Final Cut

Below is the final cut of my 2 minute opening for Questioner:

Please watch the video full screen in the highest resolution at least HD. Also check sound is audible.

Evaluation: 7- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Below is a Prezi which explains how I feel I have progressed from my Preliminary Task to my Final Cut:

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

Below is a slideshow presentation with all of the different technologies i used and learnt about to plan, produce and evaluate my media product:

Media Studies- Evaluation Q6

Evaluation: 4 & 5- Who would be the audience for your media product? & How did you attract/address your audience?

Below is my TV Interview with Julia Roberts, BBC Film Review to give information about the film and who the film appeals to and how we are addressing and attracting the audience.

The ways of advertising the film as mentioned in the interview as shown in the distribution evaluation question (3) below this post. These ways are the trailer and poster. This poster is the beginning of the advertising campaign that will spread the word of the film.

Evaluation: 3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I have created a magazine article which explains how a film productions company look into distributing a film which includes the example of my media product, Questioner.
The link to the article is below:
CLICK HERE
or
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OMXeISeGMV-VTRxmWuPuXmF0cquswNeQJxR95np6N9A/edit?usp=sharing

Below is the trailer and poster for Questioner that will help to advertise the film and help to distribute it:

Evaluation: 2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Below is an interview with BBC Radio 4 on their Film Review Programme. (The interview is only for audio purposes but to be able to upload it to this blog it must be a video with some sort of picture) The interview with Samantha Grey gives brief details about the film, characters and the actors who play them, the overall effectiveness of the film, its messages and what I set out to show. In the interview the key theme is to answer the question of: What social groups are represented in the film?

The interview is below:

These are the questions and the brief answers:
(to understand the interview best, please watch/listen to it first then read its ideal response)


1) Tell us some information about the film?

• The main character is Lewis Webster who faces many problems throughout the film. The film follows his life as a flashback through time and starts 50 years ago which we then see him in the current time (2013/2014) in his adult years and how his life has turned out.
• The main narrative is that Lewis starts to question the world which causes many difficulties including bullying, we then leaner that this has helped him to be successful and reach is main aims.

2) How do you feel it went?

• Very well, I am pleased with all overall aspects of the film and how it represents the narrative I set out to show. I am pleased that its being distributed by a good company and how the film is viewed by the audiences.

3) Who's starring in the film?

• The main actor is Charlie Hope who is playing the younger generation of Lewis Webster.
• The co-main actor is David Andrews as the older generation of Lewis Webster.
• Valerie Hope is playing herself as Lewis Webster's Grandmother.
• There are many other small roles which were played by many actors who weren't as experienced so were happy to play parts for experience.

4) Why did you choose those actors?

• The main actor, Charlie Hope, was a clear choice for how I wanted Lewis to be, but he also helped to shape the character and making him more inquisitive.
• David Andrews is a distant family member so was already someone I knew could play the role.
• Valerie Hope likewise was recommended by the main actor, Charlie as a good actor. He also knew her well which made it less awkward to be working/acting with her.

5) What's your main messages?

• Age- How the younger people are less knowledge but don't understand their lives and have challenges that they have to face. The look up to the older people with more experience and knowledgeable.
• Success- No matter what problems and challenges you face, you can still succeed and reach your goals and be successful.

6) How did you show these messages?

• The storyline and script helped to show the message to the narrative.
• The camera angles helped the audience to understand the characters and their emotions. By having close-ups the audience can understand and see how the characters are feeling.

7) What does the film set out to show?
The film has many things it shows, it does present social groups, these are listed below:

• AGE- There are two social groups that are represented in the film. Both the young and old generations are present and help to show their differences but how they depend on each other. The younger generation are seen through Lewis Webster (at the beginning of the film), played by Charlie Hope. The younger generation are inquisitive but lacking in experience and knowledge. This is seen as Lewis becomes consumed by all the questions he wants to know. Lewis has to look to the older generation for help, guidance and advice. The older generation on the other hand is seen more in the film as the Grandmother Valerie, but also other members of his family. These people are in control and are seen as higher up than Lewis both in control and knowledge.
• GENDER-There are also two social groups of gender. The main male character of Lewis is shown as timid and consumed by his annoying habit of questioning everything until is becomes out of control. The main female charcaters are Valerie Hope and Lewis's Mum. They are seen as authoritative but caring. Valerie does seem harsh but this is due to her patience being tested by how annoying Lewis is starting to become.
• CLASS- The Webster family are middle class and take up a conventional role. We see this how Lewis is dressed smart as the time period of the beginning of the film is 50 years ago where it was expected that people were smart as Lewis is wearing trousers and a shirt.
• SEXUALITY- The social group at the time period of which the film is set in would be very normal. This is because people were less open to sexuality and some people were completely against it. This had to be true and close to the reality of 50 years ago.
• BRITISH- This social group is generic to the film as its set in Britain and shows the family living of British people.

8) When is it released to the cinema?

• The film should be in cinemas by Summer 2014 with the premier at the London Film Festival in May.

Evaluation: 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?



Use & Develop:

• Location
• Editing Styles
• Camera Angles
• Music
• Todorov Model
• Relationships

Challenge:

• Main Character
• Relationships/Trust
• Time Period

 

Below is a Prezi which has full explanations of how my film uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of a real media product:

Background Music Ideas?

These are the ideas for music I can use for the background of my opening for Questioner:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLBu4s3Q68Y- Cover of Beatles Help
• https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary- Various Downloadable Royalty Free Music 

I have chosen to use the cover of the Beatles Help by Castles In Air. The lyrics of Help are very relevant to the narrative about "when i was young" "I never needed anybody's help in anyway" "but now those days are gone I'm not so self assure". These lyrics closely relate to the main character and his current feelings and emotion which help to portray this to the audience. 

Also that the song is by The Beatles you immediately recognise it even though its a cover. Its also a popular song from the time period of around 1972 when the main character is seen in the opening.

This is the email that I sent to the Castles In Air band asking to use their song:

I am still waiting for a reply, although feel that if they disagree with the use of the song then they would have replied showing there opinion and ignored the email due to them not being concerned. 

Props

This is the video where you can see the props I will use and I am explaining why:

This is my prop list:
Prop List
Prop:                        Where:
Lego Toy- Scene 1- stairs/character
Spinning Top Toy- Scene 2- on cabinet
Money Box- Scene 2- on cabinet
Toy Car- Scene 2- on cabinet
Jewellery Box- Scene 2- on cabinet
Card- Scene 2- on cabinet/box
Old Photo- Scene 2- window
Box- Scene 2- on turn table
Turn Table- Scene 2- next to window
Books- Scene 2- next to bed
Light- Scene 2- next to bed
Various Photos- Scene 2- on bed
Candles- Scene 2- on bed & window
Potpourri- Scene 2- on bed
Stuffed Toys- Scene 2- on/next to bed
IMPROVED PROP LIST FOR FINAL CUT:
Prop:                        Where:
Football- Scene 1- outside/being played with by the character (CIRCLE THEME)
Pencils & paper- Scene 1- being used to draw with possibly circles.
Model toy- Scene 1- in the dining room and being made by the character.
Spinning Top Toy- Scene 2- on cabinet
Money Box- Scene 2- on cabinet
Toy Car- Scene 2- on cabinet
Jewellery Box- Scene 2- on cabinet
Card- Scene 2- on cabinet/box
Old Photo- Scene 2- window
Box- Scene 2- on turn table
Turn Table- Scene 2- next to window
Books- Scene 2- next to bed
Light- Scene 2- next to bed
Various Photos- Scene 2- on bed
Candles- Scene 2- on bed & window
Potpourri- Scene 2- on bed
Stuffed Toys- Scene 2- on/next to bed

*underlined props are the newly added ones after improvements have been made to the rough cut.

Plan/Storyboard

This is my plan/mind map for my opening for Questioner. I have planned the camera angles, scenes and editing effects which are shown in the image of my paper plan below:

This is my time plan:

Todorov Narrative Model:
This is the Todorov model for Questioner:
Equilibrium- The equilibrium is when the main character hasn't started questioning everything and considers himself to be normal. Everything in his life is happy and we see him at the start of the film playing with the wooden table pins game and his dog and shows enjoyment with what he is doing. This gives the clear idea to the audience that the main character (because we do not know his name yet) is very happy and that we start with a clear equilibrium.
Disequilibrium- This is when the main character starts asking questions and thinking of so many thinks that he questions in his daily life. After this first disrupt it leads to more and more especially in his school life because of his unusual habitats and annoying questions. We first see the characters question very early on in the film where he is told to go to bed. He replies with "why?" which leads us to believe he is a bit rude for talking back but after this first questions its like he becomes addicted to asking questions and finds so many questions he needs answering. We see the increasing amount of questions in the next scene and get a hint of how is Grandmother (Valerie Hope) is starting to become annoyed although remains calm and makes answers as quickly as he can ask questions. This contrast between the characters works well and helps him to understand and makes her best to help him with the problems he will face. The other disequilibriums will be throughout the rest of the film when he has problems with bullying from his school and students because of his unusualness and his habits that make him out to be weird. 
New Equilibrium- The new equilibrium will be at the very end when we see that Lewis had finally grown up to reach his goal of success and beating his challenges. We see that his annoying habit of questioning everything has turned out good and helped him to be successful in a well-paid job that needs someone who spots different issues and solves them as part of NASA. We see that he is very happy and loves working with people who see his habit as a talent in helping NASA find more life in space. We also see that he has a family and he couldn't be happier.

This is the storyboard for the opening 2 minutes for my feature film Questioner:

The storyboards include the angles, sounds, effects, transitions and titles that will be used over the clips plus the effects that will be added in editing.

Questioner Script

This is the script for my two minute opening for my film Questioner. It has all speech, narration and camera angles/movements. THE SCRIPT IS EMBEDDED BELOW:

Questioner Script

This script was updated on Monday 13th January to have the improvements made after the evaluation of issues in the rough cut.

Character Profiling/Biography & Actors

Character Profiling/Biography
Lewis Webster (younger & older)- Lewis Webster is the main character in the film. His character is very confused and has so many questions about everything in the world and his questioning takes over his life but also gets worse as he gets older. We first meet him in the opening of the film where he is a 10-12 and through the film he grows up to the age of 50. The 50 year old version is narrating the beginning to set the scene and give an insight into who the character is.
Lewis Webster is very interested in the World but can't stop thinking and questioning everything in it. He can't justify why there are things and this becomes worse as he gets older. The opening is a flashback from his childhood where he asks his first question and when it all began. Through his life he meets problems like bullying because of his un-normal habit which does lead to a happy and successful ending all due to this questioning annoyance/habit.
Age- 10-12 (growing up through the film to see him at the end at the age of around 50)
Nationality- British
Residency- Lives with his parents in a 3 bedroom house with 1 mile of his Grandparents, that shows why they are so close and family is very close by. He lives with his Mum, Dad and brother Jack. They live in a market town in Norfolk.
Gender- Male
Personality- Slightly timid and must always have something to do. This includes physical activities as well as work but also thinking. He enjoys concerning on a topic and can concentrate on single things for long periods of time. Outgoing but enjoys spending some time alone to concentrate on his own thoughts.
Friends & Family- He has a large family that spreads across the world, mostly within the UK but some distant family in Australia. His family is very close and is always happy and always stay in communication. He doesn't have many friends, only 2-4 but they are fairly friendly. The enjoy spending time tougher at school but are distant outside of school. Lewis has the least input with his friends as he feels like an outsider and foreign. This is due to him thinking he's different.
Likes & Dislikes- Likes having something to do and concentrate on, so dislikes being inactive and not having something to do. Boredom is his biggest hatred. Dislikes very large groups of people.
General Appearance- A young person with youthful happiness and appearance. Always smiling.
Where are they in the opening- They are around their Grandparents house. He is staying around as the Grandmother enjoys having family visit/stay. The different locations are both inside and outside the house.
Who are they with in the opening- The only other person we see in the opening is the main characters Grandmother Valerie. This characters profile is below.

Valerie Hope- Valerie Hope is the grandmother to Lewis Webster and very much enjoys spending time with her family and wants to make the most of her time with family. She doesn't like not being listened to and ignored. If people do not follow her influence and rules then she will become annoyed. She is always kind and loving and finds nothing more important than her family both past and present. This character shows the main importance of family and care/appreciation for family.
Age- 72
Nationality- British
Residency- She lives in a 4 bedroom house in the countryside. She lives with her husband John and share 1 room in the house. The other rooms were those of past children and now used as spare rooms when family come around. The house is very normal and located just a mile away from a market town in Norfolk.
Gender- Female
Personality- Approachable, kind and shows authority. The character clearly sticks to rules as in the opening they are strict about the main character going to bed on time. This shows a firm upbringing because 40 years ago its likely that family were more strict.
Friends & Family- Family is very important to her and stays in constant contact with all family by calling them on the phone or sending personal letters. She always wants to be in contact with family and see them as much as possible. The family is very large and she sometimes finds it difficult to see them as often as she wishes. She has some local friends of the same age group who like to meet and talk about their families with each other.
Likes & Dislikes- Likes being with family and enjoys time/going out with family. Especially with a large group. Also socialising and communicating with all friends and family. Dislikes being ignored and told what to do, especially dislikes people not following her orders.
General Appearance- An elderly character with slightly curly hair. Must be grey hair. Shows the age clearly although not to old to be unrealistically a 10-12 year olds grandmother.
Where are they in the opening- She is in her house in the countryside. (see residency for more details).
Who are they with in the opening- She is with her Grandson in the opening because we see her only telling the main character to go to bed and also when he is in bed she is saying goodnight.

Vladimir Propp:

Protagonist- Lewis Webster. Lewis leads the narrative, and is growing up with his difficulties and new annoying habit of questioning everything. His overall quest is to grow up and be successful.

Antagonist- The bully's/school. When growing up Lewis faces difficulties by being bullied and not accepted at school. We see his school life and the problems he faces. There will be various different people from his school who get in the way of the protagonist Lewis.

Heroine- This will be the reward for Lewis making his way through school and progressing with his challenges. His questioning habit means that eventually he becomes successful and his life becomes very good and marries a wife and has a family.

Donor & Mentor- This is Valerie Hope. We meet her in the opening when Lewis starts to question everything. She is the grandmother of Lewis and helps him with his problems and encourages him to keep progressing in school to reach his goal. She gives hope and advice.

Father- These will be mainly the parents of Lewis. Jane and George Webster will be the authoritative figures in Lewis's life and show him the path to his success.

Helper- The helpers are the friends and family of Lewis. The help him through his school life and how to make the most of his life to achieve his goal.

Actors & Why
Lewis Website (younger) is going to be played by Charlie Hope. Charlie Hope is the ideal actor for this role even though he is aged 12 but looks younger. This youthful appearance helps to show the innocent and inexperienced attitude. He is a normal height and fits very well to my first idea of how the character would look and act.

Lewis Webster (older) is narrated by David Andrews and if the whole film is to be made then would be played also by David Andrews but in the opening of the film we only hear the narration over the scenes of the younger Lewis Webster (played by Charlie Hope). David Andrews was chosen for the voice of the older Lewis Webster as he has a clear voice but has the slight similarities in appearance but age differences like how the hair colour has changed overtime from blond to darker, which is not uncommon.

Valerie Hope is playing herself. The actor slightly shaped the character as there was no specific appearance that was planned although the actor should be naturally older and be a grandparent to keep the character as believable and authentic as possible.

Rough Cut & Improvements

The rough cut of my 2 minute opening is below:

The rough cut is only a ROUGH CUT and has been used to just put and cut the clips tougher and make sure I have the right clips and the footage is useable. In the rough cut I have tried some music but mainly the rough cut is to find issues and thinks to improve on.

From the rough cut I have found these issues:

• The first scene isn't believable enough due to the actor being a bit giggly and that the prop is not really something a 10-12 year old would play with and not for that amount of time.
• The costume of the main character is not right. The time period should be around 50 years ago as its a flash back from the older character who is in the current time period of 2013/14 so the costume of this character isn't as believable and convincing. One of the main problems is that you can see the character has a Nike logo on his jumper but also the other parts if the costume isn't of that time period.
• Some of the video isn't very clear as it isn't perfectly in focus and due to the poor lighting.

The improvements I am going to make are:

• Re-film this first scene to correct the mistakes of the costume and slight unbelievable acting.
• Add a filter to this opening to make it more like the how film and TV would be like in the time period I'm aiming for. This will probably be a sepia filter.
• Change the first scene to have different activities that are interrupted with old black and white pictures of family to emphasise they family environment and life. The activities will be better and more accurate to what a 10-12 year old would do. The new activities will be playing with/kicking a football, scoring a goal and celebrating by spinning in circles and running around, drawing especially circles and making a model of something like a plane. These scenes are more relevant to the characters age and also have been used to show the theme of circles and spinning in circles because the young boy starts questioning everything and feels like he's going in circles and confused. 

Below is a video where I am talking about the issues in my first rough cut and the improvements I will make:

Location Research Video

This is my video where I am looking at the selection of my locations for my two scenes in my opening two minutes. I have mentioned the positives and negatives off all locations with reference to the lighting, possible camera angles and mise en scene of the location. There are also pictures of the locations and small clips of the location i have chosen.
Watch it below:

Or CLICK HERE

Audience Research & My Feedback

This is the audience research myself and Sophie Martin have completed. Below are the responses from other members of Wymondham High Sixth Form. The video clips have been cut and edited so they answer specific questions instead of a whole video that answers them all at once. This makes it easier to understand the answers and compare them to other peoples answers.

My response with points that I have found interesting from the research but also an explanation of ideas I might use in my 2 minute opening based on the audience research.

I have found that generally people enjoy a mix of genres and the majority enjoy comedy. Also people find that they don't want to much to happen in opening but the responses are broad and some people only want to see some characters and the plot but others want to learn nothing and just see something like nature etc and hear some narration. Its agreed that everyone want to see the titles and characters/production teams names. Please watch the video above that gives more details and explanations of the audience research.

My Final Idea Video

Below is the video where I am explaining in full my final idea:

Target Audience and Screening Venue

Target Audience For My Film

My film would have a mixed target audience as anybody could watch it as there is no explicit language or scenes, meaning there wouldn't be a restricted viewing age. My main target audience would probably be aged 18-60+ and can be any gender because its not age or gender specific.  I feel that the film would probably appeal more to the 50-70 age range because its narrative is about memories and has the childhood images and lifestyle/upbringing from this age range when they were the age of the main character when we see them as a 10-12 year old at the beginning of the film.
Screening Venue
My film would be screened at normal cinemas as its a regular film that would be viewed by anyone in any cinema. There would be no selective types of screens e.g. 3D but could be distributed to selective types of cinemas like large groups of cinemas like Odeon etc or independent cinemas. Because the film is will be exported as a video file is will be very likely to be screened on a projector and will make it useful to the cinemas because it can be screened easier and in the best resolution but also conveniently to the audience and cinema.