Evaluation Activity 7

 

In my preliminary task, mistakes were easy to spot. 

Our continuity in the preliminary task was bad because we had not filmed it correctly. We filmed the scenes without any extra footage, meaning that we could not edit to the best of our ability. This caused negative effects to our continuity editing overall, making it look quite unnatural. 

The camera shots were blurry which showed an unfamiliarity with the DSLR camera hardware. The focus on camera should be used and controlled during the video to create better shots. The time taken to shoot the entire video was also very long compared to the time my group now takes to shoot scenes. The camera is also crooked, making the whole scene unnatural and creating an unprofessional look.

 

I am now more confident to use the hardware and experiment with different methods of shooting, for example we had to frame the light bulb shot and bring the camera closer to the roof as well as zoom for one of the scenes, building tension in the opening sequence. The light bulb is perfectly focused during this scene. 

 

In this shot, the framing is extremely bad as the table can be seen but not entirely, and the same has happened with the chair. There is extra space around the actor that was not used and could have been cut off.The shot is also quite far away while it could have been more of a mid-shot rather than a wide shot. No makeup, costume, setting, or props were used. No items other than the tables and chair were moved during the filming, however i know now that this could have contributed to the making of this preliminary task making it more professional and fluid.

This shot shows how our group used the focus to make the character stand out. The low key lighting was mainly used however we kept some lights on at the very far end of the location to create a type of glow which reflects on the white walls. This lighting links with the character's image of being a unnatural character. In terms of mise-en-scene, the makeup used on the character to create a pale face, dark eyes, and red lips, overall creates her image in the film as an inhuman character. 

Evaluation Activity 6

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

In terms of hardware, I had never used a MacBook computer before starting this project. I can now confidently use these types of computers and clearly understand how they work. It was also interesting to use them as I had never used one before and found that the difference between MacBooks and other computers is much greater than I expected.

I have had to learn how to use DSLR cameras along with tripods and lenses. I had some issues with learning how to use the camera, as I did not know how to use the automatic settings and had difficulty with fitting the lenses and tripod. However, after using the cameras so many times during this project, I got familiar with the management of the hardware. I now understand how to use the DSLR cameras and have learned how to set up the equipment correctly.

In terms of software, I have had to use Blogger to evidence the work throughout the project and update it regularly. Before Blogger, I knew how to use a blog from personal experience; this helped me manage Blogger and create good quality posts. Although I did know how to blog, having access to a different type of blogging was interesting as there are many different types of blogs with different layouts. They are all different and I was unfamiliar with some features of Blogger, which I became confident with during the project.   

I have had to use Photoshop to create the Production Ident and title sequence. Originally I had no experience with this software but learned whilst working with the help of the people in my group, who had experience with Photoshop. With this software I now understand how to use various features such as how to add filters, text, change size and color, download fonts and use them, and many more. 

YouTube is another social media site I have had to use in order to upload my group work. I was already familiar with the site but did not know how to use an account to upload videos and other such features. After having uploaded videos and used their HTML links I now am much more familiar with using a YouTube account. 

The software most used during the project was most likely Premiere Pro. Our group used this software to upload and edit shots in order to create our animatic, our production ident, our title sequence, our opening sequence, our voice-overs, etc. I had never used this software before and was not confident when working with it. However, the people in my group gave me guidance and I have been using Premiere Pro on a regular basis to create better quality work for our final product. I now am very content with my Premiere Pro skills as they have greatly improved since the beginning of this project. 

Overall, working on this project allowed me to deepen my understanding of many different types of software and gave me practice with both software and hardware I was unfamiliar with. I enjoyed learning how to manage my work through this technology and have no doubt this will help me with future projects in any domain. 

Evaluation Activity 5

Evaluation Activity 4

Evaluation Activity 3

Evaluation Activity 2

Nightmare On Elm Street

Nightmare On Elm Street contains a group of characters who are friends, however the main character of the group is Nancy Thompson.
This character experiences nightmares and is affected in her real life by them. This is very similar to our main character in "Dark Nightmare" called Fai as she has nightmares and wakes up with real injuries. However, unlike Fai, her friends also experience the same nightmares and consequences.
Nancy Thompson is an overall normal 16 year old girl. This is unlike Fai as she is 8 year older and therefore is a more mature person. Nancy is also a relatively smart person as she tries to fix the situation she is in during the film in different attempts. This is unlike our main character as she is 8 year older and therefore is a more mature and logical person. 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre contains a group of characters. In this group is included Sally Hardesty, an ordinary young woman from a rural background. This is similar to our main character in our film as she is also an ordinary woman.
Sally is set apart from the other characters as she is the only survivor by the end of the film. This is similar to our main character is "Dark  Nightmare" called Fai as she is set apart from the group since she is the only one having disturbing nightmares.
In a way, Sally is the character which suffers most emotionally during the film as she watches her sibling get murdered in front of her eyes and has none of her friends from the group with her for support. Her fear and stress therefore increases as the film goes on. Our main character is "Dark Nightmare" is victim of similar emotions as the people close to her die one after the other, building her fear and panic every time another person dies.   

 Final Destination 2

The Final Destination 2and Dark Nightmare is very similar. In the story there is comparison where the main character has a dream/ vision of what is going to happen in the future. She tries to stop it from happening and she tries to protect her friends but however she realises that no one can escape from death. In Dark nightmare it is a similar story where the main character (Fai) has a dream about how however group of friends are going to die and she is very disturbed about there’s dreams as she has been having them every day. She gets scared and depressed in how she is going to lose her loved ones. The thing Fai is frightened about is how she wakes up with scars of what happens to her in the dream.

Our chosen main character for Dark Nightmare looks similar to Kimberly Corman (main character in Final Destination 2).they both have brown hair, pale smooth faces and both casual dressers. Fai is very emotionally attached to her friends especially her boyfriend where in this case it is also the same case in Final Destination 2.

Dark Nightmare

In our opening sequence "Dark Nightmare" our main character is a young woman in her twenties named "Fai". She is a stereotypical young woman as she has a calm personality and is fairly popular, however she is mysterious in some ways because she hides the physical injuries she obtains during her nightmares from others except her best friend. She is a kind person and does not judge people quickly.

This can be considered a horror convention as horror films often use characters representing realistic people. This allows the audience to relate more to the characters and feel more involved in the film therefore being more affected by the horror genre. However our film does not follow this convention exactly as the character is shown as someone with unusual troubles and this builds the character as a special individual which is not often seen rather than a normal young woman year old. 

Evaluation Activity 1

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

My media product includes conventions of real media. Conventions of opening sequence, especially in horror media products, includes: low key lighting, long takes, use of makeup and costume, close-ups, establishing shots, jump cuts, and transitions.

Low key lighting helps create the mood of the product; it can create a sense of mystery and also a sense of fear and danger, as the audience can not see what is going on clearly and therefore they feel vulnerable.
Long takes can be used to intensify tension in certain situations as the seconds pass or can also be used to set a peaceful mood.
The use of makeup and costume is conventional in the sense that it is always important for the characters to be part of the media product and match the setting.
Close ups are very common in most media products and allow the audience to focus on certain areas of the media product they would otherwise not notice. They can also be used as hints for the audience to understand the media product's plot, story, or other.
Establishing shots are often used at the beginning of media products to let the audience know where the product is taking place. This creates a clearer image for the audience and allows them to immerse themselves in the story.
Transitions are used to go from scene to scene, and can be used to create different types of atmosphere based on which type of transitions.

My media product uses low key lighting in certain shots. They are mostly used to create tension and set the mood for the dream sequence to ensure the audience views it as a nightmare, and not a normal dream. Low key lighting is also used when the main character wakes up, this shows that they were asleep and it is the nightmare which woke them up, not other factors (alarm clock, sunlight, etc).

 

A long take is used as the first shot in my group's opening sequence. This shot was created for a number of reasons; firstly, it creates a sound bridge from the titles to this shot as the sound is suited to both. Secondly, it allows the audience to focus on the voice over which plays during the shot; they are not distracted by other images and can watch the rest of the opening sequence while remembering the ideas of the voice over.

Thirdly, it creates tension as the conventional use and this is suited to our opening sequence as it is a horror genre. In the opening sequence, the use of makeup and costume is important to realise the atmosphere of the nightmare. White clothes are used as it is often associated with the horror genre, and this makes it clearer for the audience to pick up on the genre of the media product.   

Jump cuts are sometimes used in horror films especially during high tension scenes such as chasing scenes, or in the case of our opening sequence, nightmares. Jump cuts build the tension by suddenly changing, this gives an impression of the film suddenly advancing unnaturally and unexpectedly. In the nightmare scenes of our opening sequences, jump cuts are used while one of the characters stays still. The character gets closer and closer to the camera with each shot, building the tension until they reach the camera. The three images below break down the jump cuts we used during the nightmare part of the opening sequence. We also used a different lighting for each one, as if lights turn off when the character gets closer, representing how the emotional state of the character is affected by her nightmares.

We used transitions in our opening sequences from Adobe Premiere Pro. The transitions were used to create a more smooth effect from one scene to another unlike jump cuts which were used for the opposite effect, highlighting the contrast between the two types of editing. We used mostly dissolve transitions in our opening sequence because they seemed more natural to the eye and gave a more fluid movement when going from scene to scene.

Close-ups were not often used in our opening sequence as we mainly focused on costume, and relied on the setting of locations to create the atmosphere. However we did use two close up shots which are shown below. The close up of the light bulb was used to create a sound bridge and setthe tension for the rest of the film. The second close up was used because it was an important part of the opening sequence and highlighted the fact that this was important. When the shot is shown, music starts to play to set the atmosphere once again.