This is the blog I will be sharing all my Media classwork with the world on. Most of the posts that will be put on this website are going to be the analysis of various horrors, thrillers and rom-coms film openings, due to the fact my AS Media coursework is to produce the opening of a film, be it a horror, thriller or rom-com, thought up by myself, lasting between 2 and 3 minutes.
The analysis work I do will be beneficial as I will be able to see what makes a good film opening and will then be able to encorporate this into my coursework, making it a succes. (Fingers-crossed).
Friday, 15 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My product follows the conventions of a thriller - gangster film as the characters are all male which is a normal aspect in these types of film as they are a male orientated genre. The music has a very simple beat which gets faster and louder at all the right moments to create tension which is something that thrillers need to give it that ‘thrilling’ aspect so music wise I used a conventional style. I think I broke conventions though when I made my film black and white as with most modern films it doesn’t happen. I used black and white to show a flashback and to make it clear it was the past. However, in breaking conventions by making the film black and white I followed a totally different convention, with having dark and moody lighting in a thriller film which is used to promote the characters mood and also the situation that is arising. Another way in which I followed the conventions of a thriller is that I had a mysterious, moody type character, who does not talk, and we don’t learn a lot about, this is because it is to be built on later in the film.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my film opening there are three characters on show, one protagonist and two antagonists. All three are white males, in their late teens, which is unconventional in a thriller as they rarely are about characters so young. They are all supposed to working class characters, hence the crime aspect; however, they wear suits which could deceive the audience. The wearing of suits is conventional in a thriller though. Another unconventional aspect is that the protagonist is physically the largest character on show, when normally, the antagonists are supposed to be the biggest threat and are supposed to scare the protagonist into doing what they want. This is not something that is normally seen in thrillers as the protagonist, up to a certain point, is supposed to be the vulnerable one in a bad position. Also it suggests that the two bad guys, while not physically scary or opposing have something hidden about them that will be addressed later in the film.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The type of studio that would distribute my film would be a company like Film4 Productions as it would not be a big budget blockbuster; it would be a smaller independent film. Film companies like the now folded PolyGram Film Entertainment or Gramercy Pictures, which were known for distributing films that had low budgets would be the sort of institutions that would distribute this film. Normally companies like Working Title in the UK or Paramount Pictures in the US will release rom-coms, The Miramax Company are known for releasing lots of horror films and New Line Cinema have distributed a lot of thrillers. However, big companies like this would not be interested in my low budget indie flick and so I would have to bank on the smaller companies banding together and picking up my film. It is quite common that companies like Film4 will work together with other smaller production companies to produce films as they can split the cost of the production.
4. Who would the audience be for your media product?
The target audience of my film would be males, aged 15 and above, of any class or ethnicity or social grade. The reason for this is because that is the general audience for a thriller – gangster film and so I stuck to the conventions. That’s not to say that women would not want to watch the film, but my target audience is the male gender. The rating would be a 15 because the film would contain some violent scenes and also a considerable amount of swearing as they are cockney gangsters. Working class people may enjoy the film more as people from higher classes may not appreciate the explicit content, but it is not solely aimed at the working class. I think I have definitely aimed for the standard audience of a thriller, to be on the safe side, because it would have been even harder for me to attract a new audience type to a well established genre as well as effectively and successfully portraying a thriller film.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attracted and addressed my target audience by using standard character archetypes in the cockney gangster style. Also I have attracted the audience by using standard conventions in the swearing and moody lighting etc. that is commonly found in films of this genre. The music is stereotypical and so people will feel comfortable watching this film as it will be somewhat like others they have seen before. In regards to advertising and marketing, I would not show too much of the storyline of f in trailers and adverts because I wouldn’t want people to pre-empt the film. I would however, give just enough for people to be intrigued and want to see more. I would use billboard adds displaying the main characters to bring people in, as they may recognise the people in the film and enjoy their previous work. The trailers I would use would be short and snappy, so that people were roped in and then wished they’d been able to see more making them want to go to the cinema to see the film. I would also show off the actors in the trailers again because people may like their previous work and be interested to see their new film.
I learnt a lot in the process of creating this product. Filming wise I learnt about all the different types of shots and how to pull them off correctly, I had to learn how to use a tripod so that I could have steady shots and also so that I could pan and tilt accordingly. Editing wise I had to learn how to do everything, from getting the clips onto Final Cut pro to adding the soundtrack to my finished piece. I had to learn how to splice clips, add effects like the cross dissolves and also the black and white, de-saturisation of the scene. I had to learn how to lower the volume of the backing track to fit in with the dialogue in the film which took a long time to get right. Again, with the blog, I had to learn from scratch because it was a totally new experience. The general posting is easy after a while, but I had to learn how to add video and images, add captions to those images and also to edit the HTML when adding a video else it wouldn’t work properly. The whole experience was a big learning process, and I think I managed quite well and produced a successful film opening and a well written blog.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
In the preliminary task was when I decided to work on the film on my own, not due to any particular reason other than I did not want to be banking on other peoples work, or other people letting me down. I wanted to be totally in charge of what I was doing and how it was done. I wanted full say on everything and also I wanted to use my own ideas, not someone else’s. I knew vaguely how to use a camera but I had to learn all the different shots and techniques that could gain extra credit for inventiveness such as using a match-on-action or shot-reverse-shot. In regards to the match-on-action, I tried to incorporate that technique into my film, it took some time to get the shot to fit but I think it worked quite well and displayed that I had paid attention and been successful in the preliminary task. The 180 degree rule wasn’t something that was tackled in my product because I never had a situation where there was direct conversation between two people on screen; there was just a phone call. However, I am confident that had I chosen to have a section of dialogue between two characters I could have properly obeyed and executed the 180 degree rule. So I used some of the skills I learnt in the preliminary task meaning that I followed the advice given, and I tried to use harder techniques to improve the quality of my product. If I could change one thing it would probably be to include the 180 degree rule to make it even more effective.
My product follows the conventions of a thriller - gangster film as the characters are all male which is a normal aspect in these types of film as they are a male orientated genre. The music has a very simple beat which gets faster and louder at all the right moments to create tension which is something that thrillers need to give it that ‘thrilling’ aspect so music wise I used a conventional style. I think I broke conventions though when I made my film black and white as with most modern films it doesn’t happen. I used black and white to show a flashback and to make it clear it was the past. However, in breaking conventions by making the film black and white I followed a totally different convention, with having dark and moody lighting in a thriller film which is used to promote the characters mood and also the situation that is arising. Another way in which I followed the conventions of a thriller is that I had a mysterious, moody type character, who does not talk, and we don’t learn a lot about, this is because it is to be built on later in the film.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my film opening there are three characters on show, one protagonist and two antagonists. All three are white males, in their late teens, which is unconventional in a thriller as they rarely are about characters so young. They are all supposed to working class characters, hence the crime aspect; however, they wear suits which could deceive the audience. The wearing of suits is conventional in a thriller though. Another unconventional aspect is that the protagonist is physically the largest character on show, when normally, the antagonists are supposed to be the biggest threat and are supposed to scare the protagonist into doing what they want. This is not something that is normally seen in thrillers as the protagonist, up to a certain point, is supposed to be the vulnerable one in a bad position. Also it suggests that the two bad guys, while not physically scary or opposing have something hidden about them that will be addressed later in the film.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The type of studio that would distribute my film would be a company like Film4 Productions as it would not be a big budget blockbuster; it would be a smaller independent film. Film companies like the now folded PolyGram Film Entertainment or Gramercy Pictures, which were known for distributing films that had low budgets would be the sort of institutions that would distribute this film. Normally companies like Working Title in the UK or Paramount Pictures in the US will release rom-coms, The Miramax Company are known for releasing lots of horror films and New Line Cinema have distributed a lot of thrillers. However, big companies like this would not be interested in my low budget indie flick and so I would have to bank on the smaller companies banding together and picking up my film. It is quite common that companies like Film4 will work together with other smaller production companies to produce films as they can split the cost of the production.
4. Who would the audience be for your media product?
The target audience of my film would be males, aged 15 and above, of any class or ethnicity or social grade. The reason for this is because that is the general audience for a thriller – gangster film and so I stuck to the conventions. That’s not to say that women would not want to watch the film, but my target audience is the male gender. The rating would be a 15 because the film would contain some violent scenes and also a considerable amount of swearing as they are cockney gangsters. Working class people may enjoy the film more as people from higher classes may not appreciate the explicit content, but it is not solely aimed at the working class. I think I have definitely aimed for the standard audience of a thriller, to be on the safe side, because it would have been even harder for me to attract a new audience type to a well established genre as well as effectively and successfully portraying a thriller film.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attracted and addressed my target audience by using standard character archetypes in the cockney gangster style. Also I have attracted the audience by using standard conventions in the swearing and moody lighting etc. that is commonly found in films of this genre. The music is stereotypical and so people will feel comfortable watching this film as it will be somewhat like others they have seen before. In regards to advertising and marketing, I would not show too much of the storyline of f in trailers and adverts because I wouldn’t want people to pre-empt the film. I would however, give just enough for people to be intrigued and want to see more. I would use billboard adds displaying the main characters to bring people in, as they may recognise the people in the film and enjoy their previous work. The trailers I would use would be short and snappy, so that people were roped in and then wished they’d been able to see more making them want to go to the cinema to see the film. I would also show off the actors in the trailers again because people may like their previous work and be interested to see their new film.
I learnt a lot in the process of creating this product. Filming wise I learnt about all the different types of shots and how to pull them off correctly, I had to learn how to use a tripod so that I could have steady shots and also so that I could pan and tilt accordingly. Editing wise I had to learn how to do everything, from getting the clips onto Final Cut pro to adding the soundtrack to my finished piece. I had to learn how to splice clips, add effects like the cross dissolves and also the black and white, de-saturisation of the scene. I had to learn how to lower the volume of the backing track to fit in with the dialogue in the film which took a long time to get right. Again, with the blog, I had to learn from scratch because it was a totally new experience. The general posting is easy after a while, but I had to learn how to add video and images, add captions to those images and also to edit the HTML when adding a video else it wouldn’t work properly. The whole experience was a big learning process, and I think I managed quite well and produced a successful film opening and a well written blog.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
In the preliminary task was when I decided to work on the film on my own, not due to any particular reason other than I did not want to be banking on other peoples work, or other people letting me down. I wanted to be totally in charge of what I was doing and how it was done. I wanted full say on everything and also I wanted to use my own ideas, not someone else’s. I knew vaguely how to use a camera but I had to learn all the different shots and techniques that could gain extra credit for inventiveness such as using a match-on-action or shot-reverse-shot. In regards to the match-on-action, I tried to incorporate that technique into my film, it took some time to get the shot to fit but I think it worked quite well and displayed that I had paid attention and been successful in the preliminary task. The 180 degree rule wasn’t something that was tackled in my product because I never had a situation where there was direct conversation between two people on screen; there was just a phone call. However, I am confident that had I chosen to have a section of dialogue between two characters I could have properly obeyed and executed the 180 degree rule. So I used some of the skills I learnt in the preliminary task meaning that I followed the advice given, and I tried to use harder techniques to improve the quality of my product. If I could change one thing it would probably be to include the 180 degree rule to make it even more effective.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Production Schedule
The filming took place on 2 days, split over two weeks, this was due to my cast having previous commitments.
The first day of filming took care of me discussing what I wanted people to be doing and talking to them about where we would be filming. It also took care of the exterior shots that are seen in my production. The exterior shots were filmed on the front drive of my house, and, despite them both being short clips, they took longer than expected due to traffic, people in the background and my cast occasionally cracking up on set. With the tripod set up on the corner of my drive I was able to get the pans that I needed to show everything I wanted to show.
A week later and we had the second day of filming, due to a tight deadline this was just about as late as I could leave it to film. Luckily the boys knew how much was riding on me completing the filming period and were very helpful. They got everything done in more or less one take per scene, and in some cases there was some improvisation that I feel helped the film. On this second day we took care of the interior shots. The interior shots were filmed in three rooms of my house. My bedroom, the hall and then the kitchen. While some scenes were able to be taken in one shot, like the bedroom scene, some like the kitchen scene took more due to interference from my family not paying attention to what was happening and by me trying to get the Match on Action as perfect as i possibly could.
The first day of filming took care of me discussing what I wanted people to be doing and talking to them about where we would be filming. It also took care of the exterior shots that are seen in my production. The exterior shots were filmed on the front drive of my house, and, despite them both being short clips, they took longer than expected due to traffic, people in the background and my cast occasionally cracking up on set. With the tripod set up on the corner of my drive I was able to get the pans that I needed to show everything I wanted to show.
A week later and we had the second day of filming, due to a tight deadline this was just about as late as I could leave it to film. Luckily the boys knew how much was riding on me completing the filming period and were very helpful. They got everything done in more or less one take per scene, and in some cases there was some improvisation that I feel helped the film. On this second day we took care of the interior shots. The interior shots were filmed in three rooms of my house. My bedroom, the hall and then the kitchen. While some scenes were able to be taken in one shot, like the bedroom scene, some like the kitchen scene took more due to interference from my family not paying attention to what was happening and by me trying to get the Match on Action as perfect as i possibly could.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Casting Process
When deciding who to put into my film, I knew I would be using my friends. This meant i had to be very careful as I needed to make sure i could trust them to take it seriously and also to do a relatively good job.
As Martin Thatcher, the protaganist in my film, I cast Andy Mcqueen. This was because I knew I could trust him to put the effort in and to not let me down on the day. He was always the first person on set to film whenever I needed him. He was more than happy to reshoot anything that needed reshooting and he was always trying to help me with my ideas and what could be done in a scene.
As Jim Bell and John Stead I cast Jordan Davis and Joshua Thomas respectively. I chose these two because when i presented the idea to my friends they were the most interested to be involved. From day one they were there on time wanting to crack on with filming even when i hadn't even properly prepared.
I knew the three of them could pull off the Cockney gangster look and so that was the style I went for in my film.
As Martin Thatcher, the protaganist in my film, I cast Andy Mcqueen. This was because I knew I could trust him to put the effort in and to not let me down on the day. He was always the first person on set to film whenever I needed him. He was more than happy to reshoot anything that needed reshooting and he was always trying to help me with my ideas and what could be done in a scene.
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| Jordan Davis, or Jim Bell. |
I knew the three of them could pull off the Cockney gangster look and so that was the style I went for in my film.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Plot Outline - The Chase
For my Media Production I chose to do a Thriller opening. I chose to do a Thriller because I thought most people would try to do a Horror film, and there is only so much variety to be had in Horrors, so i wanted something different. Also I think a Thriller is the hardest genre to tackle as it is the hardest to make perfectly clear that's what it is. For Horror's all you need is a bit of blood and guts, and for Rom-Coms you just need some soppy music, whereas with a Thriller you have to show what it is just by storyline so I wanted more of a challenge.
I attempted to make a Thriller which was like classic Film Noir, with a modern gangster twist. Inspiration for my film comes from many different films, such as The Third Man, Snatch, Lock Stock... and In Bruges, which makes up the Film Noir aspects and Gangster aspects.
The Chase, is about Martin Thatcher, who, via a black-and-white flashback we see, has taken some money that doesn't belong to him and is attempting to do a runner from the country before 'The Boss' and his boys get hold of him. 'The Boss' sends round Jim Bell and John Stead, two of his better, nastier henchmen to try and sort out Martin and retrieve the money. Only problem is, that they make their presence known to soon so Martin is able to make his escape, with the money.
From this point the film will feature many twists and turns as Martin attempts to escape the country and head into Europe to properly flee for good. He'll learn lessons about who he can and can't trust, and the people he thought were friends who are and aren't on 'The Boss's' pay roll. Unlike most films like this he won't find love in a foreign city where he may possibly jeopardise his escape and put his life further in risk, as he doesn't know who he can trust.
He attempts to make his way to his father, now retired from the business of breaking legs who lives a quiet life abroad. Who knows what will happen then.
I attempted to make a Thriller which was like classic Film Noir, with a modern gangster twist. Inspiration for my film comes from many different films, such as The Third Man, Snatch, Lock Stock... and In Bruges, which makes up the Film Noir aspects and Gangster aspects.
The Chase, is about Martin Thatcher, who, via a black-and-white flashback we see, has taken some money that doesn't belong to him and is attempting to do a runner from the country before 'The Boss' and his boys get hold of him. 'The Boss' sends round Jim Bell and John Stead, two of his better, nastier henchmen to try and sort out Martin and retrieve the money. Only problem is, that they make their presence known to soon so Martin is able to make his escape, with the money.
From this point the film will feature many twists and turns as Martin attempts to escape the country and head into Europe to properly flee for good. He'll learn lessons about who he can and can't trust, and the people he thought were friends who are and aren't on 'The Boss's' pay roll. Unlike most films like this he won't find love in a foreign city where he may possibly jeopardise his escape and put his life further in risk, as he doesn't know who he can trust.
He attempts to make his way to his father, now retired from the business of breaking legs who lives a quiet life abroad. Who knows what will happen then.
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left to right relationship with each other unless the camera should pass over the imaginary axis that is in place. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.
For example, if Mr Blue and Mr Orange (pictured) are in conversation, then Mr Orange should be facing right at all times, even when Mr Blue is off the edge of the frame, and Mr Blue should always be facing left.
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Preliminary Task
Before we were able to start work on our own projects we had to conduct a preliminary task to show that we could operate the camera and also perform some of the necessary techniques we would need to use. This video is the proof that we conducted that task. Although not in the film itself I am behind the camera.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Horror Mood Board
Thriller Mood Board
Monday, 17 January 2011
Rom-Com Mood Board
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| often used in a rom-com, the romantic dinner for two. |
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| typical aspect in a rom-com, lovey dovey gesture. |
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| Wedding's are the opytomy of love. |
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| romantic beach getaway |
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| popular 'toff' in rom-coms. |
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Christian Metz Model of Genre Development
Christian Metz, in his book Language And Cinema (1974) explored the development of genre film and suggested that each genre passes through four phases of existence. The four phases being;
Experimental
This term refers to the phase of early films which explored and experimented with the different genres. For example, and Experimental Thriller film would be the film M (1931) as it is one of the first Thriller films. An example of an Experimental Horror film would be Nosferatu (1922).
Classic
This refers to the phase of films which established the narrative conventions within a certain genre of films in its most successful and defining period. For example, a Classic Horror film would be Dracula (1931) and a Classic Rom-Com would be Annie Hall (1977).
Parody
This refers to the films that have mimicked and mocked the genres in some sort of comical way. For example, Scary Movie (2000) is a Parody of a lot of popular Horror Films and Date Movie (2006) is a Parody of popular Rom-Coms.
Deconstruction
This refers to films that have taken the generic elements of the genre and amalgamated them into varying sub-genres. For example, Seven (1995), Saw (2004) and Scream (1996) all could be considered Horror films due to certain elements. Seven and Saw however both incorporate traits of a psychological thriller, Scream on the other hand incorporates some elements of a Parody film and also elements of a slasher film - which is a sub genre of Horror. An example of a Deconstruction Rom-Com would be a Shaun of the Dead (2004) as this film incorporates the Horror film trait of Zombies.
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| Christian Metz |
Experimental
This term refers to the phase of early films which explored and experimented with the different genres. For example, and Experimental Thriller film would be the film M (1931) as it is one of the first Thriller films. An example of an Experimental Horror film would be Nosferatu (1922).
Classic
This refers to the phase of films which established the narrative conventions within a certain genre of films in its most successful and defining period. For example, a Classic Horror film would be Dracula (1931) and a Classic Rom-Com would be Annie Hall (1977).
Parody
This refers to the films that have mimicked and mocked the genres in some sort of comical way. For example, Scary Movie (2000) is a Parody of a lot of popular Horror Films and Date Movie (2006) is a Parody of popular Rom-Coms.
Deconstruction
This refers to films that have taken the generic elements of the genre and amalgamated them into varying sub-genres. For example, Seven (1995), Saw (2004) and Scream (1996) all could be considered Horror films due to certain elements. Seven and Saw however both incorporate traits of a psychological thriller, Scream on the other hand incorporates some elements of a Parody film and also elements of a slasher film - which is a sub genre of Horror. An example of a Deconstruction Rom-Com would be a Shaun of the Dead (2004) as this film incorporates the Horror film trait of Zombies.
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