Finished Media Product

Final Media Product

This is my final media product. I named it 'Sempiternal' because the meaning of the word sempiternal means eternal and unchanging, which describes the multi-verse and cyclical  nature of the protagonist and antagonists conflict with one another.

I decided to post my media film on Youtube as I feel that if this is were a real media product, a trailer of a kind would be posted to Youtube, so to add authenticity, I decided to post my product there also. I also posted links to my personal Facebook and Twitter account as again, If it were a real media product, the trailer would be posted on the actor/actresses personal accounts, as well as a twitter account dedicated to the film solely, so following example of major film companies and major actors/actresses and decided to post my product online. I feel that this is also a good way to get unbiased feedback from people I don't know, so the comments are more genuine.

I received feedback from both people that I showed both in personal, and tweets to my twitter account. Tom Mehegan described my film as "Disturbing" and specifically referred to my antagonists' monologue in the climax of my product, which I was particularly happy with as that was the reaction I was looking for in this character. I also had a comment from Laura Kidd saying that "I was genuinely worried for the character"  which was also the reaction I was hoping for in this character, as I wanted to give the audience the impression that this character was actually a victim, so later it would've provided more of a twist when it would've been revealed that he was a murderer. A follower of mine on twitter said to me "It was good, but a little slow at the start." and I see this as constructive as I agree, and I hoped I could've started the antagonising sooner, but I felt the time taken was justified in that for the character, it needed the time it took to show the audience the normal side of this character, and therefore I don't feel I could've made the start a faster pace, and the parts previously I thought slowed it down further, I had already cut out.

Evaluation Final

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

Preliminary Task

In conclusion, I feel that my product was a relative success, and I don't feel it could've been without an initial preliminary task where I learnt firstly, how to use the camera to full effect, it gave me an idea of how each shot will look like and how it can be achieved, and how problems like how much space can be included within a shot and how I would need to use the small space, to it's full effect. In my preliminary task 'Interrogation', I learnt how to use the adobe software to it's full extent, and I used the same effect on the colour of the font in my preliminary title, as I did in my final thriller piece. I also included similar shots in my preliminary as I did in my final piece also, using similar angles like high angle shots and point of view shots. It also allowed me to gain a perspective as to where I'd want the location of my film. As we filmed in a school, there was almost no tension created at all, and I felt this was because it wasn't a personal location, so to atone for this, i set my main thriller piece in a home location.

Developed Skills

Before the preliminary task, I had never used the editing software as I had never previously had media as a subject, so therefore I had very limited knowledge on how the editing software operated, So the skill I feel I had most developed was the ability to have a smooth

transition from one shot to the next, and I learnt from my preliminary how important continuity is, and so I feel also I developed the ability to deeply analyse a shot before I filmed it, and take into consideration all the factors that may hinder the continuity of the shot, and overcome the issues before they confounded the following shot. Also, taking into consideration the logic of each shot, besides continuity, because it is easy to film many different shots without taking into consideration that they would flow easily in the editing process, so thinking of issues like the 180 degree rule and reverse shots and going through the logic process of it they would actually work before thinking about how the shot looks. I could have an excellent shot, but if it doesn't fit the rest of the shots and flow coherently, the
shot is useless. So going through this thought process is a skill I feel I have developed greatly. 

Problems

As I progressed in filming my thriller, I encountered a few problems, but these were easily overcome through re-shooting and the editing process. For example, the unreliability of the camera batteries became a recurring issue, as we often had a restricted time frame in which we had to shoot, and it was often between 1 and 2 hours as it was during winter, and time in the light was scarce. So I felt I had enough time to delay the filming, so I could combat the issue of daylight, and in terms of the camera batteries, I always had two batteries in case one of them ran out quickly, and always had them both fully charged in order to cope with the issue as best I possibly could. I found though, that with the previous filming that had been done in the rushed time frame, with a camera that could've died at any moment, I found that when it came to edit my film, there was a distinct lack of continuity, For example, My main actor, Alex Coburn had a tie on in one shot, then he took it off in the following shot, and then in the next shot after that it was back on, and in another instance, upon filming on different days, he was also wearing different clothing and these errors were caused because I wasn't able to think through shots as much as I could have done before filming them, so I decided I needed to re-shoot the entirety of the film, and unfortunately it was left later than what was ideal, but I overcame the time issue with extensive work whenever was possible, and I managed to edit my film exactly how I wanted it, in plenty of time to evaluate the entire process in detail.

Another issue that we had to overcome was my safety upon climbing into his loft in order to film a shot directly over the head of the main character, there was an issue with my safety as I could have easily fallen, but we took effective precautions in that I had a stable ladder to climb into the loft with, and I had a mate to lay on with grip to ensure that I wasn't to fall.

Evaluation Continued (5)

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

In the process of producing, constructing and editing, I have learnt how to film and effectively use a variety of camera shots in order to help my opening sequence explore what I wanted it too, and emphasise key points that I feel the audience would need to explore. I explored camera shots such as close-ups, extreme close-ups, low-angle shots, high-angle shots, point of view shots, wide shots, medium shots, long shots, Reverse shots, zooming shots and over the shoulder shots. 

Close-Up

I used a close up at this particular time, and I had an extremely lengthy shot of the antagonist due to both practical difficulties due to mistiming of the alternate shot of the reverse angle, but I also felt that despite this, due to the context and nature of what was happening within the film, a lengthy shot wasn't unjustified as it allows the audience to analyse the character that has just been presented before them for the first time, and it also gives the audience a chance to see and hear his emotions, such as despair and anger which really illustrates the character.

Extreme Close-Up

I used an extreme close-up for this shot as I felt with what the character is saying, it really emphasises both the danger the protagonist will be in and therefore make the audience sympathise and feel anxious for the character, and it also further emphasises the instability of this character as I feel that a close-up disregards identity by removing the rest of the person's image, and the audience focus on the place I want them too, I aimed to dehumanise the character best I could.

High-Angle Shot/ Point Of View Shot

I used this shot in order to belittle the character from an audiences perspective. A high-angle shot puts the character in a vulnerable position, and although no explicit threat has been presented to the audience at this point, on the seemingly meaningless barge from the stranger at the very beginning of the film, at this point, I'm trying to make the character look like he's in a vulnerable position in order to try and foreshadow an inevitable threat, and I'm  just trying to give my audience hints at this point. This is also  a long shot in order for the audience to gain the perspective of the suburban area, highlighting again the normality of the character that I was desperately trying to portray. I also had another significant high-angle shot that i feel would purposely confuse the audience. The shot is of the protagonist slowly walking his halls as he thinks someone is there with him, and the camera is directly above him and following his movements, and i used the shot because firstly the character being looked down makes him look inferior, and also i wanted the audience to question whether this was a first person shot and whether he was actually being watch by an intruder.

Wide Shot

In this shot, there was more meaning than what the audience may initially have picked up on, and wouldn't understand at this point. I used this wide shot to show that there are two different sides to our protagonist by splitting up the shot. On the left side, there's the façade that is initially presented to the audience, and the character is there in his smart clothing, picking up his clothes as a normal person would, and in the same shot on the right hand side, there's the door closing as the protagonist is then coming round, and initially the audience would think that there's just another perpetrator in the house, but I actually used the shot firstly to show that there is another side to our protagonist, and then on the closing of the door to show that this side of the protagonist's other side has been shut away and hidden away without him knowing, which is also another reason I didn't allow the character to see the door closing.

Medium Shot

I used medium shots in order for the audience to gain a perspective on how the protagonist dresses as his appearance is all that's given away at the beginning in terms of his identity, so I added medium shots so the audience can see his attire, and make their own assumptions about the character based on his appearance, and hopefully gain the idea that he is just another citizen that is about to be terrorized. 

Reverse Shot

This shot is used during the antagonists monologue from the television so the audience were able to see how the protagonist is reacting to the tape that is directly addressing him and threatening him. The audience are able to see the confusion and nervousness that is currently smothering the protagonist. I also included the protagonists reflection whilst he was watching the tape play as I felt the audience would always want to see his reaction, and the audience can see his attentiveness as he's watching, you can see how the character is trying to fathom what is currently happening, and I wanted the audience to see this so I seated the character in a way that he could always be seen.

Zooming Shot

I used a zooming shot in this instance because I think that zooming in on something signals the audience and makes them think 'we need to pay attention to this' and I did this with the missing poster, and I did it then because although it will not make sense to the audience at present, it would have done later in the film and a lot of my film is made to set up for the remainder of the film, which is the crux of any opening sequence I feel. So with the zooming in on the missing poster
of the antagonists daughter (unbeknown to both protagonist and audience that it is their daughter at this moment) really emphasises to the massive part the daughter plays in the film.

Construction of the film

I created a PDF document to show the construction of the film, and how I used the software to create and use effects for my production.

Evaluation Continued (5)