Questions 2 and four of the evaluation.

1. THE FOREST - EVALUATION
QUESTIONS TWO & FOUR

2. QUESTION 2:
HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS
 I would say that my poster is quite possibly the most effective part of my ancillary task as it connotes all
of the main themes and the genre of the film effectively, not only this, but it also denotes the very name
of the film; The Forest, with use of overgrown foliage and trees surrounding the main image. It took
many drafts to perfect and many different pictures to find the right composition, exposure and location
but it was a rewarding experience which would only contribute to my advanced portfolio. Creating it
took many hours of research into the genre of War.
 I believe the hardest part of creating the poster, for me at least, was the credit block. While I could’ve
opted for an easier route and used a stock credit block, I wanted to make a real and custom one that
featured everyone involved in the film’s production.
 Another main factor that I wanted to implement (which aids in making the combination of the poster
and the film effective) is the high definition of the poster, while most students decide to go with a lower
resolution of poster, commonly A3 ( which should be at a resolution of 3508x4961 but usually isn’t) , I
decided to go with the ultra high definition of 7016 x 9933 at 300ppi.
 The poster conveys the message that the film will be centred around conflict and survival through the
iconic soldier’s grave ( helmet and gun), the only difference being that it is in a forest rather than a field
surrounded by other graves.
THE POSTER

3. QUESTION 2:
HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS
 Creating the film review was no simple task. I had many great film review magazines to pick from to
decide the format and style of the review, not to mention the amount of work that actually went into
creating the review in Adobe Photoshop CS6. In the end I decided to use the style of Empire
Magazine, who’s clear and concise method of reviewing with use of trivia and facts draws the reader
in and entices them into watching the film seemed perfect for my short film.
 I believe it is an effective combination due to the simple fact that both the film and it’s review have
an incredible attention to detail, in the film this was all around getting the equipment to be the exact
same as the gear used in real life by armed forces whereas in the review it revolved around the detail
of the small things viewers may have missed or taken for granted. Combined with Empire’s style of
reviewing that many are comfortable with, it made for an effective duo.
 The review itself has also been praised for being straight to the point and outlines the key aspects of
the production, hinting to the viewer whether this will be a film they would like to view or skip.
 It’s high production quality is also matching with the film itself in regards to both despite being
edited and created by myself, possess the polish of a project made by a larger group of people.
THE FILM REVIEW

4. QUESTION 4:
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION,
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
 In the construction of ‘The Forest’ multiple media technologies ranging from software to hardware were used, not to
mention actual construction of a crane for an aerial shot. For the editing process, Sony Vegas Pro 12 was used rather than
Adobe After Effects which other students used. This was due to my comfort and years of experience using the program
creating videos for recreation and also for revenue, Sony Vegas Pro is one of the best editing programs currently on the
market (not to mention expensive) and using it allowed me to both edit and render at a higher quality and level of
customisation.
 For the creation of my poster and film review/ancillary texts I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 to create these elements at a
more professional level as opposed to other editing software.
 In terms of hardware, I used a Canon DSLR camera to film the main shots of the film in the second half to provide a clearer
image whereas using an older Sony camera for the first half, intentionally making the image slightly more hazy, to reinforce
the understanding later on that it was a dream, as we all know dreams are never crystal clear as opposed to reality. For first
person shots a GoPro Hero 3 was used and recorded at 1080p @30fps, using a military helmet adaptor to attach it the
same way a real soldier would.
 To assist in editing, parts were bought for computer beforehand to increase it’s rendering and editing capabilities; for the
graphics card/video card a Nvidia GT640 2GB DDR4 was used and for RAM an extra 8GB of Corsair Vengeance was added
to my existing 8GB, enabling me to edit and render with much more ease and creating multiple drafts without hassle.
 And finally as aforementioned, to build the ‘crane’ I purchased wooden poles, extra strength rope and duct tape to suspend
the second GoPro 20 metres above us on the scaffolding surrounding the filming site (permission was given by residents
verbally), allowing us to film an aerial shot without having to hire a drone and allowing us to create the head spinning effect
at the end of the film.
CONSTRUCITON

5. QUESTION 4:
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION,
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
 The planning section of the production/pre-production took almost as long as the research and construction
but fewer complex programs were used to create these documents, making them relatively simple to create
but made difficult due to the sheer number of documents needing to be made, for example, the shot list took
quite long to make despite being a simple layout due to the amount of shots and angles in the film.
 For the planning of the film software was used more than hardware, and online technologies provided by
google played a much larger role. Microsoft Excel was used to create the call sheet which notified all members
of the cast and crew on where to be and what to expect for filming the second half of the film (first half was
filmed solo with help only being given in carrying equipment).
 Next, Microsoft Word was used to create shot lists and risk assessments, while the script was sent through a
regular email. Storyboards were scanned and printed to give actors context about what scene would be filmed
next and the general direction of the film. These were then dispersed and sent through Gmail to all accounts
of the crew who in turn used Google Docs and Spreadsheet to read the various items sent.
 Photoshop was once again used to create the mood board, as I lack in artistic skills I wanted to use images in a
neat and organised manner rather than sketch an illustration that some may not understand due to my poor
penmanship.
PLANNING

6. QUESTION 4:
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION,
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
 Research was the longest part of the process, taking up almost as much time as the construction. For
this, Microsoft Word was used to write up essays and research reports, Photoshop to create diagrams
and research labelling and SurveyMonkey to visualise feedback from my target audience and viewership
in the form of creating surveys, graphs and diagrams.
 Dispersing the surveys were done digitally rather than physically by sending them in link form to
recipients either through email or the desktop version of WhatsApp to gather results and use
smartphone technology to my advantage.
 However, a significant amount of time was also spent on film review websites such as Empire, Time out
and The Guardian’s film review section to fully understand the style and level I would be working in when
in the construction stages of the project, this use of pre-production and planning allowed me to create
the short film with much more ease.
RESEARCH

7. QUESTION 4:
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION,
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
RESEARCH
*Made in Photoshop CS6

8. QUESTION 4:
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION,
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
 In the final stage of the process and it’s post-production, the evaluation, I used an array of media technology ranging from social
media to previously used programs. Sony Vegas Pro 12 was once again used to create the evaluation video for questions 1 & 3 ( I
answered the questions this was as I believe these questions were better spoken about than written due to their detailed and social
nature e.g. audience feedback) . For recording the audio a Blue Yeti microphone was used, same as for the narration in the film to
provide the viewer with crystal clear audio.
 In creating this part of the evaluation, Microsoft Power point was used as opposed to Prezi, as I believe clean, concise and organised
is better than the more casual/informal feel and appearance that Prezi gives off both to the viewer and creator.
 This was then converted through LinkedIn (Slideshare) to be uploaded in an easily accessible and viewable manner on my
WordPress blog rather than posting a link to my Google Docs or Dropbox.
 Surveys were collected at the film’s screening and also a thorough review by two peers were given to me to assist in post-
production and evaluation of my product, sent to me online through email and taken with scans and smartphones due to my injury
related absence where I couldn’t collect them physically.
EVALUATION

9. THE FOREST EVALUATION:
QUESTIONS 2 & 4
Thank you for taking the time to read this evaluation, I hope to hear your feedback and criticism.