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

The following are images of technology I used during the production of our film and the creation of my marketing campaign;

• We filmed Toast on a Sony DSR-PD150 DVCAM
• We used a Mic on a shotgun boom to record the sound with headphones.
• When recording sound for external shots we used a wind muff to cover the microphone.
• We used a Pro-Light for the some of our internal lighting.
• We used different colour gels at different percentage intensity to create different lighting effects.
• To edit our film we used Adobe Editing suite.
• The photograph I used for my marketing campaign I took using a Panasonic lumix DMC FZ28

If we had not had all of this technology available to us during our films production, we would have just used natural lighting or, in the cases when artificial lighting was needed especialy for internal shots, we may have used such light sources such as lamps and positioned them in certain ways to create the desired lighting effects and to create shadows for example. Regarding sound, if we did not have such technology as the microphone, headphones, boom or wind muff, we may have had to either record sound over the footage using a more simple camcorder, or we may have had to just film the entire piece with a simpler camcorder which has a microphone built in. If we hadn't had the Adobe editing suite, we may have had to use a much simpler editing suite, for example Windows movie maker. From using this technology, I have learned specificaly how to set up a Pro Light, and how closing the 'barn doors' creates different light intensity and effects. I have learned to leave any lighting technology for at least thirty minutes before packing it away to allow the light to cool down and prevent any burning or danger. In AS, I didn't use any form of lighting technology, and so I have developed skills this year in different lighting effects, for example, the percentage of colour gels to use to create certain effects, for example, 100% blue when aiming to achieve a very cool and deep blue effect, and only 50% blue to create a less intense cool effect. 100% red makes the room a dramatic red, and I also learned that you can use two different gels together, for example, we used for the opening scene of Toast a 100% blue gel and a white gel which made the room bright and cool, giving an early morning effect. I also learned to use black and silver foil to bend around the light to create shadows of various intensity. When using the editing technology, from AS, I've learnt how to create rolling credits at the end of a film, and have also learnt how to overlap the sound levels by lowering them at the end of one shot, and then raising them at the start of the next, in order for the sound to flow more naturaly.

Evaluation: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After exporting our film during editing, we screened our rough cut to a small audience of people our own age who would be a large part of our target market and asked for their feedback. They commented on how the message of our film and the sole intention of it was well and strongly conveyed. The mise-en-scene was praised for portraying Amelia in the intended light; they remarked how her costume made her appear frail and depressed as she is clad in dark colours and large, unfitting clothes. They commented that the mise-en-scene of Amelia's bedroom was effective in portraying an average teenage girl, and also how her pyjamas conveyed innocence in their child-like fashion. This was the desired reaction, as I wanted her pyjamas to portray her innocence and femininity and create sympathy for her, as the pyjamas highlight how she is really very young yet dealing with stress and pressures which are really too much for her own age. They also remarked on how her make-up portrayed her as washed out and "ill looking" which again, was the desired effect.
On a more negative note, they said that the sound levels needed adjusting, especially in the canteen scene in which the background noise is too loud, drowning out Amelia's voice. Also, there was some confusion about this scene, and we noticed for the first time that Amelia actually walks out of the canteen with the items she says she can't pay for. We attempted to fix the sound levels by lowering them, but when we did this, Amelia's dialogue was lowered as well. To make our film better, our only option is to either cut the scene completely or re-film it, perhaps removing the dialogue from Amelia, and just portraying the fact that she has no money with images alone, rather than words.
Overall, the comments we received were positive, the main issue being the canteen scene, which hoards most of the problems.

Once we finished editing the film, I screened it to an audience in order to collect feedback. In order to do this, I created a questionnaire asking questions about the film;

• How effectively do you feel the overall message of the film is conveyed?
• What are your thoughts on costume and set design?
• Did you understand the films meaning and purpose?
• Did you find the film entertaining? Please explain why.
• Do you have any feedback about sound and lighting (including the soundtrack)?

From this questionnaire, I found that in general, the overall message was conveyed effectively, and each person we screened the film to understood the story and the messages and themes. In general, the collective response regarding costume and set was positive, and several people commented on how the costumes of Amelia and Hilary especially, created the desired effect; noting the distinct contrast between the two. Several people commented on how the film was entertaining because it drew them in and they were constantly questioning what was going to happen, and the final scene gained a positive response, and generally was found to be moving. Sound gained a positive response, and ths soundtrack was said to be "fitting" and "not too upbeat, yet not too sad" and that it "fits in with the pace of the film." However, again the sound in the canteen scene was said to be "too loud." The lighting in the final scene was praised for its "dramatic effect" however the lighting in the second shot where Amelia gets out of bed was said to be "too bright."

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

For the design of my postcard, I wanted to convey the theme of the film, yet leaving some mystery to the poster, so not revealing too much. I also wanted to create something artistic, rather than just use a still from the film. I wanted to use the recurring images in the film in the poster, as they represent the two main themes of it; Amelia's repetitive lifestyle and routine as represented through the image of toast in the morning, and the books which represent Amelia's main focus in life and what she is snowed beneath.

My first thought process regarding my marketing campaign, was to use this image, as it conveys mystery as nothing is revealed. However, I thought that an audience would get the wrong impression regarding the film, and I wanted the recurring images to be present in the postcard to represent the themes in the film. However I did like the idea of using Amelia's eyes in the postcard.

This still from Toast inspired me greatly when designing my marketing campaign, as the two images I wanted to use are in this shot. I liked the idea of the toast being on top of the work, as it is symbolic for Amelia being on top of things with her repetitive routine. My following thought process was to take this image, but make it more interesting in order to draw an audience's attention. I found the colouring of this shot to be too dull for a marketing campaign, and wanted something that would attract an audience. I liked how with this image, however, that not much is revealed, creating mystery.

I liked this still because it conveyed Amelia amongst a sea of people, and I liked how she is in the center of the frame, still and looking straight on. However, I thought that to make this still into a poster, I'd need to stage the extras more effectively to accentuate Amelia's division from the rest of the school.

For my final design, after experimenting with sketches of the above still images, I decided that the best idea to take with my marketing campaign was to use the two recurring motifs I mentioned earlier, and to present them in a way which would draw audiences attention and also create a sense of mystery, in order to make the audience question the film and be intrigued to watch it. I then experimented with some photographs including a stack of books of various different colours, and a slice of burnt toast. In some shots I used Amelia, but covered her face with a book - keeping the mystery I wanted to create. I decided upon my final idea, as I believed it to feature all the elements that I found were best to market Toast; The two recurring motifs, and an interesting tone and effect which would draw an audience, and simplicity - the postcard is not too busy, and so therefore not revealing too much about the film. I took two of my final designs to a collection of people around the same age of Amelia and asked for their opinions on both; One featured Amelia holding a large black book in front of her face whilst leaning on a pile of books, and the other in portrait form, a pile of colourful books on the right hand side and a piece of half eaten toast on the top. I used the same editing process for each image, but the group of people I asked preferred the later, as they said it was effective as it was intriguing in not revealing too much. They also mentioned how the spines of University prospectus's gave a hint about the film themes and who the film is aiming to represent, and therefore drawing in an audience of students of around the ages 16 - early 20's; mainly drawing in 17/18 year old's in the same stage of their lives. However, although I intend to gather a large audience for our film, and so it is an easy option to target teenagers who are currently at similar stages in their lives who can relate to the film and its' messages and voices, I am more dominantly aiming for an audience of people who are most likely to go to film festivals and take an interest in short films. With this in mind, my postcard must have the conventions and aesthetics to attract an audience of film enthusiasts, and professionals within the industry.

For my final film review page, I made the decision to attempt to replicate Sight and Sound, because Sight and Sound target an audience in the middle ground; Not quite so high brow as The Guardian, and yet not as light-hearted and comical as Empire. I used the marketing campaign poster as the image of the article in order to not reveal so much about the film, which would cause the audience to read the article. I used the information in the top left hand corner as a replicate of the information in Sight and Sound's reviews and vital information; director, actors' names, the year, and the certificate and running time. In the review I decided to mention firstly, a brief synopsis of the film to allow the audience to understand the contents of the film, and I then decided to go onto talk about the intentions and purpose of the film, and the themes and messages intended. I made this decision with the intention of making the reader understand the film in more depth, and to comprehend the director's aims with the films, and the messages she is trying to convey. I also chose to talk about how this film differs from a lot of short films, with how it focuses on more of a middle class society rather than a working class society, which is the main focus of short films. I wanted to pin-point how this film is different in terms of themes and class voices, in order to make it stand out from other films making it memorable not only to see but to read about also.

I decided to talk about the opening few shots as imagery for the intentions and themes of the film, and these first few shots I feel are some of the strongest in the film when it comes to portraying the messages. I then mentioned the last scenes featuring Amelia's breakdown, because I wanted to comment on how the penultimate scenes are moving and dramatic in comparison to the rest of the film which may be seen as "just a camera following around a mousy girl with a face of dire misery."

This is the final page of my film review. (click to view larger)

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

In order to ascertain the similarities and differences in forms and conventions between my own media product and existing products, I am going to compare the forms and conventions between my film Toast and Brian Percivals' About a Girl.
About a Girl by Brian Percival focuses on a young girl as she walks along, telling lighthearted stories to the camera about her dysfunctional home life, however the stories have underlying deep and poignant issues regarding her life at home with her parents. The film is fast paced with slower paced shots interjected, conveying the true sadness beneath her seemingly lighthearted and childish stories. The climactic scene of the film sees the girl throwing a plastic carrier bag into the canal, and several under water shots display the image of a newborn baby floating out of it.
In the opening shot, a lot is left to the imagination and nothing is revealed but the silohette of a female of questionable age as she sings and dances infront of a backdrop of a cloudy sky. The shot is framed in an interesting way, as the main subject is positioned to the right of the frame, and the left is still, empty space. There is ambient diegetic sound from the wind for example, and the voice of the girl as she sings a Britany Spears song. Instantly, intertextuality is
introduced, giving the audience something to relate to, however not much else is revealed. There is a sense of lonliness portrayed, and this is conveyed through the use of framing, as the girl is alone in the frame with nothing around her but sky and land, and the silence of anything other than the ambience of the wind depicts the idea of being alone. As a real media product, the opening shot has the purpose of sustaining the audiences attention from the very beginning, and introduces one of the themes of the film, being lonliness. The mise-en-scene supports this theme and also the theme of young dreams and escape, which ultimatley, are what the young girl wants.

In this second screen shot which I have chosen, we see the girl in one of the following shots after the opening, as she walks infront of a backdrop of industrial Manchester, talking non-stop to the camera about pop-stars and stardom and also interjecting comments about her relationship with her parents. I chose this shot to convey the typical forms and conventions of a real media product, as the camera tracks her in a realistic, doccumentary style, and also as every element of the mise-en-scene reflects working class values, and gives the audience an immediate idea about where the girl is from and her background, and which class Percival is aiming to represent. Her clothes, hair and jewlrey reflect a typical working class image, and the scenery around her depicts a sense of coldness as the weather is dull and the trees are bare, and also the locations around her convey an industrial and working class environment. The lighting is dark and natural, giving the film a sense of reality and honesty. Darkness and dreary weather is generaly assosiated with negativity and sorrow, and so the mise-en-scene of this shot connotes the idea of misery.

I have chosen this shot because it is the first time other characters are introduced, and the audience are able to see the girl's relationship with them. Her mother and younger sister are in focus in the background, talking, whereas the girl is in the foreground out of focus, and alone. This shot further contributes to the themes of lonliness and a disconnected family. Again, the mise-en-scene conveys a working class environment supporting the portrayal of the young girl and her background. There is a distinct change in pace here, as it slows down and she is silent for the first time. This change in pace displays a sense of disconnection and the difference in character when she's alone and when she's with her family.

I chose this shot because of the naturalism that is portrayed through the use of sound, lighting, mise-en-scene and the camera shot and angle. The sound again, is ambient diegetic sound, of such things as a dog barking in the distance, someone shouting in the background and the sound of wind, birds, etc. The lighting is natural light, and the mise-en-scene conveys a realistic view of a working class environment. The camera angle creates a sense of realism, as it is a simple long shot, and connotes the idea that someone is just watching the small family as they walk infront of them. The fact that their backs are to the camera also connotes the idea of realism as there is no sense of false positioning or staging. Again, the pace has changed to a much slower one, interjected between shots of the girl walking at a quick pace, and talking non-stop to the camera.

In this shot, again, another slower paced shot sandwiched between fast paced shots of the girl talking non-stop and quickly, there is silence for a few seconds as she sits opposite her dad, the nest character to be introducted to the film. The space between them connotes distance, and the audience has an idea about their relationship. The mise-en-scene supports the image of working class society furthur, in the dads costume and the props on the table; basic cutlury, plain white mugs, tomato sauce, and plain plastic chairs, connote the image of a basic "cheap" cafe. The background, beyond the window, is out of focus, connoting themes of the girl blocking out the rest of the world with her focus and attention drawn to her dad. Realism is again portrayed, with a basic medium shot, which creates a sense again, taht someone could just be watching the two as they sit opposite eachother. The people and cars which go past the window also support the sense of realism. There is dialogue between the two characters, which allows the audience to understand their relationship.

I chose this shot because this is the first variation of camera movement in the film. Up until this point, the camera is either still as we see the lead character with members of her family, as though they are being watched, or the camera is handheld and there is plenty of movment as she talks to the camera on her own as she walks along the cannal. This shot however pans around her, taking the shot from a medium shot to a long shot, in which you see her sitting outside a pub and she appears very small as her feet dangle off the ground. Again, she is silent, however the background noise consists of voices and loud sounds from the inside of the pub. The theme of lonliness is revisited, and she is blatantly diconnected from her father, as the loud noises from the pub represent; and also the theme of dreaming and escape is suggested again, as she sings silently to herself while listening to her earphones. Again, intertextuality as she sings the same Britney Spears song, as at the beginning which is a recurring symbol for her want to escape; "you think that I wont make it, on my own, but now I'm stronger..." these lyrics, heard at the beginning in the opening shot, connote her want for freedom and escape from her society.

I chose this screen shot for the camera angle; as the film nears the ending, the camera angle for this shot is canted, reflecting her state of mind, her life situation, being off-balance.

Here, the film reaches the climax, and the camera angle and movement is different to any other in the film so far. An arial shot, as the girl walks into the frame from the top left corner, and as she takes her place by the edge of the canal, the camera pans round so that it is directly above her. The camera angle here is a representation of not only her innocence, but also a sense of judgement, as she is being looked down upon and almost critised. The shot is dark, and the water of the canal looks black and ghostly, and although there is no dialogue at this point, there is ambient sound from the wind, trees etc.

This image is the climactic image of the film. Deeply disturbing with the intention of effecting the audience; disturbing them on an uncomfortable level. The fact that is an under water shot makes it a dramatic contrast to the rest of the film, and the sound contributes to the dramatic effect. The silence, apart from the sound of the water is disturbing when paired with the image and the contrast between the previous shots and images; being realistic, with naturalistic lighting and sound, and instead for these final shots, a distorted, underwater sound is injected.

Unlike in About a Girl, which begins with the title of the film before anything else, Toast begins straight away with this image of Amelia. Similarily to Percivals film, a lot is left to the imagination with the opening scene, as it unclear why the girl has make-up strewn down her face, and it may be asumed to have been due to a party the previous evening. And so this is unclear. It is also unclear what class she belongs to, and like in About a Girl a lot is unclear, therefore sustaining the audiences attention. Unlike in About a Girl, in this opening shot non-diegetic music is used, and so the film has more of a cinematic effect, rather than a doccumentary type effect as created in Percivals short. I think this opening shot uses and develops forms and conventions of existing media products, as it is an image able to sustain an audiences attention, which is the main objective of many existing products, and yet unlike in About a Girl where nothing about the girl in particular is revealed therefore furthuring the mystery and causing the audience to question everything about the shot, the mise-en-scene here tells the audience a fair bit about Amelia - mainly the fact that she is young, and has similar interests to any teenage girl; Twlight, fashion, the opposite sex; as portrayed via the posters in the background. Also, the main emotion of the film is revealed via her sad expression and mascara.

I chose this still of Toast because I feel it reveals vital information about the lead character. The shot begins on a floor blanketed in books and papers, one in particular focus reading "Looking to the future." The image of books is recurring in our film; a continuous reminder of Amelia's key to escape and her downfall, and much like in About a Girl with the Britney Spears song, "Stronger," the books are a recurring motif of an important theme of the film and aspects about Amelia's life. The low shot which pans upwards whilst tracking Amelia as she walks over to a mirror, I feel is an interesting and unconventional shot when the camera;s angle and movement is taken into consideration, and when compared to Percivals film, he has a more conventional take when it comes to movement and angles until the very end of the film, whereas we have explored movement from the very beginning. I feel that this shot uses forms and conventions of real media products, as the interesting angle and movement paired with the cotinuing non-diegetic music and busy mise-en-scene which connotes the main themes of the film, match those elements of existing products.

This shot I feel also uses and develops conventions of existing media products, as the camera focuses on the plate of toast; an image which relates to the title, giving the audience some relation to the title, and also keeps the audience sustained in want to find out the relation of Toast to the film as a whole. The camera pans out from the toast slowly, gradualy revealing more of the scene. As the camera pans out slowly and gently - a contrast to the handheld camera movements which were used in previous shots, the girls mother is revealed, and the scene is set. There are similarities between our film and Percivile's, one being the variation in camera movement, varying from still basic shots, still panning shots, and shakey handheld shots. The variation of camera movement connotes a sense of realism (with the shakey handheld shots, reflecting a documentary type product - strongly evident in About a Girl) and also the idea of just being watched and followed rather than filmed, and a sense of typical cinema, with still shots which don't have as much of a realistic take. A second character is revealed almost instantly, and more about the lead character's life is revealed via mise-en-scene, much like in About a girl which is set amongst an industrial city. Through the mothers costume - being smart and sofisticated, and the kitchen appearing bright and tidy, much about the lead characters home life and background is revealed. In this particular scene, I feel we are challenging the conventions as the kitchen is bright, and the character of Amelia's mother is upbeat and cheerful, wearing bright clothes, and yet Amelia is a distinct contrast to all of this, in her dark clothes, lack of make-up and downcast expression and body language.

This still shot from Toast is where the title first appears. Unlike in About a Girl which begins with the title as it is typed on screen as though in a text, the title of our film appears by fading in and then out again against a direct image of the title. Unlike in Percivals short film, with which the title reveals nothing about the film itself, our film title is set against two recurring images of the film, and the themes; one being a repetative routine, and the othe being the school work which is weighing down Amelia's life. The non-diegetic music continues here, using the conventions and forms of an existing media product - as the opening non diegetic music is paired with the title and several images, in keeping with existing forms and conventions of media products.

This shot I believe challenges the conventions of existing media products, as the image is the least important part of the shot, and the voice over of one side of a phone conversation. The image represents Amelia's want for freedom, and a contrast between Amelia being drowned in work and books, and other people her age just relaxing and having fun. The image having no immidiate relevance to the voice over, I feel therefore develops conventions of short films as there are two elements of her life being portrayed at one time; her current state as conveyed through her boyfriend's dialogue as he comments and critisises her lifestyle, and what she really wants, being the image connoting freedom. Also, there is no ambient sound or diegetic sound in this shot, portraying the idea that she is looking at this image through a window.

I chose this still because its creative angle I feel develops conventions of existing films. Our film doesn't just use conventional and basic shots and movements, but we've explored different angles and movements because there is a lack of relationships and character interaction, we found it important to be creative with the use of the images on screen. The distance between the camera and her bedroom door connotes the idea that there is a division between Amelia and the rest of her life; a disconnection between herself and everyone else in her life. Like About a Girl, there is a distinct division and disconnection between the lead character and everything else, and we've portrayed this in similar ways; a physical distance between others like in Percivals film, but we've also shown this, like with this image, with just the use of camera positioning. We've used a fading transition here to connote the end of a day, and represent Amelia fading out the outside world, and contrasting to About a girl which uses no transitions during the film.

In this shot I believe we have met the conventions, as in this single shot much about Amelia is conveyed through the mise-en-scene alone. Facialy she looks tired and washed out, there are books surrounding her supporting the theme of the film and portraying how snowed under she is in work, and the posters on the wall connote information about her. This is also a shot in which the plot is developed, as she tells her boyfriend she can't see him as she has too much work to do. The lighting is not artificial but created by a pro light and a blue gel, making the room seem dark, contributing to the nagative atmosphere. Here we meet the conventions of existing media products, as darkness is typicaly assosiated with negativity and sadness. The fact that she is wearing dark clothes also contributes to the sense of sorrow and darkness of her life.

Here, I feel we keep to the conventions of existing products, as the shakey handheld camera movement paired with the male actor barging past Amelia roughly and knocking her bag on the floor create a sense of unbalance and Amelia reaching the end of her teather. As this scene is set just before Amelia breaks down, this action adds to Amelia's breaking point, and the movement reflects her state of mind being on edge and gradualy beccomming out of control. By using camera movement to represent a characters state of mind, we are keeping within the conventions of existing films and media products, using representation within the technical aspects as well as the physical.

In this shot, I feel we have broken away from typical conventions as Amelia's face is up close to the screen in an extreme close up in a swift movement. The extreme close up connotes how close the audience is at this stage to Amelia's inner thoughts and feelings, as aposed to the division between herself and the audience and the other characters in the film. In this scene, we see dramatic emotion from Amelia for the first time, and this is the first time the camera has been so close to her, creating the idea that the audience is closer to seeing the real her than before. The light we created here however, I feel broke away from the conventions of existing media products, as we created the light using a pro light and a blue gel, which almost illuminated the room, creating dramatic shadows in an unrealistic way for the supposed time of day. Therefore the exaggerated artificial lighting, created to exagerate the emotion and depth of the scene breaks away from the conventions, as it is not realistic nor natural.

Film Review

In light of our project, we have researched into existing short films, and studied existing film reviews to look at how films are examined by proffesional film critics. We wanted to know what they look for when watching a film, and how they critisise or praise them. After studying the way that film reviews are written, I produced my own review of our own short film, Toast.

I am focusing my review on the film magazine Sight and Sound, trying to maintain a similar layout and style.

Toast, anyone?
A poignant insight into the life of a teenage girl, dealing with the struggles and pressures that bind her as she moves through every day with that one goal on which she is fixated, pushing her along. We see her traipse through a repetitive lifestyle, blocking out the things around her until she finally breaks; the climactic scene which elegantly portrays the result of all work and no play, and a moving and emotional sequence creating a great deal of empathy from the audience.
There is more to Toast than just a camera following around a mousy girl with a face of dire misery, and at first glance the repetitive sequences containing lack of dialogue or character interaction, may raise the question, “where is this going?” However, the sole intention of the film is successfully reached.
This self financed five minute film acts as a stepping stone for newcomer director Grace Davis, who uses the film to comment on the overwhelming amount of school work issued to young people today, and the generic pressure that comes with it to go to University. Some might argue that the voice of the middle class has no artistic merit, as generally it is the working class who are the focus of short films; however I found that the comment on a different class from the generic and becomming ever so slightly repetative same class that short films seem to circulate, was refreshing and origional.
The film begins with the tender image of the girl clad in childlike pyjamas, with mascara strewn down her cheeks, and then traipsing over a floor blanketed in a sea of books and folders, one specificaly reading "looking to the future." Such images as this convey effectivley the idea that was Davis' objective. The pace of the film I found necassary for the themes, and contributing wholly to the overall tone of Toast. The penultimate scene in which Amelia Jones, who is of around eighteen years of age, breaks down and personally rebells against the pressure and hard work that has been dragging her along the past few days, in the same clothes and an allergy to smiling, was moving and very well captured.

I don't think anyone with a heart can look at this origional short film and not be even the tiniest bit moved by the image of a frail looking girl, curled up on the floor amidst a carpet of books and papers, crying to herself. On a more critical note however, the climax I did find to be a tad predictable, and I was preying for these young budding film makers to create a more dramatic, twist perhaps for the ending. I thought there could have been more of an alteration in Amelia, as we see her looking exactly the same, throughout the entire film.

My final film review layout page;