Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Task 1
1. We shot the film in color in order to get the best picture possible, because the camera would pick up the lighting better this way. This also allowed us the opportunity to change our minds about having the film in black and white if we wanted too.
2. We then change the picture in editing, using the black and white tool, along with the color and contrast tool. This allowed us to also manipulate the shades of gray on the image, as opposed to filming in black and white, or even on stock film.
3. We created our titles on PowerPoint, and then saved them as JPEGS. After this we imported them into the editing software and put them on our film. This was mainly because the editing software we used didn’t have the font we wanted for our film (DomCasual BT).
4. The credits at the end where again done on PowerPoint, for the same reason. However we had to move the image around so that all the titles lined up. We also imported a music file, which we originally didn’t want, however we felt it fit the tone of the film better.
5. We decided later in the process that we wanted fewer titles at the begging of our film, as it took away from the dialog. Once we had made the changes, we separated the titles out to fit in-between the dialog, in order not to have the audience miss anything.
6. In this scene we wanted the sound of the dad in the kitchen, overlapping with the two boys, so we filmed the two sounds separately. This meant it was easier to cut, move and manipulate the outcome of the sound in the room. We also added the sound of a kettle boiling.
7. In the last scene we have over lapped the crash zoom and still with the audio clip of the two boys fighting, in order to show that Ronnie is in Edger’s head.
8. Whenever there is evidence that Ronnie is not there, such as only having one bowl put away, we used a fade to black. This hopefully, subconsciously tell the audience that something is amiss.
9. We made sure that continuity was the best we could do. In order to do this, for example, we filmed the entire opening of the door from both the outside and in.
10. Then we went through the footage frame by frame, to obtain what we thought was the best match for the image.
11. We tried to use naturalistic lighting when shooting, in order to get the most realistic feel to our film. You can see, for example that we have dropped the blinds to the exact position we wanted, in order to get the best lighting possible.
12. In the bedroom scene, we took some existing objects out of my room, in order to fit the scene better. For example, the door normally has more cotes and bags on it, however ,we thought that if there was only one coat this would be a suttle hint that there is only on boy.
13. When we filmed the shot reverse shot, of the confrontation, we obviously filmed the scene from two angles, and edited them in post production. However, we also tried to focus on Edgar the entire time, rather than his dad, back to him. This was to show that he feels the whole world is watching him and against him, hiding his non existing twin brother.
14. When the alarm sound goes off, followed by the flat line, this is two sound clips from a public domain website, that we overlapped, not the actual alarm sound. We also cut them down and faded them out rather than have them go on for too long.
15. Half way through filming, our actor who played Edger, unfortunately cut his face. This of course screwed up the continuity of the film, but we had to just go with it. However the black and white effect sometimes hides this slightly.
16. Of the days I was editing, I decided that it would work really well if we had a shot of the door from the outside, to bridge the two scenes together. Therefore, I went back to the location, which was located extremely closely, and filmed the extra scene, and I feel it ties the two scenes together perfectly.
Task Two: finished postcard 
As you can see I have gone for a simplistic design, much like the ones in my designs, especially . I have followed the conventions on the front of the postcard, putting the title in bold and a simplistic photo. This helps not only to build an enigma but also sticks with the style of the film, hopefully giving it a raw and realistic feel to it.
On the back I have continued to stick to conventions, having the title again printed at the top. Also I have included a space for a stamp and an address so that the postcard can be used in its primary function. I have however broken some conventions. I have included a brief synopsis to attract a wider audience and let them know what to anticipate. However I have tried hard not to reveal too much about the plot, in giving the twist away.
As you can see, the production notes have also been included, but they are printed bigger than the ‘normal’ convention. This is so that it is easier to read, hopefully making it quicker in the process. I have also included a QR Code. More than 11 million people in the UK alone now access the internet and services from a Smartphone, and therefore it seemed logical to include a link to the blog. This also means that the website will saved automatically on the users’ phone, making accesses easier later.
'A new look at an old subject, Living with Ronnie is a short film from brand new directors Alex Coles and Tom reading, that deals with schizophrenia . We have all seen films about this subject matter, most noticeably Fight club (David Fincher) in 1999, however this is a totally different take on the subject. Most interestingly the film uses’ a combination of stark black and white, and colour, a brave move from the two new directors, but somehow it works in their favour. The film is set in the middle class village of Kings Langley and its local school, and the contradiction of the almost picture perfect location with the tough reality of subject matter, tied together with the colourlessness of the film, creates a eerie artificial feel to the film. Soon enough, things start to get weird and Ronnie becomes a sinister character, watching Ronnie’s every move and the two young actors (George Callcutt and Gabriel Oakley) pull this off brilliantly.Being a short amateur production, the film has its floors, especially in the technical aspects of things, but this does not take away from the strong storytelling aspect the two young filmmakers have, and you can feel real heart and effort behind this film. THE VERDICT However much we love this film, it cannot be ignored that there are floors present, but never the less this is an interesting film from two fresh young filmmakers. '
Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Task 1 : This is our audience feedback on the film
Post card feedback
I asked a selected number of people to give a brief written feedback on my post card and this is what I received
The feed back reads:
After seeing the postcard for Living with Ronnie, I was Satisfied with the overall image. Specifically I liked h figure and shadows on the front. I like the way that Alex manipulate the two images together, I feel that the postcard was simplistic but that this worked well. Looking at the back of the postcard, once again it was very simplistic, however this stuck with the theme. I liked the inclusion of the QR code. I feel that this will appeal to a modern audience. The postcard opens enough questions that I would watch the film in order t have them answered.
Charlotte Barnes 18
My first thoughts on the postcard was confusion, I was unsure how one person could have two shadows. This made me want to find out more about the plot. I was rather enthralled after I read the synopsis. The layout of the postcard was very good and clear. This made it easy to understand. However I would say that the figure on the front was a bit edgy and not made of smooth curves like people should look like. But other than that a very good postcard.
Joel Simmons 18
I think that the simplicity of the black and white colour scheme and the minimal design are very effective – It allows you to concentrate on the image. Using a man with two shadows also works very well as it gives me a subtle indication on what the film might be about. I like the title font, as it is also simple, but looks slightly childish and innocent. I also like how the main words of the title are enlarged and emphasised. On the back of the postcard the childish font is continued. The description is good as it give an over view of the film without giving two much away. I was pleased that the film was about mental health, because the shadows on the front suggests this.
Zoe Fletcher 17
What have you learned from the feedback?
I have learned that people were interested in seeing the film both from my postcard and my film review. This has reinforced my knowledge and understanding of marketing a short film and why a production company would use these methods. It was not to difficult to create both products with a basic understanding of software such as photoshop.
I have also learned that the younger generation are open to a more artistic style o f film making than I anticipated. I previously thought that most people would be turned away by the fact the film is mainly in black and white, but I didn’t receive one negative piece of feedback about this factor.
What would you change if you could do the project again?
Two main things about the project stick out to me, when I think about changing anything. Firstly I would have had more up to date equipment. This would, for example be better cameras; to pull shots into focus from out of focus quicker, i.e. the opening shot of Edgar. Alternatively I would of used a track to obtain my crash zoom at the end of the film, however I feel that we worked with what we had and It aloud us t think of interesting ways to obtain the shot we wanted.
Secondly, I would have loved to make a longer film. I understand that the film is a short; however the limitation of 5-6 minutes was very constraining for us, especially when writing the script. If we were allowed to have a 15-20 film I feel we could have explored the subject matter even deeper. However I feel that we did well on the task bounders we were set.
Magazine feedback
Below is a video clip of a few people aged 17 & 18 giving feedback on my magazine review:
The overall feel I got from this was that they seemed to like the style and format of the review, from the tiny details that make it look professional, to the humours tag line. However they said that the other film review on the side don’t necessarily fit the genre of my film, and possibly feel out of place.
Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
New media technology is any equipment or technology that transfers information using digital techniques, or data networks. Examples of new media technologies include websites, CD-ROMs and DVDs, where as television, film or paper-based products, are now consider old media technologies. A list of new media technologies I used are:
- Blogger
- adobe premiere plus editing software
- Microsoft word
- Photoshop
- PowerPoint
- Iphone
When editing, we used adobe premiere plus editing software. This was used primarily to cut footage precisely, as its simple but effective editing software. We also used it to transferee the footage into black and white, as well as changing the contrast on some shots. If we didn’t have any editing software we would have had to shot our footage on stock film, rather than tape, in order to cut and splice the footage together. We would also have to shot in black and white, without changing the contrast. It would also make it harder to upload the final film to the blog for moderation.
I used Microsoft word in order to write up all my posts, so that the grammar and spellings were correct. Without this I would ether had to write directly onto blogger posts, and then get someone to check it for me, wasting valuable time, or if we didn’t have computers at all, hand write it and send it in the post.
I used my Iphone to record my video discussing and highlighting how my ancillary tasks work with the short film. This was incredibly useful as it was easy to film and but more importantly easy to upload to YouTube, as I could do it using the phone itself. It also came in handy when taking photos on set. We gave it to a fellow student and asked them to take photos. This meant that I didn’t need to explain how to use a ‘professional’ camera in order to obtain the best image, as you can just point and click with the Iphone, and the inbuilt software will create the best image possible. The only downside to filming with the Iphone is the shot size comes out strange, however the audio is very clear and makes up for this.
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