7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Once we had completed our Preliminary exercise video we were suprised at how hard it was going to be to produce a high quality video. Our video was nowhere near as good as we expected and we knew that we would have to improve massively.

To begin with the sound was terrible, we had background noise from everywhere and the dialogue wasn’t clear. We didn’t script the production which left us thinking off the top of our heads and we ended up saying ‘mate’ a lot. The editing wasn’t too bad but we knew there was plenty to improve on.

We then had the opportunity to practice using the cameras and editing software when we were given the task of producing a remake of the opening of Juno. We were very ambitious initially trying to find perfect locations and copying the opening down to the second. After a difficult morning of trying to produce the perfect remake we decided to improvise. We went to a familiar location and took sharp simple shots. For this task we didn’t have to worry about sound as we would have the soundtrack in the background. We took a range of different shots to take back to be edited. We had learnt from the Preliminary Exercise to take more shots that we might have needed in case any fine details are wrong.

Once it had been edited together we felt we were getting somewhere, we were excited to show people and were looking forward to our main production. There were a few issues with lighting but for our second production we were happy with the progression we had made.

For our final piece we had a blank canvas, we could pretty much do anything we wanted as long as it was an opening to a film. We came up with multiple ideas but found it difficult to stick to an idea for more than a week. We then completed some target audience research which helped us narrow down what we were going to do. We were very ambitious to begin with but we realised that it was going to be very difficult to fulfill those ambitions and that if we completed something far simpler it could look far better. After conducting our market research, discussing our ideas between the group and consulting teachers we came to the idea of a rap movie. We then had to seriously organise ourselves as we had found out in the Preliminary Exercise everything needs to be covered. We put a folder of our Research, ideas and planning together to present to our teacher for final approval before we went out to film. There were a few things that needed to be in more detail but he was impressed and surprised with what we had produced. We then had to go and film.

Our first shoot didn’t run as smoothly as we expected and it took longer than we expected to take certain shots and we became concerned that we were overcomplicating things. Then Sol’s brother said that we could film in him flat and in the block which was ideal for what we needed. This brought some life back into the team and kept us inspired for the rest of the filming process.

We went back for editing and produced a rough cut to show for the class. They were impressed with the shots and the editing but said that it didn’t really show the storyline or create an enigma. We then went back to the drawing board and decided to get some shots of Sam in the schools recording studio. We felt this gave a better idea to what the story was about. To create the enigma we had a shot of Sam’s Mansion [Thorpe Hall] as a Point of View shot falling into a blur. This was to create the hook to what happened there. Among some other improvements we thought it would be 100% ready for the audience to see the final piece. We uploaded it to YouTube and received our feedback.

From the preliminary we have learnt to be realistic with our aims and objectives and not to aim to high. At one point we were talking about using green screens which would have been very difficult to complete in the short space of time that we had. We learnt how to use the cameras to get the best shots i.e. not move them too much. I feel our development on the sound has been very good although we had a soundtrack the use of Digetic and Non Digetic sound was very good.

However I feel we spent too much time working on the background details [See Rollin' in the Deep (Opening Scene) - Sharrison Productions – Breakdown post] that we neglected to focus on some good acting. Having the characters expressing themselves vocally and with body language would have made it so much clearer so the audience can see who they should focus on/care about.

E.g. Tom and Sam could have been shown dealing with a similar situation (writing maybe) but you could have shown their two different approaches to it based on their very different lifestyle. Sam getting frustrated in the studio, Tom getting frustrated rapping with a piece of paper and a pen in his room. Tom looking at equipment on line, Sam treating his equipment like it's no big deal.

And although we did show them in similar situations it wasn’t directly related to what the storyline was about.

Personally I feel my editing skills and knowledge of the subject have grown from this experience. I would be a lot more confident going into another production after going through this process and have gained two friends along the way.

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

At the start of the course I had never produced a video similar to this. I had previously had some small contact with the school camera but nothing like this before.

The first technology we used was the blog. I knew what blogging was but had never done it myself, I created my Google account and my blogger page was created. I played around with the layout, background and different gadgets that were available until I had a page set up to look professional and do and show everything I needed it to do.

Our first contact with the cameras was when we started our Preliminary Exercise, as a group we found it quite easy to get up to speed with the cameras and were able to use them to a pretty basic level.

We then began to use Adobe Premier Pro, to begin with we were unable to transfer our clips straight to our area so we had to go see the IT technicians to transfer the files. We were then taught the basics of Premier Pro and had a play around with it.

After producing our Preliminary Exercise we realised that we needed to adapt how we shot and edited our film as it was not up to the standard we were hoping for.

We also created a YouTube channel which we had never done before. This was quite simple to complete although we had to Name the channel and organise and label it correctly.
 

We then produced a remake of the Juno opening, after producing our preliminary exercise we changed how we shot each shot. We tried to keep the camera more steady and have more still shots and this produced a better outcome. When editing the Juno remake we gained a lot more skills using Premier Pro and we were really quite happy with what we had produced.

After this we started playing with Adobe After Effects as a group and we were able to create the Sharrison Productions opening. This was quite time consuming and although it did look very good we have higher priorities.

We then went onto our Final Piece upon which we tried using a High Definition camera we were careful not to put all of our eggs into one basket so took a small sample. As a test we then tried exporting it which was where the problems came. Adobe Premiere Pro could not export the file in the correct format therefore we had to go back to the schools standard definition camera.

In the final process of editing our video we tried all sorts or different effects and transformations, most of them we didn’t use but we had built our knowledge and been able to improve our film even more.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience in many ways, these include; Facebook group, YouTube, and Rough cut viewings.
I posted our videos to my Facebook page, then advertised the video and asked for comments from my Facebook friends. This raised awareness for our production and allowed people to easily view and comment on our videos. This was the main reason for posting our videos onto my page.

One of my friends on Facebook passed the link to the video onto one of her friends who is studying Media at University which gave the view of someone who knew exactly what to look for and they were able to email me with some detailed feedback.

We created a YouTube channel once we had created our Preliminary Video and we then updated it with videos on scenes we’d tried and rough cuts to give potential audiences an idea of what the final product would look like. This gave us a platform to show our video to a large number of people which allowed us to gain feedback however it wasn’t as successful as Facebook.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SharrisonProduction?feature=mhum

Also, in our Media lesson we did a rough cut viewing to the class to get feedback from other students and how to improve on it.

Once our final video was uploaded onto YouTube I posted it onto my Facebook page and gave it a big push in order to gain as much feedback as possible. In the end I gained over 30 comments from different people.

Most comments were entirely positive:

‘Loving Sam’s acting skills! Like the titles and editing on the stairs and the grafitti bit’

‘Really well put together, love it. And love the location ♥’

‘I could never be this productive haaaaa it’s wicked, reminds me of adulthood or some shit’

‘I really like the range of camera shots you use and soundtrack. The editing and transitions from shot to shot is good to :)’

‘Looks like a good intro to a full length film. Really chill, good job :)’

‘This is fantastic, video gold!’

‘Worthy of an Oscar, a viewing on BBC 1, ITV 1, 2 and 4 (not 3) G.O.L.D and LFC TV... Good work!’

But we did also receive some detailed constructive responses:

Since I last saw it I can see you've added some bits with Sam rapping in the studio but it still doesn't lure in the audience with a story line. And it needs a lot of cutting, but some of the effects and CCTV etc are really very good, great creativity with the editing software. Maybe next time you could have looked at other films and seen how they gripped you in the first moments of the film. Some can be a little different but that's usually because the adverts on TV already hooked the audience coming to watch =]

Shot creativity and editing were good though, I think you really did a good job =]

Bits of it are great mate like the CCTV camera shots they're cleverly placed and whoever edited it together did a good job as well as the whoever decided the camera shots but some scenes are proper out of place like Sam on the phone outside that house or him rapping was a bit of a WTF. It definitely coulda been a Kidulthood style start to a short film but the music would have been better if it was D&B or summin like Magnetic Man or Chase and Status other than that it was good man just didn’t blend as one.

 that house or him rapping that was abit of a WTF. It definitely coulda been like a kidulthood style start to a short film but the music woulda been better if it was like D&B or summin like magnetic man or chase and status other then that it was good man just didn't blend as one

Ø  I disagree with the others and can’t really relate the music to the film, not just in terms of lyrics but it doesn’t really match the style of filming as such, the music is quite fluid, whereas what we are seeing isn’t as such.

Ø  I liked the change to CCTV style footage, mixes it up, so that’s good.

Ø  The style of writing for the credits you have is good

Ø  I didn’t really get a feel of the story –I’d expect more of the plot or at least some info on the characters to get a sense of who they are and where they might have headed, even a small amount, I have no idea what’s going on really.

Ø  A lot of just walking around ... some cuts it works, some it just seems to go on a bit.

Ø  The rewind sequence is good! Good edit there :)

Ø  Initially I wasn’t sure if it was even a film intro or if it was an advert/music video. Just seems different to what I’m used to BUT that could be a good thing! Different is good.

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

Our movies Rollin’ in the Deep is a Teen Gangster Film aimed mainly at teenagers and young adults.
I will now describe someone from our target audience.

This is Johan. He is 19 years old, and lives in Camden, London.
He is pretty indie – Chinos, Skinny Jeans, Checked shirts etc. He enjoys going out with mates, and has a part time job at Pizza Hut. He mainly shops online but if not shops in places like Topman and H&M.
He enjoys films like 8 Mile, The Fighter and Coach Carter. He sometimes visits the cinema but mainly buys them later on DVD and watching them with friends.

They would watch Jackass, Family Guy, LA Ink, The IT Crowd and Shameless. The main channels would be Channel 4; E4; MTV; ITV; BBC Three.

The music this man would listen to would be indie music, rock and occasional dub-step. Prefers to Listen to Radio 1 from 7pm onward but mainly uses his iPod.

I think our film would appeal to this man as he is a man who enjoys having a laugh, music and going out therefore, if this film was shown at his local cinema, this may appeal to him, as it's similar to other films he likes, such as 8 Mile, The Fighter and Coach Carter.

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

Sharrison Productions is a small production company that we developed from our first lesson of Media Studies. The name came from one of our former members Shaun Harrison who Sol gave the nickname Sharrison and the name stuck ever since. The logo has been in all 3 of our teams videos with it being developed using Adobe After Effects as the process continued.

A production company is a company responsible for physical production of new media, performing arts, film, radio or a television program. The production company may be either a small company or a larger one, selling its products to a film studio or presenting it at a theatrical venue, or, in the case of film and television, it may be the studio itself.

A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing (DVD, Video-On-Demand, Download, Television etc.).

The money to produce this film would have to be acquired from external sources as we are a small production company of students. The best way to go about raising money is to exhaust all possible resources: apply for many grants; pitch the project to many potential producers; and present the project to as much companies for sponsorship opportunities that can be mutually beneficial to both parties. This would take time and effort, especially to such a small company like us who haven't made a name for ourselves yet and those have no connections yet.

Our film could compare institutionally to the film ‘Four Lions’. The project was originally rejected by both the BBC and Channel 4 as being too controversial. Morris suggested in a mass email, titled "Funding Mentalism” that fans could contribute between £25 and £100 each to the production costs of the film and would appear as extras in return. Funding was secured in October 2008 from Film 4 Productions and Warp Films, with Mark Herbert producing. Filming began in Sheffield in May 2009.

Although our film is not going to be rejected for being too controversial we would find it just as difficult to gain funding with Film 4 Productions probably being the most likely to fund our project.

This would have its benefits as if Film4 distributed Rollin’ in the Deep we would have access to their television channel, internet site and their high profile market. Film4 already have an established fan base, and this would allow our film the promotion it needed to attract attention. This film company normally distributes low budget British films; therefore I think this media institution would be more beneficial to our film than a big Hollywood studio such as 20th Century Fox.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film has two main characters they are both young males and both with the same dream but both have different backgrounds.

A character from another film that Tom has similarities with is Sam from Kidulthood and Adulthood.

Sam is an older student, and is the main antagonist in the film because of his violent behaviour and rough demeanor. Although from the start of the film Tom could have possibly given a similar impression as the film develops it reveals that deep down Tom is nothing like Sam from Kidulthood at all. Sam has no ambition and is happy controlling younger kids. In the scenes at school, Sam and his gang never wear school uniform and it is clear that students and teachers are scared of him.

At the start of Rollin’ in the Deep Tom thinks that is the best way to get to where he wants to be but as the film continues he realises that he doesn’t have to be aggressive at all and that it only hinders him. Therefore I think that he represents young adults quite well. Although he has a rough exterior at the start of the film, the audience will see him grow into a respectable adult.

Although what Tom is wearing is the same as Sam they are completely different people with different goals.

Other social groups would freely admit that they would cross the street if they were heading towards a group of youths but Tom shows that they are nothing to be afraid of once they have lost their rough exterior and can change into respectable adults.

Sam is a completely different character, he starts from the top. At the beginning of the film he can be compared real life rapper Tinie Tempah, as well as being a very well known rapper he is a fashion icon and  plans on conquering the world. He represents the good side of young adults and is a role model for all young people. He is beginning to become a household name and the media love him.

However as the film develops he begins to go mad with power and becomes complacent. He can then be compared to the ‘Free World’ gang from the film 8 Mile. They begin as the wealthy and popular rappers and as the film develops the new guy comes on the scene and takes their crown leaving them nowhere.

So initially Sam represents young people as all round heroes but as the film develops Sam develops into the villain and becomes more into a spoilt brat.

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

Our final media product uses develops and challenges conventions of real media products.

Our film is a cross between a Teen drama and Gangster movie, these common films, however only a few are ever extremely successful so we needed to establish our genre while also developing on it.

An example of using conventions from Teen Gangster movies is the music that plays throughout the opening scene. In a lot of Teen Gangster movies they have rap, hip hop, dubstep or grime music playing through them. We used a well known song by Adele, Rollin’ in the Deep which would not fit into these genres of music. But we used the Jamie xx Remix, the remix gives the song a more street and urban feel to it. We also listened carefully to a number of songs thinking about the lyrics, genre and beat and decided this would provide the best for our opening all round.

We have then used a convention to create the enigma. In teen gangster films crime and trouble making are prominent, in the last frame we have it shows someone looking at Sam’s mansion from a distance. Then they quietly say ‘Look at that’ and then the shot falls and blurs. This uses the convention as someone is clearly not meant to be there and seems to have been caught this adds the extra enigma to the end of the opening scene.

Teen dramas often have the Jock and the underdog; however we have developed this to two young adults competing in the music industry. We have Sam, the cocky superstar and Tom the boy trying to break onto the scene. We have shown this in the opening scene by contrasting the twos lifestyles. We have shown Sam outside his Mansion and in the recording studio whereas Tom is in a block of rundown flats and walking through run down areas.

We have also developed conventions in our use of costumes; normally in these types of films you have characters in school uniforms and then the gangsters in hoodies and baseball caps. As we had developed the idea to the music industry we had Tom in the gangster clothing; a hoody, baseball cap and joggers, and Sam in a Shirt and Gilet.

In traditional Teen Gangster films Tom would be the top dog, an example of this is in the film Kidulthood. We have developed this as our storyline is the next level up.

Instead of:

School Kids < Gangster

We have developed it to

Wannabe Gangster < Superstar Rapper

Tom and Sam were both at the School Kids, Gangster level at one point but as they have grown up they have moved to the next level and Tom hasn’t grown up yet and is at the Wannabe Gangster level which isn’t the way to success which he craves.

We have also challenged some conventions normally the lighting is quite dull and dark, we have used this for the parts that Tom is in but in Sam’s parts the lighting is brighter and warmer. Although normally this doesn’t happen in Teen Gangster films we decided to do this to reflect Sam’s life compared to Tom’s. Sam lives the flamboyant lifestyle which reflects the warm bright lighting whereas Tom has to graft which reflects his dull cold lighting.