Evaluation: Question 7

Preliminary Video & Final Title Sequence 

Q7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 

Short statement about myself:

During my preliminary work and the final title sequence I believe that I have gained many skills and learned many disadvantages about myself, which I have developed. Looking into the skills I have learnt, I believe that my filming skills with the camera has developed and had a huge impact on  my group whilst filming the final title sequence. I remember that I was not confident whilst filming our preliminary because I was worried about doing something wrong, however as time past by I learned how to use the camera and was more confident whilst filming. Looking into what I learned about myself is the most important aspect because I realised that I work better with people that I haven't met before than my friends. This is because my old group consisted of my friends which resulted in a lot of messing around. As a result, changing groups had a huge impact on myself.

Pre-production:

Storyboard

During our preliminary video our group did not use a storyboard. I realised that a storyboard is an important aspect whilst filming because it results into changes. From my perspective, a storyboard is a organised plan which shows you the camera shots, location, props, and other important aspects. For our final title sequence our group used a storyboard and this resulted into a successful title sequence.

The storyboard of our final title sequence 

Location: 

The location of a filming is really important. Looking into our preliminary work we had to use one of our colleges room as a principles office. Due to the lack of timing we had to use the college as our location of the principles office and this was very unprofessional.

Principal's office (one of the colleges room)

Looking into our final title sequence (Refugee) we had filmed in a few locations, we had a production date therefore we knew when to film and where to film, which was much more organised. As it was a final title sequence we had to make sure that we pick locations which are suitable for our filming. 

Here is all the locations. (Constructed area, Central London, Mosque, Office, Park and House) 

Here we had to put a effort on finding the precise locations, which some locations like the constructed area took time upon to find, because many constructed area was either not suitable for our filming, or we was just not allowed. Location is a important aspect because it gives the audience an insight on where the film is filmed. Comparing my preliminary work and final title sequence, we can see that there is a huge difference on the amount of time spent on locations and I learnt that a location could be really important during a title sequence.

Props: 

Comparing the preliminary work with the title sequence with props, I can state that there is a difference within props. In the preliminary task we only had one prop, which was cards and this prop was chosen by our teachers. 

Props - Cards 

With our final title sequence, the props had to be on point, so it looks much more professional and more realistic. 

Props - Coins, Folders, Office Telephone and Housing Props

Mise-En-Scene:

Mise en scene is really important because it gives out many clues to the audience. For example, with mise en scene the audience can tell a characters job, personality, lifestyle and more. Looking into our preliminary mise en scene, I can state that it is really poor because it was not correct as we filmed it in college. As a the role of a principle, I should have been wearing smart clothes and as the students role, my group mates should have been wearing a smart school uniform. 

Mis en scene in our final title sequence

Mis en scene in our preliminary task

Looking at both GIF makers we can can see that there is a huge difference in mis en scene. In our preliminary task we are dressed in our normal clothes and we were meant to dress very smartly because the characters in the preliminary task consists of a principle and students. However looking in to the final title sequence task it is much more professional and the characters are dressed according to their roles. For example, the councillor is dressed very smartly because that the dress code for her job. We surely have 
learnt how important mis en scene can be and developed this knowledge in to our final title sequence  

Research:

Looking at our preliminary task we did not go through a lot of research compared to our final title sequence. We only went through the different types of camera angles which we can use whilst doing our preliminary task. These angles are the, 180 shot and the over the shoulder shot.

Here is the 180 shot and over the shoulder shot

Looking at our final title sequence task we went through many useful research which then we developed into a successful title sequence. We went through many research, such as: Distribution, Genres, Sounds, Title Conventions and many more. 

Research on our Title Sequence 

Camera work:

Comparing our camera work with the preliminary and final title sequences we can see that there has been much more improvement of camera work. In the preliminary we mainly focused on the 180 shot and over the shoulder shots, however in the title sequence we had a range of mixed shots. 

One of my favourite shots was the close extreme close-up of the coins shot. This is because after giving away a coin to the beggar, the main character then reminisces her times as a beggar. This shot has a emotional meaning on our character because she remembers the hard times in the past.

Another good camera-work was a shot of our main character looking at the Big Ben. This is a great shot of the view. Looking into this shot our character is on the ground and Big Ben is really high, this piece of camera work connotes how the character wants to aim high which she does and becomes successful.

This shot is a good example of a clue, and we particularly wanted our character to stare at the Big Ben, so that she looks low and the Big Ben looks high. 

Here is two camera work which I want to compare. Looking into our preliminary over the shoulder shot, I can state that it is really basic, however looking into the over the shoulder shot in our final title sequence you can clearly see that it is at a low angle which makes the beggar looks inferior and the smart dressed character as more of a hierarchy. The final title sequence's shot seems much more realistic and more of a better camera work than the preliminary camera shot  

Editing:

In our preliminary we used a few match-cuts, for example when the principle was about to leave his room to step outside.

                 

In our final title sequences, we have extremely improved match-cuts compared to the preliminary ones, for example:

 This is a match-cut when our main character throws coins at the tissue, and this match-cut takes her to the past as she was a beggar and when someone else throws coins at the tissue she uses.

Another match-cut is when our character bows down at the mosque and the match-cut takes her to the past as she was bowing down.

Editing: Sound 

Sound is one of the most important aspects in a title sequence. In our preliminary we did not use any music at all, we only had a bit of dialogue. In contrast to our preliminary, in the title sequence we used a emotional music because it is dramatic genre. We used a ambience sound of the screaming of the little sister in the flashbacks, and we used a Foley sound of the keys being used to unlock the door. This shows that we have progressed from our preliminary and learnt that sound is really important.

Editing: Titles 

In our preliminary we did not include any titles which is really unprofessional, however in our final title sequence we included titles such as, Production Company, Actors, Casting, and more. Titles are really important because it makes the title sequence look realistic which is important. 

Task 54 - Evaluation (Question 6)

Task 54 - Evaluation (Question 5)

Q5 - How did you attract/reach your audience?

Here is our footage of the responses we got after our audience watched our title sequence

Task 54 - Evaluation (Question 4)

Who would be the audience for your media product?

 

As we are acting in the film ourselves the target audience would be teenagers/young adults. There is no specific genre. The main religion/faith targeted would be Muslims as the issue portrayed is one that they’re currently facing. However, this can also target a wider audience as similar issues have happened to people from other ethnicities as well not just people in Palestine.

 

To appeal to the audience the information given should be true and the emotions portrayed must be real. A drama attracts an audience through emotions and how much a person can relate. It needs to develop into something greater and show a journey. It must be intense and be able to grip someone’s attention.

 

People would like to see something that relates to current affairs rather than something that occurred a long time ago as the film will be something new – an idea that has never been expressed before.

Moreover, an audience would watch a drama film as it is something that helps develop their understanding on a specific subject as well as entertaining them. A good drama should be able to express real feelings within a character and covey the truth to the audience.

 

 

The wider audience could be people of older ages as even though the film is based on a young girls struggle, older people are aware of the issue we are targeting and would be interested to learn more about it.

 

Moreover, the YouGov profiles that I created in task 27 were correct in displying the type of people that would consume our film.

Evaluation QUESTION 7

Prelim Video VS Final Title Sequence

Pre-production

In the preliminary video, we did not use a storyboard to plan it beforehand. However, we learnt from this that planning sequences of shots and titles before recording the videos helps to precise, clear shots so we used a storyboard for our final title sequence. This also took less time as we did not have to keep re-filming the shots. 

The picture above is a screenshot of the storyboard for our final video.

As for the location for the preliminary video, we did not think it through beforehand so we filmed it in school hall even though the setting was an airport. This is because we did not have enough time to find an airport and film there. In addition to this, the only prop we used was a text book.

In the picture below is the location where we 

filmed the airport scene. It also shows the props we used, red and blue jacket and textbooks. 

In contrast to the prelim, we had thought about the appropriate locations for scenes such as the beggar scene, the walking scene and the park scene. The location for the beggar scene was a tunnel under the London Bridge, facing the Big Ben as pictured on the right. We decided to use this location as it created an effective cinematic scene, the there wasn't much lighting coming in which was intentional as portrayed the character's dull past. 

Research

When it came to research for our preliminary video, we only went through different types of camera angles that we can use. This includes angles such as over-the-shoulder shot, 180 shots and wide angles. However, in our final video, the research was much more detailed in terms of looking at different film openings that had the same genre as our film. Research included the openings for movies such as "Titanic" and "The boy in striped pyjamas". This helped us determine which types of camera angles we would use as well as determining suitable locations to film in.

 The image on the left shows an over-the-shoulder shot.

 The image on the left shows a 180 shot.

Final Video; Production

Camerawork:

One good element we used in our final video was good camera angles. One example is the extreme close-up of the coin shot. This specific shot was essential as it was used as a transition from the present to the past in our video. In our prelim video, we only used simple 180 shots and this specific close shot of the coin shows improvement as it looks more professional.












Another example of good camerawork is the over-the-shoulder shot in the beggar scene. It not only displays the inferior, poor beggar but it also exposes the location (the tunnel) in which the beggar is in. This is affective as it shows an element of realism. In addition to this, from the beggar's point of view, it seems like a low angle as the girl is walking towards her. This low angle makes the girl look powerful and confident, which is a contrast to how she was in the past. In the prelim video, we used a similar shot but it was quite simple and basic compared to the final video which shows our improvement.

One final example of good camerawork is the panning shot of the beggar in the flashback when she is looking at the Big Ben. This is affective as it shows her current position and where she wants to be in the future. The Big Ben was shown intentionally as it is a high building, and that is what the girl wanted to do in the past, aim high. In contrast to the prelim, we only used still shots such as the shot where she is walking to the table. This shows our progress through the final video.













Mise-en-scene

One thing that we have definately improved on since the preliminary video was the mise-en-scene. For example, we used realistic poor-looking clothes such as ripped flat shoes, long black dress and a long scarf to show how cold she was. We also set up a realistic office scene with Neena wearing smart clothes such as a black blouse and using props such as folders, a desk and a phone. In addition to this, we used a smart attire for the girl (Chifa) to show the that she can afford better clothes and that she is well-off. In contrast to to the prelim, we only used 3 props, the blue and red hoodies and textbooks (screenshots shown above).

Editing


In our prelim video, we used a few match-cuts such as when the girl in the red jacket is about to get up and shakes hands with the other girl and when they are parting ways, each showing them leaving from the front. 

However, we can see a massive improvement in our final video as there are much more complex match-cuts involved. For example, one match-cut is when the girl (Chifa) is praying in the past, about to bow, and it immediately match-cuts to the present with her bowing down, showing a transition in time. Another match-cut is when the girl (Chifa) drops a coin in the tissue, and this takes match-cuts to the past, to the position she was in before. One final example of a match-cut used is when she is entering her house, there is a close-up shot of the keys opening the door and another shot of her entering the house from the inside.

Editing PII

In addition to match-cutting, in our final video, we also added more tone and colour (Sepia tone) when it came to having the flashbacks so that it is clear to the audience that it is the past. We used Adobe Premiere cinematic effects to give it that old, sepia look. In our prelim, however, we did not use any of the sort.

Editing: Sound

When it came to sound in the prelim video, we did not use any music nor any sound effects, we only included voice. In contrast to the final video, we used emotional music behind the visuals as well as Foley sounds such as the sound of the keys unlocking the door, the ambience sound of the crowd in the tunnel and the screams and cries of the two sisters in the flashback. This shows how greatly we improved in our final video.

Editing: Titles

In our preliminary video, there were no titles added on in contrast to our final video, in which many title credits were added on such as Production company, actors, casting, etc. This shows our progrssion through development of titles. We also learnt how to add Idents which further complimented our improvements in our editing. Below are screenshots of titles we used in our final video.