In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?
There are several codes and conventions I had to think about
and try to include in my text in order to make it successful and professional.
I had to research different elements to an opening as well as a whole film in
general such as:
· Genre
· Narrative codes and structure
· Characterisation
· Credits and titles
· Target audience
By researching the different elements and real examples I
knew what I had and wanted to include in my text. My opening looks professional
it uses sets the rest of the narrative without giving too much away and does
this through the use of action and enigma codes, it doesn't set up equilibrium
as it starts during disequilibrium and will show the story and equilibrium
during a flashback to relive/show the audience how they've arrived at this
point. I have made sure include several props that will have some relevance to
the narrative and allow the audience to make guesses. The opening introduces
both the protagonist and antagonist but doesn't say what they’ve done or going
to do to end up in the situation they're in. The actor’s names are introduced
in a way that has integrated them into the text as if they're meant to be there.
By using different camera shots I was able to add the style and tone the text
that I wanted.
Genre
For my genre research I had a look at ‘prisoners’, this
intense thriller helped me understand what I had to do to make my text
successful. I noticed that the colour scheme and the non-diegetic sound track of the film is very dark which
helps to reflect certain events that have happened or will happen. The opening
sets up any relations between the main characters and possibly shows or singles
out any characters that maybe a target or threat. Due to the fact that my text
is a thriller and the protagonist is usually male I tried to make sure mine was
male in order to appeal to a certain audience. I had to research the different
genre codes and make sure I could include as many as possible to help give my
opening the edge it needed and make sure it was definitely classed as thriller
due to the iconography, themes and moods that are normally associated with a
thriller text.
Narrative structure
For the narrative structure I focused on todorov and his
theory diagram, his diagram which includes a protagonist, agent of change,
problem, quest and the resolution. The protagonist is the character who in the
case of my text is James who is forced to search for the antagonist (Ethan)
after he carried out an attack at an army base where he and his brother are
based killing James’ brother in the process. The agent of change doesn’t
necessarily have to be a person, it can be something that forces the
protagonist to go out of there way and force the narrative in a different
direction. In the case of my opening, the agent of change is the folder or when
the brothers decide to go off to the army. The problem is the thing the
protagonist has to go on to try and restore normality (equilibrium) but due to
the past events it’s referred to as the new normality as it won’t be the same
as before. The problem in my text is when James’ brother is killed and he has
to find a way to make things right. The quest in a narrative is what the
protagonist has to do or go on in order to restore normality and end up at the
resolution.
Narrative codes
The narrative codes are action and enigma codes, these help
to move the text along in certain ways through the use if posing and answering
questions. These are the type of codes that allow the audience to pose and
answer questions related to the text, it’s this that keeps the audience hooked
and makes them want to watch more to see if their questions will be answered.
The questions aren't always answered straight away in the text; some may not be
answered until the final minutes which then also add the enjoyment of watching.
By using the codes, it hints to the audience which way/path the narrative is
moving. In my text I have tried to use as many as possible as it starts at the
end and flashes back to show the audience how the characters ended up where
they are now. At the start I have the protagonist looking around a location for
something, the audience are unsure what this is and the question is answered
once the character places his hand on a document on a table. This then poses
another question, what’s in the document? This question will then be answered
later on in the text but not in the opening two minutes. Later as one character enters through a medium shot and the other on a over the shoulder shot. there are two characters that are face to face, the tense and edgy atmosphere will pose questions to the audience as they'll wonder why the two characters are acting like this to each other and how/why they've ended up how they are now. questions like who are they? Are they or were they friends? They’re talk about an incident that has happened
and won't be relieved until later on in the story. The viewers wont know what the incident is which poses more questions and is it because of this that they're face to face?
Credits and titles
The opening titles and credits tend to appear within the
first fifteen minutes of the text either straight away or after a section of
footage but in most cases the titles are integrated into the footage throughout
the first ten minutes. The main purpose of the opening titles is to help along
with the narrative codes to set up the text and build the audiences
expectations. Almost all the time the titles have a certain style and or theme
that links them to the genre of the text, this could be done through the use of
font and colours. In my text I have incorporated the names of a few members of
the cast but instead of editing them in on post-production, I tried to make it
look like they were meant to be there due to the type of props I used. I go the
idea from school of rock because as one of the extras walks down a corridor the
names cast appear on the set. For example, one appears on the back of someone’s
jacket. I chose specific colours when it came to choosing the colour of the font in different sections to help set up to narrative. The red font when the title appears suggests the emotion and feeling associated with the certain subject. The colour red symbolises anger, rage and possibly hatred so when the title appears the audience will hopefully make assumptions that a character will feel these feelings and wonder why.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My final media product only represents a few social groups
due to the tone and mood I wanted to get across to the audience. The main social group I have featured in my opening is gender, only because the start just shows the protagonist and antagonist. Both characters are are male and as well as this mainly appealing to generally a male audience, I've tried to represent the male theme through changing the enviroment and how the characters interact with each other. Males tend to not always be very open about how they feel so in the shot of the protagonist sitting down we can see he has his arms folded; this helps to reinforce how he feels. In conparasion to the antagonist, even though he's male he's open about how he feels and what he's done as in a long shot of him we can see his open body stance.
I wanted a very masculine feel to the product and have as little feminine elements as possible in order to create the testosterone filled product I wanted. I’ve tried to appeal mainly to the 15 plus, sometimes 12a male audience as I know that the thriller genre is usually aimed at them when it comes to real products because the content these sorts of films normally contain like the chase scenes, violence and very little romance if any. When it comes to age, I wanted the characters to be older than they were but unfortunately I couldn't find anyone the age I wanted who I thought would be able to play a believable part.
I wanted a very masculine feel to the product and have as little feminine elements as possible in order to create the testosterone filled product I wanted. I’ve tried to appeal mainly to the 15 plus, sometimes 12a male audience as I know that the thriller genre is usually aimed at them when it comes to real products because the content these sorts of films normally contain like the chase scenes, violence and very little romance if any. When it comes to age, I wanted the characters to be older than they were but unfortunately I couldn't find anyone the age I wanted who I thought would be able to play a believable part.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think the type/kind of media institution that would
distribute my product would have be a major film company due to the style of
film and its contents. The company or company that may be interest maybe ‘europacorp’
or ‘Columbia pictures’ due to other films they have distributed. Europacorp
have released films such as ‘taken’, ‘Lock Out’ and ‘Transporter 3’. Each film
was successful in its own rights and all seemed follow the same style and
genre. They’re all action adventure films full of tense moments and fight scenes.
Moreover, Columbia pictures (Sony) have also released several films that aren't
necessarily the same genre but are big films and could only have done well with
a big budget that a company like Sony could have provided. This can be said
will films like ‘Skyfall, ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ and the rebooted version of
MGM’s ‘Robocop’. Each film when on to do incredibly well, with ‘Skyfall’ entering
the list of only a few films that have managed to make $1 billion at the box
office, ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ was a huge hit with the audience as a result of
its summer time release and CGI effects. Due to the large amount of money Sony
is able to provide through the many sponsors it receives, they’re able to
provide they films with some of the latest technology such as camera’s, editing
software and equipment all resulting in a high end product which may not of
been possible on an independent label.
My product would most likely be distributed by a major label
as I would most likely need a big budget in order to carry out some of the CGI,
money to go to different locations and props. Also, as Sony have Columbia pictures
they’ll be able to provide a sound track for the product which will then boost
the awareness for the final product.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
When in came I setting an audience for my product I looked at real thriller films and researched their certificate and audience they tried to aim their film at. For example Black swan was given a certificate of 15 due to the sexual references and mature content that wouldn't be appropriate for younger viewers, preferably people aged below 15. For my audience i wanted
to make sure they were mainly male and aged between 15 and 45 as thriller films
normally are due to the sort of content within the films. This is because
thriller films usually have violence, chase scenes and male characters which
simple doesn’t always appeal to a female audience or under or above a certain
age group of males. In order for me to identify my audience I chose to create
and give a survey for people to do which would then help me to narrow down the
age gap and whether or not I would focus the product mainly for males.
I now know who my audience is as I
have looked at several past films and researched the age certificate their film
wasn’t given and some of the other products that were released at the same time
as the film. However, some thrillers could and have been aimed and females due
to the possible love interest in the film. Moreover, females may be interested
in the as there maybe an actor or actress they like and will go to see a film
for that reason.
How did you attract/address your audience?
The audience for my product is aimed at is mainly a male audience aged 15 - 45 due to the content in the text. My product contains elements such as violence and potentially graphic scenes and for that I thought it wouldn't be suitable for younger ages. My production company logo helps to attract my audience due to the style of the logo. The logo is in black and white and really gives nothing away to the plot or narrative; which links to the thriller genre in the sense that thrillers are very mysterious and there could possibly be a lot going on but it may not be obvious to the viewers.
I was able to attract my intended audience through the style of music I had chosen to put alongside the product to give it the tone and mood that’s normally associated with these sorts of films. After I had carried out my survey I realised that I may have to change what I would include in my opening two minutes due to some of the comments and answers I had received. They also recognised some of the most important key feature to the genre such as the fact that a thriller has to be tense, have suspense and chase scenes. One of the many reasons people like to watch thriller films is because how they feel whilst watching a film within this genre. They like to watch as a main element is the unpredictable factor, not knowing what’s going to happen next and whether or not the protagonist will survive or not. This is due to the action and enigma codes. The enigma codes posing the questions to the audience and then being answered by the action codes either straight after the questions have been posed or later on in the text. The codes are one of the main reasons thriller films attract a certain audience, as they watch in hope that their questions will be answered. For example in The Dark Knight Rises the audience can ask several questions as at one point the protagonist Bruce Wayne/Batman is in prison and whilst watching the viewers are wondering whether or not he'll be able to escape. As well as the genre posing multiple questions the genre also provides the audience with mixed emotions whilst watching. Thriller films fill the audience will adrenaline during the tense and suspense scenes as they grip their seats wondering if their favourite character(s) will make it out alive.
Many people wanted the main character to be strong, outgoing and eventually catch the villain (antagonist). However, it was very obvious that this couldn’t be the case right at the start. The protagonist becomes the character or type of person he is through what he has been through. The people I had asked realised in many thriller film that the protagonist usually loses someone close to him, preferably a family member, friend or love interest which then makes the hunt for the villain that more tense and exciting to watch knowing that someone is in danger. This also makes it that much more satisfying and or relatable when the protagonist gets his revenge.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When it came to choosing the type of software I would use, I
thought about first experimenting with different programmes to see what I had
at my disposal and see what each would and wouldn’t let me do. I thought about
using ‘IMovie’ on a Mac as I had previously used this to edit my preliminary
and I was fairly happy with the results but felt somewhat limited when I heard
about what some of the other software was capable of. I attempted to edit my opening
on Sony Vega pro but after an hour I found it was too complicated and struggled
to do some of the simplest tasks, like for example adding a simple fade
transition. I had heard that someone was using a programme on Windows called ‘Camtasia’
and was told it’s very simple and easy to use. So after installing the
programme I got to work and realised the difference immediately, Camtasia had
and did everything I needed it to; allowing me to give my product the tone it
needed by adding certain transitions, slowing down specific clips and adding
music for the final touch.
From the different software’s I have learnt that different
programmes may work better for other people, whether that’s because they know
how to use it or because it has everything they need for their product. Also
some are easier to use than others as I found the user face on some software
was too complicated and difficult to find what I needed.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I have improved
my skill set when it comes to editing, using a camera and the overall
understand of film. I now feel more confident when it comes to editing as when
comparing my opening two minutes to my preliminary, there’s a huge difference
in terms of the different layers that have been applied to each individual clip
such as the speed of the clip, the filter (if one has been used) and whether or
not there’s any added sound effects or music; things that I didn’t really have
chance to add or didn’t feel were needed in the preliminary. Now when using a
camera, I know what angle I should use in order to get across a certain tone or
mood to the audience depending on the genre of the text and how each shot
should be edited together for the best result.
Moreover, I now understand why films have been shot in
certain way, how a text is filmed and the people chosen for each role is all
done for a reason. The actors or actresses maybe famous for playing a certain
style within film so are chosen as the writer’s and or director feel they’ll do
the role justice. I understand the difference between independent and major
film companies and why certain companies are associated with certain films due
to the other products they can release alongside their product to benefit each
other and help create awareness for each through the use of synergy. For example
take Sony and Skyfall, each James Bond film is famous for having a different
theme song and as Sony own their own record label they’re able to choose one of
their artists to perform the song.
