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Location shots and cast in Wells

This is the little sailing club we've used for the main location for our  OTS, I shall now take you inside..

This is the main seating type area in the bar, I like that everything is mainly wooden, as it adds to the antiquity of the place. It has an old fashioned aura inside, so we thought this would be a perfect setting for our Film Noir OTS. By the fire is where one of our 3 main characters shall be sitting, we won't need to use artificial lighting here as the fire provides a more authentic look.

This is the bar area where our other 2 protagonists shall be awaiting their fate. Again everything has a nice wooden finish which doesn't bring too much modernism in, the general seating patterns and such are also quite old fashioned. 

This is our cast ready to film!

filming;

We only have 2 more scenes to shoot! Hooray. Tonight I will be filming Veronica's flashback in which she makes a gruesome discovery after an unwelcome visit from our Kingpin.
After this we believe our final filming date should be on sunday, so hopefully all will be good and done this week so we can edit next.

Target for the next 3 weeks;

• Finish all filming by end of this week (filming on wednesday+sunday)
• Begin editing process
• Write + record narration - after completion of editing of OTS
• Finish blog work

Self Assessment for filming.

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

• holding a shot steady, where appropriate;
• framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
• using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;
• selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;
• using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• using titles appropriately.

Green = Completed

Audience

Part of my research needs to involve investigating the viewing habits and preferred reading of different audiences, this will ensure that we;
a) deliver a product that our audience will enjoy
b) are efficient in producing a real media text for a specific audience

In order to achieve this I need to carry out the following tasks:

1. What kind of people watch film noir
2. Is it a genre that has a niche or mainstream audience
3. How can I produce something that people will want to see
4. How are film noir texts distributed and exhibited
5. Do I want my film to be exhibited on television, cinema, or virally
6. How do people respond to different representations of character or location
7. What critical theories will apply to my production e.g users and gratification model or cultivation theory. This will allow me to demonstrate the theoretical level that is necessary to achieve an A grade

The instruments and methods that I will use to find this information are as follows;

1. Questionnaire based on what ages and types of people prefer certain genres and directors. This will be distributed on paper and the results shall be formed into a visual aid to help us understand our audience. 
2. Facebook poll on how many people have heard of/watched a film noir.
3. Facebook poll on whether our OTS story sounds appealing to watch or not.
4. Tumblr/Facebook ask on where people like to view media productions, e.g cinema, internet.

modern day femme fatales.

Whilst watching some of my old favourite films, I noticed that the character of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction is quite similiar to that of a femme fatale. This is shown in several manners. We know that the character is married in the film, and rumours of infidelity have spread amoungst her husbands workers. She acts very provocatively towards her husbands co-worker Vincent Vega, and almost brings his downfall, as if she comes into harm he would quite possibly be killed (she overdoses accidently). Her style though, is quite opposite from that of a classic femme fatale, as she wears a shirt and trousers. Smoking is quite common in the classic maneaters, Mia also uses this in a seductive manner.

'Effy Stonem' is a prime example of a modern day femme fatale, her seductive manner and provocation shines through the series Skins. The way Effie dresses is unconventional for a femme fatale when compared to original noirs, yet in some ways they share similiarities. Both wear very dark shadowed colours, in makeup and clothing, yet obviously Effie wears far more modernised clothing. The stereotypical noir female has an air of mystery shrouded around them, this is also portrayed in Skins, as Effie has clear psychological problems and does not reveal to others what is in her mind. These factors allow other characters to be attracted to her, as many are intrigued by what they do not understand. One of her 'lovers', Freddie Mclair becomes very infatuated with her, which ultimately leads to his downfall. This is common in conventional noir films, as the protagonist male is usually lead into danger because of the femme fatale, er go 'fatal'. This is shown in Skins through Effie's psychological doctor murdering Freddie, because of the doctors estranged obsession with her.

Marking criteria for film

Level 4 48–60 marks

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

• holding a shot steady, where appropriate;
• framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
• using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;
• selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;
• using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• using titles appropriately.

Wells filming; done

On sunday night we completed our first piece of filming in Wells Sailing Club. It was the first chance myself and Joseph had to test ourselves on our filming and directoral skills. I found that I was quite unconfident with the camera in my hand, and felt better giving direction to others. I've found that I need to be more clear when I direct others, as they cannot see what is in my mind. I took some location shots and images of our cast in costume, these will be uploaded in due course. We will be completing one of our flashback scenes tonight at Joes house.

Audience Research

http://www.audiencesuk.org/data-and-resources/jargonbuster/S/social-grade

Commonly used social classification systems

National Readership Survey (JICNAR)

Classification	Description
A	Upper middle class
B	Middle class
C1	Lower middle class
C2	Skilled working class
D	Working class
E	Subsistence

Registrar General's Social Classes

Classification	Description
I	Professionals
II	Managerial & technical
IIIN	Skilled non-manual
IIIM	Skilled manual
IV	Partly skilled
V	Unskilled

Classification	Description
1	Managerial & professional
2	Intermediate occupations
3	Small employers & own account workers
4	Lower supervisory & technical
5	Semi-routine & routine Never worked & long-term unemployed

Thinking in terms of class for our OTS, I believe the C1-C2 bracket would be most suitable for our target audience. Perhaps these would be the most appropriate people, as they tend to be more open minded than higher class, and not stuck in their ways like stereotypical lower class. This middle section is where the majority of Brits fall into, and so it would be the most universally acceptable target group. Looking at the research from our questionnaires and such, our OTS and theme is satisfactory with the majority of varied age groups.

My role in our production + Storyboard

In our production and planning I have taken more of a directorial role, this includes production and development of ideas as well as physical directing with filming. 

I've found that creating ideas for our piece comes most easily to me, as I watch an unreasonable amount of films. I believe that if you've watched a large amount of diverse material, that you will have a better picture of what styles suit you and what you would like to conform to.  Music is also very important to me, so when looking at a piece I can automatically assign it certain songs and such. This is useful as whilst going through our shots, I can give advice as to what pieces of music or sounds to use, and what styles to borrow from different media productions I have viewed. We still need to decide on two further songs, and a few sound effects. As each of our characters is introduced in the sequence, the music alters to suit their personality. We have Champ and Butch to assign music to as yet.
We're filming our main scene on Sunday evening, so that should be a good chance to see how I cope with directing quite a large group of people.






Storyboard of OTS:

(clearer when full screen)

Criteria for Research + Evaluation

Evaluation;

• Excellent understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms and conventions in relation to production.  
• Excellent ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes.
• Excellent understanding of their development from preliminary to full task.
• Excellent ability to communicate.
• Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation
• showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size.

Research + Planning;
 Marking Criteria for the presentation of the research and planning
Research and Planning may be presented in electronic format, but can take the form of a folder or scrapbook at this level. Where candidates have worked as a group, this may be presented collectively, but teachers are asked to differentiate the contributions of individuals within the group in arriving at a mark and justifying individual marks on the assessment sheet. As part of the moderation sample, the moderator will expect to see research/planning evidence.
  

• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning
• Time management is excellent.

Presentation of Concept Board

KETTMEDIA PRESENTATION 2 from fLIX.TV on Vimeo.