Storyboards

Film Evaluation

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my film, Dark Departure, there are many ways in which characters express their personalities and views of the situation, through the use of body language, costume, and many types of mise-en-scene.

When the audience is first introduced to the main character, Scotty, they can see that he is quite careless, given the current situation, due to how he is mindlessly sprinting away from the undead, it shows he is not yet used to the situation and hasn’t found a acceptable way of survival. This is also seen from how Scotty fails to succeed in what he was running to- evacuation from the aeroplane passing by. The audience can see the doubt in his facial expression to know that things haven’t gone to plan. This carelessness is seen throughout the male genre, including before the attack, as both of the Scotty’s friends, Mike and Sam, die within the first few minutes of the movie.

The scruffiness of the character’s hair shows that he is not necessarily prepared for the attack against him and his friends, even through using an improvised weapon.

The setting used is stereotypical to the horror genre- using a gloomy and cold industrial and isolated setting to show that even though car parks can be quite public places, the car park is deserted and lonely.

Younger people are represented as survivors, trying to get through the modern day world as easily as possible. They face a lot of conflict with their peers and their true personalities are brought out when faced with a life-threatening situation. This is perfectly shown from when Sam wants to run away as the zombie is killing Mike. Scotty is seen as “the good guy” character to how he wants to stop Sam from running and try to help Mike from getting attacked, even though Mike has died by the time they decide.

I have not represented the older generation group due to how if the younger group pose a threat to peers of the same age, a breach of trust and comfort is created, especially if close friends succumb to the threat as well.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

There are many skills in which I learnt from the process in creating my film.

Using the digital cameras proved quite a challenge due to the size of them. As they were quite big, running and filming action shots proved difficult to keep smooth and professional. However most of the time I used the tripod, as this was the ideal way to keep shots as smooth as possible.

Another problem I faced was the battery of the camera. As many shots needed to be taken over the 2 days of filming, the batteries would often run out of charge and I would barely finish filming before the batteries died. Luckily I had a charger at home to be able to charge both batteries in between the filming days, rather than having to do the whole shoot in one go.

It was hard to get to grips with the amount of time that had to be put into filming, due to how over 10 hours of setting up and filming between the days, just for an outcome of 11 minutes of film time.

When editing my film, the most time spent was cutting down the film into the correct order, especially as the finished film had to be only 2 minutes long including title screens, some small technical issues arose while doing this, however after a short time, I was able to get used to the system quite well, finishing the cutting after around 2 weeks.

There were a lot of challenges and difficulties when it came to directing the actors. Containing the random laughs and controlling outside emotions was very time consuming and ended up affecting the finished product in certain areas, one of them when the zombie attacks the character, Mike.

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

My film used many similar techniques, codes and conventions of many films in the industry today.

I used a wide range of shots such as panning shots in the field scene, to high angle shots in the car park scene. My personal favourite of these would be the starting shot after Scotty misses his chance of being evacuated, and shows him and his friends talking to one another about someone they know getting bitten, generally relating to the situation approaching them. The majority of the time I used hand-held shots, rather than using a tripod, mainly due to how hectic most scenes were, a tripod would not be able to evoke the correct amount of chaos, especially when chase scenes were used.

The only editing software I used after filming was Final Cut Express. This took quite a while to get used to, but with the help of teachers and peers, I was able to quickly gain control of editing my film, taking little over 2 weeks to complete. Some problems arose when trying to create continuity in my film, due to how many parts of the raw film were shot at pure random.

Another problem I faced was when putting together the order of when the character Mike gets bitten and killed by the zombie. Firstly, a comic effect was created from how his scream was induced mainly from laughter from what was happening. The other problem was how much of my audience reacted to the scene before this- when Mike had to take off his shirt. The reason for this scene was due to the fact that I had to shoot the scene, when Mike was already a Zombie and chasing Scotty, first, and if I kept his shirt on to before he was a zombie, it would be bloody from the day before.

When creating the soundtrack for the film, I decided to use GarageBand. The same problem arose here as it did with Final Cut Express- I didn’t know how to properly operate it. However, this was soon resolved as I did with Final Cut Express, by the help of everyone around me. After a few days of experimenting and trial and error, I was able to come up with the perfect soundtrack to my film by the end of the week and easily converting it onto Final Cut Express. I also had to use GarageBand for the sound effect of the jet passing by in the first part of the film.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I feel that more independent companies and investors would finance my film due to the fact that it would be looked on as more of an indie film. I feel that a company such as Working Title Pictures would distribute my film due to the fact that Working Title distributed many successful films such as Shaun of the Dead. However this may also conflict with the fact that my film is independent, which may attract the attention of Warp Pictures.

I feel that my film would be distributed through the use of cinema ticket sales, however more of DVD release sales from how it would seem as a gift, or experiment of a certain genre, rather than an event to do with friends.

When it comes to advertisement, I feel that Dark Departure would be advertised through the use of billboards and posters more than on television, mostly I feel on the internet, due to how there are many sites in which people can advertise for free, letting viral and “word of mouth” do a lot of the work.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I feel as if my film could apply to a wide variety of groups, demographics and psychographics. The fact that most zombie films applied to horror fans, eventually became it’s own type of film and genre. The general age would range between teenagers of 15 to adults of any age who enjoy the genre as much as I do. I feel as if my film would also be aimed at mainstreamers as well due to how it would be distributed by a company such as Working Title Pictures which is partnered with Universal Pictures, almost guaranteeing customers that if they see my film, they would be looking at a drama, horror, and action-packed thrill ride. Much of the audience may be people looking for experimentation in a new and innovative genre, due to the acquired taste that is required to view a lot of films under the same genre.

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

There are many ways in which I would have improved my film; one of them being that I wish I had arranged bringing my actors together much better, mainly due to how many of them began to drop out at the same time when I most needed them. Another reason was because of the actors themselves. Most of the time I spent filming was trying to keep the actors under control and getting to actually act, proving a very tedious and monotonous task.

Preliminary Task

Chart-based results on audience Questionnaire

• From this chart, i can see that most people i asked, were  of a young age group between 15-20 years of age. This shows that my film should be aimed for an age of around 18, but at the same time appealing to many older ages as well.

• From this chart, i can see that the majority of people i asked were female. This shows that i need to make a film to suit both male and female genders. 

• From this chart, i can see that the majority of the audience would prefer to watch a horror-based genre for a film. This is the basis to which i will make my film on.

• From the chart, i can see that the target audience would prefer my zombie film to have a serious aspect to it. This supports the idea that the film is based around a horror genre.

• This chart shows that the majority of people i asked prefer the film name "Dark Departure". From this i know i will use this title name for my film.

• From this chart i can see that more people prefer to buy films when they are released, this shows that producing my film on a mass production could achieve more profit.

• From this chart i can see that more people enjoyed to watch 1-3 films every week.This shows that i need to make my film more worth while to watch. 
• From these different questionnaire results, i can see a variety of ways to create my film. The fact that most of the people asked were young of age and preferred the genre i aimed for. I have realised that i should aim for a more serious approach rather than comedic, with the title name as "Dark Departure". 

Questionnaire on Film research

Film Questionnaire

1.What age do you fall under?

15-20 [] 21-25 [] 26- 30 [] 31-35 [] 36-40 [] 41- 45 [] 46+ []

2.What gender are you?

Male [] Female []

3. What is you favourite film genre?

Horror [] Comedy [] Action [] Sci-fi [] Drama [] Adventure [] Other []

4. If you selected “Other” please state your favoured film genre below.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Would you prefer a Zombie-based film to be:

Serious [] Comedic [] With a twist []

6. What film name would you prefer for a Zombie-based film?

Breach [] City of Dread [] Dark Departure []

7. How do you usually watch films?

The local cinema [] The internet [] Videos/ DVDs [] Other []

8.If you selected other, please state what.

……………………………………………………………………………..

9. On average, how many films do you watch a week?

1-3 [] 4-7 [] 8-10 [] 11+ []

10. If any, please state your favourite Zombie-based film.

………………………………………………………………………………

An Analysis on the opening scene of Diary Of The Dead

 The film begins with a camera crew shooting a murder scene. Within a couple of seconds of starting, death and misery, grief and despair are already introduced to support the genre. The way that it is lighted also supports the horror and ear aspect to the film. The gloomy and dismal lighting may be used to depress the feelings of the viewer, before introducing the fear factor of the film.

 Soon after, the first case of the problem is introduced to not only the audience, but also the characters as well. The misery is built up very quickly, perhaps to startle the audience, preparing them for what is about to come throughout the film.

 This startling effect is also expanded through how the characters, that the viewer has scarcely been introduced to, dies within a few seconds of the outbreak escalating. This shows the spectator that death and destruction will not be foreign throughout the film.

 After the first opening scene, the spectator is shown the global effect of the outbreak, quickly explaining how quickly a crisis such as this, can escalate. It shows that even though the undead cant cause disasters such as fires, humans are making mistakes through the fear caused by the catastrophe

An Analysis on the opening scene of 28 Weeks Later

The setting is in a very dark and dingy cabin, this sets the sense of seriousness and fear, from the coldness that surrounds everyone. The audience can see that everyone is restless from whatever’s going on. However, the use of candles, dotted around the house, creates a sense of safety and comfort, due to the way that candles are warm from the flames. This effects conflicts with the real situation, and is very useful when using against the audience.

This sympathy is also created through some of the character’s facial expressions. Many of them are riddled with misery and melancholy, which expresses the devastation of this particular situation.

A great sense of fortitude and defense is created when the audience realizes that it is actually daytime outside, and that they have completely boarded out all traces of sunlight. It expresses the vulnerability of the characters, as the spectator realizes they are petrified from what is going on.

An Analysis on the intro of Shaun of the Dead (Unfortunately pictures are reversed)

 The film starts off with an introduction of the main character, showing what sort of personality he has, and here the audience can see that he is a very glum and distant person. This could negatively effect his actions later on in the film or perhaps even help them.

 Soon after, we see that the main character is actually in the middle of a conversation with is partner, adding a comedic effect due to how distant from the world he really is. Shot reverse shot is used to show the intensity of the conversation. This shows how the character can be quite laid back and relaxed in important situations.

An Analysis of the credit sequence of Dawn Of The Dead

An Analysis on the opening sequence of Zombieland