4.0 Evaluation

Throughout the duration of compeleting all aspects of the coursework, including the various activities like scripting, scheduling, blogging, filming and editing, i understand that there were strong, good points and parts however also areas of improvement. I will be using a variety of resources like my target audience questionnaire to help back up some of the areas i felt were weak personal as well as including their own opinions of weak and strong areas of the final production.
Firstly, here is a video of the final production:

I feel the medie product that i presented has many strengths and weaknesses, however i feel that between the two films i previously looked at, which were V for Vendetta and Kill Bill Vol. 2, i dont necessarily feel that the similarities are as strong as i first planned, however there are some. These are the fact that both examples i used, and my final production, they all contained either authority figure and, or focused around a crime. V for Vendetta was based around a masked man named V and his attempts on changing the corrupt government in power at the time. Kill Bill Vol. 2 was based on a women out to get revenge on the person who tried to kill her previously and finally my production which focuses around a boy named James and how he tries to cope after committing a crime. Another area is the lighting used in both my examples and my own, in which we used a mixture of natural lighting during the day (which can be seen at the beginning of the sequence, right through to 2:02, but more heavily during the large window scene at 00:20 - 00:28 and the close shot on James at 1:33 - 1:52) and also used large artificial, white filter lights which are in consistant use throughout the police interrogation scene (at 2:06 - 2:18), which similarly coincides with V for Vendetta's use of artificial lighting, especially in the opening scene of when we see Guy Fawkes in the beginining of the film running and being caught. The lighting here is very yellow and un natural. however adding to the fact that it was set back in time, and also in the scene when V and Evie meet, which is very dark however giving enough light for the actors to easily be seen. Referring to Kill Bill the opening of the film was set in black and white and seemed like natural lighting, creating a calm atmosphere throuhgout the actors dialogue and less dramatic. Although my group and i thought that the dramatic atmosphere created by the lights in the interrogation scene was appropriate, the response from our target audience illustrated they disagreed and felt it was too unrealistic, especially compared with the natural realistic atmosphere the recieved from the other scenes.

When considering representation of social groups, the overall product represented the average teenage boy, living in an urban area, from a working class family and aimed to represent what i considered average within an urban areas. From the results of the questionnaire although the majority were happy with how the group considered average, 6 out of 10 saying they could relate to James and remaining 4 saying they didnt like the representaion including crime or the fact that James may have comitted a criminal act. Overall, i do feel the group achieved what our original plans were when it comes to representation as the majority of our target audience could relate to James and understood where he was coming from.

I feel that personally, it is likely that an independent cinema would distribute my media product in comparison to a multiplex cinema, which is more incorporated with Hollywood and films with big budgets, and also an art house cinema as i dont think it is a particular art filled film. Although i feel my media is good and am proud it, i still feel it represent a low budget film, that is not likely to make a big impact due to it lack of famous actors and big production companies, and money overall, meaning advertisement would also be limited meaning people are less likely to even know the production exists. In the beginning the plan was to create a film that woul fit in an art house cinema, however now with the product competed, my overall view has changed as it doesnt fit in an arthouse. Similarly, the target audience for this product agree, 10 out of 10 people saying it would be a low budget film.

The target audience that my fims is aimed at is young, from the ages of 16 - 21, who are possibly working class themselves or come from a working class family, who are possible able to relate to James and the possible situation he is in whether it may be first hand,, or jsut knowing someone similar. When considering the gender of the audience, i dont feel it is particularly important however only that the like criminal, dramas, however feel like girls may be more intersted due to the drama aspect and may not be action filled enough for boys.Three ways in which my sequence addresses my audience is the fact that

1. James, the main character is from a working class family.
2. 2. James is young.
3. 3. Lives in an urban area.

I feel that these three things address my target audience because i feel they should be able to relate to all three. My target audience, overall responded well to this, although there were a few that didnt respond well on the stereotype that people from this area dont get into crime, however in this case they were the minority and overall seemed to have liked the production even they didnt feel they could relate to James personally. I also feel that this was still the correct target audience for the production in my opinion because i feel the people that are the most likely to understand the production and James, are people who can relate to him and that is people who know where comes from and whats like to live live in a similar environment, the fact the majority of the target audience did agree also suggests to me they are the correct audience.

Through the production aspect of things, the ways in which i addressed and attracted the target audience was to portray the character in a light the could understand, which what is considered average in the fact that James is not rich, nor poor but working class, he is not old, nor young but a teenager and growing up in an area i planned on questioning the target audience, meaning they know whats it like living in a urban city area like London. Additionally the music could help address the audience, through the fact that it is urban and in my opinion compliments the surrounding in which the production is shot e.g in an average school, in class. Audience feedback supports all the ways they were addressed throughout the production, with at least 1 person noting that either the age, social class, environment and, or music made them feel addressed to by the production. Making reference to the areas that the audience didnt seem to like heavily focused on the police interrogation scene (at 2:06 - 2:18) in which the didnt feel it worked well with the other scenes which focus on James' every day life. Therefore if i was to make any improvements i would keep the police interrogation scene however, change the lighting and include more mise en scene in order to make it look more realistic overall, as well as helping to contrast and match the other scenes in the production.

From the technologies i have used throughout the entire production of my final media product, i feel i have learned a variety of new things, not just about filming, but also about the preparational activies needed to be completed before the actual filming and editing process begins. Looking into more detail into aspects i was not aware of before completing this coursework. One of these was call sheets and schedules to ensure the organisation is kept throughout the filming process, and any problems can easily be resolved e.g. if one member if the group is absent, another member can step up and take charge, knowing exactly what to do so little time is not lost or wasted etc. Also i feel slightly more confident with editing aspect of things due to the fact that the editing was huge part in the final product, especially through areas like sound and adding music and having to deal with realistic problems like copyright etc. Blogging was also a learning experience as i had never previously blogged before this. It taught me how to add a variety of pictures and videos to illustrate point i was making and to show my technological skills. Overall, i feel i have become more confident in dealing with most aspects of media technologies i used.

Looking and considering the preliminary task i completed earlier on in the course, i feel i have learned how important it is to piece all sections and parts of the production together and making it smooth overall. I also felt the premliminary task help me to feel that although there are rules the defy certain camera angles, there is still no limit to the number of angles you can use in order to portray a number of point of views. Also that realism is important even if the production includes a high number of special effects.

3.6 Time Management Strategies

In order to ensure the filming of the sequence was on time and also to ensure everyone included in the filming and editing process of the sequence was aware of what was happening, my group and i felt it was vital to ensure a filming schedule was in place to tell us what was happening at all times during the media lesson times, this was helpful to everyone invloved as it bettered the groups organisation skills allowing us to get staright to work when necessary in comparison to wasting time, figuring out what needed to be done.

3.10 Questionnaire for my target audience after Watching

I have previously created a questionnaire for my target audience requesting personal answers from my specific audience helping me to discover areas of both improvements and strong point, and also helping me to evaluate my work in my evaluation.

The questions i asked were:
1. Did you like the sequence?
2.Do you feel like you can relate the main character?
3. If not how do you feel this could be improved?
4. Did you feel at any point that anything in the sequence was unrealistic?
5. Being the target audience for this sequence, do you feel it was suitable?
6. Give 3 thing i used within the sequence that addresses you as the target audience for this film?
7. What area of the sequence do you feel needs improvement?
8. What scene looks the most professional?
9. What scene looks the most unprofessional?
10. Would this be a hollywood, art house or low budget film, in your opinion?

After asking 10 members of my target audience the results recieved from this questionnaire were:
1. Did you like the sequence?
Yes - 10
No - 0

From this questions results, i am able to see that all of the people i made watch the sequence liked it, however i am not able to interpret too many details from this question since it is an overall generalised question.

2. Do you feel like you can relate the main character?
Yes - 6
No - 4

the reslts from this question shows that from the entire 10 people that i asked about the sequence previously filmed, 6 people were in actual fact able to realte to this character, which is good as i previously explained my target audience as having things in common with James (the main character) e.g. social class and urban/city lifestyle as well as age. Although 4 people that i considered to be my target audience wasnt able to relate to James in such a personal way, the majority of my audience did.

3. If not how do you feel this could be improved?

The 4 people that couldnt relate to James all said that the storyline was far too stereo typical, and therefore could not relate because its not necessarily true always true. Because of the fact that not all children from working class families who live in urban areas will get into legal trouble like James so suggested the idea of something that every teenager goes through in life e.g puberty.

4. Did you feel at any point that anything in the sequence was unrealistic?
Yes - 2
No - 8

According to these results, 8 people from the total 10, had said that all of the sequence was in fact realistic, however 2 said they both thought that the interview scene with James an dthe police officer was unrealistic. Although the situation was real, the setting wasnt and made reference to the lights used in the scene, suggesting they were 2 dark and is not usually what is seen in a normal police staion interrigation room.

5. Being the target audience for this sequence, do you feel it was suitable?
Yes - 10
No - 0

These results show that, from the fact that all the candidates that filled in the questionnaire knew that they were the target for this film they all felt it was suitable for, especially in the areas that i previously listed through the fact that certain details about James like his age social class and living in urban areas although not all of them could relate to knowing James had done something wrong that got him into trouble with the police, presented through the results from question 3, however did understand why they were the target audience for the film.

6. Give 3 thing i used within the sequence that addresses you as the target audience for this film?
Age - 10
Environment - 10
Social class - 9
Music - 1

Due to the fact that i had questioned 10 people, and in this question requested they give me 3 different answers, the total number of anwers i would have recived would have been 30. This information above illustrates the variety of answers i recieved. Beginning with age all candidates noted this as one way they were addressed, secondly through the environment, which similarly all people noted down, when it came to social class only 9 out of the entire 10 put this as a reason, however the one person that didnt pick social class decided the music that is played throughout the sequence was the way they felt addressed. These results are good because i previously stated 3 ways which my group members and i felt we addressed the target audience, and all accept the music factor matched.

7. What area of the sequence do you feel needs improvement?
Interview scene - 8
No areas/ Not sure - 2

The results from this show that 2 people werent sure or didnt feel that areas of improvemet were needed however , 8 people did feel that improvement was need, specifically within the interview scene, which they all feel needs to be made more realistic.

8. What scene looks the most professional?
The running scene - 6
The classroom scene - 4

The result from this question illustrate the fact that more people thought the running scene looke the most professional at of the entire film with the amount of 6 out of 10 people, however the other 4 thought the classroom scene looked the most professional out of the entire sequence.

9. What scene looks the most unprofessional?
Police interview scene - 10

Every person who filled out the questionnaire felt the interview scene looked the most unprofessional saying it did not look realistic an did not fit with the other scenes filmed in the sequence.

10. Would this be a hollywood, art house or low budget film, in your opinion?
Hollywood - 0
Art House - 0
Low budget - 10

Everyone that watched and filled out the questionnaire felt the film looked like a low budget film in comparison to Hollywood and Art house Film which nobody picked.

3.7 Analysis of Opening Sequence

Deconstruction of the shot Sequence
Shot Types and Framing
There were are a variety of shots that are used within my groups sequence. These include a variety of close ups used to capture the main character emotions and feelings, long shots to illustrate the fact that the main character is being watched and a number of over the shoulder shots to put the audience into the main characters shoes, and show what they are looking at. However there are far more shots used throughout the sequence.
Examples used within the sequence of shot types are:
Close up: Used after James runs out of school and stops in front of a wall, in which at this point the camera circles him and shows a variety of emotions illustrating how he is feeling and also illustrating that something has happened.
Long Shot: Used during the shot where it shows that the main character is being followed by a survelance camera, showing that James is being watched.
Over the shoulder: Used when James is in class, and the teacher is shouting at him, this shows the fact that James is distracted and not focus for a certain reason.
Zoom: This is also used when James is in class, which is also an example of a wide shot, where he is sitting down in the classroom and all other class mates are in the shot, however the camera zooms in on James.
Tracking: Used in two different shots, first one in which James is walking out of school, and the camera follows him past a big window until he gets downstairs and then pans down to follow him and the other when he is running down a street.
Mise en Scene
This was very limited in the sequence as the concept was very modern and was originally set in a school which made the surroundings suitable since the main character was in school, something else that was important and in every scene was the school bad James was carrying, which made the fact that he was in school and a student more believable within the moral of the story, other small things like the display boards of school work, computers was all already set out due to the fact that the majority of filming was set in a real school. However one shot which was not filmed in school and was filmed on a residential street 5 minutes away from the school needed very little mise en scene with the exception of the school bag used in all other shots.
Also the costume used in the sequence was very urban and layed back in order to make James surroundings more realistic, throughout the sequence, James wore Jeans and a hooded jumper.
Lighting
The lighting used throughout the entire sequence was natural lighting, however the continuity scene we used a dark room and shined large white light on the two characters within the scene. We did this to create tension, with the dark shadows created.
Sound
Throughout the enitire sequence background music was played, the music helps realte the audience to the urban setting portrayed throughout the sequence, which means no dialogue was used until the final scene in which it shows James in a police interview room being questioned.
Editing
With the editing aspect of things, some quich transitions were made between shots and slowing the pace of activites that happened during filming in particular the running scene. One special effect was use, called the ghost effect in the classroom scene where James was sitting down, in which any movement made by the actors in the scene were slightly blurred and left a visable trace. Some fade transitions were also used.

Studio and Marketing
Due to the fact that this is a class project and used for coursework, there was no budget for this, nor were any hollywood or established actors used, with the exception of Alex Matten who is a professional actor and has appeared in a variety of adverts and dramas. However when it comes to distributing the film, it is more likley that the film would be played in an independent cinema, in comparison to a multiplex cinema as no hollywood or big companies were involed in the production or distribution of this sequence.

Audience
The target audience that my fims is aimed at is young, from the ages of 16 - 21, who are possibly working class themselves or come from a working class family, who are possible able to relate to James and the possible situation he is in whether it may be first hand,, or jsut knowing someone similar. When considering the gender of the audience, i dont feel it is particularly important however only that the like criminal, dramas, however feel like girls may be more intersted due to the drama aspect and may not be action filled enough for boys.
Three ways in which my sequence addresses my audience is the fact that
1. James, the main character is from a working class family.
2. James is young.
3. Lives in an urban area.
I feel that these three things address my target audience becuase i feel they should be able to relate to all three.

3.5 Story Boards of Key Frames

Before filming the variety of shots needed to create the final product of the sequence, i created a storyboard which allowed me to illustrate as well as inform the rest of my group and i the exact scenes and shots we had to film, from the story boards, we were visually alble to see and create new possible ideas of what exactly we wanted to do with the different shots and scenes we had to later film. The storyboards, although completed without colour we still a great help to my group and i, helping to create the filming schedule and timeine needed.
To accompany this (the storyboards), a screenplay was created, in order to inform people exactly what the different scenes represented and what the main story was about. A screen play was created instead of a script because, the decision was made that there will be no actual dialogue within the sequence and music will be played, therefore making a script unnecessary and a screen play more suitable.

3.9 Post of technical and logistic successes during production

3/3

A success today is that i was able to finish the draft copy of the call sheet, allowing me to do it in best and move on to the to the next task and possibly allowing the filming to task place at a sooner time.

10/3

We began filming in this lesson, enabling the group to move on and get closer to finishing the filming and move on to the editing.

17/3

I was able to make some corrections to the call sheet originally made, making the cal sheet look more professional and possibly enabling the group to pick up more marks for it. I collected more information to put into the call sheet.

30/3

In this lesson, i was able to focus on the particular aspect of editing and allowing myself to get more comfortable and familiar with editing my work in final cut pro, as this is  the area i feel i struggle in most.

3.8 Posts of technical and logistic problems encountered during production

3/3

Alex was unable to attend class today, prolonging the process of completing the script and also slowing down the speed at which we finish and are ready to film.

Also because i am the only person who doesn't go to this school, scheduling filming times is very difficult to organize.

10/3

The group was still unable as a whole to complete the screenplay of the sequence

17/3

We were restricted in filming within this lesson, because of the scenes we needed to film within Alex's estate and since it is the first shots within the sequence it s important we include this.

30/3

In this lesson, neither of my group members were able to attend the lesson for their own personal reasons, this was the reason for possible wasted time, in the fact that only i am present and had to edit by myself, especially within an area i m not fully confident area.