Evaluation part eight- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The making of my product has taught me a lot about technologies, organisation, and planning.

I believe I done appropriate research that helped with my decisions when it came to planning, shooting and editing. This research showed me what I needed to consider and without it I probably would've made the wrong decisions as beforehand, I was not entirely confident in my choices.

The use of technology wasn't too difficult but I still feel I have learnt new skills like using Final Cut Pro; it seemed very confusing at first but it didn't take me too long to learn the basics and after a few uses I was able to use more complex effects. Now, I am confident with this technology which will be useful for next time. I believe I used the technology successfully.

There were aspects that were unsuccessful, like my organisation skills. There were times where I though I had plenty of time, but really there wasn't much time and this lead to last minute improvisations. Unfortunately this lead to a title sequence that wasn't as good as it should of been but now I know, in the future, organisation is something I should work on. Despite this, I feel I have improved when it comes to research and planning as I know that they are really important even if it seems they are not.

Evaltuation Part 7

Part 7- what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

For my sequence, I decided on using a DSLR camera. These cameras can capture HD quality shots without using professional equipment. DSLR’s are also easy to use, easily portable and can be complex when it comes to additional equipment e.g. tripods and lenses. I already owned a DSLR which was helpful as I already knew the ins and outs of using it and so shooting wasn’t difficult. I also had the option of using other types of cameras like a GoPro, but I didn’t feel that this was necessary as everything I needed could be captured on DSLR.

Once I done my filming I had to use a digital video editor(Final Cut Pro) to bring my clips together, edit them and stylize them. Final Cut Pro seemed very difficult to use at first but once I’d asked teachers and referred to the internet for tips it became easier. What I liked about Final Cut Pro was its range of effects, there’s so many aspects that can be changed which was really helpful as I knew that if something didn’t look quite right there was a way around this.

I believe I used the technology successfully but of course I could’ve taken more advantage of the full range of editing features. I was able to change the colours of my shots, add text, add effects and transitions up too a high standard. However, if I looked for even more features I could’ve edited it even more to a professional standard.

What I have learnt from the technologies is the importance of using the right equipment without tying to over complicate.  I believe I chose the right equipment for my sequence and I’ve learnt more about what’s appropriate and what can be used in the future. When I first started the production of my sequence, I thought that the standard would be low. However, the process of my sequence has taught me that almost anyone can produce a good quality video with the right tools and research. The only thing is, I could’ve been more experimental with my equipment and footage, now I know I should do this next time.

Evaluation part 6- How did you attract/address your audience?

I think I have reached my audience as I have considered my character and her costume, the setting, the soundtrack and the editing. I did several bits of research on similar films and what codes and conventions they used. These inspired me to look at similar aspects when I was filming and editing. For example; Ill Manors used shots of the settings, using a high speed with these shots. I though this was good as it showed to the audience where it would be set and when it comes to target audience this attracts them as they can relate to the design of the area. In my sequence, I also showed the setting and so the audience could see where it's set and how they can relate to it. My character is young, attracting the young audience I wanted as people will feel more attracted to films that are about people their age as it's relatable in terms of social behavior and peers. In my audience feedback on the first cut, the common problem was 'the narrative wasn't clear', then I knew that I couldn't attract my audience if I couldn't show them a clear narrative. Therefore, when I re-shooted I had to ensure I added some sort of narrative and so that's what I did. On my second feedback it was said the narrative was clearer which was good but I still had to make it look more clear she was running from the police. So, I added some more shots in to show the police approaching the estate and edited shots to make them more shaky to show the dramatic running. The music I used also fitted well with the dramatic shots, and in my audience feedback a few said they liked my choice of music. To improve I could of used more characters to show the range of people in my film and the different personas, this may have been more attractive for an audience as if I used a girl and a boy, I could of attracted more of a male audience.

Evaluation part five - How does your media product represent particular racial groups?

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media evaluation part 4

Evaluation 3 from jasminelecomber

Evaluation part 2

Evaluation part 1- Brief

For my media studies coursework, I had to create a title sequence for a film, in which the film (narrative, title, cast etc.) was created by me. I needed to produce a piece of work that showed my knowledge and understanding of media and its modern technologies. Furthermore, I needed to create a meaning in my work and show that I know what my intentions are, expanding my skills within media.  The sequence had to be between 1:30 and 2 minutes, using different shots and camera movement and be edited with Final Cut Pro, using effects, colour corrections etc.

My film, South-East Descent, is a British Drama about a girl who comes from a higher-class family but becomes bankrupt due to failings in her parents business. We follow the character as she falls into a crowd who lives a lifestyle of crime and drugs. Her parents try desperately to rehabilitate her, and at one point we think she will, until there is a tragic ending of her accidently overdosing on drugs. A continuous theme of social realism runs through my film as it reflects social issues that are well alive today. In my sequence I had to consider, using codes and conventions, how to bring across this theme.

My sequence starts off with a POV shot from a car with a police siren in the background, we then see a girl running away and eventually stopping by a lake. The rest of the shots are of the setting, showing the context of the film. In between these shots are the credits, white text with a black background. The sequence is meant to create an enigma: what is she running from? Why the police? This will be explained more in my other evaluations.

Final Cut

My final Title Sequence of South-East Descent, I will now evaluate my work in the next posts.

Editing with new footage- Speed of shots

Some of my shots needing slowing down and speeding up either because they were too long, too slow, too fast, or too short.

I could easily change the speed in the 'motions' tab and all I had to do was change the percentage of speed. I had to mess around with a bit too see what worked the best. 

I wanted to alter the speeds as creating slow motion can be effective for drama, I feel it allows time for the audience to contemplate what's going on and prepares them for the next dramatic shot. I also sped up the shots of the setting shots, like the estate and the water as I wanted to keep that dramatic mood going but let the audience still see that this was the setting.

Editing with new footage- Sound Effects

To make it clear that it's the police and crime is part of my genre, I  added a siren sound effect and a person running sound effect I found online

I had to convert the files to WAV then drag them into my sequence, I could also change the decibels so the volume was not too loud or too quiet and so they seemed more realistic.

Editing with new footage- Earthquake effect

Now I have my new footage I'm going to insert it into my sequence and edit it. Here's some of the process:

Earthquake  is part of the distorting effects, the reason I wanted to use a distorted effect was too make my sequence more interesting as well as allowing it to fit with my genre. The effect made my POV shots more shakey to add a dramatic effect. Here's an example.

New Footage- Thumbnails

Here are the thumbnails from my new footage

In my new footage I have filmed my actor running around the estate and eventually stopping at the river to show she's running away from something or someone. I also have some shots of the setting and someone smoking, to create a negative representation. I will insert this new footage into Final Cut Pro, creating a sequence that's going to look completely different but better.

Re-Shoot

For my last re-shoot I went back to Thamesmead to film more of my character and the setting. This time I filmed some continuity to create more of a narrative and an enigma, this was of my actor running around the estate as if she's running from something(the police, a threat). This clips link more to my narrative as they are representing some sort of trouble and crime

This is what they wore

The outfit is casual and lazy, representing the character as rough. 

A shot of me filming the setting 

Changing Title Sequence

For my re-shoot I'm going to change the narrative so there is some continuity. So, I am going to change the actor as someone who more fits the role and is more open to what I want done.

When I re-shoot, I will film clips of my person running around the estate to show that they are running from someone(the police?) which will create an enigma and make my title sequence more effective. I will use various camera movements(POV, handheld, pan and zoom) to ensure my sequence is visually interesting and that they link with the narrative.

Changing my title

The title of my film started as Nasty Nasty, but I changed this to Declension as it fitted more with the narrative of my film. However, since looking at the film on the title sequence I feel it's not the right kind of word for a British Drama, it seems it would fit more of a horror film. So, I have finally decided on SOUTH-EAST DESCENT as my title, the reason is it's set in the South-East and so fits with context and descent means moving downwards, dropping or falling. The storyline involves the main character dropping in terms of social class and also becoming involved with drugs and crime.

Changing Font

When reviewing my font, it seemed as if it suited more a of a horror theme than a British Drama, so I went back to look at my other choices of font and chose this one. It's quite simple but some letters are slightly distorted to add to the grittiness of my sequence.

The next step in terms of improving my sequence

Now that i've received feedback and have become aware of what needs to be done I can go back and improve my sequence until it's successful. To do this I will re-shoot considering more of  a narrative, in order to create more of narrative I could bring continuity into my sequence;

• Someone running away
• Someone walking through the estate

Once I've re shooted these clips I will place them in final cut pro, creating a more chronological order.  The soundtrack will remain the same but I want to change my film title and font as they remind me more of a horror genre and not a British Drama.

Title Sequence rough cut feedback

After presenting my rough cut to the class and my treacher, I recieved feedback on what worked well and what could be better. The general points were; to make it link more to the narrative and what the genre is as this is not clear and ensuring the videos are chronological in terms of a narrative and times in the day.

First rough copy

This is my first cut which I'll be presenting to the class. Once I've presented it, I will receive feedback and will then look for any improvements and see if anything needs to be shot to complete the sequence.

Editing Steps

First- First of all I had to cut down the clips as some of them are too long and have irrelevant parts

This is the toolbar which I used, the tool with the slicer is the one I used to crop the clips.

Once the clips were put together, I needed to put a title in to my initial clip, on the left shows how I edited the text and chose my font and on the right you can see how I could move the font to where I wanted it to be. What I also did was change the opacity of the text so the opacity would become lower as the clip went on. I also added text between each shot for the credits, using the same method.

I then wanted to add effects so I used the 'bad film' one to create a dull colour and some flickr, adding to the grittiness of my film.

I also wanted the text to fade, so I had to manually move this line so the opacity would gradually get lower.

Initial Editing/ Adapting to software

Now I have my clips I am going to begin editing on Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro is a a video editing software that allows me to put my clips together, add text, change motion etc. It's not to difficult to use but is good for complexity.

This is what it looks like, as you can see there is a timeline at the bottom where the clips positions and length are controlled. The left screen allows editing for individual clips and text and the right screen previews the clips.

Once I converted my clips so they could work with the program, I put them into a sequence so I could drag them to the sequence and but them in order.

This is what the clip looks like when inserted into the sequence, the top bit is the clip and the bottom parts the sound, which can be deleted.

Editing- Order of credits

When adding my credits, I have to ensure the order is correct and I'm placing all the needed credits in. This is the order:

1. Studio Logo
2. 'Production company presents...'
3. Film title
4. Actors/actresses names (main characters only)
5. Any of these:
6. casting 

• production designer
• costume
• make-up
• special effects
• music
• sound editor

1. Editor
2. Director of Photography
3. Executive Producer(s)
4. Producer(s)
5. Writer(s)
6. Director