Movie Review 5 - The Devil Inside

Similar to the last movie review, I watched a horror film but this time it was called 'The Devil Inside'. This film is about a girl called Isabella Rossi, who tries to find out what has happened to her mother after she was sent away from her daughter for killing three people in what looked like an attempted exorcism which had not been deemed safe or the correct treatment by the Vatican. The film follows Isabella's journey to Italy to document the teaching of exorcisms and a reunion with her mother but after coming into contact with a pair of trainee exorcists, she finds out much more than she would from just sitting in a classroom.

I was slightly apprehensive about watching this film at first as even though I am a fan of horror films, I had found out that the first screening of this film had been done in an old church at midnight with no light. The reviews from those who experienced this had stated that they were slightly unnerved after they had watched it and they felt even more worried once they had found out that the case of Isabella Rossi's mother is a real life case which is still to be resolved.

The film is shot almost all through the eyes of the camera man who accompanies Isabella on her journey and this makes it look as though it is a footage film. These films are not films i tend to watch very often but I wanted to try something new and to be honest, I like the way the used the camera man's point of view and the way they made it seem like a documentary. The film was very enjoyable and I would recommend it as long as the viewer isn't too squeamish as there is a lot of unnatural body movements and some aspects could make certain people feel sick. The trailer for 'The Devil Inside' can be seen below this text:

Film Review 4 - The Quiet Ones

Recently I watched a film called 'The Quiet Ones'. This is a horror film about supernatural events and in particular, the case of a university professor who specialises in the cases of the supernatural, and a small group of students who have been given the task of documenting the issue of a girl who is believed by some to be possessed while others have an opinion that she is just mentally insane. Their task is to try and prove she is possessed by documenting her movements and holding spiritual gatherings to see what or who is possessing her.

The film is shot from two different perspectives. The first is that it is filmed through the eyes of the audience, like most films. The second is that it is filmed in some areas through the eyes of some of the characters, especially the main student, Brian. He is the camera man who has been trusted to document the whole experience and the angles that the film is shot from at certain points is through the camera he uses. This gives a more genuine feel to things and also gives the audience more of a feeling that they are there alongside those in the film. Normally I am not a fan of films that are shot in this way but because there was a good mix of camera angles and shots, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought. The trailer can be seen below this text:

Secondary Research - Music Videos

I wanted to do some secondary research to see how relevant music videos are when it comes to people listening to music. I found an article from 'The Hollywood Reporter' that was published in 2012 that showed me that statistically, most people (especially teenagers) use YouTube to listen to music more than listening to the radio. This means that more people are watching music videos along with listening to the audio which  goes along with the video. This may mean that the viewers find the music video more interesting as they may want to see the storyline behind it or even just their favourite artists performing. I have also noticed that any songs that enter the charts without a music video tend to not get past the number 20 mark very often before falling places. Then, once the music video for the track is released, the song tends to rise again in the charts. The article i found can be seen in the link below:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/youtube-radio-teens-music-survey-361857

Evaluation Question Planning

Once I have finished both my production and my ancillary text(s), I will need to focus on answering the evaluation questions that review my production. I did this last year and now there are fewer questions, it will mean that I can go into more detail when answering them and therefore make them even better quality and this may allow me to access a higher grade. The questions have to be answered through using a range of different media techniques and the fact there is only 4 questions means that it will be easier for me to use a wider range of techniques. Below are the questions and my plans for how I will be answering them:

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For this question I plan to take another music video with a relatively similar type of song (slow with similar meaning) and screen it next to my video. I will then narrate over the top of both the videos and talk about what things I have done that are similar to the parallel video and what things I have done that I have seen in other videos. I am likely to use the video for Night Changes by One Direction as the music is a similar genre and tempo whilst the filming aspect is also very similar. I may also use the video for Another You, Another Way by Against the Current as this includes the memory aspect. Either that or I could use the video for 4am by Alex G.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary texts?
For this question I have thought about doing a narrative idea again with my ancillary texts being placed along side some clips from my production. I also may use a layout of the ancillary texts with arrows with descriptions of how they link to the production. This will be presented in a spider diagram style but will have the aspect of me narrating over the top of it so that I can incorporate more elements of using media to evaluate my final production.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
For this question I will collect a panel of people together and get them to watch my production. I will try to get around 5-8 people so that I get a variety of opinions but I will ensure they are all around the age of 18 as this age seems to be one of the ages that spend a large part of time watching TV and music videos. I will then review the feedback and present it in a sort of mind map document with a screenshot of my production at the heart of it.

4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
For the final question I will look to use Power-Point or Prezi and split the slides into the 4 headings of construction, research, planning and evaluation. I will then give information as to which instruments I used for each section and how they were useful in the production of my music video. I am familiar with Power-Point but I think Prezi looks as though it will gain me more marks as it is slightly more complex and allows for interactive displays. Therefore I will look to use Prezi but if I am unable to get what I desire from it I will use Power-Point instead.

Music Video Review

When looking for more song ideas for my production I stumbled across an artist called Sam Hunt. I liked some of his songs and ended up looking through his YouTube account to see what sort of music videos he produces.

I liked the video for his song 'Take Your Time' and decided to consider using this for my production as I thought some of the lyrics were very relevant to the concept of my idea despite the idea behind his video coming from a whole different perspective of domestic violence. The video for this will be shown at the bottom left of this review.

The music video that caught my eye was the video to 'Leave the Night on' as it is a completely different idea to anything I have seen before. The song is relatively upbeat and has the theme of a party to it and this is different to what I usually listen to. The video is about Sam Hunt being a taxi driver and he is driving lots of different people to parties all across town. The video montages together all of the people in the back of the taxi as though the taxi itself is a party and it also has Sam Hunt performing the song by singing whilst he is driving. I thought the video was very eye catching as it is different and it looks relatively detailed considering the fact it is the first official music video he produced. The video can be seen to the bottom right after this text:

Altered Filming Schedule

Due to the fact I have decided to alter my idea, I have therefore had to change my filming schedule and film some of the shots again but from different angles and perspectives. By planning out a new schedule I will be able to look at how my filming is coming along and it will allow for me to see where I can fit other filming dates in should I need them.

Ideally, all the production should have been finished before the February half term which is around the same time as Valentine's Day (14th) but due to other commitments I have been unable to finish the required filming. Therefore I will be filming very often in the half term as this is convenient form both me and the actress I am using.

I have already got some shots regarding the scene with the girl in her room but I will not be able to finish this scene without filming the others first so I will leave that filming until the end. I also do not want to try and film it all in one day as this would be too difficult and I want to make it seem like the different scenes are all filmed on different days to represent different memories. By filming on different days, I will be able to make it seem like time has past by using things such as different weather conditions, the characters wearing different clothing and other alterations. A brief outline of my altered production planning will follow:

Monday 16th February - I want to try and film the first scene all within this day. I will be filming in the centre of Oxford and will act it out in the same fashion as a first date. It will be from the guy's point of view and it will show the two characters meeting, walking around for a bit, possibly sitting in a restaurant or a cafe, then it will show the guy walking the girl home and them saying good bye before the next clip occurs.

Thursday 19th February - This will be the second scene filming. The second scene will show the characters as more comfortable with one another and this will make the characters seem more fluid in their movements and how they act with one another. It will be either in University Parks in Oxford or it will be like the two characters going for a "day out" together and having fun. The reasoning for leaving a gap is so that I can attend any other commitments I have but also so that I can see how the weather conditions may alter and so that I can change the clothing of the actress to make it seem like it is more further on in time.

Friday 20th/Saturday 21st February - This may take me one or two days to complete as I am planning on filming the rest of the scenes in the house and also the final scene which includes shooting from the guys point of view. I have left this to last as both of these scenes occur on the same day and therefore I want to try and ensure continuity is kept as well as the fact I can't shoot any more of the scenes in the house without having the other bits of filming done first. I may need to film the remaining house scenes on another day because I may have to do some more editing before these can be completed.

Film Review 3 - American Sniper

The Main Poster for American Sniper

The recently released film American Sniper has been a huge hit in America and has smashed the box office by receiving millions of views and becoming a huge success. A couple of weeks ago I decided to go and watch it and from my own experience of the film, I can see why it was such a big hit in America. The film stars Bradley Cooper who has also starred in another film in which I have reviewed in a previous post (The Place Beyond the Pines). He plays the American Soldier Chris Kyle as the film follows the life f the US Navy Seal and how he became the most lethal and feared sniper in American history. It also follows his life at home and how he dealt with the aftermath of the war in Iraq. It also shows how his family were affected by his time serving in Iraq and how his own experience nearly breaks his family apart.

As I have stated earlier on, the film was very widely credited in America and it made a substantial amount of money through the box office. It also received various nominations for awards including Best Picture and Best Male Actor at the Oscars (two of the most prestigious awards). It was also however subject to much controversy not just from some areas of America but from other countries as well such as the UK. This is because a lot of film reviewers and journalists spoke about how they thought the film "Glorified War" and how it does not balance a fair argument between the two sides in the conflict.

Despite this I thought the film was a triumph and I thought that it showed quite a lot of truth into what happens in the battlefields of wars. I though the acting was brilliant throughout the entire film and Bradley Cooper managed to take on the role very well as I thought it was very different to some of the other roles he has played in films such as The Hangover and The Place Beyond the Pines. The trailer for American Sniper can be seen below: