Final Cut "Affiliation"

Audience Feedback

Evaluation 7: Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Evaluation 6: What have you learnt from about technologies from the process of the constructing product?

Evaluation 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation 3: What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation 2: How does media product represent particular social groups?

The film Goodfellas has been an influence of ours from the start, the film has continuously helped us make decisions as to our thriller as it’s a film we all like and feel it epitomises Gangster movies. Our costumes are very similar to those in Goodfellas, we also used acting techniques and shots which show who the dominant characters are. For example, the shot of Jack Morris leading Jack Bone towards the gang shows his authority over the timid Jack Bone.  The 3 main characters that are played by Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, are who we based our characters on.  

Robert De Niro who is the leader, the ‘Don’, is very similar to the Character played by myself, Jack Norton. The similarities are that they are both the leaders and fellow gang members look up to him and does what he says.

Joe Pesci is the character of whom Jack Morris was based on, he is a character that is established within the Gang but is still below the leader Jack Norton in the ranks. Jack Morris’s harsh facial expressions and attitudes Jack Bone gives the audience an insight to the character. We try to portray Jack Morris as Jack Norton’s right hand man but at the same time inferior to him, therefore Jack plays down his authority by not making dialogue but just giving hand gestures.

Ray Liotta’s character in ways is similar to Jack Bone. He is a character who is trying to get into the gang and therefore appears very nervous. However, the end of our movie holds a twist which makes us think that he is not the character he appears to be.

During the making and writing of our film I think that we took hold of the many stereotypes which surround gangster films. These stereotypes include; gangsters always formally dressed, appear to be wealthy, that women are never involved when the gang gathers and that the ‘Don’ has lower ranked members with him so he can be seen as a feared and respected figure. These stereotypes are visible in our film.

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

Title of film

The Title of the film was one of the first things we done, it took longer than expected because we were looking for a one worded title that was catchy, so as a group we brainstormed ideas. We then discovered that we wanted to do a gangster thriller. The titles started rolling out, then “Affiliation” was mentioned and it just sounded perfect. Affiliation means “To adopt or accept as a member, subordinate associate, or branch”. Realising the title helped speed up the process of the story line.

Setting/Location

Our setting and location uses two different places the first of which was a footpath leading to an opening of a field where the fight took place in the film, this location was great because it gave many different areas to film from and still stay in the same setting. Another plus from this location was that it was just around the corner from the school, this made filming a lot easier and accessible because we could film in our free periods. The second location was one of our houses for the knife scene at the end of the intro; the way in which the house is laid out enabled us to adapt the story easily to fit in with house, so when we edited it was easy to be continuous.

Props and costume

The props used in the finished product were different from the props we originally chose because we soon realised that the clothing that we wanted was out of budget and hard to obtain. So after this we decided that we would keep the props simple by just asking the extra’s and actors to follow a dress code of smart shoes, smart trousers and smart plain shirt with a darker tie. This dress code was chosen because we wanted the gang to look the part and for the audience to know that they are a gang without even thinking. The other props used were a pair of glasses and watches. The glasses were used just to add a bit of an edge on the gang members. The watches were used in the very beginning of the intro to show the viewers that there was a meeting between two of the characters happening at a specific time. A knife was also used in the intro with a prop like this we was cautious for hazards because a knife is a dangerous object.

Camera work and editing

Title an

To make the editing process as smooth and easy as possible we planned the shot we wanted to take and we decided that it would be best if when filming we ran the shot longer than we had to, this would enable us to merge clips together more seamlessly. There were a few hiccups with the editing process to begin with but we soon found the problem and corrected it. Once the problem was rectified the editing process flew by.

d Fonts

Choosing the font was a pretty simple task we knew what style of font we was after. We wanted something similar to the font used in the title as we thought that it fitted the gangster genre perfectly. We kept the way in which the titles entered and exited the frame simple to give a cleaner finish. When the actor’s names appeared on frame we placed them in the lower left corner to maintain the clean look, as well as to direct the attention of the audience towards the character in frame.

Story and how opening is set up

In the opening scenes we show two characters in a way that tells the audience that they will be important characters within the story to come. The sound used are there to present a mysterious and ominous feeling, letting the viewer’s know that the tension is always building. We show the inferior character in a way that is quite obvious; he is shown on his own without any support from friends.  

Genre and how the opening suggests it

The genre is gangster thriller; we wanted the audience to realise as soon as possible to prevent any confusion. We showed the genre through the costume and story line, the group of men all dressed in shirts and ties we thought were easily recognisable as a gang. Presenting it as a thriller was also pretty simple because there is mystery throughout the intro and there is a twist as well.

How character is introduced

The first two characters are introduced at the same time by crosscutting, this shows the audience that they are linked and will be involved in the film. The gang are presented in a clear way that prevails them as a gang, the leader in the circle of gang members in framed in a couple of the shots to avoid confusion on which the main gangster is. We also made the victim look scruffy to show that he is not a part of a gang or group and give him a more stranded look and feel.

To make the editing process as smooth and easy as possible we planned the shot we wanted to take and we decided that it would be best if when filming we ran the shot longer than we had to, this would enable us to merge clips together more seamlessly. There were a few hiccups with the editing process to begin with but we soon found the problem and corrected it. Once the problem was rectified the editing process flew by.

Storyboard of Final Film

First Idea for Story Board

BBFC Rating of Final Film

We decided as a group that the BBFC rating of our thriller film should be a 15 as it shows violence with the fight scene and also at the end with a man standing in the shot with a knife. We probably could and should have used bad language and more violence to make the film more like original gangster films (Goodfellas) but we decided as we are not the best actors in the world, it would come across as fake. The other films in this genre are all 15 so we thought that it would fit in well and the viewers would know what to expect.

It would be too violent to be a 12 and would not warrant an 18 as there is no nudity, extensive violence and bad language.

Production Name

Overview of final film

Poster

Editing process

Editing

We are now coming to the end of the editing process. We have had a few problems during the process, which we have had to deal with. These involved:

·         Music not being added to the film properly

·         The lack of titles for the title sequences

·         Getting the continuity right

·         Getting the music in the right place with the right tempo

·         Getting the film into black and white

We will post a video to give a more detailed idea of what was hard with the editing.

Starting the editing process

As we now have all the footage required it is time to upload it to one of the computers in the editing suite. We feel that there are certain shots which we can enhance through the editing process to make the shot consist with the atmosphere we try to create. In this process we have delegated each other different tasks which will contribute to the end product. One of my jobs is to find a copyright free piece of music which will be played during the film. Initial ideas were for the music to fall under the genre of jazz, which we thought may have given the film an old fashioned feel. However, I felt that it maybe abit too up beat so now I am swaying towards the idea of an ominous piece.

Although editing will be new to us we are confident we will learn quickly and be able to create a decent introduction to a thriller film. So far we have worked well as a team therefore I can not see there being any problems in some of the final stages.

Feedback From the Focus Group

Focus Group

Setting the scene for 'Affiliation'

In order to create an old style gangster thriller we realised that our costumes were a good form of mise en scene as it tells the audience how the gang is associated and also the black tie look can often be related with gangsters. Our inspirations for costumes were ‘Goodfellas’ the movie poster and ‘Resevoir Dogs’.  To also maintain the 1940’s/50’s feel we had to use certain shots to prevent seeing cars in the background. In the first half of our film we were filming just off of the main road therefore we had to use our knowledge of shots to consist with the atmosphere we tried to create.

I have now downloaded four pieces of copy right free music, one or even two of the pieces will feature in our film. I selected four pieces which all have differences so when the three of us come to that stage of the editing process we will have a wider range of choices. The reason behind choosing different genres (some with a fast beat and some with slow) as our editing may create a film which may be better suited to a faster piece, or vice versa. 

Editing

These are pictures of the first day editing. We found ourselves pushed for time, so we decided to split the group in two in order to get as much done in the amount of time we had. Jack Norton wanted to find the music for the film, so he went off seperately to do that. This left Jack Bone and I to do the editing of the film. I was in control of the computer, Jack Bone and I would decide what looked the best. The Basic editing of the film was done in the first two hours. All that was left was to add the music, to give the film and a steady flow and add a few effects.

Ideas for Affiliation

This is our brainstorm session about out thriller Afiiliation

Title Font Ideas

Credits

Jack Norton- Gang Leader
Jack Bone- Gang Outsider/Camera man
Jack Morris- Messanger/Man with Knife/Camera man
Nathan Joyner- Gang Member/Camera man
Chris Rouse-Gang Member
Tom Smith-Gang Member
Sebastian Ramsey-Smith-Gang Member
Alex Cirino-Gang Member
Alex Gutterige-Gang Member
Tom Steer-Gang Member
James Kisella-Brown-Gang Member

Props

At first we had wanted to get the whole gang wearing the same suits to create the effect of Jack Bone being an outsider when he tries to join the gang, but this was not financially viable. Then we had the thought of putting the film in black and white which would give a good view of all the characters wearing the same cloths anyway.

We didn’t feel as though we would need many props in the film, just the two watches which were used on the wrists of both Jack Bone and I, also the knife which I am holding at the end of the film. Also sunglasses during the film on some on the gang members.

Pictures of new location and filming

 

We needed a knew location becuase our film was not as long as we had hoped. Therefore we needed to extend it some how. We decided the best way to do this was to have a home scene after the fight scene. As we have previously said, Jack Nortons house is the nearest to school and in the middle on Jack Bone and I. This resulted in us using Jack Nortons house to do the home filming. we also felt that the way the downstairs was maped out, it would fit into the way we could film well. All of the rooms are a good size so there was enough room to fit Jack in the shot with the camera at sufficient distance.