Here is a commentary on our finished film opening.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?
Our production represents the people at the lowest level of income in that the main male and female characters are unemployed drug takers. The audience can tell they are unemployed because of the rundown location we have chosen to film suggesting they may be homeless, and the ragged clothing they wear. However, even though the drug dealer we have featured in our production chooses to work in an illegal business, he is clearly wealthier than the other two and may be seen as having management skills and therefore of a higher social class than the other two characters.
QUESTIONNAIRE AND RESULTS
Questionnaire and Results
Key
-Question’s
-Results
1) Age:
Under 16(5) 17-22(3) 23-28(1) 29-34(1) 35-40 Over 40
2) Gender:
Male(6) / Female(4)
3) Do you watch many films per month?
None(1) 1-5(3) 6-10(5) 11-15(1) 16-20 More than 20
4) Do you know what a film noir is?
Yes(7) / No(3)
5) What’s your favourite film genre?
Thriller(2) / Horror(2) / Crime / Romance(2) / Comedy(1) / Drama / Action(3) / Noir / Other…
6) What is the most important thing to you in a film?
Characters(3) Storyline(5) Effects(2) Other…
8) What is the most important thing to you in a film opening?
Create enigma(1) / Opening action / Using characters to attract your attention(2) / Using narrative to attract your attention(2) / Interesting, you want to see more(5)
9) Have you watched a film noir?
Yes(5) / No(5)
10) If yes…did you enjoy it?
Yes(4) / No(1)
THE DEAL EVALUATION
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
As part of pre-production, we watched an example of a film noir, Double Indemnity, and an example of a neo noir, Brick. We took inspiration from both of these as well as many film openings we watched. Our analysis of these films and film openings gave us more of an idea of how to use noir forms of ECMS, narrative, character and iconography.
The narrative of our production is similar to Brick in that a girl is killed due to the pressure caused by drugs. Also, the girl is seemingly pulled into an underworld which challenges the typical film noir theory of a fall guy doing the same, usually caused by a femme fatale. This is how we developed on the typical film noirs and if our whole film were to be made, it would show how our female character lived a happy life before meeting her drug-addicted boyfriend which led to downfall and eventual death.
Another noir characteristic we followed was the use of flashbacks. In Double Indemnity, the whole story is told in one long flashback whereas our film opening featured 3 short flashbacks. These short flashbacks were used to give the audience a feel of what to expect from the film whilst telling part of the story without giving too much away which creates an enigma. From Double Indemnity, we also took the idea of using a voice-over. Voice-overs are quite common in noirs and we used ours to help guide the audience through the narrative and provide a voice from the dead. The voice from the dead adds drama and is also quite common within the thriller genre.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our production represents the people at the lowest level of income in that the main male and female characters are unemployed drug takers. The audience can tell they are unemployed because of the run-down location we have chosen to film suggesting they may be homeless, and the ragged clothing they wear. However, even though the drug dealer we have featured in our production chooses to work in an illegal business, he is clearly wealthier than the other two and may be seen as having management skills and therefore of a higher social class than the other two characters.
All of the characters in our production are white which creates an idea that anyone can be a drug dealer and caught up in the underworld of drugs. In films and the media, drug dealers are usually portrayed as black males so by using a white drug dealer in our production, we have aimed to take these stereotypical views away.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
If our production were to be distributed, it would most likely be a smaller-mid sized distribution company specialising in UK distribution for the UK
A distribution company I would expect to distribute The Deal would be Revolver Entertainment. I believe this because they distribute many urban films such as Kidulthood and Dead Man Running. They also release many thrillers like our production and therefore The Deal is similar to titles Revolver has already distributed. Another good factor is that Revolver has won many awards for marketing and creative initiative. This is because Revolver is known for its promotional stunts that are not expensive but are effective. This would suit us due to the fact we wouldn't have a large budget for advertising so instead use an alternative, effective form of marketing.
Our production would be shown at many film festivals as these are a great place to get our film screened and hopefully gain interest in our film. This may lead to acclaim from critics and even prizes and awards while also picking up and audience and most importantly a distributor. Film festivals that I would expect to see our production screened at include the British Urban Film Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
TV Channels that are likely to screen our production include Channel 4, Film4 and movies4men. This is because The Deal may be seen as too dark channels aimed at the younger audience such as BBC3 and E4. The Deal would most likely be shown after the watershed due to the adult content such as drug use.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The typical audience for any film can be shown by mentioning the demographics, socio economics, VaLS and whether they are a passive or active audience.
Common demographic data associated with The Deal shows that our audience is most likely to be male although many female characters may take interest. This is because men prefer the crime and thriller genres; on the other hand, the female character plays a lead role that women may sympathise with. They are likely to be between late teens and mid 20s due to the fact our characters are older teens and the drug theme may boost the age rating to 15 and over. If our film was classified, we would expect a 15 rating. This would not necessarily restrict younger viewers as we targeted the older teens anyway.
With socio economics in mind, we aimed our film at anyone from people at the lowest level of income to middle class. This is because these are the people that visit the cinema the most and can understand the characters as they are their ages. The values and attitudes an audience hold may affect their choice of films they enjoy. For example, people may see watching a teen thriller a new experience and therefore may appeal to Experiencers. Our audience would be an active audience as we are not influencing others to receive the same message but instead expect them to use our film for their own gratification and satisfaction.
When we screened our production to the rest of the class, they all found the narrative pretty successful. They understood the storyline of the girl starting off as an individual that is happy but abuses drugs which leads to a downward spiral. However, some of the class thought it would be a good idea to show why the male character turns violent and why they are arguing. The class also thought our film had the tone of a noir but felt the narrative was more of a thriller with gritty stylistics.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We tried to attract our audience by use of narrative, characters, themes, messages and ideology.
Our narrative is designed to create an enigma within the first opening minutes. This would make the audience keep watching because they want to know what is going on between the two lead characters and what will happen to the male character after he killed the female. The characters we chose represent troubled teens. We chose them because we felt teenagers aren't shown enough with the real and more serious problems nowadays. This could also attract a new audience of people that know what it's like to go through a drug problem and can sympathise with the characters.
Our themes, messages and ideology that we tried to portray is that while people may see drug addicts and dealers in the media as trouble makers, there is a more serious side and gives their point-of-view. Real life teens are sometimes dragged into a world of drugs and sometimes they realise too late that they are in a dangerous position.
Once we had screened our production to the class, they picked out some good points. These included, the reveal shot with the male character walking around the dead body adds drama and the end shot looked as if the female character was going into the light and out of memory. The first shot, which is shot in the style of a home movie, really works as a better memory and draws the audience into an emotional attachment which makes them upset when she dies. The audience felt that the male character's hoody implies he is trying to withdraw from the world. They also felt the fade of 'The Deal' at the end worked well and that it was interesting to have a double narration which included the voice from the dead.
The weaker elements the class picked out were that they felt there was too much colour effect on the flashbacks and that the titles were a bit bland. Also, they thought there needed to be more shots of the male character such as close-ups which would make the audience feel as if they know what is going on inside his head.
Within ECMS that we used in our production, the class said that as part of editing, the still shots on the male character are slow in comparison with the drug deal which is pacy and creates drama which works well. They also commented on the cinematography saying that the flashbacks around the dead body made them feel uncomfortable. However, they felt that the film could have done with a close-up of the dead body to show the difference between happy and sad. Also, they said there needed to be more action on the fight scene such as a cut to the head banging on the ground.
Within mise-en-scene, the audience felt the scrubland worked as a good run-down location and the costume of the drug dealer showed he was small-time such as street crime because he was not too flashy. Within sound, the voice-over does more work than the soundtrack and the melancholic, dark music provides atmosphere rather than drive what is on the screen along.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
From this production, I have learnt about technologies in that I may have used technology I have not come across before or simply expanded my knowledge of other technologies. I used different technologies during the different stages of production.
During pre-production, the technologies I used consisted mostly of web sites and using the internet. These included YouTube, Google and other browsers, Blogger, MSN and email accounts. I used the internet mostly for research as pre-production consisted heavily of paperwork and planning.
During production, I used equipment as this was when we were filming The Deal. It consisted of a Canon HV30 (tape) camera with Velbon tri-pod. We didn't use any extra sound equipment because we were not recording dialogue and therefore felt it unnecessary. We also didn't use any artificial lighting because we were filming outside in natural light and felt that too much light would take away the dark thriller feel.
During post-production, I used Final Cut Pro to edit The Deal. This is the program I used on the preliminary exercise and The Exchange so I was already familiar with it. To make the distribution and production company titles, I used Motion to create graphics which included logos I had made in Photoshop. For the voice-overs, I learnt how to use Logic which recorded the files ready to add to the video. I also used Adobe Sound Booth to rip MP3 files I had downloaded from royalty free music sites to use as the soundtrack.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learnt many things from the progression of the preliminary task to the noir opening.
Firstly, I have gained confidence when handling the camera, what types of shot work best and I have gained general knowledge in cinematography. I also have improved my knowledge of editing and I am now more comfortable with the editing software. A mistake I learned from was continuity editing. For example, during the preliminary we might have had hands in different places on each shot whereas in the noir opening I knew that we had to make sure everything was the same for each shot.
For the preliminary exercise, we didn't do much planning due to the size of the project so I have learnt since then that planning is an essential part of production. If we didn't plan ahead then time management and organisation would be out. For the preliminary exercise, I took the role of filming a few shots then taking part in editing. However, my role was much more involved for the noir opening. As well as all the extra work, a member of our crew dropped out during pre-production and left 3 of us which gave us each more work to do. Another difference is that I had to do research for the noir opening. When I started the preliminary exercise I had basic media skills. However, for the noir opening I had to do primary research such as analysing other noirs and film openings.
Finally, I have improved my academic skills since the preliminary exercise which has helped my understanding and how to use forms and conventions to create meaning more effectively.
PRE-PRODUCTION PAPERWORK
• Production schedule from pre to post-production
• List of all locations, props and costumes needed
• Recce for all locations and sketches
• Risk assessment & Evaluations (all locations)
• Call sheets for all shoots
• Choice of music and clearance obtained
• List of all locations, props and costumes needed
• Recce for all locations and sketches
• Risk assessment & Evaluations (all locations)
• Call sheets for all shoots
• Choice of music and clearance obtained
GROUP MEMBERS
Ryan Connor: Director and Producer
Charlotte Constance: Art Director
Emma Coman: Editor
Actors:
Charlotte Constance: Female Character
Jamie Partridge: Main Male Character
Ryan Connor: Other Male Character
Tuesday 3 May 2011
LOCATIONS
When deciding what location we were going to film in, we brainstormed many ideas of different types of places, for example; in a house, in an abandoned house, in the town, in a car park and in a run down area of town. We looked at a few different locations around the town, and then decided on a rough looking, rundown, small car park. The reason we decided on this location was because it was in a quiet area not too out in the open so it fit our storyline as no one would be able to see the two characters around this area so the drug deal and the fight which resulted in a death would not be noticed. Here are some pictures from different angles of the Location we used:
Monday 2 May 2011
FINAL AS NOIR PROJECT TREATMENT
The target audience for our production could be seen as predominantly male because of the dark nature, however females may be attracted to the emotion involved in our production. As an age group we believe that people aged 18 to 30 would be the people most likely to watch our production as it would most resemble their lifestyle as we have based our characters on teenagers although it has some adult themes which my boost the age certificate and appeal to a slightly older audience.
People most likely to watch our film are those who enjoy film thrillers although the themes of our production may interest a wider audience if it was advertised on television and shown at the cinema or on the television and then decide to watch it and see what it is about.
If this was shown on television it would be aired perhaps after the watershed due to the drug and violence themes.
We are not recording any dialogue for The Deal but instead, adding a voice over from the main male and female character. The voice overs will guide the audience through the film as it will help them to understand exactly what is going on but without revealing too much as to give away the rest of the film.
Also during editing, we will add a soundtrack which will become quieter during the voice overs. The soundtrack will complement the action shown on screen.
When editing we are using quick cuts to add pace which will keep the audience attracted which is something we learned we needed to change from our preliminary exercise. We are going to show the difference between flashbacks and present time by making the flashbacks more red to seem like a faded memory and also by using a dip to colour before and after each flashback.
During editing we will not only be adding titles but also creating an animation for both the production and distribution company which we would have made up ourselves.
The location we have chosen to film in is a run down area around an old building. Within this location there is rubbish, old walls, weeds and other foliage to create a rundown effect. We picked this location as it suits the storyline well because it is about drug dealing so the location need to be enclosed enough that there was not any members of the public around and would be a good 'hang out' for the main characters.
We will not use many props as the storyline is simple and can be told mainly by the actors; their facial expressions and acting. However, we will use alcohol bottles which shows that the main male character is 'drowning in his sorrows'. He is upset and depressed and doesn't know what to do, he just wants to forget so we will use the alcohol bottles to show that he has been drinking. Also, we will be using flour in a small clear bag as a prop for the drugs being dealt which is supposed to be cocaine.
The costumes we will use will be quite simple, the two main characters will wear scruffy, old and messy clothing whereas the drug dealer will be dressed smartly showing he is wealthy and maybe make the audience ask questions as to why he is dealing little to some poor drug takers.
The lighting we will use will all be natural light as we are filming outside in adequate daylight. Also by using natural light we are creating an effect of a place not too light which adds to the downbeat nature of the film.
The majority of our shots will be close-ups and mid-shots to make the audience feel close to the action and so they can see the pivotal points in our storyline such as the drug deal. The average shot length will be between 3-4 seconds as we have to fit in a lot of shots which all together creates a faster pace to the action.
In our flashbacks we plan to record a lot of shots and edit them fast together which will also be from many various angles, once again creating pace but also to show they are distorted.
People most likely to watch our film are those who enjoy film thrillers although the themes of our production may interest a wider audience if it was advertised on television and shown at the cinema or on the television and then decide to watch it and see what it is about.
If this was shown on television it would be aired perhaps after the watershed due to the drug and violence themes.
We are not recording any dialogue for The Deal but instead, adding a voice over from the main male and female character. The voice overs will guide the audience through the film as it will help them to understand exactly what is going on but without revealing too much as to give away the rest of the film.
Also during editing, we will add a soundtrack which will become quieter during the voice overs. The soundtrack will complement the action shown on screen.
When editing we are using quick cuts to add pace which will keep the audience attracted which is something we learned we needed to change from our preliminary exercise. We are going to show the difference between flashbacks and present time by making the flashbacks more red to seem like a faded memory and also by using a dip to colour before and after each flashback.
During editing we will not only be adding titles but also creating an animation for both the production and distribution company which we would have made up ourselves.
The location we have chosen to film in is a run down area around an old building. Within this location there is rubbish, old walls, weeds and other foliage to create a rundown effect. We picked this location as it suits the storyline well because it is about drug dealing so the location need to be enclosed enough that there was not any members of the public around and would be a good 'hang out' for the main characters.
We will not use many props as the storyline is simple and can be told mainly by the actors; their facial expressions and acting. However, we will use alcohol bottles which shows that the main male character is 'drowning in his sorrows'. He is upset and depressed and doesn't know what to do, he just wants to forget so we will use the alcohol bottles to show that he has been drinking. Also, we will be using flour in a small clear bag as a prop for the drugs being dealt which is supposed to be cocaine.
The costumes we will use will be quite simple, the two main characters will wear scruffy, old and messy clothing whereas the drug dealer will be dressed smartly showing he is wealthy and maybe make the audience ask questions as to why he is dealing little to some poor drug takers.
The lighting we will use will all be natural light as we are filming outside in adequate daylight. Also by using natural light we are creating an effect of a place not too light which adds to the downbeat nature of the film.
The majority of our shots will be close-ups and mid-shots to make the audience feel close to the action and so they can see the pivotal points in our storyline such as the drug deal. The average shot length will be between 3-4 seconds as we have to fit in a lot of shots which all together creates a faster pace to the action.
In our flashbacks we plan to record a lot of shots and edit them fast together which will also be from many various angles, once again creating pace but also to show they are distorted.
Wednesday 27 April 2011
INDIVIDUAL IDEA FOR A FILM OPENING
Before we decided on our final idea for the film opening, everyone in our group came up with an individual idea. We discussed these to each other before taking elements from each idea to come up with an opening we all agreed on.
Storyline for film: My original idea involved a girl being discovered tied to a radiator in a dark room by police. The rest of the film is one large flashback telling the story of how the girl got there. She lived a happy life before meeting a guy that dragged her into a world of drugs and downfall. We find out the couple bought drugs of a wealthy dealer and couldn't pay him the money. This leads to an argument between the couple and the guy hurts the girl but doesn't want the police to find out and therefore ties her down.
Idea for film opening: The film opening and the part we would film would involve the girl being discovered and a series of quick short flashbacks showing how she got there in a brief few minutes to set the audience up for the rest of the film.
Tuesday 15 March 2011
FINAL AS NOIR PROJECT SYNOPSIS
We will be filming an approximate three minute opening to a film, it will have elements of a film noir although modern with flasbacks throughout.There are three members of our crew, myself who is the producer and director, Charlotte Constance who is the art director and Emma Coman who is editor. During the filming, the crew will take it in tuns to film some of the shots so everyone in the crew has the chance to get hands on with the camera. There will also be there actors, Charlotte Constance playing the female character, Ryan Connor playing the smart drug dealer, and Jamie Partridge playing the role of the main male character.
The opening starts with the main male character sitting drinking in a run down area, looking upset and stressed.
It then jumps to the first flashback which is of the male and female character dealing drugs to a smartly dressed male.
It then jumps back to the main male character still sitting there distressed.
The second flashback is of the two main characters arguing.
Then it jumps back to the main character getting up and kicking an empty alcohol bottle in frustration.
Then the last flashback is of the female character laying dead on the floor with the male character looking at her body and squatting over it.
After the last flashback it cuts to the male character standing up from where he has been sitting all this time and walking around her until he squats down over her body to think.
The opening starts with the main male character sitting drinking in a run down area, looking upset and stressed.
It then jumps to the first flashback which is of the male and female character dealing drugs to a smartly dressed male.
It then jumps back to the main male character still sitting there distressed.
The second flashback is of the two main characters arguing.
Then it jumps back to the main character getting up and kicking an empty alcohol bottle in frustration.
Then the last flashback is of the female character laying dead on the floor with the male character looking at her body and squatting over it.
After the last flashback it cuts to the male character standing up from where he has been sitting all this time and walking around her until he squats down over her body to think.
Tuesday 11 January 2011
THE EXCHANGE EVALUATION
For the exchange I worked with Jamie Partridge, Charlotte Constance and Emma Coman. These are the roles we were given:
I helped improve my knowledge of editing by making this project including adding a soundtrack and learning how to create shot transitions although we decided not to use any in the final video. Also we used shots I have never used before and that helped improve my confidence in handling the camera.
We recieved a good response from the class as a whole with feedback saying we had good production values and a clear narrative and the best elements they picked out included; Using the 180 degree line rule to its limits which created interesting shots, good steady framing and camera work, good cross-cutting and the best shot being the OSS of Character B (Jamie) smoking a cigarette spying on Character A (Me).
However, areas they said could be improved were; The music being too much of a high-tempo for the on-screen action, making the costumes more suitable to a thriller, a few of the shots being too long and too much fiddling with the phone at the start of the video.
If we were to make the video again, we would take the feedback and make shorter shots and create more of a high-paced video by adding more shots such as close-ups of what's inside the bag and maybe a face to show emotion for added drama.
- Acting: Me & Jamie
- Head of cinematography: Emma
- Director & Producer: Charlotte
I helped improve my knowledge of editing by making this project including adding a soundtrack and learning how to create shot transitions although we decided not to use any in the final video. Also we used shots I have never used before and that helped improve my confidence in handling the camera.
We recieved a good response from the class as a whole with feedback saying we had good production values and a clear narrative and the best elements they picked out included; Using the 180 degree line rule to its limits which created interesting shots, good steady framing and camera work, good cross-cutting and the best shot being the OSS of Character B (Jamie) smoking a cigarette spying on Character A (Me).
However, areas they said could be improved were; The music being too much of a high-tempo for the on-screen action, making the costumes more suitable to a thriller, a few of the shots being too long and too much fiddling with the phone at the start of the video.
If we were to make the video again, we would take the feedback and make shorter shots and create more of a high-paced video by adding more shots such as close-ups of what's inside the bag and maybe a face to show emotion for added drama.
PRELIMINARY EXERCISE EVALUATION
For the preliminary exercise I worked with Jamie Partridge and Courtney Smith. We were given roles to help make the video, they were;
Of the work I done, the areas I thought I was most successful in were the camera work and editing. This is because I felt confident handling the camera and taking the shots aswell as learning how to edit and put our video together. The area I thought I could do better in was the directing. This is because at the time I wasn't as confident in the types of shot that would work best.
As a result of making this video I have learnt many new skills that will help me with later tasks in the coursework. I learnt both practical skills, such as how to handle the camera and microphone, and theoretical skills, such as making a storyboard in preparation for the video.
The overall technical quality of the finished video I felt was of a satisfactory standard. The areas I felt were good were the framing of shots and sound recording. I felt we could have done better in the editing, something which would help us do this was to leave bigger handles at the beginning and end of shots and also to make sure we had good continuity.
The feedback we received was generally positive however the audience felt some of the cuts were too sudden. If we had to do the project again we would leave bigger handles which would help with the suuden cuts.
- Cameraman
- Soundman
- Director
- Editor
Of the work I done, the areas I thought I was most successful in were the camera work and editing. This is because I felt confident handling the camera and taking the shots aswell as learning how to edit and put our video together. The area I thought I could do better in was the directing. This is because at the time I wasn't as confident in the types of shot that would work best.
As a result of making this video I have learnt many new skills that will help me with later tasks in the coursework. I learnt both practical skills, such as how to handle the camera and microphone, and theoretical skills, such as making a storyboard in preparation for the video.
The overall technical quality of the finished video I felt was of a satisfactory standard. The areas I felt were good were the framing of shots and sound recording. I felt we could have done better in the editing, something which would help us do this was to leave bigger handles at the beginning and end of shots and also to make sure we had good continuity.
The feedback we received was generally positive however the audience felt some of the cuts were too sudden. If we had to do the project again we would leave bigger handles which would help with the suuden cuts.
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