Evaluation Of The Foundation Production

Tamara O’Brien

Q1. In what does your media product USE, DEVELOP or CHALLENGE forms and conventions of real media

products?

Form and convention

Relate to your film Evidence

Introducing the main protagonist

U/D In my film, the first shot is introducing the main character. The next 6 shots are then still of the main protagonist, introducing her to the audience and making them aware that this is the main character. This involves a mix of shots including close ups, medium long shot, over the shoulder shot and low angle shots of her.

Titles U/D From researching title’s in the title sequences of films, I gathered a lot of information about what titles to use and what order to have them in. I put all of the relevant titles that were needed in my title sequence. From doing this research I learnt that the first two titles were always the distributor and the production company and they would fade in before any other titles. I then stuck to the most common title order that I found from watching other title sequences and planned my titles before adding them to my film.

Titles U/D From researching title’s in the title sequences of films, I gathered a lot of information about what titles to use and what order to have them in. I put all of the relevant titles that were needed in my title sequence. From doing this research I learnt that the first two titles were always the distributor and the production company and they would fade in before any other titles. I then stuck to the most common title order that I found from watching other title sequences and planned my titles before adding them to my film.

Music D/C For my film I created a bit of the music in my film on garage band. I also looked for music that was not copy right that I could use in my film, and I found this on a website called Audio Network. At the start of the opening sequence the music is quite quiet and slow but is also creepy, allowing the audience to straight away guess the genre of this film is a thriller. You can tell that this music is going to build up into something more loud and even more scary because of just how quiet and slow it is, gradually getting louder. This particular music has been chosen for the venerable girl, the music then changes when we see the first shot of the male who you can tell is going to be a villain or is up to something, the music is then much louder but still adding to the creepy and eerie atmosphere. I used many different pieces of music for my title sequence which I put together to suit the particular bit of the film. The music starts of slow then there's a quickening pace to become dramatic at the climax of the shots used.

Narrative D/C The title sequence of my film is the start of a murder scene which was in the past. Once the title sequence ends, the film will then go on to be the future investigation of the murder and flash backs from before the murder. This is so that the audience can be more involved with her life and feel more sorry for the main character who was taken, seeing her past and her future even after she was taken - of what her family, friends and lifestyle was like. The narrative I used was non linear narrative.

Titles – Names of cast

U/D After researching title sequences and the order of titles in films, I made a list of the titles I was going to use. I followed a similar order from Dirty Dancing’s opening sequence and Catch Me If You Can. I made sure that I put the most important actor’s involved in my film’s names near the start of the title sequence. This is so that the audience can see some of the stars in my film and will be excited to watch more as they may like them actors from other films. I also made the names come up as that specific actor was in the shot in the background for example, when the actress Aimie Stringer was on the screen walking down the stairs, I had her name fade on to the screen. I made all of my titles fade in and fade out.

Introducing the setting

U/D

My film opening starts in a house, in a girl’s bedroom. This introduces you to a part of the main protagonist’s life straight away, showing her home. The setting then goes on to show her street and the houses on the way to the park, the setting leads you to think that she comes from a middle class background. You see a lot of the setting as you see the whole journey of this girl walking to the park and what she see’s. You also see why the film is called Morris Way, as one of the shots shows that her street is called Morris Way and in a way it establishes the setting and scene. Therefore you can tell that this exact setting that you see on her journey to the park is important as its the name of the film and it’s the place that she get’s taken and so the mystery goes on from this setting at the very start of the film.

D Develop

U Use

C Challenge

Forms and conventions of most thriller films, and ones that I researched

• MUSIC – tense music, that usually would start off slow and then quicken the pace to become more dramatic at the climax of the shot.

• MYSTERY – enigma being caused, which should then run throughout the rest of the film, and should be answered right at the end, unless the film has a sequel. For example from my analysis of The Woman In Black (2012) by James Watkins title sequence, where three young girls jump out of there bedroom window after looking at something in the corner of the room that the audience can not see. This was a great opening sequence in terms of causing enigma and mystery, and making the audience want to watch on and find out more.

• PACE – the pace should be fast when action is taking place of the villain is around, however it should be slower when the main protagonist which in my case is the young and venerable girl is in the scene maybe figuring out what to do.

• GENDER – stereotypically a male character plays the main antagonist , usually the protagonists are a mixture of male and female but more likely to be female. I stuck to this stereotype to have the male as the killer and the young female as the one being attacked because this would usually make the audience relate to the characters more. However women do still play the role of the antagonist in some films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

• THEMES – isolation, vulnerability, loneliness, revenge...

I took all of these forms and conventions in before making my film and tried to use and develop them when making my title sequence from researching other title sequence’s and having an understanding about the forms and conventions of thriller and horror films.

• The narrative of my film is non linear (disjointed/disrupted narrative)

• Non linear narrative is a narrative technique where events are portrayed, for example out of chronological order, or in other ways where the narrative does not follow the direct causality pattern of the events feature, such as parallel distinctive plot lines, dream immersions or narrating another story inside the main plot.

• I chose this narrative device because my film is thriller and having the narrative as non linear will make it harder to understand and make the audience concentrate more and get more involved in the film as they want to know what is happening. It makes the audience feel more part of the storyline as they would normally tend to focus more as its more exciting in my opinion.

• This device will have a bigger impact on my film and create much more enigma which is my aim really, as my film is a thriller with many unanswered questions which you find out at the end, making it as interesting and engaging for the audience as possible.

Narrative Device

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• I used a variety of different shots to open my title sequence that introduced the main protagonist in my film. This was so that the audience could get to know her character and relate to her more until the end of the sequence comes and a boy follows her to the park and takes her, so that the audience will sympathise for her more. The main protagonist is a young and pretty female. She is a teenage student and dressed in everyday casual clothes.

This is a low angle shot showing her walk down stairs. This shows her outfit, and from this point you can already tell her age and a bit about her.

The first shot is of a girl on her phone in a pretty pink bedroom with flowery curtains, this automatically makes her look venerable, and teenage girls will find this situation relatable.

The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of the main protagonist, showing her putting on her makeup in the mirror. This could tell the audience that she is about to go out somewhere.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

She is a British, middle class teen. You can tell her class because of the outside surroundings such as the houses, when she is walking to the park and also because of the location of the filming, in St Albans.

From researching other film openings, I realised that the film is much more effective if the target audience can relate to the characters, getting involved in the characters life and the audience relating and involving this character into their life.

Representation of Age as a social group;

• There is representation of age with what both the teenagers are wearing. Their outfit’s are in fashion for teenagers at the moment, and some of the pieces from the outfits are bought from mainstream, well known shops such as Topshop and Office. You can tell that they are teenagers from what they are wearing.

• In addition, the girls room represents her age, because of the fact that its pink with lots of mirrors and pretty flowery curtains. This is quite typical for a teenage ‘girly girl’.

• Another thing is that the girl is walking to the park, where most teenagers do hang around, even though this is stereotypical, teenagers do hang around in parks for than most other age ranges.

• As the protagonist girl gets taken and she is quite younger than the boy who takes her who is actually also a teen, this may say that the fact that she’s younger means that she’s more venerable and more easy to attack than someone older.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Representation of Gender as a social group;

• In my title sequence, the male is represented as the bad one as it more common in films for males to be the abductor and villain. The start of my film automatically makes you scared of the male character and this is a negative representation of males because of what he does.

• The female at the start of my film is represented as the stereotypical venerable, defenceless and unprotected young female.

• However, the main protagonist who gets abductor's sister makes us question this stereotype later on in the film as she is brave, fierce and not scared of anything who goes hunting for this person that has taken her sister.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Q3. What kind of Media Institution might distribute your Media Product and Why?

Vertigo Films is the leading British Independent film production and distribution company.

It was founded in 2002 by producer Allan Niblo and James Richardson.

The company has produced 24 films and distributed a further 30.

Here it shows Vertigo on demand, where you can watch Vertigo’s films on there website where my media product could get shown. This is a platform for my film.

This is Vertigo films website, where it tells you about the institution and some of the films that it has done.

Q3. What kind of Media Institution might distribute your Media Product and Why?

Why I chose these Media Institutions as my production and distribution company:Hammer Films dominated the horror and thriller film market, distributing different films worldwide. Since Hammer is responsible for many horror and thriller films, this is also why I chose this as my production company as my film is a thriller and I thought it would be best suited for it.I chose Vertigo Films as it is becoming a well-known distribution company and it has distributed many successful films that are mostly aimed at teenagers like my film.

Hammer is one of the most well-known film brands in the UK and is responsible for the worldwide smash The Woman In Black and many other films such as Let Me In, Wake Wood, The Resident and The Quiet Ones. Since Hammer was founded in 1934, it has made over 150 feature films. Whilst synonymous with horror, and the genre-defining classics its produced, the company has a varied history, with action-adventure movies, psychological thrillers and historical epics to its name.

• The platforms that my film would be distributed on would be at cinemas, at a Multiplex such as Odeon or The View cinemas, on DVD and Blueray. Also on more on the new platforms and technologies such as Sky films on demand and Netflix where you could watch this film online or streaming right to a TV via Xbox, Wii, PS3 and many other devices.

Platforms…

Q4. Who would be the audience for your Media Product?

AGE • The audience for my media product is teenagers and young adults. However my film would

also be suitable from the age rang of 15-30 year olds or anyone older, both males and females. I feel that in terms of the content of my film, it would not be suitable for people under the age of 15 as there is scary parts, strong language, violence and gory images. Also as my film will be shown at a Multiplex, having the target audience of young adults and teenagers is a good idea because they are the age range that are most likely to go to the cinema. On the other hand, because the film is about an investigation story of a teenage girl who went missing and did get killed, this may catch people of an older age’s attention because the investigation side of it is psychological and has a story line that would may interest older adults. There is a wide range of people who would hopefully be interested in watching my film, however I'd say the audience that I would still want my film to appeal to is late teens.

OTHER INFORMATION • The audience that my film appeals to would be people that like other films similar or of the

same genre such as The Lovely Bones-Peter Jackson, Along Came A Spider- Lee Tamahori, Inception, Silence Of The Lambs and others like that.

I thought that a good way to attract my audience was to make a questionnaire with a fewquestions asking my target audience which genre they like the best. I asked 15 people, some from my class and some of my friends out of school which genre thatthey think attracts them and other people their age the most.

My Findings:

Q5. How did you address/attract your audience?

Romance Drama Thriller/Horror

Action 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

My target audience's favourite genre's

My target audi-ence's favourite genre's

From these results I’ve found that teenagers and young adults find thrillers and horrors the best genre for a film. Also as this was one of my favourite genre’s as well, I figured that this would be the best way to attract my audience and make my film as interesting and eye-catching as possible.

Q5. How did you address/attract your audience?

How I addressed my audience in the film;

• By the main protagonist and antagonist of my film being teenagers, this is the same age as the target audience and so this will attract and address the target audience more as they can relate to them and their lifestyle. This will hopefully engage the audience as they can then indentify with the characters in the film. For example, having a teenage girl act the venerable one who gets abducted will make other teenage girls in the audience sympathise for her and feel empathy towards her, and be scared as well as the actor as any teenage girl would in this situation.

• The older teenage boy who stalks this girl in the title sequence of my film is wearing casual clothes which most teenagers would wear, a black hoody, Adidas shoes and jeans. Whereas the girl is wearing leggings, Converse’s and a burgundy hoody, both of these outfits will help the attract and address the audience as its in fashion at the moment and most teenagers would wear most of these things.

• The title sequence builds up tension from start to end when you finally see the male catch the female, because of the tension building up throughout with a use of different shots and scary music that starts of slow and gets louder and louder, this will attract the audience into wanting to know what is going to happen next.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

After successfully filming my opening sequence, I needed to use a programme called Final Cut Express. This programme allowed me to edit the footage that I had filmed and to get rid of the footage that was not needed. I then learnt how to put my cut pieces in order and add different titles in, music and sounds. I then learnt how to make sure the titles stayed on the screen and did not contrast with the background of the scene. I learnt how to fade in and out titles and get them in the place that I wanted.

I learnt how to use many different types of technologies when making my film opening in order to construct a good and effective title sequence.At first I had to get used to using a camera and tripod to film with. From making a continuity exercise at the start of the course this helped me to get used to working with these technologies.

I also learnt how to add music to this software, Final Cut Express. I did this by creating some sounds on another programme that was new to me called Garageband, where I created some of my own music.

I then found a website on the internet called LGFL Audio Network that had non-copyright music on it, where I found a couple of pieces of music that I thought would work well in my film.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I then learnt how to embed my pieces of music from Garageband and Audio Network onto Final Cut Express, by saving them to ITunes first and adding it onto my film editing from that. I was able to turn the music's volume up and down and different points in the film, for example I turned the music lower at the start and by the end it got much louder to build up tension.

Director’s Commentary Script on Q6.- The first shot you see is introducing the main character and you can hear the faint sound of creepy non-diagetic music coming in, and building up throughout.

-The next shot is then a close-up, over the shoulder shot of the main protagonist.

- From researching other title sequence’s, I realised that the first two titles are the production and distribution company. Which in my case is ‘Vertigo Films Presents, A Hammer Production’.

- As the music gets louder and builds up even more, the music makes the genre obvious to the audience, that it is a thriller, as it is creepy and builds up tension.

- Whilst adding in titles, I needed to use title safe to make sure that the tiles stay visilbe on the screen.

- Once I placed the titles on the screen, I used wireframe to make sure that the whole of the text will be seen on the screen and the titles were in the right place.

- To make sure the titles fade in and out, making my title sequence look more professional, I changed the opacity of the text.

- Going back to the order of the titles, the last two titles are ‘Produced By..’ and ‘Directed By..’, I’ve done this to make my film more professional like other films.

Q7. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the

full product? Looking back at the preliminary task (continuity exercise) From making my continuity exercise I learnt that you have to plan what your going to film quite a bit

before filming. This involves the importance of planning my shots before actually filming, making it easier as I knew what to do. I also learnt about the 180 degree rule, this means that the camera should be placed somewhere inside 180 degrees on a particular side of the ‘line’ of a shot mostly ones containing two people filmed in a sequence. You stay in this straight line so that your editing is all done on one side to make it look much more professional and consistent. I also learnt more about how to use the camera and tripod and get to grips with filming.

Making my title sequence Whilst making my film I learnt just how important planning a film is before actually filming and editing,

this is why I did a lot of research into other title sequence’s before making my own which is all on my blog. I learnt how many different shots can be used to make the film more effective as a whole, including close-ups, establishing shots, long shots and many more and how you should try and use as many different shots as possible to make it more professional. I learnt the importance of involving the audience by representing different social groups and addressing and attracting my audience so that they get more into the film and want to watch it again in the end.

The thing I learnt the most was the actual editing of my film, how to use different programmes and software's on the computer which I had never used before like Garageband and Final Cut Express, to add to my final media product.