Task 1- Skills Development

Post-Production: 

During our research and planning stage of our 2 minute film opening I took and extended look into the sub genres that were part of the overall genre of gangster film. We looked into and studied the conventions and styles of each genre by watching the openings and evaluating aspects such as mise en scene to study the typical characters and locations featured within each of the genres. From there we continued and decided that the sub-genre of British Gangster was the most appropriate to the resources and locations that were available to us.

We then researched into the companies behind these films and how they are funded, produced and distributed some famous and independent gangster films. We discovered that they were mostly funded by the larger conglomerates and then being produced by smaller film companies. Like our genre, we decided on a producer and distributor that was appropriate to the conditions under which we would be making our film based on this research. In addition we also went to look at the directors involved in gangster films researching into people such as Quentin Tarantino. Through this research we also studied his films for further conventions and techniques involved, discovering features of violence and crime that would be easy to replicate within our own film.

Now that we had researched into the style of film we were making and had a good idea of the production we began to research media theories such as Todorov and Barthes to gain insight into the structure behind films in general. This helped to understand the inner working and general pacing and production of a film also assisting in knowledge of the content of our opening. E.g.: How much story should be shown, Fast paced vs. slow paced etc.

Finally to gather additional ideas for our audience and how to appeal to them we sent out a survey using survey monkey that was able to gain responses about how they think the film should be paced and the story/themes within the film. This was incredibly useful for us as it allowed us to combine this knowledge with our genre research in order to make our film opening conventional yet appealing. In addition it allowed us to create our ideal audience member using voki, further crafting our target audience and our understanding  of them.

Planning:

Our next stage was applying our research and deciding how to utilize it in our final film. We begun with initial ideas in the form of a mind map and mood board, outlining costume, equipment, software and plot. We then went on to physically visit our locations and gather photos and video that would allow us to study and evaluate it beside our research. During this stage we created a slideshow containing and compressing our essential images and possible shot types for our final film. This helped to build upon our ideas and start to organize the filming stage of our coursework.

Once we found our location we began to turn our initial plot ideas into a script. During this time we applied our research into the dialogue and descriptions making sure that our slang and props were appropriate and relevant without hindering or restricting the story. In addition this allowed us to draw up a storyboard that assisted in deciding on shot types and props in a visual way that further helped with visualising the final piece. After this stage we were able to create both a costumes and props list describing what we needed in order to create our film. Furthermore we gathered any relevant items we had already and recorded them on our blog.   

Moreover we continued to plan detailed features of the film such as finding genre appropriate titles and music. The font was done using the internet and then comparison with the research to see if it was conventional. The music however consisted of contacting a local band in the area called The Showhawk Duo who cover traditional music in an acoustic style. Finally we continued arranging the production by contacting actors and creating a timetable that we could follow depending when each member was available.

Construction:

This stage involved the physical on location filming. Our initial stage was inconsistent and the sound/lighting was muffled and difficult to see. However it gave us a good experience into the interactions with the actors and actual filming including on location re-drafting and evaluating the shot types and plot. Although this initial film was not the standard  of quality we wanted to achieve it allowed us to look at the elements we thought were weak and decided on how to improve it whilst expanding on the elements that did work. Furthermore we also gained and recorded feedback from our class in order to gain outside opinions' and recommendations from some of our audience.

 We also went back and did several re-drafts of the script and various alternative edits to experiment and evaluate the features. It also allowed us to get in contact with our actors and create another filming schedule for re-filming to apply these improvements and suggestions.

Evaluation:

Our final stage allowed us to evaluate our final construction and our course work overall. We looked at how well we had been influenced by our inspirations, comparing screen shots from both our project and films such as Get Carter, 44 Inch Chest and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. We evaluated how well we were utilising lighting and composition of our shots in comparison.  Our next stage included evaluating our four main features: Mise en scene, Camera, Editing and Sound and the effectiveness of each stage we had used. The final stage involved considering the choices we made regarding the institutions and audiences, if they were appropriate and also how we attracted/ appealed to them. Finally we considered what we had learnt and gained from each stage including technology and our preliminary task, it let us see how we have progressed and the improvements made in every stage of our task.