How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research: For this stage, I used media technologies such as YouTube to find examples of similar media constructions. For example, a quick search on YouTube could bring up dozens of examples of short films in their entirety and thus help me work out the codes and conventions of a short film. Furthermore, I also used Google Image Search engine to locate examples of Film Posters and Film Magazine Review Pages.
Planning: For this stage I used Apple Pages to draft early script ideas as well as early storyboard drafts. Other media technologies used included practice with Adobe AfterEffects and PhotoShop in order to get to grips with certain aspects needed in the construction of my media project.
Construction: For this stage, I used a number of media technologies, most proficiently, Final Cut Pro which was the main application used to edit and create the finished film. I also used iMovie in order to import the clips to Final Cut as they are regretfully in the wrong format otherwise. For the actual filming I used a (insert make here) camera to capture the footage and then import to iMovie and into Final Cut for the editing process. For the construction of the first Ancillary Task, I used Adobe PhotoShop in order to be able to manipulate the poster photo into what I wanted it to be. PhotoShop is particularly useful in this respect as it gives you a wide variety of different ways in which to edit the photos. With the second Ancillary Task, I used Adobe InDesign, an effective application for creating the magazine review page. Other media technologies used in the construction included GarageBand, for which the soundtrack was created.
Evaluation: To write the evaluation, I have used Google Blogger.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I personally believe that my main product combines rather well with the poster in particular and with the magazine review page as an ensemble product. Each task is unique, but at the same time they work as separate pieces of an overall puzzle. The photos used for the poster and review page initiate from the main task.
Both the poster and main task are particularly similar in the fact that they are both relatively dark whereas the review page polarises this by being lighter in tone. For me, this works well and makes the combination of the three even more effective as they are not all completely the same in style. It is the clash of styles that make the three products effective when combined.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

A particular concern with my viewers was that some aspects of the film were a little confusing and as such I have learnt to not create such a complicated storyline in future. For the majority, comments on the poster were mostly positive with slight criticisms which was natural. However they did express a concern that the whole overall image was too full of dark colours which maybe detracted from it slightly. When questioned over the use of a black and white style for my film, many felt that they thought this was a nice tough and gave the film a noir sort of feeling. One criticism however was that they thought more could have been done with the style rather than the straight b/w.

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

I created a short film. At the start of the project I analysed a number of different short films in order to see how the majority worked. From my research, I discovered that the vast majority used limited casts and locations. Therefore in my own film, I wanted to use these conventions and as such the finished product contains a cast of two and a compact location. However, whilst many of the films I researched had outdoor locations, for my film I opted to challenge these conventions by setting it almost entirely in a single hallway with brief looks at other rooms. A picture of the location is shown below:

 

Audience Feedback Questionnaire

Magazine Review Page - Version Two - Final

Film

The final cut of my film. Not everything I planned to do for the film has managed to occur satisfactorily and unfortunately it hasn't turned out exactly how I wanted.

The Poster (Final)

What I settled on for the final version of the poster was a sort of ripped page effect, housing the image, cast and title of the film.

Poster (Draft II)

Magazine Review Page - Draft

 

This is really bad. I wasn't sure if we actually had to write out the text. :/

The Poster (Draft)

A draft of the 1st ancillary task. I'm not adept with photoshop although my skills have improved in the last two years.

3rd Cut

A Little Documentary Video

Creating Film Review Page

Creating the 2nd Cut

Creating Titles

First Cut

The first cut of the film has been completed.

Photos

Editing IV

The blank slot shown in this screenshot indicates where the main titles of the film are expected to be located.

Editing III

In order to make the film flow as seamlessly as it can be, transitions are needed. These transitions help to make the footage seem less jerky and overall are more pleasing on the eye. In the screenshot shown above, the transition I have used is known as "Page Peel" and gives the shot the impression of a page in a book being turned over. In this case the page is the shot and the shot is being turned over into the next one.

Editing II

For the ancillary tasks, PhotoShop CS4 and InDesign CS4 will be used.

- InDesign

- PhotoShop

Editing

The majority of editing will take place using the brilliant application, Final Cut Pro. This is a major step-up from the basics of iMovie.

However, iMovie still has its part to play in the process! Due to the format of the footage, iMovie was required to import the footage so that the clips could subsequently be imported into Final Cut Pro.

Filming

Filming took place on 27th February 2011 and 12th March 2011. The vast majority was on the first date however some finishing shots and pick-ups were needed for the 12th.