Evaluation

In what way does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real products?
I think that our film uses some typical conventions of similar products, but also has some unique qualties that would be very different to another Vampire Film.Our film is stylisticly similar to convential vampire movies, With costume ideas similar to the recent Film Twilight.

The Film is set in a mainly urban environment, but with autumn leaves and trees visible in a lot of shots, This breaks the conventions of most vampire films which are set in Rural Landscapes (Van Helsing, Lesbian Vampire Killers) OR a city atmosphere like in Underworld.

One Way Our film Challenges the conventions of other products is that our Film uses a nonlinear narrative, meaning that the events are not shown in chronological order, such as flashbacks (similar to 500 Days of Summer and TV'S Lost). This helps us weave more depth into our story and create more background into the characters shown. (Below is a crucial flashback sequence from our film).

How Effective is The combination of your main project and the ancillary texts ?
For our film we created a radio trailer to promote it, which included audio from the film, music, and a voiceover saying the time and channel it wll be shown on.

We also created 4 seperate posters to advertise the film, and then we made a group poster, combining elements from (in our opinion) the two most eye catching and best posters (Luke Parker's and my own).

The Ancillary texts and out film work well together because the all have simialar stylistic features and as a collective represent our body of work very well.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The original ending we had for our film didnt work very well, as the friend we showed it to found it confusing, and we had one major jump-cut that needed refilming, also practical problems such as the area being to small to film in, we changed the location of the alternate ending aswell as altering the dialogue from the script and adding a dramatic climax.

From our film feedback on youtube we decided to alter thigns about our film such as adding more music and sound effects. We also got approval for our use of a strong female lead character and didnt receive any critism about the film's production, rather the poor quality of the acting.

Our audience liked the 'Bite Me' pun and didnt comment on the mild language used. Either way we decided our film should be showed after the watershed. (9pm).

A sequence from the original ending >>>>

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

Throughout the duration of making this film we have used Youtube, we used the popular video hosting site to research into short films, we used it find videos to get inspiration and conventions. in the evaluation stage we uploaded our film onto it so that we could get audience feedback.

We used the website facebook to help promote our film. We used Blogger to record our progress. We used media equipment such as a Sony HD 1000 camera to film our film, along with a zoom recorder for voiceover work. We also used a DV100 to get our film onto the editing software from the camera which was IMOVIE HD
We used photoshop elements to create our film posters and we used garageband to create our radio trailer. All of theses technologies were crucial to the making our film.

evaluation

In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I personally don't think our production pushes the boundries of the vast media industry. But instead i think we have proved with only a camera and a lot of work you can create a good value media film. WE made our film in six months only working on it for four and a half hours per week and at the same time we ahd to produce a blog and everything that comes with making a film (script, screen shots etc). we had no money to make the film so we used what we had to make it. Our film was different because we used itunes instead of final cut pro to edit it . also in our film we had to include a few jump cuts because we had a few flash back which meant we had to have them in . we also edit the feel of the film in our flashbacks because we darkened the scences to make them more like Blade or Underworld. our film also doesn't follow the normal film conventions because we had a voice over playing in the credits to tie the film up at the end because in our audience feedback they said they didn't understand what abby was. so we decided to tie it up at the end of the film. our film develops the media industry because we have followed the conventions of the most recent vampire films (Twilight) so we developed on them and make them have a classiuc vampire film ending.
How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts?
our film and its relevent our products ( poster , radio trailer ) all are linked together. we made this possible by whilst making the film we took picutures and we used them for our poster and we used clips from our film in our radio trailer nad we also used the same music used in our film. we did this so that people when they see or hear one of them can relate it to our film. our two ancillary texts are our film poster and radio trailer. we work as a group to produce each of them. although for our poster we made individual ones and then put the best bits from both together to make our over all poster. our marketing products are what would be used in the industry.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
i think we learnt alot from our audience feedback because without it our ending would be still confusing and it also helpt use understand what mistakes we have made with this production and how not to do them in future productions. Before we started our production we did a intail questionnaire and gather some results which helped us understand which way in the industry is going to and helped us decided on what genre of film we were making. whilst making and editing our film we put up a nearly finished film on youtube and we gathered some audience feedback on youtube facebook dailybooth and msn and face to face conversations. with this feedback we were able to make the film more audience pleasureable and better.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
whilst making our film we used a range of technological products . firstly when we started to research the genre we used youtube to llok at relevent films and trailers . this was a very useful tool to use because it saved us time which we didn't have much of . during production we filmed in the sony hd cameras, these are industry standard cameras and give a amazing picture quality and are really easy to use . to upload our film to the mac we used a dv 1000 which are really useful and easy to use . whilst on the macs we used i movie to edit our film this is a very easy tool to use and is used in the industry. to record our voiceovers and radio trailer we used a zoom recorder. we did all of our work on macs. for editing our radio trailer we used garageband which the music studnets also use. we did our film poster on photoshop which is the industry photography tool to edit photos this was a easy and very craetive and professional tool. we also used microsoft word to write our coursework which we would later upload to blogger. we put all of our coursework on a public blog on blogger .

Love Of Blood Radio Trailer

This is the radio trailer for love of blood. When making it we wanted it to be a bit random and mysterious to make the audience want to find out what its all about, we also made sure to say when it was on and what channel its on so that they knew when and where they can watch it. Sadly we where a little sort on time so couldnt work on the radio trailer as much as we wanted to also we had to learn to use a piece of software non of use had ever used befor.

Evaluation

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

When we were editing our final product we noticed that at the end we had a series of jump cuts and at one point we noticed that we broke the rules of’ crossing the line’. We crossed the line because of the limited space we had in the area we was filming. To overcome this dilemma we chose to shoot our scenes in a different more spacious location. To overcome the jump cuts we decided to re-shoot the final scene and re-organise the script making sure we kept to the conventions of continuity. We also kept to the continuity of every detail from clothing to the positions the characters where placed. We took pictures of each other in our costumes and of the area we were after each scene was shot (Just in case the scenery changed).

This is the location where we didn’t have enough room to shoot the scene. As you can see the fence was a major issue with us trying to get close ups of the characters.

This is the new location where we shot the ending to our film. As you can see the location is more spacious and easier for us to use more camera angles.

The film which we have produced is of a horror and thriller genre. We each watched films which suited the genre of our film, this being a horror that included vampires. I watched 30 Days of Night and after watching these horror films we each had input on what we could interpret into our film from something off the films we watched, for example, a first person prospective with someone running with the camera, this is shown a lot in horror films to get a sense of claustrophobia and loneliness and it shows the character does not have a large field of view, so the audience do not know where the danger is coming from. Thus giving them a thrill of not knowing as to what is going to happen. We wanted to interpret this shot in our film, to inject a spooky, scary feel. We also added lots of close up shots to show the characters emotions and feelings.

After researching into horror films I tried to find audience feedback and what they enjoyed about these kinds of films. Many people said that it was either not scary enough or too scary or possibly that the ending was too predictive. We tried to make our film less predictive and I am sure from the feedback we got that we achieved this by giving the audience some suspense and a total twist to the story at the end. We also wanted to create a horror and thriller film that would not necessarily scare the audience throughout, but try and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. We tried to provide the audience with role models such as an, un-lucky male character who was caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now leads a hidden life, who wants to get revenge on those who made him like he is. We also constructed a female character for our audience, a female who is strong willed and confident who turns out to be neither the good person nor the villain. We made our film an action film because it would reach out to a wider audience, but also those who watch it may be bored and want a buzz by watching an action film that contains fighting scenes.

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

In our main production we tried to create a sense of horror and suspense so the audience would not get bored but keep those watching and guessing what will happen at the end of the film. With this in mind we created a poster that showed horror (With blood splatter marks and the red eye of one of the main characters, also with the background being dark and mysterious) but also we wanted to make the audience question what this film is about (The tagline being ‘He had a secret...but so did she’). Also with our media trailer we used snippets from our film, to create a bit of suspense and mystery about the film.

I think the poster and trailer for our film will attract a wider range audience. Our film is of a horror and thriller genre and we wanted to show this in our poster to attract the audience but also tell them something about the film.

This is a poster advertising the film 30 Days of Night. We chose this poster to get inspiration for our own because it is of a horror genre. It shows us the characters, weapons and the setting for the film. It also shows us the vampires in the background. After looking into this poster we decided to add some of its elements into our poster. We added our characters, the background (to show the setting) and added blood to show the horror elements.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

When we were going through the process of thinking up a storyline and script, we decided on making a short vampire film as it was unique and different. To try and get a sense of what we should include in our film with the audience opinions being vital from our own. We constructed a questionnaire asking “What they liked about vampire films they have have watched”, we had a mixture of views and we tried to convert their views and interpret these into our film.

When we constructed and edited our film we linked it to the website YouTube so a wide range of people could watch it (The comments on our film can be seen on blogger). We got a couple of views and comments, some positive and some negative with the negative views we took these on board and tried to re-vamp our film to make it more satisfactory. For example “The film is confusing at the end. Who is the female character?” we thought about this person’s opinion and decided at the end we would add a voice over explaining a bit about whom the girl is and her role in the film. There could be a variety of possible interpretations of our film depending on the situation of the viewer. In our film we tried to limit swearing so not to offend the audience, we also have quite a lot of violence and blood in our film which some people may not approve of. However, we used both sex’s female and male and in this film and it turns out the female is stronger and not a damsel in distress like most films, so our film appeals to both genders. When we trialed our film we didn’t get any negative comments on the swearing or violence. Our film will be shown after 9.00 after the water shed.

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

In the construction of our film, we used a Sony HD 1000 camera to capture most of our footage, this camera is perfect for the shots we needed, for example the shoulder pad so we could do the first person shot comfortably, it is also good at zooming in and out and provides a good picture when converted onto the Macs. We used a Digital Cannon 350 D to take location and character shots. We used a DV 100 to convert shots on the tape onto a Mac and used ‘I’ movie to piece together our film. To add voice over’s and music to our film, we used Garage band and audio license for the music, audio license gave use a wide range of music options so we was able to find the appropriate music. To construct our poster we used Photoshop Elements as it is an advanced programme that helped us advertise our poster more professionally.

Evaluation of video production

Evaluation of video production

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

From a technical level our production doesn't challenge conventions in a way of pushing the industry forward to new heights but instead challenges it in that we where making a five minute film produced over 6 months, with around 4 and a half hours of work a week being spent, with extra work wanted by the exam board, no film industry power house behind us, no budget, no crew, no production company and where only four amateur film maker’s. This itself was the biggest challenge. Also out film was a little different in continuity and editing with there being some jump cut in the flash backs to make them seem more like jumpy memory's and to make the vampires seem more mysterious. In terms of genre our production does challenge conventions of real media productions, most vampire films are quite dark (as can be seen in UnderWorld, the film I reviewed) while our production in quite bright, a lot more like the recent Twilight films which are also challenging the conventions of the genre. When watching our production the audience is meant to get pleasure from wanting to know what will happen next while also knowing more about what's going on then the characters in the film, I feel we have achieved this well and the phone conversation on at the end during the credits after getting feedback really helps the production achieve what we set out to do.

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

During the making of our ancillary materials we tried to make them all associated in some way, mainly by using images from the film in the poster, audio from the film in the radio trailer and making them all have a similar theme and feel, so when people see them or hear them they can associate them to each other and the film it self. For our production we made two ancillary pieces a radio trailer and a film poster. When working on the radio trailer we worked mostly as a team, and when making the poster we all went and created 1 or 2 ruff poster individually and then choose the ones we liked best (I liked Luke's best) and made a main Group Poster. I think they are effective at promoting our production the poster especially, in comparison to real advertising products used by bigger productions our radio trailer and poster are more or less up to the standard you would expect.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I think we have learnt a lot from our audience feedback, not only for changes to this production but also learnt what we could have done differently for future productions. Before filming, in the planning stage Luke did a Questionnaire (which results can be seen in his Questionnaire results post on the blog) which helped us get a idea of what people like the sort of film we where making and what people look for in it. During and after the editing I got feedback about the film by putting the film on YouTube (seen in my Audience Feedback post on the blog) and recording the comments on YouTube, FaceBook, Internet conversation and spoken conversations about the film (As stated in my Feedback form YouTube post on the blogger) with this feedback we was able to make many changes to the film which made it all much better.

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

During the research, planning and evaluation stages the internet, with sites like YouTube aloud us to get more research done in less time. During the construction stage we used we used HD Sony Video Cameras which were very useful in obtaining a good picture making the quality of the film better. DV1000s to effectively get the video footage on the the Macs to edit. Zoom recorders were used which are of reasonable quality for the voice overs and the radio radio trailer. We edited the film, radio trailer and created the posters on Macs which despite being over priced, underpowered and having limited software choice they where still effective at doing what we wanted (just in a more annoying sort of way). For editing the radio trailer we used Garageband, to edit the film we used mainly iMovie, for the creation of the poster we used Photoshop which enabled us to create very effective, creative and professional posters which also helped us market our media however a newer version would have been more useful. We also used Microsoft Word on PCs and Macs to write up most of the documentation before putting in on Blogger. On the topic of Blogger this aloud us to easily upload our work and view our groups work were ever we where however our work on the blog had to be viewed so it could be marked was we had to make the blog public (not private) and we found this created 2 problems, 1) Our names, details, pictures, etc. where going on a completely open to view website which was a privacy problem. 2) Any other media group, any where, from any college, at any time can easily fine and copy any other media groups work. So while Blogger may have looked like a good idea it was not the correct choice and hopefully the exam board and/or college will find a solution to this.

Overall the technology helped us develop creatively and it would have been much much harder without the technology however much better technology is available (some even at lower cost then they technology we where given to use) also using the technology didn't come without its problems.

Evaluating thriller genres

Our five minute film is made up of 'Horror thriller' and 'Action thriller'. (It is also made up with elements of Conspiracy thriller)


Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is villain driven plot, whereby he presents obstacles the hero must overcome. The genre is a fascinatingly flexible form that can undermine audience complacency through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social, familial and political tensions and encourages sheltered but sensation-hungry audiences, in Hitchcock's phrase, "to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what its like.

Horror thriller: In which the main character is put in danger and their main enemies are unrealistic creatures in which they must destroy to achieve their goal.

Action thriller: In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place.

Conspiracy thriller: In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he/she recognises.

Feedback form YouTube

Feedback form YouTube

In a previous post I put our short film on YouTube to get feedback and here's a selection of the feedback.

Online conversation records

19:02:53] Wannazzaki: .....>.>

[19:03:25] Wannazzaki: Oh gods that is fail

[19:03:32] Wannazzaki: that is hilariously bad acting fail

[19:03:39] SpartanLolrus: shush XD

[19:03:49] SpartanLolrus: the fight scenes need work

[19:04:03] SpartanLolrus: its just jumping back and forth

[19:05:05] Wannazzaki: yeah you need to actually land blows

[19:05:08] Wannazzaki: as peter Jackson said

[19:05:20] Wannazzaki: Pain lasts a week but this movie will last a life time

[19:05:33] SpartanLolrus: the music track fits, its subtle, slightly creepyish with a build up

[19:06:34] SpartanLolrus: Hm

[19:06:36] SpartanLolrus: five suggestions.

[19:06:45] SpartanLolrus: 1: use photoshop tools to add a muzzleflare to the pistol.

[19:07:00] SpartanLolrus: 2: have him have a blood packet to slap when he falls so you see some blood.

[19:07:20] SpartanLolrus: 3: work on expressions a bit, undead are wooden, yes, but they need a bit more inflection, tone and speech work.

[19:07:48] SpartanLolrus: 4: use a bit of lighting tinkering when the 'vampires' are on screen so they look a bit off coloured and pale.

[19:08:14] SpartanLolrus: 5: have a narrator who can enunciate clearly state something like 'I am X, this, is how it all happened' or some shit.

[19:08:40] SpartanLolrus: other then that, ive seen worse, its not a bad start by any means.

[19:13:09] Wannazzaki: Also needs a weapon

[19:13:12] Wannazzaki: like a metal pipe

[19:13:15] Wannazzaki: or a plank of wood

[19:13:25] Wannazzaki: pick it up, go nuts

Comments on YouTube

tasha123492 it's better than our film turned out :). the music fits it really well and the acting is actually pretty decent :), but tut tut smokings bad tom. (I would like to note here we did take precautions and at no point did it actully show anyone smokeing, the cigarettes where never lit, and we in no way promote smoking.)

WashYourJeans It's good. I enjoy it much.
The music fits nicely... could improve on the sound effects for the fight scene though =)

Lshellx3 Wow. this was reallyy good. I wanna knoe the ending though!! xD

GothicGirlOf1996 Firstly, I want to say congradulations on the excellent video!
Further, I simply adore the "Bite Me" Pun, I did indeed find myself laughing at that.
An absolutely spiffing creation.
Also, you claim that this is not yet completed, Karl-
I will hope to see the finished result, if this is the case. =)
(Amy Rebecca)

abijo1 love the part where karl says, then you will be destroyed lmao! proper good! luke makes me chuckle thoo xxxxxxx

xBlondeMomentsx omg guys thats sooo good, :) Well done, :) Love you all, Kirstie xxx

rommelandremus Wow that is ace - and goddam ya leavin it on tht cliffhanger!!! i must know why she just shot him !!! xx

Shadetta31 This is pretty gewd!
I like the atmospheric music.
One of the vampires probably had trouble seeing though, haha.
(It's Sally by the way, hi to all of you xD)

thomaswest my acting in this is terrible!! this is so embaressing XD
(im the main character btw)

8aliens It could be worse XD

sophiaathina @thomaswest haha ahhw you're so cute though :)

0x0MissPiggy0x0 hehe loved it... keep up the good work... !

Comments on FaceBook

Jo... xx:

its good

Julie Winder:

I've just watched your short film and was well impressed, you all did really well, it was funny watching it knowing that I know you and Kim. Great job to all of you.

velzz:

nice film!

roRAWR:

I have seen it (: it is really goood xx

topherlooks:

not gonna lie. I was crying because I was laughing so much.

From this feedback we got information on the good and bad points but I felt that some of the people saying its good with no say on what's good about it may have been saying it just because we know them. So I decided to ask some more critical people who more or less said the acting was bad, they didn't quite get the storyline, the script could have been better and the time changes where a little confusing, (it was also said that it had too many shots for a 5 minuet film making them feel like there being thrown about, however this wasn't noted much as more marks are given for using a greater number of shots).

After we got this feedback changes where made to the film to hopefully make it better. Among there where changes to the title, sound, editing/cuts, credits, and we added the sound of a phone call to the end of the film when the credits are on to make the story more complete.