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

This is the link to the 5 minute video that I made, which explains and discusses the different ways in which my two minute opening challenges, develops and uses forms and conventions of real media products:

The making of La Ferme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg-pvlFVswA

Video Problems

Yesterday I managed to convert the sound files so that I was able to import them onto Final Cut Pro. Once I had completed the director's commentary for the two minute opening I then exported the film and saved it on my pen drive to upload when I got home. However, when I went to open the film it only played the voice over part and there was no video, even though I made sure that it worked when I was at school. Once I have figured out what went wrong, I will upload the Director's Commentary and the final part of the evaluation onto Blogger.

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

I think that I have learnt more about the different camera angles that are available, such as close ups, low angle, medium close and medium high. For example, during the filming of the preliminary task, I did not do any close ups, or change the camera's zoom but instead kept the same camera angle. However, in my actual task, I used a wide variety of shots and angles, including extreme close ups and panning shots. I have also learnt a lot about editing, as I did not edit the preliminary task as it was on iMovie but instead just added titles and credits, whereas when it came to editing my two minute opening, I used Adobe After Effects and Final Cut Pro to add colour correction and muzzle flashes onto the footage.

Also, I believe that the use of match on action in my preliminary task is different to that of my actual one.

This is a screen shot of some match on action that I used in the preliminary task. I believe that it is not as good as the one featured in my actual task as it is not as smooth.

This is a screen shot of the match on action that is featured in my actual task. Here, the soldiers run through the trench and in the next scene the camera is behind them but still looking at them running.

I also used a lot of colour correction during the editing of the actual task. For example, i used brownish colours to represent two different time periods. Brownish colour represented the present day, whereas dark blue represented the past.

These screen shots show the actual footage against the colour corrected one:

In the preliminary task, I used shot/reverse shot but it was not very good, as it was in one take. However, during the actual task, I managed to use it but this time it looked a lot better. 

 The shot/reverse shot scene in my preliminary task was not very good compared to the one in my actual task

First the audience see the back of the soldier and in the next shot see the front of him

I think that I have learnt a lot about the titles as in the preliminary task, I used a basic title template that I found on iMovie yet for the actual task I created my own using Adobe After Effects.

I think that the way in which the names of the actors appear and then disappear add to the somberness of the opening. I also think that the column of smoke adds to the tension of the film as it is a symbol of the battle that is featured in the two minute opening.

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

During the planning and construction stages of my two minute opening, I have used a wide range of equipment, such as cameras to lighting equipment.

These are some pictures of the media hut and the equipment that I used to create the two minute opening:

The computers, where I updated my blog and searched for sound effects and soundtracks.

The Macs, which I used to edit my footage and import onto Final Cut Pro

Best Mac in the room (my one)

The lighting equipment that I used during the Preliminary task

The Green Screen was used during the filming of the Tenacious D music video

This is the equipment that i used to film my opening:

• Tripod
• Mini Tripod
• HD Camera
• Flip Camera
• Sound Recording Device (white thing)

(Not shown is the mini boom pole)

The computer programs and other applications that I used to create the two minute opening are:

• Adobe After Effects CS5
• Final Cut Pro
• YouTube
• Blogger
• iMovie
• Soundtrack Pro
• Converter
• Toast Titanium
• Windows Media player

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

Since my film is a war film based in WW2, I decided to look at films that are similar to my one. The three that I will look at in more detail are Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and Saints and Soldiers. All three of these films feature US Paratroopers, which are the main characters in my film.

Saving Private Ryan
Distributor: DreamWorks
DreamWorks: Is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses totalling more than $100 million each.It began in 1994 with the aim of becoming a new Hollywood studio.

Band of Brothers
Distributor: HBO (Home Box Office)
HBO: Is an American television network owned by Tim Warner. In  December 2010, HBO's programming reached 28.6 million subscribers in the US, making it the largest premium cable network in America (in terms of the number of subscribers). In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO also broadcasts in at least 151 countries worldwide.

Saints and Soldiers
Distributor: Excel Entertainment Group
Excel Entertainment Group: Is a media company founded in 1995 by former Disney executive Jeff Simpson. It is associated with Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, which is a branch of Christianity, and many of its products are targeted towards the Latter-day Christians, and the particular distribution of many pieces of LDS cinema.

Director's Commentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWR9noRNgk

DreamWorks Logo

HBO logo

Excel Entertainment Group logo



Who would be the audience for your media product?

The age for my film would be between 15-50 year olds as there is quite a lot of action and violence but not enough to make it an 18.
The film is aimed at those who are keen war film enthusiasts, particularly those who are interested in WW2, as the film is based on the experiences of a US Paratrooper in Normandy France 1944.
However, in my opinion, the film is almost anti-war as it shows a shell-shocked soldier staring at the life-less bodies of his fallen comrades. I think that it is also quite interesting to see the effects of warfare on the mind and how the struggle of war is not just to survive but to keep your sanity as well.
If the entire film was made, I would film it in the same style as the two minute opening sequence and it would feature action, drama and show the real effects of war.
I believe that the post traumatic stress and the occurring flashbacks that come with intense combat are good to watch and an interesting insight into the mind of a soldier involved in some of the heaviest fighting of the 20th Century.

This is a link to the annotated opening looking at the different aspects of the film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMlnDwByma8

These images are scene in the beginning of the film and show the horrific aftermath of a battle

Images of death are a reoccurring feature in La Ferme

This shows a soldier just after he has been hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell

Films such as Saving Private Ryan, Saints and Soldiers and the mini-series Band of Brothers are all rated 15+ as they feature bad language and violence that is not suitable for people younger than 15. However, it can depend on the rating given to each film as it depends on the use of different moods and themes.For example, The Battle of Midway and All Quiet on the Western Front, are both set in a wartime context, the first examines the themes of honor, sacrifice, and valour, and the second is an anti-war film which emphasises the pain and horror of war. As a result of this, the rating may differ as the first is almost pro-war, showing heroism and gallantry yet the second would focus more on horrific scenes of death and misery in order to appeal to a more anti-war audience.

The poster for the Battle of Midway film

The horror of battle shown in All Quiet on the Western Front

Death, suffering and misery feature heavily in All Quiet on the Western Front

 

Sound Trouble

For one of the evaluation questions, I recorded myself talking about certain aspects of the two minute opening, such as the titles and genre, yet when I tried to place these over the actual footage on Final Cut Pro, it did not work so I then tried to convert them using Toast but this ended with the same result. As a result of this, I will have to wait unti next week to add the voiceovers.

Two Minute Opening

This is the link to my two minute opening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-pTbM8nl5s

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The character in my film is the one on the left, who is sitting on the fallen tree, and the character on the left is Major Richard Winters, played by Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers.

The similarities between these two characters are that they are both from the same division, the 101st Airborne, and are dressed in the same clothing.

However, the outfit that my character is wearing is that of a paratrooper from D-Day and the outfit that Major Winters is wearing is that of a paratrooper from Operation Market Garden, the invasion of Holland in September 1944. This explains why the colour is slightly different.

The roles that the two characters play are also very different, as my character is a private yet Major Winters is a major, which means that their roles and the way in which they act are different.

The morality that can be seen in the two minute opening is good versus evil because the American Paratroopers are the bringers of freedom and goodness and the Germans  they are fighting are the upholders of tyranny and evil.

The Paratroopers run through the system of trenches and foxholes to reach their destination

A machine gun team opens up with their 30.Caliber machine gun

The Paratroopers hold their positions in a gruelling fight for survival

Evaluation

Today I have been carrying on with the evaluation of the two minute opening and have started to film the director's commentary. I have also exported the film so that I can upload it onto YouTube as the quality on blogger is not up to scratch, and I will upload it later.

Finished!!

 Today I managed to adjust some minor parts of the title sequence and as a result of this I have finished editing the 2 minute opening. I will now start evaluating the film and will upload the opening soon .

Razor Tool

Today I carried on editing minor parts of the 2 minute opening, such as the way different scenes change and by doing this, I noticed that when one of my scenes changed, it was quite jumpy and ruined the flow of the film. However, I went back onto Adobe After Effects and managed to increase the length of the scene, so that it had a steady transition. Also, I realised that when the title appears during the opening, it stays on screen for no more than a second. To make it longer, I used the razor tool on Final Cut Pro and clicked just before the title appears, and just after, and right-clicked on it. I was then given the option to change the time length and I chose to increase the length by 50%. This means that the title now stays on screen for a lot longer, which is what I wanted.

Scene Reverse

For the last scene of my two minute opening I needed the actor to open his eyes, as he had finished having his flashback. However, I realised that the ending scene that I had was not as good as I had first thought and was too short, so I found a good scene, where the actor closes his eyes, and reversed it, so that he opens his eyes, rather than closes them. To do this I right clicked on the timeline in Adobe After Effects and clicked on Time Reverse (not exact name) and this changed the order of the scene, so that it was how I wanted it. The first time I tried this I accidentally clicked on the soundtrack bar, in the timeline, and the music was reversed, instead of the actual scene, but I soon corrected this error.  

Soundtrack Change

As I was watching the opening part of the film, with the titles and smoke effect, I realised that the music did not really fit the entrance and theme that I was hoping to create so I decided to change it. Luckily for me, I had 4-5 other music scores on my pendrive, which I had previously listened to and thought were quite good, so I simply deleted the current soundtrack and replaced it with a much darker sounding score, that really fits in with the opening titles. I now believe that the music has really added to the somber effect that I was hoping to create.

Titles and Smoke

Today I decided that the titles in my opening were not as good as they could be and that there was something lacking. As a result of this, I decided to add a smoke effect, that appears when the names of the actors in the film appear. I chose the type of smoke that I thought suited the film, since it is about the aftermath of a battle, I chose a smouldering-smokey effect as to give the impression that something has been burning for a while. Once I had done this, I placed the smoke over the titles and watched it as it rose from the bottom of the screen and past the actors names. However, I noticed that the smoke effect was a little bit too fast for the intro and did not suit the slow-somber music, so i decided to slow the smoke effect. This was done by stretching out the smoke layer and as a result, the smoke was a lot slower the next time I watched the titles.

Evaluation

Today i started to evaluate my 2 minute opening. I started by looking at the type of audience that the film is aimed at and the kind of social groups that are represented in the film.

Media Hut

These are some pictures of the media room in which i have been making my film:

Best Mac in the room (my one)

This is the equipment that i used to film my opening:

• Tripod
• Mini Tripod
• HD Camera
• Flip Camera
• Sound Recording Device (white thing)

(Not shown is the mini boom pole)

Problem Solved

Today I managed to render the scene that was not working. This was done by rendering the scene on Final Cut Pro rather than on Adobe After Effects. This means that all the scenes that I need for the film have been rendered and put together in Final Cut Pro. Also, because one of my scenes has a shell exploding in it, I needed to have the screeching sound of the shell as it hurtled towards the ground, yet unfortunately there were no sound effects that included the screeching. However, I simply found a sound effect for a kettle boiling (whistling) and took the whistling noise and put it in before the explosion of the shell. By doing this, I have acheived the sound that I was looking for.

Notes

Here are some photos of the notes that i made for the filming and editing of my 2 minute opening. There are more notes but i have only uploaded a few:

This photo is of the order of the scenes that would appear in my film. The ticks next to each one mean that i have edited it.

This photo shows the names of the individual scenes that i have rendered and then uploaded onto Final Cut Pro.

These are the notes that i used before i started editing my film. They consist of the list of all the equipment that i would need to film it.



Almost Done

Today i managed to render the remaining scenes and import them onto Final Cut Pro. However, there was one problem with a certain scene because when i imported it onto Final Cut Pro, it said that it had not been rendered when in fact it had. I then rendered it again and imported it but it still said that it wasn't rendered. I will have to try it again next week but i have practically finished the film, which is a relief.

Nearly Done

Today i carried on rendering the scenes for the 2 minute opening and now i only have 1 more scene to render before i can import it onto Final Cut pro. After i have done this, my film will be complete.

Final Cut Pro Part 2

Today i carried on rendering the scenes from Adobe After Effects and putting them together on Final Cut Pro. So far i have uploaded 6 rendered scenes and now only have about 3 left to render.

Colour Correction

Today i have managed to render some more of my footage and then put it together on Final Cut Pro. I have now rendered 4 of my scenes and they are looking good. I have also been editing some of my scenes that take place in the past. To create this effect, i colour corrected the footage by using some colour effects. To make it seem as though the scenes are in the past, i changed the colour to blue to try and create a feeling of coldness and uneasy times. This seemed good, yet once they were rendered the scenes looked too blue, so i went back on Adobe After Effects and altered the settings using a tool known as "Curve". However, i then found another colour correction effect that is called "Cool Glow". This means that the footage will be blue but have a white glow to it, which makes it the perfect effect for the scenes that are back in time.

Rendering problems

Today and yesterday i wanted to render more of my footage but unfortunately, the teacher was not there and i needed help on certain aspects of the rendering process. This was annoying because all i have to do is render the scenes and then put them together on Final Cut Pro.

Mac Return

The Mac that i have been using for the editing process has finally been returned and as a result i can continue working on the two minute opening. I have also managed to render the first 40 seconds of the film and have imported it onto Final Cut Pro.  I will need to do this for the rest of my footage before i can put it together.

Minor Inconvenience

I returned to school today and was hoping to be able to finally render the footage for my film. However, when i arrived at the media department, I noticed that a few Mac's were missing, including mine. I was told that someone in the year above had borrowed it to do some work but would return it before the lesson started. They didn't and yet again, i was unable to render my footage.