EVALUATION

In what ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

To begin, I researched more generally into film openings to see what they included. However, when I decided to make a horror film, I began looking at films within the same genre, most specifically, werewolf movies. I found that very few were graphic and intense in the first opening minutes, but there was a focus on building tension, so I took this into account when making my film.

Equally, many werewolf films don't show the audience the monster immediately and just make suggestions about its presence instead. In our film, we developed this idea further by using Point of View shots. In order to help the audience differentiate between these Point of View shots, in editing, I suggested that we used colour effects to make the Wolf shots a more yellow colour, something I found in a few other werewolf films.

Normal shot:

Wolf shot:

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Mainly, we had to create visual representations of normal teenagers. The male teenager takes on the dominant role, by keeping calm and continuing on. The female teenager draws attention to the danger the two characters are in, and her anxiety creates tension and atmosphere for the audience.

In order to make the characters realistic, we kept their costume simple and normal, clothes that the actors would wear all the time.

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

The film could be made in many different institutions. It could be both a Hollywood Blockbuster or an Independent Film made on a small budget.

On the one side, it could be made in the style of films like Blood andChocolate, The Wolfman (2010) or Van Helsing. With a Hollywood budget, famous actors could be hired and theproduction would be on a larger scale, with more effects and better locations.

But I think our film would be better as a low budget films, like the American B Movies. It would give the film a gritty edge, rather than being polished and use real aesthetics rather than CGI.

American Werewolf in London - a make-up and effects transformation.

Twilight: New Moon - a CGI transformation

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The main demographic for the audience would be both males and females between the age of 16 - 40. Horror is a genre that generally spans over both genders, but the age is slightly different. Our film is rated 18 by BBFC certificates, but teenagers under 18 may watch the film at home with their parents' permission and still enjoy it. At the other end, although those over 40 can easily still enjoy the genre, out film is more contemporary, featuring many elements that may not appeal to an older audience, such as the soundtrack or the age of the characters, as they may not be able to relate at all.

Some Direct Feedback:

Geoffrey William Eric Parsons - It was a good film and I liked it. Made me excited for more!

Marcus Kinsey - It had nice camera work to it.

Thomas Mcnamara - The song makes it! Black and white effect is a bit confusing.

Jordy Waring - The music's a good juxtaposition and the car lights are very effective and help it to flow well, but the yellow wash on some of the filming was a bit strong.

Jake Wilson - Music really fitted with the intro, it set the scene nicely. Lots of camera angles which gave a different perspecitve of the scene. And the yello

w tint on some shots clearly identified a different pair of eyes on the scene.

Annelies Onderka-Lang - I really like it. Lots of atmosphere and tension building.

Tim Astley - Very well lighted, gives an eerie sense!

Overall, audiences seemed to like the film, but they were divided on the colour effects - some liked the black and white, whereas others didn't. I think that perha

ps with better lighting and higher quality filming, it would work better.

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

Mainly, I've learnt a lot about using the Apple Macs. A lot of our film is based around the post-filming effects, especially lighting, as we wanted to film at night but it wasn't practical - so we made the film darker in editing.

Here are some examples of some of the levels we used on iMovie:

For the 'Wolf Eyes' effect:

For the black and white effect:

Also, we had to learn how to loop the soundtrack, as we only wanted the beginning of the song - for this we used the Cubase software.

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 come far from my preliminary task. In my final product, I mainly had to use the skills I learnt about editing, as they were vital for the final film. However, continuity was an important element and I what I learnt about it in the preliminary has helped make my final better. The shots are steady when they should be, but of course, the Point of View shots aren't supposed to.

Directors' Evaluation:

CONSTRUCTION: Final Product

Opening Two Minutes:

Film Poster:

Title: Per Oculos Lupus
Production Company: SYNC PRODUCTIONS
Starring: Chloe May, Ryan Lott, Thomas Hartland
Year: 2011
Genre: Horror
Director(s): Thomas Mendel, Forest Onderka-Lang, Thomas Hartland, Robert Gravely
Made In: United Kingdom
Edited by: Thomas Mendel, Forest Onderka-Lang, Thomas Hartland, Robert Gravely

CONSTRUCTION: Film Title

We decided to decide on a film title as a group rather than assigning the task to an individual, but we still found it difficult to think of a good name.

Eventually, we decided to look on a Band Name Generator site for some inspiration.

We searched for names including words like, 'werewolf', 'blood', 'eyes' and 'moon', then putting words together as well, as we thought it was important to include both eyes and the wolf, as our film included Werewolf Point of View Shots. This idea also fit in with other films I researched.

Finally we found 'Through The Eyes Of The Wolf', but to make a bit more atmospheric, we translated it into latin to end up with 'Per Oculos Lupus'.

PLANNING: Shooting Schedule

We plan to film everything in one evening on Friday 12th March, spending three hours between 4:00 - 6:30PM. However, we have arranged to set aside Tuesday 15th in case we need longer.

Props: Car (and driver)

Blanket

One female, two male actors and a dog.

Equipment: Camera

Tripod

SLR Camera

Costume:

Actor One and Two (Ryan Lott and Chloe May): Average teenager, casual, with hint to American horror films i.e. baseball jacket, floral print dress.

Actor Three (Tom Hartland): Outside clothing, warm, simple.

Weather Forecast and Sunset:

Shoot Order:

Wolf Point Of View Shots (Frames 2, 5, 8, 22, 23)

Shots Involving The Dog (Frames 14 - 21)

Shots Of Actors One and Two (Frames 6, 7, 9, 10 - 13, 16, 18)

Shots of Actor Three (Frames 15, 17)

Moving Car Shots (Frames 1, 3, 4)

PLANNING: Locations

As a group we had to find the ideal place for filming. The locations we chose were a farm in Kilsby and a quiet road in Kilsby. One of the group, Thomas Hartland lived within Kilsby, so rather than us going to Kilsby he took some photographs of the locations. We all agreed upon viewing them, that they were ideal. Before committing ourselves to those locations, we had to gain permission from the local farmer to use his land for filming. We also had to ensure that the road within Kilsby we wanted to use was quiet, because if another car followed it would disrupt the filming and ruin the atmosphere.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Film Production Logo

Every film production company has a logo. It is shown before the opening credits usually with its own backing music. The choice of name Sync Productions, is because it is short for synchronise. This means simultaneous action at the same rate. We also thought it sounded catchy and memorable. We created a logo through the use of Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word. We added in a slogan: "Are you connected?". The reason for doing this is because is to attract and draw the audience in. It is also in-keeping with the name Sync.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Audio Soundtrack

We needed to obtain permission for a song by The Automatic and have sent an email to their record label, the song is named 'Monster'. This song is rather in-keeping with the Movie because it is the type of thing that teenagers play in their car. As a group we came to the decision that the song worked very well with the motion picture. This is the email we sent:

PLANNING: Task Distribution

To help keep track of what each member of the group is doing, we have begun to contact each other online, for example:

Facebook

We also used Twitter and emails, meaning we had numerous ways to get in touch with other members of the group.

RESEARCH: BBFC Film Certificates

By law, under the Video Recordings Act (2010) all films require a BBFC rating. There are seven different types of ratings the the BBFC use:





The first official BBFC logo is 'U', which stands for Universal. The logo shows the audience that the film is suitable for everyone, in particular audience aged 4 or over to watch solely and that there is nothing unsuitable for children.

The second BBFC logo is 'PG', which stands for Parental Guidance.This means all ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8 years old. A parent/guardian should consider whether the child needs to be accompanied when viewing the film.

The third BBFC logo is '12A'. Films categorised under this certificate are deemed unsuitable for very young people. Those under the age of 12 years old are only admitted if accompanied by an adult.

The fourth BBFC logo is '12'. This means that nobody younger than 12 years of age can view the Movie. Films under this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence.

The fifth BBFC logo is '15'. This means that nobody younger than 15 years of age can view the Movie. Films under this category may include adult themes, hard drugs, strong words, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and mild non-detailed sex activity.

The sixth BBFC logo is '18'. This means that nobody younger than 18 years of age can view the Movie. Films under this category may include do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context.

The seventh BBFC logo is 'R18', which stands for Restricted 18. This means that only adults are admitted. Films under this category can only be shown under licensed cinemas or sold at sex shops. Films under this category have material the BBFC does not allow for its "18" rating, thus the violence and sex activity will be stronger in R18-rated VHS s, DVDs and films than those rated "18," however, there is still a range of material that is often cut from the R18 rating.

After reviewing the different types of film certificates labelled by the BBFC and taking into consideration what the ratings contain, I think our film would receive an 18 rating. In our Target Audience Research we found that people thought horror films weren'tvery good if they were below an 18 rating, so we decided our film had to be an 18. This is because, within the Movie it may contain bad language, and visually disturbing death scenes, that may not be suitable for people under the age of 18.

RESEARCH: The Werewolf Movie

The legend of the werewolf has been around for centuries and has become a familiar figure in horror films. The following is some general information about werewolves and their place in cinema.


http://horror.about.com/od/horrortoppicklists/tp/bestwerewolfmovies.htm
‘silly story full of hammy melodrama, cheesy effects and gratuitous nudity, but the quick pace and prolific, bloody action’
‘werewolves are vulnerable to silver and are marked with a pentagram’
‘blend of horror, drama and even a bit of comedy, with smart, crisp dialogue’



http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=368
‘from the point of view of the werewolf’/’ POV perspective through the werewolf’s eyes’
‘birth of an unwanted child on Christmas Day curses it to turned into a werewolf’

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Preliminary Conclusions

1) What have the deconstructions told you about the openings of movies?

My deconstructions have varied greatly, as each opening has presented a different way of starting. For example, Rushmore focuses on introducing his main character, but Dead Poets' Society focuses on clarifying where the film is set. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince continues the story from another film, by presuming its audience understands the action of the opening, whereas Wuthering Heights creates an atmosphere. In regard to our film, I think Wuthering Heights offers the most inspiration. Though it is not the same genre, it uses sound and camera shots to create tension, something we need to do in our film.

However, Dead Poets' Society is also useful, as it has shown me how to use props and costume to present themes and characteristics of the film.

2) What has your target audience research told you about likes, dislikes and viewing habits?

My groups target audience research has told us the majority (82.6%) enjoy horror films. This result is very positive, because we are doing a horror film and it is reassuring to know that the majority of people asked do enjoy horror films. However they do not opt for Werewolves when it comes to favourite horror characters, which is a negative because in our film we planned to use Werewolves.

The British horror industry is the most popular in the world, so it is beneficial to know that people within our area of the world, make horror films the most successful. Open ended questions at the end of the survey asked whether they had any comments on the production of horror films. The feedback we got from this was that horror films have to be an 18 rating to properly scare the audience. We got a negative response stating that the public have moved on from horror films because they are boring.

3) How have you used the above research to make panning decisions regarding your movie?

In the Target audience research we also found that, Werewolves were not the preferred choice of the audience as horror characters. As a group we discussed that it may not be a good idea to include a Werewolf, but to include the 43.5 favoured physco or a serial killer. We came to the conclusion that it did not matter, because in our first two minutes the audience do not see the werewolf, but are given point of view shots. This may work positively because it will keep the audience guessing. Overall, I feel that it is essential not to give too much of the plot away, but to keep it vague and get the audience guessing, in effect to create tension and to get them more involved with the movie.

RESEARCH: Target Audience Survey

In order to collect information about audience likes and dislikes, I created a survey on surveymonkey.com
Here is the survey.

I also posted the survey on Facebook, as this meant we would get results directly from a diverse demographic.

76.9% of the audience answered that they enjoyed horror films, which immediately meant good news for our film.
Not so good news was that only 3.8% chose werewolves as their favourite character, compared to the 42.3% that favoured Serial Killers and Psychos.
The British horror industry was most popular with 44%, followed by America, then Asia and Europe both with 12%.

At the end of the survey, I asked the audience whether they had any comments on the production of horror films. These two particular comments stood out:

"I think horror films have to be gritty and at least an 18 rating. I don't think you can properly scare anyone if you have to remove swearing and dumb down the horror."

"They are just too boring these days ... We've moved on from horrors now ... They're boring."

PLANNING: Storyboard

PLANNING: Film Brief and Director's Pitch

Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.

The opening two minutes of a werewolf movie. A teenage couple drive to a secluded spot for a romantic evening. Using the Bus Technique, a Farmer interrupts, but then he is attacked by the werewolf. Shot in the style of a low budget B-movie, the audience doesn’t see the werewolf, but it’s introduced through Point Of View shots. My group and I intent to shoot on location near Kilsby. We need to consider lighting, as it will be a night shoot. Our initial plan is to work with the car’s headlights, camping lanterns and external torches.

RESEARCH: Deconstruction of Rushmore

Cert.15 , 1999
Director: Wes Anderson
Genre:

The music begins over the production company's (Touchstone) logo - it's light, yet sophisticated strings, but alightly abstract. A red curtain then appears and opens to reveal a painting of a family. A few credits appear next to the painting, but then the curtain opens on a school sign, which is also the film's title, 'Rushmore'.
Music cuts and the scene jumps to a view out of a classroom window, but quickly pans horizontally right across the class to stop on the teacher. The students are dressed smartly, and the teacher is standing in front of a blackboard, giving away the time period and setting. There is diegetic sound of the class talking but then silence as the teacher begins. The camera is positioned almost as a Point of View shot from the students, especially as one boy addresses the student. The camera follows the students' attention as it pans left to look at another blackboard, then back to the teacher. The music begins again and as the students talk, the camera tracks right, still at eye level, to stop behind an individual, reading a newspaper.
The teacher addresses him, so the camera jumps to be in front of the character and he puts dwn the paper. The fact he is named (Max) signifies that he is the main character, or a character of importance. There is a cut-in of his desk, showing papers, completed work on equations, a sketch of the Eiffel Tower, a calculator and a cup of tea on a saucer. His desk very organised and tidy, and there is a close-up of him buttoning up his blazer, so together, this shows Max to be efficient, intellectual and refined.
Match on action is used to show speed as the teacher throws a piece of chalk (which Max demands, showing his position within the classroom) to Max, and then, after putting his tea down, he begins writing. A fast-playing flute is added to the musical accompaniment and the camera jumps continuosly between different shots of Max (his face, the teacher's face, the back of Max, the side of Max's face, the front of his face, his back), which creates the illusion of speed.
As the teacher announces that the equation Max has completed is correct, the class cheers and celebrates, chanting his name. After a few seconds of this, the scene jumps to a new scene, where Max is smiling in his sleep, but the chanting is still there. Therefore, the audience realizes that Max had been dreaming, and they have to question the characteristics that Max had previously given himself in the dream. This goes back to the class, then to Max sleeping again, to the class, but then the music cuts sharply and Max is awoken to the sound of applause from the people sitting around him. As he joins reality, the camera zooms out to show the chapel full of boys in school uniform, giving the film it's definite setting.

Within this opening, Anderson focuses on introducing his main character. Through the character's dream, the audience is presented with the character's personality and desires regarding social standing and academic ability. The opening establishes the charcter relatively well, but the opening isn't particularly effective, as the story isn't really introduced and a lot of audience members may be put off by it's relatively slow-moving structure.

RESEARCH: Deconstruction of Wuthering Heights

Cert. U, 1939

Director: William Wyler

Genre: Period Drama

The film begins with the title over a still scene (in black and white). It shows a house and the sound is large and dramatic with a loud crash. This is an establishing shot, not just for the location, but also the mood of the film. Then, the music softens and becomes far more serene as the credits role over fading transitions between stills.

However, the music becomes more dramatic again, matching the image of trees thrashing in the snow storm. The introductory text appears, giving the film context - this was a common practice in film making from silent movies.

A man is seen struggling through the snow and the sound turns once more to become more sinister and eerie, creating tension and apprehension. Despite lack of dialogue and action, the audience is already involved in the film, purely through the film score.

Then there is a wide shot of the man as he tries to open a gate, a close-up of his anguished face and then back to a wide shot as he opens the gate. The house before him is dark, solitary and in need of repair. The character falls in the snow, and the music changes once more to be very quiet. Through Match On Action, the audience sees him enter the house and then a clear wide shot once he's inside shows how he's dressed in clothes associated with the 18th century.

Not long after he has entered, a large dog runs into the shot barking aggressively. The dog is unfriendly to visitors and this is reflected of the house - it is an unwelcoming house and the audience immediately worries for the traveller.

I believe that this is an incredibly effective opening. Even though the first two minutes are dominated by credits, Wyler still manages to set a very clear tone. It is a prime example of the significance of music in film and the connotations of particular sounds paired with even still images.

RESEARCH: Deconstruction of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Cert. 12, 2009
Director: David Yates
Genre: Action – Fantasy

The film’s opening is signature to the Harry Potter films, as the camera appears to move through cloud towards the Warner Bros. logo. It’s dark and thundery, making it more sinister. Then we hear a woman laughing maliciously, which is asynchronous. This sound is a continuation from the previous film and therefore Yates presumed that the audience would recognise the film is picking up directly where the last film ended.

From the thundery clouds, the scene fades into an extreme close-up on an eye, and due to the round glasses, the audience knows that it’s the main character, Harry Potter himself. The flash of photos denotes that something important has just happened and the close-up of Harry’s scratched face secures this idea. We then see the character next to Harry put his hand on Harry’s shoulder, which puts the event as something that could’ve upset or distress, rather than a positive celebration.
The sound of the photos flashing is diegetic, but the music behind is mournful.
It continues as the scene jumps back to the clouds from the beginning within the flash of one of the photographer’s cameras, and the film’s title appears, an iconic image of the film.

The clouds fade again to reveal a tower of offices and the music before changes into music that is far more sinister. The thunder continues but is now clearly diegetic sound. The camera travel inside the building, showing business men and women stopping what they were previously doing to look outside, as the storm seems to get progressively more violent and unusual.

Back up into the clouds, the camera starts to pan up to show a skull in the clouds. This in itself is unnerving and sets the scene for something evil or the like. Three black plumes of smoke snake out of this cloud and the camera begins a fast track as it follows them through exemplary places in London.

This opening is quick and does quite a lot in the first two minutes; the film’s title and Production Company appear but NOT over the film itself, there is reference to the previous film and then the scene is set for this film.
It’s quite active, so it grabs the attention of the audience immediately and opens up the film’s questions. It’s a very effective opening.

RESEARCH: Deconstruction of Dead Poets Society

Cert. PG, 1989
Director: Peter Weir
Genre: Drama

The film begins with the asynchronous soundof people muttering as a few opening titles appear on black.
It shortly changes to a close-up on a painting of young men in shirts and ties, the sound is the same, but becomes clearly diegetic, as the camera vertically pans down to a close-up of a youngboy. He’s wearing a cap with shirt and blazer, and a woman, who we assume to be his Mother, is doing up his tie. She also says “Remember, keep your shoulders back.” And this gives the impression that the boy is about to be part of animportant event.

Meanwhile, the credits continue slowly on top of the scene.

Camera jumps again to a cut-in of an opening briefcase, revealing a set of bagpipes, continuing the theme of an important and traditional event. Then there’s Match on Action, to a close-up on the teenage boy opening the case. He’s again, wearing a shirt and tie, as well as a Glengarry cap. Another Match on Action jump to an extreme close-up of the bagpipes as the boy prepares them.

A jump to a middle-aged male photographer, addressing the young boy from before, and another young boy who we are told is his older brother. They’re both smartly dressed and are having their photo taken, which cements the idea of the scene being preparation for a significant moment.

The camera then jumps to an extreme close-up on an unlit candle. We see nothing behind it, just darkness, in exception to a pair of hands which then light the candle. The film title then appears next to it. Slowly, the camera pans vertically upwards to show two elderly men. We clearly hear one briefly explain to the other about what he does with the candle in the apparent ceremony.

The scene jumps once more to two teenage boys. They’re both in uniform, showing they’re at school, and the fact their uniform is a shirt, tie and blazer, and they’re American, signifies that it’s a preparatory school.

Another jump to a wide shot of the entire scene showing: the two young brothers in front of closed double doors, the teenager with the bagpipes behind them and then four teenage boys in uniform and holding banners. There are also two women looking on (one of them is the Mother), as well as the two older men. The room is lit to look like natural daylight.

Then, the camera has a close-up on the four boys with banners, but it zooms on to the first boy, suggesting that he’s a main character. The camera tracks the banner as he lifts it up, showing the word ‘TRADITION’, reinforcing the setting of a traditional preparatory school and the event being a ceremony. The bagpipes begin as the banners are raised, but the sound remains diegetic and there’s no other asynchronous or non-diegetic sound.
This continues as a wide shot and shows the door opening and the procession going forward.

But then the scene shifts completely to a long shot of a full chapel, from the back of the room and then the camera jumps to the front of the room, as the procession walk down into the chapel. In this shot, there are more boys in uniform, standing at the back of the room.

After this, the camera jumps again to a horizontal tracking shot from behind a pillar to the procession walking down the aisle, at eye-level of the people sitting down.

Finally, at the end of the two minutes, the camera returns to the long shot of the entire room from the front, as the procession split off to the left and right at the front of the assembly.

Overall, the opening two minutes aren’t particularly exciting and Weir has focused more on ‘setting the scene’ and creating context. Weir has used close-ups to show particular details, like the young boy having his tie done up and the teenager with bagpipes, in order to create the environment for the film, i.e. a traditional, upper-class, American preparatory school.
It’s incredibly successful at doing this, however, I don’t feel like it is a particularly compelling opening. The audience isn’t introduced to any characters, meaning they can’t connect to or relate with anyone immediately, however the fact that the opening is preparation for an event, the audience may want to continue watching just to discover what’s actually happening, which then leads to the introduction of characters and story.

Preliminary Task

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Here is my preliminary task:




It took a total of three hours to shoot and edit, as we decided to reshoot some of the cuts.
My partner Tom and I used iMovie to edit it together.