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

• In the preliminary task we followed the 180 degree rule through thoroughly. When using the 180 degree rule we filmed a lengthy conversation between me and Matt using a shot reverse shot making sure the 180 degree rule was followed correctly. In our opening we used the 180 degree rule when Kieran and Matt find the briefcase in the woods. We had to keep to the 180 degree rule because if we didn't the shot would not have been correct or continuous.

• In the preliminary task match on action was used when i open the door to enter the meeting with Matt. To make the shot continuous we shot it from three different angles which we later combined. We also used match on action in our two minute opening when Kieran and Matt find the case which they later open. It was alot smoorher in the two minute opening as we had alot of practise using the editing software since the preliminary task.  

• In the preliminary task we used the shot reverse shot alot because of the conversation that we filmed. Me and Matt were having an interview in the clip so whilst applying to the 180 degree rule we had to use many shot reverse shots.  In the two minute opening we only used the shot reverse shot slighty and that was when Matt and Kieran were in the alleyway whilst harry was at the other end. After the preliminary task we had alot of experience with the shot reverse shot so we managed to get everything running together smoothly.

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

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

Whilst filming our opening i realised that keeping the camera steady and in the same place is a key part when it comes to editing. This makes the transitions alot smoother and editing generally easier. We also learnt that using a tripod makes shots better and have a smoother look.

Whilst editing me and my group realised that the school computers took a rather long time when we were uploading the footage as well as slowing it down when playing it back to us. So our group ended up using Kierans laptop to speed up our work rate.

When editing we used premiere elements. I was new to this software and hadn't really used it where as some members of my group had so i was learning with everystep. The main sections i learnt were the basic editing procedures such as cutting footage down and adding in transitions to make clips run smoothly together. I then went on to learn more advanced bits such as adding sound to clips and text.

Youtube was used alot when producing this opening, we used it many times to look for new editing techniques aswell as getting ideas on what to film. Youtube was also where we put all of our videos.

How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you attract/address your audience?
view the annotations on the video please.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?



Our typical audience member is male because when researching what film genre to do we saw that the majority of people watching the films were male and between the age of 23 - 35. Many males enjoy films which have lots of action and suspense but also have a hidden meaning.

Many males take time out of the daily stress filled lives to watch films i believe our film fits the genre in which the male audience like so they would most likely watch it in their spare time. But our film is rated at an 18 so many males will be able to watch it by themselves and get into it without interruption from children or under 18's as there is most likely to be swearing and a lot of violence.

As you can see from the pictures above the typical viewer likes to keep a well dressed smart look mainly sporting designer clothes. Favorite music genres vary between rock and dance music listening to bands such as pendulum and  fall out boy whilst watching many adult comedy tv programmes like family guy cleveland show and south park.

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

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

The production company in our two minute opening is made by takeing the first letter from everyones first name in our group. Togther it makes MKM (Mitch Kieran Matt), we arranged the letters to rersemble MGM studios. Our logo is the MKM letters in black with a white shadow

The main role for the production conmpany is to produce the film physically by using cameras to capture the actors on set.

In our film title there is no distributor company,if our film was to have a distributor company it would be either 20th century fox or universal because they would allow our film to branch out worldwide.

The funding from our film would most likely come from the national lottery fund as this is the main place to get money for your film as the uk film coucil has been shut down.

In the opening titles of our film the actors are shown to you in a small group near the begining with the actors name following them on screen. shortly after the director is also credited as he pays a major part in our opening.

Our film is manly similar to some top uk films such as hot fuzz and dawn of the dead because the didnt branch out to the rest of the world untill after they were realised in the uk.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In these pictures i believe this is the best visual representation of myself and my character. The picture on the left is of  Tony Montana the main character from the popular crime film Scarface. 

I believe that our characters are very much the same as we both run mobs, we are the head of a large organisation and we both are involved in our organisations decline and fall under our feet and we spend the majority of the film trying to rebuild it and regain our spot at the top of the ladder. 

Our costumes are very similar. We both dress smartly to show our superior positions and wealth. But in our opening im differnet to tony because i go out to assist my mob where as he just stay in the safeness of his compound.   

Mine and tonys general appearence in the film are completely different. in most of scarface tony tends to look alot laid back and casual where as in our film i dress smartly to show that im serious and a commanding leader.

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

In the first screen shot you can see our film title. We went with the name mendacity as we believed it sounded and looked like a conventional name for a crime / thriller film. As you can see for mendacity we have used a font which looks like it is falling apart. This links into the crumbling and destruction of my organisation in our film, this font is also used to make the title of the film stand out compared to the other titles in the film. We also went for a red background and a drop of blood just behind the text to show the audience that there will be alot of fighting and killing along with blood spilled.

In the second screen shot you can see one of our three shooting locations from our film opening. This shows how long the alleyway in which used was and the fact that you cant see the end. Matt and Kieran enter the alleyway at their own risk.

The third shot is of harry who is the bad guy in our film. He is in full costume holding one of the main props in our opening a baseball bat. We decided that harry should have a baseball bat instead of the conventional gun or knife as a beating from a baseball bat would be a lot more violent fitting the genre and outline of our opening. All of the characters are wearing suits to show that everyone is smart, organised and wealthy.

The fourth shot shows the moment in which i close the front door after the kitchen scene triggering a white flash showing the start of the flash back. This is one of the main sections of editing in our opening. We tried to make the white flash stand out and also make it a transition between the kitchen scene and the scene in the woods.

The fifth shot shows our titles and the colours and font we used. As you can see for our titles we used a black background with black font surrounded by a white shadow making the font standout and eye catching grabbing the audiences attention.

The sixth shot shows one of the main elements of the story. This shot is of Matt and  Kieran finding the briefcase which is the main object of our opening. Them picking up the case is the beginning of my organisations crumble as you see later on in the opening the end up loosing the case to harry which contained a lot of money and documents to do with the success of my organisation so when you loose it i loose all power and a lot of money because other mobs now have my information which i use to succeed.

The seventh shot shows Kieran and Matt opening the case also exploiting the genre of our film. As you can see they are in the stereotypical gangster / mobster suits and ties, this showing that it is a film under the crime genre but there are elements of a thriller whilst watching. We decided to go for an old school crime film as wearing suits and having a smart look shows the power and wealth of our characters and the story lines and plots are just generally a lot better.

The eighth shot shows myself getting ready in the bedroom. This is one of the many ways which we introduce our characters into the opening. Matt and Kieran and introduced at the same time just after the white flash but the front door the are in a woods looking for the briefcase. Harry is introduced when Kieran and Matt reach the alleyway. He appears at the other end of the alleyway wielding a baseball bat.

Finally the ninth shot shot one of our special effects. This screen shot is taken mid way threw our crash zoom in the alleyway to Harry's face. The crash zoom was made by filming a long shot of us walking down the alleyway towards Harry's face. Then we sped up the shot in editing and added a sound bridge for the shot.   

Mendacity (Media AS Opening)

This is the final version of our 2 minute film opening mendacity.

Re Filming Photos

 

These are the pictures which our group took whilst re filming the kitchen scene. These were taken inbetween shots. 

Continuation of editing

March 17th - Today we were ment to have a lesson with Mr Oswick but he allowed us to continue with editing so we uploaded the footage which we re-filmed of me makeing the cup of tea in matts kitchen.

March 22nd -  Today kieran brought in his laptop so we continued to edit  our two minute opening. We decided  that we seriously needed to cut down some of the scenes to reach the two minute mark show we cracked on to make sure it was ready for the 28th march when it is due.

Re-filming March 15th

Today after school our group went back to Matts house to re film a certain sequence in the kitchen. We made sure that the location looked exactly the same as when i was mmakeing the cup of tea previously so when editing it wouldn't be difficult and we could make the cuts flow nice and smoothly. Our group will upload the footage on monday which is our next media lesson.

Diary of editing

For a number of weeks now we have been editing our 2 minute film opening and this is a list of the dates which we edited on and what we achieved.

February 28th - In todays lesson we started to upload the clips to the school computers which were ready to edit. Kierans wished to take the footage home but his memory stick was to small to take it so he is going to bring in a bigger one next lesson.

March 8th - Over the past few lessons we have been rendering the footage but as the school computers are so slow this has takeing a lot longer than we had wished. We eventually put the footage onto Kierans memory stick so we could edit on his laptop in lesson as i said the school computers are too slow to get a reasonable amount of work done on them.

March 10th - Today kieran brought his laptop into lesson so we could begin editing. Our group began to cut up the first scene whilst providing ideas aswell as advice. But me and Matt feel a little un used so we are going to edit some of the titles.

March 14th - In today's lesson our group began to cut up the kitchen scene. whilst doing this we came across a problem as some of the shots would not merge together well so we dceided we would re shoot part of the scene. So at the end of the day we picked up the camera and tripod and decided that tomorrow we would go back to Matt's house and re shoot the scene.           

Filming Diary

Over half term our group completed the filming of our 2 minute film opening. Overall the filming went great we completed everything to a standard which we all agreed was good. Here is a list of the days in which we filmed and what we filmed.

Tuesday 22nd February - Our group all went to Matt's house to begin filming the don waking up and getting ready. This consisted of me waking up, putting on my clothes, walking into the bathroom and splashing water on my face, walking down the stairs and putting my blazer on, moving into the kitchen and preparing toast and eating it as well as boiling the kettle making a cup of tea and drinking it, then the scene ends with me putting my shoes on and exiting Matt's house.

Friday 25th February - After delaying filming for a few days because of Kieran and Matt being ill and myself having work we finally filmed the briefcase scene at the splash. This scene consisted of Matt and Kieran running to get the briefcase, they then find the case inside a bush, it is then opened to reveal the objects inside, Matt and Kieran then walk away with the case. Then scene ends with a panning shot up towards the sky. Which we used in the next scene.

Saturday 26th February - Most of our group went to the alleyway location in ashtead to film the next scene. Unfortunately i could not make filming as i had no way of getting to the location so Harry volunteered to film the parts which he wasn't in. This scene consisted of Matt and Kieran entering the alleyway, Harry also entering the alleyway but at the other end and him sliding a baseball bat into his hand, a crash zoom from Matt and Kierans point of view all the way to Harry's face, a shot of Matt and Kieran looking at each other then progressing up the alleyway, then a point of view shot of Kieran walking out of the alleyway and him and Matt being struck with the baseball bat by Harry and finally a shot from Kierans point of view whilst he is lying on the ground and Harry picks up and walks away with the briefcase.   

Character Profiles

Today in lesson our group brought in our costumes that we are going to be using in our 2 minute film opening. We chose these outfits as it goes along with the classic gangster stereotype with a slightly modern twist which can give our film an interesting hook for people to want to see it.

Our group still need to get a photograph of Harry's costume which will consist of a more modern "Gangster" stereotype as he will be wearing tracksuit bottoms, a hoodie and a new era hat.

Possible Shooting Locations

 This first picture is a possible shooting location of the kitchen used when the boss/don is waking up and making his breakfast. This is a good location as the toaster is easy to see and can easily be filmed from various angles if needed and it gives a modern look to the scene which we want to portray as it shows the boss as having a lot of money.

 This next picture is another possible shooting location of the alleyway used towards the end of our opening. It looks to be a good location because it is dark at night and has street lamps along the pathway which can give a very good atmosphere and helps set the scene at night time which can make the mysterious figure even more inconspicuous.

This picutre is another angle of the alleyway again showing another streetlamp which will enhance the atmosphere of the scene.

Crime Film Release dates

Crime/gangster films are released in the late/early month's of the year usually between the month's of October and January.
Reservoir Dogs was released in January along with other films such as se7en and A Clockwork Orange. In October some great crime/gangster films were released including Goodfellas, Pulp fiction and  The Departed.

Overall our group believe that releasing our film in October will be greater than releasing it now as crime films released in October get much more popularity and higher gross revenue.

Questionaire

I have created a questionnaire about Crime Films, the questionnaire helps use choose a target audience for our film and helps us choose some key features that should or should not be included in our film.

Q1 - Are crime films too violent? 

Q2 - Do you prefer opening credits on a plain background or over film footage?

Q3 - Do accents affect Crime films?

Q4 - Do you prefer traditional "gangster" crime films or more modern crime films?

 

Q5 - Should costumes be stereotypical suits and ties or tracksuits and trainers?

 

Q6 - What sort of music should be played over shots in a crime film?

Prop lists and photos

This is a metal briefcase which we might use in our 2 minute opening. it will be the main focus of our flashback scenes. we have decided to use the metal brief case as it is going against the usaul stereotype of a leather briefcase. the briefcase will protect the valuables inside.

 

This is a baseball bat in which we intend to use in our 2 minute open. The baseball bat will play a key part in our 2 minute opening as it is what the henchman get struck by at the end. A baseball is more violent than the stereotypical gun as it is a malicious weapon. 

Storyboard Animatic

Our group have made the storyboard into an animatic to show our scenes in motion. Kieran has included a music track that could be used in our opening which is copyright free and we also included sound effects to help the viewer visualise the scenes which we might use in the opening.

Shot list

Shot 1 is of the opening credits which i (kieran) have designed in a typography design.

Shot 2 is of an alarm clock on a table to set the time of the scene. (close up)

Shot 3 is of The Boss getting out of his bed (medium)

Shot 4 is of the boss washing his face in the mirror (close up)

Shot 5 is the boss sitting on his bed buttoning his shirt (medium shot)

Shot 6 is of the don tightening his tie (extreme close up)

Shot 7 is a shot of the boss walking downstairs (medium shot)

Shot 8 is of the boss switching the kettle on (extreme close up)

Shot 9 is of the boss putting toast in the toaster and the toast popping out again almost instantaneously (close up)

Shot 10 is a time lapse of the toast being eaten on a plate (close up)

Shot 11 is a shot of the kettle pouring in to a mug and a tim lapse of the tea getting drunk.(close up)

Shot 12 is of the boss opening the door from inside the house (medium shot)

Shot 13 is a first person shot of the boss closing the door, the shot then fades out

Shot 14 is a long shot of two characters running in the pleasantville effect (long shot)

Shot 15 is of the two characters running towards the camera (medium shot)

Shot 16 is of the characters feet running through a puddle (close up)

Shot 17 is of the characters reaching a patch of undergrowth/hedges (medium shot)

Shot 18 is a shot of the corner of a case sticking out of the hedge (extreme close up)

Shot 19 is a shot of the characters pulling the case out of the hedge/undergrowth (medium shot)

Shot 20 is of the characters walking away with the case (long shot)

Shot 21 is of the characters starting to walk down an alleyway (medium shot)

Shot 22 is a shot of a mysterious figure appearing at the other end of the alleyway, a baseball bat slides down from behind his arm (long shot)

Shot 23 uses the long shot from shot 22 and tracks down the alleyway to an extreme close up of the characters face and his expression changes more sinister.

Shot 24 is of the two mobsters looking worrid (close up)

Shot 25 is a shot of the mysterious figure walking away (long shot)

Shot 26 is of the characters cautiously carring on walking down the alleyway (medium shot)

Shot 27 is a first person view of the mobsters emerging from the alleyway and looking right

Shot 28 is a first person view of the mobsters looking left and see the mysterious figure hit him with the baseball bat, shot fades to black and a crashing/falling sound is heard.

Shot 29 is a first person view of the mobster on the floor at a canted angle showing the mysterious figure walking away with the case (the mobster might reach out with a bloody hand)

Shot 30 is a first person view of the mobster still on the floor at a canted angle but the shot starts to fade out as if the mobster is passing out and the eyes are closing and a passing out sound is played.

Free sound effects

Over the weekend Our group has been looking for free sound effects.We managed to find a website in which we could download them that website is pacdv.com.
The sound effects which we download will help our scene become more natural and make it more believable for the audience.

Storyboard sheet 6

 

Shot 26 is medium shot of the characters cautiously carring on walking down the alleyway

Shot 27 is a first person view of the mobsters emerging from the alleyway and looking right

Shot 28 is a first person view of the mobsters looking left and see the mysterious figure hit him with the baseball bat, shot fades to black and a crashing/falling sound is heard.

Shot 29 is a first person view of the mobster on the floor at a canted angle showing the mysterious figure walking away with the case (the mobster might reach out with a bloody hand)

Shot 30 is a first person view of the mobster still on the floor at a canted angle but the shot starts to fade out as if the mobster is passing out and the eyes are closing and a passing out sound is played.

Stroyboard sheet 5

 

Shot 21 is a medium shot of the characters starting to walk down an alleyway 

Shot 22 is a long shot of a mysterious figure appearing at the other end of the alleyway, a baseball bat slides down from behind his arm

Shot 23 uses the long shot from shot 22 and tracks down the alleyway to an extreme close up of the characters face and his expression changes more sinister. 

Shot 24 is a close up of the two mobsters looking worrid 

Shot 25 is a long shot of the mysterious figure walking away

Storyboard sheet 4

 

Shot sixteen is a close up of the characters feet running through a puddle. 

The seventeenth shot is a medium shot of the characters reaching a patch of undergrowth/hedges.  

Shot 18 is a extreme close up shot of the corner of a case sticking out of the hedge. 

The nineteenth shot is a medium shot of the characters pulling the case out of the hedge/undergrowth.

Shot 20 is a long shot of the characters walking away with the case.

Storyboard sheet 3

 

The eleventh shot is a close up shot of the kettle pouring into a mug and a time lapse of the tea getting drunk.

The twelfth shot is medium shot of the boss opening the door from inside the house.

The thirteenth shot is a first person shot of the boss closing the door, the shot then fades out.

The fourteenth shot is a long shot of two characters running in the pleasantville effect

The fifteenth shot is a medium shot of the two characters running towards the camera

Storyboard sheet 2

 

The sixth shot is an extreme close up of the don (me) tightening his tie. 

The seventh shot is a medium shot of the boss walking downstairs 

The eighth shot is an extreme close up of me switching the kettle on

The ninth shot is a close up of me putting toast in the toaster and the toast popping out again almost instantaneously.

The tenth shot is a close up time lapse of the toast being eaten on a plate.

Storyboard sheet 1

 

The first shot consists of the opening crdeits which were created by kieran who designed them in a typography design.

The second shot is a close up of the alarm clock on a table to set the time of the scene. 

 

The third shot is a medium shot of the Boss (which is me) getting out of his bed.

The fourth shot is a close up of the boss washing his face in the mirror. 

The fifth shot is a medium shot the boss sitting on his bed buttoning his shirt.

Opening Credits

This is a video showing what our group has created as a sample idea of what we could use for our opening credits.

Opening credits

Kieran has made some opening credits over the weekend in typography style using Adobe After Effects. he has created this original to give us an idea of how it looks and he will alter it until he and us are satisfied with it if we use it in our actual opening. The music he has used in the background is non-copyright from freeplay music which builds tension in a great way. This would work well as an intro because the music will lure the audience into the opening credits and then they will get startled by the sudden and loud alarm clock sound from the first scene. A video will be posted shortly.

Mood board

This mood board was created to show the mood/setting of our film. It inclueds ideas for scenery, costume and props.

Audience

The audience who are likely to watch our film are going to be mostly between the age of 15 and 50 because the film certification is 15 so no one under 15 will watch it and the age range is upto 50 because after the age of 50 people don't tend to go out and see films anymore and films have altered from their own experiences so there is no appeal to see the film. The typical people to watch our film will be male as the film is quite violent and appeals to a male audience more due to the testosterone and manliness levels. This image sums up the stereotypical audience that are going to view our movie.