Evaluation Q.7

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

Preliminary Task:

Looking back at the preliminary task that we did at the beginning, I feel that I have learnt a lot about how to make an opening sequence. Especially with shots like this:

We shot this, then stopped recording and the next shot was this one:

It cut straight to this one which wasn't a continuous shot, however, for our opening sequence, we learnt how to fix that by using a master shot, and not changing the position of the camera in order not to make any more continuity errors like the ones in the preliminary task. 

One other thing that differed from the preliminary task and the opening sequence was that for the task, we didn't have a script, or storyboard, so each shot was completely different and improvised, so it was harder to direct the actors as we had no idea what to record, however with the opening sequence, we had written a script and designed a storyboard in order to come up with a structure which we could follow. 

With the preliminary task, we didn't use any different camera shots or angles, it was just one slow pan from left to right, however for our opening sequence,  we learnt how to differ in the shots that we used to make it look more interesting:

Also looking through the rough edit of Redemption and the Final Cut, I can also see a massive difference and how we changed things in order to get the best grade possible:

After looking at the rough edit, we fixed the sound, we made the titles more interesting, made the shots more compelling to set the scene of the opening sequence, we also added soundtrack to help add to the tension and suspense. 


Overall, I think I have learnt so much from first doing that preliminary task to doing the opening sequence.  At the beginning, I didn't know how to edit footage, put soundtrack on the video, design titles or using different angle shots, but through time, and looking at our opening sequence, I think I have definitely learnt more about it than I did when first starting and it is pretty evident looking at both the preliminary task and the opening sequence. I learnt how to make the footage more interesting, instead of just cutting between scenes, my favourite video transition to use is the cross dissolve in both the titles and the shots itself, it makes the opening sequence more cinematic and more realistic as a movie as opposed to the preliminary task. 

Video and Written Responses

Video Response to our opening sequence:

We asked the people in our video whether they liked our opening sequence, what they would do to improve it and what mark they would give it out of 10. One being really bad and Ten being really good. 

Written Response:

Emma, Student: 

It looks very professional, effective as well as it doesn't tell you too much in order to leave you wanting to watch more, also there is confusion mixed in as the two guys seem to know each other. One little thing would be the way his hands are tied, it just appears to be easy to get out of but that's a very minor thing, aside from that, it was very good and I don't think there is much to improve.

Luke, Student:

I thought it was really good. The suspense was excellent and I would want to see the full length feature, I don't think there is much that can be improved on it really. The suspense and tension was great throughout and the ending was a good climax.

Redemption- Final Video

This is the final video uploaded onto Youtube. We added the title Redemption at the end of the clip.

Evaluation Q.6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

For our blogs, we were allowed to use whatever we wanted to post our blogs, so I decided to use Blogger, as a first time user of Blogger, it did take me a while to figure out how to use it efficiently. This is the link to the home page of my Blogger account:

 http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1670978405279728717#overview/src=dashboard

At first I didn't know what to write about and how to list them out in chronological order, but gradually I got used to using it and knowing which buttons to click.I also gradually learnt how to embed videos, upload them onto YouTube, make hyper-links within the posts.

The program we used to edit and export our opening sequence and videos such as audience research, video responses to the opening sequence and test shots on, is a program called  Adobe Premiere Pro. This is the link to their site: http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html

At the beginning, I assume like most students who have never used this before, it did take a while to learn about how use this program, I spent a few weeks just experimenting with sample videos to see how I can manipulate it using various video effects and transitions. I learnt how to import videos, then cut or extend the videos, whether to mute it or add sound and use video transitions such as cross dissolves to make it more interesting for the viewer. For our opening sequence, we had to learn how to use the colour correction tool to make it appear more cold and thrilling for the audience. We learnt how to export the videos to the correct file which made it more time-efficient, instead of uploading it in a huge format that will take forever to render, we chose the most suitable depending on the videos. We learnt how to change the text:

We used this tool to make the titles seem more interesting, we added a few video transitions to make the opening sequence stand out. We changed the position and the font, different colours with different animations.

Below are a few print screens of our opening sequence and us working on the titles and fitting it onto the screen at the right moment together with the music.

Production Equipment:

The equipment we used included a Sony Handycam and a tripod. After practising using the camera, I learnt how to perform a white balance, found out how to change from auto to manual focus, using an external microphone and know not to block it and lastly I learnt how to adjust the aperture and exposure. 

Evaluation Q. 5

After uploading the opening sequence onto YouTube  I added annotations to demonstrate how our opening sequence is similar to other movies in the same genre, I mentioned, the location, costume, sound and dialogue providing links to other YouTube videos of trailers and similar scenes to our opening sequence.

Evaluation Q. 4

I answered this question the same way I did for the first Evaluation question, where I sectioned the questions to answer it fully.

Evaluation Q. 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

What is a Distributor? And what is their role? http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4958_1.asp

Looking at the site, a Distributor's role is:

• To project and maintain films in the marketplace.
•  To connect each film they send out with the largest possible audience. 
• To be tactical and abundant with knowledge about promotion and publicity in order to appease audiences to see their films.

Out of all the distributors to use out there, I think the one I would most definitely use for our type of opening sequence would be Momentum Pictures: http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/

This is the IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0049085/

These are some of the movies that Momentum Pictures have distributed which are similar to our genre:

The Raid:  http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt1899353/

Welcome To The Punch: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1684233/

Seven Psychopaths: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1931533/

Hit and Run: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2097307/

Lawless: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212450/

Safe: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1656190/

Justice: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1214962/

The reason why I would choose this distributor over any other is because they are known for distributing films of similar genres, not just our genre but sub-genres. The various posters that are promoted by this distributor highlight that they are knowledgeable about how to target the audience efficiently and effectively. It is also evident that because of their success in promoting their films, they receive a high revenue income so they are financially stable and have strong connections with UK cinemas to create as much of a wide release as possible.


Here is a trailer for the up and coming film 'Safe', starring Jason Statham: