Note to Examiner

Mystery Examiner, 

Over the past eight months I've been working hard on my Media Studies coursework, hopefully reflected in the below blog. Along the way I've learned many lessons about filmmaking and the presentation of media.

To the right of this post, you'll find a 'Blog Archive', containing a structured account of my project by month. The first post underlines the brief for my coursework and sits under the 'September 2012' section. I hope you enjoy navigating my blog as much as I have enjoyed working on it.

Jake Denton

Evaluation Activity: Directors Commentary

Click the image below to view!

In this video, I talk about  the progression of my piece from my preliminary task.

Evaluation Activity: Target Audience and Marketing

I don't think my film would have mass mainstream appeal and therefore would be quite difficult to market. The target audience for my film would be middle aged and older males as my film chronicles the relationship of two principle male characters and is a British drama.

This is not a particularly prosperous category; most cinema-goers are between 15-24. Therefore I think my film would definitely be an art house film, as it would be unlikely to receive funding from major studios. 

Here are some Infographics I created to dictate why:

These stats dictate that:

 1) UK films (which are often dramas) appeal more to people over the age of 45.

2) People over the age of 45 are not a large portion of filmgoers.

3) My film would have to receive funding from studios that take more risks on UK films like Fox Searchlight or Film4 Productions.

Evaluation Activity: Equipment and Technology

For my Film I used the following equipment:

1. Canon 650D (T4i)

2. Canon18-55mm Lens

3. Canon 50mm lens

4. Hama Traveller Compact Pro Tripod

5. RODE VideoMic

6. 2.3 GHz Apple Mac Mini

7. Final Cut Express

- On my film, I used different lenses for the first time. I feel as if the use of a 50mm lens made the close up shots, for example the ones during the scene in the grandpa's house, look much better. 

- Also, the RODE VideoMic allowed me to record better audio for the film. Recordings of the ocean and footprints would usually be ruined by the sound of the wind, had I been using the inbuilt mic in the camera. The use of an external mic improved the audio.

Evaluation Task: Challenging Conventions

I produced an 'info-graph' using the website 'Piktograph' to show the evaluation of my film.

CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW THE FULL GRAPH

Evaluation Activity: Character Comparisons

DRIFTWOOD: Feedback Video

I staged and filmed interviews asking for feedback on my piece. 

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW!

DRIFTWOOD: The Feedback

After completing my final piece, I submitted it to a number of different outlets so as to receive feedback and critiques on what I could have improved. I submitted links to my films on Facebook and Twitter, for friends to see, and on the Filmmaking forum of Reddit.com, where other filmmakers could critique my work. 

Friends on Facebook giving some feedback on my piece

Sharing my piece on Twitter

Evaluation Activity: Frame Comparison

Here are three frames from my opening sequence and three frames from the beach scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. As you can see, both films use lots of long and extreme long shots to show the scale and isolation of the beach. 

Here are three close ups from DRIFTWOOD and three close ups from Pirates of the Caribbean. In both, the subject is central to the shot, and in the background of the shot are out of focus props and settings that aid the shot.

DRIFTWOOD: FINAL PIECE

I've finished the post-production of my final piece and uploaded the final product to YouTube and Vimeo. Please watch the video in HD and in fullscreen for the best viewing experience.

CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE FILM!

YouTube Link

I've had a great time making the film, I hope you enjoy!

JAKE DENTON

DRIFTWOOD: Beach Reshoot

After viewing and starting to edit my clips, I came to a conclusion I would need to go back down to Swanage to stage a reshoot, so as to have more material to work with.

I decided to shoot more scenes of the beach, specifically, shots of how the grandpa came upon the boy. I had my grandpa walk down the beach, collecting items of the beach. Through doing so, a better idea of my grandpa's character is established. He is some sort of 'collector' and his finding of the boy is symbolic of his pastime.

Here are some images from the reshoot:

DRIFTWOOD: Behind the Scenes

Here's the behind the scenes of my production. It captures an alternate perspective to the shoot and shows the actors, locations and events of the shoot at a more personal level. The final production should be released soon. Enjoy!

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW!