Evaluation 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation 3

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

The production company for our film is 'COMA Productions', they would be in charge of the budgeting, scheduling, scripting, casting, organisation of staff, production, post-production, distribution and marketing of 'Rose'.  As 'Rose' is a drama-thriller, social-realism style film Coma Productions is likely to be an independent production company (like Lucasfilm, pre-2012, or Ruby Films) meaning it would probably have a low budget.  This budget is likely to be funded through processes like equity (where people invest in production in return for ownership interest in the film), crowd funding (where friends, family and prospective audiences donate towards the film), differed payments (where producer fees, and those of any other staff who agree, are deferred until after release, reducing the payments necessary to start production) and gap/bridge financing (where we (the filmmakers) would have to take out personal loans to fund any gaps in production costs).

As well as an independent production company our film would probably also have an independent distributor.  The distributor is the company responsible for the marketing of a film, setting release dates, choosing the method of the film's release, etc.  Our film would probably be distributed by a company like A24, who are not only an independent film distributor but have also done film as of a similar genre such as 'Room' and 'Moonlight'.  Our distributor would most likely opt to give our film a limited release where it is shown only in a select few cinemas, to gauge the audience's interest, before being released to a wider audience.  This distribution method is similar to that of 'Birdman' which was released in a few US cinemas on October 17th 2014 before getting a nationwide release, in 857 cinemas, on November 14th of the same year.

The order of credits for our film opening goes as follows; COMA Productions, Cassidy Richards (director), Meg Dobson (actor), Tony Langan (actor), Owen Vidler (producer), Aimee Langan (editor), Molly Dowling (DOP) and David Chidlow (actor).  COMA Productions appears first in our credits because they are our production company and have therefore invested huge amounts of time and money into the film earning them the films first credit.  The second credit goes to the film's director, because they are instrumental to the telling of the film's story, and the third to Meg the lead actor.  After Meg comes Tony, Tony is credited to show his character's significance in the rest of the film.  After Meg and Tony we credited the film's producer, the producer is credited early on in the credits (before the title) as they are very important in planning and coordinating the film's production. After this the film's title is shown, in the middle of our sequence as is typical of film opening, and then the editor, who plays a key role in the formation of the film's story and look during post-production.  We then give a credit to the film's Director of Photography, who both acts as camera man and provides the vision for the film, before David Chidlow, an actor, highlighting his character's significance in the rest of the film.

Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation 7

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

The dark colouring of our preliminary task was quite similar to our final opening, however, we think that it was better used in the opening as here we aimed to create humour by being dramatic, whereas our opening intends to evoke an unsettling feeling in the viewer. The close-up used here can be directly compared to our opening; we use a head-on shot of Meg's face rather than one from the side as in the prelim. We think that this creates a more striking effect, and is therefore more suited to the dramatic nature of our opening.

We used a match on action to show Cassidy walking through the door, which we believe was well carried out. The transition was easier to create because the shot changed from a mid shot to a close up, meaning that the shots did not have to precisely mirror each other. However, in our opening, we had more difficulty as Meg's expression had to be near-identical in both shots. Therefore, a large difference between the filming of our prelim and our final opening is that we created a lot more footage in order to be able to find the best matching shots.

In our prelim task, as we were fairly inexperienced in making videos, our camerawork was not very smooth. As well as this, we didn't think to check the speed at which Cassidy was walking in the long shot matched the close up of her feet that followed. For our opening, we decided that the majority of our shots would be circling around Meg, to create a feeling of disorientation and so we had to practice walking around her in a smooth and even circle before filming our final footage.

We also had to use a shot-reverse shot in our preliminary task, which we decided to show as an over-the-shoulder shot in order to clearly obey the 180 degree rule. For our opening, we did not show our actors' shoulders in the shot-reverse-shot, although we did overlap the sound from one shot into the next, so that the audience feels like it is a complete scene. In addition to this, we used more sophisticated editing techniques, such as the blinking effect used when showing Rose's point of view in the second frame. We also blurred this shot in order to again create disorientation. 

Evaluation 6

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

Evaluation 1

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

Typically film openings seek to establish the film's characters, genre and a brief outline of its plot,  all of which has been conformed to within our opening sequence.  Our protagonist is very clearly established within our opening, with Rose being the focus of almost every  frame, and as a result of her enhanced presence the theme of mental illness is also revealed to the audience, giving them a sense of being inside  her head in a state of confusion, enhanced by match-on-actions.  Our opening also sets out the films genre to the audience, with the font, cold colour palette, fast and the opening frame's low key lighting working together to tell the audience that it is a drama-thriller film.

Titles of drama-thriller films tend to be short, quickly establishing key features, concepts or characters of the film (some examples include 'Room', 'Inception' and 'The Matrix').  We used our protagonist's name as the title of our film,  seeing that 'Rose' clearly showed the audience the film's emphasis on that character and her mental health issues.  The font we used for our opening titles also conformed to genre conventions, with the our use of capitals and clear block lettering clearly reflecting the font of films like 'Whiplash' and 'Taxi Driver'.

Generally film openings take place in and around one location, creating a sense of continuity and allowing the audience a smooth transaction into the film's action.  However, we decided to challenge this convention, moving the audience constantly from one place to another, disorientating the audience and giving them a glimpse of Rose's mindset.  Although we do use many locations within our opening they are all tied together with a common sense of sparseness, isolation and entrapment, achieved through minimal mise-en-scene, cold colouring and the motif of the camera circling Rose, together these common threads between frames give our opening the same feeling of continuity as if it were all filmed in one location.

Our use of costume and props within the opening is also minimal with Rose dressed in regular dark clothing creating a sense of verisimilitude, presenting to the audience the ordinarity of Rose's situation.  Costumes and Props are minimal until the final scene of our opening when Rose's hospital gown and the hospital room mise-en-scene are used to distinguish that to be the present moment.

Our film opening uses editing and camera work as a method of developing genre conventions as opposed to conforming to them.  Within the drama-thriller genre entrapment is a key theme and we have used camerawork inorder to incorporate this theme into our opening we used a motif of the camera circling around Rose in a 360 arcing shot. we also used a series of match-on-actions in order to repetitively change the location and disorientate the audience.

Evaluation 2

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups? 

 

Audience Reaction

Audience Reaction

Storyboard Alterations

Storyboard Alterations

There were a few things that had to be altered in the process of filming and editing our opening which made our final edit different from our planned storyboard. These were:

The first change made between our storyboard and final opening was in frames 3-6 of the storyboard. The original plan was to open with an extreme closeup of Rose's face which would zoom out to a mid shot for a match-on-action to the camera spinning around her in the park. However, when it came to filming this scene the camera's zoom was not strong enough so we could not get both the extreme closeup and the mid shot in one clip. For this reason we changed the order of the shots (switching frames 5 and 6) zooming out as far as possible from the extreme closeup and then using the shot of the bridge to help the transition to her in the park.

The second change made was in frame 11. We had originally planned to have a shot where a hand comes into shot and grabs Rose's face.  We did film this shot but chose not to include it in of our published edits as it was decided that it was too out of context compared to the other shots and made the opening very trailer like.

Another change that was made during the filming stage of production was the location of frames 12, 13 and 14 on the storyboard. This scene was originally intended to be shot in a Aimee's kitchen, but when we got to there it was too small to get the framing we wanted. For this reason we changed the location to Aimee's living room  The room's furniture meant that we had to do a shot-reverse-shot instead of the circling shot, this did however mean we could include a match on action as Rose fell back into the bath in the next frame.

Frame 15 of our storyboard shows we had originally planned to have black water in the bath that Rose would submerge herself to make it seem 'weirder'. This water would then go into a black title screen. We then decided that this idea was unnecessary and would create too many questions as to why the water was black. We also knew it would be safe for the actress if we just had normal water.

Referenced numbers working from left
to right and top to bottom.

After this title screen, the original pan was to cut to a closeup in frame 17. However, while we were filming we decided to add in a long shot before it went to the closeup. This helps introduce the new location and also helps to lead the audience back into our montage whilst also acting as compensation for not having the planned chairs (seen in frame 18) which were not set out due to limited time whilst filming.

The final change that we made was to the closing scene in frame 24. We planned to have the doctor sit by Rose's side and repeat her name several times before she looks towards him. However, this made the opening come to too much of a conclusion like it was the end of a short film. So we chose to change the dialogue having Rose remain unresponsive and staring forward whilst the Doctor walks out of shot as though talking to a nurse out of shot.  We decided to change the editing of the shot as well. Instead of zooming out from a closeup to a long shot  we decided to change between the two before cutting back to the closeup as a way of transitioning to the the rest of the film.

Final Opening

Final Opening

BBFC Rating

BBFC Rating

According to BBFC guidelines our film would be classed as a 15. This is due to strong language used, Rose's father swears in the opening and more strong language is expected throughout the rest of the film to accurately depict Rose's situation. Strong threat is to be expected in the rest of the film to reveal why Rose is like she is. There will probably also be some upsetting scenes as it is a social realism piece so not everything will end up happy. The film is not rated as an 18 as there should be no scenes featuring gore or sex.

First Draft Feedback

First Draft Feedback

Overall our draft opening was met with positive feedback specifically towards our use of sound and the fast montage of clips near the end of the piece. The one big critic that was given to us was about the ending. We finished our opening with a long gap that made it feel like the end of a short film rather than an intro leading into the rest of the film. To tackle this and make it seem as though the rest of the story was coming up we completely change the last scene. We added more dialogue and changed the shots. It is no longer a close up zooming out into a long shot but instead consists of a closeup a long shot and then a close up again. All is edited with straight cuts. It also cuts out to black quickly at then end to give the impression that more action is to come directly after the last shot. Other smaller details that were changed included the ordering of the credits and the font that they are in.

Film Opening- Draft 1

Film Opening Draft 1

Final Makeup

Final Makeup

Doing Meg's final makeup for the hospital scene shoot.

Actor Profiles

Actor Profiles

Meg Dobson : Rose

Meg is ideal for the role because she is a teenage girl, connoting Rose's vulnerability and innocence.  She also has brown hair and eyes, conforming to the dark nature and colour palette of our opening, and she has a small frame implying weakness and her inability to defend herself.

Tony Langan : Rose's dad

Tony was cast as Rose's dad as he is fairly tall, making him appear threatening in comparison to Meg.  He also has a Glaswegian accent, stereotypically connoting aggression and violence, enhancing our presentation of Rose's dad to be threatening and dangerous to Rose.

David Chidlow : Doctor

We cast David in the role of Rose's doctor as he was ideal for the role with his look conforming to many of the traditional expectations of a doctor, quickly and effectively informing the audience to his role within the film.  David has grey hair making him appear much older than Rose and connoting his authoritative role in her life.

Costume and Makeup

Costume

Rose

For the majority of our opening, our protagonist will wear dark, plain clothing to fit with our colour palette. As she is a middle-class teenager, she will wear fairly nice clothing, however, we do not want her wear very expensive garments as this will contradict her situation too much. In addition to this, we want her to wear plain clothing so that it won't distract from the focal point of the opening; the character herself.

In most of the scenes, she will wear a similar outfit to this, however, we will need to change the top (as we use mostly mid-shots, so you can only see her top) to show the passing of time throughout. 

She will wear jeans and trainers as well as this is typical of a girl her age.

For the final scene, our protagonist is seen in a hospital room, and so in order to make it seem more realistic, we will dress her in a hospital gown, such as this one. To create a sense of verisimilitude, we will also give her red socks as this is what patients wear in modern-day hospitals.

Rose's Dad

Rose's dad's costume will only be seen in one of the scenes, so he will only have one costume. We will dress him in dark clothing as well, so that he won't look out of place with the dark colour palette used throughout the rest of the opening. 

Doctor

The doctor is only seen in the last scene of our opening. She will wear a white lab coat as this will immediately indicate to the audience that she is in the medical profession. The use of white will contrast to our earlier use of dark colouring. 

Make-up

Rose

As Rose is being abused by her father, we decided to put bruises on her to create a sense of verisimilitude.

We used purple, brown, red, yellow and green eyeshadow to create these bruises and test how realistic they look. We started by making a point of impact with the red, then built up the surrounding area with lighter colours. We used green and yellow around the outside to make it look more authentic. After this we embellished our bruises with other colours to add detail and make them look more natural. We also varied the depth of colour and size. As the eyeshadow we used was sparkly, we had to cover the bruises with translucent powder, which also made them more matte. 

For this, we used red eyeshadow in the outer corner of her eye. Then we used brown underneath and on top of her eyelid. We also added red on her bottom lash line. 







For this, we used red eyeshadow on top of her eyelid and brown underneath. We used a darker brown to contour the natural lines on her cheeks.






For this, we added to the make-up from the first eye. We used a dark brown on the inside corner of her eye to make it look sunken. We also added more brown under her eye and more red and brown to her eyelid. We used the same technique as before to contour under her eye. 

This is Aimee applying the make-up to Meg's eyes. 

Camera Testing

Camera Testing

Our initial idea was to create a dolly system using two hula hoops and a skateboard of some description.  However, this idea was deemed to be unrealistic as actually building the dolly system was difficult to do effectively.

However, we did keep the idea of using a circular mechanism in order to create a smooth 360° shot.  First we tested footage of handheld camera work with no circular guide or wheeled object

 Firstly, we tried circling around Cassidy with a      handheld camera. For this, we did not use any guide to make sure that we went around in a perfect, smooth circle. We also did not use any editing software to make it look more stable. 

 Next, we sat Aimee, holding the camera, on a wheely chair as I pulled her around Cassidy in a circle. Again, we did not edit the footage after to make it look less shaky. 

 Thirdly, we created a harness system to make a steady circle by balancing the weight of the cameraperson with another person. This was slightly smoother however, as we still had to walk, the footage was still shaky. 

Finally, we used 'Warp Stabiliser' in Premiere Pro to enhance the stability of the video. We found that this created the best final product, however this was filmed with a handheld camera and so we will need to practice walking around our actor smoothly and steadily. 

Location Recce

Location Recce

Aimee's Sister's Bedroom:

Our piece opens on a shot of the protagonist sitting on the edge of her bed looking forwards. For this we decided to use Aimee's sister's bedroom we chose it because it is a fairly plain room with white walls and white furniture so will be easy to make it look sparse.  In the room there are two windows on the opposite wall from the bed meaning we will be able to naturally light the actress' face.

Bedroom Door:

One of our shots involves the protagonist leaning against the inside of their door barring someone from entering for this we decided to again use my sister's room for continuity.  Although the door is again opposite the windows it is a lot darker than the bed and we can film later in the day to give us more control over lighting and allows to make this shot darker.

Aimee's Kitchen:

There is one shot in our opening in which the camera circles around the protagonist inside a kitchen.  We decided to use Aimee's kitchen as it was again in her house, enabling us to film everything in one day and it also fit the look we were looking for in the kitchen scene.

Aimee's Bathtub:

We are using the bathtub for the scene in which the protagonist submerges herself into the water and the title appears on the screen.  The bathtub we have chosen is also in Aimee's house limiting the locations in which we need to film. this will give us more time to get the shots we need.

 Dunton Green Tunnel:

 This is for the scene in which the protagonist has ran away from home and is hiding in a tunnel. We chose this because it fits the dirty, dingy look we are aiming for.  The white walls will contrast her dark appearance adding to the creep nature of the scene.

Dunton Green Tunnel Wall:

This is for the scene in which the protagonists face is grasped by an unknown antagonist.  This wall is in the tunnel in which we will film the above scene.  Although there is limited space within the tunnel this shot is a close-up so limited space will not affect filming.

Dunton Green Bus Stop:

This bus stop is for the scene in which the camera circles around the protagonist.  This is a good location because it is a stereotypical bus stop, demonstrating her vulnerability as a young person alone in public.  It is also a 3 minute walk from the tunnel meaning we can film all of these scenes in one shoot.

School Medical Room:

This for the final scene of our opening in which the protagonist is seen to be in a hospital room.  This is a convenient location as it in our school and looks like a hospital room.

School Hall:

This is for the scene where she stands on the stage and the camera circles around her.  We will put out chairs in the main floor area because there will be muffled applause to accompany.  This is also in school so will be easy to fit in to our shooing schedule.

Park:

This is for the scene in which the camera circles around the protagonist standing in a park.  We chose this location because it is in our local park. For this location you can use 100% natural lighting, reflecting light where needed.

Bridge in Park:

This is a good bridge as, like with the tunnel, it is very dingy looking and has a good view of the river.  In this location there may be limited space for filming but we will complete test footage to assess its suitability for the shot we require.

Casting Rose

Casting Rose

We got a selection of people to audition for the role of Rose in our opening. We all decided that we wanted teenage girl with long hair. We wanted her to be pale to make her look slightly sickly and to hint that she doesn't get taken many places where she would get a tan. We wanted long hair which can be made to look scruffy to show that looking pristine isn't her main concern. We also wanted the actress' hair to be dark to fit with our dark colour palette.
We did not do any acting screen tests as our protagonist does not do much in our opening apart from stare forward.


Meg Dobson

Age: 16
Height: Mid-height
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Brown
Skin colour: White

Meg has long dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin, similarly to what we are looking for. The long hair means that it can be make to look scruffy. 

Shannon O'Doherty

Age: 16
Height: Small
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Green
Skin colour: White

Shannon has very long hair, which is also good for the scruffy look, however it is too light and we are looking for a darker colour palette. 

 






























Aimee Langan

Age: 17
Height: Small
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin colour: White

Aimee has long dark hair and pale skin, creating an effective contrast. However, her eyes are too bright for what we are looking for. We also thought it would be easier if we got someone who wasn't in our group to act so we could all contribute more to the filming.

































In the end, we decided on using Meg as our actress. She fit closely to the look that we were going for, she also seemed the most excited and willing to take part in filming. Meg is also a good choice as she is not a drama student so there is less risk of her over-acting.