Final Post

I have really enjoyed Media Studies, I believe I have learnt an incredible amount from the two year process and have also improved my skills a considerable amount.

I began in AS making a simple 1 minute film copy on a phone, to making a short film as a preliminary task, progressing to creating the opening title sequence of a film. While I enjoyed doing this, upon reflection the work was relatively poor quality, falling down particularly in the areas of sound, editing and camera work. However, when I compare that to the short film I have created this year, there has clearly been a huge progression in my skills, and I am very pleased with the outcome of my short film.

I hope to build upon these skills even further throughout my education and perhaps this course will have helped me to decide my career interests and aspirations.

Evaluation Question 4

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

Evaluation Question 3

As discussed in the presentation above, audience feedback was incredibly important to the construction of my media pieces.

We first received feedback on our pitch, to initially gauge what people thought of our idea and potential ways of improving it. This was an extremely important stage of audience feedback as it allowed us to ensure that our idea would appeal to our target audience. The most useful piece of feedback we received at this stage,= was people thought the best way to put faces on the fruit would be by making the facial expressions separately and then sticking them onto the fruit.

Following our pitch, we later received feedback on our animatic, this was an equally important stage of feedback as we had now visualised our idea to the audience, allowing them to better understand what we were trying to achieve. People generally liked our idea, however having now seen our animatic they suggested we shorten some of the shots and employ faster editing, as it appeared slow to them upon seeing our animatic.

The next stage in which we were able to receive considerable feedback was after having presented to the audience a rough cut of our film. The rough cut is the closest representation of what we want our final piece to look like, and so receiving feedback at this stage was extremely important. The feedback at this stage was overwhelmingly positive, however, to improve, it was suggested to us that we experiment to create better lighting effects, we were also advised to re-film a few of the shots as they were slightly unsteady.

After having completed our short film we were then able to present it to our audience and gain any final feedback for potential adjustments and improvements. Our film was generally very well received and at this final point there were very few suggestions of ways to improve, however a couple of points were raised with regards to improving the sound. It was suggested to us that we should include some ominous music when the "villain" character appears, thus making it immediately apparent he is the villain and the fruit is in danger. It was also suggested to us that we could add some form of sound when the fruit blinks, this to help break up the segments that currently lack sound.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the main combination of your media product and ancillary tasks?

I produced my ancillaries after my main product was almost entirely complete. However, when making my ancillaries I wanted the images used, to look like they fit with the short film. To achieve this I used the same characters and props, on the same set as what I had used to film it. In addition, I used the same lighting for my ancillaries as I had used for the filming, this to allow the images used in my ancillaries to appear as if they had been taken directly from the film.

I think I used the technologies I had available to me quite effectively to create my ancillaries. I predominantly used Photoshop to create my ancillaries, and although they were largely comprised of a photograph I had taken, Photoshop allowed me to add the necessary text and promotional images (e.g. Star ratings), as well as the overlaying title.

As previously mentioned, I created my ancillaries after almost having completely finished my short film, however to gain the necessary visual inspiration for my ancillaries, I returned to the location of filming and tried to recreate the same aesthetic as used in my short film.

I carried out a considerable amount of research when considering how I was going to design my ancillaries. I began by researching existing film posters and magazine articles and considered what aspects of them I liked and why I thought they were successful. After having done this, I selected a couple that were my particular favourites and that also contained aspects that I would like to attempt to recreate in mine, and then deconstructed them, analysing them in more depth to decipher what made them so effective and how I could replicate that effect.

Film Poster Inspiration:

- TinTin

- Avengers

- Fight Club

- The Proposition

- The Fight Club

Several of these posters, while I liked them, were of genres very different and unrelated to mine, meaning the style in which they had been made did not fit the style I was attempting to create. Thrillers, action and sci-fi films all have interesting posters, however they all use a bright and prominent colour palette and are extremely busy, with there being numerous objects and effects in the photo. I wanted my poster to be more simplistic to reflect the simplicity of the story and concept in my short film. 

Deconstructed Film Posters:

- Whiplash

- Fightclub

How did my ancillary tasks employ, or challenge codes and conventions of my media product:

- Simplistic

- Low Budget

- Only presents one character

- Possibly emotive (facial expression on the orange)

Consideration of artistic and photographic elements:

- Composition of the photograph (positioning of the orange)

- Lighting (Well lit, cool/cold, lonely lighting, similar to that used in the short film)

- Framing of the shot (used the table to underline the image and create a new section of it)

How was font used?

- Tried both black and white

- Tried both 2D and 3D text

- Tried numerous different fonts, chose to use something simplistic so it was not overbearing and fitted well with the simplistic theme and concept of my short film.

Evaluation Question 1

Short Film - Complete

This is the finished version of my short film.

Revised Short Film Poster

After having finished the first draft of my short film poster and had received feedback on it, I made numerous changes to improve the overall quality of my poster. The most significant change I made was replacing the picture of the orange and the table, I replaced it to a single picture with the orange physically on the table and I improved the overall quality of the photo, predominantly by improving the lighting.

 

Ancillaries

Below are my ancillaries, they are a poster advertising my short film and a magazine article about my short film. They are almost complete, however the most significant change I intend to make, is the photo on the poster will be changed for a better quality photo of the orange physically on the table.


My short film poster:

Magazine article on my short film:

Creating My Ancillaries

The screenshots below demonstrate how I edited together my ancillaries, both the poster and magazine article. I used Photoshop to create my ancillaries, fortunately I had some extensive experience with Photoshop so I felt confident in using it, and s a result I tried to be more experimental to create the most professional ancillaries I could. However, the simplicity of the tasks coupled with the simplicity of my idea for a short film, resulted in me predominantly only using basic tools within Photoshop, predominantly just layering and lighting adjustments.

The above screenshot shows only a small number of the layers I have used in the construction of my ancillaries, but it presents a rough idea of how I used layers. The first layer is simply the picture I took as the basis for my ancillary, and then I have layered additional images on top of that, and finally added several layers of text in.

The Editing Process

I am doing the majority of editing for our short film, something I particularly enjoy doing and have some experience with - as I also did the editing for our AS project. I used Adobe Premiere Pro for the editing as it is an advanced piece of software that allows for more complex and impressive editing, but is still relatively easy to understand and use.

These screenshots show my current progress with the editing process. At this stage, our short film is nearly complete, all that remains is to add some final sound and lighting effects, and act upon any final feedback we may receive.

As clearly shown below, all of the video is compiled into the primary video track, it being predominantly photos comprising the animation, with sections of video spliced in throughout it. I have then used three sound tracks, one containing the music pieces, another for sound effects, and the third for additional sound effects that overlap with existing ones.

Further research into film posters

Having now completed the first draft of my short film poster, I decided to deconstruct two of my more significant inspirations to determine what aspects make them really successful and how I could incorporate those aspects into my film poster. 

I really liked the film poster for "Whiplash", despite it's simplicity I think it's a really effective poster and both draws and holds interest. The drum kit has been made the central and only focus of the poster which works well to immediately convey the subject of the film. However, to add more depth and interest to the drum kit it has been designed more as an expressive piece of art. This may have been done to reflect the perception of music as an expressive art, which may help it to appeal to an audience of musicians. The colours are neutral, simplistic and compliment each other well, and do not contrast one another to the extent colours like black and white do. The focus picture is then underlined by the film title and additional credits, which again works well to make the drum kit the focus point of the poster. I would like to try and replicate these techniques in my film poster, however rather than a drum kit it will be a picture of the orange.     

Fight club was another film poster that I really liked and tried to take inspiration from to create mine. It's been constructed in a very similar way to the Whiplash poster, placing a singular focus image in the centre, and then underlining it with the title and framing it with additional credits. However, unlike the Whiplash poster, the title in this one slightly overlaps the image, which I think is really effective. The Fight Club poster employs a much greater diversity in colour, using darker colours for the background and bringing the light source to the front. Dark shadows are also used to obscure elements of the background, this again helps to place focus on the foreground and the lead character.   

Short film poster - First draft and feedback

For my ancillaries I decided to make a short film poster and magazine article. I began first by making the poster and made a first draft to then receive feedback on. After having done some research into film posters I found the ones I liked the most to be very simplistic in style - examples being the Whiplash and Fight Club posters. These posters generally had a neutral, single colour backdrop, with an image relevant to the film - often the lead character - overlaid in the centre and then framed with the film title. They then had smaller titles with additional information such as actors and the director at the top and bottom. I think this simplistic style is really effective as it puts clear focus on the important aspects of the film, and the viewer is not being bombarded with an excessive amount of information and images, which also fits with the simple concept idea of my short film.

Above is the first draft of my idea for  my short film poster, it follows all of the things I previously mentioned liking about other film posters. The backdrop is a simple, singular colour which is not too striking, the main content is only a picture of the orange - my lead character - and the title of the film, which I have used to partially underline the photo. I have then put other additional titles in smaller font at the top and bottom of the poster, which works to balance the content. I finally added some additional white shapes, this to fill the empty space as I felt there was too much of it, and it also partially resembles ice, which helps to further support the cold and lonely atmosphere surrounding the character of the orange.

To add another layer of depth to my film poster and to make it slightly more interesting, I used Photoshop to create a 3D effect over the title of the film. This was relatively simple to achieve by using the 3D text manipulation tools in Photoshop, but I found the outcome to be extremely effective. The drop shadow under the text really helps to add depth to the title and makes it stand out on the poster. 

Feedback on the first draft of my short film poster:

Above is a copy of the feedback sheet I created and handed around to several people in the interest of gaining their opinion on what they thought of my short film poster.

Overall the feedback was very positive, people liked the simplistic style and thought it worked well with the concept of my short film. People also liked the 3D text effect but it was suggested that I could change the colour to be a slightly lighter grey, as currently black is a strong contrast with the colour palette of the rest of the poster. It was also suggested to me that I should do more to make the white ice shapes more clear as currently it is not immediately apparent as to what they are. The most significant constructive feedback I received was to take a better photo of the orange, as the one I am currently using is slightly blurry and out of focus. To ensure I get a better photo of the Orange I intend to use a better quality camera and set it up on a tripod to ensure it's completely in focus, and also I'm going to put it in front of a white sheet to make selecting just the orange much easier and this should also help to sharpen the edges.  

Rough Cut

This is our short film so far, it is currently still a rough cut and contains no sound, there are also several changes that need to be made to the current footage.

Feedback on rough cut:

We showed our unfinished rough cut to a small audience in the interest of gaining feedback on how we can improve. In general our short film was very well received, however there were a few suggestions made to us on how we could improve. One of the more signifiant suggestions made was for us to put a filter on the lighting as currently the lighting appears too blue. Another suggestion made was to speed up the editing in the middle section to help further convey the tension, although this will also be supported by the sound. In other areas however, we were advised to slow down particular shots as they were almost too fast to see. We were also told to re-film one particular shot as the zoom in was incredibly shaky, although we intended to re-film that shot anyway because there were significant continuity issues.

Deconstruction on Blur - Coffee and TV

In the interest of gaining more inspiration I looked at the music video for Blur's song, Coffee and TV, directed by Garth Jennings (Director of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Son of Rambow). While the narrative in this is very different to my short film, this music video, like mine, makes the focus a personified inanimate object that has been designed for the audience to become emotionally attached to. This music video was also very well received both publicly and critically when it was released.  

In this music video the milk carton is the focus character - similar to how the orange is the focus character in mine. The music video begins with the milk carton being in shot, but it is not immediately apparent that it is a character. This is something that I have also incorporated in to my short film, it works well to emphasise the shock when the object appears to be alive.

The milk carton in this, like the orange in my short film, uses close ups and extreme close ups on the character to present the facial expressions, which in turn emphasises emotions and reactions. The use of facial expressions on an inanimate object works to personify the character making them more likeable and allowing the audience to both sympathise and empathise with them. It also adds a comedic element, as an object like a milk carton or orange, with an exaggerated shocked face, appears quite amusing to the audience, possibly making the character even more likeable.

The music video for Coffee and TV also follows the established short film convention of containing a twist, this to make the story more interesting and exciting. I have attempted to incorporate this convention into my short film, by having a shocking twist it makes the story considerably more interesting and is easily achievable in the short time frame. Coffee and TV also ends with a happy resolution, this to help show the progression throughout the story and allow closure for the audience. I again, have attempted to achieve this in my short film, as I think it is a really effective way of both telling and ending a story, it shows a clear progression of events despite the short time frame.

Location Filming

The majority of our filming takes place in the same indoor location, however to film the cliche romantic shots we had to travel to numerous different outdoor locations. This created several new difficulties that we had not previously had problems with, the most significant of which being the inconsistent lighting. To remedy this lighting issue we used a different camera filter called "retro" for all of the outdoor shots, which meant the natural change in light was not a problem and it created a warm atmosphere which further supports our attempt to present the shots as romantic.

One location for a few shots was a small bridge we found in a nearby village. We had not originally planned to film here, but when passing we thought it would be a really effective shot, largely because the small size of the bridge over a stream works well to support the novel and humorous concept idea. 

We thought a good romantic shot would be a picnic in an orchard. To create this we used a T-towel as a picnic blanket, which we found to be very effective, and to further build an aspect of humour the picnic food was a mixture of conventional foods such as bagels, and slightly stranger foods like Heinz Big Soup.

We also filmed with the fruit in a children's park, which again worked to build upon the humour and make the characters more likeable. However, we found there were risks with this, as the fruit being thrown around so much meant it got considerably damaged. 

When getting to certain areas to film, we found we had to traverse particularly difficult terrain, made difficult by the weather. From this we learnt that when planning the filming of outdoors shots, we should first check the weather, and then ensure we were in the right attire. 

Planning and Inspiration for Ancillary Tasks

Alongside our short film, which provides the basis for our coursework, we are also required to create two ancillary pieces to support this. For my ancillaries I decided that I wanted to create a film poster and a film magazine front cover. The two of these appealed to me the most as they seem the most enjoyable, but also because to make them, requires a high level of familiarity with Photoshop, which I think I have. Being familiar with Photoshop should allow for me to make high quality ancillaries within the short time frame we are given to do so.

Movie Poster Inspiration:

To help gain some inspiration and allow me to begin planning what I want my poster to look like, I began researching what posters of popular films looked like. I think my favourite of these posters were the more simplistic ones which centre the main subject and are framed by titles. I also think the use of colour is very important, as the posters that use soft but vibrant colours looks very effective.

Film Magazine Front Cover Inspiration:

Most film magazine front covers appear to follow a very similar layout, each presenting an image depicting a significant setting or character from the film, with text layered around it. The aspect of these posters that I like the most is the way in which the image from the film comprises the entirety of the background, with text then layered over it. I've also noticed that each bit of text is a different font and size depending on it's importance, for example the title of the film and lead actor is often made the largest text, with supporting actors and additional pieces of information being printed as slightly smaller text.

Cinematography in Stop motion animation

Cinematography is the artistic use of photography within film-making and is vitally important in the creation of films. It largely contributes to the atmosphere being created, and can be used to help develop the narrative. It consists of framing and positioning the shot, supported by the lighting. A skilled cinematographer can make each shot in a film look like a piece of art.

Cinematography is something that was going to be very difficult for us to do well, as it being an animation set in a living room, there are obvious difficulties with trying to make the shots look impressive. We had to use numerous household objects, quite often a fruit bowl to try and create depth with the shots, this to try and exaggerate the scale of things like height and distance when necessary. We also relied heavily on the lighting to support the quality and aesthetic of shots, achieved primarily through minor light tints, most commonly blue in our short film.


Aardman Animations:

Aardman animations is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. Aardman is known for films made using stop motion animation techniques, often achieved with clay, with one of their most famous and popular pieces being "Wallace and Gromit". Aardman have also created films with the use of computer animation, first in 2006 with the release of "Flushed Away". Aardman films are some of the highest grossing animations of all time, on average earning $163 million per film, with their highest grossing film being "Chicken Run".

We researched Aardman and tried to take influence from their work to help us improve our stop-frame animation, as neither of us previously had much experience in it. I particularly looked at Dave Alex Riddett, a prominent English cinematographer mostly known for his work at Aardman animations. From him, I learnt the importance of trying to light the set as if it were life-size, meaning we needed to position the lights where they would be if they were from a natural source. For example, if are set is suppose to be lit as if it were midday, we would put the light almost directly above the set, this to emulate where the natural lighting of the sun would be.

Sound in our short film

All the sound that will be in our short film we intend to record separately and then add during the editing process once all of the filming has been completed.

The majority of our sound will be music tracks that will be used to help support the present atmosphere at several points throughout our short film. We will have to follow the necessary process to get permission to use each of these songs, but we have done this before and it is not too difficult, we will just have to email whoever we find to have ownership of each song.

We also intend to record any sound effects we may use that will not be music, these include sound effects such as footsteps, the fruit rolling, the door lock and door opening. By recording these separately we can ensure the sound is the best quality it can be, however this does create difficulties with syncing the sound perfectly with the video. We are also considering recording grunting noises and using them to act as the voices of the fruit, which we hope will add an element of comedy to our short film and also make the fruit characters more likeable.

Below is a list of all the songs we intend to use and the atmosphere that we are using them to try and create.

Visit From Simon Hall

To help give us an insight into what a life in the media is like, BBC Journalist Simon Hall came in to give a presentation on what a life in the Media can be like. He explained the sporadic and high pressure work environment of a media journalist, caused by the continuously changing and developing events that are happening internationally everyday. While many may consider this a very stressful working environment, he expressed how the enjoyment and opportunities presented by his work far surpass the negatives of his job.

He explained the opportunities of travelling that come with a job as a media journalist. He is provided the opportunity to travel all over the world, visiting numerous different countries, and this is seen as one of the biggest attractions to working in this field. He also explained the difficulties of trying to give unbiased accounts of events, and trying to not allow his personal view to be shown in his reports.