Evaluation question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Evaluation question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

               

Evaluation question 6 - What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation question 6 - What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

For our group to create an authentic opening sequence we had to use a number of different softwares and technologies consisting of list below:

• Final cut express
• Livetype
• Digital cameras
• Youtube
• Blogger
• Prezi
• Powerpoint presentation
• Edmodo

Final cut express was a very key element in the process of creating our opening sequence as this software abled us to edit the clips that we filmed. This software was used to put all of our videos in the right order, this included the the sound, credits, titles. We used two different soundtracks for our opening sequence which consisted of a mysterious, suspenseful opening track to make the audience feel uneasy and high and low pitch to build tension, also at the end whispers are included to create a surprising feel to the audience. The tools on final cut also allowed us to get rid of the video sound by deleting it and make it able for us to add our own track and make our own choices for our final product. The credits were simply dragged onto the top of the clips so that the would sit on top of the clip in the final piece.

When i first started on final cut i found it very hard to get to grips with so many different editing techniques within the software, however as my first few days of editing went by i started to find editing much more easier and understood new techniques everyday such as in and out clip cuts, getting rid of sound, desaturating colours, colour corrector, rendering clips. Desaturating colours deemed to be one of the most useful tools for us as it meant that we could enhance are colour options to make the opening sequence much more suitable to view for example we desaturated the clips with the killer to a darkish grey and enhanced the blood colour to a dark but shiny red to create a more realistic representation of blood, this then also gave the video an edge as both opposites were shown to connote split worlds.

To produce our titles and credits for our opening sequence we used the software 'Livetype'. As i had not used this software before, i was lucky to notice that one of my group members did know how to use it and was able to guide me in what i needed to do and what was what. Once i had been able to do the basics there were not many problems, i made the title for our production company by my self 'Flame Productions' and added it on top of the opening clip to make the title appear. The same was done to the the credits which were throughout the opening sequence by choosing the font, how i wanted it to appear on screen, saved it to my desktop and imported it on to final cut.

As i wanted to try and achieve a highest possible mark that i can, i knew that it was essential that i had use different types of technology such as Blogger and Prezi in particular. When using Blogger, i found it relatively easy as many things were straight forward such as writing and publishing, adding images and adding videos which were slightly harder due to the process of uploading to youtube first, however it became very easy to use in the end. I also found that blogger was much easier than using for example a paper coursework folder as there was no hassle sorting out pieces of paper or losing work as i had it all stored on blogger where i could easily access it when and wherever i wanted to.

With Prezi i found it quite a complicated device to use as there was always something new to learn on there such as adding boxes to your prezi and adding pictures which was quite easy in the end as i could search them from prezi and add them straight away.

Also, i thought that prezi created really good presentations and hopefully made my work stand out, it is quite similar to powerpoint however prezi lets you create and pick many different styles and ways of presenting work and orders the presentation in a very exciting and inventive way, whereas powerpoint just gives you the same set of applications you can use which can get quite old and boring sometimes and things that a lot of people have seen before.

Edmodo was also a very key element for the production of my coursework as unlike a book it provided me with posts that updated me on my coursework and let me interact with others so that i can get feedback telling me what i can do to enhance my work wherever i am, there was also a lot less to do in terms of writing as it provided quick and easy information that i could just read and then type up which is much more efficient.

Our group also had a go at using the camera equipment and camera so that everyone could understand how to use it. Each of us took the camera at some point and tested it ourselves to learn camera techniques and movements so that we could be familiar with it for the actual filming which helped a lot as it meant we could get right on to filming.

Overall, i think that over time i have grown in knowledge on the softwares and technologies used and have shown a considerable amount of improvement which i am happy with. I now understand why such technologies and softwares are so important in everyday film production and i feel that whenever i see a movie or TV i can relate and understand why certain aspects have been used. 

Evaluation question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

How we changed the opening sequence to tailor the audience's needs:

Firstly we decided to get rid of the sound in our clips as after audience feedback we found that the audience thought having no sound create a scarier feel and a more tense and suspenseful opening sequence. I my self also added slight whispers at the end of the sequence to have a creepy narrative enigma effect as from audience feedback, i was told that there should be some words spoken but in a secretive manner which is why i chose whispers. We had also changed the color in our sequence to all grey as we were told through audience feedback that some areas contained colors that couldn't really be associated with a horror, this gave us the idea to change the odd color scenes to a grey and then have the strong tinted blood red in the murder scenes to express comparisons between characters.

Genre Signifiers:

We used many different genre signifiers throughout our sequence in order to connote a realistic representation of a horror/thriller genre. The colors that we included were red as the connotation of blood, danger and fear and we used white for the t-shirt worn by the victim to connote innocence and the red blood on white tiles. We also used a grey for the scenes with the killer as we wanted to create the ambiguous comparison between color and no color as the killer in its own world and the victim in its own world and also creating a narrative enigma. The ominous music overlaying the opening sequence creates a tension building tone, generating fear and ongoing questions within the audience, these being conventional features within the horror/thriller genre. The grey setting and the red blood are also conventional features of a horror/thriller genre and create more signifiers to show the audience what the genre of the opening sequence is.

How was the opening sequence engaging with audience:

While conducting our research on whether our opening sequence was engaging with the audience, we paused the opening sequence once to ask our respondents whether they wanted to continue watching or not, The respondents replied with a yes. This was due to the narrative enigma codes that were present within the sequence, leaving the audience wonder what will happen next. Some include, the girl swinging, some said that the killer not being a male made the sequence different in a good way. However, other respondents said that it wasn't very engaging as they just didn't have an interest in the horror/thriller genre.


Audience theories:

The uses and gratification theory is used within our opening sequence, as it provides the audience with a chance to escape from the real world and normal lifestyle as well as to also entertain the audience through the suspense and tension. Similarly our opening sequence allows the audience to interact with each other for example a few people talking about it after watching the opening sequence.

Our opening sequence also uses Maslows Hierarchy theory as the sequence highlights not only things that people need but what some may be thankful for such as 'safety and security needs, e.g good health and being safe which is very important but is not very well used in the opening sequence due to the violent connotations such as the bloodied bat and the pool of blood.

Audience Feedback:

From using the focus group, we were able to gain feedback about our opening sequence from both genders who were our target audience. We had also asked others to take a quick look and tell us what they think for a first look which helped us improve our opening sequence to the standard asked by our audience.

Theory:

The way that we attracted/addressed our audience on our opening sequence was firstly by whether it gave them opportunities to do and that of blumer and katz's theory. For example, our product gives our audience the opportunity to 'be entertained' as people who possibly liked the horror/thriller genre would like our opening sequence as it would entertain them in a way that it wouldn't for people who don't like the horror/thriller genre. And secondly we thought that our product would give our audience the opportunity to 'escape' from reality and enter a different world of horror and thriller due to the enjoyment factor of these sort of products meaning that they may find our product to their taste. This meant that we could attract our audience due to the opportunities that they can be given.

We also thought that our opening sequence suggested the important things that humans need and represented it to our audience and that of Maslows theory. For example, safety and security needs are explained in our opening sequence as in some cases it connotes how important it really is, we see this when the male victim is dead on the floor as the audience can then understand how important it is to be safe and how much they actually recognise the importance of safety. Also, our product may also explain how valuable love and belonging is as in the opening sequence we see that both characters don't seem to have any of this such as friendship and community which could be the possibility for the death of the victim and the reason why the killer killed the victim. This means that our product has addressed meaningful issues towards the audience which they can possibly relate to and want to do the same.

Evaluation question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation 4 -  Who are the Audience for our Media Product?

Evaluation 4 – audience

Evaluation question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation 3 - Distribution

Evaluation question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation 2 - Media Product Representing Social Groups

What social groups appear in your opening sequence?

In our opening sequence we used a girl to play the clown to be the killer. We originally planned to use a male actor for the clown but the idea fell through and so we decided to use a girl as it had an unconventional look towards the opening sequence and challenge the conventions of social groups of clown being played by men.

What is the stereotypical representation of these social groups?

Usually in films a key stereotype of clowns is that they are played by men. This representation is shown through males being portrayed as more aggressive and violent. The picture shown to the left has been taken from the film Batman: The dark night; it shows the stereotypes with the image clearly showing a clown played by a man.

However, in our opening sequence we had the male character play as the victim which meant it would give an unconventional theme to our sequence of the clown being played by a female and the victim as a male, this would be unconventional as the male is always seen as the more dominant figure over the woman from the audiences point of view and so seeing the man getting killed is something that adds a surprise to the opening sequence.

How has your opening sequence represented them in a conventional or unconventional way?

Our opening sequence has represented females in a supposedly unconventional way, although the character who play the clown in the opening sequence still goes against the common stereotypes. We do not see her in need for help, dependent on others and soft and vulnerable.

 However we do see her as the motionless and heartless. To get this across to the audience, the camera is shown looking at violent features such as the bat covered with blood and the mask of the clown. The wide shot helps the audience to understand that she is alone with not a care in the world as she swings on a swing. The boy that is the victim, connotes an unconventional representation as the majority of victims seem to be female when the man is the killer. Also the female shows more dominance that the male connoting another unconventional representation.



The representation of girls is portrayed as being innocent, vulnerable and most of the time dependent on others. However the example shown above Shows that not all girls are like this and can okay a role which males play. The picture is of Harley Quinn, also another character from batman.


However in our opening sequence we used a female clown to get the audience thinking about the unconventional use of a female character, this was to confuse the audience and create that narrative enigma for what they might expect from a female clown, how will she go about her killing?

Why have you chosen to represent them in an

unconventional way?

I believe that by choosing to represent the clown unconventionally that it will make the opening sequence more engaging with the audience. The audience may not understand what is going on or even why it is but at the same time they will want to keep watching and thus creating narrative enigmas. The audience may not have seen a girl playing a clown and so creates a twist in the plot making the opening sequence more interesting and causing the audience to carry on watching.

Theories:

Due to the use of having a female play the antagonist and a male play the victim may mean 
that female social groups maybe willing to watch our opening sequence rather than boys as in a way our opening sequence shows how the female is more dominant than the male which is an unconventional stereotype as it is usually other way around. This thus fits with McRobbie's theory as in our opening sequence the female is in a way more free from stigmatisation of other people, those people most likely to be 'men' and so this means that they can then make more well informed decisions for themselves.



Also, our opening sequence goes against the views of Mulvey's theory as the female plays the antagonist who wears a mask, dirty clown clothes and kills. This goes against mulvey's theory as our female character is definetly not displayed as a sex object in the sequence and does not "traditionally stop the stroyline from going forward as without the female clown, there would be nothing to move the storyline foward. Similarly, she is not an 'accessory' to the males dominant persona but it is the male victim who is in some way and accessory to the females persona instead.

Evaluation question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Opening Sequence - Perception

Here is my edited version of my groups opening sequence.

Opening sequence poster.

This is a rough copy of what our opening sequence poster might be like.

Feedback

Here is some positive feedback on my draft to help me enhance my opening sequence.

Opening sequence moodboard

Part 2

Production timetable part 1

Opening sequence time schedule