Monday 26 April 2010
Friday 16 April 2010
Evaluation 16/04/10
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product uses the typical convention of opening credits being shown at the beginning of a thriller film. At the beginning of my film the opening credits use typical features of that of a thriller opening sequence. For example;
-The titles move slowly during the opening sequence to create an eerie and tense feeling about the film.
-An eerie soundtrack is being played over the opening sequence while the titles are rolling to build suspense and tension.
-An unusual font is used in a color that is able to stand out during the opening sequence to create a sense of mystery.
-Enigmas are also created during the title sequence as we are shown the main character carrying the black bag.
Our opening credits are somewhat similar to a film created by Touchstone Pictures called SIGNS. We decided to base some of our ideas on this film e.g., the opening titles. SIGNS uses unusual fonts for its opening credits and also plays a very dramatic piece of music over them to help build up a sense of mystery and suspense. We too use an unusual font and have a dramatic piece of music being played while the credits are rolling to create the same effect.
Furthermore, my opening sequence challenges the conventions of a typical thriller film because throughout the clip a soundtrack is played which gives a dramatic effect and also builds up suspense and tension towards the audience. The soundtrack occasionally builds up at certain parts in the sequence to emphasize the tension of a particular scene
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The opening to my film doesn’t focus on a particular social group per say, but if it were to it would most likely focus on working class.
Myself and the rest of my group decided to cast me as the main character of the film because we believed that I was the correct height and size of the mysterious character that we wanted to create for our storyline. It was also helpful because I was available for whenever we decided when and where we should film.
My opening sequence also focuses on particular age groups and represents them through Mise en scene. For example, I play the role of a teenager and where a costume suitable for that of an everyday teenager. I wear a simple black hoodie, a pair of denim jeans and an ordinary pair of trainers.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I believe an appropriate distribution company for my film would be Optimum. They work alongside the production company EM media who produce small films with low budgets e.g. This Is England by Shayne Meadows. I believe they would be interested in my film because of its dark elements such as the enigmas created through the mysterious black bag which is carried by the hooded antagonist. Although the films they have produced aren’t necessarily thriller genre films, some productions such as This Is England have dark elements as well and therefore they may show some interest in my product.
Who would be the audience of your media product?
The target audience for my film is teenagers aged 16 and above of both genders. My film consists of both male and female characters whose identities are hidden, creating a sense of mystery about them, and making it appealing to both genders. However I believe that men are most likely to find more interest in my film than women due to the fact that the main character is a young male teenager. Also because thriller films are more appealing to men rather than women because they are usually a lot more action packed and full of suspense. The female character in my film is portrayed as old and therefore women may lose interest because of the age difference between my target audience and the character herself.
My film would most likely appeal more to audiences who prefer twisted and psychological films with twists and mysterious characters.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We used a questionnaire in order to gain information on our target audience and what their preferences are in thriller films. We addressed the results of our questionnaire and acted accordingly by analyzing the information and bringing it into our storyboard by using different ideas.
For example, we made sure that there wasn’t a large cast in our performance so that the audiences are able to keep up with who is who and what their purpose is within the storyline. We also made the main character of the film a teenager so that it made the film more appealing towards audiences of the same age group.
However, if I were to of owned a larger budget I would have been able to attract my target audience using the internet, television or creating posters. Shayne Meadows advertised This Is England using posters and trailers of the film to attract his target audience. I feel this is something I may have been able to do if I had the money.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the production of my film I have learnt a variety of skills to do with filming, uploading and editing. I have learnt how to use a Sony DV camera for filming. I learned how to set the white balance so that the footage that we filmed was not too bright or dark and didn’t have any abnormal colors in the shot. I learned how to set the camera to widescreen so that we could upload the footage later onto the widescreen format. I also learned how to use the tripod whist filming so that the footage was not unsteady or crooked so that it made my film look more professional. After we had finished our filming, I was taught how to upload the footage from the camera and onto the computer using the adobe premier program. I learned how to create a new project and how to select the footage from the camera that I wanted to upload, and how to upload it onto our T-Drive. After uploading, I was taught how to use adobe premier pro to edit the clips that I had filmed and downloaded. I was shown how to select clips from the T-Drive and put them into my video and also how to shorten them so that they don’t play for their full duration. I was shown how to add special effects to scenes of my film to make them appear more interesting and surreal. However I also learned that technologies can sometimes be faulty and cause minor delays in production or editing. For example, some footage appeared grainy and unclear and therefore could not be used in my film. Therefore some re-filming had to be done in order to keep the sequence of clips in the correct order.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I believe that I have learned a variety of skills from the progression of the preliminary task. Before, when filming my preliminary task, I did not know how to set the white balance on the camera. Therefore my footage may have looked slightly off color in certain places or the lighting may have been too dark or too bright.
Below is a shot from my preliminary task. The white balance was not set during filming and so the room looks a lot darker than what it actually was. It also looks slightly grainy which makes it look a lot less professional.
Since the preliminary task, I have been able to set the white balance for filming outdoors or in brightly lit rooms and I have also learned a great deal about operating the camera whilst filming. I also feel I have learned a great deal in editing. In my preliminary task I used ordinary transitions in order to help the footage seem more professional and also so it would flow more smoothly. However, in my main task myself and the rest of the group were given the idea of using short sequences of film in order to create suspenseful transitions. This is a much better way of keeping the audience interested in the film and it is also an effective way of using transitions differently to other thriller films. I learned how to change the opacity of film clips and how to add special effects to them so that the footage appeared more surreal. This was also useful when adding in the transitions because it made them appear abstract which helped to build up the mystery and suspense of my film.
My media product uses the typical convention of opening credits being shown at the beginning of a thriller film. At the beginning of my film the opening credits use typical features of that of a thriller opening sequence. For example;
-The titles move slowly during the opening sequence to create an eerie and tense feeling about the film.
-An eerie soundtrack is being played over the opening sequence while the titles are rolling to build suspense and tension.
-An unusual font is used in a color that is able to stand out during the opening sequence to create a sense of mystery.
-Enigmas are also created during the title sequence as we are shown the main character carrying the black bag.
Our opening credits are somewhat similar to a film created by Touchstone Pictures called SIGNS. We decided to base some of our ideas on this film e.g., the opening titles. SIGNS uses unusual fonts for its opening credits and also plays a very dramatic piece of music over them to help build up a sense of mystery and suspense. We too use an unusual font and have a dramatic piece of music being played while the credits are rolling to create the same effect.
Furthermore, my opening sequence challenges the conventions of a typical thriller film because throughout the clip a soundtrack is played which gives a dramatic effect and also builds up suspense and tension towards the audience. The soundtrack occasionally builds up at certain parts in the sequence to emphasize the tension of a particular scene
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The opening to my film doesn’t focus on a particular social group per say, but if it were to it would most likely focus on working class.
Myself and the rest of my group decided to cast me as the main character of the film because we believed that I was the correct height and size of the mysterious character that we wanted to create for our storyline. It was also helpful because I was available for whenever we decided when and where we should film.
My opening sequence also focuses on particular age groups and represents them through Mise en scene. For example, I play the role of a teenager and where a costume suitable for that of an everyday teenager. I wear a simple black hoodie, a pair of denim jeans and an ordinary pair of trainers.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I believe an appropriate distribution company for my film would be Optimum. They work alongside the production company EM media who produce small films with low budgets e.g. This Is England by Shayne Meadows. I believe they would be interested in my film because of its dark elements such as the enigmas created through the mysterious black bag which is carried by the hooded antagonist. Although the films they have produced aren’t necessarily thriller genre films, some productions such as This Is England have dark elements as well and therefore they may show some interest in my product.
Who would be the audience of your media product?
The target audience for my film is teenagers aged 16 and above of both genders. My film consists of both male and female characters whose identities are hidden, creating a sense of mystery about them, and making it appealing to both genders. However I believe that men are most likely to find more interest in my film than women due to the fact that the main character is a young male teenager. Also because thriller films are more appealing to men rather than women because they are usually a lot more action packed and full of suspense. The female character in my film is portrayed as old and therefore women may lose interest because of the age difference between my target audience and the character herself.
My film would most likely appeal more to audiences who prefer twisted and psychological films with twists and mysterious characters.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We used a questionnaire in order to gain information on our target audience and what their preferences are in thriller films. We addressed the results of our questionnaire and acted accordingly by analyzing the information and bringing it into our storyboard by using different ideas.
For example, we made sure that there wasn’t a large cast in our performance so that the audiences are able to keep up with who is who and what their purpose is within the storyline. We also made the main character of the film a teenager so that it made the film more appealing towards audiences of the same age group.
However, if I were to of owned a larger budget I would have been able to attract my target audience using the internet, television or creating posters. Shayne Meadows advertised This Is England using posters and trailers of the film to attract his target audience. I feel this is something I may have been able to do if I had the money.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the production of my film I have learnt a variety of skills to do with filming, uploading and editing. I have learnt how to use a Sony DV camera for filming. I learned how to set the white balance so that the footage that we filmed was not too bright or dark and didn’t have any abnormal colors in the shot. I learned how to set the camera to widescreen so that we could upload the footage later onto the widescreen format. I also learned how to use the tripod whist filming so that the footage was not unsteady or crooked so that it made my film look more professional. After we had finished our filming, I was taught how to upload the footage from the camera and onto the computer using the adobe premier program. I learned how to create a new project and how to select the footage from the camera that I wanted to upload, and how to upload it onto our T-Drive. After uploading, I was taught how to use adobe premier pro to edit the clips that I had filmed and downloaded. I was shown how to select clips from the T-Drive and put them into my video and also how to shorten them so that they don’t play for their full duration. I was shown how to add special effects to scenes of my film to make them appear more interesting and surreal. However I also learned that technologies can sometimes be faulty and cause minor delays in production or editing. For example, some footage appeared grainy and unclear and therefore could not be used in my film. Therefore some re-filming had to be done in order to keep the sequence of clips in the correct order.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I believe that I have learned a variety of skills from the progression of the preliminary task. Before, when filming my preliminary task, I did not know how to set the white balance on the camera. Therefore my footage may have looked slightly off color in certain places or the lighting may have been too dark or too bright.
Below is a shot from my preliminary task. The white balance was not set during filming and so the room looks a lot darker than what it actually was. It also looks slightly grainy which makes it look a lot less professional.
Since the preliminary task, I have been able to set the white balance for filming outdoors or in brightly lit rooms and I have also learned a great deal about operating the camera whilst filming. I also feel I have learned a great deal in editing. In my preliminary task I used ordinary transitions in order to help the footage seem more professional and also so it would flow more smoothly. However, in my main task myself and the rest of the group were given the idea of using short sequences of film in order to create suspenseful transitions. This is a much better way of keeping the audience interested in the film and it is also an effective way of using transitions differently to other thriller films. I learned how to change the opacity of film clips and how to add special effects to them so that the footage appeared more surreal. This was also useful when adding in the transitions because it made them appear abstract which helped to build up the mystery and suspense of my film.
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