Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

What have you learnt about the technologies from the process constructing this product?

How did you attract/address your audience?

Who would be the audience for your Media product?

What kind of Media institution might distribute your Media product and why?

How does your Media product represent particular social groups?

In what ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real Media products?

Audience feedback for final edit

I have finally received my audience feedback for my final edit. The feedback I received is really great and will really help me with my coursework. 


Question number one:
'What do you think about my opening sequence now that I have made all the changes suggested?'
I asked this question to see whether or not people felt that my opening sequence had made a huge improvement and whether they felt that the changes I had made have been successful. 
Some of the answers I received were brief yet to the point!
'Much better! The sound makes such a huge difference!'
One of the answers was really great and really stuck out:
'A lot better, really like the music and the change in titles had helped your production a lot. I think the shots where the young girl is walking up the stairs are really good as they flow into one another!'

The second question I asked was to find out what my audience thought of my music. 'After adding the music to my opening sequence I believe the whole sequence has changed dramatically, do you agree? And why do you agree?'

Everyone agreed with me, they all felt that the music added emotion to my production and generally made it much better and far more enjoyable to watch. 

'How does my opening sequence make you feel?'

This question was to see whether or not my opening sequence was doing it's job! Because my opening sequence is a social realist I was hoping that people would feel sad and anxious for the young girl Gracie. 

Everyone I asked said that they felt sad and emotional for the young girl in my opening sequence, a few also said that they felt intrigued and curious to see how the film would turn out. 

My fourth question asked:

'What would you like the outcome of the film Gracie to be if I were to produce the whole film?' I asked this question mainly out of curiosity! I wanted to see whether people would see my film really as a social realist film or whether they would all like there to be a happy ending. 

Most of the people I asked said they would like to see a happy ending where the little girl got what she really wanted and some said that they thought it would probably end very sadly where the family are forced to move away or even worse and one person said that they were unsure as to how they wanted the film to turn out because they didn't feel they saw enough to judge it. 

Next I asked:

'What do you like most about my opening sequence?'

Many people said that they liked the title of my film because of the way I have used the two colours and the motions it uses is really effective. 

Others said that they like my overall idea as they thought it was original and well thought out. 

One person mentioned specific shots and they thought they worked really well. They said 'Your opening shot of the young girl scrubbing some graffiti off a door is really strong and effective, also the shots of the young girl colouring in a fairy shows her innocence and that contrasted with her making breakfast suggest she lives quiet a tough life?'

My final question required my target audience to think a bit more!

'As my target audience obviously this film is supposed to appeal to you, does it? Why/why not?'

Every member of of my target audience said that my opening sequence of Gracie did appeal to them. A couple of members of my audience weren't sure why it appealed to them however a few said that they felt that because the house the opening sequence showed seemed similar to their own they felt that they could relate to the characters more and therefore enjoying the film more and one person said that they felt although they new the film would make them feel sad she feels that sometimes a sad film is really what she needs and she referred to films such as p.s I love you and My sisters keeper which she thinks are really great films although they're incredibly sad. 

Questionnaire for audience feedback of last edit

This is a small questionnaire I have put together to give to various members of my target audience in order to find out what they think about the changes I have made since my first edit.

Gracie Final Edit!

Here it is, my completed opening sequence. 

I am really pleased with how it has turned out. Just a few weeks ago I was sure I would never finish and even if I did I was certain it would be a complete disaster!

Editing number 5!

I have spent absolutely ages on this edit and have finally finished my opening sequence - hallelujah! 


Firstly I made all the changes which I hadn't previously made after receiving my audience feedback. After adding the music I decided that I would like the sound of Gracie scrubbing the front door to continue throughout my titles also because I think this would be effective to have underneath my music. 

I decided I didn't want to add a voiceover to my opening sequence because I am worried that it will look like a trailer. 
I did however record over the final shot with Gracie telling Bethany her breakfast is ready because the original recording had a slight humming in the background which was really rather annoying. I recorded the sound straight into Final Cut. 


After I had removed some of my titles the length of my opening sequence was no longer 2 minutes and so I needed to add a few more shots. I added some different angles of shots in order to show some more continuity editing. 

I also made my distribution logo's. I am not super pleased with them however I feel that they are fine and look as though they are distribution logo's which is exactly what they are meant to look like! They each have a different transition and different font which help them to be individual.

After lots and lots of rendering I think it's done!

Editing number 4!

Today i changed my titles! I know I had only did them the other day however after speaking to my teacher we agree that they do not look quite sharp or formal enough. I have changed them to the font 'Bondoni SvtyTwo OS ITC TT'. This font is far sharper and looks a lot classier which makes my opening sequence more respectable. I have also changed the order of my titles and I have removed a few of them because they went on for too long and were a bit boring. I only have a few titles now and they are:

 I have left these titles in because I feel that they are the most important. 

This title moves in a scribbely motion as though someone is writing it. It is also quite child like which implies that Gracie is a young girl. I have made the word Grace stand out by putting it all in pink because Grace has the connotations of elegance, beauty and innocence which is exactly what Gracie is like. By making the i stand out on it's own it shows that it is all alone just like Gracie. The i looks like a person and so represents Gracie, she is alone and discriminated against. 

Music...

Horrah! After emailing millions and millions of composers about using their music in my opening sequence I have finally had a reply, and to top it all off the reply was from my first choice! 

I am using a piano piece by Subtle piano Sound called Power of Piano Music. I am very pleased with this as the music really adds emotion to the opening sequence and really helps the audience to understand how Gracie is feeling. 

Audience feedback

After handing out several questionnaires with my first edit of Gracie out to many members of my opening sequence I have received some really great feedback which will really help me to improve my opening sequence.

The first question I asked was:

'After watching the opening sequence what did you think the storyline was?'

I asked this to find out whether or not I had made it clear enough as to what and how the story would progress if I were to make the rest of the film. 

Everyone I asked said that they felt the storyline was clear, and that they thought that the young girl was caring for someone with a disability which is absolutely correct. 

One comment that stuck out a lot to me because it told me what made it clear for them and what they liked.

'The story line is very clear, I think that the young girl in the opening sequence is caring for someone who is clearly disabled? The newsletter/newspaper article you show makes this clear which I liked because otherwise I think it would have been unclear as to what the young girl was doing.' Hannah Jones, 38.

Secondly I wanted to find out whether they felt the story was given away too much or not enough and so I asked:

'Do you feel there is enough information in the first 2 minutes of the film but not too much to give away the story?'

Nearly everyone said that they felt just enough was given away to keep them interested however a couple also said that too much was given away and that they would rather be left guessing. Although I have had mixed opinions for this I think I am going to leave it as it is purely because the majority felt happy with this. 

My third question asked my audience this:

'What kind of music do you think I should add to my opening sequence? I have played on the idea of using a piano piece, what do you feel would fit appropriately?' 

Again, the majority agreed that it would be nice but also very emotional if I used a piano piece and so this is what I will do, I just need to find the right piece! A few people thought it might be nice to find a slow, emotional piece that had lyrics to fit the opening sequence. I do agree that this would be effective however I think it will be very difficult to find a piece that is perfect with lyrics and I also feel that I should go with the majority again.

'Do you think I need anymore dialogue throughout the opening sequence? e.g. A voiceover.' This was my next question which I asked because originally I had felt it may be nice for a voiceover to be explaining how the young girl feels and how her life is panning out however decided against it because I didn't want to risk my opening sequence looking like a trailer. 

The feedback I received was very mixed. Many felt that the opening sequence didn't need a voiceover because I have showed very clearly what is happening and how the story may unfold. However a few did feel that maybe having the young girl herself speak throughout telling the audience how she feels as they felt that this would be very emotional. I am still deciding what I will do regarding whether or not to use a voiceover.

The next question I asked was to do find out how my target audience felt about my opening titles:

'How do you feel about the titles? The order of them? The font and size? etc.'

This question I felt was really important because I was feeling really unsure of my titles. I felt that they may have lasted too long and many of my target audience agree. Many felt that the titles lasted too long and that the order was slightly confused. Someone even said that they felt they didn't quite flow properly. I have decided that I am going to remove some of the titles and also do a bit more research into the order of many titles in the opening sequence of other social realist films. I will also add some transitions which will hopefully make them flow slightly more. 


The final question I asked my audience was more general:
'Any other general comments/feedback?'
A few people said that they really liked the title of my opening sequence and the motion it used. Many people didn't fill in this last question which really isn't helpful but the majority of those that did said the main thing I need to focus on is my music and sound and of course it is at the top of my list! 

Questionnaire for opening sequence feedback

I have created a questionnaire which I will give to various members of my target audience. I am hoping to have many of my replies within the next few days so that I can make the necessary improvements. 

First Edit

So here's my first edit. It really is my first edit and so I'm very aware that there is lots of work still to be done but the questionnaire I hand out to my target audience will give me the feedback I need in order for me to improve my opening sequence for it to suit my target audience the most.

Editing number 3

In today's lesson I started my titles. I used livetype for this because it allowed me to me more creative with my titles than if I were to use final cut itself. I decided to make the title of my film look as though a child had written it, the word 'Grace' is written in pink as it is a girly colour whereas the 'i' in Gracie is in white, this makes the 'i' stand out and it also complements the pink. All of the other titles are in white on a black background in the font 'chalkboard'.

More editing!

Today I started my editing again! I had lost what editing I had started previously and so I have started again. It is not looking very much at the moment because I am doing it in patches!

I have decided that I want to change some of my footage by adding different bits and taking away others. 

I have decided against showing Gracie make all of Bethany's breakfast. I have also decided to change my music. I would like to have my younger sister, who plays Gracie, playing Fur Elise on the keyboard. This composition is slow and quite peaceful and allows a lot of emotion to be felt through the song. I would like to show Gracie playing this in lots of shots merged together which will be shown at the beginning of my opening sequence. This would also possibly give me a perfect opportunity to add in my opening titles. I could do this by having Gracie also write the music and the names of actors could be written with this. 

After the shots of the keyboard I would like to show Gracie colouring in a fairy book which will show how young she is. I would like the music to be played throughout the whole of my opening sequence. After some shots of Gracie colouring in I would like to mix in some of the shots of Gracie making Bethany's breakfast because this will contrast Gracie's reality with her dream. 

When Gracie is colouring in I would like a newspaper in the background and the front cover article will be about the abuse the family are receiving. The picture for the article will be of Gracie scrubbing the word spastic off of her front door. I would then zoom into the image and when I zoom out the picture will have turned into her reality. This could be the ending of my opening sequence.

The complete filming process

I have finally finished all of my filming! Overall I think it went really well, and I am now feeling much more positive about how my opening sequence is going to turn out!

I have found during my filming that it is best to get as many shots of the same action from many angles no matter how many you think you may need. Luckily I got the hang of this quite quickly and so I left myself with a lot of choice when it came to creating match-on-action shots and eye line matches. 

More filming

I did some more filming today and also started on my editing. 

I am very pleased with how todays filming went. I got lots done and of quite good quality. I made sure I used many angles and tried many times to make sure it was right. I found it quite difficult to get some of the angles I needed because the location in which I was filming was quite difficult! 

I have started my editing and I am not so pleased with it. I am no longer sure of my idea and so I think this is why I am not entirely happy.