Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media project is a thriller so we used the common concept of good vs evil, protagonist vs antagonist and followed a linear narrative in order to convey our product's elements. We chose theme of heist's and robbery as our main conventions. Our product adopted conventions from high concept thrillers such, as the use of low key lighting and setting in rundown establishmets and dark decor in order to convey the thrilling atmosphere generated from these products. The use of the 3 characters in our opening we took inspiration from the introduction of the antagonists in Kick-ass 2 using the on screen text to identify individuals rather than dialogue. On the subject of dialogue, we went against normal thriller elements of using dialogue to convey conventions and strike a response from the audience and instead stuck with silence and editing along with elements of mise en scene to illustrate the aspects of enigma and tension. On the other hand we took inspiration from the film "The Humingbird" to create our film. Finally our film also follows Todorov's theory meaning our product follows as equilibrium through to disequilbrium.
Friday 22 April 2016
Saturday 9 April 2016
Evaluation Question 2
Question 2: How does your media project represent particular social groups?In our product we have 1 prolific age group being adults that have been split into 3 different archetypes that consist of:
Vladimir the Marksman (Male) - The Marksman is a Russian adult who wears clothes that are established in Britain so that he can fit in and not draw attention to his Russian roots. I believe that teenagers will find this character exhilarating as he can be compared with connotations of video games such as call of duty and battlefield in terms of both the infamous skills with a rifle but also the implementation of Russian personas in media.
James Jordan the Hacker (Unidentified) - The Hacker is a British adult who cloaks itself in darkness to keep its identity anonymous ,in addition to using a unisex name, that generates enigma throughout all audiences. Due to the evolution in technology the hacker archetype has grown far more popular over the years due to the serious and now realistic threats they can endeavour.
Zeus the Entrepreneur (Male) - The Entrepreneur is a Greek adult known as "Zeus" named after the god of all gods. The reason for this is to bring the aspect of power to him as he is the man who is the financial heart of the trio getting resources, weaponry and job opportunities. Zeus is brought into the classy yet hard hitting side of society as he was brought up with a silver tongue and grace but due to his "crowd" he was brought into the British "gang culture" and resorted to putting his skill set to more dangerous groups.
"Breach" being an independent UK thriller we have used the elements from UK thrillers such as deserted and rundown settings with props as the gems that make the scene come alive such as treasures, money, clothing, cast etc... We also used different nationalities on the characters to introduce aspects of multi cultural audiences from over seas. This obviously widens the target audience but also introduce different view points from social groups all around the globe from places such as Russia, Greece and the UK
Vladimir the Marksman (Male) - The Marksman is a Russian adult who wears clothes that are established in Britain so that he can fit in and not draw attention to his Russian roots. I believe that teenagers will find this character exhilarating as he can be compared with connotations of video games such as call of duty and battlefield in terms of both the infamous skills with a rifle but also the implementation of Russian personas in media.
James Jordan the Hacker (Unidentified) - The Hacker is a British adult who cloaks itself in darkness to keep its identity anonymous ,in addition to using a unisex name, that generates enigma throughout all audiences. Due to the evolution in technology the hacker archetype has grown far more popular over the years due to the serious and now realistic threats they can endeavour.
Zeus the Entrepreneur (Male) - The Entrepreneur is a Greek adult known as "Zeus" named after the god of all gods. The reason for this is to bring the aspect of power to him as he is the man who is the financial heart of the trio getting resources, weaponry and job opportunities. Zeus is brought into the classy yet hard hitting side of society as he was brought up with a silver tongue and grace but due to his "crowd" he was brought into the British "gang culture" and resorted to putting his skill set to more dangerous groups.
"Breach" being an independent UK thriller we have used the elements from UK thrillers such as deserted and rundown settings with props as the gems that make the scene come alive such as treasures, money, clothing, cast etc... We also used different nationalities on the characters to introduce aspects of multi cultural audiences from over seas. This obviously widens the target audience but also introduce different view points from social groups all around the globe from places such as Russia, Greece and the UK
Evaluation Question 3
Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?In order to reach our desired target audience we will need to make sure that we network with the correct media institutions in order for our product to flourish and achieve its potential. I believe that the following media conglomerates will be best suited to our requirements due to their establishment, financial credibility and resources and finally the thriller genre is a genre that these institutions often publish:
- E One Entertainment
- Lionsgate
- Focus Features
All these institutions have the ability to make low budget films such as our film "Breach" a success through advertisement in able to tap into our target audience.
Other ways I believe could help distribute the our product is networking on social media. This is a good way to distribute our product as almost everyone uses social media so tapping into the target audience is very easy and can become very effective when aspects such as word of mouth come into affect strengthening the likelihood of distribution. Another way of distributing the product is via film festivals. Film festivals are a way not only our target audience can be informed of the product but other audiences can be introduced to "Breach" and would help distribute the product due to film festivals being widely sociable and again, word of mouth is a key aspect. Finally merchandise is a very good way to distribute the product as it allows fans something to take away and have a personal connection to.
Getting a low budget film such as ours into any platform of cinema exhibition from indie houses to multiplexes will be tough to achieve so finally the last method of distribution that I feel would be the best for our film is using websites and applications such as YouTube and Netflix. YouTube and Netflix are extremely popular applications in there own rights but, the main age group that use these platforms are the 14-24 age group we were aiming for. Consequently this is the form of distribution we believe would best suit "Breach"
- E One Entertainment
- Lionsgate
- Focus Features
All these institutions have the ability to make low budget films such as our film "Breach" a success through advertisement in able to tap into our target audience.
Other ways I believe could help distribute the our product is networking on social media. This is a good way to distribute our product as almost everyone uses social media so tapping into the target audience is very easy and can become very effective when aspects such as word of mouth come into affect strengthening the likelihood of distribution. Another way of distributing the product is via film festivals. Film festivals are a way not only our target audience can be informed of the product but other audiences can be introduced to "Breach" and would help distribute the product due to film festivals being widely sociable and again, word of mouth is a key aspect. Finally merchandise is a very good way to distribute the product as it allows fans something to take away and have a personal connection to.
Getting a low budget film such as ours into any platform of cinema exhibition from indie houses to multiplexes will be tough to achieve so finally the last method of distribution that I feel would be the best for our film is using websites and applications such as YouTube and Netflix. YouTube and Netflix are extremely popular applications in there own rights but, the main age group that use these platforms are the 14-24 age group we were aiming for. Consequently this is the form of distribution we believe would best suit "Breach"
Evaluation Question 6
Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
Lighting is a key part in the construction of film and is impossible to create cinema without it. Going into this task I briefly knew about lighting due to the preliminary task. Lighting was a key aspect in our film as it allowed us to distinguish archetypes within the product and help identify certain characters and personas throughout without requiring additional information or dialogue. In the scenes we shot in the dark using the lighting allowed us to add different atmospheres to the scene. A piece of equipment I was unfamiliar with up until this task was a reflector which helped us diffuse the intensity of the light in the shot to suit our interpretation of the shot. In addition the lighting helped us highlight characters facial expressions and body language which allowed us to again introduce a character without the use of dialogue or additional information.
When I went into this task I was very worried about the editing stage as the editing I applied to the prelim was very basic and I was anxious about having to apply more advanced techniques to improve the construction of the final product. In addition I had never used a MAC before in my life, except the prelim, so I was nervous learning just the simple functions of the hardware before educating myself in the software. We used a program called Final Cut Pro in order to edit our piece. In synergy with this application we also used Adobe Photoshop which was applied in order to create custom text and overlays to add to our product which was very affective in helping identify characters and implementing titling. We used different transitions such as a fade to transition to the ending title sequence and cuts throughout to keep a flow throughout the piece. These were all basic techniques. In order to improve I know I needed to implement a different ratio of transitions so I used a static transition in synergy with the scene with the hacker to complement the scene as the transition and the character both have very similar connotations which was shown through the editing. Finally we used garage band, a music programme, in order to insert foley sounds and non- diegetic soundtracks into our product. Due to use of garage band at lower stages of education I was familiar with all the software and the technological aspects of it so I was able to apply my skills absolutely fine.
Using the digital cameras to record our product with we were able to have crisp clear footage to use when constructing the product. One of the techniques I learned from filming using the cameras was to be able to "make a sandwich" This was were you make sure you have excess footage at the start and end of the recording which allows you to have more variation when editing footage. This makes it so that you always have enough footage to edit, due to a fatal error being people forget this and don't have enough footage when editing, and makes "mess-ups easier to take care of. In addition I learned that using white balance was a great technique that we needed to use in order to exhibit bright and bold colour schemes in our product. Without using white balance the product becomes distorted and the colours become to saturated and turn a shade of blue or orange which can destroy the mood and atmosphere that components such as lighting and cinematography produce.
Thursday 10 March 2016
Props
As our
film is all about a heist we will be using props that you would usually see in
action and crime movies. Props such as guns and masks will be used. We will
recreate the heist board from the record breaking game Grand Theft Auto V as
one of the main props during our opening. Creating the board should be manageable
as there are a lot of pin boards accessible, printing photos and maps would
also be simple enough to do. Finally we will need rifles, pistols and knives to
make our antagonists look professional and dangerous. Getting weapons will be
straight forward due to the fact that there are a lot of website and shops that
sell prop guns.Sunday 31 January 2016
Collateral Textual Analysis
Key:
Camera work
Mise En Scene
Editing
Sound
Narrative Story
The opening starts with shallow depth of field, medium shot of the first male character walking. Then there is a very quick cut to another shallow depth of field, medium shot of the second male protagonist, however in this scene the second male character is walking with a quicker pace compared to the first male protagonist. Both Characters costumes are very formal suggesting that they have a very important job to do. The first character is wearing a grey suit and tie with black sunglasses. The colours he wears are solid, connoting that he is a strong and professional character.
There is no soundtrack in the first 30 seconds of the film, only sounds of footsteps and a low sound of people. This created an eerie notion which is slightly disturbing to listen to due to the fact that it is very quiet. The silence is then broken when the two characters bump into each other, forcing the audience to stay focused on them both. This is a cardinal technique because the audience need to the characters switch cases to understand the beginning of the opening. The soundtrack then begins as soon as the first male character picks up the suit case. It begins with a solid rhythm playing while he walks off and the taxi garage scene begins. This soundtrack with combined with the jump cuts that put in place create a fast paced motion and keep the audience engaged and entertained.
The lighting is bright in the airport, which shows no character is hidden from public view, yet the two characters are deliberately shown in focus to show their significance in the scene. Their actions help them to blend in to the crowd supporting their professionalism and mystery in the opening
After the airport scene, there are a selection of jump shots that present the atmosphere of the taxi garage. The use of jump shots show the garage's busy schedule and stressful responsibilities. Once the character in glasses shuts the door. The sound is muffled to almost a silence, and we see him set up his 'office' in his car. This implies that this character is happiest in his car, and not the garage as it is loud and stressful. The close up shots give detail as to who he is and how important he is in the film. At this point we understand that he is the protagonist.
However during the whole taxi garage scene there are a lot of repetition of close ups giving the impression that this film wants the audience to stay focused on the details of the narrative. This reflects on the characters feelings because the protagonist wants and has to stay focused on his job. In addition there are also a lot of extreme close up frequently used to show the protagonists hopes and dreams. Perhaps he is looking for a better life elsewhere? Maybe he needs a goal to keep him motivated in his occupation. These ideas support the hatred that the protagonist has for his job and reflects his character's ordinary life.
In the whole opening there aren't a whole lot of long cuts in the sequence, it mainly consists of jump cuts and close ups. This suggests that the motion of the film is fast paced and explosive, helping the audience on the edge of their seats at all times. This also implies that the whole film will be action packed. There are many obscure angles that the camera focuses on in the taxi garage. For example, an over the shoulder-type shot looks at the window of the taxi which seems odd to look at on its own , but when it is added to the other jump cuts, it gives places to ordinary people. This is typical of a thriller films as spectacular consequences can happen at any time.
Focusing in and out with the lens is used to vary the camera shots and to employ more detail in the mise en scene elements. These variations create questions within the audience and help to build more anticipation as more objects come into focus without any real action being recorded.
Near the end when the protagonist shuts his car door there is a build up before cutting dramatically to the door shutting. There is still a constant rhythm playing while he is in his car, but it is stripped down to one synth which sets a calming yet apprehensive mood. This undisturbed atmosphere helps the audience to focus on the protagonist, supporting his important role in the film. The rhythm still plays as he slowly exits the garage, ending the opening with a good level of anticipation.
The opening does follow the Narrative theory of Todorov. It starts with an equilibrium of both of the two characters in suit walking in the airport. Then suddenly they both bump in to each other, this is where the disruption of the equilibrium is. There is then a reinstatement of the equilibrium when both characters check if the other is fine and apologise.
Conclusion
Overall I think this film is suitable for people ages 12+ due to the fact that the opening foreshadows not a lot of strong language or gore. The opening uses jump cuts very well and keeps the film fast paced and steady. The unusual camera angles and the camera work with the lens focus makes the film look very pleasing to the audience eyes which therefore makes it a nice watch.
Key:
Camera work
Mise En Scene
Editing
Sound
Narrative Story
The opening starts with shallow depth of field, medium shot of the first male character walking. Then there is a very quick cut to another shallow depth of field, medium shot of the second male protagonist, however in this scene the second male character is walking with a quicker pace compared to the first male protagonist. Both Characters costumes are very formal suggesting that they have a very important job to do. The first character is wearing a grey suit and tie with black sunglasses. The colours he wears are solid, connoting that he is a strong and professional character.
There is no soundtrack in the first 30 seconds of the film, only sounds of footsteps and a low sound of people. This created an eerie notion which is slightly disturbing to listen to due to the fact that it is very quiet. The silence is then broken when the two characters bump into each other, forcing the audience to stay focused on them both. This is a cardinal technique because the audience need to the characters switch cases to understand the beginning of the opening. The soundtrack then begins as soon as the first male character picks up the suit case. It begins with a solid rhythm playing while he walks off and the taxi garage scene begins. This soundtrack with combined with the jump cuts that put in place create a fast paced motion and keep the audience engaged and entertained.
The lighting is bright in the airport, which shows no character is hidden from public view, yet the two characters are deliberately shown in focus to show their significance in the scene. Their actions help them to blend in to the crowd supporting their professionalism and mystery in the opening
After the airport scene, there are a selection of jump shots that present the atmosphere of the taxi garage. The use of jump shots show the garage's busy schedule and stressful responsibilities. Once the character in glasses shuts the door. The sound is muffled to almost a silence, and we see him set up his 'office' in his car. This implies that this character is happiest in his car, and not the garage as it is loud and stressful. The close up shots give detail as to who he is and how important he is in the film. At this point we understand that he is the protagonist.
However during the whole taxi garage scene there are a lot of repetition of close ups giving the impression that this film wants the audience to stay focused on the details of the narrative. This reflects on the characters feelings because the protagonist wants and has to stay focused on his job. In addition there are also a lot of extreme close up frequently used to show the protagonists hopes and dreams. Perhaps he is looking for a better life elsewhere? Maybe he needs a goal to keep him motivated in his occupation. These ideas support the hatred that the protagonist has for his job and reflects his character's ordinary life.
In the whole opening there aren't a whole lot of long cuts in the sequence, it mainly consists of jump cuts and close ups. This suggests that the motion of the film is fast paced and explosive, helping the audience on the edge of their seats at all times. This also implies that the whole film will be action packed. There are many obscure angles that the camera focuses on in the taxi garage. For example, an over the shoulder-type shot looks at the window of the taxi which seems odd to look at on its own , but when it is added to the other jump cuts, it gives places to ordinary people. This is typical of a thriller films as spectacular consequences can happen at any time.
Focusing in and out with the lens is used to vary the camera shots and to employ more detail in the mise en scene elements. These variations create questions within the audience and help to build more anticipation as more objects come into focus without any real action being recorded.
Near the end when the protagonist shuts his car door there is a build up before cutting dramatically to the door shutting. There is still a constant rhythm playing while he is in his car, but it is stripped down to one synth which sets a calming yet apprehensive mood. This undisturbed atmosphere helps the audience to focus on the protagonist, supporting his important role in the film. The rhythm still plays as he slowly exits the garage, ending the opening with a good level of anticipation.
The opening does follow the Narrative theory of Todorov. It starts with an equilibrium of both of the two characters in suit walking in the airport. Then suddenly they both bump in to each other, this is where the disruption of the equilibrium is. There is then a reinstatement of the equilibrium when both characters check if the other is fine and apologise.
Conclusion
Overall I think this film is suitable for people ages 12+ due to the fact that the opening foreshadows not a lot of strong language or gore. The opening uses jump cuts very well and keeps the film fast paced and steady. The unusual camera angles and the camera work with the lens focus makes the film look very pleasing to the audience eyes which therefore makes it a nice watch.
Bourne Ultimatum Textual Analysis
Key:
Camera work
Editing
Mise En Scene
Sound
Narrative Story
After the police arrive there is a fade in of diegetic sound (which is done post production) of people talking in the background which foreshadows that the protagonist will have difficulty boarding the train because of the reason that he is injured and a crowd of civilians will slow him down. Therefore this makes the scene more apprehensive as the audience will be double thinking if he will make the train or not. Another diegetic sound of a car honking is used to add to the tense atmosphere being created. The car horn also establishes that where he goes danger is happening.
Quick simple cuts are used from 19 seconds to 24 seconds to place emphasise that the police are gaining distance on the protagonist. The quick cuts are also backed up by a long distance shot of a group of police running to the train, and a close up shot of the protagonist with a concerned and anxious look on his face. Shortly after there are three cuts of a close up and mid-shot. The close up being a MOA of him opening the door to board the train. The other two shots being a medium shot of the police attempting to chase him and stop the train from leaving.
Match On Action then plays a big role during the train scene as he is entering room to room trying to loose the police.After a while of hiding and running from the police in the train the protagonist manages to escape just before the train gains to much speed. A medium long shot is used to track him jumping of the train, however the camera is unsteady during this scene to increase the effect that the jump made his injury worst and that he is feeling uneasy and can not control his balance.
55 seconds in to the opening he is leaning by a wall waiting for the police cars to pass by. Behind him is a white wall which contrasts his shadow giving the idea that he is using the darkness to his advantage to make it to safety. Again diegetic sound of police sirens are consistently used as a constant reminder that he is on the police top wanted list. After a POV of the protagonist staring anxiously at the police cars passing by there is a transition of a out focus shot to the camera focusing on the hospital. In sync with this transition is the soundtrack where the soundtrack hits a crescendo and then suddenly stops in proportion with the editing of the blur then transitioning to a focus. This is an establishing shot informing the audience that safety is within an arms reach
Straight after the establishing shot there is a quick zoom, blur then fade in used as a short transition giving us information that he is in the clinic looking for medicine. Inside the clinic MOA is again used along with very quick cuts highlighting that he is in desperate need of medication to reduce the pain he is feeling. While he is looking for medication there is a diegetic sound of heavy breathing to foreground that he is in critical condition.
As soon as he finds the right medication to restore him he quickly finds a room to cure himself. Shallow depth of field is in use while the camera is behind the caging. The tempo of the soundtrack at this point of the opening has noticeably picked up pace and the instruments have all changed to percussion instruments to give an effect of his heart beating fast but to also make the audience go on the edge of their seats.
Close up shots of the camera positioned behind the protagonist are used while he is healing himself in front of the mirror. However Shallow depth of field is also used to create the effect that the audience are behind him watching. This generates the feeling of stress and on edge. The mise en scene element of facial expression is noticeable as the audience can see the pain that he is in. At this point of the opening the camera shots are all mostly big and extreme close ups of the protagonists face.
The Narrative theory of Todorov is used in this opening however it starts with a disruption which not conventional for most films. Instead it starts with a disruption to equilibrium of the main protagonist running away while he is injured. However he then finds medication to treat himself, this is the reinstating of the equilibrium.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the opening is unconventional that it does not start with a equilibrium. The whole opening is still effective as throughout the opening the audience are kept on the edge of their feet with the use of an amazing tense soundtrack and quick fast paced cuts of different camera angles using MOA to present and highlight important actions in the opening. Overall I think this film is suitable for people aged 14+.
Key:
Camera work
Editing
Mise En Scene
Sound
Narrative Story
Instantly the opening starts off with a big close up shot of
the protagonists legs. From this shot we can tell that he is in a rush due to
the fact that there is nothing else in the frame apart from his legs and the snow suggesting
that the opening will be about a chase of some sort. The diegetic soundtrack also gives
the audience information that he is running away or is in danger in view of the
fact that the soundtrack is very tense and exciting (includes various crescendos). Therefore this emphasises
that the opening will be pack full of action. A diegetic sound of a train is
implemented straight away and overlaps the soundtrack to inform us that the
train will pay a big part during the opening.
We are also greeted with various camera angles and shots
e.g. a close up, side angle of the protagonist walking as fast as he can while
injured. Another close up positioned behind the protagonists. This gives the
feeling that we are following him, also the camera not being steady strengthens
this effect. Then straight after a long camera shot of the protagonist, it transitions
to a POV of a long distance shot of the trains suggesting that he is on his way
to board the train. Following a few cuts of other camera shots we are again
greeted with another POV. However this POV establishes that the protagonist is
running away from the police, making the opening more tense and exhilarating.
The diegetic sounds of police sirens overlapping each other gives more power to
the fact that the protagonist is in big trouble.
After the police arrive there is a fade in of diegetic sound (which is done post production) of people talking in the background which foreshadows that the protagonist will have difficulty boarding the train because of the reason that he is injured and a crowd of civilians will slow him down. Therefore this makes the scene more apprehensive as the audience will be double thinking if he will make the train or not. Another diegetic sound of a car honking is used to add to the tense atmosphere being created. The car horn also establishes that where he goes danger is happening.
Quick simple cuts are used from 19 seconds to 24 seconds to place emphasise that the police are gaining distance on the protagonist. The quick cuts are also backed up by a long distance shot of a group of police running to the train, and a close up shot of the protagonist with a concerned and anxious look on his face. Shortly after there are three cuts of a close up and mid-shot. The close up being a MOA of him opening the door to board the train. The other two shots being a medium shot of the police attempting to chase him and stop the train from leaving.
Match On Action then plays a big role during the train scene as he is entering room to room trying to loose the police.After a while of hiding and running from the police in the train the protagonist manages to escape just before the train gains to much speed. A medium long shot is used to track him jumping of the train, however the camera is unsteady during this scene to increase the effect that the jump made his injury worst and that he is feeling uneasy and can not control his balance.
55 seconds in to the opening he is leaning by a wall waiting for the police cars to pass by. Behind him is a white wall which contrasts his shadow giving the idea that he is using the darkness to his advantage to make it to safety. Again diegetic sound of police sirens are consistently used as a constant reminder that he is on the police top wanted list. After a POV of the protagonist staring anxiously at the police cars passing by there is a transition of a out focus shot to the camera focusing on the hospital. In sync with this transition is the soundtrack where the soundtrack hits a crescendo and then suddenly stops in proportion with the editing of the blur then transitioning to a focus. This is an establishing shot informing the audience that safety is within an arms reach
Straight after the establishing shot there is a quick zoom, blur then fade in used as a short transition giving us information that he is in the clinic looking for medicine. Inside the clinic MOA is again used along with very quick cuts highlighting that he is in desperate need of medication to reduce the pain he is feeling. While he is looking for medication there is a diegetic sound of heavy breathing to foreground that he is in critical condition.
As soon as he finds the right medication to restore him he quickly finds a room to cure himself. Shallow depth of field is in use while the camera is behind the caging. The tempo of the soundtrack at this point of the opening has noticeably picked up pace and the instruments have all changed to percussion instruments to give an effect of his heart beating fast but to also make the audience go on the edge of their seats.
Close up shots of the camera positioned behind the protagonist are used while he is healing himself in front of the mirror. However Shallow depth of field is also used to create the effect that the audience are behind him watching. This generates the feeling of stress and on edge. The mise en scene element of facial expression is noticeable as the audience can see the pain that he is in. At this point of the opening the camera shots are all mostly big and extreme close ups of the protagonists face.
The Narrative theory of Todorov is used in this opening however it starts with a disruption which not conventional for most films. Instead it starts with a disruption to equilibrium of the main protagonist running away while he is injured. However he then finds medication to treat himself, this is the reinstating of the equilibrium.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the opening is unconventional that it does not start with a equilibrium. The whole opening is still effective as throughout the opening the audience are kept on the edge of their feet with the use of an amazing tense soundtrack and quick fast paced cuts of different camera angles using MOA to present and highlight important actions in the opening. Overall I think this film is suitable for people aged 14+.
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