The conventions of film are having sharp, interesting openings with good music and good looking titles. The opening leaves a cliff hanger which sets up the rest of the film and makes the viewer want to stay and watch it all.
We tried to achieve this cliff hanger as well. In our feedback people commented that they wanted to see more and this was backed up by other people who watched it.
The genre we chose was crime/mystery. The conventions of this genre are suspense and tension. This genre is represented by anything that sticks out from the norm.
We based our media product on different real life products. We wanted to have a sleek and cool product that jumped out at the audience so they immediately thought that it was very good. We used the conventions of a real media product in many ways. Our product started off with upbeat intense music that draws in the audience as it immediately gives the feel that something mysterious is going to happen. If you look at the opening titles of Hustle, the music is upbeat and mysterious and this gives you a feeling that not everything is as what it seems.
We observed conventions of media by having titles from the start to indicate the makers and director of the film. 21 is a good example of how we observed the conventions. It starts off with a voice over, but then the titles come and interesting modern music is played in the background.
We never really did anything in comparison to real media products and this worked well for us.
For the production titles we could have used many, like Paramount or Warner Brothers but we decided to make our own to show how our skills with media techniques have improved throughout the course.
The music and the overall edit of our product were finished to a standard were the audience would be interested by the product. We wanted to have a Hustle or Ocean's 11 related theme as these products appeal to a wide ranging audience. We researched these products extensively and also other such products that resembled our theme. To get the feel of suspense into it was very important. We wanted to leave the audience thinking that they wanted to see what happened next. We used a wide range of shots and different paces for the editing to make it look sharp and interesting. We asked for feedback from our target audience and they said they new exactly what genre it is from the music. Real films use the music to help identify the genre as well and so we were happy that we achieved this. We were advised that we needed more shots and this was fine as we had filmed many different shots and angles and so we could add them in.How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product represents certain social groups in society. We chose to represent criminals in our product but also smart intelligent people that knew what they wanted and how to get it.
The music in it gives it a feel of sophistication, so the audience know that these aren’t just ordinary criminals. Like the characters in the picture above we wanted ours to look cool and to be well dressed so they didn't appear as just anybody.
For the cinematography we gave it a feel of secrecy and cover up by using different camera shots and angles, like a high angled shot of the side of one characters face and a low angle shot from behind of another character to show him walking along without revealing too much about him. There is a tracking shot through the trees and a pan shot to make it look like someone is trying to look at him and listen in on the conversation.
This clip is from Hustle and it shows the pan shot we were trying to create and the feel we were trying to give by using it.
This picture emphasizes the feel of mystery and tension as we do not know who this woman is or what her part in the overall film will be. It shows that the three main characters might be being watched.
We created a cool image to represent our characters as upper class criminals who left the dirty jobs to other people. This clip is another example of the feel we were trying to give our film opening. An image of a group of people who new what they want and who feel they are above other people. Criminals are stereotyped by the public as being dirty, cruel, disgusting people who sneak into their houses at night wearing a balaclava and carrying a sack over their back. Or being dangerous people that could cause great harm to you if you got on the wrong side of them.
This is definitely wrong and our film shows this. Most criminals are normal people that look ordinary and and show no outward signs of being devious or aggressive. Even if on the inside they are planning to rob a bank or break into a house, most of the time on the outside they look like they are going about their lives in a completely normal way.
In the feedback our target audience said that our film opening reminded them of films like Ocean's 11 and the people in it. This was good news as Oceans has the same genre that we were aiming for.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The ideal audience for our product would be young people as sleek expensive crime films are one of the genres that most appeals to this age group. This is also the best audience as far as selling is concerned as they are the age group that watches most films and use the new technologies that are now available, like downloading off the Internet. They also love going to the cinema because of the newly incoming 3D technologies and the social climate there is.
People who love our genre would be perfect as they would know what to expect from it. Closed Mystery is a sub-genre of crime and it adds suspense by not revealing who the characters actually are until near the end. Suspense is added by the soundtrack, different camera shots and surprising plot twists.
By using the Broadcaster's Audience Research Board we could research what programmes are most favoured and what genre they are based on. When Hustle series 6 was aired on BBC 1 it had average viewing figures of approximately 5.9 million per programme and it was rated in the Top 15 of most watched BBC 1 programmes every week.
Spooks is another programme that has a similar genre to our film. It was rated between 5 and 7 million per week when it was aired regularly in 2009/10, coming in the BBC's top 20 of the week. When the first programme of series 8 aired it was in the top 3 and then the show remained popular throughout the series.
These figures show that this type of genre is very popular and has a large audience which follows it. This is also proven by the numerous awards won with these two shows over the years.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by having music and a theme that they can relate to. For example we did not have classical music in our film as this is more popular with older people outside our target audience. We had modern music that would appeal to younger age groups which is the group we’re aiming at. We look at many different types of music and narrowed it down to two pieces that we thought suited our genres.
The music in this clip was our first choice, however it was very repetitive and so would get boring very quickly. Although it was what we were looking for it have the overall affect we wanted.
This clip shows the music we chose for our final film. It is similar to the first piece of music with a feel that creates tension and suspense. However this music is less repetitive and more interesting. It is upbeat and appeals to our target audience.
We addressed our audience by having young characters that used high end technology like an iPhone. They wore watches and dressed in good looking suits. The location was unique and there was good weather so this gave an overall feel that the sun shined down on these characters.
This shot is off the approach of character three from windmill, towards the bar to meet the other characters.
This shot is of the building with the bar in it. It is a very old building which adds to the overall affect of the film opening and attracts the audience even more. It is not being filmed in some ordinary council estate but in a very stunning and unique location.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt many new things about the world of media and the different processes of constructing it from making this product. Before this I had never used the programmes you can use to edit a film and put titles in it. I learnt about Photoshop for the first time and all the different layers and instruments you can use to make the titles.
I have learnt about using editing programmes which is the most important thing in the production of the product. You have to get all of the video together which takes a lot of time and putting visual effects into the movie to give it a higher class and better production. The sound is one of the most important things and getting the right sort of music for the scene and the genre of the product is very important. In our film we used a split screen to show our knowledge of Premiere Elements.
This adds to the quality of the film opening and it makes the film more interesting and it shows how in sync all the characters are.
We put different sound affects into our film like the phone ring and the explosion at the beginning.
You have to balance it out with the speech and the background noises and special effects, like a phone ringing. The most important thing I have learnt is to balance the speech with the music and to keep the film interesting by using different paces of editing.
We had to use a blog to show our progress throughout the year. I had never used a blog and so I had to learn everything about a blog and what you can do with it. I learnt how to upload and embed screenshots and clips and how to comment on other people's blogs and download clips and trailers off the Internet.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
How did the feedback you received help you to make a better film opening?
All film producers need to have feedback from their target audience so they can work on improving their product for the better enjoyment of the audience. Our target audience was young people and this was perfect as we were able to bounce ideas off our classmates.
SHAmedia Productions said...
The opening was really good. But personally I would put more different camera angles.
I thought that your intro was very good! The shots look very professional and effective, the music that you have picket for your opening sequence is very good and it suits the theme, but the only bad comment is that I think you should get more camera angles. Written by Sultan Mackinnon
We learnt from these posts that we needed to have a more wide range of camera angles and shots. As we found out after incorporating more shots and angles into our film, negative feedback can be very useful as it is constructive criticism and listening to it can greatly improve your film.
As we also found out positive comments are very good as they boost your confidence and reassure yourself that what you are making is a good product.
We had problems with the speech in our film as it sounded like it was all spoken inside. This is backed up by our classmates:
Kim and Jenny AS Media said...
I think that over all it is good, the only thing that needed to be changed when I watched it was the audio as it was recorded inside, it didnt sound like they were actually talking when you watched it. Also it sounded like they were reading it off of a script they need to put more emotion into it and make it sound more like a proper conversation.
Not going to lie it reminded me of the Oceans, which is good considering they are one of my favourite films. I thought the sound wasnt the best it was quite hard to hear what they where saying but other than that the film was a great sucess well done !!! Charlie Lambourne
These comments show that the sound in our film needed to be improved. We got feedback from our teacher as well. This was very helpful as she was outside our target audience and it helped us see how appealing it was to different age groups.
Mrs Downes: 00:29:03 - there is a very "hissy" sound
00:44:02 - "drags" a bit
These areas were two big things we changed after receiving the feeback and it shows how important it is to the overall product.
SHAmedia: I think it was very well done with a lot of camera shots and good music fitting to the genre. Good work!
sharambourne said...
Well done guys excellent camera shots really well done bit fuzzy but all our films are so dont worry about that. otherwise really well done should be proud of what you guys have done.!!!
All of these comments and the many others that we received helped us to expand and improve our film and develop our knowledge of what a good media product is and how using your target audience is a great way of making sure you have got the most out of your product.
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