nemo1994: May 2012

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Directions

In AS media I produced the opening for a thriller film involving a psychological battle between two competing gymnasts and their coach. The target audience for my thriller was teenagers of both sexes. As part of the advanced portfolio I produced a trailer for a film “On the baseline” which was a hybrid genre combining key conventions of chick flicks and sports films (sports flick!). The film followed a tennis theme and revolved around the development of a relationship of a new women’s doubles partnership comprising of a champion and an “underdog”. The main target audience for the film was teenage girls with a secondary niche audience of tennis fans. A magazine cover and movie poster were produced as ancillary products.

During my AS year primary research was undertaken in the form of the production and distribution of a questionnaire to my target audience. This was posted online on Wordpress and also hard copies were given to a representative sample of students who met the demographic. The questionnaire incorporated both open and closed questions with a view to finding out what students thought of the concept of my films opening sequence. Analysis of the feedback indicated that their common perception was that the main target audience for the film would be girls. In order to create a production with a wider appeal I decided to respond to the feedback by introducing a masculine coach character which appeal to males also. On reflection I feel that I could have obtained better quality feedback if I had structured my questions to elicit more in depth answers from my target audience.

In terms of AS media the main source of inspiration for my thriller opening came from a devised piece that I had written for GCSE drama, the stage production of “Woman in Black” which I had seen in the theatre and from watching TV drama series such as the Marchlands and Orphan. This first hand experience was supplemented through research into real media texts of the same genre. The internet (Youtube and IMBD) was used to enable me to view examples of the creative dramatic footage used in thriller film opening sequences, and to begin to pick up commonalities stereotypical of the genre. “Death of a Cheerleader”, “Stick It” and “Black Swan” where the key texts that I analysed. The use of secondary research in this way allowed me to gain a basic understanding of the conventions of the thriller genre that I was trying to recreate in my own production. For example:

From the research I discovered that the narrative was structured in a way quickly changed the audiences emotions. Death of a Cheerleader began happily, lulling the audience into a false sense of security and within 10 seconds turned into a form of disequilibrium and horror. The real media text provided the inspiration for the narrative structure of my own film opening sequence and the confidence to experiment with a non linear structure. For example, the opening started with happy, upbeat music accompanying footage of two female gymnasts performing perfect stunts. After 10 seconds the shot suddenly changed to a girl screaming at the camera accompanied with dark, eery music signifying the disequilibrium evident at the end of the film before going back to reveal to the audience a snapshot of some of the events leading up to that final scene. This flash forward was designed to lure the viewer into a false sense of equilibrium, create tension and unease in the audience.

I also used the internet (Google images) to identify stills from films of a similar genre to my own initially to gain ideas on mis en scene and in particular the types of costumes my characters should wear. Initially, I thought that this was just logistical research but I quickly realised that the costumes are more than just what a character wears and could be used to subtly create meaning and connotations amongst the audience. This increased understanding influenced my opening for example a still from the film ‘Stick it’ inspired me to dress the two girls in professional gymnast like costumes when equilibrium was present. This would give the audience the impression that even though their relationship was strained they were being ‘professional’. Another contrasting still from “Stick It” gave me idea to symbolise that disequilibrium through the girls appearing in mismatched clothing looking unprofessional. This was used in the scene in my own film where the antagonist was struggling; she was dressed in ripped tracksuit bottoms and a baggy t-shirt. Looking out of character and disturbingly rough!

In my AS year I used the internet to analyse the DVD front covers of movies similar to my own but also using the audience feedback gathered from the questionnaire regarding the need to appeal to male audiences to inform the scope, focus and direction of my search. The use of mise en scene seemed to be the key to interweaving masculine appeal into the cover. The DVD cover for the movie “Slaughter” featuring a girl trapped on a wheel in a eery setting influenced the composition of the photograph used for my cover. The shot is set against a completely white background with connotation that the character is in a mental institution. An extreme zoom in on the camera was used to emphasise the fact that the character was struggling to escape from something (the room or herself). The simplicity of the composition of the shot and clever use of minimal mis en scene makes it all the more intriguing and disturbing for the audience.

During the AS year the audience research and analysis of real media texts of a similar genre influenced my creative decision making. However, on reflection I could have undertaken more qualitative audience research to give me more in depth audience feedback. In order to appeal to the male market I should have widened the scope of my analysis of films beyond the thriller genre to identify feature of films designed specifically for men eg Die Hard, and try to replicate some of these.
In terms of planning the production phase would have been more efficient and effective if I had produced a storyboard to provide me with a clear structure of the plot.

In my A2 year I continued to use primary research in the form of a questionnaire to obtain the view of my target audience. However, this year instead of just posting the questionnaire on the blog I used the social networking site facebook to post my questionnaire to my target audience, with the knowledge that most people would receive them and to increase my response rate. The feedback was very constructive and influenced key creative decisions such as the removal of the conventional “chick flick” use of a deep male voice over to narrate the trailer. This was edited and replaced with a voice over of the main character which created a more personal relationship with the audience. Also 30% of the audience indicated that the music that was used in the original trailer was not appealing. I responded to the feedback by creating the soundtrack myself in Garage band and through the insertion of sound effects which would add a comedy dimension to the trailer.

In A2 I addressed one of the areas of weaknesses in my AS research which was the lack of in depth qualitative audience research undertaken to inform the planning of my opening. In A2 I carried out qualitative analysis by establishing 3 focus groups: teenage girls, adults and sports fans. The purpose of the interview with each group was to try to establish the features of trailers that particular appealed to them. This feedback provided much of the basis of my creative decision making. The feedback from the adults revealed that they didn’t like trailers to give too much of the plot away and that they enjoyed humour in trailers. Teenage girls stated that they liked the music to establish the character for them (sound motifs). Sports fans said that they enjoyed references to famous sporting sayings to be used in the trailer to attract their attention. I incorporated their views by making the trailer time relatively short 1 minute 31 seconds. Humour was incorporated through the use of sound effects, for example a boiiing when the underdog fell down in her push up. I also used a sound motif to denote the motivational nature of coach. The trigger to the main action of the trailer beginning was the use of the famous John McEnroe saying ‘You cannot be serious’ from lead character reflecting the views of the sports fans. Other sporting references are used to appeal directly to secondary target audience, for example the title “On the Baseline” will connotations that can be read by tennis fans as the character being on the defensive / has her back against the wall and the famous Wimbledon “Triumph and Disaster?” reference is used to trigger a narrative enigma.

In A2 the internet played a much bigger role in helping me to develop a deeper understanding of the features needed to create a quality trailer that would appeal to a specific target audience. Wikipeadia was used to identify conventions of genres and obtain lists of relevant films to analyse (although I realise that the source is not totally reliable) then Youtube and IMBD were used to analyse trailers. The trailers analysed consisted mainly sports related films with a related theme where the underdog comes through to triumph over adversity (ie Bend it like Beckham, Wimbledon, Dodgeball, Coach Carter, A League of their Own) and chick flicks (ie Mean Girls) focusing on the culture of typical teenage girls.

In A2 my confidence improved as I understood the typical conventions of both genres and creatively combined the 2 to create a hybrid genre “sports flick” that would appeal to a main and secondary niche audience of tennis fans. For example:

- the idea of having the champion tennis player portray the role of the stereotypical chick flick
“Queen Bee” came from the film “Mean Girls” and was designed to appeal to teenage girl;

- a scene from Dodgeball was recreated when the underdog was struggling with a training routine to
meet the audiences expectations of the conventional humour in chick flicks;

- the Wimbledon film demonstrated the importance of relationship building in sports films this was
   reflected in the action sequence involving the 2 players training together which finishes with them
   performing synchronized star jumps in perfect time together with the connotation that they have
   formed a partnership and are working positively together;

- a common theme across the sports films involved an underdog triumphing against the odds which
is the key narrative theme of my trailer.

Also from watching the openings I also began to recognise the prominence given to promoting the name of the production and distribution company in the opening sequences of films – a feature which I tried to replicate creatively in my opening.

In A2 I also produced a story board showing sketches of the scenes, camera angles, dialogue and highlighting where music or sound effects where to be incorporated. A script and shooting order was also prepared in advance. This more detailed planning massively improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the production phase and the quality of the overall product.

At A2 level I analysed in depth conventions of film posters using the internet (ie Wimbledon, Bend it Like Beckham etc) and magazine covers (ie Empire, Total Film). These (particularly a Total film cover for Sherlock showing Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes standing together) gave me the creative inspiration for the main image used on my products which was taken using a digital camera and improved by removing the background using the magic wand tool on Photoshop software. Connotations can be read into the photograph of the antagonist and protagonist standing back to back on the court used on the poster and magazine cover. The positioning of the main characters, their body language and facial expressions denote the existence of a bitter rivalry. The angle of the racket held by one character along with a clown like supersize tennis ball suggests that she may not be as serious or as competent as her partner. On reflection, I could have made the presentation of the main characters as binary opposites more apparent to the audience through greater contrast in the use of costume. However, at AS level I would not have had the knowledge, technical ICT or creative ability to produce an image which deliberately incorporated connotations and clues for the audience into the plot of the film.

Magazine research consisted of analysing film magazines (ie Empire, Film) and women’s magazines (ie Hello, Celebs magazine) as the target audience for the magazine covering my film was women. The secondary research helped me produce a basic flat plan sketch showing initial ideas. It was apparent that different genres of magazines have different colour schemes and pink was a common feature of magazines targeting women. The seasonality of the summer edition was also a convention replicated on my cover with a choice of sky blue fading out. My use of sensationalised language also reflected the seasonality ie hottest stars, sizzling etc as is conventional in summer editions. A single image was selected and overlaid with text which is a convention of magazines. The same image was used on the film poster creating intertextuality and image association in the audience. Other standard features were also evident on the real text such as: barcode; date of issue; issue number; price; giveaways; competition offers; mastheads and taglines - all of which were replicated on my cover to add to the realism of the product. A limited number of fonts and colours were used in order to create a clear house style. Text relating directly to the film was produced in pink creating intertextuality through colour association with the pink tennis court on the film poster. The title of the magazine was changed to follow the convention of many film magazines which use a single word as a title so Film in Focus became Flicks. Flicks also relates to the female target audience having connotations of chick flick, is also an old fashioned word for the cinema giving the magazine a nostalgic feel and also creates brand awareness of the production company, Sport Flick Pictures, who also own the magazine. In conventional fashion a company logo was designed that branded the media product across all 3 platforms.

In conclusion I have shown progression in my A2 year as my research became more focused on my target audience and how trailers are specifically designed to meet their expectations. This approach reflects Gauntlet’s view that “making is connecting” with your audience. The primary audience research became a more significant influence on my final product as it gave me the qualitative feedback needed to justify the subversion of conventions in response to their expressed preferences. In the A2 year I also planned all of my products more effectively by making through the use of storyboards, shooting schedules and flat plan drawings. In terms of the production of my ancillary products in AS I looked at what was denoted on a range of DVD covers in A2 I started to understand the connotations that were cleverly implied in the composition of film posters and magazine covers. The secondary research was crucial in improving my understanding of conventions related to layouts, fonts, colours etc and the importance of developing a recognisable house style and brand identity across a range of media platforms.

Post Production

My AS brief involved the production of the opening for a thriller film involving a psychological battle between two competing gymnasts and their coach.

As part of this I had to develop considerable post production skills. I learnt how to use a variety of tools including digital cameras and movie cameras. In particular I used I movie to edit my footage and to add sound.

I also edited still images taken from the digital camera of a newspaper article that I created in Iphoto showing the two gymnasts receiving medals at the World Championships. The image of the newspaper was then inserted into imovie and provided a creative way of providing historically context to my opening by showing the audience that the gymnasts had achieved success in the past.

While I was generally satisfied with my initial production, I had to retake some footage to make it aesthetically pleasing to my audience and to communicate the desired meaning more effectively.
The camera shots were not still enough reflecting my inexperience, at that time, with the use of the equipment.

Overall, the post production produced a reasonable outcome but on reflection I could have thought more about how the editing, sound and special effects could have been used more effectively to communicate meaning to my audience. This is something that I tried to focus on in my A2 post production work.

As part of the advanced portfolio I produced a trailer for a film “On the baseline” which was a hybrid genre combining key conventions of chick flicks and sports films (sports flick!). The film followed a tennis theme and revolved around the development of a relationship of a new women’s doubles partnership comprising of a champion and an “underdog”. The main target audience for the film was teenage girls with a secondary niche audience of tennis fans. A magazine cover and movie poster were produced as ancillary products. The trailer, film magazine cover and poster were all produced under the brand of the production company “Sports Flick Films.”

In My A2 year, I was able to make considerable progress and build on some of my own perceived post production weaknesses. I demonstrated new skills in my ability to use new features of imovie, Photoshop and music software such as Garage band. The exposition of the trailer was significantly improved through post production in a variety of ways:

In A2 sound was used to create meaning and often to generate a specific response from the audience eg humour. Embedding meaning in my short trailer gave the audience a greater insight into my characters and plot in a short space of time. For example:

- To add humour to my trailer I used some of the sound effects from the Imovie inventory, for example when the underdog collapsed in a press up during training I inserted the ‘cartoon boiiing’ option to create the conventional comedy effect typical in chick flicks by portraying the incompetence of the character and also removing the time demands that would be needed to portray this using through dialogue.

- A sound motif consisting of motivational music was inserted to denote the presence and role assumed by the coach in the trailer.

- A loud ticking noise was also add to a zoom in shot of the coaches stopwatch the use of diegetic sound in this way has the connotation that time was running out for the underdog to improve and the two players to form a positive relationship. This was also designed to create a feeling of anxiousness amongst the audience - will the outcome be a triumph or a disaster?

- In order to retain the audiences interest throughout the trailer I also created an upbeat ‘Rocky’ style inspirational music sequence using Garage Band software. This aspect of post production was in response to my target audiences feedback to a questionnaire that I posted on Facebook which demonstrated their dislike of the original non copyright music used to accompany this sequence. This also creatively added humour and intensity to the key scene where the 2 players are in training and relationships are developing.

In A2 I also used Imovie’s voice over tool to produce a conventional feature of the chick flick and create a mode of address that allowed me to set the scene from the point of view of the main character for the audience. This added to the realism of the production for my target audience by incorporating a familiar feature that is stereotypical of the chick flick genre. Initially, however, I had used a male voice to deliver the voice over but this was edited and rerecorded following target audience feedback. The overall quality of the work was improved using the audio adjustment tools “slider” function which allowed me to alter the volume of the voice over (and speech in the footage), sound effects and the music soundtrack in relation to one another. This allowed me to be more creative in the use of sound and the audience to clearly hear the combination of sounds without one overpowering the other.

On reflection, although I used the same movie making equipment I used it much more creatively than in my A2 work to allow the audience to read connotations into the camera shots and action sequences. For example, the use of the fast motion special effect whilst the players training together again indicates their race against time. The scene culminates in them performing synchronised star jumps with perfect timing symbolises to the audience the coming together of the partnership and the forging of a positive relationship between the antagonist and protagonist.

I also made creative use of new functions in imovie such as the ‘crop’ option to draw the audience’s attention to key moments in the action. For example when the “underdog” was holding the medicine ball above her head, I used the ‘crop’ option to zoom into her face to show the strain and her dogged determination up close for the audience.

The basic familiarity I with imovie that I gained through my AS work gave me the confidence in my A2 year to experiment further and discover how to format the title text in advance then fade it onto the screen positioning it around the trailer footage using new features of the software. This allowed the audience to simultaneously view a clear image of the footage whilst being able to read the title text (On the Baseline) and listen to the opening soundtrack which consisted of imported copyright free music directly from iTunes straight into Imovie using the music button option. This combination provided a professional multi media look to the opening title sequence of my trailer.

Some scenes in the trailer were edited out as they served no function in either moving the narrative forward or providing an insight into the characters. They were literally wasting time!

In terms of my ancillary tasks I had to undertake a lot of post production work and develop new skills to improve the overall quality of my film magazine cover and film poster. On reflection, I think that I could have saved myself a lot of work by having a clearer specific target audience in mind (ie main audience teenage girls and secondary niche audience tennis fans) as trying to appeal to a wider market resulted in the creation of initial products that didn’t have a consistent “house style” or brand identity across the 3 platforms. Through a continuous cycle of drafting, designing, editing, consulting and redrafting in the post production phase I eventually produced a range of products that appeal to my target audience and have intertextuality.

- Through the use of Photoshop software and the magic wand tool I erased the dark background of my main photograph which was then of sufficient quality to use on both the film poster and the film magazine. It also allowed me to adhere to the conventional presentation techniques used on the front cover whereby a single image is used and overlaid with text.

- Through revisiting the research undertaken into media texts with a clear target audience in mind I used colour symbolism more effectively. The conventional pink became more evident across the range of products. The background of the tennis court on the poster was filled with pink and all text relating to the film on the magazine cover was pink. The colour scheme on the magazine was edited to create a summery feel reflecting the seasonality of the edition which is a conventional feature of magazines targeting women as it denotes the contemporary nature of the publication.

- From target audience feedback and revisiting the real media texts I also changed the title of my film magazine from Focus on Film to a conventional single word title “Flicks.” This was more appealing to my target audience, has connotations with “chick flicks” and a nostalgic relevance as flicks is an old world for cinema. It directly associated the magazine brand of my production company “Sports Flick Films” which also produce the magazine. The choice of font used for the title / masthead “flicks” was consistent across all products encouraging image association.

- Conventional features of both magazines and posters were added during post production to add to the overall realism of the products. A facebook link, age certificate symbol and company credits were added to the film poster whilst barcodes, issue number, dates, competitions and free offers were added to the magazine cover.

- I also used Photoshop to create a simple company logo that could brand the media product across all 3 platforms. My initial logo was a combination of clipart pictures of sports equipment which was not easily reproducible in the small space of poster / magazine covers.
I looked at sports firms logos eg adidas and produced a sharper, abstract image and retained the pink colour symbolism and same font on the “flick” to provide intertextuality and visual association across all 3 products.

Overall, my post production skills have improved immensely from AS to A2 and in many respects followed the Kolbs Cycle of experiential learning. In AS I felt that I gained some concrete experience and began to undertake reflective observation. However, it wasn’t until my A2 year that I entered what Kolbs describes as the abstract conceptualisation stage which allowed me to learn more from the practical experience by understanding related theoretical concepts and applying them to my AS work. In my final A2 piece I entered to the Active Experimentation stage by putting both my technical ability to use a range of software together with my improved understanding of institutional practices and theoretical concepts. Even so, the post production undertaken in A2 was a real challenge particularly in terms of trying to maintain a consistent house style across the range of products ie the same colour schemes, fonts, etc At the end of what has been a massive learning curve I think I have produced media products that are both aesthetically pleasing to my audience and to communicate the desired meaning effectively.

Digital Technology

Digital Technology played a pivotal role in both my foundation portfolio by creating the opening sequence to a thriller film involving rival gymnasts and my advanced portfolio which involved the creation of a teaser campaign (trailer and poster) and magazine cover for a hybrid genre “sports flick” film on a tennis theme entitled On the Baseline.

Research, Planning and Evaluation

In AS a Wordpress blogging site was used to undertake audience research through the creation of an online forum whereby my main audience of teenage girls and secondary niche audience of tennis fans could access my research, planning, evaluation and video’s via the blog and provide comments. I also used Wordpress to gain feedback from my target audience about key creative elements of my film opening such as whether the mode of address via the voiceover, attempts to create humour and choice of music were effective through the submission of questionnaires onto the blog.

Wordpress was used to display the research that I had undertaken into opening film sequences produced by other film companies, film posters, title texts and the basic typical features (conventions) I identified. The research was presented through the submission of blogs, pictures, hyperlinks and video’s.

Wordpress however proved to be difficult when trying to link to other programmes such as slideshare and vidler. Through trial and error I discovered that the best way to submit information onto Wordpress was to do it directly through the Wordpress programme.

In A2 my research, planning and evaluation tasks were all uploaded to the internet through the blogging network ‘blogger’. Blogger was more effective than Wordpress as it allowed me to hyperlink to slideshare and use this as a way of evaluating my work. Through the use of a Blogger app I was able to upload the trailer from the hyperlink directly from my YouTube page onto blogger more efficiently avoiding the use of the disk I had burnt the trailer onto (by exporting the trailer onto Idvd and burning it onto a DVD). The image tools on Blogger also allowed me to manipulate the size and positions of the images used on my blog making it more aesthetically pleasing.

In A2 the social networking site Facebook was used to send out hyperlinks to my blog and trailer to my target audiences in order to obtain feedback regarding my trailer, film poster and magazine cover. I also uploaded images and podcasts that I had taken from my blackberry phone straight onto blogger as part of my evaluation stage.

Real Media Texts and Conventions

In AS my film opening was created primarily as a result of my existing knowledge of thrillers from watching TV drama series such as the Marchlands and Orphan along with the movies Death of a Chearleader and Stick It. My first hand experience of producing a GCSE drama piece of the same genre was also drawn upon. The internet (Youtube and IMBD) was used to enable me to view examples of the creative dramatic footage used in thriller film opening sequences, and to begin to pick up commonalities stereotypical of the genre. For example, not to start with scary action footage as most thriller films start in the daytime and in equilibrium. From watching the openings I also began to recognise the prominence given to promoting the name of the production and distribution company in the opening sequences of films – a feature which I tried to replicate creatively in my opening. The internet also allowed me to find copyright free music sites such as …………. where I obtained the music for my soundtrack and uploaded it onto Imovie.

However, in A2 the internet played a much big role in helping me develop a deeper understanding of the features needed to create a quality trailer that would appeal to a specific target audience. Wikipeadia was used to identify conventions of genres and obtain lists of relevant films to analyse (although I realise that the source is not totally reliable) then Youtube and IMBD were used to analyse trailers (Mean Girls, Coach Carter, A League of their Own, Bend it Like Beckham) in detail, for the use of or subversion of the conventions associated with both sports films and chick flicks so that I could create a hybrid genre that would appeal to a main and secondary niche audience.

Movie Production

In my foundation portfolio Imovie 09 was used to create my opening sequence. The software allowed me to upload the movie footage from a range of digital cameras and up load them onto a Macintosh computer.

I was able to use the programme to insert title text and names of characters to create a professional look to the opening sequence. The programme also allowed me to build tension through the use of “footage editing tools” to create accelerated and slow motion and cut unwanted footage. However, Imovie also presented me with some difficulties when trying to save a hard copy of my footage by ‘burning’ it onto disks.

In AS I also used a range of digital cameras to create the opening sequence for my thriller. Most of the footage was filmed using a Sony camera. The advantages of using the Sony camera were that: it had a large memory which allowed me to take and store lots of footage; it also had a good range of zoom in/out options allowing certain scenes to be made more dramatic; and the lighting options allowed me to film part of my opening sequence in the night, whilst making the objects visible to the audience.

A flip camera was selected to get detailed close up shots of key objects as it produces a sharper image when zooming in than the Sony camera (although the range of the zoom in is less). It was the most appropriate tool for filming the details of the coach’s notebook as it allowed me to dramatically reveal the contents of what had been written by the character clear enough for the audience to read.

When progressing onto my Advanced portfolio Imovie was used again to create the trailer teaser. However, I did make creative use of new functions such as the ‘crop’ option to draw the audience’s attention to key moments in the action. For example when the “underdog” was holding the medicine ball above her head, I used the ‘crop’ option to zoom into her face to show the strain and her dogged determination up close for the audience. On reflection, although I used the same movie making equipment I used it much more creatively than in my A2 work to allow the audience to read connotations into the camera shots and action sequences. For example, the fast motion footage of the players training together which culminates in them performing synchronised star jumps with perfect timing symbolises the coming together of the partnership and the development of a positive relationship between the antagonist and protagonist.

I also discovered how to format the title text in advance then fade it onto the screen positioning it around the film footage using Imovie. This allowed the audience to simultaneously view a clear image of the footage whilst being able to read the title text (On the Baseline) and provide a professional look to the opening title sequence. I also used my USB memory stick to store, then upload, a company logo which I had created on my home PC onto Iphoto.

Creating Sound

For my Advanced Portfolio I used ICT to create a range of sound effects to support the action denoted in the trailer, retain the attention and elicit a range of reactions from the audience in a short space of time.

The opening soundtrack of my advanced portfolio consisted of imported copyright free music directly from iTunes straight into Imovie using the music button option.

In order to retain the audiences interest throughout the trailer I also created an upbeat ‘Rocky’ style inspirational music sequence using Garage Band software. This also creatively added humour and intensity to the key scene where the 2 players are in training and relationships are developing. To add further humour to my trailer I also used some of the sound effects from the Imovie inventory, for example when the underdog collapsed in a press up during training I inserted the ‘cartoon boiiing’ option to create the conventional comedy effect typical in chick flicks by portraying the incompetence of the character and also removing the time demands that would be needed to portray this using through dialogue.

In A2 I also used Imovie’s voice over tool to produce a conventional feature of the chick flick and create a mode of address that allowed me to set the scene from the perspective of the main character for the audience. The quality of the work was improved using the audio adjustment tools “slider” function which allowed me to alter the volume of the voice over (and speech in the footage), sound effects and the music soundtrack in relation to one another. This allowed me to be more creative in the use of sound and the audience to clearly hear the combination of sounds without one overpowering the other.

Digital Photography

In AS I used the Sony camera to take ‘still’ photo’s which were used for part of my research relating to what a poster for my film would look like. On reflection, I probably didn’t give enough thought to composing an image that would allow my audience to gain a sufficient insight into the substance of the plot or characters to be intrigued enough to want to watch the full film.

In A2 to create my poster and magazine cover the original images were taken with the Sony digital camera. Then they were uploaded onto my home computer where they were edited firstly in Microsoft publisher. They were then copied into “Paint” to try to lighten the images to create more summery (tennis season) feel and add to the overall verisimilitude of the shots. However, neither Publisher or Paint could lighten up a dark background and editing functions weren’t precise enough to erase it altogether. So I took the images from publisher onto Photoshop where I could further edit them for precision of lighting and texts arrangements. I also used the magic wand tool and zoom in functions in Photoshop to remove the background altogether from my key photograph in order to improve the quality and so that I could conform with conventions magazine front covers by using a strong, single image often with no background evident. This made them look more aesthetically pleasing, attractive to my target audience and allowed me to use a quality photograph to create intertextuality in my main and ancillary products.

Overall technology played a key role in both pieces of coursework as it helped me keep conventions as well as make my work look more professional. In AS foundation portfolio I used technology to obtain basic levels of editing and skills. However in my A2 year I used a wider range of programmes to create my work and used the programmes I had used previously in the AS year more creatively, by discovering new functions/tools on them. In AS, on reflection, I think my focus was more on the need to develop the technical ability to produce an opening using the ICT with some creative moments being captured with basic skills. In A2 I was actually thinking creatively in advance of the production about the effect I wanted to achieve and the impact on the audience then looked at using the ICT which would best facilitate this. A2 was more about the overall impact created (through sound, action, camera shots etc combined) and connotations of what was being filmed rather than how or what was being used to do it. This evaluation supports Banaji, Burn and Buckingham’s view that “creativity isn’t an inevitable consequence of using technology.”

Creativity Media

Anthony Storr defined “creativity as the ability to bring something new into existence.”

In this respect my products are creative in that they involved “the making of the new and rearranging of the old” (Bentley’s (1997) as I progressed from AS to A2.

In AS media I produced the opening for a thriller film involving 2 competing gymnasts and their coach. In A2 media I produced a trailer for a chick flick / sports film on a tennis theme. The plot revolved around a female tennis champion finding herself with a new, initially less able female partner. Movie posters and the front cover of a film magazine where produced as ancillary tasks.

Concept and Creation of Hybrid Genre

In terms of AS media the script for my thriller opening was based on a devised piece that I had written for GCSE drama and a stage production of “Woman in Black” which I had seen in the theatre. My intended outcome for the product was to create a film opening based on jealously, stereotypes, violence and fierce competition. I wanted to appeal to a wide target audience by combining a sporting theme within a teenage feud. The opening was creatively designed to be unique in the sense that it was going to be a thriller/tragedy and the person the audience is gradually positioned to favour doesn’t meet with a happy ending. In this respect the creatively is achieved through the narrative and the subversion of convention which supports Banaji, Burn and Buckingham’s view that “creativity isn’t an inevitable consequence of using technology.”

In A2 the inspiration for the trailer came from a combination of real media texts mainly sports related films with a related theme where the underdog comes through to triumph over adversity (ie Bend it like Beckham, Wimbledon, Dodgeball, Coach Carter) and chick flicks (ie Mean Girls) focusing on the culture of typical teenage girls. In A2 my confidence improved as I understood the typical conventions of both genres and creatively combined the 2 to create a hybrid genre “sports flick.” As Ken Robinson advises “Individual creativity is stimulated by the work, ideas and achievements of other people. We stand on the shoulders of others to see further.”

On reflection of both AS and A2 production I can now see how my role was that of an auteur in that my own ideology, personality and outlook on life heavily influenced both productions. The creativity, themes, characterisation provide distinctive features that develop a style that are recognisable between the 2 productions. The company and brand identity I created in A2 “Sports Flick Films” could have easily produced my AS piece. However, I do think that I missed an opportunity to be even more creative with the narrative which was restricted to the point of view of the main character. As both films had rival, binary opposite female characters I missed the opportunity to experiment creatively with the use of a multi strand narrative.

Choice of Film Title

In AS media I never really considered giving my thriller opening a title!

In A2 the significance of the title of my film contributes to the overall creativity of the film and intertextuality with my ancillary products (film poster and magazine cover). The film’s title is “On the baseline” which has connotations that would be read by my secondary niche audience (tennis fans) as meaning on the defensive / pushed to the back of the court which is the position that the champion finds herself in at the start of the trailer. On my poster cover the words “on the baseline” are actually positioned on the baseline of the tennis court frame surrounding the poster (using Microsoft publisher). In each product the O of on is replaced with the visual image of a tennis ball which makes the context and key theme of the film clear to the audience. Also the short description of the film on the poster as “A tale of triumph……or disaster?” would have resonance with tennis fans as it links with Wimbledon and also creates enigma. As does the creative use of limited dialogue in the trailer as the champion states on meeting her new partner for the first time “You can’t be serious” a famous John McEnroe saying which adds humour to the first encounter.

Similarly, in terms of the choice of title for my film magazine I used the word “flicks” and tried to create a film magazine targeting a female market – particularly as those I researched appeared very manly (dark colours, bold text). Flicks is an old word for cinema and also has an association with “chick flicks.” The presentation of the title was in “chick” font and the colour and style on the front cover of the magazine was created from combining ideas from “gossip” magazines (eg Hello, Pick me up etc) and the film magazines. Semiotics in the form of colour symbolism was applied to give the cover (and poster) a soft, feminine appeal particularly through the use of the stereotypical “chick flick” pink. Hence, the text on the cover which related directly to the film was produced in pink font creating intertextuality through colour association with the pink tennis court on the film poster. Softer, summery colours were used to reflect the seasonality of the magazine and indicate that it is a contemporary edition to the purchaser. The front cover and poster involved creative activity in that it involved a lot of “playing with ideas and trying out possibilities” (Carl Jung) in relation to titles, colours, fonts, formats and layout before the final versions were acceptable in their appeal to my target audiences. In hindsight, I think that if I had ensured that the predominant target markets for my trailer (ie teenage girls then tennis fans) and film magazine (women) had been clearer in my mind from the outset the creative process would have been speedier and more effective.

Composition of a Key Photographic Image

At AS level I looked at a range of DVD covers to try to identify ideas relating to thrillers. However, in hindsight I did not have had the knowledge, technical ICT or creative ability to produce an image which deliberately incorporated connotations and clues for the audience into the plot of the film.

However, at A2 level I analysed in depth conventions of film posters using the internet (ie Wimbledon, Bend it Like Beckham etc) and magazine covers (ie Empire, Total Film). These gave me the creative inspiration for the main image used on my products which was taken using a digital camera and improved by removing the background using the magic wand tool on Photoshop software. Connotations can be read into the photograph of the antagonist and protagonist standing back to back on the court used on the poster and magazine cover. The positioning of the main characters, their body language and facial expressions denote the existence of a bitter rivalry. The angle of the racket held by one character along with a clown like supersize tennis ball suggests that she may not be as serious or as competent as her partner. On reflection, I could have made the presentation of the main characters as binary opposites more apparent to the audience through greater contrast in the use of costume.

Creative Use of Sound

The sound effects in the AS piece were drawn straight from the imovie music library, they were used simply to create a sense of equilibrium with lively, upbeat music to start with and disequilibrium as the disgruntled gymnast and the gymnastics coach argued with darker music of a slower tempo. During this scene the dialogue was also drowned out to make the audience try to puzzle out what they were arguing about for themselves and fast motion was used to add to the intensity of the situation.

In my A2 piece sound effects were used again but this time in conjunction with camera shots to stimulate a response from the audience eg laughter, empathy, anxiety. For example, sound effects were used to denote the contrasting relationship the tennis coaches had with both players . As he deals with champion he harshly blows his whistle and glares disapprovingly at his stopwatch which is loudly ticking away (diegetic sound) for the audience to hear symbolising that time is running out. However, the use of a motivational sound motif symbolises a more positive relationship with the underdog. This is combined with the breaking of the 180 degree rule and repetition of the word “potential” by the coach to describe his protégée. This creativity achieves a number of things: builds suspense in the audience; catches the audiences attention – why has he repeated it 3 times; adds a comic effect in a creative way.

Creative Use of Camera Shots and Editing
In my AS piece I used of slow motion of the girls performing their stunts to emphasize their technical control of the skill and to add verisimilitude to the opening. I also used slow motion to add to the dramatic effect (along with repetition) when the coach pushed the main character in order to develop empathy in the minds of the audience. The slow motion and action draw the audience’s attention to the key moment in the opening when the main character switched from being the antagonist to the protagonist. The creativity is used to signify what proves to be a dramatic change of character that affects the outcome of the film and supports Steigler’s view that “In innovation you have to play a less safe game, if it’s going to be interesting. It’s not predictable that it’ll go well.”

Camera shots and angles where also used creatively in my AS work when the audience was deceptively given the impression that the main character was fighting against a person, then by using the zoom out tool on the camera I revealed to the audience that she wasn’t actually fighting anyone and was in fact going mad! This created real dramatic impact amongst my audience.

On reflection I think that the imaginative use of shot selection in this scene to make unusual connections between character and audience was probably the most creative piece of filming that I have produced.

However, in A2 I combined music, action, dialogue with camera angles and editing to elicit a variety of responses from my audience eg humour, empathy, frustration thus creating a better quality overall piece of work. For example, in my A2 work during the training scene I used a combination of camera shots, a fast motion montage of training routines and upbeat Rocky type music (created using Garageband software) creatively to indicate to the audience that the underdog was up for a fight in a humorous chick flick way. Close up camera shots and a cartoon “boiiiing” sound effect were also used to create humour. At A2 my selection of camera shots creatively gave insights into the characters, the plot and helped reinforce key aspects of the genre to form a snapshot of the film for the audience.

Limitations to Creativity

On reflection I do feel that several factors did inhibit my creativity in some respects. For example not being able to use recognisable soundtracks due to copyright restrictions which are a conventional feature used to add humour to chick flicks; inexperienced actors and the general condition of the location (public tennis court) out of season. Also working within the time restrictions of a trailer posed a challenge.

Conclusion

Overall my progress from AS to A2 was incremental and significant. Mihaly Csikentmihalyi (1996) states that it typically takes someone 10 years of acquiring technical knowledge by immersing themselves into a discipline before they can create anything significant. I think I have, over the course of the 2 years, I have shown divergent thinking, flexibility, imagination and the confidence to try new things. I have developed what Ken Robinson identifies as some “Creative Habits of Mind” I have pushed myself, reflected critically on my work and created what Csikentmihalyi calls “flow” (engrossed in a task) and produced outcomes of value to my target audience.

Conventions of Real Media Texts

In terms of AS media the main source of inspiration for my thriller opening came from a devised piece that I had written for GCSE drama, the stage production of “Woman in Black” which I had seen in the theatre and from watching TV drama series such as the Marchlands and Orphan. This first hand experience was supplemented through research into real media texts of the same genre. The internet (Youtube and IMBD) was used to enable me to view examples of the creative dramatic footage used in thriller film opening sequences, and to begin to pick up commonalities stereotypical of the genre. “Death of a Cheerleader”, “Stick It” and “Black Swan” where the key texts that I analysed. The use of secondary research involving real media texts allowed me to gain a basic understanding of the conventions of the thriller genre that I was trying to recreate in my own production.

I also analysed the film opening ‘Stomp the yard’ which made hip-hop appear scary through the creative use of mis en scene (such as lighting), use of cutaways and the production of footage taken with handheld camera to create an unsteady, panicked and tense effect. I used cutaways and match on action in a similar way during my gymnastics sequence scene. This real media text also influenced my creative decision making regarding significance of the use of lighting in scenes to create an atmosphere. For example I decided to use high key lighting when equilibrium was present and low key when disequilibrium was present. Artificial lighting was used in the gym when the gymnasts performed the stunts. However, the lighting in the room was dull when coach was telling the gymnast that she hadn’t been selected reflecting the despondency of the character.

During the Stomp the Yard analysis I also noticed that the camera moved in different ways to establish different characters. For example a high angle was used to show a woman doing the worm and a low angle was used to show a man doing a head spin. This made the opening more exciting. So I established the characters through the shot selection and camera angles in my own film. The out of favour gymnastic was established with a close up of her struggling face on the vault which symbolised her struggle throughout the film. In contrast the coaches favourite gymnast was established through a wide angle shot of her whole body looking poise and perfect which reflects the way she is represented and seen by the coach throughout the film.

In my AS year I used the internet to analyse the DVD front covers of movies similar to my own but also using the audience feedback gathered from the questionnaire regarding the need to appeal to male audiences to inform the scope, focus and direction of my search. The use of mis en scene seemed to be the key to interweaving masculine appeal into the cover. The DVD cover for the movie “Slaughter” featuring a girl trapped on a wheel in a eery setting influenced the composition of the photograph used for my cover. The shot is set against a completely white background with connotation that the character is in a mental institution. An extreme zoom in on the camera was used to emphasise the fact that the character was struggling to escape from something (the room or herself). The simplicity of the composition of the shot and clever use of minimal mis en scene makes it all the more intriguing and disturbing for the audience.

During the AS year the analysis of real media texts of a similar genre influenced my creative decision making. However, on reflection in order to appeal to the male market I should have widened the scope of my analysis of films beyond the thriller genre to identify features of films designed specifically for men eg Die Hard, and try to replicate some of these. I should also have undertaken more qualitative audience research to give me more in depth audience feedback to combine with my understanding of real media texts. In terms of analysis of real texts in the form of DVD covers, in hindsight, this was very limited and tended to focus on colour, basic features of the layout and aesthetics. I undertook a superficial visual analysis rather than understanding the deeper connotations presented through the text or the need to produce a product to appeal to my target audience!

In A2 real media texts played a much bigger role in helping me to develop a deeper understanding of the features needed to create a quality trailer that would appeal to a specific target audience. Wikipeadia was used to identify conventions of genres and obtain lists of relevant films to analyse (although I realise that the source is not totally reliable) then Youtube and IMBD were used to analyse trailers. The trailers analysed consisted mainly sports related films that tackled similar issues involving the underdog coming through to triumph over adversity (ie Bend it like Beckham, Wimbledon, Dodgeball, Coach Carter, A League of their Own) and chick flicks (ie Mean Girls, Not another Teen Movie) focusing on the culture of typical teenage girls.

In A2 my confidence improved as I identified institutional techniques which have become conventions of both genres and creatively combined the 2 to create a hybrid genre “sports flick” that would appeal to a main and secondary niche audience of tennis fans. Through research into the conventions of real media texts it became apparent that the themes explored in chick flicks and women’s sports films are very much the same which is why they are so appealing to the same target audience. Themes of conflict are evident in both genres whether it be an interpersonal conflict between the protagonist and another character the conflict seems to lie on some personal issue or goal eg winning a competition. However, sports films tended to have a much more positive representation of the strength, determination and talent of women than the concept offered by the chick flicks vulnerable female desperate for love. The decision to combine the two genres is reflective of my own ideology as a teenage sports women.

The conventions of real media texts improved influenced my creative and technical decision making in the production of my movie trailer in a variety of ways:

- the Bend it Like Beckham trailer used a voice over to provide narration throughout rather than just
   to introduce the initial action whilst I replicated this I also subverted the traditional convention of
   using a deep male voice by using the voice of the main character to narrate events from her point
   of view. An immediate connection with the audience was made as the main character outlined the setting,
   situation and dilemna of the film from her perspective. This is a convention frequently used in chick flicks.

- Stereotypical characterisations from the chick flick genre where adapted and incorporated into the trailer.

    For example the inspiration for portraying the champion tennis player as the stereotypical chick flick
“Queen Bee” came from the film “Mean Girls” and was designed to appeal to teenage girls. Stereotypical
    iconography in the form of mis en scene (ie costume, props, facial expressions, body language) was used to
    form the stereotype which enhances the realism of the trailer as audiences identify with them. For
    example, the underdog was dressed with Barthes theory of connotations and denotations as a guide. Her
    leopard spotted headband, bright purple top and brightly coloured make up are designed to create the
    impression of a “plastic” rather than a sports girl. She was also given a brightly, oversized tennis ball to hold
    as a prop in photo shoots for the magazine cover and poster which implied to the audience that she was a
    bit of a clown. In contrast, the representation of the champion as a stereotypical sports girl draws on
    Winships theory of notion portraying an ideal version of “fake consciousness” to teenage girls, what most
    aspire to be. Mulveys concept of male gaze would apply to her appearance eg long blond hair, slim
    physique, tennis clothing symbolising a confident, successful girl.

- a scene from Dodgeball was the inspiration for the footage of the underdog struggling with a training routine and a “boiing” sound effect was inserted as she collapsed in a push up in order to meet the audiences expectations of the conventional humour in chick flicks;

- the Wimbledon film demonstrated the importance of relationship building in both chick flicks and sports films. This was reflected in the action sequence involving the 2 players training together which finishes with them performing synchronized star jumps in perfect time together with the connotation that they have
formed a partnership and are working positively together. A slow motion close up was also used when the
girls were shaking hands again to emphasize the bonding taking place.

- a common theme across the sports films involved an underdog triumphing against the odds which is the key narrative theme of my trailer. Sports films also tended to contain references, technical language or sayings that held a special significance to fans of the sport. My trailer reflected this convention in the use of: a famous John McEnroe saying “You can not be serious, ” to add humour to the moment the champion meets her new partner; use of title “On the Baseline” which will have connotations amongst tennis fans relating to being on the defensive; the Wimbledon related “Triumph and Disaster?” line used to trigger a narrative enigma.

The importance of these existing texts in helping me meet the expectations of my target audience demonstrates that “Individual creativity is stimulated by the work, ideas and achievements of other people. We stand on the shoulders of others to see further.” (Ken Robinson). However, in hindsight I did miss out on an opportunity to be more creative with the narrative structure. My trailer followed a simple linear form of restricted narrative. In trying to comply with chick flick convention through the use of a voice over I did not consider the possibility of creating a multi strand narrative whereby the different perspectives of the 2 rivals (binary opposites) were presented to the audience for consideration. This would have positioned the audience in the heart of the battle between the antagonist and protagonist – metaphorically being hit from one side of the court to the other!

Also from watching the openings and trailers I also began to recognise the prominence given to promoting the name of the production and distribution company in the opening titles of films – a feature which I tried to replicate creatively in my opening and trailer. In A2 I tried to develop the brand identity of my production company “Sports Flick Pictures” across of 3 products. On reflection I could have made this initial mode of address appeal more to my target audience eg by having the actors names bounce on and off screen to appeal to add humour and use fonts that denoted the nature of the characters the actors were portraying to add meaning.

At A2 level I analysed in depth conventions of film posters using the internet (ie Wimbledon, Bend it Like Beckham etc) and magazine covers (ie Empire, Total Film). These (particularly a Total Film cover for Sherlock showing Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes standing together) gave me the creative inspiration for the main image used on my products which was taken using a digital camera and improved by removing the background using the magic wand tool on Photoshop software. Connotations can be read into the photograph of the antagonist and protagonist standing back to back on the court used on the poster and magazine cover. The positioning of the main characters, their body language and facial expressions denote the existence of a bitter rivalry. The angle of the racket held by one character along with a clown like supersize tennis ball suggests that she may not be as serious or as competent as her partner. On reflection, I could have made the presentation of the main characters as binary opposites more apparent to the audience through greater contrast in the use of costume. However, at AS level I would not have had the knowledge, technical ICT or creative ability to produce an image which deliberately incorporated connotations and clues for the audience into the plot of the film.

- A single image was selected and overlaid with text which is a convention of magazines. The same image was used on the film poster creating intertextuality and image association in the audience.

- It was apparent that different genres of magazines have different colour schemes and pink was a common feature of magazines targeting women. Semiotics in the form of colour symbolism was applied to my cover (and poster) to create a soft, feminine appeal particularly through the use of the stereotypical “chick flick” pink. Hence, the text on the cover which related directly to the film was produced in pink font creating intertextuality through colour association with the pink tennis court on the film poster.

- Softer, summery colours were used to reflect the seasonality of the summer edition magazine and to indicate that it is a contemporary edition to the purchaser. My use of sensationalised language also reflected the seasonality ie hottest stars, sizzling etc as is conventional in summer editions.

- Conventionally a limited number of fonts and colours were used in the real texts in order to create a clear house style – this is a feature that I replicated on my cover using 4 main colours for specific purposes eg red for main headings, pink for text related to the film.

- The title of the magazine was changed to follow the convention of many film magazines which use a single word as a title so Film in Focus became “Flicks”. This change also allowed me to increase the size of the font of the masthead making it more prominent and eye catching to a prospective purchaser. Flicks also relates to the female target audience having connotations of chick flick, is also an old fashioned word for the cinema giving the magazine a nostalgic feel and also creates brand awareness of the production company, Sport Flick Pictures, who also own the magazine. In conventional fashion a company logo was designed that branded the media product across all 3 platforms.

- Other standard features were also evident on the real text such as: barcode; date of issue; issue number; price; giveaways; competition offers; mastheads and taglines - all of which were replicated on my cover to add to the realism of the product.

On reflection, the front cover and poster involved creative activity in that it involved a lot of “playing with ideas and trying out possibilities” (Carl Jung) in relation to titles, colours, fonts, formats and layout before the final versions were acceptable in their appeal to my target audiences. In hindsight, I think that if I had ensured that the predominant target markets for my trailer (ie teenage girls then tennis fans) and film magazine (women) had been clearer in my mind from the outset the creative process and application of relevant conventions would have been speedier and more effective.

In conclusion, I have shown progression in my A2 year as my research into real media texts became more focused on my target audience and how media products are specifically designed to meet their expectations. This approach reflects Gauntlet’s view that “making is connecting” with your audience. The primary audience research became a more significant influence on my final product as it gave me the qualitative feedback needed to justify the subversion of conventions in response to their expressed preferences. In terms of the production of my ancillary products in AS I looked at what was denoted on a range of DVD covers in A2 I started to understand the connotations that were cleverly implied in the composition of film posters and magazine covers. The secondary research into real media texts was crucial in improving my ability to deconstruct texts and understand conventions related to layouts, fonts, colours etc and the importance of developing a recognisable house style and brand identity across a range of media platforms with my audience as the focus. However, whilst real media texts did provide the inspiration for much of my work in both AS and A2 it is only on reflection that I can now see how my role was that of an auteur in that my own ideology, personality and outlook on life also heavily influenced both productions.

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Final Trailer

This is the final version of my trailer.