Evaluation

This is the video for my film opening.

Here is spiderman’s opening title sequence which I have compared and associated with my opening.

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

There where many conventions used whilst developing my film. By researching many different genres of films I established the action adventure film which I began to look into more. I looked at films such as spiderman, the dark knight and kickass to help me unwrap what I need to include in my own film for a superhero styled film.

Their were many key things to include whilst filming the opening. One of these is  the mise en-scene, such as the setting, props and location. For example most action adventure films such as spiderman take place in a city to make it more action packed. In superhero films the costume they wear is what makes them look cool, mysterious and also it helps hide their identity. The clothing which I used on my main heroic character was used to portray them in a superior way. He had an old fashioned dark brown hat on which covered his face, this was to hide his own identity. He had a black shirt and black trousers on, this made him look smart and important. This idea of clothing came from researching film noir as it is a common film noir 1940’s look, the clothing implies mystery. As the flash back begins he is running although is wearing average casual clothing which is also geeky, this suggests he was a geek here. The thief looks like a stereotypical thug which tracksuit bottoms, a hoodie with the hood up and a balaclava covering his mouth.

The setting which I used was near a town. I tried finding a location which had cars on a main street so it could help with the running scene. It led into a alley where the thief pins the victim against the wall. I used this location as in many films for example the dark knight, it takes place in a busy city where things are constantly happening, it helps emphasise the action taking place and makes it much more interesting to watch. They also have alley ways in films e.g when spiderman climbs the alley way wall. By filming in this location it gives the impression of crime.

Spidermans costume hides his identity.

Zorro a character which is similer looking to my hero. I based some of his clothing on my character.

My character wearing smart dark and mysterious clothing.

The lighting used in my film opening is much more darker before the flash back happens. It establishes the link between present and passed. It also helps imply mystery. I developed this idea from the dark knight, as wherever batman is it is dark and mysterious.

Many films helped develop the editing used in my film opening. I began to look into comic book styled films. For instance spider man’s opening has a title sequence where thy flick a comic book. Kickass also has a comic book scene where is scrolls across it. I wanted to use comic book style to influence the action adventure film. Once I filmed my shots, I took screen shots of the key elements in the story, I pasted them into photo shop where I used the poster edge and cutout effect. This turned it into a comic book style. I then placed them in comic life where I made the film opening into a comic. By doing this I placed them into my film to elaborate the tension and superhero aspect that I promoted.

When action scenes happen in superhero films they use many fast takes such as a fighting scene. In my film I took this aspect as when the two of them were running I used fast takes to indicate action. I edited the colour of the begging scene where the hero is watching over the city to black and white. This implies mystery enigma and has an authentic old styled film noir sense. It makes him standing on the roof look much ‘cooler’. In batman the colour has a dark tone as it is a dark city and suggest it is a dark and dangerous city. I used transitions such as the fade in to imply a new begging. I used the cross dissolve transition when it was changing from comic to real life. As in superhero films they can produce moving comic life such as kickass, this was the only substantial transition to help the realism of the situation. I used a wash out when the flash back occurred this was to identify the change in time.

With my camera work I tried to include as many shots as possible to help the opening seem more interesting and more action packed. I developed  my shots also from continuity factors. Such as the 180% rule. I also included shot reverse when they are pinned up. I included match on action shot in the running sequence to help emphasise the action. These shots were developed from other openings which I had watched. With their sequences they try to make them as interesting and fast as possible. I also used low angle shots to make my hero seem superior. I used long shots to show the hero standing there and to emphasise the mystery. I used close ups to elaborate their facial expressions when they are in the alley. I used a tilt up also to include all the movement which took place.

I created my sound of music on garage band. Many action films score is very dramatic and powerful to increase the tension or action which is happening. Spiderman is a good example as it has a very orchastric score which implies a hero. I included a sound motif which many superheroes have as a mark of who they are. This was as the film began of him on the roof top and at the end as he is on the roof top. I used a sting at the end of the opening to imply that was the begging. Many films did this such as spiderman. I used a sound bridge when the flashback occurred to show the change from present to passed. The main use of instruments used were stringed instruments and drums as they are more dramatic. Although to emphasise action in the running sequence the drums were fast and their was a guitar playing in the score.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups in my film opening a represented clearly

There is a clear hero which is at the beginning and end scene of my film, the clothing establishes that he is a hero, although may be a mysterious one.  He is wearing smart clothing which shows his role of importance and authority. Although it is not a typical super hero costume, this was because smart clothing looked more effective and authentic, a costume e.g tights would not have gone well with the film opening. However dark clothing is usually associated with a villain, but from researching films such as the dark knight and sin city this is not always the case. Batman is a misunderstood hero who is wearing black. Cops in films such as sin city wear a similar clothing to my hero. As the flash back begins he is the victim he is much more of a geek, and more high angle shots are taking place on him. He looks inferior, this happens in most super hero films where the hero used to be a geek. It also takes the film noir approach to the film. The shots use also establish the hero, including low angle shots to show authority. Long shots of him from behind, this hides his identity which most superheroes have in films. He is also on a tall building watching so the setting contributes to the power he seems to have. He is superior and powerful this suggests he is a typical hero. However the voice over gives the most implication of him being a hero. He says what he is doing ‘ I help the innocent’ this gives you an immediate response that he is the hero.

The villain in my film is a typical villain although as it was only a film opening not too much was given away. He was represented in a thuggish way. His clothing consisted of being dark, his hood was up and is face was covered. Most superhero films come across a thief, mugger of robber. For example their was a thief in spiderman who killed his uncle. This was spider man’s first really enemy. In this case ,this thief was responsible in the end for  my hero finding the stone. He is also chasing the victim which implies he wants to hurt him therefore suggesting he is bad.  The setting which he is in is a alley way, this implies crime and theft.

Here it shows the villian or theif on the right, and the hero on the left you can see which one looks more mysterious.

3. What kind of

media institution might distribute your media

product and why?

The types of institutions that

would release my film if it were to be distributed would include, a block buster would as superhero films are big releases, they are expensive on a huge budget and filled with action. For example Jaws. It would also come under a mainstream film. Most audiences would go to watch this film. If it were also under marvel comics it would be extremely more popular.

Marvel was the comic book make which I wanted to base my film on. If it were a big budget block buster I would have included it in a big city, typically New york as marvel tends to do. He would have been stood on somewhere such as the empire state building watching over the city, it would have flashed back to a typical thuggish alleyway.

I would use many types of merchandise within my film including mugs. Selling merchandise is a big business done with a big budget to sell and produce their merchandise.

This would be an example of a t-shirt used for merchandise.

I would also sell action figures. This is a spiderman doll and is an example of a superhero action figure. These are very popular with young boys, although it is a blockbuster film for everyone, different pieces of merchandise will sell to different target audiences.

To have action figures or sell merchandise their must be something distinctive about the character, this could be within the costume or a prop. For example indiana jones carries a whip. The incredible hulk is bright green. My character wears a hat and dark clothing. He would also carry this magical stone round with him. Although if I could go back and change the appearance of my character I would make him much more distinctive.

I would attempt to sell merchandise which would be for a range of audience, so it would help fit into the blockbuster category. A t-shirt could be for young people of teenagers, the action figure would be aimed at young boys.

There could be a sound track produced for my film which could have tracks from a record company which have played throughout the film. This would be known as synergy and would help obtain more consumption for the audience’s. This would be targeted at an adult or teenage audience depending on what tracks their was. I would also sell merchandise including games or books.

Example of my comic book which I would have sold separately as a piece of merchandise. It is also used in the film to emphasize superhero film.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be a very broad audience of all ages, because it is a blockbuster all ages should like it. The merchandise was aimed at all ages.

Many people like spiderman, adults and children. This is partially because it is a well known and famous marvel comic. Fans have been reading it for years and when the film came out it had an explosive response. Again it would most probably interest the male gender although there would be female fans This is also shown within the ratings of marvel comics, there is a big percent of women who like to see superhero films.  The lifestyle of the audience would also be very broad, you would get children who like the action and aspire to be the hero. You would get the women who like the classic ‘ muscular powerful hero’, you will get the men who love watching an action packed movie. you will get fanatics as most comic book films do such as superman.

They attract the audience through a powerful franchise, the most profitable franchise includes big blockbuster films such as harry potter, lord of the rings which have  invested in, people know what to expect if a film has been released through the blockbuster franchise. This is the most powerful franchise and is why I have selected my film to be in it.Blockbuster films are very good at advertising their films, they tend to do it through adverts, web 2.0 internet sites, youtube or face book. They put it up as big posters or in the newspaper. Using vertical integration I could also promote my products, for example through games and CDs, which are only accessible through one company.

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I did many things to attract my audience, this involved reaching out to them so they understood what the film was about, it is to help them understand how I wanted to portray my characters and how they realised it was a comicbook film

For example simple caption box in my film opening helped indicate the time being taken place and fast-forwarding and also the way it is presented implies a comic book. This suggests that my addressing the audience it is a superhero film, and that is what they expect. They want to see the film to the best of its potential. Using the best technology and involving the comics and cartoons to make it seem like a comic-book actually coming to life.

I used fast cuts to engage the audience when the action sequences appear, this attracted the audience as it also happens within other superhero films.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt many things from using different technologies whilst constructing this product. I used many prosumer technologies such as garage band, this is a application whereby you can make your own music or soundtrack. This helped extremely when making my film opening. It separates the individuality of your films. It helps give the film a theme such as a heroic powerful one. It also contributes in portraying characters. Over the time of editing my film I learnt how to add music to the score, how different instruments contribute to different effects. For example there is a triangle in my film which is a sound bridge to transfer two different time zones.

I-movie was the main application I used to make my film opening. It consisted of cutting clips down to make them appear at their best. Emphasisng action. I learnt how to use transitions to change to another clip, cutting from time zones. Many things were on i-movie which helped me produce my film.

Another prosumer technology includes photoshop, this help me extremely. Without this I would not have been able to make any of my comic styled footage. This allows you to edit screen shots and make them comic life. This made the difference between a normal film and a superhero film. Most superhero films consist of the best graphical technology.

All these are part of web 2.0, all of these applications are accessible to everyone. This links in with Gauntlets article in 2007. He mentioned that we can become big just with our web 2.0 technology.  As we are a global village we all watch and give back to the internet. Through web 2.0 sites such as you tube of face book we can promote our films through this technology.

Although to use these prosumer technologies, most of them are only accessible from apple. To use on the i-macs, this is another example of apple being vertically integrated.

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

When comparing to my prelimanry task I have learnt a huge amount. Within my own personal reflection I feel I have tried hard to make my film look as stylish and superhero themed as possible. I thought I did this well although there are still mistakes which I feel if I had more time I would have changed.

One of these being, I would have included more diologue beetween the theif and victim this could have givin a better implication of what was going on. I also would have filmed in a better setting, such as a city to suggest more excitment and crime going on. This is because superhero films are mostly all set in citys.

However I feel that I produced shots acuratly and well including continuty shots such as over the shoulder, and match on action, as well as the 180% rule. I thought I pottentialy used good compostion and framing to give suggestions on weather the character is good or bad? For example using low angle shots whilst the hero is standing on the rooftop, this implys he is a hero and he is extremely powerful.

I developed this slowly using i-movie and garage band. If there was shots which did not make sense, I attempted to fix that with the score to justify the implication. Such as a powerful score to reasure that he is a hero.

Production log

Cuthbert Mayne presents

currently

Starring Jonathan Witchell

This is a production log of my film opening. This is the first shot of my opening where, it scrolls down a comic book giving a glimpse of the story line and title. This is using the ken burns effect on I movie. I used this as it creates mystery and is similar to other superhero films such as spiderman. I also used a title on here, ‘A superhero production’ I used this title to imply to the audience that is a superhero film so they know. I then added Another title I added was Cuthbert Mayne presents, i did this on a black back ground with the fade in and out transition.

It then faded out to this picture of the church, it gives you a glimpse of where the hero is, this creates enigma. It in a comic book styled cartoon as well to emphasise this effect.

It fades back in to another title. This is the title which mentions the main actor. ‘Jonathan Witchell’

It then again fades out to another cartoon which I created by doing a screen shot of this image and placing it in photo shop. I then applied cut out and poster edges to get this effect.

Then with the cross dissolve transition it went to a shot of present day. This is of my hero watching,it is a long shot and he has his back facing towards the camera with a hat on covering his face to suggest the verisimilitude. He has dark clothing to show the mysterious aspect of this.

It then again fades into the title, where it mentions another actor who participated in the film as a villain. ‘Mark Witchell’ It fades out again.

Another  shot i have used of my character is a medium shot where he is placed evenly in the middle of the composition of the camera. I have also done it in black and white to show enigma again. He is still watching.

A cross dissolve transition to another part of the comic strip occurs, you can see that it is giving away part of the story line that we have seen. This is a comic which I made on comic life this included speech bubbles and caption boxes. However I made the pictures on Photoshop and placed them into comic life.

This is the last title of the film opening which says my name for making the film. It also fades in and out using the transition on I movie.

Another comic book styled picture which I made on Photoshop has been placed into I movie. It is the first close up shot which is a low angle shot to connote his authority and being superior.

The cross dissolve transition has been used again to merge these pictures together.

This is the last shot of him looking over the ‘city’. You still cannot see his face.

It then flashes back, to do this I used the wash out transition. This was bright and implied a flash back, it then went to a shot of him running. This is in colour which indicates a change of time as the other scene was in black and white.

He is running from a thief. I got many long shots of this. These shots were very fast cuts to emphasise the action taking place.

Here is another shot of him behind running

Here is where I got a match on action shot of him from behind running to jump of a wall.

I then cut the shot just before he jumped of and got a low angle shot of him jumping of. I slowed this shot down to imply the action shot which is taking place

They both carry of running, I carried on increasing the types of shots, tis ranged from long shots to close-ups.

They then run through a gate where another match on action shot takes place. As they are running through it cuts on the shot.

It then cuts to this comic book to give you a small glimpse and preview of what happens next.

I long two shot of both of them occurs as you can now see that the thief has pinned the victim up against the wall.

This shot is of the thief saying something, he is supposed to look angry and aggressive.

It cuts to the other side where you see the victims expression of fear. This follows the 180% rule and shot reverse shot to keep the continuity of the film.

Here is a close up of the victims face to show his head turning to look at something.

You now see with this extreme close up that he is picking up a stone from the side. This implies he is going to hit the thief round the head.

A shot of the thief lifting his fist to punch happens. It is a fast shot.

This ‘pow’ I made on Photoshop and then placed it into I movie, by doing this after the punch it suggests that he is being punched although the actual action did not take place.

The next shot is of him on the floor, this again is a comic picture of him. This was also done on Photoshop with cut out and the poster edge application. There is also a caption box in the corner which says ‘some time later’ This indicates the thief has gone and he has been passed out on the floor for some time.

A cross dissolve transition does the change from cartoon to real life, it shows him awaking. He also then picks up the stone.

A close up of this stone implies that it is special.

You then see him put it in his pocket.

With this comic strip it scrolls down to the bottom of the comic using the ken burns effect on I movie. You then see that it says flashing back to present day.

It cuts to this shot of him back in present day. this is the first time you can see his face, he is walking forward with his head done. He looks powerful and is taking up most of the composition. The camera is slightly tilted up at a low angle suggesting his authority. The color has also changed back to black and white increasing the mystery and crime aspect of the story line. It then finishes with the title that comes up saying invincible. This was made on comic life and photo shop. I made it bright and bold to stand out. I got this idea from other comic book styles, it helped influence me to make mine this way.

Production of music

I used garage band to create my music. I wanted to make the music for my film very dramatic, superior and heroric. I found what superhero music was like my listening to superman, spiderman or kickass.

The score begins with a orchestral drum kit. This was with the stormy C, they sounded like marching drums and they are most commonly used when watching an authrity fugure for instance within the army. I then began to add music on  top. I used a violin score which was fast and powerful. Many superhero themed films use stringed instruments such as spiderman to give a heroic theme. This was desire A stringed instrument.

There is a sting as the title begins to appear this is with the desire F drum kit, it is sharp and loud to imply an importance.

The score then quietens and only the orcheastral kit plays whilst the voice over begins. This is so you can focus on what he is saying. This is non diagetic and gives the impression that it is the man standind their who is talking.

As it changes from present to past with a flash back, their is a sound bridge this is with the triangle. It implys their is a change. The score them changes alot as they are chasing each other. I added ambient sounds of traffic and footsteps to help create the engima.

I used the upbeat funk drums, this was much faster to connote the action taking place. There is a edgy rock base guitar also. This score sounds exciting and emphasises on the action taking place.

As this person jumps of the wall the score stops, it is to imply what is going on around him and foucus all the viewers attention on his. As he begins running the guitar starts also and then eventually the drums, it builds up again until it has the original score from when they started running.

As they run through the gates the score changes once again and changes to a much tenser and serious score. There is capital A violins being used, with a slow drum beat. As the ‘Pow’ happens their it uses a sting of symbols being used. There is another ambient sound effect of a police car passing. This suggests their is crime in the area.

As he is lying on the floor the violins begin again, it implys he is hurt and connotes that the audience should feel sympathetic for this victim.

The drums slowly begin again and the voice over.  It cuts back to present day and the drums are playing, the desire E violins score happens again as he is walking towards the camera, it indicates that this is the heros sound motif as it happens at the beggining and the end.

A sting happens right at the end as it cuts to the end title. The voice overs voice also changes to make it sound more heroic. This sound effect was done with the vocal reflection.

Different shots

At this point, the victim is running from the villain/ thief, he has to jump of a wall, to emphasize the action, I did a match on action shot. At this point he is running towards the wall.

It then cuts to this shot where he is jumping of the wall, this has cut the action, to make it seem more dramatic with shorter cuts.

I have also used over the shoulder shots my initiating the 180% rule. This is when the thief is pinning up the victim. The thief is on the right hand side.

When the shot changes to the vicitms angle of perspective, the thief is still on the right hand side with the victim on the left.

This helps with continuity issues to make the story seem more realistic.

Titles

For my title sequence I tried to imply the intensity and increase the drmatic effect. I did this by showing a clip/ or picture of the film I have made and then putting a title inbeetween this. The title is over a black background. This will create enigma and want the viewer to watch on. There will also be a score over this to suggest the importance of this. It will be a heroic theme tune to imply this.

The speed I used for each title was 1. second 18. The font i used was bank gothic and I used a wipe transition for when the word comes in. I kept it all the same so it looked simple but effective.

These were all transitions on I movie, however I attempted a couple of titles on photoshop but the mpost effective and simple were on I movie.

I researched film openings to see what titles they had. Including sin city, city of God, spiderman, and kickass. By researcing these I had an understanding of what titles I needed to use. The titles I used were

Cuthbert Mayne presents. This is the school

Staring Jonathan Witchell- Main actor

and Mark Witchell- Second actor.

editing

 To get my editing technique correct I have used a variety of things to make it look comicbook styled.

I have firstly used a cutout, and adjusted it. I then used poster edges to increase the effect. I will use this piece of editing on each picture I use for my comic. I will make the comic and place these pictures into my film opening at a relevant place to.

Opening titles for my film.

My opening titles are going to consist of the actors who have participated in the film. Myself as I have produced and created the film, and the person who is going to do the voice over.

The opening is going to begin on a comic book scrolling down it, this will give you a glimpse of the opening. A comic also implys superhero. After the comic it will go to a fadeout where the first title sequence will begin. It will then say who is was produced by. e.g  ‘ A cuthbert mayne production’ It will then fade out, this will emphasise the mystery and will help create enigma. The score will link in well with this as it will build up excitement. For each opening title I will do this.

first story board

These were my first initial ideas for the storyline of my film opening. I drew them on a story board to help me transform from pictures into real life film.

The first page of this story board implys that there is a mysterious stranger on the roof, this reinforces a heroic aspect.

It then flashes back to him running, running from a man who is chasing him, this man manages to catch up with him pin him up against the wall, however the victim has found a stone which is able to deafeat this thug. From this stone this man has now become the hero.

first initial planning

 

   

 

Bang

As my film opening is based around comic books and superheros, there will be action involved. Alot of comic books use onomatopear to represent an action being used. For instance, boom, crash or pow! In my opening I will use these to represent the comicbook based style. I will use a pow! when my villan is just about to punch the victim. They are clever in prosuming that the action which is being stated in the box is occuring then and there. Within my filiming although I did not film an acutal punch the Pow implies that this has happend.

I attempted to make the correct action bubble for my opening. The first one I used on comic life ,by selecting the bubble,then writting bang in the box. However because it did not stand out. I began looking at other comicbook styles for this technique and other sources such as google. With this I took the lettering although edited the colour and shape on photoshop which was required for my opening.

Different effects

This is a transformed photo from my original camera shoots. This is him looking over the city to look dark and mysterious it emphasises on the film noir aspect as it indicates enigma . This is from the clothing used such as the hat covering his eyes. The camera angle in this shot is looking up at him showing how superior he is and his authority. The affects I used on this picture were in photoshop, i firstly used the poster edge effect, then going on to the cut out. This is what made it have a cartoon effect. I also tried many other effects such as different paint effects however cut out and poster edge were the  most effective.

This is a real shot of the film. However it has been transformed into black and white to improve and promote the authenticity of the setting and film. It is supposed to look mysterious and creepy. I have changed all my shots of him on the rooftop to black and white. I did this on I movie with the video fx effect.

Here is another shot of him on the rooftop. As you can see it is a shot of him from behind to imply he is a mysterious person just watching. At this point you do not know if he is the villan or the hero. This is an aspect of film noir. It has a superhero theme as he is high up, you can see he is a superhero.                                                                                

This is the same shot as above, although it is transformed. This is also with the poster edge and cut out effect on photoshop. It has the comicbook effect. With these photos they are going to be pasted into my I movie film and then play from the picture. This indicated that they are coming from a comic. I film which does this is Kickass.