Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Audience Feedback


Enter comments (good or bad) about our opening film


Enter under "add comments"

Make comments on:

Charlotte (Andy), Becky (Andrew), Gabby (Andrew), Shay (Andrew), Phil (Andy)

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Title & Credits research (I, Robot) by Kaz












  • credits appears with fade and dissolve transition - create mood
  • disappears with bubbles - tells that something is related to water
  • font colours and background colour in contrast - serious, mystery, dull
  • some kind of mechanic shown behind the credits - raising question

  • when the title shows up - red in background - enhance


Stella's evaluation

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

To demonstrate how our media product uses conventions of real thrillers, I have decided to analysis our opening in the same ways as I analysed thriller film openings for research and compare this to my research findings.


   Camera: 

  • The majority of shots are Medium shots, medium close ups, close ups and extreme close ups . The use of  ECUs is a thriller opening convention. Our shots, despite shot size are all tightly framed for restricted narration, which is also a thriller convention.




  • Shot angles are used to differentiate between each character's status. When the camera tracks the girl's body a high angle is used to show her low status and lack of power in the situation.
  •  However when the camera tracks the man  a low angle is used to show his control and power. This also works as point of view shot of the girl which clearly shows the difference in power between the two characters. This is also used in "goodfellas", as all the shots containing the gangstas are shot at low angles to suggest their authority.
Low angle used in Goodfellas
Use of low angles in our piece


  • The shots in the house scene are mainly shot at eye level so nothing is given away about the power of the characters, so it is not clear what connection the characters have with the previous scene.This creates restricted narrative.
  • Handheld is used to create the effect of the man walking through the woods. Handheld camerawork is also a thriller convention as it used to create realism, which is why we used it. 
  • tracks  and pans are used to slowly reveal setting and information to the audience. Both " silence of the Lambs" and "Goodfellas" use pans and tracks to reveal more information or show the importance of a character. However both films use them to reveal all of a character or an item, whereas our film does not reveal either character fully, to create a restricted narrative. 
  • a spinning worm's eye view shot is used to disorientate the audience and to show the girl's sense of regaining consciousness. This is also a POV shot, which is a convention of thriller openings, however none of the thriller opening I researched used Worm's eye views and I havent seen moving worm's eye views used before, however they worked really well in our piece to disorientate, so this shot is something original.


Our spinning worm's eye view

  • some scenery shots are canted for disorientation Canted shots are typically used in thrillers.
Editing:
  • cross cutting is used to introduce both character's and to suggest a collision. Cross cutting is a thriller opening convention, which is used to create suspense, which is what we have used it for, but also to show the man progressing further towards the girl to show the girl's impending danger. It is also used in " strangers on a train" 







  • cuts are used throughout to build pace, which increases the tension. 
  • a match on action of the man hitting the girl is used 
  • a match on action of the cup of tea is used to introduce the characters in the house scene. " Strangers on a train" uses a match on action of the feet touching to introduce both characters and to show the collision. 




  • We have used continuity editing in both scenes to create realism, however the scenes don't happen in chronological order, to disorientate the audience, as they don't know when each scene happens in relation to each other.  
                                                                                                                                                                           
Mise en scene:

  • costume: the girl is wearing leggings and a purple top, which suggests femininity and youth, which makes her appear vulnerable.
  • costume: the killer is dressed all in black, which is stereotypical for killers. His leather gives a hard edge to his outfit, which portrays him as rough and heartless, which further shows the girl's vulnerability.
  •  costume: the man in the house scene is wearing a shirt and tie - suggests he has a professional job, suggests wealth and high status. Smart attire is used in both " goodfellas" and " strangers on a train" to suggest the character's wealth and high statuses.


  • setting- girl is lying in the woods- typical scene for a murder in films, creates atmosphere but also suggests what will happen to girl. This is a typical setting for a thriller opening. The first part of the " Silence of the Lambs" opening is set in a wood, which creates an eerie atmosphere.


  • props- use of flowers, gold statues and decorative tea cup and saucer- suggests wealth and power- hints at what motivates characters and suggests money will be a theme in the film. Props/costume to suggest wealth is also used in "goodfellas" through Henry's Rolex
  • props- photo of girl, links to last scene. Disorientates audience - they don't know when this scene is taking place, makes story unpredictable.
  • props- baseball bat - harsh, powerful weapon, would kill someone instantly. Shows killer to be hostile and suggests he may be a gangster. In "Goodfellas" the gangsters use everyday items as weapons, as one is holding an iron bar and another uses a long kitchen knife. This shows their agressive nature and suggests they are gangsters, and the use of a baseball bat has the same effect in our opening.
  •  colour- dark, muted tones are used in the forest- creates an eerie atmosphere and hints at morbid situation.  both " silence of the lambs" and "Goodfellas" use muted tones and lack of colour to create suspense and atmosphere. 
  • colour- use of red, golds, and creams in house scene when introducing the fireplace-suggests wealth and luxury  "Blue velvet" uses bright, sunny colours to create a warm, happy atmosphere which creates a sinister atmosphere. 


  • colour- rich colours are used in house scene- suggests warmth, calm atmosphere- juxtaposes previous scene- disorientates reader.
  • body language- the man stands firmly with legs slightly apart in woods scene- shows authority and power 
  • body language- man gets up quickly when bell rings on house scene- suggests he is on edge and implies an up-coming disruption.
Lighting:
  • low key lighting used in the forest to give the effect of a dull day, which shows the setting as hostile- creates a tense, eerie atmosphere. This is the use pathetic fallacy, which is a typical thriller opening convention.
  • high key lighting is used in the house scene to accentuate the rich colours used and to contrast with the previous scene. This is not a thriller convention, however " Blue Velvet" uses high key lighting to suggest a happy, safe neighborhood, which creates an eerie atmosphere. 
  • the house's high-key lighting creates a happy, calm atmosphere which juxtaposes the previous scene, making it incongruous. This creates tension and atmosphere.

Sound:

  • use of tense acoustic soundtrack in woods scene- creates suspense and a sense of foreboding.  Suggests an impending incident. Soundtracks are typically used in thriller openings, to set up the film's atmosphere. This can be seen in "silence of the Lambs", which uses an acoustic soundtrack with a slow tempo which creates a tense and eerie atmosphere. 
  • Diegetic sound of footsteps- implies a journey, which suggests the audience will soon discover something shocking or unpleasant. This sound effect is also used in " silence of the lambs" to show clarices journey, but also creates a tense atmosphere.
  • diegetic off screen sound of birds- introduces setting of woods, creates atmosphere.
  • soundtrack speeds up as shots do and the cross cutting stops to present collision, builds tension and seriousness of situation.
  • diegetic sound of TV shows ( antiques roadshow and call the midwife) - suggests a calm relaxed atmosphere in house, suggests characters are middle-aged, but also middle class. Both shows are shown on Sunday evenings which suggests time of day and poses question like why is the man dressed for work? Who would knock in the evening on a Sunday? Diegetic sound is used in thrillers  to add realism. 
                                                                                                         
                                                                           





2. How does your media product represent social groups?

How we portrayed the antagonist ( the girl):

We made the girl in our piece a young teenager and decided to portray her as a girly girl to make her seem vulnerable, as femininity is stereo typically seen as being weak and helpless. This would show her vulnerabilty and show the killer to be heartless and sinister.




  • To portray the girl as young and girly, we used stereotypes so the audience could easily quickly identify her character.

  •  Stereotypical girly colours are purple and pink, so we dressed our girl character in a checked purple top, similar to the one opposite, to portray her as feminine, but also checked top are a typical thing that teenagers wear, so the audience would realize her age. 
  • Another typical item worn by this social group is leggings, particularly black leggings, so we used this to suggest the character's youth.
  • Typical teenage girl footwear is ballet pumps. We used a black pair to show her as passive, as a bright colour or bold print would suggest confidence and therefore strength. 



How this social group is represented :

  • The girl is  represented as weak and submissive, through her body language, as she is laying on the floor and makes no effort to get way.
  • She is also showed as a victim, as she is murdered in our beginning, which shows her as vulnerable and helpless.
We have represented this social group in a negative light, as we have used typical views of women and girls that they are submissive and weak. We have also used the film cliche that the female character is the victim and is unable to defend herself, so we have not challenged stereotypes of the social social group used in media, but have supported it.



How we portrayed the protagonist (the man) :



  •  we used dark clothing to present the man as tough and masculine, but also to suggest that he is the piece's villain as dark colours are a symbol of darkness and wickedness, and suggest that he doesn't want to be seen, which would suggest he is taking part in criminal activity.
  • We used the leather jacket to suggest masculinity and strength.
  • The black boots were used to portray the murderer as intimidating,as  they are tough and serious looking, which re-enforces his potential danger as a character. 
  • The first thing you see of the man is his boots, which are big and black. This gives a sombre tone to his outfit, suggesting he is a serious character and therefore in control. This shows him as strong and powerful.

How this social group is represented: 

The social group presented here is masculinity, and although we don't see the murderer's face, we assume he is male from his outfit, which is tough and masculine. The man's body language of standing with his legs slightly apart suggests that he is in control of the situation, which suggests his power and strength. Also the POV shots of him walking towards the girl are of a reasonable walking pace, suggesting that he is calm. This shows this character to be controlling the situation, showing him to be of a high status and to be potentially dangerous.

Masculinity has been portrayed in positive light in our piece, as a male character has control of the situation and is shown to have high status. This does not challenge any gender stereotypes, but rather sticks to them, as society views males to be strong and to have higher status. Also most villains and gangstas in films are male, so we have not challenged stereotypes in media. However it could be argued that masculinity is portrayed in a negative light through our piece, as his masculine strength and power is shown to be used to carry out a crime. This portrays males as being more likely to commit crime and being more dismissive of the law than females.

How we portrayed class:


  • In the second scene, we aimed to use mise en scene and sound editing to portray a middle class household.
  • The use of gold ornaments of the mantelpiece, suggest lavishness and a disposable income, they have money to spend on pretty,ornamental things.
  • This is also re-enforced by the big bouquets of flowers and candles on the bottom of the mantelpiece.
  •  
  • The use of the tea cup and saucer suggests that not only are the characters wealthy, but are also posh and traditional ; they are using fancy crockery for an ordinary cup of tea, as the situation shown in the scene is an ordinary situation of watching TV.
  • The magazine is opened on the royal wedding, which suggests the characters are royalists. Royalistis are stereo typically seen as middle or upper class.
  • The use of sound editing for the television shows them to be watching antiques roadshow and call the midwife, which are shows aimed at a mature audience, and are likely to be viewed primarily by a middle class audience.




How this social group is represented:
  • Middle class is portrayed in our piece, as the mise en scene suggests that the characters are wealthy.
  • This class is shown as slightly elaborate and showy, through the use of ornate ornaments and interior design.
  • They are also shown to have traditional views through the magazine showing open to an interview with Kate Middleton.
  • They are also shown as slightly pretentious, through the use of a fancy tea cup to have an ordinary tea cup.
  • The calm relaxed body language of the characters,combined with the sound of TV shows aimed at a mature audience portrays this social group as calm and civilized
  • This social group is portrayed stereo-typically, as we have use of many pretty ornamental things to suggest wealth sticks to the assumption that wealthy people have lots of expensive things.
  • They are portrayed in a positive light, as calm body language and attitude portray them as civilized and approachable.
  • However the man's edgy body language when walking to the door, and him looking back when answering the door suggest he is hiding something from his wife, which hints that the civilized posh facade may be fake. This portrays wealth and high class in a negative light, as it suggests that wealth is not necessarily obtained through honest methods.
  • The fact that they are portrayed as rich engages the audience, as it suggests there may be a ransom for the kidnap. This suggests money is a strong element to the film and suggests it will cause severe consequences. 
3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why? 

Youtube 


Youtube would be the easiest way to distribute our media product, as it is free to create an account and upload videos, which can be viewed by anyone in the world.  It is also very easy to communicate your brand with your audience, as an account includes a channel which enables to include cover art and a small about section, where you can write about what your company is and what you do.

Advantages
This would mean that our media product would be seen by thousands of people and would cost us nothing.
It would give us exposure and publicity, meaning we would gain a following and would already have an audience for future films.



Disadvantages

It is not ideal for feature-length films, as normally videos have to be a maximum of 15 minutes, meaning we would have to upload several videos for our film.

Distribution companies


As we are a small production company, we would need an independant uk film distributor, as this would be significantly cheaper than using a major distribution company like 20th century fox or disney.

Because of this I looked at the Independent cinema office website for distribution companies. After looking through the directory I decided that Axiom Films would be a good distribution company for the following reasons:


  • Axiom specializes in films that push the boundary's and daring. Our film does this through the strong psychological and moral themes, so our film would be something that they may be interested in.
  • Axiom works with new talent and original ideas, so the fact we are a small production company would not matter.
  • The production company thrives on using interesting and unique ways to market their films, and has done this for oscar-nominated films such as Half Nelson , so we would know that they would market it in the most effective way possible to ensure it reaches our target audience. 
Methods of distribution the company would use

Marketing

  • film posters in public places such as on Buses, bus stops etc. This would be good way to expose our film to a wide audience. Some marketing choose specific buses to advertise their posters on, in order to reach their target audience. Because of this we would want our posters on buses that cover town routes, as our 18-30 target audience are likely to socialize in the day and evening in town centres. Night buses would also be good routes to cover.




Banners on webpages 
A film poster-esque banner on a website could be another possible way of marketing our media product. To target our audience it could be placed on gaming or film websites as young males are key video gamers, and our audience are film enthusiasts. We could also use social networking sites like facebook.

Social networking

The marketing company could set up a page on facebook or an account on Twitter to create a buzz about the film. Things like trailers, pictures from set, interviews with cast etc could all be posted to create a buzz, as well as discussions etc about the film to get people excited  about the film. Small independent British film Demons never die used twitter to publicise their film and got people excited about it by organizing competitions to win signed posters etc. Any user that talked about the film on their account got retweeted, meaning their film reached a wide audience.

Distribution 

If our film was distributed in the typical way it would be shown in cinemas for 0-4 months. 
It would then go to DVD after 4-6 of being released in the cinema, and after 6 months be available to watch on pay TV like SKY.
It would then be distributed to free to air TV after around 2 years.

However with advances in technology there are other methods of distribution available. 

Streaming - films can now be distributed by streaming online or your television, through streaming services like netflix. However this technology is relatively new and as a result the services film catalogues aren't as big as postal DVD services. Therefore they are unlikely to distribute a small independant film.

Distribution through games consoles

Independent film Pulp is the first film to be distributed exclusively through Xbox  It will be available Xbox live users from 4th March. Microsoft says it plans to distribute more films this way, so this could be a possible option for our film. 



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





Age certificate
 To get an idea of what age our target audience would be I researched film certification on the British Board of Classification website. After reading each age certification's specifications I decided that if our media product were to be produced as a full-length feature film it would be certificate 15.

This is because:

  • certificated 15 permits foul language. The f word is likely to be used in our feature-length film, to make the characters realistic: they are gangstas.
  • strong violence is also permitted. This is not only seen in the beginning of our film, but would be seen throughout as it is typical of a gangsta, but also the film's theme is how far the man will go for money, so light torture of his daughter is likely to be included.
  • It is unlikely that we would include sustained violent imagery, showing brutal torture to the daughter, which would make the film certificate 18. This is because serious torture to a young girl may cause controversy and would be uncomfortable for many people to watch. Also light torture is more psychological, which would be more effective way of showing how far the man will go for money, as psychologically torturing his daughter would be tougher than simply beating her up. 
  •  There may be images of the girl with cuts etc, but they are unlikely to be extremely gory, so would fit the specifications of a 15, as prolonged imagery of extreme gore is not permitted for this certification.
Audience Age Range

Our target audience would be aged 18-30, for the following reasons:


  • Our film's story line is reasonably edgy and dark. If you look at films considered "edgy" you'' see that a lot have themes of criminal activity and some sadism, which are genres that would appeal to a younger adult audience, as older adults are likely to find watching films of this nature uncomfortable.
  • Our film is a gangster film, which are typically certificate 18 due to their violence and dark natures. Although ours is a mild gangster film and therefore certificate 15, it will still contain themes suitable only for an older audience, therefore would not be suitable for the 11-17 target audience.
  • The main story of our theme is the kidnapping of the daughter, a young teenage girl. An older adult audience e.g. 30-50 may find this uncomfortable, as they are more likely to have children themselves.
Images like this are likely to upset an older adult
audience.

  • The psychological nature of our film will make the viewing experience intense, making it unsuitable for a younger audience e.g. 11-17, who generally want something light-hearted and entertaining to watch.
  • Also if it were marketed at this age group, it would be likely to cause controversy as it is a serious piece, and being a thriller, will make the audience uncomfortable at times. Because of this it's not suitable for the 11-17 audience group, as younger members of this audience group will find it disturbing.

Audience Gender




Our media product is likely to appeal more to males than females due to:
  • the film's genre is a gangster, a genre more popular with men than women, as their general male protagonists, constant violence and bad language appeal to men more than women.
  • the kid-napped being a girl. Some females may find it uncomfortable to see a girl being tortured, others may be insulted that the film is sticking to stereotypes of females being weak and men being strong.
  • light torture and violence usually being used in films targeted at a predominantly male audience.


Real media products our audience would like

Our audience are likely to have watched/ want to watch:

Pulp Fiction (1994)
  • The film is written and directed by Quentin Tarantino , who is well-known for creating high quality thriller films. Our media product is quite a complex thriller, so is likely to attract an audience who are very much into this genre of film, rather then people experiencing it for the first time.
  • Pulp Fiction's plot is not displayed in chronological order, meaning it has both an enigma code and restricted narrative., like our media product. So our audience are likely to enjoy films with these ingredients.






Trance (2013)


  • Trance is directed by Danny Boyle  , who is renowned for creating edgy and gritty films. People who are fans of Danny Boyle's films, are likely to enjoy our media product, as our feature-length film would be dark, edgy and gritty.
  • Boyle's films heavily use camera work to distort and suggest, with many scenery shots in Trance being canted, and clever use of camera work and editing are used throughout. Trance is therefore likely to attract audiences who appreciate and enjoy clever camerawork. We have used interesting camerawork, for example the spinning worm's eye view, and canted shots in our piece to distort and to create atmosphere,so this audience would appreciate this in our film.
  • Trance is a psychological thriller, that focuses heavily on the power of the mind and how it's programmed. Psychology is our media's main theme, with the focus being on an individuals morals. Our audience are therefore going to be interested in films with strong psychological theme's and films that challenge the audience's concept on a subject, which both Trance and Extortion do.
  • Although the main theme of Trance is psychology and hypnosis, violence and criminal activity are also key themes, like in our piece. Our audience are likely to enjoy psychological thrillers and gangsters, so would enjoys the combinations of these Trance also.





5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Narrative Structure 


  • Our media product starts with the film's conclusion which goes againsts Todorov's 3 stages,, however the audience does not know this at the beginning of the film,and will only realize further on in the film, when it becomes obvious that the film's events are not in chronological order. This technique is also used in Goodfellas, another gangster thriller, which begins with the film's middle and turning point. The audience only knows this when the scene is repeated later, when the narrative is shown in chronological order.  
  • Our target audience would enjoy this, as in both in our opening and our complete media the narrative is not in chronological order and the narrative is therefore segmented, like the narratives of the films mentioned above. This would enable our audience to connect with our piece, by trying to figure out the complete picture. This, therefore, makes our film intelligent and intensive viewing,making it ideal for our young adult to adult audience, who want something to watch which is both challenging and entertaining.
Narrative content

  • The first scene of our opening shows an unknown murderer killing a young girl. This not only sets up the  film's tone and genre of a gangster thriller, but also suggests corruption and violence will be evident themes of the Film. This will attract our audience, who enjoy Gangsters and Thrillers with themes of corruption and violence, but will also appeal to our demographic who are primarily males, as murder, kidnap and violence are themes commonly used in Films targeted at male audiences. 
  • The second scene contrasts completely in tone, pace and context to the following scene, which creates suspense and a tense atmosphere. This will appeal to our audience, as the stark differences between the two scenes disorientates the audience. Our Film is aimed at 18-30s who like films that use restricted narrative and enigma codes,in order to confuse the audience and keep them guessing, so they will enjoy this format of our beginning.
  • It is unclear what time the first scene is set in context to the second scene, which again creates a restricted and scattered narrative. This will further appeal to our audience, as this will disorientate them and they will therefore have to try to interpret the scenes and work out what is happening.

Camerawork

  • tight framing is used throughout our opening to restrict the audience's view and to limited the amount of information they are given. This further adds to the opening's restricted narrative, which will appeal to the audience, as this create intrigue for them and enable them to try to work out what is happening without being given all the needed information on screen. This makes viewing intensive, which links to the film's target audience of 18-30s who want to be entertained but also feel connected with the piece.
  • Many innovative and interesting shots are used in our opening, for example canted tracking shots are used for scenery shots and the spinning  worm's eye view is used to show the antagonist's disorientation. This will appeal to our audience, as they are interested in gritty and innovative cinema, that is entertaining but also well-created.
Mise en scene
  • the prop of a baseball bat makes the killer seem heartless and ferocious and suggests he is highly dangerous. This suggests to the audience that the film's characters are ruthless and criminals and suggests that the contents of the film will be brutal and violent at times. This will appeal to our mainly  young male target audience, as crime films are primarily enjoyed by males, and the 18-30 target age group will less sensitive than an older or younger audience, so will enjoy the forthcoming gritty content that the opening suggests is instore.
6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?




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

Camerawork 

Framing- In the preliminary task the shots I filmed had a lot of background space with set that wasn't relevant to the shots,meaning the framing of the shots was reasonably poor and the character's weren't as prominent as they should be.

I


How it has improved

Whilst filming my film opening I learned about composition and framing, and how to get shots that show good examples of both.  To do this I would use a big a shot size as possible, to ensure that any unnecessary scenery was out of the shot and chose a shot size that allowed that all the needed content to be in shot, with as little dead space as possible. This meant that my shots were well-composed and high quality and therefore added meaning to our piece, as they strengthened the narrative. Also my ability to tightly frame my shots meant that a restricted narrative was created, which is one of the most common conventions for thriller openings. Because of this I have gained a greater knowledge of how to compose good shots, but also how certain shots can create effect.  

Range of shots and transitions - For my Prelimary task I didn't explore a range of different shot sizes, angles and transitions and shot most shots in either medium close up or close up and shot most shots at eye level and statically. Some tracks were used but lacked fluency and didn't track the character very well. This meant that the quality of our prelim was very basic.

 How it has improved

I feel that my camerawork ability has improved massively since my prelim task. I experimented with using canted angles for scenery shots and also tried out handheld camerawork whilst walking with the camera to give the impression of the man progressing. I feel that my ability to use tracking and panning has significantly improved, as I have learnt about pace and control and how to frame these shots correctly. I feel that my most successful track was of the man getting up of the sofa. This was a very hard shot to film, as it required sitting down and then getting up quick enough so that his head was the frame. I managed to do this successfully and the end result was a very fluid handheld tracking shot. 

I have also progressed in my ability to try interesting ways of filming. The best example of this is the tracking shot of the woods used for our titles, which I filmed by securing a tripod in between my legs whilst sitting in the passenger seat of Charlie's car and filming out the window. This has meant that I know look at filming things in unorthodox ways, and have gained confidence in camerawork.



Both these shots were shot at medium close up, like the majority of shots in my prelim, making the camerawork basic.








However in my final project I used a variety of different shot sizes and types to make our media project interesting to watch and to demonstrate technological fluency.







Editing

This is the area I feel that I have improved the most. We had many problems filming our prelim and as a result had few little footage, meaning we only had a few shots to choose from when it came to editing. Because of this there are examples in my prelim where speech is slightly cut off, or the pace is jumpy because shots have been pieced together. 

How it has improved 

As I had lessons at different times from the rest of my group, I didn't always edit with them, but this meant I was able to see what they had edited and assess what I thought I could add to strengthen the narrative. This strengthened my ability to visionise what would work and what wouldn't and as a result I now have a good knowledge of how editing can be used to great effect. I edited a lot of cross cutting for our piece and also experimented with enlarging shot to distort the narrative. This means that I am now able to create a narrative through editing very well and have a good knowledge of how to use editing software effectively. By creating cross cutting, I learnt about pace and how this can affect the narrative. My ability to create pace through editing has improved since my prelim task, where the pace was very jumpy and not constant.

Sound
When doing the prelim task I had no knowledge of sound editing, how it was constructed and how important it is to contributing to the atmosphere of the piece. I learnt how to use garageband and how to add and source suitable sound clips to the piece and how to time a sound clip so it matches the action on the screen, making the sound work. I also learnt how to use a sound recorder to create my own foley by either recording a sound or using other objects to create a sound effect that sounds like the desired noise.

Lighting
Again I had very little knowledge of lighting theory and practise when doing the prelim, however by my final piece I knew how to use the three main lights to decrease shadows and to clearly illuminate the set, but also learnt how different lighting effects, e.g. only using the key light, contributed to the piece's atmosphere.

Titling
Whilst working on my final piece I also learnt about titling and through research learnt how different transitions, fonts etc contributed to the film's themes and mood. I also learnt how to add titles to our product on final cut pro and used my research to help create an interesting title sequence.

Overall
Overall I feel my ability in film-making has improved significantly since the prelim task, as I have gained greater confidence in using technology and have realized how camerawork, editing, mise en scene etc can be used to enhance atmosphere and the narrative and how they make a media product appeal to it's target audience.