Media Evaluation
In this piece of writing I am going to evaluate my Media Product where our task was to create an opening of film, we had three genres to choose from which were Horror, Romantic Comedy and British Film. I decided to choose British Film for my genre as many of my film favourites are of this Genre for example Train spotting, Bronson and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I like to think that these British films were a massive influence on my film.
In what ways does your media Product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In my film I would like to think that I have used the same forms and conventions as the 2009 British Biographical crime film Bronson. Although my film has no violence, the way the character is stuck in one very confined space and shows some worrying actions throughout is very similar. In the film Bronson he spends most of his time in solitary confinement and my character spends the majority of the film on the sofa with nobody but himself.
I feel as if I have used and challenged the film Bronson as the actor’s strange personalities are very similar in their odd ways. A lot of my ideas used in terms of editing, camera angles and shots and the choice of a red title at the end of the film are from the film Bronson so I have definitely used conventions from real media products, but I would like to think that I have developed from this and challenged Bronson in terms of the characters personality and use of shots.
In terms of the opening of the film I have not found a film that begins the same as mine, my film almost goes straight into the character whereas other British films build up to the character. The only other film I can compare my opening to is Trainspotting where it goes straight into the main character Ewan McGregor running down the street with him talking in the background.
Overall I feel as if I developed the form and conventions of real media products as I have not seen an opening of a film like mine, not only is the character an odd one but the opening starts with his hands and feet by doing this I am trying to show the audience how nervous he is, I thought this was a better way of showing this than facial expressions. `
How does your media product represent social groups?
My Media product represents a British man in the late 50’s this is shown in the costume that the character is wearing which includes a blue three piece suit a pair of black and white shows with a trilby hat. This was a very common look in the late 50’s; a good example of this is the Kray Twins who were notorious gangster celebrities from the East End of London in the late 50’s. This was such a common image back then, but rarely seen nowadays which is why I decided to set the theme of the film for back then. Not only does the character have this image but so does the pub where the filming took place. The taxidermy on the walls that are shown in the film e.g. fox, dear and boar and the chesterfield sofas really complete that old image and in my opinion sets a 50’s theme.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I would like my film to be distributed by a company that are known for releasing low budget British films such as Fox Searchlight Pictures. Fox Searchlight specialises in Independent and British Films. Films such as The Full Monty, Sexy Beast, Bend It like Beckham and 28 Days Later are perfect examples of low budget British films distributed by Fox Searchlight. Although these films still have a budget of up to six million this is seen as a very low budget in the film industry, this is because most of the money spent on the film would be for actors such as Robert Carlyle in Full Monty, Ray Winston and Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast and Keira Knightley in the 2002 Drama Bend It like Beckham. These films are very British in their story lines and where they are set for example Full Monty was set in Sheffield and 28 Days Later was set all over parts of London. All of these films were very low budget British Films but all of them tripled if not more on their gross revenue; this also shows the quality and hard work that is put into the films distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and my point is backed up by how much money was made compared to how much money was put into the film. This is why I would like my film to be distributed by F ox Searchlight Pictures.
My reasons why I would like Fox Searchlight Pictures to distribute my film is because my film is very British in many ways including the costume and set just like the previous films I have mentioned. My film would also be of a very low budget especially as it is set in a pub and only requires one actor.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I think the audience for my Media product would vary to young and elderly this is because all though I am aiming it at teenagers, an older generation might be able to appreciate the image that I have tried to create. The use of the Elvis track ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ who was also a very big part of the 50’s generation could appeal to an older audience.
How did you attract/address your audience?
I feel that I attracted my audience by showing the character very early on, and as he is in hysterics this would make the audience wonder why and want to watch on. I wanted to make my opening of the film as entertaining as possible and I feel by showing the character performing odd actions I have achieved this. I think by showing the odd movements of the characters foot and hand would make any audience want to watch on because they would like to know why he is doing these things and what is going to happen next. I decided to show the movements of the characters hands and feet because it is a different way of showing his emotions instead of facial expressions. I think that my audience would be highly entertained by the strange actions of the character and would be intrigued to see what he does next. I don’t believe that many people could relate to my film but im sure my audience would be entertained by the characters obsession with Elvis Presley and odd actions throughout.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have personally learnt a lot from the latest technologies while creating my media product. Although my film is very basic editing I learnt a lot in terms of how to cut a film clip into pieces and then into any order you could possibly want. After learning the basics of a hand held camera and using this in my preliminary task, I luckily was able to use a more advanced camera for my final product which was simply for one reason to improve the film quality. By using a less advanced camera for my Preliminary task helped me to use a more advanced camera for my final task. This was the same for the editing process; I had more knowledge of using the IMacs for my main task because of using the programme IMovie for my Preliminary task that was simply cutting and dragging different clips and putting them all together although a lot of main task was this as well I had to include titles, a split screen and more complicated shots.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I enjoyed the preliminary task because it allowed me to get the feel for the camera and what you are capable of doing both behind the camera and the editing process. Even though the Preliminary task was a lot simpler and much quicker to complete it prepared me for my main task which was definitely a big help. Not only was it a chance for me to understand the camera and the programme IMovie on the IMacs, I received feedback on what to do and what not to do which was a big help when it came to the main task. My preliminary task was the first time I had used the editing programme IMovie. While editing my Preliminary task I learnt a lot about the programme IMovie especially the simplest of things like cutting a shot and putting in sound effects. As the Preliminary task did not take very long to complete I was able to give myself a better understanding of the basics of editing, this then made my editing process for my main task a lot simpler and allowed me more time for the more complicated options of editing for example the split screen that I used in my film. I think it is quite clear to see that there is a big improvement from my preliminary task to my main task, I used and tried a lot more complicated shots, I learnt how to come in and out of focus from one object to another.
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