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Synopsis

A teen comedy film about a girl who lives a double life which is dubbed as her 'alter ego'. Sydnie, a 17 year old girl in her last year of high school has the perfect life. She lives with her wealthy parents in their big house in London. At home, Sydnie is sweet, kind and caring but it soon becomes clear that its an act just to get what she wants out of her parents. When Sydnie is at school she is a completely different person. She is the most popular girl in school, she's mean, manipulative and an all round brat. Her friends don't know about her act at home and her parents don't know about her act at school. There is a 'new girl' called Jenny that has also joined for the last year and she becomes a rival to Sydnie as the new girl was the popular girl in her old school and wants to keep that position. One day at school Sydnie is in the toilets having a conversation with her mother over the phone. Jenny walks in and eavesdrops on the conversation and soon discovers Sydnies hidden side. Sydnie makes a deal with Jenny so that she wont spill her secret after Jenny threatens to expose her. However later on Jenny exposes Sydnies secret in front of the whole school showing them the conversation with her mother. Everyone looks at Sydnie as a joke and laugh at her realizing she wasn't as scary after all. Sydnie's parents even find out and they are deeply dissapointed with her. Sydnie lays low for a while, focusing on her final exams. During this time Jenny has taken over as the popular but she is even more wicked than Sydnie. The school throw there end of year prom and to Sydnies surprise and Jenny's fury, she is crowned prom Queen. She gets a chance to explain the truth to everyone and apologies for being horrible in the past. Sydnie leaves high school a completely new person who is kind, intelligent and down to earth.

Most films have five acts and conform to a narrative theory. I created a story pyramid for 'Alter Ego' explaining the five different acts and going through the main events of the story.

Alter Ego First Cut



This was my first cut for my opening sequence. As you can see their is not much improvement from my preliminary task in terms of editing, sound and camera shots and angles. This was made before I had done serious research and planning into costume, props, camera and other elements. After I got feedback about this edit I realized I needed to do research into other teen films and their opening sequences and analyse their mise en scene, editing, sound and camera shots and angles, you can find this on the research and planning page. 

As you can see I used two different actresses in this scene. The point of this was that they are both the same girl but they represent the different egos of Sydney. However from my feedback it was made clear to me that I didn't make this obvious to the audience. The audience did not grasp that the two actors were supposed to be the same person and the transition to show this was not clear. Because of this I decided to scrap the two actor idea and stick to one actor playing Sydney and focus fully on one ego during the opening sequence. I decided to focus on the more down to earth Sydney i my opening sequence as I obviously want my audience to connect with her and take a liking to the main character and I feel like the more down to earth Sydney allows the audience to do this.  I think this was the right decision as the story becomes clearer to the audience and they get to see one ego fully instead of two briefly. Having two actors and showing both egos would of most likely taken more than two minuets for the audience to understand them also.

In terms of editing, the jumps in editing are very poor quality and that makes the video look unprofessional. The jump between the two egos is very bad as its sudden without any indication to the audience and its almost as if they are two completely different clips. The camera is also not very steady but the quality and screen width is an improvement from the preliminary. The camera shots and angles have improved from the preliminary but not a great amount. Furthermore the music used was subject to copyright therefore I could not use it. The white noise was also very obvious and made the video sound messy and difficult to listen to.

Overall this edit is messy and I clearly had to do more research and planning and practice more on premier to get the editing perfect. 

Second Sequence Edit

This was the second edit I made for my opening sequence. I was happy with this edit as it was a major improvement from my first edit, the jumps are neater, the music fits nicely with the sequence and there are no messy transitions. I was personally very proud of this edit, however there were a few elements that I realized needed improving or replacing after I re watched the video various times and got critical feedback from peers. Something I discovered was that the music I used for this sequence was not in fact royalty free and therefore I was unable to use it and had to find a new and usable piece of music that would fit with my already pieced sequence. Another drawback that I found was that the sped up titles at the beginning of the scene were not sped up enough and one shot that was intended to be sped up was accidentally slowed down instead which made the titles look messy and unprofessional. 

Further things that I needed to improve upon which I got from feedback was that the mirror scene was also too long and the parents arrival was not explained and was seen as insignificant. People also thought the parents should have more screen time to show her relationship with them. Therefore I wanted to improve on that. I realized that after re watching my edit and getting feedback that it wasn't as god as I thought it was and so I was motivated to make another edit to ensure I improve on these drawbacks to make my scene more enjoyable for my audience.

Audience Feedback

I got friends and peers to watch my opening sequence and then asked questions to get feedback about what they thought about it. I put together a video of their interviews so you can see what my target audience really think about my opening sequence.

As you can see from the video above, my target audience did enjoy the opening even thought there was some constructive criticism about lighting and the font used. I was also happy that 80% of peers  identified the genre within the first two minuets. The percentage that did not recognize the genre said that this was mostly due to lack of dialogue. They thought that if more dialogue was involved they were more likely to have identified the genre. Yet others who did guess the genre said that the use of sound and music was one of the things that gave the genre away. Never the less now I know what I can improve on for the future and what I can develop on.

I also uploaded my opening sequence onto Facebook and asked the same questions so that I could get more feedback from a wider range of audience.

However as you can see the questions I asked were not answered, but I still got some brief feedback which was still useful and some compliments which made me feel content about my opening. I got 7 likes and one share which helped with getting my opening shared and recognized which was a bonus about sharing my video on Facebook. It was this feedback that made me rethink my sequence and have another go at editing it.

Third and Final Attempt

My third attempt was my final one (on homepage) I improved on as many drawbacks as I could in this edit including adding more screen time for the parents, speeding up the titles more/fixing the slow motion title and making the shots lighter. Through this process of editing I have taken screenshots of how I improved my sequence with my editing skills.

The Editing of the Final Video

This is what the final piece looked like in Premier once all the editing was complete. The editing process was quite long and took a few days to perfect.

I uploaded all the videos I shot on the Camcorder to Premier so that I could edit them into my opening sequence.

As you can see the original shots (on the left) I took with the Camcorder were fairly dark and this unfortunately did not fit with my genre of comedy. However as you can see the edited shots (on the right) are brighter.

I managed to change the lighting of my shots through effects. I looked at the effects section on premier and on the search bar typed in 'Lighting'. The option for lighting effects came up and I had a play around with the different filters and color shades that would make my video seem less sinister and more comic. I found that the pale pink shade fitted nicely with my shots and this color also highlights the characters personality through it as well. I also managed to brighten the picture so that the actual picture does not look so dim. By editing the lighting it has fitted my opening sequence to the comedy genre.

Another editing skill I learned and used during the post production stage was the speeding up of the camera shots. I wanted to use this effect as from my research a lot of teen movies use speed up shots around the location as a quick way to show the audience the characters interests and to also highlight the genre further.

I managed to do this by right clicking on the clip that I want speed up then clicking on the 'Speed/Duration' option on the bar. Once you click on the speed/duration button a small box pops up that allows you to chose weather you want to speed up or slow down your clip. I discovered that to slow down your clip you need to insert a smaller number and to speed up the clip enter a bigger number, 100% was normal pace. I changed the clips that introduced the films title to 200% as shown above. This sped up my clips and created an effect that really enhances my films genre.

The next step was adding in the music. Royalty free music was only prohibited in the opening sequence. I downloaded my music from the internet and uploaded it into premier. The song I decided to use was called 'Dada' and it fitted perfectly with my genre. It had a lighthearted beat to it that captivates audiences. As you can see i the editing of the music (on the left) I cut the song down slightly so that it would fit into my scene. By editing the song I got to pick the parts which best reflected my film and its genre

I then added the song into the final piece and watched it over so that I could see if the music fitted right.

From this screenshot from my editing you can also see the other sounds I have used and sounds I have edited out. In 'Audio 1' i have blocked all sound, I have moved the sound that goes into these clips into Audio 1 if I do not want my audience to hear them. The sound moved to audio one are mostly from the title parts in the sequence and various other parts that have unnecessary white noise which I don't want to ruin my scene. In 'Audio 2' I have accessed the sound, this is the sound from my clips when the characters are speaking or other relevant surround sounds such as Sydney's phone alarm going of. I obviously want the audience to hear the characters dialogue and other important sounds therefore I kept the sound. In 'Audio 3' I published the background music here that adds the final effect into my opening sequence.

Another editing skill I learned through this process and used was the adding in of titles. As you can see above title include the names of the actors and other important people to the film such as the director and producer. 

 The way I added in these titles was by going onto 'Title' at the top of the screen then clicking 'New Title' and finally clicking 'Default Still'. The option box then appears asking you to name your new title. As you cans see I inserted the name of one of my actors.

Once naming your title you type the title then position it whereabouts you want it to appear in the shot and then pick the size, font and color of the title. As you can see I decided to enlarge my title so that it makes it easy for the audience to see and I decided to keep it white so that it stands out.

Finally I hit the 'Enter' button and rendered my final sequence so that it looks polished and professional.

I then uploaded it to YouTube and posted it on my blog. 

Shot List For My Opening Scequence.

 Establishing Shot

I used an establishing shot to open my scene to show the audience the location. The location is in Sydney's bedroom and through the establishing shot the audience can easily identify this.

High Angle Shot

I used a high angle shot for the first real look at Sydney as it reflects her character. High angle shots are used to make a character look weak, Sydney is not weak but she is a teenage girl who is otherwise a bit helpless. It helps the audience guess her status which is not very high at this point as she is not in her spiteful alter ego at this point in the film.

Pan Shot

I used pan shots when going around Sydney's room during the titles. I wanted to show the audience Sydney's interests and hobbies before getting properly introduced to her through props such as photos, fairy lights, make up and perfumes. I decided to do pan shots when moving onto the next title.

Close Up

I decided to do a close up on Sydney when she wakes up to show her facial expression to the audience. I also wanted the audience to pay attention to her nose peel which was challenging the teen comedy convention of the portrayal of imperfection.

Canted Angle

I wanted to make the phone a canted angle to exaggerate the confused feeling of being woken up by an alarm in the morning. I also used a tilted angle to play on the stereotype that morning alarms are annoying and again make people feel confused first thing in the morning.

Long Shot

I used a long shot so that the audience could see Sydney's body language as she gets out of bed. I wanted them to see that she is happy and leave them wanting to find out why. The long shot captures Sydney spinning around and this action adds on to the suspicion to why she is so happy.

Pan Shot

I decided to add in another pan shot when Sydney is running in her room towards her mirror. This makes the audience feel as if they are running with her and gives them a sense of direction.

Over The Shoulder Shot

I used an over the shoulder shot to expand and show my knowledge of different camera shots and angles. I also thought that using an over the shoulder shot here would let the audience feel more involved with what Sydney is doing, almost as if they are watching over her shoulder and are in the mirror with her.

Medium Shot

I used a medium shot for when the parents and younger brother enter the room. This was so that the audience could see both the characters facial expressions and body language clearly. I wanted to use a medium shot for both when the parents enter and for Sydney after they yell "surprise" as the facial expressions and body language of the parents contrast greatly with Sydney's. The parents and brother are opening up to Sydney with wide arms and their faces are lit up. Sydney's face is unimpressed and her arms are by her sides not accepting her parents kind gestures. This part marks the watershed in the scenes atmosphere and is arguably the funniest part in the sequence. Therefore by having the same shot but with two completely different character emotions on the screen it adds to the comedy of the scene and highlights the watershed of Sydney's expression.

Three Shot

The three shot was used to show all the family members in the scene including the mum, dad and younger brother.

Final Opening Sequence Feedback

This is another voxpops I conducted to find out from my target audience what they thought abut my final edit of my film opening sequence. I asked the same questions as before which include "What genre of film do you think it is? How did you identify it as this genre? What did you like about it? and what could of been improved?" The feedback was more positive than for the second edit and there were also less negative feedback from my target audience which is a good sign for my film. All viewers managed to identify the genre of the film (teen comedy) which was better than last time, except for one viewer who identified it as a romantic comedy however they were not far off.

Behind The Scenes

I made a short montage of all the behind the scenes footage from filming Alter Ego. As you can see it was really fun to make and I hope its as enjoyable to watch.