Final Submission

Critical Creative Reflection Prezi

Critical Creative Reflection Prezi

Quarter 3 Revisions

After the class reviewed our films for the 2nd time we received some more feedback. Our main revision is going to be our audio. First being incidental music, the second being fixing the cop audio, the third being the phone call voice over. We want to add some background music to have more adrenaline throughout the film and not make it so boring. Also, while editing this past time the cop audio voices overlaid incorrectly, so we will re-arrange that so it sounds professional and realistic. Lastly, the audio for the phone call is bad quality, so Josh would like to re record it to make it more clean and crisp. It will be an easy fix in Adobe Premiere Pro when we go to make these revisions.

Important Side Note

In our film we had made use of two major props: a toy gun and cars. My group and I wanted to make clear that the gun was/is %100 fake and was used safely and correctly when filming. We also made use of 2 cars racing. During the "race scene" we were driving at legal speeds; however due to the angles and editing it made the effect that it was faster than it appears.

Quarter 3 Submission

After doing some revisions, this is our quarter 3 submission. 

Creative Critical Reflection (4)

To start we obviously used google blogger. Having a blog helped keep me and my group organized, up to date, and learn vital information we needed to know going into this project. We did research on target audiences, digital distribution, related films, and the use/challenges of conventions. All of these topics helped us configure our film to what it is now. To film our movie we used a Soni Alpha Digital Camera.  I quickly learned how to operate it in order to take shots for our film. For example, zooming in and out, as well as starting and stopping a recording. We also edited our film with Adobe Premiere Pro. In this program we were able to merge clips together, add sound, trim clips, add credits, and much more.

The picture above is the Lexus IS 250 that was used as one of the vehicles in the background at the car meet.

Creative Critical Reflection (3)

At the beginning of this project I did not know much about professional film making and distribution. After doing a lot of research on vocabulary, camera angles, sound, mise-en-scene, editing, distribution techniques, and about software my skills certainly developed. Not only did research help, but the hands on making of a film let me get a feel for how cameras really work. When I was filming specific car scenes I was able to maneuver the camera so the shot would be appealing to the audience. Throughout the year my class had to analyze many pieces of films and TV shows. We would take notes on the meaning, camera angles, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene. We would then write an essay. Doing this multiple times helped me remember important terminology and improve my writing skills. The feed back I received from the class and my teacher also helped me improve my writings and knowledge. Overtime, remembering the different techniques didn't require much effort, so when it came to making our film it was just a matter of incorporating them correctly.

The picture above is the S2000 used as one of the vehicles in the background of the car meet.

Creative Critical Reflection (2)

Our product is like the film that you NEED to finish because you are so intrigued. You want to know what happens in the end. Who does Austin target? Do things end up good for Austin? Are there murders, more races, more money? The product shows that if the movie were to be finished there would be a lot of action, which always keeps an audience engaged. In order to connect our audience to the film we used normal conventions from other movies to draw the viewers in. We also payed attention to what our viewers would like to see. For example, we included Louis Vuitton bags and other millennial based stylistic cues that would appeal to this subset of social groups. Our movie would be distributed the typical way. We would first partner with Universal. Then, it would be released through movie theaters world-wide and we would make money off of the box office tickets.  After about 90 days it will then be release on the media ( DVD, Blue-ray, and the internet). After an additional number of months, it will be released to Pay TV, and approximately two years after its theatrical release date it is made available for free-to-air TV.  As a result of strong DVD sales it is said that movies have achieved higher success and have become a profitable market lately, especially for independent movie makers and companies, which is why we would take this route.

The picture above is the 2017 Civic Type-R used as the "get away car"

Creative Critical Reflection (1)

With my group's final product we saw that our research of other films related to ours really helped us when it came to conventions. Specifically, with the lighting, expenses, costuming, casting, audio, props, and the tone of the film. We also payed attention to the plot and flow of events and how  they were portrayed through camera angles, editing, mise en scene, and sound. For example, for a car movie you need to include nice cars; even modified ones. We took advantage of this and was able to include nice looking and decently fast vehicles as props. We also used many conventional camera angles. For example, an insert shot of the exhausts revving. This shot is very common within car films such as, Fast and Furious. The social groups that we targeted are of all ages, especially car enthusiasts. The audience of our film can vary from age, gender, and social groups; however, we did some research to look more into the social group it represented. My group and I concluded that the film will target the ages of 15 to 30 years old and mainly the male gender. The social group we would target are mainly ones involved in the car culture. Looking at it in geographical means our film would be viewed internationally. All over the world there are areas that consist of car enthusiasts.

The picture above is the 2014 RS Camaro Austin raced in.

Digital Distribution Research: Fast Five

The first trailer for Fast Five was released on Vin Diesel's Facebook page on December 14, 2010, in what was believed to be the first ever use of this marketing approach. At the time, Diesel's page had over 20 million subscribers (one of the top five personal sites of celebrities), this provided a wide audience for the trailer. Following this, other members of the cast with personal social media platforms released the "teaser trailer" to their own fans.The Facebook game Car Town by Cie Games and the theater chain Regal Entertainment Group (REG) collaborated with Universal in a cross-media marketing promotion. Car Town allowed players to view the trailer for the film in an REG-branded, in-game drive-in theater and race around a virtual Rio de Janeiro. The game also featured missions and locations based on the plot of the film, while allowing players to race against Fast Five characters and take part in a bank heist. REG offered players of Car Town the ability to purchase tickets in-game through Fandango for films at REG theaters. By buying these tickets in-game, players were given promotional codes which in turn allowed them to unlock a virtual 1970s Dodge Charger, used by Diesel's character in the original film. REG promoted the partnership between the film and the game in their theaters across 37 states, online and through social media, while Universal promoted it via their own Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites.

Digital Distribution Research: Baby Driver

In August 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the film would be released on March 17, 2017. It was briefly pushed back to August 11, 2017 before a final date of June 28, 2017 was settled on. Baby Driver had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 11, 2017. On the weekend of August 25, the film was re-released in 1,074 theaters. Baby Driver was released on Digital Media on September 12, 2017, and on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray & DVD on October 10, 2017, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film debuted at number 2 on both the NPD VideoScan First Alert sales chart and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This film followed the typical 3 month release dates. The film did rather well. Baby Driver grossed $107.8 million in the United States and Canada and $119.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $226.9 million, against a production budget of $34 million. The film was re-released into 1,074 theaters on August 25 and made $1.2 million, up 34% from the previous week.

Digital Distribution Research: Need for Speed

On September 25, 2013, the trailer for Need for Speed was released on iTunes. The film held its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater on March 7, 2014. The film was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through the Touchstone Banners banner on March 14, 2014, in selected 3D, IMAX, and conventional 2D theaters. It was also released worldwide by Disney, except for certain territories in Europe, Africa and Middle East. Need for Speed was released on Blue-ray Disc, DVD and Blu-ray 3D on August 5, 2014. After finding this research the productions method was stretched out than most. Rather than the typical 3 months this film didn't release their DVDs until about 6 months later. Need for Speed earned $43,577,636 in North America and $159,700,000 in other countries, as of May 19, 2014, for a worldwide total of $203,277,636. The film finished in 3rd place over the three-day weekend with $17.8 million.

Digital Distribution Research

Digital distribution is the delivery of media content, such as audio, video, software and video games. The term is generally used to describe distribution online. Content distributed online may be streamed or downloaded, and often consists of books, films and television programs, music, software, and video games. Film distribution is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the job of a professional film distributor, who would choose the marketing strategy for the film, the media by which a film can be seen, and setting the release date. The film may be viewed directly to the public either through a movie theater or television, or even personal home viewing. For commercial projects, film distribution is usually accompanied by film promotion. With the road show system, the producer would enter into an agreement with each theater. Money would be made through ticket sales and the theater and studio would make profit. A movie's showing would be limited in order to boost demand.  Although this method helped increase film earnings for the producer, a movie's release would only be at the regional level. In the typical process, a movie is first released through movie theaters, then after about 16 weeks it is released to VHS and VOD services (entering its video window). After an additional number of months, it is usually released to Pay TV, and approximately two years after its theatrical release date it is made available for free-to-air TV. A simultaneous release takes place when a movie is made available on many media (cinema, DVD, internet) after about 90 days. A straight to video (or straight-to-DVD or straight-to-Blu-ray) release occurs when a movie is released on home video formats (VHS, DVD, etc.) without being released in theaters first, thereby not taking into consideration the "theatrical window". As a result of strong DVD sales, Direct-to-video releases also achieved higher success and have become a profitable market lately, especially for independent movie makers and companies

Revision 3: Trey's (Austin) Dialogue

We wanted to hear Trey better during his line; therefore, we re filmed his speaking part in this scene.

Revision 2: "The List"

We originally had "the list" written out on lined paper. After watching our completed film we realized that it didn't look professional. We decided to type of the secret note and re film the angle. The bottom picture is the original footage and the top is the new.

Revision 1: Phone Call

 The original footage of Trey (Austin) answering the random phone call was very blurry. We wanted to re-film this scene so it will look more clean, crisp, and professional. The bottom picture is the original footage and the top is the new.

Commercial Research

NFL Commercial

The product for this commercial is to promote the NFL and to get people to watch it. The commercial was based off of humor. Eli Manning and Odell Beckham were dancing to a song from the movie "Dirty Dancing". I believe that the commercial was trying to bring in more female viewers. The use of choreography and a movie that many women like would help attract the viewers that they want. Due to the older movie and music their target audience must of been older (30's to 50's). However, it could intrigue teens due to the younger actors.

Winter Olympics Commercial

The product for this commercial is to promote the Winter Olympics and get people to watch it. It showed the life of Lindsey Von and her journey as a professional skier. The commercial really used pathos to intrigue the audience. They wanted the viewers to feel inspired and empowered from Lindsey's accident and her rehab. They also incorporate Alicia Keys' song "This Girl is on Fire" to show how strong she is. The commercial represents the United States and the people's determination. The ad also used synergy with NBC to help promote. The target audience were the United States as a whole. Looking deeper it could really touch parents because the commercial consisted of Lindsey as a child with her parents first teaching her how to ski.

Trip to Australia Commercial

The product for this commercial is to encourage people to take a trip to Australia. The commercial incorporated a humor aspect by including Chris Hemsworth, Danny Mcbride, and Crocodile Dundee.  It also featured many cool trips you could take such as the Sydney Oprah House, the outback, beaches, and snorkeling. Their target audience must be adults due to the older references. It is also going to be a pricey trip; therefore, it would target people who are well stabled financially.

After viewing these commercials I would incorporate one specific technique that could really help promote our film. One of the main factors would be trying to bring in more female viewers. We could incorporate a well known song many women like or even try to promote it with the lead character. Also, many women love nice sports cars which are showed in the film.

Target Audience Research: Tokyo Drift

Tokyo Drift is another action filled car movie that resembles our film. Much like the other films I have researched, the target audience is very similar. All of them typically gear towards men and car enthusiasts. The marketing director used varies campaigns to promote the movie such as, advertisements on apps, restaurants, car products, energy drinks, kid toys, as well as social media. To get people to see their movie they intrigued them with the personal story of the lead character (Sean) as well as the action with the racing. I thought it was rather interesting that they incorporated kid toys. I think if I were to promote my film kid toys would help bring in more audience.

Target Audience Research: Overdrive

Overdrive is a high-octane, action filled movie. It involves two brothers who specialize in stealing luxury cars. Both this film and my groups' involve crime, cars, and women. These sorts of movies tend to gear to the target audience that I have explained in my previous post. Overdrive has made customized print pieces, digital resources (social media and videos), and communication templates for newsletters. They also promoted their movie through commercials on channels and or movies with the same genre.  

Target Audience Research: Fast and Furious 7

The audience of our film can vary from age, gender, and social groups however, we did some research to make our target audience more specific. My group and I concluded that the film will target the ages of 15 to 30 years old and mainly the male gender. The social group we would target are mainly ones involved in the car culture. Looking at it in geographical means our film would be viewed internationally. All over the world there are areas that consist of car enthusiasts.

Both my group's film as well as Fast and Furious 7 have the same targeted audience because they both are filled with action and cars. Due to Paul Walker's passing, Fast and Furious was already high in the ranking. When it was let out that there will be a 7th one they used many marketing techniques. For example, billboards across the US and even the world. They did it in a very respectful manner towards Paul which many people appreciated and felt sympathy for. In one of the American posters he can be seen standing next to the other 6 lead characters of the movie, just like one of the family as he has always been. Not only did they take advantage of the use of signs, billboards, posters, etc, but they also used social media, such as YouTube to show their trailer. To market our film we would definitely use social media given that our society today is very involved with.