Director's Commentary

A directors commentary is reflective comments given by the person who created the film (product). Here I have given comments on my film on few shots and what they are trying to show its audience. I have also talked about how certain shots target its audiences. Moreover, there are comments on the narrative of the film, titles and its font, the colours I have used and what they are symbolic of and how the music matches with the genre of my film. This would help my audiences understand more about my film and how I have put my idea across through this film.

Evaluation Powerpoint

Evaluation of the film nikita from KExcell

This is my evaluation about my film. It answers questions about the genre of my film, my target audience and why I chose it, which distribution company I chose and why, how I created my film by using which technology and if I was comfortable when using everything and, also about my previous research. This evaluation gives a good insight of my filming and other factors attached to it. 

Focus Group Feedback

Focus Group

A focus group is a group of people who take part it a discussion about a product to give feedback. 

I created a focus group for a group of people who I showed my film opening to. 

The advantages of a focus group are:

- You are able to easily record peoples reaction 
- The group are able to express there ideas and have a free discussion as there is no time limit

The disadvantages of a focus group are:

- The group might not want to give great detail
- It is a small sample 

These are the questions I asked my focus group, I asked 5 people, the group varied from ages of 18-35 and were a range of males and females:


What target audience do you believe my film is aimed at?

1. Older teenagers 16+
2. Young Adults
3. People aged 25+
4. People aged 30+
5. Older demographic 40+

Does the opening scene give you any idea about its genre?

1. The sunrise tells us that it's a happy story 
2. Yes you get the feeling of romance in the air
3. Yes I feel like I wanted to go out and relax on a beach 
4. You don't really get that it's a romantic genre because it can also be comedy
5. Yes, the music and the shot itself gives a very lovely feeling and you can tell it's a happy ending

How old are you? Do you think this film suits your age group?

1. 18 - I can relate with the genre but not with the characters 
2. 24 - Yes, I enjoy watching romantic films 
3. 31 - Yes I can very well relate my life situation with the female character 
4. 35 - I feel like this film is somewhat related to my past
5. 21 - I think I am a good target audience for the film as long as its not too cliche 

How do you feel about a girl being the lead in the film? Does she suit the role?

1. Yes, its really great that a woman is a lead in the film this doesn't happen much, she suits the role        very well.
2. I think the girl in the film is good and is different 
3. Yes, she took on the role very well and is believable, she fitted the role
4. Yes a girl as a lead is good
5. I would like the boy to be the lead as they could act a different way to women


Do you feel that something more dramatic should have happened?

1. No, as it was only the opening scene 
2. No, this is a romantic film 
3. Yes, few problems are always good to watch in a love story and how they would overcome those problems 
4. Yes because it looks too easy going 
5. I think its better the way it looks as its a romantic film therefore a happy story is the best.


Have you got any thoughts of what will happen next in a short sentence?

1. She might get him 
2. She might find him boring later on
3. He might be with someone else already 
4. They might get together 
5. They might die and not make it till the end 

EVALUATION : Question 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?

During the production, I have learnt about different aspects which go into it such as mise-en-scene, character representation, effects of shots when creating an opening scene. This is mainly to introduce the protagonist and the antagonist and to set the scene in place. Also to tell the type of film it is e.g genre, independent or mainstream cinema etc. 

For example, with this project, I discovered the importance of making the audience entertained so they continue to watch your film. During the continuity exercise, I had learnt how to use Final Cut Express which was very useful when doing my film production. We had lots of mid-shots in the continuity editing which made it more easier for me and made me understand clearly of how to take such shots and also how to look after my equipment during the filming. Before the continuity editing task, I had done another task where I had to make a scene exactly the same from Life of Mars. For my film, I used my knowledge which I had gained when doing the Life On mars exercise, I used the sunrise shot which is very similar from a sun shining shot from Life On Mars. 

Overall, I have learnt that an opening sequence requires a lot more than just titles. During the opening sequence, the audience needs to be interested in either the characters or the storyline. . All these tasks and exercises which I had done before my filming helped me a lot during my production as it made my work much more easy and doable.   

EVALUATION : Question 6

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

When creating this film, I have familiarised myself with Final Cut Express, an editing program for Macs. I discovered many new things when learning how to use it. I learnt how to change the speed, duration, altering colours and sound levels, I had to get grips with all these. At first it was difficult but then I got used to it. 

I also used audio networks for my sound, a website with a range of music pieces and types of sounds. This didn’t require a lot of knowledge about the website but I just wanted to create a piece of music that would set up the right mood for my film. I picked a soft music piece to suit my romantic genre and it also matched with the sunrise shot in my film. 

During the production stage, I used a canon camera, this was an equipment which I didnt use before so I learnt during filming how to operate it. 

EVALUATION : Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my target audience, I choose romantic genre as that’s the age where people fall in love or want to meet their soul mate, similarly my protagonist is also in search of her soul mate. So I thought that this idea will grab my target audiences attention and they will be interested to come and watch my film.

To address my audience, I have used certain props and accessories for my audience to feel connected to the protagonists. For The main protagonist, I have shown her in usual clothing with a handbag and an overcoat. This shows her as a everyday girl and many of the female middle-aged audiences any feel related to the way she is dressed and the way she carries herself in the film. The boy is shown wearing a long overcoat, short hair and comes across as being very simple. Similarly, many of the male demography will also relate to his way of dressing and some may also relate of his sincere personality. The shopkeeper is shown as simple and is dressed as a normal aged-woman would dress. Her grey hair and certain accessories she is wearing, for example, a watch and a necklace, shows her age and also shows that old people also like to dress up and wear matching accessories. The slow and romantic music inside the shop matches with the genre and also reinforces a romantic feeling within the audiences as this reminds them of the genre. The setting of the shop is quite which also tells the audience that it’s a charity shop and mostly middle-aged people and older people go in there and not younger people.  

EVALUATION : Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product? 

During my planning process, I had to think of my target audience. I was going to chose younger demographic (teenagers) but then I thought to do something challenging and focus on different group. I then decided to use middle-aged people as my target audience but that was not enough. I had to had something more to it. Then I decided to have an aged woman in my film, this would help my film look more entertaining and little humorous as old people sometimes say or do funny things which others find amusing. But my main focus was on middle-aged people. I didn’t know much about them, so I decided to interview one of work collogue who is middle-aged.   

EVALUATION : Question 3

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

History – Cinepix Films Properties (CFP) was founded in 1962 by John Dunning and Andre Link. CFP was a leading Canadian independent motion picture company releasing both English and French language films and making 10-12 budgeted titles annually. Cinepix Films Properties was renamed to Lions Gate Films on 12th January, 1998. Its first major box office success was American Psycho in 2000, which began a trend of producing and distributing films too controversial for the major American studios. On 17th October, 2005, Lions Gate Entertainment acquired Redbus Film Distribution for $35 million and became Lionsgate UK on 23rd February, 2006. 

Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinepix Film Properties) is a Canadian – American. It is largest and most successful mini-major film studio in North America. It focuses mainly on foreign and independent films and has distributed various of film series such as The twilight Saga(partially), The Hunger Games and, The Expendables. 

Their list of existing work is what persuaded me to choose that company as my distributor. They usually choose films that are independent that would appeal to specific audiences. Also, their varieties of series for Twilight and The Hunger Games look very unique and all have been very successful. Recently, lionsgate released The Hunger Games: Catching fire on 22nd November, 2013 which grossed $158 million at the US box office. The next film in the Hunger Games franchise is, Mockingjay: Part 1 which is scheduled to be released this year in 2014.    

EVALUATION : Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social group?

In my film, the main protagonists are middle-aged people. The working girl is 29 years old and the boy is over 30.I also have an aged woman as the shopkeeper in my film as mostly aged people are the ones who work at charity shops. I have chosen this age-group because I wanted to focus on a different age-group other than teenagers. I have chosen a white girl and a mixed raced boy. This makes my film look more realistic because nowadays all ethnicities are equal and people now are not too racist. The boy is a manager at a restaurant therefore he is dressed up in a simple long coat and comes across as little strict. The girl is working at a newspaper industry thus she is always interested in books and reading. 

Few of the shots are put in deliberately so the audience can see clearly what is being portrayed. I have used a long shot when the girl and boy first meet. This shot shows that both of them and the audience can see that they both belong to different ethnicities and come from different background but still love makes its way to unite lovers. The main message is about love and people connecting despite having different background and nationality. In this shot, the music gets slower and we can hear their dialogues more. This makes the audience focus more on what they are saying and also this gives more importance to the characters. 

EVALUATION : Question 1

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

I have used linear narrative as all the events in my story occurs chronologically. It starts where everything is fine and is going on very smoothly. Start of the day, the main protagonist going inside the shop. In the middle, the main events occur. This is when the main protagonist meets the love of her life and falls in love at the first sight. At the end, they become friends. All these events have occurred chronologically so the audience can understand the story very easily. 

I introduced the main protagonist of my film, Anca. However, you do not get to see her face, you can only hear her voice and see her from behind. This builds up the focus as the audience want to see who the main protagonist. We then see the shopkeeper. Her friendly behaviour towards Anca tells the audience that she is not a bad character. It also shows their relationship within the community. Near the end, we meet the hero of the film. Keeping him till the end creates anticipation in the audience to know if he is the love of her life is.

My first shot begins with the camera going upwards in the sky and shows the sunrise. It conveys to the audience that it is shot in morning time. I felt that showing the sunrise is a good way to start my movie. For the setting, I have used the borough of Barnet. I know this area very well therefore filming here is more easy. I have used the charity shop of Oxfam as my main setting in the film. I always go in the shop and know the people very well so they allowed me to use their shop for my film. The shop makes my film look very realistic. 

The sunrise shot creates a very warm and happy mood which suits the romantic genre of my film. The atmosphere inside the shop is very relaxed which again suits the romantic genre.  

The titles appear in red. I have chosen the colour red as it’s a colour symbolising love a passion to go with my romantic genre. The name of my film appears big n bold compared to the rest of the titles. This helps the audience see the title clearly and they get to know what they are watching. I have used normal ariel font so the audience can read my titles easily. 

For the beginning shot of sunrise, I have used soft and slow music which matches with the shot and my romantic genre. I have used some diagetic sound, when the main protagonist is entering the shop. Diagetic sound makes the shot look much more realistic. In the diagetic sound, we can hear the windy weather, people walking and normal conversations. The audience can relate to such sounds as these are everyday sounds.  

Changes in film after storyboard

I had to change many things during my filming because things did not really work out as I had thought they would. I had to change my story due to not getting the props I wanted e.g. a van and a vase. I then had to recreate another story and when filming I tried to take a variety of different shots. For example, I started off with a sunrise shot instead go a location shot. I thought it would be a better way to start my film as it shows the beginning of the day and of my film and it also crates a very warm and happy mood which suits with the romantic genre of my film.