Audience feedback

Our finished media product:

'The woods'

We gathered our audience feedback using the PURE Digital Flip Mino F360 Camcorder - 0.31 MP - Black. This is a minature hand-held camcorder which made the process of filming our audience feeback very simple and effective.

The following videos entail the other groups in our media AS group telling us both positive and negatives of our project and if anything is unanswered, my group asking questions:
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From wathcing the audience feedback videos and personal opinions i feel that the biggest issue in our film was the continuity, all of the groups acknowledged the issue my group encountered involving an orange plastic bag which appeared in one scene and then disappeared. Despite being given the audience feedback on our rough cut I was unable to make the desired changes regarding the orange plastic bag as re-filiming at this late a stage was not an option so the bag remains in the film.

On a positive the feedback allowed us to change some of the shots used as the audience did not favour the POV shots we used or the switching from POV to normal camera shots. It also allowed us to adapt the audio according to what the groups thought. Other than the previous issue mentioned our project appeared to have a lot of positive revolving around the camera work and every group managed to successfully recognise the genre and one person even said that a part of the film 'scared' them. None of the feedback we recieved was entirely negative, this along with the encouraging feedback gave my media group, 'JAMS', the motivation to make the needed changes to the project. The other positives we gathered were that our establishing shots worked well and fitted with the genre and introduced the main protagonist, fulfilling conventions of an opening sequence.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

1) In terms of the editing in my preliminary task, it was minimal - very little if anything in each shot was done to the audio as it was not the main focus of our task, the only parts we really edited were the cuts from shot to shot to ensure there were no jump cuts and to ensure the continuity of our film remained at a high standard as this is what the task focused on. In the process of editing there is also logging and capturing which are vital as the editing relies on the useage of the footage which is transferred from the camcorder to the editing suit in the process of capturing and the decision of which shots to use out of the many that have been filmed is also important, this is the process of logging.

2) In our final coursework task the editing was much more complex, the first thing we focused on after completing the capturing and logging was getting a 'rough cut' done, this did not include music or the universal countdown, it literally involved putting the shots into the desired order and roughly cutting them. After the 'rough cut' was completed, we moved onto the details of the editing, ensuring that the audio was clear, the case in a lot of our shots was that the background noise was relatively over powering due to the fact that we had filmed outside on windy/rainy days. To fix this we lowered the sound levels where the background noise was too loud and in some cases even edited a quieter audio part from a different shot into the shot it was needed in. Next we make sure that there were no jump cuts in our final product and put in the universale countdown and the titles into it.

3)I personally believe that both myself and my group have progressed in is the filming process, in our preliminary task the lack of communication between the group made the entire process a lot more difficult than it had to be, as a group everything we poorly organised everything and this even meant that some days that we were scheduled to film members of the group did not show up this leading to the group falling behind in terms of filming and in the creation of the pre-production documentation. Our final task was handled differently by the group I was in and the task altogether ran smoother and tasks were accomplished quicker, we all communicated well together and this meant that not only did the tasks get done quicker but towards the end of the task the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasent. Also, due to the fact that we had previously learnt how to use the tripods and cameras the filming process was made easier, we knew what equiptment we needed and how to use it.

4) The final thing that I feel I have learnt from the progression from the preliminary task to the final coursework task is about the blogging, although I did blog my preliminary work the final coursework task has taught me that in order for the blogs to be successfully presented they need visuals aids as well as written context. To achieve this I decided to add more images and videos into my blog where possible.

 

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Technologies

1) Adobe premiere pro: The programme that we used to edit out footage.
- The programme once introduced to us became gradually easier to use each time editing occurred, it also became more complex as we learnt different techniques to use and different things we could achieve with the available tools.

2) Digital camera: Used to take the photos for our location reccees and the blogs.
- The camera was a basic camera, not used for the quality of the photos but as a simple tool that was compact and easy to carry to locations.

3) Blogger: The way in which we submit our coursework to the examiners.
- Eblogger also confusing at first is a simple, user friendly way in which the post public blogs. The website includes several other opportunities to develop IT skills with the use of background layout designing and html coding.

4) Scanner: Used to transfer our written work onto the blogs.
- The HP scan was user friendly and simple to use, but the lack of them around the school made the scanning process a lot more challenging.

5) YouTube: Used to enable us to upload our projects to our blogs.
- A world-wide globally used website on which people can upload and watch a range of videos whilst receiving hits if videos they have chosen to upload are watched. Relatively simple to use but sometimes the quality and size of the videos were an issue.

6) Camcorder: We used a Sony camcorder to film the whole of our media projects.
- As having studied Media studies previously I had a rough idea of how to use most of the technologies give to me but after this task I can now confidently handle the video cameras, the digital cameras, work on the editing suite and use html coding on my blog.

How did you attract/address your audience?

As a group, 'JAMS', we used the building of suspense as real attraction to our target audience, the action that is seen in the opening sequence should essentially and desirably work as a 'wanting more' hook. We also used the 'thriller' genre but decided to try and appeal to a younger audience than we have established most films under this genre do. Our attempt to appeal to a younger audience was established through the use of teenage protagonists in order for our desired target audience to be able to associate, empathise and sympathise with more ease with the characters.


Also as a group we all played our project to several different audiences; luckily our target audience was the age range of our class to whom we played it to, we then also took our projects home to recieve feedback from atleast 5 different viewers at home. We recorded the results ourselves to save the time of the questionnaires. We attracted the audience in several different ways, firstly we attracted an audience into alternative rock music with the use of a local bands music 'Whiteharts'. 'Whiteharts' formed in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire in 2008 under the original outfit of Chasing Sunsets. The band comprises of vocalist Joe Bernie, guitarists Dan Giles & Oli Adams, bassist Ant Johnson, and drummer Matt Baron. The main way we attempted to attract the audience was through a gap in the market, in attempting to create a new style of film for the teen audience.

During the process of making our film we had to research and follow the BBFC website states age certifications for films/TV; after this we decide that our film would be a 15 certificate. The guidelines for a 15 certificate are stated below:
Discrimination:No endorsment of discriminatory language or behaviour will be present in the film.

Drugs:In the film drugs are permitted to be viewed but in no way must they be promoted to the audience or make the audience want to experience the taking of these drugs. Also its unlikely to be acceptable to show dangerous substances that are accessible to the audience being used incorrectly, for example mis-use of aerosols or solvents.There are no refrences to drugs or drug use in our film.
Horror:The audience are allowed to see strong threat and menace, however not if carried out in a sexualised or sadistic way. Imitable Behaviour: Any viewings of behaviour dangerous to the character (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) are not allowed to be shown in great detail to promote ideas to the audience of this behaviour.
The horror element of our film is minor in comparrison to the story line, the horror does not promote any ideas to the audience and is not sexualised or sadistic in any way.

Language:Strong language is acceptable to be used frequently, (for example 'fuck') however the stongest terms (for example 'cunt') are only permitted to used if it fits the context and can be justified by this. However when the use of strong language is repeated in an aggresive way its unlikely to be acceptable for this certification.There is no dialogue in the opening sequences, but as the film progresses strong language would be introduced.

Nudity:Without strong detail nudity is permitted if used in sexual context, more so there are no constraints in non-sexual or educational context regarding nudity.
There is not nudity in the contents our my media project.

Sex:Without strong detail sexual activity is permitted to be portrayed; strong verbal references to sexual behaviour are also allowed. However highly strong references are again unlikely to be permitted unless they can be justified by the context of the film. More so work that is solely purposful for sexual arousal or stimulation are again unlikely to be acceptable.There is no sexual content in our media project.

Theme:There are no themes that are not allowed as long as provided with appropriate treatment for 15 year olds.
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Violence:No infliction of pain or injury are allowed to be dwelled on when strong violence is used. Strong gory images and strong sadistic or sexualised violence are unlikely to be acceptable. Detailed verbal refernences to sexual violence are allowed but it must be discreet and be highly justified by the context.
There is a reasonable amount of violence involved in our media project however there is no strong gore and once again the violence is not sexualised or sadistic.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Target Audience

Target audience examples:

Danielle Hart

The is Danielle Hart, she is a pretty stereotypical 18 year old girl in full-time education at Kings Langley School sixth form, her interests include those of a normal teenage girl, spending time with her friends, shopping and socialising. When asked for a list of her five favourite films her response was somewhat of a suprise: Kill Bill, The Beach, The dark knight, the truman show and sex and the city. Her favourite films range in genre from a romantic chick-flick to horror/thriller, Danielle also contunied to express her interest in thriller films and visits to the cinema, she made it clear that she prefered viewing films when they came out in the atmosphere of the cinema over waiting for the films to be released to DVD or blu-ray. Although Danielle fits perfectly into the age range we would consider the ideal audience for our media product, we would have considered the audience to be more male than female but Danielle's taste in films makes our media product perfect for her.

Matthew Sawyer

This is Matthew Sawyer, he is an 18 year old boy who is similarly to Danielle in full-time education at Kings Langley sixth form. His interests include football and several other sports, he also enjoys drinking and socialising and trips to the cinema. When asked for a list of his five favourite films his response was what we expected: Football factory, Fight Club, Snatch, The Blair Witch Project and Blood diamond. Matthew enjoys social trips to the cinema and spending time with his friends once again over the new technology of blu-ray and DVD. Danielle fits perfectly into the age range we would consider the ideal audience for our media product, we would have considered the audience to be more male than female but Danielle's taste in films makes our media product perfect for her.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Media institution: A media institution is an established, often profit-based organization, that deals in the creation and distribution of advertising, entertainment and information services.The most well-known examples of media institutions would be 'The Hollywood 5'; this includes Sony, Paramount pictures and Warner Bros.

In order to decide as a group wich media institution would be best to distribute our media product we had to compare in detail several media institutions after doing so I personally came to the conclusion that the ideal institution would be Warner Brothers. Establish in 1923 and having distributed 'Under Siege', 'The Matrix' series and Lethal weapon, the genre thriller would not be something out of the ordinary for Warner Brothers.Warner Brothers would also be ideal due to their subsidary arms the promotion of our film would be easy;
· Lorimar television
· Telepictures productions
· Domestic television
· New World Television
· HBO
· Wolper Productions
· Tuner entertainment co.
· United Artists Television.

All of the studios previously mentioned are based in the US and are known and associated with 'blockbuster' films. Due to the fact that my film is a British film, due to the recent demolishment of 'The film council' and also widely due to the lack of wider world distribution offered in Britain I have chosen to rely on the US essentially to distribute my film.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Female Protagonist

'Kat Stratford', the female central protagonist from '10 Things i hate about you'. A strong minded young woman, whose views on school, stereotpyes and cliches are prominent and highly feminist. Comparable to Shakespeare's 'Katherine' from the taming of the shrew, she is equally as sharp-tounged, quick-tempered and prone of hostility.

Comparable to both 'Kat' and 'Katherine' is the nameless central protagonist in my opening sequences for 'The Woods'. Acting as a juxtaposition to a stereotypical female character, this character is a completely subversive strong female character. Similar to but a most extreme version of the characters previously compared with.

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Male Protagonist

'Cameron James', the male central protagonist from '10 Things i hate about you'. Another debatably subversive character, the meek and unconfident  in the way in which  minded young woman, whose views on school, stereotypes and cliches are prominent and highly feminist. Comparable to Shakespeare's 'Katherine' from the taming of the shrew, she is equally as sharp-tounged, quick-tempered and prone of hostility.

The yet again nameless male protagonist from the opening sequence of 'The Woods' is also similarly to 'Cameron' a not so stereotypical male. Although not much of his character is revealed it is clear that he is over-powered by someone, this showing the physical and mental weakness he has similarly to Cameron.

Aware of the fact that the two previous comparissons made were not characters from films under the thriller genre I later researched through independent study other characters from films from the appropriate genre that would be comparable with the two central protagonists from 'The Woods'.

The Hand That Rocked The Cradle
'Mrs Mott'

Starring in the film 'The hand that rocked the cradle' 'Mrs.Mott' or 'Peyton Flanders' is a seemingly perfect in terms of stereotyping female, she is attractive and helpful but secretly she is out to wreck the lives of the family she was supposed to be helping, during this process she subverts the female stereotpyes through her use of violence and her general power and status similarly to our namless female protagonist in 'The Woods'.

Mr. Bartel
From the same film the central male protagonist 'Mr.Bartel' the father in the family that is victimised by 'Mrs.Motts' is at first shown to be a very typical male, the 'bread winner' for his house-hold and married with children. He is later shown to be subversive is the sense that he is shown to by weak through both his physical over powerment by a female character, similarly to the male protagonist in 'The woods' and mentally through the sedcution of a female character.