Commentary

The above is our commentary, basically a video evaluation of our thriller opening. In order to make it dynamic and interesting, we decided to do more than just pieces-to-camera, although they do make up the bulk of our commentary. Using techniques such as adding still shots from the internet as well as shots from our film, and moving images from youtube.com, as well as visually appealing and creative film that we took especially for our commentary, such as the 'conventions' section, where we got a selection of people from around the college to hold up boards with the conventions that we used or challenged in our opening, We felt that this was both fitting the brief of using IT creatively and also showcasing how we approached the task as a whole - with a sense of fun and imagination.

Finshed...

Well today was our last day to finish off our whole coursework so we can finally say 'WE ARE DONE!'
We have gone through a lot and had a few disagreements between the four of us but now it is all done. i believe this has been a great experience because we have learnt a lot and achieved so much in such a short amount of it. We all set out at the beginning of this progress really strong and the filming progress, but then got a large set back, but then came back from it much stronger.
At the beginning of our first take, we stated to really enjoy it but during the editing progress, after advise from our audience feedback and from our teacher, we decided that we didn't really like what we had filmed. After deciding to re film with only one week until the deadline, we decided to change a few things. For example, we changed the actor and added the title sequences into the action.
Making these few changes made all the difference to our film. After editing in all our free time, we finished our film and were ready to move on to our commentary. To start our commentary we first wrote out our scripts and divided the questions evenly between the four of us. We wonted to be as creative as possible so we used cardboard to show our conventions/unconventions and our audience popping up into the shot. We filmed all of shots first as that way we could upload it all and then just focusing on editing. Coming into yesterdays lesson, all 4 of us were very stressed. This is because we still had a lot of editing to do and some more, last minute filming to do. However, with a lot of effort and our spare time, we managed to finished. However, on some of the questions, we didn't spent as much time on them and it does look a little rushed but still looks good and professional.

Just a quick update...

So the deadline for our commentary is the 19th of March, which happens to be this Friday and we have a lot to do. To put it simply, we have 2 media lessons left, one day after school, one free period and 3 lunch times. So this is the list to do:
-Question on conventions and unconventions:
~ Need to film us introducing the question
~ Need to record our voice overs
~ Use stills to show us making the signs and of the locations
- Question on new technologies
~ Write a script
~ Record voice overs and talking to the camera part
~ Talk about what stills and clips we are going to have over the top
- Question on institution
~ Edit all the voice overs and talking straight to the camera part
~ Put clips of thriller film openings by 20th Century Fox
~ Clip of the 20th Century Fox trailer
- Question on preliminary task
~ Film all speaking
~ Put in clips and stills from all 4 of our films in which we have made
- Question on audience
~ Re-fill speaking
~ Put in clips and stills

This is what we have to do and then hopefully just go through it with a fine tooth comb and change the parts in which we aren't happy with, and then we would have finished our whole course work.

Commentry...

As we want to make our commentry as exciting and as creative as possible, for the question about the conventions, we have decided to get cardboard and write on the coventions and unconventions. We will then get random people to hold in up in random places, using random camera angles. Over some conventions, we will talk over but others are simple like 'male lead' so wont need explaing. These are pictures of Jade and myself making these posters.

Pictures of False Pretences take 2

These are a couple of pictures of us braving the cold and wet to film the first flashback.



This is a picture of our actor so we could match it with the match on action.

These are pictures or us getting the board ready for our study scene.



This is a picture of our actors ready to film the lounge scene.

The Finished Product

This is a copy of our final film. We haven't really done that many effects post-production, just adding the black and white, contrast to the colour shots, fades in between the first series of shots and white flashes in between the past and present.

Level 4

This is a outline to what needs to happen for us to get a level 4:

-Detailed and thoughtful response to the questions and create use of ICT, i.e, combining moving image shots, out-takes, interviews, screenshots and voice overs

- Use lots of media terminology, refer lots to your target audience and their response

- apply to theory: eg, ~ Todorov (equilibrium, disruption, etc)
~ Levi-Straves (binary oppositions)
~ Semiotics (denotation and connotation)
~ Enigma
~ Genre and conventions
~ Link to other media texts

Audience Feedback of take 2...

We asked 7 different people to watch our thriller opening and ask to answer these questions for us:
1)What you liked?
2)What you didn't you like?
3)What would you improve/change?

And these are their answers:
1) - The colour changes and the titiles
- The actor
- Past and present and itergrated titles
- Most things
- The music
- Colour changes for past and present
- The transition between past and present
- Graphic matches look really good
- Intergrated titles
- The switch from colour to black and white
- Use of colour and black and white
- Music as it ads suspence, it's mysterious and keeps on 'on-edge'
- The music
2) - Not much
- The location
- End sequence could be clearer
- I loved it all
- The fact that its based in a kitchen
- Not much
- Putting the titles into the action
- Don't no
- To complicated for simple minds
- I didn't
- Nothing
- Don't no
3) - Didn't get some of the of the past and present. Needs to be clearer. Perhaps warp the shots together
- Some acting could have been improved
- The end sequence could have been clearer.
- Nothing
- Stop going into the fridge as it makes no sense
- Nothing
- Could be a bit faster
- Keep the music running under the dialogue
- More tense music
- When they are speaking, keep the music
- More dramatic music as it will increse in intensity
- Keep the music in the background the whole way through even when the couple were talking

A Quick Update...

So we have filmed a whole new film in one day and edited in one day! That shows that even though we took a big risk with less than a week until the dead line, it was a worthy risk and we pulled it off. We are all are very pleased with what we managed to do.
The audience feedback which we received when we were editing our first take of our thriller, they were half positive and half negative. However, most of these were one of our friends so they may not have been completely honest with us, but after we had roughly finished are we got more audience feedback. These were mostly positive and this time not just because they were our friends.
Tomorrow during our lesson we have just got re-load part of the footage in which we found a bit jumpy and deciding whether or not to have flashes in between our past and present footage.

Our Old Film

Here is the (incomplete) first draft of False Pretences. Originally, we were going to add a short clip of the protagonist running into the house in between the kitchen and running shots. However, before we had time to do this, we decided, both as a group and from audience feedback, that the film as a whole was too amateurish and did not show off our capabilities as one of the biggest groups in the class. So, we took the radical movement to refilm, with only a week in which to edit all of the footage together. However, our group felt that this would be the best way in which to show what we could do, and that even if it all went really wrong, we would still have the first draft to work with.

In the end though, the footage that we filmed turned out very well, and has been edited into something that we are much happier with as a whole. We kept the same music as before, but quite by chance, it fits in very well with the action on screen, showcasing Ben's talents as a musician.

One of the main reasons that we chose to refilm was the audience feedback that we received, particularly from our teacher and other people whose opinion's we hold in high regard. One student said that the final match on action in our original film looked too jolty and wasn't smooth enough. After looking back over what we filmed, we all agreed, and chose to refilm the second half of the graphic match in the kitchen as well, but with different mise-en-scene to signify how the investigation has taken over the protaganist's life.

The first draft of our film was only one minute 10 seconds long, including titles and production logo, meaning that we were only really using half of the time that we could. This time, the film is much longer and therefore we have been able to include a much larger variety of shots and angles, particularly in the opening section where fades are used instead of straight cuts. Because we decided to use fades, the was no need for continuity, and we could therefore use a large variation of shots. We decided to use fades to signify the time spent on this investigation by the protagonist, as fades tend to represent a lapse in time. We also decided to add a second character into the second attempt at filming, because we thought it would add interest to the audience, and also, if the film were to continue past the opening we have to film, then the other character would be of importance.