Evaluation task 3

Evaluation task 5

Evaluation task 7

In the preliminary task Olivia and I worked with three other people; Emily, Jack and Hannah. As a group we worked very successfully and completed the task efficiently and quickly. The task completion was mainly due to the fact that our story boards and thumbnails were completed in a large amount of detail: which we followed step by step. We gained inspiration from our typical school day; going to the library and getting a computer is always the same. Therefore we took advantage of this element and used to it our advantage to produce an effective prelim.



The technology used to complete the task was a video recording camera, a tripod stand, a computer and an apple Mac (To edit our short film). We initially had difficulty getting used to the camera – e.g. keeping it steady and how to get certain shots however we overcame this by using the tripod provided which helped us immensely in terms of restricting the cameras movement resulting in the shaking stopping. The most difficult technology to get used to was using the Apple Macs, we found the software complicated to begin with, nevertheless we continued to persist and eventually produced an effective result.


The key factors that always should be taken into consideration whilst filming is to use the equipment provided effectively to create the most successful end result e.g. the tripod stand. Moreover the thumbnails should be followed step by step therefore no ideas are missed out of the filming process. Lacking in continuity must always be taken into account whilst filming e.g. if filming outside the light conditions may change if the filming takes places on various days also whilst editing the flow of clips should be considered; the whole effectiveness of the film will be lost if it fails to flow from one clip into another.


Overall our preliminary exercise was a success however after completing our film opening Olivia and I have agreed that there are drastic improvements that could be made. The camera work could have been improved by using the tripod continuously; this would have prevented the shaking of the camera. Furthermore the editing could have been more precise and finally there lacked a storyline.

Evalutation task 4

If our movie was to be produced Olivia and I believe it would be rated as a ‘12A’. The story lines would be too explicit for the younger audiences. To be classed as a ‘12A’ the requirements include ‘No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult’ (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/#).



Therefore the target audience for our film are females between the ages of 13 – 16. We believe that our film will be most appreciated by that particular age group. The target audience shall be the average female teenager – casual clothes (Jeans/leggings and a top), enjoys going shopping, and enjoys spending time with friends.


The films and television programmes that our target audiences will enjoy are films such as: mean girls, bridal wars, 10 things I hate about you, Never been kissed etc. The television programmes that would be enjoyed by our audiences are programmes such as: Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Friends, America’s next top model, the inbetweeners etc. As a group we gained inspiration from these films and programmes and attempted to include elements of several of them in our film opening.


Our target audience would enjoy chart music- mainly r ‘n’ b, however they would enjoy music such as ‘pop’, ‘indie’ and ‘Dance’. Their favourite artists would include Rhinanna, Mika, Chris Brown, Beyonce, Vampire weekend, Mariah Carey etc. Olivia and I researched several of these ‘stereotypical’ teenage artists and we gained inspiration from a Mika video – when he gets out of bed, flicks the cover over and a door opens likewise we used the ‘popular’ girl getting out of bed, flicking the cover over and the fridge door opening.


The reason why I believe that our film would be appealing to this audience because the characters we have produced reflect everyday girls: There will always be a ‘Kayleigh Daniels’ and a ‘Poppy Harris’ in the stereotypical high school, therefore the audience can relate to the characters. Olivia and I also asked around our school to identify which films were most appealing to the average teenage girl; our results showed with an overwhelming percentage that Romantic Comedies were the most sort after. Olivia and I therefore made a decision to create a Romantic comedy film opening.

Evaluation task 2

The ideas and inspiration behind the ‘popular’ female character was gained from the 2004 mean girl’s star Regina gorge. Our idea was to have a stereotypical ‘popular’ female – wealthy, a large house, expensive clothes and a car. Similarly to Regina, Bethan (our lead character) has blonde hair, a toned figure and we ensured that she had an item of clothing in the colour pink and red (top). These colours were import to portray a certain ‘girly’ image: pink connotes femininity and red connotes sexuality. Olivia and I found that the colours which Bethan wore were import to connote her character, resulting in the audience able to have an understanding of her personality and characteristics throughout.







However the character of the ‘popular’ female and Regina Gorge are different in several ways; this is possibly because the film ‘Mean girls’ is set in a typical American high school, and in America they have different attitudes and trends. Olivia and I chose not to dress the ‘popular’ girl all in pink; we felt that all pink would create a slightly ‘tacky’ image. We also chose to dress the ‘popular’ female in leggings due to the fact that in England Leggings are more fashionable than skirts.

The ideas and inspiration behind the ‘unpopular’ character was sourced from the American comedy Ugly Betty, which first aired in 2006 in the USA. . Olivia and I believed that the most effect way to portray an unpopular person was to gain inspiration from the character Betty. Originally we chose our unpopular lead character (Jess) to wear a long orange skirt, large green jumper, glasses and walking boots however we came to the decision that this was too drastic and chose to ‘tone down’ the clothes. Resulting in the ‘double denim’ idea, an orange top and we chose to keep the original idea of the glasses. However the character of Ugly Betty wears similar styled clothing to the original outfit of jess, although this image works for the Ugly Betty character Olivia and I believed that it was extreme for the image that we wanted to portray. A further difference between the two characters is that Betty has her hair styled of a sort, however the style is not fashionable compared to the character of Jess who has an extreme ‘out of fashion’ hairstyle.

The idea behind the character of jess is that the audience can see that she is actually attractive, if the glasses were removed and the clothes were changed – this idea was also inspired by the ugly Betty character.

Setting ideas for the 'un -popular' character

The settings that Olivia and I are thinking about for the 'un - popular' girl are my the outside of one of my friends house, inside of house and the dirt paths and tunnels in my village - Whetstone.

However the end result we have visualised for the 'un -popular' girl is to be less fortunate, therefore we cannot use the inside of my friends house because she may be offended, consequently for the inside house scenes we shall film in my house. The plan is to make it un - tidy and messy; resulting in my house looking cramped and un - clean. The kitchen will have laundry on the sides, painted pictures on the cupboards, dirty tea towels hanging off handles, newspapers spread out all over the floor (because of the new puppy), the dogs basket etc. The bedroom will be just as un - tidy; clothes everywhere, grungy posters, shoes on floor, bed un -made etc.

The bike scene that we are going to include in our film opening with be filmed on a country gravel path, which has fields on one side and 'jungle like'  bushes on the other. We believe that this scene will be used effectively because the natural lighting will be good, also it shows the struggle that the 'un popular' character has to go through every morning.

This are pictures of my friends house that we are going to use for the exterior shots of the

 'un - popular' girls house.

These are shots of my bedroom after I messed it up, this is the types of setting that Olivia and I are trying to achieve for the getting dressed, bedroom scene. We are also going to put 'grungy' posters up on the walls, this makes the room darker without loosing the light. The dark setting is a reflection of how the 'un -popular' female lead is feeling.

These are two shots of my kitchen; for our kitchen scnen olivia and I are going to 'clutter' my kitchen resulting in it looking un - clean and messy - this is a reflection of the 'un- popular' girls appearance. Using my Kitchen is not ideal however we have no other option without risking offending someone - our vision was to have a small un - unclean kitchen.

This is where we are going to film the bike scene. I believe that this setting will look effective for the scene that we have visualised. The idea behind the bike scene is portray the stuggle that the 'un - popular' female has to go through everyday to get to school: hopefully achieving the audiences' sympathy.  However the scene will look ineffective if the natural light is not bright and hazy - as shown in the pictures. Therefore Olivia and I will have to plan a day when the whether is going to be dry and bright so we can achieve the best possible scene.

I suggested that we include a Birds eye view shot. The idea is that we film the 'un - popular' girl on the bike off the top of the tunnel going in and coming out therefore including two birds eye view shots. However we will film the first birds eye view shot and skip to the 'popular' girl then edit the 'un - popular' female coming out of the tunnel - the viewer is under the impression that she was in the tunnel longer than she actually was.

Examples of interesting shots

The Blurry shot that Olivia and I will use is similar to this one. This shot will look effective in our media for when the 'unpopular' female puts her glasses on. We will do mainy practice shots to achieve our final overall 'blurred' glasses shot.

I believe that this blurred shot will look effective and will flow well with our romantic comedy genre - the element of subtle humour of the character not being able to see.





This clip is usuful for inspiration for the getting ready scenes in our film opening. My idea was to use something similar to this however when Demi Moore (the actress in the film clip) puts her underwear on we will use a close up/ extreme close up, (for our credits) using name lables in the seams of the briefs.




This 'Birds eye view' shot can be used effectively in the bike scene of our film opening. The bike scene is when the 'unpopular' girl bikes on a dirt path, gravel road to school: she goes under a tunnel and i had the idea of standing on the top of the tunel and film her going through it.

Pitch

This is a powerpoint we created to present to our class so we could recieve feedback and constructive criticism as to how we can impove and advance our ideas.

our pitch

Shot List

After vast research we have come up with several ideas our film opening. We want the opening and the credit to be fairly quirky and unusual...



Credits


• When the two binary opposite characters are getting dressed I had the idea of using name labels, for the director’s credits.


• Also whilst the less fortunate (Unpopular) girl is rushing getting ready and doing homework at the same time, she could type her name at the end of her work.


• Whilst both the female leads are eating breakfast, we could use some credits on the food boxes.


• Some of the credits could also look effective with post coming through the door.




Interesting shots


• When the un –popular girl wakes up using a soft focus shot to make the shot ‘fuzzy’ then she reaches for her glasses (the shot is a close up of her hand); the shot changes to a close up of her face (still fuzzy): as she puts her glasses on the shot becomes clearer.


• The camera is put in the fridge, the fridge is then opened and there is a close up/ mid shot of one of the female leads, however this shot is going to be repeated with both of the females –the mise en scene represents the binary opposites.


• When the (un-popular) female is biking to school, she goes under a tunnel – we believe that a bird’s eye shot would look effective here.


• When the females are eating breakfast we had the idea of zooming into one bowl of cereal in the un –popular girl’s house then when it zooms out the shot is in popular girls house: same bowl of cereal.


• The first shot of the ‘popular’ girl begins in an extreme close up of just her eyes then zooms out to a long shot.


• When the ‘popular’ female steps out of the car (at school) – beginning with one leg then the other. A close up of the heeled shoe should be used then a zoom out to show the leg then a tilt shot should be used. This shot connotes her sexuality –Laura Mulvey’s male gaze.

Character Research

This is a clip from the 2004 romantic comedy Mean Girls. The Clip is of 'Regina George': a stereotypical upper-class American teenagers. The character is high maintenance this is evident from the 'over the top' screaming. Regina is also wealthy - the character has a very large, ostentatiously decorated bedroom.

She is also wearing expensive looking clothes: tight fitted blue denim jeans, black heeled shoes and a puffy, pink satin coat. Her hair is clipped back however it has been styled.

It is evident that the charcter is a feminine 'girly' character - the colours used in this scene are mainly pinks: Walls, carpet, wardrobe, lamps (a hazy pink lighting), chair, she is even dressed in pink (coat).



This film clip is from the romantic comedy 'Never been kissed' (1999). The charcter in the clip is called Josie: it is evident that she is lonely and hasn't got many friends- she sits alone speaking to a tortoise also the first camera shot is of two photo frames one is of herself, the other is at her graduation with her family - no pictures of friends. The character also is obviously a 'nerd' - she makes pillow cases.

In the living room the charcter has many pillows, presumably ones she has made. The colours in the living room clash: Blue walls, cream curtains, a checked brown/red sofa, white carpet with a beige rug - this represents her un co-ordinated character.

She is wearing an over sized un- fashionable jumper - pink and brown patterns with white tights. Her hair is messily clipped back - for practicality reasons.

These stereotpical characteristics could be used for the binary opposite characters, in our film opening. It is apprant that the characters are two complete contrasts.

Research - Binary opposite character ideas.

The characters Betty and Amanda in the american hit drama 'Ugly Betty' are prime examples of binary opposite characters.

BETTY

Typical Clothes Betty Wears:

Attributes
Caring
Thinks of others
Hard working
Sweet
Wears braces on her teeth
Innocent
'Nerdy'
Wears glasses
Messy, un- combed hair
Colour clashing clothes
Freckles
No make up
Un- plucked eyebrows

Intelligent

AMANDA

Typical Clothes Amanda wears:

Amanda's Attributes

Un – caring

Selfish

Lazy

Bitter

Sexual

Popular

Perfect vision

Perfect teeth
Styled hair

Fashionable clothing
Heavy, perfectly done make – up
Shaped, plucked eyebrows

Dumb

Here is a short clip of Amanda and Betty which shows all the above character research:

In the series of Ugly Betty it is evident that Betty and Amanda are binary opposite characters. The film opening that Olivia and I are going to produce could possibily benefit from the similar characters. To produce the best possible film opening Olivia and I shall research Ugly Betty and analysis the characters in greater depth.

Film opening research: When Harry met Sally.

The opening credits of the film when Harry met Sally are in my opinion both effective and ineffective. They are effective in the sense that they are bold and clear- with the white writing on the black background. This black and white contrast could possibly represent the two binary opposite characters: the white representing innocence and the black represents and blunt bond character.
However the opening credits run for about 2 minutes with white writing on a black background, which the audience could possibly find tedious. Furthermore the continuous upbeat music seems to become fairly repetitive, which can also become and irritant for the audience.
Therefore Olivia and I will not be using the white on black for our opening credits however the idea of contrasting colours could be used effectively.



It becomes apparent within 39 seconds of the first scene of the film ‘when harry met sally’ it is a romantic comedy. The element of romance is used from the backdrop of the first shot – serene settings with trees either side of the road and slow jazzy music. The next shot (rotating shot) is of a male and female in close proximately and gazing into one another’s eyes, it portrays they are a couple and in love; the couple then begin to passionately kiss. The element of comedy is introduced when a female character in an old, yellow car pulls up alongside them; looking uncomfortable clears her throat attempting to get noticed. The female in the car is clearly an impatient uptight character which therefore makes the scene amusing.
As the film continues (4.11 – 5.23) the characters are represented as binary opposites. Firstly the female driver (Sally) is impatient, sarcastic and takes herself very seriously. However the male character (Harry) patient (waits for the car to arrive), he is down to earth and he clearly doesn’t take himself to seriously – a joker.

I believe that the idea of binary opposite characters could be used effectively in our film opening. Many romantic comedies use the idea of binary opposite characters; it often gives films the element of comedy.

Coursework Deadline Sheet

G321 Course Outline Dec 2009 to March 2010

This is our coursework deadline sheet, this is a guideline as to what we should have done and by when, we are going to try and achieve everything required and meet the deadlines.

Introduction

This blog was created by Olivia and myself so we can share our ideas and planning of our AS Media coursework. We have chosen to work together because we feel as a pair we empathise with one another, and have the same focus and direction.

Our coursework will be the opening sequence of a romantic comedy aimed at teenagers (aged 13 - 19 years). We believe as a apir we can produce the most effective coursework because we have vast resources and are prepared to put in extra hours outside of school time.