The document summarizes research conducted for a short film project. It includes a survey that found the target audience is 16-24 year olds. The surveys also showed thrillers and comedies were preferred genres. Research on production techniques looked at the films Gone Girl and Black Swan for their use of neutral camera shots and lighting to portray emotion. The document outlines plans for filming, including the use of neutral shots, lighting experiments, and syncing audio. It identifies constraints such as equipment availability and time needed for filming and editing.

1. Stage 2
Research and Experiments
By Libby Whitehorn

2. As you can see i have formed a survey
and the majority of people who have
answered the questions are 16-24 year
olds. This makes the research vital due
to my target audience being 16-24
years. This will give me a good
indication on what short film to create
through out this project.
As you can see from the survey, the
majority of people who have taken
the survey are male, but i have a
mixed response from females too. I
feel like this variation will help me
when producing my film. This will
with production because i will have
varied opinions about genres and
features.
Primary/Secondary Target Audience

3. As you can see i had a
mixed responses of the
genres people prefer and
why. The two genres that
appeared the most was
Thriller and Comedy. My
audience preferred
Thrillers due to the
unexpected plot twists
and the adrenaline.
Where as, for Comedy
the audience said they
liked the humour behind
them.
However, with the production being a silent short film it would become
challenging to produce this content. Where as, creating a a Thriller will be
easier, but i need to make sure my audio fits well with this. This is because if
the audio isn't effective or accurate, it will make a Thriller hard and un-
effective.

4. As you can see i asked two important
questions which will help me determined what
features and what emotion to display if i chose
to do a expressive film. From the information i
have gathered, a lot of people look for good
settings, audio and good camera lightings and
camera angles. All these features make films
effective and more interesting. For example: if
you're trying to make a character look small,
doing the shot from a high angle will give off
the effect of looking vunreable and weak. This
would be a good effect to use in a thriller or a
horror due to it making the audience
sympathise with the character. From
researching in expressive pieces, many people
suggested doing anger or curiosity due to it
involving the audience more, making the film
more relatable. With the film being more
relatable, it makes the audience enjoy and
empathise with it more. This makes the
scenario more realistic.

5. Identify target audience
 For this you should summarise your primary and secondary
research, through this you should then be able to produce an
audience outline that you intend to target. For this you could also
produce an audience profile.
The target audience that my short film will be aimed towards is 16-25 year olds.
This is due to the survey that i did. From this survey, i gathered the majority of
responses where 16-25 year olds. From this, it has given me a clear indication
what this target audience is looking for, which fits in with the short film i am
wanting to create. My film will be aimed at both females and males. This is
because i feel like my film will be highly appreciated by both genders. This is due
to it being a artsy film, making the meaning behind the story different for each
person. With my arts film, it will show a series on times through out life. This will
help my audience sympathise with the characters involved and will make them
question how precious time is.

6. Audience appropriate content
From looking into the BBFC website i have concluded that the content
appropriate to my target audience is because my film doesn't contain any
drugs or inappropriate behaviour. There is also no nudity or violence. If
my film contained any of these feature, the movies rating would go up.
However, the film might not be approved by ASA. This is what guidelines
all media productions have to abide by. If they don't abide by certain rules
the film can get banned or dismantled. For example: this would happen if
the film is racist or homophobic.
What i would like to include in my film is a tiny bit of violence. This is due
to my film trying to reflect what life is like. This means i have to show both
the good and bad sides to it. Due to the film being a silent film, the best
way to express these emotions would be to exaggerate the acting/scenes.

7. Production techniques research
 Research potential production techniques you might want to use
or feel would be most appropriate – these can be related to
camera, editing, story, sound, etc
 You should look at a minimum of 3 related products in your
research.
 You should collect clips/still images/how to guides/etc that might
help you. When watching scenes from films, etc you could also
ask potential target audience what they think.
 You will need to add extra slides!
 With each technique you should assess whether you can use it
or how you might employ or why you may want to disregard it
completely

8. Product 1 Of a Film: Gone Girl
The Product i have chosen to research into is gone girl. This is because it is a film
that is intriguing and complex. The genre of this film is a physiological thriller which
has won awards for Globe award for Best director and Critics chose award. This
film is rather dark and twisted but also gives you a sense of life and gets the
audience thinking what extremes people go to for attention or even satisfaction.
What i like about Gone Girl is that its filmed in a neutral manor which doesn't give
away who's got power and authority until the most intense moments. This lets the
audience figure out the unknown, which makes the intense moments more dramatic
due to not expecting what is coming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykY88uFKH50
This clip from youtube reflects this perfectly.
Another clip which presents this amazingly is this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhzEtIZDZ3w
In this clip, even though is it filmed neutrally, it shows the authority of power
through lighting and audio. For example: in this clip i feel like the woman (Amy) has
power. Even though the male is being aggressive and violent, the woman doesn't
back down and is shown in a light
which you can see scares him. However, you could interpret the male as being
dominant due to the neutral short portrayed to present this scene.

9. Product 2:AudioIn my final production i want to use a varied amount of side
effects. This is due to my film being a artsy film, i am wanting
to create suspense and emotions. One of the best ways to
give this across is by using sound effects. For my final project
i have considered using a heart beat sound and a ticking
clock noise. This is because my film is based off of how
precious time is. It will show a series of events that have
happened through out the main characters life, making the
audience feel sorry or even happy for the character. This will
depend on how the audience interprets it. However, the
sound effects will be important because they will help
exaggerate and portray emotions more clearly and better.
This will give off a effective performance, adding to the fact it
is a artsy genre film.
Also, with out audio added into the film, it won't give off the
message i am trying to portray. With out the clips and audio
being effective, it will make the film pointless and irrelevant.
Whilst exploring audio, i found it difficult to collect original
footage and making it fit with the clip i was editing. This is
something i need to consider highly before my final
production.

10. Product 3: The Black Swan
A product i have researched into is black swan. This is
because it is an expressive, dark and twisted piece. It
contains many complicated scenes and scenarios which gets
the audience excited but also frightened. This effect is
portrayed in many forms and scenes. The film has a lot of
meaning behind it, but its down to the audience on how you
interpret it. A great example of when emotion is portrayed in
an unique way is this clip from youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2a1WBqNTtQ
This clip displays the struggle of a female dancer who is
trying to come to terms with who she is. However, she is at
her happiness on the edge of death because she knows she
is free and isn't imprisoned in her own mind. This is how i
interpret the story, but others may view this differently. The
majority of the scene is shot in a neutral way, with many long
and close up shots. This gives nothing away in terms of
superiority, but it does reflect a non bias performance. This is
effective because it shows elegance in the way the
performance is carried out, the props and the lighting add to
the angelic side of death.

11. Experiments
Camera/Editing/Audio Experiments
Be prepared to add extra slides
Experiment Process

12. Filming - Process
Within the filming process of my final production i
will be using a lot of neutral shots to express my
film. This is because the film isn't suppose to
reflect superiority or vulnerable, its suppose to
reflect every day life and show the realistic side to
life. This is because i want to create a artsy film
about how precious time is. How i plan on filming
this is gathering old childhood clips and displaying
them edited together. This will also consist of
some child hood photos, this will bring around a
realistic and sentimental feel to the clip. I will need
to film scenes of a older women blowing out a
candle and a younger child blowing out a candle.
This is because it is vital scenes in my production.
This is because a birthday is a great indication of
time and all audiences can relate to birthday
celebrations.

13. Reflection
 What elements of your experiments will you include in your
final product?
The elements of my experiment that i will include in my final production is
experimenting with lighting, angles and coming to terms with the camera. For
example: in my movie production i will be using a neutral shot rather oftenly. This
means i need to understand how to keep the shot level so that each frame fits in
nicely when it comes to editing. This will help add to the effect of the film.
I will also experiment with lighting. This is because the lighting will be important with
reflecting the mood of the scene or even the character. I feel like this will be an
important factor when it comes to filming my video. If the lighting is off in my filming,
the tone will be wrong, creating the film to be wrong and disorientated. This is
important especially due to making a artsy film. This means it can be interpreted in
different ways by the audience, but i want to be able to convey the same message to
everyone.

14. Editing - Process
Within the editing process of my final production i
will need to make sure the editing links up to the
audio well. This is because if the audio doesn't
sync with the filming, the film will become
ineffective and will cause the whole film to be a
flap. This is a bad thing, especially when i am
trying to put across an realistic and relatable clip
together.
I will also have to research more into how to use
the software. This is so i can create the most
effective clip. This means i can add in special
effects and edit the colour and tone of the clips if i
end up filming them in the wrong tone. This will
help save time and develop my skills further of
premier adobe. This means i have thought
everything through which will make my final
production easier and less time consuming. This
means i will manage my time well.

15. Reflection
 What elements of your experiments will you include in
your final product?
The elements of my experiment that i will include in my final production is
experimenting with what order my video clips should be edited in. This is
because the film i am creating can be reconstructed in different ways and
would portray a different story if edited differently.
I also need to work on my editing skills in general. This means i should
watch a few youtube tutorials to help me understand how to edit the film in
a time effective manor. This will help make my production more effective
and will give me more time to concentrate on how to make the over all film
more accurate and interesting. This will also make sure the audio is all in
sync, which will make the finished product highly good.

16. Audio - Process
Within the audio production of my final film i will
need to make sure the audio is in sync with the
video clips. This is because if the clips don't match
to the audio, it will throw off the effect i am wanting
to create.
Also, when gathering original audio i need to make
sure it is clear and has no disturbance in the
backgrounds. This is because when i was
experimenting with the recording, i gathered a lot
of backing noise with the main sound i was
wanting to create. This means i need to make sure
i get a few clips and try and edit them so it makes
the noise clear and effective.
I also need to make sure i plan what audio i need
to gather. This is because without a plan i will end
up recording random noises and forgetting about
the most important elements.

17. Reflection
 What elements of your experiments will you include in
your final product?
The elements of my experiment that i will include in my final production is
experimenting with different audio to see what works better and what sound
effects give off the best effect.
At the moment, for my final production i am wanting to include a ticking of a
clock and a heart beat noise. This is because they are two basic but effect
noises which will help portray my story in a emotive manor.
I thought a heart beat reflects tension but it also is a great representative for life
itself. This would be a effective sound effect to include in my film due to the film
being about how precious time is. I though the heart beat could help slow this
down and will let the audience collect there thoughts and gets them thinking.
I do feel like i need to work on making the audio in sync with the clips. This is
because it wont give off the effect i am wanting to portray.

18. Constraints on production
 List all the potential constraints that might affect or limit your production, you should consider
issues from each of these categories:
 Time/Personnel/Cost/Technical/Location/Organisational
A few constraints that may occur during the filming period would be the equipment
not being available to use outside of college hours. This is because on my film a lot
of the scenes will have to be filmed outside of college. This is because my film is
about the concept of time and growing up which means the footage needs to be
realistic and meaningful. With a mass amount of people using camera equipment at
the same time, this could come as an issue. There is also the issue of running out of
time to record in. This is because one of my scenes needs to be time lapsed. This
means i need to record the same position for long periods of time, to then speed up
and edit when it comes to adding audio and editing the shots/scenes together. I feel
like with my production i will need to spend a lot of time creating the right audio and
editing the piece together. This is because the audio will be a vital part with putting
the emotions i want across. For example: in my film i will be including a birthday cake
scene. This means i need to add in celebrating and cheering to give off the feeling of
excitement and joy.