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Evaluation: Question 7

Question 7

 



Evaluation: Question 6

Question 6

Question 6 Evaluation

Evaulation: Question 5

Question 5

 



Evaluation: Question 4

Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Rating – the rating of my film is a 15 because of the amount of violence and weapons shown. When I was conducting my research into rating I noticed that it couldn’t be a 12/12A due to the weapons that are shown. The killer uses a knife which is something that a young person could have easy access to and the film could influence them to do something similar which is why I chose to rate my film as a 15. Therefore, no one under the age of 15 will view my film.

 

The knife that is shown in Target

 

This is one of the weapons that is shown in my opening sequences of Target. The killer chooses this weapon to kill his victim but because this weapon is easily assessable by most people, young children could be influenced to start using this weapon and this could cause lots of problems. I wanted to make sure that this film would be appropriate to the target audience and if children (or people under the age of 15) go to see this film then they could get the wrong idea and that's what I would like to avoid. The BBFC have stated that if your film shows any weapons that are available in the house then the age rating must be a 15 because 12/12A do not allow glamourizing easily accessible weapons:

 

 

 

 

My film also shows a few gory images, such as the blood on the ground when the killer kills his victim. This doesn't fit the guidelines of the 12/12A film classification so this was another factor that made my film a 15.

 

 The blood that is shown in Target

 

 

There are obviously limitations to the rating of my film because it is a 15. For example, a family will not go out and see this film because of the violence and the weapons that are shown through the opening sequences and will be used through the rest of the film. It will also not attract a large number of teenagers because they must be over 15 to see it. However, I didn't want to ruin the effect of the opening sequences so I didn't want to delete these shots from Target because they are needed to help inform the audience of what has happened and what the killer plans to do.

 

Target audience – The target audience is between 15 – 25 aged males because of the genre and the age / gender of the character. The character is only young and of a similar age to my target audience which is a factor that will appeal to them. 

To appeal to the target audience I also considered the whole story and the overall meaning of it. 'Target' has a deeper meaning which is how people can grow up with hidden issues and how this could only be seen after a longer period of time, like the main character of 'Target'. My film is quite clever because it tackles the physical side to the killer's issues but also the psychological issues too because of his age and how he has already made this very serious decision.

Target also appeals to young couples (around 20-25) as this is what the story is about. However, the opening credits don't reveal much about the other characters and we only see the killer preparing his weapons and then the kill which is suggesting that he has had experience in killing.

Bibliography – www.bbfc.co.uk



Evaluation: Question 3

Question 3



 

Evaluation: Question 2

Question 2

Evaluation: Question 1

Question 1

 



Evaluation Question 1 from Rebecca Wilkinson on Vimeo.

Final Piece

Hello! This is my final cut of Target, I hope you enjoy it!

 

 

Target Further Improvements from Rebecca Wilkinson on Vimeo.

Target Improvements

 Hello! I'm uploading my improvements to Target today so you can see what I've changed and how different it looks!

 

 

I hope you enjoy and please leave any feedback you can!

 

 

 

Target Improvements from Rebecca Wilkinson on Vimeo.

Target

Hello! I have finally managed to upload Target to my blog and this time you'll be able to see the shots and hear the music.

 

I hope you enjoy!

 

 

Target from Rebecca Wilkinson on Vimeo.

Progess over the last week

Progress

Over the last week I filmed more shots of the blood on the ground because these shots are very important throughout Target as they set the audience up for what is to come. These shots are taken from more of a distance and I will be using them in Target for a couple of seconds because I would like them to flash up on the screen to help give the idea of unbalance.

I have also filmed so more shots using shot/reverse shot of someone looking at the blood because I thought this might be quite effective. They are holding the torch and looking down at it and the light from the torch is slightly reflected on their face to create a strange effect of the shot.
I also filmed an action match of someone going to pick up the knife with the blood on it so we can get an idea of who the killer is and what they've done to kill someone. Again the knife is important throughout Target because it represents death.

I had some trouble with uploading my project because the video footage didn't export when I tied to export it so you could only hear the sound. Today, I have managed to fix this and I've started uploading it again to Vimeo so I will be uploading that soon so you can see my rough cut of Target.
Over the next week I will be editing Target and using my new shots to see how they work. I will make sure that everything runs smoothly and the timing of it works so that some of the shots appear when a drum beats in the music because this will help to build the tension.



Shots Log and Ideas I had

Types of shots I used / Ideas

List of shots I took:

Extreme close up - eyes/hands
Close up - Knife
Extreme long shot - the view of the landscape
Long shot - fire
Low Angle - trees
Medium close up - dark leaves
Follow - person walking away from the blood

Ideas

One of my ideas was to film in quite dark lighting because I wanted to create a mysterious effect and keep people wondering what was going on. The dark connoted unbalance and this was one of the main themes I wanted to follow throughout Target.

When I filmed in dark lighting I also used a torch so shine on the blood on the ground because I wanted to show that it was someone (the killer) looking down at the evidence they left. The torch was moved around slightly to once again create the unbalance and I also used a hand held camera rather than a tripod because then I would be able to film the shots with a slight movement which again created the unbalance.

I also stuck to a theme of dark and then orange/red to create the themes of death which is an idea I follow from my analysis of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The shots begin quite dark and then the fire is introduced and I wanted to follow the same idea to help set up what the audience were going to see. The red mainly comes from the blood because this is lighter than the other shots you would expect it to lead onto something more lighter but the darker shots keep reappearing to bring around the unbalance again. A few of my favourite shots are the ones where I filmed the fire in the distance because I was able to play around with the camera to get the best picture I could. I wanted the fire to be out of focus when I began so I would be able to bring it into focus and the audience would then know what it was. Another shot that I favoured was the extreme close up of the blood on the ground because the picture is so sharp and the light reflects off the blood.

Target Audience

Target Audience for Target

 The target audience for Target are for people aged about 15-25 because of the genre (action / thriller). This is because of the amount of disturbing images and weapons that are shown. When researching, I noticed that if the film has weapons that are easily accessible in the house then the film would have to be a 15.

Target - Problems and Improvements for next time

Target - An Overview

Problems I faced:

1.) I had a problem with getting the shots at first because when I first tried to film Target at Hardwick Hall it was snowing which was going to cause problems with continuity. To tackle this, I filmed again when I was on the composition weekend with music and I was able to film some extreme long shots and focus on depth of field when I was filming the fire in the woods which was really effective when it came to editing my project. 

2.) I also had a problem with the music I used in the editing process of my project so I had to use another program (audacity) to help edit the length and add in effects such as the fade out at the end of the music. I was then able to import this to my project and it worked much better.

3.) Getting the music to work in time with the shots - some of the shots start at the same time as beats of the music to increase the tension in the shots. This was very effective but

quite time consuming because I had to make sure that they would start at the exact same time when editing. 

4.) Uploading the video to my blog - unfortunately, Target has uploaded with all of the sound but you can't see any of the shots I filmed which is really annoying. I'm not entirely sure on what happened so I'm going to have to export the file again and try to re-upload it as soon as I'm back in school.

5.) I would like to film some more shots of the blood etc because these shots were very interesting and I think I would also like to focus more on camera movement because quite a lot of my shots don't use any except the follow of someone walking past the blood. 

Improvements for next time:

1.) When I film, I will need to make sure that the weather is similar to what I've already filmed because if it isn't then there could be problems with continuity.

2.) I will need to make sure that the music is in time with the shots and that some of the shots appear randomly too because this will add a new feel to Target as if the situation is unbalanced. 

3.) I will need to make sure that Target uploads the footage as well as the sound because this has caused me so many problems. 

4.) I will focus more on camera movement because I felt that I need some more because the shots are quite boring without it. Although the follow is quite good, I would like to use more pans/tilts etc. 

This week:

I'm going to be filming more shots and checking them to make sure that they'll work. This will mean that I will drift away from my storyboard slightly but I need more work on camera movement and I would like more shots of the blood. 

I will keep you updated with my progress over the week. 

Target

Target

Hello

I'm uploading my project today so you can have a look at it and see what you think. 

I have intentionally made the clips quite short as I planned to do because this gives an insecure effect which will help to set up the scene for what's to come. 

I mainly focused on the lighting and depth of field quite a lot so some of the shots will be quite dark and start to focus in on what is in the distance (such as the fire shots).

For lighting, I filmed some of the blood on the ground and then I used a torch when it was dark to make it look as if someone was looking down at the blood and this also gave a reflection on the blood.

I hope you enjoy and leave any feedback you can! 

Thanks 

Target from Rebecca Wilkinson on Vimeo.

Storyboard

Storyboard

 

My idea is to create quite scary and short shots for the overall video. This will include shots of the blood because these shots will keep appearing throughout as well as the contrasting calmer shots of trees and nice scenery because this will help to create unbalance. I will be filming lots of these shots at various different locations but I will film the blood somewhere that looks more public because I want to keep people guessing.

Some of the titles will appear at the same time as the shots but I will also overlap them so that they come on before the shot and maybe stay on the screen until the shot has finished and a little bit after that to. 



Update of Target

This Weekend

This weekend I filmed some of my shots for Target while I was at Shepherd's Dene so I will be taking a look at them today to see how they have turned out.

While I was there I tried out adjusting the focus on the camera and found this to be very effective. I was filming some fire in the distance which was when I tried out adjusting the focus and this turned out very well.

I'll be uploading some of the shots I took this weekend so you can have a look at what I did but for now, here's a picture of the place I was working at so you can get an idea of the scenery.

Lighting in Target

Lighting

I have decided that I would like to have a play around with lighting in Target and how I might use it. Some of the shots like shots of eyes/hands and blood I would like to use quite a low level of lighting because this will help build tension which will also work nicely with the music I've chosen to use.

On asking advice on lighting I have been told that I can use the Adobe Premier Pro to play with that which I will be doing in the video I'm making about my shots just to see how it works and what will work best.

I will soon be uploading my video of my practice shots so you can have a look at what I've done and I will then write up about how I played with lighting in these shots too.



Filming

Update

I started filming last weekend and I have got some nice shots but because of the snow and problems with continuity I will probably have to film these shots again. However, they were good practice for when I go to film again!

This weekend I plan to go into Durham and film some shots of the scenery because this will work with my plan for my opening sequences. I will be filming shots of trees and the river, possibly some of the older bridges and the alley ways/old structures. Hopefully it won't be snowing this time!

The following week is the weekend that I go to Sheperd's Dene and I would like to film some of the scenery around there too. I will try to keep you updated while I'm there and upload some pictures of the scenery so you can get an idea of what it looks like. 

All that is left for me to do is to film some shots of blood and make sure that it looks realistic because I'll be using red food colouring. 

In the following couple of days I will need to research into lighting and how to change it and practice this to see how it works. 

Update of Target

Update of Target

What have you done so far?

I planned out when I'll be filming and I have a schedule of when I need to have done tasks by. This is really helping me stay on target with where I should be.

I have filmed some of my shots (Sunday 19th) as planned and I am going to have a look at them now and transfer them to the computer.

Filming

I filmed on Sunday 19th January and lucky for me, it was snowing! Some of the shots are great but this is going to cause a problem when I film later on this month. Obviously, the snowy scenes are fantastic but I can't determine what the weather is going to be like so when I go to film at Sheperd's Dene there might not be any snow. This will mean having to re-take the shots I filmed at Hardwick Hall  because if I don't I will have problems with continuity.

Problems I faced when filming:

1. It was snowing so it was very cold and I had to protect the camera from the weather. This sometimes because a problem because the snow would land on the lens and I would have to use a cloth to polish over it again. This meant that I was taking the shot a few times to make sure this didn't happen. Fortunately for me, the shots I'll be using are only on the screen for half a second because this is what I planned to do in my storyboard.


2. Using a tilt - one of the shots uses a tilt which was problematic because the tripod was very stiff. I managed to adjust this so that it would be easier to move but because of this, I moved the camera too fast which might look a bit odd. I wanted a slow movement of a wall but it moves quite quickly so I might have to take this shot again.


3. Making sure that no one was in the shot. It was extremely difficult to make sure that no one was in the shot because of where I was filming. I had to take the shots a few times because people would walk in front of the camera or you could see them in the long shots of the lake. This doesn't fit with what I planned on my storyboard because I wanted it to be quite solitary.


4. Staying out for a long time in the cold. It was very cold on Sunday so it was hard to film because of this. My hands were cold when I was holding the camera which is why the tilt didn't work as well as I would have wanted it too.

A preview of some of the shots I took (and some of the scenery too!)

This is a extreme long shot I took of the lake but you can see some of the people in the distance.

I also took a shot of the trees in the background here (the forest) which I will be using. I might have to film this shot again however because you can see the snow falling.

And here is a shot of the scenery of where I was filming. I was playing around with the focus here and I found this quite interesting. This is definitely something that I would like to use again when I film at Sheperd's Dene.

What to do next?

I'm going to have to wait until we go to Sheperd's Dene to film my other shots but in the meantime I would like to go back to Hardwick Hall to film some of these shots again. This is because of the snow and the continuity issue I'll have later on if I don't film some shots without the snowy scenes. I will also be filming some blood on a wall if I can and practice some more shots with the lighting adjusted. I still need to film shots of eyes and hands but this is where I would like to play around with the lighting.

This Week

An update of my plan this week

This week I would like to try and practice some of my shots whether that be on my phone or the camera I'm using for my project. I would like to see how the shots will turn out so I can see what edits I can use on the shots or if they will need to be taken again. For example, some of the shots are extreme close ups of eyes which I will need to make sure that the focus is right for.

Today I am going to practice some shots and upload them to my blog later on once I have had a play around with them. I will be shooting on my phone as well as my camera and I would like to have a play around with the lighting because this is something that I will need to consider in my project. 

This Saturday/Sunday I would like to continue filming some of the shots and I'm going to Hardwick Hall to film some of the shots I haven't already done. I will make sure that I take the shots a few times and check them on the laptop to make sure that the focus is right and it looks crisp.

I have also come up with the idea of filming while I'm on the Wonderful Writing Weekend with music because the place that we're staying is a perfect location for where I would like to film. There are a few shots that I could use there and it would be a good opportunity to practice even if I don't end up using the shots.

Over the next few weeks I will try to analyse more opening credits so if I see anything I like I could use it in my project.

 

Music for my Project

Music for Target

Initial Ideas

I would like to try and use something that grabs the attention of the audience and I will achieve this through something that it quite dark and mysterious. I would like to use a haunting style of music because it suits the genre of film I'm making. I have found a website that has a range of loyalty free music that I could possibly use and last lesson I had a listen to some of the music that has been uploaded to the website. Some of it wasn't going to work and some of could've worked but it wouldn't have fit with the story.

When listening to the music I imagined what would be going on and I painted a picture in my head. Some of the music I listened to sounded as if it was from a sci-fi film, the kind of music you would hear if someone was in space. I did find some music that would fit but it went on for about 5 minutes and my opening credits won't last as long as that so I will have to edit this. Fortunately, I am relatively confident with editing music because I know a program, 'Audacity', that I'll be able to edit this on.

Here are some of the ideas I came up with from the music I listened to:

A constant drum beat, normally a snare drum with a repetitive rhythm - This is quite effective because it grabs your attention. Normally, a lone drum sounds like someone going to war or problems that are going to occur.

Low sounding instruments - the lower the pitch, the more suspense built. When I was listening to the music I could hear lots of low instruments which would work to build tension. The low sounds are associated with falling and things starting to go wrong.

Eventually, a melody or a higher pitch instrument would be introduced - this also built tension and the high pitch instrument with the low basses sounds very out of place which gives it a feeling of sickness and insecurity.

All of theses techniques combined made the music sound like it was hiding something dark and this is the kind of feel that I want to create in my project.

This is the website I used to find some appropriate music. I searched for Action and then a piece appeared that was called 'The Escalation' which used all of the effects I listed.

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/



Planning for my Shoot of Target

Planning for my Shoot of Target

So far I have planned out my opening credits and the story of the film. I have used a storyboard to help with the planning of the opening credits and this will be used throughout filming them (I'll be uploading these later) Although there is no dialogue, I will still need to make sure that I can use someone to film one of the shots because it is going to be an extreme close up of an eye and hands. The rest of my shots are of blood/knifes and trees/nature.

Schedule

I would like to try and start my shoot by 10th January so that I can make sure I have enough time to correct anything that might go wrong when I start. This will also give me enough time to check all of the shots to make sure they work and have a think about if I will need to add anything in/take anything out that doesn't work.

My plan is to shoot all of the shots I'll need for my opening credits which will mean using different locations. Some of my shots are in a forest area but some of the shots are of blood and knifes etc. This will mean that I will have to make sure that I have transport to get to this location and the right equipment for the shots of blood. I will have to invest in some fake blood or red food colouring and possibly a white canvas to pour/splatter it on for the shots in the opening credits. I will also have to make sure that I can film someone because some of my shots in the opening credits include extreme close ups of eyes and hands. For these shots I will need to make sure that the lighting is right and this is something that I can play around with at the beginning to see what works.

I will film each shot more than 3 times to ensure that it works and the focus is right etc. Some of the shots will start to focus on something in the background so I will need to play around with the camera and record this multiple times as well as practice at it to help with the filming of these shots. If I can then I would like to practice working on the focus before I go to the locations where I'll be filming so that I'll feel confident in using it.

Some of the shots will be recorded at Hardwick Hall and I plan to go there on 18th January to film these shots. I will be filming the lake but I would like there to be a reflection of the sunset on it so that it looks quite peaceful. This will also mean that I will need to go at a specific time. Some of the other shots I will use will be used in daylight so I should really go at about 2/3pm to ensure that I can get these shots and then the shot of the water in the sunset. I will also be filming the shots that use trees and this is because of the significance of the tree later on in my project. The idea of this was to give away some of the story but subtly and the shot of the tree will really contrast with the shots of blood and darkness.

10th January - Shots of blood on a canvas

18th January - Shots of nature at Hardwick Hall

Week commencing 19th January - I will start uploading my shots to Adobe Premiere and seeing how they fit together.

I was also thinking about filming some of my shots at Sheperds Dene where i'll be going for the Wonderful Writing Weekend with Music. I have been here before and the area is covered in beautiful countryside which would work really well in some of my shots. For example, there is a small stream and lots of trees. I could also attempt a extreme long shot because of the views from the house which could work really well. Although I will be going here after I have started editing and putting things together this could be a chance to film some other vital shots that will work in my opening credits. However, I might not have much time to film here because I will be completing other work but I will try and film as much as I can.

Editing

I would like to start editing on 19th January because this gives me plenty of time to change anything or edit anything that might be wrong or doesn't work with the rest of the shots. I plan to start putting my shots in order and following my storyboard very closely to make sure I'm doing everything right and following the times of each shot etc. I will then start adding in the titles and using effects/transitions in my opening credits.

Equipment

I will obviously need to use a camera and a tripod but I will also be using a laptop to make sure that the shots are in focus. Because I am using a laptop I will need to ensure that it's fully charged and that the camera is too so that if I am at a different location where I don't have access to a charger then I'll already be prepared.

Some of the shots of blood will also cause a few problems because I will need to buy some fake blood and a white canvas so that I can make the blood splatters that appear on the shots. However, I'll need to make sure that I have some fake blood left over because when I go to shoot at Hardwick Hall I'll use some of the blood as dribbles on the ground (on leaves etc.) because some of my shots use this.

Risk Assessment

As always, a risk assessment needs to be carried out before I film and this will help me in stopping anything potentially dangerous from happening.

1.) Making sure that the camera/tripod is out of the way of other people. For example, I could be filming at Hardwick Hall and someone could trip over my equipment and hurt themselves/damage the camera or tripod. To stop this from happening I will need to make people aware of the filming and try and stay away from public footpaths.

2.) I need to make sure that no one is in the shot. I could be recording at Hardwick Hall and people will be walking around and they won't want to be in the shot without permission so I need to make sure that I don't film anyone who doesn't want to be filmed. This shouldn't be a problem because most of my shots will be out of the way because I'm filming trees and leaves etc. so they won't be in the areas that I'm filming.

3.) When I'm using the fake blood/red food colouring I need to avoid getting this on clothes/equipment or swallowing it (especially the fake blood). To stop this from happening, I will make sure that everyone who might be there avoids touching it and stays out of the way of the canvas and all of the equipment I'll be using.