Problems we had with Youtube

When we eventually finished editing our opening sequence we then had to put it on to the blog, however before we could do this we had to put it on to youtube so that we could embed the html code. We uploaded the video to youtube, however it took an extremely long time, we then found out that it failed so we tried a few more time however, it still kept failing. we then went on to imovie where we exported the video and uploaded the video to youtube. We were then able to put the html code on to the blog. 

We thought that the video would be all done, however, when Yharnna put the captions on the video as part of an evaluation activity the video had changed, so once again we had to upload the video again, however we came across the same problems once again, so we had to export the video once again and then eventually the video was again uploaded to youtube!

What we could of improved and what worked well

The improvements that we could make to our opening sequence if we had more time would be that we would plan each individual shot so we knew exactly what we wanted, we didn't have enough time to do this as we had to change our opening sequence last minute. Another improvement we would make is that in one of the shots the teacher is seen looking at the camera, however we were unable to cut that bit out as it wouldn't of flowed with the rest of the sequence so we had to keep it in, however if we could do it again we would film it so that she wouldnt look at the camera. The last improvement I felt that we could of made is that on one of the last scenes where the camera shakes when the light is turned off, however again we couldn't edit this out as we wouldn't have the footsteps in sync again. 


What I felt worked well was that when the teacher supposedly hears the noise the sound in the non diegetic music changes quickly, we didn't mean for this to happen as we planned to put a noise at that point however we felt that there was no point as the sound within the music worked extremely well. Another thing I felt worked well is the lighting, as we filmed it in daylight we had to cover up the windows with black sugar paper however we didn't want this to be obvious, after we done the lighting it was too dark so we had to use different sorts of lamps to get the correct balance of light in which I felt we accomplished. The last thing I felt worked well was the sound when the teacher is talking on the phone and also when she comes out to peer round the door, we made the volume of the non diegetic music quieter so that we will be able to hear the dialogue, after the dialogue was said we gradually increased the music again, I felt this gave the opening sequence more effect. 

Fonts - Experimenting

When we changed our opening sequence we also had to change our font that we chose and the name of the film so it would fit in with a different genre. We wanted to create a clever/intelligent however creepy effect so we did limit ourselves alot! It was hard to find something that we wanted however, we downloaded a few fonts as we didnt want to use a font already on the computer, and tried them out to see how they would look and how the font could help relate to our opening sequence. On the website it was extremely helpful as it had categorized different fonts in to themes so we could quickly browse through the themes. We picked out three main fonts and then cut them down to just one. We used a website called 'dafont'.

'Face your fears'

 This was our first font that we had found, we liked this as it gave a realistic effect and it looked very 'school' like as it could either look like paint or it could look like smears of blood which relates to our genre. 




'All Over Again'




This was the second font we found, again we really liked this font as it looked like someone scribbled it in a rush, like a child had at school, this relates to the setting and location of the opening sequence. 




'Quid Pro Quo'

This was the last font we found, we liked this font as again it looked like handwriting, however, we felt that this font was too neat for the selected genre of our film.










We decided to choose the second font 'All over again' as it was exactly what we wanted as we felt that it relates to the genre of the film and the location of the film well. 

Certificate 15

We decided that the age certificate for our film overall would be a 15. We thought that this would be a suitable age as in the rest of the film we would plan to have scenes of violence and horror. However, the violence and horror wouldn't be too much. Also within our film we will be having frequent use of strong language, this would not be acceptable in a certificate of a 12. We wanted our film to appeal to a mainstream audience, as if we put the certificate at 18 then we wouldnt get any teenagers going to see the film, and mainly teenagers are the people consuming films and going to the cinema. We felt that if it was a 15 then it appeals to our target audience, and it would be suitable for the age of 15 and above. 

Shotlist for Over Time

• Dreamworks production (Horror version) 
• Panning medium shot of Mrs Edwards
• Titles with above clip (Starring Marie Browning)
• Close up of the paper with the teacher writing furiously
• Over the shoulder medium close up shot of slamming the pen down and screwing the piece of paper up
• Medium shot of teacher throwing it towards the bin
• High angle medium shot of teacher angry and fed up
• Close up of the phone ringing
• Medium close up of the teacher talking in to the phone 
• Low angle medium shot of teacher looking through a pupils work.
• Point of view close up shot of clutter on the desk (fuzzy perspective)
• Point of view long shot of the clock
• Close up of the clock
• Medium low angle of teacher looking at the clock
• Long shot of teacher walking towards the door after hearing a noise
• High angle medium shot of teacher peering round the door
• High angle medium shot of teacher walking
• Long shot of teacher walking along the corridor timidly
• Close up of the teachers feet
• Close up of teachers reaction when the lights are turned off 
• Long shot of the villian
• Title 'Over Time'
• Title 'Directors/Editing Evie Mullahy and Louise Jarvis Camerawork/Sound Yharnna Joseph and Jamie Hutton'
• Candidate numbers.

Final Opening Sequence - Over Time

By Yharnna,Evie,Louise and Jamie

Evaluation Part 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening sequence we wanted to make it clear what part each of the characters played so that the audience will immediately know what genre we have chosen for out open sequence. We based our idea of the villian on the villan of Scream. We based it on there as the opening sequences are similar, for example they both get in contact with the victim first by phone. Due to our knowledge in media films, we have watched alot of horror films so we can gain an overall stereotypical view of a villian. The main conventions we have found of a villian is that they wear dark clothes, and could have a mask so this gives them a hidden identity. Also, they usually have a weapon ready to show their dangerous and again reinforce that they are a villian. 


We compared the similarities and differences between our 'Over Time' villian and the 'Scream' villian. The similarities between these two characters, is that they both have a hidden identity this is so that they create a negative affect on the atmosphere and that they wont be easily seen, both the characters are wearing black. Another similarity is that they both target a vulnerable woman, this is maybe because they may feel like they have authority over the woman. Our third similarity is that they both spy on the character beforehand, in our opening sequence we do not see that our character is spying however we are given an indication that they are as the phone call beforehand reveals that the villian was ringing her and then hanging up making sure she was alone, in Scream we can see that the villian spies on his victim beforehand as he also rings her and talks to her and then also we can tell by the use of over the shoulder and point of view shots he has of the young victim. Our last similarity between these two villians is that they both target in an isolated setting, this is very stereotypical as no villian would target there victim in a crowded area unless they wanted to get caught! Our villian captures the victim in an empty eerie school where she is working overtime, and in Scream the villian targets their victim while she is alone in her house watching a film. 


However, there are also some key differences between these villians, for example our villian does not wear a mask, we chose for the villian not to wear a mask as we didn't want the character to come across too stereotypical, we just wanted to keep it realistic with just a little bit of hidden identity to create a sense of mystery, however, in Scream their villian is wearing a mask, this may relate to their genre more as the genre of Scream is a horror, whereas we wanted to have our genre as a psychological thriller. Another difference between these two villians is that in our opening sequence our villian is shown to have no weapons, we decided against this for the same reason as before with the masks as we wanted to keep a sense of mystery with the villian character and keep the audience guessing with what could happen to the victim after the opening sequence and how the villian tries to attempt to create danger for our victim, however within Scream they use a weapon which helps us follow the narrative as we also know what is going to happen and the villians intentions. Our last difference is that in our sequence our villian doesn't talk, we wanted to keep our opening sequence mysterious but with a sense of vulnerability, we wanted to have the non diegetic music playing as if you have a lot of talking then it could take away from the sense of fear, as the audience will find out too much. However, in Scream, we hear the villian talking to the victim on the phone, this gives us an idea that even though we havent seen the villian that someone is watching the victim, however it also starts to scare the victim even though nothing has happened yet so it feels her with vulnerability and dread. 

The opening of Shallow Grave

Shallow Grave - Danny Boyle - 1994
The sequence starts off with the titles first, we are to the main character through the voiceover used from the begining, the music used is very fast paced. The main character is a stereotypical geek, we can see this through the use of mise en scene for example his costume. The boy goes to look at a place to move in to, the three other characters who already live in the place talk about the character like he isnt there, but infact he is sitting right in from of them which shocks the audience. The voiceover helps to establish the plot that it is about friendship, trust, rejection, and fitting in.
By Evie Mullahy

Opening to Seven

Seven was directed by David Fincher in 199, it is an American crime film and stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, the film is based on each of the seven deadly sins, gluttony, envy, lust, pride, sloth, greed and wrath, where a series of murders take place.

                In Seven, there is two detectives, Detective Mills who is played by Brad Pitt and Detective Somerset who is played by Morgan Freeman. These two contrasts are stereotypically in contrast to one another. To start off with, we are introduced to Morgan Freeman’s character, Detective Somerset. A medium shot is used with dark lighting to show it is very early in the morning, however it also creates a negative setting. Ornaments are in the background of Somerset’s home which could identify his heritage and background as they are animal statues. The chess board that is lying on the table represents his intelligence. We can tell that Somerset’s character is a tidy and organised character as his kitchen is white and also very clean, this defeats the stereotypical view of a man that they are untidy, and messy, also his behaviour helps to indicate that he is a clean character as he is picking bits of fluff off of his suit just before he puts it on. A close up is then used to show he is preparing for work, with his tie to show he is formal and also could represent he is of importance in his job. The lighting is still dark which could help to represent his mood, and the atmosphere and situation. A close up of significant props are used which identifies to us that for the first time we see he is a policeman, and also this shows he is proud of his job, also it again identifies his organisation. A medium shot is then used, which shows the bed is made perfectly. It is a quiet atmosphere so we presume that Detective Somerset lives alone, so this could represent that he is lonely but also that he is dedicated to his job.

                On the other hand, Detective Mills who is played by Brad Pitt is the complete contrast of Detective Somerset. The sequence starts off with police sirens, so we know that the film may be dangerous and also identifies the profession of Detective Mills. Detective Mills wakes up with someone this identifies that he is in a relationship; a close up shot is used of this. Mills is portrayed as an untidy character as there are boxes everywhere identifying that he has just moved in to his flat. The shirt that Mills is putting on, is creased which represents he is a scruffy character and doesn’t care for his appearance much, also we can see that Mills is very unorganised as he has a few ties hanging from a hanger in which he just chooses one and it is already done up so he doesn’t have to go to much effort. The room in which he is in is quite bland and there is dark lighting which could identify the negativity of the atmosphere. It is seen to be bright outside, this identifies that he may have gotten up late as it is lighter than when Somerset woke up identifying that it is well in to the day. The busy atmosphere that Mills is in contrasts to the atmosphere that Somerset was situated as we can hear in the background that there is car horns, and sirens. A medium shot is used with a high angle when Detective Mills picks up the phone straight away when he doesn’t want to disturb his wife, he writes down information on his hand so he doesn’t disturb his wife which represents that he is too lazy and unorganised to get a pen and paper, which again shows the contrast between the two main characters.

Evie Mullahy

Prelim

For our prelim task we had to devise a sequence of someone walking in to a room and sitting down and exchanging a few lines to another person. So our idea was to create suspense and excitment, so we invented two characters, a bully and a victim, and we decided to have the victim hiding in the girls changing rooms, where the bully would then find the victim later on. I was one of the actors in the short sequence, and I was the bully, I had to act angry to help build up tension and sympathy for the victim. I felt that the prelim task is really preparing us for the actual coursework assessment as it is helping us with our time keeping, as we realised that at the start of the prelim task we spent too long on one shot, so in the end we had to rush, I also felt that the prelim task will help us by the way we plan, so we can plan where the camera is exactly going to be, the task showed us that we could use a variety of shots, so it wouldnt be boring for the audience to watch.
Evie Mullahy