Evaluation Questions (Google Docs)

GOOGLE DOCS

                                           

This is the Google Docs format of the transcripts Jack and I collaborated on to answer the evaluation questions. The collaborations are clear and colour-coded, with Mariam's being written in red and Jack's in blue.

Evaluation Question 5

Question 5: How successful is your product?

Jack filmed a video collecting feedback from the cast members we hired to play the main roles while I recorded some answers from other people. I asked a member of the general public their opinion on the final draft and how it compares to the final product. Following this, I also asked a Media Studies student from another school their stance on the two drafts for the sake of populational validity. I thought it would be interesting to see the difference or similarity in opinion based on how media-conscious an individual is. The reason I interviewed different people is to eliminate bias: interviewing cast members might illicit some personalised responses as opposed to constructive criticism.

Below is Jack's video:

Below is my recording:

Check this out on Chirbit

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4: How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

Thursday 17 March

 

 Transcript:

Mariam - Red // Jack - Blue

We used blogger primarily as this was the site where we uploaded all of our work, we treated blogger as a personal diary relating to media studies. Blogger allowed us to upload posts frequently and edit or change them as we continued. Blogger also allows the viewer to see the dates and times we uploaded our tasks. Uploading frequently whether it was a large written post or a snapshot of our group chat was key.

Google Docs was primarily used for audience feedback and research - for example, our online survey was sent out from Google Forms. The link was sent as a mass e-mail to the entire secondary sector of our school in one easy click, (screen capture) which was made possible thanks to Microsoft Outlook Office, a variation of Hotmail that caters to work or professional environments. Google Docs was used to present a summary of the answers to the multiple choice questions asked in our survey. This is an easily accessible and visually stimulating method of gathering data as it allows you view results in percentages and pie charts. In this instance, some of the things we found out was preferable for our target audience included the genre of the score, favoured colour palettes, the gender of the main characters, among other things. This heavily influenced our decisions on many aspects of the film opening. Blogger, as previously mentioned, was used to keep track of our progress and present our findings in a structured, easy-to-navigate manner.

We used a mixture of Adobe Premiere and IMovie to edit our movies. Adobe Premiere was a more complicated editing software which was helpful as it allowed us to cut and remove or add certain effects and transitions that IMovie wasn’t capable of. At one point we did attempt to use Final Cut to integrate into the editing stage of our film opening in the hopes of finding added or beneficial features that Adobe Premiere and iMovie did not have, however this was not the case. We found that Final Cut was an interesting albeit slightly unusual software to edit movies; for example the saving feature was missing. We found out later that the saving feature is missing simply because the software had a built-in autosave function which was immensely relieving and convenient. I personally forget to save my projects a lot and as a result I have lost some drafts while logging out of my computer. Final Cut combats this common issue  in one easy step. On the other hand though, iMovie and Adobe Premier were ultimately the most useful and lacked the complexity Final Cut unfortunately has, therefore we used it for a majority of the time. I personally also used Movavi Video Editor for my evaluation questions, which I found quite convenient although the trial version restricts me from saving my work without a watermark which is disappointing. Firefly is another essential part of this project for it is where we uploaded all our files and resources and presented our final data. Finally, Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint were distinguishably vital throughout this project as we used them numerous times to present our findings or analyse shots from film openings.

Websites and filmmaking blogs such as The Film Book were also extremely beneficial in aiding us to produce a smooth, efficient film opening. (x) For example, The Film Book suggested some tips on how to manually handle a GoPro so as to reduce shakiness and stabilise the setting in a point-of-view shot. This is directly applicable in our comparison of the first draft and the final draft, respectively. On the first day of shooting, we attempted to shoot a POV scene of one of the characters driving on a quadbike but due to the bumpy desert location and the noisy quadbike the result was unimpressive. The footage was shaky in a clearly amateur fashion rather than purposefully, the frames were overexposed, the lighting too saturated, as well as a handful of sound issues.Through some articles from The Film Book this was able to be addressed. Another influential blog was No Film School, a popular website for independent filmmakers that provided its readers with fresh and innovative methods to film on a budget. No Film School’s article on the rule of thirds was especially helpful for me personally in understanding composition techniques. Premium Beat gave us a practical outlook on filmmaking in general but was particularly notable in its wide range of royalty free music tracks.

Video

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Transcript:

Mariam - Red // Jack - Blue

We used a Canon D600 and a Canon 70D to film our movie, comparing the footage from the DSLR Camera to the GoPro Hero4 it is unparalleled. The quality of the footage is very different as the DSLR had the better image quality but the GoPro had an almost fish eye approach as the footage is circled.

For the behind-the-scenes footage and production stills, a Canon 700D was used so as to avoid overloading the memory of the filming DSLRs. We had separate memory cards for BTS and actual filming footage; a 64 GB memory card was used for the filming, and an 8GB SD card was used for BTS footage and production photographs. YouTube tutorials were immensely helpful in understanding the mechanisms of the GoPro Hero 4 as we were all unfamiliar with using it prior to some online research.

I had no previous experience of working with film equipment prior to this project; so handling equipment was rather difficult for me and an unfamiliar situation. Thanks to this project however, my skills in the following area have significantly improved: editing, analysing, handling equipment, filming, etc.

  I now have a greater awareness of a DSLR's mechanisms as well as a GoPro's, not to mention I learned how to use camera movements and shots to convey to the general viewer a certain mood or atmosphere, for example over-the-shoulder shots in a conversation-type scene or tracking to highlight a character's importance or even the importance of the destination the character that we are following is going to. I learned how to pace cuts and editing techniques such as elliptical editing to skip unnecessary time and shot-reverse-shot in accordance to the film genre, or the scene. I developed a greater appreciation for sound; diegetic, non-diegetic, dialogue, voice-over or ambient and how it enhances the atmosphere in a film, a well-known example being the chilling score for the shower scene in Psycho. I also got the chance to try my own hand at making my own (DIY) props for a film's mise-en-scene to establish the genre.

After we filmed our footage which took 4-5 days as we underestimated the filming length. Adobe Premiere was very good as it allowed my group to edit quickly and tint our overall film to make the desert look better and the sky look a vibrant blue. Nikita then downloaded free SFX effects such as muzzle flash and explosion effects. After adding in the SFX effects we focused on our soundtrack. Our soundtrack was a remake of the Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack.

We also used google docs and blogger to upload our progress and planning for our first and final draft of our movie.

We used a variety of different editing software’s to edit and add the effects into our movie. I used Adobe Premier to put the sequence together but I used Photoshop to design our group’s logo and title designs.

Above is a Prezi I made of the previous transcript. I made separate slides for Jack and I.

Evaluation Question 2

Below is a PowToon I made, followed by the script.

Evaluation Question 2: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Done

Our film opening targets a wide range of audiences around the age of 16-24. This is because that age range is usually associated with the action/post-apocalyptic/sci-fi elements that are present in our film opening, as well as the fact that 16-24 is roughly the age range of both the actors and the massive amount of characters portrayed in our film opening. However, unlike most movies, the age range is as specific as my target audience gets; potential viewers are not disregarded based on gender, race etc. because our film opening is rather diverse in terms of those classifications. 


Many movies are criticised due to the lack of diversity in characters; lead roles more often than not go to white males. This is even a convention in the genre of our post-apocalyptic action film opening where a white male lead who displays stereotypical 'male' traits i.e. strong, brave, etcetera who fits into the 'lone wolf' archetype is cast. Our film opening directly opposes this convention as our characters are racially diverse; there are white actors and actresses, Asian actors and actresses, Arab actors, and other ethnicities. So not only are there more than just white cast members, there is also no definitive main character, but rather numerous ones. 


There are also two female characters on-screen and one female crew member which may not be that progressive but is definitely a challenge to both post-apocalyptic action film conventions and general film conventions since females are stereotypically associated with weakness and fragility. Since the representation of our characters range from many ethnicities and genders, audience members will have an easier time identifying with or connecting to a character/characters. For this reason I don't have a specific target audience outside of the aforementioned age range, seeing as this is the only constant characteristic.


Camerawork engages the audience due to the variety of shots and camera movements we've experimented with such as pan shots, over-the-shoulder shots, long shots and even an attempt at aerial shots. This is very exciting for the viewer because they are shown things or events at a view or angle that they are not used to or unable to see; the novelty of the experience stimulates them.
This is usually combined with bold and eye-catching props to further stimulate the viewer visually, which we did through the heavy emphasis on props i.e. the quadbikes, katanas, snipers, and so on. The "DIY" homemade look of some of the props is particularly enticing to independent filmmakers perhaps because it inspires some competitiveness in them. 


The costumes were all homemade as well, and the desert setting emphasises the natural, primal aspect of nature that we wanted to convey to the audience. There is no dialogue at all in our film opening which is surprisingly quite engaging to viewers; they're almost expectant of someone to talk, and when no one does, the audience is intrigued! Not to mention it builds up the suspense and adds a hint of mystery. The characters communicate through NVC instead, therefore viewers are more inclined to pay close attention.
Colouring is also a key feature here in capturing the audience's attention. One common convention of post-apocalyptic action movies is to use dramatic colour palettes with either high-key or low-key lighting, depending on the tone of the film.


We opted for high-key lighting and filmed during the day to emphasise the natural golden hues of the sand dunes in the desert setting, increasing the contrast and saturation later on in post-production to highlight this. We firmly wanted to communicate a dangerous, action-oriented atmosphere to the audience members without the grim, somber and dark mood that is often connoted with low-key lighting. This is a more lighthearted take on post-apocalyptic fiction. The strong visual contrast and vibrant colouring thus draws the viewer to the product efficiently.

This is further developed through the editing, which sought to establish a fast-paced adventurous film opening. Quick and abrupt cuts were used to heighten the viewer's tension and plenty of match-on-action sequences can be spotted for the purpose of displaying action from different views, angles and manners. Elliptical editing is also used to further 'skip' some dull parts and switch the focus to the fast tempo of the action. This instantly catches the viewer's eye because it communicates a sense of urgency to them thus they may feel like they are struggling to keep up, forcing them to pay more attention.

To top it all off the sound is particularly important in arousing feelings of tension and curiosity amongst the audience: fast tempoed and catchy, the score of our film opening emits a sense of danger, illiciting a fear response. 

In terms of distribution, I think the relatively well-known independent production company Warp Films is a good choice for our film project. There are many reasons as to why this is the best option; for one, it directly broadcasts to British viewers, a portion of our target audience, through branding; the phrase 'Warp Films' is familiar to the average UK moviegoer. Since it is both a film and television production company, this allows Warp Films to freely advertise its products on a national level using strategies such as cross-media convergence and synergy, in combination with social media such as Twitter to cross-promote and YouTube to release trailers, etc. Many independent filmmakers advocate for the use of social media to gather views and fans.

This helps battle the overwhelming amount of Hollywood feature films dominating the film industry which causes significant obstacles and issues for the 
British film industry when it comes to filmmaking. This has been a problem since Hollywood's conception. British filmmakers, especially in independent companies, have great difficulty producing and financing a film and take higher risks in comparison to American major media conglomerates because the British film industry is overshadowed by Hollywood. By choosing a relatively successful independent British production company, this issue is addressed and challenged. 

Another reason Warp Films is an appropriate option is due to the success of previous productions; Warp Films is responsible for the releases of films such as Exhibit A (2007) - which was awarded the title of 'Best UK Feature' at the Raindance Film Festival - and Ben Wheatley's Kill List (2007) which received strong critical acclaim with the UK-based film magazine Total Film declaring it 'Outstanding'. It was given a 5 star rating. Films produced by Warp Films are notable in their fresh, innovative content, distinct in their experimental nature which can be largely attributed to Warp Films being an independent company. This leads to the conclusion that Warp Films could largely benefit from Quicksand simply because it reinforces the production company's well-earned reputation for the execution and exploration of creative and visionary ideas. A second advantage of producing our film would be variety and range; Warp Films is not particularly known for their lighthearted comedies but rather their heavier and more serious works surrounding practical issues, which may not appeal to a wide range of individuals. Our film is less realistic and more action-oriented than the average  An increase in the variety and tone of films would mean a wider scope of viewers outside of the niche audience.

One way our film project can benefit from Warp Films' position lies in promotion through social networking. For example, Warp Films' Twitter account alone has a dedicated fanbase of over 30,000 followers. Their Facebook page has an estimate of 50,000+ likes. Warp Films frequently exploit a combination of these to promote their productions, which would be highly advantageous for our film project. In turn, we can also use our individual social networking accounts to promote Warp Films. 

Evaluation Question 1 (Film Conventions)

Evaluation Question 1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Transcript:

Jack - Blue // Mariam - Red

Conventions are vital components of a film and the choices we make in following or challenging them determine whether we make or break our product. Conventions are the sometimes unwritten rules which make a certain genre distinct and recognisable to audiences. One simple or slight variation in any tropes or conventions could drastically alter the mood conveyed to the audience or send the wrong message, which may turn out in your favour as in the case of an unscripted Joker scene from The Dark Knight which subverts general film conventions of sticking to the script. Zoolander had an unscripted scene regarding the lack of intelligence of male models which challenges gender stereotypes such as the ‘dumb female model’. However sometimes making the wrong choice regarding film conventions can also be disastrous.

Conventions establish the genre to the viewer; it is a form of communicating your product without explicitly stating the genre of your film opening. This means that if audience members have trouble identifying the film opening’s genre or the message conveyed is generally too vague, not a lot of conventions are addressed. This can be a problem as nothing captures the audience’s attention or connects them to the product. Therefore we are aware of the importance of conventions in ‘showing and not telling’. Our product challenges some conventions and ascribes to some based on how certain tropes convey meanings. In terms of editing, the film opening uses film conventions extensively; the post-apocalyptic action genre is identified through the use of quick, abrupt cuts preceded by a significantly longer take for the ‘establishing’ shot. 

Our film challenges conventions such as the mixture of ethnicities in our cast and the different genders. One of our main actors was a girl which challenges sexism as she was holding a Katana and was doing things just as violent as the boys. Since femininity is stereotypically associated with peace, weakness and delicateness the way our female character is represented is in direct opposition to traditional gender roles. However, our male characters are fairly stereotypical in the way they are represented; violent and driven. This is further emphasised through the use of props that have implications of bloodshed and violence, such as katanas, snipers, grenade launchers, and so on.

Colouring was also somewhat conventional as post-apocalyptic action movies often use high-key lighting along with a vibrant saturated colour palette to convey a sense of dynamic energy, although it can be argued that the vivacious colouring challenges post-apocalyptic conventions as it is also common for movies in the genre to use low-key, cool-toned colours to establish a grim, somber mood and indicate a sense of foreboding danger. Danger is also often associated with nighttime due to this reason; people are afraid of what they can't see. In this sense, our opening challenges colouring conventions in the post-apocalyptic genre because it takes place in broad daylight.

Other components of mise-en-scene have been considered in detail, especially props. Since our film opening has no dialogue and few close-up shots, NVC is lacking. The focus of our film opening was not to establish a character-viewer relationship but rather stimulate the audience member visually, which was accomplished predominantly through the mise-en-scene. In order to compensate for the lack of NVC, we placed a heavy emphasis on props as a way to switch the focus to visual imagery. Props such as heavy vehicles are distinguishably used in our film opening. The focus on visual components through the heavy use of props is rather conventional for an action movie. However post-apocalyptic movies often tend to have a deeper insight into the main character(s) by developing a complex backstory to allow the audience to sympathise with them; our film opening averts this convention. The focus of our film opening was not to establish a character-viewer relationship but rather stimulate the audience member visually, which was accomplished predominantly through the mise-en-scene. In order to compensate for the lack of NVC, we placed a heavy emphasis on props as a way to switch the focus to visual imagery.

Sound is particularly conventional due to copyright issues and lack of original music. We had to resort to royalty-free music which is usually generic and lackluster, however after thoroughly exploring several websites we used some soundtrack clips that are more unique and interesting in our respective opinions. Taking into account that a film’s soundtrack can be used to convey mood and drive action, we opted for a fast-paced score to build up suspense and stimulate the listener in compliance with action movie soundtrack conventions. Since our film opening is action-oriented, we believe that any diegetic and/or non-diegetic music should convey the same meaning. Diegetic sounds such as the katana wielding sound were produced using royalty free soundtracks we found online. Non-diegetic sounds such as the score were also found the same way. This challenges major film conventions as they often make their own soundtracks or use foley sound effects for diegetic sounds. However, since we were on a budget and a limited amount of resources, we were unable to do so. Ambient sounds like the desert breeze and engines whirring were our own, however.

In terms of narrative, our film opening is fairly conventional in terms of the plot stages. The film opening starts with an equilibrium stage when the establishing shot shows a vast and empty desert landscape. A disruption is quickly introduced when several characters are shown quickly driving by in quadbikes. The pace of this transition heightens the tension. We are then shown the opposing forces; it is clear who is on who’s side. It seems, however, that the recognition stage comes hand in hand with the disruption stage as the characters are aware that they are being followed. The attempt to restore also is immediately apparent to the viewer from this scene. This challenges film conventions in the sense that all stages are usually clearly delineated with some time divided between each stage. Due to this being a film opening, there is no resolution but rather a cliffhanger so as to entice the viewers to watch more of the product.

Finally, camera work makes up a vital component of film conventions. A variety of shots were used in our film opening, including establishing shots, close-ups, medium-close-ups, long shots, low-angle shots, high-angle shots, point-of-view shots, over-the-shoulder shots, with a range of movements such as hand-held/pan shots. In this sense we follow the conventions of more contemporary post-apocalyptic action movies, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) being our primary source of inspiration. The hand-held element is particularly modern, often found within the found-footage subgenre of horror. This is also noted in some action movies. The shaky, unstable quality denotes to the viewer an erratic atmosphere, usually to symbolise a certain character’s dread or fear.

The focus of our film opening was not to establish a character-viewer relationship but rather stimulate the audience member visually, which was accomplished predominantly through the mise-en-scene. In order to compensate for the lack of NVC, we placed a heavy emphasis on props as a way to switch the focus to visual imagery.

Video:

This video was filmed and edited by me.

Film Opening (Final Draft)

QUICKSAND FINISHED PRODUCT

Film Opening (First Draft)

Targets & Evaluation

Despite this being my first year in studying Media Studies or anything related to filmmaking, I started this project with setting a variety of targets that I expected the product to reach by the end of the production process. We had a certain vision of how we predicted the outcome to look like, and needless to say, they were high hopes. For example, shooting took significantly longer than we planned it to, teaching us to prepare for the unplanned. By the end of the first day of shooting, we had only managed to shoot a limited amount of behind-the-scenes footage due to the time it took to set up the equipment. 

As for the actual first draft however, we had high expectations for the editing in particular. Our targets included a slick, smooth flow of editing, quick and abrupt to evoke panic and fear when appropriate or involving long takes to linger on a shot or establish a scene/setting.  We mostly achieved this although the pacing can be improved, for example some cuts are too quick because we were unfamiliar with editing softwares resulting in trimming large chunks without intention. Getting more familiar with how to use editing software in order to produce an effective sense of pacing is a vital target for our final draft.

As we were inexperienced when it came to making our own music, we disregarded the notion of producing an original soundtrack and opted instead for royalty-free music, which we expected to be exciting and innovative. However, royalty-free music is quite generic and mediocre, therefore it was extremely time consuming to find a suitable and decent choice of soundtrack. We intend to find a more appropriate choice for the final draft.

The mies-en-scene played a key element in our film opening as we intended to place an emphasis on props and the visual aspect of the film opening, heavily influenced by the grandiose stylised world of Mad Max: Fury Road. Stylistically, the film draws on elements from George Miller's latest film in terms of the run-down, metallic chrome aesthetic appeal apparent in the movie. Our props were all hand-made which added to this weared-down quite effectively. I don't personally think the props or costumes need any adjustments or improvements. NVC is relatively limited as well as the dialogue which makes it difficult for the audience to relate to the characters on a more personal level, however our aim was not to establish an emotional connection as most of the characters get killed off. We wanted the focus to be on the action display and the aesthetic components of the scene, which was sufficiently achieved in my opinion. 

Despite the amount of time it took for us to set up the equipment, the desert setting was ideal for our film opening; the action carried out by the characters fuses seamlessly with the panic the characters are implied to feel, working simultaneously together to result in an overall realistic and heart-pumping action sequence.

Finally, camerawork was complicated. We expected the movements to be smooth and sleek, but the coarse nature of the desert made it tricky to set up the tripod without it slightly budging, resulting in many failed takes with shaky, amateur-looking footage. In our final draft we intend to reshoot the scenes with a more stabilised look. Most of the shots on the shot list however were eventually executed well, albeit after several attempts.

Overall, the target was to fuse all the elements of filmmaking we spent hours previously analysing to create our own enticing product that engages and appeals to a large audience in its elements and attention to detail, not pandering. Some improvements need to be made in the logistics area and editing, although generally we believe we achieved our targets efficiently.

Behind the Scenes (Video)

BEHIND THE SCENES COMPILATION

This is a compilation of all the behind-the-scenes footage we have gathered, most of which was filmed by me. The video itself was made and edited by Pablo, then uploaded to the Sand Haus channel (our production channel). The video stars Jack, Pablo and Nikita along with other crew members.

Deconstructing First Shots (TBC)

Shot #1:

This was done via Powerpoint.

Editing Process

iMovie

Final Cut Pro

Adobe Premier Pro (The Final Product)

Exam Question (Cross-media Convergence & Synergy)

“Cross-media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences.” To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your chosen media area?

Cross-media convergence and synergy are both successful and popular methods in promoting a media product to a wider scope of the target audience particularly employed by major studios, although some semi-successful independent companies may utilise these strategies albeit on a significantly smaller scale. The key difference between cross-media convergence and synergy is that cross-media convergence revolves around the merging of two different media mediums in order to promote their product(s) resulting in an agreement that often benefits both companies/mediums. This can happen at any of the stages of film-making: production, distribution or marketing. Conversely, synergy is about one company simultaneously releasing a variety of of products that are closely and clearly linked with the use of distinct branding. For example, when Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) was released, the collector's edition soundtrack was released along with action figures that are distinguishable due to the logo of the franchise, the colour scheme, the font, etc. Synergy however often happens during the distribution or marketing stages. Due to the fact that there is potentially a high risk for both strategies, I agree with the statement to some extent in that they are important processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences, but not vital.

There are many factors to be considered when evaluating the importance of these two processes, for in some cases they can be extremely beneficial or potentially detrimental/one-sided. Ultimately this depends on the budget of one (or both in the case of cross-media convergence) company/companies. For example, if two companies with different media status or budget merge together for the marketing of each's products, this can prove to be more beneficial for the media company with lower budget/status and disadvantageous for the company with the higher status. In the case of synergy, a company attempting to use this strategy with a low budget may find a high chance of risk and low chance of success, resulting in inconsistent or unsuccessful marketing patterns. A low budget in synergy could result in a lack of distribution formats, unsuccessful advertising strategies (unpopular trailers). A low budget for cross-media convergence could mean merging with other low budget businesses which may not be advantageous for either medium.

However, with a high budget and large rate of consumers, cross-media convergence and synergy can be extremely successful. Advanced and developed technology makes these processes easier to carry out or initiate, for example cross-media convergence can be initiated and promoted via the internet between two companies to sell a successful media product to a large audience. A quintessential example of successful marketing using synergy would be the recent Ant Man (2015) which was produced by Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of one of the major media conglomerates in Hollywood (The Walt Disney Studios). This gave them the ability to use higher budgets to produce, market and distribute their products efficiently. Through synergy several products were released simultaneously, such as the Marvel Ant-Man Deluxe Collectible Figure Set or Wasp action figures linked together through branding, or the DVDs released soon after in different formats (DVD, Blu-Ray, CD, etc). Another example is Jurassic World (2015), one of the highest grossing films of all time and thus highly successful. This was because of the high budget ($150 million in total) used towards all the stages of film-making, including distribution; the film was distributed by Universal Pictures to over 66 territories worldwide. As for marketing, Universal spent a total of $34.9 million on TV advertisements for the film. As a demonstration of cross-media convergence in real life - various partnerships helped with the promotion of this film, including Kellogg's and Dairy Queen. This clearly highlights the importance of the role of cross-media convergence and synergy in successful marketing.

Overall, both cross-media convergence and synergy are remarkably useful processes that notably improve reception and effectively promote media products through numerous methods, provided that all risks have been taken into account and efficient funding has been used. However, they do not play a vital role in successful marketing as illustrated in the previous paragraphs. 

Full Plot Description

The film starts out with several characters introduced on vehicles, as if they were distributing items.

This falls into the 'equilibrium' stage of Todrov's narrative theory where opposing forces are not established or in this case, not in conflict yet.

The plot revolves around two main opposing forces: the transporters (first introduced) and the snipers (in red rags). Since the transporters were introduced first, this may lead to the viewer siding with them or viewing them as the 'good guys'. This is perhaps emphasised in the following scene where the transporters get shot (passive) by the snipers (active) which is a common delineation of the victim-aggressor relationship. (Disruption stage)

The transporters then proceed to drive faster after one of their crew members die. This suggests that they have recognised the disruption.

There is a fair amount of violence in the plot considering the desert setting and post-apocalyptic action genre, which are often associated with themes of survival leading to fights/violence.

These two opposing forces live in a post-apocalyptic world where each individual is on their own and must fight to defend their right to survive. Our film opening explores humans' primal and visceral instinct to survive even in the most extreme and brutal of situations, particularly when challenged in a competition outlining the age-old phenomenon of the 'survival of the fittest'. This is the characters attempting to restore the equilibrium by fighting back.

The fight that ensues results in many deadly consequences, with the loss of several characters that were just recently introduced. This may leave an impression of unpredictability or erratic consistency on the viewer, which may make it difficult to establish a personal character-viewer relationship. However, this is of no inconvenience to us since it isn't our goal to make the characters relatable. Our goal was to entice and thrill the audience.

The audience is left to decide which side aligns with their moral standards the most. There is no distinguishable 'good' or 'bad' side in our film opening, there are two incompatible energies with the sole selfish objective of living - or rather, continuing to live. Both sides being especially relentless and determined, this results in a vicious battle for either group. Who will make it out alive? 

The final shot displays two characters facing off and both firing a shot, but whatever follows is off-screen. This is left to the audience's interpretation with our ambiguous cliffhanger ending, as the viewer is left with their own imagination to fill in the void in the plot according to their personal desires and preferences. Therefore, it is not clear as of this point whether or not equilibrium has been restored.

Plot Summary

Distribute the goods. Get out in one piece. That's the transporters' goal.

But a team of snipers have other plans... Will they make it out alive?

*According to Wikipedia, a plot summary should be concise and have the right amount of detail without being too long or too short as both are equally unhelpful to the reader. The writer needs to be careful and selective in what information should be included and excluded. The main of the plot summary is not to detail the events or represent the emotional impact of our work, but rather simply explain the events, especially if the story is experimental or original. 

Our summary clearly explains the main plot branch or event taking place: conflict between two opposing forces and the battle that ensues. It is brief and concise to add an element of thrill to emphasise the element of a "heart pounding, adrenaline-releasing ride" so vital in action movies to entice the viewer. Post-apocalyptic action movies tend to have short taglines or plot summaries in comparison to other emotionally-invested genres like drama or romance. The curt abruptness of the sentence reflects the 'hit-and-run' sense notable in our film opening. The ellipses add a hint of mystery without being too vague.

One convention often employed in post-apocalyptic action movie summaries is subverted in ours in the sense that the genre tends to add character names/actor names in the plot summary to either flaunt or focus on the main character which is often a 'lone wolf' who can hold their own. Our film opening deviates from this as there is no specific character mentioned since we have a wide range of characters and there is a subtle inclination towards 'running in packs' instead of being the lone wolf.

Filming Equipment

The following digital equipment was used in the production of our film opening:

Canon 70D:

The Canon 70D is a remarkable DSLR (my personal go-to camera) which we borrowed from the Media Department at our school. We used the 70D for the actual filming footage as opposed to behind-the-scenes footage or shooting production stills for our blogs. This was operated by everyone in the group at least once. Coupled with the stabiliser feature or a tripod, it produces surprisingly clean-looking, professional, crisp videos that are high in definition. For example, in our preliminary task, the footage was extremely blurry and shaky due to lack of manual focus and stability. However, this was not the case here with this camera. 

Canon 700D:

This is my own camera which I use predominantly for photography, hence why I used this camera with the same memory card for high-definition production stills, behind-the-scenes footage, location shots, close-up shots of costumes and props, etc. The reason this was favoured in the photography area is because it is easy to use and familiar for me. This camera was operated exclusively by me. Despite the photographic results being impressive and high in quality, the filming/video feature is fairly disappointing in comparison. Even with the stabiliser on, footage is shaky and not as sharp as the 70D.

GoPro Hero 4:

This was mostly used for point-of-view shots and over-the-shoulder shots due to the convenience of the portable size and the quality of the footage. The fish-eye effect was interesting but easily adjustable. The quality of the videos produced is easily the highest in this list, with the clips extremely in focus which somehow made all the action sequences seem more realistic and engaging. Experimenting with this camera was very entertaining and productive.