Evaluation 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?

On the whole I feel I have learnt a lot from working on our preliminary task for example, I’m very confident now when using certain software’s like IMovie and Garage Band. But I also feel that I’m now confident when using the camera equipment, for example, the camera itself and tripod. On the whole of doing the preliminary task I learnt how to use a basic video camera and all its equipment. But now after using the camera for a long period I now know how to use all of the features that it offers. I now also know from using these cameras how to pick what shots for each scene. As a group for the preliminary task we decided to stick to all of the rules of filming for example, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. When filming our opening sequence we managed to stick to the 180 degree rule and included both shot reverse and match on action shots. When using these shots in our opening scene and the preliminary task it made it look very professional and real.

On the whole I feel after using the Apple mac computers to edit our film was very easy and helped make a professional and very scary film. At first, I found it difficult to work sound effects and the functions but now it’s very simple and easy to use.  The main programme we used was Garage Band at first we couldn't work out how to get the piano setting up on the screen but after a couple of minutes we found it and created a great piece of scary music to go in our film.

Evaluation Activity 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

We used Youtube to find clips of films trailers and the opening scenes of films instead of buying them which helped immensely. We also used this website to search for other people’s films and there issues they came across when filming.

We also used the software iTunes to move the music we created on garage band to our film. The software was simple to use and as a group we learnt very quickly to use it.

I used Google to research into different film and genres. Google made my life a lot easier to find the films we were after. Because it listed thousands of films and there genres.

When I was first introduced to Blogger I found it quite difficult to use, but after a while I found it simple and easy to use for example, when putting work on the blog. My favourite part about the blog was the easy way of adding pictures to the blog to make it more effective.

One of the best software I used was Garage Band this helped with composing every bit of music on our film. This software was very easy to use and very effective when creating music.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

This screen shot shows a real link to the film ‘The Strangers’ because of the real life house setting. This shows the audience that it’s very real because it’s similar to their own lives and creates a scary atmosphere. This is our USP, the fact that it’s so close to the audience’s real life. From the research that we found from using questionnaires we gained the knowledge of our target audience. We found out that we should aim our film at young couples from the age of 15 upwards because we feel that they can get the feel of the film.

This screen shot shows the character 'George' relaxed on the sofa watching television. this shows to the audience that hes very comfortable and not worried about anything. This shows to the audience that its very realistic and refers to their lives. This would create an Adrenalin rush for the audience and make them want to come back. Also from the research that we found from doing the questionnaires the audiences want to see real life relating movies, because it scares them even more. We also added sound effects to make the atmosphere more appealing and scary to the audience. Most people who filled in the questionnaires believe that sound effects really effect the film and make it a lot more spooky.

Evaluation Activity 4 - Who would be the audience for your media project?

Natalie is a member of our target audience. She is 19 years old and she is very interested in horror films especially our type of horror film. She shops at Primark, Accessorise, Jack Wills and Topshop. She listens to lots of types of music genres but here favourite artists are JLS, Pixie Lott and Katy Perry. Natalie enjoys watching The Inbetweeners because she finds it very funny and relates to real life. Her favourite film is ‘The Strangers ‘because she loves the way that the audience have to think about how things that could happen next and the way it really relates to real life. This is what attracts her to our film, 'Knock, Knock Who’s There?’ Our film would keep Natalie on the edge of her seat and she would get the adrenalin rush that she craves for when watching these films.

In the opening 2 minutes of our film ‘Knock, Knock Who’s There?’ there is a use of weapons which we feel that is inappropriate to certain ages so we decided to rate our film as 15. We also feel children under this age will be terrified by our film and its very wrong for them to watch it.

Evaluation Activity 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Horror films are very popular in the cinema and TV. There is even a whole channel dedicated to horror films, Sky Movies Horror, which shows films such as 'My Bloody Valentine', 'Jennifer's Body' and 'Paranormal Activity'. Main TV channels such as BBC One, ITV and Channel 4 occasionally show films, but they are normally shown late at night because horror films are not suitable for the young audience the channels have.

We aim to show are film to big cinema chain for example, Vue and Odeon are the main cinemas we would aim to have our film shown in. Vue cinemas are not as well-known as Odeon but they are still well respected and show the same films as Odeon. Odeon cinemas are the largest cinema chain in Europe and so we would love to have our film ‘Knock, Knock Who’s There?’ in these big film cinema chains.

Our local Odeon cinema, in Guildford, is currently showing all the new films such as, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The Tourist and Monsters. The genre of horror is very common in cinemas as it is an extremely popular genre because people like having the adrenaline rush of being scared and on the edge of their seat.

Horror film festivals are held all around the world, for example, New York. The New York City Horror Festival shows horror films that have been made by hopeful film directors. Awards are then presented such as best feature film, best special effects and best screenplay. Film4 Fright fest is an annual film festival held in London. Fans gather for five days of premieres, previews, personal appearances, signings and surprises.

On the whole, we as a group would love to have our film shown in the big cinema chains such as, Vue and Odeon. But we wouldn’t mind even if it only got to the stage of being shown at the horror festivals for example, New York City horror festival.

Evaluation Activity 2- How does your media project represent particular social groups?

Here are a couple of screen shots to show the similarities and differences between these two characters.

In our film ‘Knock, Knock Who’s there?’ the character ‘George’ is presented as an innocent young man who is dramatically chased around his house by masked Psycho’s. The character ‘George’ is shown to the audience wearing casual clothing which connotes a real life feel to the audience. In the film ‘The Strangers’ the main character ‘James Hoyt’ has the same issues in which ‘George’ has. However, the character ‘George’ is a lot younger and is left home alone whereas, the character ‘James Hoyt’ isn’t left home alone he is in a holiday home for his honeymoon with his wife.

In the first screen ‘James Hoyt’ is dressed up in casual clothes which shows to the audience that he’s relaxed and isn’t worried about anything. The second screen shot from our film shows the character ‘George’ in a relaxed position lying on the sofa watching television. The second screen shot also shows ‘George’ dressed in casual clothing which also shows to the audience that he’s relaxed.

Evaluation Activity 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Here is a screen shot of the opening scenes of our film, 'Knock,Knock Who's There?'.

The first scene of the film shows the genre of the film and how the different characters are being introduced.The genre of the film is horror this is shown throughout the film to the audience.The first scene shows a masked man sitting at the top of the stairs looking at the main character 'George' waiting for him to turn around and look straight at him. This scene also introduces the other main character 'Nut' because the audience can now see the whole body of the masked man. The character 'Nut' is in a mask to show to the audience that hes one of the scary characters.

The second screen shots is a shot of props in which we have used in the film.This is shown to the audience through the use of close-up camera shots. This camera close-ups of the props give the film a horror feel to the audience for example the subliminal image of the knife and the hit list show the audience that something bad is going to happen.The piece of paper with names written on it, with names crossed out shows to the audience that something bad is going to happen to 'George' because his name hasn't been crossed out on the hit list.

The third screen shot is of the main character 'George' on the sofa watching television. Hes very nervous and quite boy, this is shown to the audience when his mum leaves to go out. This suggests how the opening scene starts as hes left at home alone, when his mum goes out and you almost start to realise something is going to happen to 'George'.

The forth screen shot is of the main character 'George' again. This screen shot shows the atmosphere being relaxed because 'George' is lying down on the sofa minding his own business, But the whole atmosphere changes when the stone is thrown at the door.

The fifth screen shot is a picture of a knife, hit list and a mask in which one of the scary men uses 'Nut' . These items are flashed to the audience subliminally to create a scary atmosphere and to make the audience feel like something bad is going to happen.We use props in our film to create a tense effect to the audience and music over the top to make it more scary and effective to watch.

The sixth screen shot shows to the audience the typical conventional domestic setting of a horror film. This shows to the audience that it may be real life and lulls them into feeling a false sense of security. For example,  the film The Strangers has the same device.

The seventh screen shot shows special effects and sound effects to make the audience feel like its real life. As a group we added the light turning on sound effect to show the audience that it makes sense for ‘George’ to go into the bathroom and the continuity of the film makes sense.

The eighth screen shot shows the font for the titles we chose. As a group we chose this font because it was simple and looks hand painted similar to hand written note all of which connotes the anonymous amateur character of ‘Nut’ our villain.

The ninth screen shot shows the title of our film ‘Knock, Knock who’s there? ‘. We decided to choose this as our title because it shows to the audience what’s to come in the film. We also decided to choose this plain font because its effective and contrasts with the feel of the horror film we have made.

Research on Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
this research on 'the Texas chainsaw massacre' will benefit me and our group immensely because of the different shot types, lighting ect. This will also help out the group so we know how to scare the audience.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written collaboratively by Hooper and Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Teri McMinn, William Vail, Edwin Neal, and Paul A. Partain. While presented as a true story involving the ambush and murder of a group of friends on a road trip in rural Texas by a family of cannibals, the film is completely fictional. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the first of the six films in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise, which features Leatherface, a character modeled after the Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein.
Hooper produced the film on an estimated budget of $140,000; he used a cast of relatively unknown actors, drawing people mainly from the areas surrounding the Texas filming locations. Principal photography for the film took place between July 15 and August 14, 1973. When the film was completed, Hooper struggled to find a distributor willing to release it due to its graphic depiction of violence; when he eventually secured a distributor, the Motion Picture Association of America gave the film an R-rating instead of the PG-rating Hooper had hoped.
Bryanston Distributing Company released The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to cinemas on October 1, 1974. Initially, the film drew a mixed reception from critics regarding the atmosphere, story, characters and graphic content, and the film was banned in many countries; nevertheless, it became a strong commercial success, grossing $30.8 million at the United States box office. Despite the lack of critical unanimity, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has gained a reputation as one of the most influential horror films in cinema history. It originated several elements common in the slasher film genre, including the use of power tools as murder weapons and the characterization of the killer as a large, hulking and faceless figure.

My Prelimenary task

In the preliminary task we were asked to make a sho-rt film an edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chairopposite another character when whom she/he then exchanges a few lines of dialogue.
Filming:
You had to include up to three different shots. these shot are, match on match action, shot/reverse shot and 180 degree rule. We prepaired for this task by making a story board and choosing a location to shoot the film. In the film we normally had the main character centre screen. But sometimes we had them slightly of to the side.My role in this film was to be one of the main characters.
Editing:
On the whole i was happy with the main result of the film but it would be better if we had three or more differnt types of shots. I also feel that we could of made the speaking more clear throughout the film. I think that our group on the whole worked very well together because we were confident of our own abilities and felt comfitable so it was easy to work together.i also find it very easy to work the camera which makes it easy for everyone and i can also work with Imovie because i have the feature on my phone.

CASE STUDY: The Dark Knight
in our lesson today we looked at the film industry, the jobs required in the industry. In the main part of the lesson we looked at the 'dark knight'.

Directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Writen by Jonathan Nolan. Produced by Chuck Roven. Music composed by Hans Zimmer.

This film was funded by Warner Bros, the homepage can be visited for further information. There is much information provided on their homepage. There are many hyperlinks, for example: videos and photos, synopsis, cast, downloads.

this film has lots of different types of shot styles for example, shot reverse shot, match on match action and the 180 degree rule.

comparing the thrillers 'memento' and 'Insomnia':

 Thriller Conventions for 'memento':

s
• Fight scenes and violence
• 'hard men', villains and heroes 
• foreign cities
• sound effects and fast pase music, explosions and gun shots

A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.

Director: 

Christopher Nolan

Writers: 

Jonathan Nolan,Christopher Nolan

Insomnia (2002) starring Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Robin Williams
ABOUT:

Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.