Evaluation - 7.) Looking back at your premliminary task (continuity editing task) what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

I have learnt a lot since the Preliminary Task mainly that continuity is very important if you want your audience to take the film seriously and to understand the story better. The continuity is very important if we continued our film on, Alex would be wearing the same clothing all the way throughout depending if she had to change for what ever reason within the film, as well as Michaela and Shasta will be wearing the same clothes throughout.

Camera angles are very important to keep with the narrative conventions and to make sure that the audience get every detail of the film as well has to stop it from becoming boring. With these different camera shots we would probably come up with more ideas on and off set just as we did when filming out on locations. I have learnt how different camera angles, positions and shots are important and how they are important to the conventions and to attract the audience. The long shot of Alex running sets the scene, where she is and whats she's doing. The close up angles show the important actions that are taking place, when Aaron picks up the scarf and we have a cross cut of him sniffing it. We don't see a long shot or mid shot of him picking up the scarf and we don't have his full face in the shot as we want to keep the stalker profile, keeping him mysterious to the audience. Zooming in was only used once at the end on Aaron, the girls within their Premliminary task had difficulty using the Tromboning technique but only using it once on Aaron was effective as we wanted to show that the girls didnt know he was there and also gives off the eary and ghostly effect adding to the stalker profile.

Although dialogue wasn't that much of an importance in our piece, the shouting of Alex calling her friends names was just enough to show the viewer who is shouting for and that she is looking for them. We had Shasta say her line of dialogue "I've forgotten by scarf" indicates that she left it on the bench, Aaron has already picked it up and the audience are still wondering what he as done with it and then they turn around as though to go back and find it, but scream which makes the audience wonder what they where screaming at either Aaron or somebody else.

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

I have looked back on how to work and a camera and a tripod, I have already worked with this equipment before and now going back to it as allowed me to find new possibilities of the Camera and the Tripod.

The Tripod
I already knew how to assemble it and place the camera onto the panel but I also learnt that there was a device that you turned round; it allows the camera and the tripod to go higher to see a more higher angle shot or a wider shot of the scene.  I already knew how to pan and tilt but I found that the tripod was stiff and so I found that adjusting the handle it can help with the tilting, I found a wheel at the side, underneath the panel where the camera is placed, and by loosening it you can pan more easily.

The Camera - A Canon Digital Video recorder
I already have had experience with the camera and knew how to record (White slim button on the left) as well switching from live recording and playing back footage. I didn't know how to get onto the settings where I can turn down the volume when I didn't need it, when playing back. There is a button next to the display screen at the bottom and this allows you to adjust the functions of the camera by selecting volume and then using the control stick/button, slide it to the left or right to adjust volume.

The Keyboard - especially for Adobe Premier
I have never worked with this keyboard before and looking at its content I have figured out how I can use this keyboard to edit my film with ease, the shortcuts where also a great way to edit the film instead of clicking the actions/icons on the screen with the mouse.




Adobe Premier Pro

Adobe Premier Pro is the software we used to put all of our recorded footage together, edit, add sound, overlay, dip to black and add text. I have learnt a lot on how to use Adobe Premier Pro, I have used Windows Movie Maker in the past but this was much more complex and adds a lot more advantages to create a film. I have seen there is a similarity between Premier and WMM and the skills I have learnt from adobe premier can also help me when using WMM in the future, so I can get the most out of WMM. I have learnt new skills at the beginning of creating the film which have allowed me to create the process of the film quicker with ease.

Adding text was more advanced than adding it on WMM, on Adobe Premier you can have a variety of choices to what you can do with your text from its colour, Font, style and transition. You have better control over the text you are able to place the text over footage and place it where you want on the footage screen which would made it easier for us to put the names of the characters on the screen when they appear.

Through using Adobe Premier I have used a variety of other editing skills that I can't use within Windows Movie Maker. I have been able to overlap footage to make the ghostly effect, at the beginning where Alex wakes up and there is a repetition of that piece of footage overlapped within different times on the timeline. This was also used at the end where we see Aaron behind the curtain, spying on the girls.

We have used different pieces of music for the different times on the timeline. The first piece is the introduction music and then we had our second piece which is the one that sets the mood. This track could be anything else as this wouldn't be our main theme it would just be an additional piece of music that can be used to set the mood.

I have also been able to develop and learn new skills within learning different shots of the camera. I have been able to pan within different means, such as the panning of Aaron's feet when we walks behind the tree to go and collect the scarf. The tree was on top of a slope and by panning I didn't need to pan down as we see in the shot that Aaron walks down, we see a better shot of his feet and this allowed me to keep the camera still. I have developed and learnt new ways on using levels for the camera such as the close up on Alex and the close up Aaron picking up the scarf. I didn't need to do a zoom out on both of them to see the next action. By cross cutting to the next action made it more realistic. I have learnt how to use a wide angle shot effectively, where Alex is running over the bridge and shouting for her friends. We used this shot to use an effective and emotive response for the viewer, we slowed the piece down just like we did when Alex was running in the park at the beginning. The wide shot also shows the audience that Alex is running and shows them where she is located which adds to the variety of mise-en-scene we have used, to make it less boring and more interesting.



Photoshop

We made the Film logo through 2 different types of Photoshop software's the first draft of the logo in Microsoft Picture it! 9 and then the final logo was decided was created using Photoshop CS4. Photoshop is typically used to manipulate pictures where the creator can use different images and emerge them together to create different picture.
The Final Logo:

http://babybatchloe.blogspot.com/2011/04/final-stage-girls-logo-finished-process.html

Google & Deviant Art

We used these sites to search for resources/stock images for our company and film logo. By using two different search sites we can look at a wider range of pictures that have sometimes have to be looked at directly on the site it is uploaded to. Although sometimes some pictures on DeviantART can show up on Google.

Email - Hotmail

We used Email to send information to each other so we had the same information in our blogs. This a good way to contacting each other as some of use might have to add credit to their mobile phones and wouldn't want to risk a huge bill from using the house phone or using up all the credit.

Youtube & Facebook

We used Youtube and Facebook to share our film to other people and see what feedback we get, on how we can improve, what we could of done differently and what they liked about it. Youtube and Facebook are two of the most common sites and both of these are a great way to share our video with friends and the rest of the world so we can get a wide variety of audiences and feedback.

Blogger

We used Blogger to keep up to date on what we did each day including evidence, research and plans and ideas etc and uploading the video, this also allowed us to so other members of the group had put to see if we are up to date and saying the right information for the right days.

Evaluation - 5.) How did you attract/address your audience?

Here is a presentation slide show for "How did you arrtact/address your audience?"

Evaluation - 4.) Who would be the audience for your media product?

This is my friend Leisel. She is 17 years old and lives in Burnley, Lancashire with her Parents and two sisters; she is the older one out of her siblings. She dresses in normal top and jeans with trainers but wears a hoody or jacket that is brightly coloured.

For her Hobbies, she like to chat and go out with her friends and spend time with her boyfriend watching movies at the cinema or at home and likes to read, play her Trombone and have fun, she loves to have a laugh.

She occasionally goes shopping when she gets her spending money and shops at places such as River Island, George, Tesco (F&F) Top Shop, New Look and Primemark

She enjoys watching a variety of films, but her favourite types of movies are Horror, Thriller and Action. She likes to watch supernatural movies too and loves to watch a movie that involves her to think and solve puzzles as well as watching intense and heart jumping actions scenes. Her favourite foods to eat while watching a movie are Sweets, popcorn and any type of dessert. She likes to be scared, when a scene makes her jump she laughs because it’s only a film.

These types of audiences would watch TV Programmes such as these: Medium, X-Files, The Wire, Dexter, Oz, Supernatural, 24, Prison Break, Fringe, Lost, Criminal Minds, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles and Cold Case. 

Leisel listens to varied Music, from the 90's to the most recent and top of the charts.

Our film would appeal to Leisel, as she likes to solve puzzles and think about the film and its story, she likes to be scared and as she likes to be with her friends, she could appeal to the characters and know what she would feel and what she would have done in their position. She would love to see this at her local cinema as this would be a perfect opportunity to watch it with friends/boyfriend and eat popcorn and sweets as well has having the surround sound system to heighten her experience. This film would also appeal to her as the best films she as watched are: Pulp Fiction, The Prestige, Memento, Sin City, Children of Men, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Victim.