16 years ago
1. in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The title of the film
The name of my film is shown to the audience in the first frame and it is visible after the first two seconds have gone. In this clip there is a point of view shot of the person making a ransom note, but the note is the name of the film, this gives the impression that the film is about a kidnapping straight away to the audience that are watching and it also fits in with the story of the film, in the shot there are trimmings and scissors on the side of the shot and this shows to the audience that the ransom note is ready to be made and then there are a pair of hands and the person is gluing down the letters giving the impression that someone is after something.
This style of an opening is mainly seen in horror films as it shows that something bad is going to happen, but I have used it for a thriller film, this will then confuse the audience and I think that this is a good idea because it will make the audience interested in the film to find out why there is an opening scene that is more suited to a horror film.
Setting/location
I have tried to get the urban effect of a built up area that is out of a city centre, this means that the houses will be more spaced out and that the robber would have gotten a far way away from the bank that has just been robbed
Costumes and props
The costumes that I have decided to use for the bank robber are dark and mysterious and this effect was achieved by the robber wearing a black coat with jeans, trainers and a bag on their back, this gave the robber the appearance of he is trying to hide something from other people. For the undercover police officer I have used a similar concept but it is more of a casual look that I was after and this was achieved by him wearing navy track suite bottoms, and a black coat. Then there is the kidnapper who has a hidden identity, i did this because it will make the audience want to watch on to find out who he is.
The props that i have used are all to do with thriller and action movies and they are guns, masks and bags.
Camerawork and editing
the purpose of my camera work and editing was to confuse the audience and make them feel that they have no understanding on what is going on and that it is all mixed up, this makes the chase scene more interesting and action packed, then the editing slows down once the running has turned into shooting, then there is a jump cut to where the police officer is being tortured.
Title font and style
The title style is to make it look like a ransom note, this makes the audience assume that the film is a horror because they are affiliated more with horror films
Story and how the opening sets it up
The story of the film is: about a criminal who has just robbed a bank and accidentally runs into an undercover police officer, they then begin to chase, but the chase ends shortly as the police officer is captured hostage, this is set up by mainly the title, this is because there is a ransom note being made and it sets the story off, then there is a chase, then the undercover police officer is knocked out and then finally the police officer is being tortured.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
The genre is a thriller, this is suggested by the chase at the beginning of the clip and then there is a gun fight.
How characters are introduced
The bank robber is introduced by jogging away from the robbery scene and then there is a police officer undercover that is presented as casually walking along and finally the kidnapper is introduced by slowly walking up to the police officer when he isn’t looking and then knocks him out.
Special effects
There are some special effects like the songs and then the diegetic noises like the gun shots and the shouting. The gun shots show that there is a serious fight going on and that the genre of the film is a thriller / action and then the shouting represents hate/justice/trying to get attention and it also shows the genre of a thriller / action
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Rhys and Paul Reiser
Rhys and Chris TuckerThe key character that I have chosen is Rhys Withers, this is because he is one of the main characters in my film opening scene. A character that is from another film that can be related to Rhys would be Paul Reiser staring as a thug in Beverly Hills cop 2, I think that this character is one of the best matches for Rhys, this is because their characters both disobey the rules of the law, they both wear dark cloths, they both end up running from the police, they are both represented in the same way, they are both working for someone, they both shoot a gun at the police, they both steal from a bank, they are both in an evil plot that involves stealing goods to alert the police and then they both kill / injure a police inspector later on into the film. The differences between the two characters are that Rhys is running in the film and Paul is driving, they do not wear the same style of clothing (jeans and coat / tuxedo), Rhys steals from a bank to get attention of the police and Paul kills a member of a police force and leaves a letter behind / he does the same with any other crime. Another character from an existing film that is similar to Rhys (but he is not completely the same) is Chris Tucker and he plays as Carter in Rush hour 1, 2 and 3, both of the characters are both similar and different. The characters are similar because they have the same appearance in front of the camera, they both wear dark clothes, they both run in the films, they both shoot a gun in the films and they both have a friend that helps them in their quests... then the two characters are very different because they are wearing different styles of clothing (jeans and coat / tuxedo), they Rhys is a represented as a bad guy and Carter is represented as a good guy, Rhys stars in a thriller and Carter stars in an action comedy, Rhys steals in the film to alert the police and Carter is a police officer and helps out with solving the crime
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience that I have aimed my film opening scene at are teenage boys at the age of around 14 –20. The possible taste of this target audience group would be the following:
a. - Music genre: rock, rap, dance, punk, drum and bass, game, alternate, pop
b. - Shops: games, clothes, gadgets, computers, fashion, sports, shoes, fast foods, scents (aftershave ect...)
c. - Television programmes: soaps, comedy, drama, TV series e.g. top gear, sports
d. - Leisure activities: socialising, internet surfing, gaming , TV, music, hobbies, sports, talking via internet e.g. MSN / Face Book
The target audience that I have chosen will watch my film because it is based all around that age group and it is a thriller action film and this is the most commonly watched film genre at the age group of boy that I have selected, they will also watch it because it is a thriller that gives them a sense of escaping reality and joining in with the film.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have used a laptop and a PC tower to complete the task of making a film opening and I have used a wide variety of software/programmes, here is the list below:
1. 1. Sony Vegas Pro
I have used this to edit all of my film opening scene. (I found this tricky to use)
2. 2. Corel videostudio
I have used this to edit and publish my voice over onto YouTube (I found this a lot more easier to use than sonny Vegas)
3. 3. Photoshop
I have used this at Lutterworth college to make my idents.
4. 4. Paintshop pro
I used this to edit my idents at home
I have also been using online features like:
1. 1. Blogger
This is where all of my research, planning, film and evaluation will go
2. 2. Google
I have used this to search the internet for any help, images and music
3. 3. Soundcloud
This is where I stored all of the music that i have found and then put it onto my blog
4. 4. Bubbl
I made spider diagrams with this software
5. 5. Font generator
I used this to make my own fonts and i have used this in my research
6. 6. Royalty free music site
I have used this site to find all of the music that is in my film
7. 7. Scibd
I have used this to put word documents onto my blog
8. 8. Slide share
I have used this to put Power points onto my blog
7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Here is a picture of Sony Vegas Pro:
At the beginning of the project I was not sure on how to use anything, in the first lesson on media we learnt how to use the cameras and then the Macs, but I then decided to use all of my own resources for the project and I have learnt how to use Sony Vegas Pro and I have learnt how to use my own camera.
In the preliminary task I had to edit the video on the Macs and when I am looking back at that prelim I have realised how well I have improved on all of the editing including the continuity, in my prelim the continuity was not very good as one of the actors jumps across the room and then sits down, however in my final version of the film that I have created I have made it so that all of the footsteps are inline and that everything runs smoothly with noting jumping, I have achieved this by
a. Making the actors run from further back and then they ran further than what was needed (this was to make sure that I could edit the clip and then delete anything that I did not need
b. I kept notice of the key features e.g. the feet of the actor and then made sure that they all match up together
When I was filming I used marks to tell the actors to aim for with e.g. a stone
actors i have chosen
I have decided to to use the following characters:
1. Rhys will play the role of the bank robber
2. Damon will play the role of the undercover police officer
3. Joe will play the role of the criminal who kidnaps the police officer
1. Rhys will play the role of the bank robber
2. Damon will play the role of the undercover police officer
3. Joe will play the role of the criminal who kidnaps the police officer
possible characters 6
This is Tom King I have considered to use Tom as a character in my opening scene, this is because I think he will best suit the role of the undercover police officer… I will then base all of the costumes and the clothes around the character in the film to make Tom suit the role even better.
evaluation help 2
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)
Remember when we looked at 9 frames from Art of the title sequence? Well now it's your turn to do the same with nine of your frames.
You should go through the final version of the project and select nine distinct frames which you screengrab and drop into a photoshop in the same style as the website. You will be using these to write about how typical or not of opening sequences your particular design is, so choose them carefully.
Once you have the nine frames neatly in Photoshop, screengrab the whole thing and post to your blog, then write an analysis of how you have used such conventions.
The aspects we would like you to consider across your nine frames are:
The title of the film
Setting/location
Costumes and props
Camerawork and editing
Title font and style
Story and how the opening sets it up
Genre and how the opening suggests it
How characters are introduced
Special effects
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Pick a key character from your opening. Take a screengrab of a reasonable sized image of them. Think of one or more characters from other films with some similarity to them (but maybe some differences too!), find an image on the web of that/those characters and grab it as well. Drop the two into photoshop, as a split screen. Export this splitscreen image as a jpeg then drop onto your blog and write about the similarities and differences in terms of appearance, costume, role in film etc.
So for example if you have a lone cop type character, look for other lone cops to compare him with...
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
For this question, you are going to do a 'director's commentary' style voiceover explaining some of the key features of your opening
You will need to script the voiceover which deals with institutional issues to include:
discussion of your production company name and logo and the role of such companies
What does a production company do? start here
the idea of a distributor and who that might be and why. start here
where the money might have come from for a film such as yours herewhy the various people are named in the titles- which jobs appear in titles and in what order and how have you reflected this?
what your film is similar to 'institutionally' (name some films which would be released in a similar way)
You need to refer to actual company names and processes so you will need to go back to the early posts on film companies and maybe do a bit more research
When you have scripted, record the voiceover using Final Cut on a new audio timeline, then export to quicktime and embed on blog.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
You should have a drawing of your target audience member and an explanation of what kinds of taste they might have- where they would shop, what music they would listen to, what their favourite Tv programme would be, etc.
make sure you have taken a phot of it, post it on the blog and write a few notes on why they would watch your film.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5
How did you attract/address your audience?
You will use YOUTUBE's annotation tools to add NOTES, SPEECHBUBBLES, and LINKS to your video:
http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92710
These annotations will highlight the ways in which your Film Opening links to other similiar films in order to attract the particular Audience you have previously identified.
Your annotations will refer to genre conventions, use of music, similiarities with other movies and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your imaginary film.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
In pairs, take a picture of each other holding the kit you have used. This might just be the camera and tripod, and your Macbook but there may be other things you want in the shot.
Drop the image onto your blog and annotate it, adding all the programs and other technology you have used as screengrabs and what you learnt about it/from using it. Your written text need only be minimal. You could include reference to all the online and computer programs you have used such as youtube, flickr, blogger, final cut,photoshop,vimeo garageband, etc.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7
Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Concentrate on editing and camerawork.
Grab some frames from both tasks and put them on the blog and show what you know about shot types, edit terms and techniques.
Make sure you mention the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)
Remember when we looked at 9 frames from Art of the title sequence? Well now it's your turn to do the same with nine of your frames.
You should go through the final version of the project and select nine distinct frames which you screengrab and drop into a photoshop in the same style as the website. You will be using these to write about how typical or not of opening sequences your particular design is, so choose them carefully.
Once you have the nine frames neatly in Photoshop, screengrab the whole thing and post to your blog, then write an analysis of how you have used such conventions.
The aspects we would like you to consider across your nine frames are:
The title of the film
Setting/location
Costumes and props
Camerawork and editing
Title font and style
Story and how the opening sets it up
Genre and how the opening suggests it
How characters are introduced
Special effects
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Pick a key character from your opening. Take a screengrab of a reasonable sized image of them. Think of one or more characters from other films with some similarity to them (but maybe some differences too!), find an image on the web of that/those characters and grab it as well. Drop the two into photoshop, as a split screen. Export this splitscreen image as a jpeg then drop onto your blog and write about the similarities and differences in terms of appearance, costume, role in film etc.
So for example if you have a lone cop type character, look for other lone cops to compare him with...
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
For this question, you are going to do a 'director's commentary' style voiceover explaining some of the key features of your opening
You will need to script the voiceover which deals with institutional issues to include:
discussion of your production company name and logo and the role of such companies
What does a production company do? start here
the idea of a distributor and who that might be and why. start here
where the money might have come from for a film such as yours herewhy the various people are named in the titles- which jobs appear in titles and in what order and how have you reflected this?
what your film is similar to 'institutionally' (name some films which would be released in a similar way)
You need to refer to actual company names and processes so you will need to go back to the early posts on film companies and maybe do a bit more research
When you have scripted, record the voiceover using Final Cut on a new audio timeline, then export to quicktime and embed on blog.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
You should have a drawing of your target audience member and an explanation of what kinds of taste they might have- where they would shop, what music they would listen to, what their favourite Tv programme would be, etc.
make sure you have taken a phot of it, post it on the blog and write a few notes on why they would watch your film.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5
How did you attract/address your audience?
You will use YOUTUBE's annotation tools to add NOTES, SPEECHBUBBLES, and LINKS to your video:
http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92710
These annotations will highlight the ways in which your Film Opening links to other similiar films in order to attract the particular Audience you have previously identified.
Your annotations will refer to genre conventions, use of music, similiarities with other movies and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your imaginary film.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
In pairs, take a picture of each other holding the kit you have used. This might just be the camera and tripod, and your Macbook but there may be other things you want in the shot.
Drop the image onto your blog and annotate it, adding all the programs and other technology you have used as screengrabs and what you learnt about it/from using it. Your written text need only be minimal. You could include reference to all the online and computer programs you have used such as youtube, flickr, blogger, final cut,photoshop,vimeo garageband, etc.
EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7
Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Concentrate on editing and camerawork.
Grab some frames from both tasks and put them on the blog and show what you know about shot types, edit terms and techniques.
Make sure you mention the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot
evaluation help?
For the final 20 marks of the project, you must complete seven tasks on your blog, posting them in this order, with the question heading at the top of each task. You may do them as a pair/group, but must post individual copies on each blog. Make sure you answer each question as well as producing the visual elements.
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups ?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups ?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
possible character 5
This is Carl King I have considered to use Carl as a character in my film opening scene, this is because I think he will best suit the role of the robber… I will then base all of the costumes and the clothes around the character in the film to make Carl suit the role even better.
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