Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at you preliminary task, what do you think you have you learnt in the proggression of it to the full product?

After filming our preliminary, we learnt how much planning is required for filming, and how much time is wasted when we plan the shots on set rather than preparing before hand. After our preliminary we decided to make sure that every aspect of our final production was planned thoroughly. This would ensure that we did not waste the time that we had with the hire camera, as we only had 2 days. We also learnt about the importance of lighting, and how it can add to the effect of different shots, and also the distractions it can cause. We found especially with the long shot in our preliminary, that the lighting distracted the viewer from the shot of the main character, so we did our best to choose camera angles which helped target this issue. We we also quite lucky as the weather was cloudy which didn't cause many problems with natural lighting and colouring.

Also, we made sure that we deleted the bad takes before uploading clips from the camera to the computer as after uploading files for the preliminary exercise, we found that it took a long time and the process was very slow as we had so many different takes that were useless to us.

Finally, after watching our preliminary exercise back, we have learnt how essential it is to have good continuity throughout, and how distracting errors can be to the viewer. They also play a part in preventing the viewer from becoming absorbed in the film and characters and feel like they are a part of the scene.

Evaluation Question 6

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

We decided to hire out a camera for our production for improved quality. We learnt many features of the camera, and introduced them to our film. These included various lenses (including wide-angle) , camera lighting and manual focussing, which is featured several times in our intro, as you can see in this example. We also furthured our understanding of the editing software, Sony Vegas, and Adobe Aftereffects which was new to us and helped create the titles which feature in our introduction. We learnt how to transfer media between the camera and computer, and found problems which we overcame along the way, we have discovered many restraints and also many opportunities that various technologies can provide us with.

We have also became more confident with using the cameras that the school provided us with to film our media, we used the school cameras to shoot a couple of scenes that did not turn out how we would have liked them to. We also used the school cameras when we had further ideas that we thought would improve our media piece. We also used technolgies such as portable hard drives to transport large video folders and shoots we had completed.

I believe my skills of researching online have increased and i am a more efficient researcher along with being able to obtain and understand different online demonstrations and tutorials.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract and address your audience?

We have attracted several audiences by following common conventions of thriller films and also dramas in our piece. We tried to create enigma for audiences of thriller films in our opening through the last clip of our film introduction, featuring the female character who is believed to be gone - confirming to the audience that she is infact still alive, however she is in serious danger. Our film also appeals to fans of dramas, as there is a strong focus in our film of the emotional distress that the main character is going through, we have tried our best to induce sympathy so that the audience can relate to the character as much as possible.

Along with addressing the common conventions of popular film opening with the same genre we will also advertise for the screening on billboards and through relevant newspapers and magazines targeting the correct age group that we are targeting for our film. The more mature grouop that we are targeting will acknowledge the adverts and be attracted at completely different places and by different advertising stratergies. We would also rely a great deal on word of mouth spreading and attracting people to the screenings.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our target audience is quite a mature group that would appreciate the emotional development and depth, rather than the more traditional blockbuster  thrillers which are more action packed. The characters featured in our film are around the age of 17-18, so this will be likely attract an audience roughly around the same age as they can relate to the characters, however as the film focuses on mature emotional themes, it would also be likely to attract older audiences who would be interested in the emotional asepect of the film as they are naturally more mature and would also be more patient for the story to progress.

Our media piece will contain strong language and graphic scenes and therefore we believe it will be rated as a 15, this will eliminate people under this age from seeing the screening which would in our opinion not suit them in the first place as the film is targetted at a more mature and emotional appreciative group.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

We think our film would be best suited for a small independant film company because of the subject matter and the style in which the film is shot and edited. We also made this decision because the film is more emotionally focused rather than aiming for pure entertainment. It is designed to provoke the viewers thoughts and feelings and make them connect with the character and the film.

A mainstream comparison to our film would be the fim Taken, starring Liam Neeson , however this film is more focused on action and 'the chase', rather than the emotional trauma that the character in our film is suffering.

We do not feel that our film requires a lot of funding and we would much prefer for a company who is more interested in the art of film making rather than the business of film making to take us under their wing. A company like Film4 who provided funding for successful films such as Slumdog Millionaire would be our preferred choice.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film focuses around a teenage boy and teenage girl. The two characters are related, however we have left the relationship between them upto the audiences imagination to create enigma. The film highlights the commitments between people, and the strong bonds that join them together. It also highlights the vulnerabilites of teenage girls and the predatory sexual desires of older men. It also shows that youths have positive qualities, and it doesn't focus on one steretype of young people which is conventionally used in films.

Our film shows the strong bonds between families, imperticular the close emotional attachment of brothers and sisters which is highlighted in our product. The main character represents the essentialness of families and the lengths that relatives will go to to find each other. This counteracts the strong stereotype of hard shelled youths which the main character is definatley not when his personality is revealled in the product.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

Our media film challenges and conforms with many conventions of an opening sequence.

Dark Clothing

The main actor in the opening sequence is wearing black this fits in well with general conventions of a film to help the audience understand the genre of the film as a horror almost instantaneously. The Dull colours also represent the actor’s mood and how the film is going to pan out.

 

Poster

The initial poster in the opening scene shows instantly to the reader what the character in the shot is doing. The Missing poster immediately represents the content of the first chapter of the film and should create a level of enigma for the audience. This develops the conventions of an opening sequence as films generally try to let the audience know what the film is about however not as blunt as this.

 

Opening scene

Our opening scene challenges conventional thriller openings which traditionally starts with an extreme long shot (establishing shot) to signify the type of environment that the movie is being influenced by. We have intentionally decided to use a medium close up of our main character placing a poster up on a lamppost, this is because we have thought about the full story of our movie and this scene ties in with the final reunion at the end of the movie. 

 

Establishing shot

To make our opening seem somewhat like a contemporary thriller opening, we have included an establishing shot but this comes after the initial scene. As you can see here, we have used simple techniques such as match on action to sustain the continuity of the film in order not to create confusion for our audience.  This develops the traditional conventions of a film as in most films; the establishing shot appears at the beginning of the film almost inevitably.

 

Extreme close up of eyes

The eyes are the gateway to emotions so we have exploited this by included an extreme close up of our main character. This portrays to the audience that the character is deeply distraught and in thought which is then reinforced by the succeeding flashbacks. The flashbacks tie in with the extreme close up as after the flashback is finished match on action is then also used and our main characters eyes look downwards which shows negative emotions.

 

 Black and white

We have used the traditional technique of portraying flash backs to the past by making them black and white, this should instantly make the audience realise that the shot is in the past. This fits with the conventions of not only an opening sequence but mainly the conventions of any film.

Flashbacks

To convey to the audience the relationship between the main character and the missing girl in both scenes (flashback and modern day) we have used different emotions. In modern day scenes which are shown by natural high key lighting, the main character is continuously looking sad and miserable; this contrasts with the portrayed emotions in the flashbacks which consists of mainly smiles and laughter. This ties in with all flashback conventions when looking back on happy times as flashbacks are normally used to recall positive past memories, good alliteration.

 

Fire scene

The fire scene fits in with many main conventions in film as it shows the main character losing all hope creating a weak enigma for the audience. The main character is holding a picture of the lost girl while staring longingly into the fire. As he throws the picture in the fire and watches it crinkle up, this coincides with his mindset and he is literally giving up hope and watching her slip away.  

 

Streetside

Emotions such as frustration are the main forefront of this scene as he releases all frustration and anger which is shown by the smashing of the bottle.

A wide range of emotions are shown in our opening piece which conforms to all opening sequences to maintain the audiences suspension of disbelief.