FINAL: EVALUATION

Final: Trailer and Evaluation
MWE
22/04/14

EVALUATION

NOTE: WE ARE AWARE THAT OUR EVALUATION IS 18 MINUTES LONG. THEREFORE, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD POST THE TRANSCRIPT UNDERNEATH TO HELP YOU MARK IT.

TRANSCRIPT:

                In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our character of Jordan Sumner and his alter-ego George Carter subverts the shallow “jock”/ “pretty boy but dumb” stereotypes protagonist” -conforms to the Freudian Psychoanalysis and Levi Strauss Binary Opposites 

Built context on the “damsel in distress” portrayal of maturity subverted assertion of the “blonde stereotype” in Jane.  – We used the male gaze to give an air of sophistication and maturity within the character, reinforced by our use of the colour red- it gave an expression of potentiality for corruption and the girl as a sexual being. Therefore subverting the presumed naivety. The use of the showbiz-like dress table in the misc en scene and reflection suggests ambitious vanity and so between the impenetrable character of Jordan Sumner and glimpse of Jane’s corruption, it becomes difficult for the readers to judge the characters and where morality is for it’s blurred. Therefore, urging the audience to be attentive, to actively decoding the text

Yet our text does not fully conform to the male gaze as we insert grotesque shots of Jordan’s uncanny behaviour. Therefore,the growing sexual tension is disrupted and diffused and replaced by awry and twisted atmosphere, purposely making our audience feel uncomfortable as they sit watching two discordant scenes. Thus, subverting the typical teenage romance.Furthermore, we actively mock and criticise the male gaze. In projecting this dissection of the meat alongside the sensual shots of Jane we are challenging their lutful view of the female, as though to say "You are looking at this girl as though she is a meat yet you are repulsed by the open flesh". In effect, we forcefully make our audience aware of their perception of the character; snapping them out of their desiring stupor.  

                How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

We kept an ongoing motif of ego and alter ego in our texts- idea of reflection and “other self” – the symbolism of the mirror and water.  

There are rare shots in which we film the characters directly free from the reflection and mirrors. The shots are either of the character’s reflection or the camera as the mirror- emphasising this layer of concealment of the characters true personality- This message is constant in both the main product and ancillary text.

The colour scheme was consistent in all texts

The two ancillary tasks showcased our main characters, therefore fits seamlessly into the genre: Thriller/Horror

                What have you learned from your audiences feedback?

                 

 The trailer attracts different groups of audiences for different reasons

1.    Successfully pulled adolescents in through the use of the male gaze. Jane due to the pretty shots became an icon for teenage girls to aspire to, their representative- aspire to be beautiful and so attracts the audiences, sensual shots of the female and the angles in which an aspect of male gaze’s effect – curiosity towards the boy

2.    Adults were repulsed and threatened – frightened for the girl-  for their children

We learned that tight cuts are crucial in maintaining our audiences attention and helps build the tension to a climactic end

We learned that simplifying the narrative is effective in constructing our trailer, as intricate details can be confusing

We learned the importance of character development, particularly for our main protagonist to kindle some emotion and curiosity towards his actions. As a result, drawing them in.

              

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

YouTube Tutorials – For the ancillary task, we studied various magazines to study their structure. We looked at past A2 projects as well as legit magazines and posters. YouTube was useful in teaching us what to include in the magazine as well as providing us guidance on how to use photoshop

Iphone apps – There are iphone aps which were for editing photos (e.g. lock magazine), magazine layouts where we were given ideas about how we wanted out magazine to look like.

Flood lights and lamp improvisation- We were limited in terms of lights in our filming. So we had to improvise using floodlights  

Movie inspiration: Carrie, Jennifer’s Body, Prom Night, The Roommate – we looked at how the trailer for each text was constructed and used it as guidance

Other Texts: Wuthering Heights, Dorian Gray inspired us to create a character with Gothic roots.

Final cut pro- getting to grips with the new editing software which proved to be relatively similar to imovie. We combined the help of other media technologies such as Youtube whilst using final cut pro to construct and mimic how they used titles etc.

FINAL: ANCILLARY TASK (MAGAZINE AND POSTER)

FINAL ANCILLARY TASKS:


MAGAZINE

POSTER

FINAL: MAIN TASK

FINAL MAIN TASK

Editing with Final Cut Pro

Editing with Final Cut Pro
MWE
14-22/04/2014

During the Easter break we had started to do some editing for our text. Due to the fact that the school might be close for the break we decided to edit on a software on Lucy's uncle's mac. We were given an opportunity to use Final Cut Pro *applause*

Having experience in using imovie I was able to evaluate and compare the effectivity of the two softwares in editing. 

Similarities

• Identical layout 
• Similar function

Differences

• Imovie is limited in comparison to Final Cut Pro
• Final Cut Pro has many additional functions and features which is both a pro and a con- this gave us more options in editing title credits (Imovie was restricted to a few choice of fonts and the size of the letters were not interchangeable) and effects; helping us differentiate our text from an ammature and to a more able user. 
• Regarding sounds, Imovie is more user friendly as it has the automatic fade out feature. FCP on the other hand requires manually attaching nodes to the audio file to manipulate them, it was very tedious. 

Overall, Imovie to FCP is a more basic programme. FCP has outstanding varieties of features and effects which I would not hesitate to use in my future projects. Afterall, FCP was used in films such as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "The Social Network", The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo" and many others which were either nominated or have won film awards entitled "Best Editing". 

We would have loved to explore the potential of this software. In combination with our range of shots and wonderfully lit sets, we believe that FCP has helped out footage achieve its potential.

Adding all of the hours we used to edit the main bulk of the trailer, we were pleased that it had taken us less than 24 hrs to do it all. After working on our trailer we proceeded to our evaluation.

I'm surprised that I haven't gone blind after the intense time in front of the screen.


Audio

For our audio we decided to borrow two track from "Silent Hill 2' game OST: "The Promise" and "Ashes and Ghost". We have credited the creators of the track in out credits.

Audience Research

Audience Research
MWE

 As pointed out earlier, the genre of our film is a crossover between Thriller/Horror. We associated our film to existing texts such as: "Jennifer's Body", "Carrie" and "The Roommate"

"Jennifer's Body" is a dark comedy. However we associated our work to this as they revolve around similar theme: Highschool clique and a character with tortured soul. It was directed by Diablo Cody who wrote the script for "Juno". Already, referring to her past work; it's evident that her films are targeted at adolescents.

Why?

Well, who can relate best to teenage characters, dealing with teenage drama? Well, teenagers. "Jennifer's Body" is NOT Oscar material and does not tries to be. It is fun, quirky and cheesy, it's entertaining. Like wise to "Carrie", it revolves around teenagers/ young adult and therefore attracts audiences belonging to the same supposed age as the characters. The relatability of the characters to certain audiences is crucial. It is the characters and their likability which attracts audiences.

For instance: If Harry Potter was bully, arrogant and proud, despite the astounding narrative of the franchise; would it sell? Would people pay to watch a character so detestable who saves the world? No, probably not.

"Jennifer's Body" explores sexual themes, the character of Jennifer is a modern Gothic protagonist: possess dichotomies, sexually deviant, outsider, sometimes melodramatic and an anarchic figure who transgress. Parallel's between Jordan Sumner and Jennifer can be drawn, like wise to Carrie.

Yet, our text may be seen to have more similarities to Stephen King's novel "Carrie" which had recently been remade in 2013, featuring: Chloe Grace Moretz and Ansel Ergot. This one of the most well celebrated novel and horror film. Like our character Jordan Sumner, Carrie White is an outsider, an underdog pushed to the extreme until she broke; unleashing her pent up rage. The difference in the audience may be the fact that "Carrie" explores supernatural themes which we don't. This is where "The Rooommate" comes in. The story here revolves around the main protagonist and dealing with her roommate who is psychologically impaired; exactly what Jordan Sumner is.

Thus, it could be said that our target audience is mainly for teenagers, young adults and those who enjoy psychological thriller. We can sincerely say that it does in fact attract adolescents and the thriller aspect of our film does shine through as we repulse and intrigue our audiences with our trailer: achieved through the visceral gore footages of the meat and pretty shots of our gothic villains victim.

Film Title: "Vengeful Reflection"

Film Title: "Vengeful Reflection"
MWE
29/03/2014

Name for our film

After months of working on our text we have now come up with a title a we're satisfied with. To begin with, for the sake of having something to refer our text as, we called it "Ticket Out of Loserville"; after the band Son of Dorks track. We had full intention of changing this. The title just didn't fit with out film as the language insinuated light-hearted and comedic kind of text; we imagine it was for a more wholesome, underdog kind of protagonist- definitely not fitting for our main character. To be frank it was also quite cheesy :L

The second name we came up with was nice simple "Jordan Sumner" 

Beneath the font we placed "George Carter" the alter-ego's name to represent the dichotomies of the character. The rough paint brush effect is to suggest his dark and blurred psychological state of mind. However, still we felt it was a bit unimaginative and so proceeded in coming up with a new title. We did many searches inspired by this idea of a  reflection and alter-ego when we came upon the Greek mythology of Narcissus and Echo. There are several version of the tale, this one caught our attention:

Narcissus the son of God of river Cephissus and nymph Lirope was  a handsome young man. He was proud of his appearance as he made everyone swoon. One day a nymph falls in love with Narcissus. Narcissus could not return the nymphs feelings and so asked her to leave him be, the nymph heart broken died from depression. Nemesis, the goddess of a vengeful fate saw this and punished Narcissus through making him fall in love with his image. The man became so infatuated with his reflection that he died looking at it. 

Inspired by this tale, we though to call our narrative "Narcissus". However, this would have been terribly misleading as "Narcissus" is the origin of the word narcissist which is not at all what our film is about. Playing around more with the concept and "Nemesis" we concluded to the title more fitting: 

Yet, we felt it was a bit of a mouthful to say and so we concluded to "Vengeful Reflection". This title is fitting for our text as it connotes an uncomfortable fear for oneself in the word "Reflection" and karma from "Vengeful". We feel that it gives a curious effect on the audience and so we decided to settle for this name.

Filming: Party Scene

Filming: Party Scene
MWE
25/03/14

Update on filming.

Today we filmed a significant footage in our trailer which focuses on Jane. This scene uses Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze which is intimately linked to Signund Freud's Psychoanalysis. We plan on using this parallel to clips of Jordan dissecting an animal to convey repulsion towards the character of Jordan Sumner. The colour red is heavily used to convey the sense of sensuality and sexuality but is also used in association to carnage in Jordan's scene, making a repulsing beauty which put the audience in unease and stimulating reaction amongst them. Thus, demanding participation to decode the the text. 

In filming this scene, we heavily relied on the use of colours as seen on the bed sheets and the wallpaper in the room. Misc-en-Scene played a very critical role as we tried to convey this image of innocence as well as potential for corruption within the character of Jane. 

We did this through utilising different shades of pink and red. These colours are both warm and are closely interlinked as they are the diluted and concentrated versions of one another. Therefore the transition from using pink- a light diluted and somewhat girly colour as it's associated to childhood;  down into a deep dark red misc-en-scene shows transition between young adolescent to womanhood. Illustrating how we've incorporated the genre of coming-of-age in to our film.

We used similar shots from the locker scene as a bridge to connect two scenarios together for smooth cuts. 

Here are some photographs taken during the filming:

 

In the following picture we had Lucy (who plays Jane) open the wardrobe whether the camera is actually inside. We used the same effect in the lockers with the character of George/Jordan Carter. 

We improvised the lights that we used in this scene due to lack of resources. We used floodlights as a substitute for hard light which worked tremedously. We were extremely lucky with the interior of Lucy (Cook's- my colleague) room. Her dressing table was amazing!

 

FIlming: Locker Scene

Filming: Locker SceneMWE
13/03/14

Mini update on filming progress.

Today we filmed the locker scene with Josh for the George/Jordan footage. There's not much to say, the fluorescent light of the hallway acted much like a hard light, so this was a plus. I forgot to take pictures to document the the filming so, my bad. BUt we're very happy with the footage anyway!

Ancillary Task: Magazine 01

Ancillary Task: Magazine 01MWE
20/02/14- 07/03/14

For the next couple of days we'll be focusing on our ancillary task. This is due to the fact that we have no access on the mac we're editing on as the school had lend the Mac (inconveniently for us) to the Year 12's. We hope to get them back soon. 

For this portion of the project, we're required to make a poster and a magazine. 

For the poster, we decided to use Jordan/George's images. 

We looked for various tutorials on YouTube to learn how to use Photoshop. Fortunately, we found plenty of effective videos offering us guidance. 

Here's an example of our attempt

This was done through using an app on my iphone. When looking at examples on the internet of successful magazine covers, we found that there is a set color scheme and that the tittle of the corporation which own's the magazine is always at the top.

Here's the link which helped us create the magazine cover

Thank God for YouTube.

So, after studying the following magazine covers: 

We managed to create this

This had recently been edited, originally, the left portion of the text was cluttered but we've reduced the text we used. This is still in the process of editing but we're happy with this right now!

Audio Files

Audio Files
MWE
20/02/14

Today I've been surfing the Internet looking for various sound effects which we may need during editing. I downloaded various mp3 files from websites

Ancillary Task: Poster 01

Ancillary Task: Poster 01
MWE
16/02/14

Today I decided to divert my attention from editing to our ancillary task. Making the poster and magazine had been extremely difficult and irritating as the schools computers had been causing us such great inconvenience. For some reason the Photoshop and various editing programs in the school network had collapsed. 

None off them were working. 

It was annoying. 

So, I had to make do with what I have at home. 

Anyway, if you want to check my first attempt is on my "Filming Progress Report: 01"

For this time I used the images we've gathered from our shoots and so the quality of the material is at a much higher resolution. Here are the results! 

(Excuse the typo) 

I have studied many posters before making these ones. I'm aware that it's missing quite a few things such as:

• Film identity logo
• The right universal font

I used the program "Photoscape" to make the following text and it was quite handy, seeing as these ones turned out quite well; I have high hopes for when we use Photoshop to make these posters. 

I'm glad with the catch phrase and the quote I have used for both posters. I like these two images very much and so perhaps we'll be using these two for the real thing. Hopefully by then we'll have access to a good quality editing software. I've also attempted to make a magazine cover but... that one didn't turn out as successful as I have hoped. 

We really need that Photoshop on the school computer.

Wish us luck. 

Editing 01

Editing 01
MWE
13/02/14

Now that we've gathered a substantial amount of footage, we've tried to put soe of the clips together. We found that we are happy with what we have although due to the adjustments and changes (too bright lighting, different setting, different costume), we felt that our material didn't quite fit the former trailer outline. Thus, we decided to brainstorm for a new outline of the trailer.

The new plan will be out shortly

Film Progress Report: 03

Film Progress Report: 03
MWE
11/01/14

Unfortunately, due to persisting problems regarding schedule , commitments and the floods in our city getting in the way of things; it had been impossible to travel to OVADA due to the traffic. Therefore, we've resulted to abandoning trying to film in OVADA. 

However, we found a new location to film in and we have found a double for actor who helped us film. Although consequently, we had to alter the costumes to hide our doubles identity. So instead of Jordan wearing a suit, we had to change his clothes into a simple hooded jacket and jeans. Furthermore, the changes meant modifying the the settings and the scene. So instead of an abandon warehouse, we filmed at this old garage which gave this grimy and murky feeling. It felt cold and bleak due to the vehicles and metals about which we liked and worked in our favor for the misc-en-scene. 

We got ready in the car and applied the make up on our friend Lucy, who was playing as Jane- the damsel in distress. We used make up and blood capsules to fake her injuries. 

Since the opportunity to film in this area came to us suddenly, we had to gather resources hastily. So, since we couldn't have access to the lights we've previously used, we use flood lights as a substitute for a hard light and torch lights for soft light. We are so glad that it worked perfectly! 

All day we filmed the kidnapped scene and used new props such as a lighter and gasoline tank instead of a knife. We thought that this choice of props was better suited to the new environment. During our filming, we also took some more pictures for the ancillary task. 

It was a great day! 

Filming Progress Report: 02

Filming Progress Report: 02

MWE
03/02/14

We're experiencing some commitment issues, clash of schedules and the flood is not helping us right now. The schedule for our mocks had just been released an our friends are reluctant on missing out lessons, which is understandable. 

However, looks like we're going to have to re-schedule with OVADA... Hopefully, they can help us out.

FIlming: Jordan and Dissecting

Filming: Jordan and Dissecting
MWE
31/01/14
We have started filming for one of the important scenes in the trailer.

We were lucky to have Josh who is playing the main villain/enigmatic character to help us film. 

We were able to use various lights and experimented with them to how they affected the quality of the shots. Here are some pictures from the set: 

Here you can see the effect of the hard light on the wall. Since we had no bounce board to soften the light, we had to carfeully place the light source around the room and careful not to change their positions or it will alter the shadows in the clips. 

Here's the hardlight we used which was 800kw! It got really hot as we were filming. 

Here the softer and smaller light which gave a soft warm glow effect on the footages. 

And finally, here are the props we used. A piece of raw chicken, a whole lot of blood capsules and some cranberry sauce. 

Against the white sink, the misc-en-scene worked effectively and definitely made a queasy and visceral effect as the colours starkly contrasted one another. On the far left of the wooden table, you can see a sparkler light which was incredibly useful when we did close ups. 

We also managed to take many shots for our ancillary task which we will use for our poster and magazine. Overall, it was a successful day! 

Visiting OVADA

Visiting OVADA
MWE
30/01/14

This week, Lucy and I decided to proceed with our location scouting and went to see the OVADA Warehouse. They were incredibly helpful an accomodating and the place was just perfect! Here are some images of the location.

The place was absolutely massive! We cannot wait to film the Warehouse scene which is the main bulk of our trailer! 

Filming Progress Report: 01

Filming Progress Report: 01
29/01/14
MWE

Location

We have managed to come in contact with the Arts Director of OVADA. We are now pursuing for this location in hopes we'll be able to get our footage as the Warehouse scene is a crucial part of our trailer. 

Ancillary Text

In the process of preparing for our Ancillary task, we have started running some research and analyzing posters and magazine front page covers for our film. We've looked closely at the following poster and studied what features are present and why. 

• Laura Mauvey’s Male Gaze- The main protagonist posing suggestively, targeted for male audience
• Sensual colour schemes- To reinforce the sexual image
• Heavily sexualized
• Misc-en-scene suggests school environment but altered to emit uneasiness (Hand in trapped between table drawer and lid)
• Horror, the hand trapped in the school table
• Indicates the character’s personality
• Sporty font- sporty, cool kids stereotype

After looking at this imagery, we've concluded that our movie is not a like to "Jennifer's Body". For our main protagonist is a man and the aim of our film is to attract active audience. Thus, we would like our poster to give a way as little as possible not to comply to stereotypes. So, we found another film which we thought we shared more things in common with, the recent remake of "Carrie" 

 

We found that regardless of the supernatural aspect of the film.Our main character can be more associated with Carrie and so we used these posters as inspiration for our own ones.

This is our first try...

     

 

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze

8/01/14
MWE

Introduction to the Male Gaze


In 1975 Laura Mulvey introduced the ideology of the Male Gaze:

• Society is dominated by men, this includes Media
• Media is dominated by men, texts are constructed my male director therefore representation of the female is also constructed by men. 
• The representation of women is argued to gratify men- women are objectified 
• Objectification of women causes:
•  scophilia (pleasure through sight)
• Preserves domination of men and overcomes the threat women has on men as they women are decreased to mere symbols
• Men fear to be effeminate and so they objectify women

The Male Gaze in relation to Freud's Psychoanalysis suggests that the effects of the text we have watched had affected our subconscious. In effect, it had influence our way of perception which shows in our actions. For instance: Women's inclination to always dress up. This is the product of the Male Gaze's influence on our ID. 

The Male Gaze is still present in texts today. Music Videos have been criticized for objectifying women. This is done through:

• Misc-en-scene: Provocative clothing
• Stereotypical representation of women as the shrewd or unchaste
• Camera angles: close ups focusing on womens physique 

For example: 

Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOAfz0H4f00

Objectification of women is evident in Jason Derulo's music video "Trumpets". The woman is overly sexualized, a source of hedonistic pleasure of the male spectator as well as the male protagonist. The misc-en-scene is suggestive and promiscuous, the lights are dimmed and warm and the woman is direct to carry herself provocatively. The music used is also equally suggestive due to its lyrics which celebrates sex. 

James Bond

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MySf7qfay0Q

The Jame's Bond Collection heavily uses objectification, part of the franchises appeal is the "Bond Girls". The Bond Girls are the attractive, sexy and alluring women which graces the screen, their presence is to attract and satisfy the male audience which is the dominant gender which views the film.