Evaluation Of My Opening Sequence

Evaluation Of My Opening Sequence

In this evaluation of my opening sequence I will be presenting screenshots of my work in the process of making the opening sequence. I will be discussing the use of camera techniques, sound, mise-en-scene, editing, genre and representation in my opening sequence. 


YouTube link to my opening sequence: https://youtu.be/c6FR5aDXvMg

Production of my Opening Sequence:

Camera Techniques:

I used a variety of camera techniques in both scenes and I made sure i used fast paced shots in the first scene compared to the second which is a lot slower and just has instant cuts which keeps the audience on their toes. 

In the first scene the main camera shots/techniques I used were handheld to create suspense and tension for my audience, a mix of close up, medium and wide. I also had a panning shot as the established shot, a couple of low floor shots and a sideways shot (dutch tilt) to create disorientation for the audience. 

In the second scene the main camera shots/techniques I used were a couple of medium close ups, a few extreme close ups, wide shot, over the shoulder, medium shot and two shot. They were either filmed on tripod or handheld. 

Sound:

I added a lot of sounds and music which goes beneath where the video is placed. 

I edited the sound simply by either increasing or decreasing the audio gain. 

Editing:

I used Premiere Pro to place text over a shot and create the opacity so that the text fades in and then out after a a period of time and to time it with the particular shot. 

For effects, I mainly used opacity to fade the text in and out, displaying actors/actresses names and their character names. I used effects controls and marked every keyframe to a certain opacity. So for instance I made the text invisible to start with and then slowly faded it in with each keyframe. I increased the opacity gradually in several keyframes and once the text was at 100%, after 3-4 seconds I would then slowly decrease the opacity so it became invisible again. 

Use of After Effects

I used After Effects to create the effects of my main title zooming out. this was a new program that I have never used before. I learnt new skills in using this program. I can do the same skills on Premiere Pro but in using this, I could manipulate the text a lot easier. 

Final Production:

My Media Product: 

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

For my A-Level media studies, we had to create an opening sequence of any genre we wanted to. I chose to make a thriller opening sequence which would be targeted at teenagers. In order to make a successful thriller opening sequence I had to add suspense, fast paced action, build tension within it and to also post edit the shots to make it fast paced. I made the protagonist female and the antagonist male for my opening sequence. 

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

My thriller is a mainstream thriller - that means it follows the genres conventions without really changing them compared to an independent thriller that does the opposite by frequently challenging the original genres and have specific narrative structures. 

Ways in distributing thrillers, can be in various ways for example online via the internet which is an easy way in being able to get my opening sequence to my specific target audience. Popular websites can be places like iTunes, YouTube, Facebook and a lot of social media places which teenagers (my target audience) use frequently and will easily be able to view my opening sequence on. 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My opening sequence is targeted to 15 year old's plus. The main characters that the 'film' is set around are between 14 to 20 and the story line looks at activities and language that are more used amongst the older teenagers.A demographic of older teenagers find the thrills and suspense of horror films enjoyable therefore they find them more interesting as some have extremely unexpected outcomes and don't always have happy endings which interests a general selection of teenagers. 

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

In putting my opening sequence on social media, it enables my target audience to see and evaluate it. I asked for feedback and I received some really good and critical comments from a fellow media student in another college, in my target audience. This also made it better as she was able to view and evaluate my opening sequence professionally and not have friendship cloud judgement. She commented on what I have done really well with my opening sequence such as text, editing, sound, miss-en-scene and camera techniques. She also commented and told me what I could change in order to make it flow better and make more sense for the audience and how i should move some shots/text/credits to create more tension/suspense. 

Above is one of the examples of the changes I made from feedback from my target audience. I moved one of the titles/credits to have more fluidity and to respond to the feedback of the respondent. 

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

I have developed my skills in Photoshop in creating my company and film logo. I also used new programs Premiere Pro and After Effects. 

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

I have developed my skills in Premiere Pro of not just putting text on top of shots but creating effects for those pieces of text by using opacity, position, scale etc to manipulate the texts movements. 

I have also used more software to help create my opening sequence such as Photoshop to make the titles - the main title and the production title. I also used After Effects to create the effects for my main title so I could have more experience in using different pieces of software rather than just one. 

I also have used a wider range of camera techniques, more than in the preliminary film. For my preliminary film, the shorts were basic. I have used a lot more shots to create suspense and make the audience a lot more interest and to draw them in.