Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Evaluation Question 3- What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
In this blog post I will be discussing the third evaluation question and explaining what I have learnt from all of my audience feedback.
The biggest feedback I have had is when I showed my film to a class of 22 13-16 year olds. This was very helpful to me as before this I had only shown the video to my classmates and teachers, and so it was good to get a wider response.
To make sure that I collected all of their feedback I asked them to write down their thoughts on the film on a small piece if paper. I also asked them to write their gender and age on this paper so I could see which ages and gender it appealed to most. Sitting in the same room as them when I showed them the film allowed me to see their instant reactions. For example when the monster appears at the door almost the whole class jumped, which I was very happy with as this what I intended the audience to react like when creating it. I had noticed whilst editing the film that the monster didn't appear fast enough so I sped it up considerably, and I am pleased I did this because if I had left it as it was previously it definitely wouldn't of made all of them jump as much.
Out of the 22 pieces of feedback, 14 of them were purely positive, saying it was scary, entertaining, intense, clever twist, good music and looked professional. The other 8 were critical of the film in some way, which allowed me to see other peoples opinions on the problems of the film and how the film could be improved. There were a couple of really in-depth reviews of the film, with a whole range of errors in the film such as the camera being wobbly in certain places, music irritating in places, mask wasn't scary and the trip didn't look real. These were both from 15 year old females. There were more complaints like the film being boring and silly, not scary, confusing, 'why did he run to a forest if he was being chased?' and 'why didn't he turn on the lights in the house?'. Obviously some of this critical feedback is more helpful than the rest of it, for example saying that the film is silly and boring doesn't really give me enough detail to know what they disliked about the film. On the other hand, the two questions about the forest and the lights are more helpful to me as feedback as they are very valid questions.A few of them simply said that the film didn't appeal to them which is understandable as not everyone likes horror movies.
Throughout the process of filming and editing my film I showed bits of the film to my classmates. This meant I had feedback every step of the way whilst making my film, which really helped. This feedback was different to the feedback that I got from the class of 13-16 year olds as I used it to help improve my film along the way, whereas I received the feedback from the class after I had finished my film so it helped me to evaluate what was good and bad about the film however not actually change it like I could with the feedback from my class mates.
As well as helping me to make the film, audience feedback also helped me to make my two ancillary tasks. For my poster i initially used a very grainy picture that was just a still from the filming and my classmates saw it and said that would look better to take a proper picture of the mask. You can see the difference in the two images below.
I also used audience feedback to help decide on the name for my film. I came up with four different possible names and then posted a poll on my blog to find out which name the audience liked the best. They chose 'The Game' which I was happy with as it was my favorite name.
The final way that I learnt from my audience feedback was through Facebook. It was very useful as I could easily show the film to all of my friends, so that they could watch it and give their feedback.
The biggest feedback I have had is when I showed my film to a class of 22 13-16 year olds. This was very helpful to me as before this I had only shown the video to my classmates and teachers, and so it was good to get a wider response.
To make sure that I collected all of their feedback I asked them to write down their thoughts on the film on a small piece if paper. I also asked them to write their gender and age on this paper so I could see which ages and gender it appealed to most. Sitting in the same room as them when I showed them the film allowed me to see their instant reactions. For example when the monster appears at the door almost the whole class jumped, which I was very happy with as this what I intended the audience to react like when creating it. I had noticed whilst editing the film that the monster didn't appear fast enough so I sped it up considerably, and I am pleased I did this because if I had left it as it was previously it definitely wouldn't of made all of them jump as much.
Out of the 22 pieces of feedback, 14 of them were purely positive, saying it was scary, entertaining, intense, clever twist, good music and looked professional. The other 8 were critical of the film in some way, which allowed me to see other peoples opinions on the problems of the film and how the film could be improved. There were a couple of really in-depth reviews of the film, with a whole range of errors in the film such as the camera being wobbly in certain places, music irritating in places, mask wasn't scary and the trip didn't look real. These were both from 15 year old females. There were more complaints like the film being boring and silly, not scary, confusing, 'why did he run to a forest if he was being chased?' and 'why didn't he turn on the lights in the house?'. Obviously some of this critical feedback is more helpful than the rest of it, for example saying that the film is silly and boring doesn't really give me enough detail to know what they disliked about the film. On the other hand, the two questions about the forest and the lights are more helpful to me as feedback as they are very valid questions.A few of them simply said that the film didn't appeal to them which is understandable as not everyone likes horror movies.
Throughout the process of filming and editing my film I showed bits of the film to my classmates. This meant I had feedback every step of the way whilst making my film, which really helped. This feedback was different to the feedback that I got from the class of 13-16 year olds as I used it to help improve my film along the way, whereas I received the feedback from the class after I had finished my film so it helped me to evaluate what was good and bad about the film however not actually change it like I could with the feedback from my class mates.
As well as helping me to make the film, audience feedback also helped me to make my two ancillary tasks. For my poster i initially used a very grainy picture that was just a still from the filming and my classmates saw it and said that would look better to take a proper picture of the mask. You can see the difference in the two images below.
I also used audience feedback to help decide on the name for my film. I came up with four different possible names and then posted a poll on my blog to find out which name the audience liked the best. They chose 'The Game' which I was happy with as it was my favorite name.
The final way that I learnt from my audience feedback was through Facebook. It was very useful as I could easily show the film to all of my friends, so that they could watch it and give their feedback.
Friday, 8 February 2013
Evaluation Question 2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
This wordle shows some important media language to consider whilst answering this question.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Evaluation Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In this blog post I will be answering the first evaluation question. Firstly, all of my products are in the horror genre so I need to look at the common conventions of this genre and evaluate whether I used them well. I have produced a Wordle listing all of the horror conventions.
My film poster on a advertisement board.
My poster and film review in a magazine.
My film poster on a large advertisement billboard.
I used the different conventions in many different ways as I adhered to some and subverted others. The main conventions I decided to use were darkness, shock and the use of a victim. I focused on these because from watching a lot of horror films before I know these are the conventions that have the largest effect on me. Despite focusing on these 3 conventions, I still adhered to most of the conventions presented in my Wordle apart from subverting some like abandoned and isolated, which I explained the reason for in my post about the representation of locations- It is a very common convention for horror films to take place in very isolated, large houses however I decided to subvert this stereotype by using an urban and busy area. This should make the viewer think that nothing very bad will happen, which will make the shocking moments more surprising and so they will have a greater effect on them.
These are some essays/articles that I have read about horror films which helped me to fully understand the genre and why people enjoy it:
This is the directors commentary for the house scene of my film. I discuss the shots that I used and why I used them.
I used a website called photofunia.com to place my film poster and film review into the real world to get a better understanding of how they will look in real life and not just on the computer screen. Doing this allowed me to actually see quite realistically see what my products would look like on real billboards and magazines. I think that they look very natural and not out of place at all, which is probably because I used all of the common horror conventions when creating them. I analysed three of my favorite horror film posters to learn more about these conventions. The main things that I noticed running through them all were the following: Large face of the antagonist in center of page, tagline at the top, title of the film in red near the bottom of the page and so on. Doing this research before I started to make my poster made it easy to include all of these common conventions. Despite this there is one convention I feel I should of included however didn't, which is a weapon. This would of made it clearer that the film is a horror. You can see the blog post of the deconstructions here.
I also made a wordle image of the conventions I found in film posters:
Similarly to how I researched existing film posters before producing mine, I looked at existing film reviews before making my own. I went through the same research process of analyzing three different reviews, finding the common conventions and then using these in my own review. You can see my film review deconstructions here.
Monday, 21 January 2013
Horror Films/Games that have influenced me
There are many different horror films that influenced me to make my short film the way that I did.
Stay Alive (2006) (Film)- This is the horror film that influenced me the most as it gave me the initial idea about the concept of a game coming to life. It didn't receive very good reviews -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441796/ however the only part of it that influenced me was the actual concept of a game coming to life.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2011) (Game)- This is the game that I decided to base my film around. I chose this game because it is known as one of the scariest games ever made and so I thought that it would work well with my horror film. It is the game that the protagonist is playing throughout the film.
Stay Alive (2006) (Film)- This is the horror film that influenced me the most as it gave me the initial idea about the concept of a game coming to life. It didn't receive very good reviews -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441796/ however the only part of it that influenced me was the actual concept of a game coming to life.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2011) (Game)- This is the game that I decided to base my film around. I chose this game because it is known as one of the scariest games ever made and so I thought that it would work well with my horror film. It is the game that the protagonist is playing throughout the film.
Representation- Location and Lighting
Whilst making my short film i had to consider many different factors such as location, lighting etc. as these all lead to different representations. Firstly I will talk about the location of my film. I chose to have the first part of my film take part in an urban housing estate for a few different reasons. It is a very common convention for horror films to take place in very isolated, large houses however I decided to subvert this stereotype by using an urban and busy area. This should make the viewer think that nothing very bad will happen, which will make the shocking moments more surprising and so they will have a greater effect on them. My second location goes back to following the popular conventions of horror films, as it takes place in a forest. I decided to do this as I thought that the contrast between the two environments would work well.
Estate Location
Forest Location
Estate LocationForest Location
Deciding on the lighting for the film was another decision that affected representation. I decided to go with the normal horror conventions and film in the dark. Darkness was crucial as some parts of the film (e.g. the monster appearing at the door) wouldn't of worked in daylight. Darkness makes the film a lot more scary as you cant see everything- the antagonist could easily be lurking in the shadows and the viewer wouldn't be able to see him. Filming in the dark was a lot more challenging as it makes it very hard to keep good lighting continuity throughout the film and it also meant I had to try and use artificial light sources effectively.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Todorov's 5 Stages of Narrative Revisited
Back in June 2012 I made a blog post with slideshare about Tzvetan Todorov and his 5 stages of narrative which you can see here http://www.samsmediabloga2.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/tzvetan-todorov-narrative-theory.html
I have decided to revisit his theory now that I have completed my short film to compare my own film and his theory. His theory is as follows:
Stage 1
A state of equilibrium (A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced) is defined.
Stage 2
Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.
Stage 3
The Character(s) recognise that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve the problem.
Stage 4
The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.
Stage 5
Reinstatement to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, a conclusion is announced.
I decided to make my film based around this theory however with a twist at the end. A few of the stages in my film also differ slightly. Below you can see the 5 stages of my own film as well as the 6th stage that I added in to subvert the theory and surprise the viewer.
Stage 1
Protagonist is playing the game in a state of equilibrium.
Stage 2
Antagonist approaches house, protagonist hears the gate opening and investigates.
Stage 3
Protagonist sees the antagonist, tries to run away to escape from him.
Stage 4
Protagonist is still trying to get away from antagonist.
Stage 5
Equilibrium is restored when we see protagonist back at his desk playing the game.
Stage 6 (Twist)
Just when you think the film is over (because the equilibrium has been restored) you see the antagonist outside the window.
I have decided to revisit his theory now that I have completed my short film to compare my own film and his theory. His theory is as follows:
Stage 1
A state of equilibrium (A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced) is defined.
Stage 2
Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.
Stage 3
The Character(s) recognise that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve the problem.
Stage 4
The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.
Stage 5
Reinstatement to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, a conclusion is announced.
I decided to make my film based around this theory however with a twist at the end. A few of the stages in my film also differ slightly. Below you can see the 5 stages of my own film as well as the 6th stage that I added in to subvert the theory and surprise the viewer.
Stage 1
Protagonist is playing the game in a state of equilibrium.
Stage 2
Antagonist approaches house, protagonist hears the gate opening and investigates.
Stage 3
Protagonist sees the antagonist, tries to run away to escape from him.
Stage 4
Protagonist is still trying to get away from antagonist.
Stage 5
Equilibrium is restored when we see protagonist back at his desk playing the game.
Stage 6 (Twist)
Just when you think the film is over (because the equilibrium has been restored) you see the antagonist outside the window.
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