LAST CHANCE

The production brief undertaken for my AS and A2 assignment:

For the AS production brief I was required to produce:• a music magazine cover• a contents page • a double page spread for a fictional music magazine company of my choice

The A2 brief was different as we had to work as a group to create a:• A film magazine cover,• Film poster • teaser trailer for a film we had to create.

The tasks I was set for the two briefs were very different due to the different media technologies I would have to use in order to complete them successfully.

Research into similar media products and target audience research

In order to create my media products successfully, I had to thoroughly research into similar texts, taking into account the target audience, genre and specific texts. To begin with I need to focus on a particular genre, therefore I researched into more than one to make a decision as to which one I wanted to use. As a group we decided to base our magazine cover, film poser and teaser trailer on the genre social realism and teen dramas.

I looked at particular films such as:•‘Kidulthood’•‘Adulthood’ •‘4321’,•‘Bullet Boy’ •and ‘Shank’

These were all placed either in the social realism or teen drama genre. They all followed and subverted the conventions of both genres which made them even more interesting to look into in more detail. As well as analysing the trailers for each film, I wanted to review their posters and magazine features.

The 'Adulthood' trailer follows the conventions of social realism and urban dramas as if shows the difficulties and struggles of everyday people. The 'Adulthood' trailer inspired me and my group to create a trailer using the same genre as it reflects urban life and teenagers in modern day society. Usually films within the social realist canon are raw and gritty, reflecting on the struggle to survive. The generic conventions of urban dramas and social realism include realistic conflict between characters. They're usually serious, and reflect real life situations. 'Adulthood' gives incite into the grim truth of the lives some teenagers live which is used to move the audience emotionally. It shows audience their difficulties, hardships, struggles and pain, including urban battles such as illegal drugs and gang violence.

The characters in the film/ trailer represent the stereotypes of teenagers in today’s society. Every character has their own story, for example 'Sam', the protagonist', has just come out of prison, however he wants to end his life of violence. He soon finds that this is more difficult than he expected when all the friends of the boy he murdered are out to kill him. There are also characters with drug issues, characters faced with difficult decisions and have responsibilities they didn't have before. The props used include guns, knives, drugs and alcohol, this says a lot about what Nowel Clark is suggesting about the teenagers today.

Research into the target audience was an important part of creating my media texts as it determines the mis en sin, narrative, characters, colours used and language used in all three of my A2 media texts. My findings allowed me to discover that the genre I’d chosen is mainly aimed at teenagers. I created a survey for young people asking questions which would help me make the decisions in creating my media texts.

Use of new media technologies in the construction and research

ConstructionIn order to produce my media products to a professional standard I decided to use digital technologies and technical equipment such as a digital stills camera, HD video camera and camera stand.

•Digital stills camera: This was useful as I was able to preview the image I had taken immediately after it was captured. Also they were automatically in digital format ready to be imported straight onto the computer to be edited. The high quality of the digital camera allowed me to produce a poster and magazine cover to am professional standard.

•HD Video camera: The HD video camera enabled me to create a film trailer with high quality footage instead of using a standard video camera which would not have given the same authenticity of a real film trailer.

•Camera stand: This enabled me to keep the camera steady whilst filming for the trailer; it also helped towards a professional outcome.

Use of new media technologies in the construction and research

Construction

In order to create and produce my media texts, I used Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. These are both professional software which contributed towards my desired outcome.

Research

The internet played a vital part in helping me complete my research of existing media texts. Websites such as:

Youtube

• Google

These were useful as they allowed me to easily access existing media texts and extra information about them for my research.

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We aimed to stay close to the generic conventions of a film poster, magazine cover and teaser trailer to fulfil the expectations of our target audience.

We thought that the use of film reviews would give the poster a more realistic outcome.

The font we used for the title looks deteriorated which reflects the lives of the young people in the film.

The costume we used reflects what teenagers wear in today’s society. However we didn’t want it to look expensive, more lower class to show struggle.

The setting we used was underneath a subway. We liked the graffiti in the background as it’s usually associated with rebellious teenagers. This tells the audience what the film will be about

The theme colours we chose for the poster were kept dark.

Film Poster

The graffiti on the wall behind was quite effective and contributed towards the urban culture theme.

Small text at the bottom of the poster with the names of editors, directors and producers in order to stick to the generic conventions.

Magazine Cover

The position of the heads over the mast head makes the magazine appear popular to consumers.

The bar code gives the magazine a professional look.

The theme colours we used for the magazine reflect the colours used for the film poster. This is so that the audience can make a connection between the two.

The same font was also used on the magazine as on the poster.

The camera angle we used allowed us to capture the far end of the subway. I think this is effective.

We wanted the image to let the audience grasp some of the story and what the film is about, also who would be watching it.

Conventions followed on film teaser trailer

Camera angles and shots

I wanted the camera angles and shots to resemble ones used on existing media texts in order to produce a realistic outcome. I used a variation of shots including a combination of close ups, medium shots, long shots and establishing shots.

Establishing shots are commonly used in trailers to help the audience set the scene. We used one at the beginning of our trailer to show the audience right from the that our film is based in Birmingham. The shot showed Birmingham city centre from a birds eye view at night. We then speeded it up so that the cars and people were moving at a fast pace. This suggests the busy lives of the teenagers in our trailer and the stereotype that teenagers are always out late.

Close up shots are important in trailers to show the emotion behind characters. We used several close ups throughout the trailer in order to portray the raw truth behind the lives some teenagers face. I think this was an effective device to use as social realist films usually unveil the harsh realities of life through a different perspective.

Conventions followed on film teaser trailer

Another convention of a teaser trailer is to maintain the enigma by using ‘Coming Soon’ at the end of the trailer instead of revealing the release date. This creates enigma for consumers as they’ll eagerly anticipate what will come next.

This small statement creates a sense of mystery and excitement for consumers as they cant help but want more information as to when it will be released.

Conventions followed on film teaser trailer

Music and Editing

We wanted to follow the generic conventions of a trailer by using synchronous sound to accompany the visual video footage in our trailer. The song chosen was upbeat and fast tempo which went well with the editing we used. The first song we picked was about street life which reflects our trailer perfectly. We then had a change of song half way through to a slower, less upbeat song to show a contrast. We wanted the audience to clearly see the change of tone, I think this was effective as it represents how teenagers can go out and have fun, but they still have their struggles.

We wanted the editing at the beginning of the trailer to be fast to portray the fast pace and busy lives of teenagers in today’s society. This is also shown through the fast music.

Conventions followed on film teaser trailer

Narrative

Our film trailer is based around teenagers from Birmingham who are faced with the daily hardships of teenage life. I think that this is portrayed through the elements of the narrative shown in the trailer. We have used the stereotypes placed on teenagers for our trailer in order to draw in a specific target audience. We wanted to use the themes of drugs, alcohol, sex, relationships and partying to attract our target audience, these themes are shown clearly throughout our trailer.

Conventions followed on Magazine Cover

•Minimal straplines

•Masthead- the positioning of the actresses over the masthead

•Consistent theme colour

•Kicker

•Image slightly off centre

•Bar code

•Other appropriate images

•Price and date

Forms and ConventionsSimilarities and differences:

•CostumeStereotypical, rebellious clothes worn by youths and hoods which are associated with teenage crime.

•PoseThe poses used portray laid back teenagers who appear disinterested and uncaring. This is one of the many stereotypes placed on teens.

•TitleThe title blends well with the background as it’s not neat, it looks grimy and grubby. It’s almost chaotic, which suggests the teenagers lives.

•ReviewsI think the reviews are an effective device to draw in consumers.

A feature film producer such as Damian Jones who produced Adulthood, is successful in the British film industry would produce our media text due to them being familiar and experienced in producing this particular genre.

The type of institution that would produce my film trailer

Adulthood:Producer(s): Damian Jones and George Isac Cinematographer: Brian Tufano Bac Director: noel clarkDistributed by: pathe pictures internationalStudio: Cipher films lime light