Evaluation - Question 4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Here I did 4 separate videos to answer question 4:

Evaluation - Question 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Here I have reposted the video of our first original feedback from a range of people just to remind you what was said. Below the video are my evaluation answers to question 3 illustrated through a variety of formats.



Below are all of the screenshots from our audience feedback. These screenshots are incorporated in my video below via images and voiceovers however the comments are more legible here:

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Above are two comments we received on our Vimeo publication. One from an ex-media student and another from a Media Studies teacher.

Three quotes from our audience feedback (included in below video essay too)

And here is the video essay answer to Q3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation - Question 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

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

In the below video I have constructed voiceovers, examples, images, webcam shots, google stock images, text and music to illustrate and evaluate how effective the combination of my film review and poster are with my final film. 

Evaluation - Question 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

To vary how I present each answer for my evaluation questions, I will be using a range of ways to show my answers instead of using video essays for all of them. This first post uses Padlet to represent how my film Identity uses, develops and challenges forms, codes and conventions of real media products. 

Splitting the question up: 

• in what way does your media product use and develop forms and conventions of real media products? 

Scroll left and right and up and down to view all of the material. Click on images or text to view larger. The below Padlet illustrates the common film noir conventions we conformed to within our film. The majority of these conventions were planned in storyboarding, scripting, research and planning as evident in our blog posts. However some shot ideas were produced on set e.g. the puddle shot as we continuously used our location of London to our advantage to find better or new ideas to use. Following film noir conventions doesn't necessarily make our film cliche, as we have adapted and modernised the concepts (such as using the architectural structure of the train station to represent venetian blinds commonly seen in film noirs).

Created with Padlet

QR Code option for smartphones and tablet access to our padlet. As stressed throughout my blog, interactivity is key in promoting material across the social networking industry.

• In way ways does your media product challenge or subvert forms and conventions of real media products?

Whilst we have followed many conventions, we have also subverted many too. The below Padlet shows many ways how we have differed our film from typical conventions of both film noirs and ordinary films. Again, click images and texts to view larger and in higher resolution.

Created with Padlet

Created with Padlet

Evaluation Video Essay of our best shots

Below I constructed a montage of video clips and voiceovers to explain what our favourite shots are, why and how we shot them, how we planned to shoot them, the editing processes we knew were necessary to add and also- a few shots which we didn't end up using but still like.

Screenshot of editing on iMovie. I used titles and transitions from the iMovie software and the voiceovers were recorded on my laptop speaker through Quick Time Audio.

Mistakes and improvements to Identity

The above film illustrates what mistakes we made during filming and what improvements we could have made. We spotted these issues both ourselves and through audience feedback when we got classmates to review what they thought. Although mistakes are often referred to as a negative thing, I instead feel it can only make us better media students as we learn for future reference through the experience we've had in constructing "Identity" together.

Audience Feedback on our film

Across a lunch time we gathered various candidates to come into the conference room at school so that we could interview them on their thoughts of our film. For each person we let them watch the film through and re watch any parts if need be. We asked them all the same questions separately so that they weren't influenced by each others opinions and all feedback is their own. Below is a short video I have put together on iMovie of the feedback we received. This will be extremely useful to draw conclusions from in which I will evaluation in my question 3 of the evaluation in a later blog post to follow.

Final Film - "Identity" by Allure Animations

Here is our final film - "Identity". Enjoy!

We uploaded our video through our Media teacher's vimeo account as the school have a membership with the site allowing us to upload the highest quality 1080p HD video rather than the standard 720p. 

Analysing my film review

Common film review conventions used:

• Title, age rating, genre, release date, actors involved, running time, director and publishing institution all referred to.
• Short synopsis covering the story/narrative of the film without too many spoilers.
• Verdict given
• Rule of three used
• Screenshots from the film used to draw the reader in and feel intrigued as to what happens. Shows well-known characters too.
• Access to trailer given via YouTube video
• Access to share to social media network sites
• Author of review not written but you don't often have this written on App reviews because of its type of interface/device
• Clear lay out with titles, subtitles and words in format of lists and tables.

Ancillary Task 2 - Film Review for Identity

Below the iPad screenshots show the "Vue" app I used to source the original film review. I wanted to use this as a template to make it look as though Identity was featured in-app. I used Photoshop to manipulate my own film review and took screenshots from our finished film. The reason I chose an App-based review is because most film reviews are either on a website (e.g. www.empireonline.com), in a magazine (e.g. Daily Mail Weekend) or featured in a newspaper article (e.g. The Times). Therefore with our more technologically advanced audiences these days shifting from old to new media, I felt expressing my review on a tablet platform would be more suitable - particularly when our target audience is young (mid 20s) with a likely higher disposable income present to spend on gadgets. What's really good about tablet apps and film reviews being on them is that interactivity is increased significantly as the audience can watch the trailer right there and then, they can access the website from their tablet internet and it gives them the ability to book tickets and share/promote our film through social media.

Original Film Review. I like the simple style, easy to read and short synopsis. I also like the 'at a glance' feature for people who don't like to read large chunks of texts, as this gives the key details and could catch the viewers eye who is flicking through the App screens. The ability to watch the trailer and book the tickets from the review itself is extremely interactive and likely to increase box office sales in return.

Contents page on a side bar to the left for easy navigation between articles in the March 2014 Vue Magazine edition.

Various film reviews with dvd/film posters present and function to scroll through various films to suit all genre preferences of the readers.

Social media widgets and email widget to share and promote the film more.

Ability to book tickets from the review itself.

My final film review. Analysis in following blog post. 

Colour Correction and Filters

After getting very close to the end of film, we had one last step we needed to take. We want to keep the institutions in colour but the rest of the film into black and white - traditional and conventional film noir style. We think it'll look much better in black and white. The city of London will look stylish, and monochrome tones have revolutionised to become contemporary once again. The high key and low key lighting contrasts will be much more distinct with a black and white overlay and the film noir conventions such as silhouettes will be much stronger.
Below shows the various filters we experimented with just to see what other possibilities we could use. We finalised the decision to go with the black and white overlay.

Teal & Orange / Colour Correction adjustments / Cold Steel / Strife / B&W / Dream / Numerik / Exposure/Contrast settings / Combat.

Cold Steel, Black and White and Combat are my personal favourites. Whilst Numerik doesn't go with our theme and Dream is too bright and over exposed for our shot types. 

Music Copyright

After finding, researching and analysing suitable music for a backing soundtrack for our film, we finalised on James Blake's "I Only Know (What I Know Now.)" However we were then informed of the syllabus specification advising us that we are to use copyright free music or have permission for our use of music. We then went ahead and contacted various important authorities of James Blake's record labels. Below are the screenshots of evidence for this. We have also included Copyright recognition in our ending credits and also on my ancillary task - I included the logo of A&M Records on my poster (one of James Blake's record label owners).

View in full screen for optimum quality

• However rather than simply pasting the song alongside our film clips; as we have progressively edited, we have trimmed and edited parts of his song and made our own compilation. For example, parts of the beginning of the song have been repositioned and reconstructed among our timeline of clips as have other parts of the song where we feel that particular piece of audio is applicable to the type of shot or mood we are looking to convey. 
• Moreover, we have added in Sound Effects from Final Cut Pro's selection of sounds such as footsteps, wind and crowds talking. 
• We also downloaded a copyright free piano track from www.freesound.org which we overlaid on top of the finishing rolling credits.
• For the clip of the Private Investigator's voice sounding like a hallucination in The Husband's head - we used a software programme called Audacity to distort the audio from the video clip to make it echo. 
• Throughout the editing we made many changes to sounds, their positioning, volume, fading in/out, layering and effects such as echo's were used too. I really feel like we have paid as much attention to the sound as we have the film itself and I think this is important, as our audience can use the music to help them feel more involved in the narrative. Creating a sense of reality and portraying a believable atmosphere, mood and tension between characters is only heightened through the use of effective sounds.

Click the image to view in higher quality