Evaluation – The Vanisher

ByBryn Hughes

Introduction

We were set a task to plan film, edit and evaluate a series of our own choice. We were also allowed to choose a partner for the assignment and share roles, working as a team. First we had to start planning, by doing character profiling, locations recess and other parts. Once we had completed the planning, we then did storyboarding and the shot list. After we had completed that we started our filming. Then once we had all of the filming completed we uploaded them to the Apple Macs. Then we started editing by using techniques such as cross-cutting and fading. Then we started on our evaluation.

Comparison with real media productsTo give me ideas I looked at two opening sequences one of which being The Crazies and the other Heroes. The Crazies gave me and my partner the idea of the scientist and him turning evil to cause pain and takeover the world. Heroes gave us the idea of the superheroes who are two best friends that try to save the world and stop the Vanisher. I also researched the comic ‘Vanisher’. Our original idea was a Villain called Vanisher is on the loose, to cause havoc and chaos to the world by using uses his ‘special’ camera to suck people into the camera. There are two advanced students and James Thong to stop the Vanisher on his mass crime spree. When looking at mise-and-scene we used the comic ‘Vanisher’ as the villain in the comic. Also, he is bald and wearing a hat with a leather jacket and jeans. The leather jacket and hat could suggest he is a villain as they are dark clothing and hiding his identity. In every sci-fi/fantasy drama there Superheroes and the villains.

We chose to use James Bond as one of the heroes. We tried to get a suite for the actor, but our budget was limited so we both compromised and used dark jeans and a jumper. In the end it still fit in well. For the rest of the actors the costume’s were everyday clothes as a student would wear and not in a suit or in a mask as that is not ordinary for a student to wear everyday. Unfortunately, we didn’t have access to professional equipment and we had no budget, but it made me and my partner think more which gave us ideas that would probably be praised for. We had access to good quality camera equipment and editing software which was supplied by the college. Most of our props used in our opening credits were either borrowed or owned by us.

When me and my partner were looking at the Heroes opening sequence we saw that they have featured a number of different locations rather than stayed and filmed in one. This is why we used five different locations to film at. I think this will work as it will keep the audience entertained as they will get bored watching a film in the same location. We suggested that an establishing shot would be good to use for the audience, so that they are aware of the location we are using. We used a panning shot so it looked like a CCTV camera. Also, the camera was placed behind a fence which made the location look like it was important and cannot be trespassed onto. We decided to use an establishing shot which makes the audience aware as a lot of popular TV series use them

My partner suggested that in our sequence we have a special flash effect made, which would show it is an unordinary camera. My partner used Adobe After Effects and YouTube tutorials to do this, as it was his first time he used this software. When creating the credits for our sequence we referred to the TV series Heroes. They had they’re actors names in one corner when introducing them, so we used the same technique. Also, we made the frame freeze to focus on the credits, I think that this was effective as the credits were clearer and also gave us time to show of our editing techniques. The name of the TV series first, actors and lastly the producer, director and and who devised it. We found this copyright free font type that we used and I think it fits in well as it has the distorted effect, which links into the ‘Vanisher’s’ them. We used this font for all of the credits, to keep it consistent which is important to do so, otherwise it will get confusing and not look professional. Me and my partner researched on the internet to find out if there are any TV series that are similar to our final product and we found nothing, so our idea is original.

How did you find the construction process

The aspects I found most enjoyable in this task was the filming and editing. I found the filming enjoyable because we had to act and for me that wouldn't be an experience I would face everyday. The editing was enjoyable for me because I like playing around with new techniques within the editing of the film such as cross-cutting.

The aspect I found the hardest was some of the editing and developing ideas and preparation for shoot. I found the editing reasonably hard to link the shots together as we did not sort the shots in order or removes the various takes that we were not going to use. The planning for shoots I also found difficult, as it was hard to think of detail to go with each character in their profiles and there was also not many pictures on Google which related to the character itself as appearance. The production design was also tricky, as I couldn’t draw very well so me and my partner had to find clothes as images and insert them.

The problems I faced through this task was:• The time in which it took us to film as we thought

wouldn’t take as long as expected. This was a problem because it put us behind our schedule which we created and gave us less time to edit. But we resolved this by taking the Apple Mac home and editing, and filming in our free lessons.

• Finding people to act in the sequence with us. We resolved this by asking a classmate to join in which he happily did and was a good actor for the role.

• I found working in a team very enjoyable and much easier, as when I was stuck for ideas my partner would have many things to say, vice versa. We also get on well together, such as acting and laughing off the embarrassing moments. Personally I think it helped both me and my partner complete the sequence. We also planned when we both had free lessons and for some of them, to come in and film or edit and get on with the work.

Legal and ethical consideration• One legal consideration is the crime

in the sequence (murder and theft). The murder was too realistic of the security guard for children so it may be certified higher than what we wanted it to be. Also the Vanisher might become a role model for the children and they might start stealing and hurting people because of the sequence.

• One ethical consideration is filming and getting a builder in shot with no permission. This could be an issue as the builder may consent to this and problems could occur.

Skills development

The equipment we used was Apple Macs, a camera, a motorbike, costumes (Hat, toy gun, etc). We used the Long Road Sixth form site to film on. The techniques I learned from this mainly involved the filming and editing. What I learnt from the filming where simple but effective techniques such as leaving a five second gab before and after the shot. The techniques from filming where cross-cutting the shots together smoothly.

Quality of final productThe target audience we aimed for was mainly children aged under 15 as it is a superhero and villain TV show. It is also aimed for the parents of the children as it also is in some aspects comedy. I think the product could do with improvement but has a good story and base to it. Strengths:

• Good storyline.• Good use of special effects.• Music is tense which fits in well, sound effects are precise and work well.• Fluency in the editing by using cross-cutting.

Weaknesses:• Acting and lack of actors.• Consistent understanding of the sequence.

The final product was very much like the original idea although there were some changes throughout the process.