Welcome

Welcome to my AS foundation portfolio. Here you will find research and planning, construction evidence and evaluation for my foundation portfolio.

Saturday 14 April 2012

Evaluation Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The different technologies i used in order to create my final moving image piece included hardware such as a moving image camera, a tripod and the I-mac computers (insert image of m with camera and tripod and mac) In using these products i developed my skills with them. I found that the camera i used was more of a fast-track camera in that it simply needed me to 'point and shoot'. This method was advantageous as i didn't need to waste time with focusing etc and was fairly efficient however the more manual cameras may have allow me to manipulate stock footage to a higher standard. I found that the tripod was quite difficult to maneuver from place to place but once set up, gave a far steadier shot and a more professional one. It also allowed me to achieve a high standard of tracking and tilt shots. As for the I-mac computers i found that once i got used to the format of them, they were easy to use and give a far more professional choice when it came to software.

 Here is a screen shot of my title screens in Photoshop. Photoshop allowed me to produce various images, titlescreens etc with ease and any other software would have not given me access to the variation of options i had with photoshop. I was able to add text to images such as my production logo with ease and gave a highly professional and satisfactory outcome. I used the stamp tool and after downloading some stamps online i was able to place these into my products, again giving an aesthetically pleasing and professional outcome. I did the same using downloaded texts also. Overall this software greatly benefited my final product as it allowed me to save time and give a professional look to all my creations.

My final film was edited and put together in final cut express and once i came to terms with the tools such as video transition effects and altering the sound, i found it was easy to use and was not so time consuming. In using the tools such as the video transition effects it gave my film a natural flow and benefitted it massively in giving it a professional look.

This is a screenshot of the both the sound clips and footage in final cut. As you can see form the image, the tools used such as altering the sound levels and fading certain clips in and out achieved my desired look. smooth transitions within the sound and cinematography were necessary for giving my film a high standard look and these tools allowed me to do this.


By creating my non-diegetic soundtrack in Garageband it benefitted my work in being not very time consuming but still allowing me to create sufficient sound to create the atmosphere and feel i wished to achieve. The use of a metronome kept my creations time signature at a constant so it didn't feel as amateur and the vast array of instruments gave me a good selection to choose from.

FreeSFX.co.uk is a free sound clip download site in which i was able to download my ambient diegetic soundtrack from. It gave a good list of sounds to choose from and created the desired atmosphere i wanted to achieve. It was simple to do and gave me time to spend on other things.


Prezi.com is a website in which i was able to generate a zooming and moving presentation to harbor a clip i analyzed from an already existing film. I was then able to make text boxes that acted like separate slides and when the presentation was clicked, it would go to the next text box where i had written another analysis about it. It was easy to do and not very time consuming but also gave a tidy and nice presentation.

In conclusion all of the software and hardware i have used in the construction of my product has provided me with the tools i needed to give it the desired look i initially set out to achieve and all greatly helped in various ways.

Evaluation Question 5 - feedback

Evaluation Question 5 - feedback

Evaluation Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

In my primary research i found that my audience wanted to see:
  • fonts within the title screens that matched the genre
  • a possible narration but not imperative to the success
  • characters that match the genre also
  • various techniques used in order to build tension





In my product i feel i have addressed most of the points made. I used genre-matching text/title screens and characters and built tension however i did not include a narration as i felt it was not necessary for my film.

The alterations i made to the rough cut of my product were mainly alterations to the editing of the footage and sound. The alterations i needed to make were smoother transitions etc:



This is a screen shot from final cut in which you can see i have used certain tools; for example fades, cross-fades etc, in oder to allow the footage and sound to run more smoothly. These changes were necessary to give the product a more professional feel.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for my media product

Here is a mood board/poster exemplifying the films, clothes and music my audience may listen to.

Evaluation Question 3

There are many stages within a films production and release:

  1. Beginning the process is pre-production. This is where a basic idea is nurtured and developed and a storyboard is eventually created ready to be put into action.
  2. Next is production. This is where a film is actually filmed and the storyboard is used to order the shots correctly. 
  3. After is the post-production process in which the stock footage is edited, altered and effects/sounds are added to create the final product.
  4. The next step is advertisement and distribution. This is where the product is promoted and a distribution company will be used to distribute the product either nationally or internationally.

A distribution company generally supplies copies to both cinemas and stores thus getting it on the market and can begin to make profit.



PolyGram Distribution, which is now a part of Universal, distributes similar products to mine. The likes of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barells and The Usual Suspects are both films distributed by PolyGram and have a very similar genre to mine. I feel PolyGram would be a good company to distribute my product as theyt have knowledge in the area of my genre however my film isn't too much similar to all the other films they distribute therefore it would be placing a fresh, new film to a, not necassarliy mainstream but profitable and popular crowd, such as the audiences for the previous films mentioned.

For both distribution and advertisement, there are many methods, with the emergence of the Web 2.0 etc, in which i could get my film noticed and sold. I feel the best methods of promotion for a society who are very much technology based has to be something 'viral' in which a lot of people will see it. This can be either a viral video or possibly guerilla marketing (the things that get most noticed). Also, as for distribution, downloads are the key to profit with today's consumers and possibly special edition packs in which certain bonuses are given within a physical copy could be profitable.