Media evaluation.

For my project…task……..

Before starting the project I had to create an account on the internet site

www.blogger.com

this enabled me to keep up to date with all my research and gave me the base to collaborate my research and work together. Using blogger previously on my first year project meant I had more confidence with the site and was able to use it more as a diary rather then just a neat version of work events.

This then lead to the thought process behind my short film. The first research that I decided to gather was genre research, as this would define what conventions I would have to follow to create my film but also to understand my audience and the conventions my target audience would want to see from the film.

Firstly I looked at the apocalyptic genre looking at the film twenty-eight days later which was directed by Danny Boyle and released in 2002. The film itself is a post modern post apocalyptic film with the standard use of the dead being alive however re invents the stereotypical ideas behind zombies with the use of a rage virus. The film follows all conventions of the genre also using horror conventions as well. This is a good source of research for any apocalyptic film I may have wanted to make. The film 28 days later itself made me realize that filming in the dark would be hard and trying to find good locations in either the town center or locally that would be abandoned, would be really hard and extremely time consuming. The film could still have been made but without these conventions the film would lack a lot of credibility as a post-apocalyptic film. This then in turn made me try to look at a different form of apocalyptic film. The film eventually being Deep impact which was directed by Mimi Leder in 1998 and is a film showing the destruction of earth and the citizens of America facing the problems occurring as a result of this. Again this followed the normal conventions needed to make this genre of film. From the clip that I analyzed I realized that the genre itself relies heavily on special effects to show the destruction. With little technology and no budget this would be practically impossible to make, however made me realize how my film could follow such conventions without the effects and would therefore be more emotional and meaningful to the audience.

From looking at the two films I had decided upon doing an apocalyptic genre film based around the ending of the earth but to present this through the eyes of the public of Hull. The films also used conventional syntax editing were the audience is lead through an establishing shot to a medium shot then close up and back again but also rules such as the 180 degree rule. This was going to be the way in which I edited my film however also trying to break this by using different shots from different angles which in my opinion created a more interesting film showing the audience a variety of angles rather then the same angles throughout the film. The cinematography in both films was very different as in 28 days later there was the theme of a horror genre as well which meant much of the film had a bleak and washed out feel creating the mood of loneliness and keeping the shots dark referring to how the larger audience associates with this in horror films. This wasn’t exactly what I wanted for my film however did reinforce what conventions I would want to use. Deep impact was very different using normal sunny skies for much of the film and lots of coloured lighting as the film tries to show America coming together. From this I decided to that I would keep the cinematography simple with the use of dry weather in the shots and use effects such as fades or colour fades in place where there would be destruction.

Also I liked the idea of making a film based around film noir. so I looked at posters from the film Sin City as this would help me develop the basic conventions that are involved and the cinematography needed to create a noir film.

The posters again made me realize the difficulties when making a noir film after the analysis I did earlier on my blogger I decided upon using black and white when filming, however to leave other noir conventions such as strong lighting and heavy rain out, because I believed the audience would become confused as to what’s happening throughout the narrative. The reasons behind using black and white filming however was to eradicate any lighting issues as throughout the research process bad weather became more apparent. This then goes against the nice fresh lighting I wanted. After deciding the main areas of what my film was going to be based on I had to be clear about a target audience. With the actors I could use most were aged 16 to 19 which meant the likely target audience that would watch this film would be of a similar age, however using the concepts of (LIiAR) language, institution, ideologies, audience and representation on my blogger. This then enabled me to understand my target audience more and not only my audience but the businesses and productions involved within such a film as mine.

Looking at my film I believe the film was successful in entertaining an audience however could project the ideologies from the characters in a more detailed way for example I could of used more scenes of people panicking which would of given the audience more of an idea as to what is going on but this is partially part of the concept that I intended as I didn’t want my film to be predictable for an audience.

The mise en scene of the film is key to the mood and ideologies that run through the narrative in the film. Not only did conditions of the weather have to be extremely dry but also we had problems with snow through the shooting periods and if there weren’t snow then it would rain which became a real problem when considering the continuity of the film. The film also is based around the sun burning earth and so most shots had to be really sunny to show the audience how the sun is effecting earth. One method I used to combat this was from the film noir research as all the shots was changed to black and white how ever I also believed this enabled the audience to become active and really feel the sense of loneliness and heartbreak that I wanted to flow through my film.

Also as part of the mise en scene I wanted all my actors to concentrate on facial and moving performance rather then the dialogue and so there is no dialogue in my film which I wanted as this would give the audience chance to imagine what they themselves would say or think in such a moment.

This was one comment that many of the people I asked to watch and review my film said. Many saying that choice of locations was good and expressions from the actors was believable.

The cinematography of my film wasn’t very complicated, as I believe in the use of continuity editing following a linear film. This meant that the film was easy to understand and meant effects could be much simpler in the editing stages of production. Due to the camera being a small hand held camera I designed a small DIY version of a steady camera allowing for a much steadier shot and this was used when tracking or panning in shots.

One exception that I had when filming was the sound quality, as my film has two-non dieagetic sound clips. One piece being a composed track of music for the main part of my film. The second piece being a dramatic sound effect there to create tension as the film starts. This music would cover all forms of dialogue and natural diegetic sounds.

The choice of music was a piece of composed music called radio This was a song composed by Marco Bertrami for the third terminator film which was actually used in the film as the earth is ending. this was a perfect bases in which to use in my film intellectually but also as the music is very fitting to the pace of editing and feeling of the film.

overall i belive my film could of been made in a much more detailed manor looking at more areas of depression and feelings also with a beeter budget and the sue of beeter equipment the film could be made using a more hoolywood type feel allowing the scene to be more interesting and have various lighting enambling me to show the moods more.

it wouldnt be fair of me to only blame technology though as many of my desicions was changed through filming and planning somtimes was difficult as i not a fan of always planning however i beleive with a little more planning and possibly more feed back from the audience rather then personal interest i could of had a more varied film with meanings for a wider audience.