EVALUATION QUESTION 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation

stages?

PRE-PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

Technologies used in the research: YOU-TUBE

We used the technology of You tube in order to research the genre of film noir and gather some inspiration for our own products. We firstly thought of the more modern film noir films that we already knew, such as Shutter Island and Black Swan, and thought about the style that these products included.

You tube not only enabled us to gather inspiration for our own narrative, but it allowed us to reach more specifically to our target demographic of 20-26 year olds, as we were able to see the popularity of the researched films with specific viewers.

However in order to gain information about the older, more classic film noirs, we had to use You tube in order to view their trailers; The Usual Suspects and Psycho. You tube was particularly useful for in gathering information for Psycho as there was some ambiguity as to which trailer was the official, or which had been modernized.

GOOGLE
The use of Google enabled us to research the previous covers of magazines from the magazine brand W. We chose to use this magazine as we found Mila Kunis was on the cover of an issue in order to promote her new film Black Swan; which we researched fit the conventions of film noir genre. This magazine is also marketed for a female audience, which linked well to the idea we had to put the female protagonist Vera on the cover, in order to directly link to her role in the film.

By researching the previous magazines from this brand, we were also able to get a clear idea of the style of the magazine, and the types of fonts and colours that are used. After gathering this information, we could clearly link our own magazine to the original covers, as well as choosing our own colour palette that adheres to the significant themes in our film.

The use of Google also allowed us to research film posters that formed part of a cohesive branding image for a particular film. We collected some images of the film posters and found that one single film had both a teaser poster, and a main poster. This helped us to ensure that we had included all the information that would normally be split into two products, or repeated.

Hardware used in the production: CANON EOS 1100D

Here we could change the ISO setting; the amount of light captured in the shot. By making the IOS a bigger value, for example 800 or 1600, the image became increasingly brighter. However we chose to decrease the value from the standard 400 to 200, in order to make the shot darker and convey the right atmosphere reminiscent of film noir. This was done in the confrontation scene between Jules and John, as John becomes violent. By decreasing the amount of light, the tension was highlighted and the silhouettes of the characters conveyed the idea of danger and murder. This feature of the camera allowed us to create depth of field, and put the image into focus. By turning the lense, the image sharpness was changed. This allowed us to ensure that the shot would be crisp and clear, however for the experimentation with depth of field in the bar scene, the shot of John started blurry, then brought into focus. By turning the larger section of the camera lense, the zoom tool could be used. We zoomed in as John held the bottle of alcohol, in order to illustrate that his dependency on alcohol is a central theme of the narrative. By zooming in on this action, a darker mood was created, and the isolation of John as a protagonist was highlighted.

Hardware used in the production:

TRIPOD

Here we attached the camera to the tripod in a secure way. By ensuring the camera was screwed on to maximum amount, we minimised the chances of the camera disconnecting from the tripod and breaking. We had to ensure that the camera was tightly secured onto this trap before filming.

These legs of the tripod allowed us to not only fold up the tripod for travelling between locations, but also to lower the camera in height. In order for us to film from lower angles, we had to move the camera up each stage of these notches, in order for the height to change. This was particularly useful when filming long shots, or over the shoulder shots, as the camera either had to be disconnected completely, or stabilised higher up in order to capture the whole location.

POST-PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

Technologies used in the construction:

FINAL CUT EXPRESS: IMAGE

Final Cut Express was the most significant software used in the construction of our trailer. This advanced software allowed us to include many professional effects and editing techniques within our product, which meant we could give a more sophisticated outcome. The way in which we were able to edit our sequence was greatly aided by the use of Final Cut Express, as here we could slow down the sense of time to enhance the romance, or include several rapid jump cuts to create the sense of danger.
In particular, Final Cut Express enabled us to heighten the sense of romance and illusion, as we chose to slow down the shot of John and Vera embracing. We did this by cutting the scene at the appropriate times in order to focus on the embrace itself. This was done through the setting tool, and then by changing the pace dial, we were able to slow down the pace of the action as much as we wanted. This enhanced the film noir genre as it gave the sense to the audience that time had stopped, and the romance was the only significant emotion.

Split Clip Final Cut allowed us to enhance a significant feature of film noir; tension. This was particularly successful at the end of the trailer, when all the action had built up to a specific moment, which for this project was the appearance of the film title. However before this final shot in the trailer, the action became more significant and fast paced. We were able to achieve this effect by using the Split Clip tool to edit several clips down to 2 or 3 seconds in length. For example the shot of the physical conflict between the male and female protagonist was edited down to 2 seconds, and was followed by another fast paced action scene. By repeating this editing process, the trailer became tense towards the end as the audience was eventually led to a climactic moment.

FINAL CUT EXPRESS: SOUND

Not only did Final Cut allow us to experiment with the editing abilities of moving image, but the opportunities to enhance the effect of sound also. We chose the soundtracks we wanted for our trailer by going through our own collection of music and finding songs we thought would be appropriate to fit the genre of film noir. We believed the song had to be slow in pace, but with a dramatic beat, in order to portray the serious themes we were presenting. By using this software we could professionally combine three different soundtracks together. We did this by ensuring that the volume levels matched between the end and start of soundtracks, and that the soundtrack itself started at a similarly sounding section. We used the Pen Tool in order to create dots on our soundtrack and alter the volume. By blending or linking the soundtracks together, the structure of our trailer was heightened, as we had clear beginning, middle and end sections; thus adhering to the conventions of a trailer. Film Noir was also adhered to here through sound as the stereotypical emotions conveyed in this genre were presented; a soft beginning, with a dramatic ending.

After we had chosen the songs we thought would best complement the narrative, we dragged them into the chosen scenes of the trailer that we felt needed that particular soundtrack to intensify the action shown on screen. The most interesting soundtrack to add was SAIL, at the very end of the trailer, as it gave us a chance to dramatise the trailer, and bring a modern soundtrack into a classic genre. We used this soundtrack to enhance the conflict between the protagonists, as the volume levels were then edited to fit the action of each jump cut shown. This non diegetic soundtrack was particularly effective as the beat of the music layered well with the amount of jump cuts, and could be heard at the right intervals on the screen. Therefore the relationship between the sound and image was significant here, that could have only been achieved with the use of Final Cut Express.

Pen Tool

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP: POSTER

Adobe Photoshop was used to construct the film poster, as we were able to position text in whatever way we wanted, as well being able to choose our own colour palette in order to adhere to the stereotypical style of film noir. In order to create a successful film poster, we had to ensure that we adhered to the sinister tones of film noir, whilst still incorporating the other themes in our own narrative ; romance, isolation, alcoholism and mental illnesses. These themes were significant features of our narrative and therefore by portraying them in the film poster, we created a cohesive branding package. The theme of mental illness was symbolised in our poster through the use of an imagery effect called Mosaic and created tiny shapes over the image, therefore making the photo look slightly distorted, and broken up. This effect was chosen as not only did it make the original photo look unique and intriguing to the viewer, but also symbolised the broken mind of the protagonist, who was also the focus of the poster. This effect gave the impression that the protagonist was underneath the effect, and therefore represented the theme of barriers and mental distortion in the narrative.

Photoshop also allowed us to experiment with the contrast of the photo, and the central colours used. We chose to enhance the contrast of the photo, so that the black shades surrounding the protagonist in the centre, was brought to the forefront, and one again made the protagonist look isolated and alone in darkness. The experimentation of colour particularly allowed us to symbolise the theme of alcoholism, as not only was the photo taken in the bar location used to film, but the warmer colours around the edges presented the sense of familiarity. By using Photoshop to enhance the warm glow around the central protagonist, we symbolised the positive feelings that alcohol brought onto the protagonist, and the sense of comfort it brings to him; thus adhering to the serious tones of film noir. The colours of orange and yellow were enhanced around the centre object, in order to connote the happiness and warmth of dependency on alcohol.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP: TEXT

Not only did the use of Photoshop allow us to change the imagery of the poster photo, including the colours and contrast, but we were able to position the necessary text onto the image also. We previously researched what text was necessary on a film poster by looking at those of Shutter Island and other films that adhered to film noir. This meant we could ensure what needed to be present on a poster, in order to give the audience the right information about the film. In order to attract the audience, we had to deliver the marketing aspect of the product, in a technologically relatable way. By adding the name of the Twitter page of our film, and the Facebook address, we were able to target our young age demographic, as these would be websites they were familiar with, and know how to use. Photoshop enabled us to copy the two logos of the websites, and then paste these onto our poster, as a separate layer, therefore enabling us to change the colour, size and positioning of them on the page. We chose to place these addresses/links at the bottom of the poster so as not to deterre from the central focus of the title, or image. We had to change the colour of the logos so that there was no white space around them, that would be visibly seen on the dark shades of our poster. We did this using the Paint Pot Tool.

We also used Photoshop in order to unify the image of all three products, as we could change the font of the text on the poster, as well as ensuring we used the same colour font as that seen in the other products. By changing the font to the same shade of yellow as seen in the background of the institutional information in our trailer, we were ensuring that these two products were part of the same branding image therefore adhering to the given brief. This particular shade of yellow was used as the title colour, The Last Drink, as well as the colour of the review stars. Not only did this colour match the one used in the shade, but it also complemented the shades of orange and yellow surrounding the protagonist, consequently creating a professional, sophisticated colour palette.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP: MAGAZINE COVER

Not only did we use Adobe Photoshop for the construction of the poster, but to create successful magazine cover also. We firstly researched other magazine covers form our chosen brand W, in order to grasp the style of their image, and what messages they conveyed when promoting an actress new film. We chose to use the Kristen Stewart issue as particular inspiration, as well as the researched Mila Kunis cover for Black Swan. We chose to focus on these two issues as they both included dark, sinister elements that are reminiscent of film noir; the contrast of black and white. Lasso tool We firstly used this software in order to enhance the facial features of the model, or to minimize any noticeable flaws. This would be done a professional magazine cover, on a much larger scale, however we simply used the Blur tool in a small size, in order to blur out any small imperfections. By doing this, we were able to deliver a more professional, sophisticated cover, that did not look amateur or incomplete.

We also used Photoshop in order to create a template for the W logo itself. We did this by copying and pasting the magazine cover into the layer of the photo, then using the Lasso tool to cut around the outline of the W neatly and carefully. When we had sufficiently cut around the outside, we positioned it onto the top left hand corner of the cover, just as seen on the original covers. We then changed the colour of the W, as it was originally grey, however we thought this would be lost, as the background of our original photo was grey also. By changing the W and other test to white, they stood out and represented the stark themes of isolation and illusion.

Technologies used in the evaluation: SURVEY MONKEY

In order to successfully evaluate our production, we were able to use Survey Monkey, in order to gain feedback from the public about out three products. Survey Monkey is a website which allows you to create your own survey, by writing your own questions based on your project, and giving multiple answers to choose from. After the results have been collected, Survey Monkey analyses the results for you, saving both time and any chance of errors. This efficiency meant we could have results back faster.

We wrote questions based on our three products, such as the success of our trailer and the effects used, as well as the main image on the magazine and the poster. After writing these questions, we were able to post the link on the social media website Facebook which ensured that we would target the right young audience. By posting it on this website, it immediately became a lot more accessible to the public, and the right age demographic that would know how to use this website.

This technology immediately allowed us to see the success of our trailer, as well as the way in which the three products correlated together. We were able to receive feedback on the success of the relationship of the three products, in order for us to make changes to our rough edit later on. This was a pleasing technology to use as it was fast and easy to construct our won evaluation. By writing our own questions, we could ensure that they would apply to our chosen genre, as well as making the length of the survey appropriate, so as not to be tedious to complete.