FINAL CUT: The Fall and Rise of a White Collar Worker

FILM

This is our fully completed film that we will not be altering.

After looking at the feedback we recieved from our questionnaire given out to a sample audience, we introduced the changes suggested into the film.

These include adding sound effects during the shot Ross looks at the text messsage. As this is a somewhat prolonged shot, the feedback we recieved suggested adding a sound effect to break the period of silence. We also changed part of the final scene where Ross smashes Gareth's hand on the table, as the audience suggested that this part in particular was slightly messy. Because of this we have gone back a re-edited the scene to make it look smoother and morer believable. Other changes we have made are simple reframes of certain shots throughout the film that we believed ourselves were neccessary.

Radio trailer

Evaluation - Q4

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? 

Blogger

Throughout the process of planning, constructing and evaluating our film, Blogger has been continually used as place to display all of our work. In the early stages, we individually uploaded research that would benefit us in the process of creating our film. This research and ideas could be seen by everyone in the group, allowing us to take influence from each other and gain a more comprehensive understanding. Building on from using the platform last year, we all as a group have become effectively adept at using Blogger as our project has progressed.

Celtx 

Before using Celtx, we all had to individually come up with our own potential storylines. We ultimately decided on choosing my own storyline as the one we would use, with the next step being writing the script using Celtx. Like Blogger, Celtx was something we had previous experience using from last year, and this year we developed our ability using it. Writing the script this year was a different challenge from before. Whereas last year we had to write the opening 2 minutes of a film, this year we had write a script for a full 5 minute film. This meant we had to extend the story from last year, as well as developing the story and coming up with an ending. 

Photoshop 

This was used in the creation of our film posters. Creating a film poster on photoshop was new for all of us, and using for the first time was a challenge. After grasping how to create a poster, we decided to use a simple design based on a photo we took including the three main characters:
 

 

Adobe Premier Pro 

As with last year, Adobe Premier Pro was the editing software be used in the creation of our film. In AS, editing was a new challenge, and it took time to become capable of implementing the ideas we wanted. Our skills this year have only developed further, as we have refined our editing style from last year, whilst also adding more complex editing techniques. The first piece of work we edited was a simply shot journey, that lasted around 30 seconds to a minute. This was done purely to familiarise ourselves with Premier Pro again after having the summer off. Elliptical editing was used for this journey edit, and it served as a successful warm-up to editing our film. 

A variety of different editing techniques were used in the film, including: shot-reverse-shot, dissolves, fade ins and fade outs, jump-cuts, and many more. Also, we attempted and executed more technical ideas, for example: specific words on the text message being brought forward, as well as using shot-reverse-shot continually in conjunction with matching music.

Moreover, Premier Pro was not only vital in producing video projects, but also audio as well, as we used it to edit the Radio Trailer to the film. This was simply carried out by selecting certain pieces of dialogue from the film and combining those with music and a voice over promoting the film.

Camera 

The camera used for filming all our projects this year was the Canon Legria HF G25, a different camera to the one used last year at AS. This presented challenges, as we had to get used to using a new camera, but with practice we all became adept at filming. This camera, being of significantly higher quality to the one used at AS, meant a far more professional look to the film due to the better picture shot by the HF G25. The camera was used to film a variety of different shots, ranging from being attached to a tripod, handheld, and pushed on an office chair to create a tracking shot. We took it upon ourselves to meticulously film our scenes, often shooting each shot at least twice to ensure we had plenty of backup to work with, a problem we encountered last year and something we did not want to repeat. Overall, the new camera was i feel a catalyst for creating for more professional feeling film.

Zoom Recorder: 

The Zoom Recorder was a device that we were familiar with, as last year at AS, our film featured narration/voiceover throughout that was recorder with it. This year, the Zoom recorder had two key involvements. First was recording the voice of our train conductor announcing that the trains have been cancelled. This was done in a matter of minutes as the zoom recorder is very simple to use. Then, it was used to record our radio trailer, which involved recording Liam reading off a script, which would be intertwined with music a film dialogue when edited, again, a process that was straight forward and quick.

Link to Radio Trailer


YouTube

YouTube was used to upload our Rough Cut, Final Cut, Radio Trailer and also our video questionnaire. The process involved exporting projects from Premier Pro, and then titling them on YouTube, as well as giving them a description. A useful feature in the inclusion of tags, which sort your uploads into specific groups. This makes them easier for people to stumble across, for example someone who searches the tag 'film' or 'comedy'.

Evaluation - Q2

Evaluation - Q2 from Alex Drury

Evaluation - Q3

Evaluation - Q3 from Alex Drury

Evaluation - Q1

Click here for Evaluation Question 1

Final Film Poster

Back up main poster:

Evaluation Question 1

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

Continuity is essential when making a film as it could have a negative impact on the film if there are lapses in continuity such as making the story not make sense. To make sure that we did not break continuity in our film we tried our best to stick to the 180° rule, where the camera is always at the same side so that it does not confuse the audience into thinking that the characters have switch positions. Also, we used shot-reverse-shot whilst filming conversations so that the audience could see who the characters where talking to.  With our film being set in multiple locations, such as an office, house, train and car park, we had often broke the continuity to show a passage in time. To do this we put an effect such as a fade, or dissolve, onto the end of a shot to show the audience that time had passed in between the last scene and the new one.  During editing we often discovered errors in the continuity of our film such as the time being wrong on the mobile phone as to what time the scene was supposed to be set in, or when we were outside some scenes were shot at different times of the day so the sky was darker, causing us to have to re-shoot some scenes or make colour corrections on the shots on premier pro. We also encountered the problem of the main character shaving his facial hair which meant that we would have to delay filming so that we could avoid making continuity errors.

 

 The genre of film that we originally chose to make was comedy as it was the complete opposite of the serious drama that we did last year. Whilst we were coming up with ideas for the story line of our film we decided that we would be focusing on the sub-genre of Black Comedy as we felt that as we were focusing on a white collar working man's life it would be easier to fit the codes and conventions of a black comedy. We decided that we would set our film in a office environment as most black comedies are set in places where people work (for example Hot Fuzz) and we felt that an office was the best way to denote a work environment to our audience.The music we chose for our film was based on the fact that we wanted to turn the serious matter of attempted suicide into something that the audience could find amusing and we decided that the best way for us to do this was by including an upbeat song in which the lyrics are "It ain't right" as we want the audience to emotionally connect with the protagonist. We decided to use music which juxtaposed the events taking place as this is often found in black comedies for example in Train Spotting. The protagonist, Ross, sticks to the main conventions that we found in black comedies as he is depicted as being miserable at work. The story line mostly sticks to the conventions of a black comedy as it starts with Ross being bossed about at work and then finding out that his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his boss which make him want to commit suicide but is then helped by another character to overthrow his boss. However, after the credits end the story then takes a twist as we see Ross dressed in the same clothes as Hooper (his boss) standing over an employee he doesn't like. 

Throughout our film we actively acknowledge our films influences from other black comedy productions, the main one being the phrase "you betcha" which is taken from Fargo a very popular black comedy film. We also took influence form Edgar Wrights use of props especially from his film Hot Fuzz (2007) in which a cake is pushed in front of the protagonists face in a scene where he is not happy. We decided that we would take this scene and reinterpret it so that we could make it fit in with our story, to do this we had Ross sat on a train in a foul mood, as he had to go to work early, when a stranger pushes his hand through the gap in the seats and offers him some sweets much to the annoyance of Ross.

Overall I believe that our film stuck to the main codes and conventions of a black comedy.

Viral Marketing research

Dumb Ways To Die - November 2012

In order to raise awareness for safety around train tracks Metro Melbourne released the advert "Dumb Ways To Die" which included a sound which included many different silly ways to die such as "setting fire to your hair" and "taking your helmet off in outer space". The comedic nature of the backing track along with the cartoon characters, which have died in the same ways as the song mentions, dancing at the chorus provides a light hearted way of conveying the serious message that Metro were trying to get across.

Critical Evaluation 1

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

Our media product uses and to an extent develops forms and conventions of real media products, however, it does not challenge them. We followed the language of film and editing through the use of classical editing (invisible editing), abiding by the 180° rule, match and action and shot-reverse-shot. Continuity editing is a style of editing whereby the audience does not recognise the editing process. This allows the shots and narrative to create an immersive experience for the audience. Below I will gives examples of where we have used continuity within our film.


180° rule:
The 180° is an essential continuity techniqueused in the construction of films. This form of editing acts as an imaginary line (axis) between characters and objects in order to keep continuity. The axis cannot be crossed as this would disrupt the continuity of the film and cause confusion for the audience thus reducing their immersive experience within the film.

An example of the 180° rule.

An example of us observing continuity through the 180° rule.

Shot-reverse-shot:
Shot-reverse-shot is an editing pattern that cuts to the view in the opposite direction. It is used to establish a relationship between characters and the easiest way to shoot dialogue. The shot-reverse-shot is usually a medium - close up and it allows the audience to gage the thoughts and feelings of the characters. This enhances the verisimilitude of a film as it immerses the audience within the film as you are forced to vicariously experience every thought and feeling what the character is experiencing.

Shot-reverse-shot in our fim.

Shot-reverse-shot used in 'No Country for Old Men'

This link demonstrates the Coen brothers' effective use of shot-reverse-shot

Match and action:

Is a form of editing in which a shot ‘matches the action’ in the previous shot. This enhances the verisimilitude of a film. In order to perfect this technique it is important to ensure the background and foreground of the scene and setting is completely unaltered, the failure to do this would result in a break in continuity. In our film the three photos below were all filmed on different weeks, however, we took photos of the room so we could ensure continuity would not be broken. Every week we had to re write the characters' names on the whiteboard. Match on Action is an editing convention of real media products used frequently within almost all films along with a sound bridge to make the scene more realistic and allow it to flow to the audience with greater clarity. 

Karen releasing her name has a loveheart next to it.

This shot tells the audience why Karen was looking unimpressed.

Her action after seeing the loveheart next to her name.

However, as well as maintaining continuity for large parts of our film we have also used visible editing techniques that disrupt the continuity of our film. We have done this as it is another method to convey the genre of our film, black comedy. The visible editing techniques that we have used are a graphic match, crossfades, the highlighting of text and the camera technique of zooming.

Graphic match:
A graphic match is when one shot cuts to another that is an object that is a very similar shape in the same place as the object within the previous scene. An example could be a shot of a traffic light on yellow that cuts to a bright sun. Within our film the graphic match is Ross on the end of his bed having just woke up and then it cuts to him at the train station waiting its arrival. The length of shot for graphic matches can vary but wit ours being a medium close up we are able to convey Ross' negative feelings.

This is an iconic graphic match from Hitchcock's 'Psycho'

The graphic match in our film.

Hightlighting:

The highlighting of text is a recent phenomenon within editing in media productions. It has developed as phones have become technologically converged and our use of them has increased. Highlighting certain sentences or words from a text allows the audience to focus on important elements of it. Alternatively, the text sometimes appears on the screen rather than the phone. As in the case of the television shows 'Sherlock' and 'House of Cards'. This keeps the audience entertained as they feel privy to the character's life.

The highlighting of a sentence, which is a key part of our storyline, within our film.

Texting within 'House of Cards'.

Texting within 'Sherlock'.

Zoom:

We used the camera technique of zooming. Within our film this emphasised the faces and contrast between Hooper and Ross. Previous to the zoom Ross had just found out that his now ex girlfriend is having an affair with his boss, Hooper. As the camera zooms and alternates in shot-reverse-shot between Ross and Hooper the audience feels increasingly trapped and forced to experience the tension between the characters. However, the tension is broken by the widely used 'ironside' siren that adds a comedic edge. Here is a link to the ironside music

The zoom within our film.

Crossfade:

A crossfade is a form of visible transition where one shot fades out at the same rate as the next shot fades in. The speed of crossfades influences the drama. We used crossfades to slow down a monologue from Ross, elongating the scene further dramatised his turmoil. If you pause a crossfade halfway through transition it will show both shots mixed together, as illustrated below. 

A crossfade from our film.

The crossfade in a film that inspired our film, 'Fargo'.

Genre conventions:
In black comedies topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo are treated in an unusually humorous or satirical manner while retaining their seriousness; the intent of black comedy, therefore, is often for the audience to experience both laughter and discomfort, sometimes simultaneously. Our film is classified as a black comedy. This is because our film contains conventions from the paradigm of the black comedy genre. 

The sub genre of black comedy offers those involved in the process of making a film a lot of freedom with regard to the mise-en-scene. Black comedies are instead primarily focused on themes. Popular themes of the genre include violence (murder, abuse, domestic violence, rape, torture, war, genocide, terrorism, corruption), discrimination (chauvinism, racism, sexism, homophobia), disease (anxiety, depression, suicide, nightmares, drug abuse, mutilation, disability, terminal illness, insanity), sexuality (sodomy, homosexuality, incest, infidelity, fornication) and religion. Our film contains several of these themes, including: chauvinism, sexism, depression, suicide and infidelity. We have adhered closely to the conventions of black comedy throughout our film.

Examples of Hooper being chauvinistic towards Karen.

Infidelity.

Suicide

 Black comedy is a niche genre and throughout the film we acknowledge our fim's influences. For example, there is an intertextual moment within the film that is a deliberate pastiche towards the cult black comedy 'Fargo'. A catchphrase from the film is 'yeah, you betcha' in a distinctive Minnesota accent, this is used by one of our characters Simon (Owen Griffiths) at the beginning of our film. We have also been inspired by the visual black comedy of the director Edgar Wright. In another intertextual moment we deliberately took an element of Wright's comedic style, which is to introduce objects into a scene in an odd fashion. In our film, Ross, is sat on the train looking annoyed, a person offers Ross some sweets through the gap in the chairs, Ross is visibily perturbed and rejects them. Seconds later the person who had his sweets rejected by Ross again appears through the gap in the seats and coughs in Ross' direction.

The link to the video of how Edgar Wright does visual comedy  


Another way in which we were inspired by 'Hot Fuzz' was copying the train journey that Simon Pegg takes to work. It is a collection of quick shots in succession to demonstrate a passage of time. 

 the film Inglorious Basterds can also to an extent be classed as a black comedy. To shorten our scenes and add direction to our film, like Tarantino does in various films, we have broken up our scenes into chapters like a book introducing the context of that part of the film.  

'Inglorious Basterds'.

A still from the final chapter of our film.

Tom Ryall's genre theory states: 'Genre provides a framework for patterns, forms, styles and structures.' These patterns are presented within genre through iconography, narrative structure, character representations and ideology. Our film conforms to Ryall's theory as it features the ideology associated with black comedy - to make light of serious issues so that they can be addressed. We are fans of the way in which Fargo, both the television series and the film, trivialises the human races' oldest fear, death.

Fargo - I think it was a hammering

Rick Altman's 'set of pleasures' states:

Emotional Pleasures - The emotional pleasures offered to audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response.

Visceral Pleasures - Visceral pleasures are 'gut' responses, defined by how the film's stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed or a 'roller coaster ride'.

Intellectual Puzzles - Certain film genres such as the thriller offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or a puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or being surprised by the unexpected. We included an intellectual puzzle within our film. Films that we have been inspired by that have intellectual puzzles are: 'Shutter Island', 'Inception', 'Fight Club' - which turns out to be a circular narrative. In the intellectual puzzle during our film Ross punches himself in the face but bangs Hooper's hand so it appears, to Karen, when she walks in that Hooper has assualted Ross. It is then left open as to whether Hooper has been fired or not. In the scene that follows which is the final the camera follows a pair of legs walking into the office like it did with Hooper at the beginning of the film. The audience has to guess whether it is Hooper or Ross. It turns out to be Ross who has replaced Hooper as boss and domineers over Simon when they had previously been equals. 

Audience pleasure:

During the process of constructing our media product we closely followed Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratification theory. This theory assumes that media audiences are active consumers and they use media to satisfy certain needs. These include: Entertainment, education, socialisation and role models. The theory allowed us to discern what the audience wants from our media product and so we made it in accordance with the Uses and Gratifications model. We attempted to entertain our audiences with, for example, intellectual puzzles. We have, through the genre of black comedy, attempted to provide education about things we satirise, such as infidelity, suicide and depression.