Question 7

Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?- Question 6. on Prezi

Question 5

Question 4

Question 3

Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?


First of all, our project is based in a school environment, so social groups is very important for our opening sequence. In schools, there are different stereotypes and labels which we wanted to show; we have done this by dressing our actors/actresses appropriately according to their label. Our main influence was the film Mean Girls, which is all about the different groups in school and the way each group is treated, according to their status. We wanted to reflect their idea in our own project to achieve our audiences' attention, being a light-hearted comedy, but also focusing on some teenage issues that everyone goes through.

This is our first similarity to the film Mean Girls; they have a 'Burn Book' with pictures and labels of all the girls in their year. We have made a yearbook which has the same content. It's iconic for the movie as well as for our project.

Just like in the film Mean Girls, we portrayed girls in the typical view of being obsessed with makeup and their looks. They are both looking in the mirror and being overly conscious about the way people see them. We specifically fitted the music with this clip because the lyrics relate very well; 'all i see, when i look in the mirror, you're looking at me', is a line from our song which is played when the girls are putting on their makeup.

In the film Mean Girls, there is a zoom into a map of the different stereotypes at the high school; Our project is only slightly different as we zoom into the yearbook, but we still have the different groups before  going into a clip.

Just like in Mean Girls, we have considered and been very careful when it comes to the rule of thirds and the 180degrees rule. As you can see above, the girls in the clip are positioned in the left and right third. This is the same in Mean Girls, as you can see. Both groups are sitting at a table showing the isolation against the other groups (in the cafeteria) and in our clip it is set in a study centre isolating themselves from others on different tables.

In this picture, we have taken a still frame from the film Centre Stage. In both pictures, there is a lot of space around the dancers and the lighting is very good. It relates well to their character and the shot gives them a lot of space to be able to move around freely, and still be in the frame. Both characters are wearing appropriate clothing which clearly tells the audience that they are dancers. 

First of all, these are both wide shots; you can establish the setting giving the audience an idea of who they are. Both are set in a gym, and they are both gymnasts; you can tell this by the way they are positioned and by their clothes. The comparison we have used is from Bring It On, which is another typical teenage comedy movie.

This is from the film Goal. We researched what would be appropriate for the shot. We knew of a friend who is very skillful and who already had his own costume which helped a lot. In the clip, he performs a few tricks which shows that he is a footballer; also, the surrounding is at a football pitch.

We have compared the band clip to the film Bandslam. We tried to fit all of the characters into the frame and trying to show their instruments too. We have a drummer and a singer, just like the film. Both scenes are filming a rehearsal which also makes them quite similar.

This is our main character (on the right). We based his geek like character on Napolean Dynamite. The clothes they're wearing are very similar; they're both wearing school uniform (smartly dressed), glasses, and have curly hair! In the clips, we have also tried to make our geek act and sound like Napolean Dynamite after watching many clips of it.

Overall, we used Napolean Dynamite, Centre Stage, Goal, Bring It On and Mean Girls to represent particular social groups in our opening sequence

Evaluation. Question 1..

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

More on credits/title

Last lesson we had our 2 minute opening sequence nearly finished but we thought that the subtitles we originally had were not as interesting as they could be so we used a new software called LiveType and started to experiment with some new ideas. We imported the still frames we wanted into LiveType and then changed the colour,movement and transition of the titles. However when we then inserted the new title back into iMovie the quality of the picture changed and it didn't look as professional so we decided to stick to the original credits. As a group we then looked through all the fonts and chose our favourite ones that could possibly used for the title of our film "SnapShot". The colours we considered were red, yellow and orange because they were bright/upbeat and reflected the genre of our opening sequence which is a comedy.We decided on the colour orange and used a fun font called "Manic".

Re-filming

After we imported and edited the zooming in clips of our yearbook we thought that it would be a good idea to re-film it. The shots looked a bit wobbly because it was hard to zoom into the picture without moving the camera left and right to get the exact frame. To overcome this problem we set up the tripod and camera in the same way as before but instead of zooming in, we filmed the book starting with the frame we wanted and then zoomed out. After importing the clips we reversed the dancer,actor and make-up clips so that it looked as if we were zooming in. We all decided that it looked a lot smoother than the previous clips.

Credits/Titles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J85m7zfMYyM&feature=related

After watching the Trainspotting trailer, we really wanted to incorporate still images into our clips while credits play over the top. First of all we tried it out on the gymnast clip and thought it looked effective. This is just a short overview of what we plan to do for every clip:

1) Zoom into yearbook picture
2) switches to the first frame of the clip which starts to play
3)Clips plays for a few seconds and then a still image is used
4)Title plays over the still frame
5)Clips continues to play

Further filming updates

Since the last post we stayed after school to film the yearbook pages being turned and the speaking part of our geek played by Luke. When we planned our location shots we chose to film the book on an art room table, with lots of art related props surrounding it so that it is apparent to the viewers that he is making the yearbook and also to make the shots more interesting. To film the aerial shot of luke turning the pages we had to do some test shots to get the angle right, and the one that worked best was with the tripod on a table with luke kneeling on the floor with Luke leaning back slightly so his head isnt visible.

Then we set up the camera and Luke acted out a few possible scenes that suited his character really well, which then also gives us extra choice when editing!


 This is just a picture that was taken while we were shooting the "Geek". We also felt that Luke's character should wear glasses, so that it stuck to our theme of stereotypes

Filming Update

Before halfterm we managed to film most of the short clips that are going to be used to give the effect of flicking through the book. The actor, the band, disruptive class, make-up obsessors have now all been filmed and during halfterm claire got permission to film part of a football match and the warm-up to show the roles of footballers and the show-off. We came into school on tuesday to upload some footage and start the editing process! Looking at our filming schedule we are now hoping to film the yearbook and our geek character played by Luke, tomorrow after school.

Filming

Our first filming session went well, and we managed to film the part of the dancer for our film played by cindy wellings. Our filming location was in the hall, and with help from the technician we got some lighting. For this particular character, to make it clear to the audience what particular role/stereotype she was in the school we decided on the costume shown in pictures below. We thought that the black theatrical leotard/tutu worked really well with the characters role and also suited the whole theme of stereotypes.

Storyboard..

Screenplay draft

INT. MEDIA CLASSROOM. DAY

NDS- upbeat soundtrack starts playing throughout
BARNEY starts work on the yearbook and turns over the front page showing the production company
BARNEY continious to cut out and stick down various newspaper and magazine articles, as well as the credits for the film
BARNEY then turns the third, fourth, fifth, sixth + seventh page showing the cast of the film

BARNEY

Ah yeah, and that's me! 

(laughs till he snorts and falls of his chair)

Influences

Influences on Prezi

Location Shots

School Hall- we have chosen to shoot the dancer, played by Cindy Wellings , in the hall because it has a stage with curtains behind which will link in with the idea that she is performing. It's also a large spacious area which means Cindy is able to move around easily when we film.

Drama room- We are going to film the actor, played by Dom Sauboorah, in the large drama room which is situated in our school because it links in with his characters hobby perfectly. We have taken into consideration that lighting could be an issue because it's painted all black which means we might not be able to see the character's face cleary, so when we film we plan to use the white lighting or spotlight. 

Gym- We are going to film "The Gymnast", played by Stephanie Parker, in the gym because it relates to her characters sport. The large windows means that alot of light could shine through and affect the shots so this will have to be considered when choosing where to set up the camera. The large room also means Steph can move around easier and we can be more creative.

Casting Shots

The Geek played by Luke Groszewski

The actor played by Dom Sauboorah

Band member played by Conor Fuller

Band member played by Claire Brooke

Band member played by Chloe Byerley

The Dancer played by Cindy Wellings

Geek..

Final Media Song..

On Monday after school, we booked the recording studio and recorded the vocals and bass for our song. Then, with help from the technician we edited it and mixed it to create our final soundtrack. :)

Music Lyrics!

Here are the lyrics to our song, which we are going to record in the recording studio along with the bass this week. We made it so that the lyrics relate to our story:

'Cos I want you to know that I'm not who you see,
And I want you to know I'm not here for being me.
'Cos I want you to see that you're not who you want,
Taking a change, acting a line, It's all you see when you've come this far.

All you see when you look at me in the mirror you're looking at me,
All I see when I look at you I see you for you are not who you want to be

Take the time, to make people see through all the lies

Looking around now can't you see, all these things we're meant to be,

All this time I see you for who you are not who you want,

It's such a shame that you've come so far to see me.

Music Development 3

During our media lesson we went to a spare classroom to try and get some lyrics to go with our song. We came up with some, which were improvised and then changed them slightly so they fit in with the opening sequence. Here's a video to show what we have so far :)

Music Development 2

Here is a video, taken shortly after, but with drums added, with the help from our friend Conor. So far this week we have been able to record the guitar and drums in the recording studio, so next we hope to record the lyrics and bass guitar.

Music Development

We booked the recording studio after school last week for our music. We started playing around with chords for our soundtrack which will play throughout our opening sequence, and we came up with this, which is quite upbeat and will fit nicely :)

Opening Sequence Ideas

After changing our synopsis, in order to make our story less cliche, we came up with an outline of what we wanted our opening sequence to look like. From the start we liked the idea of using a yearbook because it's creative. After much discussion, we have come up with a rough final idea....

1. We will open the sequence with an aerial shot of the front of the yearbook, presenting the title of our film and our production company name. Our own music that we have composed will be played whilst this is happening and it will carry on throughout.
2. Then, our geek character will open the first page which will include credits, and pictures, which the geek will stick down. (Like he is creating the book).
3. The pages will then be turned over, introducing the different stereotypes in the school with a voiceover of the geek expressing his thoughts towards these groups of people.
4. The first three pages, will be showing pictures of the dancer, the actor, and the band, which we will zoom into these photos and switch to a short clip of them. 
5. After those three, we will show the other stereotypes with short clips overlapping each other, getting faster and faster, to emphasise how many different 'cliques' there are. They will get faster and faster to give the impression that he is flicking through the book really fast. 
6. Then it will come to a sudden stop, and a picture of the geek will be shown. Then the voiceover will help lead into the film..





Our target Audience.

After discussing we have decided that our target audience is aimed at 15-25 year olds because they can relate to it because its based at a school. 

It will interest both boys and girls however it might not appeal to everyone as it deals homosexuality for example people who have strong religious views may find the content offensive.

We feel the boys will be interested in parts they can relate to such as being a young teenage boy in high school and the problems that come with it. During this age you are going through changes and you feel different things so they might find they are able to relate to the film. 

Also the comic points of the movie will be interesting to teenage males and females because people aged 15-25 tend to enjoy comedy's. 

We thought we might find that a few boys might be put off by the idea of homosexuality in the film but we don't feel this will be a big issue. 

Synopsis

A young boy, Barney, aged 16, is perceived as a geek at his school, Lodgedale Academy. He is assigned the job of Yearbook editor because of his great photography skills. While composing the yearbook he realises the vast amount of stereotypes in his school and how he doesn't fit in. This in the case until he accidentally finds out that the most popular boy in school, Jack, is actually a homosexual but is seeing one of the most popular girls in school to try and keep his secret so that people at his school wont treat him any differently. When the geek confronts Jack, Jack proposes the offer that he will be friends with him and invite him to school social events if Barney keeps his secret. Once he becomes friends with him he finds that school life is a lot easier and he feels more accepted. Someone from the yearbook committee stumbles across the photo of Jack kissing another boy and leaks it to the school. Jack becomes scared the school wont accept him anymore but he goes to school and no one's opinion have changed of him. He is treated exactly the same as he was before. He thanks Barney for helping him and supporting him throughout and the school becomes a more accepting place.

Analysing 3 Opening Sequences

Before watching examples of opening sequences from different films we came up with a list of functions that we thought every opening sequence should include.


Opening Sequence Areas Of Interest:

• Introduce location/environment
• Introduce main characters
• Production company
• Title and credits
• Establish style or tone of the film

Opening Sequence 1
Office Space
In the opening sequence straight away the production company is introduced (Twentieth Century Fox) and it shows the title of the film. The text used for the credits is quite fun and bubbly and a light blue colour is used which gives us the impression it's going to be a cheery, lighthearted film. The audience are introduced to an outdoor setting which shows a busy traffic jam. The camera focuses on the main character, and different shots are used to emphasise how slow he is moving. 0:58 seconds into the clip he notices that an elderly man is moving faster than him which adds humour and confirms the genre to be a comedy. The opening sequence continues to show different characters/personalities and at 1:54 into the clip they focus on a stereotypical geek character who is listening to rap music but slowly turns it down when people walk by, which adds a humerous touch to the clip and establishes it as a lighthearted comedy. The upbeat music starts playing straight after the production company is shown, (0:25) which makes the atmosphere relaxed and fun. I really liked how straight away it was easy to see what type of film it is, and the opening sequence was very effective.

Opening Sequence 2
Trainspotting
It introduces diferent set pieces quickly, and doesn't show the production company, unlike the other 2 opening sequences. An energetic soundtrack is used over the top which holds kind of holds all the scene together and links them. Throughout the opening a voiceover with lines of dialogue introduces the characters and is very informative to the audience. I thought this was a good way of drawing the audience in. Later on in the opening sequence, as the characters appeared on screen freeze frames were used of the characters in a certain pose which showed us a bit about there character. Also the names of their character appeared next to it.

Opening Sequence 3
Sweeney Todd
Deep music sets the scene and establishes the genre as a horror. A continious theme of blood is used throughout the opening sequence: in the title of the film, credits and flowing of blood from the top to the bottom of the screen. Like the other opening sequences it doesn't introduce characters, it introduces the scene and setting instead, which makes it stand out from other films. The whole opening sequence is shown through graphic titles, and they reveal the location of the film, showing pictures of old, dirty buildings and gutters, which are all things we relate to horror movies. It also gives us the impression that the movie is set in a suburb area. As the title of the film is shown the font gets bigger and the music gets louder for dramatic effect and interest the audience.