How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Technology I Used

• Prezi
• YouTube
• Blogger
• Final Cut
• HD Cam-Corder
• iPhone
• Picnic (soon to be Google+)

In this task we used a range of technologies to make sure our film looked as professional as possible, we needed to use technology so that we could make the film flow as well as possible, all though we had not used a lot of these so had to learn about them.

Prezi
Prezi is an online slide show creator that is free to use. I have not previously used this sight before studying film noir and is a nicer more professional alternative to Microsoft Powerpoint. I used this a lot so that I annotate my research and my ancillary texts. I believe the prezi presentations I have made are very clear and look good and help explain my reasons for choosing certain aspects of my film and ancillary texts.

YouTube
We have used YouTube to upload our film and also some of my reviews, this makes it simpler to keep your videos in one place under your own user on YouTube.

Blogger
I have used blogger to update and keep track of my progress and have enjoyed using blogger and think it is a good tool for social media. Blogger is certainly something I will use so that later on in life I can look back upon. It is very simple to use and is similar to Word and I have not struggled to operate the site. The only problem I did have with this site was that I could only access my blog from home and not on any other device, therefore I could not go on blogger at school, this was inconvenient and had to be worked around.

Final Cut
Final Cut is the program that come with Apple Macs and is used for editing film. We had previously used them before but only to try and get a feel from them. I found it especially hard using them and when we first started editing we had problems uploading our clip to the Apple Macs but this turned out to be a problem with the computer so we had to start again on another PC. Overall I have improved a lot in my final cut ability after spending many hours up in the suite.


HD Cam-Corder
For filming our movie we used a Panasonic HDC- 1040, we needed to use a good quality camera so that the finished product looks good in the end. Our camera was very simple to use and uploading was not difficult. I done the majority of the filming and as I have never filmed before I enjoyed being able to create good shots with the camera angles. If we were to do anymore filming I would definitely buy a tripod as some of the filming is a tad shaky.

iPhone
I used my iphone to recorded me talking about ancillary texts, it was very simple to use and I could remotely upload the videos straight to YouTube which saved a lot of time and effort. The camera quality is not the best and if I was to record again I might use the HD Camera but I didn't have it at the time but the iPhones camera is good enough for the task required.






Picnic
Picnic is an online image editing site which when I used it was free because it was closing down so I got all of the premium features which made my ancillary texts more professional. I have used picnic before many years ago and it is a very good site for editing pictures.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Our audience feedback came from other media students when the media department held a film showing on the last day of term. We received many good reviews on post-it-notes from class mates.

'Good lighting in alley scene' - We believe this was definitely one of our best scenes and the shadows cast look really impressive against the brick-wall so we were happy.

'Murder scenery good but death not to realistic' - We knew this would be a problem and it was not because of our actor, we did not have the tools to create blood splatter out of Sheldon Rex's head and when filming we did take another angle but a car drove past and made a noise. However we stuck with the shot and it still looks good and the audience can understand what it happening throughout.

'Good music, SFX' - This was something we spent a lot of time on and sourcing them from different sites and making sure we didn't breach any copyright so that our video would not be taken off of YouTube.

'Powerful story' - Very happy with this comment as script writing took a long time.

'Staircase shot could have used high-heels' - This was a very good idea which we did not think of, this would have allowed us to use another film noir concept.

'Good acting but maybe more emotions could be shown in death scene' - This is a fair comment but we believed that Sylvia would not care that Sheldon was killed because we loves her husband. Also when Rex is about to die his character changes because he has given up, this is seen when he tells Reece to hold his jacket.

'Film flows well but could use film in voiceover' - This is something we defiantly wanted to change but we ran out of time, when we get back after half term we will add clips to these scenes.

Overall we are very happy with our reviews as they were anonymous so people can be cruel but our reviews are overall positive or constructive feedback.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I believe my main product and my ancillary texts work well. It helped making the film first and coming up with key ideas so that you can incorporate them into your products. The film poster definately doesn't give away to much about the film which I though was key as many of the posters almost spoil the ending and the research I done showed that you can pretty much guess the ending. My poster looks a bit like a horror film poster but that was expected as I wanted to emphasis the murderous theme in our film. The shot used of the alley is also a scene of our film so when the audience watch it they will realise that it is an important scene. Our film Cracked Secrets needed to feature in both products too, the font I have used in both of my ancillary either relates to film noir or the film. In my poster I use a typewriter font and in my review I use a font from the video game LA NOIRE. Making sure the ancillary texts relate to the film is very important so that the audience can recognise them. By having both my products quite dark and eerie relates to the film and its genre, the review uses a night time shot and a casting shadow which creates tension. In film reviews I looked at they all use a screen shot from the film, so I picked my favourite shot from the whole film. Both my ancillary texts include the colour red which we wanted to include in our film but we though black and white would be more important. In the review I use a burgandy colour and the poster I use a red colour both of these signal danger. I choose not to use black and white in my film poster because it would be boring and not catch the eye of people walking by, the colour of the bricks really stand out and so does the date.
I believe my ancillary texts work really well and they sell my main product.

In what ways does your media use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of film noirs.

Our film uses many classic conventions of film noirs;

We use black and white throughout the whole film. Most film noirs use black and white and noir itself in French means 'black film'. Black and white film makes the whole film seem darker which adds to the eeriness of the film. Black and white used in film noirs in the late 1940's and early 1950's and only the more recent films have used colour such as Brick and LA Confidential.


Another convention we used was that the film is set in America, a lot of the film noirs at the time were set their such as The Big Sleep and LA Confidential. As it was set in America all the actors needed to use an American accent which was quite hard to do. We decided that our femme-fetale should be English and should speak in a posh accent so that it distinguishes her and makes her more seductive and intelligent.
We used an all time classic convention in film noirs which is venetian blinds.
example:

Lola - Double Indemnity

The reason we used this concept was that it creates mystery as it does not reveal the identity of the person. It creates bar which in our film represents a prison/trap/cage like effect. When used in our film Rex is meeting up Sylvia and this suggest she is luring him into her trap.

Themes that we used which are not necessarily common in film noirs was that we let our murderer get away in the end and is never caught, in American film noirs the perpetrator is always caught. The reason we decided to let him get away was because we wanted to use some realism in our film so that a UK audience could relate to the film. In the UK a lot of our films and TV uses realism where in the UK it is not.

Another concept you do not see in film noirs that often was that we left the film on a cliffhanger when the audience is not left knowing if Reece kills Sylvia this is because this scene builds a lot of tension and keeps the audience on their seats. After the film it makes the audience think and talk about what they think the ending would be. This creates a form of promotion 'word of mouth' for the film which is only a good thing.

We used cigars and cigarettes in the film as well, we believe this was important as at the time smoking was seen as cool therefore we needed the main characters to be seen as idols for the audience viewing it back then. It also creates a smokey scene which adds to the mystery of our film, the difference between Sheldon smoking and Reece shows the divide socially between the two, Reece is pictured with a huge cigar while Sheldon has a small cigarette.

We used murder as a key theme which in all film noirs is a focal point, it adds drama to the film and makes the film much more interesting. Usually in film noir the murder is more subtle than a gun shot but we felt that as our scene is in an open area it will echo and create a nice sound.

Having a femme-fetale was also important to us and we needed it in our noir as she is the main character and develops the emotions for the two men.

We used politics and corruption as a theme in our noir which I have personally not seen on a governmental level, this in 1950's would have caused a stir but common films have embraced this concept.

We had many common angles seen in film noirs such as canted angles and angles that showed position of power, this is mostly seen when Reece points the gun at the two at the table. The over the should low angle shot really shows who is in charge.

We used power as the key theme in our film, all of the characters want power over one another, Reece wants power being that he wants to be governor, Rex wants power over Reece by being able to publish this story he will become a big player in the journalist industry. Sylvia wants money which brings power and she has power over both the men, this is seen throughout the film and how she manipulates them and plays them against each other.

We used a mirror shot which is classic in film noir, this is seen when Reece Freeman is about to discover his wife and Sheldon Rex together.

We added a scene in which had to talking at all which is not common in film noirs, either there is talking or no talking throughout the whole film. Combining the two worked really well and made the scene stand out. The acting and the camera angles meant that no words actually needed to be said and the audience could still understand what was going on.

 

Film Poster

Research
For my research I decided to look at some films posters from todays era and in the past so I can compare the differences between the two. I will also looks at a film noirs poster to gain some knowledge of techniques that they use. I will look at a film which involves murder as this is a key theme of my film and also the spooky/eerie tension that is created throughout the film.

Film noirs: a lot of film noir posters are hand drawn as at the time they would not have had the powerful tools of computers. examples:

As you can see they all are cartoony, which is not the style I want to use as I can not draw and also I do not think it is affective. The film posters also give away too much information about the film, as film noirs are meant to be mysterious you can pretty much guess the plot straight away. This is why in my film poster I will not give away too much information about the film.

My Poster

Presentation on my poster

Film Review

Research
I have looked at some film reviews from Empire magazine, Empire is a film and TV magazine and has many reviews of films. Today I looked at two articles from the film and have picked up a few tips which I will use in my own review.

This is a video of an article from Empire Magazine the film is called The Help and the video has made me realise I could use some of the techniques used in Empire. The parts I most like about this article is definitely the important quotes as they stand out from the rest of the review, I will definately use this in my own magazine. I also like the name of the magazine Empire and I will use a name which also relates to royality and importance.



This is a video of Moneyball an article from Empire magazine. This was my favourite article from the whole magazine and will look a lot like my own magazine. I like the outline of the page and how it is appealing. The image of the man standing their  who is the main character in the film dominates the page which is effective as it is Brad Pitt who is a very famous actor.


Ideas for my own film:

1. Similar layout to Moneyball
2. Shapes of colours outlining the pictures
3. Page numbers
4. Main focal picture and one other smaller picture (different scenes)
5. Title of REVIEW at the top of the page somewhere
6. Small information about picture in top corner
7. Title of film on top of the picture.
8. Text on the picture
9. Maybe using the DVD case on the review
10. References to other reviews in the magazine
11. URL of my magazine for online reviews
12. Star ratings are definitely needed.
13. A key facts box
14. Double page not singular
15. An icon which makes the magazine stand out and recognisable. (I will have to create a logo for the magazine)
16. A good, short and catchy name so its memorable

I will not be able to use all ideas but would like to incorporate as many as possible. This is my rough plan of my review I have also numbered the picture to compare to the list above to see how many concepts I could use:

Finished Product:

(This is a double page review and would have a line running down the centre.)
This is an insight to why I made the choices I have for my review.

MY REVIEW -A presentation about my review

 

-A video about my review

Overall I am very happy with my final review and it looks a similar layout to the Moneyball article which is what I was aiming for.

Film

This is the final product. I am proud of the film as it has many noir concepts. The film is enjoyable and has a lot of drama.

Editing

The past 3 week we have been up in the Apple Mac room editing on Final Cut, we have previously used this software before as practise in the run up to A2 media. Our trial.
Using final cut is very confusing and we started off knowing very little about the software and had to read up from a booklet and it was time-consuming and many mistakes were made. Our first attempt at the film had to be scrapped because we were having serious problems stitching the film together and making it flow.
First Week
Choosing the footage to use was quite a simple task, we filmed over 150 videos so we had to watch all of them and sorting them out into categories of rubbish, maybe and definite. This took at least an hour an we ended up with many clips we could use and have many angles of the same scene which was very useful.
We then methodically put every scene in and left a 30 second gap in between each scene so we can mess around with each scene and once happy with the scene then move onto the next one. After week one we had only completed scene 1 and 2 as they are quite short scene.

Second Week
We continued to work through the scenes while also recording monologues which we would have in between scenes. We were initially going to have image over the clips but we ran out of time to film and it was essential to finish the film on time. During this time we had to decide what music we wanted over the top of the film. We used the site www.freesounds.org to download the music and Jack had some songs he had found elsewhere which we wanted to use. During this time we also wanted to try and create our own sounds using a piano and a tablet. However it turned out a lot harder than we thought as the sound quality was not good enough to use. We also had to do sound editing on the phone conversation between Sheldon Rex and Sylvia Freeman, which was hard and had to google the answer. By the end of the second week we had completed 3-9 scenes. However we knew the final scenes and the credits would take a while to do and then we had to make the movie flow via transitions.

Third Week
The final week and we knew we had a lot to do because the final scenes were the longest and the most important scenes so editing them would take a long time. We also done a lot of our sounds this week finding sound effects for guns, typewriter and phone calls, we needed to make these sound convincing so we had to trial and error a lot of the sounds. Also in this week we had to input our credits as all films need credits and to put our film company name on it. We had a preview of our film on the Thursday so we need to make sure we had time to export the film which takes a while so it had to be finished by the Wednesday.

The whole editing experience was a very long and hard process but eventually we had completed the film and I am proud of the finished product and if you compare it to the example earlier you can see I have made huge improvements in quality of work. Final Cut is very complicated but I definitely feel more confident work with the programme.

Day Three Filming

Scenes we filmed on 22/02/12

• Scene 1
• Scene 2
• Scene ?
• Scene 3

The filming today was good as we had many locations to film in, in Baldock. We had a classroom, an office, an alleyway and another office. We also needed the help of a friend to play a drug dealer for scene 4. Initially scene 4 was going to be at The Freeman Manor but we felt it would be nice to have a different venue which would be darker and more sinister.

Characters required:

• Sheldon Rex
• Reece Freeman
• John Barnacles
• Drug Dealer

Props required:

• Typewriter
• Cigar
• Cigarette
• Drugs
• Mug
• Hat
• Briefcase
• Trench coat
• Black suits
• Gun
• Newspaper

These are some shots of the locations that we filmed at on 22/02/12


 The alleyway that we filmed on is in Baldock and we waited until night time as a lot of outside filming in noirs films are dark as it creates more mystery and greater shadows. The alleyway is a single lit path which looked really good as the drug deal took place underneath it.

The Boss' Office scene was quite easy to film, it was my first bit of acting and even though I'm not brilliant I think I pulled it off. Jack Squires filmed this scene. We used a lot of over-the-shoulder shots to show the close relationship between Rex and his boss. Also there is a good slanted shot of Rex entering the door which creates obscurity and mystery.

The typewriter scene is also a good scene and the diegetic sound of the typewriter creates a sense of eerieness. Also when the typewriter is snapped back it also make a bang noise which is related to the gun shot in scene 12. The cracked secrets typed in will be used in the opening scenes to introduce the film and will fade out.

The most creative shot of the day was definitely when we placed the camera inside the briefcase and then opened it as it creates suspense as you hear the click of the briefcase and you then have a shot of a man grinning with a cigar. It looked very professional as we used the torch to shine on one side of his face.

Tom Batt was our actor who played the drug dealer and we decided it was best to take the speech out the scene because it added another element to the film, no words need to be said and the scene is obvious. This means that you have to make sure that the camera angles are good and that it is easy for the audience to understand.

Day Two Filming

Scenes we filmed on 19/02/12

• Scene 12
• Scene 5
• Scene 9

The filming today was good but quite tricky especially the kill scene (12). Because of our choice of death our main character Sheldon Rex (Ben Cartwright) had to knell down in the water and eventually end up face down in the freeze cold springs. Because of the conditions we had to make sure we done this quickly and in one take as moral was low and everyone was cold. The scene looks really good because of the fantastic location and a big thanks to Lucy and Ben for going in the water. The other scenes filmed today went well in (9) we filmed a flashback/thought of what Sylvia has been up to with Rex. And Scene 5 we needed to find a classic phone box as they are used often in film noirs such as Brick. We filmed in:
                                                   -Ashwell Springs
                                                   -Ashwell Phone box
                                                   -My House

Characters required:

• Sheldon Rex
• Sylvia Freeman
• Reece Freeman

Props required:

• Red dress
• Gun
• Trench coat
• Two suits
• Blazer
• Black dress
• Bed
• Umbrella
• Fur coat
• Classic red phone box

These are some shots of the location that we filmed at Ashwell Springs:

These are taken from google and when filming it was darker and gloomy which added to the eeriness of the scene





These are some shots of the location that we filmed at My House:

These are taken from my phone and they just give you a rough idea of the proximity's and the scenery.









The filming at my house was easy as the clips we needed were only a few seconds long. We included a good shot of the femme fetale Sylvia Freeman leading Sheldon Rex up the stairs and this shot looks very effective and seductive. She is definitely in control in this scene and is practically dragging him up the stairs to her bed. I filmed this scene and I used a few different angles such as, low angle, high angle, close up.

A classic noir convention is venetian blinds and is a concept we really wanted to include a shot of the femme-fetale eyes, this creates mystery and hides the identity of the women. We didn't have any of these blinds so we had to make do with my parents blinds in their room(left) as it was dark when we were filming we needed to make light pass through the blinds to created the desired shadows, this was a lot harder than expected as the bedroom is on the first floor so we improvised (right). This involved using a torch and having an Ben Cartwright take the shot as Jack Squires was not available/not needed for this scene.

The final shot of the venetian blinds was (bottom left). I was pleased with the final result as it hides the identity of the women and the next shot is her at the door revealing who she is.

The telephone scene was good camera work from Jack Squires. A noir convention is a slanted angle and when Sylvia is walking up to the phone box it creates mystery and once again does not reveal her identity again. It is a quick tempo scene and the music that we have added to it is also quick. Another shot we used in this scene is the close up of Sylvia Freeman's lips which is a classic shot seen in film noirs. Once again it is a very seductive shot and adds to the intensity of the relationship.

Day One Filming

Scenes we filmed on 15/02/12

• Scene 5 
• Scene 9
• Scene 11

The filming today was successful and we were at the location which was Jack Squires' house in Rushden UK. We filmed in 3 separate rooms :
                                                           -Living Room

                                                           -Master Bedroom

                                                           -Dining Room

Characters required:

• Reece Freeman
• Sylvia Freeman
• Sheldon Rex

Props required:

• Two guns
• Candle
• Two suits
• Phone
• Black dress
• Wine bottle
• Flowers
• Desktop objects (Paper, Pens, Stapler)
• Wine glasses
• Bed
• Mirror
• Bedside lamp

These are some shots of the location that we filmed at Jack's house:

Today's filming went smoothly and it was easy to film. Today I filmed all the scenes in the house as Jack was needed to act out in all of the scenes. It was the first time I have ever done any filming professionally and found it quite tricky to keep the camera still as we did not have access to a tripod. I believe that the filming from me was good and was able to include many different shots;

Over The Shoulder

This shot it usually used when there is a conversation but as Reece is getting angrier he is crossing words out with his pen more vigorously and this is important and that is the reason we used this shot.



Close Up

This is a good shot as we can see the gun and the legs. This is a very seductive shot as the skirt/dress is quite high and she has her legs crossed, this is a classic femme-fetale pose. (example)




Low Angle

This shot allows us to determine who is in control. Reece Freeman has just walked in and found his wife with another man. This shot shows his anger and assurance and makes other characters in the scene inferior and vulnerable.


High Angle

An important aspect of the scene and as it is a high angle shot of a black gun again white paper it stands out.

As you can see it is quite and old house which is good as it fits with the age. Also the wooden beams in  Jack's living room also work very well as they look royal and the black beams against the white ceiling look like venetian blinds which is a classic convention.

Character Profiles

Sheldon Rex
Played by: Ben Cartwright
Age: 41
Relationships: Broken up with his childhood sweetheart of 19 years of marriage a year before these events. He is now married to the job and misses female attention.
Past-times: Sheldon Rex has always been a journalist but always small time. He is having a mid-life crisis and is looking to be in a relationship.
Ambition: His ambition is to be a top journalist and believes that with one big story he could be famous. As he craves attention he looks forward to the fame but will his ambition for passion obscure his career.


Reece Freeman
Played by: Jack Squires
Age: 48
Relationships: He is happily married to Sylvia for 3 years.
Past-times: He has graduated from Harvard many years ago and has always been involved with politics. This is his first time he is running for Governor and is seemingly in the lead by a mile as the newspaper article suggests. He is seen by the public as a good guy in the corrupt city of New York and with the recent Governor stepping down after an alleged affair. Reece needs to make sure he keeps a clean slate and any problems with his marriage or other activities
Ambition: His only ambition is to become Governor he has no other goals he wishes to achieve.

 
Sylvia Freeman
Played by: Lucy Cunnington
Age: 39
Relationships: He is happily married for 3 years to Reece but is seeing Sheldon Rex on the side so that Sheldon does not release the drug deal story about her husband
Past-times: Sylvia has been married to many men and all of them have come from a wealthy background and she has accumulated thousands from divorce settlements. She was a model when she was younger but she has found it easier living off the achievements of her other half.
Ambition: Her ambition is to be rich and this will come with Reece Freeman becoming Governor of New York.


John Barnacles (Boss)
Played by: Daniel Cowie
Age: 58
Relationships: He is happily married to his wife and has two children who both go to college.
Past-times: He has been Sheldon Rex's boss for many years and they have worked closely, he is gradually giving Rex more important stories and believes he could one day take over his paper.
Ambition: He has no real ambition apart from to make sure his paper continues to be successful.

Locations

Freeman Manor
Outside

We choose this locations as it is a very big house in the countryside which would be suitable for a very rich manor house. As the Freeman family are of a well respected and posh past-time and as Reece is running for Governor it is important for his image to have a well-presented and nice house.

Living Room

We choose this room because it is very spacious and looks old fashioned. The wooden beams against the white ceiling and walls look ominous in black and white and really stand out. This room was used for Reece Freemans flashbacks of his deteriorating relationship. Also the black on white of the beams are iconic in film noirs and it is a similar effect to venetian blinds.

Dining Room

We choose this room because it continues with the wooden beams and makes it easier for the audience to establish where we are. The window at the end of the room is very effective as it is a single source lighting which is a classic noir conception. The oak furniture is also very posh because of its dark rich complextion and it shimmers the light from window. In this scene Rex and Sylvia are caught and as this room is very small it is meant to have the conotation that the net is closing down on them and that their affair is about to be blown out the water and end up in the water.

The Springs
The springs is a location situated in Ashwell in Hertfordshire, it is an eerie spring and is a popular place for tourists. The reasons why we choose this scene was because it is a good place for a murder and it seems very seculded. It has many trees around the water so it is quite dark there and has the sound of running water which causes a lot of tension. The murder scene also allowed Reece Freeman to have the power as he forces Sheldon Rex into the cold freezing water before killing him. The stairs that the characters will travel down are stoney and cobel and make a tension building noise. The springs echos a lot which will have to be taken into consideration when choosing the gun shot sound.


The Drug Deal Meet

This is the alleyway that we will choose to film the drug deal scene. Initially we were going to use the Freeman Manor but decided we could use better concepts and make it darker as it is a dangerous illegal scene. We will film this scene at night as there is a single lampost in the middle of the alley and will be a single source lighting. The alley has walls either side and it quite scary and shows there is no escape and as Reece kills the dealer there will be an effective shot of him walking away.  The conotation of walking down the straight and narrow certainly doesn't apply here.


The Affair House
Ouside

The town house has to be smaller than the Freeman manor it is actually my house and as it is in Ashwell we can film it on the same day therefore saving time. The house is quite small which is good as it is an intimate seen and we want them to seem close.




Stairs

We will have a shot of the stairs and Rex and Sylvia walking up. The bars also create a venetian blind efect casting shadows on the stairs.




Bedroom

This is the bedroom that we will use for the bed scene, the bars on the headrest conotation is that Sheldon Rex is traped by Sylvia Freemans charm. The bedroom scene will only have two shots so we will not include the pictures and other stuff in my bedroom and keep the scene simple.