Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the final product?

When looking back at the task I feel one of the most important things I have learnt involves teamwork, because this was identified as a problem when creating our continuity sequence - the cinematographer didn't capture the shots or angles me and the other group members were expecting. This showed me how working in a team throughout the production process right through to the completed product is a key factor because it becomes quite difficult and time consuming going over sections which should have been completed.
This issue also became a problem in our title sequence as we discovered it was quite difficult to involve everyone idea's because this leads to confusion and eventually consequences with an unsuccessful outcome. When this situation was raised we didn't sort it out, therefore it continued to form many more mistakes and errors. When filming the second attempt at the title sequence we quickly highlighted any problems we may have and worked as a team to produce new idea's that everyone felt positive about. I feel this is an aspect I will take on to other tasks in order to avoid this situation again.

I also learnt how important having a target audience is because this was our basic idea in which we began to work around; a target audience also means we were able to relate to similar films to ours such as Johnny English and Get Smart. 
Before the process we were able to highlight the iconography, mis-en-scene, cinematography used in similar films which proved to be very helpful to identify props and locations we would need to use to convey our genre. Even though a target audience wasn't essential when creating our continuity sequence, planning before hand was. We did this through story boards where we was able to record which angles and shots we would use. I feel planning is very important because it means everyone knows what it happening and when; this also ensures all props and locations will be used.

Another aspect I have learnt include the codes and conventions of genre, in specific action and comedy. I found this research and knowledge to be very useful when creating our title sequence because we were able to plan a narrative and our shots following some conventions of action which include close ups and long shots. This was also important in our continuity sequence; however we did not have to follow a specific genre but fulfil a set task.

When it came to the editing of the continuity sequence I found it very difficult to make each shot lead smoothly into the next, this was due to the fact we had only took each shot once and didn't give enough time at the beginning or end to cut any off on final cut pro. This meant my outcome was very jumpy and unsophisticated. This made me realise in our title sequence we would capture each shot several times, so when it came to the editing process we would have a good range to work with if any involved errors we could easily use another.

Watching the continuity sequence over made me realise how much good actors are needed to create a successful outcome because I personally feel some of the acting removed the sense of realism. This also became an issue in our first title sequence as the acting didn't feel convincing enough and so in the second attempt we used someone which could present good facial expressions and actions to form a positive outcome with the feeling of surrealism as this would make the audience feel more involved and believe the narrative.

Overall I feel the continuity sequence opened my eyes to how much work is actually involved in an outcome which include planning, production, editing etc. I feel this knowledge helped me understand what was needed when creating the title sequence.

 

How did you attract/address your audience?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our title sequence is based around a clueless spy who has minimal knowledge. The character doesn't represent a stereotypical spy because they are normally smart and understand how to complete their mission, whereas our character is shown to be child like through actions such as hiding behind a pole and jumping over a wall.
The character also represents the male gender which when placed in a scene with a woman in a bar he is seen to be the stronger gender as she is a bar worker serving him drinks as he sits and waits. The fact she has red nail varnish connotes seduction, and he winks at her which shows women to be objects and there for men to look at (male gaze.) However, as Mr Teddy is chasing a lose gunman in the street it appears the person holding the large machine gun is a woman which shows them to be powerful and confident. Although this can also present how women are unable to fight for themselves and have to rely on large dangerous objects to support them, whereas Mr . Teddy has a very small gun. She has also hidden her identity with a scarf which could indicate a lack of strength as an individual as she isn't brave enough to show who she is, it could also suggest she doesn't want to be identified as a woman as her face and hair are completely covered, therefore she could deceive the audience to be a male. As Mr Teddy follows the woman he hides behind a pole that is to small for him, but it appears the woman doesn't see him which shows her to be unaware of her surroundings. In the next clip Mr Teddy has retrieved the woman's gun which shows her to be weak as she has been beaten; but Mr teddy is unable to control the gun which shows his weakness and lack of knowledge. In every scene Mr Teddy is seen to be wearing a suit which implies he respects himself and is of higher class who takes care in his appearance.

The next male character we see is in the car scene where he leans over and strangles Mr Teddy; this presents men to be smart as he didn't go out in the street with a huge gun, instead he quietly hid where he could make his move - this involves patience and planning which contributes to men being smart. But it could also show the male figure to be aggressive and strong as he didn't need a weapon to hurt someone.

Overall we have presented a range of social groups throughout our title sequence but mainly focuses on gender. 

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?

Who would be your audience for your media product?

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

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

Evaluation - The Brief

Final completed title sequence

Today we was able to edit all our new footage together, add the old titles, transitions and music; I feel it has been improved and I am very happy with the new outcome because the narrative is easier to understand and will appeal to our target audience. The codes and conventions of our genre are also presented more clearly and the pace of the sequence has been much improved. Overall I have learnt that planning and teamwork is very important when it comes to creating a successful outcome.

Re-shooting 11/04/13

After receiving the feedback and grade for our title sequence my group felt disappointed and wanted to do better. Once we analysed the positives and negatives about our title sequence we decided to plan to scenes which would have a better flow with improved camera shots and convincing props/iconography to fulfil some of the conventions to our genre; action. We also discussed the location and how it looked to much like a school and the fact in some scenes we did not use a tripod, hence our outcome looking unsophisticated and rushed. However, we really liked the typography, transitions and music used and so these would be kept in our new outcome.
We began our new sequence with Mr Teddy having a quick costume change, this immediately represented how he was to change from his normal life into an undercover spy; this involved a wide shot which we all felt really well because it was simple but the performance created a significant action. We then went on to using key iconography such as a smart suit, cocktail and a gun; this made the title sequence much easier to understand because our previous one did not present Mr Teddy as being a spy for our target audience to understand.
Even though we were focusing on Mr Teddy being a spy we also had to remember the comedy side and so we ensured simple but funny actions were used to connote Mr teddy's personality such as him hiding behind a pole that's smaller than him.
Overall the reshooting was very successful because we had a wider range of shots, improved location and props and a joyful atmosphere. I feel very pleased with the new footage and can't wait to edit it all together.

Receiving Feedback

Today we received our feedback for our title sequence, the feedback had a range of positive and negative comments but the main one which we will be focusing on is the overlaying of clips. Many people felt this was too confusing and didn't identify what our film was about. When looking back on this we soon understood where our audience was coming from and will be looking into changing this idea. Overall I feel the feedback has been very helpful and constructive, we will now need to improve the title sequence based on these comments. 

Mr Teddy final

Journal 30/01/13

Today was the last chance to edit before the first screening and so I quickly and effiecently completed my role in order for The titles and transitions could be put in.

I overlapped two frames and changed the opacity, this technique worked really well for some frames. However my group felt the continuous use of this technique became to repetitive and predictable, therefore leading on to boredom. With this in mind we were to short on time to consider any other options and so went with the idea just for the first screening and will be fixing this before the deadline.

 

I feel most of the editing was smooth and flowed well exspecially the parts involving paper being thrown at the screen; this technique really involves the audience and draws them in but I feel when re-editing we will have to make the contents and      themes of the film more obvious to the audience.

Journal - 29/01/13 - Reasons for the sequence change

Below is a video by me, Daisy and Nicola which highlights the key points why we decided to change our title sequence; it includes corrupted files, loss of continuity and green screen editing.

Journal - 29/01/13 - Changing the sequence

Today brought stress, conflict and even panic to my group. I had planned on finishing the editing in which only a few more scenes had to be completed. However this was not to be the case as the file encountered an error and removed several scenes, in which we was unable to recover.

When looking over the files that had been saved I didn't feel the shots fitted well together and had an overall theme of not making sense. Thomas also noticed we had lost continuity, and when watching over our sequence this proved quite obvious.



We decided to make a huge decision in re-starting the whole sequence, neither of my group members were particularly satisfied with this, including me; because the deadline is Thursday so this meant squashing everything down including; the filming, editing, titles, transitions and sounds in the space of a day. This also gave me the feeling of 'wasted' time because we had each spent many hours on our designated roles and I felt all my efforts in editing the green screens was going to be a waste.

We began by brainstorming new idea's - because of the very limited time we had, we knew the new idea would have to be simple and easy to create. We came up with an idea inspired by our previous office scene; this consisted of our actor writing a funeral speech about his recently passed Grandmother, scrunching up the speech and then throwing it at the camera. This would not only involve the audience and make them immediately feel apart of the character but represent a deeper meaning - the repetition of his training and frustration he will face when becoming a spy.

Once filming all the scenes we uploaded it to final cut pro in hope of no disruptions; thankfully they quickly uploaded and we was able to start the quick but efficient editing. Whilst Nicola converted all the new footage, I managed to recover some of our old footage in which we could involve in our new sequence.
We decided to use a layering effect where we was able to adjust the opacity and make the action footage appear 'ghost like' over our office scene. Daisy then added a cross over dissolve which made the sequence less jumpy and more professional; this also proved to be elliptical editing because it showed the time period in which the spy wrote the speech and foreshadowed the future events he will face through layering the clips.
We was very fortunate to have good teamwork because even though we all seemed reluctant and frustrated, I feel the overall outcome will benefit from it. When thinking back to our storyboards I feel our first idea was very good because it seemed it would be continuous and link all events, but we didn't consider how difficult the capturing of the shots would be E.g. slow motion coin flip turning into a ring; exploding phone, bird poo transferring into falling letters etc. I feel my group forgot we had basic equipment and limited time; therefore this experience has shown me to not over complicate things because sometimes simple outcomes can be the most effective!

In order to ensure we have a completed outcome by Thursday me and Nicola will be editing the scenes together, this means we will be able to express our opinions and idea's to ensure the outcome will meet all our expectations; Daisy will then add the transitions she has planned and Thomas the titles in which he has experimented with; overall today has shown me the importance of teamwork, deadlines and planning.

Blog Feedback

The blog feedback I received was very positive and I am extremely pleased with my efforts and overall outcome of the marking. The one 'improvement'/ suggestion highlighted was to create a video journal; this is where I would be filmed and explain what processes, experiments and outcomes I had achieved in that lesson. When viewing another students video journal I feel it would make my blog more interesting and show another type of medium. However, I am not looking forward to the filming because I don't like talking on camera; I will be overcoming this problem by teaming up with two other students in my group; Daisy and Nicola, where we plan to take it in turns to explain our daily outcome - I feel this will make me more comfortable because of the support from others.

Journal - 28/01/13 Final Cut Pro

Today I planned to continue the editing of our opening title sequence on final cut pro. However, as I opened my previously saved progress I soon discovered the file had become corrupt and we was unfortunately unable to open it. This was a huge problem because it meant I would have to re-edit everything and so would not be able to hand over to Daisy and Thomas in order for them to add the titles and transitions. To solve this problem me and Nicola decided to split the editing, whilst she converted all the videos and imported them in to final cut pro, I re-edited the green screens that had become corrupt. I feel this situation has taught me to have a back up of our work as technology can be very unreliable, overall I don't feel the day was as successful as I expected because of the negative impact, this means we may not get to go over the editing before the first screening and so will put all effort in to get it smooth, and sophisticated on the first go.

Plans for next week

My plans for this week consist of completing all the editing on Monday in order for the titles to be added on Tuesday. Daisy will also add the transitions in and I will then go over the editing ensuring it has a smooth flow in order for it to be as sophisticated as possible. I will be hoping the editing will be completed by Wednesday so it will be ready for the first screening. Once recieving feedback I feel we will go over all aspects of the outcome in order for it to be as successful as it can.



Journal - 25/01/13

I continued the editing of the green screens and feel the progress  has been very successful; the whole sequence will be completed by the dead line and we plan to add the transitions, sound and titles on monday.

I really like the effect the black background had on the falling photo because it decreased the visual aspect of the piece of thread and made the photo appear to be floating, gently down - I really like the outcome and feel it will have a positive impact to the overall outcome.

I also experimented with other footage involving the green screen, however because they consisted of a lot of camera movement and moving props I don't feel the outcome was sophisticated and clear. Therefore I will be using the new footage we shot in order to create a successful outcome.

Journal - 24/01/13 - Green Screen and Re-shooting

 I faced a range of difficulties when editing the final green screens today, the first shots of Mr.Teddy in his office had to be edited in After Effects in which I used the keying tool - this technique had previously been successful when making the background matte black. However, in this shot the black background was making everything in the shot appear dark, expressing connotations which fitted more into the horror genre; the fact he was wearing a black suit made him blend into the background which was a negative aspect because he needs to stand out in order to be the main focus. I then tried putting an office location scene in the background, but this highlighted a situation my group had not previously considered- a still background with a track in clip didn't work because it would mean half the mis-en-scene will be 'jumping' around while the others just continued in the same position. When discussing this problem with my group we all came to the decision to re-shoot the whole scene, even though this seemed time consuming it would in fact save time in the long term. 

I feel the shooting went very well because this time we was able to correct any problems we previously faced, such as using the dolly to track in; before the track in created a wobbly movement and so we decided to remove it from the scene. Overall the shooting contributed to our team work because we had to quickly prepare and organise equipment, props and a location; I was very pleased on how everyone acted towards the situation and will be looking forward to editing these new shots.  We also went on to re-shooting the falling paper because we came up with the idea of using a thin piece of thread so the paper's decent would be smooth and slow; this was very successful because it means there will be less editing needed - no need to zoom and cut in order to remove hands holding the paper.

Journal - 24/01/13 - Font

  

 

 Today Thomas presented the font idea's he had experimented with and created a final outcome; he showed us a font in which the group felt worked really well with the overall tone of our title sequence. I really liked it because it isn't to 'proffessional' but not to childish either, this is perfect to represent our spy, it is also very clear and easy to read and so will be easily understood by our target younger audience  However because of the recent re-filming of several scenes we felt the red wouldn't stand out. I also felt the red had connotations which related more to the genre horror, such as blood, gore and danger. This was a negative impact because it wouldn't fit in with our comedy aspect, therefore we came together and felt white would be the best colour to use, because of it's connotations of innocence and purity - this will be a good representation of our spy because he is innocence in his actions. The colour will also stand out in the positions we plan to present them.                             

Journal - 22/01/13 - Re-shooting

Today we came together as a group in order to form the decision to re- shoot several scenes because of the unsuccessful green screen outcomes. We have re-shot the scene in which Mr.Teddy picks up the brief case and coins fall out, we also continued to re-shoot the ring falling into the case; I felt this session was highly successful because we not only formed successful, clear shots, we will also have more time to edit the final shots together and will now spend less time on editing the green screens.

18/01/13 Re- thinking green screen backgrounds

Today I decided to ask the public their thoughts and opinions on our green screen outcomes; I recieved some negative feedback towards the outcomes which included "The scale doesn't appear to have a sense of realism", " Overall appearance seems very fake", therefore I decided to experiment with different backgrounds. I chose moving backgrounds which was inspired by a film consisting of the same themes and genre as ours; Johnny English. However the outcome didn't feel successful because I feel the movement in the background was distracting and took the main focus off the action in the foreground; and because the main focus was the same colour as the background, the action just blended in which means I will have to re-think background idea's

Green Screen Editing

Today I began editing all the green screen scenes, I did this by simply using the keying tool in order to layer the video footage and black background. I found this technique to have very satisfying results, however it is very time consuming and some results turned out not as expected. I feel the confetti green screen worked the best because the white stands out among the background, and the simple, quick movement means the results are smooth and clean making the outcome sophisticated. The next step is going to be to adjust the final green screens up because there is colour disruption involving the brief case.

Assigned Roles

I have been assigned to the role of editing as I have understood the use of the green screen technique and my group felt I would be able to edit accurately because I have the knowledge of our storyboards and the order it should go in, therefore my plans for this week will be to complete all the green screens in order to get ready for the final edit and accurate outcome.

Daisy has been given the role of special effects because we felt she was very creative and would be able to have a full understanding of techniques and experimenting used when creating the perfect effect for the scene. She also has a good understanding of our film and what it consists of, therefore adding meaning to the effects she adds.

Thomas will be in control of the titles, in which he will be experimenting with a range of fonts and colours in order to create titles that fit in with our visual and genre elements. We feel Thomas will be well suited for this role because of his understanding of connotations in which a successful outcome will be created.

Nicola will continue her role of being director because she has been very organised ensuring everything has been done and in the time we needed it to be. We felt her contributions to the group and her overall support has been excellent and we are guaranteed she will have a positive look on her continued role. We have also placed her in the role of foley sound creation because of her passion towards the sound aspect, this will also give our outcome an accurate sound in which a sense of realism will be created.

Green screen scene

Throughout filming we have relied heavily on the green screen and while editing we realised we had no scenes in which we would replace the screen, other than the black image in which we sourced from google for the office scene.
I decided to capture a image of a street in which our brief case, ring and money scene will be presented. I captured two images, one in the daylight and the other towards the evening; I wanted to do this to compare the positives and negatives of eachone. I feel the one taken in the day will be more successful to use in the background of the scene because the natural light will enable our darker objects to stand out and be the main focus. The image will also create a sense of realism in which our younger audience can relate to and form a connection - as if they are there.


                                                      

Journal - 10/01/13 Brief case and Coins

The prop I had to organise today was a brief case, however i was unable to get one and so improvised with my art portfolio; I did this because i felt it had very similar features to what we needed and the dark colour contributed to the similarities in props.

 

When filming we came across a problem, the brief case wasn't stable on it's own, we tried slightly holding it in the corner but this was captured in the footage; and so we discovered if we put heavy objects towards the bottom of the case this would balance it out.

I feel our team work made today's shooting a success and feel we will be able to start editing soon as we are using our time efficiently.

We then went on to filming the coins falling from the case, at first we experimented with adding a 'secret' pocket to the case. However this was unsuccessful as it kept falling off and interrupting the shooting; so we used a simple technique of hiding the coins in the actors hands and dropping them behind the case. This gave the effect they were falling from the case as the protagonist walked.

The outcome was very successful as we also captured the shot after the coins falling, this was of people grabbing them; we did this by everyone reaching for the coins; excluding our cinematographer because she had to concentrate on the camera angle.

Overall I feel this was a really successful session in which achieved many aims.

Journal - 10/01/13 The phone

Today we filmed our phone shot, my role in this was ensuring we had a phone with us and making sure the green screen was available. We filmed on a green screen because we want to add and exploding effect, we will be doing this when we continue to edit. I feel we need to improve on the steadiness of the camera in this footage because it was constantly moving but other than that I feel it was successful because I really like the angle at which the phone is captured because it is in the centre of the frame making it the main focus.

After Effects Test

Above is our first after effects test, I feel it was successful because we was able to change the green screen into a desired background. However from this outcome we discovered the camera movement was obvious and it was difficult to identify a black phone on a black background and so concluded we needed to capture the footage again with a tripod and a white phone, in order to create contrast which will allow the phone to stand out. When adding this footage to our final outcome we will be adding foley sound to enhance the sense of realism and emphasis the genre; action.

Journal - 07/01/13 The sink

Unfortunately we was unable to film at Danson park because we was unable to receive permission to film and drop a photo into the lake. We decided to use a sink instead and create 'lake like' water by using a range of leaves. The location was at Daisy's house because we felt there was a range of available materials such as blue card, clear camera bag and good lighting. I also had to organise the photo of the Grandmother and printed off a few of these in case we had some unsuccessful outcomes. We began filming with the white sink lining and soon realised it wasn't realistic, and so lined the sink with blue paper where it created a dark, mysterious water colour. We found it very difficult when filming because the paper seemed impossible to sink without having hands in the shot. We overcome this problem by each person allocating a role. Daisy captured the footage with the camera in a transparent, waterproof bag to ensure the camera didn't get damaged, whilst me and Nicola gradually dropped the photo and moved the leaves. Overall I feel it was successful but will need to view the outcome to identify if the footage will be used in our title sequence.

Journal - 07/01/13 Watergun

Today was the shooting of our water gun scene and so we needed a transparent surface to aim the water at; at first we chose a large window located at the school. However, once we started filming we noticed the reflection was very obvious and so came to the decision not to use a window. We eventually came up with using a thin piece of transparent material known as acetate . As the props manager it was my duty to find some acetate at late notice and so I went to the art department where I was sure they would have some. I also had the duty of getting the water gun, I chose a small scale one because I felt this would add to the comical theme.

Overall I feel this shooting was very successful because we captured another scene which means we will soon be able to edit.