1. How are you using media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In my process of research of comparative texts of an opening sequence I used the Internet to search for texts similar to Scream for this I used a useful website called Tastekid.
I have also used YouTube and Google videos to view opening sequences of various films as research, to see what I could use and what I could adopt into my own opening sequence. Looking at opening sequences of other films allowed me to see how different styles of editing are still effective.
During my planning stage I used a camera to go out and take stills for my storyboard as I’m not a good drawer and images are more clear and realistic.
In post-production I used Adobe Premiere to edit all the filming.
In Adobe Premiere initially I cut sections of a clip and dragged it into the time line to get all the scenes in order. After getting everything in order I set out to change the contrast and darkness of the scenes that took place indoors as the lighting was too bright and we couldn’t adjust the lighting during filming. I then set out to add transitions and decreasing the speed of a scene by simply right clicking on the scene selected and clicking on speed and adjusting to however you desire. The sound was my next task, with the same method of selecting and dragging the audio clip to the time line. If the clip was longer than I wanted it to be, I cut it to adjust it and dragged it into the place I wanted. The stabbing scene took a lot of attention and time on the sound as I had to cut the sound various times and copy the same audio clip and cut again in a different and repeat many times in order to get the desired sound and effect . During post-production I have also used Photoshop to create a film production logo which we decided to name “Monsoon Films”.
In Photoshop I used the magic wand to get rid of the background and also used free transform to change the size of the image. I also used Photoshop to create the Title of the opening sequence “Wrath” by utilising the magic wand and by inverting the colour scheme.
As research for my ancillary tasks I have used Google images and Empire magazine’s online version.
Looking at professional posters and reviews I have been able to notice certain patterns that they have and adopt them into my ancillary tasks.
For my Presentations I have used Microsoft PowerPoint and in order to upload these PowerPoint presentations unto my blog I have used slideshare, an easy way to upload presentations by embedding the link onto blogger and simply posting it.
2. In what ways will your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In the opening sequence of Scream i noticed that the main protagonist seemed to be male, as the voice gave it away, however in my opening sequence i tried to hide away the gender of the main protagonist (the killer) in a way to avoid stereotypes and make it different. I did this in order to give my opening sequence a different edge and also to give the audience something they can dwell upon when watching, they will have a mystery on their mind and this will make them want to watch more in order to be able to decipher the mystery. However, i have followed the stereotypical female victim, which we see in Scream, as i didn’t want to make it extremely different and this also allows my opening sequence to have a generic convention of a horror movie, as most horror movies have a female victim.
From the opening scene of Scream i noticed that it followed Todorov’s narrative theory. There is an initial equilibrium, that then gets interrupted by a disruption, this disruption is then resolved, restoring an order and finally creating a new equilibrium. My sequence also abides by Todorov’s theory, giving it a professional feel.
My opening sequence demonstrates conventions of the genre of horror as i have included appropriate mise-en-scene such as a knife, blood, and a mask, also the costume of the killer can be seen as a representation and stereotype of a hooded gang member, thus giving a negative representation of London, that it may not be very safe. This costume also supports the stereotype that hooded figures are dangerous, this however was not my intention, as i just wanted to hide the persons gender, however, this may even turn the opening sequence scarier as it deals and shows some people’s fears, thus becoming another generic convention of a horror movie, that they purposely use people’s fears and include them in the film to get you scared.
My ancillary tasks relate to professional posters and film reviews as i have done my research and i have followed the layout techniques that i noticed, for example: posters have small text including the names of people that star in the movie and the production team included, i have made sure that i included this in my poster. Another thing that i have included is a small phrase, which i have observed in two posters that i have looked at, the poster of Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street. The Film review that I have created also has similar layouts to the ones that I have researched, for example, Filmstar
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
In the process of post-production I had the feedback of my partner, as I was the editor and she sat next to me giving me feedback on what I did and what she thought I should change. We used this method as to always have someone else’s opinion on what you are doing, so it isn’t just viewed by one person’s perspective and so it can appeal better to our target audience. I also asked for the opinion of my teacher and he gave us feedback that we should increase the non-diegetic sound and decrease the diegetic sound of a particular scene, and I did so. Another way that I modified the opening sequence was by adding a split screen as another media student told me that the scene dragged on and I didn’t want this to happen, so by adding a split screen I kept both scenes and it no longer dragged on. This was an important modification as the feedback allowed us to improve our opening sequence, to appeal more to the target audience, as the student that gave us feedback is in our target audience range. After completing the post-production I noticed that our main task ran for over 5 minutes and should be between 3-5 minutes, as a consequence of this I had to go back and delete some scenes that we didn’t necessarily need, after some amendments I cut it down to around 3-4 minutes, my partner and I were both happy with the results and left it at that.
I also received feedback for my ancillary tasks and I made a few changes to my poster, by shrinking the size of the text, making it look more professional. I also added more text to my film poster as some feedback that I got was that there wasn’t enough text, so by adding more text I have appealed more to my target audience.
4. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
The combination of my main product and my ancillary tasks are very effective, I believe. I have made sure that I include generic conventions of horror in all three of my tasks, for example: in my main task the killer wears a mask and uses a knife to kill his victims brutally, in the first ancillary I have chosen an image with the killer wearing the mask, making sure the target audience knows what genre the film is about and also in the second ancillary I have chosen two images that are seen as horror (an image of a dead woman on the floor with blood all over her and an image of the killer wearing the mask and holding the knife in his hand). Having generic conventions of horror in all my products allows the audience to not get confused as to which genre what each task is, I have made it clear that the genre throughout every task is horror. In all three tasks I have tried my hardest to make them look as professional as I can, looking at professional products and adapting some of their layouts into my tasks, therefore making them all look professional which would appeal to the target audience.
