Interview Reflection

Interviewing someone from the industry gave me a great perspective of media and the real life practical aspects of it. From completing this task I learnt 3 main things. Firstly, I discovered that I should keep doing things related to media, be it watching films, taking photos, writing scripts or experimenting. The second thing I learnt was that any work in the industry is good work, even if unpaid. It enables you to make contacts and connections which is vital and can help towards you getting noticed. Lastly I found that I should try to make a portfolio and show myself off. This means that when people ask or find out about you, you have something to say for yourself.

Personal Logo - Contextual Studies

Below is the logo I've created for a company I'd like to pioneer in the future; "Forget the Youth". At this point it's just the name of a magazine I create/produce and distribute independently that features my photography. In the future I'd like to start a clothing line under the same name and produce videos as the company, be it skate videos, commissioned music videos for artists or freelance random videos, not to mention becoming a well known youth culture magazine similar to 'Dazed' or 'iD'.

Representation

I chose the name 'Forget the Youth' mainly because I find the name ironic/satirical. This is as lots of adults and businesses are constantly trying to appeal to young people and fit in with youth culture but overlook this and don't achieve it very well.
Furthermore, lots of individuals forget that young people are going to grow up into adults and become the new modern society (Young people are our future etc etc..) and the planet which they are going to live in becomes impacted terribly due to the past societies actions (House pricing, pollution, the education system, economy and brexit to name a few).
Additionally the company will focus on youth culture topics such as fashion/style, music, skateboarding, filmmaking/photography, art and more.
To conclude, I guess that the brand name can be interpreted in a range of ways, and the audience may interpret it how they please.

Design Choices

Looking at the design aspect of the logo, I chose the bold font paired with a stroke (outline) and shadow to give it a vintage and retro feel, as I felt this design choice is the most aesthetically pleasing and appealing to my target audience (12-24 year olds) whilst looking professional enough for potential clients. I chose the colours dark red and gold because they're bold and compliment each other well, making the logo stand out but also look visually enticing.

FMP - Pitch

For the FMP we need to pitch our project idea to our lecturers, so I made this slideshow in order to present my ideas effectively. It focuses on the main idea of the FMP, then stages of production and lastly gives a timescale with dates of production etc and resources I'll need. To help me present this well I've put important words in bold, added notes at the bottom of my presentation to help prompt me, added pictures & videos and made it fairly brief on screen.

FMP - Production Schedule

For my FMP I made a production schedule in order to keep up to date with my work and layout everything I need to do to keep up with my work:

Date:	20th-24th March		27th-31st March	3rd-7th April	HALF TERM	24th-28th April	1st-5th May
Proposed Tasks:	Magazine Plan	Test shoots	Shoot photos for magazine	Create magazine pages in photoshop		Finalise Magazine using InDesign	Edit Advertisement
	Storyboard	Research	Contact creators	Interview Creators		Re-shoot advert if needed	Reflect on project/feedback
	Moodboard	Shot list	Prepare for advert shoot	Shoot Advert		Finalize Brief	Print magazine
	Research	Styles	Film vlog	Film vlog		Film the next parts of the vlog	Edit the vlog
Stage of Production:	PRE PRODUCTION		PRODUCTION				POST PRODUCTION

In this schedule I'm using a RAG rule to show my progress, so as time goes on I will change the cell colour to amber and green accordingly. Here's a link to the spreadsheet which I will update regularly.

It's split up into 3 stages of production at the bottom, and the dates I have to complete them at the top. I think that this will help me be more organised as I go through this FMP project.

Experimentation Exercise #1

In small groups we had to make a bridge using only resources that we were given which could hold as much weight as possible. We were given 2 paper cups, 30 pieces of spaghetti, a small pot of play-doh, string and 50cm of masking tape.

Our group's bridge was the strongest, holding a total of 5 battery packs. I think what we did well was make the main bridge reinforced. We started with just a row of spaghetti and then added masking tape and string to hold it together. After this we added play-doh to act as cement which really helped our bridge remain structurally strong.

We also added a middle pillar to the bridge using spaghetti which stopped it from bending so much and gave it another area of support.

If we were to do this again I would do more research before making the bridge and take more thought into deciding the best function for each resource we were given.

Characterisation - Nerve

Protagonist - Vee (Emma Roberts)

Vee works as a protagonist because she's a shy character who keeps to herself and doesn't take risks. This is focused on in the opening of the film so that when it's flipped on it's head the audience is shocked. Her brother also died some time ago so she has a strong relationship with her mother. When she decides to take risks on this app the film becomes very exciting. Another thing which makes Vee a good character is that she's an average teenage girl, enabling the audience to relate to her. With the films target audience being teenagers, this works very well. Vee is also a lonely character without much of a love life, so when a potential partner is introduced during the film, the audience become more engaged. Lastly Emma Roberts acts as a kind, intelligent and thoughtful character so the audience build a liking to her and want her to have the best possible outcome in the situations presented to her in the film.

Antagonist - Nerve App (Not a person)

The truth or dare based app 'Nerve' is what the film revolves around, and acts as a good protagonist in the film. Immediately it comes across as slightly strange and shady but relatively fitting in with other websites and apps. As the plot goes on the app takes a dark turn putting the protagonist and other users of the app in danger. It's also uncovered that the app has a shady history and has existed in previous years. Because the antagonist is an app and not a person, it is a lot more powerful and scary as it cannot be 'killed' and its power is unknown. It also adds a level of mysteriousness as it's unknown who or what is behind the app and controlling it. The main thing which makes this
application an effective antagonist however is the realism of it. The idea of an app like this being real is very possible and could have the same dangerous effects, making it all the more scarier.

The Three Act Structure

In film, the Three Act Structure is used in screenwriting to split a narrative into 3 parts - The Setup, Confrontation and Resolution.

The 2016 film 'Swiss Army Man' follows this structure to portray the story in an effective way. I have written a brief summary of each act in the film.

Act 1
Introduced to Hank who is stuck on a desert island alone, about to end his life. He sees a body washed up on shore and starts speaking to him because he's gone slightly mad from being marooned for so long. He names the body 'Manny' and is able to use it like a jetski to ride across the ocean. Later that night the corpse is able to speak to him as well as do other useful things like provide him with water. Manny has no recollection of his past life and has a child like mind.

Act 2
Hank tells Manny about his past life and teaches him about aspects of life as they try and make their way back to civilisation. Hank uses litter and plants to demonstrate these aspects of life such as movies, partying and eating out. During this, Hank leads Manny to believe that Manny is in love with a woman named Sarah, who rides the bus alone every day. Manny falls in love with Sarah, and it is this love that motivates him to try and find civilization with Hank. In reality, Hank is very much in love with Sarah, having seen her riding the bus every day but never talking to her due to his own shyness. He has a photo of her that he took secretly while on the bus set as the wallpaper on his phone and follows her on social media. As he looks through photos, it is revealed that Sarah is happily married and has a child. Manny and Hank have a falling out after Hank reveals that Manny never knew Sarah during his life.

Act 3
Hank and Manny make it back to civilisation finally and arrive in Sarah's back garden, however Manny turns back into a corpse which Hank doesn't believe and tries to prove to everyone how he's a real person. Finally, by the ocean with a news team, Hank, Hank's Father, and Sarah's Family, Manny begins violently farting until he floats back into the ocean and skims quickly away, propelled by his own flatulence. Manny and Hank share one last smile.

Infographic

For this task we were asked to make a short case study infographic on a product, company or person that has been rebranded. We had the choice to either use Photoshop or an online tool called Piktochart to make it, and had to research about the rebrand using the internet. I chose Microsoft as they rebranded quite recently and it was a very different style to what they had before. Here is the infographic I made:

Advert Production

Adverts are an effective way of getting a message to a wide audience. In most cases, they're paid for by an organization to market a product of service. The time and platform they're shown on is decided very carefully in order to reach the intended audience. This particular television advert aims to sell a product: Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

This advert makes use of the slogan "Bring food to life" and features some very clever visual effects which gives the illusion of food being invisible and suddenly appearing when it's brought into contact with ketchup. These unique visual traits of the advert help to make it memorable and bring more impact to the slogan. As the brand is already incredibly popular and well known, viewers will be familiar with the bottle and sauce, which is shown frequently in the advertisement. This is done in order to show that it's a well known and reliable brand. I think that this advert is aimed at familes and would be shown in the daytime and evening, where familes will be watching tv together or when parents will be watching.

Roles & Responsibilities in Filmmaking

When making a film, there's a massive amount of different roles that need to be taken on by a crew. Below is a diagram which represents this, showing how each role is working for a higher role leading up to the executive producer.

The entire process of the filmmaking is made easier because of this hierarchical format, which splits the operations and tasks into small groups so each professional can do their job efficiently and smoothly. Depending on the popularity and genre of film, the crew can range in size from hundreds to thousands of individuals, each with different responsibilities and roles to adhere to. The roles are not only useful on set however. Different roles will have tasks to do at different stages of production (pre-production, production, post-production and distribution). It all starts with an executive producer.

Analysis - Hot Fuzz Scene

This scene opens with an extreme long shot to establish the setting as well as to visualise the fact that the characters are travelling in a car. It shows the audience that this is a rural area in the countryside, with nobody around as the car is isolated.

We're led onto this second long shot which shows where the car is actually travelling to, as it shows two subjects: the car (which is in focus) and an old house/farm (in the background but subject is moving towards it).

Next, a medium shot is used which continues on from the previous shot to reveal who is in the car. The shot reveals the two main characters in the foreground, another old police officer in the background, and a dog, which are all introduced.

It quickly cuts to a new location, showing an old man. A close up is used to show the character in detail while he speaks.

This medium shot shows the main characters listening to the old man, from his point of view. They are arranged symmetrically to look uniform and appealing. 

Simon Pegg turns around to discuss what the man has said with the two other officers, turning his back to him. The man in still visible in the background however, to remind the audience that he is still there, and for comedic effect as he's being talked about. The shot still remains a medium shot, but it's a bit tighter.

It then cuts to a long shot as Simon Pegg replies to the old man, which reveals the setting in more detail, with the old looking chair, barricaded gate and wall separating the group from the old man.

We then cut back to this medium shot as Simon Pegg continues to reply to the old man.

Next, this medium shot is used to show the isolated old man's response, and to connote the fact that he is alone. This shot also reveals more of the location.

 It then alternates between these two shots as they have a conversation, until, the old man says something shocking, which is responded by a fast dolly zoom towards Simon Peggs's face in shock, building suspense and dramatic tension before changing to the next scene.

Dolly Zoom towards Simon Pegg

The shot starts in complete darkness, then a door is opened revealing a shed, as light casts a silhouette on the interior of the shed through the door. This gives off a mysterious vibe and leads the audience the question whats inside, as it's hidden by darkness. The shot is a long shot to establish the location.

It then changes to this close up showing the old fashioned light switch suggesting more about the area, with the old mans hands turning them on, to reveal whats inside the shed. This is a suspenseful shot.

Next, lots of quick shots are cut with each other showing the lights turning on and a range of close ups of a variety of guns, to show the impressive collection. This is done to add intensity to the scene and to impress and shock the audience as it is unexpected. The shots are each under a second long and are very fast.

Next, this medium shot zooms slowly in towards Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, showing their astonished reactions to the room. By zooming in, their facial expressions are shown in more detail.

Process of Filmmaking

When making a film, there are a lot of roles and things that need to be considered before, during and after the film is shot (pre production, production and post production). A film as big as The Hobbit takes a lot of planning and people to make it work (not to mention money). During pre production everything needs to be worked out and tested so that it's ready for filming, such as equipment, storyboarding, casting, hiring a crew and actors and much more. After this is the actual production, where shooting takes place and depending on the film, hundreds of people are needed, which all need to eat, sleep, drink and wash, not to mention getting them all to specific locations on time. This costs a lot of money, so financial backup is usually arranged in pre production to fund the whole process. Planning in pre production is crucial, as it needs to be done thoroughly to execute the production efficiently and correctly. Lastly comes post production, where the whole film is edited and a trailer is usually cut here, as well as branding and advertising, which helps get the film out there and hyped in time for its screening.

This is the video we watched that showed a few days during the making of the Hobbit, which really gives a perspective on how important each intricate detail of making a film is, and shows how large scale the whole operation is too:


This is a table I made which shows all of the different roles/items that need to be considered at each stage of making a film:

Pre Production	Production	Post Production
Sound Setup	Actors	Editing
Scripting/Rewrites	Equipment	Advertising/Marketing
Equipment/Lighting	Filming/Cinematography	Sound Mastering
Budget	Sound Recording	Final Screening
Casting	Health & Safety	Colour Grading
Schedule	Advertising/Marketing	Distribution
Crew/Hiring Crew	Catering	Foley Sound
Risk Assessment	Travel	Poster Design/Branding
Catering	Hair & Makeup	Cutting A Trailer
Costume/Prop Design	Costumes	Soundtrack
Location Scouting	SFX/VFX	Story
Rehearsals	Security	Directing
Financial Backing	Lighting	Budget
Story	Soundtrack
Market Research	Story
Cinematography	Cutting A Trailer
Storyboarding	Directing
Hair & Makeup	Budget
Directing	Crew
Choreography	Choreography

Importance of Price

Concept to Shop Floor Timeline of making a product:

1. Concept
2. Brief
3. Research
4. Decide manufacturing method
5. Complete your products design
6. Create Prototype
7. Test Prototype
8. Manufacture & Package
9. Pitch & sell the product

Product:

Skateboard Deck in Shrink Wrap

Price:

Costs about £10-£15 to make each, price varies with size of batch, £50 Retail, Discount if over certain amount is spent

Promotion:

The design on it could be done by an artist, Contains special technology, Show professional skaters riding it, advertise in skateboarding magazines, online (adverts, promotional videos)

Place:

Skate shops, Online, Trendy high street shops



Getting the price of a product is incredibly important when selling your own product, as you need to get the highest amount of profits with as little loss as possible. One example to consider is the law of diminishing returns, which refers to the point at which the level of profits is less than the amount of money/energy invested. This point needs to be identified accurately and acted on quickly.

Skils Development

Throughout my first six weeks on this course, I have learnt a lot and started to develop many new skills in a range of areas.

Firstly, in Moving Image and Media Theory I have developed my knowledge about film and the history of film. I've discovered how films have changed over time and how different shots connote different moods and feelings to an audience. I've found out how sound helps to tell a story and make it more effective, and the process of how it's done in the real world, which I didn't know before. Through this I learnt about foley artists and how to use a sound recorder to get my own sounds for my films, and how to edit them accordingly. I've also learnt how to effectively use Premiere Pro (which I had some knowledge of before) so that it backs up my project as I work, and lays out my footage in an organised and effective manner.

In my Audio lessons with Tom Grey I have learnt about audio and sound in more detail. He helped us further understand about sound in film, and how to use Premiere with sound design and music, so that the sound is mastered and doesn't clip. He also taught us about making photomations, and how to edit them in Premiere by importing photographs in a group called an Image Sequence.

Publishing with Ty has helped me learn how to be more efficient with photoshop, as well as develop my knowledge about graphic design and film posters. I already had basic knowledge of photoshop before these lessons, however he let us experiment with the program and discover new things individually. He also taught us a range of keyboard shortcuts and techniques to make us more efficient with the program. In these lessons I've produced some of my own film posters that I'm proud of, and gained some useful knowledge and skills which will be helpful later in the year.

Film Poster Mashup made
in publishing (Design 1)

Film Poster Mashup made
in publishing (Design 2)

Sprited Away Poster (Made in Publishing)

Final Design of Spirited Away poster

Lastly, Interactive lessons with Steve Spicer have been really useful in helping me develop my knowledge in design and how I look at pieces of work me or others have made. In these lessons I've learnt a lot about very important parts of Media such as colour, text and design. Steve taught us about colour theory and colour harmony, typography and connotations of typefaces which are very useful to know about, and have helped me in other lessons when designing things. I also learnt the basics of Adobe Illustrator which is a complicated program, made simple to understand in these lessons. Using it I have made infographics as well as gained knowledge on how to use it for making posters and 3d graphics.

Colour Wheel made in Interactive

Image made in Interactive showing different parts of a typeface

Overall I think that in this first six weeks I have learnt a lot about programs and theory which will be very helpful as this course goes on, and now I feel a lot more confident approaching tasks with this knowledge. I still have things to improve on however, one is being more effective at planning and putting more time into planning before getting into a task. Another improvement I could make to help my learning is to spend time doing independent research and work (i.e. outside of college) and giving evidence of this. In the next term and half term holiday I will definitely try to act on these improvements, be it watching a few films mindfully, reading a book or getting outside with my camera and experimenting with it.

This blog shows all examples of all of the skills I have listed, as well as the video below, which shows some examples of skills I have developed: