Media Evaluation - Connor Jackson

"Yo Adrian!" Rocky II
The Inception Sound Effect
Link To Our Radio Trailer

Media Evaluation - Kieran Charlesworth

Question 1 - http://goo.gl/lSR6K
Question 2 - http://goo.gl/jmtgk
Question 3 - http://goo.gl/kEUTX
Question 4 - http://goo.gl/t8D6y

Final Chosen Group Poster

Evaluation (Sean Martin)

      1) In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

     Throughout our media product our group researched on the different conventions of media, such as; learning certain camera techniques, lighting techniques and sound editing. We began by researching certain continuity conventions and started to implement these conventions into our film. We came across different rules like the “match on action” and “180-degree” line which helped make our finished media product appear more professional and made it flow much better. This was also increased through the use of cut and fade transitions to represent a passage of time within the film.

The screenshot above shows elliptical editing which was used to speed up the process of the main character (Adrian) walking towards the car park

We decided early on to create a film in the horror genre, with this; we set out to research on the certain paradigms that a horror film would use. We made a list of these paradigms in order to fulfil the nature of the genre and what people would expect from it, this included; having a dark lighted aesthetic, intensity through the use of chase scenes and having an overall eerie atmosphere to the film. The combination of these different elements and paradigms would allow us to create different kinds of audience pleasure within our film. For example, the chase scenes would keep the audience of our film interested and involved with not only what is going off on screen, but also cause them to have more sympathy for the characters involved. This would create a plot that sticks with the audience and also a more immersive world for the audience to participate in.

Though the overall tone of the film is serious, our group decided to add references to other films that have inspired us as film-makers. The prime example of this would be at the very beginning of our film, when the character (Adrian)’s fellow worker greets him by saying “Yo! Adrian!” This is a slight reference to the Rocky series in which Rocky Balboa expresses his delight with winning the fighting tournament. Even though Rocky isn't a horror film, we decided to adopt this line and use it as a reference to one of our favourite films, but put it in a different context.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgScBiXkO9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K0elYv8O48M

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We first conducted a questionnaire to search out for certain paradigms that people would expect from a horror genre. Such as lighting, suspense and an evil character etc. This allowed us to create a much more refined story with multiple characters that could be explored.

We explored a lot of different creative decisions in the process of creating our film, due to audience feedback. Firstly, we used colour correction when editing the film. This included adding black bars on the top and bottom of the screen to give the film a more cinematic look and also adding filters in certain places to give certain scenes a more eerie feel to them.

 This screenshot above shows the main character (Adrian) alone in the dark with a bright light, this light draws the audience’s attention to the door in which Adrian is about to walk through.

The audience responded well to how we decided to end our film, it closes with the demon stalking Adrian again, yet, nothing else is shown as the camera fades to black. This is left open for viewers to interpret what they think might have happened.

4) How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Firstly, through the use of Panasonic HD1000 cameras, we were able to shoot our entire film in 1080p.

This means a greater quality of video for our audience and makes our final product appear more professional. Once we had all the film we required, we then edited our film on a Mac using Final Cut Express. This software allowed us to cut all unnecessary video from our film and add a whole range of different effects to make our product appear even more professional looking through the use of; filters, transitions and audio editing, in which we could add samples of sounds, for example, the “banshee scream" from the demon halfway through the film.

Whilst we were filming our product we were simultaneously updating our progress through the use of Blogger, in which we gave progress updates and uploaded other background information and research. This stems from title sequence researching to researching the whole “short film” genre as a whole to find certain conventions that we could adopt into our film.

We also used various other applications during the development of our film.  One example of this would be Adobe Photoshop.

In which the posters and billboards designs for the film were made. In this program it allowed me to add gradients, titles and images to again make the product seem more professional looking which would intrigue people into watching the film.  Our script writer also used a program called “Celtx” to order our script in an organised manner and to make the creation of the product more professional as well.

Celtx logo

Finally, we used zoom recorders to produce the voice-over for our radio trailer, in which we wrote a script on Celtx and then imported the audio file into Final Cut to add re-verb and other audio effects. All of these features allowed us to create a much more proficient film and allowed us to successfully reach our target audience.

KARMA - Completed First Edition

This is the first render of our completed film. It is now subject to critical audience evaluation, for us to act upon if there is any major feedback saying we need to change something.