Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Henry's Coursework Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media product is constructed around the use, development and forms of conventions typically used in a thriller. In our product we did not really challenge these conventions, in hope of making our product an identifiable thriller. The uses of these conventions are very important in making our media product easily identifiable and successful. In our opening, close up shots were used. Close up shots were used. Close ups create suspense (a typical convention of a thriller), but were also used to give the audience an idea of the protagonist’s expressions and feelings, and focus all the attention of the audience onto him. Before the close ups of our protagonist, we also included long shots of him, to give the audience the full picture of the person who’s story they will follow when viewing our product, as well as his expressions and feelings. These shots proved important as they were going to give our product the conventions which make it a thriller, which is what we were going for when creating our product. We also included point of view shots as they help furthermore attach our product to the thriller genre, and then gives the audience a direct view of the characters viewpoint, to help immerse them more into our product. A lot of our camera shots and angles were used to build up to the confrontation in the end. In addition to our camera use, we also used sound in making it live up to typical conventions of a thriller. The score in the beginning of our product is at a very chilled tone, when there is no action. As the protagonist starts running through the garden, the tone of the score starts to become fast-paced. We wanted to give the beginning a James Bond feel to it, which is why we made the protagonist calm and collected, in relation to the score. The mise en scene was very accurate in terms of how we wanted to portray our character. The costume our protagonist is wearing is a smart, sharp suit. He is very chilled at the beginning, but changes as it goes on, which is what we were hoping to achieve with our thriller. As the film goes on, we try to implement an action feel to it, and implement a genre hybrid into our product, making it an action thriller. To do this effectively, we had to begin to change aspects of our film. We put in a lot of cuts to give the effect of ongoing action switching back and forth, a faster paced score is introduced, and a lot of long shots implemented to put a bigger image on the screen for the audience and show more. To challenge conventions, our protagonist was a very young male. In usual thriller films, the lead role is usually taken by a middle-aged male. He is also an Asian, in contrast to the typical white male that usually fill these roles. In a certain way, us using an Asian male in the end did live up to the conventions of him knowing martial arts. When martial arts and kung-fu style themes are implemented, it is usually associated with Asians, or to be more specific, oriental Asians. Another convention implemented was the white villain. The villain in our film was a young white male, and in typical action/thriller films with a hero and villain theme, it is a usually the other way around. Examples of this are films like James Bond and DareDevil, where the hero is white, and the villain is represented by an ethnic minority. In our media product, the incorporation of other things proved to be very significant. In our film, we included elements of pastiche of martial arts. A work is called pastiche if it is cobbled together in imitation of several original works (Wikipedia). We think our product has this when we look at the works of film director Quentin Tarantino, and her movie Kill-Bill (which is also an action-thriller), especially in the end sequence of our film. We also used many sound effects during the fight scenes, imitating Tarantino’s work and usual kung-fu action films.
Our media product is constructed around the use, development and forms of conventions typically used in a thriller. In our product we did not really challenge these conventions, in hope of making our product an identifiable thriller. The uses of these conventions are very important in making our media product easily identifiable and successful. In our opening, close up shots were used. Close up shots were used. Close ups create suspense (a typical convention of a thriller), but were also used to give the audience an idea of the protagonist’s expressions and feelings, and focus all the attention of the audience onto him. Before the close ups of our protagonist, we also included long shots of him, to give the audience the full picture of the person who’s story they will follow when viewing our product, as well as his expressions and feelings. These shots proved important as they were going to give our product the conventions which make it a thriller, which is what we were going for when creating our product. We also included point of view shots as they help furthermore attach our product to the thriller genre, and then gives the audience a direct view of the characters viewpoint, to help immerse them more into our product. A lot of our camera shots and angles were used to build up to the confrontation in the end. In addition to our camera use, we also used sound in making it live up to typical conventions of a thriller. The score in the beginning of our product is at a very chilled tone, when there is no action. As the protagonist starts running through the garden, the tone of the score starts to become fast-paced. We wanted to give the beginning a James Bond feel to it, which is why we made the protagonist calm and collected, in relation to the score. The mise en scene was very accurate in terms of how we wanted to portray our character. The costume our protagonist is wearing is a smart, sharp suit. He is very chilled at the beginning, but changes as it goes on, which is what we were hoping to achieve with our thriller. As the film goes on, we try to implement an action feel to it, and implement a genre hybrid into our product, making it an action thriller. To do this effectively, we had to begin to change aspects of our film. We put in a lot of cuts to give the effect of ongoing action switching back and forth, a faster paced score is introduced, and a lot of long shots implemented to put a bigger image on the screen for the audience and show more. To challenge conventions, our protagonist was a very young male. In usual thriller films, the lead role is usually taken by a middle-aged male. He is also an Asian, in contrast to the typical white male that usually fill these roles. In a certain way, us using an Asian male in the end did live up to the conventions of him knowing martial arts. When martial arts and kung-fu style themes are implemented, it is usually associated with Asians, or to be more specific, oriental Asians. Another convention implemented was the white villain. The villain in our film was a young white male, and in typical action/thriller films with a hero and villain theme, it is a usually the other way around. Examples of this are films like James Bond and DareDevil, where the hero is white, and the villain is represented by an ethnic minority. In our media product, the incorporation of other things proved to be very significant. In our film, we included elements of pastiche of martial arts. A work is called pastiche if it is cobbled together in imitation of several original works (Wikipedia). We think our product has this when we look at the works of film director Quentin Tarantino, and her movie Kill-Bill (which is also an action-thriller), especially in the end sequence of our film. We also used many sound effects during the fight scenes, imitating Tarantino’s work and usual kung-fu action films.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main social groups represented in our product are gender, age and ethnicity. The two characters in our film are young teenage males, one white, and the other Asian. The choice of having the two males as the lead in our films fits in with the usual conventions of the hero and villain theme, as they are usually both male. Where the representation starts to become more important was in who played the roles of the hero and the villain. The role of the hero was played by the Asian male. The role of the protagonist is not typically represented by ethnic minorities in films, but we thought it would be a good idea to represent Asians in this light. The role of the villain was played by the white male. We thought that representing the white male as the antagonist in our film put a twist on usual conventions. At the same time, the way our product represented age is something we can take into account. The chosen age for our two main characters reflects the main target audience our film is projected at, which was the younger teenage audience.
What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
I believe that the most appropriate media institution to distribute our media product would be an independent institution. Even though our film has a very mainstream theme (action-thriller featuring hero and villain), our choice of characters, low budget, and target audience would push it towards the more independent genre. To distribute our product, we would use local film festivals, post on video websites such as YouTube, and social networking websites such as Facebook. This way we have a very good chance of getting it seen by our target audience, and it is very cost effective, as all of these methods are free. If our film was to generate more attention and become more successful, we could have a chance of having it put on show at small, local cinemas, and on low level television channels, such as Channel AKA, which promote a lot of youth media products.
Who would be the target audience for your media product?
Our main target audience for our product is teenagers, between the ages of twelve and nineteen. While producing our product, we had to constantly keep this in mind. This is because we could not implement scenes of hard or extreme violence, due to younger audience, however could not make the film too bland in these terms, as we were also going for an audience of older teenagers. This meant our film could have had a couple of setbacks in terms o content, as we could not include as much violent scenes, or threatening action, due to finding the equilibrium in content due to our target audience.
How did you address your target audience?
Our product is constructed to appeal to a younger audience, mainly from the ages of twelve to nineteen. To do this, we put our film in the action/thriller genre, a genre hybrid of the two genres that we felt that youth were more attracted to. We know that to keep youth interest in this film, we would have to implement have to create tension, to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. We did this at first with the opening scene, by our protagonist receiving a text, and him running off while the credits roll. We felt that this would create tension, as it will keep the audience wondering where the young male is running off to. We felt that by then putting in a fight scene right where the young male reaches his destination was good to keep the young audience fully immersed in our product. Also we believe that in terms of sound, that that we addressed our target audience. We put in a suitable score, and there is no strong language or dialogue.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?
To create our media product, we had low quality cameras to film with, which were the Digital Video cameras. This had an effect on our product. Because of the low quality of the cameras, we tried to keep dialogue and diegetic sound in our product at a low level, and instead added our own sound effects during editing. To edit the movie, we used IMovie, which is non-linear software. This helped us to keep our movie and storyboard very close on paper and on screen. To post our product and research online, we used a blogging website (blogger.com). This helped us keep up to date with showing the progress and how far we had come with our film.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what would you have feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at the preliminary task, I have felt that I have learnt a lot on how to develop and improve my product. We put in a lot more preparation, thought and effort into our final piece. Also I think the amount of research we did prior to our final product made it more successful. The main issues that we took from our preliminary task that we thought we would have to address in our final product were camera stability and continuity. We had a couple of continuity issues in our preliminary task, but made sure in our final product that we would smooth over such issues, to make it more realistic and less amateur product. We smoothed over the continuity issues by spending a lot more time on IMovie, and getting to grips with the editing software. This helped a lot as our editing and effects in our product are very smooth. In terms of mise en scene, we also progressed a lot from our preliminary task to our full product. We had a lot more time to plan, so we were able to acquire the right actors that we wanted in our film, and we were able to give them suitable costumes. Also, we were able to shoot our film at the most suitable times of day, which helped us get the right lighting and moods for our product. Due to the research we had put in which we had not done in our preliminary task, we were also able to choose a suitable location for our product. In doing my preliminary task and final product, I learnt how to use camera shots, angles and movements creatively, appropriately, and effectively. I also learned how to use the IMovie software very well, and how to use a blogging website to keep up to date with progress and research. I have also learnt how to upload videos on to YouTube. we have uploaded our Product on to YouTube. Here is the link:
I have also learnt how to embed videos, and have done so by embedding our product on to my blog.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Victors Media Evaluation
[1]In what way does media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions for real media products ?
Our media product use’s a variety of conventions of real thriller and media products this includes:
Camera shots: mid shots, this shows part of the person allowing the audience to see the characters body movement, language and reaction . Over-the shoulder shot, looking from behind the person at the subject this helps establish the position of each person. Extreme-wide-shot, to show the setting of the film and the area were the person was in. we also had close up’s, which were used to show the emotion and reaction on the face. We used a long shot, in a scene to show the whole character from head to toe, whilst he is running, this give the audience a good view of what’s going on and what the character is doing. An extreme close up was also used to show extreme detail to the characters face, more detail then the human eye can normally see, therefore this gave a great shot to see how the character reacted.
Camera movements: tracking shots and pan shots were used to follow the character, this makes the audience suspicious of the character and acts very well in a thriller scene; it was done by the cameraman walking behind the character trying to not move the camera in an unnatural fashion which in theory are meeting the convictions of a thriller like the work produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Our film complies with the usual conventions of a contemporary thriller theme as it has a mix of races in it and a terrorist type of plot which would not have been used back in the time of Hitchcock.
Our film has a hybrid genre which is a mix of two genres in our case it is a mix between action and thriller as it has a number of scenes that are classed as action genre therefore making it very similar to the kill bill films.
Camera angles: high angles, was used to show that the subject was not as powerful as he thought he was even though he looks like a powerful person.
Eye level angles, just to make the audience think that they are in the film like a real world subject, this show’s what the person would see in real life.
Sounds: diegetic sound, a sound that can be herd by the characters in the film and by the audience to make the audience feel like they are really at the film and involved such as footsteps when the person is running off or the daily everyday wildlife noise that was a herd during the garden scenes. Non-diegetic sound was used; this is only heard by the audience and not by the character such as the score in the background, normally giving more information or feeling to the audience. Pleonastic sound was used to give extra responses to an action and perhaps mimics the action we used this when the Asian brother looks around to see his brother standing in front of him. A score was also used which is very important in the thriller genre as it gives much more suspense and makes the audience want to know what’s going to happen which is developing the convections of a thriller.
Editing: post production, the phase in the process after production where the film is edited and the music and effects are added. Cross cutting, cuts repeatedly between two different males in two different motions to suggest a relationship between them, we used this to show the importance between both of the characters the movement is very fast suiting it to the thriller genre, comparable to many scenes of the kill bill, James bond and the mission impossible films which both have a great deal of cross cutting between two people to show emotional differences between the two. Cut, was used to delete clips that we did not want to use or thought were not good, it was also used to put different clips into different places, this was used a number of times, once the clips were put together we then made them into scenes, a succession of shots normally short and fast/slow passed to represent the thriller genre. Our film shows both aspects of classic and contemporary thriller, classic because of the simple editing used just like in the 20th century, we see a lot of simple editing in Hitchcock’s films. Contemporary thriller is used because of the fact that the film is a modern type of film in colour with a modern theme/storyline to it, (Asian ninja.) it also has hand held camera work which is a contemporary style. Our film is based on a late James bond film, as it has mystery, thrill and a contemporary theme of that what a James bond film has this is why it influences our film.
[2]How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The genders of the characters in our film are both males, the main character is of an Asian background and the other one is his brother who is also of Asian background.
There is a stereotype of the Asian male, as they are normally stereotyped to be good in hand combat including karate and ninja type fighting. This helped us towards the end of the clip as it gave the audience a taste of the film and set there mind to what the film is about it also gave them a brief outline to what the film is about. We chose to use a Asian main person as they are stereotyped to be in ninja combat.
We used teenagers in our film mainly because of the fact that the audience of the thriller/martial art genre never really see such young experts at martial arts go out and fight till death and this really does challenges the convections of such film, and also can be considered a counter-stereotype because most roles of martial art experts are played by older males, however our film shows the audience that an martial art expert does not need to be old to be wise.
We also used stereotypes to the most as possible and this is also shown by the two characters being wealthy, we used the stereotype of Asians being rich and the audience can see this by the suit one of the brothers is wearing and also the house in which the two end up in.
We did not use black people because of the fact that they were not involved in the type of setting that we were in, we were in an Asian environment/ family home and there were no black people present, we also did not use woman because we thought they were not stereotypically violent which would not have worked well for us as a male protagonist would have worked, because of the stereotype we decided to use a young Asian male that looked like a stereotype of a martial arts professional. We also decided on using a Asian protagonist because of the fact that it challenges the convections of a film and yet, still in the 20th century it is very uncommon to come across an Asian protagonist.
[3] What kind of media institutions might distribute your product and why?
Our film is an independent low budget gritty style film that was filmed by a small studio filmed film with a digital camera. Independent films are not produced by major studios and normally produced by a small amount of people.
The films are also made without support or backing from established film industries.
Film festivals are also a great way to get a film out into the public and there have been a few low budget films in the past that have had great success from festivals such as Cannes or local ones for schools and boroughs, are also a great way to get exposure out to the public.
In my opinion the person that will distribute the film would be a small independent cinema. It is an martial art/thriller and loved by many people. I think that the film would later be shown on channel 4 as they show a lot of films/movies especially thriller films and is likely to support low budget British films. I do not believe it would cut it for the mainstream and would not be broadcasted in cinemas across the globe.
[4] Who would be the audience for your media product?
In my opinion I think the target audience is 20-30 as there is a lot of thinking to do to understand the film correctly so therefore may not be enjoyed by the younger children. There is no scary/ horror in the scenes so it is suitable for 12+ year olds how ether 12-14 year olds may not understand the film as well as the older teenagers. I think that the film itself is suitable for its age rating as there is nothing in it that a 15+year old would not enjoy or would not understand they would like the action and the thrill of the film would keep them in suspense.
[5] How did you attract/address your audience
We haven’t made the film too violent or gory so that it doesn’t scare the younger audience therefore it appeals to them. The soundtrack is fast passed and appeals to the thriller genre. The audience’s feedback was to put more score into the whole film which we did, also to use more sound effects which we used whilst our second edit. we did this by introducing a score that matched the film correctly. This made our film settle firmly in the thriller genre and in whole made it a better film. We also us a suitable score with no swear words or unsuitable material. the subgenre of the film is martial arts/ thriller as it has martial arts in it which appeals very well to our audience male audience as the vast majority of 20-30 year old men enjoy watching combat and survival of the fittest type of films, we also have woman audience that the film will appeal to as it has a emotional/ family storyboard.
[6] What have you learnt about technologies from the process of construction this product?
[7] Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learned what makes a thriller film and how to add the thrill into a thriller using different editing skills including score, sound effects and camera angles and shot types. I have also learned how to use a blog and update it weekly depending on what I have done in my lesson. I have learned how to edit my own films for future use and how to add scores and take away background noise that I may not want to use in the final film. I know also know how to use a camera properly and how to show different effects with different camera shots and movements.
Our media product use’s a variety of conventions of real thriller and media products this includes:
Camera shots: mid shots, this shows part of the person allowing the audience to see the characters body movement, language and reaction . Over-the shoulder shot, looking from behind the person at the subject this helps establish the position of each person. Extreme-wide-shot, to show the setting of the film and the area were the person was in. we also had close up’s, which were used to show the emotion and reaction on the face. We used a long shot, in a scene to show the whole character from head to toe, whilst he is running, this give the audience a good view of what’s going on and what the character is doing. An extreme close up was also used to show extreme detail to the characters face, more detail then the human eye can normally see, therefore this gave a great shot to see how the character reacted.
Camera movements: tracking shots and pan shots were used to follow the character, this makes the audience suspicious of the character and acts very well in a thriller scene; it was done by the cameraman walking behind the character trying to not move the camera in an unnatural fashion which in theory are meeting the convictions of a thriller like the work produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Our film complies with the usual conventions of a contemporary thriller theme as it has a mix of races in it and a terrorist type of plot which would not have been used back in the time of Hitchcock.
Our film has a hybrid genre which is a mix of two genres in our case it is a mix between action and thriller as it has a number of scenes that are classed as action genre therefore making it very similar to the kill bill films.
Eye level angles, just to make the audience think that they are in the film like a real world subject, this show’s what the person would see in real life.
Sounds: diegetic sound, a sound that can be herd by the characters in the film and by the audience to make the audience feel like they are really at the film and involved such as footsteps when the person is running off or the daily everyday wildlife noise that was a herd during the garden scenes. Non-diegetic sound was used; this is only heard by the audience and not by the character such as the score in the background, normally giving more information or feeling to the audience. Pleonastic sound was used to give extra responses to an action and perhaps mimics the action we used this when the Asian brother looks around to see his brother standing in front of him. A score was also used which is very important in the thriller genre as it gives much more suspense and makes the audience want to know what’s going to happen which is developing the convections of a thriller.
Editing: post production, the phase in the process after production where the film is edited and the music and effects are added. Cross cutting, cuts repeatedly between two different males in two different motions to suggest a relationship between them, we used this to show the importance between both of the characters the movement is very fast suiting it to the thriller genre, comparable to many scenes of the kill bill, James bond and the mission impossible films which both have a great deal of cross cutting between two people to show emotional differences between the two. Cut, was used to delete clips that we did not want to use or thought were not good, it was also used to put different clips into different places, this was used a number of times, once the clips were put together we then made them into scenes, a succession of shots normally short and fast/slow passed to represent the thriller genre. Our film shows both aspects of classic and contemporary thriller, classic because of the simple editing used just like in the 20th century, we see a lot of simple editing in Hitchcock’s films. Contemporary thriller is used because of the fact that the film is a modern type of film in colour with a modern theme/storyline to it, (Asian ninja.) it also has hand held camera work which is a contemporary style. Our film is based on a late James bond film, as it has mystery, thrill and a contemporary theme of that what a James bond film has this is why it influences our film.
[2]How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The genders of the characters in our film are both males, the main character is of an Asian background and the other one is his brother who is also of Asian background.
There is a stereotype of the Asian male, as they are normally stereotyped to be good in hand combat including karate and ninja type fighting. This helped us towards the end of the clip as it gave the audience a taste of the film and set there mind to what the film is about it also gave them a brief outline to what the film is about. We chose to use a Asian main person as they are stereotyped to be in ninja combat.
We used teenagers in our film mainly because of the fact that the audience of the thriller/martial art genre never really see such young experts at martial arts go out and fight till death and this really does challenges the convections of such film, and also can be considered a counter-stereotype because most roles of martial art experts are played by older males, however our film shows the audience that an martial art expert does not need to be old to be wise.
We also used stereotypes to the most as possible and this is also shown by the two characters being wealthy, we used the stereotype of Asians being rich and the audience can see this by the suit one of the brothers is wearing and also the house in which the two end up in.
We did not use black people because of the fact that they were not involved in the type of setting that we were in, we were in an Asian environment/ family home and there were no black people present, we also did not use woman because we thought they were not stereotypically violent which would not have worked well for us as a male protagonist would have worked, because of the stereotype we decided to use a young Asian male that looked like a stereotype of a martial arts professional. We also decided on using a Asian protagonist because of the fact that it challenges the convections of a film and yet, still in the 20th century it is very uncommon to come across an Asian protagonist.
[3] What kind of media institutions might distribute your product and why?
Our film is an independent low budget gritty style film that was filmed by a small studio filmed film with a digital camera. Independent films are not produced by major studios and normally produced by a small amount of people.
The films are also made without support or backing from established film industries.
Film festivals are also a great way to get a film out into the public and there have been a few low budget films in the past that have had great success from festivals such as Cannes or local ones for schools and boroughs, are also a great way to get exposure out to the public.
In my opinion the person that will distribute the film would be a small independent cinema. It is an martial art/thriller and loved by many people. I think that the film would later be shown on channel 4 as they show a lot of films/movies especially thriller films and is likely to support low budget British films. I do not believe it would cut it for the mainstream and would not be broadcasted in cinemas across the globe.
The internet was a great way for our film to get exposure to the world as most video hosting websites are free, it is also an ideal way to reach my target audience that spend a majority of time on the internet.
In my opinion I think the target audience is 20-30 as there is a lot of thinking to do to understand the film correctly so therefore may not be enjoyed by the younger children. There is no scary/ horror in the scenes so it is suitable for 12+ year olds how ether 12-14 year olds may not understand the film as well as the older teenagers. I think that the film itself is suitable for its age rating as there is nothing in it that a 15+year old would not enjoy or would not understand they would like the action and the thrill of the film would keep them in suspense.
[5] How did you attract/address your audience
We haven’t made the film too violent or gory so that it doesn’t scare the younger audience therefore it appeals to them. The soundtrack is fast passed and appeals to the thriller genre. The audience’s feedback was to put more score into the whole film which we did, also to use more sound effects which we used whilst our second edit. we did this by introducing a score that matched the film correctly. This made our film settle firmly in the thriller genre and in whole made it a better film. We also us a suitable score with no swear words or unsuitable material. the subgenre of the film is martial arts/ thriller as it has martial arts in it which appeals very well to our audience male audience as the vast majority of 20-30 year old men enjoy watching combat and survival of the fittest type of films, we also have woman audience that the film will appeal to as it has a emotional/ family storyboard.
[6] What have you learnt about technologies from the process of construction this product?
We used a number of different technologies to make and research our thriller film this included: The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) which is The biggest, best, most award-winning movie site on the planet and gave me and the group a lot of valuable information about award winning films. We used YouTube to watch extracts from different thriller films to work out what we want to make out of our film. We also downloaded music from a free music website which is available to anyone with a internet connection and permission had been given for people to use the music that was on offer on the website, although there was a limited choice of music that we could pick from however after browsing different free music websites we as a group decided on the best track to use as our score in our film. The sound effect we used were from I movie on the apple laptops that came fee with the software. We used a digital camera DV to film our thriller film which made the film gritty and look like real life. We also used Youtube to advertise our film as it is free to upload personal videos onto it and it was a great way to show people our clip.
[7] Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learned what makes a thriller film and how to add the thrill into a thriller using different editing skills including score, sound effects and camera angles and shot types. I have also learned how to use a blog and update it weekly depending on what I have done in my lesson. I have learned how to edit my own films for future use and how to add scores and take away background noise that I may not want to use in the final film. I know also know how to use a camera properly and how to show different effects with different camera shots and movements.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Kevin's Evaluation
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Typically thriller films have many identifiable traits which leads us to the conclusion that what we are watching is a thriller. One thing we can use to tell us what the film is classed as is the score. My film was an action thriller, this is identifiable because usually a thrilling score builds tension and suspense and usually reaches a loud, booming crescendo when we are revealed a plot twist or revelation on screen. A score in a thriller is never usually in the middle of any measureables, eg: it’s usually very loud or quiet, very fast paced or very slow. This is done because it isn’t considered normal and anything abnormal will discomfort the audience, which is a typical feeling that any directors want to convey. My films score was generally fast paced and I tried to synchronise the cymbal hits with cuts in the film however this was hard to do and it didn’t work every time, but when it did it sounded great. The first piece of music I used was based on a bass riff. It wasn’t as thrilling as the second piece and you could say that it was more based on action, but considering the fact that my film is an action-thriller, this is acceptable. It does not cause discomfort which I believe challenges conventions of real media products. The second piece of music was faster paced and had a choir of singers in the background which is associated with heroes. Still keeping on the subject of sound, my film contained some sound effects, which are usually more likely to be present in action films. The effects I used were the noise of the main characters weapon being drawn, a swooshing sound and a punching sound. I chose to put them in because my film had elements of a pastiche. The film I based this pastiche on was Kill Bill. Pastiche means an imitation, when talking about drama, film or art. In Kill Bill (an action thriller) many sound effects were used during fight scenes. The cinematography in thrillers usually contain close ups, high angle & low angle shots and a variety of other shots typically to disorientate the viewer. One particular shot that is used for this effect is the dolly-zoom I attempted to use it but I was unable to because I had no tracks for my camera to run across. Editing can play a major part in the pace and rhythm of a scene. As I said before, thriller techniques are used at both ends of the spectrum and a rarely in the middle, so to build tension the editing is either slow and eerie or fast and disorientating. Another technique used in thrillers is cross cutting, which can relate two people or objects together making the audience believe that is part of the story, however, as I will discuss in narrative, this can be a red herring. My film had a mix of quick and slow cuts to represent what was happening on screen at each turn, like when the Main Character was running I sped up the cuts to keep the audience interested, as a man running around in one long shot is not. The slow cuts were coupled with no music to emphasise the eeriness of the situation. Misc-en-scene can make or break a film in all aspects that it covers, if the lighting is off, it can convey the wrong feeling, if the casting is poor then the film can become laughable etc... In my film the lighting was captured well in my opinion as we had no artificial light to work with and when we re-shot parts we were unsure of how similar the light would come out. I cast the two characters because they were brothers and the house & garden they had was good for my film. The garden we used was poorly maintained and gave a dank and old look that is typical if thrillers. In thrillers there is usually a damsel in distress but in my film I chose not to have one as it would take away from the action and “kick-ass-ness” of my film because it was a pastiche of Kill Bill. One world famous thriller series is the James Bond films; they too have action elements in them and I tried to use the suave well dressed look from the protagonist of that series in my film. Based on this graph my film was slightly more subjective than objective and more restricted than omniscient.
Subjective means that I focused more on one character than both of them and restricted means that the audience knew less about what was going on than the main character, typically thrillers create dramatic irony by having an omniscient narrative, but in an action film you generally know what the main character knows so you can feel the tension being built throught events happening at that time, not events that will or won’t happen. In my film it was neither which is a challenge to the typical conventions of an action-thriller. I think that what I have said above ties in with the typical conventions of an action thriller. I also think that the age of my main characters is the main thing that challenged conventions of an action thriller, because typically the main characters are older and look like they have experienced many thrilling, action-packed moments before.
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In the media there are 7 main social groups that must be taken into account. They are: Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Regional Identity, Sexuality, Class and Status and Disability. Some are easier to consider than others, eg: I doubt that someone in a wheelchair could play the main character role in my film because it is not an accepted character trait for an action thriller because people are usually represented as physically strong. The messages that are conveyed in my film about each class are that Men are mainly fighters as are teenagers, they look Indian but have a London accent they are fairly rich and they are able bodied. Sexuality cannot be discussed because we have nothing to point us towards an answer, but the typical assumed sexuality of teenage males is that they are heterosexual. I represented the main characters as males because most thrillers have a male protagonist; however it is ironic that the film I imitated (Kill Bill) has a female lead. They are represented as teenagers because it is rare to see a young master of the martial arts, let alone seeing them battle it out in a fight to the death, but my film challenged the typical conventions of action thrillers by putting in two. They were Indian because Asia is an area that is heavily associated with martial arts and I wanted the audience to assume that the main characters were masters. I wanted to make them look rich (we can assume this because one is in a nice house and the other is wearing a suit) because the rest of the film represents them as two superpowers in the business world (like “Lucky Number Slevin”) and it would be odd to see major businessmen wearing rags. We could assume that the Asian and being good at martial arts is a stereotype but the part of Asia that usually produces martial artists is East Asia eg: Japan, China etc... I did it to quickly communicate a message, so that the audience didn’t spend time confused and missing out on the plot. The counter stereotype I used is that the masters of the arts who are usually old men who have experiences great battles are merely teenagers. The effect of this is that the audience question why they are so young which keeps them interested in the plot.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
An institution is a company that will show my film. There are many different ways to get my film seen by the public and the three main ones are television, cinema and the internet. Cinema is where most films that are made are supposed to end up. There are three types of cinema, mainstream, independent and art house. Mainstream is where you find your Hollywood, big budget films that get massive media attention, independent is where you find your lower budget films, often made by a smaller country than the US eg: the UK, Canada etc... and art house is where you find your less conventional, and more experimental films. Other differences between mainstream and independent films are that the casting is based on potential popularity of the film and budget rather than who is the right fit. If the audience wants to see Hugh Grant play a warrior from olden times then usually that’s what they get because it guarantees money, whereas independent films usually fill the roles with the actors best suited to them. Also Hollywood films look rather artificial, but independent films tend to look more gritty and real. Independent films are usually more “challenging” ie: will tackle tougher subjects like terrorism, prostitution etc... examples of mainstream cinemas: Cineworld, Vue, Odeon. These will not be places where my film will be shown, they are more likely to be shown in an independent cinema like the Electric Cinema, or The Everyman Cinema. Film festivals such as Cannes or local ones for schools or boroughs, are also a great way to get exposure so your film can be distributed. The internet is the best way for my film to get exposure as most video hosting websites tend to be free, it is also an ideal way to reach my target audience. I have uploaded my film onto YouTube to get some feedback; however, it has not been up long enough to get any sufficient advice and ideas. This is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eoXjDpdQBg.
When I posted it on Facebook, it got a lot of views and people helped me with some ways in which I could make the film better. If I wanted to I could begin to charge for viewing my film but that could reduce views and setting it up is complicated. Television is a place where programmes are shown rather than films with some exceptions. A channel that would usually show films made by the public is channel 4. As a public service broadcaster Channel 4 shows programmes for minority interests and this is why I believe that my film would end up on there rather than ITV, BBC etc... The digital channels have a lot more dedicated channels for user created content, but they have fewer viewers.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
In my research it stated that “my film is directed at an audience of the age of 16-25” There were no regulatory concerns as the scenes we filmed did not contain any illegal activity. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) states that a film that is rated 12 must not have any form of discrimination that is acted upon, any misuse of drugs, any imitable behavior, low levels of bad language, discreet and brief nudity (if necessary), brief sexual activity is allowed, mature themes (that a teenager could grasp) and moderate violence. My film did not break any of the above rules and that is why I believe it will be classed as 12. I believe that we did reach our target audience because when we got our audience feedback they all seemed to really enjoy my film. It is suitable because it contains the type of violence that cannot be deemed as bloody so it could be classed as a 12 if I wanted it to be.
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
The audience feedback I got was very positive in terms of how they received it as viewers and critics so I had to make minimal re-edits to make it as good as it could be. The young adult audience that I aimed my film at said they liked it and that the style I shot it in was good (a pastiche of Kill Bill). The theme of action mixed in with thriller was very appealing to the audience because when the recent run of films aimed at younger people have been action thrillers and they were pleased to see what they were used to. The score got very good feedback because the pace and rhythm of the scene was reliant on the pieces I chose and the audience recognised this in their feedback that they gave me. The audience also picked up on some other background noise that should not have been in the film and this helped me re-edit my film so that it is suitable for release.
6) What have you learnt about technologies from the processes of constructing this product?
The different technologies we used were the internet, an iMac, a DV camera, a DV tape, Microsoft Word and iMovie HD. I started my coursework by collecting some research to process into a readable essay in Microsoft Word, then when I edited it as well as I could I posted it on blogger.com using the internet on an iMac. When I uploaded all the research and planning I needed I then began to film my opening sequence with a DV camera and a DV tape. When I was finished with filming I then uploaded all the footage to iMovie HD and edited it using cutting and effects. When I was finished I exported it as a Quicktime file and put it on an external hard drive to be analysed. New media (ie: internet, HD) has affected how I film, edit and distribute my product. The internet has made downloading any effects or free music easy and accessible and doable in less than two minutes. The HD element of iMovie made our film look better than it could have years ago which can unintentionally make a film look older than it is. The internet also gives a worldwide feedback centre if you get enough exposure. Non-linear editing can confuse someone who hasn’t story boarded their film, but sometimes films have to be filmed in a non liner order to make the most of natural lighting or weather etc... Also it’s easy to change and there’s no need to start again from the beginning. My film was completely different from the story board because some shots couldn’t be made ie: Dolly Zoom, High Angle etc... and the actors were unable to perform some of the tasks required eg: climbing. The tape we used was DV (digital video) tape, it gives a dark, grainy look but that is good for my film because it shouldn’t look too artificial. Also DV tape is cheaper than celluloid which I couldn’t afford unlike Hollywood films. For my research the internet (particularly Google, IMDB and Wikipedia) helped greatly with finding the info needed and putting it on a website for viewing. Blogger.com was a great website for putting up all my info because it is one of the biggest blogging websites in the world so you know its reliable and most probably user friendly.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
My approach to the preliminary task was not very serious and I didn’t take any big, outside effects into account like lighting or sounds. However, when I got to the proper opening sequence I got to work and it turned out great. Also I planned and researched for my film and it helped a lot. The Misc-en-scene of my film was better because we had time to cast the right actors and dress them properly. Also we were able to get the right lighting when we needed it. We were also allowed to use any location we wanted to. The set was closed so sound, lighting and who was there was in my control. The editing was better because we had software and we were able to do it in a non linear order. The lack of editing for my preliminary task was very irritating because we had to rewind and fast forward in perfect time to get the cuts right and we were unable to film in a non linear order so we had to make do with a half decent clip, not a perfect clip.
Typically thriller films have many identifiable traits which leads us to the conclusion that what we are watching is a thriller. One thing we can use to tell us what the film is classed as is the score. My film was an action thriller, this is identifiable because usually a thrilling score builds tension and suspense and usually reaches a loud, booming crescendo when we are revealed a plot twist or revelation on screen. A score in a thriller is never usually in the middle of any measureables, eg: it’s usually very loud or quiet, very fast paced or very slow. This is done because it isn’t considered normal and anything abnormal will discomfort the audience, which is a typical feeling that any directors want to convey. My films score was generally fast paced and I tried to synchronise the cymbal hits with cuts in the film however this was hard to do and it didn’t work every time, but when it did it sounded great. The first piece of music I used was based on a bass riff. It wasn’t as thrilling as the second piece and you could say that it was more based on action, but considering the fact that my film is an action-thriller, this is acceptable. It does not cause discomfort which I believe challenges conventions of real media products. The second piece of music was faster paced and had a choir of singers in the background which is associated with heroes. Still keeping on the subject of sound, my film contained some sound effects, which are usually more likely to be present in action films. The effects I used were the noise of the main characters weapon being drawn, a swooshing sound and a punching sound. I chose to put them in because my film had elements of a pastiche. The film I based this pastiche on was Kill Bill. Pastiche means an imitation, when talking about drama, film or art. In Kill Bill (an action thriller) many sound effects were used during fight scenes. The cinematography in thrillers usually contain close ups, high angle & low angle shots and a variety of other shots typically to disorientate the viewer. One particular shot that is used for this effect is the dolly-zoom I attempted to use it but I was unable to because I had no tracks for my camera to run across. Editing can play a major part in the pace and rhythm of a scene. As I said before, thriller techniques are used at both ends of the spectrum and a rarely in the middle, so to build tension the editing is either slow and eerie or fast and disorientating. Another technique used in thrillers is cross cutting, which can relate two people or objects together making the audience believe that is part of the story, however, as I will discuss in narrative, this can be a red herring. My film had a mix of quick and slow cuts to represent what was happening on screen at each turn, like when the Main Character was running I sped up the cuts to keep the audience interested, as a man running around in one long shot is not. The slow cuts were coupled with no music to emphasise the eeriness of the situation. Misc-en-scene can make or break a film in all aspects that it covers, if the lighting is off, it can convey the wrong feeling, if the casting is poor then the film can become laughable etc... In my film the lighting was captured well in my opinion as we had no artificial light to work with and when we re-shot parts we were unsure of how similar the light would come out. I cast the two characters because they were brothers and the house & garden they had was good for my film. The garden we used was poorly maintained and gave a dank and old look that is typical if thrillers. In thrillers there is usually a damsel in distress but in my film I chose not to have one as it would take away from the action and “kick-ass-ness” of my film because it was a pastiche of Kill Bill. One world famous thriller series is the James Bond films; they too have action elements in them and I tried to use the suave well dressed look from the protagonist of that series in my film. Based on this graph my film was slightly more subjective than objective and more restricted than omniscient.
Subjective means that I focused more on one character than both of them and restricted means that the audience knew less about what was going on than the main character, typically thrillers create dramatic irony by having an omniscient narrative, but in an action film you generally know what the main character knows so you can feel the tension being built throught events happening at that time, not events that will or won’t happen. In my film it was neither which is a challenge to the typical conventions of an action-thriller. I think that what I have said above ties in with the typical conventions of an action thriller. I also think that the age of my main characters is the main thing that challenged conventions of an action thriller, because typically the main characters are older and look like they have experienced many thrilling, action-packed moments before.
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In the media there are 7 main social groups that must be taken into account. They are: Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Regional Identity, Sexuality, Class and Status and Disability. Some are easier to consider than others, eg: I doubt that someone in a wheelchair could play the main character role in my film because it is not an accepted character trait for an action thriller because people are usually represented as physically strong. The messages that are conveyed in my film about each class are that Men are mainly fighters as are teenagers, they look Indian but have a London accent they are fairly rich and they are able bodied. Sexuality cannot be discussed because we have nothing to point us towards an answer, but the typical assumed sexuality of teenage males is that they are heterosexual. I represented the main characters as males because most thrillers have a male protagonist; however it is ironic that the film I imitated (Kill Bill) has a female lead. They are represented as teenagers because it is rare to see a young master of the martial arts, let alone seeing them battle it out in a fight to the death, but my film challenged the typical conventions of action thrillers by putting in two. They were Indian because Asia is an area that is heavily associated with martial arts and I wanted the audience to assume that the main characters were masters. I wanted to make them look rich (we can assume this because one is in a nice house and the other is wearing a suit) because the rest of the film represents them as two superpowers in the business world (like “Lucky Number Slevin”) and it would be odd to see major businessmen wearing rags. We could assume that the Asian and being good at martial arts is a stereotype but the part of Asia that usually produces martial artists is East Asia eg: Japan, China etc... I did it to quickly communicate a message, so that the audience didn’t spend time confused and missing out on the plot. The counter stereotype I used is that the masters of the arts who are usually old men who have experiences great battles are merely teenagers. The effect of this is that the audience question why they are so young which keeps them interested in the plot.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
An institution is a company that will show my film. There are many different ways to get my film seen by the public and the three main ones are television, cinema and the internet. Cinema is where most films that are made are supposed to end up. There are three types of cinema, mainstream, independent and art house. Mainstream is where you find your Hollywood, big budget films that get massive media attention, independent is where you find your lower budget films, often made by a smaller country than the US eg: the UK, Canada etc... and art house is where you find your less conventional, and more experimental films. Other differences between mainstream and independent films are that the casting is based on potential popularity of the film and budget rather than who is the right fit. If the audience wants to see Hugh Grant play a warrior from olden times then usually that’s what they get because it guarantees money, whereas independent films usually fill the roles with the actors best suited to them. Also Hollywood films look rather artificial, but independent films tend to look more gritty and real. Independent films are usually more “challenging” ie: will tackle tougher subjects like terrorism, prostitution etc... examples of mainstream cinemas: Cineworld, Vue, Odeon. These will not be places where my film will be shown, they are more likely to be shown in an independent cinema like the Electric Cinema, or The Everyman Cinema. Film festivals such as Cannes or local ones for schools or boroughs, are also a great way to get exposure so your film can be distributed. The internet is the best way for my film to get exposure as most video hosting websites tend to be free, it is also an ideal way to reach my target audience. I have uploaded my film onto YouTube to get some feedback; however, it has not been up long enough to get any sufficient advice and ideas. This is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eoXjDpdQBg.
When I posted it on Facebook, it got a lot of views and people helped me with some ways in which I could make the film better. If I wanted to I could begin to charge for viewing my film but that could reduce views and setting it up is complicated. Television is a place where programmes are shown rather than films with some exceptions. A channel that would usually show films made by the public is channel 4. As a public service broadcaster Channel 4 shows programmes for minority interests and this is why I believe that my film would end up on there rather than ITV, BBC etc... The digital channels have a lot more dedicated channels for user created content, but they have fewer viewers.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
In my research it stated that “my film is directed at an audience of the age of 16-25” There were no regulatory concerns as the scenes we filmed did not contain any illegal activity. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) states that a film that is rated 12 must not have any form of discrimination that is acted upon, any misuse of drugs, any imitable behavior, low levels of bad language, discreet and brief nudity (if necessary), brief sexual activity is allowed, mature themes (that a teenager could grasp) and moderate violence. My film did not break any of the above rules and that is why I believe it will be classed as 12. I believe that we did reach our target audience because when we got our audience feedback they all seemed to really enjoy my film. It is suitable because it contains the type of violence that cannot be deemed as bloody so it could be classed as a 12 if I wanted it to be.
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
The audience feedback I got was very positive in terms of how they received it as viewers and critics so I had to make minimal re-edits to make it as good as it could be. The young adult audience that I aimed my film at said they liked it and that the style I shot it in was good (a pastiche of Kill Bill). The theme of action mixed in with thriller was very appealing to the audience because when the recent run of films aimed at younger people have been action thrillers and they were pleased to see what they were used to. The score got very good feedback because the pace and rhythm of the scene was reliant on the pieces I chose and the audience recognised this in their feedback that they gave me. The audience also picked up on some other background noise that should not have been in the film and this helped me re-edit my film so that it is suitable for release.
6) What have you learnt about technologies from the processes of constructing this product?
The different technologies we used were the internet, an iMac, a DV camera, a DV tape, Microsoft Word and iMovie HD. I started my coursework by collecting some research to process into a readable essay in Microsoft Word, then when I edited it as well as I could I posted it on blogger.com using the internet on an iMac. When I uploaded all the research and planning I needed I then began to film my opening sequence with a DV camera and a DV tape. When I was finished with filming I then uploaded all the footage to iMovie HD and edited it using cutting and effects. When I was finished I exported it as a Quicktime file and put it on an external hard drive to be analysed. New media (ie: internet, HD) has affected how I film, edit and distribute my product. The internet has made downloading any effects or free music easy and accessible and doable in less than two minutes. The HD element of iMovie made our film look better than it could have years ago which can unintentionally make a film look older than it is. The internet also gives a worldwide feedback centre if you get enough exposure. Non-linear editing can confuse someone who hasn’t story boarded their film, but sometimes films have to be filmed in a non liner order to make the most of natural lighting or weather etc... Also it’s easy to change and there’s no need to start again from the beginning. My film was completely different from the story board because some shots couldn’t be made ie: Dolly Zoom, High Angle etc... and the actors were unable to perform some of the tasks required eg: climbing. The tape we used was DV (digital video) tape, it gives a dark, grainy look but that is good for my film because it shouldn’t look too artificial. Also DV tape is cheaper than celluloid which I couldn’t afford unlike Hollywood films. For my research the internet (particularly Google, IMDB and Wikipedia) helped greatly with finding the info needed and putting it on a website for viewing. Blogger.com was a great website for putting up all my info because it is one of the biggest blogging websites in the world so you know its reliable and most probably user friendly.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
My approach to the preliminary task was not very serious and I didn’t take any big, outside effects into account like lighting or sounds. However, when I got to the proper opening sequence I got to work and it turned out great. Also I planned and researched for my film and it helped a lot. The Misc-en-scene of my film was better because we had time to cast the right actors and dress them properly. Also we were able to get the right lighting when we needed it. We were also allowed to use any location we wanted to. The set was closed so sound, lighting and who was there was in my control. The editing was better because we had software and we were able to do it in a non linear order. The lack of editing for my preliminary task was very irritating because we had to rewind and fast forward in perfect time to get the cuts right and we were unable to film in a non linear order so we had to make do with a half decent clip, not a perfect clip.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Alexi michael evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media product focuses on the use of real media products sharing similar thriller traits as to the typical thriller film through a variety of aspects. The conventions of a film or in this case a thriller are very important in terms of addressing a wider range of audiences and importantly making this film a success. Our film consisting of all four elements: score, editing, cinematography and mise en scene are important in making good thriller. Thrillers often involve fast pace movement and a twisted plot therefore giving a suspenseful and anxious feeling towards the audience as well as leaving an enigma code at the end of the film adding to the tension. To do this, camera movement is very important in creating such a theme, using a variety of camera angles and movements to accomplish this. Taking into account our film is an action- thriller (hybrid genre), we took this in advantage using fast-paced camera movement, matching the intensity of the scene. Doing this we took various examples of other action- thriller films such as “Blade”, “Transporter” and “Die hard”, helping us produce our film of an action- thriller. At the beginning of the film, when the main character runs through the Garden passing various objects, sharp and fast camera movements is important showing the audience his urgency getting to the destination. For example, we used many medium shots showing his body movements as he runs to the destination. The lighting in addition emphasises the dark mood, as the brightness of the lighting affects the mood dramatically, in which our film we used increased the intensity of the light as the pace increased. In our film sequence we used various cross-cutting camera movements as the fight scene commences, suggesting there is a relationship between the two characters, as well as showing more tension and used to illustrate narrative action in numerous places. Also quick cutting is an important element in speeding up the pace of a scene, as we used it when the two characters, the protagonist and the antagonist are fighting. From this scene we can also recognise that the main character is the protagonist, whereby this is often very common in action films. In our product we also used additional scores, in order to add more pace to the action sequence or to build up tension. Scores in thrillers play a vital part in building up suspense and tension, for example in Hitchcock’s classic thriller film “Psycho” he used the score to an advantage in the stabbing scene, giving the audience a more frightening outlook to the film.
Our film consists of the usually elements of a typical thriller, though fitting in terms of a contemporary thriller, involving a fight scene with the modern camera shots, scores and with different editing techniques, therefore updated from the classic thriller. A classic thriller is very much related often to Hitchcock and his thrillers, “Vertigo” and “Psycho” were one of the most famous of classic thrillers, in which these conventions of a thriller often differ from the contemporary ones, including “Die Hard” or even “Kill Bill”, whereby thrillers today include more often than not more fighting scenes. Kill Bill in particularly influenced the production of our film, using the modern shots similar to those of Kill Bill. However in terms of our film being in British, we use an Asian portrayed as the Protagonist, which is quite unusually in a British film, which isn’t expected in identifiably British films
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our film sequence challenges conventions to that of a common thriller as we have done this by portraying the protagonist as a male Asian youth dressed formally in a business suit as he comes across quite foreign in the sense that he is living in the streets on London. The fact that the protagonist is of Asian ethnicity contrasts with the stereotypical view that all protagonists are masculine or even perhaps of White origin which as a whole goes against the view of a Protagonist. However, due to the fact that he is dressed quite professional makes him look like an older more mature character in which he is portrayed as. Also, having said that our film is represented by the younger generation, we have used this to the stereotype that the younger people add more energy to the film, as this is seen through many Martial arts/ Thriller films e.g. Kill Bill, and therefore would appeal to the younger people as this type of film appeals to their age group. In addition, our is particularly focused on male representation, as through our sequence we presented the two male characters as powerful and dominant in order to portray what men are represented like in the media. The powerful representation of males in our film are seen when the protagonist and the antagonist fight, bringing a sense of tension to the scene. Whereas if we were to present females fighting, the audience wouldn’t expect this, and would reduce the atmospheric tension.
On one hand Mainstream films (Hollywood) such as Vue are usually presented with a very high budget, in which it would be able to attract audiences around the world where they will be able to be viewed. For example, when a big film is released they would be distributed in a Mainstream cinema where organisations such as Vue would provide the audience to watch it. On the other hand, Taking into account that we filmed on a very low budget in what it could be recorded on we would distribute our film to an independent cinema where they accept low budget films the audience could watch. On the basis that we used no special effects was evident that our film should be distributed to an independent organisation, in which in order for your film to make it into the mainstream cinema’s the use of even special effects, a highly experienced camera crew and famous actor would be required. These independent film companies are also another way of promoting films of another ethnic origin. For example Bollywood would attract many audiences however specifically at the Indian community.
The film can also be distributed through cinemas which would attract many audiences; independent film festivals are also a common way to view this sequence. For example, the Sundance festival is a local student festival in which they have the chance to promote their film.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
This film is aimed at a wide range of audience however, particularly focused on the youth age from 15-25, whereby containing some adult themes such as in the action scene, as it shows a gun where this may be found too inappropriate for some young people. We would have to classify this with the BBFC (British board of film classification). In reference to the BBFC, we have to make sure that their film guidance matches our target audience. In the planning stages this was the original age target audience as we thought that what we filmed was relevant to a 15+. In relation to the planning stages, our aim was to give them the audience a shock however, not to push the boundaries over 15. By producing a film that contained a certain aspect of a thriller e.g. action thriller, in which students were comfortable with, such as the mystery plot, we would have to achieve this. The film is primarily a 15 certificate, however this doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be just 15 years old, although mainly targeted. Although there is no inappropriate language, or any sort of sex or drugs, there is a scene where the antagonist holds a gun which may be seen as inappropriate for those younger than 12. We felt the need to consult the BBFC for guidance for who our target audience should be aimed at.
5. How would you attract your audience?
One of the various issues we had to consider was how we were going to attract our audience. We had to take into account of the feedback we were given when certain people watched our film on how we could improve the film to make it more attractive and to attract a wider range of audience. Our feedback was mainly critical of the lighting used stating that they found it hard to see, as result we took into consideration their opinion and adjusted the lighting.
The film was mainly aimed at teenagers from 15-25. We used their feedback to research more into the thriller genre and therefore developing more ideas through the process. We found that action/ thrillers were most commonly popular by the audience we directed our film at, feeling that we can develop this information further by making a few more cuts. Making sure that the target audience was met we looked at the BBFC certificate in order that my film applies to them. Our film focused on certain aspects of a thriller in which we thought would attract a greater audience from our target audience. In the fact that our film is an action/ thriller indicates that the age our target audience was set quite high in which teenagers tend to take more interest, as we noticed from the positive feedback.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Going through the course, we have experienced many uses of technology, in which we were able to apply this to our product. One of many uses of technology we used was the DV cameras or (digital video cameras). DV cameras came across easy to function and handle, and with good quality picture, which was a good advantage considering the budget we had. DV cameras allow easy hand movements giving the ability to show various camera shots and movements. DV cameras are commonly used in TV dramas such as “Eastenders”, are a lot more self-sufficient and less expensive rather than using Celluloid filming. In comparison to DV cameras and traditional filming and their effect, DV cameras tend to add a more realism to the environment and the scene taking place. Where today there are different uses camera technologies, Celluloid is different in terms of picture motion and style. Celluloid is often used to give a more glamorous effect to a picture, adding brighter colours or perhaps making the picture more realistic. This style of commonly used in Hollywood films.
Our media product focuses on the use of real media products sharing similar thriller traits as to the typical thriller film through a variety of aspects. The conventions of a film or in this case a thriller are very important in terms of addressing a wider range of audiences and importantly making this film a success. Our film consisting of all four elements: score, editing, cinematography and mise en scene are important in making good thriller. Thrillers often involve fast pace movement and a twisted plot therefore giving a suspenseful and anxious feeling towards the audience as well as leaving an enigma code at the end of the film adding to the tension. To do this, camera movement is very important in creating such a theme, using a variety of camera angles and movements to accomplish this. Taking into account our film is an action- thriller (hybrid genre), we took this in advantage using fast-paced camera movement, matching the intensity of the scene. Doing this we took various examples of other action- thriller films such as “Blade”, “Transporter” and “Die hard”, helping us produce our film of an action- thriller. At the beginning of the film, when the main character runs through the Garden passing various objects, sharp and fast camera movements is important showing the audience his urgency getting to the destination. For example, we used many medium shots showing his body movements as he runs to the destination. The lighting in addition emphasises the dark mood, as the brightness of the lighting affects the mood dramatically, in which our film we used increased the intensity of the light as the pace increased. In our film sequence we used various cross-cutting camera movements as the fight scene commences, suggesting there is a relationship between the two characters, as well as showing more tension and used to illustrate narrative action in numerous places. Also quick cutting is an important element in speeding up the pace of a scene, as we used it when the two characters, the protagonist and the antagonist are fighting. From this scene we can also recognise that the main character is the protagonist, whereby this is often very common in action films. In our product we also used additional scores, in order to add more pace to the action sequence or to build up tension. Scores in thrillers play a vital part in building up suspense and tension, for example in Hitchcock’s classic thriller film “Psycho” he used the score to an advantage in the stabbing scene, giving the audience a more frightening outlook to the film.
Our film consists of the usually elements of a typical thriller, though fitting in terms of a contemporary thriller, involving a fight scene with the modern camera shots, scores and with different editing techniques, therefore updated from the classic thriller. A classic thriller is very much related often to Hitchcock and his thrillers, “Vertigo” and “Psycho” were one of the most famous of classic thrillers, in which these conventions of a thriller often differ from the contemporary ones, including “Die Hard” or even “Kill Bill”, whereby thrillers today include more often than not more fighting scenes. Kill Bill in particularly influenced the production of our film, using the modern shots similar to those of Kill Bill. However in terms of our film being in British, we use an Asian portrayed as the Protagonist, which is quite unusually in a British film, which isn’t expected in identifiably British films2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our film sequence challenges conventions to that of a common thriller as we have done this by portraying the protagonist as a male Asian youth dressed formally in a business suit as he comes across quite foreign in the sense that he is living in the streets on London. The fact that the protagonist is of Asian ethnicity contrasts with the stereotypical view that all protagonists are masculine or even perhaps of White origin which as a whole goes against the view of a Protagonist. However, due to the fact that he is dressed quite professional makes him look like an older more mature character in which he is portrayed as. Also, having said that our film is represented by the younger generation, we have used this to the stereotype that the younger people add more energy to the film, as this is seen through many Martial arts/ Thriller films e.g. Kill Bill, and therefore would appeal to the younger people as this type of film appeals to their age group. In addition, our is particularly focused on male representation, as through our sequence we presented the two male characters as powerful and dominant in order to portray what men are represented like in the media. The powerful representation of males in our film are seen when the protagonist and the antagonist fight, bringing a sense of tension to the scene. Whereas if we were to present females fighting, the audience wouldn’t expect this, and would reduce the atmospheric tension.
On the other hand, we specifically chose a character of an Asian background so he typifies the stereotype of a martial arts/ thriller film. As commonly in Martial Arts films, the main character would be displayed from an Asian/ Oriental descent e.g. Bruce Lee. Our film then goes on to show that although there only exists two characters, it is presented by ethnic minorities as we see this through both the Protagonist and Antagonist being of non- White origin. This, as a result of the main characters being of non- White background would appeal to the ethnic minority audience in effect that it may appeal to a large scale audience.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our media product can be viewed or distributed in various ways. One of the main ways that videos can be shared is through, Myspace, Youtube, Facebook etc... Therefore by promoting our film onto social networking sites we can attract many audiences that are able to access these websites through the internet.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our media product can be viewed or distributed in various ways. One of the main ways that videos can be shared is through, Myspace, Youtube, Facebook etc... Therefore by promoting our film onto social networking sites we can attract many audiences that are able to access these websites through the internet.
On one hand Mainstream films (Hollywood) such as Vue are usually presented with a very high budget, in which it would be able to attract audiences around the world where they will be able to be viewed. For example, when a big film is released they would be distributed in a Mainstream cinema where organisations such as Vue would provide the audience to watch it. On the other hand, Taking into account that we filmed on a very low budget in what it could be recorded on we would distribute our film to an independent cinema where they accept low budget films the audience could watch. On the basis that we used no special effects was evident that our film should be distributed to an independent organisation, in which in order for your film to make it into the mainstream cinema’s the use of even special effects, a highly experienced camera crew and famous actor would be required. These independent film companies are also another way of promoting films of another ethnic origin. For example Bollywood would attract many audiences however specifically at the Indian community.The film can also be distributed through cinemas which would attract many audiences; independent film festivals are also a common way to view this sequence. For example, the Sundance festival is a local student festival in which they have the chance to promote their film.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?This film is aimed at a wide range of audience however, particularly focused on the youth age from 15-25, whereby containing some adult themes such as in the action scene, as it shows a gun where this may be found too inappropriate for some young people. We would have to classify this with the BBFC (British board of film classification). In reference to the BBFC, we have to make sure that their film guidance matches our target audience. In the planning stages this was the original age target audience as we thought that what we filmed was relevant to a 15+. In relation to the planning stages, our aim was to give them the audience a shock however, not to push the boundaries over 15. By producing a film that contained a certain aspect of a thriller e.g. action thriller, in which students were comfortable with, such as the mystery plot, we would have to achieve this. The film is primarily a 15 certificate, however this doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be just 15 years old, although mainly targeted. Although there is no inappropriate language, or any sort of sex or drugs, there is a scene where the antagonist holds a gun which may be seen as inappropriate for those younger than 12. We felt the need to consult the BBFC for guidance for who our target audience should be aimed at.
5. How would you attract your audience?
One of the various issues we had to consider was how we were going to attract our audience. We had to take into account of the feedback we were given when certain people watched our film on how we could improve the film to make it more attractive and to attract a wider range of audience. Our feedback was mainly critical of the lighting used stating that they found it hard to see, as result we took into consideration their opinion and adjusted the lighting.
The film was mainly aimed at teenagers from 15-25. We used their feedback to research more into the thriller genre and therefore developing more ideas through the process. We found that action/ thrillers were most commonly popular by the audience we directed our film at, feeling that we can develop this information further by making a few more cuts. Making sure that the target audience was met we looked at the BBFC certificate in order that my film applies to them. Our film focused on certain aspects of a thriller in which we thought would attract a greater audience from our target audience. In the fact that our film is an action/ thriller indicates that the age our target audience was set quite high in which teenagers tend to take more interest, as we noticed from the positive feedback.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Going through the course, we have experienced many uses of technology, in which we were able to apply this to our product. One of many uses of technology we used was the DV cameras or (digital video cameras). DV cameras came across easy to function and handle, and with good quality picture, which was a good advantage considering the budget we had. DV cameras allow easy hand movements giving the ability to show various camera shots and movements. DV cameras are commonly used in TV dramas such as “Eastenders”, are a lot more self-sufficient and less expensive rather than using Celluloid filming. In comparison to DV cameras and traditional filming and their effect, DV cameras tend to add a more realism to the environment and the scene taking place. Where today there are different uses camera technologies, Celluloid is different in terms of picture motion and style. Celluloid is often used to give a more glamorous effect to a picture, adding brighter colours or perhaps making the picture more realistic. This style of commonly used in Hollywood films.
However, taking into account its advantages, it is rather expensive and depending on your film type and budget it will vary. Non- linear editing on IMOVIE is very efficient in helping edit our drafts. With the function of non-linear editing, we were able to manipulate various parts of the sequence of our filming and improve them. By incorporating the storyboard, we were able to edit the scenes. Moving onto editing, following the filming with the DV cameras, connecting the DV camera to the MAC using IMOVIE via firewall cable, we able to edit our camera shots and movements, and add in scores or sound effects. Having a score or a sound effect in your media product is essential, it can change the pace of the scene, manipulate the mood or just for an additional sound effect to enhance an action. The internet was also an essential accessory that we used in order to help us with our research in terms of planning.
When looking for evidence into the thriller genre, we encountered a situation where were we had to research into Hitchcock, known to be the most influential figure in the history of the Thriller genre. Without the internet we would have not been able to get access to a lot of information that was vital for our thriller. As we looked into research of the action/ thriller genre hybrid the internet played an important role in sustaining this, for example we looked into how Kill Bill was viewed and Die Hard and compared it to ours.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since we made the preliminary task at the start of the Media Course, we have learnt a substantial amount of new skills and techniques in helping us to progress in filming, such as new camera shots/ movements and how to develop these elements to make it into the filming world. For example, we used different takes in different angles whilst editing it. This was to give us a better perspective of what angle was more efficient or realistic to have more of an effect upon the scene.
Whilst we approached the preliminary task, we found it to be a lot easier than making the actual film itself. Before the preliminary task not one of our group members was familiar with using a digital camera or even editing the film to manipulate the plot. However, in time we learnt how to function the DV cameras, as well iMovie to edit our film. Though making the actual film came a lot easier than we thought. The Preliminary task helped a lot actually producing the film. Though in gradual time all of became more familiar in handling the DV cameras.
Though while attempting to film, a problem we encountered was thinking of a plot for our film. We wanted it to be quite unique, but not off the topic of the thriller genre as our product is related similarly to an action genre and not to common. This perhaps was the most challenging part following the preliminary task. We countered this by creating a genre hybrid of the thriller genre to make the storyboard more complex yet a lot more unique in which we hoped to achieve successfully. However, despite us thinking of a story line, we did change throughout the course as we gradually became more familiar with the subject, this was a slight problem in the filming process as we had to do our storyboard again in order to get more camera shots in.
Friday, 22 January 2010
Location
The location that we are filming is in Shepherds Bush. The scene begins in an alley that has a blue gate at the end. The alley is in the new university building next to my house where we have permission to use their back entrance for filming. Then we will film the scene with the Main Running down Eynham Road. We picked it because it is where the university building is and it is calm enough for no one to interfere with our filming. The park (Wormwood Scrubs) is perfect because it’s huge and if we need to lengthen the time of the shots we won’t run out of ground for the Main Character to run on. Also the playground is great for filming high angle shots due to the play equipment.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
shooting schedule
The group has decided to meet up on the 23rd of January (Sat) 2010 at Wood Lane Station at 10:00 am to start our shoot in the areas that we have decided on, we can all contact each other via mobile phone. Later dates will be discussed when we have finished our first day of shooting.
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