Media Evaluation: What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Project? question 6

This is the type of handheld video camera we used, attaching it to the tripod for the majority of the filming process.  

This is an example of the fisheye lens we used, we connected it to our iphones. we also used out iphones as torches and cameras

This is an example of the tripod we used.

There was multiple technical equipment used during process of making the film opening including tripods, cameras, video cameras, torches and fisheye lenses. The tripods were a key piece of equipment due to the two of us who were filming also being actors. Due to this we had to assure the tripods were set up in the correct spot and the framing was perfect before filming  every shot before hand. We also had to take multiple shots in the same place to assure that at least one would be usable. Due to filming at night we also used torches which we used to light the faces of actors when needed. The use of the fish lens was to give a better effect and create tension in the final scene. 

We also used websites and programs such as blogger, iMovie, Garage band, iTunes YouTube and Google. Blogger was used in order to create our blogs, often using google and YouTube in order to add videos and pictures to our blogs. We also used google and YouTube in order to do research about our chosen genre, watching documentaries and looking at photos for Mise en scene. We did all of our editing using iMovie as the software is relatively easy to use and due to out film being a low budget art house film we did not need a lot of CGI or green screen meaning using iMovie was not difficult. We also used iTunes while listening to music when deciding what would fit perfectly into our film. 

The main problem during the editing process was music. one of the songs we had originally planned to use had copy right issues, meaning we had to email the director asking for permission to use it, unfortunately they did not respond before the delaine, meaning we then had to attempt to create our own music using garage band.  After a lot of work we finally managed to create something usable however although it still had the suspense we wanted, it was not as good as the previous song we had planned to use. Another problem we faces was making the film fast paced but not rushed however this was easily done by using certain shot, cuts and effects making the film flow correctly.
 

question 7

The preliminary task helped a lot as it not only taught us how to use the cameras, tripods, editing software and know what shots and framing looked good, but also taught us that we would defiantly face problems while doing it. While doing the continuity task one of the camera used would not upload the recording onto the apple mac computers we were using for editing, meaning we had to rerecord some shots. Keeping this in mind while doing the main task, we assured that we had available days in our schedule to all extra filming to take place. Another problem we faces was knowing how to edit, as we were not too familiar with the imovie software however after a while we all became efficient at using it.

This is one of the titles used in our continuity task, we used the same effect of having it fade to black with white lettering on top for out main task as it looked effective without looking unprofessional. 

This is one of the frames from our main task, using the same titles as our continuity. 

Keeping in mind white text on a black background looked good, we used it at multiple points during our main task, however this time changing the positioning and font in order for it to have a professional federal effect. 

 While showing the main title of our film we used this same title idea again, however making the title enlarge this time, showing its the most important title out of them all, and the title of the film.

 We added a blurred effect onto one of our hand held, point of view shots of our continuity task during the editing states to give the impression that the characters eyesight was affected due to the previous happenings in the scene. We thought this effect would look good during the final scene in our main task

 Due to this shot in the main task being low lighting the effect was not as obvious as in the continuity task, however the blurriness still gave the impression that the characters eyesight was affected.

During our preliminary task we used multiple different shot, this was one of the over the shoulder, two shot which we used to identify characters and show the conversation between them both.

This is the reverse shot of our previous over the shoulder shot. This is a low angle shot in order to show dominance once again. 

We used this same idea in our main task, however making it a high angle shot as well in order to show the dominance between characters. 

This frame is a match on action shot in the preliminary project, the character is about to walk into a room. 

 This is the continuation of the match on action in the previous frame.

We used this same match on action in our main task, including a character walking through a door.

We used shots including close ups, mid-close ups, and mid - shots in both the preliminary exercise and in out main task. We did this as the close and mid-close shots portrayed the characters emotions in the scene and the mid-shots not only shown their emotions but also shown the clothing and location in the shot, adding realism.


We also used the preliminary task in order to learn how to add music, which works with the scene and add different transitions. We learnt that it was a lot easier to add non-diegetic music as you didn't need to worry about filming a shot which makes it look as if the music is currently happening in the film world. We also learnt that using a certain type of music can create a different atmosphere, for example using steadily building up music creates tension where as using up beat music creates a happier mood.

We learnt the use of cuts helps add pace and speed to scene. Adding faster cuts keeps the films pace, consistency and entertaining. Cuts also help add time to a scene, for example using dissolve cuts create the impression that a time period has passed.

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products? (question 1)

This is one of the opening frames of our film. At the end of the frame there is a wipe cut in order to introduce more characters and change scenes. This cut was inspired by a few wipe cuts during the kidulthood movie, which they used in order to add excitement and pace.

We used a similar mid - two shot of a police man and a convict leaving prison like what was used in Adulthood to influence our opening.

This frame shows two more characters who are wearing clothes typical of what is seen in our genre (urban drama) film openings. As you can see bother characters are wearing predominately black, baggy clothing. 

This is a shot from the film 'Attack the Block' which partly inspired our use of costume. including other films such as kidulthood, anuvahood, sket and other urban dramas.

We then included a low angle show of the main character, showing he is the dominant character in this moment in time. Due to him currently being released from prison we also used a black bag  containing his personal belongings as a prop. This same shot is used in various films in order to show the status of a character 

This is our first title used,this was to further explain what was currently happening in the story line. We used this font as it gives a professional and authoritative feel to the film.

During this frame we can see one of the characters unlocking his phone, playing the song 'Gritty in the City. We decided this piece of sound should be diegetic as it is typical for urban dramas for characters to be listening to British rap. The song also slightly reviles the future events which will take place, due to the song speaking about friends becoming enemies and 'snaking' their friends.

Here we have a mid - close up of one character looking at his 'friend'

Here is a frame of an extreme long show and an establishing two shot of the two other characters, the choice of location also adds realism to the film due to the roads and street looking old and weathered,which is typical for an urban drama.

We now have a frame of another establishing shot, however using low lighting in order to show the change in both time and location. This is also a high angle shot to show that this character who was one in power is now submissive. 

We have now included a mid shot which can also be used for mise - en - scene purposes as it shows the characters clothing.

This frame is a point of view (pov) from one characters perspective.

The film 'Sket' also used a POV shot in this way. by doing this the audience is introduced to more characters.

This frame is also a POV however it is also a close up of another characters expressions and a low angle shot, showing this characters dominance.

This is the last POV shot used . For this shot we used both a fish lense and a blurred effect to show that the characters sight has be effected during the film. This shot also added tension and made people want to continue watching,

This is our final title. We used bold capital letters to show that it is the title of the film, which slowly increased in size. Originally we wanted the word body to be in red to add the impression of danger however this was not doable on the editing software used. 

This use of white lettering on a black background was also used in the film 'Adulthood', however we used a bold font to make it stand out even more.

Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product? (question 4)

This picture is of a typical member of our fils target audience. He is a working class black male he enjoys urban dramas.

Favourite Tv shows movies:
Get Rich or Die Trying
Youngers
Auvahood
Top Boy
Bullet Boy

Favourite Music/Artits:
Grime
British Rap
Rap
Giggs
Tempa T
Fekky
Meek Mill
Wale
Kanye West
Cheif Keef
Krept & Konan

Favourite Brands/Shops:
JD
Footlocker
Gucci
LV
Zara
Nike
Adidas


Due to this information we have to assure we included multiple aspects from this list. We used a few of his favourite movies such as Bullet boy, Get Rich or Die Trying and Topboy for inspiration, basing the mise en scene features (including costume and settings) speech and language and the editing on these, making sure to use slang used in these movies in our own film (for example ‘yo’ and ‘what you saying?’) We also looked into the type of music typical in urban dramas in order to add realism to our movie, keeping in mind his favourite music choices. Due to this we added British rap into our film as while doing reassure we established that British rap was more popular than American rap in urban drama films. While looking at costume we also considered what brands from his list were dominantly involved in British urban dramas, concluding that Nike was a dominant brand featuring in this genre of movies. Due to this we also used this brand in our film. We also used editing as a big feature of making our film entertaining to the target audience, applying multiple camera angles and shot changes with quick, fast editing to add pace and entertainment to our film, while considering lighting and sound in order to add suspense. Due to taking into account his list and adding multiple aspects of it to our film, we were sure that both him and the rest of our target audience would enjoy our film. To no surprise this was true, saying they found the film extremely entertaining and realistic.

Final Edit of the Continuity Task

Media Evaluation: How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Group (question 2)

The character from my film opining is javain who was the convict. I am going to compare him to Sam from adulthood. These characters have multiple similarities, mainly due to the film genre. Due to it being an urban drama both characters are alike in terms of Mise en scene. They are both working class makes who both wear track suits which are baggy; this is stereotypical for the chosen film genre. Also due to this the language used by both characters is also similar, for example the slang and taboo language used by both is more or less the same saying words like 'blood' and 'fam' in both films, however due to being set in different locations the accents differ from one another, javain having a Bristolian accent whereas Sam has a London accent. There conviction was also the same, both being sentenced to man slaughter, however the time of the conviction differed as Sam’s conviction was for 6 years where as javains was not present in the film opening. There ages also differed. Sam was 25 when leaving prison where as javain was in his early 20s. Another similarity was the mind-set both characters had. After leaving prison neither of them wanted to live a 'hood' life anymore, both wanting to leave all grudges behind and make a new start; however the other characters in both movies did not have the same intentions. These two characters symbolise a change in time and maturity, knowing they made bad decisions when they were younger and after growing up and gaining maturity wanting to lead a new, better life. These two characters make different impressions on different audiences, some audiences liking them and feeling sorry for them due to the current situation they are in, whereas other audiences would have no sympathy towards them due to their previous crimes, conviction and general life style. The editing used in our film also symbolised the power and lack of power between characters, using low angle shots to demonstrate dominance and high angle shows to show the lack of power, by doing this the themes of betrayal are shown. We also used editing in order to show who the main and more important characters were by giving them more screen time and dialogue than backing characters.

evaluation q 3

Through our research of various film openings we decided to make a Urban drama, basing it on the openings of a few well known British films, for example 'Bulletboy', 'Kidulthood' and 'My murder'. Similarly to most urban drama films, our research shows that our film would most likely be shown in an art house or on television on channels such as e4 or BBC3 as they are known for showing these genres of movies. If our film gained enough recognition it may also be shown in cinemas and for a short period of time.

We would promote, advertise and market our film mostly through social media by means of twitter, Facebook and youtube and we would also get members of the cast and crew to promote it. By doing this we would gain a wider audience without losing money due to only having a small budget of £4million. We would also promote our film using posters and leaflets and distributing them in populated areas around the city, for example cabot circus, City centre and in the urban areas the film is set in. In addition the TV channels our film would be shown on for example BBC3 and E4 and production companies such as BBC films and Film 4 would also promote our film and later air the

m on their channels. Finally we would ask local radio stations such as ujima and BB3 bristol to both do interviews with our cast and promote our film.

Due to the film being a British drama the majority of marketing would be done in the UK as there is not a popular demand for this genre in countries such as america however we would still produce DVDs and Blue – Ray copies of the film and make the film available on websites such as netflix and love film in order to keep the film accessible for a wider audience.

Distribution is the process in which a film is made accessible to the public. It is key to the film industry as it is where the film gains audience and makes profit .The film would be distributed by Film 4 and BBC Films as both companies support low budget films such as Bulletboy and Kidulthood.

Noel Clarke would be the director of our film as he has already directed various British urban dramas which have been relatively successful, for example Adulthood and 4321. Ashley Walters would have been casted as 'Javain' as he is a well known British actor, who has been in urban dramas such as Bulletboy, Life and Lyrics, Topboy and various others. Casting him would create a larger audience as he is well known within the chosen genre. We would also cast Adam Deacon as once again he is a well known UK actor who has a large fan base. Due to having a low budget we would cast Hollywood actors however this wouldn't affect the film as gritty, British actors are a lot better suited for the roles available. 

evaluation q 5

Our target audience would be ages ranging between 15 to 35. We attracted our audience in multiple different ways. This is how we did so.

Generic Conventions:

The generic conventions used helped us draw in the target audience in multiple ways, one being the use of colloquial language. By using slang that our target audience would understand and relate to it built a higher interest in our film. For example by using terms such 'Dutty', 'Lowe it' and 'Yo' and taboo language such as 'swear' words. Realism was added to our film. This is similar to most Urban dramas such as Topboy, using words like this during most of the dialogue.

Also the way characters interacted with one another made our film relatable with the target audience. By acting in a certain way around friends; having banter, laughing and joking and fighting (in a fun/joking manor) for example this again added repeatability to our characters, story line and film. Oppositely the way the characters interacted with enemies also helped gain an audience, creating tension and excitement making the audience want to watch more. Also the use of clear gestures and facial expressions helped the audience understand the current situation and events through terms of non verbal communication.

An atmosphere of betrayal is created during our film, by the main characters friends turning on him and taking over the gang. This created suspense for the views, gaining interest of the future of the characters involved and the general storyline of the film. By doing this the audience were made to ask themselves questions such as 'why did they betray him' and 'what will the outcome be'.

The narrative consisted of violence and gang culture but also has a plot twist of betrayal, the gang tuning on him in an attempt to gain power. This adds to our attempt of gaining target audience. By setting the opening over a period of time, consisting of both night and day its shows that the full film would be fast paced throughout and would make the audience expect that allot more problems would occur during the remainder of the film.

Mise En Scene:

The Mise en scene is directly linked to generic conventions due to the clothing used, the locations and the gestures done by characters. By wearing clothing such hoodies, tracksuits and baggy jeans the clothing stenotypes linked to this subculture involved in gang activity is covered. Similarly in the film ‘Bullet Boy’ the main character is shown wearing a full tracksuit, reinforcing this stereotype. By doing this realism is created, attracting a wider audience. Location has also helped attract an audience by setting it in a urban area of the city, making it relatable for our target audience.

Music and sound:

In most urban dramas ‘Grime’ and ‘Rap’ music is a constant these, reoccurring throughout. This is because stereotypically this genre of music is massively associated with urban life. We kept this in mind while creating our film, assuring we added an ‘urban’ genre of music. By doing so we knew it would attract an audience who have interest in rap and rap culture, However we also wanted to assure that the music had a purpose, either having a message or foreshadowing future events. This was done in the film ‘Adulthood’, ending the movie with a grime song (Bashy – Kidulthood to Adulthood) which spoke about growing up, maturing and trying to leave the ‘hood’. However we also chose to add classical music to our film, which isn’t typical for an urban drama. We did this in order to build tension, captivating the audience and making them want to continue watching. We also decided to keep the natural background noises such as traffic, wind and speaking in our film as it created realism, making our target audience relate to current surroundings as they would have heard it on a regular basis. Another reason we chose to keep the background noise is due to our film being a gritty urban drama, rather than a blockbuster Hollywood film.

 

Cinimatography:

Our use of filming has helped attract our target audience, by using multiple close ups, mid shots, high and low angle shots and fast paced editing we managed to add excitement and suspense. This use of close ups creates a feeling of awareness for the audience whilst prompting an emotional response, regarding the on screen character as you can see their current emotions. The use of lighting also helped to captivate an audience, filming at night (in low lighting) leaving the audience curious to the future happenings in our film. After receiving feedback from both our target audience and other audience members it is clear that our use of filming and editing was good regarding our film genre as by using simplistic effects, transitions and sounds we managed to create a fast paced, entertaining and suspenseful film opening, also reinforcing the unique selling point (USP) of our film.

We handed out 30 questionnaires, these were the usable responses