Assignment 6 - Evaluation

Here are some comments from my teachers and peers related to the screening of my first draft. Throughout my postproduction section I have used this feedback to create small/large differences in my production to create a tense and effective feel whilst watching. I was given feedback on colour, pace, text and music of my production to make sure I create a professional final piece.

Feedback from Media Teacher 1:

- Try showing a fast paced scene like a montage when she is violent towards him. It will leave a better reaction with an audience watching.

- Make the text center of the video. Correct a few spelling and grammar mistakes.

- Instead of cross dissolves to fade away the text and turn down the opacity so the text fades more slowly.

- Add in more visual footage when text appears so the audience is still engaged.

- Put all footage in black and white after it rewinds backwards.

Here is a screenshot from my production showing one of the improvements that I corrected, showing the fight scene between the man and women to be shown as a montage. As seen by this screen shot images have been overlapped and put together as a montage to create a dramatic and shocking feel whilst watching. 

I have also gone back and corrected small spelling mistakes to make sure that I produce a professional production so it creates a lasting effect on an audience watching. When looking back at my first draft, the improvements given to me by Media teacher 1, I changed the fades and lowered the opacity of the images and text to create a softer smoother transition between images.

Here shows my improvements from another section of feedback given to me for my production. I was told to have the text overlap different images that I have filmed to create more of a visual impact whilst watching. Going with my theme of using only images to create the dramatic impact for an audience. 

I was also given small improvements to tighten up my footage to make the message stranger for an audience. Putting certain sections of my production in black and white to show how the rewind section allowing the message to be clear to an audience. 

Feedback from Media Teacher 2:

- Tighten up a few of the visuals so it flows better when watching.

- Soundtrack suits the visuals well.

- Make the text neater so it is more effective. Think about the font you are using.

I was given similar feedback from Media teacher 2, saying I need to tighten up my production more for it to look more professional look. Positive feedback was also given about my soundtrack allowing me to carry on a slot in images that suit certain sections of the soundtrack. 

I also got told to look at the font used for the text section of my production, I need to look at the font the charity I'm trying to raise awareness for and replicate the size and font shape to create the link between my production and the charity again showing a professional look. In this screen shot it also shows the colour change to suit the main colour theme of the charity. 

 Feedback from Media Teacher 3:

-  Does the jump cut work? Does it show he is going back in time?

-  See if a fade to black works so it looks more like it's going back in time.

- See if the text can fade out before the visuals appear at the end.

- Great soundtrack.

- The punch looks more like a dance move than a weighty hit.

- Effective link between the shot of the fist and the charity's slogan.

I showed my final production to my third Media teacher asking for the final comments of feedback before sending it off. The feedback was mostly positive, sharing the information about the soundtrack and the creative link between the charity and my production. 

Feedback from students:

- Try a different slogan and change the colour of the font to the Victim Support colour.

- Change a few shots at the beginning because you don't know why she/he started on each other.

- Make the rewind section faster so it looks like it really is going back in time.

I gained less feedback from my classmates. However, the feedback I did get was to show the reason for the abuse to start by showing someone knock over a glass of water allowing an audience to know why the abuse in this situation has started. 

How aspects of my production helped communicate my message. 

To create a production that appealed to men that are affected by domestic violence I tried to look into different aspects that my production will need to reach out to men. With the visuals, I started with a hidden message using the images to look like the man (who was the main focus) was the abuser by showing fists and flasks from the male actor as well as blood being washed off his own hands. I then moved into a rewind going back to the clenched fist of the Man but instead of fading into black a Woman violently lunges towards him. Using these visuals I tried to create a simple but effective and tense effect, which is easy to watch for both Men and Women but finding it easier for a man to relate and read the message being given, sharing that just because men are always portrayed as the abuser does not mean they are never a victim of such abuse themselves. Showing this with the rewind section of my production showed violence behind close doors and other ways it could happen, trying to get victims to speak out and ask for help, In this situation the Man. When looking for a soundtrack for my production I tired to look for slow emotional songs at first to use because of how this situation could be emotional for most viewers and victims. I first choose to use the instrumental version of 'Say something by A Great Big World'. However when listening to it with my own visuals it didn't match due to the fast pace of the visuals. Because of the message of men also being victims, I decided to have a harsher upbeat soundtrack The Hills by the Weekend that suited the main them of domestic violence but crated a different mood other then an emotional feel, making it easier to relate to for men. When putting together the fighting scene of my production I made it fast paced and used opacity and overlapping via the post production stage to change the mood and the feel of this section, sending the message that abuse can be quick but its still abuse and it happens to everyone.

Strength and weaknesses 

I have many strengths and weaknesses in this production. For example, one of the visuals that I have used (Main actor washing his hands) shows a yellow tint from the orange/yellow bathroom lighting from the location I used, creating an amateur look whilst watching, due to it not fitting or flowing with the other footage used because of the change of colour.

Another weakness in my production is the 'rewind' section of this social action documentary, an audience could become confused when watching this section due to the quick change without any text or direct link that shows an audience this rewind and its purpose. This could create confusion for an audience, which could cause the message that I am trying to highlight to become hidden or confusing to an audience.

When looking through my video I spotted some jump cuts that ruined the flow of my video, which didn't allow me to create a smooth flow for my production. The jumps were located when the main character opened the door and looked into the camera, showing a noticeable jump cut  when he looked into the camera. Another noticeable jump cut was the visual with the flask,  showing a jerk in the pan. To change these weakness into strengths I have decided to re edit my final piece and change the visuals order and positioning to active my goal to make a smooth and professional final edit. 

Another weakness I noticed when I looked through was the length of time the text was on the screen and the positioning of the text on screen. When reading the text whilst watching it faded away before an audience had time to read it, creating confusion and annoyance for a audience. With the positioning of the writing 'Its not always what it seems' the spacing between the words were too close creating a amateur look to the video. To change this I re edited and repositioned my text to create a longer time for an audience to read and pick up the information being shown. I am also going to reposition the text so it comes across as professional and well structured.

I also have many positives that come out within my work. With the feedback that I have been given from different teachers I created a fast pace fight scene between the man and women in my production using overlapping and opacity to create a tense mood that reflects the quick abuse can which can happen between a man in a relationship. Creating a tense viewing experience for the target audience.

Another positive is the soundtrack for my domestic violence production, to find a soundtrack that I believe appeals to men and their struggle of being a victim. I decided to use an upbeat track from a popular song from 'The Weekend called The hills'. I used the instrumental track for my production because of its beat and how the different sound effects (scream within the soundtrack) fit with the visuals and create the mood that I tried to highlight.

When trying to create a link between my video and the charity I'm trying to raise awareness for, I used the same text size and front to show a comparison between them both. This creates a professional look and feel for an audience. I also used the same colour scheme for a certain sentence of the writing connecting to the charity (Orange) again to show a link and comparison to the charity and my production. 


Another strength I believe I have shown throughout my production is the different shots and visuals used throughout. I feel that the shots were well filmed and well positioned helping to create an engaging and professional look for he video. For example the black and white shots of the flask and the medium close ups and focus pulls of  his and her fists in the beginning and end of the production. Presenting good camera skills and techniques that went well with the video and created a professional look. 

How does my production compare with other domestic violence productions

When researching other domestic violence documentaries in the pre production stage of this unit, I saw many of them that are popular or well know to the public are complains that effect women. For example the 'look at me' campaign created by women's aid, and posters and leaflets by refuge helping women speak out and stop abuse against them. However, I came across little or even hardly any domestic violence websites or campaigns that target men and their struggles against domestic violence in a relationship. With my production I feel like I tried to create a production for a target audience that are not shown as a victim from abuse and are mainly seen as the abuser, subverting the normal agenda for domestic violence campaigns.

Looking into other videos of this issue, I cam across many 1 minute videos that show mostly shocking fast paced images that shock an audience rather then give them text with statistics and facts about the issue. I used the same technique having a shorter length for the production using mostly images to share my main message and to show how men don't speak out about there abuse and hide it.

Here is an example of the shorter documentaries that I looked into showing the time to be approximately 1:00, repeating the same images getting faster and faster as the video goes on. My production in similar because of the fast pace editing I used to creating a shocking image and feel for an audience. as well as the effect of repeating and rewinding again to create a different atmosphere and leave an effect for an audience watching.

This video is also an Anti-domestic violence video, showing fast repeated images of a young girls life to create a dramatic effect by using shock tactics. This video shows 4 small different scenes of this young girl. Another being the young girl at school having trouble with her reading and writing. Second section shows her mugging and abusing someone outside of a small shop. Third section shows this girl being locked up in a prison cell whilst she is crying. The last and the most shocking section is this young girl being smacked at the back of the head by a man shout names like 'Worthless'.  All these sections are part of a girl’s life on how she is abused and the effects it has on her throughout her life, showing and pointing out to an audience the effect that abuse can have on young people. 

This video helped me create one of my strengths that I think works well with my main message and the theme that I was trying to create with the fighting scene within my production, by replicating the fast pace footage allowing an audience to see the shocking visuals whilst watching, given me different ideas to create a stranger piece of work. To create a more effective production when looking into detail with these existing productions, I could slow down the footage a little to make sure an audience watching knows exactly what is happening and how the techniques used show the different affects some men could be going through.

Another video I looked into was the PSA video 'It ends were it begins'. Showing how abuse at home between a man and women does not have to end in he or she getting physical abused. This is an Anti-domestic violence video hoping to raise awareness. Inspiration I gained from this video is the different shots that where used to show the characters and to foreshadow different events that could take place. For example this video shows, I used the same shot with a medium close up of a clenched fist with a focus pull. I believed these shots were effective and helped my idea of thinking that the man was the abuser in my productions shown by his actions within the first scene.

This video also used the idea of rewinding time showing the action of this video backwards, creating the message that the kind relationship being shown at the beginning should not change into a violent abusive relationship at the end, by using a technique of rewinding the visuals back so the ending shows a positive relationship between everyone in the household, I used this effect of rewinding time to also show a message that is not expected or shown in different campaigns and pictures. Also creating the shocking effect that comes with the different techniques used in this campaign video.