Evaluation Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Evaluation Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of making this product?

 In the production of my media text I now have a much better knowledge about using a camcorder to film. To be able to film effectively with a camcorder there are some factors that need to be taken into consideration. Using a tripod is very important for certain shots to keep it steady and get an even shot. I found using a tripod for panning shots is much more effective than holding the camcorder.

Lighting is also a big factor when being able to film effectively. I had to re-film a shot because the lighting wasn’t good enough and you could not see the character clearly - because of this I learnt that I should film a shot more than once so that there is a higher chance I will have a successful shot and not need to go and film the same shot again on a different occasion.

Through editing and film sequence I have learnt that keeping all shots during the editing process is very important. After editing you never know when things might change or you may have added in something or take something away therefore you may need to change something else. Editing also helped with the length of my media text. I was able to speed up certain shots if they were too long or slow down shots if I needed it to last longer.

I also learnt in editing it’s best to edit small parts at a time as often a couple of milliseconds can make a big difference and it’s easiest if you don’t have to redo a whole shot because you cut too much. Editing little and often is also something I found successful. 

I found editing scenes soon after you’ve filmed them rather than once you’ve done all your filming works better as it’s easier to establish what you still need to film to improve it or not to film something you were originally going to film as it looks good enough without it – saving you time that could be spent doing something else.

Post production skills I have learnt are to do with sound/music and titles and special effects. Choosing the right song for my media text was very important and music plays a big role in all films. I found finding a good range of music first was best rather than thinking of one and hoping it will work. By picking a few when it comes to putting it onto the film you will have a better choice therefore more likely to pick the best suited one. 

I also learnt about multi trimming sound and being able to take sound form one shot and putting it into another one. In the fight scene I had a scene that was much better than another but the sound wasn’t as good so I moved it so it played at time that was suitable for the other shot – this was really successful. I learnt that adding the titles can be part of the film rather than just being on the screen. For example when my main character opens his drawer I have a title come out of the drawer at the same time and I think this works really successfully. 

Finally I have used flashbacks in my film and originally it was hard to distinguish between when was and wasn’t a flashback. My teacher showed me the flashback effect that you can add before and after the flashback shots and this works so well in my media text and it’s now a lot clearer to the audience as to which bit is a flashback.

Evaluation Q5: What elements of your text would attract the target audience?

Evaluation Q4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think the best distribution company for my media text would be Capelight Pictures. The same company was also involved in the distribution of the British crime film ‘Kidulthood’ and its sequel ‘Adulthood’ and another successful film ‘Cherrybomb’, also British with a sub genre of crime. Capelight Pictures has past experience working with low budget, British crime films, with a certificate of 15. This would definitely be an advantage as they would know what the film industry is looking for in the same genre my media text is. I think this type of distribution company would be a better option to opt for as bigger company’s will be used to working with films that have a much bigger budget and well known actors; they may not have as much experience distributing smaller, low budget films. I think Capelight would be interested in distributing my media text as it will also be a low budget, crime film and they have been involved with the same genre of films before.

Evaluation Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The genre of my media text is crime/gangster and this genre can influence the type of person used. Young adults are often used in this genre of film as they are young and their fitness ability is higher they can be involved in, for example fights and chase scenes. The two characters that are featured in my media text are late teens as one is in college and the other very early twenties. I have indicated this through a number of different factors for example costume and props, body language and camera shots.

I have used costume to represent the type of people I have used in my media text as I think it is a clear indicator to the audience. Hoodies have been associated with teenagers and young adults, especially in circumstances of crime. Dan (the older character) wears a hoodie in the majority of the film, Dan is unemployed and quite lazy and I think a hoodie is ‘easy’ clothing therefore it suits his representation. The stereotype teenager also uses a hoodie to cover their face, this has been linked to crime by people using a hoodie to cover their face when stealing so they cannot be caught. Therefore I think using this in my media text will clearly tell the audience the age group of my character and maybe hinder that he has been involved in some sort of crime. My second character is Shaun, he is in his late teens and is represented is a better light that Dan as he is the one who is beaten up. Shaun wear quite popular clothes among his age group at the moment - I wanted to represent him as being a popular guy who everyone likes and I think the type of clothing I chose (dark jeans and wet look jacket) portrays this well as he looks like he would ‘fit in’.

Props have also been used to represent the type of person used in my film. I have had all the characters use modern phones that are very popular among young people and I think this gives a clear indication of the type of person my characters are – someone who likes to have the latest phone and likes to be in touch with their friends as all have their phone on the all the time. Smoking is also often associated with teenage/young adult crime and this is partly the reason I have one of my characters smoking in a scene as I doesn’t really portray them in a positive light.

The use of body language also subtly suggests what type of person the characters are. For example in one scene I have a young adult slouching against a wall; it is unlikely you would find a middle aged or older man doing this. In the very first scene I have one of my characters relaxing on his bed, I think this is more common among young adults and this gives an indicator of my characters being of a young age group.

Camera shots are also used to indicate the type of person my characters are. In the fight scene I edited it so there are lots of short, fast paced shots, not only does this make the scene more interesting to watch but it suggests the fight is happening very quickly and this would not be possible if the character were quite old therefore giving an indication of the type of person my characters are.

Overall I think I have used a variety of factors to represent my characters and I think this has worked well. I have also tried to represent the typical person of their age group and characteristics to make it clear to the audience what type of person my characters are.

Evaluation Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the convention of real media products?

Preliminary Task

 I did this preliminary filming to get used to the camera and get an idea of how I want to film my media text.

Props and Costume Boards

Doing these props and costume boards I have put more thought into how the props and costume will portray the type of person the characters are. It has also made me think about the type of clothing that stereotypes teenagers and young adults and how I can use this to my advantage to make it clear how old each character is.

Settings Board

Using this park to film our main character running away from his enemy will work really effectively. I will have the freedom to film from a range of different angles making for a more interesting media text. 

I think the open space also offers more choice for where I can film the main character running.

This is where I plan to film the final scene of my media text of the main character flagging down a bus. I thought this bus station would be appropriate as there are rarely any people there so I won't have any interruptions when filming.The position of the bus stop against a long road will also give us more choice for camera shots.

This is the house I will use to film inside and out. I think it suits the type of person my main character is and the type of background he comes from. The angle that door comes out on to the path is perfect for what I want to film when my main characters comes out of the house.

By looking into the setting and where I want to film in detail it has made me think about the types of shots I want to use in my media text and how different shots will be more successfully in different places. By doing this I have taken into account how I will film and I feel more confident about where I have chosen to do my filming because of this.

Character Profiles

Doing these character profiles has made me think more about the type of person that each character is. Hopefully by doing this I will be able to portray the characters personality more successfully in the film therefore making it more successful and the viewer sympathising with the characters.

Story Board for 'Escape'

By doing this Story Board it helped me understand how I was going to film, in what order and has made the planning of it a lot easier as I now have the storyboard to refer back to. I have presented it as a video rather than screenshots as I think it's more interesting to watch for the viewer. It also helped determine the first lot of filming that we did as it was using basic shots that would be fairly straight forward to edit so that we could get used to using the editing software before moving onto more complicted filming and editing.

Script for 'Escape'

(Tony and Shaun’s phone conversation - Shaun is in college. Tony and Shaun are meant to be meeting there but Tony hasn’t turned up yet. Shaun’s leaning against the pillar; Tony is sat down in an unknown place.)

Tony: Alright Shaun?

Shaun: Yeah, alright?

Tony: Yeah, where are you?

Shaun: Ah mate I’m just in college.

Tony: Yeah alright mate, I just had to sort a few things out, I’ll be there soon.

Shaun: Yeah…alright…yeah just hurry up.

(Dan walks in behind Shaun)

Dan: Alright Shaun?

Shaun: Dan?!

(Dan punches Shaun and the fight begins.)

Tony: Shaun…Shaun?

(Dan come back out of the flashback and is sat on the bench in the park trying to stay away from Tony. He sees Tony running after him.)

Dan: Shit

(Dan runs away.)

Writing out the script and going through it has definitely helped me in the production on my media text. By doing this I now know where dialogue needs to be and I can start thinking about music as I know where dialogue won't be.

Institutional Research

Taking into account that my media text would be a low budget British film, using smaller distribution company’s compared to bigger ones such as Warner Bros. and Universal that have been involved with the distribution of films such as ‘American Gangster’ and ‘The Bourne’ Series. Although these are all very successful films using well established film distributers I don’t think these would be the best companies to use as they are used to working with medium to high budget films, having filmed in many expensive location and studios. Considering a smaller distribution company like Capelight Pictures would be a better option. Capelight Pictures have been involved with films like ‘Kidulthood’ and its sequel ‘Adulthood’, ‘Cherrybomb’ and ‘The Reckoning’ all films with a sub genre or main genre of crime. How these films were made and the budget and age rating of the film would be very similar to mine.

There are different production companies that I could use to be involved in the production of my media text, big well known companies include Paramount, New Line Cinema however there are smaller companies that it think would be more suitable to produce my media text such as Cipher Films and TMC Films. The media text I am producing would be a low budget film therefore I would only need a small percentage of people to actually pay to watch my media text to make a profit. Because of this, using a smaller production company would be more suitable. Cipher films were also involved in the production of British drama film ‘Kidulthood’. Kidulthood has sub genres of crime and gangster similar to my media text. Kidulthood was also a low budget film costing around £600,000 to produce; this was possible as most scenes were filmed on the streets of London rather than in studios and it took about only a month to film. The qualities shown in the production of this film are very similar to what I think I would expect if producing my media text in ‘real life’.  Cipher Films also helped produce the sequel to ‘Kidulthood’, ‘Adulthood’. To keep the same production company throughout both films Cipher Films must be a reliable company. Cipher Films also has other experience producing British drama/crime genre films such as ‘All Things to All Men’. Therefore I think Cipher films would be the best production company to choose to be involved in the production of my media text.

Doing this institutional research has given me insight not only into the type of distrubution and production of my own media text but also into those of other films. This helped me to decide which companies would be the best for my short film and why. Looking at the distribution and production of films that would be similar to my media text was really interesting and helpful to understand how it would work in 'real life'.

Regulation Research

Guidelines of the BBFC

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an independent body established in 1995. They classify all films taking into account content, language, genre and UK law. They are classified with one of the following certificates: U (universal), PG (parental guidance), 12 (only suitable for 12 or above), 12A (in cinemas only) (must be accompanied by an adult if under 12), 15, 18 or 18R (restricted).

Depending on the certificate, people will know what to expect in the film. Films that portray violence as a normal solution to problems, heroes who inflict pain and injury, rudeness towards victims, the encouragement of aggressive attitudes, content that shows characters taking pleasure in pain or humiliation are likely to receive a higher certificate. 

I plan on making my film a 15 Certificate - the guidelines are as follows…

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not promote discriminatory

language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not

promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily

accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example,

aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be accepted.

Horror

Strong threat and hazard are permitted "unless sadistic

or sexualised."

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and

self-harming) should not be explicit on detail that could be

copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be promoted.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language. The strongest terms  may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated

use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without

strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a

non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.

There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,

but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable

unless justified by context. "Work whose primary purpose is

sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable."

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is

appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction

of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to

be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also

unlikely to be acceptable.

There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence

but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and

have a strong contextual justification.

The genre of our film is crime/gangster which means our film may include to have violence, bad language and bad behaviour.

These guidelines will determine what is in our film to make it appropriate for the 15 certificate.

Doing this has informed me of what I can and can't put in my 2 minute film to make it suitable for the certificate I want it to be.. For example in my film there is a fight scene, following the guidlines we will be able to show this but we can't dwell on the induries inflicted from the fight.

Audience Research

Doing this has helped me finalise some ideas for my media text that I was unsure about before. These include the certificate (15), slang being used, violence (a fight and chase) and the target audience mainly being males - these were the common topics that appeared when we asked what they would expect to see in a crime/gangster film. I learnt that other people around my age group think that the target audience for a crime/gangster film is males 15 years and over. I now also have a further understanding of what the general age of my target audience think would make a crime/gangster film successful.

Target Audience

By doing this research I have found that the best target audience for my media text will be males of 15 years and above. Therefore I can tailer it with specific details such as violence and woman that will appeal to this audience.

Textual Analysis of Kidulthood

This is the textual analysis of the opening two minutes of the film Kidulthood. The genre of this film is crime/gangster which is the same as I have chosen for my media text.

                       

• Black screen and white text - makes the production names stand out, advertising them.
• Moderately paced R&B/Rap music starts.
• Background noise of a busy place (lots of people talking) also starts.  

• Film title dominates the screen - again white text on black background.
• Deep bass notes are introduced - adds a gloomy feel to the film.
• Busy background noise still on.

• Blurry, tracking shots used, introducing the setting - school field (wire fencing, bikes).
• Fast paced to match the pace of the music.
• Introduction of costume - dominant black and white colours. 
• Background noise now matches the setting of a busy school yard.

• Start of proper dialogue, a phone conversation. 
• Clear costume shown now - appears to be  school uniform (ties and white shirts), age is also suggested because of this.
• Accent an indicator of area (East London)
• Tracking shots used to follow the girl on the phone.

• Mysterious person - very close up shot.
• Keeps identity hidden - introduces the idea of hidden secrets.
• Using equipment - could be the school technology department.
• Music still playing.

• Conversation introduces some of the main characters and the relationships between them.
• Again the accent is prominent a lot of slang is used gives an idea of age and place of setting.
• More close up shots used to focus on the importance of the characters. 

• More main characters introduced, close ups used again for the same reason as before.
• Different accents suggesting differences among the same group of people - maybe problems to evolve later on.
• Stood in different place maybe their accents separate them from the others.

• Characters are introduced to each other.
• Introduction of an event (a party) could be the focus of the film. 
• Long close up shot used again.
• Music and background noise still playing.
• Use of a party event is an indicator of their age group as well as the uniform.

• Theme of romance and relationships suggested.
• Close up shot of the two characters suggesting their importance of them and their relationship.
• Again an accent is prominent and uniform is still being worn.

• More main characters introduced - the last to be introduced using same shot as others, suggesting importance. 
• Romantic rivalry suggested between him and the couple above.
• Not wearing uniform - maybe older than previous characters shown.
• Use of hoodie's stereotypes them as reckless teenagers

Considering all these point over the opening two minutes of the film it appears that the pace of the music used works really effectively when matched to the pace of the shots. Using close-ups to portray the importance of characters or to keep a characters identity hidden to suggest mystery and danger works really successfully and I am going to try and incorporate these features into my own media text. However I think the concept of using many long-take, close up shots can becomes repetitive and boring therefore in my media text I hope to include a variation of shots to keep it interesting and match the fast pace of the media text.

Having done this textual analysis I now have a greater understanding of camera shots, introduction of characters, setting and costume used in a film very similar to what I hope my media text to be. I hope by doing this, my two minute film opening will be more successful as I now have a better understanding of what makes a low budget, British, crime film more effective and what makes it less effective. 

Film Synopsis

By doing this synopsis it has helped me prepare for props and the type of characters I need to find for my 2 minute film. It also helps me establish the setting and other aspects of the film (codes and convention that we need to make sure we get right to convey the crime/gangster genre.

Codes and Conventions of Two Genres

By doing this research I could select two genres that interest me to research their codes and conventions. It also helped me to pick the genre of crime/gangster rather than doing romance, as it is often harder to find two people willing to act in a way that a romance film requires compared to a crime/gangster film. Crime will also be more exciting and interesting to film and edit.