Audience and Institution Practice Essay

In relation to film, discuss the ways audience consumption has changed over time

Film and media distribution has changed and adapted to modern society over the past few years. With more streaming services starting, movie theaters and film festivals being closed and postponed due to a pandemic. Having movies only be premiered in accessing movie has become easier with in-home services and a demand to have it in our hands

Movies used to only be available in the theater, then later released onto DVD months after. This worked for the time being back then, society wasn’t in high demand and had the patience to see their favorite movie again. Later streaming services like Netflix offered a monthly fee to watch a bunch of movies and everyone adapted and preferred that method of watching. For example, The live-action Beauty and the Beast was a total hit in the box office making $1.3 billion and dominating making headlines. Once it was done in theaters it was quick to be added to Netflix, however after Disney removed all their films and moved them to their new streaming service Disney+. So, the movie is still talked about and being enjoyed by others.

But what happens to movies that aren't immediately put onto streaming services? Well, Lego Movie 2 made around $106,000,000. This movie, however, was only released onto DVD. I think that the high demand or lack of the Lego Movie affected their numbers. This would be a prime example of how the media has affected consumption. The movie wasn’t available in the hands of little ones which affected it’s “relevantly”. The movie wasn’t distributed to the pleasure of audience consumption.

Movie distribution goes hand in hand with how the audience consumes it. If the film is easily accessible, then more people will watch. Audiences will watch what's on their streaming service. Looking through the selection while bored and picking one that looks interesting maybe what does it. Furthermore, movies like Black Panther made it easy to watch. The film was a huge hit making $361 million the first week, and as soon as it was done in theaters it was on Netflix. It had to switch over to Disney’s streaming service later but the buzz about it and everyone watching it make it still popular.

Spider-Man Homecoming is another movie that adapted to the streaming world to keep the success going. The movie's exhibition was due to the high demand for already marvel fans wanting to re-watch the movie. Once out of theaters after making $880,000,000 it’s on Xfinity streaming service. This allowed for cable user to purchase the movie to watch repeatedly. However, the movie did get onto an illegal movie platform so many are finding ways to watch the movie wrongfully. Illegally downloading movies is a way of consumption that has become more of a recent strategy, but hackers are finding ways to watch their favorite movies too.

Movie consumption has primarily changed over to in-home streaming the past few years. The companies that change with it and allow their movies to be on any streaming platform seem to stay more relevant and a household name. The consumption has changed over time for the better because it's all in our hands and easily shared.

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The point of view from the writer’s perspective is that not having trust, can lead to problems when working together. An example would be the character going against the other as he states, “I don’t know if I can trust you.” This was then examined with another series of events that followed the problems of the two working together.

In the first scene, there is shot reverse shots between the close up of characters worried and glaring at each other. The background ambient noise also adds to the tension with the anticipation about who’s going to speak first. Then him sliding a paper across the table gets a tracking shot which leads into the introduction of the other character.

The next dialogue between the two begins with an over the shoulder shot that identifies who’s talking. The tone and setting also contribute to the tension since both are in an enclosed room with one spotlighting on them to fill the darkroom. The two characters start to disagree on where one should go. Then he later reveals he doesn’t trust her and thinks she has an underlying plan against him, and he wants to know details she’s not sharing.

Following a dramatic scene where walls are hit, tables are flipped and the close up of the characters talking very closely adds to the tension and fear that she’s in since he’s so close. We also get a cut to office people viewing the two in the room from a camera, with workers analyzing the scene. This then cuts back to the room where two are still sitting there with anticipation

Next, there is a tracking shot where he grabs her with a close up her face, the background noise then increases to add to the scene. A split-screen appears as the office workers scramble to the room to save her.

Once they enter the room an eye-level shot of the workers exclaiming at him to go away as they escort him out. The close reaction shot follows which shows the distress the character is in. This then ends the scene with a fade to signify it.

The mood overall would be tension, and it makes you feel like you’re in a small space and stuck there. The director completed the vision of an untrustworthy situation that lead to greater tension and disagreements.

Go Away CCR

Due to the pandemic, I was unable to film it like a one on one interview, here's the best I could do

Go Away (Final Film)

I am very proud of this film because it combined all of the skills we learned. It was filmed, edited, and reviewed just like the process of a real film. I'm especially proud of the time management and organization we had as a team to get the filming done as well as editing before we all couldn't see each other.

Music Video CCR

After compleating our music video, we reflected critically on how we developed.

I Lived Music Video

This was the second project that we filmed as a group. This project was special to me because it was the first time we were able to film off of campus. As well as giving us an idea of how we needed to manage things before our final project. I'm really proud of this film because of the angles and sunset scene that we got on the beach. I also really like how natural this was to film because we were actually having fun, and that's what we wanted the mood to be.

Dunkin Commercial

This was our first project as a group. I think that this is a prime example to show how much we have grown and how we've gotten better at doing things more efficiently as well as our skills improving. This project was significant to me because it made me realize not only how much work has to be put into a project, but also how fun it can be. It was great that it was all of our first time shooting a project and was definitely a learning experience.

ReEdit: Final Changes

Finally, we are nearing the end. We have now inserted the final clips. We have re-edited how the titles appear on the screen. Meaning the order and which clips they arrive in. We noticed more show up at the beginning of the film. And that we could spread them out and make it evenly throughout the film. With the new clip that we edited in, we added a jumpcut transition. This one clip adds the timing to be the correct length for the film. Also, the transition goes smoothly with what is happening in the scenes and doesn't affect the time. The new clip. has also the main title of the movie.
This re-edit has been difficult, however. The pandemic of the coronavirus has limited us. We cannot see each other in class or at all because we are all stuck at home. Thankfully we already had all of the clips on my personal computer and using different software. Also, we were lucky enough to be pretty much done with the project and only need the final touches. Since this is a group projected we have texted about what we are doing to our movie and giving updates on what we need to do as a group. Thankfully, we all pretty much agree and it was already coming to a close. Our project is finally done being edited and the scenes blend together. As a group, we finished reviewing and making final changes and exported it.

ReEdit: Changing the Sound

 

During the start of re-editing, we wanted to work on the sound of our film. We knew that we had to cut or mute the sound to hear the dialogue. As well as make the dialogue louder. These steps wouldn't really overall effect what we already did to the film. And collectively we wanted the music to fade in. As well as keep the music soft so that it's not "overpowering" our scenes. We think that the background music adds suspense since its a slower song. The song also is very sad and talks about losing someone so I think it fits perfectly with the theme. The song fades in from after the first scene where the two friends fight. From there it continues till the end and doesn't fade or stop.
For making our sound stop and not overlap we had to think to previous lessons. I looked through the notes I took at the beginning of the year on editing. It showed how to overlay sound and cut it to make it not go over another part of the dialogue. The example was on a different editor, but all the steps are the same.  After that, I tested it on my Imovie software. It worked so I started fading it. We decided to fade the sound whenever there's dialogue because we didn't want to just cut it. If sound went in and out whenever someone spoke we felt like that would be awkward. So we faded the sound to be not there when there was dialogue but come back louder as the dialogue ends. This is the main thing we had to fix with re-editing.

Reshoot: Getting it Done

During our reshoot we knew we needed to get a few things done. Such as different angles and listing to our critique. So we got a lower angle and a close up of the “blood” on her hand. This scene adds to the film because it gives a clearer shot of the confusion on her face. As well as shows why it’s concerning and adds to the suspense of the plot. Our plot is clear that it’s suspenseful. But previously the audience didn’t know what was on her hand and why she kept looking at it. Hopefully by adding this shot will clear up confusion and break it down for the audience. This scene will be only a few seconds once it’s cut and traditions are added. However we think these few seconds will influence how the film is received in the end. 

Additionally for our reshoots we re-looked our other shots. Along with our other problem, it started raining during our reshoot. For this we didn’t reshoot any other scene because we didn’t want to mess with the lighting. Especially since most of them were located by the back doors and you would be able to see. Once we looked at the new hand scene you couldn’t tell about the outside setting and that’s it’s different. Our re-shoot wasn’t too complicated due to the critiques. Since the critiques are what influenced what we filmed. After also over looking our guide on what angles needed to be put into the film. We have now completed all of the angles that need to be shown. We know the audience already likes what we’ve done thus far. 

Reshoot: A Problem

After we got our feedback from our peer review we knew we had to fix a few things. The peer review for us was beneficial because we knew we needed to do reshoots. Reshoots help the film become better and you are influenced by the audience's opinion. Reshoots also help because you re-thing your film. We rewatched it in a different way. As in not watching it for pleasure and excited we finished our first draft of our film. But in the view of what do we need to improve on and fix up. We re-analyzed our film and looked at which parts we could insert a new clip in, or if we rather reshoot a scene we already did and fixed it. We needed to add more angles and one critique was to get more shots of the "blood" on the character's hand. We took that into full consideration about which lighting we needed as well as where it would fit into the already filmed scenes. 

There was one problem, however, we didn't seem to find our fake blood. This was an issue because the one thing we needed to fix was to show the fake blood mark on her hand more. We figured we would improvise by taking red pen and marker and making a darker like circle around the palm of the same hand. We figured since the shot is only about 2 seconds of a close up that the change in color and texture wouldn't be noticeable. I like to think of the situation like when Hollywood movies use a stunt double and you can tell it's not the same actor. It makes us feel more comfortable that we know these problems with props happen in real life as well. However, this is the only real filming problem we've had this whole project. We think the improvise is the best we could do and we all tried drawing and smudging marker on her hand. Hopefully, it looks good and the audience can't tell the detail. The first re-shoot was interesting but after we figured out the problem we were on our way with filming again. 

Peer Review

For our peer review, we reviewed a horror film. Something I really enjoyed about the group's film was that the storyline was very easy to follow. The transitions were clean and you could clearly tell when scenes were switching. I really liked their filming style and the different angles they chose. Their storyline was clear and you could tell what was happening. For example, in darker scenes, the lighting was hitting the subject and they were still visible. I liked that the storyline was simple enough to follow, but still had room for details. For example, you could figure out what was going to happen but it still left you in suspense. That it could've been played out in multiple ways and the ending wasn't predictable. I liked that suspense was created by the acting and that it followed the storyline.
One suggestion that I made was to have more sound. There was little dialogue that would be suspected from a horror suspenseful film. But there could be more "planning" involved. Another thing would to maybe fade the background music. Like, make it louder it certain parts compared to others and make it die down at the end. Also in the film, a by standard made a noise, maybe make it like a loud crash to really grasp the audience's attention. The nondiegetic and diegetic sound was natural, however. Nothing was out of place or didn't seem like it shouldn't have "sounded like that". The sound was in sync with the film and lined with the effects. The film overall was really good and I enjoyed watching it.

Editing Blog: Exporting

The final step for our movie has come. We are exporting the first draft of our film. Since adding the titles we tweaked a few details. We looked at the coloring of the video as well as adjusting the audio. We added in our song "Medicine" by daughter and overlapped that with our audio.  For the audio whenever there was dialogue the background music got quieter while the character was talking. Another minor detail we fixed was when the music started. And it starts 8 seconds into the film with a fade-in. We chose to do this because the film starts with characters talking and we figured the light music can fade in as the characters start to fight. This was an important detail to consider because it sets the mood of the film.
After re-watching and correcting details and fixing mistakes we thought it was time to export. Since the export quality wasn't too high this only took a couple minutes.  Exporting the movie is saving it onto my laptop. Since this our first draft and to be safe our film will still be in our editing software. This will ensure our film will reach our audience and can be kept somewhere. Our general audience will be viewing our film on a computer. To get our film to our audience we are sharing it onto a flash drive. Since this will ensure and laptop/ computer can open the file and access the project. We are saving it onto a flash drive to make sure the file is safe and can be accessed on any computer. This was the final step and now the first draft of our project is ready to be viewed by an auidence.

Editing Blog: Adding Titles

One of the final tasks of the editing step is adding in the final titles. For an opening clip of a movie, they give credits. One thing I've learned is that the titles always have a certain order. And that we had to upkeep this order with a few details. We also realized the coloring and placement of the titles is very important. For example, we made the color of our titles a darker red. To not only keep up with the theme of the film and a "color scheme" but also that you could read it. For placement, however, we knew that all smaller titles should be lower on the screen so that you could see what's happening in the film. Although things like the studio name, the title of the movie, and the director could be placed more in the center for the auidence to read it clearly.
In previous, we mentioned that our titles have the same font, and remain in for 2.5 seconds. Adding the titles wasn't a difficult process. However, making sure you pay attention to detail is important. Like how far spread out the titles appear. Along with adding the titles at the correct time so that you can read them clearly against what the background is. Adding the titles in order and when to add them and for how long it was a learning experience. For example, we had to consider when it was correct timing to place the big title of our movie. We took into account our transitions as well. Like if we wanted to separate our titles in between transitions. And if the placement allows it to be read and on there long enough.

Editing Blog: Adding transitions

On our next step of editing, we added our transitions. Some of our transitions would include blackouts jump cuts and fade-ins. These transitions add to our film by adding suspense. For example, the blackout allows suspense at the end and shows a change of scene. In our film, we use the blackout to change the scene from when our scenes took place at night and then it turned into a day. We used this as a placement for it being the next day. In the end, we used a blackout to create suspense. This is the "ending" of our film and we want the audience to keep watching and be into it. We think these techniques will be useful to engage the auidence. These transitions can be used in two different situations and create a range of effects on the auidence.
Another transition we used was jumpcuts. Most of our transitions were jumpcuts for two reasons. It was a smooth transition and made it look like two separately filmed scenes are the same. Or there wasn't another appropriate transition that wouldn't be "confusing". Jumpcuts are useful for when your scenes are transitioning, but you don't want it to look as if they're different. Another transition we used was cross blur. This transition blends two scenes into each other. This adds the effect of fading away, but quickly and having a blur. This transition was useful for when we wanted to make a clear switch between the two clips. Transitions are useful and needed in a film to show switches between clips and to add suspense and keep the auidence engaged.

Editing Blog: The First Few Scenes

We have started the editing process. First off we dumped the footage and imported it into iMovie. First, we imported all of the scenes that we had and then carefully chose the correct ones. Things that factored into that would be. Lighting like as in does it randomly switch, and how the lighting is transitioned through the scenes when it's supposed to be constant.  Also things like where the titles will go and if they will be visible enough on the screen. We as a group decided to start editing in titles by the of our editing. Another thing would be the acting. Considering if we can cut the scene or if we need to reshoot/ choose another. These things we're thought-about on whether or not we were going to import that scene into iMovie. 

After we imported our first few scenes we started looking at uncopyrighted music. Previous to this we looked into what songs we could use, but now we're considering ones that go along with the theme of the film. Another thing we did to add was to use transitions. Considering however that the few first scenes we got to film are not in order. This didn't allow us to use the transitions we already planned. But instead, we used temporary jumpcuts to work them together. At the end of editing, we had time to plan and consider what scenes we need to film next time. As well as how they need to look to make sure it looks like the same day. For example, the furniture and the outfits to make sure the next time we go to edit it looks the same. Our first editing was successful because we set up the base on how we are going to edit our film as well as know what we need to film the next time. 

Filming Blog: Night Scenes

Along with our film, we needed to shoot some scenes at night. We only needed one scene complete at night. We scheduled a later filming time and once we started we knew our plan. Our lighting got dimmer, but we decided to start filming before it was pitch black outside. For our lighting in the room, we just used the overlight lighting I have which lit up the whole room dimly. Since we only needed one proper scene our timing wasn't too long. Our scene happens to be the first scene of our movie. We were aware that this has to be an attention grabber and it's what makes the story interesting. Since it's going to be the viewer's first impression we want them to be engaged from the start. We knew that filming the scene would have to be taken seriously, and we took multiple takes to make sure it was what we liked.
Along with us filming the first scene, we relooked our other footage. We wanted to make sure that everything was done up to this point and that we liked it. Our filming matches up to our storyboard because the scenes line up. Meaning everything that happens in our storyboard happens in our film in the same order. Along with us filming we had our storyboards laid out to make sure we kept the same ideas. Having the storyboard made it easier to film since we already knew the angles we wanted and what we need to act out. Filming at night was interesting however because we all had different ideas about how the story would play out. A big factor is how much time we have left due to the fact that we filmed every other scene first. Meaning we knew we didn't have a minute for dialogue and more like 30 seconds in reality. This was one of the better problems to have while filming.

Filming Blog: Day Scenes

In our film, we have two different times. In our day scenes, we filmed, the characters waking up and being confused as well as our final scene. Our day time scenes take up most of our film, with all the "clues" happening then. For our angles, we have eye-level shots that we got by sitting on a desk chair that changes hight. For our high angle scenes, we achieved this by getting on the top bunk of my bunk bed. This worked well because we got an overview of my whole room with room to pan the camera over and follow our character walking. Including our health and safety, nothing was hanging over and was secure at the top. Panning shots also were able to be achieved by moving in the chair to follow the character. And self-explanatory the over the shoulder shots at a high angle was done by just having the camera above the main character's shoulder. These shots were easy to have done, due to the resources. 

Considering most of our film took place during the day we had to really focus and film while we had light. We chose to film after school one day which made the lighting time in a big window. However, we got really nice shots during the four o'clock hour because the lighting was warm and it wasn't too cloudy out. The lighting was really important to us due to the times we could film and if it changes in between scenes. During the day shots to we needed to use fake blood. This was interesting because it represents the unknown mark that shows up on her hand the morning after. This was store-bought fake blood that we just moved around with a q-tip. But I think the effect came out really well. It was noticeable and clear. Our day filming came together really well and we completed it. 

Filming Blog: The First Day

Prior to filming our first scenes, we planned what we could film. Some things that factored into what we could film would be the lighting, what props we had available. We have scenes that take place during the sunset with warm lighting so during that time we got a few scenes done. We took multiple shots of each scene and put them into the editor. Our filming clips lasted around 15 seconds and we finalized them. Along with planning using our storyboard, we correlated that with the props we had and of course the lighting. With our filming, we mainly focused on the final parts of our film. Meaning the last scene we planned, and the final two scenes we had the props for. Filming our last scene was a little weird because we had to think about the outfits we're in and how it'll match up. However, we think we planned our costumes and our location is staying constant. Also, we saw that the angles we planned can be done correctly.
  One of the scenes we filmed would be when the best friend is looking at pictures of the two of them. To prepare for this Tekla and I sent each other pictures for her to swipe through. We adapted this because originally we were going to use physical photos but due to the number of videos included we decided to make it digital. I think this change wasn't too noticeable considering the ideas still the same. I think this will add emphasis to her missing her friend. Another scene we filmed was the last scene where there's a blackout. This scene was fairly easy to film considering it was just a loud knock on the door and looking scared then it turns to a blackout. Our filming time was productive because we did start filming a few scenes we could plan what we're filming next, but also how we are going to film. I think it also helps that we have a constant location and have one room so all of the furniture can stay the same so the film flows.

Planning Blog: Storyboard

Storyboarding is drawing out your ideas. A short description with a detailed photo. This allows you to have an idea of what your filming when you start. This lets your ideas come onto paper and organize your thoughts. The more detailed the story is the better you have an understanding of whats going on. Scene by scene you plan what you'll be filming and what it will look like. Storyboarding is very useful and important to allow the filming stage to go smoothly. Since you have a background and a main visual of what you want to follow along. Our storyboard goes seconds by seconds and shows the emotions of the characters. With the descriptions explaining whats happening, the constant lighting, and camera angles and what type of shot.