7)Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In the preliminary task I was using far more simple editing techniques and it was a much more simple task.
In the progresion to this final task I feel that i have learnt to challenge myself and my imagination and to expand my limits. I feel that I have become much more comfortable with the technology provided.
I have become more familiar with the cameras and gotten used to setting them up in suitable posistions on location. When on location I feel that I have grown able to judge shots and angles in order to acheive the shots I need along with deciding how long to film for.

When editing i feel that my opinion of what looks professional has altered aswell and I have become more attentive to detail and more picky. This in turn has allowed me to create a much more professional piece. I have become more comfortable using sound effects and adding non-diegetic sounds to my piece.
I felt more confident in my ability to produce this product as time progressed and we had more hands on experiance filming and editing.
I feel that I have learnt a great deal in the time between my perliminary task and starting this final product and this has enabled me to finish my task to a high standard.

6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

After learning how to properly operate the digital cameras and edit using Adobe premier pro i found it very easy to complete these project.
This technology has enabled me to acheive my task as i was able to edit my film and its sound effects easliy and professionally.I have to been able to create 'jump cut' effects and to adjust the speed of my film.It has also been easier to creat transitional effects between scenes and with music. Therefore the technology has aided me in comlpeting my task as it has helped me make it exactly as planned.

I have learnt how to insert sound effects which i was unable to do before and i can now place them correctly in the exact section of film i want them to cover. I have also learnt to create fast edits between scenes.

Using the blogging system has helped me greatly as i have been able to keep a track of what i have been doing and it has been kept safe. It also means that I have been able to log exactly what i have done in the order that it has been done in so that everything is very well organised.

I have used a number of websites to help me research, mainly box office websites to find details of films of the same genre. I used these to find details such as gross intake and profits as well as story plots.I have also used youtube to research as i have watched trailers and scenes from similar films.

5)How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience by posting our product on youtube where it is easily viewable.
We then asked for feedback for our piece.


I feel that we were successful in attracting our target audience. Our choice of titles made our product look very professional and resemble actual media products. Our audience felt that our choice of music and use of jump cuts made the product much more convincing and clearly showed the genre.
The audience found our product very exciting and said they would like to watch more. They felt that although our film was typical of the genre it also challenged ideoliges as the 'outcome' was at the start rather than at the end.
There was general positive feedback throughout. I think there was preferred reading as they accepted the messages we were putting forward and they clearly understood our text.



Below are some of the comments we received on our youtube post.

Thorgalw

It's a gun. Why would you run behind someone when you have a freaking gun?

PEW PEW PEW


Nice one though, what will be the next epic movie if I may ask?

JackM1337

Haha, nice! xD

hogwash2nd

5/5 Very nice, don't like the sitting down but i've already spoken to you about that. hm
Remember, the east is east but is west west? ;)

Our video also received 5/5 on the rating scale.

I feel that we attracted our target audience well as the language and 'banter' shown in the above comments reflect younger individuals. These are the type of people we were hoping to attract.

4)Who would be the audience for your media product?

The age range of my audience is around 18 to 30 years old C2 and higher. They would range from Mainstreamers to aspirers and rebels. They would read books such as those written by Patricia Cornwell. They would have a preference of smart, expensive cars, if they could not afford them they would still have a keen interest.They would prefer to travel abroad for holidays. Their favourite drink would range from wine and spirits, to beer a lager. They are most likely to have office jobs. Their favourite tv programmes would be programmes such as life on mars and CSI. They are likely to dress casually. They would live in new housing estates.

3)What kind of media insitution might distribute your media product and why?

My film has originally been uploaded to youtube and has had a positive response. However the full product would be aired in a public cinema.It may be distributed by a company such as 'United international pictures' who distributed the bourne identity which is of a similar nature.
As it is quite a mainstream genre it may be picked up by a production studio like universal studios.
When made availiable for public purchase it would be sold on DVD but also made availiable for paid download. This creates multi-platform ocnsumption and maximises distribution.

2)How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents teenagers in a more extreme take on the dominant ideology.The dominant ideology is that teens are violent and often involved in gun crime. My film confirms this and expands on it to show an actual act of gun violence. This also therefore follows a stereotypical view of teens. As both of the characters are male this also follows a dominant representation, aswell as the ideology that males are more violent than females. The housing estate is typical of working class families.
The setting constructs a feeling of reality as there have been no special effects and it is set in an ordinary street which is similar to where the target audience may live.

1) In what was does your media presentation use,develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

Evalutation


My films genre was action/thriller. It could also be catergorised in the sub-genre of horror.
It contains classic conventions of the genre both in physical objects and the body language of the characters. For example there is a gun present which connotes danger and violence which are common themes of the action genre. This scene is all about a chase which also connotes danger. We therefore have combined these two conventions to make a more creative scene.

In terms of the Todorov narrative my film comtains an equilibrium, though brief, in which everything is as it should be and there is no danger. When the audience sees the gun the disruption is present. At the end of the scene the recognition has also been persent. As it is only the opening two minutes there is no reparation or restoration.
In terms of the Levi Strauss theory there are a number of oppositions present, there is the vunerability of the victim against the power of the villain. There is peace and violence. As it is set in a quiet housing estate there is also the oppositions of safety and danger. The victim is dressed brightly which contrasts with the dark outfit of the villain so we have the contrast of good/light and evil/dark.
In terms of the Propp theory characters present include clearly the villain and the victim.

We have taken advantage of mis-en-scene for our film. Our victim was dressed brightly whereas the villain was dressed in darker clothes connoting danger and making it clear which character is which and where the power balance is.We challenged the residual ideology that a housing estate is a place of safety and quiet by choosing to film in one and introducing a scene of violence.

When it came to editing we decided to use fast jump cuts as these are typical of the genre.
We challenged the typical convention of a quiet neighbourhood by setting an act of violence in it.
We created a directors commentary which plays over the video below.

Final Piece

Production

We decided to our recording over half term as this gave us a full week to collect all of the shots we needed. All of our arrangements went as planned.
We had to overcome a few location issues, for example cars arriving and leaving as well as pedestrians obstructing our shots.
A few re-shots we needed but this was more so that we had a wider range of material to use. Other reasons that this was needed was due to obstructions by pedestrians a and vehicles.
Once we had overcome these issues i feel that our filming went very well.
Once we had done all of our filming and obtained all the shots we needed we began the editing stages using adobe premier pro.
We obtained all of our music from copyright free sources so that it was completely legal.

Final planning

Storyboard
After my research and initial planning i have created a final storyboard for my project which contain location, angles, mis-en-scene, duration and continuity editing. An example of my work is posted below.

The first example here is a mid close up. I have used this to show the audience clearly what has happened and they need to understand what has happened. The angle of the camera connotes the characters vunerability.

The second example is also a mid close up but from a different angle. This shows what is happening and emphasises that the character is in danger. The mid close up shows that the killer is close to the victim and that the victim is vunerable.

The third shot is a close up and is the beginning of a match on action sequence which I have included to show how quickly the character is getting up.

Logistical arrangements
I have organised my location. I chose to film on merrimans hill into goodrest walk as this fits the storyboard very well and i will be able to obtain the shots i need.
I have compiled a list of props that i will need and have arranged to make them availiable.
I have also chosen my actors and found out when they are availiable so that i can arrange filming more efficiently.
I will be taking charge of the cinematography and directing while my partner will arrange location, costume and post productive sound. However we will be discussing all of our choices before following them through.

Time management
I have booked all equipment that i need for over half term as this gives me enough time to collect all of my shots and meet the deadline. I have arranged to do the filming on Thursday 19th February late afternoon/early evening.

Planning

In the first two minutes of my film there will be a character walking through a housing estate. There will then be a shot to the feet of someone following him. There is then a reverse shot to the first character begining to speed up. There will then be a number of shots of different parts of the pursuers body, each shot separated bt a return shot to the character running. These will speed up to create suspense. The first character then runs down an alley and there is a gun shot, the screen goes black, there is another gun shot and then the camera returns to show the pursuer kneeling over the victim who is now dead. He gets up slowly and turns.There is a shot of the bottom half of his face and he walks towards the camera, his long coats sweeps round and the title page appears.

Analysis of the opening of a film.

I have chosen action-thriller as my movie genre. I chose to analyse the opening of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' as this movie is of the same genre and style that i have chosen for my movie. It contains many of the conventions that i want to include in my own movie.
'The Bourne Ultimatum' was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures,a large Hollywood conglomerate.
The target audience is teenage to middle age viewers who are fans of action and special effects.
Genre features i noticed in the opening scene were typical conventions such as guns, blood, a police chase, the lights on the police car and a chase on foot. In my scene i will be including the chase on foot, the gun and the blood.
The narrative structure included the equilibrium but quickly moves on to the disruption followed by the recognition. In my film i will be using the same three narrative features.
The opening scene was built more around acting and building suspense than using large special effects which is how my movie will be made due to budget.

This activity has shown me that I will need a lot of footage for my project even if i am only making the opening two minutes as i need to allow for editing.
The need for continuity editing will impact my filming as it means we need to allow time between shots so that they can be edited tidily.
I will now move onto my planning and build up my storyboard before moving onto filming. The deadline for this is the 6th of February.

Specific Research

I am now going to do some more specific research into my chosen genre which is 'action, thriller mystery hybrids'. I will look at and analyse the opening scenes of three movies which fit this genre. I will pick out the common conventions and narrative features.
This will help me in creating my own film opening as i will understand the conventions i need to use more and be able to use them more effectively.
I need to clearly explore my audience. The age range of my audience is around 18 to 30 years old C2 and higher. They would range from Mainstreamers to aspirers and rebels. They would read books such as those written by Patricia Cornwell. They would have a preference of smart, expensive cars, if they could not afford them they would still have a keen interest.They would prefer to travel abroad for holidays. Their favourite drink would range from wine and spirits, to beer a lager. They are most likely to have office jobs. Their favourite tv programmes would be programmes such as life on mars and CSI. They are likely to dress casually. They would live in new housing estates.
No country for old men
This film is an action thriller set in America. There is the binary opposition of sheriffs and outlaws. The movie uses action thriller conventions such as the location which is in the wilderness. The mystery is added by abandoned cars and unusual props such as the oxygen tank.
There is then the disruption which is a murder which is typical of the genre. The audience realise that the murderer is going to be the problem for some part of the movie and that the movie will be a build up to the resolution of this problem. The audience are introduced to the possible hero of the movie who is the narrator who is introduced in the voice over. The audience hears this character before they see him which adds mystery to who he is.

James Bond:Casino Royale
This film contains many of the conventions of the genre. It starts with the introduction of an unknown character who then meets James Bond who has broken into his office. There are flashbacks to a situation Bond has been in which is related to him finding the unknown character. This hints to the audience that the unknown character is in danger. However the conversation continues calmly until the unknown character pulls out his gun which is another conventional prop of the genre. However the gun is empty and James Bond has emptied it which establishes him as a dangerous, intelligent person. He is dressed smartly and is a stereotypical British agent. The flashbacks continue and depict Bond killing a man in a bathroom. He strangles the man and the man is assumed dead. The scene then returns to the office where Bond kills the man in there. There is another flashback to the bathroom and the man whom we believe Bond has killed stands up behind him and Bond quickly shoots him. The credits then begin as blood runs down the screen. Violence, guns and blood are typical conventions but the suit and British accent are typical conventions of the sub genre of British espionage.

Video - Film openings: initial research

I have chosen video for my main project as i enjoyed this preliminary task more. I will be making the first two minutes of a new movie.
To start off my project i began looking at different forms of film including different genres. I looked at Hollywood,Social Realist and Art House films.
I found that Hollywood films all share the same conventions depending on the genre. They are quite generic in that they use the same ideologies eg. male hero, female interest etc. The films all usually end in the simple narratives being resolved.
I found that Social Realist films handle more difficult topics and more real life situations than Hollywood. The narratives are not always resolved and the characters are usually simple working-class people rather than super heroes.
Art House films do not follow a narrative or the generic structures that Hollywood and Social Realist movies do. The audience tend to be more upper class and the movies focus on style more than content.They tend to be more independent films.

Institution

Holly wood films are distributed by large media conglomerates such as Universal, Paramount and Warner. All of these conglomerates own many companies in a range of different media formats so are at an advantage as they are able to promote their films across a large range of media. These companies all stick to generic dominant values which are reflected in the majority of their films. Movies produced by such companies tend to be big budget and contain all-star casts.The movies are aimed at a large audience and have high profit margins.
Social Realist films are made by smaller film companies such as Protozoa Pictures. They are therefore not as widely distributed as Hollywood movies.These movies have more complex narratives as they do not have as much money to lose as Hollywood film companies and can therefore afford to take risks, however aspects of the generic narratives are still visible. These films are smaller budget and have fewer stars but provide opportunities for upcoming actors and actresses to break through.These movies are for smaller audiences with more specific interests and do not have as high a profit margin.
Art House movies are usually made by independent directors but can sometimes be picked up and distributed by larger companies.They are usually played at small local cinemas and are not widely distributed. They often contain no narratives and do not follow the general structures of many films.The movies usually reflect personal issues of the creator and take more risks.They are made on small budgets for 'niche' audiences and are made more for the style than the content.

Narrative and Genre

It is important for film openings to use generic features and narrative structures so that the audience can build preconceptions and anticipate what will happen in the rest of the movie. In the first few minutes the audience should understand the genre of the movie and be able to establish what they feel will happen.
As part of my research I looked at film openings. In particular I looked at the opening of the tongue-in-cheek horror movie ' Dog soldiers' and took note of the specific conventions and narrative structures. It is quickly reconisable as a horror movie,however it is also recognisable as a member of the sub-genre of werewolf movie.Using the Proppian character functions the opening introduces the victims, the villain and a possible hero.The audience therefore build expectations. They expect the potential hero, who is seen as an underdog, to provide the resolution to the problem. An enigma code is used also which helps shape the expectations of the audience and is an icon of the sub genre. Using the Todorovian theory we see the disruption.
Narrative structures and techniques used include clear binary opposition of innocent and evil.
The use of these generic and narrative structures allows the audience to enjoy the movie more as they can predict what is going to happen and can gain pleasure from trying to work out for themselves what is going to happen. The audience is able to follow the genre and plot more confidently and clearly and there is no confusion.
When I make my own opening I will need to use these structures so that my audience will understand my chosen genre and will be able to pick up on part of the storyline.