The Evaluation Part Eight - "Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?"

Overall, since the start of the year, I believe that the progress from the production of the preliminary task (below) to the production of the final opening sequence has been significant for me.  I have been able to develop and learn a variety of skills in order to produce the 2 minute opening sequence to the best of my ability, along with my group.

Research and Planning:
Preliminary Task

Near the start of the year, I was given a brief scenario of a preliminary task that I was asked to complete. It was to film the production of "a character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue" The task also requires us, in a group of 3, to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. We researched these techniques and found examples of them, to further our understanding of them - so that I was able to make a short preliminary task that met the criteria asked of us. Our planning also including the making of storyboards, and a brief plan of what will happen in each shot we will take. By completing this, it would be able to enhance the overall quality of the preliminary task; we would know specifically what we wanted in all of the scenes we would film. The weakness of this planning was that sometimes, some of the scenes we planned on the story board wasn't filmed because we had to adjust/edit scenes that actually was worth putting in the final product of the preliminary task - meaning that we wasted valuable time on planning that wasn't needed.

Match on action: Is a very simple but essential tenchique, where the perspective of the camera changes during a scene and the scene continues to flow. An example of match on action in the preliminary task is during 00:07-00:09, where the positioning of the camera focusing on the character opening the door, changes from a medium shot inside the building to a long shot, outside the building.  This technique, not only allowed the same scene to be viewed from different angles but it also flowed with the scenes that followed.  However there was a weakness: there was a scene where the match on action didn't flow well at all. This was during the shot/reverse shot of the two people: Fabio and Tselmuun sitting down on the bench, from 00:46-00:49. The cut between the two scenes here doesn't flow well, as the person (Fabio) facing towards the camera suddenly "jumps" from where he is sitting in one scene, abruptly to the left. This was due to the error in the placement of positioning of the characters and even the camera too, which I have been able to learn from this mistake so that in the future the match on action will be better. 

Shot/Reverse shot: Is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. We have used the shot reverse shot when the two characters are speaking in the preliminary task, at 00:42 and 00:45. By using a shot reverse shot, since the two people sitting down (Fabio and Tselmuun), facing each other are shown facing opposite directions, the audience of our preliminary task will be able to assume that they are facing each other - making it look more professional.




180 degree rule:  A rule stating that a camera should be placed somewhere inside 180 degrees on a particular side of the invisible line of a shot containing two people filmed in sequence. This technique was used at the same time of the shot/reverse shot: , when the two people sittting on the benches are talking to each other. It is used here because if the camera in this situation crossed the invisible line, it gives the impression that the positions' of the two actors' in this scene has been reversed - showing the incompetence to follow the basic rules of professional filming.

 Research and Planning:

Full product/Opening Sequence

 So from the research and planning the preliminary task I have been able to along with my group to research and plan for the full product of the 2 minute opening sequence to a greater effect. For example before the planning done on the preliminary task was all done on paper, but now the research and planning was mostly, if not all done online or by technological means. Here, below are a few examples of how we planned our opening sequence, in order to think of ideas and scenarios to potentially include .We had to firstly research the history of British social realism movies and the themes/conventions that are usually found in them. This helped us get a general idea of what we can base our opening sequence on. In addition to that, I was fortunate to go to the BFI to see a lecture of creating an opening sequence, teaching us the "do's" and "don'ts" of creating an opening sequence. There was also a guest special appearance of Dexter Fletcher who directed Wild Bill. He told us the best things to do when given a very limited budget and that was the situation with us. One of the most important things he lectured us on about was to always start off the opening of the opening sequence with the protagonist, as this would be able to tell the target audience: "this is the main character".

The weakness found during the research and planning of the opening sequence was how time consuming it was overall. This stemmed from the beginning of me and my group deciding of what the plot of our movie should be about. We first thought of an idea that included over 5 themes, however this was deemed as too much and would most definitely go over the 2 minute time limit given. We then slimmed the genres/themes down to: teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, depression and corruption of youth, all which are able to link with each other. In addition to that, the planning of the days we decided to go out to film certain scenes were hindered and affected by a couple of factors. These included: the weather changing on different days and the battery pack on the camera not working at times leading to a further post-pone of dates to re/film certain scenes.

Digital Technology:

Preliminary Task

The digital technology needed for the preliminary task was not too complex and difficult for us. We knew the functions of the camera and in the preliminary task we used the options available at our disposal. An example of this was that we used the rule of thirds, which can be viewed at 00:06 when Tselmuun comes out of doors. This was a strength for us as we were able to get the position of the camera and Tselmuun in a manner that was effective for us and viewers. As a result, this meant that there were strengths in the use of the digital technology for our preliminary task because me and my group were able to to use the knowledge of the options available to us to great effect. To add to that that we had used Final Cut Pro to edit the footage of the preliminary task as this editing software was given to us buy the school. The effects and editing features of Final Cut Pro was rather simple and clear to use and I was able to apply different transitions and effects to enhance the overall quality of the short preliminary task.

The weakness that arose from the digital technology used was that the video camera we received had a bad battery pack, meaning that we had to continuously charge the video camera, more often than we would have liked. Consequently, this means that the time we spent waiting and eventually filming certain scenes took significantly long. Furthermore, the scene where we didn't apply the rule of thirds was during the scene where Tselmuun and Fabio was talking in the shot/reverse shot. There was too much wasted space on the left and this does not look professional and well at all. But from this we have learned to make sure the positioning of the the actors and camera has to be perfect. To add to this, I spent quite a lot of time getting used to Final Cut Pro because it was the first time I had used it. This also meant that time wasn't spent in the best possible way through Final Cut Pro too.

Digital Technology:

Full product/Opening Sequence

We used the same digital technology for the 2 minute opening sequence. However, since I had used the video camera and the features it contained in the preliminary task, I was able to apply the same options on the opening sequence but to a greater extent. Furthermore, since I have had more experience when filming the preliminary task, the filming of the opening sequence is more fluid and higher quality. This also applies to Final Cut Pro; I have a better understanding and knowledge of a variety of transitions and effects that can work well on our movie: Devil May Care. For example we have used a pitch black background on the opening credits with bold and huge white font. This will able to draw the target audiences' and appeal to them - meaning that this is an advantage for our overall opening sequence. 

The weaknesses with the digital technology during the opening sequence was that, the video camera we were given to film the footage was really problematic. What I mean is that the video camera's battery pack didn't work, meaning that we had to wait for the school to order a completely new one. In the mean time, my group had to use our own personal camera, one of us had. As a result this meant that the quality the scenes at the start of the opening sequence wasn't as good as if we used the HD video camera the school provided us. Our group also had a few problems on Final Cut Pro because there was an incident where all of the footage was deleted, so we had to import everything and edit it again, which was really frustrating and time consuming. 

Creativity:

Preliminary Task

For the preliminary task, creativity was rather limited as we had to follow the brief, which had asked us to just create a small piece of two characters walking through a door and having a conversation. This seemed really simple and easy for us to do, so me and my group decided to make it more creative and entertaining, whilst still matching the requirements asked of us by the brief. We decided that the preliminary task should include comedy inside it, so that it would be rather appealing and attractive to watch. We done this by having Tselmuun trip up whilst walking in the playground - allowing for a rather unique preliminary ask that differentiates from the rest. So overall me and my group have been able to incorporate a rather funny scene into the preliminary task.

The weakness of the creativity of our preliminary task is that the scene of the tripping of Tselmuun in the middle of the playground. I think that the tripping scene may not have been the best scene that could have been used in the preliminary task because it didn't have the best match on action. This meant that it didn't seem realistic when he tripped, leading to it not seeming professional and well done. 

Creativity:

Full Product/Opening sequence

The creativity of our opening sequence/full product wasn't the best and original; our group believed that we should stick with the conventions/themes of British social realism movies, that would really impact and draw in our target audience. The main themes we have included are: violence, alcoholism and teenage pregnancy. We looked for locations that conformed to the conventions of a BSR, which are: gritty, dirty and unattractive. Mise-en-scene such as costumes such as tracksuits and hoodies were thought to impact the audience by them personally identifying themselves with the protagonist as he is living in a rather deprived and lower class area. Furthermore, the props we used include an alcohol bottle, guns and a mobile phone in order to convey the conventions and more importantly the story to the audience.

As mentioned before, the creativity of our opening sequence wasn't the greatest as it had to conform to the conventions and genres that are usually found within British Social Realism films. Adding too many special effects/transitions and a unique storyline isn't what you would usually find in a British Social Realism film. Never the less, we did use quite a few transitions to show the progress of the scenes of the protagonist within the time span of 2 minutes allocated. As a result, this meant that the target audience may think that our movie may not be a full British Social realism - which could create confusion and may seem unrealistic.

Post-Proudction:

Preliminary Task

After creating the preliminary task we used Final Cut Pro to edit it. The benefits of this was that we were able to apply the effective and useful transitions/cuts where it was necessary/appropriate. This included the smooth cuts needed for the match on action to be of an adequete quality for viewers to enjoy. This was fairly simple to do on Final Cut Pro as it is layed out and organised for effective editing to take place. In addition to that, another strength of the post-production of the preliminary task was that me and my group had the chance to get used to the features of Final Cut Pro, so that in the future of the post production of our opening sequence, our time spent on it will be more efficient and less time consuming. The humorous nature of the preliminary task also added a further incentive for me and my group to edit the preliminary task and test out different features of Final cut Pro to make it pretty amusing and funny for viewers!

Just like for digital technology, the editing of the preliminary task took longer than expected because of the fact that this was the first time using Final Cut Pro. I found it paticularly difficult to cut and transition the scene of Tselmuun tripping in the playground; it had to be perfect, otherwise it will look confusing and unrealistic. I managed to make the scene seem realistic as possible but it doesn't seem as if it is still a standard of quality that can be used for a movie/opening sequence.

 Post-Production:

Full Product/Opening Sequence

Again we used Final Cut Pro again  for our opening sequence and from the past experience of the preliminary task, me and my group were able to quickly come up with and edit certain scenes in rapid succession. Furthermore, we were able to search for a song from www.mp3unsigned.com. We used mp3unsigned.com because the brief has requested us not to use any copyright audio tracks. the song we have eventually found was actually and advantage for us because the mood and tone of the song added to the dark tone and depressing atmosphere set by the opening sequence. Another strength from the post-production is that when editing and watching our opening sequence repeatedly, we could spot for any mistakes and/or improvements we could make on Final Cut Pro and edit footage in and out without too much trouble at all. This was also due to the fact that we were given more time and privelages to make the opening sequence as the best it can be, compared to the preliminary task, where the time we were given wasn't as long. 

Finally the weakness of the post-production of our opening sequence was that we had to make sure all of the shots and footage we had taken was all perfectly, edited and put in the final product. This meant, repeatedly checking and re-watching the  opening sequence, so there isn't any missing scenes that could be really impacting in our movie. Also mentioning, the time wasted of the problems of the lost footage from Final Cut Pro and the non functioning battery pack meant that me and my group just barely made the deadline of: filming, editing and finalizing everything to a standard that was deemed of high quality.

The Evaluation Part Seven - "What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?"

Pre-Production:

Blogger:  Blogger is a software that was used continuously throughout the production of our media product. In pre-production, it was used in the planning and making of our opening sequence. For example, we have researched different British social realism movies, in order to get a fundamental idea of the genres/themes that are usually found in BSR films, then posted the research on Blogger. As a result, we were able to plan ideas and conventions to include in our opening sequence efficiently and without much trouble. Furthermore, Blogger is also easy and simple to use at the same time, meaning that it was quick to refer back to any planning and research I want to look back on. It was also more reliable then planning onto a folder or a physical portfolio, as the risk of losing the work and planning I have completed on Blogger is far less than if I were to plan on paper. However, there were slight limitations/problems during the use of Blogger. This was mostly during, uploading and moving pictures/screenshots onto the blog, sometimes the pictures wouldn't properly be uploaded onto the blog - consequently resulting in an error. And even when the pictures did manage to be successfully uploaded, moving them to appropriate places were sometimes difficult. As a result, the use of Blogger has been able to help me keep my coursework (planning, research, etc) all up to date effectively and I can edit any mistakes that I may come across in the future with relative ease.

Youtube: Before producing my opening sequence, Youtube was able to assist me in looking at other British social realism opening sequences for research and analytical material. Examples of opening sequences that I have looked on Youtube include Kidulthood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6Blu2FxNc and Fish Tank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b93T5l7glsg . The movies are both examples of BSR films and this assisted us in thinking of conventions, Mise-En-Scene and themes that we could get inspiration to incorporate in our opening sequence. Due to this, the plans and ideas that my group came up with were within a wider range, as each of us came up with different scenarios and genres that we combined to fit into our opening sequence: alcholism, teenage pregnancy and corruption of youth. Furthermore, YouTube is the best known website to search for a short clip, without too much trouble, such as opening sequences of movies. 
The limitation that arose from Youtube was that, most of the clips that did manage to show the opening sequence of BSR films we researched were of poor quality, so being able to clearly see what was going on in some of the clips were difficult.
However, by using Youtube more and more, I was able to search for the opening sequences and movies that I wished to research - leading to my researching skills on Youtube becoming more productive and rather efficient. 

Film 4 Website: ( http://www.film4.com/) By having a look at the Film 4 website, the film institution that me and my group believe is the best choice to produce and distribute our film, we were able to look at the different types of films that Film 4 produce and show across the world. The website had a clear and organised layout of the movies they show, along with a short synopsis and some images too.The benefits that my group was able to get from this was that by looking at various renowned BSR films that they distribute, it would let us think of ideas that were of a similar standard in quality and things that made films such as Slumdog Millionaire a world wide hits. The main point of it was to see what attracted and appealed to audiences in order to make them interested in watching the movie, so that we can too properly attract our target audience: 16-24 year olds. The problem of getting inspiration and ideas of the famous movies from the Film 4 website was that it is difficult to use the fascinating and wonderful ideas they have, in our movie because of the 2 minute limit we have for our opening sequence.  I also have to be aware of the limited budget and resources that my group have, compared to the box-office hits on Film4. My personal progress was able to develop by going on the Film4 website, as it allowed me and my group to see the conventions/methods that we can use/put in our opening sequence and the expensive, time consuming ones that we can't implement in our 2 minute opening sequence.

Apple Mac Computer: The hardware we used to complete most, if not all of our research and planning of our opening sequence was done on apple mac computers, for example: completing our blogs or researching different BSR films. We used them because the school provided them to us, so there really wasn't an alternative to these computers. These computers were extremely useful and conveninent to us; they have all the facilities and software installed that was needed in order to complete our 2 minute opening sequence, most importantly: Final Cut Pro. The limitations that arose from using the apple macs was that this was the first time I have used an Apple computer system, so it took quite a bit of time to adapt and get used to. In additon to that, I found it more difficult to navigate on and use than a Windows PC, which I am more comfortable on. However, as I continued using the apple mac computer, my personal development as improved on it - I am able to productively use the facilities on the computer, without as much time needed/trouble as I had before.

DVD's: Another type of hardware we used was DVD's in order to watch the whole movies of: Fish Tank and Wild Bill. We were provided these DVD's by our teacher in order to have an idea of what is found in rather recent BSR films. The advantages they have for me and my group was that, since the DVD was able to play the whole movies, without any buffering and it was  in high quality too. Consequently, this allowed me to look and analyse the movie as I watched it in greater detail and depth. The only problem that came up with DVD's was that there were only a limited number of DVD's, so we had to make use of what DVD's was available to us, as they are not free.

Production:

Camera Recorder: This was the hardware we used to film our opening sequence, so it was important that we made great use of it. The benefits that came with this camera recorder, provided by the school was that it was a HD camera recorder, making it look more professional and easier for the target audience to see - appealing to them. However, many problems occured when my group received the camera recorder to film. Firstly, the camera's battery pack was not working, so we had to waste a lot of time waiting for a new battery pack to arrive. During that time, me and my group decided that we should use one of our own personal camera recorders in order to make the best use of the time we had. The quality wasn't as coherent and great as the school's one and it didn't manage to capture the sounds as clearly too but we did manage to get filming done rather well, even without the HD camera recorder, which we did eventually manage to use. Also, at the start of filming, we had to take some time to adjust to filming certain scenes because there were either errors in what we filmed or the angles/rule of thirds were incorrect. Nevertheless, the continuose use of the camera recoder has led me to become more confident and able in my ablility to film scenes and even refilm scenes that I deemed too low quality to make use of.

Phone: Our group also decided to make use of a phone during the production of our movie. We incorporated it into the scene, where the protagonist receieves a text from his girlfriend: Bethany, about wanting to talk to him and abruptly telling him that she is pregnant. I thought this was a great idea beacause we used the idea of the phone at the start, to draw the target audience's attention - almost like a smash-mouth opening but to a far less extent. The use of phone was also easy because we all have phones so there was no problem in adding it in. The Limitation that came across was during the filming of the phone that displayed the text message. The quality of the text message wasn't of a high standard but this could also be due to the factors of the darkness of the room and the camera recorder we used for that recording was our own personal one. (not the HD one.) There wasn't really any personal progression for me from the use of the phone in the production of our opening sequence. This was due to the filming of the phone in the scene merely lasting a couple of seconds and it was a one time scene.

Art Of the Title ( http://www.artofthetitle.com/ )  : This was another website that me and my group decided to use as we were producing our opening sequence. From this website we were able to denote and analyse the credit timelines of various professional movies and have a fundamental idea of what order our credits should appear in. The benefits of this is that, we will be able to replicate the (chronological) order of how an opening sequence credits should appear like, due to the clear and structured way of how Art of the Title lays out important credits in a 9x9 grid. To add to that, another benefit I gained was seeing the background different opening credits and how they correspond to the themes/genres of the movie. For example in a horror movie the opening credits' background is very dark and eerie to add a rather scary atmosphere, or in a comedy movie the opening credits' background is filled with vivid and bright colors and effects. Personally, I was able to expand my knowledge and develop my skills of the opening to a movie because of Art of the Title has thoroughly guided me of the placements of credits in an opening sequence.

Final Cut Pro: Final Cut Pro was the software we used to import our recording of our film onto the computer. We used Final Cut Pro because the school provided it to use and it isn't free, so we were very fortunate to be able to use such a a great editing software. Final Cut Pro wasn't as complicated I thought that it would have been due to the wide variety of features and techniques used to edit clips imported on. But it was rather straight forward, as the teacher and my fellow group members told me the main features required to edit our opening sequence. Another benefit of Final Cut Pro was that whenever we edit our movie, there is no need to save it, as it is automatically saved onto the computer, so we can edit our movie at any time we wish. However, the problem that came about when using Final Cut Pro was getting the cuts between two scenes we wanted to use. Sometimes when we tried to get match on action between some of the scenes didn't flow perfectly, because we either cut one of the two scenes too much or too little, leading to bad professionalism and match on action. This was due to having to perfectly moving the mouse and pressing the cut key where we needed it to be and this required a very high amount of accuracy. By testing and trying out the features of Final Cut Pro I was able to develop my editing skills and correctly apply it onto certain areas of my opening sequence, so that in the future I can confidently use Final Cut Pro to edit other things too.

Post-Production:

Apple Mac Computer: The apple mac computer was still one of the most important hardware used, as it was used in all 3 "pre-production" "prodcution" and now "post-production". This is because it contains Final Cut Pro: the editing sofware needed to edit the opening sequence. We also still need to use apple mac computers after finishing producing our opening sequence, in order to complete our eight-part evaluation on our blogger. I am now more efficient and productive on the apple mac computer than I was before because I used it for long periods of time leading up to the Post-Production. 

Final Cut Pro: Final Cut Pro is also the most important softwarre used and needed during the post-production. This is because after finishing producing and uploading our opening sequence, me and my group had to make sure that it was the best it could be by checking and editing it to the best of our ability. This meant going through the whole 2 minute clip numerous of times in order to spot any mistakes or where we could make improvements, so we can edit it.

MP3 Unsigned: (http://www.mp3unsigned.com/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1)  MP3 was a website that we used to download unsigned audio tracks, that may potentially be used in our opening sequence This is because Film 4 asked us in the brief to not include any tracks without copyright permission, so this meant that unsigned audio tracks was our best alternative. The benefit is obviously that we got to download and use the audio file we wanted for free but the variety of audio tracks on MP3 unsigned was a rather surprise to me. This was because the amount of genres there were to look for a specific song was rather high and this meant me and my group could click the criteria wanted our song to be in. The limitations that arose from using MP3 Unsigned to look for a song fitting for our opening sequence, was that the quality of the songs were not of a standard was deemed adequete enough to include in our opening sequence. Most of the audio of the songs were too low or the lyrics didn't suit our opening sequence. However, we were eventually able to find a song that was synchronouse, adding further saddness and tension in our opening sequence, as it had lyrics that could personally identify to the audience - drawing the target audience to watch more.

The Evaluation Part Six - "How did you attract your target audience?"

Here is the video of me and my group talking about the feedback we have receieved from our focus group.

The Evaluation Part Five - "How does your media product represent different social classes?"

The Evaluation Part Four - "Who will be your target audience?"

This is the video of our evaluation part 4:

The Evaluation Part Three - "What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?"

The Evaluation Part Two - 'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products'

Our media product uses, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products in a variety of ways.

Narrative/Performance

Throughout the film the protagonist (Tate) is shown to not even talk at all; this shows how much he wants to keep away from society and the people around him. He is a very quiet and introverted person, with the only person he did talk with and opened up to was his ex-girlfriend. We got this idea from the British social realism (BSR) film Fish Tank, as the main character from Fish Tank is also shown to be very secluded from her surroundings and doesn't even attempt to open up into the paths of social interaction and happiness. As our opening sequence progresses, as Tate finds out his girlfriend cheated on him, he tries to escape this awful reality by heavily drinking and getting himself into trouble outside. His movement after this becomes very inconsistent and gingerly; to show how much he is trying to soothe the pain of his betrayal by drinking to the extent of unable to be control his actions. We also got this inspiration from Fish Tank as the main character is seen to drink a lot of alcohol to escape from her troubles and pain. We have shown the solitude and isolation of Tate from society by excluding the use of close up shots on him. This will be able to emphasise and give an idea of how far away Tate likes to keep him self from others around him, as he dislikes being close to people.

Settings/Location:

We have decided to set our location in the streets of Vauxhall and Stockwell. Originally we filmed a majority of our opening sequence near the River Thames in a very quiet and rather posh location. We believed that since the number of people who walks through this path is rather low, it will make filming some of our scenes here rather efficient and worthwhile. However, from editing and watching the scenes we have filmed in this area, and from the advice from our teacher the location was deemed too posh and "attractive" to be used in a BSR (Shown below). As a result of this, my group decided to film these scenes near a dirty and gritty area, which goes along with the conventions of a BSR. The location of the protagonist is also a council estate, which connotes to the financial and lifestyle troubles Tate may have. We got this inspiration from Kidulthood as in the movie, many council estates are seen to convey the lower class and people who may have social status troubles.

Effects/Transitions:

 The transitions we have used includes: fade to black, fade in, fade out, cross dissolve and parallel editing. Fade to black was used to show the transition of the opening credits and the current life of Tate. His life is seen as rather dark and dull, which is connoted by the fade to black transition and this impacts the video; the target audience will be able to assume that the life of protagonist is worth heavily sympathizing for. Fade in and fade out both respectively show the transitions between the protagonist's actions and decisions he makes when he finds out about his girlfriend is pregnant. Furthermore the use of parallel editing was used at the end of the the 2 minute opening sequence. It showed the regretful and sorrowful face of the girlfriend of Tate, who is now pregnant, contrasting to the hateful and drunken protagonist.

Lighting:

The lighting we have used only consists of natural lighting because natural lighting is usually one of the conventions that is found in a BSR. We believed that having natural lighting, which was dark at the beginning - showed the audience how dull and mundane the life of Tate and how there is nearly no "light" in it. My group decided to only use natural lighting, not ambient and/or artificial lighting; adding from the point earlier, natural lighting is able to convey the audience the realistic life of someone who is going through an extremely tough situation.

Conventional editing pace/Narrative originality

The editing pace of our movie my group agreed, is a bit too fast of what you would usually see in a BSR. This is because we had to fit many things into the 2 minute clip: opening credits, Tate finding out his girlfriend is pregnant and venting his aggression outside. In addition to this, our narrative is generally original because our main character, Tate who's is Asian, is suffering from depression. You generally don't find Asians being the main character in BSR movies so  you could say he is a counter type.