'Same Love' Evaluation

1)    What was the task you were given and who was your target audience? As the audience wasn't typical of the product how did you manage to sell it? What was the name of your brand? 

Our task was to create an advert about a charity bringing awareness to the issue of homosexuality. The group created a fictional charity called ‘Same Love’ which we felt got out our overall message rather clearly. We decided to appeal the product to our teenage audience by filming the project within school to create a familiar and relatable environment.

2) Who did you work with and how did you divide the research, planning, filming and responsibilities? 

I worked with Mia, Natasha, Jamie and Carys. We immediately delegated all the required tasks to the most appropriate person. For example, I oversaw retrieving footage and creating the voiceover. We all were involved in the final editing process. Research tasks were also divided across the group with two of the group performing these tasks to ensure efficiency in the allotted time.

3) How did you plan your sequence? 

We decided to use storyboards and a shooting schedule. We thought that this was the most efficient way of going about this as all of our intended planning for the sequence would be presented in a way which is clear and unambiguous to the entirety of the group. Our shooting schedule helped us to stay on task and on time.

4) What research and planning did you undertake?
We decided to research some pre-existing advertisements about our chosen subject matter. We thought that this would be a good thing to do as it would let us in on some of the vital conventions and stereotypes of these kind of adverts. We also decided our backing track through this too.

5) What was you initial feedback? What did others say about your production? How successful was your sequence?

We thought our sequence was successful, audience members in particular noticed and liked the camera angles and dramatic effect which it helped to create.

6) Identify what went well and with hindsight what you do to improve/do differently.

We thought that the group work in itself went very well, as delegating the main principle of the tasks to people ensured that we completed well within the final deadlines of the task. However, I would like to improve our time management to ensure that no time is wasted on one particular task.

7) What have you learnt from completing this task (groups skills, communication, compromise, using your initiative, creative input, production skills, editing etc)

I have learnt that getting on with all members of the group is vital to ensure that everybody’s viewpoint and ideas get across and to ensure the smooth creation of the product. Getting on with other people which I do not typically work with is a vital skill which has been of great importance.

8) Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing your future productions?

That well-planned and efficient group work and task management will ensure that production deadlines are met and in some cases, earlier than intended.

Advert Recreation - Budweiser

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxTYBmdXzpbtVFY0SVNaS0VXTVU/view?usp=sharing

EVALUATION

1)    Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

The group which I worked with was Jamie, Ryan, Billy and Alistair, with James Eaglesfield starring in one of the scenes to help. On the first day of shooting, we decided to immediately split our main task into different areas. The entirety of the group was keen to all have a role in the actual advert itself, so we ensured that as well as specific tasks, we all also ended up having a part in the filming.

We decided to take the task itself and give everyone a individual role, I.E. one person responsible for filming (swapped as necessary), people responsible for costume and someone who was responsible for ensuring that the locations we wanted to film in were available and suitable. We all took part in the editing stages to ensure that everybody’s opinion was voiced before we exported it.

2)    How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use?

The crucial target for this was to recreate the Budweiser advert as accurately as possible. The best way we did this was to watch the original advert as a group, take notes and discuss what we could actively do, and from this, we eventually created a script to reference, to ensure the advert is as accurate as possible. As well as allowing us to note fine detail such as sound and lighting, we also built up our filming schedule to help.

3)    What theorists do you think you could apply to your task?

Mainly, Albert Bandura’s theory of the hypodermic needle is mostly appropriate here, due to the repeated ‘wassup’ which is within the advert. The sound is loud and harsh, but also fun sounding, and is rather forcefully ‘injected’ into the mind of the audience for the advert, and because of the strange sound, it became very memorable.

4)    What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

The first issue we had was the school itself. We knew that wherever we shot, we needed to keep the noise level down and any disruption to an absolute minimum due to lessons and any other work taking place. We managed to avoid most issues for this by informing people that we were going to be filming well in advance. The other issue we were limited within was time. Alistair for example, was not available for an extended length of time due to him undertaking four lessons instead of three. Because of this, we decided to film quickly and within designated media studies lessons. Things such as output settings had to be considered to ensure optimal video quality but keeping a relatively small file size.

5)    How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well and with hindsight what would you improve/do differently?

We would say that this sequence went very successfully. Apart from maybe a few timing and scheduling issues, we feel as if we achieved the target to accurately represent and recreate the Budweiser advert. Our timing and sync is something which I would like to highlight, as we particularly felt this went well. We would probably spend some more time learning about the advert and scripts so that we didn’t have to re-film any areas which may waste valuable time.

6)    What did others say about your production?

External feedback proved to be largely positive on the advertisement. Audiences were particularly pleased with the accuracy and attention to detail with things such as the sound effects and locations which we chose to film. Some audience members did point out that Ryan didn’t have as much enthusiasm whilst shouting as he could have, however, we feel as if noise making limits were the main culprit for this.

7)    What have you learnt from completing this task?

Be realistic and keep it simple. One thing which we feel is valuable to help is the fact we were wasting time with things like camera resolution and output settings. Leave them alone and set them at the beginning. There are more important things to focus on!

8)    Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing your future productions?

This introduction will mostly help me get an idea of the best practices to keep in mind when using the editing software, Premiere, and also, the fact that planning is always key to ensure that the group can work to the best of their ability, without friction

Camera Shots and Movements

Representation - Dr Cages

TASK - Choose any one of DR CAGES, and list the stereotypes. Choose three media texts about that and find one countertypical argument for it.

DISABILITY - Typically, people with some kind of disability are sometimes assigned a lesser role, and sometimes forced to endure a second-class life, despite what many people are trying to do to make disability less of a segregating issue.

Media 1 - Television
Within television, disability is presented in a wide range of lights. There are a number of programmes on television which centre themselves around disability, and how it affects the daily life of the people involved. One example is 'The Undatables' on Channel Four, which can be viewed in a positive or a negative viewpoint, depending on who is watching it. The preferred view is that the program brings to life issues which people facing different disabilities face whilst dating, and bring positive awareness of it, but some could see this as offensive. Many television programmes are broadcast with subtitles and sign language for death and hard of hearing persons, as well as audio description.

Media 2 - News
Disability in the news is also used in a wide range of applications. Depending on the story, disability could be shown in a positive or a negative light. Newspapers are a good example, where broadsheet newspapers are going to tend to present disability as a serious issue and treat it with formal respect, whereas tabloid newspapers would tend to point it out as something to laugh at and consistently target.

Media 3 - Film
Disability in film is also highlighted in several ways, with the most common being a positive representation, such as a film where a person in a wheelchair could be the main protagonist of the whole movie, stating that people can actually do things.

COUNTER-VIEWPOINTS
I would particularly like to highlight the Paralympic coverage of Channel Four. The Paralympics tend to offer olympic class sport to athletes with physical disabilities, and in some cases, Channel Four's coverage of this is actually better than the BBC. The amount of significance that C4 places on the Paralympic Games, such as custom-produed trailers and identification screens show that they are placing a large positive and diverse viewpoint. Channel Four has been known to be very diverse and open about many disabilities however...

Industry > Newspapers

Mise En Scene

Task 1: What settings and props would you find in...
a. A Science-Fiction Film?
In a Science Fiction film, the props used would typically be futuristic, and feature a high amount of digital technology and displays. For example, holographic projections are used quite often to convey this. It is entirely possible that props could very well be considered as 'abnormal' or 'out of this world'. Setting is a mixed-bag. There are a number of settings that can be used within this kind of film.  One example in particular could be the 'Star Wars' series of films, which not only take place within futuristic spaceships etc. but also take place in more traditional areas and natural scenery to add to the variety.

b. A Romantic Comedy
The props used within this film would be general everyday things, normal and realistic objects that people have access to. A mobile phone would be a good idea of this. The props are used to not only show the romance, but also the comedic aspect of the film, often times being used to create a sense of calm and chaos at the same time. The setting could be anywhere, however, the most common used in films of this type would be the home and possibly an office. It is important to note the significance of the individual locations in the settings though, for example, focusing on the sofa at home.

c. A Horror Film
The props used in this type of film will be the kind that will strike fear into the audience. This could include weaponry of sorts, and seemingly innocent looking objects which can be used in all different ways to create different effects. Some films could go as far as adding further detail to the props, such as covering them in blood. The settings used here are rather cliche. For example, very dark settings such as forests and abandoned buildings could be used, but there are a wide range of notable exceptions to this, some horror movies could be based in someone's own home for example.

Task 2: What meanings/emotions are conveyed in the following?

In this image, it would appear that the two of them are working together to plan something very quickly, such as an escape or similar. It would appear that the person on the right could very well be in mid-speech, in the middle of talking to the person on the left, who at the same time looks to be concerned, they seem to be engaged and interested into what they are saying, carefully analysing it all. They also are not looking at each other, instead, the eye position suggests they are surveying the area around them, which helps to further secure this thought. 

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These two people look rather panicked. To begin, its noticeable that the person on the right is clearly hurt in some way, because of the rather large bandage on their arm. It is possible that he has been hurt recently because of the large amount of blood staining his shirt. It would appear that the person on the left is helping him, and his facial expression is expressing a very large amount of concern for him. There are also two extra people in the background of the scene, both looking rather concerned for this actor. All of this really suggests a horror genre. 

The first thing to note of this image is the person in the centre. His stance and arm position suggest a position of contempt, and is correcting the soldier to his right who is holding his helmet. This could suggest that the soldier is rather worried and stressed and is expressing a concern for the events. It appears he is the only one who is not doing something, so posssibly, be is being told do do something (and rather forcefully). On the right , we a soldier who is armed and holding a sheet of paper, looking at some sort of a plan. This tells us right now that a squadron is possibly teaming up for some sort of operation/drill. The amount of soldiers in the background can show us this. 

Task: What does the positioning of the following image reveal about the characters/film?

The first thing to nice is the distances that the couple are sitting from each other, which can tell us about the characters. At least at this point, their relationship isn't very good.  It's worth noting that some films that do this can very well have a couple repair their relationship. However, at least her, we can deduce this. The fact that they are also sitting on separate sofa cushions suggests this separation as well. Something that I find interesting is how they're not actually sitting at the end of the sofa, which will very well suggest that they could be about to make some sort of a recovery. The camera angle used here is a perspective of a television, rather cliche for romantic comedy films. 

This image immediately shows the axe cut almost perfectly into the wood, but it is hanging out ever so slightly. The rather small plank and the open level below it however shows that the axe could have very well hit the lower level, and potential, hurt or killed someone. From the point of the audience, this is potentially very tense. It can be considered from both perspectives, either a villain could have been killed, or someone innocent. From this, we can deduce that the film the image is from is either n action or a horror film. 

It is firstly very easy to gain an idea of science fiction or spy as the genre of this film. This is due to the rather futuristic appearance of the main setting, mostly gained through the use of circular lighting and greys through, all which help to create the futuristic feel. The positioning of the weapons also helps the audience to gain an idea of some sense of seriousness. They are armed, and ready for something to happen.