My Presentation (link)

Here is a link showing me premiering my final piece; and then explaining many of its features- before the audience asked questions about it.
https://vimeo.com/90222063

Presentation (Prezi)

http://prezi.com/fwwqoc0qylta/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Above is the link to my Prezi presentation, which will occur in tomorrows lesson. The presentation will last 15 minutes; this includes the viewing of my final project, me talking about my film (slide by slide), and then i will take questions when I am finished explaining my project.

Presentation Progress

As you can see, work has begun in preparation for my presentation this week; whereby i am presenting my final piece to the class and then talking about it and answering questions on it. This is crucial to my evaluation score as it allows me once again answer the 7 assessment questions in detail, and additionally link it directly to my video for the first time thus far. 
 I am using prezi over powerpoint as it has served me well in media theory previously, and more importantly it is an easier piece of presentation software to easily show videos. 

Answering the Questions

Simple Answers to the Media Evaluation Questions

 

1. How does your media product challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

• The use of the Film4 distributor ident and my own film productions’ logo creates realism due to its appropriate place and existence within the piece. I feel that my logo is professional looking due to its slick appearance and intelligent colour scheme change. The name green apple is understated but also believable, due to its ordinary connotations.
• The use of soundtrack is a common trait within film openings and fits perfectly and professionally in my piece; as it appropriately builds atmosphere, whilst giving the collection of shots a stature, as arguably without the music, the titled part of the opening would not infer a great deal of suspicion or tension to the reader. This mirrors soundtracks use in films like the usual suspects and panic room which I previously analysed. 
• The quality of speech in the final part is a moderate regret, as it is inferior to the majority of professional films. However it shows great progression from my first film speech attempts. This point will be made in my making-of documentary.
• The variety and suitability of my video transitions creates in my opinion a realistic feel to my project as the different choices and different lengths has been judged correctly.

  1. (B)  How does your media project represent particular social groups?

• My character represents the young and naïve. Despite my characters’ creepy, and perhaps disturbing remarks in the second scene; the character is intended to be a young religious man from the town, influenced by the church and his deeply religious family. Therefore, this depicts the young to be easily manipulated- by the older and more streetwise. If this was to made into a feature film, the chracters' inner conflict would be exposed. Therefore, due to the secluded purity of the location, my characters' actions expoit the mystery behind religion- often in rural areas. E.g. True Detective; a show which gave me alot of inspiration. Additionally, the black and white colour scheme connotes the old religious ideals, and the traditional atmosphere.

2. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• In my opinion Film4 is a well suited choice; due to its reputation of giving new young British film directors/talent a chance- e.g. Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers), this is something which would give great confidence in their faith. Additionally the traditional films which Film4 generally distribute, promote the messages and representations in their films, over style and action- which the American conglomerations generally prioritize. This therefore would give me great confidence as a director to run wild with my ideas and produced something which myself and the people around me wanted the most.
• Alternatively DNA films and Fox Searchlight, would've also been plausible choices, as their have a reputation for patience and an acceptance for alternative films (such as Sunshine, and Notes on a Scandal. 

3. Who would be the audience for your media product?

• Having spoke to my family individually (13, 44, 49) as well as my personal understanding; as it is a murder mystery chiefly- it is primarily aimed at a wide audience of thriller fans- aged 15 and above. However 13-15 year olds would likely still enjoy it- due to my sister's reaction. Additionally alternative/Indie film fans would praise this- due to its unique messages, outlook and its amazingly low budget.

4. How did you attract/address your audience?

• It addresses and attracts murder mystery fans due to the confusion of the scream, setting, context; which hopefully intrigues this part of the audience-like a good murder mystery opening should. 
• Alternative film fans will be addressed and attracted due to the unique message within the piece. The implications of when my character states "she welcomed it" are vast; such as the religious connotations which would excite/interest a wide audience of conspiracy lovers, as well as the alternative/indie fans who look for something fresh- and off the radar, which I hope this is. The use of the black and white colour scheme may well attract this unique audience, as it is bound to create a fresh impression on any viewer.

5. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Adobe Premiere Pro is a superb piece of software, teaching me so much about the immense capabilities film makers can have with the correct tools at their disposal. An example of this would be playing around with the ghost effect- used in the digging part and more so in the 2nd part. It creates a unique blur, which confuses the viewer and shows the scary emotions and intentions of the deluded main character. This would not have been possible without this effect. 
• My Camera (Nikon Coolpix),was reliable but susceptible to rain, as was the Canon provided.They both produced top quality HD footage, but ultimately the weather made it hard to give time and consideration during shooting, or to shoot in volume- as the lenses were getting affected too easily by the rain. A draw back which is major regret from the shooting process. 

6. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

• The importance of sound quality became evident as my tasks progressed. I quickly realized that excellent sound quality is an obvious trait of a professional piece; therefore i have recently strived to achieve- coming very close in my final project in my opinion. 
• The important of patience; this became obvious when drafting and redrafting my final project, as attention to detail seems to be crucial when perfecting media pieces; as there is always so many aspects to alter. It becomes very taxing; but ultimately it is a preference to rushing through everything post shooting, as i did in my first projects.

Interview

This is my interview about my film and the Six evaulation questions... Enjoy!

 

https://vimeo.com/89492395

Final Cut

Here is my final cut..

https://vimeo.com/88867043

Please, if possible- use good headphones when watching this; this helps build the atmosphere.

Project complete. The evaluation begins.

A link to my final cut will be posted later today, as it is currently uploading to vimeo. The Evaluation process has already begun with the planning to answer the 7 questions (shown below)- in the best possible way.

Lots of things

Right, firstly- blog improvements will take place to rapidly improve my planning mark. This will occur in the next 4 weeks. 

A bit of catching up to do...

• Here is a link to my first draft on vimeo- providing a better quality image. https://vimeo.com/86498383

A critical response to this first video:

0:00 - the opening scream is quite effective
0:03 - I would slow all of your footage down to match the tempo of the music and make the editing a little more adventurous. The opening shot is cut a little too soon. I would start the music with the opening shot.
I would also cross-dissolve between each shot.
0:08- Again, the shot is not held for long enough.
0:10- You don't need the blackout here
0:12 - Again, this will look better with the music if it's slowed down
0:15 - I think it should just be "Film 4 presents"
0:16 - You hold the credits too long. I think about 2-3s each is about right
0:25 - The credit here should be "a Film Freddy production"
0:37 - The credit here should have "Freddy Allen" on the second line and "a film by" in lower case
0:43 - Again, I would cross-fade to this shot and again go for a slower motion
0:53 - Just make this credit "Zoe Crick"
1:00 - not sure you need the fade through black here.
1:08 - you obviously need to add in a lot more credits
1:32 - I would keep the music going until the title comes down.

Don't forget to plan out and shoot the additional scene I suggested.

• In response to these suggestions; this is the refined version of my final piece.(This is still only the interim final cut- as in my opinion some of the sound timings need fine tuning)
• https://vimeo.com/88447483