What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Unfortunately i could only obtain audience feedback for my actual film as my technology does not allow me to upload images onto face book, despite this I had quite a few comments from face book and one on YouTube. The audience feedback is very important as it allows me to look back at what people think and allows me to change things or say things that i could have changed, despite some silly comments. All the people that commented thought my short film was good despite some errors made, the main points picked up where the tension and the eeriness of the film, people also liked the way the parts of the anime where used to reinforce the idea that the game was real and how I related that anime to the card game and primarily to the film. More time to look into how to edit thing better may of been a good thing as well, several of the shots where mentioned to be shaky or even things being in the background that shouldn’t of been, mild continuity errors and even lines were also picked up on as being wrong and the length of the film as well as the characterisation where key points people picked up on. These things can be prevented by either knowing how to master the editing software and changing filters on the screen shots to erase anything that shouldn’t of been in the shot, or things like time preparation and organisation of where the camera is going to move to, however using basic equipment there will always be small technical errors. The time to characterise again was a key issue, however in short films characterisation isn’t really needed as long as the story has time to develop, this is again one more point that could of been developed, getting to know the characters roles of the bully and as the main character would of been better for the audience and for them to understand more about them characters, however with these faults in mind the audience feedback is helpful to highlight these problems for the future.

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

planning

Blogger: posts and producing the coursework
Google: research and finding pictures,
YouTube: finding out information on short films

Production:
final cut pro
Camcorder
Apple mac

misc
serif
facebook,
youtube

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

The poster is clearly different from the rest, it takes the idea behind the film and uses it in order to explore the idea of the shadows, it takes the ideas from the end of the film and the sense of being trapped, however it does not explain the film it just gives away the ending leaving the viewer or the audience member with questions about what they have just seen, the colours used match with the colours used in the other ancillary task of the review however they also mean different things, the black and the white contradict each other and give the feeling of the shadows invading where the yellow colour contradicts the red by suggesting that things turn from good or happy to bad and more sinister, red and yellow also are used often to express danger which could also be related to the idea behind the shadows and how important they actually are and will be in the short film.

The film review utilises many aspects of the poster for example the colour scheme, however it has used a wider variety of picture that involve the bullying aspect which doesn’t give away anything to detailed about the end story but can still leave the audience with questions, to contradict the serious feel there have been jokes made towards the short film in order to appeal to a wider audience and people that may not look at this short film may read the review and think of it as something fun instead of just appealing to a niche market. Similarly with the poster the colours correspond, red and yellow for danger and the white and black suggesting about the ongoing shadow theme as well as the sharp contradiction of the colours meaning good and bad, in the film review the background is black with white writing, with the poster there is more white present.

The films itself hold all the features mentioned however the yellow colour isn’t mentioned at all, this is due to there being more colours expressed, the yellow was not needed anymore to suggest the good side of things, as other parts of the mise-en-scene did this, with things such as lighting and the colours that the character wore. The name of the film is also a running feature that obviously is in the short film but it’s also mentioned in the same style throughout the other parts of the work, the impact this makes is a mental image recorded in the memory of the audience so they can clearly associate the poster with the review and the short film in any order they see them.

Overall as they are all very differant this helps creat a contradiction, however with the themes they all share they are successful togeather as they can all be linked by differant aspects.

Evaluation Q1:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media product?

A short film is basically an original idea that has a running time of usually less than an hour. Short films can however vary from a few minutes (like my film only lasting just over two minutes) to lasting up to a long period of time, on average short films last up to ten minutes, the films I looked at for planning lasted approximately 7 minutes, the duration of my short film was considerably less than this, however lasting this short amount of time does meet the needs of a short film.

All short films have things with other meanings, perhaps things that fall under the idea that they have a hidden meaning or several different meaning that can be confusing for the audience members or even just things that have a purpose. An example of this in my film would be the idea of the shadows, this hidden meaning is also the idea of hell but this isn’t very clear to someone who has just walked into seeing this film blind, this however is later explained by the main character and the ‘twist’ the story takes. All short films as well have enigma codes (questions to be un answered ) which are then answered later on by action codes. Again this happens in my film with the question of ‘what is the power the main character is on about?’

Genre is also a hard thing to classify as generally short films only have one theme running throughout, my main theme for my film is the concept of bullying and the main area is a school, therefore giving it the classification of a drama. Emotions of fear and anger are explored as well as the feelings of love and obsession in correlation to the cards, the main character clearly feels for his cards as they get ripped up and the obsession with them is that in every scene he is with them. The idea of the drama is that although the film shows aspects of sci-fi it explores mainly the idea that the character is living an everyday life and shows some realism in doing so, it is only the brief flashes of some scene which causes this genre to differentiate from the norms of the drama genre and enter the realms of sci-fi by offering surreal things to happen alongside these everyday occurrences.

Props where used as well but only in small amounts, the cards played a large role of supporting the main character and the cards also corresponded to his power and how balance can be restored. These cards required little to no input to propel the story along and it is only at the end of the story where the other two characters are scene in the cards where effort was needed, the key role keeps the idea of power in balance, the pictures on these cards also hold relevance in the last scene of the film as they hold the pictures of the other characters.

Clips from YouTube where also used in the film, specifically parts of the anime where used to emphasis the points used in the film. This is important as it suggests that the mythology and the history behind the game aimed at children is actually real. This is the pivotal point for the film and the way the story rotates around this idea as well as the twist, the twist however is slightly predictable but at the same time is sinister and allows people to feel sorry for perhaps the characters who where made out to be the bad characters, this is all reinforced by the selected clips, some of these clips are also repeated alongside some of the voices allowing the scenes to flow and to add emphasis onto these clips so they don’t just seem random occurrences.

The story line to the film is slightly confusing; there is a lack of depth however it is still easy enough for the audience to understand that the film is aimed around the idea of bullying and vengeance. There could of been more things added to the film in order to explore this idea further however this could of also had the effect of making all the other random clips seem pointless as the characters could of become to developed.

The twist is confusing and somewhat miss able, It is easier to look at the twist in the film when you look through it several times, the idea that the main character is bullied is the main theme, however this idea gradually builds up into the idea that he will eventually gain the vengeance he so desires with the main character issuing threats, at this point this idea is developed and the bully then gains the fate so desired however he is not the only one, being trapped inside the cards alongside the 3^rd character is the main twist as this isn’t expected, this is a main convention of a short film, all or most short films have an unexpected twist at some point although not all the time are they as obvious as the twist in my film, a prime example being the black button, early on it is determined there will be but it’s not until the end do you realise enough about the main characters to see the twist.

See you in the shadows short film (Media studies coursework)

Film poster

Sorry about bad quality, click to make the image bigger

Film reveiw: See You In The Shadows

sorry about the quality but this is the review

updated synopsis

Updated synopsis:

The main character is based on real life, his life is based around a card game and his obsession has lead to obtain mysterious powers. This is important to the story as this is the main theme throughout. He appears to lack friends and appears to exclude himself around the cards as seen in the first scene. The main character is bullied by his so called friends as the cards are seen to be childish however the main character appears to be fine with it. Seeing his friend in the next main scene he talks to her explaining about the cards, no-one seems to understand him making it difficult for him to cope with. Many flash backs and scenes from the popular anime are used at this point to signify the relevance of these cards and the possible power,  the scene with his friend clearly outlines how people interpret him, as a misunderstood character. The bully also outlines this and allows the audience to see in a physical way how he is being tortured, the things he cares about are destroyed and him being physically hurt also show the emotion behind it. A twist at the end is used to show that the balance of good and evil is restored.

Scrypt and prop list

Scrypt and prop list:

Yugioh cards (product)

Various clips from the anime filmed via youtube

Costume (natural look no specifics)

Yugioh card maker.com allowing me to make cards by importing pictures and using the template for the card

Scene one-

Main character: It was long ago when they sealed this power away, After years of me playing the game I have found a way to unlock this hidden power but no one believes me... they think it’s a game... I shall show them it’s something more...

Scene two-

A conversation takes place between the main character and a friend. This is about how they feel about the game and about growing up. A rough idea of how the scene was supposed to act out.

Scene three-

Scene of power with the bully:

Main character: hey what’s up
bully: why do you still play this game?
main character: because it’s fun and I’m good at it
bully: but it’s a kids game you need to grow up
main character: aimed at kids but I know it’s true power
bully: power? What power it’s just paper!!!

*cards get ripped up*

Main character: dude what the hell are you doing?!
Bully: grow up and get a life
main character: you will see!!!

Scene 4

Bully: stop playing card games or I will send you to the shadows
main character: (pushes bully out of the way camera angle changes several times)No, it is I who will see you in the shadows....

Evaluation: not all of the scene are present for the scrypt, this is due to me asking the people on scene to improvice as I wanted the emotion shown in the short film to apear to be more realistic to emphasis the bullying and to see such emotions as sympathy.

Scene break up post storyboard

Bellow is a basic outline of what happens in each scene and the way I worked in order to develop each scene, not all of these scenes however where used in the final production due to not having a way to be able to link it into the rest of the film.

 

Important notes: the threat of ‘see you in the shadows’ is a reference to the anime of Yu-Gi-Oh. The shadows are meant to be a place where souls can get trapped. This could also be classed as sending the individuals to a hell like state.
In these scenes there are also break up of shots, these are just the locations where they happen, a more detailed story board will explain the shots used.

Scene one	Channel updates- this part of the short film introduces the main character and his role, this is also where it is mentioned that there is uncontrollable power that was locked away and he has found out how to master it
Scene two	Scene of playing the card game getting a feel for how it works, this scene is short with not much sound involved.
Scene three	This scene is based at school this is where one of the main characters is involved, an argument between two friends takes place and various flash backs and clips are used to express the emotions going on in the scene, clips from the yu-gi-oh anime are used to express things being said. Cards are also shown in this shot to express the point of a possible addiction?
Scene four	In a room a different day from the previous scenes, the bully enters and an argument takes place, the cards are ripped up and this expresses the feelings of both characters, the main character is bullied by the bully and yet is still friends.
Scene five	A corridor scene where the main character and the bully appear, in this scene the main character gets pushed against the wall and the threat of ‘I will send you to the shadows’ is then issued, this matches the title of the film. The next two shots then are used to show the power the main character has, this scene finishes with a point of view shot of the bully on the floor with the main character towering over him and repeating the threat ‘see you in the shadows’ this then concludes this shot with a white out.
Scene six	The last location is in the house at a table. The main character reaches into his pocket and pulls out what appears to be more cards, he places them on the table and walks out of the room. The camera then pans around to see that the pictures on the cards are that of the bully and his friend the scene then blacks out and a shot of a green twisting light is shown (this correlates to something out of the anime where souls get trapped)

Poster analysis

Above is the short film poster for the black button, this poster portrays the image of the film and the actual black button with a finger ready to push it. This is the main point of the film and whether or not the main character pushes the button, the film name is printed in black above this printed on the right hand side, this is more unusual as people read from left to right. The name is also written in black reflecting the name of the film and comparing it to the main point of the film. The name for the film is printed in a different font but one that corresponds with the actual black button suggesting that the film may be based around an old theme, the white background also reinforces this idea is the actual theme of the film is about heaven and the choices we make and how they determine where we end up and how we end up doing them. The film poster is basic with very little information presented on it, however the final point for this is that the main choice of the film is represented above the title of the film, this makes the audience read this part of the poster first, although the font is not as bold it is the same font making it relate to the black button film and making sure that it is actually related to the film.  There are some smaller details for example the company or the people who made the film as well as another production they made along side, compared to an actual film poster it lacks some information and has a more simplistic approach, however you do not need to include all the extra information as short films are on a smaller scale and aimed at a niche market.

A quick synopsis

The main theme behind my short film is the idea of someone being bullied and it explores the idea that the way someone enjoys themselves (in this case the main character playing a game aimed at children) can be changed depending on the people they are friends with outside of that environment, the film starts off with a general routine of making youtube videos for youtube  about his hobby and they way the main characters life is mainly on youtube and how important the videos are to him as they make him happy, at this point its introduced that the main character is getting ready for a big event which could change his life as the prize money amounts to a large sum, however all he has to do to get the money is to win the event. This all seems good and simple as he then prepares to do a video at his school as he introduces the way of how he will win, this is cut short as the agent of change enters, a friend from school enters the shot and bullies the main character taking the winning cards away and ripping them up, this later on leads to a greif scene where the main character talks to youtube apologising about what will happen and that he has to sort something out. The way the film then develops is by developing the point that working with the so called bully may actually help him, by borrowing the money he needs to replace the cards that where ripped up, another dilemma is then caused as the main character is then put under pressure for winning as a threat is then introduced, the following shots then show the character under stress and questioning how good things are going. In the final scene the bully enters smashing up the surrounding area with a weapon of some kind (sporting equipment) and then proceeds to the main character where things could go wrong, the climax ends in the money being replaced and equilibrium is then restored.

Audience

Audience is a key feature bear in mind when looking at developing a short film. My short film has a base around friendship and the main character has to become friends with a group of two different friendship groups. The main theme of the short film is yugioh (a children’s card game) which for me is a popular game in which people play to socialise together and to generally have fun, however people tend to take the understanding that yugioh is a children’s card game and tend to bully people who play it. The audience who may decide to watch this will be similar to myself and people interested in the card game may wish to watch this in order to see a persons opinion on this. The age group aimed at this are teenagers to possibly mid 20’s. As this is the main group of people who play yugioh is of this age. People may also look into this film for an opinion of people who get bullied. This may interest different groups of people just based of the representation of the main characters.  The film is also about being bullied and the impacts this may leave on one person’s life, this is also relatable to some people in their school years, as the main scene is at school, mixing the groups of at school with people who play card games aimed at a children market or commonly associated with a children’s market allows a new audience to be a main focus, as this would also be considered a niche market, the idea of the film is to address the bulling idea and how the character deals with it meaning it could possibly be a useful resource for teachers and people suffering with similar problems as they feel they can relate to the problems represented.

Poster analysis

(actual poster to follow)
Above is the short film poster for the black button, this poster portrays the image of the film and the actual black button with a finger ready to push it. This is the main point of the film and whether or not the main character pushes the button, the film name is printed in black above this printed on the right hand side, this is more unusual as people read from left to right. The name is also written in black reflecting the name of the film and comparing it to the main point of the film. The name for the film is printed in a different font but one that corresponds with the actual black button suggesting that the film may be based around an old theme, the white background also reinforces this idea is the actual theme of the film is about heaven and the choices we make and how they determine where we end up and how we end up doing them. The film poster is basic with very little information presented on it, however the final point for this is that the main choice of the film is represented above the title of the film, this makes the audience read this part of the poster first, although the font is not as bold it is the same font making it relate to the black button film and making sure that it is actually related to the film.  There are some smaller details for example the company or the people who made the film as well as another production they made along side, compared to an actual film poster it lacks some information and has a more simplistic approach, however you do not need to include all the extra information as short films are on a smaller scale and aimed at a niche market.