Final Products

Here are our final products:

Short Film, 'Twisted':

Poster and Review:

Evaluation

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

Our commission was to make a five-minute short film, using main conventions of real media products, such as use of camera, narrative structure, sound, mise en scene and editing. The contrast and the way in which each of them are used contribute to tell the story, represent the character’s emotions and help to express and emphasise the particular message that we want and aim to show to our target audience. There are a wide variety of shots, angles and movements to use when filming. We challenged the conventions of a ‘Point of View’ shot, which makes a film imaginative and unique. This particular camera technique is normally used to show one person’s perspective. It is positioned close to a character’s line of sight, implying the camera is looking with that particular person’s eyes. The main character’s emotions and personality dramatically change due to an argument that leads to her being attacked, which is the main situation that the film is based around. However, the audience sees the assault before the argument. As a result of this, they are unaware of the cause and who is at fault. We have used several of these shots but they have been filmed to show two peoples ‘point of view’ instead of one. This makes the audience feel as if they are within the minds of the characters. It also allows the viewer to make a decision on who is responsible, as Lacey may not be as innocent as she looks at the beginning of the short film. The effect of ‘point of view’ shots from both Lacey and the attacker symbols how there are two sides to an argument. Due to the fact that the argument is mimed and there is no dialogue between the two characters, the result of the shots will show and state how this situation has affected them physically and emotionally. Within one of the ‘point of view’ shots from the attacker during the attack, we decided to use a ‘hand-held’ shot. We developed this, as the shot consisted of a much more faster movement then usual, shaking the camera from side to side to emphasise the attacker’s anger and the frustration she has towards Lacey. However, it also creates tension and a sense of confusion for the audience, as they will be curious as to what is going to happen and question the reason why this innocent, young, happy college student is being attacked. The confusion that is created from the effect of camera movement also presents how the attacker has been affected emotionally, as Lacey’s actions, which the audience discovers in the silent quarrel, could have triggered her to attack her.

Another conventional camera technique we used was low and high angles, in order to represent the change in character. We decided to use a low angle, showing Lacey getting ready and putting her make-up on at the beginning of the film. This makes the audience feel as if they are looking up at her, representing her happy emotions and importance, as she is a popular person. In comparison, we used structure to link to the change of emotion in the character shown in the plot, by incorporating a high angle at the end, whilst she is staring at the photo of herself and her friends, with the camera facing down on her. This symbolizes that she feels depressed and low after the attack.

Another conventional shot used in our film is a long shot. This is to show the character's entire body. The main focus would be on the character{s} within the frame, however, the setting could also be seen. One example is when Lacey is walking down the corridor with her friends. The audience are able to see she is in college, happily talking to her friends. We did this in order for the audience to see the setting to inform them where she is and also, for them to see her. She is centre of the frame as she is the main character. Therefore, the audience's attention will be on her. They can view her body language and costume, as this is a significance to the plot due to the dramatic change in character and emotion.

A conventional film follows the five part narrative structure:

- Exposition
- Development
- Complication
- Climax
- Resolution

We followed the majority of the structure; however, we challenged this convention as we decided to swap the order of the ‘complication’ and ‘climax’. The exposition is Lacey getting herself ready, as it introduces the main character of the story. The plot then develops, as we see students acknowledging her in a positive manner, showing the relationship she has with others who also attend the college. The audience learns about the character, as they are able to see the kind of person she is. Lacey is represented as a friendly, cheerful and polite young lady. The fact that she goes to college suggests that she has ambitions. This allows the viewers to question these things, until they are revealed as the story continues. It suddenly turns as the climax occurs, which is Lacey being attacked. The complication introduces the conflict, which is conventionally the cause of the climax. However, we decided to place the complication before the climax. This is shown when we see flashbacks that Lacey is having, one of them being Lacey and the attacker having an argument, which has no dialogue as the scene is in silence. The audience would not know what has happened to cause this incident; however, Lacey is first to grab the attackers arm. The audience is led to believe that Lacey is the victim; so challenging the narrative structure convention enabled us to trick the audience into thinking this. The viewers see another side to Lacey, which is shocking and unexpected, as it has ‘twisted’ everything around. Lacey’s personality dramatically changes, which connects to how the structure of film does. We decided not to have a resolution to this situation, as in reality, it emotionally stays with a person forever. As a result of this, we leave this to the audience so that they can have their own views, ideas and opinions that will make them discuss the film to their friends and family. This would encourage people to wanting to see our short film, as they would want to know for themselves because people have different outlooks on movies.

Soundtrack is a conventional media product and the collective term for non-diegetic music. As our film shows an emotional journey before and after an attack within a college, we wanted to find a song that contains lyrics in relation to this situation. After researching http://www.google.co.uk/ and http://www.youtube.co.uk/, we found a song called ‘Problem Girl’ by Rob Thomas. The song tells the story of someone who is getting bullied and, that particular someone {the victim} isn’t the problem. This relates to Lacey, as she is the victim because she is the person who gets attacked. The audience is led to believe that Lacey isn’t the problem, due to the fact that the audience sees everyone being nice to her, which is ironic and creates a contrast because she isn’t getting bullied. Lacey is the main focus and the lyrics are suggesting that she isn’t a problem, as the viewers can that she is a nice person. This would make the audience want to carry on watching as they can clearly see that she isn't the 'problem girl'. However, the ending creates a totally different picture, making the viewers wonder who is the problem, as they see Lacey grabbing the attacker, before she was attacked by her, towards the end of the film during an argument she is thinking back to. The argument is in 'mime' so the audience doesn't hear what happened between the two friends. Lacey or the attacker could be at fault, so the song can link to both characters. May be the attacker has been emotionally effected as well as Lacey? The song has a steady rhythm, which can be a representative of the half happy atmosphere at the beginning half of the film. The song isn't too fast so it could represent that something is going to happen because it's not fully up beat - something is preventing the person from being 'very' happy - The song is therefore symbolic to this.

Lacey’s home is the venue where the first argument between her and the attacker happened. The music begins when the main character leaves her house to begin her journey to college. The college is where the attack takes place, so Lacey is heading towards a ‘problem’, however she is also leaving the problem behind, suggesting she is forgetting about it and not caring because she was the cause of it. The song could therefore be suggesting that Lacey is the one saying “what’s your problem girl”, which is heard in the lyrics of the song. This suddenly begins to fade out when we see Lacey and the attacker come face to face. At this point, the lyrics are “And you worry all the things they could do to you, and you worry about the things they could say”. This relates to what is being seen on the screen, as Lacey could be thinking about this, or in fact, the attacker could as well. The only piece of dialogue used in the film is Lacey shouting and pleading in desperation for the attacker to stop. This gives a sense of naturalism, as in reality this would be the natural reaction. As this is the only speech within the film, it emphasises its importance because it contributes in making the audience think that Lacey is the victim. We also thought that this would be effective, as it creates tension for audience. They would sympathize with her, which is what we aimed for our target audience to do so that the twist would be unforeseen. Absence of sound begins from after the attack and continues throughout the rest of the film. It represents what the mind feels; she is surrounded by a silent world, which is slowly making her become a recluse. This reflects how she is feeling, depressed and lonely. It creates a dramatic effect, which will therefore have a strong impact on the audience. This can make the viewers feel uncomfortable, which represents how Lacey feels. It also creates a contrast, as it is a dramatic change to the beginning. We also use ambient sound to give the idea that it’s an ordinary day, showing Lacey’s everyday life.

Before shooting our five-minute film, we arranged the mise en scene, which is everything that appears before the camera. This consists of:

- Costume
- Lighting
- Props
- Setting
- Performance/body language

These are very important aspects, as it sets the scene and appeals to the target audience and genre, as it could interpret or symbolize something in particular. As our plot involves college students, we automatically decided that we would be filming within a school environment, so that it looks realistic and believable. We wanted the film to open with a scene showing the main character getting ready to leave in her bedroom, as this creates a naturalistic feel and clearly shows the audience her everyday life style. The chosen settings allow us to control the lighting and each of them were easy access, as we attend school Monday-Friday and I was able to use my bedroom at any time. During the first scene, the main character’s emotions are expressed through her performance. As I played the role of Lacey, I had to make sure I used body language and facial expressions correctly. I needed to find my own relationship with the role. In order to do this, I questioned myself about the character’s life, ambitions and relationships. Lacey is a very happy persona, who is proud of whom she is. She has ambitions, as she has decided to stay in education. She is firstly represented as a young girl who likes to be friends with everybody. Therefore, I made sure that I had a consistent upright, confident posture, with a smiley grin on my face.

We decided to use high-key lighting to set the mood and atmosphere, representing her happiness and bubbly personality within this scene and whilst she is in school with her friends.

However, there is a dramatic change when the attack suddenly takes place. We emphasised this by using low-key at the end of the corridor near the staircase, which represents the character's frightened and scared feelings. She enters darkness and leaves the light behind, suggesting that she leaving happiness and entering a new world of sadness and depression. This gives the scene an eerie feel, letting the audience know that something bad is going to happen. This continues throughout the rest of the film, which highlights that she will remain feeling like this. As a result of this, I made sure my body language became reserved and that my facial expressions were emotionless, suggesting that the character is unaware of who she is anymore.



Costume is also a very important element, as it signifies a character. The bright and neutral colours that Lacey wears at the beginning relates to her emotions at the particular time, suggesting she is happy. After the attack, the choice of dark clothes represents that she isn’t. The contrast makes a clear distinction between the two emotions and personalities of the one individual.

The chosen props we decided to use have the same effect and relation to the plot and character as how the lighting, costume and performance do. The props that Lacey has at the start of the short film are modern and contemporary. A mobile phone, make-up, pink bag, and a folder are typical items that a girl of her age would normally own. The target audience of this generation would therefore be able to relate to this. The props are also significant, as the viewers can learn more about Lacey. She is girly, who takes pride in her appearance, enjoys being in contact with her friends and likes to learn and have her college work organised. At the end, we incorporated pictures of her and her friends and a bin liner. The audience are able to see the contrast of how happy she was compared to the view they have of her now, in person and not a picture, representing that was the past and this is reality. One image consists of Lacey and the attacker, showing the audience that they were friends. At the end, we see Lacey throw the frames in a bin liner. A bin liner contains waste, which resembles how she feels about her friends, a waste of a friendship.

Continuity editing is the most common style of film editing. The aim is to make the work of the editor as invisible as possible. The viewer/audience should not be able to notice the cuts. The shots should flow together naturally, making the sequence of shots continuous. We incorporated editing techniques that associates with the continuity editing system, one being an ‘eyeline match’. The character looks in a direction, which is off-screen. It then cuts to the individual, group or object they are staring towards. We decided to use this at the end, when the audience see Lacey removing the frame of her and her friends from her bedroom wall. She then sits down on her bed and stares at something. We then cut to another frame that is sitting on the cabernet next to her bed. As the audience are aware she is throwing memories away and deleting them from her life, the viewer would be interested to see what the character is staring at. When they are able to see that Lacey noticed another picture is visible, it then becomes visible for the audience too. They would wonder what she is thinking or what she is going to do next. Does she regret what happened between her and the attacker because this may have been her fault? Is she upset with the attacker? Is she angry with the attacker and if so, is this going to cause her to something more extreme than throw it in a bin liner, maybe she will break it? The tension builds; however, the audience sees that she puts it with the other frame, suggesting the memories will stay together. Whilst filming, we had to refer back to our filming schedule to see what scenes we planned to film on the arranged date. There were days when my partner and I filmed a scene that would continue from another; however, these were filmed on different days. Therefore, we had to make sure the character/s were wearing the same clothes/jewellery, had the same hairstyle, make up, props and make sure that any objects in the filming area or anything that the character was holding was positioned and placed in exact same way, otherwise it would look unprofessional, disorganised and unrealistic. In our short film, during filming a corridor scene, we wanted a long shot of Lacey walking towards the camera, down the corridor. This scene included two extras standing either side of the corridor. I then took the camera and filmed this scene again, in a point of view shot, so we could cut from a long shot to a point of view when editing. One of the extra’s in the corridor was holding a bottle of drink, which looked natural because whilst college students are on their break, they often have a drink or eat snacks. We watched the first shot we filmed back and made sure that the extra held the bottle in the exact same hand as before. Also, when the main character walks to school and when she is inside the school, I had to make sure my bag was on the correct shoulder. As I played the role of Lacey, I made a note of everything I was wearing and the props I had that day, so that it would look the same when cutting to the next shot or scene in the short film.

We used the idea of another editing technique, which was a graphic match. When the attacker sees Lacey, we used a close up of her eyes looking up towards her to show that she had been waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. This creates a contrast of a point of view shot, as the audience are able to see the eyes of the character. They will be able to notice the hatred from the stare portrayed by the actress. We then thought that it would be a good idea to zoom in further to show an extra close up of her eye. This creates tension and could also be a representation of how close she is to attacking Lacey. Whilst we were filming, we thought that it would be really effective to cut to an extra close up of Lacey’s eye, as this connects to the previous shot. We decided not to use a dissolve, as we thought that the cut would be harsher, which symbolises that something bad is going to happen. The connectivity symbolises that the characters are connected, as this is the first time we see the attacker on screen. We made sure that the camera was in the same place as before, so that the viewer also focuses on this shot. We used zoom again, however, this was the opposite as before, as we zoomed out, so that the audience are able to see Lacey’s reaction when she sees the attacker glaring at her. In contrast, this could represent that Lacey wants to get away from her. Some short film uses graphic matches such as Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ when the drain slowly fades into an eye; however, the main did not change into another object as both shots show an eye. This creates an uncomfortable feeling for our audience, as the characters are looking at one another and they are unaware of the reason as to why they are.




The conventional transitions we mainly use within our short film are cuts, so that it flows and the audience stay focused throughout. We also used them to show flashbacks from the past, when Lacey is thinking back to her happily with her friends and to the attack. We have also used fade in/out, showing Lacey walking down the corridor to show that this is her everyday life routine. After the attack, we used a blackout in order to create a dramatic effect as the audience doesn’t know what happened after because they only see the attack briefly. The quick cut into the next scene that continues on from the blackout is sharp also creates harshness, which is what Lacey has had to experience.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our next task was to create and produce ancillary texts, such as a film poster that would advertise our short film and a review, which would give an analysis and feature in a magazine that would attract our target audience. The importance of them combining with ‘Twisted’ was vital, as they effectively reflect the film idea and would therefore be the main advertisement which would encourage and persuade people to view our short film.

During the research process, we looked at professional film posters and analysed the conventions. We closely analysed main images, thinking of ideas about what the film could be about through the image featured on the poster. We looked its mise en scene and how it made it effective and eye catching. The story is expressed through a still image and as a result of this, it is very important that the image is interesting as this is the main aspect that would attract the audience to look at it. The main image featured on our poster consists of the main character, Lacey, looking directly into the camera. The detail of the character’s emotion is expressed through the close up shot. There is a dark shadow across the other half of her face, which represents that her happiness is slowly disappearing because she has become more depressed. The darkness is slowly creeping further across her face, suggesting that this emotion is going to take over. This relates to our film because it is based on Lacey’s emotion change due to an assault. Also, this could be interpreted as her shadow, which could suggests that she is shadowing herself, or it could represent the person's shadow whose hand is on her throat. The audience can see a half unhappy but serious facial expression. She is unhappy because of the attack; however, the seriousness represents the fact that she was the cause of it, as in the film, the ‘twist’ at the end shows a guilty side to an ‘innocent victim’. There is also a hand that is placed on her throat. This shows something is going to happen to her; however, the audience are unaware who is grabbing her and why this is. I feel that this would attract and appeal to our target audience, as this image leaves questions unanswered, like how the film does – what happens? Who is at fault? Is she the victim? Is she regretting an action or thinking about revenge? Is this an imagination?

The colour scheme in our short film had an essential significance. We used colour of costume and props in order to show contrast and express the personality and emotion of the persona. As we decided to use neutral and light colours to symbol happiness, we used pink font to connect to her brightly coloured lipstick in the image on the poster. We also used green coloured font on the poster to match her green eyeliner she had on in the image. This could represent jealousy, which could be a suggested possibility of the cause of the argument, as this is left unanswered in the film. These certain colours are also quite bright which would also be eye catching for our target audience. The other colours we used on the poster were black, grey and white. The white symbols how happy both characters were, as they were friends, which links to the storyline and the audience's own interpretation of it. This also links the colour range we used in costume at the beginning, neutral and light. The colour black is very dark. This represents how she feels after she is attacked, very dark, alone and depressed. Therefore the chosen colour sets this image. This also links to Lacey's costume colour at the end of the film, when she starts to wear dark coloured clothes, symbolizing how her emotions have been affected after the attack. Another colour we decided to choose was grey, as this is the colour that is in-between and a mixture of white and black and would therefore represent how the audience feels, as the situation is left unanswered and they are in the middle of the two characters situation/argument.

We deliberately and particularly chose a font that we felt related to the plot and image. The main style, which our title and tagline are in, consists of a dark background with white coloured font. We had a choice of two similar fonts. We decided to choose 'Capture 2' as the darkness looks like it is creeping into the light coloured font, as there are cracks within the text which creates a broken effect. This represents the emotions of Lacey and the attacker, as they both feels hurt, which is expressed through the film. This is a similar effect to the main image.

1. Lacey – hurt emotionally because what has happened between herself and her friend and physically because she is attacked

2. The attacker – hurt emotionally because of the argument. What Lacey did to her could have caused her to do what she did, although using violence is unacceptable. Therefore they are both in the wrong either way.

This type of font is also big and bold which could be interpreted as quite harsh, which links to events that happen in the film. However, this also made it clear in order for it to be eye catching for the audience. With regards to other fonts, such as the other text on the poster and in the review, we made sure titles and headlines were in bold so that they stood out. As our film appeals to a younger and older audience, the younger generation would rather skim read and therefore the boldness would lead them to the information that they would want to know, such as age certificate, release date, actors/actresses in film etc. We used cinema style font on the poster, to make it look realistic and to give the effect of a film. The fonts used were quite simple and we didn't use several different ones, as this would make it look untidy and unattractive. This would cause confusion for the audience. This relates to the film, as it has a clear structure that the audience would be able to follow and understand.

For our magazine review, we decided to use two images, as this symbolises that there is a contrast, which is expressed in the film. The plot shows an emotional journey for two people throughout. One image we decided to use was a close up which focuses on Lacey’s face. Analysing just the image without seeing the film, Lacey looks as though she is screaming and pleading, as she has a stressful and painful look on her face. It is clear and has a dark effect which emphasises the danger and could also be a representative of her feelings at this particular time. However, in the background, we can see the bright corridor which is at an angle. This represents the fact that her life has been turned upside down as her happy emotions are being left behind, and they will remain in the past. We felt that this image would represent the film well, as the contrast of the darkness and light represents the two emotions the character feels within film.

This image is totally different to the other that is placed next to it. This is a medium shot of Lacey grabbing the attacker. The fact that the image of Lacey being attacked in placed before this one, suggests to the audience that this occurred first. One image represents Lacey as a victim but in comparison to the other image, the audience could imagine that Lacey is a bully or she is the one with the problem, as we can see the serious, evil facial expression and aggressive body language of the individual. The chosen images would appeal to the audience, as they would wonder what has happened and who really is guilty in the situation. This would make them want to watch the film, which is the purpose of the review. These same questions would also be in their minds after watching the film too.

The colour system also remained in our second draft of our review, when we decided to change our target audience to only women. We originally featured our review in 'Empire' magazine but later discovered that the target audience percentage was mainly male. Discussing our target audience further, we thought that our film would mainly attract women, as 'Twisted' is based on two girls/friends whom have had an argument. Therefore, as this is quite stereotypical, seen in most drama's and chick flicks, men wouldn't find the story interesting. It was also very difficult to find a magazine which would suit our genre and plot that is also aimed at male ane female audience. However, we came across 'Heat' magazine, which is aimed at our target audience, women: late teenagers and 20+. We wrote the film title in pink, grey and black. The contrast in the colours gives the sense that something bad is going to happen as 'Twisted' isn't in one colour. This is similiar to our poster and gives the same effect, which both link to the film. The cause of the argument is left unanswered. The audience would either think Lacey is or isn't the victim. This makes them question was she really innocent? Therefore, as the film makes the audience think that Lacey isn't guilty, then guilty the next, there indecisiveness would lead them back to 'grey', until they watch the end and decide who they feel caused the incident. There are two sides to a story and the audience would have their own opinions too. Also, 'Heat' magazine's trademark is the colour red. This, however, would also relate to our film, as this could represent danger or anger. The attacker could be angry at Lacey or Lacey could have been angry and the attacker for a certain reason that is unknown. As a result of this, the review has a red border, matching the title that is also written in red.

The language we used in our review would be seen as quite short and to the point. We also used very limited text on our poster as well. This reflects the idea of a 'short' film, as this should express a meaning a tell a story in a short period of time. This links to our film, as both Lacey and the attacker's emotions are shown within five minutes. This also suggests to the viewers/readers that things could change within seconds and minutes. We have used forms of informal language such as 'teens', as the younger generation would feel more in their comfort zone. They would also feel more involved as they would be able to relate to the text well. We have also used interesting and contrasting describing words within our review such as "savage", "dim and grim" and "happy" which would appeal to the older generation. However, they would be used to informal language if they have children that are at the age of our younger target audience 15+. We have incorporated rhetorical questions, which would make the audience want to see the film so that they would be able to answer them. This language device also links to our film, as it makes the audience constantly question things, which then results in them being unanswered, due to the fact that there is no resolution. The title 'Twisted' is short and to the point aswell. It sounds interesting, as this could relate to or mean anything e.g. a situation could be 'twisted' round. A person? - who is involved? - how and in what ways has something been twisted? - Is it for the good or worse? This choice of title creates questions, which is what our film mainly does. Also, the tagline, "Is it just her?" is a question. This relates well to the film as it is based around two people, whom the audience doesn't know who to sympathize with and who to blame. The rhetorical question would draw the audience's attention, which would make them want to come and view our film.

The film, review and poster all work together as they compliment one another as a brand. The reason as to why we used the particular colour scheme is the same. It stays consistant in both ancillary texts and the film. The main image on the poster shows the main character of the film and represents how emotion is effecting her. The images within the review show the contrast of this, which is what the film is mainly focused on. The contrast also appears in the colour scheme, such as light, medium and dark, representing how the audience feel towards the emotions expresses within the film and how the main character has been effected which is seen through costume, performance, sound and lighting. The entire brand sell the film well because if the audience was to see the poster advertised and the review, they will be able to identify that it is promoting 'Twisted', as they have a unique look, but similarites. The eye catching aspects each show contrast and emotion e.g. performance in images, effects in main image and the colour difference. This would make the audience want to view the film, as they would want to know why these particular aspects have been deliberately chosen to act as the short film's trademark. The design of the poster and review both have a relevance to the target audience {heat magazine and language}, plot and mise en scene. They all link together in an imaginative, different and effective way, which makes 'Twisted' recognisable and memorable to the public.

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

We used several media technologies during the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages, in order to contibute in the making of our media product. We used the internet to an advantage, by visiting different sites such as:

- Youtube - This enabled us to view other short films and gain more of an insight into what they consisted of, which helped us see the outcome of what we should produce.

- Google - This allowed us to reseach target audiences, look at a variety of magazine reviews, view examples of different film posters so that we could analyse conventions and look closely at professional layouts and designs. We also purchased our age certificate logo from google images.

- Dafont - My partner and I were able to search for a suited and effective font from the variety that this site includes.

By having the opportunity to access a computer, we could use different softwares, which were:

- Microsoft Word - This allowed us to write up a shooting schedule, which was quicker to upload straight onto our blog. We could also draft text on this software first, before putting it onto the blog, as it has spellchecker and a thesaurus.

- Microsoft Publisher - We used this program to design our ancillary texts. We were able to test different layouts by moving the textboxes and images around, insert images from files quickly and group together anything that we wanted to stay in a certain position. This also has a variety of fonts and colours.

- Macromedia Fireworks - This allowed us to upload our main image featured on our poster and use effects in order to edit it. We used the 'blur tool' to darken one half of Lacey's face. Our original idea was to use a hand to cover the side of her face up, however, when we tried this during the process of taking the photographs, we realised that this didn't work and didn't give the effect that we hoped for. When we visited Macromedia Fireworks, we realised that we had another option, which worked very well, looked very effective and linked well with our entire idea.

We were already very familiar with the software and sites that we used for the research, planning and designing process, as we have used and visited them before. However, during the constructive stage, it became more of a challenge as these technologies were new to us. Before filming our final media product, we filmed a practive sequence. This helped us learn more about how to work the HD camera we were provided with to record our entire short film. I found this very helpful and used the time to an advantage, as when it came to filming, we knew how to use it. If we wasn't given the opportunity to practice and to have gotten used to the camera, this would have prevented us from filming, as not being able to work it would have slowed us down. This also gave us more confidence, as we knew which button would delete things off of the camera, which one records and stops etc. I would have been nervous that it wasn't recording or we accidently deleted a scene, or sound was taken out when we wanted to digetic sound to be heard. During the process of filming and after filming, we began to edit our product on a new media program called 'Adobe Premiere Elements'. We had never used this before so it took a while to get used to. It allowed us to upload the scenes we had filmed and use 'continuity editing', by putting them together and making sure they flowed. The program allowed us to add a soundtrack which we could purchase from the internet {youtube}. We could choose a specific point of where we wanted it to start and finish, either fading it in or out. We were also able to delete sound from the scenes that we wanted absense of sound in. We could add different transitions for effect, remove parts of the scene that we didn't want, and cut and cross-cut from different scenes. These were main advantages as we were able to create the effects we planned and wanted in particular. However, the disadvantages was that we had to learn how to use the program during the process of editing at the same time. Firstly, i found it confusing but once i used it more frequently, it became easier. There was only two of us so we worked together by helping each other as much as we could. I liked the effects that it contained, which has allowed us to make our short film look professional. Some moments the program caused our film to jump when we wanted to watch what we had edited back. As a result of this, we couldn't see whether the continuity editing worked. Also, we found it difficult to figure out how we could slow the credits down at the end. Overall, we managed to meet the deadline. Adobe Premiere Elements' enabled us to try to create and produce a professional, realistic and interesting short film, as we were able to put our footage together on the program and add or subtract certain effects. We worked to the best of our abilites in order to succeed.

When it came to evaluating our media product, we used Blogger.com. I am already familiar with the site and i feel that it is a very interesting way to present our work. We are able to evidently show our in-depth planning and research, as we could upload images and video clips we used to help us. We could show the difference of picture quality, which would explain why we did or didn't use certain images. Viewers could also watch our film, watch the examples of the short films we watched and see if they agree with what we have written about the effect and inspiration they gave, and also, they could listen to the music we decided not to use, to see if they felt that it would have been a better choice. This also makes it more interesting to look at, as it's not just lots of writing. Blogspot keeps a record of the process of making the film. We were able to refer back to any posts, in order to refresh our memories when it came to writing the evaluation. I find blogger more effective and a lot more interesting. I very much enjoy using this site and would recommend it, as you are able to show and express every thought, idea and imagination.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

In order to have been able to gain audience feedback, we needed to construct a questionnaire containing several questions about our short film, ‘Twisted’. Our sampled audience consisted of a variety of both male and female pupils within our school, whom has a similar age range to our target audience. Due to the fact our film includes college students and is set within a learning environment, receiving feedback from people also in these surroundings is very helpful, as they would be able to relate to our short film. They received a piece of paper with the following questions, enabling them to think about what they were being asked and write down their opinions whilst watching our short film on a TV screen.

The first general question asked was: ‘What genre do you think the film is?’

In response to this, the majority of our sampled audience answered correctly, as they thought and classed our short film as a “Drama”. Other suggestions that were written down were “Bullying” and “Sad”. These titles could, however, come under the category of a drama, as they are issues a drama could consist of because they are not listed as specific genre e.g. possible genres are horror, fantasy, action, comedy etc. Our storyline could show and involve these particular elements and as a result of this, it is also a piece of positive feedback because it could suggest they are engaged with the emotions of the characters when watching our film, which is what we wanted because the storyline is from two peoples perspective and is very much based on emotions, hence why our first and original title of the film, before making a creative decision to change it, was ‘Emotional Effects’. Our deliberate use of point of view shots would show the audience the two characters emotions and as there is no resolution, this would encourage them to conclude one for themselves. Therefore, this is positive feedback for my partner and me if they are being able to connect to the emotions expressed in the film, as this is what we aimed to achieve.

The second question asked was: ‘What is the film about and could you follow the storyline easily?’

An answer we received was “She used to have friends but had an argument with her friend and started getting bullied and hated”. Several others also wrote similar to this reply, which I was very pleased with because it shows that they could understand the twist at the end, when it unexpectedly reveals the attacker and the main character, Lacey, used to be friends. We did, however, receive another piece of feedback that contained a rhetorical question, “Bullying – but was it bullying or reacting?” I thought that this was really good, due to the fact that an audience member is questioning the character’s actions, as our film is meant to create questions for the audience, as there is no resolution because it is based on a situation that creates a main question, is there ever a resolution?. The effect of leaving questions open links back to the characters emotions, as it emphasises how Lacey feels, confused, because everything seems ‘twisted’. In negative response, some did reply with saying that the plot was "confusing". Taking this on board, may be we should have made the fact that they used to be friends a little clearer, however, we did want this and our climax and complication to be shocking and unexpected, which is why we decided to challenge the convention of narrative structure.

The third question asked was: ‘Do you think the film has an ideological message and if so what is it?’

A main ideological message was how our film shows “consequence” and “Bad effects of violence”. These comments were very positive, as members of the audience are being able to see how a person can be affected both physically and emotionally because of violence, which is what we aimed to do and was therefore a success. The word “bad” gives a serious feel, which suggests an audience member has noticed how terrible using violence is because of what it can do. Our short film is educational, as it encourages people to talk to someone if they are experiencing a similar situation because in ‘Twisted’, it shows what can happen.

The fourth question asked was: “What was effective about the sound? What did you like and dislike about the sound?”

Due to the absence of sound used towards the end, in contrast with the upbeat music at the beginning, many of our audience members made comments in response to this, suggesting the impact it had on them and that the contrast was noticeable, “Cut from music to silence was good and changed the mood”, “use of soundtrack matched girl’s mood”, and “The sound went well with the type of film it was”. I was very impressed with this reaction to the sound, as this is exactly what we aimed to do. The upbeat was used in order to highlight Lacey’s happy mood at the beginning of the film, before her world is ‘twisted’ and everything changes, including her emotion and image. My partner and I wanted to create a happy atmosphere so that the ending would be shocking and have an impact on the audience, just like how violence would. One audience member commented, “Sudden stop of music is effective in creating tension”. The tension and unexpected stop in music emphasises the mood and characters emotions, which the audience were able to identify e.g. the way Lacey felt at the beginning, in comparison to the end.

The fifth question asked was: “What was effective about the camera angles?”

Many viewers found face shots were interesting, as a member of our sampled audience commented, “You seem to see it from their perspective”. Similarly, another person said “We seemed to be seeing stuff from her point of view”. I particularly liked these pieces of feedback, as my partner and I aimed to show a two people’s perspective through a point of view shot and therefore succeeded. I was very pleased that someone felt as though they were seeing what the characters were. When viewing this, they will then be able to gather feelings from what they are seeing. One person also said “The camera angles were very good, especially when she was thinking about her and her friend”. We also received a comment that they “showed power relationship between the two characters”. These responses were also very positive as it shows their understanding of how the characters are connected. This feedback suggests that the audience notice how relationship and character emotion is being expressed through media technology, due to the lack of sound used at the end of our film.

The sixth and final question asked of the questionnaire gave the audience a chance to give useful criticism: ‘What did you think was weak about the film and do you have any suggestions to improve it?’

A high majority said that there was “no sound in a lot of places”, commenting that it was “unnatural” and made it “not interesting”. I agree that there is lack of sound; however, there was a purpose to this as we chose to deliberately create pure silence in order to give a dramatic effect on the audience. As a result of this, I was quite disappointing that members didn’t notice the reason as to why we made this creative decision. We can look at this as positive criticism though, due to the fact that a lot of our sampled audience made this comment, which can suggest this did have an impact on them. The absence of sound is the main aspect that remained in their head after watching our film. An older audience member did notice the effect, as they commented “Lack of dialogue was very effective”, which is a better response because they have analysed our film taking the media terminology into consideration, as they seemed to have understood our method. We did this so that audience could make their own decision of who is at fault, without dialogue of what each character was saying persuading them. The only dialogue used was when Lacey cries out is desperation when she is being attacked. This is used to make the audience think she is the victim, as she sounds innocent. However, there is a twist which should make the audience think otherwise and think twice about whom really is the victim.

Overall, I noticed and felt that the female audience gave more constructive opinions, longer comments and the majority seemed to answer all of the questions as well as this. Therefore, I feel that my partner and I was right to make the creative decision to change our target audience to female, as during this audience feedback, our film seemed to collect more responses from females rather than the males.

Here is video evidence of audience feedback:

FILM: Research into target audience

As film directors and producers, we are aiming to create a short film that is convincing, effective and professional. As a result of this, it has to appeal to the target audience in order for this to be successful.

During the process of producing different storylines, we had to think about suitable age ranges that our film genre/idea will be aimed at. As my partner and I decided to go ahead with our idea, 'Emotional Effects', which will consist of college students, the film will educate and be targeted at both girls and boys aged 15-20+. As the characters in the film will be pupils, this will appeal to spectators of the same age who are also still studying. They are also able to relate to the film, as they attend college everyday and have experienced school life, where as the much younger generation wouldn't have yet.

However, with regards to the more older viewers, their lifestyle may involve parenting, working or going out. Adults can still attend college or they may have relatives/children that do. As a result of this, they may have been through this and advise others on how they dealt with the situation.

We came to a conclusion that the audience's social demographic will be a C/D {working class}, as they may have part time jobs whilst they are a parent/guardian or still in further education. The time period of a short film would also suit this age range due to the fact that they are busy, as they might have work or coursework to do. Therefore, they may not have the time to sit and watch a film that lasts for longer.

Short films are usually shown at a cinema before the main film is about to come on. This venue tends to attract our target audience age range, as they will attend with friends and family.

Some short films are also shown inbetween or after popular programmes, so that the audience will stay tuned, on channels such as 4. Several short films are also screened at Film Festivals.

FILM: Developing a pitch

Within the film industry, a ‘pitch’ is usually created by a director or screenwriter to a producer or studio executive. Once the film idea is presented, they hope for it to be accepted so that a screenplay can be written and produced. A short film lasts for a small duration of time; however, it still expresses a meaning within its concise storyline. This has to be inventive and conventional for it to be triumphant. It should provide the audience with what they expect but also, contain a climax because this would surprise them. Therefore, this would make it interesting and challenging. Once we had decided the genre of the short film, my partner and I started to think of different ideas that would relate to what we had chosen.

Original Idea: "Consequences" - A group of teenagers arrive at a park, along with drink and music. Consequences are learnt when they decide to have their own party. One of their friends seems distant from the rest, as she doesn't want to drink alcohol and be a part of it. As she leaves the park, alone, she is attacked. We thought that the idea was interesting and would have allowed us to use camera shots effectively, such as close ups to create tension.

Second Idea: "Emotional Effects" - We thought of another plot, using some of the ideas from our original one. We wanted to include a climax into our main storyline, so we took the idea of a girl getting attacked and the fact that it was a mystery, and adapted it into a college environment. However, we thought that it would be a good idea to make the attacker one of her friends. We continued to develop our ideas, thinking of ways we could enhance the climax. Our character, Lacey, looks popular as she walks down the corridor which shows her everyday life, with people constantly waving, saying hello and hugging her. All of sudden she is attacked, which creates the questions - why? Is she really the victim or the cause? Is this jealousy? The audience will have to decide for themselves, which leaves a cliffhanger to the short film.

We thought that 'Emotional Effects' would be a good title as it suited the plot. We liked the alliteration, as it would remain in peoples mind because it flows and rolls off the tongue. This creates a connection between the two words. However, we came to a decision to change the title, as it doesn't sound interesting. The vowel 'E' is a soft sound, which therefore wouldn't catch the audiences eye. As a result of this, we had to think of a different idea. We came up with the word 'Twisted', as during the film, we see that the girl's life, including personality and appearance, changes dramatically. It would also represent how people can actually become 'twisted'. Therefore this title can relate to everyone in the film and not just Lacey. The consonant 'T' contains a much more harsher sound, which would grab the audienes attention and relates to the climax, which is the attack. We also liked the fact that it was only one word, which creates a short and sharpness to the title. This links to how quickly Lacey's life has changed.

Through a more simple and compact storyline, we are able to tell the story effectively through:

• Camera techniques
• Sound: diegetic or non-digetic {soundtrack},voice/language
• Mise en scene: costume, setting, props etc
• Acting: facial expressions, body language, actions/gestures

FILM: Scripting

A script is also known as a screenplay, which is written specifically for a film. Most famous films consist of a lot of dialogue. However, short films usually have less dialogue and the story is shown and told through the camera angles and non-digetic music {soundtrack}. As a result of this, the script includes stage directions, including camera angles/movement/framing and the actions of the actors/actresses. It states the order of the scenes and where they are filmed, either interior or exterior. During filming, more ideas tend to come to imagination, so even though things may change, the script gives us a base line of what each scene {in order} includes and what the actors/actresses are doing at the particular time e.g. happy facial expressions, bold body language and good posture in comparison to emotionless or depressing facial expressions with an enclosed, contracted body language. This is our script:

During filming, we decided to delete the dialogue because as the film contains music and silence, we felt that this wasn't fitting in with the structure of the film. Due to the fact that this would have been the only piece of dialogue, the audience may think that there was an importance to the line, however, there was no relevance to it. We then decided to include dialogue whilst she is getting attacked, which is relevant because it is natural and the audience can see the girl is pleading for the attacker to stop and this would show a sign of innocence in Lacey. Due to the fact that short films lack in dialogue, added non-diegetic sound {soundtrack} contibutes in creating the atmosphere, mood and tension and gives emphasis to the action and movement on screen. The lyrics usually relate to the plot, in order to highlight the films message. As a result of this, my partner and I had to research music, considering the genre and film storyline, and agree on the piece that we felt expressed the meaning and suited the film the most.

Our first suggestion was 'She's So Lovely' by a band called 'Scouting for Girls'. The song is upbeat, which will create a happy atmosphere and represent the main character's happy emotion whilst she is with her friends, during the time the music is playing. However, after further thought, we decided that the other lyrics woudn't suit the plot, as the main singer is singing about a girl and our film isn't based on 'love'.

We then listened to another song called 'Unlikely Hero' by a band called 'The Hoosiers'. We liked this song as it contains the lyrics, "I like everybody, but not everybody likes me". We thought that the first part, "I like everybody", would link well to what is being shown on screen. The main character, Lacey, likes everyone, as the viewers are able to see her hugging and waving at her friends and students in the corridor. However, "but not everybody likes me" creates a contrast, as the extras look as though they do really like her because they hug her and wave back. This would have made the audience question why this is, which therefore suggests something is going to happen, as the lyric doesn't link. This would make them want to continue watching, in order to see who doesn't like her. May be someone betrays her? This would have represented that somone dislikes her, which therefore that 'somebody' out of 'everybody'. The rhythm is also upbeat which we also liked, with regards to representing atmosphere, mood and emotion. However, with more thought, this had a similar issue to 'She's so lovely', as we realised, when studying the whole songs lyrics, that the man is also singing about 'love', which would suggest something that isn't shown, as our film doesn't have a 'love' theme and doesn't show the effects and emotions of love that this song potrays.

We then found a song called "Problem Girl" by Rob Thomas. The lyrics creates a contrast as the song is about someone who is being bullied. The audience can clearly see that Lacey isn't the 'problem girl', as the viewers can see she is a polite person greeting everyone. We felt that this related well with the ending, as the storyline twists around because they see another side to Lacey. Lacey or the attacker could be at fault, so the song can link to both characters. This song isn't too fast and isn't too slow which represents both personalities of the character. it's quite upbeat to show she feels happy, however, it's not fully fast, which symbols something is going to happen. Therefore, we decided to use this as our soundtrack because it emphasises and links well to the plot and the characters involved.

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FILM: Storyboard

The storyboard has to be arranged efficiently so that we are able to visualize how the short film will look. This allows us to be organised and have a general idea about what the scene will contain and what camera movements/angles/frames will involved. Therefore, my partner and I worked together and drew a sequence of pictures in a particular shot e.g. 'close up', medium shot', 'long shot' etc, angle e.g point-of- view etc and movement e.g. Tracking {dollying}, Pan or Hand-held camera etc which we felt would create the right effect and will make it interesting for the viewers. We wrote down the 'edit' in between each scene, as all the techniques such as the different continuous cuts and shots that we have decided to use should naturally flow from one to another, making them not noticeable to the audience. In order to do this, we will use 'Continuity Editing', which makes the work of the editor invisible as possible. On the editing system, we will develop editing skills and find different effects that we could add to what we have filmed. This would make it look more interesting and effective and also emphasise the meaning of the film, which will have an impact on the audience.

A storyboard also allows us to plan the timing specifically, as we can arrange the amount of scenes the film will include and estimate how long each one will last. This is so that the short film doesn't run over the maximum time that we are allowed.

This is the storyboard my partner and I produced once we had our storyline in mind:

Before creating our storyboard, we parcipated in a practice task which gave us the opportunity to learn more about using the camera and we were able t screen test different angles and how diegetic sound is picked up. We were able to experience filming, which will make us feel more confident when filming the main short film project. We were able to how a simple storyline can be told through the effect of camera angles. We began with a point of view shot, showing a smart dressed boy walking towards the camera, which would be a person. The effect of the shot is so that the audience feel like they can see through the eyes of someone else, however, they first of all can't see who this is in the sequence. It then cuts to a medium shot of the boy slightly pushing past the a young girl's shoulder. We were also able to think about mise en scene, as we filmed the sequence in a corridor and used a prop, such as a folder, which shows and represents that they are students. The camera is then focused on a folder that has been dropped on the floor, caused by the slight push against her shoulder. You first see her hands picking up the folder, as the camera follows her standing back up. The viewer can then see the boy helping her. The 180 degree rule is used, as the boy apologises to her and she assures him that it is ok. Characters within the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. We were able to experience filming shots that we have learnt about and analysed. The sequence ends with another point of view shot, which is structural to the beginning. The girl continues to walk and she stares back to find him staring at her. This can suggest that they like each other. Several camera techniques can be used within a shot sequence to make it more interesting for the audience and emphasise certain things e.g. when camera focuses on the folder - did the boy do this on purpose as an excuse to talk to her? emphasises they are students. Is there something in the folder? - This would make the audience want to continue watching to see what happens.

FILM: Organising locations actors etc

We decided to go ahead with our second idea, 'Emotional Effects'. We came to decision that we wouldn't be able to include everything in detail as we would have wanted to in 'Consequences', due to the short amount of filming time we have {5 minutes}. We also thought that the location would be difficult, as we would have had to shoot after school hours because we wouldn't be able to travel there during our lesson, film and manage to get back for our next lesson on time. This might not have been appropriate for selected extras, as this problem will occur for them also. Filming after school in this particular location also wouldn't give us much time because it starts to get dark and therefore our lighting wouldn't follow our plan and idea to use this as a representation of emotion, mood and atmosphere. My partner and I had to discuss and decide as a team who would be the main actresses of our film - 'The Girl, Lacey' and The Attacker'. Using other people and not ourseleves would have allowed us to concentrate on directing and working behind the camera. However, due to the fact that we want to film scenes during media lessons so that we use the time effectively and to our advantage, we felt that it would be more difficult if we were to have chosen to other girls as our main characters because they may not be available on the arranged filming days or they might have lessons at the time my partner and I are ready to film. Therefore, we came to a conclusion that it would be more appropriate and easier for us to play the roles, as we can discuss between ourselves and organise filming days without having to ask anyone if they can make it. If they wouldn't have been able to on the day, my partner and I would have to continually change our whole shooting shedule, which will prevent us from progressing with our filming. Also, as my partner and I have written and produced the storyline, we will be able to act out what we both imagined the characters would be. We will both take it in equal turns to use the camera, as the majority of scenes doesn't involve both of us being in it. We plan to have several point-of-view shots for example so i will film the parts when i am not seen on camera. The project is both our responsibilies so as a result of this, we will be dedicated, commited and work to the best of our ability in order for us to gain the successful outcome that we aim and hope to achieve.

We have asked a selection of people and they have agreed to participate, so we will inform them the days the scenes that involves extras will be being filmed. If the majority of them, for any circumstance can't make the arranged days, we will try and possibly film the scenes that just include my partner and I or due to the fact that selected extras can be played by anyone, another option would be to ask whoever is available at the times we have arranged.

As our plot is about college students, we automatically decided that we would be filming within a school. The pictures below show one of our main sets where our filming will be taking place. They clearly show the difference between the lighting:

In the first image, this will be where the main character will be seen with her friends. In contrast, the second image shows where the attack will take place.

Before filming, we also had to think about costume. The extras would need to look casual but smart at the same time, due to the fact that they are at college. This would also be the case for the main actress. We decided to have bright and neutral coloured clothes when she is happy and dark coloured clothes when she isn't, in order to create a contrast between the two personalities/emotions of the one individual. The ending scene also takes place in her bedroom, creating a structural contrast. The character's attitude has totally changed from the beginning.