Candidate Details

Name: Katie Fowler
Candidate Number: 6319
Centre Name: Aquinas College
Centre Number: 33435

Planning, Filming & Editing

Planning, Filming & Editing

Planning: 

To begin with we gave everybody a role (these included things such as camera woman/man, crew, actors, but changed every scene so everybody got a chance to do each different thing) We then went through the script and decided who would be best to play each character. Once this was decided we went through the script to ensure everybody knew their lines. We then rewatched the trailer. This gave us an idea of how to act each part, the relationships between the characters and where would be the best location to film each scene.

Filming: 

We then decided we were ready to start filming. We used a tripod to ensure that our shots weren’t shaky and were all at the right angle. Once the camera was set at the right angle and height on the tripod we could work with the zoom button and the distance to ensure that we framed the shot correctly and captured the right shot e.g. a close up for an emotional scene etc.

Editing:

Once we had filmed all our clips we could start trimming them and putting them together in the Mac Suite using iMovie. Using this programme allowed us to use transitions, add a soundtrack etc.

Picture Evidence: 

Relationships between characters

These are the relationships between my characters. This is a good reminder for us when planning storylines etc.

Moodboard

I created this moodboard to show the likes and interests of my target audience. This will make it easier when planning costumes location and dialogue etc.

Technologies

Technologies

Below is a list of technologies that I used at any point during my work:

-Photoshop (for editing pictures)

-Microsoft Powerpoint (for publications)

-Microsoft Publisher (for ancillaries)

-Keynote (title cards)

-Garage band (to edit music)

-Twitter (for interacting)

-The Green screen (for taking pictures in front of)

-DSLR cameras (for taking pictures)

- Tripod (for keeping shots steady)

-Microphone (capturing quiet dialogue)

-Canon (for video recordings)

-Youtube (uploading videos to)

-Slidesharer (converting videos)

-Blogger (showcasing products)

-Prezi (presentation)

Script

'The Mancunian way' - story board brief

-SCENE 1 -
Penelope(P), Tarquin(T) and Henry(H)
 -wide shot of P and T walking together
-close up of H 'did you sleep together'
 -close up of P (show disappointed facial expression)
 -medium close up of T 'yeah'
 -close up of H (show shocked/pissed off emotion)
 -three shot of P T and H (spencers hands on head) H 'your so weak'
 -close up of P (show facial expression - upset and crying)
 -close up of H 'im glad your crying you should feel my pain right now'
-wide shot of H (walking away from T & P)

-SCENE 2 -
Amelia + Saphire in restaurant
 -medium shot of caggie ' ive decided to go back to london'
 -reaction shot, medium close up of millie 'when' -close up of S 'in a few days'

  -SCENE 3 -
T & A in an iconic place
 -3 shot of A walking to spencer (spencer waiting) A 'he's your best mate and you slept with his girl'
-Close up of T (reaction shot)
- medium close up of A 'you need to talk to him and while your at it talk to P'

-SCENE 4 -
A & S in restaurant
-two shot S and A (back of millies head) 'ive told T he needs to speak to you'
-close up of S 'i wasnt planning on telling him'

-SCENE 5 -
 shots of location
- wide shot of hilton/cafe/expensive restaurant

-SCENE 6 -
H & T having a heated talk
-two shot of H & T (back of H) 'you sacrificed everything for her, if its just a game, your pathetic' (H pointing while speaking)

-SCENE 7 -
T & P
 -two shot of spencer and P (back of P)
 -medium close up of T 'i want you to be my girlfriend'
 -extreme close up of P (reaction shot) 'ive heard you say stuff like this to certain people before'

-SCENE 8 -
H & T
-wide shot of H 'our friendship is over'
-extreme close up of T (reaction shot looking shocked)

-SCENE 9 -
S & T
-close up of T 'how long are you going for'
-close up of S 'o dont plan on coming back anytime soon'
-close up of T (reaction shot looking sad and upset)
-over the shoulder shot of S 'i dont wana do this'
-close up of T 'if it was up to me i wouldnt let you go'
-wide shot of S (walking away) (in train station)

-SCENE 10 -
Evangeline and P on the phone
-wide shot of train board
-medium shot of P (answering phone)
-close up of E 'we need to talk about T'
- close up of P'he's all yours'

-SCENE 11 -
Ste in train station
-Wide shot of T(running in the train station)

-SCENE 12 -
text shots
-betrayal -love -forgiveness -romance -wealth -gossip -excess -drama -bitchyness 

Characters

Planning:

Ste will play the Spencer(MIC) like character in our trailer. He will be called Tarquin.

Name conatations: Exotic, high status

Character= cocky, player confident.. Going behind his friends back

Max will play the Jamie(MIC) like character in our trailer. He will be called Henry

Name conatations: royalty, wealth

Character= angry, his friend and girl he was seeing have gone behind his back

Georgia will play the Louise(MIC) like charter in our trailer. She will be called Penelope

Name conatations: Greek mythology

Character= getting tired of being messed about by Tarquin

Steph will play the Caggie(MIC) like character in our trailer. She will be called Spahire

Name conatations: precious jewel, rich

Character= also tired of being messed about by Tarquin

I will play the Millie(MIC) like character in our trailer. I will be called Amelia

Name conatations: latin=highly thought of

Character= concerned, looking out for her best friend

Lily will play the Sophia(MIC) like role in our trailer. She will be called Evangeline

Name conatations: posh and high class

Character= very annoyed, has found out her boyfriend has been cheating on her.

Planning: Location, Costume, etc

Locations:

-Upper class shops near Selfridges, Hugo Boss etcs

-In Kro Bar

-Iconic places e.g. Hilton hotel st James Square

-In shops that could look like a house

-Restaurants that look upper class

- Picadilly/Victoria Sation

Costumes:

-Ballet pumps or heeled shoes

-Fitted pants e.g. leggings/skinny jeans

-Blazers/Leather jackets

-Smart shirts

-Jeans/Chinos

-Leopard prints

-Smart shoes

Hair & Make up:

-Natural looking make up

-Flaweless/Bronzed skin

-Basic hair styles

-Boys hair styled

Props:

-Big bags

-iPhone

Questions

1) How have you used, developed or challenged existing codes & conventions?
Mise en scene:
- Locations, props, costumes, lighting: are they similar to those used in the real product?
Editing:
- Does pace of editing match the beat of the music?
- Is there a cutaway shot? Does it effectively illustrate what is being spoken about by another character?
- Eyelines match? Can the audience tell who is speaking to eachother and where they are positioned in the scene?
- Are edits sharp? Does dialogue flow?
Sound:
- Do the score and lyrics make events in the trailer clearer?
- Is all dialogue clear?
- Does non-diegetic sound match or change the tone of the trailer?
Camera Work:
- Variety of shot distances and heights used?
- Depth of field used effectively?
- BCUs to create tension and show character's emotions
- Any camera movement? Tracking, Panning, Zooms?

2) How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary products?
Do the trailer, front cover and poster show all the same:
- Branding (name, fonts, layout)
- Institution (E.g. E4)
- Narrative... main storyline should be on the cover and in the soap to create consistent representations for the audience to engage with
- Mode of address
- Character performances and position in ancillaries: Do stars in the same storyline anchor eachother?
- Do costumes convey stereotypes or character traits effectively?

Creating my first ancillary product

Creating my Ancillary

Here is a brief explanation as to how I made my ancillary magazine.

1. First off I began making a flat plan (which I will upload as a separate post). This would give me a rough idea as to where the characters would be, where my features would be etc. In making the flat plan I knew what kind of shots I needed when taking pictures on the green screen.

2. Next we went into the Mac Suite to use the green screen. Using the green screen would help me to easily delete the unwanted background from the picture later on. We used reflectors to help reflect light onto her face and make sure there was no shadowing which would ruin the picture. Once this was all set up I was able to take pictures with enough space around them in case they needed to be cropped down later on. I used midshots for my product as this is a typical shot for a front cover.

3. I then uploaded my pictures onto the computer. Using Photoshop enabled me to quickly delete the background with one tool. (magic eraser tool) I also changed the levels slightly to make sure my image looked high quality and ready for the front of my magazine.

4.Because I wanted to use a layered effect with my images (one star in foreground and then another just behind and other in background) I had to then change the size of each image so the one at the front was the biggest and the gradually got smaller. This gave the reader the impression that the person in the foreground was being watched over by the other two.

5.    I then carried on with the rest of my magazine. Using codes and conventions from previous soap magazines made it easy to know what to add. I added a masthead, features, background etc. I also added another image in the corner advertising another soap as this is another convention of soap magazines.

QUESTION 4

Q4: How did you use Media Technologies?

These are the technologies I have used for each of my products:
Ancillaries: DSLR camera, Green screen, Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher

Trailer: Cameras, Microphone, tripod, iMovie, Keynote.

In general: Powerpoint, Twitter, Blogger, Slideshare, Grageband, Prezi, Youtub

Tripod: We used the tripod when filming our shots to make sure they were steady. The legs of the tripod also allowed us to select the right height. This was almost always at eye level with the star to create direct address. 

Microphone, Video Camera & DSLR: The microphone was positioned on top of the camera and was used to pick up some of our actors dialogue that may have been slightly too quiet on the recording. We used the video cameras when shooting our trailers. We fixed them onto the tripods and were able to position them effectively. There was also a zoom button on the top which allowed us to perfect the perfect shot whether it was a long shot or a close up.

Green screen: The green screen was perfect for when we needed to take pictures for our ancillaries. The bright green screen meant that once we uploaded our pictures into photoshop that background could easily be removed. We also used reflectors to make sure the lighting was perfect and there were no un-wanted shadows on our images. We also used a flash to make sure our images were high quality and bright.

Blogger: I used Blogger to showcase all of my work. I found this way of working very easy to use, once I got the hang of it and liked the idea of all my coursework being digital rather than handing in a piece of paper. Also i could update it when necersary.

Youtube: I used Youtube to upload my trailers to. Once these were uploaded I copied the embedded code into a post in my blog and this uploaded the video to my Blogger.

Prezi: I used prezi to answer Question 2. I really like the final outcomes of Prezi and it is an easy programme to use. It allowed me to display all of my information to answer my question proffesionally. 

Microsoft PowerPoint & Slideshare: I used Powerpoint when making most of my publications. I found it really easy to use.  To be able to upload my publications to my blog I had to convert them first in Slideshare

Publisher: I used publisher to make all my ancillary products. I selected an A4 portrait size for some of my products. I then for all of them chose a suitable background and carried on from there. I used wordart for the mastheads, titles and features. I also copied and pasted in my images. 

 I used iMovie to put together my trailer. This programme allowed me to trim down my clips, add a soundtrack and create transistions between clips. It helped me to make my trailer look professional.

Using iMovie screen recording:

I used keynote to make title cards. In the end I didnt end up using the title cards but it did allow me to put my E4 branding on the beginning recording.

Using keynote screen recording:

I used photoshop to make sure my images looked the best they possibly could. I played around with the levels of the exposure and contrast to make sure they looked crisp and clear. I also used it to cut out the background easily with one simple tool (magic eraser tool). 

Step by step of my anciallary in Photoshop:
 

Twitter: Twitter was a very important feature when doing this unit of work, not for designing my work on but for keeping in touch with my peers and teacher on. It was a way of getting quick information and being able to use it instantly. It is great proof that social networks are proliferating.

Images of twitter use:

Mancunian Way Front cover plan

This is the flat plan for my magazine front cover. I am just using the one cover star as he is the main star in my story-line and I think that one main star on the cover looks more sophisticated and this is a main representation of my products.

Rejected Ancillary images

Rejected images for magazine front cover

I rejected this image as there is no direct address with the audience and also the expression isn't right for the mood we were trying to convey.

This image was rejected as I felt the pose was quite awkward and the angle of the arm wasn't quite right.

This image wouldn't work because there is no direct address with the audience and also the shadowing on the face isn't right.

The shadowing on this image spoils the picture and would be therefore no good for my billboard.

This images was rejected because we felt as though the star was angled too much away from the camera.

Hollyoaks Ancillary rejected images

This image was rejected because the star's expressions are not connoting the right kind of emotion.

I rejected this image because of shadowing and also the star is turned away from the camera slightly.

This image was rejected because the star broke concentration.

This image was rejected because the angle of the shot wasn't right. The camera needs to be at the same eye level as the stars for direct address with the reader. Also it would have been hard to cut away the busy background.

QUESTION THREE

Q3: What have you learned from Audience Feedback?

By getting feedback from my classmates I was able to work on my products and make them look even more proffesional. Also, it allows me to work with what my target audience would want to see. As the audience’s needs are constantly proliferating, feedback is a great way to keep up date and give them what they want.

To give a sense as to who my target audience would be I have created this moodboard. It shows the interests of my target audience. It also shows products they would use, where they would shop etc. Having this information I could base my character roles, dialogue, costume and location around it.

Whilst producing my products i was constantly gaining feedback from my peers. As these people were the same age as my target audience it gave me an idea of what they would want to see. I took on all feedback I recieved and used it well, rediting parts of my trailer, reatking shoots etc. All the information I gained allowed me to make more effective products which my target audience would be able to relate to.

Examples:
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Georgia Adams15 November 2012 03:46

Really good first draft, the storyline is potrayed well and is clear to the viewers. Need to add soundtrack to give it a final trailer feel and also need to re-shoot some scenes as there are shaky camera movements.

When i got this feedback I was happy to see that my target audience could understand the storylines well. I knew that I needed to add a soundtrack but it was good to see that this was something that the target audience wanted to be added. I was waiting to find the right kind of music to match my trailer. Also after gaining this feedback i retook some shots which were shaky with a tripod to ensure that they were steady.

Max Hornby15 November 2012 03:58

The storyline is good and easy to follow. You have used a wide variaty of shots keeping it interesting. You need to re-shoot scene 1 as the camera movement is not steady and the framing is wrong. Finally a sound track would make the trailer more interesting

In this one I was pleased to see that a member of my target audience was impressed by the use of different shots and described it as ‘interesting’. This meant I was working well with what I knew to grab the attention of my young target audience.

Stephanie Green15 November 2012 04:00

When some of the shots are re-filmed it will look alot more professional as some of the shots are shakey and have alot of background noise. Some of the shots could be edited and cut down abit more so that the shots flow quickly. When background music is added it will become alot better instantly. The storyline makes me want to watch the show and the text at the end of the trailer works really well x

In this feedback I received points that hadeady been made and I knew I had to change. This was okay because I knew it was something that was important to the target audience so it made me more determined to get it done.

Lily Berrisford15 November 2012 04:01

This is really good katie! the order of the trailer is easy to follow, try looking up the e4 made in chelsea music, theres loads of soundtracks to choose from! - well done

I was pleased to see that a member of my target audience had enjoyed my trailer. Also I took on her advice of looking at the Mde in Chelsea soundtracks. I found one called Surburban living. It matches the feel of my trailer, the up beat sound makes it seem exciting and tense.

Overall I believe feedback played a very important role in the making of my products as it allowed me to hear first hand what my target audience wanted from my products.
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QUESTION TWO

Q2: How effective is the combination of you Main and Ancillary texts?

Throughout all of my products the main link is the use of representation that we created.  We created these links through the likes of costume, storylines, character and location. We tried to mimic the representations of the characters in Made in Chelsea, use these representations and also develop on them. 

Fonts: 

Even the fonts play an important part in my products. For example I use the same font in my billboard for Mancunian Way as I do on the billboard. This creates brand identity and would be easily recognised by the audience. The font is called Edwardian Script and looks sophisticated which I thought would work well to represent the high status of the show. I also use a font on the trailer on the E4 purple tape which is the exact same font as is used on the actual E4 trailers. The fonts used in my marvellous magazine are just simply mimics of the ones used in my style model Fabulous. (Use print screens here)

Logo:

I have used the E4 logo on both my billboard and trailer, this clearly illustrates to the audience where my show is being shown from as it is instantly recognisable so there is no confusion.

I think I have conveyed well what the audience would want to see in my products. The main things they would want are expressed in my title cards at the end; here is how each one is shown in my trailer...

Romance: There is some slight romance in my trailer when Tarquin says ‘I want you to be be my girlfriend’ this is unfortunately ruined by the fact that he is playing three different girls. He also tells Sapphire ‘If it was up to me I wouldnt let you go’. The audience won’t mind that my trailer isn’t too lovey-dovey as they prefer shows that are scandalous, to those where everyone gets on. There are definitely a lot of love affairs in my trailer.

Excess: Excess eveything for a life with no limits. I think this is best portrayed through costume and location. By dressing in clothes which connote wealth e.g. fitted jackets, shirts etc we are able to symbolise the status and ‘excessive’ ammonts of money our stars have. The use of make up and grooming also pulls this off. The audience are interested to see how the other side live. By picking locations in Manchester that are known for being the richer areas connotes the lavish lifestyles the actors have.

Gossip: The fact that we are able to see Tarquin talking to all these different girls that don’t necersarily know about it will be very appealing to the udience. It’s like they have found out before anyone else and will enjoy talking about this with their friends (which will create brand reach as people will tweet about how shocked they are by whats happened).

Drama: Drama is shown well through my storyline. For example the fact that Sapphire is leaving is very dramatic, and the fact that Tarquin has slept with his best friend’s girlfriend! This is also conveyed well in my billboad. Everyone is staring at Tarquin and singling him out for being the love-rat. 

Bitchiness: When Evangeline rings up Sapphire and says ‘you and Penelope really need to stop messing around with Tarquin... Because he’s my boyfriend’ certainly has an element of bitchiness. The fact that Evangeline has rung Sapphire and blamed her for the affairs rather than Tarquin is a typical girl thing to do and will be something my target audience can relate to.

This prezi goes on to further explain the links between my products...

QUESTION ONE

Codes and Conventions of a Soap Opera.....

-Continuous storylines that carry on from one episode to the next

-Stereotypical character roles e.g.: Bimbo, villain, loveable rogue etc

-Camera shots such as close ups, establishing shots, two shots

-Regional stereotypes

-Realistic storylines that play on real life issues e.g.: divorce, weddings, abuse,  addictions death etc

-Parallel narratives

-Costumes reflection region

-Conflict

Codes and Conventions of a magazine...

-More than one feature to entice audience (lots for your money)

-Masthead which creates brand identity (doesn’t always have to be fully visible)

-Accent colour to highlight key features

Codes and Conventions of a trailer...

-Promote something

-Creates interest in programme/film before its even published

-Tease/entice the audience leaving them wanting to find out more

-Score/soundtrack that reflects mood of programme/film

-Clear storylines

-Edits match beats of music

-Date of release

-Buttons

-Colour scheme (3)

-Website for more info

-Barcode

-Strapline

-Anchoring

-Rule of thirds

-Depth of field

-Hooks

-Direct address

-Images from other programmes

 

Codes and Conventions of a billboard...

-Logo (creates brand identity)

-Dominant title

-Large clear images (not pixelated)

-Anchoring

-Good lay out

-Direct address

-When and where the programme is on

-Website

-Colourful

-May need to be read at long distances (clear large font)

-Soap stars appear on it

I have a previous blog entry which describes my sub genre (scripted reality)