Evaluation Task 7 - Progression from preliminary task to feature film opening

Grace and Charlotte at school

Mise-en-scene

The image on the right of Grace and Charlotte at school is a very good example of how we used mise-en-scene to create a noticeable school environment / setting in our feature film. This long shot (which becomes a pan shot) allows the audience to first of all notice the lockers. This is a convention of teen angst films as they are commonly found in schools - films like Easy A and High School Musical include lockers at some point. We didn't consider mise-en-scene as thoroughly in our preliminary as it didn't seem necessary at the time. However when watching the preliminary task back, because we didn't consider things like the setting, the situation or story line wasn't very clear as the conversation was very vague. In both Grace's and Charlotte's bedrooms at the beginning we made sure they were both iconic and represent a stereotypical teenage girl's room by including accessories and things like mirrors and wardrobes in the filming, which was another thing we hadn't considered in our preliminary task.

We represent a generic teen angst genre by including certain props like the school books which are passed to Charlotte. This is also another feature that the teenage audience will recognise and will make them feel more comfortable knowing it's a school setting. Grace and Charlotte are also dressed very fashionably which connotes their popularity and their effort to make themselves look good, which is a stereotype of teenagers as it shows they care about their appearance.  However, clothes and props were not important in our preliminary task as it was just based on two people having a conversation, therefore the personalities and stereotypes were not needed to be focused on. 

We learned before our preliminary task that high-key lighting needed to be used to represent a positive atmosphere, and so we ensured we used high-key lighting throughout the preliminary task to connote this effect. We used a similar approach in our feature film and we were very cautious of where we filmed to make sure that we used high-key lighting throughout the film. This connotes the positive atmosphere and sets the mood for our audience.

Use of titles

Use of titles in our feature film

In our preliminary task we didn't use any titles as they weren't really relevant, and we only had an hour to complete our task. This made it challenging to include titles in our feature film as we weren't sure how to do it at first. However, Final Cut Pro is quite similar to different softwares that we've used before and so we got used to it after a while. We used pink text in a serif font for the subheadings (i.e. music and sound by, edited by, producer etc) and then we used the same font but white coloured text for all the names. This was purely to offer a bit of variety in the titles so they aren't all the same colour. It also made the titles look a lot more appealing compared to when they were just white coloured sans serif block styled text in our first draft. The reason for using the colour pink is because it is stereotypically a very girly colour and it is used a lot in teen angst films (e.g. Bratz). The colour pink also connotes love or relationships, which is important as the main characters face certain relationship problems in our film. The use of theserif font was purely to make it more appealing. It looks more attractive if it is in that font rather than sans serif which is very basic and dull - the serif font looks like a girls handwriting and so the audience can relate more and find it more appealing.

In terms of positioning of the titles, we tried to add them in the lower-centre of the shots so they aren't in the way and the audience can focus more on what the characters are doing. We also added in titles that move onto the screen, like the one in the image above. The title wipes from left to right trough the use of transitions, meaning it almost follows the girls through the door which is another thing we experimented with to make the titles more appealing.

Framing

Poor framing in our preliminary task

In our preliminary task we did not focus on framing at all well an we made a few mistakes in some of the shots. As you can see in the image on the right, there are things like bags, folders, posters etc that are in the shot when they shouldn't have been. This can draw the attention of the audience away from the characters and on to those objects which is not what we wanted as it is unwanted background.
In our feature film we learned from these mistakes and made sure we only included what was relevant and what appealed to the teenage target audience. Everything we included in each shot was in there for a reason (like the accessories in the bedrooms, the lockers and posters at school fitted the setting).

Camera shots

Long shot in High Expectations

In our preliminary task I learned about using a variety of different shots. We used a range of different camera shots such as pan shots, mid shots, close-ups, long shots and i learned about the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule is when the camera stays at the same side of the action at all times. This is to avoid confusion with the audience so they always know what is happening, as if the camera kept moving positions then the film can be quite difficult to follow. We used the 180 degree rule in our preliminary task however it wasn't needed in the High Expectations film as a lot of the filming was in different settings so the rule wasn't relevant.

One main improvement we made in our finished product was the steadiness of the camera. In our preliminary task the camera was quite wobbly and this was distraction to the audience, we achieved a more steady camera with the use of a tripod, which avoided the feeling of 'mayhem' if the camera was wobbly. We used a range of shots in our finished product such as mid shots, long shots, pan shots and extreme long shots. We used mid shots and pan shots most commonly and they improve the flow of the film. Pan shots were used to watch someone walk past and this is so the audience can see it from other character's POV. We used long shots and extreme long shots so the audience can see what clothes the characters are wearing. This relates to the representation of social groups as what clothes the characters are wearing can suggest what their 'social status' is in school.

Editing

Editing in High Expectations

There was a lot of work in terms of editing that we completed for our finished product and the preliminary task. Our preliminary task was mainly for the editing process, to get used to the Final Cut Pro software, as it is different to other softwares we've used before. In the preliminary task our only concern in terms of editing was arranging shots and cutting them so they are in logical order. We didn't include titles or shapes on the screen like the example of editing in High Expectations on the right. However, the preliminary task was very helpful in learning how to edit using Final Cut Pro and this benefited us in the editing process for our finished product (High Expectations). 

Black line to split the screens

Due to our previous editing experience in the preliminary task we were able to make the editing process quicker than it would've been before hand. We used a range of different editing techniques in High Expectations and we included a lot on the screen to make it more appealing. As I have explained before, we added in titles through editing on Final Cut Pro and we gave them transitions to make them appear on the screen in a more appealing way. I used Photoshop to include certain shapes in our film such as the pink arrow in the top picture and the black line to split the two screens in the picture on the right. The black line was used to split the screens so the audience can see how both Grace and Charlotte get ready for school. It is a feature that consists throughout the entire title sequence and is a convention of the teen angst genre and it used in other teen angsts like Bratz. . It helps the audience immediately understand that these two are the main characters and it represents their 'social status'. The pink arrow was purely added in to help assist the audience's knowledge as in the voiceover in the opening scene Charlotte addresses herself, so the arrow points at her at the same time she says 'Hi, I'm Charlotte.' 

The voiceover is the first example of non-digetic sound that we included in the opening scene. We included this so that the audience are aware of who Charlotte is and what role she plays in our film. It also is used to inform the audience on what kind of film this is and what the general storyline is about. Another example of non-digetic sound in our film is the song that we included called 'Step To The Grind'. This is non-digetic sound as it is sound edited in and sound that the audience cannot actually see in the film. The last example of non-digetic sound included in the film is the sound of the alarm at the beginning of the title sequence. This was also added in as neither girls had an actual alarm at home and it felt like a good way to start the film as it is something the audience can recognise and maybe relate to - as it symbolises getting up early for school. It is also included to assist the understanding of the audience, if they hear the sound of the alarm they immediately understand that it is the morning, and then the story begins to make sense after that.