Evaluation Question 6

Throughout the making of our production, i have been able to dramatically increase my ability to use and use effectively software and electronic devices, i before had infinitesimal knowledge of such technologies. I used a wide array of numerous software's and programmes whilst filming my production and aforesaid when it came to editing my production as well. Due to the regular use of programmes such as Adobe Premiere, i gained a number of skills which helped improve my editing and filming abilities, ergo helping significantly in the chances of producing a production of greater quality in comparison to not having such knowledge.

Planning and research have been key stages in the success of our production. Throughout these stages, I have used Blogger to help keep all my information and notes i have acquired over the course of production in the form of blog posts. Blogger has also been used to enable me to show my work and help me show the numerous stages of my production. With the use of pictures and animated GIF's, i have been enabled to add character to my blog, resulting in it being less flat and tiresome to read. As a group, we used the aid of social media in the form of Facebook to communicate with one an other. We did so to help arrange days to film and stop confusion so filming could be done as fast and efficiently as possible. It  We also put images of the location and chosen props that we would be using. I used Google images and Maps to import pictures that i was going to temporarily use on my blog. This was as we didn't yet have images of the clothes, props and location we would be using so instead of leaving the blog without visual aid, i decided to use temporary images from Google in place until photos were taken of props, location and clothes we would be using. We also used Google to help us research films of the same genre on YouTube. This helped enable in securing the best production we possibly could. We also used youtube to find music and non diegetic sounds that could be placed into our production. Helping use to give characteristic to our production and in turn helping us gain a higher grade than we would of got without the use of such audio.
Throughout the duration of our production process we used a Canon Legria FS200 camera for the filming process. The camera is a SD memory platformed camera and is of a high qulaity when it comes to filming.To record diegetic sounds during the production, we used a microphone. The microphone offered us the a high level of audio quality compared to the microphone built-in to the camera. We used the microphone to the diegetic sounds such as the forest noises, nature sounds, the rustle and snapping of leaves and branches beneath foot and the sound of passing cars. During the editing stages of our production, we used a software called Adobe Premiere. This software enabled us to trim, add effects and other editing processes with the video files we had capture in our filming stages of production. It then allowed us to place these seperate files together and use transitions such as "additive dissolve" to create a smooth flowing continuous production. However, before this editing could take place, all of our video files had to be transfered from the SD card in the camera, onto which they had been originally saved, to the computer/hard drive we were working on. The next step once this had been done using an SD card reader plugged in to the usb port of the computer. Then the files had to be converted to a format of which the editing software, Adobe Premiere, recognized. So we used ‘File Converter’ in order to convert our files to mp4, suitable to be used with Adobe Premiere. Once the files had been converted, we imported them over to ‘ Adobe Premiere’ and went about editing them into our production work using the many facilities and features premiere has to offer to our full advantage. Before this production i had very little use or knowledge of the majority of softwares and programmes we used during the course of our production. So throughout both filming and editing our production, i expanded my knowledge and skills in using programmes and hardware such as Cameras, Tripods, Adobe Premiere, File Converter and the majority of others.

Evaluation Question 5

From the outset we decided that we needed to attract an audience and then work on gaining and keeping their attention on what mattered in our project. So we decided that in our first seen we needed a bold image that would stand out to our audience and keep them intrigued.  It's essential that beginning scenes of our film draws in the audiences attention. This is as the film is most likely to be aired on channels such as BBC THREE and  it is key to the success if the film that the viewers stay interested in the film and on the edge and don't just simply change the channel. So to gain there immediate attention of our audience we decided to open the project with the image of a dead body. This was meant to draw in the viewers attention and leave them wanting more, trying to figure out what exactly it is the dead body means or symbolises. Then with the clever use of quick snappy flash-forwards of how the criminals react, it soon becomes clear to the viewer that the body is the scene of a murder, although it is not ever stated in our project so how the audience perceives the scene is key so it had to be made very clear. "Morven Callar" is a film that has a similar opening to ours, with the use of a dead body lying lifeless on the floor. After the flash-forwards, it then cuts back to real time with the fast flowing quick cuts of the two boys running away from the apparent murder scene where the body still lay lifeless. With a bit of thought the audience should be able to see that it is apparent that these two boys are in some way related and linked with the murder. The fact that the main people of the audience that are going to be watching are young and predominantly male, allowing them to relate with the two key characters in our film, the boys who are fleeing from the dead body. Because everyone makes mistakes. The audience should then be intrigued with what is going to happen and be glued to finding out what happens next and how the boys react and what their next move is. 

Evaluation Question 4

Our target audience would be predominantly male orientated. Young adolescence demographic. Those viewing our will be mainly be of a working/middle class and view our film genre type of film with their friends, it will not be aimed towards many females. The ethnicity of the viewer will not be specifically targeted towards any type of specific ethnicity as our genre of film is set and aimed at any ethnicity. Those viewing our film will not have to be of a high education standard as our film is aimed to be easy to understand and follow and will not require to much work by the viewer to do so. They may however, have to be able to understand what is going on and remember, as the film will cut back and forward in time. The film will start off with difficult to access and will only be released at Indie and a few mainstream cinemas e.g. selected cineworlds.  It eventually will be released on general sale DVD and this should enable it to be a lot easier when gaining access and it will then be shown on channels such as BBC three. An example of a film similar to ours is Kidulthood. It is targeted towards a similar audience and was accessed the same way ours will. 

Evaluation Question 3

As a group we made the decision that our film would be produced on a small budget. It would be a small budget, England based film. Then two members of our group were allocated to go and conduct various forms of research into the numerous different small production company's that were out there, allowing us to see and decide which would be the most suited towards our film and our needs and requirements and be willing to distribute our film under their name. We went about researching four companies, these were 'Pathe' 'BBC Films' 'Film 4 Productions' and 'Revolver Entertainment'. We then sat down as a group and discussed which one we felt would be best suited to our needs. We decided that Revolver Entertainment would be the best company for us and our film. This was mainly due to the films they have previously produced. The majority were very similar to what we were aiming for ours to turn out like. These films included low budget films such as 'Ill Manors' (£100,000 budget) 'Kidulthod' (£600,000) and 'Shank' (£385,000) and  'The Imposter'. We then looked into another option of funding. We looked at the "The National Lottery' funding via  the 'British Film Institute'. Due to our film being solely based in England and using mainly British actors, we hoped that our film would score more than sixteen points and therefore qualify for the funding the "British Film Institute" had to offer.

Evaluation Question 2

As a group we decided that we wanted the two main characters (the two murderers) to be teenagers. We also decided it would be more realistic and a better decision if they were male as opposed to female. We originally felt that they would be lower class, hard up criminals, who lived in the council estate areas in busy east London  We got this idea from films such as 'Kidulthood' 'Adulthood' 'Shank' and 'Attack The Block'. We planned for them to be stereo typical chavs who went around causing trouble and commiting crimes, wearing track suits trainers and baseball caps.
However we later decided that due to the murder taking place within a forest it would be more likely they live in a small remote town compared to the busy city of east London. This then influenced our other decisions. We decided that instead of the originally planned lower class status,  we believed it would be more believable and better suited for them if they were from a working class status. We then had to find a way in whcih we could show this in our project. So we decided it would be more appropriate if they were wearing jeans and other clothes that represent the middle class instead of the hoodie and joggers attire  By making the two murders working class, it makes the story more interesting. These teenagers had not previously committed a crime, never previously been involved with crime. This was just an accident that wasn't meant to happen, a plan that went horribly wrong for all involved. We as a group believed that this would be far more unexpected and would help keep the audience on the edge and keep them watching to find out more and waiting for anymore twists in the plot which make take place.Inspiration for this new characters came from UK drama and comedy shows such as 'Misfits' 'Skins' and 'The Inbetweeners'. By having middle class mureders, it also now linked nicely with the boy who is murdered. He is clearly a geeky middle class boy who would more likely be found in a small town rather than in the big city of lower class London.

Evaluation Question 1

Title of film	”It never happened” is the title of our film. The title is shown in our opening sequence with the use of a text message. The title suggests that there is a secret between the two main characters, common in the thriller genre. E.G. ‘I’ll ALWAYS know what you did last summer’ is also a film in which an important line of the film is used as the title.
Setting/Location	Our film is set in the woodland, a remote location in conjunction with many other films of the same genre were numerous murders in happen in forests, and other remote locations, out of sight from other people where nobody else will see. With our film, as the two characters run out of the forest there is a sign that is deliberately put in the shot showing that there is CCTV in operation in the close proximity area suggesting that they may have been spotted by someone and it is eminent that they may be caught.  For example, in the film 'Severance' there are murders that take place within the forest and also in 'Cabin In The Woods' set within the woods where murders occur.
Costume/Props	Both me (Billy) and Matt who play the murderers, wore fairly simple and stereo typical UK working class teenager clothes. Matt wears hoody and dirty jeans, with Billy wearing a coat and some blue coloured chinos. They both use old clothes and muddy had trainers on to keep continuity throughout the entire costume. Evidentially not challenging the age stereotype or usual convention. A prime example of how they dress is shown in the film 'Attack the Block'. The murder weapon we used however not a typical murder and does unlike our costumes challenge typical convention. Our weapon of choice was not the ordinary stereo typical weapon such as a knife or gun but instead was a broken street sign found in the woods and was later changed to a brick.
Genre	We chose to use a drama/thriller genre for our film. This links in with the murder that happens within the film. Unlike many conventional murder based films, our film is not a murder mystery or a case that has to be solved by detectives, instead it is not about solving the case that the story line follows but hiding evidence and those who committed the crime. The film 'Se7en' is good example of a murder film based solely around attempting to figure out who the murders are and why, how and when they committed the murder.
Camerawork and Editing	Through the duration of our opening scene, we follow the typical convention set within numerous other film openings of films with similar storyline's. At the begging in various murder based films the victims (murdered) body is the main focal point. In our opening scene this is very much the case. With a pan and zoom out of the body lying helplessly on the floor within our opening sequence. With many action thriller dramas there are quick cuts flashing back and forth at a high speed. This is again very much the case in our film introduction keeping with film convention.