What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?
I think that independant film companies would be the most likely to market this product, as a low - budget horror/mystery movie. Films such as Shaun of the Dead and Billy Elliot, made by Britain's lowest budget film producers' 'Working Title' smaller section, 'WT2', are made using similar circumstances, using limited resources with a small budget. Another, named 'The Last independant film production company', has produced a few independant films, such as 'Waiting in Rhyme', 'Expresso' and 'Night walk' and would be the most likely avenue in which to distribute our product. We would expect that a British company would be the one to produce our product, as our film is fundamentally not an expensive Hollywood blockbuster, rather using simple filming and editing techniques to create a straightforward yet extremely effective film.
We would, however, consider approaching bigger film production companies such as 'Warner Brothers', 'Paramount' and 'Universal' to produce our film, as we think that our product has a key element of what a Blockbuster needs, the storyline that film - goers know and love, that of a chase. Film - goers love action in a film, and also like mystery. In this way, we capture a huge demographic, in terms of mystery and horror film lovers. Our film is appealing to many different groups of people, so it may be likely that a large film production company such as 'Universal' may be interested in producing our product. We tried to make sure while filming and editing, that we didn't exclude any groups that could and would appreciate our film.
We make use of the fact that our cast are teenage, and that young people will be able to relate easily to the situation of receiving unwanted messages, or other forms of communication. Nowadays most teenagers have at least one form of communication, whether mobile phone, social networking sites, or other messaging applications, and many people will be able to relate to being cyber - threatened. The sad fact is many people may have received death threats and we say to these people through our film that trying to run away is simply not the right thing to do. We aim to tell viewers that anyone experiencing something similar should talk to friends, family or other people in a position to help them, and not try to deal with situations such as this one on your own.
Our film also has some of the key characteristics of films that are shown in Blockbuster chain cinemas, such as the fact that it is a typical Hollywood chase scene, with the twist that it takes place in daytime. Our film is typically British, half of the film taking place in a normal looking room, the other half, in a park with an abandoned house. These ideas are naturalistic, with especially the abandoned house being something used to good effect in previous horror films, ie 'Saw', and 'The Shining'. When we filmed the clip, we tried to make sure that we left some information hidden, so it gives the viewer that extra sense of complete ignorance to what is going to happen, which in our view makes the outcome more exciting.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Evaluation. Q2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our film heavily features teenagers, a social sterotype in modern times. In a way we indulge these sterotypes, with violence and 'attitude' being key themes running through the clip, however we also see the bravery and strength of teenagers, and how will to live can be a powerful force. We also see the lack of communication between the threatened character and anyone else, a common problem with teenagers of today. He simply uses instinct and tries to escape. This shows that teenagers need to be helped and guided by adults, as otherwise they may go off the rails and do something stupid. Our film also acts as representing adults and parents in a negative way, as none of them even know what is going on. We see that the main character feels alone, depressed and scared, and although this is a fictional situation, many people in similar situations are in reality sitting in houses, or on park benches all over the world feeling just as alone as our character, just as upset and just as scared.
We try to represent as many people as possible, for example, the mise en scene of a run down house, normal looking clothes, normal houses and cars show that our film represents working class people, and that we aren't American Millionaire producers, rather common British people. Our cast is made up of Caucasian teenage males, so we are representing normal teenage views and problems in our film. We use the mise en scene to also help reinforce the image that the film is reality, and is a situation that is actually taking place. If we had used a rich estate, i think the mood of the film would have been much less effective. We use a common area to help our genre and storyline take hold with the audience, and make it seem real.
We represent people with depression, and those who are paranoid, as when our character receives the threatening text message, he tells no one, ask no one for help, and his only thought is to escape. We show that people act irrationally in these kind of situations, and that people are always unpredictable, as everyone believes our character is fine, right up until he attempts to leave, and I don't think even he knows where he is intending to go, or even what he is trying to escape. We also represent people who believe that you should not stand for being threatened, and should tell someone who is in a position to help.
Our film heavily features teenagers, a social sterotype in modern times. In a way we indulge these sterotypes, with violence and 'attitude' being key themes running through the clip, however we also see the bravery and strength of teenagers, and how will to live can be a powerful force. We also see the lack of communication between the threatened character and anyone else, a common problem with teenagers of today. He simply uses instinct and tries to escape. This shows that teenagers need to be helped and guided by adults, as otherwise they may go off the rails and do something stupid. Our film also acts as representing adults and parents in a negative way, as none of them even know what is going on. We see that the main character feels alone, depressed and scared, and although this is a fictional situation, many people in similar situations are in reality sitting in houses, or on park benches all over the world feeling just as alone as our character, just as upset and just as scared.
We try to represent as many people as possible, for example, the mise en scene of a run down house, normal looking clothes, normal houses and cars show that our film represents working class people, and that we aren't American Millionaire producers, rather common British people. Our cast is made up of Caucasian teenage males, so we are representing normal teenage views and problems in our film. We use the mise en scene to also help reinforce the image that the film is reality, and is a situation that is actually taking place. If we had used a rich estate, i think the mood of the film would have been much less effective. We use a common area to help our genre and storyline take hold with the audience, and make it seem real.
We represent people with depression, and those who are paranoid, as when our character receives the threatening text message, he tells no one, ask no one for help, and his only thought is to escape. We show that people act irrationally in these kind of situations, and that people are always unpredictable, as everyone believes our character is fine, right up until he attempts to leave, and I don't think even he knows where he is intending to go, or even what he is trying to escape. We also represent people who believe that you should not stand for being threatened, and should tell someone who is in a position to help.
Screenshots.
This is the first shot of the chase sequence in the film. It is important, as it is an establishing shot, and introduces both the very normal surroundings and time of day.
This shows the biker from behind, and is slightly blurred. This shows the speed at which he is going, and also gives an impression of the character escaping, as he is in front of the viewer in the shot.
This shot is dark, and shows a large amount of the area in which we filmed, so gives the viewer more information on the background. It also shows the path which the biker and the chaser are both travelling down.
This is a screenshot from the tracking shot we employed, showing one of the characters speeding down a path onto the main road. This gives a sense of the motion involved, and the determination on his face shows his emotion, and that of the circumstances.
This shot shows the boy on his bike, with only a small bag on his back. this emphasises the shock of the situation, and how he has almost immediately attempted escape.
The body position of the chaser in this position shows the speed at which he moves. The wide shot shows the normality of the area, and also the similar circumstances surrounding the character's clothes and appearance, that of a normal teenage boy.
This photo is blurred, with only the outline of the character's bike in view. This creates an idea that the biker is extremely tired, and out of breath due to the exertion he and his adrenaline is putting on his body.
This shot shows the runner sprinting with no emotion on his face. It is slightly scary as he looks dead, but he is moving quickly. This relates to the kind of atmpsphere we wanted to create in our film, one of fear and mystery.
This shot is a wide shot, showing the background, and the gates to the abandoned house. We see him preparing to run, and you get a feel that this is a momentous part of the film.
This is a shot of our character looking distressed. This shows the severity of the situation and how he is genuinely worried for his life. We also had the mise en scene of his teenage clothes providing key realism.
This is one of the final shots of the film, showing one of our characters sprinting toward the other. We used slow motion for this scene in the film, as it is pivotal.
Evaluation. Q1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our video fundamentally replicates modern day films made using huge budgets with only limited resources, through using only what sources of information, expertise and equipment that we had available. Our film uses films such as 'The Silence Of The Lambs' and 'Shaun of the Dead' as inspiration, as they use daylight to almost enhance the fear created. In this way, we join with these iconic films to challenge the questionable notion that horrors must be based in darkened houses, or abandoned hotels in the dead of night. We try to offer an alternative to the films that are churned out of the machines that are Transatlantic Film corporations. We aimed to create a new breed of British film with the idea that you can combine two different genres, horror and mystery, and put a twist on the action sludge that Universal, Warner Brothers and Paramount put out to make a few million profit.
We use the key element of mystery to give the opening a slightly detective style, with the viewer only given enough information to keep them up to date with the story, but not enough to make the plot obvious. We place emphasis on the reality of the situation, in both the video and director's commentary, and the use of a mobile phone and it's diegetic vibration give the scene an even more natural feel. The voiceover show that it is very british, in particular mancunian, and shows that we are proud of our heritage, as we could have employed the use of an American style voice, like most Hollywood blockbuster films. We aim to create something British that may be able to match the days of 'Hammer' horror films in the 1930's. The fact that we use limited cast may provide a refreshing change to Hollywood monstrosities, for example, the film 'Troy' used 100+ in its cast just for the warriors involved.
We used editing software that is quite basic compared to software used by films produced by Blockbuster corporations. We used the software effectively to create a product that wasn't hindered by modern day restrictions put on smaller film companies such as budget and casting. We attempted to use the equipment we had to create a product that uses a combination of intuitive filming, careful editing and sound effects that worked well with our footage. The product we created is different to most films, even independant ones, as it was shot entirely in a normal, manchester park and shows real people and real situations. Even independant films tend to take on rather implausible story lines. We aimed to create something real, something people could leave and think to themselves, 'Wow, that's powerful stuff.'
Our video fundamentally replicates modern day films made using huge budgets with only limited resources, through using only what sources of information, expertise and equipment that we had available. Our film uses films such as 'The Silence Of The Lambs' and 'Shaun of the Dead' as inspiration, as they use daylight to almost enhance the fear created. In this way, we join with these iconic films to challenge the questionable notion that horrors must be based in darkened houses, or abandoned hotels in the dead of night. We try to offer an alternative to the films that are churned out of the machines that are Transatlantic Film corporations. We aimed to create a new breed of British film with the idea that you can combine two different genres, horror and mystery, and put a twist on the action sludge that Universal, Warner Brothers and Paramount put out to make a few million profit.
We use the key element of mystery to give the opening a slightly detective style, with the viewer only given enough information to keep them up to date with the story, but not enough to make the plot obvious. We place emphasis on the reality of the situation, in both the video and director's commentary, and the use of a mobile phone and it's diegetic vibration give the scene an even more natural feel. The voiceover show that it is very british, in particular mancunian, and shows that we are proud of our heritage, as we could have employed the use of an American style voice, like most Hollywood blockbuster films. We aim to create something British that may be able to match the days of 'Hammer' horror films in the 1930's. The fact that we use limited cast may provide a refreshing change to Hollywood monstrosities, for example, the film 'Troy' used 100+ in its cast just for the warriors involved.
We used editing software that is quite basic compared to software used by films produced by Blockbuster corporations. We used the software effectively to create a product that wasn't hindered by modern day restrictions put on smaller film companies such as budget and casting. We attempted to use the equipment we had to create a product that uses a combination of intuitive filming, careful editing and sound effects that worked well with our footage. The product we created is different to most films, even independant ones, as it was shot entirely in a normal, manchester park and shows real people and real situations. Even independant films tend to take on rather implausible story lines. We aimed to create something real, something people could leave and think to themselves, 'Wow, that's powerful stuff.'
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Shot List
At the beginning of the film, we use the presentation of a threatening text message as an introduction to the storyline. There is an effective shot where we can see David's reflection, and it shows the expression of fear on his face. We then have a scene made up on cuts of shots of David looking extremely distressed, which again reinforces the idea that he is in a lot of trouble, which is also shown through the use of a voiceover.
The shots we have decided to use are mainly mid-shots for the bike scene as David rides past the camera a number of times. We will use the same shots for Paul's role as he runs past each camera angle.
Long-shots will be used to show David riding into the abandoned house, and Paul following him.
We will also use a long-shot when capturing the crime scene area with the police tape.
Close-ups will be used throughout the filming process.
We used tracking shots to follow David and Paul as they make their way along the route we decided to use.
The shots we have decided to use are mainly mid-shots for the bike scene as David rides past the camera a number of times. We will use the same shots for Paul's role as he runs past each camera angle.
Long-shots will be used to show David riding into the abandoned house, and Paul following him.
We will also use a long-shot when capturing the crime scene area with the police tape.
Close-ups will be used throughout the filming process.
We used tracking shots to follow David and Paul as they make their way along the route we decided to use.
PEDAL
We also watch the 'Pedal' video to help us decide on shots we could use when filming the bike. There are various ways to record a moving bike, different angles, close-ups and mid-shots. We have taken into account the different effects have on the scene. This is a documentary - style video, and took into use many of the shots and themes that we were attempting to recreate in our video. They used many items of equipment similar to ours, including a fairly simplistic video camera, and fixed gear bicycles.
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqTxNgEtL4I
Monday, 22 March 2010
Shaun of the dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k
The three of us watched this trailer as we all thought it was a great movie, after watching this we decided to respond to it, using a chase sequence. We used a wide variety of angles and special effects, such as heavy breathing and a heartbeat to emphasise the fear, tension and physical strain in the video. We also implemented some dark, eerie music to complement the feel of the whole piece. The opening to Shaun of the dead is light, with the main characters being shown in the pub,and this is similar to our beginning, as we show a boy riding his bike, quite innocently, until the effects come in and we show that he is being chased.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)