AS G3: Media Institutions

What kind of media institution might distribute our media product and why:

Media institutions for Independent film "Overseer"

Pro-Filmic effects in Overseer

8506 AD: Evaluation

1. In what way does our media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Form:

• Titles



Credits from The Last of Us



(Video shortened down to show only credits)

• The title credits present in the opening sequence are somewhat resemblant to that seen in the title sequence of The Last of Us(Stradley, 2013) wherein the text animation fades into the shot. Additionally, the text in our opening is similarly placed into the "blank" areas of the shot, without ruining the composition. However, where our titles break the common conventions of titles is in the fact that it is not a title sequence in itself, but an integration of both opening sequence and title sequence.

Title from Se7en



Our title

• The main title of the opening sequence, "Overseer", is in itself unconventional, compared to many other psychological horrors. In this case, the title is integrated into the sequence itself, without a cut to black or title animation, which is otherwise common in horror openings, to make it clear to the audience what the title of the film is. (Comparison to the right)

• Plot
• The way in which the opening sequence is played establishes it as exactly that – an opening sequence – more than a trailer, by keeping the ending of the opening sequence open for interpretation and exploration within the psychological horror/thriller genre, making it conventional to both of these genres. It is unknown as to who it is that is knocking on the door, and the story can therefore evolve in different ways. If we had more time to add onto the opening, this could have been the antagonist himself, a friend of the protagonist or someone who is equally threatened by the antagonist.

• Character Exposition
  
• In-cluing: Bits of the protagonist's memories are shown during the flashback sequence, so that the audience quickly gets a glance of past events – as opposed to having the information dumped onto them. In some respects, this is akin to Memento (Nolan, 2000), where some sequences are flashbacks that reveal parts of the protagonist's past memories. This is important to note, as it emphasises the plot-aspect of psychological horror, where the protagonist is somehow attacked on a mental level. As such, the in-cluing is conventional for this sub-genre.
  (Screenshots from our opening sequence below)

• Enigma established
• Is quickly established that the protagonist has no idea as to what happened to him, which establishes the enigma in front of him to solve and escape. This is conventional in the sense that psychological horror, from the genre-research we have done, often places puzzles for the protagonist to solve or, in this case, forces the protagonist into searching for clues as to what has happened and why.

Conventions

• Characters

• The protagonist is a challenging character to pin-point, as he displays both elements of a stereotypical, bravado male, while simultaneously showing elements of a physically weaker, perhaps in some respects more modern representation of a male character. Additionally, the fact that the protagonist is featured in a psychological horror is already conventional-breaking, as we noticed through our research and analysis of films that many of the characters featured in psychological horror are females - an example being Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991). The opening sequence protagonist is careful, and instead of using brawn to fight his way through his condition, he draws upon his intellect to deal with the situation wherein he is placed. The point on which he falls under the conventions is the fact that he is a civilian, which could potentially mean that he is to be considered a stock character.

• The antagonist is a very conventional and archetypal character. While not directly related to the same horror genre, the antagonist is somewhat resemblant of masked monsters featured in teen slasher films, such as Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise. Furthermore, the suit is somewhat resemblant of the urban-online-legend Slenderman (shown below). 

The Overseer, combining the two mentioned characters

Jason Voorhees

Slenderman

• Plot
• On par with psychological horror, the protagonist is thrown into a situation where in his memory is under threat from an outside force. In some respects, this is closer to the genre of psychological thriller, but is arguably also the point where the two genres overlap each other. In the conventions of psychological horror, the aspect of playing with the protagonist's or the audience's psyche, sometimes playing with both. In a psychological thriller, the same aspect can be noted, but with additional themes such as being confined or obsession. Both of these two themes can be analysed from the opening sequence of Overseer, as the protagonist is confined within the walls of a house and is at the mercy of The Overseer's obsessive playfulness.
• Mise-en-scene
• Lighting

• The lighting in the opening sequence is unconventional when placed in the context of the horror-genre, as it is shot predominantly in high-key lighting. In this sense, it is quite similar to the opening sequence of Funny Games (Haneke, 1997), where the lighting is high-key and the sun is shining, which completely removes the eeriness otherwise present in low-key horror films.

• Costume
• Asides from the visual signifiers of the costumes, the costume worn by the protagonist is what most would consider as being civilian, which falls into the conventions of both horror and thriller - the idea that everyday people are thrown into life-or-death situations.
• The antagonist's costume, as touched upon under characters, draws upon the urban legend Slenderman and Jason Voorhees, which in itself can be seen as a form of homage to the conventional characters of horror media.
• Pro-filmic effects

• The pro-filmic effect of the "5" carved into the hand of the protagonist is directly connected to the overall genre of horror, making it conventional for both psychological thriller and horror, as they, as mentioned before, overlap each other, as they both draw heavily from one another. Additionally, the "5" is to some extent related to the typography present in the credits, as it is "drawn" with a knife or other sharp object. The title and threatening message are both drawn onto paper, in a sharp yet discordant manner.

• The polaroid pictures that act as clues in the opening sequence could be considered a homage to Memento, but as to whether or not it is conventional is not easy to say. In any case, the fact that there are clues to follow is conventional in the thriller genre, where there is typically a mystery to be solved, where the protagonist must piece together the clues and evidence to solve the case.
• Location





Living Room: Relaxation and low stress



Bed: Comfort and security

• The aspect of location is directly conventional with psychological horror, as it is a deceptively ordinary home that the protagonist wakes up in. As such, it could be considered a stock-location for the opening sequence.
• Sound
• The non-diegetic sound present in the opening in form of the score is conventional in the sense that the underlying deep music is foreboding and ominous, which in some respects warns the audience that something will happen. It is the build up that creates tension.
• The diegetic sound is directly connected to the conventions of the character: after his flashback, he displays an expression of fear in his voice, fear being a key aspect of the horror genre.
• Camera
• The camera is primarily focused on the protagonist, which is evident throughout the opening sequence. This is to position the audience with the character, which in itself is conventional for film in general, as the main idea is to create a relatable character that the audience will root for. As such, the camerawork involved in the opening sequence consists of several shots of the lead.
• This is emphasised through close-up and tracking shots(example of tracking shown below).

Example 1



Example 2 (from two tracking shots)



• There are very few conventional breakers, one of these being  the very first shot of the protagonist, where he breaks the fourth wall by looking directly at the camera. This is also done in Funny Games, where one of the men in white looks directly at the camera with a better-knowing smile and a wink. This is especially unsettling as it puts the audience off edge, and can therefore be considered conventional camerawork for the psychological horror genre.

• Editing 
• The editing is largely done in continuity editing, with many matched cuts to underline the progressive storyline. The cutting rate is initially slow, hastens when the lead gets out of bed and then slows down again after the flashback. This is to give the audience time to comprehend what is going on and to depict and emphasise the sensation of nausea within the character before collapsing, which can therefore be considered a conventional aspect of the psychological horror genre.
• In the beginning of the flashback sequence, the effect of a fade-out to white and fade-in to the memories is added. Additionally the cutting rhythm becomes quick, which connotes confusion and disorder in the memories. Especially the latter further emphasises the conventions of psychological horror, inducing discord and mystery to the film.

• Typography



Overseer Director

• 

  The director of The Shining

  The interesting fact about the typography is the similarity to the font used in The Shining (Kubrik, 1980). This rather monochrome colour stands out from the white colours of the location, which is once more similar to The Shining, the difference being that it is a blue font that is used and that our opening sequence has the text placed harmoniously in the shot, as to not interrupt the composition. It can be considered conventional for these reasons.

• Colour/Visual techniques

• The colours evident in the opening sequence are all somehow connected to the genre of thriller and horror. These colours include white, black and red, and act as visual signifiers to the observant audience. The colours are most notable on the costumes themselves, with white being the most dominant colour. White means a clean mind, which connotes the idea of memory loss. Combined with the cold whites of the location, it helps to emphasise the conventions of psychological horror - not knowing one's identity, or otherwise being threatened on a psychological basis.
• The black suit worn by the antagonist consists of blacks and whites. While the colour white for the protagonist connotes not knowing ones identity, the white shirt with a black tie and suit connotes a serious demeanour, whilst the black and white mask connotes something different entirely. In essence, the dual colours of the mask connote the idea that the antagonist is both playful (the white of the mask) and simultaneously evil (the black, as it is connected with darkness and the unknown). This dual-personality can be associated with Multiple Personality Disorder, with the colours reflecting this aspect of the antagonist. This could  be connected to the conventions of psychological-horror/thriller, as the name of the genre suggests that it is not necessarily the protagonist who is troubled by something psychological.

2. How does our media product represent particular social groups?

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Media institutions for Independent film "Overseer" from Fadmash

4/5. Who would be the audience for your media product?  How did you attract/address your audience?  

Eval 4 & 5 from gp167

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

Technology

View more presentations or Upload your own.

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/953880/Technology

I highly recommend clicking the link and downloading the powerpoint, as it gives a much better quality (it certainly does on my computer) and the .gifs are shown in much better detail and are not overly laggy, as it is here.

AS G3: Overseer

AS G3: Mise-en-scene of Opening sequence

Camera and lighting

• The camera is positioned primarily through close-ups and tracking shots of the protagonist, which helps position the audience with the character.
• As mentioned, there are a number of handheld tracking shots, especially a great deal of them following the smaller movements of the character. This further helps position the audience with the protagonist.
• This is also evident in the titled angle shots when the protagonist crashes onto the floor. The hand held camera also emphasises the chaos that the protagonist enters when he falls to the floor.



The protagonist sleeps quietly, unknowing of the challenges he is about to face.

 

• The lighting is consistent throughout the opening sequence, and is particularly evident in the picture above: The two light sources provide a split in the protagonist's face, which help connote the idea that his old, "right" side of his life is being dominated by the colder white on his left, which connotes the idea of being cleansed, albeit being cleansed of one's former life.

Costume and character blocking

• The protagonist is dressed in what looks like civilian clothing and what could be considered your everyday person. The costume aspect is important in terms of connotations; it promotes the notion of the character having no memory of who he is. The white t-shirt is especially worth noting.
• The essential part of the t-shirt is that its colour is white. This connotes the idea that the protagonist has had his memory wiped clean and is as such isolated from who he really is. However, the colour white also connotes that he is innocent, being put into a stressful situation whereupon he must find himself and solve his problem, which corresponds with the conventions of the psychological-thriller genre. 

Alexander in costume, adjusting the prosthetic.

• The fact that the protagonist is wearing a bandage also indicates that the character is weaker than the stereotypical male protagonist.
• In terms of ideological representation of the character, it could be emphasised through the way that the protagonist moves and reacts to the scenario he is in, that he is an emergent representation of the male protagonist. After the flashback, his body language is shaky, scared. When going through the house, his movement is cautious and slower, afraid of what is behind the next door. As it progresses, elements of male bravado become apparent, but are quickly squished by the entry of the much more powerful and seemingly omniscient antagonist.

Prosthetics and pro-filmic effects

• Prosthetic cut of a "5" on left hand of protagonist. The protagonist is right-handed, which could indicate that he cut the number into his hand himself, or was somehow forced to do it by the antagonist before having his memory wiped.

Prosthetic five being unwrapped 

• Polaroid pictures of the antagonist - Overseer - holding up numbers. These act as clues for the protagonist (Examples shown below). All of the polaroid pictures are taken where they are placed, for example the second polaroid being on the corner of the living room. This is to lead an obvious trail of breadcrumbs for the lead - and the audience - which drives the narrative and keeps the plot moving. Additionally, the fact that the antagonist is the one holding the numbers and standing in front of the clues enhances the idea that the Overseer is the one playing with the character, like a game of sorts.

First number to be seen

 

"Bingo"

 

• TV remote with all numbers except number 1 removed (in above picture, underneath polaroid). This, combined with the polaroid pictures, further helps drive the narrative.

Location/Set design

• The sensation of not knowing who you are combined with the plain colours of the location underlines the isolation of the character. On top of this, the location creates the fear of being manipulated in ones own home. For example, the aspect of waking up in a bedroom that you cannot recognise is discording for the one in the midst of it.



Waking up in your bedroom without knowing it is your bedroom
must be a terribly horrific feeling, feeling at home yet not.



 

(Written by Alexander D)

AS G3: Audience Research - Results and Responses

We hoped to get a sense of whether our genre would be popular in the public opinion, and we sadly received mixed results. Only 50% of people were interested in psychological horror films. As a result we decided to merge several genres into one, to both integrate multiple stylistic features which we found successful in our test shoot, and also to satisfy as much of the public as possible.

Thankfully we received a far more positive response to whether the public like foreign films, with the greatest percentage saying they were indifferent and a higher percentage of people saying "I like them" than not liking them. This meant we could confidently make the film in a foreign language and not receive a negative response.

This question was largely unsuccessful in retrieving the information we were expecting as the results indicated that a large portion of the public misread the question. Many people answered with English horror films that had been dubbed over, or many replied with ANY horror film spoken in English (something entirely unhelpful to us).

This was interesting for us, as it showed us who the audience expects to be the protagonist in a psychological horror. This meant we were creating a character that was a progressive representation of men as it showed not all males have to be macho and gung-ho to be masculine, our character is scared witless in our opening scene and if this had been made into a feature film we all agree he would use his intellect and quick-thinking to "save the day".

The results showed a remarkably positive reply, with the vast majority of people saying they "really like them" or just "like them" with only 25% saying they did not like them. This was good news to us as we knew that the theme of enigma would be prevalent in our film, so these results were very reassuring.

 

As with the "What horror films have you seen" question, this question received very mixed results. Needless to say we worked through the eventual 63 replies of varying relevance and discovered confusion at every turn, but the majority still proved useful to us. We since decided to change our title to "Overseer", so these results are no longer valid to our title.

AS G3: Feedback on shoot - successes and future notes.

Where?

• Isaac's dad's apartment
• On the street outside Isaac's dad's apartment

When?

• Sunday 19th January 2014, from 11 o'clock to 18 o'clock.
• Sunday 2nd February 2014, from 11.30 to 18.45

How?

We used multiple pieces of camera equipment:

• Canon 600D DSLR 
• RODE shotgun microphone 
• Fig Rig (homemade)
• Tripod
• Portable Lighting Rig
• (2nd of Feb): Tracking Dolly, which was incredibly useful and gave us some fantastic shots

On the second shoot, we spent a good deal of time adding to our character's costume and the feedback we had been given for our first shoot was essential in making these decisions.


The four polaroids used, with Isaac dressed up as the Overseer

• We added a "5" carved into the left hand of our protagonist
• Instead of using post-it notes, Isaac came up with the idea of using his polaroid camera, wherein he would hold the numbers dressed as the antagonist

With whom did we go?

• Production crew
• Isaac H - Camera operator, Director, Cinematographer
• Georgia P - Assistant Director, Continuity-control, Shoot Management and lighting
• Alexander D - Actor

What was successful about the shoot?

• We discovered that as a team we work very efficiently and effectively together, without deconstructive criticism and an uncanny ability to create a productive, energetic mood
• The lighting was excellent, despite us running out of daylight early on
• The entire crew was aware of the importance of mise-en-scene, meaning that everyone was able to contribute to the character's traits and non-verbal language
• We focused even more on mise-en-scene on the second shoot as we realised it's importance upon reviewing the first shoot's rough cut

Particular shots that were successful

• We all agree that the shots were very successful in creating character exposition, especially with the even more successful lighting and the addition of track shots
• On a lesser note, we all agreed that the close-ups were composed excellently, which will hopefully help the positioning our protagonist with audience

What was less successful?

• Time management was definitely something that affected us greatly, and is something we will have to keep in mind for future productions. 
• Occasionally, the actor would feel as if he was falling out of character. For future productions, having a 100% clear idea as to how the lead should act out the character will be vital to maintain mise-en-scene. 
• Continuity was at times off, for example when the actor forgot to wear his glasses or when the curtain in the background would change positions
• On the second shoot, we accidentally forgot to capture the sound on the first 8 or so shots. To get around this, we will have to record dialogue and add it in later.

How important was the storyboard in the filming process?

• Relatively. It was good in terms of the chronological filming of the story, but for the planning of the way we wanted to shoot it became less relevant. 
• For example, the original storyboard showed the actor immediately putting his hands to his head after getting out of the bed. However, when we then began filming, we ended up making the character get out of bed, feel slightly woozy, weakened walk a few metres before collapsing on the floor.
• Because we had completed the cinematic by the second shoot, we had a much clearer idea as to how we wanted our opening to be like.
• Additionally, we managed to use the first shoot for our rough cut and could therefore also decide which shots to cut out and which to leave out, so we keep the time contained. (Rough cut will be added soon).

What will we be shooting next and when?

• The only shot we need next is of the TV displaying the threatening messages, something that Isaac should be able to do before the deadline.
• The above has been completed, with a slight change. Instead of having just text being displayed, we filmed Isaac holding cards with threatening messages on them, as to add to the conventions of horror and thriller. Thus, we are down to the final edit and the final touching up that needs to be done before deadline.

AS G3: "The Final Shoot...Round 2 [3D]"

On Sunday the 2nd of February the group met for a final shoot at Isaac's Dad's flat. We knew that this was our last chance to make the shoot as perfect as it possibly could be, so with that in mind we set about (not so) speedily making the prosthetic that would replace the sloppy, cartoony "5" written on the wrong hand, and one & a half hours later we began the shoot.

This is a list of improvements we made:

• We made sure to use a wider variety of shots
• We included multiple track shots
• We changed several fig rig shots to tripod shots
• Georgia had a very keen eye for continuity (constantly forcing us to review footage to make match cuts in the edit)
• We used a FAR better prosthetic "5" for his hand
• We used conventional polaroid pictures for the "4","3","2" and "1" which we changed to "Bingo" to give the scene a sense of sick humour
• We filmed the TV sequence, then filmed a TV showing the TV sequence
• We essentially invented the character controlling the protagonist from afar, who we showed in polaroids and the TV sequence
• The invention of this character led to the title being decided: "Overseer"
•  We used a new, more bland remote
• We left the house in it's homely state which enhanced character exposition and increased film time by reducing set-preparation time
• We agreed on a typeface for the signs which seemed savage and exciting which is very conventional of the genre
• We created a costume for the antagonist which included a plain suit, black tie and scary mask which hides the identity of the villain

Alexander D: Analysis of title opening [The Last of Us]

The Last of Us - Title Sequence from Henry Hobson . Bootsmith on Vimeo.

WHO IS CREDITED?

00:01	Naughty Dog	Production Studio
00:10	Bruce Stradley	Game Director
00:10	Neil Druckmann	Creative Director
00:14	Erick Pangilinan	Art Director
00:17	Michel Hatfield	Lead Technical Artist
00:20	Travis McIntosh	Lead Programmers
00:20	Jason Gregory	Lead Programmers
00:24	Mike Yosh	Lead Gameplay Animator
00:26	Christian Nakata	Lead Environment Artist
00:29	Jacob Minkoff	Lead Designer
00:31	Eben Cook	Lead Visual Effects
00:35	Ryan M James	Lead Editor
00:38	Phil Kovats	Lead Audio
00:41	Michael Knowland	Lead Character Artist
00:43	Vivian Ding	Lead Lighting
00:45	Erin Daly	Lead Multiplayer Designer
00:47	Shaun Escayg	Lead Cinematic Animator
00:47	David Lam	Lead Cinematic Animator
00:50	Nate Wells	Lead Artist
00:54	Gustavo Santaolalla	Music
00:57	Ashley Johnson	Starring
00:57	Troy Baker	Starring
00:59	Evan Wells	Co-President
00:59	Christophe Balestra	Co-President

POSITIONING

• The names in the credits are placed in the blank areas of the screen, shown in the .gif below. This centres player's/audience's attention to the blank background and the text. Additionally, it is easy to read the text  - in HELVETICA font.

ANIMATION

• Viral infection animation goes on in the background, sticking to the plot of the game (in which a mutated strain of the cordyceps begins to spread and infect the human populace, turning them into infected monsters). This also corresponds with the sound in the background, which is explained further below.
• The text has an animation as well: fading in from the right, left or middle.

TIMING

• Because it is a video game, the audience will want to get going with the game as soon as possible, as opposed to patiently waiting to begin the adventure that awaits in the game. As such, the titles are shown for the maximum duration of 3 to 4 seconds, enough time for the audience to see the people responsible for the game, and to keep the player from putting down his controller to make himself(or herself) a cup of tea.

CONTENT

• The chosen crediteers are those who have been responsible for the design, creative edge and overseer production of the game. Without these people, there wouldn't be a game - which underlines the order in which they are shown. Below are some of the crew mentioned in the title sequence:

• Production Studio	Naughty Dog, who've been responsible for adventure games such as the Crash Bandicoot franchise, and the critically acclaimed Uncharted franchise. They're the overall production company, under which the below people are employed.
  Directors:	The Game Director is shown first. His role is important, as it is his job, just as with a film production, to ensure that the development of the game is successful. Creative Director, is the key person during the game development process, overseeing any high level decisions that affect how the game plays, looks or sounds. The Art Director or Lead Artist works with the Game Designer in the first instance and devises the game’s visual style and directs the production of all visual material throughout the game’s development. The Lead Artist is responsible for the overall look of the game. The Lead Artist is mentioned twice, meaning that the lead artist mentioned later is responsible for a smaller aspect of
  Artist (Technical)	The Technical Artist functions as the link between the artists and the programmers. They ensure that the art assets can easily be integrated into the game without sacrificing either overall artistic vision or exceeding the technical limits of the chosen platform. The Technical Artist works part of the art team and coordinates closely with the Art Director as well as the Lead Programmers.
  Programmers	The lead programmers lead the programming team, which for a large scale production such as this requires the cooperation between two people - which is why they're shown simultaneously. The programming team includes:  Gameplay Animator  Environment Artist  Lead Visual Effects  Character Artist  Lead Lighting
  Lead Designer	The Game Designers are responsible for devising what a game consists of and how it plays. They plan and define all the elements and components of a game: its setting; structure; rules; story flow; characters; the objects, props, vehicles, and devices available to the characters; interface design; and modes of play.

SOUND

• The style of non-diegetic sound chosen in this title sequence is a sole, somber guitar. This is to put the player into the mood of being on their own or at least somewhat distant from civilisation.
• A newsreel from multiple news channels and radio broadcasts are played alongside the abovementioned guitar. This also helps establish the fall of society and some of the history behind the viral outbreak. This coincides with the animation in this title sequence.

WHAT CAN WE USE THIS FOR?

• What we can take from this title sequence is the importance of who is credited. The overall director, be it film or game director, is usually the first person who is credited. However, the production studio is the very first aspect to be shown to the audience, which will catch the attention of die-hard fans of that particular studio - they'll know what to expect from that studio.
• The positioning of text is very important. If we are to follow the rule of thirds, we will be able to pull off good text positioning.
• Additionally, any blank spaces left in the shots can be utilised for credits - though we have to be careful not to make the shots look messy or too "full".

ICT note:

For the .gifs above, I downloaded the video from YouTube and stuck it into a video-to-gif software. From there, I was able to take the video and convert it into a gif, and select the frames that I wanted to include. However, in the conversion, some of the quality was lost from the original video, despite running them at the highest conversion rate possible.