QUESTION 1: What conventions and twist have you made in your media text?

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

The chose media text of our film is Crime and Gangster. Teenagers and young adults are usually associated with this type of genre and therefore the people in the films are usually in them this could be because they are the generation of people that are still adolescent although old enough to be able to have responsibility, also their fitness could be a part of this as there is alot of fighting throughout the film. Both of the characters that are featured in my film are of the stereotypical age as one of them is in college and therefore around 17/18 and the other one is in his early 20's. In my film I have shown my characters age, social class and status through costume, camera shots and usage of props.

I thought the best way to show this stereotype was through our costume, props and body lauguage. I thought the best type on indicator would be costume, so we dressed our main character in a hoodie and jeans, we also used this because teenagers are often stereotyped with hoodies as they can hide the face and commit 'crimes'. Therefore by doing this I think I have clearly let my audience know that I our main character Shaun is quite rough around the edges. We also show this through body language too and use of props too. Our other character, we dressed in popular clothes to his age group to she he was better off than Shaun we dressed him in dark jeans and a wet look jacket these clothes make him look as if he would 'fit in'.

Other things we used for representation were cigarettes and the fact that Dan was hitch hiking which could imply low income which is a sign of lower class. Noadays smoking is seen as a bad thing, and this is why we have got our main character smoking as he will be seen in a bad light.

Through the use of body language I portrayed the ages of the characters aswell as the costume and props. The audience is first introduced to the main character, Dan sat on his bed listening to music, as more older, middle aged people don't tend to do this it will give off an impression that he is young. In another scene we have Shaun leaning against a pole playing on his mobile phone, again this is unlikely that an older person would do this.

The way I used camera shots helped show an indication of what type of people the characters are. In the fight scene I intended to have alot of fast space fighting from different angles and we used the music to make it seem more exciting.

In conclusion to this I think I feel i have represented my characters using a variety of different factors. I used my audience research to see what the would expect and based my characters on that.

QUESTION 3: What kind of media institution my distribute your film and why?

The kind of media institution that might distribute my film..

I think the companies most likely to distribute my film would be either Warner Bros or 20th Centry Fox. I think think because both of these companies are renouned for having good Crime and Gangster films and therefore if an audience were to see that Warner Bros or 20th Centry Fox had ditributed the film they could trust that they are going to be satisfied with the film.

Although there are alot of camoanies I could have chosen to distribute my film I have decided to choose Warner Brothers because, to me, they have produced some of the best Crime and Gangster films there are today films such as 'Rock n Rolla' and 'Little Ceaser' one of the first Crime and Gangster films to be created. Both of these films are popular world wide and also have a similar target audience as to what we would like.

Production and Distribution..


The two companies I think will put money in to out film would be either New Line or Paramount Pictures I think these companies would be interested, but mainly New Line Cinema as many of their films have been crime films. New Line Cinema were also involved in distributing The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight is a superhero movie with the sub genre of crime, making these 2 institutions perfect for distributing our film. 

My two minute film will have a niche audience as it has a specific target audience of males from 15 upwards as the certification on my film will a 15.

I believe it will be a successful film as it sticks to the codes and conventions of a crime film with a couple of twists the audience wont expect to keep them interested and to create that tension that will draw them in.

By having these twist will make my crime film seem individual but still having traditional conventions so the audience aren't put off too much. 

Because the certificate of my film is a 15 we had to do some research to see what guidelines we had to obey by. It gives rules about violence and language. I feel I fullfilled the guidelines in my media text.

I says that you should not dwell about pain or injury. In my text we do this successfully, at the end of the fight scene in our film we see Shaun on the floor and Dan walking away with pride.

Although we did use strong language such as 'shit' we did not use it alot and did not use in an extremely offensive context. Although the BBFC say it is perfectly acceptable to use the work 'shit' and therefore we are still obiding by the rules.

For the rest of the guidelines we did not use sex/nudity or drugs. Because the theme of the text is renenge relating back to a fight we know there will not be any violence that will be worse in the rest of the film.

QUESTION 4: Who will be the audience for you media product?

QUESTION 5: What elements of you text would attract the target audience?

Genre:
Men are stereotyped for being in to Crime films and this is my target audience, therefore this is why I think I have attracted my target audience. 


Language:
Using slang such as 'mate' and pronunciation such as 'yeah' will attract my target audience as it is associated with the younger generation. 


Props:
I used props such as up to date mobile phones, younger people are commonly known to want the 'latest gadgets' and therefore they can relate to it. 

Settings:
My media text is set in a small rural town. People that live in similar situations can relate to this, and also people living at home may be able to relate to it.


Characters: 
As the characters in my film are of a similar age as my target audience they can relate to them and possibly understand the things they do more than and older person might. 


 

QUESTION 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of making this product?

I have learnt how to use a camcorder and the things the you can and cannot do to make a shot look effective. For example, I found using a panning shot hard to get right, using it free hand would make it go wobbly and using a tripod would make it vibrate, this is why I used no panning shots in the final film. 


I found lighting had a bid effect on my filming as we wanted to film at dusk for one of our shots but found it was too dark and had to re film the whole thing again, but in a better light. I found that when filming you should film things twice to make sure nothing goes wrong, then you will not have to worry about organizing another time to have to film with everyone there. 


When editing the footage of my media text together I found it more effective if you edit lots of little things from different shots and angles, this does not only improve the quality of the film it also adds a faster pace to the film which is what we intended to do as it was good for our target audience and genre. 


Another thing I learnt was that the use of titles and music is very important, you want them to be noticed although you don't want them to overpower the shot so the audience pays attention to them instead of the story line. Putting titles in things such as empty white space and moving them syncronised with something will make it subtle although recognisable. With music I decided to choose it after I had completely finished my film because I didn't want to fit the film to the song as it may look tacky and predictable.


I had a flashback scene in my film and I wanted to make it evident in my film that it was a flashback so it wouldn't confused my audience. I experimented with a lot of different editing effects and varying the lighting between the flashback a present day. Then I was shown a technique called 'flashback' which worked, so I decided to use that. 

QUESTION 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

From my preliminary task I feel I have learn a lot more and gained more skills through camera work. 


Technical skills: 
When I first started using the editing software I found it quite daunting and had no confidence on it whatsoever. Now I can use it confidently and can edit independently with making little mistakes. 


Time management:
With having to rely on others (actors, group members ect..) I think time management was key to making a successful film. At first, whilst filming, I found I was making mistakes and having to re-film, this got us behind schedule but by filming things twice and allowing more time to edit towards the end of the task I found it easier to manage. 


Team skills
By working on things independently and in a group I feel this benefited us a lot. All of my group worked well and we did things fairly. I feel we worked so well because we all listened to each other and if there was a clash in ideas we would come to a compromise and work it that way. This is why I think we worked so well. 


Finished product
By adapting the codes and conventions of the Crime and Gangster genre I feel me and my group came out with a very successful film introduction. We added our own twists which will make it stand out to the audience but it was made blatant what genre it was in. 

  

Settings Board

We used this space because it is open and it has the freedom to use lots of different camera angles which we could experiment with.

We wanted to end the final scene of the opening with out main character at a bus stop, running away. We chose this again, because we could use a wide range of camera shots.

I think this type of house is perfect for my protagonist, in an estate with a lot of other houses. I will also use the inside of this house to do some filming. This house has great potential for different and effective camera shots too. 


By looking into the setting and where I want to film in detail it has made me think about the types of shots I want to use in my media text and how different shots will be more successfully in different places. By doing this I have taken into account how I will film and I feel more confident about where I have chosen to do my filming because of this.

Chracter Profiles

These are my character/actor profiles of all the people that will be appearing in my short film.

Story Board for our film 'The Escape'

Finished story board from Polly Sargent on Vimeo.

By doing this it helped us to outline our two minute film and it also helped us to work out what settings we could use. It was also helpful to give us an idea of the type of actors we would want in our film.

Escape: Script

Tony: Alright Shaun?

Shaun: Yeah, alright?

Tony: Yeah, where are you?

Shaun: Ah mate I’m just in college.

Tony: Yeah alright mate, I just had to sort a few things out, I’ll be there soon.

Shaun: Yeah…alright…yeah just hurry up.

*Dan walks in*

Dan: Alright Shaun?

Shaun: Dan?!

*Dan and Shaun fight*

Tony: Shaun…Shaun?

*Tony’s after Dan in the park*

Dan: Shit.

Writing out the script and going through it has definitely helped me in the production on my media text. By doing this I now know where dialogue needs to be and I can start thinking about music as I know where dialogue won't be.

Preliminary Task

first film from Polly Sargent on Vimeo.

From this me and my group learnt how to use match on actions correctly and also get used to the editing software we will be using for our film.

Regulation Research

We are thinking of giving our Crime and Ganster film the certification of a 15, and so we could do this I decided to do some research on the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) by doing this we would know the codes and conventions of a 15. This would also be helpful for us so whe would know how much explicit content we could use e.g. how much swaering we can use. 


 The BBFC have a strict policy on sexual violence and rape. Content which might eroticise or endorse sexual violence may require cuts at any classification level. Any association of sex with non-consensual restraint, pain or humiliation may be cut.


I researched the guidelines for a 15 film and here they are:
Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory

language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not

promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily

accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example,

aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic

or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and

self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be

copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example,

‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be

acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated

use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without

strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a

non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.

There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,

but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable

unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is

sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is

appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction

of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to

be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also

unlikely to be acceptable.

There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence

but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and

have a strong contextual justification.

As our film in a Crime and Gangster film now we know the guidelines of a 15 we will stick to them and make sure we don't feature anything that may go over the guidelines for a certificate 15 film.

By doing this research it has helped us to know exactly what we can put in our 2 minute film

Stereotypically Crime and Gangster films have a lot of violence, swearing and smoking/drug use in it. Now that we know the guidelines it will help us to make our two minute films, for example we will try to keep smoking to a minimum and also keep swearing to as much as a minimum as we can, we will also refrain from using words such and 'fuck'.

I have done this research because I now know what I need to refrain from doing what the BBFC does not reccomend.

Institutional Research

The kind of media institution that might distribute my film..

I think the companies most likely to distribute my film would be either Warner Bros or 20th Centry Fox. I think think because both of these companies are renouned for having good Crime and Gangster films and therefore if an audience were to see that Warner Bros or 20th Centry Fox had ditributed the film they could trust that they are going to be satisfied with the film.

Although there are alot of camoanies I could have chosen to distribute my film I have decided to choose Warner Brothers because, to me, they have produced some of the best Crime and Gangster films there are today films such as 'Rock n Rolla' and 'Little Ceaser' one of the first Crime and Gangster films to be created. Both of these films are popular world wide and also have a similar target audience as to what we would like.

Production and Distribution..


The two companies I think will put money in to out film would be either New Line or Paramount Pictures I think these companies would be interested, but mainly New Line Cinema as many of their films have been crime films. New Line Cinema were also involved in distributing The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight is a superhero movie with the sub genre of crime, making these 2 institutions perfect for distributing our film. 
My two minute film will have a niche audience as it has a specific target audience of males from 15 upwards as the certification on my film will a 15.

I believe it will be a successful film as it sticks to the codes and conventions of a crime film with a couple of twists the audience wont expect to keep them interested and to create that tension that will draw them in.

By having these twist will make my crime film seem individual but still having traditional conventions so the audience aren't put off too much. 

By doing this research I have learnt what institutions and film companies would be most likely to distribute my film. It has also helped me to create my film by getting inspiration from other films that the companies have distributed so I can strive to make my film as good as possible.

Audience Research

Finished audience research from Polly Sargent on Vimeo.

By doing this we found out what we should include in our film to make it a crime and gangster film and also what people expect from a crime and gangster film.

• We got feeback saying that we need to include things such as, violence, smoking and 'tough' looking people.
• People believe the target audience for a Crime and Gangster film should be from the ages of 15-40 so by doing this we are going to try and cater for such a vast audience.

Target Audience Research

By doing this i have learnt that our main target audience is going to be from 15+. We also found our key themes need to be violence, cars, smoking and revenge, suspense and gang culture.

Textual Analysis

THIS IS MY TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE CRIME AND GANGSTER FILM 'ROCKNROLLA'

The film starts off with a black screen with some heavy bass music. Then we hear a voice over saying 'what is a rock n rolla?' this male person has a cockney accent and his voice sounds husky, stereotypically cockney are associated with crime. This could imply what may or may not happen in the film. 

We are introduced to a topless man, we as the audience assume he is an important character as he has a lot of camera time and the camera zooms in to him. Then we hear the voice over "sex, drugs, money" and we are still hearing the same music.

The camera continues to zoom in on the character and pulls a gun out from the back of his jeans, we assume he is going to shoot something as the music gets quieter. As a gun is stereotyped with crime, this is why we assume he is going to shoot something/someone.

The camera pan round to the side of the character and reveals that the gun is in fact a lighter and he is doing some sort of drug. Drugs is also another convention of a crime and gangster film. Then we hear the voice over "a rock n rolla wants the fucking lot" by this point the music has stopped.

Then we see the title of the film and a animated man holding two guns in his hands. This could imply conflict and is again, another key convention of the genre. The 'N' in the title is a different colour to the 'rock' and 'rolla' which may imply conflict later on in the film

Titles then start to come up of the actors names. Although they are still in animation they are all holding o pose of action, either running or shooting. All of the poses are in accordance to the genre.

After this all the music stops and we immediately get a close up of a middle ages man. Because of this the audience assume this is the main character as this is the first time in the film we have seen a characters face. the voice over says "my names formally known as Charlie Archibald" again, suggesting he is the main character.

We are then introduced to a character 'Lennie'. Lennie is well dressed and wearing dark glasses, implying he wants to hide his identity suggesting crime. We can still hear the same music although it is quieter. 

To end the end of the introduction we see a establishing shot on London, implying where the film is set, and because the narrator has a cockney accent. The music is still continuing at a lower volume.

By having heavy bass music, fast paced shots, implications of the conventions of the genre and the voice over it gives a clear idea to the audience of what the film is about and possibly what might happen later on in it. it is made clear to the audience who the protagonists are and their status in the film. To make my film successful I feel I need to include similar things to this. This has helped me to understand what I need to have in my media text.   

Overall by doing this textual analysis work i have learnt to make a successful opening two minutes i need to use a variety of camera shots, i got an understanding of the type of setting i need to use eg a big well known city, a voice can add tension and give hints towards the film and finally the type of music i need to use eg. bass heavy, fast paced, upbeat.  Knowing all this now i have a better understanding of what needs to go into my own media text to make it successful

Film Synopsis

Film name: ESCAPE

Beggining:
 Dan beats up Shaun, Tony's brother; leaves him for dead
Dan runs away
Dan ends up in London
Tony comes after Dan

Middle:
Dan needs money so turns to drug dealing
Dan meets and becomes friends with Kim who is a police officer
Dan & Kim fall in love
Tony comes to London

End:
Tony finds Dan
They have a ‘fight’
Kim helps Dan escape
They run off together

By doing this it gave us a clear structure this is good for our first two minutes because we knew what is going to happen and also how to portray our chracters. It also was good for telling our actors how to play their characters.

Genre research

By doing this we have found out the sub genres of our component genres and examples of films in the sub genres. I also found out what genre appealed to me the most and therefore we all decided we want to do a Crime and Gangster film.