Evaluation

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

As we researched further in our genre (thriller) we came to the decision that in order to have a successful thriller based chase scene the shots and scene had to be instant. This created the audience’s expectation of a suspicion amongst the characters and the level of interest from the audience increased.
James bond 1.20 – onwards
Train spotting 0 – 30 seconds

In James Bond, the chase scene is very intense as the characters are looking very serious and the audience can see this is an important scene. The sound also adds to the seriousness of the scene. In our production we decided to make sure the characters were shown to be serious to make the production seem more realistic and to fit in with the mise en scene.
With Trainspotting, we found it easier to relate with as it was a production set in Britain and mise en scene was similar to our production idea. In James Bond it was harder to relate to as it was a much higher budgeted production and was set in Madagascar. Also the motive of the chase is much different to our production, as in James Bond the motive of the heroic figure is to kill the antagonist whereas in our production the heroic figure is only being chased.

In Train spotting, there is a glimmer of comedy shown in the chase scene as “Renton” is being chased by security guards for what the audience thinks, shoplifting.

Trainspotting- youtube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koP4O6QAzx4

James Bond - youtube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=106X0BbiglA


Our production has a different approach to the chase scene as it is not clear why the protagonist is being chased by the other character. Whereas in Trainspotting the audience is given a clear view for the reason of ‘Renton’ running, for which he thinks he is being chased. We found it easier to link Trainspotting with our production as it was a low budget film, whereas James Bond was of a much higher budget. The shots used in Trainspotting inspired us as we then decided to make our production similar. The mise en scene of our film linked well together with Trainspotting because we used many camera works, for example there is a close up of Ozair and Suhaibs shoes. We also used low angle shots of the characters running past as well as close up’s on the characters facial expression.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our film there are two main protagonists who are young Asian men. This is usual in British films as it is stereotypical that ethnic minorities are always getting up to no good. In our film there are two males aged 18, this is stereotypical as this is the average age of young men getting up to bad habits. This could indicate that Asian males only interact with people who are part of their own ethnic group, as they are not seen with any other male/female from different background.
As part of our media production we wanted to include people from other ethnic groups, we did this by placing extras as part of the ‘public’ whilst the actors were running, this showed more diversification. There is Juxtaposition at the beginning of the film when the voiceover is done by a female (Ateeka) she is speaking over the male character (Suhaib). This voiceover is telling us that the female has control and that she has already been through what the young teenager is now going to experience; she claims that she is living the “High Life”. We wanted this to be the main contrast between male and females as we wanted to point out to the audience that men aren’t always in charge and that they can take orders from a female figure whom portrays herself to be ‘running the city.’

What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

The kind of media institution which could distribute our media product would be a company like ‘Metrodome Distribution’, this is a distributor which has advertised and promoted low budget movies for example, Shifty. The reason for this is because our production relates to Shifty as we also had a low budget. Also because our production is a U.K based film we need production companies such as BBC Films and Film London to be responsible for the development and physical production. Another media institution which could possible distribute our media product is United International Pictures; they have distributed many U.K films worldwide for example, Shaun of the Dead. This was distributed in the U.K, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Netherlands and many more. The reason we found this intuition suitable is because our production will need to be distributed in the U.K as well worldwide and with their expertise they could help promote and advertise our film. Other production companies which could help our media product are Channel 4 Films, Figment Films, The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company.






Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our film would be young teenagers/ adult. The reason for this is because in our production the main actors are aged 17/18 and they show what some teenagers get up, this can indicate how society is changing vigorously also the pressure young people have on them. Another motive for choosing this specific audience as our main target group was that it could help draw young teenagers to come and watch our media product as they may be able to relate to the storyline, not only that this target audience suited our production and can be associated to the movie ‘ Shifty’ whom target audience is similar.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

The techniques we used to represent our genre was shown by the mise en scene for example, many props were worn/held by the actors to catch the audience’s attention to what is going on and gradually leaving them in suspense.
The first prop we used was the Police Car, which Ozair was walking past whilst on the phone; this is where he first notices Suhaib. This prop helped us capture the audience attention and let them know that something interesting is going to happen. We used the mise en scene on the corner when Suhaib was exchanging a package with Muneeb. This connotes that something bad is going to happen because usually ‘drug dealing’ takes place, on corner of streets.

Between each take we used an editing effect to link each shot together, which could possibly draw the audience in. We used fade and dissolve to link the scenes which made it more appealing. Also a low angle shot of Suhaib was taken in which he was smoking, this could indicate that he is a troubled character who is really stressed and worried about a particular thing.

A “shaky” camera was used when Ozair is running towards Suhaib and Muneeb. We used this because we wanted to create a feel of action as if something really bad was about to happen. We also used a point of view shot from Suhaib’s view when he is looking at Ozair running past him because he has just got away from him. This was used because we wanted the audience to see from his perspective. We also used a mid-shot of Ozair chasing Suhaib through a crowd of people in town. This added more effect to our film as it wasn’t just set in a deserted area but also where it was busy and this would connote that it is something serious as they are running through a crowd of people.




What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

When using the editing suite we learnt a number of skills. The first skill we learnt was how to log and capture our work from the camera and store it onto the computer. The other skill we learnt was how to use the razor blade. This was a very important as it was one of our main tool which was used to cut and shorten scenes, also it was also used as a ‘blade’ to crop minor scenes instantly. Many scenes were recorded continuously as we wanted a variety of scenes, the best scenes were put in our main production, for example, we took many shots of Ozair chasing Suhaib and Muneeb through the alleyway into the open town, we repeated this shot many times as we needed a clear path for the actors to run on which was interrupted my local people walking past. This is where the tool came in handy and helped us choose the best clip. Another skill which we learnt was how to link effects between scenes. Many effects such as ‘dissolve’ and ‘fade’ were used, at first our whole film was just one continuous sequence which didn’t link together very well. Once the effects were introduced into our sequence it looked more smooth, appealing and effective.
The other skill we gained knowledge of was how to put text into our film; we used this to add our film title ‘The High Life’ as well as the actors, directors and producers name, we also used the text to write the name of our production company. On the editing suite we also used ‘garage band’ to create music which would be most suitable for our opening clip.

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt from the progression from it to the full task?

In the preliminary task we learnt how to use the camera as well as how operate the cameras extra equipment. This helped us to prepare and plan our shots for the main task and possible erect any difficulties that may arise.
This enabled us to step up our quality in production, for example the low angles shot we used to show Suhaib walking up to Muneeb just before they exchange the packages. This shot was an improvement from earlier in the preliminary task which we tried to create but didn’t work so well.
In the time between the preliminary task and our main production our group learnt how to use the 180 degree rule to an effect. At first during the preliminary task it was shaky but in the main production it was smooth, we used it to show Suhaib looking over the city. We also learnt several editing techniques for example we learnt how to add in effects to make our production link together well making it run more smoothly, we also were taught how to use the blade to cut and edit scenes so we can assemble the right shots and put it into our production.

Not only that we discovered how to use the text box and how to add it to our film. This was helpful as we needed to put the characters name ( Ozair Khalid and Suhaib Khan) once they had been introduced in the film, as well show who our production company are ( channel 4 and lion head) and lastly put the names of production and editing team (Ateeka Ahmed and Muneeb Chowdrey).