Question Seven

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

Preliminary Task:

Full Product:

I think that my production work has improved since the preliminary task in the terms of Camera work, Mise en Scene, Editing, Organisation and Planning.
I think that the mise en scene is particularly better in the full product in comparison to the preliminary task. This is because the mise en scene matches the conventions better- being set in a bedroom. This is a similar case with the costume, as I feel that it is more relevant and appropriate to the genre.
Also, I think that more movement angles have been used in the full product in contrast to the Preliminary, because in the full product there is a rolling shot used to show how the character is feeling at that time in the morning.
In terms of organisation, I feel that it has been more challenging in the full product. I think that this is because there has been so more more to do including: filming in different locations, finding actors and making sure they can all be punctual, finding the correct mise en scene- costume, set, lighting and props, talking through with the actors what they need to do and arranging transport to the locations. However, I feel as though this has all been done to satisfaction.


Throughout this whole process I feel as though I have taken on the role to 'getting the rest of the group into gear' and I almost feel as though I have been nagging and taking control of the organisation as well as most of the filming. I think this has helped due to the fact everything is now complete and ready.

I have also take the sound into consideration by using a cover version of 'She will be Loved' as the incidental music and score. Although I didn't necessarily agree with this music choice, it is parallel to the action rather than contrapuntal. This took a lot of thought and time in order to make the action match specific phrases in the audio whereas in the preliminary task, if was just the matter of adding it because 'it was funny and appropriate' rather than having an actual purpose.

Similarly, I had to take into consideration the composition of the frames. This included composing the frame so that the main protagonist is in centre shot therefore symbolising that the character is the most important and will be significant throughout the film. This was contrast with the Preliminary Task as we didn't really take anything like that into consideration, it was more like just filming it basically and simply.

Furthermore, I think that the continuity of editing has improved and is more sucessful in comparison to the first task. I feel that this is because it flows better and isnt so sharp and cut. This shows that blending has improved since the first time and more time has been put into the editing. Also, it shows a wider variation of camera angles which means that there is more angles to chose from to make it different and not just same old all of time.

Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product? 

Through my research of Classification Categories it immediately became evident to me that I either wanted my audience to appear in the classification of a 12 or a 15. However, due to more extensive research and talking to an audience aged 13 and an audience aged 15+ it became clear that my film would appeal more to the classification of 12. I think that this is due to a plot being quite tame and not having an immediate reference to sexual activity and violent language without justification.

Lucy (aged 13)
"Hi, my name is Lucy and I love going to the cinema to watch new films. I really like to watch films that are funny but have romance in them as well, like Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Wild Child, Mean Girls and Clueless. The reason I like these films is that they are mainly funny and I really like the actors in them. They are the sort of people that I find in magazines. Also, I like these films because I can see them on my own without my parents and have a good time instead of watching silly cartoons. It is like I am watching a cool grown up film but not at the same time. After watching this film opening, I would like to see this film, especially because I thought it was hilarious when Joe slipped over!"

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=8035653&height=267&width=200


Fact File:

Age group- 12- 16

Gender- mainly female

They are most likely to watch at the cinema: Twilight, Pitch Perfect 

In their spare time they will use media products such as iPad, iPhone, iPod, Facebook, Youtube.

When with friends they might: go to the cinema, go into their town during the day with friends, shopping, McDonalds

Clothing: New Look, Topshop, River Island, Hollister 

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=12556&catalogId=33057&geoip=home#slide1

http://www.riverisland.com/

http://www.newlook.com/

http://www.hollisterco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreView?catalogId=11558&langId=-1&storeId=19659

Question One

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

When researching the genre of Romantic Comedies it came to my attention that not a lot of titles were used during the film opening, in fact in ‘Friends with Benefits’ only three titles were used: the company, the production and the actual title. Therefore I wanted to take these these generic conventions into consideration with my film opening; it only feature the production name and the title. I think that this would be relevant and effective because it gave the impression that you didn’t need to credit the actor’s names straight away because you should already know who they are. However, other members in my group wanted to include more titles such as: directed by, costume designers, written by etc. Therefore I was out numbered.

Furthermore, included in the dominant genre of Romantic Comedy there is also a sub- genre and hybrid identity of a ‘Chick Flick’ as it is a stereotypical ‘boy meets girl, they fall in love, and live happily ever after’.  I think that this is effective as it matches perfectly with the main genre and fits the codes and conventions.

Although from the first few seconds of the opening it may seem like the stereotypical conventions of a Rom Com, however during the end it comes clear that there is a break of new ground of challenging the conventions due to a twist in the plot.  I took my inspiration of this from the Romantic Comedy ‘Friends with Benefits’, thus this has had an influence on my opening. The reason I did this was because when I watched the film I was so shocked as it was really unexpected therefore I wanted my target audience to have that same immediate reaction from watching my film opening. 

Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Within my film opening there are quite a few social groups represented which are evident.  In terms of social groups there is a stereotypical popular girl, a stereotypical popular boy and a stereotypical nerd. The popular girl stereotypically would act dumb, put on a fake front, and make an effort all of the time appearance wise. This is shown in my film opening through the use of mise en scene and costume in particular as she wears a black dress and little boots.  This costume denotes the ‘little black dress’ that every girl has in their wardrobe or dreams of. However in this case it is customized into a little black day dress which shows the passion for fashion which also would match the personality of a stereotypical popular girl. Although the character doesn’t have the typical blonde hair that a popular girl would be associated with, she has long, thick, mousey brown hair which in my opinion foreshadows that she is in fact putting on a fake front in order to please other members of her social class. 

 Another social group that is evident is the popular boy who is also stereotypical in terms of caring more about his appearance and sport rather than caring about others and his school work. This is shown through the use of costume. In the film opening the character Harry’s clothes consists of a red checked top, in which the colour red could connote being dangerous, jeans and designer trainers. This outfit in my opinion represents effectively the social group: Jock, which he is acting as.  In contrast to this, the character Joe is represent as a nerd through his costume as he wears simple clothing such as a plain t-shirt, jeans and shoes. This denotes the simplicity of the characters and suggests that he is more bothered about school work in contradiction to the character Harry.

<!--[if !vml]-->A replica character of Mollie isn’t really perceived in stereotypical rom coms as her appearance reflects a popular girl whereas her hidden personality represents almost a nerd.  An example of Mollie’s character in social groups includes:

This is an image that in my opinion reflect the character. The image is taken from the movie ‘Mean Girls’. In image one Lindsey Lohan is playing the social group of a nerd, whereas in image two the same character is playing the role of a popular. This is almost parallel to the character in my film opening.

Question Six

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

Throughout this process I have learnt how to use different technologies in the pre-production, production and post-production stages of my film opening. This includes using technologies such as Blogger, Serif Movie Plus and Adobe Premier Pro. Before I started Media I had no idea how to use these technologies, whereas now I have more of an idea, especially when using Blogger. I overcame not being able to use these technologies just by gaining confidence and trying new things such as using effects like slow motion in my preliminary to adding filters in my film opening, seen below.

Also, I have learnt that when using Blogger to try and include as wide variety of different ways of showing information as possible by using: YouTube videos, images, animation and Prezi; not only does this look better but it also makes it more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, I have developed my filming ability by experimenting at home using different camera angles such as: low angle, high angle, over the shoulder, close up, establishing, therefore not only has this increased my confidence but it has also given me the courage to take on a lot of the filming in my film opening. 

<a href="http://goanimate.com/videos/0xTKBzvQT7dQ?utm_source=embed&uid=0yR0Y_5bwLtY" target="_blank">question 6</a> by <a href="http://goanimate.com/user/0yR0Y_5bwLtY" target="_blank">laurenskinner</a> on <a href='http://goanimate.com?utm_source=embed' target="_blank">GoAnimate</a><br/><iframe scrolling="no" allowTransparency="true" frameborder="0" width="400" height="258" src="http://goanimate.com/player/embed/0xTKBzvQT7dQ"></iframe><br/><a href="http://goanimate.com?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=link&utm_term=Video+Maker&utm_campaign=embedse" target="_blank">Video Maker</a> - Powered by GoAnimate.

Question Five

How did you attract/address you audience?

Audio Response

Question Three

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

Through my research I specifically looked at 20^th Century Fox. This was because it was a popular distribution company that almost everyone knew about. Therefore I wanted to make my title sequence similar to theirs and more mainstream rather than appealing to a niche audience and distribution company. 

 

This distribution company’s title sequence of ’27 Dresses’ is not similar to mine due to few titles as the only titles evident are: 20^th Century Fox, Spy Glass Entertainment and 27 Dresses.
Paramount, is more relevant to my film due to having a lot of titles like in 'Mean Girls'.

The distribution of films in extremely important as it is brings the film to life and connects it with an audience. Also, in the UK, distribution is mainly focussed on marketing and sustaining global products such as films in local markets. The main distribution can be divided into three different stages, these consists of:  Licensing, Marketing and Logistics. It is the logistics responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema; this is part of a wider coordination of print usage in the UK.  Furthermore, it supplies and circulates copies of the film to theatres, DVD to shops and rental stores. However, it is a time pressured process.

I would like 20^th Century Fox to distribute my film. I would like this to be done by having it advertised on social media sites such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook as it would relate to the psychographics of my target audience.   Similarly, I would like my film to be advertised in magazines such as Mizz and Shout as this would relate to the demographics of my target audience. 

<iframe src="http://prezi.com/embed/nlxusbptjzlp/?bgcolor=ffffff&amp;lock_to_path=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;autohide_ctrls=0&amp;features=undefined&amp;disabled_features=undefined" width="550" height="400" frameBorder="0"></iframe>    - Prezi!