Final Submission

Creative Critical Reflection Prezi

Quarter 3 Submission Feedback

We received plenty of helpful feedback on our quarter 3 submission. For the most part, we received positive criticisms towards the film. Most everyone were able to understand the plot this time which was good to see. This was one of the main issues that plagued our mid-term submission and we tried the best we could to fix it. We also received positive comments on the quality of the shots which hasn't changed since the last viewing. However, there were still reports of some aspects we needed to improve on or change. For one, during the credits, "Audio Technician" is spelled wrong. We missed this but most of the class noticed it. We plan on just going back through the editing and correcting the error. Another thing we need to change is the shot of the bullet casing dropping onto the ground in slow-motion. The shot begins too early as when the film cuts to it, there is one to two seconds of nothing being shown. Austin Kuster and I plan on going back and cutting the scene by about one second as we still want to create an impacting scene. Overall, we believe that we greatly improved the understand-ability and quality of our film as the majority of people who watched it again could follow the plot.

Quarter 3 Submission

Here is the group's final edited version of the film. We improved the sound and credits as well as added in an extra scene in. We hope that these revisions will help the audience understand the plot better. Overall, I am happy with the final product and I was able to take away new filming and producing skills.

Question 4 Draft

Integrating Technologies

To achieve the best possible content for our film, we implemented multiple technologies. When we first started to develop the project, we extensively used the internet to research other films. We were able to find other AICE Media Studies films, film openings, and information about majorly successful films similar to ours. By doing this, we were able to implement the techniques that these other films used into our own. We also used the internet to help with scouting for locations to film at. For the actual filming aspect of the project, we used multiple types of hardware to achieve the shots we planned. For the majority of filming, we used a gyroscopic camera called the Osmo Pro. This allowed us to capture steady shots while moving in a high quality. For close ups and still shots, we used my own Canon Rebel T6i. The zooming lens and tripod allowed us to capture the text message and airport scene. We also wanted to have aerial shots throughout the film. We used a Phantom 3 Advanced drone provided by Austin Kuster which allowed us to get shots similar to those shot from a helicopter. Finally, in the editing process we used Final Cut Pro X on Austin Kuster's iMac. Witht this program, we were able to implement multiple editing features such as cuts, fades, music, and text for the credits. The technologies we implemented into the creation of our film made it into a product we would be proud to distribute.

Critical Question 3 Draft

Developing Production Skills

Throughout this project, I learned multiple new production techniques involving the film industry. Before we started, I had some experience working with cameras such as my Canon T6i. However, while filming the project I learned how to use other equipment such as the Osmo Pro. I also developed skills in shot positioning and lighting. I also had previous experience in writing stories from another class I'm enrolled in. While writing the script, I gained knowledge on how to format a script and how to implement a storyboard into it. Scheduling was also a challenge for a multiple reasons. For our film, we had to schedule times in which we had to film certain scenes as they needed to be in specific lighting and weather conditions. We eventually decided to take a whole day to shoot the major scenes as we need scenes in the morning and at sunset. We then had to scout locations that fitted our scenes' descriptions. We decided on the majority of filming to be done in Sarasota  and Casey Key because of the private beach we would have access to and the drone shots we wanted to achieve. Austin Kuster was able to shoot the opening scene of a plane landing at Tampa International Airport because the airport has a clear shot of the runway. He was also able to find a house to shoot at on Casey Key. Meanwhile, I found a parking garage which was in an ideal location for the film and that we would not be disturbed at. Finally for scene revisions, we added a scene at Sarasota International Airport. While shooting these scenes, I learned how to direct and position actors and props. Austin Kuster and I directed Sam Herndon where to position himself and how to act while Andre James ensured that the scene would be visually pleasing and accurate to other scenes. In the final process of developing the film, editing, I obtained new knowledge on how to create a film worthy of viewing. Austin Kuster provided Final Cut Pro X which he had ample experienced with. Through him , I learned how to cut and string scenes together. I also learned how to implement overlaying text which would be used for the credits and title sequence. All in all, I believe that my production skills massively improved over the course of creating our film.

Critical Question 2 Draft

Engaging With Audiences and Distribution

We researched ways in which we could engage with the audience in a way would enhance their experience of our film. Since our film is targeted towards a younger audience, we would utilize platforms in which they use the most. We would advertise on social media such as Snapchat and Instagram. Advertisements for the film would also be found on channels with a majority audience of young adult males such as Comedy Central. By using these platforms, we would be able to keep cost low while advertising to the majority of our target audience. To distribute the film, we chose to follow the the method most major films are released by called "standard release". Standard release is a business model that allows the film to take advantage of different markets, such as theater and home release, at different times. Production companies such as "M6" and "Europa Corp used this platform to release a similar film called "Taken".  During this process, the film is first released in theaters and then 16 weeks following, is released for home platforms such as DVD. We found that DVD and digital sales were among the highest in revenue. To take advantage of the digital market, we would release our film on services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix for rent and purchase. Most majorly successful films in recent times followed this method which convinced us to follow it as well. By doing this, we would hope that our film would find success in the film industry.

Airport Scene Revision

Over spring break, we shot an additional scene that helped the audience further understand the plot of the film. The scene is of the main character arriving to the town in which he is looking for his girlfriend. The character is walking out of the doors of an airport and then walks to his car which is featured throughout the film. This scene will be implemented at the beginning of the film after the flan lands. This will show the viewer that the main character was the one on the plane and that he is from out of town. The scene also shows where the character picked up his car. We used my Canon T6i DSLR camera with a tripod to film the scene. We then used a mid shot to show the character as well as a wide angle shot to show the airport name. Sam Herndon played the main character, providing the costume while I provided the camera and car. Austin Kuster filmed the majority of the scene and I assisted with positioning the camera. We hope that this extra scene will help the viewers fully understand our film.

Creative Critical Question 1 Draft

Challenging Conventions and Representing Social Groups

In our film, "One Call Away", we aimed to challenge conventions and implement our own way of filming. However, many of the techniques we used to film were derived from other films we had watched. In the introduction of most films, the setting is introduced along with the main character. We made sure to include an establishing shot of the airport as well as the city in which the main character has come to. One shot we believed was well-done was the shot of the bullet casing dropping from the gun. In this shot, we used slow-motion to create tension and add a dramatic effect. Newer methods were also used for capturing shots from abnormal angles. Using a drone and a gyroscopic steady camera enabled us capture aerial shots and steady shots while moving. Typical methods of editing were used throughout the film such as cutting and fading. For the majority of the film, cuts were used to transition from shot to shot but we included some fades as well. We also made sure to represent the majority of the viewers in the film. Through our research, we found that the majority of people who watch action films, such as ours, are young adult males. Although the common viewer isn't someone who lives through the events of the film, many who watch it could imagine themselves in the main character's position. We also found that most people who watch action films are in the middle class with free time. This means that most of the viewers most likely don't live action-packed lives in which they are busy all the time. Films such as "John Wick" do this as it gives the viewer a peak at what life would be like as a hit-man on a rampage. Overall, we believe that we created a product that attempts to challenge the norm and fairly represents its viewers.

Text Message Scene Revision

We decided that our first revision to the film would be the text scene. In the scene, the main character receives a text message including an address. Rather than coming from an anonymous number, the contact is from the main character's girlfriend. This doesn't make sense as the main character's girlfriend had been kidnapped and he is trying to find her. This would be a quick scene to re-shoot so we chose to do it first. After school, we drove to the parking garage where we previously filmed the scene. We found similar weathering and lighting conditions as it was around the same time of day. Having already re-shot this scene, we were very prepared to do it again and it took very little time. Even though it was a minor plot detail, it created much confusion over the story. Having implemented the new scene, we believe that this will assist the viewers in fully understanding our film.

Marketing

To gain popularity, most modern movies use unique marketing techniques to make their film stand out from the crowd. Our group decided to research these techniques and see how we could apply them to our own film. We would also aim to release as much content teasing the film as possible, spreading it to a wide audience. One of the most powerful marketing techniques used today is an event called a press junket. In this event, we would send out our actors and directors of the film to interview with a number of journalists. Since social media is booming with millions using these platforms, we would also create accounts that advertise our film. These accounts would be on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. We could also try to use the latest technologies to advertise. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" created a 360 degree video that quickly gained popularity with millions who watched. Television advertisements and images of the film would also be released as support.

Superbowl Commercial Techniques

During the Superbowl, companies spend millions to show ads that are clever and appeal to a wide audience. During class, we watched several commercials from this year's Superbowl and took notes on the techniques they used.

Hyundai Commercial

• Emotional appeal - Family values, patriotism
• Public relations - Gave back to the community/troops
• Target Audience - Parents aged 25-54

TurboTax Commercial

• Emotional Appeal - Humor
• Target Audience - Everyone with a job who pays their taxes.
• Shows that you need a phone to do your taxes.
• Shows that you can do your taxes anywhere with this company.

T-Mobile Commercial

• Emotional Appeal - Celebrity
• Target Audience - Millennials (18-35)
• Gets people to use their service by sharing their videos.
• Uses music young people listen to.

We then looked into how we could implement these techniques into marketing our own film. We would aim for our target audience which is mostly young males. To accomplish this, we could aim for an emotional appeal that would highlight some of the most intense part of the film including car chases and shooting. We could also use music in the trailer that is newer since we're aiming for an audience aged 18-35. Finally at the end of the ad, we would display the title and actors to show that it is a film that is coming to theaters soon.

Film Distribution

For our film, our group decided to research how we would distribute it, if it were to become a full-length feature film. We looked up the ways production companies distribute their films in recent times and long ago. We found on that there is a method that most companies tend to follow today. A "standard release" is a business model that allows the film to take advantage of different markets, such as theater and home release, at different times. One film similar to ours called "Taken" used this method. The production companies such as "M6" and "Europa Corp" ensured that the film would be successful with this distribution platform. During this process, the film is first released in theaters and then 16 weeks following, is released for home platforms such as DVD. We decided that this would be the method we would follow as most modern successful films use the standard release model. However there are other methods we considered such as an internet release. According to "http://digiday.com/", this is a platform that more production companies have taken up in recent times. It involves the film be released directly to the internet for  the costumer to purchase or rent. We decided against this due to most successful films using the standard release method and the fact that an internet release could result in more illegal downloads.

Film Marketing

Our group conducted research on our film's marketing techniques if it were to be released to the public in full length. Our film being an action film would enable us to market our film to a wide audience. However, we found  through multiple sites such as "entertainment.howstuffworks.com/" that the core audience who watch the most action films are typically young adult males. Some of these people may feel a rush from action films, thus attracting a younger audience. We also found that people in the middle class tend to watch more action films as they typically have the funds and time to do so. For distribution, we found that DVD sales and digital sales were among the highest in revenues. We would peruse the distribution of our film on these fronts as they appear to be the most popular in today's market. Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime would be utilized as there is a growing number of young people who use these services. Advertisements would be used as well throughout a number of platforms. Since we are aiming for a younger audience, we could use Snapchat. A typical ad that appears in the user's "stories" costs $750,000 (http://adage.com/).
We also focused on finding television channels in which our target audience would be watching. Advertising would focus on channels with a more mature audience such as Comedy Central. According to "http://televisioncampaign.co.uk/", the post peak (20:30-6:00) has a slight single male audience (1,000-170,000) bias with a maximum cost of  3,000. This would be beneficial for us as the majority of viewers are younger males and the costs would be kept low. By using these platforms, we would hope to be very successful in marketing our film to our target audience.

Film Openings

During class, we watched a number of openings from popular films such as "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Deadpool". Each opening had its own unique characteristics and feeling. One common aspect from the openings I found was that they all set the plot in stage. They all did this by showing the viewers a location and a conflict. By doing this, the rest of the movie would be spent solving this conflict. In our opening to our film, we found that we had adequate film quality and plot potential. However, our opening didn't clearly explain to the viewer what was going on. In our eyes, we could completely understand what was going on but the viewers had a hard time grasping the concept. We plan on implementing a clearer conflict in which the viewers will be able to full understand. We also learned some techniques on  how to implement the credits into the shots.The intros we watched all had a variety of ways to doing this. In "The Shawshank Redemption", the credits follow the camera while others moved across the frame depending on where the main subject was located. While in "Deadpool", a CGI scene was created in which the camera was following a car crash and the credits appeared on the objects in the scene, Our film implemented first method as it is much easier and less costly to work with. We plan on refining our credits so they are not in the way of the subject on screen.

Revisions to the Film

We received plenty of feedback from our classmates and teacher on our film. Our film recieved plenty of compliments on the quality of the shots and editing. However, we discovered that from the viewer's point of view, the film was hard to follow and didn't make much sense. Our group decided that we would need to re-work certain aspects of the film. One thing that the audience didn't understand was why the contact on the phone said "Madison" as she was supposed to be kidnapped. We have decided to change the contact name that appears to just a phone number as the main character is supposed to be receiving an anonymous tip. Another aspect of the film that didn't make much sense to the audience was who is calling the girl in the intro and who the main character is. To fix this issue, we decided to include another scene in the intro. After the plane lands, we plan on going to Sarasota International Airport to film a scene in which Sam is walking out of the airport on his cellphone. This would make a connection with the voicemail and it would indicate that the main character just arrived to town.

Final Product (Film Submission)

Here is our group's edited version of the film. Overall, I believe we did a good job and I am happy with the final product. Our group enjoyed shooting this film together, as well as learning filming and editing techniques along the way.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N0-Rahh-Wo&ab_channel=AustinKuster

Researching Box Office Results

For our film project we decided to go witha film that would fit into an action and dram genre. Researching these, we found on IMDB.com that these genres were included in the list of some of the most popular choices. From there, we thought of movies we had previously watched or we had heard of. One movie I had watched was "Die Hard" which fit into the genre of an action and thriller film. I decided to look up the box office results and found that this movie made $81,350,242. This proved to be a successful platform so we continued to research other movies. Another movie that shared the same genres was "Taken". This movie has a similar plot to ours as it involves the kidnapping of a girl and the main character attempting to find her. According to boxofficemojo.com, "Taken" had a box office of $165,410,000. This movie spawned a franchise that saw success on a global front. Based on our findings, we can predict that if our film was to become a feature length film, it could see great box office results.

Casting

Throughout the development of our film, we went through a number of people to be included in the film but ended up settling for four in the end. During planning, we first chose my personal friend, Zach, to be the main star in the film. However, due to scheduling complications and . We then decided to look at Andre James' friend, Nick. He was a good choice but unfortunately he caught a flu a few days before our set filming dates. Instead in an almost last second decision, we decided to have Sam Herndon star in the film. Sam turned out to be great fort the role and we were very satisfied with the results. For the man who was shot, we chose Austin Kuster as he had a suit which could get sand on it and be washed out. Originally for the girl in the photos, we had chosen Austin Kuster's mother as we had a Polaroid picture of her that would work well for the shots we needed. However, these shots did not turn out well and we ended up using a girl named Madison McGrath who was younger and would fit the main character better. This was due to the re-shoot we had to conduct and that he had obtained a Polaroid photo of her.

Researching Other Films

During our research, we found many examples of intros from other films to be of great use. For our opening, we wanted to show that the main character was arriving from out of town. We looked to the movie "Die Hard" as a perfect example. In the intro of "Die Hard", the sound of jet engines and a mid shot of a plane landing is seen. We took inspiration from this scene as our intro included a shot of a plane landing at Tampa International Airport. Another idea we researched was a way of clarifying the point of the film to the audience. In the intro of "Pulp Fiction", a definition of what pulp fiction is pops up on the screen. We considered including the text "The hunt for love" in the credits to have the same effect as the example seen in Pulp Fiction. However, we ended up not including this as we believed that audience would be able to gain their own understanding. We also ended up having the credits run through the entirety of the film as it is the opening of what is supposed to be a much longer film.

Our Film

"Die Hard"

Schedule Filming

Our group ran into a few hiccups while trying to schedule for filming dates. At first we chose Sunday, December 18th and Monday, December 19th to have two days of filming. However, we wanted to use the Osmo Raw X 5 and the Osmo + cameras. Not everyone was available on those days as well so we had to reschedule for the following Monday, December 26th after Christmas. Another problem we ran into for shooting on this day was that our star actor caught the flu and was unable to come. Instead we used Sam Herndon as our lead role. We all met up downtown at 11 AM to begin filming. We ended up filming from 11:30 AM to 5:30 PM and we were able to film all of the necessary shots for the film. However, after editing we discovered 2 shots we wanted to re-film due to errors by Sam Herndon or quality. We decided to meet on January 6th to re-shoot. Overall, we were able to shoot the entire film in two days.

Scouting Locations

For our film we included 4 separate locations in our local area. We needed a shot of a plane landing and we knew that Tampa International Airport had a spot to film them from. For he shot of the Skyway Bridge, we knew we would have to get the shot during the day for the beginning of the film. We looked at a few parking garages to film on top of and found one with a view of the bay in downtown Sarasota. We shot at this location around the same time of day as the shot of the Skyway Bridge so they would correspond with each other. When we decided we wanted to film on a beach, we chose Casey Key. Austin Kuster had a friend with a private property on the beach in which we could we could film at without interruption. We filmed at this location at sunset to be in chronological order with the rest of the film. These locations proved to be eye appealing at the colors stood out. We only had one issue with the garage as we couldn't connect to the drone.

Shot List

For our film, our group decided to use conventional shots and some interesting shots that we could experiment with. We originally planned to have 19 shots but ran into problems with connecting to the drone at the parking garage. We also chose to leave out some shots and we came up with shots while on location. Some shots we had to leave out of the film were the aerial shots of the city and parking garage. This was due to the problems we encountered with the drone. The shots we added in or left out ended up improving the flow of the film. These shots also made it easier for the viewers to understand the plot. Through the editing process we also found some shots that either didn't look visually appealing or didn't improve the plot. One shot we noticed was a close up of the gun firing. The man was supposed to be holding it with his right hand but was with his left. After cutting down the number of shots we finished with a film that we're proud of.