Evaluation

Throughout the Media course we have working towards a short opening film that we will be marked on; our film is a Comedy Thriller and is for the ages of 12 and above.

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

Our goal was to create a short opening to a film that showed what the film is about and hopefully make the viewers want to see more of the film. We are going to create an opening to a comedy thriller. We was inspired by the film Red Dragon and Scary movie, Red dragon Is a thriller and Scary movie is a comedy thriller, both films are similar to ours and we can look at the films a get some ideas for our own film.

In our film we used many different camera angles and techniques to improve the viewing quality and enjoyment, some camera angles that we used were close up, wide shot, POV and Two shot. We used different camera angles in our film to make it more interesting and enjoyable to watch, different camera angles also makes the film suit it genre in some ways for example if you use low angle shots then it creates different feelings than when you use high angle shots.   

We used fire as the main phobia/fear in our film, fire causes damage and many people are scared of it. Fire is also red/orange which can create different emotions and feelings, red is the colour of danger and love and orange is the colour of heat. The antagonist in the film revolves around fire; he burns his victims and strikes when the victim is vulnerable and unaware. The name of our film is Pyrophobia; Pyrophobia is the phobia of fire. The characters in our film are all in the wrong in some way, Pryo (the antagonist) only targets people that have done something wrong from example James (Ryan) is an alcoholic and Dave (Tony) is a thief.

Mise en scene helps to create different feelings and atmosphere in films, in our opening we used Mise en scene to create tension and emotion for example we used a darker light in the chase to create a mood for that scene. The costumes for our film suits the characters, Dave wears a shirt and trousers that he stole from another person and James wears casual worn down clothes, these suit because Dave is a thief and wears what he has stolen and James is a alcoholic and he doesn’t care about what he looks like.

Sound is a big part in thrillers and horrors mainly because it creates emotion and atmosphere, we used sounds that build suspense and that create atmosphere to make the viewers feel uncomfortable and aware.

Fire was used in the opening of our film but the fire was edited in, the logo at the beginning of the film has fire along with it and this is used because it suits the theme of the film and it also gets the viewers in the mood for the film and it gives them and idea of what the film is going to be like. We also used static along with noise to create mood, static would flash onto the screen every now and again.

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

Our media product will defiantly suit our social groups, our social group is aimed more at the teenage age range, this is because the characters in the film are actually teenagers and the teenage viewers may be able to connect to the characters in the film in some way. The characters Dave and James are average teenagers that joke around and act silly; they have a laugh but do have a bad side to them. They are best mates and get on with each other really well. The title and villain of the film will suit social groups that are interested in Horrors and thrillers, young adults and teenagers are most popular in Horrors and thrillers so this age range is suitable for our film. The title will draw audiences who are interested in Horrors in because as soon as you read the name of the film you have an idea and you can make a guess that the film is a horror and then people may want to know more about it and watch the trailer or search about it.

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

Our media product ‘Pyrophobia’ is a small film which means it has a low budget, this means that it would be unsuitable to be distributed by a conglomerate like Warner Brothers because they distribute big blockbuster films with large budgets and Stars, even their lower budget films have a high budget but they just don’t have the same publicity and popularity. After doing some research we thought that Lions Gate would be an ideal distributer because they have distributed other horror films such as “Alone in the dark”, “The Last Exorcism” And “Saw”.  Lions Gate would be an ideal distributor because I think that it would fit in with their other films well, Pyrophobia won’t be a big hit with lots of publicity but it could still be a film that can be enjoyed by an audience. Pyrophobia would be a cheap film that can be enjoyed still, but it would be underrated.

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

Our media product would be for people who are interested in comedy and thriller films. This is because as stated previously in question 2 the characters in the film are young teenagers that are lively, silly and even stupid; this would mean that they would be more suited for younger people that could relate to them in some way. The age restriction for our film would be below the age of 15 this would be because of bad language in the film. The film would be more suitable for younger people as the characters in the film are young and the viewers may be able to relate to them in some way. The fire in the film would suit teenagers because they may enjoy and think that fire is cool etc. The antagonist in our film would probably suit adults and young adults more than teenagers because he is suspicious and mysterious and some teenagers may not understand him that well they are more interested in action etc.    

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience to our film my making the film suit the style of comedy and thriller we did our best to try and make the film suit both genres which would then mean the film would appeal to people who like at least one of them genres. Before we started to think of initial ideas we created some questionnaires that would ask people what phobias they have and other thing that would help us create a horror. We also asked what colours would be preferred in a horror and what type of setting would be best to film in, we couldn’t use all popular options when filming due to finding and getting to locations etc. We used sound, editing, mise en scene and Camera angles to attract these audiences. We edited fire into the film because of safety and other factors that were stopping us using real fire, we placed a fire filter over the clip that was in the antagonist POV showing Dave getting attacked. We also edited the sound where Dave was waking up James after he was knocked out in his dream where he was being chased by Pyro; we changed the pitch and speed of the sound to create this effect.  We tried to come up with a name for the film that suited the genre and we decided to go with Pyrophobia because most people don’t know what it means and we though that we could use the meaning of it which is the fear of fire in our film. We used fire as the main fear and created the character ‘Pyro’ from the name of the film; ‘Pyro’ from ‘Pyrophobia’ so the name of the film matched the antagonist in the film, the characters had a fear of Pyro.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of construction this product?

During this product I have learnt a lot of things from using a camera in different ways to editing techniques both have been helpful and will help me in the future. To film our product we used a Nikon D3100 with an 18-55 VR (Vibration Reduction) lens which is a suitable standard lens for close to medium shots. We attached a fisheye lens to the camera when we wanted to create a different effect, this lens creates a wide shot and allows the camera to see all around the room. We filmed in HD at 30fps, this was helpful when we was editing as we could slow down the clip a little and the quality and smoothness of the clip still stays but when it goes too low it starts to jump and become lower quality.  From filming I have learnt how to use a camera in interesting ways to make the viewing more interesting and also that it is always better to use a tripod when filming. From editing the film I have learnt different techniques and also I now have a little understanding on how to use the software because before the making of this product I have never used this software before and I didn’t really have an understanding on different ways that you can edit footage. We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our film, this software allowed us to edit in different ways and we could experiment using different filters, lighting etc. I also learnt how to use Mac’s more because we was using them quite often and you learnt more about the different things that you can do on them during this process.

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

When creating our preliminary task we didn’t really have that much knowledge of what we could do in terms of camera angles and techniques and especially editing, we didn’t have that much skill in the editing side but as the product evolved we become more familiar with the software and our skills improved and expanded. After completing the end product we realised how long it actually takes to prepare, film, edit and then produce a product, it takes a lot longer than you would think and hours of work turns into minuets of footage. From doing the preliminary task I learnt about the 180 degree rule, the 180 degree rule is when the camera has to stay on a 180 degree line. The 180 degree rule is usually used in dialogue scenes showing a conversation between two people.

Pitch

Phobias

We have looked at some phobias that we could include in the opening of our film: Lygophobia- Fear of darkness. Agraphobia- Fear of sexual abuse. Agliophobia- Fear of pain. Arsonphobia- Fear of fire. Coulrophobia- Fear of clowns . Enochlophobia- Fear of crowds. Nyctophobia- Fear of the dark or of night. Pediophobia- Fear of dolls. Pyrophobia- Fear of fire.

Today we have been getting together ideas for what we want to do for my opening film. We have decided to create a Horror film and we created a little mind map with some of our ideas on there.

Research into Horror movies

Research into Horror movies

Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Horror films often feature scenes that startle the viewer.

These are some of the most popular horror films:

1.      "Psycho" 

2.      "The Omen" 

3.      "Rosemary's Baby"

4.      "Dracula" 

5.      "Frankenstein" 

6.      "Friday the 13th" 

7.      "A Nightmare on Elm Street" 

8.      "Bride of Frankenstein" 

9.      "The Exorcist" 

10. "The Silence of the Lambs" 

 Horrors don’t always beat records when it comes to earning the most money in the box office but they do have high ROI, the number one movie for ROI is the hit "Paranormal Activity," which was made for $15,000 and had a box office gross of $161,830,890 for a return of 539,336.30%. ROI stands for return on investment, the lower the budget along with high earnings means a high ROI. 

Questionnaire

Analyse how the film’s opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterisation.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is a super hero film that was released in 2012 and was directed by Christopher Nolan, the film has the super hero Batman in and the film was the third of its trilogy by Nolan. The film includes stars such as Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. The film has grossed over £1 billion and is still growing.

The Dark Knight Rises about a terrorist who wants to destroy Gotham called Bane, Batman has not been seen for 8 years due to him being accused of killing an innocent man, but as soon as Bane shows up the Batman does to and he has come to try and save Gotham.

The film starts by introducing Bane, it jumps straight into action, Bane is taken onto a plane with the CIA but they don’t know its him, Bane talks and they then remove the bag from his head and they then know that its Bane, Bane then crashes the plane with him escaping with the Dr, the film opening with an action scene gets you in the mood for the rest of the film and it sets the mood for what the film is going to be like. When they find out its Bane on the plane they seem quite happy, this is probably because everyone is looking for him because he is a big fret to Gotham.

Super hero films usually have one main villain (Bane) and one main hero (Batman), and they both usually meet and have a big battle, in the film Bane and Batman do meet and fight and usually the hero wins but in this case Bane wins and it then makes Bane look more powerful and that Batman has met his match. 

The film has a lot of action in and the lighting throughout he film is quite dark this is to keep the atmosphere the same throughout the film, at the end the lighting is bright and colourful, you get to see Bruce Wayne and Alfred together and the lighting tells you that it is a happy place, you know throughout the film when its happy or sad or when something is about to happen from the light, the light creates emotion and atmosphere to suit the film.

The sound also suits the genre of the film, the sound tells you and gets you in the mood for different scenes, if it’s a action scene then the music will be fast and up beat and then for sad slow scenes the sound will be slow and subtle.

Many different things play a part in letting the audience know what type of film they are watching and what genre it is but I would say that the most important thing when it comes to action is probably sound because sound creates mood and feeling better than anything else and it allows you to connect and feel what is happening in a scene.   

Analyse how the film’s opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterisation.

Se7en

Se7en is an American film that was released in 1995, the genre of the film is Thriller and it has grossed over $327 million. The film was directed by David Fletcher and written by Andrew Walker.

The film is about two detectives, one a rookie and the other a veteran, they both investigate a series of murders related to the seven deadly sins. They find clues at each grime scene and then realise they are dealing with a serial killer.

I will be looking at how the opening of the film shows the genre of the film using different technical codes.

The film doesn’t start with titles it starts by introducing the first main character which is William Somerset one of the two detectives who is played by Morgan Freeman. The shot shows him getting ready for work and then the next scene goes straight o the first crime scene and it shows a man dead lying In a puddle of his own blood, this instantly shows you that the film has blood and death in it, this gets you in the mood for the rest of the film and it shows you what the film is going to be about.

After this there is a shot of William walking through the hall way into the kitchen, he is looking at everything around him looking for clues, this shows he is always working and is trying everything he can to solve the crime. This also shows that he is in charge and operates the investigation. David Mills the second detective and main character then comes up the stairs looking for Somerset, Somerset is the veteran detective and Mills looks up to him and follows his orders, and Somerset is in charge. Throughout this scene the lighting is dark and the dialogue is quiet, this creates a feeling, it’s a tense place and no one wants to be there. The whole film is pretty much in the dark there is no colourful places and objects in the scenes, creates a feeling for the whole film and makes you on edge throughout the film because you know that something is going to happen.

Somerset and Mills are then walking down the street and the camera is low and it is raining and dark outside, the camera being low shows they are bigger than everyone around then and they are in control, the weather creates atmosphere for the film and shows that it isn’t a happy place.

There is then an establishing wide shot of Somerset in his bed alone, this shows the emptiness of the room making him look small and lonely, he then pushes a hand to makes it start ticking and the tick is louder than it should be, the ticking could be like a timer for the next murders, something bad is going to happen, the camera uses a close up of the timer so you know where the ticking is coming from and it could be related to the film in some way. The ticking slowly gets louder creating tension and it makes you feel uneasy like something’s going to happen.

The titles then play and the text used is bold but it shakes and along with the music makes you feel uneasy and uncomfortable, the music is mainly like sound effects of different noise that you don’t normally hear. There are also images and clips of the seven deadly sins which suits the whole film because that is what the deaths are based on, the titles suit the genre of the film and again set the mood for the film.

Analyse how the film’s opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterisation.

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, and the film was released on 21^st May 1999, the film had a budget of $43 million and has grossed $363,889,700 at the Box office. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell. The film stars Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee and Hugh Bonneville.

William Thacker who is played by Hugh Grant owns an independent travel book shop in Notting Hill, he is divorced and shares his house with ‘Spike’ who is an unemployed, clumsy welsh guy. One day when Will was at his book shop a famous actress comes in the shop and buys a book, they then fall in love and Will’s live is changed forever.

The opening of the film starts with women called Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) who is the world’s most famous actress and she is posing for photos, there are super imposed shots from each photo shoot that she does showing that she travels a lot and is always working. This also shows he fame and fortune, this is when you are first introduced to Anna Scott and you instantly know that she is rich and famous. The titles then come in after and there is also music playing while the titles are rolling, the music gets you in the mood for the rest of the film, the titles also fit the genre of the film, they aren’t too big or bold they are quite small and soft, they are like the writing you get on Valentines cards and the colour of them is pinkie, purple.

After the credits have gone there is an establishing shot of the street that Will lives down and it is very busy and while the camera is showing the area where Will lives there is a voice over from Will, he is telling his life, about him being divorced and how him and his ex-wife painting his house. His house is blue and it stands out from the rest of the houses around him, this could be like himself, he stands out from everyone else. The next scene is inside Will’s house and it shows you him opening the door and then hitting a bike that is behind it, this shows that his house is messy and he doesn’t really compare to Anna Scott in any way, she it rich, classy, famous and he is less wealthy doesn’t really do anything, no one knows about him and he doesn’t really care about himself and his life. He is unlucky in love and his luck then suddenly changes. Will is clumsy and this is how people look at British men, American men in films are usually rich and powerful but in British films they are clumsy and poor, silly and they have no luck.

Will is first introduced to Anna Scott in his bookshop and the camera is focussing on him as she walks in and he looks up realising he has a customer and there is a close up on him and you can see his expression’s, he is looking at her trying to figure out if it’s actually her, he is shy and didn’t want to talk to her. She then goes to his house and she she’s Spike which would put you off someone because you wouldn’t think that someone like her would go for someone like Will, they are un compatible and even though he is really low compared to her she stills goes for him.  

In conclusion I think that the Titles create the best effect for telling what the genre is at the beginning of the film, this is because they are in a soft font and they are quite small and the colour of them is pinkie/purple which is the a loving colour. The font is like the font that you get on valentines cards which links to the film genre of a romantic comedy.        

Analyse how the film’s opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterisation.

Candyman

Candyman is a Horror that was released around 1992 and 1993; the film was directed by Bernard Rose and written by Clive Barker and Bernard Rose. The film is about a university student named Helen Lyle who learns about the myth of the Candyman and then decides to write a thesis about him. The Candyman is a murderer who has a hook for a hand and he only appears when you say his name five times into a mirror, Helen didn’t believe the myth but when she starts to investigate random murders take place and questions are being asked.

The film had an estimated budget of $8,000,000 and has grossed over $25,000,000 in the USA alone. The film was a success and was the start of the trilogy with Candyman 2- Farewell to the flesh and Candyman 3- Day of the dead being created and released after the first film making the trilogy.       

I will be looking at how the opening of the Candyman fits the genre of the film and how you know what the film is, the film starts with a birds eye view of a busy motorway and the camera is panning  to the left, while this is happening the title appear and music begins to play. The music that is playing creates feeling and tension the music makes you feel uneasy and it sets the scene for what the film is about and how it is going to make you feel, the music suits the genre of horror and gets you in the mood for the rest of the film, the music is mainly made up of organs and a choir, both relate to a church and churches relate to death and funerals which suits the theme of the film because death happens a lot in the film and many people fear death which makes the film more scary. The road that you can see is busy and it looks like the time is rush hour, all the people ion the cars are probably going to work which means they do this every day and they are used to it, they don’t know what is about to hit them and they have probably never heard of the Candyman, they are just carrying on with their normal every day lives. The bird’s eye view shot is also an establishing shot because it shows you that the film is going to be based in a busy city where there are lots of people but it also shows that everything is normal and fine, nothing is different yet. The titles that are playing are bold and big and when the Candyman comes on in the titles it is different to the rest, it stands out more and the text is bigger bolder and the points are sharp which suggest that whoever the candyman is, in a way is like the title, bigger than everyone else he stands out and doesn’t fit in with everything and everyone, he is also sharp, this can be referring to his hook that he has for a hand and that he uses for a weapon.

After the titles finish it goes onto the first scene, the first scene is of lots and lots of wasps and there is a voice over, the voice is the Candyman’s voice and you instantly think what has wasps got to do with the Candyman and it could mean that he is in a way like wasps, a lot of people fear them and they can be very dangerous just like him they are also unwanted and disliked just like him. Their is then a shot of millions of wasps that fly and cover the whole city and they are trapped, this could mean that the candyman is going to do the same, he is going to trap the city and make them all scared and make sure no one can escape. Once this has happened the voice over says “I came for you” the scene then changes to a women who must be the one who the Candyman came for.

The next scene is when you are firstly introduced to the Candyman and what he does, a woman is telling Helen the main character a story about the Candyman and what he does, the story tells you about how the Candyman comes and also a description of what he looks like and what he does to his victims. When the Candyman kills he does it in the dark and when you see him first kill you only get a quick second to have a look at him and see what he looks like you cant actually see him, this makes him more scary and makes you feel uneasy because you don’t know what he looks like and because he comes in the dark you suddenly think that the dark is scary because of what is associated with it e.g. the Candyman. The Candyman is a traditional serial killer in a horror, there is one main killer (The Candyman) and he is unknown, no one knows of him and how to stop him you don’t know when he is going to strike and he is dangerous and scary. People fear the dark already and when put together with a killer it becomes even scarier and more people will the dark with death and fear.

In many horrors there is one main victim that the killer plans to kill and in the Candyman it is Helen. In most horrors the main victim is also a woman this is because they are seen to be weaker and more vulnerable towards killers. Helen is a young woman which makes her more suiting for a victim because she is young and pretty and young and pretty women are also a target for killers, they are learning about things and they are still learning how to look after themselves which is why killers go after them because they are easy targets.

Overall I would say that the soundtrack in the opening of the film is the very effective when showing the genre of the film, this is because the soundtrack makes you instantly feel uncomfortable and makes the film eerie. The sound suits the genre of the film and you know from now on what the film is going to be like. The soundtrack has organs in which are related to church’s and some people when thinking of church’s instantly think of death and funerals which is related to the films genre.