Back At Ya - Final Cut

This is the final cut of our film. It is not hugely different from the second cut of the film opening, although between the two of them we had to change the song due to copyright restrictions. However we have now received permission from Chess Club records (the record label who own the rights to the song we used - see post on organising sound for more information) to use one of their songs in our film, which means that we were able to put the song back in. In addition to this, I used a parametric EQ in order to clean up the dialogue, because some of them were being made inaudiable due to the sound of the wind.

Additional changes to this included a change of institutional logo to one which we have completely designed ourselves, and an addition of sound in order to make the logo look more professional.  These minor tweaks are all that our film needed in order to make it into the cohesive and imaginative project which we had planned it to be, and the difference between this film and our initial rough cut is one which is immeasurable.

By George Martin 

Rough Cut 2

After recent feedback from our peers, teacher, family and friends we have made relevant changes to the wellbeing of our grade and our film. Back At Ya now has been redrafted and the fonts have been changed, there are more scenes and clips to show our camera skills and the music has been edited to feature Walk This Way by MO. I believe our second rough cut has vastly improved our film opening and we will continue to redraft until we are happy with it and receive a majority of positive feedback.

This is the second rough cut of our film opening.

Feedback

1. The film needs a better production company title.

2. There is not enough dialogue in the film opening at the moment. 

3. The existing dialogue cannot be heard over the music in the film opening. When the main character shouts "Stop filming!" it is muffled and too quiet. Also when there Revenge video is being played the other character's "GET OUT LEAVE ME ALONE!" should also be louder.

By George Martin and Jack Jolly 

Rough Cut 1

Feedback from teachers:

1. The Peacock Productions title is too basic, a more in-detail animated title would be better and more professional.

2. The piano backing track doesn't match the ideology of the film opening and creates a confusion when watching the film opening.

3. The titles and the font of the titles are in an incorrect order and don't match the theme of the film. The title font needs to be changed. IMPORTANT.

4. There needs to be some more sophisticated industry style shots which demonstrate a level of professionalism within creation of film.

5. Because of the title of the film the whole design of the film has to be relatable and targeted at a teenage audience, hence the removal of more adult themes needs to be done.

Feedback from target audience:

1. The protagonist of the film should be on screen for longer - her character needs to be built up more.

2. The style of titles doesn't really appeal to somebody my age - I think they should have a more solid design, as they look a bit too frilly to interest an audience of teenagers.

3. Change the music to a popular song, as this will make the opening more interesting and engaging. 

We will take all of these comments from various viewers into consideration and change what needs to be changed. We agree with the comments and understand that the rough cut needs re-working to become industry standard. We appreciate the main comment that the film opening is currently in-between a more teenager-esque and adult style film and We have chosen to revise the film so that it is more like 'Kidulthood' and aim the film at teenagers and base it around teenagers.

By George Martin and Jack Jolly

Final Location Decisions

 For the corridor location within our film, we decided that this one within school would be the best choice, because not only is it long enough to be able to film a tracking shot in, it has quite a lot of natural lighting, which means that our film won't end up looking too dark. We decided to film in this one instead of the other hallways which we considered because it was much quieter than the other ones, which meant that we would be able to find a time where we could film in it without disruptions. 

A close up picture to show the props which we added to
the location in which we filmed all of the bedroom shots

In terms of the interior shots within our film, we decided to use the bedroom which I showed in the initial post about locations. This is because it has neutral colours and is quite plain, which allowed us to embellish upon it in order to create the mise-en-scene ideas which we wanted to include within our film. This mise-en-scene consideration can be seen in the top picture, as we included lots of feminine items such as perfume with a daisy on it in order to create an impression about her. 

A picture of the entire room in which we decided to film,
before we had added in the props which needed to be
included in order to create our mise-en-scene

By George Martin

Filming Diary

March 20th

This is the day where we filmed the YouTube video which was featured within the film opening - we opted to use a mobile phone to film the video as this footage was supposed to be low quality and grainy, in order for it to give the audience the feeling of verisimilitude - the feeling that the action is real and that they are actually witnessing it.

The camcorder style footage of the video of her being
bullied is supposed to be deliberately grainy

Other pre-production which I did on this day was creating a YouTube account for each of the female characters - this is what each of them uploaded their videos onto in the film. It also involved a change of costume for the two of them to take a picture which was used as the phone background, in order to show the audience that the two of them used to be friends, and that Rebecca, the character who the phone belongs too, appears to be initially still clinging on to what is left of their friendship.

March 22nd

Most of the filming of the bedroom shots were completed on this day. This is because we were given a certain day where we could borrow the camera and tripod in order to film outside of school. All of the clips filmed on this day made it into the film. We also recorded some voiceovers on this day, using  Logic X on the iMac, although we eventually decided against using these in the final film because we believed that they made it seem too unprofessional. 

March 31st

Today we filmed most of the shots which needed to be done inside school - this is because we had access to our camera again, and could use a dolly in order to film professional looking tracking shots. This shoot didn't take very long, as we just had to get a few shots of Jess walking through some corridors and then film the part where she is being harassed and runs away. We opted to switch to a handheld camera for the part where she is running, again in the interest of verisimilitude for the audience, who would want to see this part of the film represented as accurately as possible.

By George Martin 

Film Genre Expectancy Questionaire

I have chosen to spend longer performing a questionnaire to gather Qualitative data rather than Quantitative from my participants. This is because it is more in-depth information so I can use it to better our work in a more sufficient way.

Question 1) What gender do you expect to see in a teenage coming-of-age film about bullying?

Participant 1 said: I think both genders could be used because everybody is effected by bullying. Girls are more spiteful with words and less aggressive actions whilst boys can be very intimidating and very violent. Films with harsh violent scenes put me off so I would prefer female characters rather than male characters.

Participant 2 said: As a man I do enjoy violent action films, so it doesn't really matter to me. I just don't want to see a load of girls squeaking and squawking about who took who's boyfriend!

Participant 3 said: As long as the story is sophisticated then it doesn't matter which gender is seen more. For me I think a female and male mix would be interesting and be something new.


Question 2) Do you think cyberbullying is an interesting topic to create a film about?

Participant 1 said: Cyberbullying is a new thing so a there aren't a lot of films about the subject. If done in a different way to most teenage bullying films it could be really good and really interesting!

Participant 2 said: Yes, I think it makes a change to usual films about teenagers where the main storyline is sexual discoveries and making and losing friends. I just hope your film is raw and doesn't beat around the bush.

Participant 3 said: It is a very modern thing to create a film about so if the rest of the film is modernised and contemporary then it could work really well! There's just a chance it could be cheesy.


Question 3) If I said to you our film involves 2 girls who used to be friends who are now enemies and one of the girls has been bullying the other for so long that she turns around and starts embarrassing her and bullying her back online, what are your initial thoughts?

Partipant 1 said: Sounds like revenge is the key theme in your film. I love films involving revenge, I love the TV series Revenge so if it is modern and pop culture like that then I say the film sounds amazing!

Participant 2 said: Erm, it sounds good, it depends on how girly it is though. If it isn't very girly then I think it could be interesting.

Participant 3 said: Sounds amazing. In my head I can't think of any other films like it! I think if it is done professionally and tastefully then it could be a really good original take on modern film.



I am overwhelmed with the positive feedback received for the pitch of our film. I will take on board everything that has been said, especially not creating a film that is too feminine and making sure the film is appropriate for both genders to watch and can be interesting for both. The idea is to attract a large audience to a independent film so the film will have to be very good and very well thought out. The feedback is very helpful because I have peoples real thoughts and opinions which is important to me because I want people to like our film.

By Jack Jolly

Final Prop Consideration

These images from our other post show the props we used in the main part of the film opening. We wanted to convey that Rebecca does possess femininity because she does get extremely hurt by the bullying and she is effected by it. The lamp we chose is a white colour which is more uni-sex than feminine because Rebecca isn't a girly girl. She wears black and loves The Smiths, which can be seen on her Mac desktop in our film. Some of the other props were slightly more feminine to balance out the representation of Rebecca. The cupcake money box and heart shaped decoration combines with the perfume to help give Rebecca some female qualities which are generic for women. Perfume seems to be an essential to women as is cologne for men. The Mac itself shows wealth and that Rebecca is a very fortunate character however is very unfortunate at the same time. Displaying that money cannot buy happiness it helps convey our message that anyone anywhere can be bullied and it's never okay. This is vital because we have prided ourselves in the fact that our film has a moral. The raw hardwood desk also suggests wealth and gives Rebecca's room a injection of masculinity when compared to her other feminine items. 

By George Martin & Jack Jolly

Final Shot List

Below is the shot list based on our original storyboard. This may change overtime, although any changes will be reflected through updating the post. The shotlist will be helpful during both the production and post-production stages of developing our product, because it gives a more straight forward view of what each shot should look like than the more detailed storyboard, which also takes into account factors such as Mise-en-scene and the role of actors.

In School:

1. Close up of Jess' feet walking through a corridor, dolly shot (4 seconds).

2. Midshot of her body and hair in order to show its a girl, dolly shot (4 seconds).

3. Close up of her opening the door (2 seconds).

4. Close up of her walking out from the other side (2 seconds).

5. Shot of her walking up and over the camera (1 second).

6. Static shot of her walking towards another door (3 seconds).

7. Close up of her being filmed and tormented (2 seconds).

8. Tracking shot of her running, handheld camera (3 seconds).

9. Close up of her feet walking up the steps (1.5 seconds)

At Home:

1. A cut to a midshot the video being watched by Jess in her bedroom (6 seconds).

2. Close up of the video to show more detail about the video, its title, who uploaded it etc (8 seconds).

3. Close up of her phone as she receives a text message (3 seconds).

4. Another close up of the phone as she responds to the text (4 seconds).

5. A midshot of her watching a video from when the two girls were friends, which is entitled "revenge" (7 seconds).

6. Slightly closer zoomed in shot to show her uploading the video to YouTube - putting the shot closer in represents her sinister intentions (4 seconds).

7. Close up shot of the video being played on YouTube, zooming in through the Ken Burns feature of iMovie until nothing is left of the shot apart from "Back At Ya" - the title of the film (5 seconds).

Whilst there will also be titles for the institutions, cast and crew, these shots are what will make up the basis of the film, so it is incredibly important that we shoot them as well as possible because they will be the part which is most difficult to go back and redo at a certain date, especially as we will only be redoing certain shots.

By George Martin 

Final Costume Decisions

Our final costume decisions were different that originally planned. For Rebecca, rather than a dark coloured jumper and jeans I decided on a black and white outfit which would highlight her femininity more. A black dress with a white top underlay to make sure our actress was covered up but with benefits of connotations of black and white being dull and plain, like Rebecca. We thought a skirt was more appropriate to create a modern film, just like our other actress Sophie Grimble who played Rachael, she was also wearing a skirt and her whole outfit consisted of more colour to show her as more of a vibrant and rambunctious character. As the bully it was protocol to make sure her outfit looked glamourous so she looked superior to other characters who fall victim to her. Our other bully Sam who is only seen when filming Rebecca being bullied is wearing a basic Polo Shirt from topman of a similar colour as originally planned. I thought this worked better than the flannel shirt because it is more summery and modern because it Topman is a very popular retailer for teenagers the same age as our characters. Below I have images of what our cast wore. 

By Jack Jolly

This is a screenshot from our film opening showing what Jessica Carroll was asked to wear to play Rebecca. As explained the simple colours highlight and reflect her personality. The Dr Marten shoes are a current trend right now and are more popular with the groups and crowds outside of the mainstream. This sums up the character really well because we wanted to portray that 'Hipster' or 'Indie' vibe when portraying Rebecca.

For Kurtis' small part in our opening we only required him to wear a polo shirt which we described to him. The reddish colour highlights danger as he is a bully whilst still being a modern and more mainstream garment which would be seen on teenagers Sam's age. Also his watch shows wealth and a fashion sense which we wanted all of our characters to have. I feel we have created quite an original piece of film because most bullying films are central around the "chav" culture whereas we have portrayed richer, better dressed and higher class characters being involved in bullying. This makes audiences aware that anyone can be bullied and in any situation it is not right.

Sophie Grimble plays our main antagonist in the film and her outfit had to be on point to portray her character well. She had to look smart to also highlight her wealth and prosperity. Also she had to contrast Jessica's character so a bit more colour and flashier jewellery was required for the role.





By Jack Jolly

Consent forms

We had consent forms filled in so that our cast were legally illegible to star in our film. This is documentation to prove that.

By Jack Jolly

Using Social Media To Advertise 'Back At Ya'

Twitter is a great way to advertise films and keep the public updated all the time, so they don't lose interest in our film. I myself have created some tweets as Director and one half of Peacock Productions to advertise Back At Ya to the public.

I used Twitter to advertise the film Back At Ya.

I made these tweets to built excitement for our film for our followers. Giving little hints towards the film and when it is shooting gives fans and awaiting audience members snippets of information to create a 'buzz'. Using the hashtag phenomenon is a very popular way of trending certain things all over the world, #BackAtYa would hopefully catch on and would be a prime way of tweeting about the film and connecting with other fans.

Twitter is used a lot to advertise films such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,

The official Catching Fire twitter page used the hashtag #CatchingFire to help people connect with other audience members and pages around the Twittersphere which were tweeting about Catching Fire.

By Jack Jolly