Evaluation question 4

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

If I undertook this task using analogue technology I do not think it would have turned out as professional as it has. I think that with the advancement in digital technology it has become faster, easier and produces a better finished product when making a film. The internet allows for feedback and advice, tutorials on programmes and a place to display and distribute work. The technology crated to film the footage has also made a big impact on my work. The camera I used was a hand held HD digital camera which would fit in a small handbag, compared to the cameras of 20 years ago which were big and bulky, this is a great improvement.

During research I used Youtube and short film websites to find examples of short films. I filmed my target audience using a flip camera and uploaded it on to you tube.
I filmed my film on a HD panasonic video camera and used a tripod and digital camera.
i used final cut to edit my movie and Youtube to upload it onto the internet.

Firstly when researching Short film I used a variety of technology. I initially used Youtube to watch Short films and find codes and conventions. I also used the internet to find short film websites and short film festival information. When I had found a few examples of short films I used a Flip camera to film some audience feedback on the different films. i then uploaded this to Youtube and embedded it in my blog.

Another technology I have used when doing my initial planning is the scanner, which I had not used before. It was simple to use and allowed my to out hand drawn images and storyboards on the computer which i then uploaded onto my blog.

For the film of my course work I used a HD Panasonic camera and a SD memory card. I used a tripod to steady the camera. I had not used this technology before so I did some practice shots to enable be to be fluent when filming. I think because of this my film has turned out more professional. I then loaded them on the the computer into iMovie and exported them to Final Cut Express.

I used Final Cut Express to edit my footage. I had used Final Cut Express to edit a mock music video as a small practice task. This enabled me to learn the very basics of the program. I can now competently use the program to edit a short film. An example of the skills I have include, being able to cut clips together and then add a cross dissolve. I can use the pen tool to edit my own fades and cross dissolves and also export stills from the film. I have also used Google when I did not know how to do something in Final Cut. Online it is easy to find tutorial that explain how to use specific tasks on Final Cut. They are usually free and very helpful and without the internet it would be hard to learn skills quickly and discover new ways of approaching a task.

Without modern technology it would be hard to display and distribute short films. With web 2.0 the consumer has been able to become the producer. Sites such as Youtube and Vimeo allow the public to upload their own videos. For a new director or a production that doesn't have a distribution budget sites like these are accessible and free to use. I chose to use Youtube to display my film as it has a mass market and global audience. It is simple and easy to use when uploading videos and allows for comments and feedback. I exported my film from Final Cut Express and uploaded it to Youtube. I then embedded it in my blog.

I have used Blogger to document the progression of my coursework. I had used blogger in year 12 for my As coursework and found it a good site as it was easy to use, you can upload videos and pictures quickly.

Evaluaion question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

A lot of people like my work and i have had strong feedback. For my film, people liked the different narratives and how it goes from a happy mood to a sad one. They also said that some of the sound mixing needed to be altered as the voice over got lost in a few places. For the poster they said they liked the image and the filter used on it. They also like the font that has been used for the title of the film. The only critism was that the date was slightly lost and unreadable over the flowers.

Evaluation Question 2

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

For a film to be successful it needs to have a good promotional package. The whole package needs to fit with films and its genre. I think I have made a successful poster and magazine article that support and promote the film.

Evaluation question 1

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

Firstly the genre of short film does not have defined conventions. A short film that follows a narrative and has a specific genre will either conform to or break conventions. For my short film it does not follow the convention of being a narrative film or music video. It is a tie between the two. It has three short narratives within the film and music through out and a voice over to link the three narratives together.

Firstly, one convention of romantic films are icons of love such as flowers, gifts and love letters. I have used these in my film to represent the love the charaters feel. Here is a still from my short film depicting Kegan giving Gill a bunch of flowers, a conventional gesture in romantic films.

Secondly, body language and character interaction are important. The conventions of a romantic film show characters tobe relaxed around eachother, they have positive bodylanguage and often are touching. In this instance the couple in my short film are holding hands and they also kiss, another icon of love and romance.

Another convention of short film I have followed is using music. I have used music that is appropriet for the mood of the scene. For example, at the begining when the school children are passing note the music is happy and uplifting where as for the narrative of the elderly couple the music is sadder and meloncholoic because the lady is no longer there. I think both pieces of music fit with the theme of love and romance so therefore comply with the convention of short films. An example of a real media text where this is current is..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGZEhbeA8YY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwKWyIYxk2o

Next, I have used the codes and conventions of film posters to create one of my ancillary products. I have created a character poster by using Gill as the main pictures. I used Gill as she is the character that appears most in the film. To do this I have included codes such as credit block, actors names, title, the appropriet fonts (steeltongs for the credit block) and a tag line. Thease have helped my poster to look like a real media text. It also compliments and fits with my film, creating a strong promotional media package.

The narrative as a whole of my short film is unconventional. Usually, a short film or feature film will have a narrative structure that follows a plot continuously. It also usually follows a narrative theory such as Todorov’s theory of equilibrium, where there is a state of equilibrium, an event happens and the equilibrium is unbalanced. There is another event, which then resolves the equilibrium, and usually a different state of equilibrium is restored. This usually happens in romantic films where there is a boy and girl,they meet and are happy, something bad happens to break them up or cause problems, an event happens to resolve this and then they usually end up back together but that is just one general example.

In my short film there is not a continuous narrative. My film follows three separate narratives with a symbolic narrative interspersed. The first narrative in my film is of school students writing love notes. It clearly symbolises their relationship but there is only one event. With in this narrative there a slight truth in Todorov’s theory as the boy writes a note and passes it to his friend to pass to the girl he fancies, some one snatches the note, the equilibrium is disrupted, and then the note finally gets given to the girl and the equilibrium is restored.

The next section of narrative starts with a problem, the girl is annoyed and stood waiting for someone, the boy then runs to meet her and gives her flowers, restoring equilibrium. Finally the last narrative starts with a state of equilibrium, the elderly couple are happily walking together. The equilibrium is disturbed by the fact the woman disappears, representing her dying but then the message of the film shown through the voice over re-establishes the equilibrium by reminding us that even if we lose someone we are not alone and their memory will live on.

For my Magazine review page I have decided not to follow conventions. I decided that I would create pages in the style of Little White Lies magazine. There are no real conventions followed by the magazine, as each issue is different. The do follow some conventions, page numbers at the bottom of the page, title of the article, layout of text in columns and using images of the subject. However the general layout and look of the pages are subjective to the theme of the magazine. For example one of the issues is about the new Star Trek film, so the whole magazine has been given a futuristic theme and the fonts, pictures and layouts reflect this.

For my magazine I wanted to continue the theme of romance. I decided to follow conventional magazines by putting the title of the article at the top of the page and use columns for text. My magazine pagers were a special feature on short films so for the first page I wrote a brief introduction to short film and then for the second page I wrote a review of the short film. On the first page I included a picture of the paper flowers used in the film and movie poster. For the second page I used stills form the film and edited them to be black and white to emphasise the nostalgic feel of the film. I have used notepaper as the background and it is like the note written at the beginning of my film.

ForgetMeNot.mov

This is my finished short film. I am very happy with the end result and I think it looks effective and follows genre conventions.

Corinthians

i have found that the voice over that i have written isn't quite liong enough. An iconic reading that is used at wedding is Corinthians 13 from the Bible. it is a passage about love and i think that it will fit in woith my film and therfore i will use sections of it with my voice over.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Voice over

After some audience feedback I realised that the audience feel as though my film is more of a music video than a short film. To address this issue I have decided that I will use a voive over to tie all the narratives together.
Here is the first draft of the voice over.
Is it the love of reading a book? Is it the love of a cold ice-cream on a hot summers day? Is it the touch of someone’s hand in yours? Is it your first school crush? Your first love? Passing notes and holding hands down corridors. Is it waking up with the sun shining through your window?

Is it those moments waiting for someone? Is it knowing they really care and forgive your faults, no matter what? Is it the house you grew up in? The house where your children grew up? Is it growing old together?

Holding hands, kissing, the tender moments shared. Halved. Ingrained in your memory. A memory you will never forget. Never forget and always remember.

They will always be there in your heart, in your memories, in the places you shared.

Let them take your breath away and give them your heart openly. Accept there love and cherish every smile, for this is only one life and it’s better together.


Love
Verb
Loves, loving, loved
To have great attachment to and affection for
To have passionate desire, longing and feelings for
To like or desire
To make love to To be in love

Music

For my short film I have decided to use two different tracks. For the begining of the film I want to use an upbeat happy song to show the happy emotions of the characters who are in love and for the second half of the film I want to change the mood by using a sad song. For the first song I have used a track by Matt Lungley who I found on Youtube and for the second song I have used a local musician, Kenneth Kas.

http:///vwKWyIYxk2o youtu.be

http://youtu.be/EGZEhbeA8YY

Editing the new scene

I have edited the new scene and added fades to the end and I have added it to the rest of the film. I placed this scene at the begining of the film so as the film progresses the people get older showing love through time. I have moved the symbolic clips of Gill around so they are through out the film. I still need to tighten the editing so it is all quicker and add the last few transactions.

Last scene

For the last scene I am going to film I have decided to set it in school. I am going to use some year 10 students anmd set it in a class room. There will be several students sat at desks working with a boy and a girl at either end. The boy will quickly glance up at then girl and then the girl will quickl;y look up at the boy. The boy will then write a love note and fold it up before we see what it says. He will then pass it to his friend who will pass it to her firend who will pass it to the final girl but someone will snatch it before it gets there. The boy who snatched it will then look at it and hand it back to the girl. It will cut to a shot of the girl and boy walking hand in hand down a corridor and then cut back to the note on the desk and zoom in on the writting which will say i love you.

Editing new scene

I have now edited the new symbolic scene with the two scenes of the young and old couple. Instead of using a linear narrative I have interspersed the symbolic scenes within the two narratives as a cut away. The film starts with Gill folding flowers. It then cut to the scene of Gill and Kegan together, a cut away of gill and then it fades to the scene of jean and Terry before finishing with anothe shot of Gill smiling. Although the film feels near completion I still think it needs another scene add more romance. I think it needs to be in a different location and use a different set of characters and show romance in a different situation.

Filming the new symbolic scene

I have decided to film Gill against a white background and use soft lighting to enhance the clips and make them more romantic. She will be folding blue and purple flowes which will then be put on wire to form a bouquet. For this scene I want gill to wear a jumper and trousers and again to have her hair down. I will use close up shots of her hands and her face. I think I will also use some pictures of Gill for my poster.

Editing new scene

I have edited the new scene and it works well. It keeps all the elements of romance and fits my genre. I now need to edit the two scenes together and make sure they link and that the audience understands the narrative. I think to do this I will need to film more footage but perhaps use a more synmbolic scene.

I think that for the symbolic scene I will use Gill as the main focus and film her folding paper flowers, representing the flowers Kegan gave her. During editing I will speed this up.

Shot log and filming review

Here is the shot log for the days filming.

Today the filming went really well. I hope when editing I will be able to get the continuity of the clips right and that the scene flows and isn't disjointed.

Call sheet

Call sheet for the day of filming.

Costume and Props

For this scene I want the young couple to be in modern clothes. For Gill, I want her to wear a coat and jeans and some gloves. I'd like her to have her hair down so it is more feminine. For Kegan, I want him to wear jeans, jumper and coat. I think this will represent a large audience as it easy to relate to.

For the props I will need a bunch of flowers for jkegan to give to Gill. I think I will use a bunch of simple flowers, perhaps roses. Flowers are an icon of romance and I think they would work well in the sinario I have created.

Story Board

Here is the story board for the new footage with the young couple:

Difficulties with new plot

Unfortunately when I wanted to film the new scenes Terry was ill again and I could not ask him to do it. I have now decided to again change the narrative of the film. This time I have decided to film footage of the young couple. I want to show a romantic moment between a young couple. I want Gill to be waiting outside the house, looking like she is getting frustrated waiting for someone. It will then cut to Kegan running up the street to meet her, holding a bunch of flowers. When he gets to Gill he will tap her on the shoulder and then give her the flowers. They would then kiss, so show he is forgiven and add another element of romance.

Story board

Here is the storyboard for the new proposed footage.

New Narrative

After the audience feedback of my first rough cut I realised that with out the footage of the young couple the narrative would not make sence and it is hard for the audience to get the concept of the film. I have therefore decided to change the narrative of the film and re write the plot. I want to keep all the edited scenes of the older couple and add in some new footage to make the plot clearer.
My first idea to change the plot is to have the old man sitting in an arm chair and looking at photos of himself and his wife when they were younger. It would zoom in on the photos and then the photos would come to life. The photos would be of the younger couple together and then I'd use photos of older people to show the progression of time.

Film review page

Draft of writing for film review page

ForgetMeNot

This is a first for new director Alice White, trained at London College of Communications she won the graduate award for her final show and has now gone on to direct the award nominated work, ForgetMeNot. White lives in London with her musician boyfriend, Kenneth Kas, whose music features on the film.

The first ting you notice when the film begins is the soft and eloquent voiceover, which speaks of love, and it’s different forms. ‘Is it the love of a cold ice-cream on a hot summers day?’ The sumptuous imagery created through the voice over is then supported through the three narratives.

Firstly, the schoolroom, this is where we meet a young girl and boy who steel glances at each other and pass love note. This brings back the nostalgia of youth and innocence. The thought that the only thing in the world is the boy you fancy or the girl who sits next to you in English class.

We then see a very annoyed teenager, stood waiting for someone, a position we’ve all been in. Then, low and behold, her boyfriend is running to meet her with a bunch of flowers in his hand. Another simple message of forgiveness is given through the voice over by the use of an extract from the Bible, Corinthians.

Lastly, we see a lovely elderly couple, hand in hand, walking down the street. Their path takes them through streets and woods, with clever editing this sequence is seamless and almost dream like. The film comes to an end when the couple arrive in their final destination, a graveyard. As the scene slowly fades to reveal the woman gone and the camera zooms out to show us the gravestones, we feel a sense of loss for the elderly man. It reminds us that we are both alone but still surrounded by love, even when we lose someone they will still be there.

White’s combination of beautiful motion and melodic voice are both complimented by the use of music from Matt Lungley and Kenneth Kas, both good friends of Whites, who only add to the romantic atmosphere. Lungley’s upbeat song fits perfectly with the young love and contrasts to Kas’s dark and brooding love song.

Although this film presents itself as a cliché, in many ways it is a love story through time. The passing of notes in school classrooms, holding hands and giving flowers are all icon of romance and enable us as an audience to remember the act of giving to those we love. Perhaps the director is trying to tell us something with this film, give more? Love strongly? Never forget? Whatever the message, this is a truly beautiful and artistic piece of video literature.

Finished Movie Poster

Edited Photos for Poster

Pictures for Movie Poster

Flat plan for Movie Poster

Analysis of movie posters

(powerpoint)