Part 8 - Looking back at your Preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

           

Digital Technology

I think the strengths of my preliminary task, is that we got used to using the digital camera very quickly, so we could get the rights shots we needed. As it was the first time using these cameras, we had to learn quickly how to use them and what buttons do what. Also, with using iMovie, it was the first time using the new one, so we also had to learn how to use this, but i think we done this very well as we learnt how to use precision editor to get tight cuts which made the continuity editing a lot smoother. However what was less successful, is that sometimes it was hard to get the right shots we wanted with the digital camera as the lighting and sound was very sensitive so some shot had to be redone, And also iMovie i didn't know how to use everything. But when it came to the real task, i improved on using iMovie as i became more experienced and skilled with the software so i was able to make the editing much better in the final production. Also i was more used to using the cameras so getting the right shots didn't take as long.

Creativity

I think that my preliminary task was very creative, because we wanted to portray a serious theme, which is the character going after to kill someone, but then make a twist and add comedy into it. I think this was successful because it was different to everyone else's piece of work. However what was less successful about the creativity, is that we could have used better people to play the roles of the characters to increase the verisimilitude, also we used simple and plain shots which isn't very creative. In the real task i think i improved on this because we came up with an idea that was very different and unique than most other BSR films. We also used a wide variety of new shot types that we had learnt in the pre production stage like the 'looking through' shot and graphic match. This made our work much more creative and interesting to watch

Post - Production

With post production in the preliminary task, we had to follow three rules that had to be in the film. These were the 180 degree rule, rule of thirds and match on action. I done this very well as i followed all of these rules and made sure that while editing the match on action looked perfect. I also think that it was successful in terms of continuity. The editing flows very smoothly and it all makes sense which is good as it was the first piece of work we done. However what was less successful was that whilst in post production, some shots were missing in the piece as in some scenes there was interference that we didn't see before, so i had to think of ways to cut that part out without it affecting the storyline. This was improved on in the real task, because before we left the filming location, we checked each shot a couple of times to make sure it was correct, so no shots were missing and had to be re filmed once we put it all together. Also when editing i became more experienced in the software so i could make the continuity flow even better.

Research and Planning

I think we was successful in research and planning as we done a storyboard. We drew up the storyboard to exactly how we wanted the storyline to go, (lighting, location, dialogue, camera angle etc) and showed very clearly what was going to happen in each scene, so when we were filming it, no thinking had to be done as it was all on the storyboard and we just had to follow it. Also, we done research into the three rules that we had to follow so we fully understood what needed to be done. However what was less successful in terms of research and planning, is that we casted ourselves as the characters in the film, and made some shots that required both of us to be in, so we had to press play, then get into position and film the shots. We didn't think everything through clearly enough. We improved on this on the real task as we though every shot through clearly. Also we done months of research on BSR films before actually planning it so we knew how to conform to the conventions of the genre so it relates to that type of film and the same target audience. 

Pat 7 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Part 6 - How did you attract/address your target audience?

                        

Part 5 - How does your media product represent particluar social groups?

Part 4 -In what ways does your media production use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

            

Part 3 - What impact did the media institution Film4 have on each production stage and why?

Part 2 - Who would be your target audience for your product

                            

Part 1 - Brief

This was the brief that we was given to work towards. We had to create a film of the genre British social realist, for the institution Film4. The target audience was of the ages 16-24, and we had to conform to the typical conventions of Film4 and BSR films like the visual aspects eg camera shots, locations etc, and the editing and musical style, and also keep to the budgets of a Film4 film to keep up their reputation. I think that me and Chanel met the brief well, because in our audience feedback we gained many positive comments saying that our work was original, kept to the conventions and looked like a BSR film, which is what it states in the brief that it needs to be.

The title we came up with for our film was Drained. We feel this title relates to what goes on in the film and also to the character. The word drained, connotes to the audience that the character might feel 'drained' and that her life might be like this as well. For example at the start of the film (0.20) the character wakes up in a very dull room and is late already. This would connote that her life is draining as she cant even wake up in the morning as she is too tired or 'Drained'. Also, as the character works in a laundry factory, there would be many washing machines and other machinery. We feel that the title could also connote to the audience that the character does work in a laundry factory, because when washing machines turn off the water gets 'drained' out so the word is also a function that washing machines do. So it connotes a more hidden message as well as portraying what the characters life is like.

Here is our media production again.

             
In the opening sequence, Adriana wakes up late for her first day of work. She rushes to get ready and tries to get there as quickly as possible. She is excited for her first day at work, and it shows her boss walking around waiting for her. At first he looks calm, but then he starts to get angry at her absence. When she arrives he grabs her and threatens her. Adriana is very scared and realises this job is nothing like she thought it would be. The blog post 'treatment' explains this in more detail.

In the rest of the story, Adriana tries to get out of the workplace, but as she would have no money if she left she cant. She starts doing prostitution on the side so she can save some money up to eventually leave. Whilst still working at the laundry, Adriana falls in love with another foreign worker, and they try to get out and find a better life for themselves. You can view what happens in detail in the blog post 'Narrative'

Our opening sequence sticks to normal conventions of BSR films, because we explore themes that are typically seen. For example at 1:57 in the movie, we denote the boss Steve grabbing Adriana by the throat. This connotes the theme of violence, as a man is grabbing a women which is assault. This is the first time we see this theme being portrayed in the film. Violence is a typical theme in BSR films, which can be seen in films like 'Fish Tank' , 'Looking for Eric' and many more. Also when conducting research into BSR films, people said that they would like to see violence portrayed in BSR films, which we have done here. This is in the blog post 'Audience research'

Also, at 0:18 and 0:39, the theme of poverty is seen in the film. In the first screen shot we denote lots of mess on the floor and the room looks very cramped. This portrays the theme of poverty as it shows the character doesn't care about her home, which would mean its not valuable enough to care about, and also she hasn't got enough room to put all her belongings. In the second screen shot, we see a towel being used as curtains. This connotes the theme of poverty because it shows they cannot afford to buy curtains so they use what they can instead. Poverty is a main theme shown in all BSR films so as we added this theme in it conforms to typical conventions that they use.


Throughout the film, the theme of isolation can be seen. At 1:30 is when it can be seen the most. Here we denote the character sitting at a bus stop all alone, and the framing shows lots of space to the left of her. This connotes that she is very lonely and doesn't belong here. Other films that use this style is 'Shifty'. They use similar framing to connote the theme of isolation. This theme is also used widely in BSR films so we have explored the themes used in BSR films well.


Exploring these themes in our film shows how it relates to the genre of a BSR film because these  themes are very common in this genre, which is why we used them so it clearly relates to the genre of BSR

Production Log 9

In week 9, we started to put together the scenes that we filmed in the laundry over the holidays. This was very easy for us to do because we only had to put them in the right places and tighten up the editing so it runs smoothly, however once it was all done we thought the shots between locations was too rapid and it was hard to get a grasp on what was going on. To solve this we added a 1 second fade every time it went from the laundry back to Adriana, but left it as a normal cut when it went from Adriana to the laundry. We done this because the fade helped slow it down a bit so it run smoother, but we left the other ones as it added more tension when cutting to the laundry. Whilst putting this together we used our feedback from the other groups to make sure we dont make the same mistake twice, which made it a lot better.  We added the background sound over each shot so the sound run smoothly throughout the whole film and so the audience couldn't hear a change in sound every time there was a cut, which also made it much better to watch.

This is a screenshot of the software used for editing and you can see where the fades were placed etc.

One of the main issue we had this week was trying to find the right music. We didn't have a clue what type of music we was going to add on or where we was going to get it from which is why we left it til everything else was done. We looked on many different websites and tried upbeat sounds to slow pianos playing, just to see which one went best with the film. In the end we chose the slow piano playing because we thought it went best with the storyline and was very affective. We got the music from www.incompetech.com which is copyright free music. This was on the website showing where we can use the music and the legal terms.

Also, we had to edit all of the sound on each shot to make it blend in and run smoothly. This took a long time as we didn't really know how to do this on the new iMovie. Once we got the hang of it things speeded up, however it still took very long because we had to change the sound of every shot. We also had to go and film some extra shots that was used just for the sound to make the sound run smooth and sound better, because some outdoor shots had the sound of wind, so we had to go out on a non windy day to film the sound then add this over the shot to get rid of the awful sound that you could hear before.

Once everything to do with editing was done, was had to use a different software to put the graphics on. This was hard at first because we have never used the software before, but once we got the hang of it, it didnt take long. We had to decide when the credits were going to be on, so we used a bit of trial and error to see where it looked best. Once we finished i think they looked really good as they didn't stand out too much which is a typical convention of BSR films, and they came on at the right time.

Production log 8

In week 8, me and Chanel began to edit the pieces of film that we done it week 7. The draft was due this week so all the editing of the shots we done needed to be pretty much done.  Our draft didn't really make sense, but we knew this would happen because in our film there was cuts between two different locations, Adriana's house and the laundry factory. We haven't yet filmed the shots that are to be taken in the laundry factory which made our draft look very jumpy and confusing. Some key issues we had when editing this week, was which parts were we going to cut out and which we was going to keep, for example when Adriana was walking down the stairs to leave, we had a shot of her putting her shoes on to make the continuity flow. However we decided that this shot was not necessary and used up too much time in the film which we needed, so we cut it out and the continuity still looked good. 

Once the other groups watched our drafts, we got feedback from them so we could see what they liked about it and what we needed to change and improve. People said that we had some shots we eye contact in the camera. To solve this problem we had to decide which other shots we were going to replace the ones with eye contact in, as we filmed a lot of the scenes more then once. We had to pick some shots that wasn't as good in terms of framing, but there was no eye contact to the camera so it had to be replaced. With some other shots we could just cut it a bit shorter to remove the eye contact part and it still run smoothly. Other feedback we had was that the continuity didn't flow very well in some shots, like a pause before the action started. To solve this problem we only had to tighten up the editing to get rid of the pauses, but this was only a draft and the final version will run much smoother.

Also, when listening to the sound that was in the shots, you can hear each cut, as the sound slightly changes in each shot. But because this was only a draft we hadn't yet film all of the wild tracks of the sound to make it run smoothly, we had only done some. In the final piece we will make it all sound the same so you cant hear any obvious cuts, and we will also add music.

In this shot you can see the purple bar carrying on over 3 shots. That was a wild track sound so the sound between each cut blended in and made the sound run smooth.

Call sheet 3

Production Log 7

This week me and Chanel begun to film our opening sequence in lesson time. We decided to start off filming in Chadwell Heath as it was the closet location at the time. Some key decisions we had to make before we started to film was where the best location in Chadwell Heath would fit BSR films the most. We decided to film right near some train tracks that looked very rough. We took a lot of time on these shots because they were hand held, some of the shots were very shaky so had to be re done, but to do it again we had to wait for another train, which is why it took a while. We also had to think of how many shots we could get done before we needed to go back into school, and weather we would spend another day filming around Chadwell Heath. We decided we didn't want to waste any time as we needed it to film for the other locations, so we done all the shots around Chadwell Heath and managed to finish just in time. We filmed shots on the bus, but we had to do these again as they didn't flow very nicely and we wanted them to be the best as possible so we wouldn't have to re film any shots later when we was editing.

Also this week, we filmed in our house location, where the character Adriana lives. Some key issues we had were to do with things like how are we going to layout the room to make it fit into the conventions of BSR films, and also the lighting. On this day it was quite bright outside, so some rooms looked lighter than others. We had to find ways to make the room darker,  To solve this we used towels to cover some windows that had no curtains,  and in the bedroom we only had to close the curtains a bit so this was easy. When filming we done a shot looking in to a mirror, and we could see the towels covering the window, which we thought looked good for the mise-en-scene as it makes them look trampy and very secretive like they didn't want people looking into the window. This shot was quite hard to do because we had to film at a certain angle so we couldn't see me or  the camera in it, and we had to get Chanel's hands and hair in the right place so the continuity flows well. But overall we done well as this day was the first day of filming.

Call Sheet 2

Call Sheet 1

Production Log 6

One of the main issues me and Chanel had this week was coming up with a new title. We decided our old title 'washing machine' wasn't very good and needed to be changed. At first we thought it would be good as our film is based in a laundry factory, so washing machine went well with this. But then we realised there wasn't any meaning behind the title so we changed it to something more meaningful. We wrote down a few words relating to the film and put thought in to it to come up with our new title. Another issue this week is what font we was going to use for our credits and how we was going to show them in the opening sequence. The font had to look good for our film and sort of show what its about and the graphics had to be in the right places on the frame so they dont stand out too much but so the audience can see them.

The new title we came up with was 'Drained'. We feel this title relates more to the film and creates more of an enigma than washing machine, and it sounds better for our film. The character in our film works hard and doesn't live a very good lifestyle, so she would feel drained, so this is where our title relates. With the credits, we decided to get our font from the website 'dafont'. They have really good fonts that would be good for our film. We went with a bold font that stands out so the audience can clearly see it. We used the software LiveType to add some effects to the credits, but the effects are only fade in or fade out , and slight movements because more lively affects wouldn't relate to the conventions of BSR films, so we had to keep it plain and simple. As we hadn't filmed any shots yet, we couldn't really tell were the credits were going to be placed on the frame, so to save time in the future we made all the graphics and added the animations, so all we had to do once we edited all of the film was to move the position of the credits. The only credit we knew the position of was the title, because this had be planned out already to go over a graphic match of a clock and a washing machine between the two locations of Adriana's house and the laundry factory.

Production Schedule

Here is mine and Chanels Production Schedule

Shooting Script

Here is mine and Chanels Shooting script for our film

Production log 5

The key issues of pre production this week, have been making sure that our idea is perfect for our audience  and so it appeals to them. We used our primary research, and started making the treatment and narrative to our film.  We had many things to think about like what the characters will be like, who is going to be who, where could we film that is different from other people, and what would make this film realistic. Another key issue, is that we were coming close to the deadline for pre production to be fully completed, and we got set to do the script and production schedule, so we had to try and plan time where i could meet up with my partner to plan these things and get the work done for Tuesday.

In the end, me and Chanel decided to do a rough bullet point of what will be in the script with small details so we could get it done quickly, then i could go home and write it all up in the script. We also spoke about what locations we were going to use, then Chanel could go home at do the blog post on our locations. This was easier for us as we were both busy and couldn't stay with each other for long, so doing this helped us get all the work done for the deadline that was set. We came up with an idea that portrays some different themes that a lot of BSR films do not show, which was the idea of immigration workers. We decided to go with this as our main theme because we though it was more original compared to other peoples ideas that were more based on films like Kidulthood and Adulthood and we thought that the audience has seen to many films like this, which is why we went with a theme less portrayed. So this theme is who our main character is based on then we came up with the rest of the story from there, which can be read in the 'Narrative' and 'Treatment' blogpost.

Location Reccies

Our first location will be two rooms in a house, the bedroom and bathroom. The house will be, very scruffy and dirty looking, as it will be Adriana's home, however to the audience it will look like she lives in just one room which shows she is very poor. We will be using this location instead of somewhere else, as it has more of the conventions that we need, like the mise-en-scene with the bed. We will be able to keep the rooms the same, but may have to make it a bit more messy so that it looks more like a house in a BSR film. The natural lighting in the room is good as it looks quite dull with the curtains closed so this goes with the normal conventions of BSR films. This location would also be better than other locations as it is local to us, and we have easy access.

Our second location will be the laundrey factory. It will alternate between the laundry factory and back to what Adriana's doing, before she gets in to work. This location will be better than any other location, as it fits perfectly into our storyline, as it is about immigration and exploited workers, so using a factory relates to these themes. The factory also looks very scruffy, as it is quite old, so the mise-en-scene, relates to the normal conventions of a BSR. This location is also very unique, as it was very hard for us to find, and to film in here, as it is always in use, so we had to find ways to work around this.

Or final location, will be the roads that Adriana is walking on her way to work, which will be around Chadwell Heath. This will be a good location for us as it is local, and it is a multi cultural area, which relates to some of the concepts of the film. It is a good location as the streets look rough, and the roads are busy, with buses and loads of people.

                                                

This is the roughly the area we will be shooting in as it has a few dirty looking buildings, lots of graffiti and its also very busy with bustops and many cars which is what we need in our story.

Treatment

Title: "Washing Machine" ia going to be the title of our film. The reason for this is because the film is mainly going to be set in a laundrette factory. This is where the main characters work. The main meaning of this is because, the main character Adriana's life, seems to be just spinning round and round, like a washing machine. All washing machines come to a stop, and that is what ends up happening to her as the ending of the film, is basically her escaping from what happens during the film.

Target Audience: Our target audience is for 16-24 year olds. It is aimed at people living in Britain who are working class, and particularly foreign people living in Britain as our idea is based on a foreign person. They would be interested in themes like violence and sex when watching these films as seen from the Audience research post, and would watch channels like channel 4, E4, ITV etc. I think our target audience would appeal to our idea as it portrays real life situations in today's society, and portrays themes that are not seen a lot in BSR films which makes it more appealing, and would relate to people. From the blog post Audience Research people said that films they can relate to, (like kidulthood as they are the same age) are more interesting and appealing to watch, so our idea would relate in many ways so they would be draw to watch it. The narrative i think is quite original as well, so it would be unique and something they haven't really seen this in the BSR genre which makes our idea more appealing to the audience as well.

Technology: For the technology, we will use a HD camera, and an iMac with iMovie on to edit the film. This technology will be good as it will help give the natural believable affect. We don't need to use lights as we want it to look real and if we add lights it won't. We won't need the use of a tripod that much, as handheld camerawork is much more realistic. 

Representation: The protagonist in our film is a 19 year old immigrant from Albania. Her name is Adriana and she comes to England for a better life. Her life in Albania affected her deeply as she lived in poor conditions and her mum was a prostitute to feed her and her other siblings. She is uneducated and had no money so was unable to come in to the country legally. The antagonist is Adriana's boss, named Steve. He runs a laundry factory, but also does other illegal jobs inside the factory, such as hiring illegal workers and exploiting them by paying much less than normal wage. He is very abusive and does not respect the needs and wants of his workers. He takes them for granted to feed his own personal needs. The protagonist does follow the stereotype of an immigrant, as she has no money and came to get a better life, which is why nearly all immigrants come to Britain. However her stereotype of being a teenager in Britain does subvert from the normal British teenager stereotype because she isn't from Britain so has a different culture. The antagonist challenges the normal stereotype of middle class people in Britain. Because he runs the launderette  but he is very violent, with no respect for other people. This challenges the typical representation of middle class people as they are usually seen as decent people, with nice families etc. 

Narrative: Our film is about a young foreign lady, who is 19 . She comes to Britain illegally to find some work and try to full fill her dreams. She finds a job in a laundry factory to get money so she can rent out a small place in a council estate and send money home to her family. So far she thinks everything is going to be alright, until she finds out her boss abuses the workers, and the factory isn't all that it turned out to be. She trys to find a way to get out of this mess, but cant. She doesn't know what to do as she doesn't know anything about Britain. Nothing is going to plan.
In the opening sequence of the film, there will be many shots being taken around a laundry, whilst switching to shots of the protagonist. The protagonist is getting ready for her first day at work, she is happy and excited and cant wait to get there. There will be a shot of her running for a bus. When it is alternating shots between the character and laundry, a scene of her boss abusing another worker though a window will be shown to introduce abit of the story line and create abit of an enigma. Shots of the character walking to work will also be shown, this will give an introduction to the locations of where the character lives. The opening sequence will end with the character arriving at work.
We will use the conventions of an opening sequence of BSR films by trying to create enigma, so the audience gets interested into watching the film and so they want to find out what happens next. Also, the opening sequence will introduce the characters and locations, and get the storyline flowing. We will try to create a sense of mystery to get the audience thinking. This relates to BSR opening sequences because this is what they try to achieve.

Conventions: The way we will use the conventions of a BSR. We will conform to these by making the scenes and editing look rough, so it gives the dull BSR effect and makes it seem more realistic. We will also use the smash mouth approach, but subvert from the normal approach as it wont jump straight into hectic action, however it will be very fast pace as Adriana is late for work so she is rushing. In our opening sequence we will conform to the sort of locations seen in BSR films, which are very poor looking areas that aren't well looked after. Sticking to this convention adds to the realism and makes it fit into the genre, as if we done nice looking areas it wouldn't relate to these types of films as they are meant to show hardship of life, and poverty. Also we will stick to some of the themes like violence, as Steve is the violent character in the film and hits his employees, however we are going to add some themes that aren't really seen in many BSR films, like immigration because we want our idea to be a bit more unique than other work. 


Style and Iconography: When filming we will use a lot of handheld camerawork, so that the audience can a sense of the atmosphere and it will make it seem like they are involved in the scene. This use of camera work makes the audience relate more as it adds the effect as if they are watching it first hand. When editing our film, we will take the saturation down on all the shots. Doing this makes the scenes look more dull and less colourful, which sets a sad and dull mood. It also portrays to the audience how the characters are feeling and that their lives are dull and boring. When editing we are going to shot from scene to scene so that it more rapid and gives the audience a sense of knowledge that the character does not have, like when she will be walking to her work, then it shots to the workplace of her boss being violent which makes the audience know more about whats going on, and also creates enigma and gets the audience thinking more and more involved in the film. With costume and props, we are going to make Adriana dress in cheap, tacky clothing to emphasis to the audience that she is in poverty and has no money to buy nice clothes. With her boss, he will wear a suit as he is the owner of the factory, so it shows the audience the separation of class and tells them he is not like the others. Using these costumes it portrays to the audience more about the character straight away as they start to stereotype them by what they are wearing. Will we use props like cigarette to show the audience that Adriana goes through a lot of stress and smokes to try and make herself  feel more secure, so it again portrays more about the character and their lifestyle that they live in. 

Institution: One of the production companies we are using is film 4, as they make many BSR films. This will have an impact on the type of film, because they are well known for making this genre of films, so the audience will know what to expect from their reputation. This impacts on the type of film we will make as we have to make it relate to what they have made before in the sense of conventions. This would affect the distribution of the film, as it is an independent film company, so they wont have a lot of money to distribute to many cinemas. For example in their other films like four lions, they didn't show it at many cinemas because they didn't have the budget, and also BSR films take big risks by showing the themes like violence and petty crime etc as it isn't very nice to see so the films could be a major flop. Four lions  didn't become very popular and didn't make a lot of money for these reasons. Our film would be exhibited on channel 4,  as we were in associations with them, and also by using new media technology like 4OD as it is cheap and many people could watch the film this way in their own homes or on the go. it will also be exhibited  in independent cinemas, because independent cinemas aim towards people who like to watch these genres of films, so the film would get watched more if we was to exhibit there. We probably wouldn't go into home release as the film wouldn't have a lot of money and this would cost a lot.