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Weebly
In order to digitally convene my work in the form of an online folder, I decided to use the blogging platform of 'Weebly'. This is because it possessed the facility to offer a professional blogging interface, which in turn allowed me to structure my work in a neat and coherent manner. For example, I created different pages using the page tool to ensure that the different areas of my work were separate and therefore, more easily accessible for a reader. -
Weebly - Continued
Moreover, through utilising technical convergence I was able to present my work on a plethora of other web 2.0 platforms and then embed or hyperlink them into my weebly site to ensure that my work was interesting to read. For example, to avoid the recurrent use of the medium of text, I decided to create an amaze during the early stages of my research section, which I then embedded into my site so that readers can scroll down my blog instead of having to open various other links and pages. -
Letterboxd - Continued
This site completely epitomises the online age and also Gauntlett's theory of web 2.0 allowing for a media landscape that offers discussions and conversations. Therefore, I thought it was a useful site to provide me with an introduction into the Neo-Noir genre as well as to give me an idea of what films I should perhaps look into. -
Letterboxd
Before undergoing research into Neo-Noir trailers I took a look at the website 'Letterboxd', which is a social media site predominately ran by prosumers who create user-generated content and then share it for other consumers to view. -
Statista
Also during the research segment of my A2 portfolio, I utilised to website 'Statista' when searching for secondary, quantitive data on the amount of subscribers that Netflix has reached over the past few years. I then analysed the statistics I found and concluded that Netflix would be an appropriate distribution company for my film, particularly because of the online age and the apparent desire that consumers possess for home entertainment. -
Audience Research (Survey Monkey)
I utilised two main websites when creating my audience research. Survey monkey allowed me to add a sense of professionalism to my questionnaire due to the variety of question formats. Also, another benefit of the website was that particularly quantitive data is easy to analyse as they provide you with graphs that you can examine once you have received all of your responses. -
Audience Research (Survey Monkey) - Continued
However, because I had a lot of participants answering my survey, it was hard to analyse qualitative date, which made understanding my target demographic's sociographics hard. For example, I received 72 responses on one of my surveys, which made reading the questions that required an comprehensive answer, rather difficult. In order to combat this problem, I read through them all, but I only noted a few. This meant that I could obtain mixed opinions, whilst ensuring that my time was not wasted. -
Audience (Strawpoll)
I also used a straw-poll when undergoing some audience research. However, this was only appropriate for one question surveys and therefore, I used it to find my target audience's opinion on topics that needed an immediate answer, such as the title of my film. This platform complied to my consumer's everyday use of digital technology and therefore, it was easy and quick for them to complete . -
Padlet
During the planning process, I platform that I regularly used was Padlet. This allowed me to display my work in the form of a digital scrapbook, which meant that I could visually see my trailer transforming into a real product. Moreover, through having everything saved together, I could easily access, and thus adjust if necessary, the various elements of my planning process - a benefit that was very useful during this affair since different aspects did not always work well together. -
Padlet - Continued
For example, I went back to change a few locations, as continually going to and from Manchester to film my urban shots showed itself to be rather expensive and quite time consuming. Therefore, I went on to padlet and easily replaced these Manchester shoots with ones closer to mine and my protagonist's homes. -
Google Maps
When planning my locations for shooting raw footage I had some ideas of what environments I wanted to use, as well as what mise-en-scenes I aimed to create. However, when it came to shooting in urban settings, I was rather clueless on where I should film. In order to fix this issue, I decided to use the online platform of Google Maps in order to digitally scout locations. This enabled me to find settings around my local area that met my criteria. -
Google Maps - Continued
For example, I wanted a location that was quiet yet demonstrated the stereotypical elements of an urban setting, such as a dark mise-en-scene. Therefore, I benefitted from being able to explore locations as I could save money, as well as time. -
Cannon DSLR Camera
This device was the centre of my production; I used it to film shots for my trailer, to photagraph my dominant images and to also film my focus group for my evaluation. During my AS production I used the same camera to capture my primary and secondary images and therefore, at A2 I was able develop these readily available skills. -
Cannon DSLR - Continued
A use of the basic DSLR settings, such as the shutter speed, was imperative, as it allowed me to adapt the camera in order to achieve a professional-looking shot in various lightings. Moreover, through possessing a rudimentary skill set when using this camera, I was able to focus on other elements, such as the lighting. For example, in order to meet the conventions of a Neo-Noir trailer the use of chiaroscuro lighting was highly important. -
Cannon DSLR - Continued 2
Therefore, I was able to spend more time adjusting and perfecting my lighting than working out how to operate the camera. This meant that my time was used on essential elements rather than being wasted. -
Samsung Phone
My phone was crucial during the entire production. The connectivity and immediacy that it is able to offer allowed me to contact my cast so that I could organise times when each actor could be present. Moreover, through encompassing technical convergence I was able to complete various other tasks, using this device, which captures how my project was fuelled by digital technology. -
Samsung - Continued
For example, when shooting my raw footage I lacked certain pieces of equipment, such as special lighting materials. However, through using the torch on my phone, I was able to adhere to the convention of chiaroscuro lighting. -
Social Media
Since my project is targeted at Prensky's digital natives, I thought it was only appropriate to constantly use social media when obtaining audience feedback. The platform that I predominately used was 'whatsapp' as it is the main app of choice for my generation and therefore, I knew that I could receive an immediate response. Through complying to my desired audience's everyday use of digital technology I was able to gain highly detailed answers due to the lack of diversion from their lives. -
Photoshop
Manipulating my raw photographs on Photoshop allowed me to develop my shots from fairly simple images to images that immediately displayed the genre of Neo-Noir. For example, when editing the dominant image for my film poster I used layers so that I could create a water reflection. Therefore, I layered my protagonist's face onto her reflection and then turned down its opacity so that it was hardly distinguishable. This then enabled the image to tie in with the slogan of 'look closer' . -
Premier Pro
When looking back at my footage during editing I noticed that the shots when I build the jigsaw were too bright due to the natural sunlight that I was unable to control. In order to tackle this problem I decided to add a lighting effect on top of the shots, which consequently gave the effect of chiaroscuro lighting. -
Wix
When looking for ways to display my evaluation questions, I thought it would be useful to use another blogging platform - particularly for question 1. This was because there are many aspects to this question and therefore, I thought that I should keep them together, in order to make my responses easily accessible for a reader. As a result, I chose 'Wix', as I already possessed an existing skill set since I used to have a personal blog on this web 2.0 site.
