Pretty Hurts

Finished coursework!

Evaluation Question 7

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

Evaluation activity 7 from Priya Sagoo

Evaluation Question 6

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

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Question 3

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

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question 1

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

1)   This shot of 'Illuminations Productions' on 'LiveType' and used a special effect to make each letter flash and therefore stand out and seem to illuminate, which links with the company name. The background has been kept very simple and white to emphasise the flashing title. The music also begins during this shot which is an up-beat pop-rock soundtrack which is typical of the Chick Flick genre.

 

 The shot now changes to an 'In Car Shot'. The camera is from the driver’s POV however the audience do not know who the driver is yet. The car is driving a long a straight which creates a verisimilitude as people can relate to the everyday car driving situation. The production company name then appears, saying 'An Illuminations Productions Film'. It is displayed in a handwritten, girly font which once more, reflects the Chick Flick genre. As the car drives forwards the audience can see a school sign for St Mary School, and the audience can relate to this typical English independent school. The impression they get is that this is a rather posh area which is quite typical of a Chick Flicks such as 'Wild Child'. Another convention I followed is starting a film with a journey arriving at its destination which shows a new start.



This shot shows the car which we just saw the interior of driving into the school which the audience also just saw. The audience also get the first shot of the driver which appears to be a young girl wearing sun glasses (Ray Ban). Designer label which is really expensive and representative of the high end product these privileged teenagers can afford. Once more, the title credit 'In Association With JEP Studios' is in a girly swirly font reminiscent of 'A Cinderella Story'.


 

 This shot is now an animation of the Director, Producer and Screenwriter. This is typical of Chick Flicks too. The use of scraps of paper could reflect the school setting, as well as using school type fonts. The background is baby blue which is the same as the car previously shown.

This shot shows the car driving down a really long, grand front drive (Typical of British Private Schools). This shows the whole car and therefore shows that it is a typical first car for girls of that age, and something that the audience can relate to. The title credits still appear, this time showing the actors starring in the production.



 

 This shot returns to inside the car, and once more gives the POV of the driver, there is still a mystery as to who this is though. The audience get a first view of the grand school building through the windscreen of the car which reflects the audiences expectations of such a school.



 

This shot, once more, shows the side of the car driving into the entrance, the car highly contrasts with the green background, which may even foreshadow the upcoming contrasts with the other students. The titles appear again to show another actors name. The audience gets a quick peek at the driver, who seems to be a young girl. However they do not know exactly who yet.


 

 This shot is back from the drivers view. I did this so that the audience can get a really clear view of the school landscape and how it is a very old, grand place. As the car drives around the audience can see even more of the location, and gets the idea that maybe the driver is a student.


 

 This shot, furthermore emphasises the car to the audience,and how it seems to be driving around a roundabout at the front of the school. I panned the camera so that a really clear view of the car is provided, with a final look at a green field behind, with a few girls in smart uniform walking around.

Evaluations Planning- Activity Six DRAFT

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

We have learnt many skills and tricks about using technology during the process of constructing our film.

Firstly, We used a 'SONY' camera to film our introduction. We learnt how to zoom in and out and how to focus to provide maximum quality to our shots, including making our shots stand out and be more defined. We also learnt how to use simple functions such as watching the shots you have just filmed.

We have also become familiar with the rule of filming such as not letting the actor lead the shot, but almost having the camera pushing them forwards and the 180 degree rule which is where filming only take place within an 180 degree angle which allows the audience to have a greater sense of the location of the scene.

We have used a tripod to make our shots steadier and smoother when we were panning. There are lots of panning shots in our film and they wouldn't be as smooth as it is without the use of a tripod.

During the editing phase of our film, we learnt how to use an Apple Mac and we all got used to how they work and function. We also learnt some tricks such as keyboard shortcuts and how to do print screen on Apple products.

We used iMovie to put all our shots together and make necessary adjustments. We learnt how to cut and split shots and put text over our footage in order to put our production company name, actors' names and film title on our film. We also had to put non-digetic and digetic sound into our film which to begin with, was difficult as we had to match the sound track's beat with the action going on in the shot, but eventually, we overcame that. The bit where we have our protagonist 'Sophie Reilly' caused problem as well as she was speaking to quietly, but we overcame that by adjusting the volume and dimming the background noise.

By using livetype we learned lots of skills about animating a title using confusing software, however after lots of attempts we finally made the production company logo for 'Illuminations Productions' seem to illuminate which emphasises the title as well as seeming as if it were typed appearing letter by letter.

We have also learned how to use this software…Blogger! We have all produced our blogs and posted relevant information about the progress of our film introduction and other pieces of work. We can all now use Blogger efficiently and have learned that blogging has become a much larger phenomenon in todays society.We used green screening when creating our animations, which took numerous attempts.  Creases in the green screen proved to create discolouring in the shot whilst we were editing, as well as this, shadows and incorrect lighting also caused colouring problems.

We have learnt a lot during the process of making our film, it will ensure us that we will take less time to work our way through using technology as we now know lots of tricks and short cuts to help us further develop our knowledge

Evaluation Planning- Activity Five DRAFT

The Making of Pretty Hurts

Evaluation Planning- Activity Four DRAFT

4.  Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Planning- Activity Three DRAFT

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

Production company is responsible for raising of funding for the production or may accomplish this through an emissary. The production company can be either a small company or a larger one, selling its products to a film studio or presenting it at a theatrical venue.Media institution such as Universal Pictures may distribute our film because they had already associate with chick flick such as Wild Child. I have also researched other smaller institutions as i thought we might have a greater chance will smaller companies as our film is low budget and not well known. I found suitable institutions such as DNA film or Ealing Studio. DNA film may be interested in helping us to create our film because they participated in making Never Let Me Go which is a romantic film aimed at audiences similar to our film. Ealing Studio collaborated to make St.Trinians which is a film that has the same genre as our film therefore I think Ealing Studio would be interested in contributing in our film as St.Trinians was really successful and it is aimed at a similar audience, addressing similar high school issues and stereotypes. 
More importantly, DNA film had multiple collaboration with Film 4 so I think having DNA film co-produce with Film 4 as our distributors will get us the maximum exposure as we can by play our film on Film 4 which is easy access and most people will have it on their TV in the UK. Showing our film on TV will be the cheapest way to showcase our film, but it will not gain much audience attention, so we would like to show our feature film theatrically as well - in cinemas, as it is the best and most effective way to show a film and it creates a demand to see it. According to the Film Distributor’s Association, the most frequent cinema goers tend to be teenagers, students and young adults, and they are the most voracious media consumers. This benefits us because our media product is aimed at a young target audience. More than half of 15-25 year olds in the UK visit the cinema at least once a month. Due to this, hopefully a good distributor such as Universal Pictures will distribute our product because it is aimed a large, young audience. 
Having Universal Picture distributing our film would not only get us British audiences, it may also promote our film internationally which will get us audience around the world, achieving maximum success.

Evaluation Planning- Activity Two DRAFT

Question 2) 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the opening of our film, a stereo-typical impression is created of a modern day, upper class, independent school girl; we did this mainly through the clothing worn by the main character (Miranda) as well as the picturesque scenery of the school and the and also the type of car the character was driving which was a Fiat 500; a popular car model for teenagers at the moment and the fact that the car was a convertible emphasised the upper class society that the film is set around.

A character that is similar to the role Miranda played is 'Poppy Moore' (played by Emma Roberts) from the popular and conventional chick flick 'Wild Child.' Firstly, the two characters are visually similar, both being blonde, slim, and generally attractive; this being a typical convention for the protagonist in a Chick Flick. As well as this the characters both dress similarly; Miranda is seen wearing an extravagant fur coat, a pink Ted Baker bag and RayBan sunglasses. Similarly, as shown in the image above, Poppy Moore is dressed in an eye-catching patterned jacket, a Louis Vuitton handbag and is also wearing sunglasses; the style of dress that both characters display shows wealth as they are both dressed in designer garments. As well as being visually similar, Miranda and Poppy are both new students attending an Independent school for girls. 

New Storyline!

• Pan starting on car (driving on Packhorse Road) into school drive and continues panning onto school sign.
• She (Miranda) drives into school, with sunglasses on, wearing a glamorous furry coat and carrying a large Ted Baker pink bag.
• She then walks into the front door of a very traditional private school (i.e. here).
• She then meets the head girl (Mollie) of the school who is very nice. 
• They then walk up the main stairs together, with the head girl explaining about the school
• Cut to Maths room (Mr Tucker) with people sitting on tables, chilling in chairs etc, socializing.
• The head girl then opens the door to show the new girl the classroom, it falls silent and all the other girls gradually stare at the new one. The new girl has a worried face as she sees the antagonist (Sophie), and makes awkward eye contact.
• A focus is then put on the antagonist who is glaring back at her.
• One chair is then shown at the back of the room with the head girl saying, ‘I think that might be your seat!’
• Antagonist then stands up to greet and shake the new girls hand, saying ‘Welcome to St Mary’s’ as she shakes her hand, pulls forward and (close up of ear and lips) whispers ‘let’s not have a repeat of last time’.

Evaluation Planning- Activity One DRAFT

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

Nine shot analysis 

1.     Illumination Productions

·     We made this on live-type and the different letter flash to make it stand out.

·     There is a white simple background which emphasise the flashing title.

·     The music begins in this shot which is a upbeat pop-rock backing crack which is typical of chick flick film.

·     It is 3.5 seconds long.

2.     In car shot

·     The camera is from the driver’s POV however the audience do not know who the driver is yet.

·     The car is driving a long a straight which creates a verisimilitude r as people can relate to the everyday car driving situation.

·     The first credit come up in this clip which is the 1st director and it lasts for 1.5 sec so that the audience can read it before it then fade out.

·      As the car drives forwards  the audience can see a school sign for St Mary school

·     The impression they get is that this area is a rather posh area which is quite typical of a chick flick eg, Wildchild.

·     Another convention we followed is starting a film with a journey arriving at its destination which shows a new start.

3.     

·     This is the longest shot which is 5.3 seconds and it shows the car which we just saw the interior of driving into the school which the audience also just saw.

·     The audience also get the first shot of the driver which appears to be a young girl wearing sun glasses (Ray Ban). Designer label which is really expensive and representative of the high end product these privileged teenagers can afford.

·     Once more, the title credit is in a girly swirly font reminiscent the Cinderella story.

4.     

·     While the car drives down the really long grand front drive

·     Full shot of the car is shown to emphasise the typically private rich kid girl car.

·      More credit appears.

5.     

·     The shot is then followed by a one second shot of from inside the car of the driver’s POV as the car approaches a very picturesque and traditional independent school.

 TO BE CONTINUED…

Exam practice essay: What significance does the development of digital technologies have for media institutions and audiences?

The development of digital technologies for media institutions and audiences plays a significant role in the marketing of films. Social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook make a major impact in the distribution and marketing of any film. These websites, as well as other forms of technology such as iTunes, Smartphones and game consoles have all helped revolutionise the way media has been distributed. 

Although these new technologies are only available to the companies that have a big enough budget to include them in their films. For example big six companies such as Universal are able to take advantage of the technologies such as 3D as films as they have the money to invest in them and as they are a big company, they have the ability to make a profit. An example of this is the Disney movie Frozen (2013). 

The film industry is constantly changing and adapting in order to find new ways to distribute their product. For instance, in recent years companies have been introducing an online streaming platform, such as Netlix or LoveFilm, which gives the viewer the option to purchase the movie and stream or download that film directly to their computer at home, or even to their smartphone or device. This has saved distributors millions as instead of sourcing materials for packaging for a large fee, then going through the production stage of creating the actual media disc, they can just send out a single file from a computer and still release and sell their product to the same amount of people as they would off with a physical Digital Disc release. 

Large companies like Disney can use websites and social networking to significantly impact the marketing of upcoming films. The internet can be used to create games and quizzes as well as making it easier to share interviews or 'extras' such as behind the scenes footage. As the company is already well known, potential audiences will look at Facebook, twitter and YouTube pages as well as the official website of Disney and see news about films that will be released in the near future, this gives Disney the ability to create an audience for an upcoming film before even a trailer has been released. Disney Pixars Monsters Inc (2001) prequel Monsters University (2013) had an immediate audience of a range of ages as soon as the making of the film was announced. Disney's online promotional methods included games, videos, character profiles and even the opportunity to apply to monsters university! Through the help of fantastic marketing and distribution, the film made $82,429,469 on it's opening weekend made a gross profit of  $268,488,329, proving that the marketing (which is heavily influenced by new technologies) has a massive impact on profit made on films as Disney made an extortionate gross profit on a film the critics described as 'flat in both the visual invention and gag departments.'

Smaller production companies such as 'Sixteen Films' do not have the privilege of using newer technologies to a full capacity as they do not have the recognition that Disney have to easily distribute their films nor the money that Disney has to spend on the production and marketing of upcoming films such as The Angels' Share (2012). Although the film made a gross profit of only $6,867,152, a minuscule amount in comparison to Monsters University; The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Director Ken Loach won the Jury Prize. The Angels' Share has been met with critical acclaim. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of only 28 reviews, with a rating average of 7.2 out of 10.The film was nominated for the Margritte Award for Best Foreign Film in Coproduction. The Angels Share is a prime example of a film with little marketing that managed to make a substantial profit as well as please the critics. 

In conclusion, the development of digital technologies significantly influence media institutions and audiences to a large extent however they do not solely control the financial outcomes of films. Larger production companies can make better use of developing technologies due to their 'eternal' budgets and connections within the industry. However smaller companies who produce equally as successful films prove that the industry still depends on the quality of the film itself. 

Green screening animations- take two!

Today we made our third and hopefully final attempt at our animated credits! Final edit to be put up soon! 

Titles Testing

We tested creating our animated opening credits but unfortunately it didn't work as successfully as we hoped. We will try again in the upcoming week to make this perfect!

Filming and Editing

On Monday 3rd of February we started filming our movie intro! Here is Emily hard at work in the editing process! 

Practising Shots

Before we film our official opening two minutes, we wanted to practise a few of the shots we were planning on using. Here is a quick mock up of what the final outcome is supposed to be like; 

Annimated Credits Plan

For the animation of our credits we had to decide what what look good in terms of how the names and titles came onto the screen; here was our plan that we made so we had an organised and clear route to follow. 

Case Study- Monsters University

Monsters University is the prequel to Disney Pixars Monsters Inc, released in 2001. Monsters University was released on June 5th in London and was directed by Dan Scanlon. 

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends. 



Reviews 

Essentially this amounts to an underdog tale, although what the plot may lack in innovative fizz, it makes up for with charm and quiet wisdom. One night, Mike leads his Oozma Kappa friends on a covert visit to the Monsters, Inc. factory, so he can explain to them the secret of the professional scarers’ success.

“Do you see what they all have in common?” he asks. “Nothing,” shrugs Sully. “Exactly,” Mike says with a smile. When considering Pixar’s body of work, you can’t help but conclude the same thing.

-Robbie Collin, Telegraph 

Pixar’s 2001 animated gem Monsters, Inc was so hilariously inventive and original that it’s hardly surprising that this belated prequel can’t quite recapture its predecessor’s magic, yet Monsters University is still packed with witty dialogue, sly visual gags and boisterous action.

Monsters University is the prequel to Monsters Inc, therefore 

-Jason Best, Movie Talk 

In plot terms it's familiar campus comedy material about thwarted ambition, rejection and final success due to losers becoming winners through burying personal pride and working as a team. There are clever and witty moments and, both visually (an aristocratic bat-winged creature with her hair swept up) and vocally (a visiting professor from Queen Elizabeth's College, London), Helen Mirren makes a big impression as the imperious Dean Hardscrabble. But there's a rather tired, willed atmosphere hanging over it.

-Phillip French, The Observer

Origins

Monsters University is the prequel to Monsters Inc. Monsters Inc is a computer-animated comedy film written by Jack W. Bunting, Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett Reese, Jonathan Roberts, and Andrew Stanton. It's said that the original idea for the screenplay was based on the childhood experiences of one of the Pixar crew, who had a bunch of toy monster figurines as a child. The original screenplay was about a man who is an advertising designer and leads a very boring life. He is afraid to take risks and feels that his career is at a dead end. When his mother cleans out the attic and sends him his box of toy monsters, who were also his childhood Imaginary friends, the monsters -- Mike, Sulley and Randall -- once again become his imaginary friends and inspire him to regain the creativity and sense of adventure he had as a boy. Obviously, the original idea went through a lot of revisions before it became the movie on the screen.

Finance 

Monsters University earned $268,492,764 in North America, and $475,066,843 elsewhere, summing up to a worldwide total of $743,559,607. It is the fifty-fourth highest grossing film, the fourth highest-grossing 2013 film, the third highest-grossing Pixar film, and the eleventh highest-grossing animated film. The film earned $136.9 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Disney declined to provide a budget for the film; Entertainment Weekly speculated that it was higher than that of Brave ($185 million), mainly because of the high cost of John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles. Shockya and EOnline reported the budget to be $200 million—on par with previous Pixar films.

Distribution

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Pictures (presents) (as Disney)
• Pixar Animation Studios

Distributors

• B&H Film Distribution (2013) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
• Feelgood Entertainment (2013) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Forum Hungary (2013) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• Manfer Films (2013) (Bolivia) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Japan (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Finland (2013) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (France) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (UK) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2013) (USA) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (WDSSPR) (2013) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (Argentina) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (UK) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2013) (USA) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Japan (2013) (Japan) (Blu-ray) (DVD) (Movie NEX)
• Walt Disney Studios Japan (2013) (Japan) (DVD) (Movie NEX)
• Zon Audiovisuais (2013) (Portugal) (all media)

Other Companies

• Skywalker Sound (post-production sound services)
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services (music preparation) (as JoAnn Kane Music Service)
• Sony Pictures Studios Scoring Stage (score recording) (as Sony Pictures Scoring Stage)
• Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage (score mixing) (as Warner Brothers Eastwood Scoring Stage)
• Luxo Café (craft services)
• Dolby Laboratories (sound mix) (as Dolby Atmos)
• Kodak (motion picture film)
• Deluxe (prints)
• Walt Disney Records (soundtrack)
• Intelligent Media (international monitoring agency) (uncredited)
• POP Sound (ADR recording) (uncredited)

Opening Credits: The Storyline

The title sequence begins with a close up shot of a girl doodling in her note book, this shot continues to zoom straight into the page of the book where the animated credits for the producer, directer and screenwriter are displayed. We then hear a school bell ring and the girls shuts her notebook, the movie title is displayed on the front cover of the book. We then proceed to the next shot where the girl will be walking down the school corridor holding the notebook in front of her, she will be greeted by other school girls passing by as this happens. The girl, who we can now presume to be the main character, finally reaches her locker and we show her opening the locker from a shot where the camera is inside the locker. There will be post-it notes on the locker door and folders with more titles being displayed for the names of the actors. The locker is then slammed shut with the camera still showing this from the inside. We then jump to another scene where the girl is walking to get into her pink car. The final shot displays the car from behind driving down the road.

Testing Animation for Opening Credits

Movie Story Board