Finished opening and Evaluation

Finished Video and Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product uses the conventions of real Film Noir by using the character styles that you see in typical film noir, similar location styles, lighting, narrative, use of shots, editing methods etc.Although my media product uses them in a more modern style, the desired effect is still maintained by using similar methods to contemporary film noir. By following such genre stylistics, I have created a more up to date film noir, or "neo-noir". By using similar characters as in previous productions like "Touch of Evil" (1958, directed by Orson Welles), I have included a femme fatale and a male protagonist for her to twist to her own advantage and then deceive. By using low lighting and dirty locations, I have created a visual image of the mood represented, similar to "Double Indemnity" (1944, directed by Billy Wilder). Also the costumes and props in my product are basic like in most film noirs, the use of voice overs to show the characters thoughts, which is a very common occurrence in film noir, music to represent the mood is also used in my product and is also a typical film noir trait. One of the more obvious things that defines my opening as a film noir is the similar narrative, the ideas of love, betrayal, money, gangs and crime are all included in my product and are all part of the genre characteristics. Overall I believe my product uses and update the noir genre.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents a few social groups. The "Mr. Big" character is represented as a dark shadowy character and represents the darker side of life in crime. The femme fatale is a attractive and mysterious woman, the male protagonist is your average working man led into a dark life. By using lighting and costumes we have created these characters effectively and by using locations to create a mood and atmosphere that fits the character and genre style.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Smaller film companies are more likely to distribute my media product because it is not a large production and is not to a high enough standard to be sent to a major company to be distributed. Unless my product was a large success, it would initially only be seen at film festivals and independent cinemas, which would only draw in a small audience. If my product was to be broadcast on television, it is most likely that it would be on late at night and on a smaller channel like filmfour or skyindepenedent movies.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
I believe that my media product would have a wide audience, from the age of 15 to 25, the main cinema going audience. I believe this category of audience is appropriate because of the characteristics of my product. The idea of gangs and crime appeals more to a younger audience because of the excitement in the stories and characters used. Also I feel it would be aimed more at a male audience because of the use of the female character as a seductress and that men are more likely to like more violent and aggressive or powerful films. I think that the product would be rated a 15 by the BBFC which would obviously limit the younger audience. I think it would be a 15 because their is some violence and content may be inappropriate for some younger views, also that the storyline may be too complicated for a younger audience anyway and would not attract them to come and see the product. I think because the product is not a major production, only an active cinema going audience would go and watch the film because it would not be widely distributed, it would have no marketing campaign and would be shown only in small independent cinemas. Also the audience would probably be a more sophisticated audience as the style and genre of the film is not easily understood and may appeal to higher members of society.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I think by using younger talent in the product may attract younger viewers to view the product, and by using a strong female character I have targeted a larger male audience. I have also attracted a larger male audience with the story of the product, violence; crime and money are topics that seem to interest men more than women in cinema. I think my product also appears to a younger audience because of its fast pace and more modern music.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Technologies I used in the initial research stage like: the internet, blogs, YouTube etc, where very useful in the process of planning and finding out information about film noir and how to go about creating a mixture of contemporary and modern features. Blogs allowed me to get a look at what some other people had done and give me some initial ideas on how to make a good product. Other technology I used in the planning stage was: anima tics, windows media player and msn messenger. The animatic software allowed me to put my storyboards onto a computer so I could edit them and see in rough how my film noir would flow and work out. Msn messenger allowed me to communicate with my group members allowing us to progress through pre-production work from home as well as college, and windows media player allowed me to try out some music for our piece and play small video files like our animatic to see if it works. Technology I used in the production was a Sony DV camera, this allowed me to film the opening, I have developed new knowledge all through the year on how to maximise the cameras performance and get the best results out of it. I also used rifle microphone's to record any dialogue that’s in the opening, tripod which was used to make using the camera at height easier and much smoother. Finally, adobe premier pro, which was the editing software we used, allowed me to put all of the filming together and add the music, titles and effects that we wanted on our opening.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel I have developed my skills in all areas of production since the preliminary task. Around the camera, which was my main job, I feel that I have gained many new skills. I think since the preliminary exercise I have improved my framing ability, and have now got the ability to remove unnecessary space from my shots and centre the important bits and incorporate them into the rule of thirds. Also following the 180 degree and 30 degree line rules to improve the quality of my shots and make the continuity work better. I also feel that more detailed planning allowed me to get better results. Detailed storyboards and location maps allowed me to consider shot types and durations before the shoot day. Also doing all of the pre-production work allowed me to make sure that everything was prepared for the day of the shoot and have a back up plan in case something went wrong on the day. For the preliminary exercise we did not have much planning time and it shows in the final product, in contrast the film noir product had more planning and preparation time and was of a much higher quality. Also the content of my products have improved, I am now able to use editing, cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound effectively to create meaning more effectively than in the preliminary exercise.

First screening: audience feedback

We screened our product to our class and lecturer and these are the results we got back.

• Good use of music, goes well with the characters and corresponds with what is going on.
• Good titles, work well with the mood created and whats on screen.
• Clear narrative, easy to follow, nice enigma at the end.
• Good storyline, develops and contains noir conventions.
• Well constructed flashbacks, works well within the story.
• Nice variety of effects and transitions.
• Good quality shots, nice variety.
• Lighting worked well to create an atmosphere.
• Nice use of props and make up, excellent locations.

Negative feedback

• Voice over doesnt fit well within music at parts.
• Could have used more noir styled shots.
• More voice overs could have been used.

Our aim was to attract a target audience of 15-24. Our feedback shows that we met that aim and our use of characters and the way we styleised them, speaks to the audience and entertains them. Also our representations work well, the femme fatale looks convincing and plays her role well, "mr big" looks dark and dodgy and threatening, the protagonist looks convincing, like your everyday working man who gets taken into a world of crime, and we achieved our goals by good use of mise en scene, cinematography, editing and planning.

Animatic

We have produced an animatic of the storyboards i drew to give us a rough idea of what the product will be like. This gives us a rough idea of the continuity and how or edit will flow and if our ideas will work well. (at the moment i am unable to get a copy of the animatic)

Analysing two Film Openings

I have chosen two Film openings that i like and have given me ideas for my own film noir opening. The first of my openings is Superbad (2007) directed by Gregg Mottola. The second is Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003) directed by Quentin Tarantino.





Superbad
I like the opening of the movie superbad because the style is unusual and interesting and i like the use of sound. It uses simple wide shots to show the two main characters dancing, their costumes are casual, but because of the choice of colours this is hard to make out. The use of music goes really well and i think gets you closer to the characters before you have even begun watching the film. The simple titles go really well with the style of the music and the action on camera. You can not tell what the characters are like from the beginning sequence but from what you can see, they appear to be two casual, young looking people. From the sequence i would guess that this film was either a comedy or a musical. The sequence gives away no hints to the story of the film but leaves it open and, could be considered to be one big enigma as you know nothing about the people on screen, where they are or their relevance to the film.
Kill Bill Volume 1
This opening is closer to the genre of film noir than my other choice. I like this opening because it uses pleonastic sound on the male characters footsteps and adds a much more dramatic feel to the scene. The cinematography is simple but it fits the mood very well, with the ttracking shot that follows his movement across the room. Also the close ups on the female characters face show her in detail and that she is clearly in trouble. The location appears to be a poorly lighted room that is dusty and not used often, the female character is wearing a wedding dress which suggests that she has some involvement in the male character who we see very little of. Pleonastic sound is also used on her heavy breathing, which gives you the idea that she is in trouble and is in pain and worried. Their is no music to this piece, dialogue and diegetic sounds are all that can be heard. The scene contains a certain amount of enigma until her final line reveals a major part to the story, their are no hints towards the female character and all you know about the male character is his name. I think from this small sequence iwould class this film as an action film, with a maturer target audience because of the violence and choice of characters.

Group treatment

All aspects of the shoot will be put into this post. Each member of the group had to do a treatment for each section that they were in chrage of. My section is the cinematography.

Treatment for cinematography on Film Noir shoot

The camera work for the film noir project needs to create the atmosphere and feel of a film noir. Lighting and various other aspects will also help to create the mood.

To begin with the camera will focus on a dimly light chair and a totally black background. To make sure the audience can see the whole room and get a feel for the atmosphere, I want to use a medium long shot.

Then for the next shot, the chair will have a person, who is tied up, sitting on it wearing a blindfold. I think a medium long shot will work best for this shot so the audience gets a clear view of the person tied up.

Then, a point of view shot from the man who is tied up, he is looking around the room. Medium long shot, but the effect will make him appear disorientated as the woman enters from the side. There is little light so it is hard to make out the room.

When the woman enters, a high angle shot to show the woman pacing around the man in the chair, the light should be focused on her and slightly reveal the man in the chair.

As the woman begins to speak, the light will reveal her face slightly, big close up to show the importance of what she is saying. The background will not be visible as it is still dark.

Then, a flashback of a busy street, this shot will be filmed at night; the only sources of light are streetlights. The shot does not require characters and is a very long shot.

Long shot of the woman and her boyfriend walking down the street, she is carrying an envelope and is trying to fit in with the crowd. The light is coming from the street lights, they are hurrying along. The camera follows them.

A very long shot of the woman, her boyfriend and the man who was tied up, walking into space under a streetlight, then just before they collide, it switches to an over the shoulder shot then when they hit the woman drops an envelope.

A long shot of the man picking up the envelope and giving it to the woman then as he hands it back her boyfriend comes along and hurries her away. The man walks away and then a point of view shot of him watching her walk away, as she looks back at him.

As the flashback ends, another medium shot of the woman pacing around the man in the cellar. The light is only on them and the rest of the room is still completely dark.

As another flashback begins, you see the woman, and the tied up man sitting on the bench in a park, long shot that focuses on them in clear daylight.

Then the flashback ends again, and the audience is returned to the cellar. Over the shoulder shot to show the woman still walking around the man who is still tied up. The light is still only on the two characters.

The next shot is of a close up of a mobile phone vibrating on the dashboard of a car. As the hand picks up the phone it’s a close up of the person who has answered the phone having a conversation. This part is filmed in the day in a car park.

Then the audience is once again returned to a cellar to see a medium shot of the woman still pacing around the man, the room is still dark and you can only see the chair and the woman.

Then a close up of the man’s head, as the woman leans in and whispers into his ear. A pair of hands come out of the darkness and then the camera changes to a medium shot, as you see a man come out of the dark and place a bag over the mans head the light is still only in the chairs area.

The screen then goes black, then after a short time, an extreme close up of the mans eyes wide open, the screen goes black again and the titles roll up.

Hannah Matthews – Art Director

Treatment for the opening of our film noir project.Cellar scenes. The cellar will be dark and lit with a single light, to give a spotlight effect on the character tied up in the chair. The character in the chair will have make-up applied to make it look like he has been beaten up. There will be blood on his clothing to make it look like he has had a nose bleed. His hands will be tied behind his back and his legs will be tied together, he will also have tape across his mouth. The female in these scenes will be dressed in ‘sexy’ clothing, giving the impressing that she is in charge and that she dominates the character that is tied up. She will walk around him very seductively and also whisper into his ear. The character that has been tied up will look scared and anxious and the female character will look compassionate and seductive. The ‘Mr Big’ character will be wearing dark clothing and will look very intimidating and heartless. He will never look at the character sitting in the chair. ‘Mr Big’ will not talk to the other male character everything he says will go through the femme fatale. There will be some sort of classical music playing over the top. There will no be much in the background of these scenes other than the obvious things you would find in a pub cellar such as beer barrels and stock for the pub. The setting will look cold and very uncomfortable to be in. It will look very unpleasant.Car scenes. This scene will be set during the day in the middle of no where and then in the middle of a field to give the impression that the couple have to hide their love for each other. It will be a very intimate scene with the couple sitting on the back seat of the car talking, giggling and kissing. The male character (man tied up in cellar scenes) will be in very casual clothing to show that he is not involved in the same sort of circle of people as the femme fatale character. The female character will be dressed fairly smart to show that she has some sort of importance. The scene will be lit by the natural light. The females phone will ring and she look at the phone but act very uninterested and throw the phone back down.Park scenes. This, as well as the car scenes, will be in a secluded location to show the need for them to hide their love. They will both be dressed in similar clothing to the car scene and will act very comfortable around each other. They will embrace each other on arrival and will sit and talk. This scene will be filmed in during the day and so there will be no need for lighting.The ‘meeting’ scene. This will be filmed on a street corner. The location will be a fairly normal residential area. The female character and the male character will be walking towards the same corner and bump into each other; again they will be wearing similar clothes to the other outside scenes. They will look at each other lovingly and will talk and smile for a little while and then ‘Mr Big’ will come from the same direction as the female character he will look at the male character with an evil look in his eye and drag the female character away. The male and female character will continue to look at each other. This scene will be set in during the day so there will be no need for lighting. There will be one prop in this scene and that will be the bag that the female character drops as she bumps into the male character.

Treatment for editing and SFX- By Muhaimin Sofique

The titles will be appearing on and off at the start of the film for example it will show the first title then show a couple of seconds of the opening and then cut back to another title, this is so the audience wont get bored from just seeing the titles at the start straight away so it will be divided up, or the some of the titles might appear on the screen as well as the footage depending on how long the opening is going 2 be.In our opening there are going to be a couple of scenes which involve voiceovers so there fore were going to have to film the footage and then record the sound and when editing we shall put the dialogue over the footage we have to make sure that the dialogue is not too long and matches the length of the scene. Are film opening also includes some flashbacks therefore we are going to have to decide on what effects to use when cutting to a flashback, the programme already has a range of different effects, one of the ones I liked was the ghost effect where it makes the characters look ghostly as they move I think it will be a good effect to use but I am not particularly sure if it is the right one for are footage. Furthermore we may end up changing he flash backs to black and white to help the audience know that it is a flashback or we could end up using black and white for some of the scenes if the lighting is not very good.Also at the start of are opening when the male character is just regaining consciousness and starts to look around the room we are going to find an effect that will make him look kind of disorientated, and the shot be a bit blurry to show the audience that’s how he is seeing things at that moment.I have also found and selected a couple of different types of music which I think will fit in well with our opening, but me and my group are still to decide on which one we are going to use.It’s going to start of with a quiet, slow piece of music at the start and then gradually increase in speed and sound as the opening progresses.

My initial Noir ideas

The film begins with man, who you later discover to be a detective, walking into his home from work. As he stumbles up his steps to open the front door, it begins to rain and he then thinks about what has happened to him over the past few days.
On the first day he was investigating the murder of a businessman, when he meets his attracting but deadly wife, who he is suspicious of. He investigates further and discovers that her husband had recently made a fortune and that he had many enemies whom wanted to see him dead. As he goes deeper into the mans history, he discovers three main suspects. The first used to be his partner in business, the second is a man who he had business dealings with and the third is a rival businessman.
He starts to follow up the three men and trace them to where they are now. He discovers that two of the men are also dead, murdered by an unknown killer. The third is living locally, and that is his old business partner. He then goes to meet the man, when he arrives he is greeted by the man, and shown to the front room, where he realizes someone else is in the house. He proceeds to the bedroom to find the dead mans wife sleeping in the bed of the suspect. He goes back and tells the man that he knows what is happening and that he will prove them guilty when he finds the right proof. He goes back to the murder scene, looking for anything that may prove him right, as he wanders round the room he noticed a cigar end on the floor of the house, knowing from information that his wife gave him that he wasn’t a smoker he had his lead. He then gets all the information he can from the cigar and reveals that the man was there the night the man was murdered. He had him, and now to catch his wife, this was harder so he then examined the mans body, only to notice three discreet scratches with nail vanish on them. The second he made clear that was hers he races to the house closely followed by the police. Only to discover that the man and woman had fled, taken only the necessaries and left, he knows there is no way to trace them, gone without a trace.
So he closes the case and returns home when it flashes back to the beginning, as he stands on his steps a car pulls up, the window is rolled down and the detective is shot and killed on his own doorstep. Then it fades black.
The major focus points of the opening scene is that, the detective looks exhausted and as he strolls up the street to his home, he stops and looks down the winding streets as it begins to rain. He wanders up the step to his home and drops his keys as he bends down to pick them up he thinks about the last week and what has happened to him. As he stands up he hears a car coming up the street and that’s when he goes into the past in his mind.
To begin with, the sound should be slow depressing music as he walks down the darkly light street holding his jacket over his shoulder looking dirty and careless. As he moves towards his home the light comes in and the music changes to a happier tone, but when it rains it goes back to a darker mood.

Group Notes/Decisions

In a group with Hannah Matthews, Muhaimin Sofique and Laura Fuller.
Before Christmas, we got together in our groups and decided what our film noir will contain, how we will film it and where. We have all been allocated jobs within our groups, i am director/cameraman, so it is my job to figure out some shots, and draft a storyboard.
We have decided our locations, we are going to use the cellar of the pub the lord nelson, alexandra park, a street and a quiet country road. Our actors will be Muhaimin playing the main male character, Laura playing the femme fatale and me as "the boss".

Part 2: pre-production

Now we have completed all our pre production work and are ready to progress onto the next stage of filming our intiail project. I have completed the storyboards and cinematography treatment, presented my ideas to the group and made some changes after recieving their feedback.

Part 3: shooting

We have now filmed our project and have begun putting all of the shots onto the editing software so we can begin the editing process. Upon getting to the cellar location, we had to make some changes to the shots due to room layout and space. Also we had problems with our sound due to a fan we could not turn off in the cellar so we have changed our dialogue to voice overs.

Part 4: editing

During the edit we have made several changes to our project due to continuity issues and lighting problems. After we get some group feedback we will make our last minute changes.

Part 5: editing finished

We have finished our first edit and have made the changes after recieving feedback from several members of the group. We have made a lot of changes throughout this project, due to issues we did not forsee and through locatoin problems, but i feel the group has made some good decisions and we have come out with a good product.

The Exchange

This is my second filming exercise video. The objective was to film a series of shots that introduced two characters and an exchange of an item, in our case this was an envelope. The sequence had to have a thriller/Noir style to the shots and should have included props etc to increase the look and mood of a thriller or Noir.

Evaluating the Exchange
The objective of the exchange was to make a 1-2 minute film that shows a sequence with an exchange in it. It had to be shot in the style of a thriller and had to appeal to a target audience of 15-25.
The Exchange exercise made us practice our camera skills and introduce us to the idea of pre-production work. We all had to fulfil certain tasks in the Exchange to make sure that the finished product is of a high standard.
Some of my earlier roles included: risk evaluation sheets, risk reduction sheets, location finders checklist, storyboard, synopsis, treatment and my individual ideas for the shoot. I also had an input on the final storyboard and some of the props and locations used.
I think that most of my pre-production work was to an acceptable standard, like the call sheet and location finder’s checklist, but my contribution to group discussions and effort levels need some improvement.
I feel that I have gained some more experience on the camera and I have gained an understanding of the pre-production work I will need to do for my film noir opening. I think a wider variation of shots on the filming day helped me to gain better skills on the camera and a better idea of what shots work well within the style of thriller. My theoretical skills do need some improvement; my initial plan was altered at the last minute due to change in location, which made me have to think of some alternate options. This made me aware that I do need a backup plan in case of sudden changes. I feel that overall I have gathered skills both practical and theoretical from this project.
I think some of the shots we used were of a high quality and suited the style, but our continuity could have used some work. Some of our shots do not match, and so we had to cut them short in the edit. I feel our editing went well but we should have got more shots to make sure that it all worked well. I liked our use of sound as well; it fitted the film perfectly and had lyrics that related to the content of our film.
The audience feedback confirmed what I believe went well and what didn’t go well. The comments we received are as follows: the shots are good but their could be a bigger variety, I like the use of props and your location is good but I think you need to work on the match on action and the images work really well at telling a story but some of the camera work needs improving. I hope to be able to take this feedback and apply it to my next filming piece.
Overall, I believe this project was a success and the perfect chance for me to improve my skills on and off camera. I think if I could do the project again I might change the shots I used, get more shots to make sure I have enough to make it work, make a back up plan in case things change at the last minute and contribute more to the group sessions.