EVALUATION QUESTIONS

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

To me, my film opening looks like a real film opening that you would see in the cinema. There are things that i could change to make it look more real. I feel that in film openings, you should not introduce the  characters that quick, so in my opening you see them but it does not give you any detail about them apart from Elliott as Rob sys his name but it still does not tell you anything about them.

The way the act might tell you something. When the half zombie half human (the killer) is shown, he looks like a fast walker but later on when he kills Elliott, he acts like a zombie, so it shows you how quickly the characters can change and what they might be like.

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

Well in the opening, you can see that two characters are teenagers but you cannot tell what sort of age the half zombie and half human is. Also this film is aimed at that age group.

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

It could be distributed by the BBC as a BBC movie as it is a british film. But then it could be distributed by Sony as Sony is a well know company and create many films that are well know, like the new disaster film 2012.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The film is aimed at 15 to 40 year old males. It also might appeal to 15 to 40 year old females. It would be for people who like Horror/Zombie movies

5. How did you attract/address your audience?
It colour of the opening shows that it is in the past, and the titles are in red and look like blood so that would tell the audience that there would be blood involved.

Also the movie title would give the movie away aswell.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
You have to film in a style like other films and you cannot over do the film or it might then ruin it. 

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?

I have learnt how to do the continuity  editing task on different scenes and not just on doors.  An example for this is where Elliott got stabbed and fell to the ground. it has two different footage's but i have made it look like that it is only one.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 1 Answer

Here is the 9 grid frame that i have made for my film opening.
This is not in order for when they are shown in the opening.

This one is in the order they appear in the opening.

1st Frame) The Title Of The Film: Here is the Title Frame:

I change the title of the film from Murder In The Day to Murder Zombies which i feel that title works better then the other title i chose. The title Murder Zombies also tells you what is involved in the film, for example Zombies, this tells you that there will be Zombies and Murder, this tells you that Murder (death) will be involved. Murder Zombies title gives me a view that it is about Zombie murdering people or people murdering Zombies. The film title appears half way through the opening. I have had other title ideas but i prefer Murder Zombies the most.

2nd Frame) Setting/Location: Here is the Title Frame:

This frame picture shows the setting well. I looks to be set in a park or the entrance of a forest. The complete opening is set in the same area as this picture. This picture is taken from the scene where Elliott walks through the gate and a runner walks past. The setting is the same through out opening.

3rd Frame) Costumes And Props: Here is the Title Frame:

This title shows you what the 2 main characters are wearing. The half zombie and half human killer is wearing a hodded jumper so you cannot see his face which gives it a better effect on the viewer. The props that i used was a knife and ketchup but you cannot see these in here. I also put the costume title on here aswell a this is when you get a full view of the characters costumes.

4th Frame) Camerawork And Editing: Here is the Title Frame:

Here is the scene where i had a close up of the knife. I had other close ups including the behind of Robs head when he is speaking. I like this close up of the kinfe as it is the only close up of it that i have. Filming the scene, i had to use the camera off the stand and walk along with it to film Max(Killer Zombie) walking with the knife. Editing did not take that long, but adding the titles did.

5th Frame) Title Font And Style: Here is the Title Frame:

The font that i have used for the text is called Chiller. It give the text a bloody horror look. I also made it red to make it look like blood as the film features blood. Also i outlined the text black to make it stand out. The chiller font is my favorite as it have the horror effect and it would also be useful in other projects.

6th Frame) Story And How The Opening Sets It Up: Here is the Title Frame:

The opening of the film is set up by having death, but it take along lime for him to die. After being stabbed he was infected by the half zombie and half human killer. This sets up the rest of the film as after the opening finishes, the film goes to present day, which is one week later and it is the funeral of Elliotts death. Elliott then comes out of his grave as a zombie and the all hell breaks out. The opening is always the most important feature of a film as if you don't have a good opening it would put viewers of the rest of the film.

7th Frame) Genre And How The Opening Suggests It: Here is the Title Frame:

I would class my film opening as a British Horror Zombie Comedy. The Comedy is represented when Elliott is getting stabbed and screaming. Also he does not really die at the end as he makes an odd noise which makes most people laugh. The Horror could be represented by the stabbing and the title font shows that it is a Horror.

8th Frame) How Characters Are Introduced: Here is the Title Frame:

The only character that is introduced is Elliott. You don't really see him but his name is the only name mentioned at the end. The half zombie half human character is introduced as a killer and a hooded man, you don't even see his face, which i feel is a good thing as his character would have been shown later. When Rob comes along, he is introduced as Elliotts friend. His character would also be returning later in the film. The runner that appears in the begining is not part of the cast.

9th Frame) Special Effects: Here is the Title Frame:

The special effects that i have use in my opening is for the titles. The titles have been add to cut away when a character walks past. Also i used a special effect to turn all my footage black and white as it is set in the past. At the end there is a title saying one week later then it ends. I think that if there was any other special effects, it would ruin the opening.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2 Answer

My character that i have chosen is Elliott (the person who sort of dies) from my opening and the character that i have chosen from Shaun Of The Dead is Ed, played by Nick Frost.

The similarities between them are the they both act stupid as when Elliott gets stabbed, he makes an very odd screaming noise and Ed is just plain stupid in Shaun Of The Dead. Both of the characters act stupid but in real life they are not. They both also make a big fuss about something when their is not really anything to fuss about. As you look a the photo of both of the characters they look completely different.

A difference between them is that Ed is fat and Elliott is skinny which makes a big difference between them. Also Ed looks lazy and Elliott looks active as he is out and about in my opening. In the photo of Ed, he looks tired and he is resting up against the car, but half way through my opening Elliott is resting up against a tree before he gets stabbed. One thing that people might not understand in my opening is that zombie bite or eat people to infect them but in my opening the infection is in the air and it only infects you if you have an open wound.

Both the characters have a slight beared (i think i have spelt that wrong) One think that is also very important between them is that they both get turned into a zombie, but Elliott gets turned into a zombie in the opening and Ed gets turned into a zombie in the end of the film.

Here is the photo of each of the characters:

Here is a poster of Shaun Of The Dead:

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3 Answer

I was not able to do the voice overview as i was not well in the past week so i have written up the script.

A Production Company is a company responsible for the development and physical production of new media, films, television programs or radio. The company may also be directly responsible for the raising of funding for the production or may do through an intermediary. The production company may be a small company, selling its product 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.
The film would be shown in most cinema's like Vue and cineworld as they are well know cinema's.

The reason why i called my film production company "Music Tec Films" is because the production company creates film and a soundtrack for them. I feel that it is a suitable company name. The logo on the other hand is not as good as it could be, but i still feel that it goes well with the production company name.

Production companys that might distribute my film are Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox or Sony Pictures Entertainment (which is owend by Sony) or it could be released as a television film which then it could be distributed by the BBC, but i would feel that the film would get more publicity if it was distributed by Universal Pictures as it is a very well known production company.

It is a low budget movie as it would not feature much computer graphics (CGI). It could be classed as an action film as it features some action scenes, but it is and Horror/Zombie movie.

The cast are unknow to the viewrs as i wanted to create something completely new with a different story line to other zombie films. It will be related to other zombie films like Shaun Of The Dead, 28 Weeks Later, Land Of The Dead, but with not as much graphic bloody scenes, like seeing people actually getting eaten as this is not the kind of film that i would not want to be shown. It is about decisions that people have to make to try to survive, and how to stop it spreading to other people.

The idea of having the title font as Chiller is that it looks like blood, and it would show what type of film that it would be.

The titles that are included in this opening are, Music Tec Films Production Presents,
a Alex Shaw Film, (Cast:)Lachlan Turner, Oscar Jones, Ed Page, Costume Design by Victoria Jordana, Art Direction by Martin Grey, Production design by Yonica Duff, Casting By Vanessa Leewood, Film Editing by Nate Waters, Cinematography by Elisa Asher, Original Music by Hilary Wood, Produced By Justin Lakeside, Directed By Alexander Shaw, (Main Title) Murder Zombies.

It is funded by the UK Film Council as it is film in the UK, and it will feature many different cities and towns.

The target audience for the film is male's aged 15 to 40 years old. It might also be watched by many females that like the horror/zombie types of films.

I hope that it will do well and maybe a future film might be produced with a much better outcome.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4 Answer

Profile:

Name: Michael Shaw

Age: 17

Sex: Male

D.O.B: 14.9.92

Occupation: Student At Long Road Sixth Form College

Course Taking: Creative And Media Level 3 Diploma#

Info:

$ His favorite tv program is Torchwood which is created by the BBC.

$ He shops in the Quicksilver clothe store and HMV which is a film and music store.

$ The latest film he is was Saw 6.

$ His favorite music is The Killers, Take That and Coldplay.

$ Favorite film genre is Horror/Zombie and Comedy.

The reason why he likes my film opening is because it is a Horror/Zombie Comedy and he likes those kind of film.

Films that interest him are 28 Weeks Later, Resident Evil 1,2,3, Saw 3,4,5,6, Shaun Of The Dead, Zombie Land which are like my film.

The one thing that he did not like was that there was not much blood in the opening. He feels that it would look better with more blood and if the blood stood out more (Easily seen).

Zombie Land and Shaun Of The Dead are the type of film that my film is based on. They all are Horror/Zombie and Comedy. My opening is different to those film openings but Zombie Land’s opening is set in the past the it goes to present day just like mine.

The film opening is aimed at 15 to 40 year old men. I would give the film an age restriction of 15 due to Bloody Horror, but it is not to graphic in showning people dying.

Here is a photo of Michael, he is a typical 17 year old male, with a horror/bloody intrest.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5 Answer

This scene has similiarities with The Lord Of The Rings The Return Of The King Exteneded Edittion. The scene in The Lord Of The Rings has the same action to it as a character is stabbed by another character who comes up behind him.
In both films the characters do not know that they are going to get stabbed. Also In The Lord Of The Rings, the scene is at the begining same as my opening.
This would also attract 15 to 40 year old male's as it is somebody getting stabbed.
Here is a picture of the scene:
And here is a picture fron the scene in The Lord Of The Rings:

I still need 2 get the picture.

This scene is like a scene from Shaun Of The Dead, but the characters in Shaun Of The Dead are not zombie yet, they are just faking it so that the zombie think they are zombies. But then i would not class my person to be completely zombie. So these are like the same sort of scenes.

Here is a picture of the scene from Shaun Of The Dead:
That is zombie blood on their top. The mum (the woman) has been bitten but not yey a zombie, which is just like my half zombie and half human person, but he was not bitten.

This scene could be related to the film Psycho. The scene in the film Psycho has a woman in the shower getting stabbed and it is in black and white, she also screams alto just like woman do. My charachter screams alot as well so they are like the same scenes, but with a different setting and different characters, props and costumes.
Here is a picture of the woman screaming when she sees the person with a knife.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6 Answer

Here is the photos of the equipment that i have use to create my film opening:

Here is a close up of the HD Camera:

The equipment that i have used is the HD camera, Laptop (with software that is needed to edit) and a tripod.

The different software that i have use is Final Cut Express, Garage Band and Photoshop.

I used Final Cut Express to upload the footage that i have filmed and edit it to how i want it to be. I could also delete any footage that i don’t want to be in the opening. I also added the title in Final Cut. I could chose how i want the titles to be shown, what font i want, the colour of the font and how i want them to disapear of the screen.

Here is a photo of the Titles on final cut:

I used Garage Band to create my soundtrack for my opening. It took a very long time to create and i had to redo it just before the deadline of when it had to be finished.

The soundtrack can be heard on the film opening, which is located on this blog.

Here is a photo of Garage Band when i was creating my soundtrack:

I used Photoshop to create my titles. The font of the titles is Chiller. The reason why i chose Chiller is because the text looks like blood and it would fit well with my opening. The font is red so the text actually looks like blood.

Here is a photo of Photoshop when i was creating my titles:

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7 Answer

I have Long Shot, Medium Shot and Close Up shot's in my opening. The Long Shot that i have chosen that i think looks good is this:

Here is the Medium Shot:

Here is the Close Up shot:


Meanings:

Long Shot:
A long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or a wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. It has been suggested that long-shot ranges usually correspond to approximately what would be the distance between the front row of the audience and the stage in live theatre.

Medium Shot:
A medium shot is a camera shot from a medium distance. The dividing line between "long shot" and "medium shot" is fuzzy, as is the line between "medium shot" and "closeup". A full-length view of a human subject is called a medium shot; in this terminology, a shot of the person from the knees up or the waist up is a close-up shot. Medium shots are relatively good in showing facial expressions but work well to show body language.
Depending where the characters are placed in the shot, a medium shot is used to represent importance and power.

Close Up:
Close ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots. Close ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene. Moving in to a close-up or away from a close up is a common type of zooming.
Close ups are used in many ways, for many reasons. Close ups are often used as cutaways from a more distant shot to show detail, such as characters emotions, or some intricate activity with their hands. Close cuts to characters' faces are used far more often in televission than in movies, they are especially common in soap opera as well.

I have a Match On Action Shot which is when Elliott is walking down the path the he walks through the gate. The camera footage shows him walking down the path, then the camera in through the gate so i could get footage of him walking through. Once i had my footage and edited it, i had two different shots together to make it look like one shot which was Elliott walking through the gate. This kind of footage has a better effect on the viewers and it keeps them more interested as if you just kept the camera in the same position for 5 to 10 minutes, the view would get bored and so would I.
You can see the pictures for this below.
Elliott is about to walk through the gate.


Here is the view from inside the gate and Elliott walks in. It looks like the same footage when you watch the opening.

I have also some more Match On Action Shots. I have Elliott walking and the half zombie half human following him and when Elliott gets stabbed and falls to the floor. Each of the scenes have two different camera angles.
You can see the pictures for this below.

They both look like they are the same scene, which they are.


Here is when Elliott fell to the grownd. This was shot in two seperate parts.

This worked out well, but when you watch over it, it make an odd noise and i tried to get rid of it but it would not come out well.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6 Question

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

In pairs, take a picture of each other holding the kit you have used. This might just be the camera and tripod, and your Macbook but there may be other things you want in the shot.

Drop the image onto your blog and annotate it, adding all the programs and other technology you have used as screengrabs and what you learnt about it/from using it. Your written text need only be minimal. You could include reference to all the online and computer programs you have used such as youtube, flickr, blogger, final cut,photoshop,vimeo garageband, etc.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7 Question

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?

Concentrate on editing and camerawork.

Grab some frames from both tasks and put them on the blog and show what you know about shot types, edit terms and techniques.

Make sure you mention the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5 Question

How did you attract/address your audience?

You will use YOUTUBE's annotation tools to add NOTES, SPEECHBUBBLES, and LINKS to your video:

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92710

These annotations will highlight the ways in which your Film Opening links to other similiar films in order to attract the particular Audience you have previously identified.

Your annotations will refer to genre conventions, use of music, similiarities with other movies and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your imaginary film.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4 Question

Who would be the audience for your media product?

You should have a drawing of your target audience member and an explanation of what kinds of taste they might have- where they would shop, what music they would listen to, what their favourite Tv programme would be, etc.

make sure you have taken a phot of it, post it on the blog and write a few notes on why they would watch your film.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3 Question

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

For this question, you are going to do a 'director's commentary' style voiceover explaining some of the key features of your opening

You will need to script the voiceover which deals with institutional issues to include:

discussion of your production company name and logo and the role of such companies

What does a production company do? start here
the idea of a distributor and who that might be and why. start here
where the money might have come from for a film such as yours here
why the various people are named in the titles- which jobs appear in titles and in what order and how have you reflected this?
what your film is similar to 'institutionally' (name some films which would be released in a similar way)
You need to refer to actual company names and processes so you will need to go back to the early posts on film companies and maybe do a bit more research

When you have scripted, record the voiceover using Final Cut on a new audio timeline, then export to quicktime and embed on blog.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2 Question

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Pick a key character from your opening. Take a screengrab of a reasonable sized image of them. Think of one or more characters from other films with some similarity to them (but maybe some differences too!), find an image on the web of that/those characters and grab it as well. Drop the two into photoshop, as a split screen. Export this splitscreen image as a jpeg then drop onto your blog and write about the similarities and differences in terms of appearance, costume, role in film etc.

So for example if you have a lone cop type character, look for other lone cops to compare him with...

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 1 Question

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

Remember when we looked at 9 frames from Art of the title sequence? Well now it's your turn to do the same with nine of your frames.You should go through the final version of the project and select nine distinct frames which you screengrab and drop into a photoshop in the same style as the website.

You will be using these to write about how typical or not of opening sequences your particular design is, so choose them carefully.
Once you have the nine frames neatly in Photoshop, screengrab the whole thing and post to your blog, then write an analysis of how you have used such conventions.

The aspects we would like you to consider across your nine frames are:

The title of the filmSetting/locationCostumes
propsCamerawork
editingTitle font
styleStory
how the opening sets it up
Genre and how the opening suggests it
How characters are introduced
Special effects

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Final Version Of Film Opening

Here is my final version of my film opening. I am very pleased with the outcome. I has taken a very long time to get it finished and the outcome is better than i have planned.

L3 OPENING SEQUENCE - GROUP 10 - FINAL VIDEO from cmdiploma on Vimeo.

CGI Graphic's

CGI stands for Computer-generated imagery.  it is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media.

CGI is used for visual effects because computer generated effects are more controllable than other more physically based processes, such as constructing miniatures for effects shots or hiring extras for crowd scenes, and because it allows the creation of images that would not be feasible using any other technology. It can also allow a single artist to produce content without the use of actors, expensive set pieces, or props.

What Film Openings In Films I Like

My best film opening that i have seen so far is the Transformers Movie as it gets into the action straight away. I starts off with a battle and this keeps the viewer interested. The opening is set on an army base and then it gets distroyed by a robot (which is bad). The robot is made from CGI Graphics.

Another film opening that i like is Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. After the opening has finished, it leaves the viewers questioning them self about why the dementors attacked Harry and Dudly under the bridge. The dementors are made from CGI Graphics.

Another film opening that i like is Flood as it gets straight into what the film is about. It also makes the

want to watch more and to find out what happens. The opening also uses CGI Graphics when you see the flooding outside.

All these film openings uses CGI Graphics. I would feel that a film would not be a film without CGI Graphics.

What Makes A Good Film Opening

The opening should tell us the genre of the film & the setting or location with the title of the film as that is important.
The opening may tell us one of the storylines of the movie to keep the viewers watching and to give the audience a taster of the narrative.
The opening should include many different techniques, from catchy music to fast paced editing.
The most important element to a good opening is the element of suspense.

You also need to have the right cast for the right role.

Film Opening Risk

One risk that there was when filming my film opening was that i was not able to get a fake knife so i had to use a real knife when Elliott got stabbed. Also the smell of the ketchup nearly made Elliott pass out and if that happen i would have not been able to film.

Outcome:   The outcome came out really well as Elliott did not die by the real knife and the footage looks real and the police did not come after us due to someone thinking we had murdered someone or was going to. 

Alison's Final Film Opening Version

Alisons final film opening has completely different footage to her rough cut version. She has remade it completly. It has the same cctv effect which i like, and it more looks like a film opening. The text is also presented more clearly. The soundtrack works alot better then the rough cut version. It does not have the bells ringing which makes it more normal. I think her final version is very good compared to the rough cut. The opening looks like the goverment or someone is keeping a catalog of each person.

What Is The UK Film Council?

The UK Film Council (UKFC) was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as a non-departmental public body to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It is constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and is funded through sources including The National Lottery. John Woodward is the Chief Executive Officer of the UKFC. As at 30 June 2008, the company had 90 full-time members of staff.

This is what the UK Film Council has said In its own words, the aim of the UKFC is:
To stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film industry and culture, and to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the nations and regions of the UK.

The UKFC administers and funds a range of different activities.

Film Opening Change's

My very first plan was to have a police man as the killer, but then i knew i would not have been able to get one to stab someone on camera as it could get them into a lot of trouble, so then i decided to get a police man to be drving down the road when the stabbing happened and he would chase after the killer, but the killer would get away.

After my first idea i decied to make a version two and i came up with this and you can see how i have change my second version to the first and the first and second to my third.

My next plan was to have Elliott walking into the forest at one end and have the killer at the other end, but then i could not film where i wanted to so i had to find somewhere with a park/forest look and that is where it all changed. I now have Elliott and the killer (the killer has now been changed to a half zombe half human) walking in the same entrance, but the half zombie and half human (the killer) is about 10 seconds in distance away from him. This was my final idea out of many ideas.

I was also going to have the knife being found in the park but then i decieded to make the half zombie half human (the killer) already have it.

Then i was going to have the half zombe half human (the killer) come up behind Elliott and put his arm over his face, but i did not include this. I only had Elliott getting stabbed. When he got stabbed, the knife went in between his arm but it looks like it has gone into the side of his chest