Shooting Schedule was tight for this film as through communication we found we only had a limited window with our talent so would have to shoot the majority of the film in one day and due to the the film being set in the light afternoon planning each shot and allocating different time slots was crucial so creating a shot list was essential to ensure we were able to shoot everything we needed in the time given. We communicated a lot with our actors verbally as they are close family friends. I decided to split the shooting into 2 days as the location on the moors could be done without the use of all the talent making the shoot more flexible and with using less time of all our actors optimising the efficiency of the shoot. We chose to shoot Early morning for the shot on the Moors as this gave us maximum safety with the car and also helped us capture the best look and feel to the scene.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The prelim I created was very limited in my opinion despite being technically relatively sound. From the prelim I feel I have learnt a lot about the film making process and work in which is vitally put into production in order to make the final product something of value. Planning was a huge progression from the prelim being the prelim was shot impromptu with no clear steer of the story's progression the Prelim was almost impossible to establish a genre for.
Planning a successful piece of video work is something I learnt and the depth in which you have to plan truly astounded me how every little element has to be controlled in order to achieve the right level of execution making the piece a potential success. Researching a genre was a huge learning process to me and getting to grips with the aspects of genres that made them so poignant was a huge development from the prelim task which had no planning at all. Analysing in depth specific elements and trends within a genre and how this would help me define my production (titles, shot types, colour.ect).
Being that I was the only member of my group and was producing Fidelity alone, time management was a huge factor I had on my hands as I knew I was responsible for getting everything done other groups could have distributed amongst themselves, the prelim task was done in groups and I found that having less control on the outcome of the prelim was something I disliked so from then decided in order to have full control over my film idea I would have to be physically responsible for every aspect of production. Time managing I felt was genuinely well managed I was able to meet all deadlines with ease as I had scheduled my shoots and thankfully had no major issues regarding weather on the dates and due to being awake early on the car scene shoot we were able to achieve the look we wanted when we wanted without having the reschedule any re shoots. Planning shoots was a key way of doing this I was able to set out exactly what I wanted to achieve and when this was done through storyboarding which helped give a more accurate idea of how the final product was going to look allowing me to tailor shots to suits the mood of the shot and sequence.
Pitching was a really great experience of the creation of the film and something completely new from the prelim. Pitching gave me a chance to really craft a presentation that was designed to showcase Fidelity in the best light possible which in real life would be to investors of production companies who would jump on board at the idea. It was a great new and exciting was to practice commercialising my media product giving me a chance to put my ideas out there against some of the other groups. It allowed me to identify key weaknesses in the film and my pitching performance and from other groups i was able to take tips and pointers on how i could improve my performance should there be a next time.
Casting was a huge area for flexibility in comparison to the prelim I chose to go for adult actors to really sell my production across it being a crime short therefore in need of some adult talent. Casting unlike the prelim would really determine the success of the production from the audience perspective making it believable or not. Thankfully I had a few male friends who were interested in being a part of this who had some sort of acting experience in the past. Props similarly to cast were an area in which i had much greater flexibility as i was not limited to things which could be brought into school and with the prelim having little planning there was no real opportunity to bring props for the shoot so in order to create Fidelity to a higher degree of realism I was able to use prop guns in which would not be allowed into school giving us more creative flexibility.
Thankfully finding a location came quickly to me and once again due to the fact we were not limited to the school environment like the prelim task so thankfully i was able to source a local location i found would be perfect to shoot in. Going to do some test shots there revealed some flaws to the location but visually it was too good to not take advantage of to I decided to base the shoot there which i felt was a major improvement from the prelim task.
Creating rough cuts and really refining and finalising editing was a new process compared to the prelim as being only one cut produced from the prelim it gave me flexibility to receive feedback and adjust the final look to the film accordingly. Sound design and production is something I had never really explored before Fidelity with the prelim using only in camera audio recorded there was no real chance to create an environment through sound and creating music was something id never explored before. I wanted to create tracks to suit the genre I chose so this required further research into sound design of inspirational films to try and replicate some of these elements to increase mood primarily creating a more mysterious and tense environment I was not able to create with the prelim due to lack of planning time and over all time for the production.
I had even experimented with SFX design for Fidelity in After Effects digitally compositing a blood hit which I would not have been able to do with the prelim due to again time restriction. In addition the creation of idents was something that further enhanced my production from the prelim and really shows evidence of the journey I have been on to achieve the final product.
Cinematography being the field i had the most experience in I found that generally the quality of the prelim cinematics wise was relatively sound however I used feedback I had identified from the prelim to ensure I tweaked the shooting style on set for a more impactful cinematic performance. Being able to once again plan shots so that i knew exactly the effect they would have and being able to plan the shots i would use in order to create the specific mood which in the prelim i did not do.
As mentioned earlier Fidelity was solely my production as far as planning goes. I was lucky enough to have a friend help out being a boom operator on set however I am responsible for the whole creation of the final piece.
Conclusion
Things I have learnt
- how to effectively plan a production (storyboarding, treatments, screenplay)
- managing talent and sourcing suitable locations to suit the film idea.
-Sound design ( realistic to create atmosphere )
- Music production to suit mood and shift mood in some cases also taking inspiration off existing crime films.
- Improved Glidecam techniques (arc shot)
- location scouting, what to look for and what not too.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The whole process of creating and marketing Fidelity has been a huge learning curve for me. Understanding and really getting to grips with how to make a more cinematic and story telling video piece has truly been a challenge despite my previous experience as a video creator.
Production was the area in which I had learnt the most. Being that most of my existing videos have been to music sound design and quality has never been a main focus of mine. Researching how to optimise the sound quality through the equipment I had available was a key aspect to making the sound of Fidelity as good as possible. Unfortunately running into some major issues with sound due to the location having a fast flowing river close by meant that we sacrificed some sound clarity due to the river masking some of the dialogue. I used a shotgun mic and dead cat to try eliminate any possible unwanted sound ambience however it soon became apparent on set there was little chance of us avoiding the river ambience through recording dialogue. Thankfully I had decided to borrow a boom pole from school as I thought the best way to eliminate the river ambience was to enhance the main dialogue which meant getting the mic as close to the talent as possible so I instructed one of my good friends on how I wanted him to use the boom in order to optimise the sound quality. I was surprised at the clarity of the audio after using the boom pole and found it made a huge impact compared to the level of sound created by the river so this was a positive aspect of the film and utilising technology. Unfortunately we were not able to eliminate fully the sound of the river and I felt dubbing over the sound would not create a real enough feel to the sequence almost feeling like it had been recorded over which would give a weaker connection with the audience.
I feel the use of modern technology has really benefitted indie film makers as we have such a greater access to a wide range of technology which would have only been available to high budget film makers in the past. It allows more creative diversity which leads to more unique styles of video production being developed which furthers the industry in the limitations of what can be done. I feel technology did not limit Fidelity as I was still able to produce something in which I was proud of and that was also able to impact others as intended. Audience feedback when I presented the film to a Facebook page called "Frugal Filmmakers" generally consisted of positivity the only criticising comment I got was about sound which I also identified as a weakness to the film which definitely could be and area to improve for future short films which I have been inspired to create.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Distribution of media products is the ways in which people become aware of a media product this is often done through larger companies that have a larger access to ways of distribution, this in the past would mainly have been access to cinema chains however in house distribution is becoming more and more accessible to smaller film companies due to the digitalisation of the media market. Social medias becoming more and more popular in reaching target audiences and sites such as YouTube and Netflix now mean people have access to millions of short films and full sized films at their fingertips meaning some ways of distribution have become a dying substance.
Most media products do not make it into cinemas due to the cost of marketing the which in industry would be considered the most profitable way in which your film can be viewed. It allows an audience to experience the film in its full glory in a unique experience which as a film maker makes getting into cinemas a very desirable way to distribute the media product which is why often competition for box office slots is very high so most media products do not make their way onto the big screens. In the past media products were marketed using posters in cinemas incising people to select their next film venture. Distributors would pay large amounts of money for huge inner city billboards and in some cases flyers would be handed out. As technology progressed TV ads dominated media marketing and with the evolution of the internet we now find the majority of media marketing done through online media channels such as social media and through online sites such as Netflix or AmazonTV giving companies with a range of budgets the ability to get people to watch their media products through the advertising campaigns you can buy into on social media allowing a greater outreach to potential audience and its now becoming a development of these campaigns allowing companies to tailor the type of people their film creating greater interest and interaction percentages from these smaller campaigns meaning huge distribution institutions are becoming less and less popular with only the big companies remaining such as Disney and Comcast being huge media conglomerates who are able to control all stages of creating and marketing their media produce through vertical integration allowing them to become so successful as less cost is used on outsourcing out of house companies to distribute their films.
My media product is a micro budget indie product without any established stars or professionals involved in production. The genre of my product is a crime thriller and due to its violent nature and extensive use of profanity would have an older target audience therefore the marketing of the product would have to be tailored to suit the age of my target audience. It shares similarities with films such as "Goodfellas" and more recently "live by night" which both made for a very poignant cinema screening. The most recent "Live by night" was marketed mainly on social media using ad campaigns before videos on sites such as YouTube it also had a Facebook page in which potential audience could interact with the film being fed frequent teasers and outtakes of the film ensuring their seat in cinemas. I found through research that most of the best selling films in 2016 used big media institutions which are mainly involved in vertical integration in order to achieve the maximum audience interaction with the film. The film "Arrival" which net grossed over $100,000,000 in the worldwide market was distributed by Paramount one of the leading five distributors which it could be said was responsible for initiating audience interest which lead to the huge success of the film making it one of the best sellers worldwide in 2016. Another film which was recently distributed by a big institution was "Live by Night" which was distributed by Warner Bros another one of the main 5 distributing institutions. Live by Night was less of a financial success after being handed for critics to tear into its flesh, the film however still managed to net gross over $10,000,000 which shows its distribution had impact on many people. I personally became aware of the film through social media marketing after seeing its trailer for the first time during my crime film research ( it played before a video) and being that it had a target audience of people age 15+ the internet and social media was most likely the best place to set marketing campaigns as it already narrowed down the people who would see it to those who were most likely old enough to view the full feature film.
I found hardly any evidence of the film being advertised elsewhere and therefore assume the primary source of marketing was through online campaigns which suggested the target audience of the film was not elderly people despite the setting of the film being in the 1900s.
I feel the complete budget of my film should it be made into a feature film would be around the same as very successful indie film "Kidulthood" being around the £500,000 mark as both films require little special effects or incorporate famous actors. They are both set in a rural and modern time in urban environment so location cost and set design would not be as expensive as films set in the past such as Live by Night. Kidulthood due to its low budget nature was not distributed by a huge institution and instead was picked up by Lionsgate a common choice for the more low budget films. The low budget indie film did not have immediate impact on the audience through marketing campaigns and more traditional methods such as word of mouth soon became a greater part to play towards the success of the film. Similarly low budget British film "Four Lions" was not distributed by a large institution and instead was marketed by StudioCanal a small UK based distributor leading to its relative success.
If I was to choose a big distributor for my feature film it would be Warner Bros due to its success with recent films such as Man of Steel. I found Warner Bros has been responsible for many action successes found here
However due to the high risk involved as an indie film maker with blowing a large proportion of the already low budget in order to distribute the film could prove fatal to the production its self leading to a less well made film which would not be masked through advertising campaigns and would be destroyed by critic reviews. I feel if I was to market my film with such a low budget I would opt into social media campaigns which may not have as large of an outreach as huge distribution institutions however with tactical placement of ads and attempting to create a fan base around the film it could have a lower success rate leading to decreased profits however would not require as great a financial risk as using an institution such as Warner Bros as leading to a lower chance of bankruptcy and would leave funding for another project which would be able to reach a whole new different audience widening the companies variety and increasing appeal towards the company as a whole.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My product presents one main social group being upper class British criminals. I achieved a very typical presentation of these characters through various conventions.
SOUND
Sound became a very poignant way which I used extensively to present the social groups. Firstly I ensured all cast members to perform with a strong and gritty accent. this linked to typical gangsters being from the south and gave a more convincing portrayal of the characters involved. I felt the accents helped to present social class as often southern people would be more wealthy which linked to my idea of presenting the criminals as being upper class. I also chose these accents as they contained very gritty and raw elements to them which gave a more convincing presentation of strength through the characters.
The soundtrack also became a main focus for presenting an upper class criminal social class. I chose to use slow paced soundtracks as oppose to high intensity more fast paced tracks to help present the social classes. The slower pace presents the higher class as being more in control and and having a more relaxed approach to the environment they face. I cut the soundtrack at dialogue when characters begin to speak to further portray the importance surrounding the characters showing the upper social class as being dominant and incredibly important.
MISE EN SCENE
Mise en scene was truly where I could present the target social class fully and most obviously to the audience. Firstly props were a huge portrayal of the money involved in modern crime and the upper social class. I was able to have access to a luxury car in which Jason - one of the protagonists - was driving in addition this depicted the "gangsters" as very wealthy and powerful and most definitely not humble about their money obtained unlawfully. I wanted also to really push the idea of the obtainment of "dirty money" to the audience so chose to shoot the confrontation sequence in a very desolate and run down area which almost juxtaposed the lifestyle presented through clothing and props giving the social group a very shady and false feeling surrounding them projecting the social class as hell-bent and fake. All characters were dressed in formal attire projecting them as wealthy still and being figured of importance, the formal wear correlated to that of a business man which of course it is a common projection for gangsters to see themselves as businessmen. This presented a very out going and independent feel to the characters. I Dressed my main protagonist who holds power throughout the majority of the scene in the more formal wear which portrayed him as the most important and also correlated to the power which he held throughout the scene. The other two characters were then dressed down further with the lowest ranking character dressing the least formal and I found this to reflect the power in which each character had and wanted this to reinforce the impact the twist would have. EDITING
Editing in Fidelity was quite simple and slow paced I wanted the editing style from the beginning to be very understated for the majority of the film drawing more emphasis to the characters interaction with each other and putting a greater focus on dialogue and the story elements of the sequence. The lack of cuts when more important characters were speaking put greater emphasis on their speech reflecting them as being a more important social group. The lack of cuts created however a more orientated feel and presented a much calmer feel to the visuals of the film. This once again helped to reflect the mind-set of the upper class characters presenting them almost being in a routine and used to these dealings but also presenting them as very collective people which I felt differed from many of the films in which I looked at which presented the more irrational side to criminals and their acting. I wanted to present a sense of urgency in the opening credits so only used straight cuts and didn't want to use fades as I still wanted that rough edge to be presented to the social group throughout creating a very raw and real feel to the sequence. The colour grade I used was also very muted and gave a more raw feel which became gradually more raw as the location changed which once again gave this juxtaposing feel from the false luxury and money.
CAMERA WORK
Camera movement and cinematography required the most in depth planning in order to subtly hint key aspects of social groups portrayed and highlight their power and tendencies. Firstly I used varying angles to give a sense of power to the characters using a low angle to project importance and dominance something which is commonly portrayed about this social group giving them a very strong presence in the shot without "glamourizing" them. Most of my shots were static takes giving a very calm and clean feel to the scene reflecting on the social groups calmer and collective side of their personality and also giving a more luxurious and prominent feel to the characters as our focus is purely on them during dialogue as the shots force us to focus on the motion of the character rather than that of the camera. However as action and tension increased throughout the sequence I used similar shot types for all characters showing the shift in power leading up to the shooting which presented a more turbulent and unpredictable side to the social group I aimed to present. The shot I was very happy with and I had crafted and used to really reinforce the power and importance of Jason - protagonist- was the act shot. I felt by rotating around the set really quantified the power Jason held showing that all around him belonged to him almost as if the world (audience) was revolving around him. it gave a very self centred portrayal to the social class showing them as being very stuck up and self obsessed.
Overall I feel my media product presented the desired social class in many different ways through different aspects of the film giving for a very uncertain feel surrounding all characters towards the end of the sequence presenting the criminal lifestyle as unpredictable yet high rewarding however a very dangerous lifestyle to be involved in and shouldn't be aspired too.
How does your film use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My opening was crafted to follow generic structure, form and feel to a generic crime film. Based heavily off existing successful crime films and TV series Fidelity really was just a blend of as many elements a crime film would contain.
Depiction of characters was a main theme I focused on when planning the way the opening would pan out. I instantly began centring every element of the sequence to fit around how these protagonists would be projected to the audience. The opening shows 2 seemingly high rank characters (Jason and Reggie) and one aspirational sideman (Arthur) who will stop at nothing to get to where he wants to be despite the way loyalties lie. I felt the opening really presented the corruption and uncertainty of gang life and this was a key message I wanted to voice through the film. That below the law nothing is safe or appears as it seems. I felt the intended twist to the opening would really set this in stone for the audience and present the irrationality present in gang life and how things could change and become dangerous very quickly which is a very generic presentation of gang life.
I carefully crafted a location as often gang films are set in secluded and dangerous areas away from the lavish luxury life which is also presented with gang crime. I had the privilege of using a very nice car which presents the money involved in crime and how often the higher ranked people possess a large amount of money. I felt the car was perfect and another key way to present Jasons personality. I used editing techniques to make the driving in the opening seem erratic which linked greatly to the personality I wished Jason and by using sweeping shots far from the car it helped present a calmer side to Jason yet hinted at the more irrational and enraged personality he later possesses. I didn't introduce Jason till the abandoned factory scene to create narrative enigma as there was no clues as to his destination or intention during this sequence. This links to a more generic representation giving the criminals a more mysterious and innocent appeal at first and then revealing their darker undertones later on in the scene.
I used low angles to represent the characters in power so initially a lower angle was used to depict Jason quantifying his power at the beginning, gradually this angle became less and less emphasised until we get his final shot at eye level showing his loss of power over the other two characters. This element of the film I feel was less generic as its not often in crime films where a lower rank almost guard decides to betray his superior due to fear of fate should this be done.
Sound I had also planned to follow general trends of a crime film introducing a rock and bass sound track to create a high energy level and adrenaline to the film whilst introducing suspense. I took inspiration from Peaky Blinders for my soundtracks as I had liked the way they introduced emotion through a soundtrack implicating the characters mood and intended actions without any dialogue. I wanted to make my tracks predominantly percussion based so I tried to find an intense drum track which would suit the "in your face" nature to the video.
Editing built up in speed as the scene became more intense I used an increase of cuts to create a sense of discomfort and also removed the static elements of the shots creating disorientation as Jason gets betrayed which links to generic trends through current existing crime films and TV series.
Overall I feel Fidelity was a very generic film suiting the genre and was purposefully based on existing crime successes to secure a relative success of the film due to its low budget limitation as well as run time allocated in the brief.
I decided to introduce Jason through time showing initially his feet as he exited the car, this was done through a crab left as the door opened which presented a very slick feel to this introduction almost as if the world moved with his actions showing immediate power and by not showing his face initially this created a mystery surrounding him. Through the shots eventually his face was revealed from a low angle which depicted him as a very strong and powerful man. It is very generic in crime films to introduce a mysterious character indirectly to create narrative enigma surrounding them and giving them a sense of power also.
As well as incorporating many generic factors of a crime thriller film I felt there were elements of the film which made it stand out from other generic crime films. For example the colour grade I was using was tinted towards a more blue colour palette which gave a very raw and exposed look I also desaturated the colour to reinforce the grit and rawness which would be prominent through the scene, this almost modernised the crime genre in my opinion as often colour grading in crime films is very understated and is often incredibly contrasting crushing the shadows in the image to surround the scene with mystery. I also managed to shift the colours of the sequence from a surprisingly vibrant grade for the first scene which I then shifted to the desaturated grade in the industrial estate. This I wanted to do to throw off the viewer and create a more poignant mood shift that was sure to hint at the nature of the events that follow. This I felt was an example of me developing and defying typical conventions of a crime opening.
Another example of developing conventions was the use of the arc shot during Jasons speech which I felt worked really well as often in crime films not much is displayed of the location and very often I found through research an establishing shot is completely removed from the sequence to create secrecy however the arc shot in which I used my camera mounted on a glidecam was intended to create a calmer environment surrounding Jason showing how he is almost reluctant to people seeing him as he has so much power the world is almost revolving around him. I feel by using extensive camera movements I was able to really portray power held through the characters and at the same time I was able to show the depth of emotion surrounding each individual character.
