Whilst producing our film Torn, a variety of different technology has been used. Here is what our group used.

We used the Panasonic AG- HMC70 HD camera to film all but 1 scene in our film. This is because it’s better quality and you can really tell the difference when used and it’s easier to use. We also used the Panasonic GS230 DV for the bully sequence in the forest due to the big camera not being avaliable for use. The microphone that was used was the Breyer Mic.

To capture all of our footage, we used an Apple i-Mac G5 computure to convert .mts files to .mov files which could then be edited on Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 on a normal computure. Adobe Premier Pro was used as it’s easy to use and we know how use it to edit. It has a lot of effects on it. Adobe After Effects was used for our titles and Photoshot created our poster.

A few websites were used for research such as Youtube, freesound and Jamendo. WordPress was used for our blogs to record our progress.

This is our directors commentary which is about all three of our products and how they work together in tandem.

This is what we will be saying on a word document:

Directors Commentary

Hi we are Barefoot productions and we are here to talk about our latest project Torn.

‘Torn’ is about a teenage girl who is depressed, lonely and whose past haunts her. One day she decides to leave her home, and decides to keep walking until she finds her mother. Along her way she meets different characters which make her realize different aspects in life and come to terms with. She then reaches the point where she is at the edge of the cliff and has to decide whether to jump or not. Her friends stop her. The twist at the end is that none of the characters existed and was her subconscious telling her not to jump.

In our advertising campaign consisting of a radio advert and poster we have kept to a theme of mystery and intrigue. This means we have chosen not to give too much away about the film or give too much information. For example in the radio advert we placed together highlights from the audio taken from the film and deiced not to add voice over the top that radio adverts sometimes used. This helps to build the concept and tension and will reach out to our target audience.

The same concept was used for our poster, we have used a faded effect on the four imaginary characters which coincides with one of our ending shots where the four then disappear. This in turn helps to create mystery and intrigue. Which we hope will catch audience’s attention, and they will then want to know more about the film. By advertising in this way we may be able to attract viewers outside our target audience who may be curious about the film; this would mean that more people may possibly watch our film.

In order to keep the theme across our product we have used the same font “Ransom Note” for our poster and opening titles. We chose this font as it signifies the different characteristics and parts of Sian’s being within the individual letters, then grouped them together to make the whole being or word. We also liked the idea from our mood board, which then helped us to choose our slogan “Would You Take This Shortcut?”

Our ancillary texts complement our main product by generating a significant amount of interest for our viewers which encourages them to view the main product. Therefore we feel we have created an effective combination.

And here is the recorded version:

Now the film is completed we showed it to an audience of 30 who were kind enough to give us feedback here is the summary:

A big point the occured alot was whether they liked the flash ahead an flashback transition used throughout the film, this was mixed with some people liking it and some people didn’t like it at all. We used this because it helps to show the characters state of mind and help share some of the disorientation that the character feels. I  saw this technique used in a film called Easyrider (1989) directed by Dennis Hopper the characters in this film are drugged up most of the time so they use this transition instead. If i was working for a commercial organization then this type of editing style and most likely film woukld have to play more to conventions in order to sell well at all.

Another point that the audience mentioned was that some of the dialogue was not as clear as it could be which in some areas of the film it could be clearer, we have tried to use diagetic sound like rain in our film an it’s on these areas that the dialogue could use some work, we have tried our best to make sure that the dialogue can be heard in all the film and i think we have acheived this to an extent.

Another point raised was that our characters and general storyline were beleivable and realistic which is great! We tried hard with our costumes and where the scenes are set to try to make it as beleivable as possible. Also, when choosing our actors because their age is important as to young a lead actress would make the story less beleivable and too old may not be too beleivable either especially as it was the mum who died. We think we have chosen right here and that the character age wise is capable to make this rash decision in her life. Also, another mentioned that our characters were quite likeable which is also another great comment! We especially wanted to acheive this with our character Angus who we hoped people would like even though he isnt the nicest of the characters in the film.

test screening is an informal test shown to a small target audience to hudge if a film will require editing, reshooting or rewriting. When we show ours to our media group we may get a negative response for the ending of our film for it ending too quickly or that the viewer doesnt understand what has happened.

We might have a little diffculty with the audience realising that the characters are honors emotions etc in human forms, if we were to show this to our target audience as a test screening then they may need to re-watch it to fully understand what is going on. For example Honor going to the cliff to see her mother who died, meaning shes going to jump off the cliff and kill herself might not be as self explanitory as we hoped, same goes to the other characters when they disappear, they are ment to be her imagination or her conicious.  Some Viewers may not approve to this type of film as it isnt to their liking or taste but there are plently of other viewers who enjoy this film.

The sound may be a problem for some people especially the best friend scene with Katie Meany and Honor in the rain, as it was impossible to get good sound thanks to the weather. But if we had more time  and in the real industry we would reshoot/edit depending on what the audience desires.

Radio Advert
VO: Sian
1…2…
Faith (Overlapping audio)
My names Faith and this is Rufus.
Where were you?
Sian
I’m trying to find
someone.
Faith (overlapping audio)
You’re our friend.
Come
Play Sian. Please.
VO: Sian
3…4…5…
Jessica (overlapping audio)
Which way now?
You don’t know?
Sian
I…I don’t know…
Jessica (overlapping audio)
Do you wana find her or not?
What you gona choose?
VO: Sian
6…7…
Pete (overlapping audio)
Where you heading?
I can help.
Sian
I err
Have to go…I think you need to
Go.
Pete (overlapping audio)
Sian, come back.
Where is she?
VO: Sian
8…9
Angus (overlapping audio)
Get Here Now!
Go home
Little girl!
Sian
Just leave me alone!
Angus (overlapping audio)
Not gona
Come…not gona be here.
She’s not coming Sian.
VO: Sian
10…
I’ll find her.

Here is our Film:

Here are our two Posters for Torn.

Nicole did a good job on both of them with the titles and picking scences that are most important to the film and that they best represent the film. The poster on the left is taken while Nicole and I were filming, it was near a church, this makes Sian look isolated and alone, two main features of the film. But the scene isnt that important in the film, it doesnt really give much away. It is a bit plain and empty.

We decided with both of our posters that we would use the same lettering that we do in our titles for the same reasons as before. For the poster to the left we don’t like the positioning of the actors names though i think the film name and slogan are in the right place.

The one to the right is taken at the end of our filming, It is the climax of the film, it shows all the characters alongside one of the most shown backgrounds in the film.  We also faded them out so that we could draw more attention to Sian in the middle which is vital to the image on the poster and also makes the poster more interesting to look at.The same titles have been used but put in a different arrangement which is more typical of film posters. The title and the slogan are placed above the characters and are quite central this grabs the attention to the characters as we don’t want to give to much away.

For our slogon we have decied to use “Would You Take This Shortcut?” as a ritorical question to draw the audience in. It also does not givetoo much away adding to the mystery.

Here is our radio advert: