Evaluation

https://mtlevesley.wixsite.com/a2mediaevaluation

Here is my evaluation.

Teaser Trailer - The Dissenters FINAL PRODUCT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpxMWDaoM1E

Film Poster Ancillary Task FINAL PRODUCT

Ancillary Task - Homepage of a Website FINAL PRODUCT

https://mtlevesley.wixsite.com/thedissenters

Here is my ancillary task of a website. I have based my website design from the website of The Lobster. On my homepage there is a gallery of shots from the film and also information about the film. The different tabs take you to different pages, but they are not completed as only the homepage is required.

Collecting Feedback

I have just tweeted my survey and teaser trailer on my Twitter account, as you can see I have 557 followers, who are mostly within my target audience as they are nearly all teenagers.

I know not everyone will take the time to give me audience feedback, but I am hopeful that I will receive a number of responses.

The Dissenters Teaser Trailer Second Draft

Feel free to complete my survey for feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

Adding Foley Sound

I recorded foley sounds of myself running in my back garden to add in to replace the original footsteps sound as it was too windy; the problem could not be fixed with editing the audio on Final Cut Pro as seen in this blogpost.

I copy and pasted the best part of the running to signify the urgency, especially as there is a group of characters running.

Here is the original sound:

Attempting to reduce wind sound

This failed.

After looking at tutorials and other students' work, I discovered that the sound of wind can be reduced in audio files. However, the sound of the wind was still audible in the clip, so much so that it was distracting when it occurred. It is now urgent that I use foley sounds to replicate the sound, with no wind.

Title Screen

The title of my film and some credits need to be added in my trailer. To do this I shall add the title design from my poster for continuity across my media products.

This is what it looks like, I am testing it in my film to see if it would be better for it all to fade together, or for the credits to fade in and out, this can be done by adding the text separately.

Focus Group Audience Feedback

After showing the initial Teaser Trailer in front of a small focus group, I have received some improvements:

• The fight scene acting is fairly poor because the actors are smiling and are too happy
• The wind is loud when filming outside
• The characters' names should be added
• Credits at the end of the film

To overcome the problems I shall cut the fight scene to minimise it, I can reduce the audio in the windy scene, but I need the amplified sound of footsteps; I may have to foley the footstep sound and add that later. In the close up of each character, the names can be added during the close up scenes at the end of the teaser trailer. The credits from the film poster can be added to the teaser trailer.

Young Chamber-Creative Careers Event

Last night my media poster was displayed in Young Chamber's Creative Careers Event, the second poster on the board.

This was displayed in front of over 100 members of the public, including a variety of children and adults.

The event has allowed me to receive a large amount of feedback about the poster to determine whether it works or not from different demographics.

Focus Group Feedback

Here is my film poster draft. Below is my survey could you please fill out my survey.

Create your own user feedback survey

Choosing a Film Title

I wanted to make my film title short and base it off something similar to 'Misfits'.
I used synonyms to eventually come up with the word 'dissent'.
Dissent means:
'to disagree with the methods, goals, etc., of a political party or government; take an opposing view'
In my film, the characters represent this idea, therefore it makes sense to call my film 'The Dissenters'

Showing my Poster at the Creative Careers Fair

I have sent my film poster (below) and a survey to the organiser of the Creative Careers Fair. I will later add the survey on my blog.

Alongside this, a montage of the films were put together; including a sample of my teaser trailer. The feedback overall was very positive and has raised an interest towards my trailer.

Teaser Trailer First Draft

Here is my first draft for the Teaser Trailer of the Dissenters.
I shall get some feedback to allow me to understand where improvements can be made, for example with the gusts of wind in the outside scene.

Audio for my First Draft

Here is the audio from my teaser trailer first draft.
The sounds used can be found here in my previous blogpost thanks to BenSound.

Positives of the audio in my teaser trailer includes:

• The build up in the introduction
• Bullish style

Negatives includes:

• At 55 seconds the wind is audible, it is not a serious problem however.

Editing Sound

To fix the previous problem, as seen in a previous blog post, I have copied the introduction to my second audio file called 'Rumble', this is how it looks in Final Cut Pro:

This has made the overall flow of the soundtrack better in quality. I will upload the audio file for the first draft later on my SoundCloud.

Adding the Credits on the Film Poster

As seen on all film posters, there are small credits at the bottom of the poster:


the poster is of the award-winning film 'Moonlight' and the film poster contains the film credits at the bottom.

Thanks to TipSquirrel, I used the credit template:






I replaced the names with mine, the actors and made up names that are not involved in the film. This has made it more realistic rather than having a few names.

This is how it looks:

I could change the font colour front black to white, but I don't think it will improve the poster.

The Third Film Poster Draft

This is another draft for my poster. My previous draft can be seen here, I have changed the top band for it to just be a dark grey strip. It would be a good idea to receive some feedback for what a group prefers; this can be done at a later time.

Editing

There is a small fight scene where I need extra music to add tension to the scene. At the minute it does not flow as it suddenly just comes in, even if it fades in it does not fit; I need to find a way to either make this fit or add a different sound which also adds suspense like this audio clip.

Film Poster Draft 2

Here is my second draft of the film poster. After receiving feedback that the characters look unnatural without a natural background, I have left the original picture without removing the background.

The top band of the poster contains a photo of the sky with a small amount of of housing areas.

At the bottom I have included the main actors within my film.

I have not yet decided on the title of my film, but the font is deteriorating representing the characters.

Adding Further Sounds

I have added additional sounds from a Royalty Free Music site Free Music Archive. The song is known as 'the Machine Stops'

The music clip has been split and duplicated at the start to prolong it. I will add this clip to SoundCloud to put it on my blog.

Sky Poster

As an update from yesterday, I have just taken a photo for the top band of my poster using this photo:

I have cropped this image and added it to the poster. Alongside this, I have added a line where I want the brick wall to go and the title font and design:

Now I just need to add the brick wall and possibly edit filters if I need to.

Starting the Film Poster

I have got a photo of the characters and started editing the poster. I am still using the previous draft as seen here. Below is the characters; I have removed the background and need to add a brick wall and a residential area above. If the residential area above the characters does not look appealing then I will change it to the sky on a fairly cloudy day (if possible) or photoshop the sky to make it dull and grey.

The characters with the background removed on Photoshop.

This has been saved on the Mac and on my Drive, allowing me to edit at a later stage on any computer in the school or even at home if I download PhotoShop.

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sounds

Diegetic and non diegetic sounds from mlevesley

Royalty Free Music

 The introduction sound is called 'The Machine Stops'.



Another song which I will include in my media is from Bensound. It is called 'Rumble', the sound represents a sense of anarchy and builds the mood with a powerful drum introduction.



Under the Creative Commons License, I am allowed to use the music in a multimedia project as long as I credit Bensound, for example stating 'Royalty Free Music by Bensound'.

Reflective Comment

The layout of this post is interactive with the help of Soundcloud. The viewer can easily listen to the songs on the blog page.

Release of the film

The purpose of my teaser trailer is to raise awareness for the film. The teaser trailer should make the audience want to know more, because the narrative is only teased; my idea before the film release is to release a number of teaser trailers revealing more of an insight into the characters' lives. Before the release of the full feature film, there should also be an official trailer released and published.

I could include this on my website for the film to keep interest raised before the release of the film.

Camera Shots and Types

Editing

I have put my filming from Thursday onto Final Cut Pro and began editing. I have not used Final Cut Pro properly before, so I will need to look at tutorials online for some help.

The Apple Support Website provides forums and tutorials on how to complete tasks, this will be very beneficial to me.

Film Poster Draft

 I have loosely based it on the poster for This is England as seen below:

My poster will be portrait rather than landscape and will feature at bus stops and in the cinema light boxes like so:

Here is my draft of the poster:

The bottom half is the characters in front of a brick wall, above this, I am going to have a residential area similar to the one below:

I will attempt to replicate this sort of photo, possibly by taking a photo from the school.

The idea is that the characters are 'below working class' and the wall symbolises the idea that they are obstructions in society.

Reflective Comment:

This post could be made to be more interactive by turning it into a presentation. This could be completed at a later stage, but the post contains information and a plan for the ancillary task of the poster.

Schedule

The schedule for the next week is:

Thursday:
Filming

Friday:
Transfer footage onto computer and begin editing process

Monday:
Continue editing

By this point, I will decide if I need to reshoot scenes and add/replace scenes. If I do, I will schedule a reshoot with my actors; although this may be a problem for the continuity, as it is a trailer the shots are often short.

Reflective Comment:
My biggest problem that will face me is the weather, filming on different days may be a problem

Starting the Website

I have used a free template on Wix to start the homepage of a film website. At the minute, the teaser trailer is taking up a large portion of the page and there are social links at the bottom and methods of contact. I need to decide upon a film name and studio name for my film and edit the colour schemes.

Using the Canon 1200D

Canon 1200D

We struggled with the SLR camera for filming. After watching many tutorials on YouTube, reading the booklet and trying to film for a fellow student, we struggled greatly.
The lens attached was 75-300mm, meaning that it was very hard to work inside (in close encounters) as it would not focus and the picture was distorted.

Reflective Comment
I am getting a new lens for the camera, allowing closer filming. Filming should be done over the next week, allowing time to begin the editing process and time for reshooting if needs be.

Creating Visual Text Message Effects

After watching a tutorial on YouTube, there is a plug-in for Final Cut Pro called mMessage, it costs $69 but there is a free demo version on motionVFX. To use this plug-in I need authorisation from the administrator; if this is not possible, another student who has a Macbook could download this plug-in to use and allow me to use it.

I have previously done a blog post talking about the visual effects.

Filming Outside

I am planning to film at night and I want it to appear to be late at night.
According to the BBC, the problems with filming at night includes:

• Someone can injure themselves or someone else due to fatigue
• Reduced visibility can affect time and risk
• Night working on location can increase the security risk
• It may cause a disturbance to the general public

The BBC outlines the General Controls:

• Give the team as much notice as possible about working at night.
• Consider the journey times and travel arrangements of the cast and crew.
• Ensure safety critical activities are scheduled appropriately (e.g. don’t have higher risk work such as stunts at end of night).
• Consider accommodation, taxis and arrangements for transport; these may need to be offered.
• Consider a health assessment via a questionnaire if the night working is to be regular.
• Keep access clear of equipment and cables.
• Ensure that access and egress routes are adequately lit and that cables are properly managed.
• Identify any potential risks to personal safety at the location.
• Make the police and / or other relevant authorities aware of your recording intentions if necessary.
• Contact the Corporate Security Team and liaise with the police if you require further security advice.
• Consider the length of time and the location of the sequence if the recording may be contentious to the local people or area and the need for security (see pre-vetted list).
• Ensure arrangements for vehicle parking will be secure.
• Think about the need for working lights at location and unit base ensuring they do not dazzle drivers.
• Inform the cast and crew of any particular hazards.
• Keep noise levels to a minimum in public areas. If significant noise is likely liaise with the locals/the local environmental health officer to make them aware and help manage it.

A way to overcome the problems and hassle with filming at night time is to film at dusk, either during sunrise or at sunset. At this current date-12th January 2017- sunrise is at approximately 8:00AM and sunset is at 4:06PM. In the editing stage for the production, I will have to edit the brightness and saturation to make it appear at night time. I will complete some test footage before, comparing dusk and night filming.

Reflective Comment

The research has allowed me to gain a better understanding of filming when dark. The term 'golden hour' is a term for the sunrise/sunset, it is apparently the perfect period for filming as the sun does not cause any inconvenience. I will use this research for my test footage to compare the quality and credibility of filming at sunset rather than night.

Upcoming Deadline and My Targets

The deadline for my practical work to be completed is Monday 20th February 2017.

As myself and other members of the Sixth Form have mock exams until the 20th January, it will be hard for us to all get together and film with our busy schedule.

My plan is to have the filming completed by the end of the month and to have started my ancillary tasks, the film poster and homepage of the website. This will allow me three weeks to complete my editing and ancillary tasks; with 5 hours of media lessons, free periods and free time at home, this should be completed in time.

Camera

A fellow student and I have borrowed the Canon 1300D
http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/buying-advice/buying_guides/canon-eos-1300d-key-features-67106

Camera Specifications:
From Imaging Resource

Basic Specifications
Full model name:	Canon EOS Rebel T6 (EOS 1300D)
Resolution:	18.00 Megapixels
Sensor size:	APS-C (22.3mm x 14.9mm)
Kit Lens:	3.06x zoom 18-55mm (29-88mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	Optical / LCD
Native ISO:	100 - 6400
Extended ISO:	100 - 12,800
Shutter:	1/4000 - 30 seconds
Max Aperture:	3.5 (kit lens)
Dimensions:	5.1 x 4.0 x 3.1 in. (129 x 101 x 78 mm)
Weight:	24.6 oz (697 g) includes batteries, kit lens
Availability:	04/2016
Manufacturer:	Canon

Some negatives include: slow burst shooting with very limited raw buffer; Resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance trail current rivals; Mediocre autofocus performance; Limited feature set; Very basic movie capture features.