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

PRELIMINARY TASK BRIEF:

• Continuity task
• Filming and editing
• A character must walk through a door and across a room, sit down and have a conversation with another character.
• This clip must show match on action, shot-reverse-shot and we must follow the 30 and 180 degree rule.

OPENING SEQUENCE/ MAIN TASK BRIEF:

• To create an opening sequence lasting two minutes of a new fiction film.
• The sequence must include: titles running throughout, copyright free soundtrack and copyright free sound effect.
• We need to show evidence of understanding of continuity editing. Also need to show theoretical understanding e.g genre signifiers.
• We need to come up with a new, original idea which ideally only involved a few characters and one location.

Continuity and Narrative Structure

After completing the preliminary task, I realised the importance of continuity and its role in helping to suspend audience disbelief. By successfully doing this a director would be able to ensure total escapism into their media product. However, in the preliminary task we broke the 30 degree rule, which proved to be a distraction for the audience, failing to suspend their disbelief (below)

Above: shots from the prelim task where the camera suddenly jumped.

Attempting to keep the continuity of our main task was much harder than attempting to do this in the prelim task. Firstly there were many more elements in our main task that we had to consider: the narrative was much more complex. We realised that for the shots to flow together and become coherent the narrative itself had to make sense. The fact that we re-scripted so many times and had to re-shoot so many times shows evidence for this.

Group Dynamics

• Working in a group, it was obvious that we would at some point fall out with each other, which we did. 
• However, had we not sorted things out we may not have done as well on our final cut of Dark Summer.
• From this, I have learnt that it is essential to listen to other members of the group and take on their suggestions, as they would mine.
• Though we did have our differences, we managed to sort them out, and eventually, we came out with the best possible opening sequence we could have made.

Below: A shot of Anisah and I with some of the equipment on the main shoot.

Planning and Production:

• It is essential to plan in detail before shooting.
• For the main task, we initially did not plan very well, which led to us wasting time and not getting the desired shots.
•  In contrast, the group I was in for the prelim task and I planned very well. This was shown in the fact that we were able to shoot quickly and efficiently.
• My group and I for the main task eventually learnt to plan beforehand in greater detail.
• I have learnt that planning pre-production does not only mean in terms of paperwork. We had to make sure that our actress, who was not in our group was clear on what she had to do.

Researching Genre Signifiers and Audience

• Though we did not have to research and include genre and target audience in our prelim task, my group and I realised through research of real media products how important those two factors were to the planning stage.
• Were it not for the research we did on genre and audience, the feedback from the audience during our screening may not have been as positive.

What was the most important thing I learnt?

Below: The second edit of Dark Summer which shows lack of continuity and absence of coherent narrative in the latter half.

Having had so many lessons and so much feeback from our edits on continuity, I have learnt that in order to have be successful, a film or sequence must follow the rules of continuity. This includes a coherent narrative, so that the audience do not question the sequence of events and become distracted from the film itself. A coherent narrative, as well as narrative tension allows for suspension of disbelief, which signifies a potentially successful media product. In addition to this, seamless editing also contributes to a continuous sequence.

From the preliminary task to the main task, the most important thing I have learnt about filming and editing media products is that all the different stages of planning, research, production and editing all work in unison with each other. Without one or the other, it would not be possible to create a successful media product. Commitment and attention needs to be placed upon each of these stages to ensure the best possible result.

Question 6: What have you leant about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Though I had used the technologies involved in this project before, it has been a while since I had last used them. However, after having refreshed my memory I found I was able to use the technologies more competently than I had previously.

HARDWARE USED:

• 
  
  Canon HDV mini DV (format of tape: digital). I felt more confident using the camera this time round navigated myseld easily around it. Though we had learnt to change the style of the camera shot e.g. black and white we kept with the normal settings as we felt such effects would not be in keeping with the mood and tone of our opening.

• 
  
  Shot gun mike and headphones. Our group had not previously used the shot gun mike before. We found we were able to set it to two settings, surround and shot gun. At first, we used the mike when shooting, but going back over the footage we realised that it picked up background noise which we hadn't heard over the headphones, so on the main and back up shoots we chose not to use it.

• 
  
  Tripod. This was an essential piece of hardware. Without it we would not be able to shoots shots steadily  and without it we would not have gotten the more harder to achieve shots, such as the high angle of Zoe at the kitchen counter. The tripod also us to adjust different heights to correctly frame different shots and helped us to create smooth pans. Below is a step by step example of a pan presented in a flow chart.

A picture of Jess and I shooting a bedroom shot...

SOFTWARE USED:
When it came to editing, we worked on a PC based digital editing suite.

• Adobe Premiere Pro cs3. As I had already used Premiere Pro before, there was nothing that I had not encountered before. However, I do feel that after this project I was able to use the program more confidently and more competently. The razor tool and the rubber band tool were most useful to us as we needed them to trim down shots. The most important thing I have learnt is that it is easier to work on seperate timelines as it keeps you more organised and helps you compare differences in different edits. (Below is a screen shot of Adobe Premiere Pro).

• There were also several effects and transitions on Adobe. The video transitions we used were fades and 'ghost'. The audio transitions we used were 'audio gain' and 'constant power'. In certain shots we also increased the volume to add effect.

• I also learnt to use the LiveType Program on the Mac to create titles. Using LiveType, instead of using the titles software available on Adobe Premiere Pro, was much better because there were a wider variety of effects to use and a wider variety of fonts. I found LiveType much easier to use than the titles on Adobe as all we had to to was type in our desired text and apply effects and fonts. We used the 'wipe' effect for our titles in the sequence. The timeline on the bottom allowed us to control the timing and pace of our titles.

• 
  
  To create the BFE Productions logo, I used a variety of PC based programs, including Adobe Photoshop and titles on Adobe Premiere Pro. To get the moving sunset in the background, Ryan, the technician helped us download a free short movie off the internet. From this I learnt that to get the desired product it was necessary to experiment with a variety of programs.

Below: A shot of Michael and I creating the BFE Productions logo on Adobe Photoshop.

Question 5: How did you attract/ address your audience?

Though men are generally more interested in watching thriller films, women would also be interested in watching Dark Summer. This is because they may be able to relate to the female character Zoe. However, the theme of our film, kidnap, should attract both men and women, due to the recent reports in the media of children being kidnapped. Cases such as the Madeleine McCann Case and the Josef Fritzl Case are very current and extremly shocking. Dark Summer addressing primarily the theme kidnap should attract audiences because of their relation to such real life subjects.

Addressing the audience: Context. How does Dark Summer relate to the audience?

• Madeleine disappeared from her hotel bedroom in May 2007.
• The disappearance of Summer, in Dark Summer is similar to this case because Summer was also taken from her bedroom, as Madeleine was.
• The audience would be interested in watching Dark Summer to learn more about the subject of kidnap as it is currently a subject which is talked about a lot in the media.

Addressing the audience: Uses and Gratifcations
Why would the audience want to watch Dark Summer? Below, I have applied this to the theory of media uses and gratifications.

Uses and Gratifications

How does Dark Summer attract the audience?

• A psychological thriller revolving around the theme of kidnap attracts the audience because of its relevance in today's society.
• The genre of psychological thriller should attract the majority of men and some women.
• The character, Zoe attracts the female audience because she is someone they could relate to.
• Zoe also attracts the male audience because she is attractive. 

EQUILIBRIUM:

• We started off with an initial equilibrium to settle the audience into the film.
• By doing this we are also following the classic narrative pattern as there is initial equilibrium in the story.

DISRUPTION:

• Following the classic narrative pattern, there is disruption later in the opening sequence when Zoe finds Summer missing from her bed. However, the disruption in the sequence could also be identified in the shots with the masked man at the door or the screaming.
• By following the classic narrative pattern, the audience will be able to fully suspend their disbelief as they will be expecting disruptions in the narrative.LD UP OF THE ENIGMA
• The shot of the masked man at the fridge is the twist in our opening. The audience does not suspect this as there is nothing prior in the sequence to indicate something like this.
• The enigma is whether the masked man is the real culprit of the crime.

IS THE AUDIENCE OBSERVING THE SEQUENCE OR PARTICIPATING IN IT?

HOW HAS THIS INCREASED NARRATIVE TENSION?

• 
  
  The audience see the masked man at the window but Zoe does not. This heightens tension as Zoe is not aware of the danger which the audience are aware of.
• 
  
  This knowledge means that the audience are observing the events taking place, and are not participating in it as they are aware of the dangers but are unable to intervene. That they are not following the narrative from Zoe's point of view means also means that they are mearly observers to the opening.
• 
  
  We can see this in the bird's eye view shot, which connotes surveillance. This is also shown in the hallway shot, where the audience stays on the view of the stairs and the hallway whilst Zoe is upstairs looking for Summer. This increases narrative tension as the audience cannot see the events as they unfold. The use of the bird's eye view also connotes suveillance and observation.

HOW WOULD WE MARKET DARK SUMMER?

As Dark Summer is financed primarily by BFE Productions, a big-budget production company, we would be able to spend more on marketing the film if it were a real media product. The callouts below show how we could market the film commercially.

HOW DID WE ATTRACT PEOPLE TO THE SCREENING OF OUR OPENING?

As we were required to screen the opening in school, we made sure that we targeted those students that would fall into our primary target audience.

To do this, we set up an event on Facebook and invited those aged 15 and over...

We also made notices to go into class registers to increase awareness of the screening...

Below: A shot of our audience at our film opening screening.

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK: DID WE ATTRACT THEM SUCCESSFULLY?

Below are some examples of the feedback we got from our audience in our screening:

Audience Feedback

• 
  
  Overall, the audience feeback we got was positive. We had both young male and female adults attend so we could get the widest range of feeback possible. 
• 
  
  Many members of the audience correctly identified the genre of Dark Summer as thriller, though some thought the genre was horror. However, this is because many conventions of thriller films also fall under the conventions of horror films.
• 
  
  The audience also correctly identified the target audience being "teenagers", or "older teenagers", or "young adults".
• 
  
  We recieved a mixed response for the question "What type of cinema would you expect to see this film". Some members of the audience expected to see it in an independent cinema, whilst others expected to see it in a large multiplex. This is probably because of the professional look of the BFE Productions logo contrasting with the more arty feel of the shots.
• 
  
  The audience correctly identified the themes of Dark Summer.
• 
  
  The audience liked our variety of camera angles, titles and music.
• 
  
  Improvements suggested were: more music, darker lighting, more suspense.
• 
  
  In conclusion, we were rather successful in attracting our audience. The majority would have watched the rest of the film if it were a real media product and gave sequence relatively high scores out of ten.

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Primary Target Audience: Young adults of both sexes aged 15-28

We decided that our core target audience would be men and women aged 15-28. This is because men and women of this age range are more open to watching indie style films. Because of this, if Dark Summer were a real media product we would hopefully be able to get it a 15 rating in UK cinemas, so as not to exclude those aged 15, 16 and 17 of our primary target audience. Below is a table describing our primary target audience.

Core Target Audience


Secondary Target Audience: Adults of both sexes aged 28-38

In addition to our primary target audience, we identified a secondary target audience who would be interested in watching our film. Below is a moodboard of a factfile of our secondary audience.

From this, our audience for Dark Summer would be a broad one. We have quite a wide range of ages and have attempted to target a mass audience. The film would hopefully target a national audience from all walks of life.

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Our main production company, BFE Productions is a large, British based company, famous for making high budget British films. However, they also help to finance independent production companies to appeal to a section of the audience market they may not have targeted with their high-budget films. They were also the main producers of the film. Reel is its parent company.

• 
  
  Impact Films is our second production company. They specialise in independent films and target more a niche market. The finance for 'Dark Summer' came mainly from BFE Productions, though Impact paid a small share of it. 

Comparison with The Duchess (Dibb, 2008)

(The Duchess. Moodboard)

• 
  
  The Duchess was financed by BBC Films and Pathe, both British/ European based companies.
• 
  
  The film was produced mainly by Paramount Vantage, a speciality film division of Paramount Pictures. The films they are associated with have a more independent feel than the films usually produced by its parent company.
• 
  
  Qwerty Films, a British based production company also helped to produce the film.
• 
  
  Distribution rights to The Duchess were acquired by Paramount Vantage.

The theatrical trailer for The Duchess below shows that the film was financed by Pathe in the first show and all other production companies and distributors are mentioned in the credits in the last shot.

 How is this similar to Dark Summer?

• 
  
  BFE Productions is a company which usually produces high budget films. However, it produced Dark Summer in association with Impact Films, and indenpendent production company to target a more niche market, like Paramount Vantage and BBC Films, Qwerty Films and Pathe.

Unlike The Duchess, Dark Summer does not have a distributor. What kind of distributor might aquire these rights to Dark Summer?

• 
  
  If Dark Summer were a real media product, to attempt to aquire a distributor we would have to release the film in British and European based film festivals.
• 
  
  We would have to go to British film festivals, such as the British Urban Film Festival, which screens indepedent films to target the British audience.
• 
  
  The Cannes Film Festival, in France is internationally renowned. If we were to screen Dark Summer in such a film festival, the film would hopefully get European and American recognition, as well as British recognition. By doing this we would be more likely to pick up a distributor.

Comparison with Paranormal Activity (Peli, 2007)

(A still from the Paranormal Activity trailer)

• 
  
  Paranormal Activity, an independent film directed by Oren Peli first premiered at Screamfest Film Festival in the US on Oct 14 2007.
• 
  
  It was then subsequently shown at other films festivals, such as Slamdance Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival in an attempt to pick up a distributor.
• 
  
  Paramount Pictures eventually aquired distribution rights.
• 
  
  If Dark Summer were a real media product, we would hopefully be able to aquire a distributor through gaining recognition through film festivals as Paranormal Activity did.

What examples of British distribution companies would be interested in distributing Dark Summer?

• 
  
  E1 Entertainment UK: Distributor of theatrical, home video and TV production companies. They operate across a number of genres. Recent releases include Away We Go and An Education.
• 
  
  Artifical Eye: Long established leading distributor of independent and foreign language films. Recent releases include Fish Tank and The White Ribbon.

These distribution companies would distribute Dark Summer if it were a real media product because they both specialise in independent films.

What type of cinema would the distributor distribute Dark Summer?

• Our primary target audience are males and females of ages 15-28. This market usually watches films in big multiplex cinemas, such as Vue and Cineworld. Therefore, the film would be distributed to these cinemas.

• Our secondary target audience are adults of both sexes, aged 28-38. This more mature audience more often frequent independent cinemas. And as Dark Summer is an indie film, we would also screen it in selected independent cinemas, such as The Prince Charles Cinema, the Rio Cinema and the Phoenix.

(A shot from the Rio Cinema website)

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our coursework opening sequence, Dark Summer has characters representing two different social groups:

• Females: girls and women
• Age: children and young adults/ teens

We did this through the script, costume and mise-en-scene. Below I have expanded on the representations of these two social groups.

AGE: CHILDREN

How are young children conventionally seen in society?

How does the character of Summer follow this representation of young children?

• We do not see her in the opening sequence. This shows the audience that she has always been vulnerable to attack.
• Summer has Zoe to babysit her. She needs someone older to look after her as she is not old enough to look after and protect herself.
• Summer was kidnapped, conforming to the convention that children need protection.
• Her room is full of childish things; fluffy cushions, pictures of animals, music box.
• Summer being kidnapped shows how innocent and helpless she is.

AGE: TEENAGERS

How are teenagers conventionally seen in society?

Does the character, Zoe follow this representation of teenagers?

• Being trusted to babysit Summer shows her level of responsibility. Zoe is not wholly irresponsible and lacking in maturity, like child.
• Her Blackberry and costume conform to the fact that teenagers are interested in style and the latest technologies.
• Zoe being polite on the phone to Mrs Matthews shows that she is respectful of her elders, and not rude and stroppy as some people might expect her to be.
• She is obviously not involved with gang culture or crime as many teens in Britain are nowadays.
• She is responsible for Summer's safety. Zoe has failed in her responsibility to look after Summer though the kidnap is not something she could have easily prevented. She is not mature like an adult.

GENDER: FEMALES

How are females conventionally seen in society?

How do the characters in Dark Summer follow or defy the stereotype of females and women?

• Summer being kidnapped shows her vulnerability as a female child.
• Zoe defies the stereotype of passive and sensitive females as she appears strong and forceful in the scene where she receives the anonymous phone call.
• Zoe follows the stereotype of childcare being a woman's job because she is babysitting Summer.

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

After going over our initial ideas and confirming our final idea, we decided that the genre of our opening sequence most likely fitted in the sub-genre of psychological thriller. Though some thriller films have death and murder in them, the absence of it in our opening sequence allows the audience to be clear on the fact that our opening sequence is not a horror, revolving around gory murder. The hidden identity of the masked man and the anonymous phone call show the audience that this is a psychological thriller. The kidnap of the child is also a theme prevalent in other sub-genres of thriller films e.g. crime thrillers. However, before we started planning we had to brainstorm conventions of psychological thrillers to make sure we would achieve the best opening sequence possible 

Below I have analysed and compared Dark Summer in how it uses, develops or challenges the forms and conventions of real media products.

How does Dark Summer use, develop or challenge the conventions of the genre of psychological thrillers?

Comparison to a real media product: When A Stranger Calls (Walton, 1979)

Narrative Conventions

Dark Summer can be identified as following different types of narrative structure conventions usually seen . Below, I have applied the sequence to two notable narrative theories:

ROLAND BARTHES' THEORY: The Five Codes

VLADIMIR PROPP'S THEORY: Classic Narrative Pattern

The style and form of our opening sequence is neat, though full of tension. The smooth camera work and narrative shows the audience that our opening is a sophisticated film, like other thrillers such as When A Stranger Calls. Following typical narrative techniques found in other films conform to the convention that all films follow some form of narrative structure. We also followed the thriller convention of victims and villains, and vulnerable women and children.

Analysis of an Opening Sequence: The Number 23

THE TITLES

Denotation:

• 
  
  Opening of the sequence fades up from black, the first shot introducing the film studio, "NEW LINE CINEMA presents".
• A cut to the next shot introduces the production company, "a CONTRAFILM/ FIRM FILMS production"
• The director, Joel Schumacher is introduced in the next shot.
• There is a quick cut of what appears to be the number 23 repeated over and over again in the shot.
• The protagonist, Jim Carrey is introduced, whilst in the next shot, the title of the film, The Number 23 is shown.
• Following these titles, there are various facts about the number 23, for instance "THERE ARE 23 LETTERS IN THE LATIN ALPHABET"
• In addition to the facts about the number 23, the titles also include other actors and actresses e.g. Mark Pellegrino and  members of the technical and creative team e.g associate producer LINDA HALL
• The shots and titles jerk around the screen.
• The end title shows the number 23 disappearing under spreading blood.

Connotations:

• The typewriter style font used is suggestive of the old fashioned typewriters used prior to the invention of computers. This suggests that the number 23 has historic significance in our society and is of great relevance to both the audience and the film.
• The use of capital letters for the names of the actors and members of the technical and creative team help them stand out from the sequence.
• The facts regarding the number 23 written out all in capital letters show that they have great significance to the film.
• The words and sentences often appearing in red connote danger and death.
• The number 23 repeated again and again connotes obsession.
• The shots and titles jerking around the screen unnerve the audience, causing physical and emotional discomfort. It suggests that the rest of the film will be as jerky and unnerving as the titles are.
• The last shot connotes how everything connected with the number 23 will end in death and destruction.

The Graphics

Denotations:

• Spreading blood spatter over the shots and titles.
• Changing typography (always changing to the number 23)

Connotations:

• The blood connotes danger and death, while its spreading over the shots suggests that this danger and death will spread over all events in the film.
• The typography constantly changing to the number 23 suggests that all events in and people are related to it in the film.

THE MUSIC

• The constant drumming in the background keeps the pace fast moving, not allowing the audience to settle down.
• The sharp noises are meant to throw the audience out of their comfort zone.
• Increasing pitch heightens tension

Final Idea of Group Film Opening

Preliminary Synopsis of Group Opening Sequence:
Below is the synopsis of our opening pre- production

• A phone rings and we see Zoe, a teen around 18 years old, babysitting in a house.
• She then goes to the kitchen,
• A masked man is standing at the window wearing a mask and dark clothing. Zoe does not acknowledge his presence but the audience sees him.
• Zoe hears a scream and strange noises coming from Summer's room (the child).
• Startled, she drops a cup of red juice on the floor and runs upstairs to check on the child.
• She opens the door, glancing at drawings, a rocking horse (and maybe a music box).
• The window has blown open and as she approaches the bed, slowly pulling open the covers she realises that the child is gone.

We followed this synopsis when presenting our proposal to the class and teacher. Below is a copy of our handout. It includes the synopsis, influences, genre and style of the film, themes, target audience and the practicalities of the proposal.

Final Synopsis of Group Opening Sequence

• Zoe, a young girl of 18 is babysitting Summer. The sequence starts with her at a table in the kitchen doing work.
• She receives a call on her Blackberry from Mrs Matthews, Summer's mother.
• After the conversation, she gets up and walks to the fridge to get out a jug of red juice.
• As she walks away from the fridge, we see a masked man, clothed in black standing outside watching her. Zoe does not see him.
• She goes to the couter and pours herself a drink. As she is drinking it, she hears a loud scream which startles her, making her drop the cup of juice on the floor.
• She runs out of the kitchen, up the stairs to Summer's room.
• In Summer's room she goes straight to the bed to check on the child, but sees an empty bed. She looks puzzled, and calls for Summer to stop hiding and come out.
• Zoe then notices the music box which is playing on the bedside table, and being unnerved shuts it.
• She walks out of the room checks the other rooms in the house and goes up to the second floor, calling out for Summer.
• She realises that Summer is not in the house, and sitting down on a step, Zoe starts to panic.
• The house phone starts ringing, interrupting her thoughts. She runs down the stairs and picks up the phone shouting, "Hello?! Hello?! Who is this?!"

We had to change the synopsis of the sequence, because we realised after our test shoot that the narrative did not make sense.

Back Up Shoot: Wed 10th March

This was the emergency back up shoot we arranged to sort out our continuity errors.
Luckily we were free to shoot after school, with the exception of Anisah who had prior commitments she could not get out of.
The shoot was extremly successful as we all understood what we had to do and we were able to get the shots we needed.
Going over our shots, we can see that we no longer have any continuity errors. When editing, our sequence will hopefully look much better.

Back Up Shoot: Fri 5th Mar 2010

• Our third shoot went relatively well. The above link shows our 3rd cut with an alternative ending.
• However, looking back on our footage, we realised that we had several continuity errors. We have arranged one further back up shoot to correct these mistakes.

Editing Timetable

Below are the slots we decided to book into for editing our sequence. They show the weeks beginning March 1st 2010 and March 8th 2010. (click image to enlarge)