Bibliography (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fotoflexer
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
Google images
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-independent-film.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/film/bullet_boy
http://www.totalfilm.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313670/
http://www.empireonline.com/
http://www.trustedreviews.com/adobe-premiere-pro-cs4_Software_review
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478964/
http://www.channel4.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435680/

Storyboard

As you can clearly tell from the storyboard located above, we have decided to change the frames we intentionally first planned to use - this was because we felt that our original plan lacked several conventions seen in existing social realism trailers thus explaining why we changed the frames' sequence slightly.
The storyboard undoubtedly helped us during filming, as it gave actors information on the plotline of the trailer and the knowledge of what to do during filming. 

Originally we planned to use a green screen in the first few seconds of our trailer but as I clearly saw afterwards after viewing the second trailer edit, the green screen clearly stated "The following preview has been approved for appropriate audiences by the motion picture association of America".
We changed the green screen for the BBFC's black screen version instead as our trailer's location is clearly not America but in England.
We found that this was a good idea as it informed viewers that our film is rated 15+ .

Evaluation (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

Evaluation  

1. In what ways does your short film (trailer) use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

link to slideshare to view my presentation answer

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and subsidiary texts?

link to my answer on YouTube

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Names of those in the clip who gave feedback:

• Sean Walsh
• Kirsty Godwin
• Iqra Mohammed 
• Yusuf Dunn
• Sian Madigan
• Arsene Mbenga

From the audience feedback video located above, I learned that our music choice suited our target audience's preference well - this was because most of them said that the song fitted well with the story and that they really enjoyed listening to it. Another thing that I have learnt from the feedback regarding our audio choice was, that we edited the clips really well with the music, I know this because I was told that the song was on time with the action and scenes in the trailer.
If given a chance of re-editing our trailer I could enhanced the audio by simply blending the 'gunshot sound effect' more with the song, because one feedback I got was that the music near the end "lapsed" a bit.

On the visual side of our trailer, I noted that we could have slowed the pace of the trailer, down a little bit. This was because one review I got, suggested  that the trailer was too fast paced and that they wanted to know more about certain scenes, like the scene of Richard-Henry reading the letter.
Another review I received about the visual side of the trailer, was that the texts we used on screen was effective and that the audience felt engaged. Text that we used, informed the audience who the creators were and when the film of the trailer was going to be released.

I asked some of our target audience what they thought our trailer was about and the most common answer was "bullying". What this means is that our trailer was able to be understood by many and yet not give most of the storyline away.

Some of our target audience felt uncomfortable being filmed and have opted out of being recorded. They informed me that they felt the trailer looked realistic enough, that they actually want to see more scenes and if the movie was real they would actually go see it. What I learnt from this was that our trailer followed enough existing trailer conventions that some of our audiences felt it looked real enough.
Some of our audiences also said, that at times our trailer looked pixelated, this means that if we were ever given another chance to improve/redo the trailer we would use a better quality camera with a higher megapixel. This would allow us to record clips with a clearer visual quality.

Overall our trailer received mostly positive reviews which therefore shows that we have targeted our audience well.

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

slideshare link to my answer

Detailed deconstruction of 2 film trailers with reference to 3 more (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

Detailed deconstruction of 2 film trailers with reference to 3 more

In this post I will be analysing two social realism, independent film trailers. This analysis will help me understand conventions of trailers in  greater detail thus helping us achieve an outcome which coincides with existing social realism trailer conventions and will target our target audience in the best possible way.

Independent film trailers

kidulthood 

 

The film Kidulthood, was released in the UK in 2006. It is an independent film that explores the genre of drama. It was released like all independent films with a low budget of £600,000 and was directed by Menhaj Huda. The whole film lasts for 1 hour and 29 minutes.
It has a 15+ certification because from the trailer it shows that the film  is about a group of teenagers, involved in a series of crimes such as stealing, abuse and gun crime, the film deals with teenage pregnancy, delinquency, drug use, sexual and violent themes with the use of bad language.

















The trailer itself, lasts for 2.05 minutes. It uses a mixture of diegetic and non diegetic sounds. It is set in a deprived, lower class area in London.

The audience immediately knows roughly the plotline of the story, as I felt that the trailer gave too much detail away - there were too many clips used.

The first thing that the audience is shown, is the production company's logo.

The second thing that the viewer is shown is the film's name. I found that this was an odd thing to have done, as most trailers opt to have the name of their film near the end.



















But after I watched the trailer again I noticed that they used the name of the film again, but this time they placed this near the end.

This trailer uses fades near the beginning, as it helps prepare viewers for what is to come - at this point the song is still fairly slow when compared to later scenes.
Another convention the trailer uses is quick cuts, this is used along with the fast paced music. Viewers won't have time to digest clips/scenes - as they are bombarded with scenes of violence, crime and sexual themes. Some audiences may be so shocked that they are curious to find out more about the film, thus they go to watch the movie itself.

I generally found most of the clips that were used extremely short, as some didn't even last for a whole second.

The music in the background is rap, it is fast paced and seems to be on time with the clips of the trailer, for example when the singer says the word "spending" the image of cash appears in the clip.

It uses a lot of medium shots and medium close up shots. These are both typical social realism film conventions. Medium shots are used here to display and show the emotions of the characters and their body expressions.

Text is another convention that this trailer uses. The particular text they use, informs that before the more prominent sequel, "Adulthood" this film was released. This will attract fans of adulthood to watch kidulthood.

The last clip ends with the song  abruptly stopping and the diegetic sound of one of the main male characters saying "bye mum" as he closes the door. This is ironic as the trailer showed this particular character to be heavily into crime.

The last bit that the viewers see, is the credits.

The costumes that were used in this social realism/drama trailer are: 
Hoodies
Hates
Jeans
Rough looking school uniform
Fish net tights
Hoop earrings
Business suit
Rings
Necklaces

Props that were used in this trailer: 
Gun
Phone
Wine bottle
cigarette
mic
money
baseball bat

Unknown actors were used

target audience for this trailer
The primary target audience for the movie of Kidulthood, are those aged 15 years old or older. This is because, the film focuses on group of teenagers and is certificated 15+. So by focusing on a group of teenagers, they are sure to attract the attentions of existing teenagers as these audiences can relate easily to the plot. They teenagers who are likely to live in poverty struck places, and are often seen with a large group of friends.It is aimed for mostly the male audience as a smaller portion of females are shown in the whole trailer.

the secondary target audience of this film are those a little younger than 15 years, this is because those a little younger such as 13/14 years old, may want to look 'tough' and are interested in the things that they are forbidden to watch.

Bullet Boy

Bullet boy was released in the UK in 2004. It is an independent social realism film which was directed by Saul Dibb. Like Kidulthood, it is a film that lasts for 1 hour and 29 minutes. It is also certifictaed 15+.
Again the film is located in London in a economically deprived area, with a high crime rate.
It focuses on a newly prison released young person, who is trying to have a 'brand new' life.

The trailer deals with themes/scenes of knife crime, sexual themes, violence, broken family and contains bad language. It lasts for 1.27 minutes.

Only quick cuts are used in this trailer. The clips are short yet still longer than Kidulthood's clips.

The first thing the audiences see is the production company's logo. Here it is Verve pictures.

The next thing the audience is shown, is a young boy being woken up with armed security guards screaming to open the door. This clip only lasts for about three seconds until a text appears to help engage the reader's attention. The phrase "there are thousands of guns on your streets" makes the viewers question themselves on what this could possibly mean.

The music is made using a piano, it is slow - possibly hinting to the viewers that it film ends with a sad ending.
Throughout the trailer a series of text appears. Some of the texts are phrases that hint the film's plotline, others are simply one word reviews to attract attention and make people more willing to watch it.

Like Kidulthood, Bullet boy uses mainly medium and medium close up shots in its trailer. Below is a medium close up shot of the protagonist.

The trailer uses a mixture of instrumental music and diegetic sound -the music they used is slow paced unlike Kidulthood.

The last clip is placed after the appearance of the film's name. This clip doesn't hint the film's ending as it was randomly taken from the films mid-point. After this clip the film's release date is shown.

The trailer ends with the credits. This contains the names of the actors and the production company.

The costumes that were used in this social realism/drama trailer are: 
Hoodies
Tracksuits
Police uniform
Primary school uniform
Coat


Props that were used in this trailer: 
Baseball bat
gun
Paper


target audience for this trailer
Even though it's certificated 15+, Bullet boy's primary target audience are males aged 18 years and above. This is because the main character/protagonist (which is ironic seeing as he has just gotten out of prison) is a lot older than this. Which means young adults who are living in a high crime rated neighbourhoods, will find this more relatable.

The secondary target audience are those teenagers around the age of 15. They feel that by watching this film they can look more tough so that they can please their friends. They hang around in massive groups and live in urban areas such as London.




What I may include in my trailer: 

1. Use props such as, fake gun or baseball bat 
2. Use costumes such as hoodies and school uniform 
3. Include a production company's logo 
4. include a release date 
5. include film name which should be placed near the end 
6. Include credits
7. Include engaging and hinting text 
8. explore the issues/themes of delinquency, crime and bad language 
9. Have a background music - fast paced 
10. Setting should be in London 

Mainstream film trailers 

Divergent (2014)

Conventions used, in order beginning to last:

1. Green screen
2. Flashes of black screen
3. Close up shots and medium shots
4. production company's logo
5. Texts that promote the movie
6. Name of the film
7. date of film release

Well known actors are used. CGI (computer generated imagery) is also used.

 Noah (2014)

Conventions used, in order beginning to last:

1. Text 
2. Medium, long and close up shots
3. Production company logo  
4. Quick cuts 
5. Slow black flashes 
6. Name of prominent actor
7. Name of the film  
8. Credits 
9. Date of release  

Prominent actors were again used, along with CGI.

Maleficient (2014) 

Conventions used, in order beginning to last:

1. Green screen 
2. Production company's logo 
3. long shot 
4. Voiceover 
5. Famous actor's name 
6. Name of film 
7. Random clip 
8. Release date  

Editing, sound production, equipment and software choices (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

Editing, sound production, equipment and software choices

• Mindomo 
• Dafont 
• Microsoft Paint  
• Fotoflexer
• Microsoft Word 
• Microsoft PowerPoint  
• Adobe Fireworks CS5.1 
• YouTube 
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 
• Microsoft Excel

Software/websites used during pre-production:

• Microsoft Paint 
• Microsoft Word 2010 
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 
• Adobe Fireworks   
• Microsoft Excel  
• YouTube

Software/websites used during production 

• Microsoft Paint
• Microsoft Word 2010 
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 
• Adobe Fireworks 
• Fotoflexer 
• Dafont 
• Mindomo

Sound production  

For our trailer, Mikaela and I decided to use the R&B instrumental song by Plan B - Playing with fire ft. Lambrinth.
We used the instrumental version instead, because the original music version contained the use of bad language, we also remembered that most social realism film trailers only use instrumentals. Another reason which made us use an Instrumental R&B music is because both categories of music scored highly during the audience survey that we took therefore we opted to fuse both genres together. As well as being a convention that most media trailers use, and for being two of the most popular picked genre of music (out of the overall eight available options, in our audience survey) what also made made us select this music was that it fitted really well with the plotline of our trailer. It was fast and loud.

A sound effect that we added towards the end of the trailer was a gunshot. We used this to hint the death of the character of Louise, without using anymore clips.















We cut the first 39 seconds of the soundtrack as it contained high notes, which we both found unsuitable to place at the start of our trailer we also wanted it to start with a much lower volume and slower pace to fit in with the plot.
The low beat of the drums, slow paced music and the high voice of the singer fitted well with Richard-Henry's personality at the beginning of the trailer. Which was quiet, studios and respectful.
The louder beats, faster paced music later in the trailer suited well with his new personality and identity of being part of Ben's gang, being more uncaring and disrespectful. As you can see we cut the 'playing with fire' soundtrack as we wanted the loud beat of the drum to go in time with when, Louise pushes Ben aside in order to help Richard-Henry. We incorporated a gunshot near the end of the trailer so that audiences would be hinted at the outcome of the story. We originally wanted to include the scene of when a certain character gets wounded, but as this is a trailer we decided against it-to not give the whole story away.

From the image positioned above you can clearly see that the song for our trailer starts straight after the BBFC black screen clip; we have deliberately done this so that our trailer follows the typical convention of trailers (the song starts straight after the green screen or the BBFC black certification clip).



Below is a YouTube video where you can hear the whole original instrumental song by Plan B.






We wanted the editing to coincide with the convention of typical social realism films, that's why we included several black screen flashes, and quick shots which hinted the storyline well in a fast manner.



Equipment used during filming:
Sony Camera DSC-W70
Iphone 5
Laptop and computer
Video Camera (for the audience feedback clip)

The above devices used were simple to manage, as they are everyday tools I used. One of the similarities that both the Sony camera and Iphone 5 share is that they are handheld devices. This means that they rely mostly on human hand control. Therefore they have risks, such as accidentally dropping it, on the ground and that unsteady hands may result to rough, amateur looking clips.
Other than that I was overall happy with using these devices.



During filming for trailer 
Sony Camera DSC-W7
Iphone 5


Editing software
Adobe Premiere Pro CS4




overall technology used:

Final edit trailer

 

Final edit trailer

 

Second edit trailer

Second edit trailer

 

Shooting schedule and risk assessments (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

Shooting schedule 

Risk assessment

Evidence of organisation and management of time, equipment and people (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

List of work to be finished by:

Pauline Kate Baluyut  

• Institutional research including certification
• Genre conventions and how they apply
• Detailed deconstruction of 2 film trailers with reference to 3 more film trailers
• Deconstruction of 2 film posters with reference to 3 more film posters
• Detailed deconstruction of 2 film magazine front covers with reference to 3 more magazine front covers
• Moodboard
• Storyboard artwork
• Photographs and manipulation
• Font experiments and integration
• Risk assessments and shooting schedules
• Evidence of organisation and management of time, equipment and people.
• First, second and final drafts of film magazine front covers
• Proof of development
• Character profile
• Shooting schedule and risk assessment  
• Answer four evaluation questions  

Extra work completed:

• Deconstruction of film websites
• Mainstream and independent films

Role during filming- Camera Operator
I have steady hands which is essential for the role of a camera operator.

Mikaela Lawrence

• Institutional research
• Detailed deconstruction of 2 film trailers with reference to 3 more film trailers
• Deconstruction of 2 film posters with reference to 3 more film posters
• Detailed deconstruction of 2 film magazine front covers with reference to 3 more magazine front covers 
• Storyboard writing
• Photographs and manipulation
• Font experiments and integration
• First, second and final draft film posters
• proof of development 
• Narrative theories and how they apply   
• Answer four evaluation questions  
• Evidence of organisation and management of time
• bibliography

Extra work to be completed:

• Mainstream and independent films
• Animatics

Role during filming- Director 

Mikaela shows good directing skills, she has a sharp yet friendly manner of telling people what to do - this is a vital characteristic to have when dealing with a large group of actors.



Filming will have to be done no later than March 15, in order to focus on other media coursework and to have time to edit and manipulate the clips.

Both

• Questionnaire 
• Script treatment
• First, second and final edit of trailer 
• Audience survey 
• Target audience
• Storyboard

Names of the main actors and the character they are going to play:
James Davies as Richard-Henry
Jodie Neighbour as Louise
Mohamed Ali as Ben


Names of all the actors:
James Davies, Jodie Neighbour, Mohamed Ali, Brandon Coomes, Sam Casse, Ilhan Mohamed, Bianca Daniel-Roberts, Riannah Linton-David, Rohit Paul, Natasha swan, Tanisha Sharma, Kevin Ramkalawon and Patrick Rai



Both I and Mikaela Lawrence took our cast's contact details, so that any problems and conflicts such as attendance can be dealt with by one of us.



We each gave the crew members the shooting schedule, a copy of the storyboard and informed them of the possible risks that they may encounter, this is so that they can be informed and be organised in time for the filming.

Why James, Jodie and Mohamed play the main characters:

James Davies 
James fits in with Richard-Henry's physical character description. He is tall and wears his hair in a smart jelled quiff - very much like how we envisioned Richard-Henry's hair to be. He walks in a slow, somehow noble way. He has an excellent drama background, as he attends weekly private drama classes in Pinewoods Studios, he previously attended TheatreTrain, performing locally, he also gained an A grade in AS Drama, James recently applied for NYT (national youth theatre) as he wants to go in the acting route later in life.






















Jodie Neighbour   
Jodie is well suited to play the character of Louise, she is confident when acting in front of a huge crowd and doesn't mind being filmed. She is also currently taking AS Drama and wants to go in the performing arts route. Her physical features (dark eyes and curly hair) makes her the best candidate to play Louise.

Mohamed Ali 
Mohamed is tall and has a bold personality, he looks strong which fits in well with Ben's physical character description.

Those who auditioned to play the main characters but were unsuitable: 

Patrick Rai
Patrick originally auditioned for the role of Richard-Henry but because he didn't look convincing as Richard-Henry I decided to cast him as one of the gang members instead, this is because he is confident in front of the camera and posses a tough look, perfect for the role of being one of the gang members.

Rohit Paul 
Rohit auditioned for the role of Ben, as he didn't fit in with the character's physical description we decided to give him the role of a gang member. This is because he has a bold and somewhat daring posture. He is also camera confident and plays the role of an arrogant character well.

Equipment to be used during filming: 

Iphone 5 and its charger 

Sony camera and its charger
Memory stick for the camera

We used an Iphone 5 and a Sony camera, because one of the conventions of social realism films is to use handheld cameras. I felt that by using handheld cameras, viewers can bond with the storyline more, as the video clips are rough and look as if taken from another character's view point.
They are devices which are simple to function and operate, allowing users to easily film clips without hesitation and any further practice.
We also bought a memory stick for the camera, to provide us with more camera memory, to record clips.











More info on our target audience;

 I have learned that our target audience as already stated on previous posts, are both genders and are young people age 16 - 21 years old.
This particular age group have good experiences with new media technologies, as they were born during the decade in which the world experienced great technology advancement, they are digital natives; anyone born earlier than them are digital migrants who had to first familiarise and adjust their lives to these new technologies.

The 16 - 21 years old age group has had the benefit of living with economically advantageous parents living a good luxurious middle income life, whose parents were the ones that first had the good economic opportunity. Mechanisation throughout the years has enabled these families to have more free time as machines grew more efficient and sustainable throughout the years.

Young people during the sixties however, had a different lifestyle as they already worked since they were 13 years old, they also supported their family with the money they received. They had a limited amount of leisure time as their time was taken mostly up by school work and work.

The young people that I am targeting (aged 16 - 21 years old) on the other hand, are required to attain employment at an older age of sixteen years old, any persons working below this minimum age are considered to be working illegally. They undoubtedly have more free time, hence why crime rates have risen staggeringly high than previous levels.  They were born during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

My target audience would typically dine in fast food cheap restaurants such as Mcdonalds and KFC, this is because they may still be in higher/further education and are in part time jobs hence they may have to save a considerably high amount of money in order to live a decent lifestyle.

They would typically shop in low budget clothing shops such as Primark and H&M. Other stores include HMV and  CEX where they can buy DVDs, CDs and gadgets.

Their favourite programmes include shows such as Eastenders and Waterloo road - both shows  focuses on young people, they watch these programmes as they can relate to the dilemmas that the characters face. 

They're music taste would typically be mainstream music such as dance, pop and R&B were they can hear it play on the radio everyday. This includes artists such as Rihana, Chris Brown, Katy Perry and Avicii.

First edit trailer