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Evaluation 7

Evaluation 6

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

Evaluation 1

Evaluation Plan - 7

Here is my plan for question 7:

'Looking back at the preliminary task, what have you learnt in the progression from it to a full product?'

Evaluation Plan - 6

Here is my plan for question 6:

'What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?'

Evaluation Plan - 5

Here is my plan for question 5:

'How did you attract/address your audience?'

Evaluation Plan - 4

Here is my plan for question 4:

'Who would be the audience for your media product?'

Evaluation Plan - 3

Here is the plan for question 3:

'What kind of media institution will distribute your media product, and why?'

Evaluation Plan - 2

Here is the plan for question 2:

'How does your media product represent particular social groups?' 

Evaluation Plan - 1

Here is my plan for question 1:

'How does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?'

The PowerPoint

Here are the slides I have made so far for the evaluations. I decided to make them all in one powerpoint because I am planning to record them all at once. This is what I have got so far:

  

  

     

You may have noticed that I only have slides for evaluations 1, 2,3 and 6. This is because there is not much that I could put on a slide to add to what I am planning to say (from my planning sheet) for the 4th, 5th and 7th evaluation.

 As I do not have any imagery for those evaluations I am planning to do a face recording instead. This way the content will be more interesting than watching a blank screen, and I will be using a wider variety of media skills as I will have to edit the videos. 

Planning for PowerPoint

My idea for the evaluations is to create slideshows for all the evaluation questions, I will then record a screen recording of the powerpoint and add a voice-over to accompany the slides. I don't think I will add a lot of text to the powerpoints because I will be saying all the relevant information, instead, I might just add images or screenshots according to the topic of the question, I may even add audio to illustrate the non-diegetic music we used in our project.

Evaluation Preparation

Now that we have finished our project it is time to make our evaluations. Evaluations are a form of reflection from all the work we have done over this academic year, including things that I have learnt and skills I have picked up along the way. As I have been thinking about the evaluation questions, I decided to write out my initial ideas onto an A3 sheet. I plan to use this sheet as a foundation to develop the rest of my ideas and then eventually my responses, which I plan to present in various media formats.

Here are my ideas so far: 

Age Certificate - BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-government organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912 to monitor the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and in videos. The main purpose of these BBFC certificates and age ratings are to ensure the age-appropriateness of movies in accordance to the BBFC requirements. Using the ratings allows viewers to make safe, informed decisions about the content they choose to watch for themselves and their families.

Here is the current BBFC rating system:

U Universal - Suitable for all

A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over, although it is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. U films should be set within positive framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

PG Parental Guidance 

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

12A - Suitable for 12 and over  

12 - 12 years and over (video only) 

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children under 12. No one younger that 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. 

15 - Suitable for 15 years and over

No on younger than 15 may see a 15 film in cinemas. The 15 films may contain strong language and dangerous behaviour. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual, educational context. 

18 - Suitable only for adults 

No one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video work. Adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Material could include detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use which may cause harm to public health or morals.  

After researching the different age certificates, I studied our film opening, taking into consideration the possible plot that we had in mind. I have come to the conclusion that our opening should be rated a 15 because although it would not contain any strong language, or sexual activity, there may be a strong threat of violence and horror - the violence between our protagonist the friend. The only reason i did not rate it an 18 is because there is no sexual content or illegal drug use. The 12A rating was too low as the bloody scenes could be troubling for younger children.  

Feedback - How did the ending make you feel?

For this question we asked the audience to express to us how the ending of our opening made them feel. Remembering that the larger the words indicate more people making the same comment, our word map shows that lots of people were left feeling curious at the end of out opening, which is great because it implies that, if they could, they would like to continue watching. Unexpectedly the majority of the audience felt sympathetic towards the protagonist and a few people also felt guilty. Below are more responses: 

Feedback - What did you understand about the narrative?

For this question we wanted the audience to share with us what they understood about the plot from watching the opening, this includes a short synopsis from what they gathered so far. To display the responses to this question we decided to make a word cloud from the key words in their synopsis', this way we have a clear visual of the overall response from the audience. When the words have larger lettering it indicates that multiple people have made the same comment, so from our results we can see that most people gathered she is trapped and that there is an element of mental health involved, The majority of the audience referred to the murder of a friend which was interesting as we did not specify who the person in the flashbacks was. The rest of the results are below:

Feedback - Any suggestions for improvements?

During the showcase the audience filled out a sheet with a few questions about 'Trapped' for them to answer as they watched it. Below is the overall feedback we received about improvements for our opening, we also paired the constructive criticism with the positive feedback to balance it out a bit more:

Feedback Sheets

Before the media showcase everyone in the audience was handed a feedback sheet for each of the media groups so that they could write down their thoughts on the projects. The sheet had the same 4 questions for all the groups:

1. What did you understand about the narrative?
2. Did the chosen genre fit its conventions?
3. How did the 'ending' make you feel?
4. Any suggestions for improvements, if we were to shot the whole thing again? 

We gathered a lot of valuable feedback from these sheets which we presented in various ways to make it easier to read and analyse. These are a few examples of the sheets after people filled them out: 

Feedback 4

Here is some feedback from Kira, Izabel and our media teacher Ms Foster. They admired the time-lapse, the audio and our actress Mehreen also got some compliments even though we are not marked for acting. We were also very pleased that our teacher picked up on our Macbeth reference from the bloody hands.  

Feedback 3

Lucy and Julia like the fact that it was very character driven, and they said the laughing made them feel uneasy...which was good!

Feedback 2

Jade enjoyed the imagery and the friendship presented between the friends. She also had an excellent suggestion to have flashbacks from various locations instead of the same one.   

Feedback After Showcase

After all the movie openings and music videos were finished we asked a few people from the audience about their thoughts of our project. Most of the feedback was fairly positive and the suggestions were also very useful.

This feedback is from Katie, Harriet and their star actor Ted. They touched on the audio throughout the clip as well as the blood on the hands which Ted realised was connected to 'Macbeth'!

Synopsis

We are going to show our final opening to the rest of the school on Monday. Before we play it we have to say a short brief about what our opening is about and how the plot would develop if it was to be made into a full film, this is what we are planning to say:

'Good afternoon, this is our opening Trapped. It is a psychological thriller about a girl that is in a mental institution. We chose the title 'Trapped' because it reflects her physical imprisonment within the asylum as well as her mental state as she suffers from flash backs. If it was to be made into a full length film it would follow how she mentally deteriorates after the death of her friend, this would also explain how she ended up in the asylum. Enjoy" 

Evaluation Questions

These are the questions we need to address in our evaluations:

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? 
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 
4. Who would be the audience for your media product 
5. How did you attract / address your audience? 
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 

Trapped (Final)

After all the research and feedback we gathered and the excessive alterations, we are proud to say that this is our final movie opening that conforms to the conventions of the film industry:

  

Cliffhanger

At first, we were not happy with the ending because we felt that it was longer than it had to be. Our classmates agreed with us as they said it made them feel uncomfortable and uneasy. However, after further analysis the excessive pacing at the end builds tension as you find yourself waiting for something to happen, this causes you to sit on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what is to come. We realised that this unfulfilled anticipation hooked audiences to want to watch more. Our aim was to draw in audiences, and without realising it we had created a great cliffhanger that leaves audiences hungry for more.

Wiping Non-existent Tears

A student noticed that our actor was wiping her face when there were not any tears to wipe away. This was intentional as it emphasises the deterioration of her mental state. The fact she is wiping away imaginary tears suggests how she could be hallucinating or the fact that emotionally she wants to cry but physically her body is too drained to produce tears. This could also make the audience question whether she is guilty because she is clearly distraught over what happened to her 'friend' which makes you question is she is responsible of affected.  

Changes

• We cut the slow zoom shot of the mirror shot to edit out the cameraman 
• Added a few seconds to the establishing to extend the introduction 
• Made the fade to black a second longer between the production company and the establishing shot 
• Added laughing audio to flashbacks 

Adding Laughter Audio

One of the comments made by our classmates was to add audio in the background of the flashbacks because it seemed to missing something:

This is the audio we added: 

  /Users/asy12group4201617/Desktop/352558__jazzinda__sfx-girl-laughing.wav

Reflection

The feedback that we gathered was extremely constructive, it opened our eye to ideas we would not have thought of, had we not carried out this research. All the suggestions were insightful however, not all of them could be applied to our project due to the complications they would cause to the structure and continuity. An example of this is the recurring comment that the ending was too stretched out. Even though  re-filming this scene would have improved our project, there would be difficulties to maintain continuity because our actress had a hair cut which is clearly very different to her hairstyle in the original footage. This means we would either have to film all the scenes again so the mise-en-scene would be aligned or the more realistic option which was to just leave out the changes. Continuity has been the main reason we are so hesitant to re-shoot scenes as it could result in more inaccuracy's if the set is not the same as when we first filmed. 

For the time being we are going to focus on the improvements we can make through editing the footage we already have.   

Friends response

More feedback:

Q: What did you like?

A: My favourite part was the blood and the photo frame scene. The camera shots were really good as well and you get bits of the plot but not fully so your still in the dark. Its open to interpretation.  

Q: What would you change?

A: I would make the ending more of a cliff hanger, leave a note or something that adds suspense.  

Q: Would you go and watch it?

A: Yes probably but I would be a little scared because I do not like psycho thrillers.

Teachers response

Here are some more responses:

This time we asked the audience three questions to get an understanding for what they think of it and ways they would improve it:

Q: What did you like about it?

A: The atmosphere that it created was really good and so was the acting. The suspense was also very effective.

Q: What would you improve?

A: The pacing at the end was a little elongated which makes you expect something else to happen, but nothing does. 

Q: Would you watch the rest of this if it was a film? 

A: No because its too suspenseful and I would get scared. 

Class feedback

Now that we have finished our project we decided to show it to our media class because we wanted to get feedback from people that have not viewed it before as they will have a fresh perspective, compared to our group who have been editing it for the past few months. The aim was for them to pick up on any mistakes and faults that we may have overlooked as well as any improvements that they think would make our opening better. 

Here is their feedback:

            

The overall response was fairly positive except for a few minor criticisms and suggested changes:

• In the over-shoulder shot with the slow zoom the cameraman is visible for few seconds in the reflection of the mirror.
• The establishing shot was too short because we only had one, they suggested adding another one that is different or extending the length of our current one.
• The black screen between the production company and the start of our opening was too short.
• When our actor is crying she wipes her face, but there are not any tears on her face.
• It would be good to have ambient sound in the flashbacks to make it more like a home video, or add disturbing demonic sounds to reflect her mindset  
• The pacing at the end was too long.  

Trapped

This is our finished film opening:

            

The Flashbacks

In order to make our flashbacks stand out against the rest of the opening we altered the colour of the shots. By dimming the flashbacks it made a clear cut between her memories and reality to ensure the audience know what was going on. The dull tones also reflected the patients thoughts as she reflects on their time together in a negative way this informs the audience that they are not fond memories. To edit the picture we altered the exposure, brightness, contrast and colour saturation in the settings.

 

 

Duration Of Titles

At first when we applied our titles to your opening they appeared for various duration's of time ranging from about 2 seconds to 4 seconds because we were inserting them to fit in with the duration of certain shots. After re-visiting them we realised that the inconsistency of the tiles made the opening seem rushed and poorly constructed, as well as difficult to read because they were so short. Although the conventional duration for a titles to be on screen is 4 seconds or more there are some openings that have their titles up for less even though it is not conventional in the film industry, an example of this is 'The Last Panthers' (2015) where the title appear for 2-3 seconds:

'Gone Girl' (2014) is another example of this, as the titles barely appear for 2 seconds before slowly fading out. This is half the expected time for film titles however they get away with it because the majority of their titles are short so you can read them before the text disappears: 

   

Through doing this research we concluded that although our titles do not necessarily have to be the customary 4 seconds long, they do need to be consistent in their duration. It just so happened that the agreed duration was 4 seconds because they aligned nicely.