Final Edit

Evaluation Question II: How effective is the combination of you main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question II: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks? from aimeelee12

Evaluation Question VI: Evaluation - Prezi

Evaluation Question VI: Construction - PaintNET

Evaluation Question VI: Research - Word

Evaluation Question IV: Planning - CeltX

Evaluation Question III: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

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

Sound Edit

Review Draft Seven

In this draft, I shortened the synopsis, which has allowed more space for the reviewer credit. I have also made some minor changes to the review, restructuring a few sentences to ensure that it reads as well as possible.

Refined Edit

Poster Draft Three

Following feedback, I decided to integrate digital processes with analog processes in order to create more negative space and a poster that looked more like my original idea.

Magazine Review Draft Six

Following further discussion, I decided to give some elements on the page more space, as some areas were more cramped. I changed the font and colour of the text providing information on the film, as well as shortening the synopsis and editing the footer area again.

Second Rough Cut

In order to cut down my film, I removed extra shots that didn't need cutting to, such as the final scene in which the caretaker and Hannah remain in the wide shot at the beginning. I also cut shots that didn't move the narrative forward, such as the part in food tech in which Hannah grabs a chopping board and uses the knife, as her movement is gentle and doesn't build much tension. There are scenes that I cut out too, as I ran into an issue filming the broom cupboard scene with Hannah, because she wasn't able to shut it fully with the broom in the way. This meant it didn't cut to the next scene as effectively and so I got rid of it all together. The second cut of the film is now just over six and a half minutes, and so some last refinements are still necessary to make it shorter. 

First Rough Cut

Following my assembly edit, I have cut a few shots to decrease the length of the overall film. I also shot the final scene and a pickup to replace the wide shot in which there were two people standing either side of the entrance. I have used the same shot size, but now there is no one standing outside to emphasise that there is no one to collect the girl. However, this edit stands at 10 minutes long, and so I will have to cut shots and sections of scenes to get it closer to the 5 minutes mark.

Magazine Review Draft Five

I have changed this draft from the previous by playing with the footer area of the page, and experimenting with a different font, and adding a the month and year, as well as removing the bottom page boundary. I have also made some subtle changes to the review itself to improve on the overall reading of the text. To make the image stand out more, I increased the saturation and cropped it so that it was in line with the text.

Poster Draft Two

Having discussed my first draft of my poster with my teacher and revisiting the most effective sketch of my ideas as agreed upon by my peers, I decided to try and create a new draft of my poster that includes more features that were similar to the idea. In this draft I used a background that excluded most of the books and folders in the background and used an effect to make it look more artistic, to merge with the mise en scene of a school location. The advantages of making it portrait again, was that I was able to fit the conventions of the poster at the bottom, allowing the title to stand out more than the previous draft. I altered the background afterwards, making it darker, so that I could have a draft in which the font was black and white.

Magazine Review Draft Four

Having received feedback from my teacher, we reached the agreement that the synopsis should be shortened and that further examples of technical codes within the film should be mentioned. I have edited the review to accommodate this. I have also added an image, and made slight changes to the colouring on the credits section at the bottom. Furthermore, I also changed the page number area of the page, to make it look as if it is more integrated into the rest of the page.

Assembly Edit

The following video is the first cut of my short film, minus scenes 14, 17 and 18. It currently stands at over 9 minutes, so my next steps are to refine by cutting shots that I don't need, and trimming down scenes that are too long in accordance with my script.

Poster Draft One

I began to manipulate my chosen image for my chosen idea for my poster. I ended up erasing some of the random objects in the background that took away from the subjects and the meaning that I was trying to construct. I also emphasised the windows in order to place text in each pane of glass for the title. I then added text, which included a billing block, festival awards, and reviews. In my idea for the poster was portrait, although I found that the image I had taken had areas in both the bottom and top that wouldn't have been well suited to the composition of a conventional poster, and tricky to place text. Therefore, I cropped both of these areas and instead created a landscape orientation poster. The following image is my first draft of this ancillary task: 

Poster Design

In order to create an effective poster, I needed to take typography into account to construct meaning that reflects the events in the narrative. I was happy with a basic, san serif font for the intertextual references, and the font 'credit block' for the credits, although I needed a font that was suitable for the title. I downloaded the following fonts to trial:

Overall, I found Beauty School Dropout the most effective, it contrasts with the word 'Home', as suggested by a participant in the qualitative research I carried out on my initial ideas, the font resembles a motel sign. This contrasts between the staying overnight connotation - which also reflects the events in the narrative, and that of the words 'Home Time'.

The other fonts are effective in different ways, although I feel that Veselka 4F woud be a little difficult to read had the background not been a solid colour. I also think that Drive Thru wouldn't have worked the most effectively because the writing in my poster is vertical as opposed to horizontal, and so the underline part of the text wouldn't have worked well. Similarly to Veselka, I am unsure as to whether a non solid background would have made the font effective in standing out. I decided to use Beauty School Dropout II, using all capital letters, as to me, this resembled a neon/ motel sign the most.

Poster Photography

The following imagery is a series of photos that I took as a start for my poster. Before being able to develop my initial ideas, I needed to bring them to life. I placed everything in the frame that was in my visualisation, and took some photos whilst getting my subjects to make subtle movements. The only problems I faced were having a cluttered room, which I may be able to edit to some extent when creating different elements of the poster. 

Magazine Review Draft Three

Qualitative Poster Research

To get an idea for what other people thought of my poster ideas, and to get a different point of view on their effectiveness, I carried out a small qualitative research task, in which I displayed the following image, calling the poster ideas 1, 2 and 3 respectively. I asked several questions to my peers and have edited it in the form of a short podcast. As a conclusion, I now have a better understanding of further interpretations to the ideas and a more structured plan for the poster I will be creating.

Call Sheets

Call Sheets from aimeelee12

Prop Design

For the painting that the girl carries out at the beginning of the first scene, I needed to create a prop that looked realistic to have been painted by a young person. I acquired help from my peer, who created the following image, which is seen in the first scene of my film. I am happy with this, as the bright colours connote youth and joy, and the imagery is seen to be quite childish.

Shot List

Shot List from aimeelee12

Actor Release Forms

Actor Release Form

Minor Release Form;

Location Photos

Location Recce Form

Location Recce Sheet from aimeelee12

Location Recce Checklist

Location Recce Checklist from aimeelee12

Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule from aimeelee12

Breakdown Strip Sheet

Breakdown

Breakdown from aimeelee12

Annotated Script

Annotated Script from aimeelee12

Storyboard Draft One

For the initial draft of my storyboard, I began by following the structure of limiting each scene to one wide or establishing shot, one medium shot, and two close ups. This became increasingly difficult in the longer scenes, especially the ones that draw attention to lots of detail. Therefore, I either skipped out a shot that may have been effective, or stepped away from the structure. During this, I realised that my short film will include lots of close ups, as well as wide shots, in order to create contrast and raise the tension within the narrative. The following is what I came up with for a first draft:

Storyboard Draft One from aimeelee12

Further Poster Ideas

Since developing my script and synopsis, my first poster idea no longer made sense to the narrative as my main character no longer makes food for herself. The following images depict a few of my ideas based on the latest version of my script.

Magazine Review Draft Two

Final Draft of Synopsis

Home time at a local Surrey primary school on a bright, winter's day. Hannah bursts out of the doors of her classroom clutching a sheet of paper with her masterpiece on it. Her face drops as her eyes, unfocused, scan the crowd of parent figures. After a short while, she ceases her search and fixes her gaze onto her classroom door. She pulls out her phone, checking for battery and failing in her aim. Still holding onto her picture, she heads back inside with reluctance. As she enters the classroom, she immediately drops her things in search for something else to preoccupy herself with. Striding over to the other side of the room, she picks out a box from a cupboard, and pulls out a plethora of fancy dress costumes. Out of the abundance of princess dresses and other colourful outfits, she settles for a woollen jumper, a scarf, and a handbag. Immersed in her own thoughts, she wonders the classroom looking at the walls plastered in childish scrawl, and occasionally stops to admire her own. Still carrying her hand bag, she proceeds on her journey through the school until she ends up at the door of the caretaker’s cupboard. She opens it, receives a fright from the falling rake, and closes it in order to run away. Meanwhile, the form of a man is shadily going about his business, tracing Hannah’s footsteps back to the cupboard. 

Hannah makes her way to the school’s workshops, scanning each computer screen along the classroom, playing with the equipment and eyeing the large red emergency stop button on the machines. Continuing to the workshop next door, she picks up a tiny bottle of glue, squeezes it until she sees it rise out of the vessel, and stops before it spills out. Tiring from the side, she pulls a file from its hold, raising her arms up in the air, as if it were a sword and taking a swing. Misjudging the metal mass, she watches it fly out of her hands. Leaving the workshops, she steps out into the cold air of the school’s courtyard. Hannah heads into the food technology classroom, scanning the cupboards for food. She soon stops, unsuccessful, and progresses with her game of pretend, pulling utensils out and cooking her imaginary meal. Not long after, she becomes bored, and sits down, staring at the mess she has made. When Hannah arrives at the textiles classroom, she gazes at the material, pulling a tiny piece out and sliding it under the foot of the sewing machine, and watching the needle pulse up and down. On her way out, she interacts with the mannequin, staring up towards its face. Making her way into the drama classroom’s props cupboard, Hannah lethargically opens the door. Staring in with several mask faces staring back, she pauses for a moment, and then leaves. 

Meanwhile, ominous figure roams the school, locking up the classrooms as the light outside is fading. Hannah steps outside on to the cold, hard concrete playground, and heads towards the classroom in which she started her school day, and her journey earlier on in the evening. Still in her grown up persona, she walks with purpose until she spots the man locking the adjacent classroom to the one she’s walking into. Frozen in her tracks, she hesitates, and breaks into a run, she forgets her adult character and returns to her child self. Reaching the classroom door whilst he is still around the other side, she hesitates once more, and walks inside before being seen. Out of breath, Hannah hides from view and listens for the lock of the door. Instead, from her corner, she hears the door open. The caretaker strides across the room with heavy footsteps, and sits down. She quivers in the corner. Pulling out a small parcel wrapped in brown paper, the elderly man places it on the table and opens it up. From the paper he pulls his sandwiches. He takes a bite, completely unaware that he is being watched. Meanwhile, Hannah doubtfully moves out from her corner, making the man twist round to see the source of rustling. Startled, the man's face quickly changes from shocked to confused. Silently, he beckons she to sit with him, using gentle hand movements. She walks over, gaining confidence in her walk, and takes a seat opposite him. Holding one sandwich in one hand, and one in the other, he reaches across the table and gestures towards Hannah to take it. She takes his offer as they exchange smiles. He asks about her parents, and she gives a blank expression. She pulls out her phone once more, revisiting the empty battery screen. The caretaker sighs, and pulls out his own. He hands it to Hannah and she dials a number. She places the phone to her ear, and greets the call’s recipient.