Film - Evaluation Questions

For the evaluation we must answer 7 different questions. As there is 3 of us working together on the evaluation we have decided to each write up 2 of the answers and then write one answer all together. My questions were " What kind of Media Institution might distribute your media product and why?" and "What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your Media product?"

What kind of Media Institution might distribute your Media product and why?

We think that the most appropriate production company for our film would be Film4 Production. The company is owned by Channel 4 and has been responsible for backing a large number of films in the UK such as 127 Hours, Shaun of the Dead and Slumdog Millionaire. Film4 is known for show casing British Drama films which are typically low budget.  A good example of this is the film This Is England. Released in 2006 the film grossed over £5,000,000 with a relatively low budget of £1,500,000. Judging by our film opening, our film would be low budget made; similar to that of This is England.  The most suitable distributor of our film would be a UK based distributor such as Optimum Releasing. Optimum releasing are one of the UK’s largest film distributors. And with releasing around 200 films a year they are the most prominent distributors in the UK independent film market. 

What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing your media product?

The most important thing that we have learnt in the process of constructing our media product is how to edit properly.  When making our preliminary tasks we were very limited in what we could create and add to our film as we were all relatively new with the I-Movie software. As we continued with our project we begin finding new things that we could do our projects such as spacing out the text that we used. We did this with the Title of the film and the actor’s names to make it look more professional and polished.  We also learned how to trim clips of music. The beginning of our film opening starts with the slower paced part of Hometown Glory then moves to faster pace and then ends with again the slow part of the song. We had to make sure that all parts of the music fitted in correctly with the scenes that we wanted to. Another thing that we learned was how to make animations. At the beginning of our film we used an animation which we made of the software serif.  We had briefly used the software a few years ago in ICT but for our film we used how to make a stop frame animation which we were really pleased with. 

Film - Evaluation Plan

As our opening of our film is practically finished we now need to make a start on the evaluation of the opening. One member of our group, Inez, does not wish to work with us on the evaluation and has therefore decided to do her own evaluation for our film opening. This means that myself, Libby and Nancy will do the evaluation together. To gain the best possible marks, the evaluation needs to be creative and interesting. We had a group discussion in one of our Media lessons and decided that it would be a bit different if we filmed ourselves answering the evaluation questions in the locations where we filmed. For example in the Oxford Public toilets, on Cutterslowe Bridge and in the Christchurch College Quad. By doing this we hope to create an more interesting and appealing evaluation section. We think that it would round off our Media Film nicely by engaging the audience again in the locations that we used.

Film - Final Edit Of ABUSED

Film - Screenshots Of Animation

The first part of our animation is a white blank screen.

The next part of our animation begins with a pink bouncy ball at the top left edge of the screen.

In the next part of the animation the ball bounces down the screen with the word 'DYNAMITE' appearing on the screen.

The ball carries on bouncing up and down the screen moving towards the left. As this is happening the word 'DYNAMITE' begins to be surrounded by a black fuzzy effect. The fuzziness draws the viewers attention to the words and the use of the black on the white background makes it stand out and appear important. The use of the florescent pink ball at the very beginning symbolises the fact that women are the main characters throughout the film. Not many films show a group of women as the main, strong and powerful characters so we wanted to create and achieve something that is rarely done in film.

Film - Putting Animation On Our Film Opening

Today, Libby Nancy and myself went to get our memory stick which the I.T technician had been working on to change the format of our animation which would make it compatible with the MAC. We then were able to upload the file onto the computer and transfer it into I-Movie. Once we have placed the animation in the correct place of our film we needed to add a short 10 second clip of music. We had to go back on the PC computers as the MACs are not connected to the internet. We went on youtube and found a suitable clip that would work with our animation. We then put the memory stick into the computer as we were going to use a youtube converter to transfer the clip of music back onto the MAC. Once converted we then put the memory stick back into the MAC computer and uploaded the music clip onto I-Movie. Because the clip that we had wanted was around 1 minute long we needed to trim the clip to make it fit in time with the animation (which is about about 4 seconds long). Once we had trimmed the clip we realised that the other music on the opening had disappeared. We were unable to go back and undo so we just had to trim the music to it would fit with the suicide scene. Once we had sorted out the soundtrack music our film opening was completed. We then put the film onto the memory stick ready to upload onto youtube next lesson.

Film - Problem With Animation

We had finished our animation a few weeks ago. However we have had a big problem with it. Once we had completed our animation on the PC we imported it on a memory stick so that we could transfer it onto the MAC. When to put the memory stick into the MAC it would not upload the animation because it was in the wrong format. We decided to go the IT technician and see if they could change it into a format which would work with the MAC computer. A few days after we went to get the memory stick as the technician had said that they had put the animation in a suitable format to work on the MAC. We then put the memory stick into the MAC and the animation seemed to import onto the computer. The animation was now on the computer in which we dragged it onto the desktop. However the animation was still unable to upload on I-Movie. Again we went back to the IT technician for them to convert the animation in a suitable file that works with I-Movie.

Film - Classification

To help decide what classification our film opening is, I went on the British Board of Film Classification (bbfc) to reaerach the different film classification categories.
All classification decisions are based on the BBFC’s published and regularly updated Guidelines. The Guidelines are the product of extensive public consultation, research and the accumulated experience of the BBFC over many years. They reflect current views on film, DVD and video game regulation.

U - Universal

- Suitable for audiences aged 4 and over.
- Should be set within a positive moral framework .
- No discriminatory language or behaviour unless clearly disapproved of.
- No references to illegal drugs or drug misuse unless of a clear educational purpose.
- Scary sequences should be mild. The outcome should be reasuring.
- No potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy.
- Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.
- Occasional natural nudity, with no sexual context.
- Mild violence only.

PG - Parental Guidance

- General viewing, however some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
- A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older.
- Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable.
- References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be harmless.
- Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense.
- No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy.
- Mild bad language only.
- Natural nudity, with no sexual context.
- Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent.
- Moderate violence, may be allowed.

12A/12 - Suitable for 12 years and over

- These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those
   aged 12 and over.
- Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12.
- No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied
   by an adult.
-  Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless
   clearly condemned.
- Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised.
- Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted.
- Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which could be copied.
- Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language must be infrequent.
- Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.
- Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed.
- Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.
- Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail.
- Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated.

15 - Suitable for only 15 years and over

- No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema.
- The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
- Drug taking may be shown but the film must not promote or encourage drug misuse.
- Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
- Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which could be copied.
- There may be frequent use of strong language
- Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail.
- Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.
- No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
- Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.
- Portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

If we were going to continue making our film I think that the most appropriate choice of classification would be a 15 - suitable for only 15 years and over. One of my reasons for this is that our film opening shows drug and alcohol taking. As a group we believe that showing drug taking in a manner where it is used for pain and harm in not acceptable to be shown to persons under the age of 15. As we have touched on this I think that it should not be shown to children under the age of 15. We also show a suicide scene which could be disturbing and upsetting to some viewers. As films with a certificate of 15 state that no theme is prohibited and that dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail, I think that is appropriate to show this film opening with a 15 certificate.