FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

FINAL SHORT FILM POSTER

Uses and Gratification theory

So what is the uses and gratification theory?

Its is an active audience theory that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather than what the media does to people.
The uses and gratification theory is split into four main groups called;
Cognitive needs:
Affective needs:
Personal integrative needs:
Social integrative needs:
Tension free needs:

Laswell (1948) suggested that media texts had the following functions for individuals and society:


1- Surveillance (whats going on in the world)
2- Correlation (two things that match (relationship)
3- Entertainment (making the audience laugh and entertained)
4- Cultural transmission (messages and values going from different cultures)

Bulmer and Katz (1974) stated that individuals might choose and use a text. They said that there are other forms of why people watch short films:

Diversion (escape from everyday problems)
Personal relationships (for emotion and other interaction)
Personal identity (finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts)
Surveillance (information which found be useful for living)


People use media for acquiring knowledge, information etc. Different people have different media needs these could be knowledge so they will watch quiz programmes on Tv, or search engines to find out information. Particularly for the internet search engine they can browse for nay topic under the run with no time restriction.
It includes all kinds of emotions, pleasure and other moods of people. People use media like television to satisfy their emotional needs.
'this is the self-esteem need. People use media to reassure their status, gain credibility and stabilise. So people watch Tv and assure themselves that they have a status in society for example people get to improve their status by watching media advertisements which can make people buy these products, so poeple are changing their lifestyle and the media helps them do so.It encompasses the need to socialize with family, friends and relations in the society. People now use social networking sites to satisfy their needs. Another example is if your friend is watching a programme then you watch it so you have topics to discuss.People sometime use the media as a means of escapism and to relieve from tension. For example people ted to relax watching Tv, listening to radio and for satisfying their need for entertainment there by relaxing from all the tension, people watch films.

Short film, film poster and review page

Surveillance- My short film does not use surveillance as it does not inform the audience of what is happening in the world at that particular moment in time. However I have tried to put a bit more information of my short film in my review page and this could perhaps allow them an insight into more detail about the short film and could inform the audience of what is happening during it. Adding a bit more information makes it easier for the audience to gain a bit more knowledge of the topic and how it relates to the world at that point in time.

Correlation- My short film could have a relationship with the audience as some people could be going through a lot of pain when a loved one has passed away, however the unrealistic nature of them visually looking over you could not be true. I have tried to make the short film relatable as it then makes it more appealing and engaging for the audience. 

Cultural transmission- My short film and review page does not follow the uses and gratification of cultural transmission as it is not a documentary and does not show any values from different cultures. It could show how various people grieve however this is not a specific message to the audience.

Entertainment- My short film is engaging however I wouldn't say that it is entertaining in a way that makes the audience laugh and be happy as it can possibly be emotional. 

Diversion- It does not follow the diversion of uses and gratification as people are not really escaping from every day life unless people are watching the short film to escape problems of their real life. 

Personal relationships- This is one thing that my short film does follow as there is defiantly some emotion in which the audience could possibly be involved with. My audience creates a relationship with the protagonist as they are she is addressing everything to the audience.

Personal identity- I doubt that my audience would find them selves when watching this text however they could identify with the character. 

Why?

I thought that I would make a brief overview of why I chose certain things for all of my ancillary tasks, I have uploaded them all: Final short film, poster and double page spread and have not said anything about them on the post because they are my final pieces.

Final short film:
I decided to create my short film about a young girl who has a difficult time to get over her cousins death, I have already created a short blog post about my idea and a synopsis of what happened. The short film starts with a longer than normal opening sequence, I decided to start with photos as having only one character that uses dialogue has its limitations to filming therefore to make it over 5 minutes I decided that having a longer start will make it more engaging. I also decided that the pictures will give a small snippet of the past and makes it easier for the audience to follow. In addition the title is simplistic and how it fades could possibly connote the death of the girl and how she faded away from the family. The short snippets of video inside show how she is living without her and the different edition techniques used will also help to convey how she is alone such as the iris and the fade to black. I decided that I would have a small snippet of video showing how she wishes her life to be, to create this I decided to use the fade to white to create a dreamlike effect. In addition I used this when she walks outside to show how she is in a dreamlike state, the white could also connote her innocence. Some of the shots are slowed down to contribute to the fact that she is upset and could possibly show the connection that she had with her cousin. I decided that I would go back to the beginning as her life is repetitive, also I didn't really want to have a happy ending like the fairytales I wanted to show how she is still sorrow and although she dreams it never really happens.

Final Poster:
I decided that I would have a boarder around the photo of the girl as the photo stretched would not stretch and I knew that I wanted to use the exact same photo as what I did for my short film. The still image shows a zoomed in picture of the protagonist and her eyes, this was well fitting as the title was "Through my eyes" therefore it fits very well. In addition I choose to use a white font as it was simplistic and followed the house style. I also didn't follow a conventional billing block as the writing was not thin and squished together like a conventional one, mine was quite simple with the names written on each line, I did try a conventional billing block however it looked particularly bold and makes it look quite clunky.

Final Double Page Spread:
This was one of my favourite pieces of works as I think it looks the most professional, the way that the colour scheme works and the fact that there are simple snippets of the short film in pictures also works well. I decided that I would stick with the black and white theme however it would be boring with only these colours so I thought that I would bring in a green as it was eye popping and went with one of my chosen pictures. There was three pictures that I chose one was of the title, another was of an early picture and the final was the ending scene, they were all very clear and therefore I decided to use these three. The way that they were placed makes the spread engaging and overlapping them makes it a more modern way of producing it. Having the stars on the side allowed the audience to see how well reviewed the short film was, also having a small quote underneath made sure that they got a glimpse of the sort of dialogue in the film. Having two different colours of green made it easy to navigate and see what had been written by the interviewer and what was written by the producer of the film. In addition the small parts of information that I have at the bottom of the page is also good as it allows the audience to follow up on the film and find out a bit more information about it.

Genre Theory

Presentation

Audience feedback on Final Poster and Review page

I have recently finished my poster and review page for my short film, I asked my target audience what they thought about my final poster and review page to gather information on what they liked and disliked.
I created a lot of drafts for my short film and decided to get over the dilemma of trying to pick one by myself, I would ask my audience and see what they thought about them. It was clear that they all liked different aspects of different ones therefore I decided to add them all together to make a final poster. 

'I really like the way that you have created a boarder around the image"
"The colour scheme works well as the black stands out and is simple"
"The title is effective and the locations is good as the words go with the positioning of the title"
"The photo is intriguing and I can't wait to find out about the short film"
"I like the title and photo but I can't really read the bottom so it could be in a better font"
"The title is intriguing but I would like it in a different colour so it stands out more"
"The way that the photo is positioned is clever but maybe you should see how it would look if the photo took up the whole page"
This feedback allowed me to look at the various aspects that they liked and see how I could work with them all together on one poster.  As I analysed real short film posters in order to gain a wide knowledge of them, I looked at the conventions with my short film genre. I did decide to stick to black and white and is thought that the style would go with the style of my short film and also the way that I had to the boarder I liked. I did play around with the bill block and finally found one that was easier to read but still looked like a conventional billing block.

This is my final draft for my short film magazine film review and it is a massive improvement from the first draft. Without the feedback I was given I wouldn't have been able to produce this film review as I wouldn't have known what to improve, change or keep the same. My audience feedback allowed me to look at the different drafts and how I could include everything they liked from the other drafts into one.
'I think you should add some colour to make it more eye popping, but I really like the tilted photos'
'I am looking forward to watching the short film, the pictures are intriguing and I really like how the stars are located at the side.'
'This review is very good however I would probably add some more writing before the interview'
'I like the way you have a white boarder as it makes it more effective, however I don't know how it would look when printed out.'
'The review is well detailed and I like the way you have an interview with the producer.'
'One of the things I really like is the way that you have the website and date that you can see the short film from.'
'I like the way you have the images and the font is really clear and is easy to read.'
'I am really looking forward to watching this short film no I have seen the review, it has a great detail and makes it even more intriguing to see what the short film is about.'
Overall, I think that the audience feedback that I got from this really helped me. As I made it using pixlr it was harder as you couldn't really undo any text that you have put on, therefore I made sure I had researched various reviews before hand so I could follow the conventions. I could then change only a few things that the audience have said.
I decided to change the colour scheme as I did find that that the black and white was a bit plain and it did need a pop of colour so I went for blue and green, this was then easy to identify who has said in the interview. I also changed the writing before the interview as there wasn't enough there, it was hard as I found that I didn't really want to give a lot of information away however I deffintaly needed a bit more detail.

Ideology

"An Ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which can individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function."

Ideologies are discussed daily, they are messages that the media producers are trying to put across. Audiences can also interpret these messages differently. These include: women are here to clean and look after the children, buying things and having lots of money are ways to achieve happiness. They can be repeated to us by media texts, education and the government. We accept the behaviour and don't question the norm. 

Ideologies are more likely to be seen in magazines rather than feature length or short films. Disney have a lot of ideologies in their collection in films, some of the princesses are dependent on a man and finding love and marriage is the ultimate goal. It also gives the ideology of body image, these characters are seen as commercially beautiful when really their body proportions are not physically possible. 
The way certain things and people are shown in film contributes to the ways which these things are understood and experienced in real life. Mise-en-scene, editing and camera shots convey particular messages to the audience which can be portrayed in different ways. 

As I understood that ideologies have such a huge impact on an individual I found that I had to use an ideology in my short film. I found that it was difficult to think of an ideology as I had limited characters so I decided to try to add one in. As my short film does not stick to one specific genre it is hard to think of a specific ideology. It could suggest that girls are more emotional and have difficulty to get over things. Maybe it would say that when a close relative dies that most people can not stereotypically get over it. There are some other ideologies that only certain people will refer to, such as when people die they are still watching over everything that you are doing just like an angel. 

Feminist Film Theory

Feminist Film theory really began in earnest during the late 1960s. Annette Kuhn (1982) points out that feminist theory from this period is difficult to summarise as a coherent whole but is rather a collection of viewpoints. The important development in film feminism was the shifting of the debate away from seeing capitalism as the major problem of inequality. Feminist film critics examined the question of 'feminine identity', Haskell suggested that film reflects society, though ideological and social construction of women who are either to be revered or reviled. Haskell was the leading US feminist during this period. They adopted a sociological and empirical approach intended to expose the misrepresentation of women in the film.

Laura Mulvey was interested in the relationship between screen and spectator. She suggested that cinema operates through its codes and conventions and that the 'point of view' constructed is a male one which sets up women as objects to be 'looked at'. The spectator therefore identifies with the male protagonist. She describes the process of viewing as SCOPOPHILIA- the pleasure in viewing. By the end of classical hollywood films however, this shifting back and fourth will and must be brought to an end and desires for the female suppressed in favour of desire for the male.

Within classical film narrative the following generally takes place:
The male character is established as active and powerful. The story will unfold around him.
The female character is passive and powerless. She is the object of desire for the male character.

In my short film I only have two characters both female however I have not followed the feminist film theory as they are not perceived in a way that is sexualised.

Draft of Film Review

Script

Digital technology

Psychoanalytical film theory

Planning for my short film

When it comes to creating my short film I have to plan a lot of things to make sure it goes accordingly and also that I have enough time to create a well detailed short film. The planning is key to making anything look professional and keeping to the time that was allocated. I had previous tasks that also needed planning so I did have an advantage of this and therefore it was easier for me to plan for this too make use of all the time I had. As this was a video it did take longer and was harder as you had to direct something to make sure every detail was specific to make the topic come across. 

When planning for a task that has been given we needed to think about the things that we wanted to use and what we needed to make it the best we could. We looked at some short films and thought about the planning that went before it: where was the filming take place? When? Script or no Script? What we was going to do it about? What equipment we need to use?

First I had to look at the various topics that I could create a short film about, I have already done a previous blog post about my different ideas and picked one that I thought would work well. However I decided to change it as when I was creating a rough plan I found that it would be to hard to try and get my actor and find time to film as she was living half an hour away. If I had not done any planning prior to this then I would have had a tough time filming and getting to find enough time to get me there and back. I decided that I would stick to Noel who was the girl that I worked with for my As media and I knew that she would be happy to allow me to film. I had recently seen a korean film which I liked an individual character, I knew that it wouldn't be as effective as the feature length film that I had the idea from as they had a high budget however it was easy to create a short film based on this idea. In addition it was easier for me to film Noel as she only lived a couple of minutes away and I knew that some of her free lessons were the same as mine so I could film her then.

Firstly I had to plan a storyboard which I could then work with to create my short film, I decided to create this online as I was not a very creative person and there was a free website which I could create a well detailed storyboard with pictures. I can then add some detailed text to say exactly what I want to happen and the different shots that will happen. I will try to stick to this as it would be easier to film however some points may change.

Secondly I brainstormed titles and characters that I could use for my short film, As I was lucky enough to have the same girl that I used for my as media I knew that she only lived two minutes away so it would be easy to have her as my main character. I though about only having her in the short film but it would have been difficult to try and make it the desired length without the audience getting bored, therefore I decided to have another of my girl who would not have a speaking part and will only be in the short film for parts just to make it more interesting. I then thought about the titles that would fit well with the short film some of the short film titles that I thought about were
-Prism
-From the outside looking in
-Through the lens
-Through my eyes
I decided on using through my eyes as it worked well with the picture that I had in mind as it was an extreme close up of her eyes so went well with the title and the location in that it sat on the picture also worked well as it was in between her eyes so engaged the audience. 

I then needed to think about the locations that I would film in, as it was mainly about a girl who is stuck in her bedroom it was easy for me to decide that the main location would be in her bedroom. I did look at other locations but my actors bedroom was perfect as it was quite a small space which would be perfect to film in. I then decided that it may look quite dark if I didn't have any light shots outside, so I decided to only film my other actor Erin outside to get a variety of locations. After this I then had to create a filming schedule which was very important as we had to then lead on to editing and if I didn't have the correct timing for this then it would not make the end product very effective. Luckily when I talked to my actor she had a lot of corresponding frees so I could easily film her and also I had time during media lessons.

After I gathered the information about the time and places that I was going to film I had to think about the script. I knew that I didn't want any dialogue in the film and that I would only have a voice over on it so I would record my own voice on it. It will be like a monologue so I had to decide where I would want a pause and I might have to think about that after my editing as I wouldn't film her speaking.

Finally I had to hire the equipment out, I am defiantly using my own camera as when I recorded for my prelim task it was not the clearest. I therefore needed to make sure I had the correct memory card and enough batteries as I didn't want it to run out whilst I was recording. I had to book out a tripod as it make my short film less shaky and when it came to editing it allows it run smoothly also it makes it look a lot more professional

Having planned for my short film allowed me to easily film and edit and without the planning it would have taken longer and would make me much less organized.

Short film poster draft 3

Short film poster draft 2