Tuesday 1 April 2014

Evaluation


In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms and Conventions Of Real Media Products?

The genre of the title sequence we have is created is a Rom-com. Following the stereo-typical conventions of the Rom-com genre our two main characters are male and female. The male character is presented as being very unlucky and geeky in contrast to the female character that is portrayed as being well groomed and sophisticated. The location of our title sequence is centred in the city, this again following one of the conventions of a typical Rom-com. The title sequence starts off with the male character (Aaron) making his daily commute to work whilst listening to his iPod, this is where the soundtrack begins, which is very upbeat and has a light-hearted feel to it, relating back to the Rom-com genre. In this section of the sequence we have used a variety of jump cuts at the beginning, in order to increase the pace, making the title sequence relate more to its set genre. There is elements of comedy through out our title sequence which is also another convention.




One title sequence which influenced the idea of our title sequence was “Juno” the element within this title sequence that we was influenced by was the how the “normal shots” of the main character walking down the street was then edited to become “cartoonized” which I felt added a sense of comedy and light-heartedness to the piece. When editing our title sequence we incorporated this idea in to it, however not in the same way, instead of using a cartoon effect, when the female character (Hayley) is walking the screen splits into three and over the top we have layered these shots with bright tint’s creating a “pop” effect, which we feel relates back to the style of a Rom-com.

When researching into Mise-en-Scene of Rom-com’s I found that the lighting is normally very bright or is filmed on a sunny day, in addition the colour pallet used normally involves a variety of bright, bold and eye-catching colours. However in our final piece we have decided to go against these conventions in certain areas, for example in scenes where the male's character is present we have used Magic bullet pro, in order to create a black and white effect over these particular sections in the sequence, however when the female character is present we have kept these bright and colourful using tinted overlays, to create the idea to our audience that her character brings light and happiness to his dull and boring/ordinary life.


When researching into the codes and conventions of a Rom-com and abiding by them in our title sequence, there are however some conventions that we purposely subverted, one example of this is that I found that one of the conventions of a Rom-com was that the title sequence, usually begins from the female characters perspective, however in our title sequence we have challenged this convention by starting it from the male characters perspective, by doing this I felt that it would allow the audience to feel more empathetic towards his character therefore engaging them more.

The narrative of our title sequence follows the conventions of the Rom-com genre it is a love story between a male and female and how their unrequited love conquers all too finally bring them together. The plot of the film is the two main characters making their way to work in the city, they have not yet met. In the title sequence split screens are used to show the contrast between the two characters however jump cuts are also used to show the similarities between them for example the walking scenes. The two travel to work together daily on the same train, however have never acknowledged one another, until on this particular day they do. From this they arrange to meet up for a date, however complications arise when the male character gets hit by a moving vehicle whilst on his way to meet his love interest, resulting in him being induced in a comma and loosing his memory leaving him with no recollection of his date. Eventually one day his memory returns and in one last attempt to re-find his soul mate he returns one morning to the train they used to get to work in hope that she is on it. To his luck she is and he explains to her what happened to him and why he never made their date, she understands and is sympathetic yet unfortunately she is engaged, however she has not moved on, therefore the two begin an affair. 

The typography we used is very “quirky” I feel this adds to the genre of the film, giving it a light hearted atmosphere also going well with the soundtrack. Researching into the typography presented to me the 
importance of getting the correct font in order to exemplify the genre of the title sequence.


Camera shots used was close-up’s in order to present the characters facial expressions and emotions, this is a stereo-typical convention of a Rom-com along with pan left shots to show the movement of the characters in addition with wide establishing shots to present the location, using iconic landmarks.


How Does Your Media Product Present Particular Social Groups?

My media product represents particular social groups using a variety of techniques. One of the representations of a social group my media piece represent in particular is women. My title sequence presents the stereo-typical portrayal of a woman, that they are an object there to be looked at. This relates to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the ‘Male Gaze’  as in my title sequence the female character is presented as being the “end prize” that the male character is after, this is presented through the camera shots used which in some scenes only focus on her legs as she is walking, emphasising the idea that she is there to be looked at. However my final piece also goes against this theory also as the female character is presented as being successful and independent, this is presented by the wide establishing shot, which shows her character walking alone in a big city, therefore I think this asserts her independence.  Furthermore the iconography also presents this as the clothes she is wearing is very formal creating to the audience the illusions that she is successful in her career.

Another social group that is represented in my final piece is men, I think my title sequence challenges the stereo-typical ideology of men that they are protective, strong, brave and serious. As the male character in my title sequence is presented as being weak, clumsy and unlucky. However the illusion that his character is also successfully career wise is created by his costume as he is dressed smartly in a grey suit. In addition to this the props also add to this as his character is holding a laptop bag and also a big umbrella, which stereo-typically is associated with businessmen, who work for large firms in the city. The use of the camera shots also only focusing on the male characters legs, I think create a sense of equalism between men and women as it also presents the male character as being a object to be looked at. 

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

I think that the media institution that would release our media product would be one of the big conglomerates such as Universal pictures. Research into previous films that they have distributed fits in with the genre of our title sequence. I think the finance for our film to be produced would use vertical integration meaning all the finance would be provided by universal studios itself. From my research into the production of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ I found that their production budget was $185 million in contrast to this ‘A Field in England’ had a production budget of £300,000 therefore because my film Delayed is not a big as the Batman but on the other hand bigger than ‘A Field In England’ also reaching a more diverse wider audience as my film is more mainstream, I have estimated a production budget of around £20 million this is mostly due to the location being set in a open area, Central London.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be aimed typically at women of all races and ethnicities. Moreover in the age range of 25-30 as research shows that this age category of woman are most likely to go to the cinema to view the film due to their relationship status, also taking their partners along. More importantly as they are more likely to have a good stable income, therefore they are willing to pay for the viewing of the film.

However my film is also targeted at another age range, teenagers as statistics show that in the age category of 12-17 most teenagers spend a percentage of their time at the cinema due to the limited variety of things and places they can go, as they are not old enough to attend clubs and pubs etc. Furthermore my film will also attract a wide target audience, as it has become a common stereotype for people to attend the cinema on first dates, ‘Delayed’ in particular would appeal to this as it is a Rom-com therefore is a light-hearted comedy film that both can enjoy.

How did you attract/address your audience?

When planning my title sequence in order for it to appeal to my target audience I wanted them to be able to relate to it. This is why I decided the best location for the title sequence would be in London as many women in the age category 25-30 are likely to work in the city. Furthermore all women can relate to previously having a love interest that included complications.  When questionnaires were distributed out to some woman within this category of age, the feedback we received was positive, the woman particularly commenting on the empathy they felt for the male character, furthermore that they also liked the plot and would pay to go watch this in the cinemas. I think my final media piece could be improved by including more everyday complications that may arise to people on their daily commute to work in order for my audience to be able to relate more. However I do think that the element of light-hearted comedy and schadenfreude in my title sequence acts as escapism for my target audience.

In addition to this in order to attract my target audience through the different media platforms, due to my research into the marketing campaign of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ I found they released a number of different social media interactive sites and apps for their audience.

One of their interactive campaigns was on the official ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ website that was set up, where on the website a page was set up where the public could turn themselves into the ‘Bane’ or ‘Batman’ using their webcams, digitally placing a mask over their faces and capturing it on screen. Another interactive aspect they created was using stencils and placing them on walls all across cities etc. the aim of this was to get the public to tweet in photos they had taken of these stencils, by hash tagging them, each time a stencil was found and tweeted in, a pixel of the character from the film ‘Bane’ was uncovered, this continued until the full picture was revealed. In other countries such as China, special buses where released purposely for the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ these were black and has images of the film poster over them. Figurines of the characters were also released for public sale, this covered a variety of different ages groups, mostly being young children but also a adult audience who are fans of the film and Batman brand.

Therefore in order to attract my target audience there are a number of different interactive ways in which I could attract my audience, such as personalizing buses in order to promote my film. Also a website could be created promoting the film, including a gallery of images taken from the production of the film and also taster clips, giving an insight into what happens in the film.  The budgeting campaign for the ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was around $50million therefore because our film is not of as high a status as the Batman series I estimate a budget of around $15 million to be spent on the marketing of ‘Delayed’.

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

From creating this media product I have learned how to use editing programs such as final cut pro and the tools within that, moreover I have also learned how to use Magic Bullet pro, in order to change the colour balance and effects of the shot taken.

I have become familiar with using the DSLR cameras in order to shoot the title sequence, using the tripod in order to capture smooth camera shots and also using the stedi-cam in order to track the characters as they walk capturing the shots making sure they are smooth and do not jolt. From using these i have also learnt how to focus in and out of frames and shots, furthermore how to focus pull. 

I have also learnt how to convert mp4 clips into DV files using MPEG stream clip, in order to import the files we filmed into Final Cut pro and edit them. 

When creating the fonts for our title sequence i have also become familiar with "Da Font" which allows me to download into photoshop a particular style of writing and edit this, in order to input into our final title sequence. I have also used a website called "FX sound effects" in order to add in sound that adds to our title sequence. 

Further more another technology I have become familiar with is Web 1.0 and also Web 2.0, web 2.0 is the interactive side of the internet, it creates platforms for discussion on new media technologies and also upcoming films that are to be released, this alone plays a huge role of marketing campaigns for future releases. In the future Web 3.0 is to be released this will allow video on demand to allow viewers to stream and download things online, without the buffering. Web 3.0 Is also known as the semantic web this will give the public a higher quality of information and also the answer they are looking for straight away on search engines such as google. 
Web 2.0 would be a good technological tool to use in the marketing and distribution stage of my title sequence as it would allow the audience to interact with the social marketing campaign involving them more in the release of the film 'Delayed' therefore connecting to a mass mainstream audience. 

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary the task which was the continuity editing sequence, I think my skills using final cut pro have developed. I know understand the importance of getting different camera angles for shots in order to portray a certain image to your audience, furthermore I never fully realized how much time the editing process took and how much time would be involved in editing cutting down shots, researching into music and other title sequences of the genre Rom-com and furthermore the planning and organisation needed in order to arrange to meet up to go film the shots and if needed the reshoots.