Final Film Product

This is our final product of our film Illuminati.

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

In frame 1 there is a close up of the name of our title which is 'illuminati'. The title appears and then flashes on screen at the end of the title sequence, it then fades to black and the beginning scene of the film comes on. The font of the title is clear and bold and is also white on a black background which enables it to be clearer for the audience.

In frame 2 there is a high angle shot of our main characters. The high angle shot emphasises the idea of the group being watched which links in with the 'Pyschological' genre that we opted to go for. We have added a black and white special effect on this shot, we did this to make the audience beleive that the scene was in the past which would then follow on to our opening scene which is further on in the future. The high angle shot also establishies the location of the scene which is a school drama studio, this also adds to the realism of the scene as the children and the drama studio link in with eachother.

In frame 3 there is a close up of playings cards and a ouija board and some candles. These are the main props in our title sequences as it all links in with the genre of the film which is 'pyschological'. The candles next on the table light up the ouija bored which builds up the suspense of the scene because it makes the ouija bored glow displaying its importance to the scene.

In frame 4 there is an image displaying the transition of the directors name on the playing card. To do this we placed a blank black square over the playing card. This adds to the continuity of our title sequence and it is also shows a different shot type, which helps to show our variety of shot types that we have used.

In frame 5 there is a close up of one of the names of our main actors. We came up with the idea of using our props to display the names of our actors. We did this by using the letters from the ouija board to spell out the names of our actors, we thought that we would do this because it added to the continuity of the title sequence and the background and font style suited our genre.

In frame 6 there is a long shot of our main actors walking towards school. The shot shows the outfits/props used by the actors which are all teenagers, which are all casual modern clothing. This is stereotypical because teenagers are known to be following the latest trends and fashion so it helps add to the realism of our film.

In frame 7 there is an over the shoulder shot which shows the words 'Im watching'. This links in with the idea of paranormal actvities occuring which helps the film fit in with the horror genre. This shot also relates to the title of our film 'Illuminati' which is seen as being the all seeing eye. The shot also helps to show the wide variety of cinematography that we have used throughout our film.

In frame 8 there is a mid shot of one of the main actors in the film, the image shows a girl being strangled from behind. This gives the audience a hint as to what could happen during the film. It also shows the girl as being a vunerable character which is stereotypical of a young character in horror films.

In frame 9 there is an extreme close up of the bible. There is an added effect to this shot called flash, in this effect red and yellow colours flashed across the screen and then faded to black. The colour red that flashes on the bible connotes danger which will give the audience clues as to why the bible is a key prop throughout the film. This will also give the audience the idea that maybe the bible is going to be a dangerous/harmful part in the film.

Evaluation 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups

 

The images above are both of teenagers that are in films. On the left hand side are the actors that we have used in our film Illuminati and on the right hand side are actors Hayden Panettiere and Emma Roberts. The two images represent the social group of teenagers. Both images have many similarities and differences. One of the most noticeable features of both groups is the clothes that they are wearing. This is stereotypical as it shows all of the actors in the images are wearing rather new/fashionable clothes. it is stereotypical of teenagers to follow the latest trends and fashion. Another stereotypical feature that is very noticeable is that all of the characters shown in both images have styled there hair which is a very stereotypical thing for teenagers to do as they will want to appear as fashionable and stylish to everybody.

Evaluation 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

This is our voice over analysis of our film 'Illuminati'. In the video above we have included commentary on different sections of the film which we have explained for our target audience. This was uploaded from youtube to blogger.

Evaluation Task 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Demographics

The age of the target auidence that we have decided on for our product is both males and femals aged 15-26. We chose this as our target age group because we felt that any within this age would be able to relate to the characters and the settings of the film.
Our target audience will live in a communal area/estate which will be closer to a town or a city rather than a village.
The income level will vary between different age groups, this could be due to education levels. The income of our target audience will fall into category E and category D. It will fall into category E which is unemployed, students, pensioners and casual workers, we thought that audiences members which are aged 16-18 are more likely to be students who may have a part time job meaning that they will have have a small amount of income. It also falls into category D which is semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers. We felt it also fell into this category because the members of the audience that are aged from 20-25 would have a part time/full time job and would probably have an average amount of income. We thought that the target audience of our film would all be single because they are young and would not be in a serious relationship at their age.

Psychographics

We want our target audience to have an open personality which will mean that they will like experiencing new things, we also want them to have an open personality because our film is different and seperate to other horrors which means it will be a new experience for them when watching our film. The interests of our veiwers will be watching films, for example going to the cinema very frequently. Another interest of our viewers will be horror/thriller films, we want the audience to like the idea of being scared by the storylines/plot twists during the film. The younger side of our target audience will still be in school/college meaning that they will be wanting to spend their free time with friends relaxing and chilling out, so they will use the product at the weekend to watch with all of their friends. It will also be fun/exciting for them because the narative will be something that they have never seen before.


EvaluateYour Descision

The target audience of our film will be able to afford our final film, we decided that we are going to price the film at £10. We feel that this price will be suitable for the target audience because it is a low price and it will be easy for them to purchase even with a low income budget. When asking people what types of films they prefer to watch we found that more people were interested in watching horrors because they are all different and they all provide new experiences by using unique plot twists.

Evaluation 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

This is our analysed copy of our title sequence and opening scene for Illuminati. We analysed our film using the annotation tools on youtube.

Evaluation 6 - What have you learn't about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This is an image of the lights that we used in our film. We used lighting effects such as coloured spotlights to fit the mood of the current scene. We also dimmed the spot lights to add to the realism of the seance scene.

We used a tripod when we were filming our product to improve the steadiness and it also allowed to us get the framing of each scene correct.

This is the voice recording device that we used for our voiceover edit of the final product. This device allowed us to be able to add speech annotations to our product so that we could explain the different sections of the film to our audience.

When we edited our product we used an apple mac. We used an editing software called final cut pro. When using the software I learn't how to add specific features such as effects, transitions and titles all to the final product.

The next two images show the lighting control boxes that we used for our lighting effects. We used effects such as spot lights and we dimmed the lights during the seance scene again to add to the realism and it also helps to fit in with the current mood in the film.

This is the camera that we used to film our product. When filming my preliminary task I learn't how to use the camera correctly and effectively. I have also learn't how to use different shot types and shot angles when filming.

Evaluation Task 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learn't in the progression from it to full product?

When looking back at my preliminary task and my finished film opening I can see that I have learn't a lot about how to use specific techniques to create and effect on the audience. The first area that I looked back on was my camera work. In my preliminary task I only used a small variety of shots and shot angles, but when it came to my final filming opening I realised that I needed to use a wider variety of shot types so that different effects can be created for the audience. For example in my film opening I used shots such as low angles to show that the character that was on show was scared, weak and vunerable and I also used extreme close ups to show the audience the characters facial expressions which will tell the audience exactly how the character is feeling.

The framing in any scenes/film openings is very important. When filming both my preliminary task and my film opening I had to be very careful about what the audience could and couldn't see in the shots. When filming my preliminary task I made the mistake of not checking the surrounding areas and what was on display in each shot. An example of this would be that when we was filming the audience could see walls with display boards and pieces of work on them. The mistake that I made was that i didn't think about the rule of thirds on the camera and the postioning of the main actors aswell. In my preliminary task our main actors where not positioned in the centre of the shot which mean't that the framing of the scene was not very good. After this I learn't that for my final film opening I had to be very careful with my framing to ensure that the main actors where positioned in the centre of the shot and also had to make sure that the surrounding areas of the shot were suitable for genre of the film.

Illuminati Film Draft

This is the first draft of our film Illuminati. We showed this draft to a selection of people that fitted our target audience to find out how they thought that we could improve it. The things that we needed to improve on were the music of the title sequence, we had to change the music of the title sequence because the audience that had watched our draft felt that the original music did not suit the sequence. We also had to change the shape and the size of the font on the candle, this is because the font that we had originally chosen did not suit the genre of the film as it was too basic. One of the main things that the audience picked up on was that we had left our production company logo out of the film. So when going back to edit our final piece we imported the image into final cut pro and then edited it into the beginning of the title sequence. We also made a grammar mistake in the film when the words 'Your being watched', which should have been 'You're being watched' The audience also did not like the way that this came up onto the screen so we went back and changed the transition on the words. The audience also did not like the way that the date flashed up on the screen, it originally flashed up in a white font on a black background, the audience felt that this stopped the continuity of the film. To change this we went back and instead of making the date appear on the black background we decided to keep the same white font, but this time instead of using the black background we made it slide on to the screen from the left hand side into the top left corner which helped us to improve the continuity again. 
We also had to capture some more footage after we had received our feedback because the audience felt that the film didn't have an appropriate ending to it, so we went back and re-filmed a new scene for the ending of the opening scene which was suitable for the genre and the target audience.

Illuminati Props

 This a list of all of the props that we are going to be using throughout our film. Each prop is going to be used to give the audience key pieces of information. For example the bible will allow the film to relate back to the religious aspects of the illuminati and it also helps to link it back to the basic ideas of the illuminati conspiracy. The

Candles,
Deck of cards,
Table,
Fake Ouija board,
Bible,
Illuminati symbol necklace,
Broom (caretaker)
Symbols

Film Actors

In our film we have a group of teenagers that are all year 13 drama students. We decided to use these characters because they all fit in with the range of the target audience which therefore makes it relatable for them aswell. Here are the names of the actors that we have included in our film;

Shara Hobbs
Oliver Roberts
Amber Kibble
Laura Browning 

Stereotypical Locations Of Horror Films

When researching stereotypical horror film locations i found 3 main locations that are used frequently, these locations are large houses/hotels, forests and old buildings such as asylums. Here are some images of stereotypical horror locations, they are used because they are all unique and individual. When looking into them, each horror film has its own location which seems to be separate from any surroundings like towns, villages, etc. As shown in each of the images below you can see that the locations have no surrounding areas.


 

Shotlists

This is the shot list that we are going to being using when filming our title sequence and opening scene.


Shot List

· Establishing shot of the group and séance - pan around the room
·High angle looking down at the séance
· Close up on the Ouija board letters
· Close up on the pack of cards turning over
· Close up on the bible
· Extreme close up on a extract from the bible
· Close up on the candles
· Close up on the 'illuminati' name on the  table
· Mid shot showing the back of the mysterious figure on the balcony
· Point of view shot looking down at the séance low angle looking down at the séance
· Long shot of teenagers walking to school
· Mid shot of teenagers talking
· Long shot of caretaker sweeping
· Mid shot of caretaker
· Extreme close up of caretakers illuminati symbol on his necklace

Roles - Illuminati Film

When we first got into our groups for this project we had to decide on some key roles that we would all have to do within the group. These are the job roles that we all decided on in our group.

Harry Shipp - Director of the film - This means that I am the one that was in charge of making sure all of the actors knew exactly what they were doing and also it was my job to ensure that all of the settings where correct and appropriate for the scene.

Jack Sutton - Producer of the film - Jack job was to make sure that all of the other film members knew what they were supposed to be doing and to make sure that they were involved throughout the film. 

Independent Research - Plots of horror/thrillers

Before deciding what we wanted to base our film upon we each did some research into horror/thrillers to see what the basic plot lines where.

The first horror film that i researched was paranormal activity. Paranormal activity is a supernatural horror film that is based around a young couple that move house, only to find out that they are being haunted by supernatural presence. The reason that i researched into this film is because it uses the filming technique 'found footage' which means that it is being shown through the characters on screen recording it. I also researched this film because it includes the idea of paranormal activity which was one of our initial ideas for our horror/thriller.

The next film that i researched was

Stereotypical features of Horror Films

In Horror Films lots of different techniques are used to build up suspense and frighten the audience. For example some of these techniques are;

A fierce Creature/Animal
Supernatural Humans
Paranormal Scenes
Murders/Killers

Each of these techniques are used to scare the audience in different ways, for example a fierce creature or animal is usually known as being a savage or a hunter, which means that the animal is going to kill. An example of this that is used in a film is in the film 'Anaconda'. In this film a large snake goes round hunting and killing explorers on a mystery island. This frightens the audience because they never know when the snake is going to appear.
 

 

Finished Storyboards

The following images show are completed storyboards for our film illuminati. The storyboard also includes information such as the shot, the angle of the shot, the script within the scene (If needed) and how long each shot will last.

Pitch Feedback

The overall audience feedback that we have received was good. We found out that our initial title ideas were good and also that our film would be running on a low budget which means that it will be easier to film because of the simplicity of our settings/locations and props.

Music/Sound

City cranes – freeplay.com
Flotate – freepclay.com
Tiger paw – freeplay.com
Dot Dash – freeplay.com
Apetureset – freeplay.com
Brooding – freeplay.com             
Evil eyes – freeplay.com
Portent – freeplay.com
The Haunting – freeplay.com
Dark angel – freeplay.com
War of the fools – freeplay.com

These are our initial ideas for soundtracks to use in our film. Each piece is mysterious and eery sounding sound which connotes uncertainty which is the part of the genre of our film. Most of the music is slow paced which again adds to the mystery of the film.

Production Company

The name of our production company is Moonlight Productions. We decided to name our production company this because the word 'Moonlight' connotes

• Darkness
• Mystery
• Supernatural Creatures
• Shadows

Our company logo shown below, is of the words 'Moonlight Productions' with an image of a moon at the end of it on the right hand side.
We chose the name 'Moonlight Productions' because we thought that it was suitable for the genre of the film which is thriller/horror.

Title Ideas and Fonts

We decided to name our film 'illuminati'. We did this because the word 'illuminati' links with the ideas of symbols and the idea of a secret organisation, which makes people question what it really means. The definition of illuminati is "people claiming to possess special enlightment or knowledge of something. Our idea was that the caretaker in our film would be part of the secret organisation illuminati and would wear a necklace with a symbol from the organisation showing that he may know things that the other characters do not.

Plot/Narrative

Our film is based around a group of young teenagers who decide that they want to perform a seyonce in school. But the teenagers do not realise what they are letting themselves in. As they are performing the seyonce they are being watched by a mysterious figure that is standing over the top of them. The next day the teenagers are walking through the school and they are stopped by the caretaker of the school who tells them 'you don't know what your doing, you shouldn't have done it at all' The teenagers don't take any notice of the caretaker and carry on walking. This is when the film changes as the teenagers are unaware that they have realised dark spirits and one by one are all haunted by forms of paranormal activity.