Evaluation Part 7

I feel that the end product of the opening 2 minutes of "I do?" was a success. I feel that I have grasped both the filming and the editing side to producing a film well. However, I do feel that if I was to create another film I would make changes - 

• During filming the Preliminary Scene, there were mistakes made such as continuity errors and scenes that didn't fit the brief. Therefore, I had to film a new scene. In this scene, it fitted the brief but I still felt there were errors such as people in the back ground being in a shot, but when the camera next returns to that person of focus, the people in the background were different. However, I did feel there was an improvement between the first Preliminary scene filmed and the second in the camera shots and movement. This is a lot like the comparrison between the Preliminary Scene and the final opening 2 minutes. I feel that the quality of shots, camera movement and picture quality is a lot greater in the final piece. 
• If I was to film another opening 2 minutes, I feel like I'd want to experiment with a different genre. I enjoyed the jokes of the Rom-Com styled film, but found at some stages it being too immature and hard to concentrate on filming. 
• I feel more confident with the editing process now and if I was given a set of shots to fit together and flow perfectly, I feel like I could do this successfully. 
• During the filming, I think that some of the acting doesn't seem natural. I think that it was down to both myself and other actors were under a time pressure and that if we were to do it in our own personal time, we could fit into roles and seem more natural.

MY PRELIMINARY SCENE

THE OPENING 2 MINUTES TO "I DO?"

Evaluation Part 6

During completing my media product I have had to use various bits of hardware and software. Some of these included a learning process which I had to grasp throughout completing my coursework. These included - 

• Lumix Camera by Panasonic - This is the camera I filmed "I do?" with. I burrowed it from a friend but had no difficulty in using it at any point in time. It was a lot like my camera and allowed me to create the best quality picture achievable. As I arranged a practice run through of the shots we would film, it allowed me to get used to the camera as even with a good understanding of cameras, there are always minor differences. 

 

• Tripod - The tripod I used was a standard style. I was able to get used to how to adjust the angles and height of it during my first experience of filming at the start of the year and in my preliminary scene. One problem I had in the early stages was having problems with shots that panned horizontally as the tripod was stiff, therefore, the movement would be jumpy. It didn't take long to correct as it just needed to be adjusted on the tripod to allow a better movement but not too loose as such forces as the wind could move it or the picture could be panned quicker than desired. 

 

• College Computers - I used the computers at college (Dell) in my Media lessons. I already have a good knowledge of computers, therefore it was simple to access. It allowed me to blog and upload footage onto which was essential. Also, all computers allowed me to edit my film on and 2 computers were just for Media students. These had a large hard drive space to save footage on and had the editing program installed on - Sony Vegas. I learnt that on the other computers, when I finished editing my film and went to render it, the computer would freeze and crash because it had insufficient space to carry out the process. This simply meant I had to render it on the allocated Media computers.

• My Personal Computer - I would use my personal computer a lot for mainly blogging at home. I also used it for research and creating ways of presenting my data. My computer had all the same programs plus more compared to the college ones (without Sony Vegas) and had a larger hard drive allowing a quicker working process and often a better internet connection. 

• Blogger - www.blogger.com was the site I used to update my progress on my coursework. I found it simple and effective to use. One great bonus of the site is that you can link it and insert media from else where onto it such as own images, videos and presentations rather than just links to other websites. It also allowed me to change the themes and colours to make it more interesting and feel more personal to myself. It was also easy for my teachers to track my progress and guide me even when I wasn't in the class room. 

MY BLOG - SAM DIXON

• Prezi - I found that www.prezi.com was a brilliant way to present some of my posts rather than typing them out every time. This made them more attractive for both myself and any one viewing them. I personally found Prezi really easy to use and produced great results, creating a total of 8 presentations. To start with I was simply pasting links onto my blog posts which would take those who clicked to my prezi site. But I discovered that you could embed the presentation on to the post my copying the html code from the prezi into the "Edit html" tab when writing a post. This allowed the viewers to play the prezi without leaving my blog.

• Bubbl.us.com - This site allowed me to create mind maps which I could import onto my posts rather than making a long list. It was extremely simple to use. I had to create an account which took less than a minute and it saves up to 3 mind maps to edit at a later stage. I had no problems with this site at all. 

• You Tube - I have been using You Tube previously before my Media coursework, so it was easy to find what I wanted and upload my footage. I used it to research into other film openings and link them to my posts. This was great because it allowed me to study and take ideas with out having to set up a dvd. I used the site to upload my footage, both the preliminary task and the final product, and then imported it onto my Blogger. 

• Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum - I had never used an editing program before the start of the course but I have learnt the basics plus more of Sony Vegas and find it a brilliant program. I started by watching all the basic tutorials. These were extremely helpful as they were interactive, allowing you to do the actions as they tell you to. The program allowed me to put each separate shot together in the order they needed to be in. If a shot needed to be cropped it would allow me to do that so that each shot would flow into each other. If that's not what I wanted, there are many effects that could be used such as fading 2 shots together. Sony Vegas also allowed me to add my titles to the film, having full control over the font, size, style details and how long they appeared for. I found that when adding my sound track I did not want the whole song. For example, there is a long intro in the song, so the program allowed me to zoom in far enough to crop parts of the song to make it just 4 bars long before going into the verse. The danger of doing this could make the song sound disjointed, but the program allowed myself to cut at an exact moment, therefore to any viewer watching the film before reading this, would have no idea that there has been a part cut out. When I had finished editing my film, I was able to render my footage into a format suitable to play on computers and one that would be able to upload onto You Tube. It was also of a sensible memory and quality size. I had little problems using Sony Vegas. However, if I did find myself unable to do something, I would simply follow one of the tutorials. In one case, where I was learning how to add titles and how to use them to their full extent, I found the tutorial hard to understand. I simply typed it in on You Tube and found a great tutorial on there which allowed me to add the titles and complete my film. 

   

 

• Memory Stick - I used my memory stick to transport all my footage, photos and documents from computer to computer. I found it had sufficient space and it never crashed or had any problems with it. It's potential capacity is 4GB.

Evaluation Part 5

I have created a prezi on how I attracted and addressed my audience - 

How I Attracted & Addressed My Audience on Prezi

Evaluation Part 4

I have created a Prezi on the different types of audiences that would watch "I do?" - 

Audiences For My Film - "I do?" on Prezi

Audience Responses

• I showed the opening 2 minutes of "I do?" to various audiences. This gave me an idea of both seeing if the film was enjoyable to a general audience but to also see if it was successful as a Romantic Comedy to specific audiences that would usually watch that type of film. 
• I firstly showed my opening to students at Parkwood Sixth Form aged between 16 and 18. I found that males enjoyed the opening 2 minutes and were interested to see more of the rude gags similar to the few beginning to occur in the opening. Females were less amused by the jokes, but were still interested to see more. They also commented on the fact that it was set in Hastings and would look forward to seeing how it was portrayed later in the film as famous other Rom-Coms are set in larger cities or in America.
• I then showed my opening 2 minutes to a few married couples ranging between 28 - 32. They related to the rush and pressure of getting married that happens in the film and were also amused by the events that create the comedy. On a more serious side, they commented on the fact that some people do not realise the full commitments of marriage and rush into it too quickly, which I also had already noted at a previous stage that this is represented in my film. One couple said it was nice to see a Rom-Com being made in a different setting but on the other hand thought that the content of the comedy may be a bit immature for them. 
• Out of those 2 age groups the males generally seemed more interested in the comedy in the film while females more interested in the Romantic side, the story line and the way Hastings was going to be portrayed in the film.

Evaluation Part 3

My film "I do" was of a low budget making it an independent film. It would be unlikely that any distributing companies would touch upon it, therefore I would distribute it myself with my created company - Horizon Pictures. I have created a mind map to display the ways I could distribute my product - 

From the past research I have done on Distributing companies, the following would perhaps touch upon my film - 

• Optimum Releasing - Submarine - An independent comedy.
• The above also distributed Four Lions - A low budget independent film. 

Evaluation Part 2

My media product "I do?" represents an age a bit older than us as my main storyline is based around a marriage. An estimate of an age would be between 22-26 as they're young and that reinforces the idea of being unsure about marriage. It represents males and perhaps suggests that some do not understand the full commitments of marriage until the final day falling to the pressure. It could also represent the theme of a young love, questioning whether it's really truthful or just a rush into marriage. "I do?" could also be said to represent Hastings and Brighton in a more youthful and energetic way through the scenes of night life.  

Evaluation Part 1

I have created a Prezi to show how my final product uses, develops and challenges the conventions of typical Comedy films. 

Challenging Conventions Of A Typical Comedy on Prezi

• I also want to add that my film finishes with a happy ending, a lot like other Comedies.

• Other characters also fit into typical Comedy roles such as Sam being the dominant character, Arron the "careless but harmless" character, Jonny being the sensible character and Jonathan the carefree and sometimes irresponsible character.