Question 4:Other techonologies i have used

Here I will list the other technologies i have used when creating my ancillary and billboard. I will explain why i used them and how i used them.

Blogger
I used blogger to  create a blog to show the work i have done. I found blogger easy and straight forward to use and so could create a post whenever I needed i needed to create a relevant post about my coursework. Blogger allows you to put youtube clips onto your posts, by embedding a link on the HTML button. I could post powerpoints by using slideshare, and put pictures onto my blog by just pressing the image button and uploading them onto the post.

Green screen and DSLR cameras
To create my ancillary and billboard I used a DSLR camera and a green screen. The DSLR camera allowed me to take a clear picture of a high very quality which looked very professional. I could adjust the height of the DSLR camera to get the perfect shot, with not too much empty space around it. By using the green screen we could change the colour of the background or change the background if we wished. But by using the green screen it gave us good lighting for the shoot, and we could increase the lighting if we wanted with reflective light boards. The background was also easy for us photoshop.

The DSLR camera we used for our shots.

Photoshop

To create my final products I used photoshop to get rid of the background in the shots we used.

Slideshare

To post powerpoints onto my blog i used a site called slideshare. The website was easy to use as all we had to do, was sign in using our blogger account, click upload, select the file we wanted to upload and just wait for it to upload.

HD and stills cameras

The group used these cameras to film our trailers. We used the stills camea for photo evidence when we were filming. The HD cameras we used to film our trailer. The HD camera had a microphone on the top and a tri-pod and so we could pan and track smoothly and actors would be able to be heard quietly.

Twitter

We used twitter so we could tweet our media teacher any questions or concerns we had, or to show her links to our trailers and other work on youtube so she could give us feedback.

Question 4:Technologies i used in the Mac suite

To create my trailer, billboard and ancillary i used several different technologies:
Garageband-trailer
Keynote-trailer
Photoshop-ancillary/billboard
iMovie-trailer
Publisher-ancillary
Blogger-other
Powerpoint-other
Youtube-other
Stills cameras-trailer
HD cameras-billboard/ancillary
DSLR cameras for photography and filming-trailer
Greenscreen-billboard/ancillary
Slideshare-other
Twitter-other
 Some of the technologies i used were on a MAC computer. By using a MAC computer this allowed me to make my trailer. I have used quicktime to make screen recordings of how i have used, iMovie, Keynote, Garageband and Youtube.

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of exisiting media products?

Nothern Rock 2nd Draft

 

Refilming-Script

Shot One: Sitting down, Cutaway shot of Cason and Kieran
Over Cason's shoulder, Cason to Kieran: "You need to pick one of them or end it with both of them..."
Shot Two: Over Kieran's shoulder, Cason still speaking: "I think thats going to be the only way to resolve it"
Title Card:
Shot Three: Medium close up of Grace, talking to Kate
Shot Four: Medium close up of Kieran, wistful look
Shot Five: Medium close up of Laura, walking towards shop
Shot Six: Medium long shot from behind Cason, Sophie is in the shot, walking towards him
Shot Seven: Over Sophie's shoulder shot, Cason saying: "I didn't mean to hurt you"
Shot Eight: Point of View of Kate and Grace at the Cafe
Shot Nine: Over Cason's shoulder shot, Sophie saying: "It's too late for that"
Shot Ten: Sophie getting on the train
Title Card:
Shot Eleven: Medium side shot of Laura "You know you stabbed me in the back Rachel"
Shot Twelve: Medium side shot of Grace "I never stabbed you in the back... We're not even friends sarah!"
Shot Thirteen: Long shot, Laura walking towards the camera, angry face
Shot Fourteen: Medium close up of Kate, confused face
Shot Fifthteen: Medium close up of Grace on a bed, "I don't think i've over stepped the line"
Title Card:
Shot Sixteen: Shoes walking towards the camera
Shot Seventeen: Zoom out from Grace and Laura looking away from the camera
Shot Eighteen: Camera through Grace and Laura's head, Laura says: "You need to make a decision"
Shot Nineteen: Over Cason's shoulder of Kieran "I did pick one, I just hope it's the right one"
Shot Twenty: Grace slapping Laura, Medium Shot (Quick shot)
Shot Twentyone: Side shot of Kate saying to Cason "She's gone" (Quick shot)
Shot Twentytwo: Cason running up the stairs (Quick shot)
Shot Twentythree: The train leaving + e4 title card

We decided this would be the basic storyline we were going to used but for our trailers we could not use some, use the old shots from our when we first filmed and use the shots in any order we wanted.

Trailer:Music

All trailers have music or sound in the background and so i needed to decide to song would go best with my trailer. It would hae to suit the storylines, genre and pace i wanted my trailer to be. With this in mind here is my first idea for a song for my trailer.



This song is called Climax by Usher. I thought this song might fit in with my trailer because of the relationship storyline with Cason and Sophie. Some of the lyrics are appropriate for that storyline, for example 'you said its better if we love each other seperately', and in my trailer Sophie is moving away. But after some thought i decided this song was'nt completely right for my trailer as it did not right the other storyline at all, and Ushers singing is very high pitched at times making the trailer sound awful because of the dialogue being spoken at the same time.

Refilming.

When the group looked through the shots we filmed in Manchester the majority of our shots were unsteady and not clear because of background noise. We needed our shots steady and clear for audiences to be able to understand the trailer. With this is mind the next time we filmed we used different equipment. We used a tri-pod so the shots were clearer and more steady.

This is Kate using the tri-pod when we refilmed.

This is a photo of the extra equipment we used. The camera has a tri-pod so our shots would be steady and we would be able to pan and track smoothly and clearly. The camera had a microphone on the top so the dialogue would be louder.

Planning:Storyboard

To ensure that when we filmed our trailer we could do it as quick as possible and easily, we decided to create a story board to follow, if we did not have a storyboard we may of found filming very difficult and of got mind block of what to do next and may of ended up disagreeing.We wrote down a rough copy of the locations we were going to be filming and from there decided where we should film first, and what order should we film things. For example, we decided to start filming at Picadilly station, as that was the most furthest away.

We then did rough drawings of what shot types we should use, what would look best to show emotion, and what would look best to show location. Making a rough copy of the storyboard was good for our group, as we could agree on shot types, durations of shots and were certain scenes were going to be filmed, and if we did not agree we could change it.

We then made a final copy of the storyboard so it looked neat and easy to follow. The storyboard consisted of pictures of what the shot should look like, and with writing to show the shot type in each scene, duration of scene and movements.

Refilming-

When editing my first draft of my trailer i found that what we had filmed just wasnt suited to our chosen genre. The shots should of been brighter and clearer to meet the conventions of a Scripted reality trailer. To make sure the audience was entertained and kept in suspense we needed shorter clips. I took this into account for when we re filmed our footage to make sure codes and conventions were met.

New name:Nothern Rock
As a group we decided the  name we was going to call our soap 'Made in Manchester' just wasnt original and too predictable that it was a parody of Made in Chelsea.

As we re named our soap to Nothern Rock we made sure that it was obvious to audiences that is was filmed in the North and not just by its name. We did this by using 'nothern slang' such as 'lad' and 'mate'. We also kept some of the shots that we filmed in Manchester to show were the soap is set.

As we made it clear to audiences that our soap was set in Manchester we decided the names we were originally going to use were 'too posh' so we decided to change them.
Girls names:Beth Rachel Sarah Lauren
Boys names:Luke Ben
The basic storylines we used in our trailer were: relationships,betrayal between friends, confrontation.

Made in Manchester:First draft.

Planning: Existing trailers 2




Close ups are used just as in the first trailer, this shows characters facial expressions and their emotions.
Establishing shots to show the location the characters are in, which also shows their middle class background.
over the shoulder shot makes audience feel like they are in the shot

Girls and boys both wearing smart clothes, hair and makeup looks effortless but flawless

Both trailers both appear to have similar camera shots, and characters always look smartly dress and makeup  and hair looks perfect but like they havent tried. This appears to be the conventions of a Made in Chelsea trailer which i will use in my trailer.

Planning-analysing existing paradies

After i researched paradies and the conventions of paradies and what it takes to create a successfull one, i did further research on paradies that already exist. I watched some paraodies on Youtube which i think capture the codes and conventions that a parody should. Here are some of the youtube links to the parodies i have watched.

The first parody is Made in Chelsea which clearly shows two young girls dressed up

wearing a lot of make up which the MIC characters are known for doing.

The second link is off a TOWIE parody where the two girls look orange because of too much false tan and are carrying dogs like children. Watching these parodies has helped me understand the codes and conventions of parodies more by the use of over exaggerated characters and the over exaggerated script.

Planning: Trailer songs.

For my trailer i decided to use the song Farewell by Rihanna



I decided to use this song as the main storyline in my trailer fits perfectly into this song as it pretty much describes this song. As somebody is moving away and sombody is going to miss them. Some of the lyrics also go perfectly with the other storyline. I have picked out some of the lyrics i think most go with my trailer.

'I dont mind catching up, im on my way, i just can't take the thought of you fair away' - these lyric perfectlysuit where Cason is running through the train station.

'Farewell somebody is going to miss you' - this fits in with the situation as it leaves the audiences wondering if Sophie did leave and Cason wasn't in time to try and persuade her to stay.

'to tell you whats going on' - in the trailer Laura finds out Grace, who she thought was her friend, has told her shes done something which has decieved Laura.

'try hold back my tears' - both Laura and Cason are upset in the trailer for different reasons but do not want to show they are upset.

I decided to use this song as it fits in with all the storylines in my trailer and provokes an emotional response from the audience

Planning: Existing trailers

For the planning part of my task i decided to look at and analyse Made in Chelsea trailers. This would allow me to pick out the codes and conventions of a typical scripted reality trailer and use it on my trailer. I decided to use a Made in Chelsea trailer over a TOWIE trailer as MIC would be closer to the kind of storyline and characters i would be creating. Both shows are exaggerated with costumes but MIC comes across as more sophsticated then TOWIE which i would like to imitate.

The things i was looking for in this trailer were camera shot types,dialogue,costume & make up


The trailer mainly has two narrative, Millie and Sophia talking about her having feelings for Francis, Francis denying something is going on between them and a rumour being spread that Lucia is playing some of the other characters.

Millie - 'You dont know feelings for him do you?'
Sophia - 'I don't really know whats going on in my head at the moment'
Relationships and feelings.
Jamie - 'im sure she's playing the whole of Chelsea' - rumours and deception.
Lucia- 'you don't know anything about me so don't go round spreading stuff about me'
arguememts.

Over the shoulder shot- to show what the characters are seeing, point of view, makes the audience feel like they are in the scene with the characters.
Medium shots- To show some of the location but also show the emotion on the characters face.
Close up- for the audience just to concentrate on the emotion on the characters face.

Girls- hair looks perfect but flawless, look tanned, and makeup also looks perfect but flawless and effortless. Dresses and jewellry are also wore.
Boys- Hair styled, look tanned, leather jackets, shirts.

After watching the trailer i took notice that most of the dialogue is bases on relationships and girls and boys feelings for one another. Arguing and deception also seems to be a convention. As this is what their target audience (teenage girls and boys) would be interested in. Their costumes also make the audience want too look like them, which is another convention of Made in Chelsea. The trailer uses a variety of different camera shots for various reasons such as to show emotion.

Rejecting 'Made in Manchester' paraody.

After we uploaded all our shots from our first filming day in Manchester and made our first trailer, as a group we decides the shots were unsteady, there was too much background noise and did not suit the genre. We decided it would be best if we refilmed our trailer but were still going to use the same story line, dialogue and camera shot but change the location, so the trailer would look more realistics and meet the codes and conventions of our chosen sub genre.

We decided to re film for a number of reasons:
- too much background noise
-there was people in the background for most of the shots
-dialogue was quiet
-unsteady camera

As we decided to refilm we also came to the decision that we should reject the parody idea, as we were struggling to meet the conventions of a Made in Chelsea parody, as it was a lot more serious then a TOWIE parody, and therefore our trailers would of looked serious at times but not at others and audiences would be confused. As we were not making a parody anymore we also decided to changed the name from Made in Manchester to 'Nothern Rock', which suited the trailer we were going to create a lot more.

Planning my ancillary:Rejected shots.

When we did our photoshoot for our ancillarys we took a selection of photos so we could choose which photos we wanted and we all, stood in different postions so we could see which looked better and fitted in with the storylines. Here are the photos i rejected and why.

 This is the first photo i rejected. I rejected it as Cason looks like he wasnt ready for the photo to be taken and like he is laughing at us taking the photo. His body postion is awkward and wouldnt of suited the ancillary because of the storyline and his character.

 I rejected this photo because of the lighting. The photo is to dark and looks unprofessional.

 I rejected this photo as again the lighting is to dark and there is to much space above Graces head, and although that could be editing out it did not look right when i tried to edit it. She is also facing away from the camera to much and it almost looks like she is not meant to be in the shot.

 I rejected this photo as i felt it didnt suit the storyline and we could geut a better photo of Sophie which suited the storyline and character more.

I rejected this photo as Kieran also looks like he wasnt expecting the photo to be taken and is laughing which doesnt look professional.

I rejected this photo as it to dark which and I look like im about to laugh and there is also to much room above my head which makes the shot look unproffesional.

 

 I rejected this shot of Cason and Kieran because of their body postions. Their postioning does not look right and looks almost awkward. The way Kieran is looking at Cason does not fit into the storyline and characters.

This is the final photo i rejected because of space. The photo is took too far away and the camera should of been been pointed down more as Kate is smaller.

Ancillaries and billboard planning.

I have started to think about how i want my ancillary and billboard to look like, and what needs to be the main focus. As Cason and Sophies storyline is the main focus in my trailer i decided that it would be best to put them on the ancillary, with a quote from one of them which links the ancillary and trailer together.

With this in mind i researched anciliarys and decided i wanted mine to look something like this. With Cason and Sophie on the front with straight faces to show they are not happy, and to copy the space on this front cover which shows they are not just friends but not completely in a relationship. This shows and creates tension which is what is in my trailer.

Looking at other Scripted reality billboards i have found that the whole cast usually appears on it, just like on this Made in Chelsea billboard. So i have decided on my billboard all of us will appear on it.

Planning Filming and Editing

Planning, Filming & Editing

Planning:
Firstly, we were put into groups and assigned roles. To ensure we all had something to do, the people who did not have a part to play directed the scenes. The group then read through the script and decided filmimg the scenes in order would work best.

Filming:
We then started filming in the locations we had chose. We filmed the scenes a few times using a variety of camera angles and decided which ones would be best to use. We set up the camera on a tri-pod to ensure the shots were steady.

Editing:
We then edited our trailer in the Mac Suite and used iMovie. These techonologies allowed us to use sound transitions and slow motion.

Rejected shots: Made in Manchester trailer.

After filming in Manchester, we edited the shots we had and rejected the ones we were not going to use for a number of different reasons. I have wrote on each shot why i have rejected them.

Planning:Target audience.

As we planned our soap we decide we needed to make the target audience clear for audiences. Just as other soaps do, for example Hollyoaks is mainly aimed at teenagers and young adults but can be enjoyed by adults because their is older characters in the show. With this in mind i decided to create a moodboard of things my target audience would like or be interested in.


Here is the storyboard i created. I put pictures of celebrities, tv programmes, shops, food and clothes and makeup my target audience may or would be interested. For example one of the pictures i put on was a picture of the Nandos logo. From my moodboard it can be seen that my target audience is older teenagers/young adults. The girls have an interest in make up and fashion as well as the boys, hence the River island, Topshop and Topman logo. They enjoy programmes such as Geordie Shore and Hollyoaks and Made in Chelsea which also feature other young adults.

Planning our parody.

Me - Lucia
Grace - Lily
Sophie - Scarlett
Kate - Blaire
Cason - Oscar
Kieran - Harry

Before we decided our our final names, Lucia, Lily, Scarlett, Blaire, Oscar and Harry. We researched names that arent very common and sounded 'middle class', just like the names in Made in Chelsea. We made a list of names such as, Victoria, Felicity, Penelope,Clifford and Rupert but decided on the names above.

The names we chose are not heard often and some of them are very old English names, giving connatations of middle class wealthy families, just like the names on Made on Chelsea.

Girls/boys hair and make up
-Natural look but look completely flawless, not too much make up.
-Lipstick either pink or nude.
- Hair in either an updo, straight or natural curls.
-Look tanned, not orange.
-Groomed.

Make up had to look flawless, and perfect to imitate the Made in Chelsea characters and make sure we still looked middle class.

Costumes
-Big bags
-Ballet pumps or heels
-Leggings or skinny jeans
-Blazers
-Shirts
-Smart jeans/trousers
-Leather Jackets

Costumes also had to imitate the Made in Chelsea characters and look expensive and as if wearing heels and over sized bags was something we did everyday.

Locations
-Picadily train station
-Picadilly gardens
-Victoria train station
-Costa coffee or Kro bar
-Selfridges

We decided to film around Manchester just like Made in Chelsea is filmed around Chelsea.

Parody Writing

In our groups we decided we were either going to do a Scripted Reality or a Parody. If we were going to do a parody we would need to research on parodies. We would need to find their conventions and find examples of them so we would be able to create a successful trailer.

We found that conventions of parodies was to mock a programmes style, character and work. As we decided to make a parody of Made in Chelsea, we decided that to make a successful parody we would have to properly over act our accents and the costumes we were going to wear.

Soap Opera sub genres.

Soap Operas all have different sub genres which are suited to different audiences. Below i have listed the most well known sub genres and given an example of a soap and their target audience.

Melodrama- Example-Hollyoaks. Target audience- Middle class aged around 15-30.

Scripted Reality-Example - The only was is Essex. Target Audience-Working class aged around 18-30.

Realism-Example- Coronation Street. Target Audience-Working class aged around 15-60.

Australian Soap-Example- Neighbours. Target Audience-Working class ages around 20-50.

American Fantasy-Example-Dallas. Target Audience-Middle class aged around 20-40.

 

Soap Operas.

Soap operas are 'continuing dramas' as there episodes are not grouped into a series but continue to run day to day all year round. The scenes in soap operas tend to be quite short to make sure the audiences do not get bored and keep watching. There is always several stories running at the same time with soap operas and plots are left ongoing to next episodes which keeps audiences watching as, storylines end, other storylines are still continuing, and so there is no end to soaps.

British soap operas are different to American/Mexican storylines because British soaps are based on everyday life. The longest soap that is still running in Britain in Coronation Street which has now been running for 52 years. There is around 8 soaps in Britain now. They are: Coronation Street, Eastenders, Hollyoaks, Holby City, Casuality, Emmerdale, Doctors and Waterloo Road.

Soaps all tend to follow similar story lines which usually are: family affairs, love affairs, murders/crimes. Also, soaps always have stereotypical characters which are: the gangster, the gossip, the 'tart' with a heart, the bully, the victim.

Why are Soap Operas so popular?

Essay from Paula Lewis.
Key points in my opinion.
Fourteen people stated that they liked soap operas as they are relaxing to watch, and don't require too much concentration to follow the story-lines. My 'household' observations backed up what I had found, as on a number of occasions, social interaction took place during the soaps without anyone losing the story-lines. Everyone seemed to be relaxed, taking each event as it unravelled-indeed, no-one seemed at all tense or nervous while watching, perhaps indicating enjoyment.  Most of the people who chose relaxation as a factor for watching soaps were female, with the exception of one male. Either the males didn't want to admit that soaps made them feel relaxed, or they weren't aware that this was the case. Here, the male-female ratio of 1:4 must also be taken into account. Secondly, six people said that they watched soap operas as they were on at a convenient time. This certainly seemed to be the case, as my house-mates always made tea in time to see the soaps. In fact, I occasionally heard some of them (including males), plan out their time so that they could sit down to watch the soaps. Again, mostly females were aware that soaps were shown at a convenient time, whereas most of the males didn't see time as being such an important factor.

Soap sub genre powerpoint

Soap realism presentation from LauraKatieM

Unwanted Images

There was some images we took but did not use.

Unwanted Image 1:
This image was rejected as the cover stars are too close to the camera. This means the front cover would be too crouded and would look unprofesional.

Unwanted Image 2:
This image was rejected because the female star was too far to the left which meant there was space at the end right next the male star.

Creating my anciliary
I created my anciliary in a few steps which i will explain.

Flatplan:
Before i made my magazine i made a flatplan, which made it easier for me to make my anciliary as i broke down where i was going to put the different parts of my anciliary, such as my masthead, cover star, features etc.

Photoshoot:
The main stars of the soap trailer were put in the middle of the green screen and we put them in different positions which we thought we suit the story line. We used two light reflectors to ensure the best photo was took. I used view-finder to make sure the shot was in focus.

Extras:
I used a neautral background so the focus was kept on the features stars, and used colours which fitted in. As i based my anciliary on TV&Satellite week, i made sure minimal colours were used.

Rejected Images.

I rejected the following images for different reasons. As we did our photoshoot we took a number of photos so we could show different characters and body postions and then decided what images worked best.

 I rejected this image as the female character doesnt appear in the shot enough making the shot look odd. The male character is also too far forward which makes the female star look far away.

 I rejected this shot as there is too much space around Rob which would made it hard to make my front cover. The lighting is also quite dark.

 I rejected this image because the all the actors faces do not appear to be serious and look odd together as they are all postioned in different ways.

I rejected this image as one of the actors is laughing, making the shot not look serious, and so if we were going to use this postioning a retake would of been needed.

Soap front cover deconstruction

To create my Hollyoaks magazine i had to deconstruct other soap magazines, so i could understand the codes and conventions. I did this in Microsoft Power Point. It was important to deconstruct the magazines, so i could see which style of magazine i liked best, and encorporate the codes and conventions in my own magazine. By doing this on powerpoint i could highlight the features, and the different features of the different style of magazines would be clear. I found that most magazines have similar features, such as, mastheads, cover star, subheadings etc. But the different magazines had different colour schemes and fonts to suit their genre.
There are two types of soap magazines, 'classy' or 'trashy'. I deconstructed both so i could see the difference in them.

Deconstruction of my Anciliary Magazine
I deconstructed my anciliary mazagine to see what i need to add and what works well. Here is my deconstruction

Sub genre presentation

I made a table for each presentation on different sub genres that our class presented. By looking at each different sub genres in detail i could see the different codes and conventions, which would help me when i chose my sub genre and went on to create my trailer.

Hollyoaks Trailer:

Soap operas:History.

Soap operas started on American radio in the 1930's. They were orginially named 'continuing dramas'. They then came to British radio shortly after. The name 'soap opera' comes from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers and producers.

Soap operas were traditionally aimed at housewives, as at the time they became popular wives used to traditionally stay at home. They were usually broadcast through the day and were to entertain the women at home who would be looking after children, washing, ironing etc.

Most of the time, washing powder companies would advertise their products at the times the dramas were on, which also suited the dramas target audience. They were sponsored by soap companies such as Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever brothers.