EVALUATION - 8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progession from it to the full product?

Over the entire process I feel as if my skills have been challenged but improved. I feel that my final production demonstrates how my skills have progressed over the year and also my knowledge.

The music in the preliminary task was my biggest issue. We took a piece from Youtube (without copyright) but I personally felt that the music was a little TOO dramatic, it did fit the genre but not perfectly with the moving image itself, therefore when it came to the main task I felt that the music had to be improved.
I feel that in this area we progressed extremely well. We took the idea of creating our own music. My group and I spoke with the Sixth Form Music students, we described our film and gave them a few samples of what we wanted our soundtrack to be similar to or sound like.
Instead of using the same music throughout our piece we decided to have two, breaking down the tension and building it up again. The music students created us two fantastic pieces, a rock sound for the introduction and a slow piano to end with. I am so grateful because the music made a great improvement on our final product compared to our preliminary task.

The titles are another area in which I feel we improved on. Here is a screenshot from "The Deal", our preliminary task. 

As you can see the titles aren't orignial. They are done in the most simple font and size and filled with solid black. The appearance of the titles don't represent our chosen genre or any genre at all, therefore we decided to improve on our titles from the preliminary task and take those improvements into our final product. 

Above is a screenshot from "Loanshark". Our titles from Loanshark show how we have progressed and improved our knowledge on the genre. Doing research on Action/Thrillers gave us this idea, the use of a plain black background, that way light text can be seen clearly by the audience. We also changed our text to a metallic look, representing conventions found in an Action/Thriller, weapons, fast cars and technology. 

CAMERA SKILLS.

Above is a clip taken from "The Deal". In the clip it shows how we used zoom. The way in which we used this technique didn't work well as it made the moving image unclear. We didn't take this technique through to our final production, instead we used a long shot, jump cutting to a close up, that way it the image was clear and had a more dramatic effect due to the pace of the jump cut. 

Above is another clip, in the preliminary task there were many shots which didn't consist of the full image (heads were chopped out the frame) this is an example. In comparison, the shots in Loanshark are much better, they were well thought of and planned correctly. We also took a number of the same shots to make sure we had a number to choose from. I feel that our camera skills definitely progressed during the project.

The use of a tripod made a great improvement on our final piece. In this clip from "The Deal" you can see the moving image isn't steady. For the majority of our clips in "Loanshark" a tripod was used, and it was used for this same shot (walking down the stairs). Equipment had a major part in improving our film and allowed us to progress it. 

LOCATIONS

Due to the fact we had limited space and decided to film inside school some of our scenes in our preliminary task weren't very unrealistic. For example - You can tell that the two screenshots are filmed in a school.

I feel that the main area which we progressed in was locations and the use of mise-en-scene. 

Above are two screenshots taken from "Loanshark". This scene was actually filmed in the Sixth Form Common room. We adjusted the room and placed things such as the table and chairs, sink and kettle in sight to create a kithen scene. I feel that our knowledge of the subject has progressed and our creativity with mise-en-scene improved our entire production greatly and made it more realistic. Eventhough this scene worked extremely well, the comments from our feedback did state that more locations were needed so I think that next time we should take that into consideration. 

In conclusion I think that myself and my group have progressed greatly throughout the year, from our filming, editing and production skills to our overall media knowledge and I am very impressed and satisfied with how much we have improved. 

EVALUATION - 7. What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation - .6. Audience Feedback

For this response we interviewed 4 people who watched our video within our sixth form (who make it into our target audience category). They gave their response to 4 questions: what they enjoyed about our film, their views on our camera shots, editing choices and how we could improve. Taking into consideration the comments we were given I feel that "Loanshark" got a great response. All the people said that they enjoyed our film and the genre which we chose proved the statistics that the majority of people that watch Action/Thrillers are aged between 14-35. However if I were to carryout the task again I would take into consideration the improvement comments which they gave us, such as: improvement on the muffled dialogue, a wider range of locations could've been used, more realistic sound effects (gun shot) and lighting improvement. But overall I am completely satisfied with the outcome of our production from the feedback we got from our audience. 

Evaluation - 4&5. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? How will you attract/address your audience?

The internet is the media institution which would gain my product viewers. Websites such as Youtube, Blogger, Facebook and other online sites which allow an audience to view short films or video footage for free are the ones which are most likely to distribute my media product.  Here is an example of a student film which has used these distributions (link below). 

The Edge - AS Media Studies Opening Sequence
The producer "Rory Campbell" has his own youtube channel and goes by the name of "Toebex", his online identity. His youtube channel consists of homemade videos of his. On his channel he has uploaded his student film opening so that people can view it worldwide, to this date the video has 24,800 views.

Youtube Channel.

I also found that the producer has a twitter account.  https://twitter.com/Toebex 

In the bio a link to his Youtube channel is inserted. He has used Twitter to distribute his productions to a wider audience. His followers are able to see he has a Youtube channel of his own and can explore it from looking on Twitter.

Twitter Bio.

This producer used Youtube and Twitter to distribute and get his productions out to an audience worldwide. The reasons why in which we chose this way of distributing our film is that our productions are very similar. They are both student films, with a very low budget, a low amount of facilities and is done by an independent, low budget production company (Three Lions Productions). Our film wouldn't make it into cinema screenings as we do not have the funds to advertise it and to publish it to an audience in that way, therefore the internet was the best way to distribute our film to an audience worldwide.

The ways in which I would attract/address my audience would be the use of Facebook status updates, that way my friends and family would be aware of my film, then I could organise shared screenings for my peers at school, family and others who are interested (posting the video on Facebook itself is also another option). I would also announce it on my Twitter account. I would post links in my tweets which would direct my audience to where they can view my production themseleves.

Overall the use of the internet, Youtube, Blogger, Twitter, Facebook and other internet uses are the perfect way to distribute my production worldwide when having a low budget. The majority of people on the internet, using those four social networking sites are in their teen years and up. As the target audience for my film is 14-35 distributing my production online is distributing my film directly to my target audience. 

EVALUATION - 3. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The image above is my montage of images showing the contents of a manbag belonging to a typical target audience member, it includes: Gym shorts, Chewing gum, iPhone, Water, House keys, Wallet, Headphones, USB, Lip balm, Aftershave, iPod, Towel, Deodorant and a Gym vest.

My target audience member. "Justin Green is a student (aged 18) at Cambridge regional college currently in his last year studying sports fitness and is apart of the college football team. He aspires to one day have his own gym or become a fitness instructor. He has a great passion for sports and a great love for music and film. In his spare time he enjoys going to the gym, cinema, making and editing videos and taking a trip to HMV once in a while.  His favourite genres of music are R&B, hiphop and indie. Justin's favourite film genre is Action/Thriller and is a huge fan of James Bond, he is an owner of the complete collection up to date. He also enjoys the Fast and Furious saga and Die Hard. 

EVALUATION - 2. How does your media product represent particular socialgroups?

It was hard to find a perfect fit when casting for our main character, Owen Grey. Due to us having to film within school we needed someone who was also apart of our school, even better sixth form. With the students having different timetables to usand other commitments inside and outside of school it was difficult to find a suitable person, therefore Graham was the best person for the role. 

Graham: Screenshot taken from Loanshark.

Here are some images of actors taken from Action/Thrillers. We have; Roger Moore - James Bond, Tom Cruise - Mission Impossible and Channing Tatum - G.I Joe  . A stereotypical male lead in an action thriller would usually be a muscular, tall, dark and handsome man (alpha male if you like). As an Action/Thrillers target audience are males aged between 14-35 a muscular, tall, dark and handsome character would then attract the females, expanding on the audience.

Our film has a slight contrast compared to your typical Action/Thriller as we didn't want ours to be your typical Action/Thriller and predictable. Having our male lead that didn't have the stereotypical appearance allows the audience to be able to relate to the character. 

The only similarity these characters from James Bond, G.I Joe, Mission Impossible and Loanshark have is that they all have a goal and that is their mission for the entire film. Loansharks lead character consists of many differences, he is un-experienced and new to the lifestyle he is about to begin, he doesn't  have all the "fancy gear" and smart/techno suits. Owen Grey is your average family man that has to change to save the ones he loves and live up to the standards that other Action/Thriller characters have.  

Therefore my chosen character represents the average man (my target audience, aged 14-35) this is done purposly so that the audience can relate to the character, his lifestyle and his story, that way they don't just enjoy the action that takes place but they capture and take in the emotions too. 

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

Here is a wordle I created showing a few of the conventions you are most likely to find when watching an Action/Thriller. 

Here are some examples of how my product uses some of these conventions compared to other film openings.

The image above is taken from the opening title sequence from Skyfall. This is a great example to show how Action/Thrillers include guns and weapons. My production also consists of this convention as it is a major part of mise-en-scene when it comes to action movies.The image below is taken from Loanshark, it is a shot which shows our use of props (the gun).

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Above is a screenshot taken from the opening of Quantum of Solace. A convention I found in many Action/Thrillers is that the titles are usually white (or another light colour) against a black blackground or moving image. The use of this gives a dark and tense atmosphere. We decided to use this convention however we developed it slighty and gave the text a metal look instead of a solid colour, representing technology, machinery and weapons. 

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This image shows how the convention of cars is used in an Action/Thriller taken from a James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. My production challenges this form as it does not contain any vehicles. Reasons for this is because Owen Grey is a average working man who cannot even afford to pay rent. As we wanted a realistic storyline and character, having fast cars wouldn't have worked as in real life Owen Grey's character wouldn't even own a "flash" car. 

Above: A Wide shot of Owen Greys house taken from Loanshark - No car/vehicle in sight. 

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Death is a convention found in Action/Thrillers. This screenshot above doesn't physcially show death but represents it in a creative way in the opening of Skyfall (Moving image of a grave yard).

Above are two screenshots taken from Loanshark. We decided to challenge the convention of death in a creative way just like Skyfall. We challeneged it by not physcially showing the death. The moving images consists of a shot with Owen Grey aiming the gun at his victims. As you hear the gunshot a jump cut is used to show a flashback shot from Owens life, of him and his wife. This represents Owens memory and the reasons why he kills the loansharks. 

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Another convention used in Action/Thriller films is the use of mystery. 

To the left is an image taken from the Skyfall opening title sequence. The image portrays mystery as only half the face is shown, making the audience question and wonder about this character and his mission. Our opening sequence does contain mystery but not within the character. We wanted our film to be a realistic Action/Thriller as you don't get many therefore we challeneged the convention. Owen Grey (the main character, shown in the image to the right) is your ordinary man therefore he doesn't have the mysterious trait of an action/thriller hero. 

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 The image above represents our character, Owen is realistic. The obvious conventions for a character in an Action/Thriller would to be either in a suit of some kind, whether it be a casual suit (James Bond), or a suit to portray a certain character (Thor - hammer, cape etc), which is shown in the images below. The reason for this is the same for many, we wanted our film to not be your typical Action/Thriller but to create a piece of realism which the target audience can relate to. 

Final Video

LOANSHARK

Music/Soundtrack

Due to copy right we had to come up with an alternative option to taking a song from youtube, so we decided to get the A-level music students involved and they were happy to take part.
We gave them a few pieces of music we liked and thought would fit with our film opening:
1. The Misfits series soundtrack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahhMyMOxup8
2. Linkin Park - In The End http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab0E8duvuMs
These examples helped extremely well as the music students were able to pick up the genre we had in mind, a hard, rock piece for the introduction to our opening (combining both pieces) and a soft piano piece for our ending, taken from the linkin park link.
Overall we were happy with the pieces they created, especially the hard, rock piece. When it came to putting the music to image together the piano piece didn't fit as well as we hoped so me and Graham decided to edit it by slowing it down and changing the pitch which worked so much better.

FINAL FONT DESIGN

Font for Titles

DESIGN 1

We liked the idea of using silver/grey as our
base colour for our titles font as it was the 
same as our company logo and was suitable
for the genre, representing fast cars, machines
etc. We also decided a black background
would work best to make the titles visable. 

DESIGN 2

    

                                                                                                                       


 

Music

We went to talk to the music class about creating a piece for our film opening and they happily agreed to take part. We discussed the ideas that we wished to have included and gave some examples of music we liked (Linkin Park - in the end piano instrumental and the Misfits TV series soundtrack).
Link to Linkin Park instrumental
Link to the Misfits Soundtrack
The Group come up with an idea using guitar, bass, drums and a separate section including the piano. Me and my group all agreed and liked the piece and decided to use it as our final. 

Copy of Risk Assessment

Three Lions Productions Risk assessment for the production of Loan Shark

Measurement of Risk.

1. A cut or a scratch
2. An injury/illness that lasts more than three days
3. A broken bone
4. Amputation
5. Death

Shooting Schedule:

Above is an image of the shooting schedule we produced, it includes when each shot is going to take place, where they are going to take place and the equipment and props we are going to need for each day we shoot.

Written Storyboard

Shot 1 - Wide shot of setting (town)                    There are fade transitions between 

Shot 2 - Wide shot, panning of house                  shot 13 & 14, and 14 & 15.             

Shot 3 - Panning wide shot of room                                         

Shot 4 - Close up and tilt of main character getting                  
ready, starting from feet                                                          

Shot 5 - Close up and tilt to belt                                              

Shot 6 - Close up and tilt of gun                                              

Shot 7 - Close up and tilt of jacket being put on                       

Shot 8 - Close up and tracking of feet                                    
walking down the stairs  

Shot 9 - Medium shot from behind,

opens door and walks out

Shot 10 - Master shot, main character,

loan sharks, location is shown             

Shot 11 - Big close up of gun, low angle 

Shot 12 - Sound of gun
Shot 13 - Gun raised, over the shoulder

Shot 14 - Flashback, medium two shot

Shot 15 - Flashback, close up tilt

Shot 16 - Wide shot of house

Shot 17 - Two shot, dialogue scene
Shot 18 - Over the shoulder

Shot 19 - Over the shoulder 

Storyboards and Process

Here is an image of the story board we created before starting our shooting. This task was rather simple as we already pre-planned our main plot therefore creating our story board didn't take long. This is just a copy, the original story board is made from post it notes, the purpose of this was so that we could change the order or alter shots afterwards. 

Extended Research

I then done some research into film titles but with the same genre as "Loan Shark", an action/thriller to see if the chosen title was appropriate and wether it was going to be kept.
I discovered that action films are titled consisting of two things:

1. Giving away a brief and simple description of the plot, for example: Taken, Abduction, Man on a Ledge and Safe House. This is because it is aimed at a certain audience. People who enjoy an action.thiller are into the special effects and action, rather than the story therefore a simple title works just fine. 
2. The other type is how an action/thriller title simply gives away the main character of the film, for example: Headhunters, The expendables, Batman, Spiderman etc.
   

In conclusion we decided to keep our name "Loan Shark" as it fits in with the genre of action/thillers, giving away a brief description of the storyline and main characters. 

Research Into Titles

To make sure we were completely satisfied with our chosen title we carried out a research task to see if "Loan Shark" was an appropriate title. 

Firstly we done some research on the film title "Return of the Jedi". Heavy secrecy surrounded the production and the film was given the title "Blue Harvest" to prevent price gouging, it was a fake working title. The film was originally "Return of the Jedi" and then Kasdan claims he told Lucus that Return was a too weak to use as a title, therefore the title was changed to Revenge. After thoroughly thinking it made no sense as Jedi's take no revenge because of the way they are, therefore the titled was changed back to its original one "Return of the Jedi". 

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone also has a title story. The title was changed in America, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & India to "Harry Potter and Sourcerers Stone" as they had no knowledge of what Philosopher actually meant. 

We also looked into the title of "License to Kill". This James Bond film was the first to not use the title of an Ian Fleming story. The film was originally titled "License Revoked", in line with the plot.
Revoked: Put an end to the validity or operation.
However the title was changed to "License to Kill" during the post production. 

Final Mood-Board

Here is an image of my groups final Mood-board! We had a discussion before the exercise deciding what areas to use from each of our individual mood-boards to include in our final piece. We decided that we would section our piece into 4 which is what Sarah and Graham did, having different categories for each corner. The categories were; characters, setting, props and anything else relevant. The map like background we took from my mood-board as it easily describes the genre, a crazy action/thriller where something is lost and has to be found.

Overall I think this mood-board is great for representing our film "Loan Shark" as it gives a clear over view on what the film is about.

My Mood-Board

For my mood-board design I created a map background to portray the genre and main plot of the film, a crazy Action/Thriller where something has to be found, a destination? a person? It leaves questions.
The two roses on the side represent the characters emotions, how before all of this happened to him all was bright and he had the perfect life, a family, a lovely house etc (the coloured rose) and the black and white rose represents a wilted rose, that all that matters in his life has now gone and his happiness has died.
The main picture in the middle shows the main character (along with the other 5 pictures down below) the three shadows behind represent each family member of his (wife and two kids).
There are a collection of guns in the top right hand corner and one is pointing towards one of the shadows, representing the death of one of the family members.
The left right hand corner consists of the words "Happiness, Warmth, Family, Joy and Love" a description for the coloured rose. The words which are starred "Determination, Courage and Desperation" represent what the character is feeling now.