House Scene Location

During one of our Media Studies lessons we had a discussion about the locations for our film. We decided the best location for the House Scene Location would be my house, as it is close to school and it is very convienient to our group for filming. This map shows the location of this scene:

Street Scene Location

During one of our Media Studies lessons we had a discussion about the locations for our film. Then we had a walk around the local area looking for some locations that we could use for our. This was very successful as we found a few locations that we could film our. Street Scene. We decided that the locations for our Street Scene would be a local Cemetary and a local Train Station. These two maps show the locations of our Street Scene:


Folkestone West Railway Station



Folkestone Cemetary

Garden/Campsite Location

During one of our Media Studies lessons we had a discussion about the locations for our film. We decided that the location for the Garden/Campsite Scene would be in a woodland area at the back of one of our group member’s house. This map shows the location of this scene:

Video Shooting Schedule

We completed a Video Shooting Schedule for our Production. This will be used by our Director and Cameraman, to help them know what they need to film, what actors need to be present and what props need to be used in different scenes in our production. Also it shows the Director and the Cameraman what order everything will be filmed therefore it will help our group organise dates when we are all free, and filming can take place. This is a copy of our Video Shooting Schedule:

Video Planner

We completed a Detailed Video Planner for our production. This is to help pur Cameraman and Director when filming and the Editor when the filming is complete and everything must be edited to the final film. This is a copy of our Detailed Video Planner:


 

The Script

This is the Script that we will be using for our film. It contains all the lines the Actors will need to learn and any other information they may require for the Scenes that we will be acting in. Also it provides the Director and Cameraman with the information they may need for the production. This is the Script for our film:

Scene 1

(Establishing shot of scene)

(Background talking, 90’s music playing)

(Luke and Teen 1 starts playing with Ouija board)
(Ouija Board spells out 'DIE')

Teen 1: (In a Suprised tone) Die?

(Suddenly, the teen goes rigid, eyes wild. His eyes start rolling and he starts thrashing about, screaming inhumanly. Teen 1 backs away from the fire, scared. Teen 1 takes out a phone) (Sam is walking up the street, when he recieves a phone call)

Teen 1:  'S**t!' (On phone) ‘Sam! We need you!’

Scene 2

(Sam is walking up the street, when he recieves a phone call)

Sam: (Sam answers the phone) ‘I’m there’

(Sam starts running to the commotion, via the train station and the graveyard. He takes short cuts through alleys, vaulting over walls, etc....)

Scene 3

(Sam arrives at the scene)

Sam: ‘Luke! This isn't even possible! You shouldn't be here!’

(Sam approaches the still screaming teen and places his hands on him)

(He starts reciting an exorcism in Latin more and more frantically as the teen thrashes around more and more)
(The spirit starts to get the better of Sam and he becomes very weak and is in great distress)

Sam: (Shouting) 'Luke!!!!'

Scene 4

(Sam wakes up suddenly, screaming)

(Recovering, he gets up, dresses and makes his way downstairs)

(He is halfway through his breakfast when his phone rings)

(The phone is dropped, falling slowly and hits the ground with an echoing bang)

(The title credits are shown)

Storyboard

After Brainstorming ideas and having discussions as a group, we came up with a Storyline/Plot for our production. We have drawn up a Storyboard for our production and we will use this when filming. This is a copy of the Storyboard for our Main Production:

Sam Bailey Interview 2

A week had passed since the first interview, so we decided to meet up again as a group to discuss further ideas. In the first interview we discussed intial ideas. So we came back after we each all had some thinking time to finalise the plans for the production and the plans for the character Sam will be playing as the Main Actor. This is the video recording of the second interview with Sam:

Sam Bailey Interview 1

Me and Ed interviewed one of our group members (Sam) about his job as the Actor in the production. He was very pleased about being the Actor in the task so we interviewed him to discuss ideas about the production and the character he will be playing. This is the video recording of the interview:

Brainstorm

After deciding that we were going to use the 'Horror' Genre for our production, we had to Brainstorm ideas as to what the Storyline/Plot of our production would be. We dicussed ideas about the plot, the chracters, the setting and the props and then we noted down everything that we talked about. This is a copy of our Brainstorm of ideas about our production:

Audience Research

After carrying out our Primary and Secondary Audience Research we had a fair idea about what genre we should use for our 3 minute opening of a new film. The interviewees helped us see what people of a similar age to ourselves like to watch on televesion and the types of films they most enjoy. The Viewing Figures helped us see what films the whole country like to watch on television. From our Rsearch we decided as a group that we were going to use the Horror Genre for our film, this is for a number of reasons. Firstly during our inteview for our Primary Audience Research we found that people of a similar age to us liked to watch scary/gorey films and supernatural televsion dramas. We knew after this interview that the Horror Genre was the likely contender for our film. Our findings in the interview were backed up in the Viewing Figures that showed the Horror Genre being one of the most popular types of films watched, on the most popular televsion channels, in the U.K. After this point we were very close to making our final decision, but we wanted to look at the popularity of the actual films watched on the channels, that showed films with genres that we could be using for our film. This is so we could see exactly what films within each genre are popular (for example; a supernatural or a gorey film within the Horror Genre). From this research we found that the supernatural theme was vey popular amoungst the U.K audience and this was also mentioned by our interviewees at being one of their favourite types of films/programmes on television. After all of our Research we made the decision that we would use the Horror Genre for our film with the Supernatural Theme becuase the Research we had carried out (both Primary and Seconday Research) showed that this type of film was one of the most popular types of films on television.

Audience Research - Viewing Figures

For my Audience Secondary Research I decided to look at the viewing figures of some channels in the U.K to find the most popular films and television programmes watched by people in this country. Firstly I decided to look at the viewing figures of some the most popular movie channels in the U.K, the Sky Movies Channels:

Sky Movies Channels Total Viewing Figures (000's)

Sky Movies Action & Adventure			1,256
Sky Movies Classics			729
Sky Movies Comedy			1,622
Sky Movies Crime & Thriller			931
Sky Movies Drama & Romance			639
Sky Movies Family			1,457
Sky Movies Indie			581
Sky Movies Modern Greats			929
Sky Movies Premiere			1,989
Sky Movies Premiere +1			1,065
Sky Movies SciFi-Horror			925
Sky Movies Showcase			1,312

These viewing figures show that the Horror, the Comedy, the Crime & Thriller and the Action & Adventure are amoungst the most popular types of films on television. This shows that the genres that our film may be, are very popular genres for films Next I decided to look at the programmes within the channels, that show films of the genres we may be using, to see exactly what films are most popular:

Sky Movies Action & Adventure Film Viewing Figures (000's)

1	FILM: TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLE (FRI 1338	35
2	FILM: KING ARTHUR (2004) (WED 1553)	34
3	FILM: THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1997) (SUN 1448)	33
4	FILM: RIGHTEOUS KILL (2008) (WED 1813)	31
5	FILM: BEVERLY HILLS COP III (1994) (TUE 1518)	30
6	FILM: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009) (TUE 2348)	25
7	FILM: TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLE (FRI 2102	25
8	FILM: THE 6TH DAY (SUN 1243)	20
9	FILM: VALKYRIE (2008) (SAT 0833)	19
10	FILM: DAMAGE (2009) (SAT 2102)	18

Sky Movies Comedy Film Viewing Figures (000's)

1	FILM: ALI G INDAHOUSE (2002) (TUE 2003)	83
2	FILM: POLICE ACADEMY 5: ASSIGNMENT: MIAM (WED 1643	69
3	FILM: THE HANGOVER (2009) (SAT 2103)	59
4	FILM: STEP BROTHERS (2008) (SUN 2103)	37
5	FILM: NOTTING HILL (1999) (SUN 1543)	36
6	FILM: YES MAN (2008) (WED 2358)	33
7	FILM: ROLE MODELS (2008) (FRI 2003)	28
8	FILM: 17 AGAIN (2009) (WED 1817)	28
9	FILM: STEP BROTHERS (2008) (SUN 1203)	26
10	FILM: ROAD TRIP (2000) (THU 2004)	26

Sky Movies Crime & Thriller Film Viewing Figures (000's)

1	FILM: STATE OF PLAY (2009) (SUN 2102)	33
2	FILM: TAKEN (2008) (WED 2306)	32
3	FILM: SAW V (2008) (SAT 2423)	25
4	FILM: OCEANS ELEVEN (2001) (THU 2517)	22
5	FILM: THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (2009) (MON 1338)	19
6	FILM: THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (2009) (MON 2103)	16
7	FILM: RED DRAGON (2002) (MON 1852)	16
8	FILM: THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR THE (1999) (1 (SAT 1113	16
9	FILM: THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR THE (1999) (1 (SAT 1902	16
10	FILM: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (2000) (TUE 2308)	15

Sky Movies SciFi/Horror Film Viewing Figures (000's)

1	FILM: UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYC (2009) (FRI 2202	36
2	FILM: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (200 (SAT 2102	28
3	FILM: THE FINAL DESTINATION (2009) (SUN 2102)	25
4	FILM: DEATH RACE (2008) (FRI 1642)	23
5	FILM: THE FINAL DESTINATION (2009) (WED 2103)	23
6	FILM: THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) (THU 2627)	22
7	FILM: THE FACULTY (1998) (TUE 2102)	22
8	FILM: SORORITY ROW (2009) (SAT 2247)	18
9	FILM: DRAG ME TO HELL (2009) (MON 1428)	17
10	FILM: CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRES ASSI (SUN 0802	16

In our Product Research we were able to indentify they key forms and conventions of the genres we are going to use. These Audience Viewing Figures enabled us to see the most popular films within each genre, and because some of us in our group had seen at least one film in each genre, we were able to conclude that the use of obvious forms and conventions of that particular genre, does not always make a poor film, but instead a very popular one. The Viewing Figures enabled us to see the exact most most popular films within each genre and therefore will help us make a decision as to what genre we will use for our film based how popular the actual film may be.

Audience Research - Interview

As a group we interviewed a panel of three teenagers, aged 16, to see what they like to watch on television. Prior to the interview we drew up three possible plot lines for what we think are the three main types of genres our film could be. The three Genres being; Horror, Action or Comedy. After discussising with the interviewees about what they like to watch on television; we presented the plot line from which we decided, from the information we recieved from the interview, would be the best genre for this particular task.

Product Research - Comedy Genre

Lastly I decided to do some research into the Comedy Genre to see how it worked with this particular task. When researching this particular genre I decided to look at some examples of AS Media Studies Coursework aswell as some popular Comedy films. From my resaerch I found the key forms and conventions of the Comedy Genre most commonly used in the videos that I researched. Firstly I found that the style of music used in the videos I researched was most definately the most commonly used form and convention of the Comedy Genre. This is becasue it helps create the comic atmosphere and also the music can be used to emphasise humour or even create humour aswell. This enables the production team to create comedy with the use of music in the video. From my research I found another commonly used form and conventio of the Comedy Genre and that is the use of comic action within the video. This form and convention of the Comedy Genre is commonly used because it enables the production team to easily create humour and comedy. This is beause they can include humourous fight scenes and funny violence that all helps the production team create the comic atmosphere. Lastly I found that the type of language and speech used within the videos that I researched was a very commonly used form and convention of the Comedy Genre. This is because this form and convention of the Comedy Genre is the most commonly used as it is very effective for creating humour and comedy. This enables the production team to easily genreate humour and this is why the type of language and speech used by the actors is a very commonly used from and convention of the Comedy Genre. These two videos, from my research, show best the most commonly used froms and conventions of the Comedy Genre:

AS Media Studies 'The Amazing Tales of Archibald Jebediah' -    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miXB35wVdZQ

AS Media Studies 'Buckets of Dead Friends' -    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uci2a9dZX8

Product Research - Action Genre

After completing some research on the horror genre, which seemed to be the most popular, I decided to have a look at some other examples of AS Media Studies Video Tasks. This time I will be researching other genres that other AS Media Studies students have used in the openings of their movies. Firstly I have looked at a few examples of AS Media Studies Foundation Production with the Action genre. After reseacrhing some videos with the Action genre I have found the key forms and conventions of this particular genre that have been commonly used in the videos I have watched for my research. I have found that many films using the Action genre have included a Spy Theme as the main storyline for their film. This is becasue it enables the production team to easily include action like fight scenes and chase scenes within the film. Another commonly used form and convention of the Action genre used in most of the videos I researched was a chase scene. This is becasue it provides the film with quick paced action and also it enables the production team to use a number of different camera angles to emphasise the action. I aslo found that a number of the videos I researched included a 'good guy/bad guy' theme within the video, which is also a very commonly used form and convention of the Action Genre. This is becasue it enables the production team to easily include fight scenes and chase scenes within the film, which are some of the key forms and conventions of an Action Genre. Lastly I found that during some of the 'Chase' scenes from some of the videos I researched, the production teams had seemed to like using fast music and including some stunts performed by the actors. This, again is a very common form and convention of the Action Genre as it is used to emphasise the pace at which these 'Chases' are occuring and how dangerous they are, I have have found these commonly used in the videos I have reseacrhed as they help the production teams easily create the Action Genre and also they are able to include some of the most commonly used forms and conventions of the Action Genre with ease. These two videos, from our research, show best the most commonly used froms and convention of the Action Genre:

AS Media Studies 'Slightly Burnt' -     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Bwioi5ZJw

AS Media Studies 'In Deep' -     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoJks0aRz6g&feature=fvst

Product Research - Horror Genre

Now that we have decided what task we are going to do and we have finished the Preliminary Excersise we have to start the research into the Main Task. The Main Task for the video task is a 2 minute video for the opening of a new film. Therefore our research must look at the beginning of different films and the forms and conventions of their genres that they have used.

The first films that I have researched are ones that are of the horror genre. I have reseacrched other AS Media Studies Main Tasks that I have found on You Tube. In my research I am looking for genre we are going to use in our film. Whislt researching these videos that display the opening of a new horror movie, I have been looking for the forms and conventions of a horror genre that they obtain. I have found in some of these videos that the use of music has been used to create suspense and a eary atmosphere, that is conventional to a horror genre. Also I have found that some of these videos have used the effect of darkness to build up the horror atmosphere. Lastly something that I have noticed in a few videos is the use of the dialling tone of a phone call, the phone call itself and the end of the call as non-diagetic sound to create a dramatic and eary effect. I have found this technique the most successful in my reseacrh and I think this technique fits the forms and conventions of the horror genre and in the videos I have seen it has made a hugely positive effect on the conventions of the genre. These two links are very good examples of the videos I have researched as they show well how the forms and conventions of a horror genre and how they can be used to create the horror genre effect.

AS Media Studies 'The Hunt' -    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bklkHHKI_1s

AS Media Studies 'Obsession' -    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwqJk8WTBkU

Main Task - Alternative Choices

When we were first told about the Foundation Production, we were notified that we would be able to chose between 4 possible tasks that we would have to complete. The tasks we had to choose from consisted of a Print, a Video, an Audio or a Website. To complete the Main Task we will have to complete one of those four options. We decided to chose the video task as the option that we are going to complete for our Foundation Production. These are the reasons why we didn't choose one of the other three options as the task we would complete for our Foundation Production:


The Print - the breif for this task detailed that both the Preliminary Task and the Main Taskk includes having to produce a magazine. As a group we decided this would not be the correct option for us as two of us in our group had previously done GCSE Media Studies which included the production of a magazine as part of the coursework. Therefore we decided it would be more interesting to do something different and therefore we decided the print was not going to be the task we are going to complete for the Foundation Production.


The Audio - the breif for this task said that it must include the production of a radio bulletine and introduction music for a radio show for both the Preliminary Task and the Main Task. As a group we realised that none of us listen to the radio that much so we do not have a great deal of knowledge on this part of Media Studies. Therefore we decided that it would be more appropriate to do something that we are more knowledgeable about and therefore we decided the Audio Task would not be the task we are going to complete for the Foundation Production.


The Website - the breif for the website was to create a homepage and a website for the Preliminary Task and the Main Task. We realised that in our group we did not have anyone who was good at or knew a lot about the production of a website. As we all use the Interent the researrch was not a problem as we all knew a bit about websites. However, we discovered that no one in our group was good at making websites, so therefore we decided not to chose the Website Task as the task we are going to complete for our Foundation Production.


The reason why we did choose the Video Task as the teask we are going to complete for our Foundation Production is as follows:


The Video - the brief for the Video Task was to include a 30 second clip of a man entering a room and exchanging dialogue and a 2 minute clip for the begining and credits of a new film. The reason why we decided to choose this task is becasue we all watch a lot of films in our group and therefore we all hold knowledge on this feild of Media Studies. Also the members in our group do have skills that will help us in this task that I have shown in the blogg about My Group. Lastly we found that this task looked the most interesting and would actually be enjoyable to carry out. All of this helped us come to the decision that the Video Task would be the task that we are going to carry out for our Foundation Production.

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

After posting our video onto my blogg for other people in my class to see, we looked at the comments and emails we had been sent to us concerning our video. This enabled us to take a look back at a preliminary task and see what we did well, what we did badly and what people thought of our video. This will enable us to improve our Main Task by improving what we did badly, including what we did well and taking what other people said about our Preliminary Task into account so that we can ensure that our Main Task improves from our first production.

There was one problem with our Preliminary Task video that was highlighted in most of the comments and emails I recieved concerning our video. The main problem with our Preliminary Task video seemed to be a continuity error we had made whilst filming. The error we made occured when one of the actors entered the office and did not close the door. This alone was not the continuity error, this occured when the other actor left the room and the door was this time closed. This is not possible for the door to be closed as there was only two people in the room at the time and when both of the actors sat down the door was still open; neither of the actors got up at any point in the video to shut the door so it was impossible for the door to be shut at the end of the video when one of the actors left the room. As a group we did not notice this error ourselves so it was very useful that other members of our class were able to comment on our video telling us what we did well and what we did badly otherwise we would not have nocticed the continuity error. The other small error that was notfied was the sound at the begining of the production. This occured when two of the actors were walking up and down the stairs, and becasue of the position of the camera (on the floor) the sound of the footsteps was very loud and it had not been cut out in the editing. Other than the continuity mistake and the sound error that we made in our video the comments that we recieved did not notify any other mistakes we had made whilst filming and editing. The other comments consisted positive feedback on our video and things that we did well; for example some of the comments we recieved said that we had chosen a good location for filming and our camera angles were well though through and very appropriate.

It was very useful to recieve feedback on our video becasue now we know what things to look out for when completing our Main Task so we don't make the same mistakes again. Also we know what types of things, we as a group, are good at doing and therefore what we should include in our Main Task to ensure that it is a great improvement from the Preliminary Production.

Preliminary Task - The Interrogator

Now that we have decided the group members we have decided to look back at the Preliminary Task so that we can evaluate our work and help us complete the Main Task. We have just uploaded our video on Youtube and I am going to copy the link into this post so that other class members can see the video and comment their views of the video onto this post. This will enable us to see the good and bad parts of our video. Therefore we will know what mistakes not to make when completing the Main Task and what good things we should include in our Main Task. The YouTube link to out Preliminary Task Video is:



Please take your time to watch the video and post a comment of your views. Thank You.

My Group

After some long discussions with other people in the class I have formed our group for the main task with three other members. We talked together and decided that we all possessed the individual qualities that suits the task and will enable us to have our own jobs. The four members in our group are; Luke Cowie (Me), Ed Barnes, Sam Bailey and Mark Posnett. Every member in our group has previously done Media Studies at GCSE and achieved a high grade (including myself), so this is a great assest all of the members in our group already hold. The other reasons why we decided this would be a suitable group are as follows:


Ed Barnes - Ed is very good at editing and said he would be willing to do the majority of the editing that our group required. We know Ed can do a good job from the Preliminary Task so we thought he would be a good member to have in our group.


Mark Posnett - Mark is an excellent camerman, as he proved in the Preliminary Task. He is able to take control of the camera and provide good feedback for the Director when preparing for the shots and when filming. Therefore we decided Mark would be a good member to have in our group.


Luke Cowie (Me) - The other three group members said that I would be a good member to have in the group because I am a good Director. They I am good a choosing the right camera angles when filimng and also I am good at selecting the correct location for filiming. Also they said I am good at taking control of the group when filming, so everyone know exactly what they are doing. This is why they said I am a good member to have in their group.

Sam Bailey - Sam is an excellent Actor, as proved in the Preliminary Task. He is able to act to a high standard and display and excellent portrayal of the characters he plays. The acting is an improtant part of our film, as it can look very unprofessional if the acting is poor. Therefore we decided Sam would be a great asset to our group.


These are the reasons why we chose these members for our group and we all work well together and have own jobs within the Main Task.

What I am looking for in group members?

Now that I have finished the Preliminary Task with my previous group, I have to seriously think about the members I would like to work with when I am completing the Main Task. By completing the Preliminary Task it has enabled me to see the qualities in other class members and now I can make some decisions about who I may like to work with. I would like the people I work with to possess certain qualities that will enable the group to have their own jobs within the task. This means that everyone will be able to be doing something towards the final peice and therefore as a group we will complete the task quicker and to a better standard. The types of qualities that I am looking for in group members are as follows:


Editior - I am looking for someone in my group who is good at editing and is willing to do the majority of the editing our group requires. This is becasue the editing is a huge peice of the main task and if we have a good editor in the group the owrk will be a whole lot better.

Cameraman- I need a member in my group who is willing to take control of the camera. It will be their job to set up the camera a do all of the filming, when instructed to do so by the Director. They will have to set up the camera where the Director wants it and also provide the Director with feedback on the camera angle and the take itself. This person will enable the Director to make sure the Actors know exactly what they are doing while the Camerman prepares the props, the setting, the camera, etc....

Director - I am looking for someone who is willing to take control of the cameraman and the actors ensuring that all the filming is done to a good standard and that we have taken enough shots when filiming the main task. Also they will have to choose the correct camera angles to use and where the actors need to be when filming. This is to enable the other group members to be doing other jobs rather than doing two jobs at the same time.


Actor - I need a member in my group that is fairly good and willing to carry out acting in front of the camera for our main task. There may need to be more than one actor, but they need to be confident and are able to work with other people. This member is needed to ensure that the film is of a good standard becasue the acting is also another main part of the main task.