Media Evaluation

                                                    Evaluation

1)   In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For our production, “The Deception” we have used and challenged conventions. For example, our two antagonists are male which follows the general approach to thriller films, but we also challenge conventions. In the film, when Big Tony walks to meet Donny, there are two business-women who walk past which challenges the stereotype that men are the traditional business-models. Tamworth is not a traditional convention location to film a gang crime related thriller, because they are usually filmed in big budget and well known city locations such as London and Manchester. The colour of the titles follows the traditional conventions of a thriller films, being a misty grey colour to give the film quite a mystery theme. It’s also quite ‘film- noir’, emphasizing the cynical attitudes of Donny and Big Tony. The music is dominated by drum beats to build up the tension, and we used this music throughout so when people hear the music they automatically relate it to the film.  At times we used obtrusive editing with quick shots to emphasise the drama and the conflict, a style of editing used a lot in thriller films. We’ve also made it very seamless, because if the film is ‘stop-start’ then it’s hard for the audience to capture the anticipation we wanted to get across.

We slowed-down the speed of the first clips to exaggerate the movement of ‘Big-Tony’, and it makes him look like this big bruising character who doesn’t want to be messed with. We wanted to get this across to the audience as soon as possible, because other films such as ‘Red dragon’ give the audience something to ponder on in the first couple of minutes.  Brett Ratner used a selection of images giving clues to the rest of the narrative. We also used the scrapbook effect in our film. Donny and Big Tony engage in psychological mind games, trying to demolish each other’s mental mind state. In thrillers such as Sherlock Holmes and The Dark Knight, there is often a battle for supremacy.

In ‘The Deception’, this is again the case. The audience are locked in the decision of who to take sides with, Donny or Big Tony, which gives the audience a role to play in the film. For the eeriness, we decided to use low-key lighting to really represent the dark side to both of these characters. We used a shade of blue to emphasize this darkness, and we used this blue in a lot of the clips to make sure the film kept continuity. We used a mix of natural lighting and artificial lighting highlighting the range of locations we used for the film opening.

2)   How does your media product represent particular social groups?

We have used reasonably young characters for our film with the male youth wearing suits which challenges the stereotype that young males are ambitionless. It makes the male characters look more professional and shows that they care about their appearance, which is usually more of a concern for women. The regional identity of the characters can be noticed as quite ‘Brummy’, an accent linked to the city of Birmingham. People tend to link Birmingham to being quite a multi-cultural but rough area, and the actions of Big Tony go along with this tradition.

The accents of the characters suggest they are of social class C to D, but the suits give them a stronger representation and as an audience you respect them more. The attitude of Big Tony towards the receptionist, who is a middle aged woman, is quite intimidating which could be a reflection on society today, and you can ask the question ‘do the older society feel threatened by the youth?’ The two henchman who were involved in the last scene are both male which follows the convention of males being linked to violence, but they are also wearing suits but with no ties and their top buttons undone.

I feel this makes the henchmen look more rebellious, but at the same time with Big Tony wearing a tie, it immediately suggests that he is higher up in the pecking order than the henchman. This is typified when Phil says “bosses orders” when Donny asks “what seems to be the problem boys?” Some people could suggest the whole storyline gives the youth a bad representation, because there is a constant battle for dominance which suggests the youth only care about their reputations. But, alley ways are often dominated by the youth generation nowadays, and this is the case in the film opening when we see the entrance of Phil and Vinnie. 

3)   What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

There are many different media institutions that could distribute our media   product, so as a group we had to discuss and debate which studio would be most likely, and the best option. Some film studios were out of the question, for example Warner Brothers would not screen our film because they use big name locations with big budgets with special effects and well-known actors. Pixar would not distribute our film because they specialise in animations such as Wall-E and Toy Story. So, in the end, we decided that a British film studio would be the most likely to product our film. We decided Channel 4 based 'Film 4' and Warp Films would be ideal.

In 2002, Film 4 lost a lot of money and therefore they had to 'cut its budget significantly'. Our budget for the film would be reasonably low considering the locations, the actors and the equipment we have used e.g cost of camera. Film 4 produce a range of films with different genres, and they worked with Warp films to produce the satirical comedy film 'Four Lions'. Although our film doesn't follow the same genre, it follows the same realism with no green-screen needed to enhance our locations. Warp films leads the way in British film-making, and it succeeds in giving young british actors a chance to shine. Our actors are totally unknown to the British audience, so the perception of the characters is important as it could make or break the film. Warp films are based in Sheffield and London with further connections in Australia which could really broaden the horizon when it comes to the demographic of the audience. I felt it was important to choose a british studio as they would understand our film and storyline more, as the language at times used is British slang which might not be recognised in Hollywood.

4)   Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for our film is teenagers, as the main antagonists in the film are both around that age, therefore this demographic can understand the film the most. The certificate would be 15, as there is violence in the opening of the film.The gender that would be more likely to watch our film would probably be male as there is a stereotype that women prefer to watch Rom Com films, and also there are a minority of female characters in the film compared to the majority being male. Also, I feel the distribution of this film can indicate the target audience. Traditionally, Film4 films are usually aired on the Film4 channel itself, or 'E4'. I can imagine our film being aired on a night time on E4 quite a long time after the cinema release, as this slot is usually dominated by programmes such as 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Skins', with these programmes tending to attract the young adult demographic. 


Each film has a traditional demographic, for example films such as 'The Simpsons Movie' would have a reasonably young target audience as the programme itself on Channel 4 attracts this age group. Films such as 'The Iron Lady' based on Margaret Thatcher and 'The Kings Speech' based on a stuttering previous King of England would traditionally attract an older audience, as it has more significance to their life. Audiences who like real life situations and everyday locations would most likely be the ones to watch our film, as the film itself isn't a massive blockbuster set in London or New York, well known locations around the world, but instead it is set in the West Midlands market town of Tamworth at the new Sixth Form Academy, and next to St Editha's church. This was a risky decision but we wanted to make the location as realistic as possible, but at the same time the storyline needed to be captivating as the audience needs to enjoy the cinematic experience. 

On an international platform, the film would more likely to be viewed by the British public, especially people from the West Midlands as they could recognise the locations and understand the storyline and slang. The demographic social class would probably be C1 to D, as the characters in our film are quite rough, and therefore the audience could relate to the characters. Also the opening of the film is based in an office, so the working class could relate to the scenario. The upper classes are less likely to watch the film as the locations and story lines may not interest them, as big blockbusters like Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes 2 would have more significance.   

5)   How did you attract/address your audience?

      We attracted our audience in many different ways. For example, we used intensifying drum beats at the start of the film too hook you in. The opening of the film builds up to a climax and as an audience you can recognise this climax through the tension between the characters in the film. If we had released a trailer for our film it would of been reasonably long like the trailer of 'Se7en' as it gives the audience quite a detailed explanation on what the film is like, but it doesn't give away the key storylines and plot. If we made our trailer short, we dont think many people would of watched it because the actors in the film are not recognised and the film studio isnt a big Hollywood studio so less people would be aware of it.
      
      The titles are juxtaposed centrally, in a grey misty colour so the audience cannot see through the mist yet, they have to watch the film to learn more and get a clearer picture. Our film would be shown at the cinema even though Film4, but if the film was distributed to a cinema then we would probably show snippets before other thriller films such as Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows because it is obvious that the audience is attracted to thriller films. If we screened the snippets before a Rom-Com, then the demographic is less likely to be interested because the stereotype is that women are more interesting in films laced with romance then films laced with fighting and violence. 
     
       We would also have T-Shirts and mugs promoting the film with funny phrases from the film such as 'When have I ever let you down?', and phrases such as 'Phil,Vinnie, you know what to do...' These phrases are quite funny and if people were wearing them it would interest people and they would be more likely to watch the film. As well as the trailers previously mentioned, we would have teaser trailers/snippets from the film on Channels such as Channel 4, E4 and Film 4, as this is the demographic we are trying to attract. 
     
      The most important way of attracting our target audience would probably be through a Facebook Fan Page, as almost all of the young generation have access to their own Facebook profile where they can 'Like' pages such as 'The Deception', and this activity would come up on peoples news feeds when they sign in, and therefore they are more likely to look at it. Facebook is a fantastic tool for film companies to promote their film, and Film4 and Warp Films themselves have their own Facebook pages. 

6)  What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
      We have learnt about technologies during the construction of our product. We used Adobe Premier Pro to edit our film opening sequence, software I had never used so it was all new to me. In terms of creating a film opening sequence I was inexperienced, but as the project has progressed I have gained new skills. A key skill I have gained is how to use a Sony HD Camera, and equipment such as 'dollies' and tripods. Both pieces of equipment keep the camera steady and it makes the film look more professional. We learnt all about spirit levels, and how the circle needs to be central to show that the camera is not tilted, and we made sure this was the case for all our clips to show continuity and professionalism.

       The editing stage was one of the most important parts of the whole project. We used Adobe Premier Pro, a software which has actually been used to create a real film in the past. We used text slides to write the titles to the film e.g director name and editor and we had to make sure each piece of text was positioned in a suitable place, where the audience would be able to read the information. Therefore we had to consider font, text, colour and size, and these are very important decisions made in film-making. We made sure the text was a colour that fits in with the theme of the film, that theme being grey. We also learnt about transitions and tints to make the film more seamless and add a dark atmospheric tone to the film.

       We used Google's 'Blogspot' to write entries on information we had obtained from class and from our own personal research at home and I feel this has helped me achieve as good as I can in the course, and it is also a good place to store information and revise from. We learnt how to create blog entries and add videos to the blog, and I used this knowledge to add our film opening onto the blog. Websites such as ‘Incompetech’ provide the user with copyright free music for our film and we used this website for our music, and this was a decision we took seriously because the music in a film always gives an indication to what genre it is.

7)  Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel I have developed many skills since my preliminary task at the start of my A-Level media studies course. The preliminary task ended up playing a major role in our final product, because it acted as a draft film, as we used the same genre and storyline for "The Deception". We also gained knowledge about different softwares such as iMovie and Adobe Premier Pro, because we used the latter for our final product and therefore we had to learn about all of its attribrutes. One of the key skills I have had to develop is group leadership and group co-operation. As I have been in every Media Studies lesson this term I feel I have taken the role of pulling things together, and letting people know where we are and what we need to do. Working in a group is one of if not the most important role in Media Studies, and over the year, despite some disagreements, we have worked together and overcome any hurdles we have faced. For example, we had a debate on whether to film all our production in film-noir, with different people offering different opinions. In the end we came to a conclusion that pleased all parties, but at times it wasn’t as easy as that and we had to discard ideas that we, as a group, did not think would work. When you film, its often typical that you do not recognise continuity errors, and we made a mistake when one of our actors had a hair cut! As a group we had to come up with a solution, which ended in us having to film certain scenes again.

We also had to make sure we listened to other people’s views so everyone had an equal say in decisions such as storyline and location. Overall our preliminary task was quite positive, but we had room for improvements and over the year we have learnt new skills within media itself. In the project, we realised we had broken the 180 degree rule, so we had to go back and film the scene again. Although this was an elementary error, we can learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I

 feel I have developed my camera skills as well, as for our preliminary task the camera was a bit shaky and we didn’t really establish the rules of good film-making. Over time we have learnt about ‘Shot-reverse-shots’ and ‘Match-on-action’ and therefore we could include these in our final product. We also used Garage Band to recreate the Charlie Chaplin song, and although we didnt use this software for our film opening, it has given us knowledge into creating music, and the whole experience has been very captivating, creative and educational.

Opening Film Sequence - The Deception

Film Locations

These are the two film locations we decided upon for the opening of our Thriller film.

 

The first location is Landau Forte Academy, Tamworth. We chose this location as it is a very professional workplace, and it gives the film a more realistic approach, as students will be walking around the location and doing work.

The other location for our film is an alley way in Lower Gungate, Tamworth. We chose this location as it has a phonebox for the call between Donny and Tony, and it is less busy than the actual market place, therefore it is ideal for a intensifying conflict between Donny and Tony.

Production Schedule

As a group, we came up with a Production Schedule. We contacted actors to see when they were free, and then we decided upon dates to film different scenes.

The Deception Script:

Scene one:

(Big Tony walks through the Landau Forte Communications Centre doors and up to reception)

Office Women: Hello Sir, how can I help you?

Big Tony: I’m here to see Mr McCann.

Office Women: Any Particular reason?

Big Tony: Business.

Office Women: Ok Sir, just take the lift to top floor where one of his assistants will take you to his room.

(Big Tony enters the lift and then a dissolve shows passage of time. He knocks on Mr McCann’s door)

Donny: Tony, nice to see you. So, did you take care of… matters, the other day?

Big Tony: Of course I did, when have I ever let you down?

Donny: Glad to hear it. I just suppose, well, I suppose I didn’t expect you to go through with it...

Big Tony: Why?

Donny: Come on Tony, let’s face it. Your reputations not what it used to be. (shrugs shoulders)

Big Tony: (pause) You trying to be funny? (aggressive)

Donny: Look I’m a busy man, business to attend to. You know how it is.

Big Tony: (raises voice) You’re standin’ on thin ice Don, and you know what I do to people who mess me about.

Donny: (laughs) Look, I haven’t got a problem with you, but If you have a problem with me then you know where the door is.

Big Tony: You’ll regret this Don.  (Big Tony walks out and slams the door shut)

Donny: (laughter as Tony walks out)

Scene Two:

Location: Tamworth outside ‘Home Bargains’ by alleyway. Donny walks into phone box and makes call to Big Tony.

Donny: (sarcastically) Tony, long time no speak. Look mate, after our little spat the other day I think it’s about time you realised that I call the shots around here. 

(Tony replies on phone but we do not see him)

Big Tony: Listen Donny, when you gonna realise that times are changing. Im the big boy around here now, and I want my money.

Donny: Don’t be so pathetic, we all know you’re a coward deep down. And you want your money? Come get it, cus I aint giving you a penny.

Big Tony: Donny, Donny, Donny. Be careful what you wish for. After all, I’m never too far behind.

(Donny slams phone down and walks out of the telephone box. Donny walks up the alley about to smoke a cigarette, but then he sees some of Tony’s henchmen with their arms folded blocking the route. Donny turns around to see Tony glaring angrily in his face.)

Tony: BOO.

Donny: Tony, how convenient, I was only just speaking to you on the phone. (laughs nervously)

Tony: (laughs sarcastically then pulls a very intimidating face instantly. A metal bar slides down his arm and comes out by his wrist). So, Money?

Donny: Look ‘ere Tone, I was only joking with you, bit of harmless banter you know? Surely we can come to some sort of… arrangement?

Tony:  If there’s one thing I don’t like its people who can’t keep their promises. And you’re one of them. You know when I said 'when have I ever let you down', well, now. Phil, Vinnie, you know what to do.

(Metal bars slide down Phil and Vinnie’s arms and they walk menacingly towards Donny).

Storyboard for 'The Deception'

Film Title Ideas and final plot

Plot Ideas

Film Plot Ideas:

As a result of our survey, we decided that the Genre we wanted to exploit was Thriller. We then came up with 4 ideas for our plot, and after analysing our ideas with the positives and negatives we came up with one solid idea.

Idea One:  The film would be set in a countryside mansion in a secluded area. The antagonist would be female to break the stereotype of male antagonists. The woman stalks the mansion leaving traces of her tracks behind. The protagonist finally finds the woman, who turns out to be mentally unstable.

Idea Two: The film would be set in Hopwas Woods, where the trees overhang to keep a dark secret. There is a legend that whoever walks in to the forest, comes out a different person, and it’s a change for the worst.

Idea Three: This film is set at a Theme Park, where a group of tourists from abroad have come to enjoy the thrilling experience the rides bring. But, someone isn’t too keen, and the tourists are in for a rollercoaster ride that is worse than any theme park ride and one that ends in devastating fashion.

Idea Four: In an alleyway in the heart of Tamworth, someone’s authority is about to be stamped. A cocky individual has met his match in a gang leader, who is sick and tired of being bossed around, so its about time he did something about it.

Task 4: Characterisation

We have decided to make some avatars on what our characters in our production may look like. We wanted to focus on appearance and characteristics of the characters.

Below is the protagonist that we made that;
Name: Donny
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Occupation: Business/Inside man
Characteristics: Cocky, Manipulitive, Arrogant.
Appearance/ Costume: Suit and tie. Tall, similar to Tony.

The antagonist that we designed is below;

Name: Big Tony

Gender: Male

Age: 30

Occupation: Gang leader/Hitman

Characteristics: Agressive, easily aggitated.

Appearacne: Tall and chunky. Suit and tie and in other scenes jeans and trench coat.

Role Allocation

For our media production "The Deception", we have decided on what roles we allocate to what people. Some of these decisions were easy, for example what better person to have as our 'Landau Forte Communications Centre Receptionist' than the School receptionist. As it is her job, it comes naturally to her to deal with people everyday, so it is a no-brainer for us. Some decisions we have made are much harder though, as we needed to decide who to have for our to antagonists. We want two similar built characters to go head to head for a battle of dominance, so we decided on Alex Cottis and Charlie Sloan.

Role Allocation:
Antagonist One (Donny) - Charlie Sloan
Antagonist Two (Big Tony) - Alex Cottis
Receptionist - School Receptionist
Henchman - Joe Lombardi and Dan Getliff
Two Businesswomen - Ellie Baxter and Charlotte Gledhill

UK Film Statistics Research

We needed to find out some key statistics for horror, thriller and romantic comedies before making our production. The UK film box office helps as it allows people to pin point key parts of information. Below is a table of data regarding thriller, horror and romance films in 2011.



UK Film Statistics

 

From this table you can tell that over all horror make the most films making 31 which was 5.6% of all releases. For the horror genre the top preforming title was Paranormal Activity 2 .The second most made genre out of the three was thriller making 20 films which was 3.6%. Last was romance making 19 films which was 3.4%. Out of all genres there was 557 releases.

The highest gross at the box office in millions was the romance genre making 58.4. Second was the horror genre making 54.1. Last by a long way opposed to the other two genres was thriller, this made 19.3. There was 1,023.6 million made over all genres.

For each genre each films has a top performing title. The top performing title for thriller was Shutter Island. For the horror genre the top preforming title was Paranormal Activity 2. Finally the top performing title for the romance genre was The Twightlight Saga: Eclipse.

Survey Results

Thriller Questionnaire

 In the lead up to the producing and filming of our media studies film, we have created a questionaire which will be ansered by anonomous people to help feed our group ideas of what we could use in our short film. The questionaires were then done and tallied, to give different opinions and ideas to include in the opening of the thriller film.

1. 70% suggested a serial killer as the best antagonist.

2. 80% suggested that most thrillers are given a 15 certificate.

3. 80% said the editing should be quick and seamless.

4. 90% suggested that incidental music should be used in the opening rater than ambient.

5. 80% said the opening of a thriller should be fast paced.

6. 80% said they prefered a murder mystery theme over a gang crime theme.

7. 50% suggested that a thriller should be set in a city.

8. 50% was suggested for both the choice of a male or female protagonist.

9. 70% said that a thriller should be set in a present day time period.

10. 90% said that they like a twist in a thriller film.



Antagonist bar chart



With all of the votes tallied, we have a clear vision of how we will create our opening of a thriller film. We are still in debates of what type of antagonist we are going to have, between a gang leader and a serial killer. We will probably come to a final decision, before begin the storyboard.



Age Certificate Bar Chart



With most people suggesting that a typical thriller has a 15 age certificate, we may include some key characteristics which give a thriller a 15 age certificate such as; violence, guns, greusome images etc. With relation to the question about editing, we should make the transitions of scenes quick to build up tension within the scenes. The will also create high excitement within the audience.

On question 4, we learnt that most people would prefer to hear incidental music rather than ambient sounds. This works well for what have intended to do in our film, as we are going to start with  chase scene, so incental music works better than ambient sounds as it can create tension within the scene.

 

Graph to show what sounds people prefer to hear in a Thriller.

Graph to show what Theme a Thriller should be

Most people we surveyed said that our opening should be fast paced. This tells us that we shoud immediately start the film we an event which makes the excited, but also puts them on edge. Most people said they prefered a murder mystery theme over gang crime. Again we are still in debates with this topic, as this question is linked to the first question of the antagonist we are going to have. Again we will come to a final decision before storyboard.



Location Pie Chart

 

A lot of people also said they wanted to see the thriller set in a city or urban environment, which is ideal to what we have pictured our project to be. However, one result said it should be set in a rural area. This may be a good location aswell as crime is unexpected in the countryside.

The survey gave equal results on the gender we should have for the protagonist, so we are still discussing the gender of the protagonist, but it is likely that we will choose a male character over a female character.

The time period people wanted was a present day, which is what we originally planned for our film, so we will  stick with that as our time period. The majority of people said that we should include a twist. We may do this however, a twist is better usually at the end so it may not be included.

Graph to show what time period a thriller should be

Understanding your target audience

The British Board of Film Classification is responsible for issuing age certificates for different films. It is a requirement that films classify what age rating is suitable for viewing, under the 'Video Recording Act 2010'.

There are differences you have to consider when looking at each age certificate. For the age rating 'U', any age is allowed to watch the film, there is no unsuitable scenes for ages over 4. 'PG' Contains some scenes not suitable for under 8's, which is why there needs to be an 18 year old with them. For category 12A, the film is inappropriate for very young people. This category contains moderate sex, violence or drug references. 12A films are usually changed to 12 for video and DVD use because extra material has been added. For age certificate 15, no one under the age of 15 is allowed to watch the film becausee it contains hard drugs, adult themes, violence and strong language. For age 18, only adults are valid to watch the film. Films under this category do not have a limitation to the explicit language.

For our film 'The Deception' we had to decide what age rating would be suitable and why.

 We decided our film would be a 12A because there are references to violence through body language and the conflict between Big Tony and Donny. There is no swearing in the film and no references to sex.

Halloween 1978

 Halloween 1978 Opening Scene Analysis:

The slasher film 'Halloween' is a American-based horror film from 1978. The film was based in Haddonfield, Illinois. The film is the first installment in the Halloween movie franchise. According to Wikipedia, 'Halloween was produced on a budget of $325,000 and grossed $47 million at the box office in the United States', which makes it very successful.

The pumpkin with a light in it symbolises Halloween, and the zoom in on the pumpkins intensifies the opening, and makes the audience quite nervy, which is related to the horror genre of film.  When the pumpkin fades out there are small children singing and the last words they say is trick or treat. Using little children portrays innocence, but you can't help but feel that this innocence may go against them in the film. After that they show the outside of the house the camera is a handheld sub pov which is shaking to make it look exactly like it looks we are the killer. As the killer is walking around the house you can hear owls in the background to add a realism to the scene, but at the same time it sounds quite cautious. The house is detached which makes it look like any normal surburban house, but there is a huge focus on it which suggests this house will have a big role to play in the film. The sudden screech and ambient sound of the breathe of the killer makes the audience quite nervous and quivery. As he has eye contact with his victim she is humming to herself which portrays she is happy, but as this is a horror and he is a killer, this of course is about to change.  There is a long-take which indicates that no editing is going on, which is good as it makes the film more realistic, and the diegetic whistling sound is the same a owner would call its dog, which is giving the women animalistic imagery of being a dog. The reverse Crane shot in shows we are shocked to find is a boy, which would shock the audience, as he is indeed the killer

Moodboards showing different Genres:

'A mood board is a type of poster design that may consist of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator. Designers and others use mood boards to develop their design concepts'- http://www.moodshare.co/

These images fit in the Horror Genre because they provide a negative emotion to the audience such as fear and anger.

These images fit in the Rom-Com Genre because they provide a position emotion to the audience such as laughter, smiles, but sometimes it can bring the emotion of tears.

These images all fit in to the Thriller Genre, as they provide suspense and excitement to the audience.

Without these attributes, a Horror wouldn't be a Horror, a Rom-Com wouldn't be a Rom-Com, and a Thriller wouldn't be a Thriller.

Contrasting and Comparing the opening of a RomCom

How to lose a guy in 10 days:
In the titles, there are cutouts of fashion magazines which indicates that the film is a Rom-Com. Also, the pop music represents its a bubbly film related to love because most pop songs are sung about love. Soft rounded font stereotypes the film to be aimed at the female audience. There is a stereotype nowadays of blonde hair girls being quite dumb, but this film contradicts this, as the blonde haired girl plays the role of a smart magazine reporter who works for 'composure' magazine. Magazine reporting is a niche job which suggests the movie is a fantasy to the audience, making her job in New York just a dream.There is an punk rock soundtrack blending in with the characters profile as he is on a motor bike indicating he is quite rebellious, and avoiding a traffic jam indicates he is quite bright. There is a power dressing showing the womens authority over the men. They are at the top of the business ladder, and there is a glass ceiling in jobs, these women are at the top and they can't go any higher.

Just like heaven:

The title logo (Dreamworks) has a non diegetic sound over it, and this sound is an acoustic guitar which portrays it to be quite a calm and romantic film. The titles fade in and the bright colours are similar to the other film. The camera floating down from the sky could be the POV of heaven, and it floats down to this beautiful garden with flowers which could relate to the garden of Eden. There is an anchorage where the text blends with the bright image, and then Reese Witherspoon fades onto the screen. This is because she is the most well known in the film, which gives it a strong identity. The foggy atmosphere could represent fantasy, as many Rom-Coms are. Also, there is a stereotype of women daydreaming alot, and the fog could represent a daydream. The red titles link to love, the heart and romance- most, if not all Rom-Coms have red titles. Both women in the films are intelligent as Reese Witherspoon plays the role of a nurse, Kate Hudson plays the role of a reporter. Both jobs are aspirational. The songs in both films are ironically the same (Lust for Life by Iggy Pop) which is a key comparison we can make. Witherspoon says 'all you have to do is worry about work' which indicates she is career motivated, and can also imply she is single and family isnt important to her. There is a shot which shows the male superiority in the nursing trade though, as the other the shoulder shots shows the manager/head of ward giving Witherspoon a promotion.


 

Christian Metz model of Genre development:

In Christian Metz's book 'Language and Cinema' (1974) he explored the development of Genre film such as Horror and suggested that genres pass through four stages of existence. These are:

- The Experimental
By Experimental we mean the phase of early films which explored and experimented with horror themes in its narritives. Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari are examples of experimental films.

 

- The Classic
By Classic we mean the phase of films which established the narritive conventions of the horror genre in its most successful and defining period. Frankenstein and Dracula are examples of classic films.

 

- The Parody
By Parody we mean films that have mimicked the horror genre in some comical way. Scary Movie, Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein and Carry on Screaming are all examples of parody films.

 

- The Deconstruction
By Deconstruction we mean films which have taken the generic elements of the horror genre and amalgamated them in to varying sub genres. Scream, The Sixth Sense, Se7en and the Blair Witch Project are all examples of deconstruction films.

  


There can be limitations using the Christian Metz model of Genre development. For example, where would you position films like Psycho and the Slasher films of the late 1970's and 80's. Also, where would films like Halloween and Friday the 13th fit in the development model?

Task 2: Research into existing products

At the start of the movie, there is a pre title sequence. This could represent that the past has some part to play in the future in this film. The location is an orchestral theatre, this indicates that characters in this movie will be middle-class. The red and white titles then combine to signify the rivalry of good and evil. Red relates to blood, whereas white represents purity. The dark background and chunky font give this movie and identity of horror.

There is an establishing master shot so we can see all the theatre, and the caption screen gives us important information on where this scene is set. On this occasion, it is set in Maryland in the US. The low angle shot shows the control of the composer over the orchestra, this is otherwise known as a juxtaposition. Then a crane shot focusses upon the protagonist. The body language of the protagonist is concerning, as there is a slight tilt of the head. You could relate this to the way a predator looks at its prey. The dress of the audience is very formal as they are wearing suits and ties, which also indicates that they are of middle social class. The pillars of the house and the fact it is white makes the house stand out from the rest, which could signify that something is peculiar. There is an establishing master shot so we can see all of the dining room, and we get the impression that its quite an old and elegant house, in fact it feels more like we are in a London mansion, rather then a Maryland house. In the dining room scene, the word 'herd' can be recognised. This is victimous speech, and when Lector says 'I'd like to see you on my couch', this is a foreseeing of what could happen. After Special Agent Graham arrives there is a period of dialogue exchanged, concluding in Lector patting SA Graham's shoulder. This shows compassion and a bond that is going to be corroded soon. After the stabbing, there is a low angle shot looking up at Hannibal, showing his dominance and control in the situation. But this is lost, when a two shot shows that they are both as powerless as eachother. But, you could argue that Hannibal is still of higher rank and importance than SA Graham, as he collapses on to a table whereas SA Graham collapses on the floor, so Hannibal is still higher up. The non-diegetic sound of an orchestra builds up to a crescendo showing 'The Red Dragon' title.

The titles fade in which hooks the audience in, as its quite curious and mysterical. The classical music is synchronized to the edits and cuts, making it more seamless. The newspaper articles make the film more realistic, and it has been used to identify what has happened after the dinner table scene. The censoring of certain article words and images makes it look like the creator of the scrapbook has taken offense.  On one page, there is an image of a young boy but you can not see his face as the creator of the scrapbook has scratched it off. This could portray that the creator cant bare to look at himself when he was younger because he has changed in a negative way, or it could just imply death. The images change with the tempo of the music, making it more seamless. There is an extreme close-up of the images in the scrapbook, so we can see the fibre of the image, which could indicate the creator pays attention to detail, like we learn later on in the film when Special Agent Graham realises all the killings that have occured have been carefully planned out in detail. Its clear that the person making the scrapbook admires Hannibal Lector, as he has cut out or scribbled words out that he doesnt want to see that involve Hannibal, and there are many images of him. 

(The Red Dragon Trailer)

Preliminary Task:

In our preliminary task we were asked to produce a short film that consisted of the 180 degree rule, match-on-action, a shot reverse shot, an eyeline match and a dialogue exchange between 2 characters. The 180 degree rule was very important in our video, because it gives the audience an insight to what characters are in what position, and then enforcing the 180 degree rule will make sure these characters stay in this position:

 
Here is a diagram of the 180 degree rule. As you can see, if the camera is placed on the right hand side, the character in yellow is on the left side of the screen and the character in blue is on the right. If you change this and put the camera on the left, the characters are in opposite positions. This would confuse the audience, so that is why the 180 degree rule is important.

A Shot reverse Shot is two or more clips that focus on two different people. A shot reverse shot is often used to show conversation between two people looking in opposite directions.

Here is an example of a Shot Reverse Shot (SRS):


Match On Action
A Match On Action shot is 'either an action commenced in shot A is completed in shot B, or an action in shot A is mirrored by an action in shot B'.


An example of a Match on Action.

Finally we were asked to incorporate an Eyeline match. An Eyeline match is when you can clearly see in a scene that two people are directly looking at eachother.


An Example of an Eyeline match.

We then used iMovie to edit the clips we had created to form a 2 minute clip that ran smoothly, and contained all the criteria we were asked to include: