1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
This is 9 different frames from my film portraying the overall idea of what happens throughout the opening sequence.
One technique we used while filming the opening sequence was to learn how to record with the camera while moving to keep the camera very steady. We wanted to use this technique as many tracks allow the audience to follow the character to where the character is going and to go on the same sort of path as them to see what they face. Also, we had to learn to record with the camera with steady hands as we had no dolly available to us which made it harder for us to do shots of the main character Ugi as it was difficult to keep the camera steady.
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Codes and convention - Narrative
Roland Barthes
Enigma code : narrative devices that present a puzzle or riddle to the audience.
Action code: a narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action.
For the narrative of our opening sequence we looked to Roland Barthes, this is because we found that the enigma code in ours is the killing of Berks by Ugi which creates a riddle for the audience as they only know a part of why he killed Berks and for the rest of movie it can create a riddle and can only come to a end by a resolution of someone explaining why Ugi killed Berks or someone getting revenge. Furthermore, we found this effective for our genre because i feel that an action/thriller genre should create more puzzles for the audience to try and solve before it actually gets resolved so the audience can be surprised and can also be made more interactive with the film as it makes them think throughout with more scenes adding onto it and more puzzles till an eventual resolution.
Enigma code : narrative devices that present a puzzle or riddle to the audience.
Action code: a narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action.
For the narrative of our opening sequence we looked to Roland Barthes, this is because we found that the enigma code in ours is the killing of Berks by Ugi which creates a riddle for the audience as they only know a part of why he killed Berks and for the rest of movie it can create a riddle and can only come to a end by a resolution of someone explaining why Ugi killed Berks or someone getting revenge. Furthermore, we found this effective for our genre because i feel that an action/thriller genre should create more puzzles for the audience to try and solve before it actually gets resolved so the audience can be surprised and can also be made more interactive with the film as it makes them think throughout with more scenes adding onto it and more puzzles till an eventual resolution.
Codes and convention - Genre
Genre theorist 2: Daniel Chandler
Genres tend to be about codes and conventions, what we see. -such as themes or settings (including structure and style) -Narrative -Characters -Themes -Settings -Iconography -Filming Techniques |
Key themes and conventions of a Action/thriller type movie:
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In our final version of our opening sequence we show lots of different codes and conventions but one in which we present the most is the the genre theory from Daniel Chandler that the 'genre tends to be about the codes and conventions, what we see such as themes or settings as well as character, narrative and so on ( genre research on research section. One reason why we chose to portray our opening sequence from this way is because a lot of movies such as se7en's opening sequence (click here to watch it) which is a thriller movie but has elements of action is that, it has elements of mystery and lets the audience create their own idea about what is happening and unlock more as more is revealed.
Furthermore, one way in which we were able to show the key themes of our convention is that it has high suspense creating scene till just before the chase scene. This is effective because in thriller/action movies suspense is good to build adrenaline and tension to the situation. Also, in the chase scene through different types of shots from POV to a panning shot at a high pace makes the chase scene more entertaining and shows the reality of the scene and what goes on then. Additionally, the music in the background is good because as well as the quick cuts in the scene you are able to feel it really through the tempo that the music in the background sets.
Furthermore, one way in which we were able to show the key themes of our convention is that it has high suspense creating scene till just before the chase scene. This is effective because in thriller/action movies suspense is good to build adrenaline and tension to the situation. Also, in the chase scene through different types of shots from POV to a panning shot at a high pace makes the chase scene more entertaining and shows the reality of the scene and what goes on then. Additionally, the music in the background is good because as well as the quick cuts in the scene you are able to feel it really through the tempo that the music in the background sets.
One opening sequence we took a lot of inspiration from is 'The Dark Knight Bank Robbery Scene' this is because in this opening scene it links a lot to Daniel Chandler's theory this is because even before the 2minute of the sequence you can guess what's going to happen because the way the characters are presented not showing there faces wearing masks and the way in which they are going from building to building through a broken window and zip wire shows then as antagonists from the start. Also, you can see that they are antagonist from the way they're dressed with Clown masks which doesn't have the denotation of anything good but something that scares people. Furthermore, this opening sequence really inspired me as the director because i feel that allowing the audience to guess and try work out the movie while in keeps them in constant suspense as well as at a high adrenaline level.
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Mise-en-Scene
Cinematography
Editing
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Match on action - We used this editing technique in 2 different places one where Ugi is leaving the arcade and is leaving the arcade. We used this technique as we didn't want to bore the audience by showing him leave from different angles with a straight cut and stable shot. We also wanted to make it seem as if the audience was going in the path of Ugi is going which is effective because it can make it seem that as the camera follows Ugi it's as if there following him as well on his path. Another place we use match on action is when Ugi is getting the gun, this is because we wanted to show the power change at the end of the match on action to show the importance of him getting the gun.
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Cross-Cutting - We used this editing technique because it allows the audience to foreshadow what might happen. This is a good thing because it makes the audience build up tension as to what might happen and what is going to happen in the confrontation, how it is going to go down?
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Shot Reverse Shot - We used a shot reverse shot to show to the audience just before Berks is about to be shot what each character is feeling. This is important and effective because it allows the audience to sympathize with Berks and try to comprehend the situation he is in. Also, a shot reverse shot allows the audience to see matters from each person and understand it from there way while hearing what they're saying.
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Eye-line match - We used a eye-line match in our opening sequence for the sole purpose of allowing the audience to feel what the character is feeling at that point of time and allows the audience to see from his point of view and also allows the audience to see what the other character is feeling and how it seems for the other character.
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2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Berks & Ugi
3 - What kind of institution might distribute your media product & why?
For what kind of institution would distribute my media product I researched Paramount picture, Hammerfilm productions (all can be found in film studio research in the research section) and Columbia pictures to see which one I think would distribute my media product i researched Paramount and Columbia Pictures in more detail as they've been creating films on a larger scale then Hammerfilm productions and more with the genre of the film's opening sequence i am making.
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We decided to use our own design as well as Columbia Pictures because you can co-produce and we felt that having a co-producers logo like Columbia Pictures also allows your own logo to grow as well. This is because as Columbia pictures logo and opening is highly known around the world you can access the film from their wiki page and see the name of other co-producers, this is a good thing because it allows you to be more known and gives the audience an idea of what type of films you produce and gets the movies you made more known with that. We decided that we would make it a co-produced and distributed film as many film records such as Hammer film records an British film company when creating 'The woman in black' they let Momentum pictures distribute for them. Also, Momentum pictures is an good example as it is one of the leading independent motion picture distributors in the UK and Ireland which links very well with Big boy productions as we are also independent and getting into allowing already established filming studios to be there helps reputation grow. As well as that, Momentum pictures is based in UK which makes it all the more an example for Big boy productions with its distributional style and how it does it as it can lead an example of how to establish yourself in the filming industry.
Furthermore, we want to use Big boy productions to let Columbia pictures to be a co-producer as it would allow Big boy productions to grow and also enables us to send a message of what Big boy production those and the new innovations and new styles they try to already established genres such as Action or thriller and combining them or adding more to them as it shows the theory behind Big boy productions that genre is a forever improving and developing style in which films go by. |
4 – Who would be the audience for your media product?
Everything taken from the official BBFC website about age ratings and classifications for each age rating. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202014_6.pdf
The age rating for our film is 12A/12 we think as it doesn't include a lot of graphic scenes and doesn't promote any sort of anti-social behaviour. Our target audience was 15+ as we gave out a survey which you can see in market research to see what our audience liked and for this they picked mainly action/thriller. Also, some teachers in our school also took the survey and they also said they liked action or thriller films as well as some saying they like comedy. From the survey we also found out what type of props attributes they like to see in the film and it was mainly suspense filling attributes and to be interesting.
The age rating for our film is 12A/12 we think as it doesn't include a lot of graphic scenes and doesn't promote any sort of anti-social behaviour. Our target audience was 15+ as we gave out a survey which you can see in market research to see what our audience liked and for this they picked mainly action/thriller. Also, some teachers in our school also took the survey and they also said they liked action or thriller films as well as some saying they like comedy. From the survey we also found out what type of props attributes they like to see in the film and it was mainly suspense filling attributes and to be interesting.
Psycho-graphic profile of our target audience
5 – How did you attract/address your audience?
All the videos below are responses from the people who watched our opening sequence and they say what they liked overall, and what parts they liked the most and parts they disliked.
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Overall, something that we learnt from all the responses is that the variety of different shots in the starting bit, the soundtrack and continuity of editing was really good as in 'audience response 3' he described it as 'action packed' and in many they said it was interesting. This means that it was a success for us in the interest we got from the audience in the start in which the our audience liked. However, one thing that commonly came up as a problem in the opening sequence was that the when Ugi is leaving the arcade the soundtrack is too loud and the dialogue is not heard properly. This can be a problem because the dialogue can be key to the rest of the movie and also allow the audience to understand more about the character Ugi and his surrounding and associates. Furthermore, another thing that came up was not much of a problem but something that can be improved more which was to make the chase scene longer as they said it was too short and that it was very adrenaline filling but didn't last long enough which i think next time if i was to re-film would be to find more space in which you can have more shots of the chase and make it more interesting as the shot of the chase was interesting but didn't last long.
What went well with our video?
The survey we composed https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/L3T3XHZ .
This survey that we sent around the school alongside the link for our video was to get feedback on the different opinions for our opening sequence. One question that we were keen on getting feedback was how our audience would summarise our opening sequence in 3 words. The response we found the most intriguing and gave us the satisfaction of creating a film and sending the right message was how 3 people described it as "gripping,intense,dramatic", "decent, fast-paced, interesting" and "creative,funny, action based" these were the responses that we felt gave us the right image of how our film went, this is because it being gripping and intense are general conventions of a thriller movie getting the audience hooked up and look for clues. Also, it being fast-paced and interesting are both conventions of action and thriller as it being fast-paced is a general theme put forward for action movies as it is very upbeat and alive in it's tempo and it being interesting allows our characters to be represented more strongly with what they stand for. Furthermore, another comment that was good was it being creative and funny this was good feedback as some action movies are seen to have some elements of comedy however, as this was a survey giving out around our school some people knew the actors in our film and might of found their acting a bit comedic.
Another question we asked was if it reminded anyone of any other opening sequence and we got a 50/50 feedback this was interesting as this in a way allows us to be original with the new ideas and additions we added to the action/thriller genre by being more flexible with it but also shows that it has enough codes and conventions of an action/thriller film to allow the audience to have the conventional type of actions happening in films but with a thriller end in some parts of the opening sequence. Furthermore, one more question that was important in our survey to ask was which elements do audience liked in our opening sequence, from this we got back the perfect response with the majority liking the location of where we based it. This was a good response as we placed it in a highly busy place to subvert some of the general thriller films to be in a more subtle, discrete location and this allows us to add something new in that sense into the action/thriller genre.
Another question we asked was if it reminded anyone of any other opening sequence and we got a 50/50 feedback this was interesting as this in a way allows us to be original with the new ideas and additions we added to the action/thriller genre by being more flexible with it but also shows that it has enough codes and conventions of an action/thriller film to allow the audience to have the conventional type of actions happening in films but with a thriller end in some parts of the opening sequence. Furthermore, one more question that was important in our survey to ask was which elements do audience liked in our opening sequence, from this we got back the perfect response with the majority liking the location of where we based it. This was a good response as we placed it in a highly busy place to subvert some of the general thriller films to be in a more subtle, discrete location and this allows us to add something new in that sense into the action/thriller genre.
6 – What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
From making our film I found out how long it takes to make a film, as due to me researching films like Taken 3 which took 10 months to make the whole movie. This is quite a long time and my film to 3 weeks to film a couple of times,edit and then get the final version which was just for my opening sequence. However, for a film like ours only 2 people filmed in the last one when we had a group of 4 (2 group members couldn't make it) whereas, there are hundreds of crew members and actors making the film Taken 3 and all in different sectors of the film which means they were all more specialized in what they were doing which would allow them to make the film with minimal errors. One thing I would've liked to alter in the product is to have more camera shots from a higher point to show the audience the bigger picture of when Ugi confronts Berks as i think this would've created more of an adrenaline build-up when Ugi gets closer and closer to where Berks is. Furthermore, another shot I would've done differently would be to find quieter more isolated areas around Chinatown to show Berks vulnerability even more because they went from a really crowded area to a place which is quiet next to people passing by a lot which could be a bit unrealistic for the audience as too why people didn't call the police or why no one is trying to help him. However, that could also show the harsh reality of the survival of the fittest and the strict ethics people possess, Additionally, one thing I could alter is that I would use more Foley tracks that we make ourselves such as the dialogue part as it could make the sound clearer to the audience and be much understandable to the audience then any interruptions in there. |
One shot I am really proud of is the long shot of Ugi walking across the road and us filming behind the gate. This shot was really good because it allowed us to focus on our character without using the camera to shallow focus (which we use later on in the clip) also it allowed the audience to see from a more closed view as to where the character is going which made him more mysterious and suspicious. Another shot in which I am really proud of is the shot when Berks is coming out the massage place, this is because we used the shallow focus to focus just on Berks and make the people around him be out of focus which was a really good way in my opinion to introduce Berks to the opening sequence as it makes it clear he is an important character in the opening sequence. There weren't a lot of limitations to my creativity but one obstacle there was, was with the camera battery and the people around there. This is because the camera limited the amount of time we could spend each time there as the battery was limited and we didn't have any spare ones to replace it. Also, with the people around there, there were a lot of tourists and they got happy each time they saw us filming and sometimes waved, stared and obstructed us filming and as we didn't have any power to close the area of to film we had to wait for them to go past and had to redo a couple shots as when we started filming someone might cut in front of us blocking the camera from seeing the actors which limited the things we could do building up to the confrontation. |
Editing/Sound
This is the final form of our editing on how it looks on the editing program Sony Vegas Pro. During the editing of our filming we wanted to start it off slow and increase the pace of the film gradually for this we had already found a soundtrack (can also be found in planning section under 'sound design') that suits the action/thriller genre as it starts off with a electric instrumental with a bit of bass and in the middle fastens up. Furthermore, as we couldn't make the soundtracks ourselves as we weren't that good at making our own soundtracks we had to make sure the cropping of scenes and the general filming of the opening sequence had to match the soundtrack or we would have to find other ones which matched it. But, luckily with the fast pace cuts during the second part of the sequence we were able to make it match well and it sounded quite decent with our opening sequence. Also, the soundtrack was 2minutes and 35seconds long whereas our opening sequence was 2minutes and 30 seconds long.
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Special effects - Colour enhancement
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One thing we worked on when editing was that when filming to colours looked really plain and dull, due to this we thought it would be a good idea to enhance the colours on the scenes to make them seem more lively and more intriguing for the audience. For this on the editing program Vegas Pro we used Magic bullet looks where you can choose the different type of colour enhanced background you want. For this we picked 'Vibrant'. We picked 'Vibrant' because we felt this made the colours stand out more and look lively and this is the type of lighting and colour we wanted lively and to stand out as most action films have colours and backgrounds which look appealing to the audience. As well as that, the addition of the 'Vibrant' magic bullet look as well as being to make it look more lively, we also used it to make it look more sophisticated and give it a well refurbished cinematic look.
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7 – Looking back at your prelim task, what have you learnt in the progression from that to the final product?
Video of us looking back at everything we've done from preliminary task to the final opening sequence.