Focus Group Two: Saskia and Tilly

 

• Question 1 (0:11): Have you ever heard of Vimeo?

This doesn't come as a surprise to me. Vimeo's niche status often means that it receives a high usage rate from an often narrow (yet dedicated) pool of consumers and creators.

• Question 2 (0:18) Have you ever seen a short film on any social media sites?

Both participants said that they had seen a short film at some point, but cannot remember it. This, again, shows the widespread, instant-gratification based nature consumed on social media.

• Question 3 (0:40): How important is it to show social issues?

 Tilly and Saskia argued that it was important to show real-world issues, as it would help add to the 'realism' of a film. This is definitely something we need to show in our own piece.

• Question 4 (0:57): Do you think there are any social issues that are underrepresented?

Both of the participants agreed with my suggestion of male suicide, saying that the focus for these types of issues placed on women instead of men more often than not. Again, this is good for us; it shows an opportunity to showcase a unique social issue and break audience expectations. 

• Question 5 (1:18): Is there a proper way to present difficult social issues?

Tilly argued that the social issues shouldn't be presented in a glorifying and graphic way and that people often react to the issues presented in different ways. I think that the latter point especially is true; we cant control how our audience reacts to a presentation of touchy subjects.

Also, when discussing whether realism or story should be a priority when dealing with these social issues, both argued in favour of realism. 

• Question 6 (1:53): Is it the duty of a filmmaker to show social issues? 

Both Tilly and Saskia fully agreed that it should be the duty of a filmmaker to show social issues, which was quite surprising to me. It suggested that they felt social issues weren't being shown enough, and also that a well-crafted film that shows social issues can be powerful to affect peoples minds and opinions.

• Question 7 (2:00): What grabs your attention in a poster?

Tilly and Saskia said that colours, pictures and the tagline were the most eye-catching parts of a poster. We'll be sure to consider those areas purposefully when moving forward with the design.

• Question 8 (2:15): What do you think has to be on a poster?

The two argued that an image relating to the film and the film's title are the most important areas of a poster. The design of both of these aspects is something we're considering the most, including colour grading and font choice. 

• Question 9 (2:30): Do you like minimalistic posters or posters with colourful and complex designs?

Tilly argued that less is sometimes more, and Saskia agreed. They both said it can sometimes help draw people in more, but also argued that it's dependent on the film. I think a minimalist style applies to our piece. 

• Question 10 (2:50): Should a poster hint at the narrative content of the film?

Both participants agree that this is an essential part of the poster. It should at least give some indication of the film and its story. 

• Question 11 (3:05): Do you read the review of a double page spread or simply look at the scores? 

Tilly argued that the level of interest in the article by a reader is proportional to the level of interest that reader has on the film. They're more likely to read a more in-depth review if they're very interested in the film, or in a particular part of the film itself. I think this is a really good point, and one we should incorporate into our research for our review page ancillary task. 

• Question 12 (3:32): Do you prefer detail in a review, or a more general style? 

Saskia made a good point here about the after/before positions readers have. For example, before, they're more likely to look for an overview, and after, they're more likely to read in-depth about the film. Again, I think this is a really useful and well-observed argument. 

• Question 13 (4:00): Should the images on a review page clearly show the film, or be more obscure and provide hints?

Both agreed that the images should clearly show the film and what it's about. I don't disagree with this view and think our review page should be as clear as possible when it comes to visuals. 

• Question 14 (4:11): Do you prefer a review to look more like a newspaper or a magazine?

Both Tilly and Saskia leaned towards a magazine-type aesthetic rather than that of a newspaper, discussing how 'walls of text' easily put them off while pages broken up by images and nice designs immediately looked far more appealing to read and flick through. Again, this is a great observation and something that aligns with our own design goals as well.

Overall

This focus group provided some great insights, especially in terms of ideas for the poster and magazine page. Its made us more carefully consider how we want to present both of our ancilliary tasks, and how we want to ensure that our final products are all as accessible, while retaining a clear brand identity and uniqeness, to a wide audience. 

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 4 from Jake Foulkes

Evaluation Question 3 By Oliver Wain

http://oliverwainmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/speak-visually.html

Evaluation Question 2

https://a2mediaproductionmge.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/evaluation-question-2.html

Evaluation Question 1 By Morgan Glover

https://prezi.com/p/nmmfo1zk7cwu/

Waxwing Slain Magazine Spread By Oliver Wain

Waxwing Slain Poster

Shot List

Plot Blocking and Initial Ideas

Final Story Board

Institutional Regulations

In this blog post I will be discussing the Institutional Regulations that we will have to follow and consider while planning and filming our production.

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an institution which specialises in classifying films and categorizing them based on the context that is shown throughout the film and the messages that they try to out across.

For our film, we have decided that it would be classed as a 12 because of the mature themes and messages we are trying to communicate with our audience. This classification however is slightly younger than what we are aiming our final product at. Our target audience is 15 year olds and over, this is because the themes that we are going to explore might be of a more mature nature and therefore not be perceived as we want it to be by a younger audience.

The BBFC states that we cannot show the following:

• Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour
• Misuse of drugs must not be glamorised or give instructional detail
• Glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives
• Endorsement of anti-social behaviour
• Frequent crude references
• Horror sequences
• Emphasis on injuries or blood

 

In terms of the music and sound that we are going to use we are trying to avoid any copyright infringements for legal purposes. During the production of last year’s film, we used a piece of music called “Gravity Jump” We thought that the song fit really well into the themes and message of the piece. Our only problem however is that the composer of the piece owned the rights to the song. We however gained his permission to use the song as long as the final product was a non-profit project, therefore we avoided this.

 

For this years media, we are trying to find a royalty free piece of music that suites the mood and tone of this new piece. We have a few ideas however we are trying to find out if it is royalty free.

Another option would be to make our own music, however we feel like this would bring our overall piece down because we have no idea how to do that and therefore the music wouldn't suit the piece.

Final Plot Block

Equipment and Resources

Equipment and resources from Jake Foulkes

Moonlight Magazine Review Analysis

Untitled Project - Created with VisMe: https://my.visme.co/index.php

Risk Assessment and Release Forms

Role Charts

Location Footage

We will also shoot the first scene of our short film in this bedroom:

The space is great for what we want to capture in these first few scenes, but there are definitely going to have to be some prop adjustments and set design planned before shooting. In the intial drafts of the script, Seb's room is described as 'Spartan'. There's going to have to be some changes to the room in order to portray it as such. However, the group member is more than willing to help move items about. 

We're really happy with this location. It's close, easy to set up, and really fits what I wanted from the initial few shots.

Final Research

Location

With Badlands, I found that early location scouting allowed us to have a really good idea of how certain shots would work, which then helped streamline the shot planning process as well. We've recently been to Soar Lane, in Leicester, to do the same for our piece.

Locations marked in red are where we spent most of our time collecting Test Footage

 A compilation of all footage captured on that day will be saved for a later post, but here are some screengrabs:

Actors

James May

I think James is a really great selection. Not only is he already well experienced with the performing arts, but also lives locally and goes to the same college we do. His body of work so far is comprised of: 

 

• Playing Wishee Washee in an 'Aladdin' production at the Little Theatre, Leicester.
• Playing The Royal Herald in a 'Sleeping Beauty' production at the Little Theatre, Leicester.
• Playing 'F' in 'Status Update' at the Curve Theatre, Leicester.
• Being a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain
• Recently accepted into the Bird College of Dance

This is (clearly) an extremely impressive range of experience, however I was juggling with the idea of whether he was right for our character. However, It's clear from his work that range and adaptability really won't be an issue. I really want him to bring a real sense of maturity and believability to our final short, and am confident he can do just that. 

Narrative

Moving into our narrative, I really want to find adequate time soon to develop characters, screen cards, and a full script. Right now, it seems like our price will be divided into two key areas: Seb's Reality and Seb's Mind

• Seb's Reality

Here, we want to showcase a single day where he decides that the only course of action he has is to leave home at an early age. This is because of his abusive father, unperturbed by multiple non-molestation orders, is due to come home, as well as Seb failing various subjects at school and feeling alienated by his friends. This one day shows him leaving home and walking to the nearby park to meet with a friend. During this, they have a short conversation, which will be fully planned and fleshed out before shooting. 

The basic 'reality' structure will be as such:

1. Seb in his house, packing for leaving home. He walks out his door and plans to never come back. 
2. Seb walking past the bus stop he usually waits at for the school run, turning away from it and leaving it too. 
3. Seb meeting with his friend, easy conversation at the start. 
4. Conversation with his friend, with various reveals, implications and sub textual moments. 
5. Seb turning away from his home, and leaving it all behind. 

• Seb's Mind

On this side of the narrative, it's less about establishing a clear order and more about collecting a series of striking images that we can put into various points of our main narrative to act as compliments or counterpoints. Again, these shots need to be planned appropriately, including not only their locations but how they fit into the end piece so we're not just collecting irrelevant footage. However, if we execute this 'mind' side of the production well, it will provide us with a striking, cerebral and interesting side of our short that will be incorporated well into the 'reality' section during the editing stage. 

Conclusion 

A well-prepared set of ideas, plans and researched locations is necessary when moving into the demanding production stages of the project. For the short, scene lists, a script, and a well thought-out storyboard are particularly important; without them, we'll lack clear direction on the days that matter. However, I'm confident we've made the right choices in the research stage and I'm positive we'll continue this confidence into production. 

Social Media Questionnaire Results

https://a2mediaproductionmge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/social-networking-audience-feedback.html

Focus Group One: Lewis and Luke

• Question 1 (0:13): Have either of you ever heard of vimeo?

Both Luke and Lewis awnsered that they had actually accsessed vimeo before, which is suprising considering the relatively narrow audience scope the site attracts. 

• Question 2 (0:30): Have you ever seen a short film on social media?

Neither had said that they'd seen a short film on social media. This isn't suprising, because, from personal experience, I know that the type of content people are looking for on Facebook, Snapchat etc. is often very short-form (sometimes even just seconds long). 

• Question 3 (1:00): Do you think it's important to show social issues in films?

Both argued that there should be a balance between ideology/entertainment. Lewis also made the distinction that some films should seek to enterain, while others do have a right to employ a message. I think this shows us that, as long as a film establishes to its audience what to expect, social commentary is permitted to a certain degree. 

• Question 4 (1:44): Is there an issue you think is under-represented?

Both participants seemed to agree with my question, argueing that male suicide is an under-represented issue in mainstream media. I think this means that the topic we're going for, in a general sense, is somewhat unique as a social issue.

• Question 5 (1:56): Is there a proper way to present suicide and depression?

Lewis awnsered that he thought a short film may work better as a means to present the subject matter (as a feature length may get 'boring') and also that the presentation needs to be 'gritty' and 'shocking', which I interpreted as realistic. 

Both agreed that 'being honest' is the best way to present it. Frankly, I think it's the only way. 

• Question 6 (2:34) Is it the duty of a filmaker to present social issues?

Neither of the participants said that it was specifically a filmmakers duty to capture and present social issues, but that, if they were to, it wouldn't be to the detrement of anyone (proivding they did it well). I think this shows a willingness to accept a given social issue in film, providing it doen't intrude on the quality or entertainment factor. 

• Question 7 (3:11): What is it about a film poster that grabs your attention?

Luke awnsered that he prefferd a poster that got its point across and made sense, which seemed like a very pragmatic approach. Lewis said that he preffered colours and action, as well as a 'smart' poster that gets you thinking about the film rather than blatantly telling you the plot. Both of these are unique and interesting perstpectives, and we'll be sure to consider them when designing the poster itself.

• Question 8 (3:55): Is there anything that you feel has to be on a film poster?

Luke argued that the title, as well as essentiall parts of the story and characters, should definitley be included. Lewis argued that the 'barebones' of a title, release date, and tagline are also necessary. This helps us understand the bare minimm of what most audience members expect when looking at posters.

• Question 9 (4:25): What posters are you favourite?

Luke again stressed he enjoyed posters that got to the point, while Lewis gave the example of the Star Wars posters, which he linked to franchise heritage and nostalgia. This is a good reminder that the external history or associations of films often dictate how famous a poster is. 

• Question 8 (5:00): When you read a review, do you look at the scores or the opinions?

Both Lewis and Luke preffered an overview-style when reading reviews rather than in-depth opinions. This shows the importance of offering an overview rather than solid blocks of text. 

(Note: The aburpt end of the video is due to unfortunate audio errors that have made the rest of the focus group (around a minute more) unuseable.)

Overall

This focus group gave us a lot of rewarding information. 

They reminded of us of the importance of sharing and showing equality in content when making our short film, or, on other words, making sure we have a social message that is also able to engage and entertain viewers in a meaningful way. 

The awnsers surrounding the poster also reminded us of the importance of getting the essentials right, and making sure style does not exceed substance. Much of the same feedback was given in relation to the review page, includuing awnsers surrounding the desgin (which was lost to previously mentioned audio issues). 

Overall, it was a rewarding effort, and we'll incorporate their advice and answers accordingly.