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Some excellent work on the web-log which is a testament to your enthusiasm and work ethic.  Aim to complete any outstanding planning documentation and evaluation answers over half-term.

What have you Learned about Technologies from the Process of Constructing this Product?

When we first began our product we were tasked with following through with a Preliminary Task. This was our first AS level introduction to filming with the Sony Handycam and the first chance to use the tools such as the tripod. Throughout the Preliminary Task we learned about the features of the Sony Handycam and how to use it efficiently. For example during filming we learned about the Zoom function and how to use it appropriately as well as selecting appropriate media through the media browser on the camera. Before this I only had a basic knowledge of video recorders so the preliminary task was a useful starter for me in preparation for the main product. I also had no experience with tripods before this so I had to learn about how to position them appropriately and make sure everything was to be shot at a straight angle to make sure nothing seemed obscure. Concerning actual video editing I had to learn about clip management, which is trimming clips, inserting them to the timeline and using transitions.

An essential technology I had to learn about was using the Apple Mac Computers. This was a process that was continuous from the start to now, writing the evaluation. Each lesson and each session with the Macs provided new challenges that I had to overcome and learn. At the beginning I was hesitant to use them and struggled to tolerate the mouse sensitivity and just how different they were from PCs which is always been the way I've been taught. However after setting up the Blog I quickly learned about how similar some aspects are such as using the internet and the Documents system, this means that my past experience with PCs helped me overcome some of the early challenges I had with the Macs.

I do however, see why Macs are used for these types of products, I.e archetypes and other media based jobs. Apple endorsed them as an aesthetically pleasing device that looks professional and informal. Apple have made millions on look alone, as well as technology. I agree that the look and feel of a Mac is much more professional than that of a PC. The user interface, once conquered is a lot more slimline and nicer than the Windows UI. As well as this they also offer software not available, or not yet ported to PC such as Garage Band which played a vital role in creating the music for our final product.

However the editing process was a whole new challenge. Editing the Preliminary Task was a basic start to editing compared to our final product. For the Preliminary Task we just had to edit simple shots and place them on the timeline, which was an easy skill to learn. However with the final product we had to import a lot more videos, rename them all, import images and make sure nothing was corrupted, import audio and finally create titles. Each of these I will talk about individually however as an overview for the editing process it was difficult to learn. I have never used the software before so to learn all of this I had to follow tutorials that I found on YouTube, as well as getting advice from my teacher. The software we used was Adobe Premier Elements and now I feel confident using it due to this project.

Importing the videos was a similar task to other aspects done before, such as uploading an image to social networks such as Facebook or uploading a video on YouTube, so importing them was not as difficult as the other challenges however it was still new as I had to learn about the Mac directory and documents to know where I had kept my footage. We would frequently get missing files during editing for both the Preliminary Task and the final product, to combat this I learned that if you either re-import the clip, or just double click the file so you can preview it, the clip restores itself on the timeline. This was a helpful tool that I had to learn and overcome myself. The titles I had to create was the biggest leap from anything I had done before, on other software such as Camtasia or Movie Maker, adding titles to your media is a lot simpler, however when wanting to create a new title on Adobe Premier Elements a whole new window opens and allows you much more customisation with the title you wish to create, I found this easy to learn except from actually placing the title into the project, it wasn't until I asked for help that I learnt that each title is placed in your library with the rest of your media. The audio had to be the biggest challenge I've faced so far for my project, some parts of my film were too loud, some were too quiet and I felt like I had very little customisation between the clips, the music, the sound effects and the voice over. Without tutorial or help I pushed myself and learned about Audio channels, and placed key parts on separate channels so that at the Audio Mixer tab I had complete customisation over how loud each section would be.

 

Importing, creating and using the Audio in our final product was another challenge I had to overcome. I had never used the Garage Band software before this project, and similar to using the Macs I was hesitant however, using it I found that it was similar to software I used at GCSE, such as Ejay studio. I created loops of Jazz music and saved it as an MP3 so there would be no compatibility issues when importing it into Premier Elements. I also learned about vido-mp3 conversion sites such as listentoyoutube.com which allows you to convert YouTube videos into MP3, I did this for the alarm buzzer sound effect as the download link the uploader provided was broken. 

At the beginning of our final product you will see three titles, the Warner Bros. institution logo, and two made up production company logos that I created on an editing software known as Gimp 2. I used this software to create the two logos, through video tutorials on Vimeo I learned how to manipulate the images through cropping. selecting, pasting, transforming, cloning and other features such as text manipulation and effects. I used all of these tools and ideas to edit preexisting images to fit what I wanted.     

The Warner Bros. Intro was downloaded from a YouTube video, I needed to find away to download it as I felt that Warner Bros. would be the key distributor to a Film Noir. Through help in the comments section I learned about a site similar to the MP3 conversion site, where it converts the YouTube video into an MP4 which is compatible with Adobe Premier Elements. 

                                         

I also used social technology for my final project. I uploaded the first cut of our film, and the final cut to YouTube for other to watch and comment on, as well as sharing the project on Facebook and Twitter.

The biggest challenge was voice recording the opening narration. This was the most time consuming and most concerning trial and error. The first time I recorded the narration was just after filming the opening scenes, after many tries the first actor did it perfectly. However trouble arose once we learned that the voiceover I recorded was not in a compatible format for Adobe Premier elements, and the voice actor could not do it again due to time constraints. The second attempt was at a recording studio that is at our college. It took us an hour to set up everything and we required help numerous times. In the end nothing recorded and we had run out of time, in the recording room as well as for the project. The third time I had to get another actor (who is also in our film, we had to ask him to do an accent to disguise his identity) to do it and this time it was in our own free time and we had a teacher to help, everything was fine except for exporting it. We tried exporting it six times before it finally worked. Because of this experience I asked about what I did wrong and learned all about how to use the studio properly and learned from mine, and others mistakes.

Finally, the main technology we have used from the beginning to the end was Blogger, an online service which allows users to keep an online diary which we used for coursework. Every essay, work note or just general effort towards our final product and the things we were doing for AS Media has been recorded into the Blog. This is an ongoing experience that we learn more about each time we use it, for example even though I am at the end of the course I did not know about being able to edit the blog using HTML or that Gifs will display properly when viewing the Blog until last week. 

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

Warner Bros. would most likely be the distributing studio and institution for my media product. Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of Hollywood were large distributors of Film Noir. This was a particular genre that sold well with audiences. The films they distributed would follow the same conventions and have a similar plot, the audience was essentially watching the same film with different actors. However this was done because the audience knew what they were in for and (if they liked the genre) would be getting there moneys worth. This is the key reason why the films are similar, why they all have strict codes and conventions such as a rough detective and a femme fatale, because Warner Bros. had the "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" mentality, which has been replicated by Marvel Studios today. They release their superhero films in stages resulting in a few films a year.

Warner Bros. was one of the key five studios during the late 1920's. This was due to their success with The Jazz Singer and The Singing Fool allowing them to invest in a string of theatres that gave them enough income to become a mainstay in Hollywood. Most studios adhered to one genre film such as slapstick or musical, or for Warner Bros: Film Noir. Employees also usually stuck with one studio for long periods of time for instance, Cedric Gibbons and Herbert Stothart always worked on MGM films, Alfred Newman worked at Twentieth Century Fox for twenty years, Cecil B. DeMille's films were almost all made at Paramount. Throughout this period Warner Bros. tried to make as much money with their trademark film noirs without spending as much as other studios. For example they would use the dark setting and background to hide things that were not apart of the films universe, such as backdrops and props. This is also why they use a lot of close up shots and tight shots, this was to try not to show the set too much and show that it wasn't all that great. Another example of this is the smoke used on set, for this Warner Bros. used dry ice to give the effect of smoke.
 

An example of the dark background, with the camera focusing on the main character

 As well as the "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" idea big studios such as Warner Bros. had other systems, such as the Star System when they cast a certain star in a role and hope that he or she is popular enough to draw a crowd. This still happens today with films such as John Wick with Keanu Reeves and the upcoming Suicide Squad movie with Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Tom Hardy, or the Expendables series where they have little plot but are made with a huge amount of 1980's action film stars and seeing those big names would make fans want to see it. Hence the Star System. Warner Bros. did this with huge names such as Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Rita Haywort.

Whilst this allowed for the big five studios to strive, due to the great depression many soon fell victim to divestiture by the early 60's. Meaning that the golden age of Hollywood was over, whilst Warner Bros and MCM still remained, there was an influx in smaller studios because of this.

A film with similar conventions of film noir with a few changes and a modern twist was Nightcrawler, a recent film (2014) directed by Dan Gilroy and distributed by the small time Open Road films. It is considered a neo noir and stars Jake Gylenhall. The film follows a socially inept man as he searches for his calling in life, no matter what it is. As it turns out being a on-the-field news reporter of recent events is it. He isn't afraid to get close, he has no regards for other peoples emotions and is heavily linked with the Femme Fatale Rene Russo. In description the film doesn't sound like a typical film noir, this is because it's a Neo-Noir with similar conventions of a film noir but with a more modern take. Nightcrawler made over $32,000,000 domestically and $38,000,000 worldwide as of January 2015. The film is mostly set at night and follows a man willing to do whatever he takes to reach his goal, whilst being manipulated by, and whilst he manipulates, the femme fatale.

This shows that these films are still popular to this day as it has been getting positive reviews and was a financial success as the budget was only $8,000,000 and also with Jake Gylenhall in the starring role it also links to the star power system as mentioned before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8kYDQan8bw (Trailer)

Coursework feedback

Clear grasp of the codes and conventions of the film noir genre. This group filmed together and then produced two separate edits to ensure all group members took a full part. Charlie took the initiative and led all activities until separated to ensure others in the group edited a version. Appropriate music for the genre has been added and is an effective way to begin the film with institutional credits allying it to Warner Brothers historical film noir output.   Charlie creates his own production company logos to go with this showing an awareness of film industry processes.  Some of the early shots are dark but editing covers this and uses the dark to advantage with white titles overlaid with credits so meaning is clearer compared to the other group linked with this footage.  A sensitivity toward editing is clearer in this version showing superior editing skills. Sound is attended to in the use of an alarm to signify the start of the voice-over which clearly indicates the opening of the film. A range of shots are used as the detective dresses using a full range of shot types and clear continuity. The voice-over establishes the narrative with an accent further establishing character and showing an awareness of generic conventions. Use of costume and props is appropriate and considered. The final sequence is less secure in framing and use of the camera but does not detract from the proficiency of technical skill which approaches the top end of level 3