Audience Feedback

I screened the finished film 'A Certain Romance?' to my A2 Media class and asked them to consider a number of questions to see what our main target audience 'teenagers - students' thought of it. I presented the findings on sticky notes in the following video:



Our feedback was 100% positive, with many commenting on the effective use of music that fitted well with the story. Also many agreed we had the right balance of cinematography with a strong narrative, it was also commented on that the film was easy to follow and enjoyable.

Q2: Time and Technology in the film Production

As a group to produce the film we used many different forms of technology.
Filming with HD Digital cameras we then had to upload the clips to edit on the programme Final Cut Pro for Apple Macs.



Also importing our soundtrack from ITunes, editing to fit with the tone and pace of the finished film.


For research and planning the internet was my main tool and I have embedded a number of youtube videos to my blog as well as a radio trailer produced on the programme Garage Band.
I also used digital technology for my ancillary tasks: the programme Photoshop proved to be an efficient tool to create a professional looking poster and magazine arcticle for my film with carefully planned images uploaded from a digital camera

Evaluation of Film and Ancillary Tasks

For my Evaluation I considered the following questions:
1. How did you use forms and conventions in your production?
2. How did you use digital technology creatively?
3. Explain the connection between your film and the two ancillary texts.

Which I answered in the video presentation below:

Film Evaluation

View more webinars from helen2210

Article: Final Draft

Here, I have improved the house stlye to a striking yet edgy black and red to appeal to a wider audience. I have included real screen shots from the film to reveal more about the narrative, I think it looks more authentic and themed towards an NME arcticle with the logo. I've used a mixture of font sizes and colours for the headline, for a quirky effect that captures the attention of the reader. The style of the journalism is semi-formal with direct adress to the audience and istances of metaphors and humor to entertain the reader, yet explains the premise of the film clearly and cohesively. I think it works well as a review whilst giving extra information about the director as well as the Edinbrugh Film festival, provding links for where the film can be viewed as well as the premier date.

Article: First Draft

Here I have constructed a magazine article reviewing my film. It dicsusses how the film will be presented at the Edinbrugh Film Festival in June 2011 and will also be assessible through online formats at that time. There is a breif interview with the director who reflects on the name of the film and how she feels about it being premmiered at a film festival.
This type of article would fit well in 'Empire' Magazine as the leading film magazine in Britain it would reach out well to the target audience of people passionate about movies.


I believe the house style could be improved, the pink and contrasting yellow appear too feminine for a film magazine that should appeal to both genders, I also think more pictures/screen captures could be used to reveal more about the film and appear more visually attractive.


The NME

I am also considering featuring the article in the NME. Despite it being a music magazine it has a young, edgy audience as the majority of it's readership that I am targeting my film for. The NME website also includes a film review section, so expanding this onto print could also be a good oppurtunity to widen their audience, offering something new and refreshing yet sticking to the indie cultured ethos of the magazine.

Film Poster: Final Draft

The final poster for my short film has an atmospheric black and white colour scheme with flashes of red which I produced on Photoshop. I think the picture is far more visually attractive and fits with the dramatic and artistic tone of the film. I have included all the vital elements which make up a professional poster such as the studio name 'Pulp Pictures' a website address so it is accessible to the online audience who appreciate short films. As well as details of the Director, Writer, Producer, Executive Producers, Actors and Music composer.

I've updated the tag-line which now reads 'A Story of Strangers and the Intervention of Fate' which makes it far more ambiguous and widens the target audience outside the 'romance' genre, setting it up as more of a 'mystery drama'.

Film Poster: First Draft

Here I have constructed a poster for my short film using 'Photoshop'. I've included both actors names across the top and also a website address as short films are mainly accessible online.

I've included a studio name as 'Pulp Pictures' to give the poster a realistic feel as well as the tagline 'The Story of a Boy & a Girl. The Sun, the sand & the Surprises along the way' to establish it to the audience as a romance.

Recce Check & Risk Assessment

Ancillary Tasks Research: Conventions of a Magazine Layout

When considering my Magazine Article Ancillary Task, I have looked at examples of the British Film Magazine: Empire. It is an immensely popular monthly magazine with an average circulation of 194,016 and includes all the latest news and reviews in the world of film.

Generally the articles are either behind the scenes looks into the film with interviews of the stars and production team involved or a review with a star rating. I could consider doing a mixture of both for my double page spread for my own film.

The tone for both types of article is descriptive and fast paced to entice the reader to watch the film, whilst the review can be more critical and humorous. All the layouts follow the generic pattern of neat collumns with simplistic white backgrounds, bold headings also entice the reader and indicate what the article is about. There is also use of 'tag quotes' throughout the article which point out significant information.

It could be said the main focus of all three articles is the use of images, whether a large central picture of the film or small boxes for screen caps or a mixture of both. An article about a film must appear visually striking to attract the audience to read the feature.

Filming

Locations:

Exterior: Saltburn beach and Pier

Interior: Boys bedroom

Cast List

Boy - played by Michael Kelly

Girl - played by Helen Jamison

Costumes

Boy - black trench coat, jeans, grey hoody

Girl - green parka, blue dress, red head scarf

Props

I-pod, Mobile Phone, Sketch-Book, sticks and pebbles

Storyboard

Here I have drew up a simple storyboard to illustrate how the final film will appear shot by shot.

Final Draft Film Script

A Certain Romance?


EXT. SALTBURN BEACH
(Establishing shot of Saltburn beach)

BOY:
(walks into establishing shot and camera follows him)
(close-up of morose expression)
(pans down to iPod in boys hand)
(nose room shot of boy looking towards the sea)
(camera pans down to stick on the beach, boy picks up stick)
(low angle shot of boy’s face as he draws in the sand)
(close up of sad face in the sand)
(camera pans up to establishing shot of boy walking away)
(over the shoulder shot of boy, girl seen in background)

GIRL:
(mid-shot of the girl, camera pans down to her feet. Tracking shot as she walks out of the sea and towards the sad face)
(close up of girl’s face)
(camera pans down to the girl picking up the stick)
(close up of a thoughtful expression)
(camera cuts to the smiley face she has drawn next to the sad face)
(pans up to girl walking away)

BOY:
(overhead shot of the boy walking back down the beach)
(camera pans to boys face, he removes his earphones)
(pans down to the faces in the sand)
(close up of smiley face as boy rubs it out with a stick. Replaces smiley face with another sad face)

GIRL:
(long shot of girl sat sketching on the beach)
(camera pans to left to a shot of the sea)
(camera pans left to girl, shows her getting up to leave)
(close up of her face as she notices the sad faces, she smiles)
(close up of the happy faces in the sand)

BOY:
(mid-shot of the boy looking intrigued)
(Extreme close-up of the stick carving into the sand)
(Pans out to the text ‘who are you?’ carved into the sand)

GIRL:
(close up of the back of her feet as stick falls to the ground)
(Close up of the text ‘a friend…’ carved underneath the other text)

(Series of stop-frame animation shots of stick man & woman being drawn in the sand)

BOY:
(overhead shot of the boy crouching over the sand artwork, camera pans out towards the left and a flower has been placed in the middle of the stick people)

GIRL:
(close up of the girl picking the flower up and smelling it)
(camera pans down to her crouching and picking up a sea-shell)
(stop frame animation of a heart being made out of sea shells)

BOY:
(midshot of the boy looking down)
(stop frame animation of him carving his phone number in the middle of the heart)

CUT TO INT. BOYS HOUSE

BOY:
(Closeups of various personal objects in his room: clock, poster ect…)
(Midshot of Boy that pans down to his phone, zooms out)
(He checks it a few times before leaving the room disgruntled)

CUT TO EXT. Saltburn Beach

(Long shot of the pier stretching out over the sea)

BOY:
(Mid shot of Boy looking out at the sea with a face of devastation)
(Camera pans out behind him revealing the tide fully in)
(Tracking shot of him running down the promenade from a steady side angle)
(Cuts to long shot of him shuffling down the pier)

(Mid shot of Boy as he bumps into a figure)
BOY:
Sorry!

GIRL:
Sorry!

(Long shot of Boy continuing to trudge up the pier)
(Mid shot as a realisation hits him…)
(In the background of the shot GIRL turns around to face him…)

THE END

Why the film should work

The idea for 'A Certain Romance?' came to me after noticing some messages carved in the snow, I thought it would make a good story to show how they got there and why.
I believe a love story makes a good narrative as the questionnaire results carried out in my media class showed the majority were attracted to simple stories with a thought-provoking twist and that the Romance genre was the second most popular.

Genre and Comparative Texts

I believe my Short Film idea can be largely compared to the 2007 Romantic Drama 'P.S I Love You' starring Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank, as it features a touching storyline about a man communicating with his wife through a series of letters after his death - the film was very successful at the box office particularly with the female audience.
However in contrast to the mainstream 'P.S I Love You' I would like to target my film to a more 'indie' audience, we obviously do not have the budget to produce the next Hollywood blockbuster so I shall be relying on an artistic narrative much in the manner of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004) starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as the unconventional couple who decide to erase one another from their memories. The film uses a number of good visual techniques: the main female protagonist, Clementine, changes her hair colour according to her mood. There are also many though provoking shots filmed using the elements such as a snow covered beach and surreal instances where characters disappear and faces are distorted.



Music

Eternal Sunshine also has strength as a film through its use of music, as seen in the trailer with 'Mr Blue Sky' by E.L.O
My target audience are young people that are passionate about music as well as film as I believe the two are closely connected; so instead of using a witty, striking dialog I will be relying on the soundtrack to project across the themes and tone.
Some examples I believe will work well are songs such as 'Effect and Cause' by the White Stripes which is quite a folk/indie sound the audience can identity with as well as the atmospheric 'Spanish Sahara' by Foals and 'King of Carrot Flowers' by Neutral Milk Hotel which I think all work well with the films upbeat message of companionship.

Final Draft Synopsis

The plan for the original film 'Snow' had to be reworked to fit a different narrative in a different Location due to the changing weather conditions that had to be taken into consideration

The final film is named 'A Certain Romance?' and takes place by the seaside, using elements from the first film idea of picture messages in the sand between two strangers who discover a unique bond.

Synopsis:
The story of a boy and a girl, the sun, the sand and the surprises along the way.
The classic British seaside setting introduces us to a troubled young man who passes his time marking faces in the sand. Unbeknown to him, his small actions have signaled the start of an unconventional companionship between two strangers.
When communication is dependent on the elements the messages of a budding romance can only last so long...