Skills Review

Research…

During my research process I looked at, in depth, a range of different aspects of existing films within my genre. I looked into the main conventions of gangster films by analysing existing film openings and also looked on the internet using sites such as imdb to find which companies were involved in the production/distribution which helped me have a better understanding of what I needed in order to create an effective film opening that fits with the genre. The production/ distribution companies also gave me a better understanding of how the films were made and how audiences were able to view the film. One of my tasks was looking at the structure of films within my genre, like the timing of each title or credits so that I could use this in my film opening and make it fit like successful films. I watched a range of film openings from gangster films and made a timeline, plotting the different titles at certain points and for how long they lasted. This was really important because it meant that the timing of my shots/titles would be just like the films within my genre, and therefore fit in the genre more successfully. Looking at gangster film directors was important because it meant that I could determine the techniques and themes that each director uses in gangster films. One of the main things I got from this task was what the directors did to make the film successful and also the style of their films, for example the type of shots used, characters used and themes of mise en scene.

Task 6 was looking at influences of style. I looked at a lot of factors in successful gangster films such as the costumes, props, lighting, shot types and settings. From this I was able to interpret similar styles and themes in my own gangster opening, therefore making it more professional. When I looked into gangster films in more depth for task 7, I understood what made certain films the most influential and most profitable and why so that I could possibly take that information and put it into good use when producing my own opening. Looking at theorists was important because each one has different ideas about the way films work and it was interesting to see the difference between them. I tried to stick by some of the theorists but not just to one, I used a mixture of ideas from each one so that it would fit with my ideas. For most of my inspiration and influence, I looked at a few of the most popular and successful gangster films and took ideas of narrative and conventions to use in my own piece. Analysing past students work helped me out because I was able to see the type of techniques that worked or didn’t work well and take it into consideration when I created my work. Target audience research was important because I needed to have a specific type of person to aim my film at and produce it in a way that will appeal to them. I used a survey to gain information from a range of different film fans to see who would most likely watch a gangster film and what makes gangster films good for them. From this and other research I was able to come up with a target audience that would fit.

Planning…

I started off by creating an initial plan, thinking about the key areas I needed to work with. I needed to think about characters, costumes, props, setting and a narrative so I looked at some of these conventions in existing films and ideas started taking shape. I used a similar costume to films I looked at during the research process and the same with things such as props, lighting and shot types so that my opening would look authentic. From watching so many openings, I had quite a few narrative ideas and so I started to think about how the opening would look. I went out and got pictures of possible settings so that I knew exactly what I could work with and how it would fit in with the gangster genre. I also filmed some raw footage and even some rough cuts based on a quick script to allow me to see what lighting, shot types and general footage would look like. From this I knew what worked and what didn’t and I then knew what to improve on when I went filming again. We made a filming and editing schedule so that we kept on track with what we needed to do and how long it would all take. Once I was happy with my initial ideas and tests with setting etc, I started to create a script for the scene and also created a storyboard so that I could have a rough idea of what shots will look like. The script and storyboard came in handy when filming because I was able to look back at them and make sure everything was fitted in. One of the key parts of planning was the titles and music because if these were not done properly, it could ruin the opening. I looked at a lot of different music until I found an instrumental that fitted in with the genre and was similar to that of the music in successful films. I kept my titles quite similar to existing gangster films because they all shared similar themes and because of their simple design, it is hard to stray away from it.

Creativity and Conventions…

During the whole process of creating the gangster film opening, I relied a lot on the conventions of real media texts because they provided me with a lot of key information and ideas that I would then use when creating my work. Looking at multiple successful films I was able to learn what was good and bad, what worked well, what fits in the best and so on which made my film opening look professional and successful.  I think that I was always thinking creatively during the different tasks and always tried to think of the best ideas and improve on things if they weren’t good enough. Working with another person helps the creativity flow when thinking of good ideas because you have two minds thinking which gives you more variety and diversity. Over the different stages of the process I learned about things such as after effects and premier pro in more depth which allowed me to work at a higher standard.

Digital Technology…

From creating a film trailer in GCSE media, I was familiar with digital technologies such as Adobe Premier Pro and After Effects because ~I had to edit footage and add effects together. This meant that I already knew what I was doing when it came to piecing my opening together. However, the standard of work at GCSE was lower that what I wanted with my film opening so I looked at some booklets and tutorials to learn about new techniques which helped a lot when making my opening look professional and effective. I think there is still a lot more I can learn ready for my A2 project and I will try my best to improve my skills and produce at an even better standard.

Post Production…

I had to evaluate the different things I did during the production stages and this helped me identify what techniques and ideas were effective and what were not. It also allowed me to see what kind of things I need to improve on or do differently when it comes to my A2 project. When It comes to producing my work in A2 I can look or think back to the evaluation process and see what kind of things worked well and then fit that into my work. I can see what I did badly or where I made mistakes, and make sure I don’t repeat the same thing. Evaluation tasks will most definitely come in handy when I am stuck for ideas and it will hopefully help me out.