Tunes - Research

Hey-go!

In order to find out the general opinion of our music track choice, Carolina opened a Facebook page event, uploaded our clip of music and invited everyone on her 'friend's list' to comments. We got positive feedback and screen-shot some of the comments we received.

We got a range of responses for our soundtrack. Most of them were positive, saying that our music choice was "perfect for our genre of film" and "its really fast, catchy and energetic". Although the general consensus was that the they weren't a big fan of the piece on its own and wouldn't listen to it for leisure, they said that for our opening sequence and genre of film, it fit and gave a "upbeat and happy" vibe to the atmosphere of the opening two minutes.

Pheebs OUT! ;)

Tunes

Hey, Peep!

Today, since we found out that our SD card is f*cked, or corrupted as I've been told to type, we didn't have much to do. All the other groups in our class are currently editing their footage, except for one boy who's watching football clips on YouTube (Shhhh!) and so we felt a bit useless. We decided to use the double period to iron out any missing blog entries and choose the music for our video.

We'd initially planned to use "Man-Eater" by Nelly Furtado, as the opening song to our film as it completely sums of Naomi's promiscuous character and shows her tendency of serial 'sleeping-around', the act that leads to her dilemma, mid-way through the film. However, we can't use established songs because of, you guessed it, copyright problems and no-one wants to be sued here.

Carolina, who's our music producer, first visited www.mobygratis.com (setting up an account), a free music provider without copyright. She'd previously investigated a variety of music available of the site and none was suitable whatsoever for our opening sequence and genre of the film. We were looking for an upbeat, pop-genre sounding clip as we aimed to set the cheerful, bubbly mood of the film during the introduction, getting the audience engaged in our opening sequence.

She next visited www.freeplay.com, which was again unsuccessful. Sam, with some free time, partnered Carolina in her search for a good music clip and they patrolled Youtube.com for any non-copyrighted music clips they could use. However, there weren't any with a decent pop-genre pieces we could use or they were too short. They then investigated the possibility of purchasing a clip on www.royaltyfreemusic.com, however, the ideal clip was priced at $99.00 (WAY TOO MUCH!!!)

Finally, Mr Roberts led them to Garage Band, and they looked through a variety of clips, finally settling on 'Yearbook Long', a perfect piece, aptly fitting our genre. Carolina and Sam edited the clip on Garage Band so it was a continuous 2 minute piece. 

Mr Roberts also found a piece on www.freeplay.com they'd previously not heard and it is another piece which reflects the romantic-comedy genre of our opening sequence through its pop genre and upbeat, bubbly mood we want the audience to feel when first watching our clip. With two potential pieces available, we've decided to hold onto both and chose whichever fits best with the action of the clip. I transferred the music into Final Cut Pro and made them into film clips, so they could be seen on our blogs.

Clip 1 - "Clear"

Clip 2 - "Yearbook Long"

Both music clips are very similar, aside from a slight key change and drum solo opening in one of them. However, they are both what I can imagine being used in the opening sequence and general background music of most romantic-comedies and are fairly catchy (I find myself subconsciously tapping along to the beat while I'm working, etc). Although its slightly repetitive, it'll last two minutes and most people will be occupied with the action on the screen, and its more of a mood-setter than anything to thoroughly focus on.

Comments? Like or dislike?

Pheebs, OUT!!! ;)

15/02/2013

Hey, Peeps!

Today, I had some news for the group regarding our actor playing Aiden. Unfortunately, the one day during the half-term we are able to film on is the day that he might have plans (he may be holidaying in France). He doesn't have an exact answer right now however we really can't afford to have a possible no-show on this day and so we are going to edit him and his role out of the project or try and find a replacement. The latter is unlikely and so we won't be able to include the reverse point-of-view shots series we were planning on including in our film.

Although disappointed, we decided we can cope without a male lead. If Legally Blonde can cope, then so can we!

Pheebs, OUT! ;)

Tester: Location Shots

Hi, Everyone!

Today, I decided to complete the next stage in the project, that being taking tester shots of locations. I took a variety of shots, some on film in a series of mini-overviews of rooms and also some simple photos of areas we pictured and envisioned having action in.

For exmaple, we'd planned, for the opening shot to be the showerhead spraying water, then switching off with the screen framing the bottom of the shot. It would be post-titles, of the 'film companies' backing our project, and would be the first shot the audeince sees. Our idea was to have the shower on, pouring water, then to have it switch off and cut to a pair of feet coming out of the shower.

The following scene is of the actresses feet climbing out of the tub and we will also have an over-the-shoulder shot of her pouting and drawing something in the steam on the mirror. This series of actions will be followed by the actress walking out of the bathroom, the camera likely at a subtle high angle focusing on her feet.

The camera will then track her walking along the hallway to her bedroom where the majority of the film will take place.

We are planning to attempt a reverse shot of the actress opening the wardrobe, with the first shot being an over-the-shoulder shot of her mid-open of the wardrobe then putting the camera on a tripod within the wardrobe and filming a medium close-up of the actress finishing opening the doors.

We've talked about doing quite a bit of mirror work because the main action taken place throughout the two-minute opening will be the actress getting ready and preparing to leave the house and go on a date. We'll do a small scene with the mirror in the bathroom and intersperse clips of the actress applying make-up with panning shots and snipets of details of the room which hints at aspects of the characters personality e.g. '50 Shades of Grey' trilogy, multiple of Valentine's Day cards and flowers and beauty products such as mascara and powder.

We are hoping to do a window scene, using a reverse shot, where we get a shot of the actress first approaching the window, then two point of view shots of the actor. One being the actress's view point of her seeing the actor, playing her date, from the top floor window (shot at a high angle from inside through the window) and the second being the actor's view point of the actress waving behind the window (shot from a low angle outside).

The actress exits the house and walks round, along the pavement to meet the actor, whose leaning on the wall, inspired by the memorable pose Aaron Johnson's character makes in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Both characters then walk off holding hands/arms around one another down the street as the sequence comes to an end.

*The film video footage*

These shots and locations give a general picture of where our film will be set and what we are aiming for regarding picture and location. They'll be a useful reference point while filming as well as something to experiment with, as not all the shots are definitely set and regarding exterior locations, we will be fiddling about with placement and camera angle before we decide what we'll be doing for certain.

Pheebs OUT! ;)

11/02/13

Hey!

Location Planning:

So today, we planned our locations. It was fairly simple as we needed a girly bedroom, (pink wallpaper, big bed and dressing-table), as the main setting for where most of the action would take place. I nominated my bedroom due to Carolina and Sam saying that both of theirs were unsuitable because they didn't fit a stereotypically-girly bedroom. We wanted to recreate a 'British' version of Elle Woods' bedroom in Legally Blonde and as my bedroom has lilac wallpaper, is big and has girly elements to it, it became the most sutiable.

My bathroom and hallways would all be included in the shots as it all comes as a kind of package and so the general locations were set. We only needed 3 different inside locations to shoot the bathroom scene, bedroom "getting-ready" montage and journeys inbetween for the opening sequences, and once we'd found one, we generally had the others as well. Finally, the exterior of the house and street outside are possibles to be used and we have those guaranteed as well, on different street areas. All locations were suitable and we now have an idea about scenes and space size, so we can make more informed decision about how different shots will be filmed.

Pheebs OUT!!! ;)

Certification

Hey, All!

As an add-on to other admin we have to do pre-filming, we needed to decide what certificate our film is going to be. Following the certificates of our inspired films e.g. Legally Blonde, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and The Sleepover, we've chosen to age our film at 12. 

Our target audience is generally females between the ages of 14-25, but, the film isn't too inappropriate that we have to narrow the amount of people able to watch to only those over the age of 12. We didn't want to alienate the audience by including anything distasteful and everything shot within the opening two minutes is, according to the 12-certificate criteria, reasonable for a 12 audience and older. 

Our film would be classified as a 12 because:

• There may be strong language (e.g. 'f***')
• There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category
• There may be moderate language (e.g. uses of terms such as ‘bitch’ and ‘twat’ at 12 or 12A)
• Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers
• Comedy may lessen the impact of some moderate sex references or innuendo
• There may be nudity in 12A films but sexual nudity should only be brief and discreet

Information from:http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/12a-and-12

Pheebs OUT!!! ;)

Our Audience Profile

 

Target Audience - Questionnaire findings

Hey All,

This target audience research is the follow up to the film version of the questionnaire. I carried the questionnaire out with another group of people to get a fresher view-point and tried to get some other age groups in there in order to find out whether we should be aiming our genre at an older market as well.

- Below the age of 16
- Above the age of 20

1) What kind of films do you watch?

Comedy

Romantic-comedy/Musicals

Actions or Comedies

Horror or Comedy

Psychological dramas

The most popular film genre is comedy, among our older audience members, however they are also popular with the younger audience as well. Romantic-comedy is only a favourite genre of one member of the younger audience, re-emphasising the idea that our genre is aimed at the younger teenage female rather than older audiences.

2) Where do you usually watch films? (cinema, at home, internet)

Cinema

At home

At home

At home - DVD, TV or internet

At home, but I don't watch films very often

Similar to the film interviews, most of the interviewees don't visit the cinema often to watch films, particularly the older interviewees, where its gone out of fashion, if they watch films all the often at all. This could be because its too expensive or going to the cinema has simply gone out of fashion unless its for heavily advertised and highly anticipated films e.g. Hunger Games. Younger audiences tend to have more time as well, which could be a factor in why cinemas are more popular with younger rather than older interviewees.

3) What are some of the romantic-comedies you've seen?

"The Devil wear Prada"

"Definitely. Maybe", "Pretty Woman", "Wild Child"

"Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging", "The Devil wears Prada"

"The Holiday", "Love Actually"

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

Again, the majority of these films are American or British-American, suggesting that the genre either isn't very popular with British film-makers unless in synergy, or that British producers, like Working Title, focus on producing films with a larger, more accessible fan base or high concept films.

4) What do you usually see in a romantic comedy? (setting, plot, character)

A likes B, B likes C, but A ends up with B after a terrible misunderstanding - plot line

Best friend loves best friend, male best friend doesn't know - end up falling in love

Set in the city

Love triangle

Obvious cliches and simplistic storyline

Traditional story lines of trouble in the beginning of the film to be solved by the end is popular and highly expected. Twists like love triangles and unrequited love seem expected as well, which we do have regarding Aiden already having a girlfriend and Naomi dating Aiden's girlfriend's brother, Oliver. Set in the city is a popular response, which we've mimicked in our film.

5) What do you expect to see in the opening couple of minutes?

Sexual encounter

We learn about the main character

Focus on the scene - pan over the setting

Voice over - introduction to the character

Couple waking up in bed or some other indication of a romantic element

An undercurrent of sexual promiscuity about the character and her life is popular as a response, which we have in our film when Naomi sweeps a pile of condoms into her bag, causing the audience to presume she will be having sex later. Also, learning about the character is common, and although we don't have a voice over, we do have pans over revealing objects and setting which give the audience an impression about the character. We also have panning shots over the setting, which follows up to the expectation of seeing the setting in the introduction. 

6) What kind of characters do you expect to see and how might they act/behave?

Female protagonist - needy and annoying

Clumsy, funny

Usually women - shy but instantly likeable

Flawed - shy or clumsy or socially awkward

Either ends of the spectrum: either very awkward or very confident

The general consensus is that they, as an audience, expect to see a female protagonist (which we have). She also has an either clumsy or socially awkward personality, which sets up all the cliche funny moments in the film which are a result of this aspect of her character. She's expected to be instantly likeable and shy, which Naomi isn't, showing that we are changing convention slightly with her character. However, the expectation is that she may also be confident, which Naomi is, and so does follow the audience's expectation about the protagonist in some way.

To conclude, based on our target audience research, our target market for this film is teenage (12-21) females who like chick-flicks, watch films more regularly at home however will visit the cinema, usually with friends and have experienced a range of example of romantic-comedies like "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging", "Wild Child" and "The Devil wears Prada".

Pheebs, OUT!!! ;)

Target Audience Research - Film version

Hello, my wonderful examiner people!

Our primary focus for the hour was gathering interviews from our target audience on camera so we can make into a small film, which we can use for research and identify aspects and tastes of our viewers. It will come-off as me being arrogant, but twas my idea and I was very proud of it (any other groups using it, well, you know where it began ;).

We took a camera into the common room and assembled a bunch of rowdy teens into the hallway, where we'd already written and numbered our questions for Sam to read. We then prepared the camera to shoot a medium-close-up at eye level and sat each of our interviewees down to record their answers. We then edited the footage and analysed their answers.

Introduction over and done with, we began the interviews:

1) What's your favourite genre?
The general consensus was that although some people like romantic-comedies, not many people preferred them overall. Comedies seemed to be the most popular genre from our filmed interviewees, and the fact that we have that element included suggests that our film will hopefully appeal to most viewers. Most of the female interviewees admitted, if reluctantly, that they liked romantic-comedies or would watch one if they were in a group etc. The male interviewees weren't as keen, all preferring adventure or comedy, implying our film's target audience will be teenage girls mostly.

2) Where do you usually watch these films?
Most of the interviewees prefer watching their films at home, on DVDs or TV. Some worryingly admitted to illegally downloading films off of the internet (Solarmovie.com most likely - not that I would know ;) On top of that, there's a lack of people saying they watch most of their films at the cinema, perhaps suggesting going out to watch films is outdated, or too expensive for people nowadays.

3) Are you a fan of romantic-comedies?
Again, a fairly mixed response with some females saying that they were fans of romantic-comedy as a genre and all the males and a couple of females seemingly disliking of the genre.

4) What films do you associate with this genre?
Dear John, She's the man, Friends with Benefits, Wild Child, Pitch Perfect and The Notebook were some of the responses we got from the questions. All of the films mentioned are either American or British-American films, suggesting romantic-comedies isn't a genre explored by many British companies unless in synergy with another bigger American company. This could be because they aren't as popular with British audiences or that because there aren't many big British production companies (aside from Working Title) which'll make films that aren't overly expensive or high-concept pieces.

The male interviewees didn't know any films, only giving insults, again, re-establishing our target audience as mainly teenage FEMALES.

5) What do you expect to see in a romantic-comedy?
Aside from the frankly silly responses of 'sex' and obvious 'love', interviewees suggested simplistic, traditional story lines which don't differentiate much from film to film, cliches and love as the central theme or goal in the plot. 'Sex' is a common aspect of romantic-comdies and we do include that sense of the characters being sexually active and an undercurrent of promiscuity about Naomi's character is present.

This survey has been very useful and will be followed by a paper-questionnaire with a couple more responses, which are hopefully more varied. However, these interviews helped give use an idea of what are target audience is and what kind of things people expect from our film through generic conventions of our romantic-comedy genre.

Pheebs OUT!!! ;)