. The gods decided that the humans were getting too powerful and needed to be put back into place somehow, so they cut the humans in half. Each human now had only two arms, two legs, one head, and one face. They had to spend the rest of their lives searching for their other half to make themselves whole again. It became the point of life."
We felt that the quote from 'Plato's Symposium' was powerful enough so we only added one word to the beginning on if; love.
For Joe's voice over (the male protagonist) we felt he should talk about love less romantically and view it more sceptically. Joe's script was harder to write; we started by asking the opinion of boy's in our class and what their ideas on love were. This is what we produced fro, the feedback and some research on the internet.
"What is Love? Does it really exist? Love is said to be an emotion of a strong affection and personal attachment. It’s said to be a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection—the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. I believe everyone has a soul mate somewhere, but not everyone is destined to find theirs."
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Split Screen pactise
In Class we decided to practise doing a split screen before we started shooting our main scene, this meant we could overcome any initial issues now rather than wasting time struggling when it came to editing our actual scene. It also means we can be more efficient in our editing stage.We decided to do the split screen using coffee because we were doing the task for technique practise and not to see what it looks like as a final product.
Below is our edit if the split screen practise:
Below is our edit if the split screen practise:
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Props and Setting
Camille, Ellie and I set up the rooms and props for opur first filming session. We set up the rooms so that they reflected the characters personailtys and lifestyles.
Boys Room:
Girls Room:
Boys Room:
- Work out equipment
Clothes/Shoes- Beats Headphones
- Acoustic Guitar
- Bass Guitar
- Ipod
- Speakers/Stereo
- CDs/DVDs
- Aftershave
- Wallet
- Alarm Clock
- Christmas Cards
- Play Station
Girls Room:- Art equpipment
- Christmas Cards
- Alarm Clock
- Books/plays
- A canvas
- Scrap Book
- Photos
- Flowers
- Makeup Bag
- Floral Cath Kidston Bags
- Christmas Cards
- Books
Sunday, 20 January 2013
BBFC - British Board Classification of Films
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010.
In class we watch a BBFC video about why films are under certain classifications and what areas the BBFC look out for when rating a film. There are four main areas the BBFC look for when rating a film: bad language, violence, sex and nudity and taste and decency. The video gave examples of films they had rated and why they had given them that rating, here are a few examples:
Violence
'Casino Royale' This James Bond film is rated at a 12A. This film is rated a 12A because id does contain some violence (the torture scene) however in this scene we can only see La Chiffre swinging the rope and then James Bond's reaction and we can hear what is going on but because we cannot actually see the violence happening it is our imagination that is filling in the blanks, the BBFC therefore passed it at this rating.
This again is the case in 'Die Hard 4.0'. The film is rated as a 15 even though it too contains fight scenes such as the one where John McClane is kicked through the window the scenes are again worsened by sound effects.
Bad Language
Some films have a higher classification purely for the language used in the film, an example of this is 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' this was pushed up to a 15 because it has so much taboo language in it.
Sex and Nudity:
Some films can have a higher classification if they contain some nudity; an example of this is 'Titanic' in the film we see Rose DeWitt Bukater's breasts as she asks Jack Dawson to draw her naked. It was therefore rated a 12A as there id some nudity however it is only one person and its not hole body nudity and also there is no explicit sexual scenes in the film.
Taste and Decency:
'Borat' was classified as an 18 in cinemas and a 15 on DVD. The film got this classification because
the context of the film could be considered racist however it is used very extremely for comedy value.
In class we watch a BBFC video about why films are under certain classifications and what areas the BBFC look out for when rating a film. There are four main areas the BBFC look for when rating a film: bad language, violence, sex and nudity and taste and decency. The video gave examples of films they had rated and why they had given them that rating, here are a few examples:
Violence
'Casino Royale' This James Bond film is rated at a 12A. This film is rated a 12A because id does contain some violence (the torture scene) however in this scene we can only see La Chiffre swinging the rope and then James Bond's reaction and we can hear what is going on but because we cannot actually see the violence happening it is our imagination that is filling in the blanks, the BBFC therefore passed it at this rating.
This again is the case in 'Die Hard 4.0'. The film is rated as a 15 even though it too contains fight scenes such as the one where John McClane is kicked through the window the scenes are again worsened by sound effects.
Bad Language
Some films have a higher classification purely for the language used in the film, an example of this is 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' this was pushed up to a 15 because it has so much taboo language in it.
Sex and Nudity:
Some films can have a higher classification if they contain some nudity; an example of this is 'Titanic' in the film we see Rose DeWitt Bukater's breasts as she asks Jack Dawson to draw her naked. It was therefore rated a 12A as there id some nudity however it is only one person and its not hole body nudity and also there is no explicit sexual scenes in the film.
Taste and Decency:
'Borat' was classified as an 18 in cinemas and a 15 on DVD. The film got this classification because
the context of the film could be considered racist however it is used very extremely for comedy value.
.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
BECK Production Pitch
Beck Production Pitch
After the production pitch we were asked some questions by our class.
Q. What was your inspiration?
A. 'Love Actually' and 'The Holiday'. They are two of our favourite films and we like their feel good sentiment and the romantic mood. We also liked the 'Christmassy' feel in 'The Holiday' and thought it gave the film extra joy and helped with the romance in the film.
Q. Who is your target audience?
A. It will be a film suitable for families however, we think the film will be more of a chick flick with light hearted comedy and therefore we think the main target audience will be teenage girls and younger females.
After the production pitch we were asked some questions by our class.
Q. What was your inspiration?
A. 'Love Actually' and 'The Holiday'. They are two of our favourite films and we like their feel good sentiment and the romantic mood. We also liked the 'Christmassy' feel in 'The Holiday' and thought it gave the film extra joy and helped with the romance in the film.
Q. Who is your target audience?
A. It will be a film suitable for families however, we think the film will be more of a chick flick with light hearted comedy and therefore we think the main target audience will be teenage girls and younger females.
Production Meeting 3
Date: 13th December 2012
Present: Ellie Bunce, Camille Pierrart, Katie Bannock and Myself (Bethany Hutson)
Focus: To create our production pitch to present to the rest of the class.
In our third production meeting we started making our production pitch. Mr Buckmaster showed us an example of his (http://marlboroughmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/production-pitch.html) and told us what we were to include in ours: synopsis/brief, mood board, locations, cast/characters, treatment, soundtrack and storyboard.
We each had a different area to focus on. I did the storyboard and treatment, Ellie did the mood board and the cast/character, Camille and Ellie did the Location, Camille did the synopsis/brief and Katie did the soundtrack.
Action Point: Make sure the production pitch is completed for the next lesson.
Present: Ellie Bunce, Camille Pierrart, Katie Bannock and Myself (Bethany Hutson)
Focus: To create our production pitch to present to the rest of the class.
In our third production meeting we started making our production pitch. Mr Buckmaster showed us an example of his (http://marlboroughmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/production-pitch.html) and told us what we were to include in ours: synopsis/brief, mood board, locations, cast/characters, treatment, soundtrack and storyboard.
We each had a different area to focus on. I did the storyboard and treatment, Ellie did the mood board and the cast/character, Camille and Ellie did the Location, Camille did the synopsis/brief and Katie did the soundtrack.
Action Point: Make sure the production pitch is completed for the next lesson.
Production Meeting 2
Date: 12th December 2012
Present: Ellie Bunce, Camille Pierrart, Katie Banock and Myself (Bethany Hutson)
Focus: Discuss any opening sequences we had watched and liked and think of a synopsis for our own sequence
In our second production meeting we shared any ideas we had thought of with the group and discussed any flaws with them. We the voted on which ideas we liked the best and elaborated on the winning idea.
Our five ideas were:
Present: Ellie Bunce, Camille Pierrart, Katie Banock and Myself (Bethany Hutson)
Focus: Discuss any opening sequences we had watched and liked and think of a synopsis for our own sequence
In our second production meeting we shared any ideas we had thought of with the group and discussed any flaws with them. We the voted on which ideas we liked the best and elaborated on the winning idea.
Our five ideas were:
- A boy and a girl waking up
- A sister and brother on a dog walk in the woods with a hooded figure watching them
- Missing child
- Home videos of a boy growing up and then we see his life now (gone down hill
- A magical object or spirit
The two people waking up and falling in love won the most votes within the group (only one person objected) so we decided to go with that. We then spent the rest of the production meeting expanding each others ideas and thinking about the storyline in more details. We decided that the two characters would get ready for their day in sync and then pass in the street, this would set up an enigma for the rest of the film and it would leave the audience wandering what the significance of the two characters lives are.
Action point: To create a production pitch to present to the rest of the class the following lesson.
Audience Research Questionnaire
As a of focus point in our production meeting we focused on what genres are popular and what people expect to see in different types of genres. My task for the next lesson was to interview 3 people on what they expect to see in our top 3 genres (Rom-com, Horror and Sci-fi). Below are the questionnaires and results; this helped us with our research because it meant that we could use the results of the genre we chose the next lesson and use the information gathered when planning our opening sequence
Alice Robins
What do you think are the main conventions of a rom-com? I think the main convention of a rom com is a male and female protagonist either both liking each other or both just being friends to being with then fall in love, facing lots of obstacles on the way which end up in the breaking up temporarily before getting back together and having a happy ending.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a rom-com are?
I think rom-coms are often based around either a big occasion in someone's personal life (promotion or big birthday) or a special occasion that is public (new years eve or Christmas) these events then allow for a change to occur in someone life and therefore cause the situation where they meet the person they fall in love with or change the relationship with someone they already know which allows them to fall in love.
Are there any generic factors of a rom-com that you find boring and ineffective?
I feel they are all very generic and follow a very similar path, I think to make them more exciting and draw people in more they should make it more true to life; for example happy endings don't always happen and therefore I think some rom-coms, without loosing the feel-good factor shouldn't end with the couple falling in love and having perfect lives.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a rom-com and why?
I think the target audience is largely women, they often want their lives to be like the movies as they long for the romance and happy ever afters that come with them. Also, I think women can relate with the films more, they often end up with the male protagonist messing up the relationship. Moreover, the male protagonist is normally extremely attractive and the leading female is funny and relateable.
Why do you like/dislike rom-coms?
I like rom-coms because they put me in a good mood; they're funny whilst still drawing me into a characters life and creating a fantasy that I grew up reading about; a fairytale. Although, there are some bumps along the way which make it seem more relatable. However these are clouded by the clever use of comedy to lighten the breakup or fight between the two leading characters. The endings of rom-comedies are always cheery and light-hearted, the use of upbeat music during the credits reinforce the idea that you have a good time watching the film and adds to the "feel-good-factor"
Craig Hutson
What do you think the main conventions of a horror are? Most horrors have a vulnerable protagonist that is being chased/threatened by a villain. They usually take place at night in an abandoned or mysterious place (warehouse, woods, empty house). Finally, they don't normally have a happy ending, I think this is to keep the gloomy feel to them and also adds to the unrealistic theme of the film.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a horror are? There is often someone being chased or you can see someone being watched from the villains viewpoint. It also nearly always happens at night, the darkness then adds to the scare factor. There is often a theme of the villain gaining power and status in the film and thus becoming the co-protagonist, they often gain power by to torturing or controlling the victim.
Are there any generic factors of a horror that you find boring and ineffective? I think horrors become more effective if they don't use the generic themes I mentioned above. By using these re-occurring themes the films lose their edge and become too predictable, this make them much less scary and I think they would be more effective if they used original ideas to draw in the audience.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a horror and why?
I think the main target audience is 15 or above; for a horror to be effective I think it need to have conventions and themes that aren't suitable for people who are under 15, if you make the age restriction too low then the film may lose some edge because the producer has had to make it suitable for their eyes. However, I do think teenagers and young adults are more likely to watch horror films than the older generations.
Why do you like/dislike horror?
I can't say I categorically like or dislike horrors I like the thrill of some where as other may lack a structured story line and be slightly boring; however, overall I think non-generic horrors are good and I definitely don't enjoy horrors that have an age restriction of under 15.
Caleb Thomas
What do you think are the main conventions of a sci-fi? Most sci-fi films have a lot of technological gadgets and weapons and are often based on spaceships. Also, many sci-fi films occur on a different planet or with different species, this allows the film to be as imaginative as it likes.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a sci-fi are? I think most sci-fi films follow the theme of 'to the future' many sci-fi films are based around either having to travel to the future to save the planet or something from the future travelling to the present day. I think most sci-fi films follow this film because again there are no limits; no one can predict what the future holds and therefore the film can be as far fetched as you like and it will still have an element of realism in it.
Are there any generic factors of a sci-fi that you find boring and ineffective? I feel that most sci-fi films follow the same pattern 'there's a discovery, Earth and it's population are at great risk and then the scientists or astronauts or pace men etc. save the day and everything is back to normal' I find this makes the films very predictable and some what boring.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a rom-com and why? I think sci-fi films are largely based at the male audience, the protagonists are often male and I think they appeal to men because of the action and possible risk in the films. I also think it attracts younger boys and older men rather than the teenage population because I think they would want something more relateable and I think male teenagers prefer fight and action scenes to sci-fi scene.
Why do you like/dislike sci-fi?
I dislike most sci-fi films because they aren't believable, I prefer films you can relate to. Because I don't believe the story line I don't get hooked on or drawn into the drama and therefore find it boring and lack the rush I feel when watching action scenes from other genres.
Alice Robins
What do you think are the main conventions of a rom-com? I think the main convention of a rom com is a male and female protagonist either both liking each other or both just being friends to being with then fall in love, facing lots of obstacles on the way which end up in the breaking up temporarily before getting back together and having a happy ending.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a rom-com are?
I think rom-coms are often based around either a big occasion in someone's personal life (promotion or big birthday) or a special occasion that is public (new years eve or Christmas) these events then allow for a change to occur in someone life and therefore cause the situation where they meet the person they fall in love with or change the relationship with someone they already know which allows them to fall in love.
Are there any generic factors of a rom-com that you find boring and ineffective?
I feel they are all very generic and follow a very similar path, I think to make them more exciting and draw people in more they should make it more true to life; for example happy endings don't always happen and therefore I think some rom-coms, without loosing the feel-good factor shouldn't end with the couple falling in love and having perfect lives.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a rom-com and why?
I think the target audience is largely women, they often want their lives to be like the movies as they long for the romance and happy ever afters that come with them. Also, I think women can relate with the films more, they often end up with the male protagonist messing up the relationship. Moreover, the male protagonist is normally extremely attractive and the leading female is funny and relateable.
Why do you like/dislike rom-coms?
I like rom-coms because they put me in a good mood; they're funny whilst still drawing me into a characters life and creating a fantasy that I grew up reading about; a fairytale. Although, there are some bumps along the way which make it seem more relatable. However these are clouded by the clever use of comedy to lighten the breakup or fight between the two leading characters. The endings of rom-comedies are always cheery and light-hearted, the use of upbeat music during the credits reinforce the idea that you have a good time watching the film and adds to the "feel-good-factor"
Craig Hutson
What do you think the main conventions of a horror are? Most horrors have a vulnerable protagonist that is being chased/threatened by a villain. They usually take place at night in an abandoned or mysterious place (warehouse, woods, empty house). Finally, they don't normally have a happy ending, I think this is to keep the gloomy feel to them and also adds to the unrealistic theme of the film.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a horror are? There is often someone being chased or you can see someone being watched from the villains viewpoint. It also nearly always happens at night, the darkness then adds to the scare factor. There is often a theme of the villain gaining power and status in the film and thus becoming the co-protagonist, they often gain power by to torturing or controlling the victim.
Are there any generic factors of a horror that you find boring and ineffective? I think horrors become more effective if they don't use the generic themes I mentioned above. By using these re-occurring themes the films lose their edge and become too predictable, this make them much less scary and I think they would be more effective if they used original ideas to draw in the audience.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a horror and why?
I think the main target audience is 15 or above; for a horror to be effective I think it need to have conventions and themes that aren't suitable for people who are under 15, if you make the age restriction too low then the film may lose some edge because the producer has had to make it suitable for their eyes. However, I do think teenagers and young adults are more likely to watch horror films than the older generations.
Why do you like/dislike horror?
I can't say I categorically like or dislike horrors I like the thrill of some where as other may lack a structured story line and be slightly boring; however, overall I think non-generic horrors are good and I definitely don't enjoy horrors that have an age restriction of under 15.
Caleb Thomas
What do you think are the main conventions of a sci-fi? Most sci-fi films have a lot of technological gadgets and weapons and are often based on spaceships. Also, many sci-fi films occur on a different planet or with different species, this allows the film to be as imaginative as it likes.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a sci-fi are? I think most sci-fi films follow the theme of 'to the future' many sci-fi films are based around either having to travel to the future to save the planet or something from the future travelling to the present day. I think most sci-fi films follow this film because again there are no limits; no one can predict what the future holds and therefore the film can be as far fetched as you like and it will still have an element of realism in it.
Are there any generic factors of a sci-fi that you find boring and ineffective? I feel that most sci-fi films follow the same pattern 'there's a discovery, Earth and it's population are at great risk and then the scientists or astronauts or pace men etc. save the day and everything is back to normal' I find this makes the films very predictable and some what boring.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a rom-com and why? I think sci-fi films are largely based at the male audience, the protagonists are often male and I think they appeal to men because of the action and possible risk in the films. I also think it attracts younger boys and older men rather than the teenage population because I think they would want something more relateable and I think male teenagers prefer fight and action scenes to sci-fi scene.
Why do you like/dislike sci-fi?
I dislike most sci-fi films because they aren't believable, I prefer films you can relate to. Because I don't believe the story line I don't get hooked on or drawn into the drama and therefore find it boring and lack the rush I feel when watching action scenes from other genres.
Production Meeting 1
Date: 6.12.12
Present: Ellie, Myself, Camille and Katie
Focus/Agenda: To start research into the opening sequence we are going to do and start to decide the specifics (genre, story line, theme, treatment e.t.c.)
In the production meeting we brainstormed all the different types of genres. We then narrowed down the genres by deciding which ones we thought we should try and stay away from:
Horror
Science fiction
Psychological
Present: Ellie, Myself, Camille and Katie
Focus/Agenda: To start research into the opening sequence we are going to do and start to decide the specifics (genre, story line, theme, treatment e.t.c.)
In the production meeting we brainstormed all the different types of genres. We then narrowed down the genres by deciding which ones we thought we should try and stay away from:
Horror
Science fiction
Psychological
Fantasy
Epics/Historical
Western
Melodramas
Crime
Below is a brainstorm of all the genres:
Epics/Historical
Western
Melodramas
Crime
Below is a brainstorm of all the genres:
We spent the rest of the production meeting looking at different opening sequences and we noted down bit we liked and bits we didn't like or bit that we didn't think we could re-create effectively.
Some of the openings we looked at were:
- The Holiday
- Mrs Doubtfire
-Taken 1&2
We then said what we liked and what we didn't like about them and used them as a steppingstone to think of the next opening sequence.
Action Point:
As it was only our first production meeting there was any specific task to do before the next lesson so we decided that we would all look at some more opening sequences and come back to the group with some idea about what our film could be about. Also, to conduct a questionnaire asking 3 people about they expect to find in certain genres.
We then said what we liked and what we didn't like about them and used them as a steppingstone to think of the next opening sequence.
Action Point:
As it was only our first production meeting there was any specific task to do before the next lesson so we decided that we would all look at some more opening sequences and come back to the group with some idea about what our film could be about. Also, to conduct a questionnaire asking 3 people about they expect to find in certain genres.
Preliminary Task
For our preliminary task we had to film someone walking into a room and having a conversation with someone else. In the task we had to include: a shot reverse shot, 180° rule shot and match on action. Below is my groups (Ellie, Camille and I) final attempt.
This is our Script, Storyboard and Shot list
Our storyboard and shot list is slightly different than the final video, this is because the continuity of the video didn't flow very well; it took too long for Ellie to get through the door because of the high number of different angles and shots we tried to fit into a short space. The script was also altered slightly. We had to cut a few lines short and add a few words in because, again, it was hard to fit some bits in and still make it make sense.
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