EVALUATIONS | mediaa2

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

Construction

Camera DVCAM (SD)

The camera I used to film all my footage on.

Tripod

Tripods are used to hold the camera is a still postition so when filming, the camera remains still and does not move. I did not use the tripod as much as I thought I would do in my film. Infact, I only used it twice in the kitchen scene and again in the hospital scene. It proved unecessary to use the tripod anywhere else as no still shots were needed.

Boomstick

The boomstick also wasn't used as much as I thought it would be. Whilst my actors were doing the scenes in the woods, we used the camera microphone as running with a boom stick attached to a camera would not be safe. I was opperating the boomstick whilst shooting the school corridor scene. I found it very helpful to have headphones put on so I could distinctivly hear what the actress's were saying and if it was too loud of too quite.

Iphone 4s video recorder

To record some of my analyis's and evaluations, I used the video recorder on my iPhone. The quality of the image is decent, and proved easy to film myself as the phone has a front camera.

Field Monitor

My parents both have field monitors as they both work in the media so I felt very priviledged and grateful to have one during my shoot. A filed monitor allows you to see the camera shots on a small monitor which makes it easier for you to decide what shoots you like and which ones you don't.

Final Cut

Like my AS level 2 minute film introduction, I editted my film on final cut pro. It took a while as I had so much footage and only five minutes to show it on. I found Final Cut a very effective way of editting but I had a vital problem with trying to darken some shots through the woods. I shot the woods scene when is was light outside because it would be a health and safety risk having my actors run through the woods. Also, it would be nearly impossible to light the woods where I wanted them if we had proceeded to shoot in the dark. Before we shot in the woods, my camera man and I agreed that it would be best to try and dim the white light out of shot anway. We did this by holding a brown envelope up to the lense, and the camera would recognise the brown as white which would darken the shots. Afterwards, I used final cut to balance out the lighting to make the shots appear darker. I did as good a job as I could do but I still find that there is a significant lighting change from where Lucy runs out the door, to where she enters the woods.

My film Denial uses forms and conventions of real life media. All the filming took place in real life places, not a studio. This brings reality into the shoot as the audience can relate to the scenary. For example, the fourth scene takes place in a school corridor. Compared with social realism film Fish Tank and Adulthood I feel that my film fits this form and convention as it is shot in a real life setting, for example, a school corridor. Fish Tank and Adulthood are both set on estate buildings.

I used unprofessional actors in my film, however I made sure that they had all had some kind of acting expierence and therefore be comfortable on camera. However, in the last scene of my film it seems fairly obvious that the doctor is reading his lines off of the clipboard, which could have been improved. But having unproffesional actors in a film usally means that they have not been in any other films before. This could secure the sense of realism for the audience as they won't be able to relate the actor in the film to any other role found in other films. Andrea Arnold, the lead actress in award winning film Fish Tank was also an unproffesional actress. In fact, she was actually spotted at a train station having an argument with her boyfriend when she was offered an audition.

Another form and convention of social media is a balance between seriousness and humour. I feel that due to the topic of my film, not a lot of humour was involved in my film. I did consider this as I was writting my script which is why I painted Chloe as such a easy going and jokey character. However overall I feel that there is an extreme imbalance of seriosness and humour in my film, which challenges the forms and conventions of social realism films. Even in Fish Tank which portays the drastic difficulties of life on an estate building, some humour is still painted into the film even if there is a violent outcome. For example, the way Mia is foul mouthed and violent could appear humours to some people.

Wide shots allow the audience to clearly see the subject and the immediate enviorment around them. I feel that my film has used this convention well. Having an insight to the mind of a schizophenic person could be rather confusing for the audience (e.g- having two scenes where she is running through the woods, one a dream, the other reality) A constant use of wide shots allow the audience to see what is going on reguarly to avoid confusion.

Not only does my film tell a dramatic indivisual story, I feel like my film has developed this convention. In my opinion, I really feel like the audience gets a deep insight to Lucy's life. From meeting her as she wakes up from a nightmare, to in a hospital bed with broken limbs with doctors reminding her mother that she has a extreme case of schizophenia. The film focus's souly on Lucy and her journey, just like Fish Tank looks only into Mia's live and charts her progress in living in difficult situations.

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

3) What did you learn from your audience feedback?

I learnt a great deal from my audience feedback and tried to apply the feedback they gave, to my final cut. James stated that he felt the whole film was a bit rushed; so in my final cut I attempted to cut some shots out that perhaps weren't needed in order for important shots to have a longer duration.

1) In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real life media product?

Denial

Fish Tank

Research, Planning and Evaluation

(The prezi was done by myself, not Paul Jabs. I was just signed in on his account when I made the prezi)

Combined, I think that my film poster and review are very effective. They seem to compliment eachother in the sense that they do not give too much information about the plot of my film. It was my aim to keep Lucy's mental illness until the very end of the film. Of corse my film review does state a lot about mental illness, but the structure of it, in my opinion, does look like something you could find in a magazine. On the other hand, my poster is very subtle but graphic. I hoped that the tire marks across the poster will intrigue the audience in thinking what a car has to do with my film.

As soon as I chose to focus my film on mental illness, I had two aims. The first, to challenge peoples expectations of schizophrenic people; to help people understand that the media have generelised them into a outcasted social group. The second, to raise awareness of the fact that the goverment has made significant finacial cuts to mental health services. I want people to think why isn't the goverment treating mental illness as it should be treated? They are not taking mental illness as seriously as they should when the consequences for someone could be fatal.

In my film I feel like I have achieved these two goals, which is why I think that my film is effective. I have clearly outlined that Lucy was having a paranoid time, but didn't give too much away for anything to be obvious she was mentally unstable.

"I was really suprised at the end of the film when I found out it was all in her head. I never even thought she could be mentally ill" -Harry Roberts

The stats at the end of the film and the final slide 'who are the real crazies?' seems to have raised awareness to the people who have seen my film.

"I never knew so much money had been taken away from mental health facilities. The film certainly does beg the question why, especially as the effects of mental illness can be so extreme" -Alina Cornish