Evaluation

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

Opening sequences in real media products are used to start off the narrative of the movie and to introduce characters, settings and the genre. The opening as a whole should be used to hook the audience and keep them interested in the narrative enough for them to watch the rest of the product.

I think that my product opens half of my fusion genre. My narrative is based on comedy and action used together to create a wider audience however in my opening I have only introduced the comedy half of the fraction. This may be a problem for the audience watching for the action as they aren't kept very interested in terms of their chosen genre, however the comedy audience would have some features of their genre to keep them hooked and make them want to watch on.

Pretty much all movie openings include both titles and credits that introduce the actors/actresses, the corporations involved and sometimes even the production team. In my opening I have shown the names of two corporations involved in the making and I have given the names of the two main actors. Compared to real media products I have only used a small amount of titles and credits however that doesn't refer to all real media products as some of them only use little amount of credits. It's normally the big hollywood movies that include loads of titles and credits because they have a lot of teams involved in the planning, making and distribution of the product.

My opening challenges real product openings because it doesn't introduce both genres plus it only slightly hints at the main purpose of the movie, drugs. The slight hint at drugs was an intentional feature as I wanted the opening to focus more on the main character and his daily routine, then at the end I wanted to show the disequilibrium where the main character gets fired.

I also think that my product challenges real products as it is laid out like more of a music video than an opening. My this I mean that the actions and emotions of the characters slightly blend with the music and it seems very rhythmic.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups that my product represents are young adults and working men. The young adults representation is done using the stereotypes of a first house/flat as the living conditions of my two main characters show that they're very messy and lazy. Because of this the comedy aspect is introduced because the flat looks like the setting of a comedy TV show or movie.

The working men social group is represented showing the stereotypical everyday routine for getting ready for work and not putting much effort into it. It very simply shows the main characters alarm going off and then him having a cigarette and then getting ready for work, which we assume is a regular routine and hopefully it is easy to relate to other young men.

I have chosen there two social groups to represent as they are the typical social groups used in real products similar to my idea therefore I wanted to keep the kind of tradition and continue using young, lazy and somewhat hardworking men. I also wanted to use these social groups as I feel like they are very easy to relate to with people within my target audience.

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

A movie narrative very similar to mine is 21 Jump Street (2012) and it was distributed by Sony/Columbia Pictures. Because of this I would suggest that Sony be the main distributor for my product due to the similar story lines between my movie and 21 Jump Street. I would also suggest Sony because of their usual genre choices for movies.

Sony like to distribute a variety of different movies relating to genre and/or stars involved. Because of this Sony have created a wider audience for their products and therefore they generate income from all over the audience spectrum. This could be useful with my product as it includes two genres and therefore needs two (or more) genre audiences to be pushed towards and Sony has the power to do so because of the audiences they have generated using previous real life products.

Another main reason why Sony would be a good choice is because they have attraction and power to distribute a product whether it be over social networks or media platforms worldwide. They have the connections with many others companies and any company that agrees to work with them generates attraction and a reputation to themselves.

All of this being said, I would say that Sony is the best choice to distribute my product due to the similar narratives that they have worked with in the past and because of the power they have to get my product out to the audience(s). Plus Sony use many social media platforms to distribute products and they rarely fail to gain popularity from the chosen platform.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

In terms of social groups my product would be aimed at mid/late teens to adults in their late 20's depending on the genre they're into. If an adult is into action films then the product would be great for them and the teens would be perfect because of the crude/black humour that would be used in the later product.

However in terms of age ratings my audience would be set at a 15 due to the language and slight violence planned in the narrative. Using the BBFC guidelines I have decided the a 15 is appropriate because of the 'strong language', 'violent nature' and 'drug use'. All of these features/aspects can be relate-able to my target audience and they are used in similar films that are set with a 15 rating from the BBFC therefore I would suggest that it is only right to go with the real life products that my product is based off.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I have chosen to attract my audience by using features in my product that can be easily related to. I have used smoking, a flat, young men, popular music and more in my product therefore there are any features of my narrative that can be easily related to and discussed about within my audience.

The genre is going to attract many different viewers and it's hard to pin-point a main group because comedy is a widely loved genre therefore finding the certain group would be difficult. But put comedy aside and the action side of the product can be used to attract an audience because it makes the narrative sound similar to movies such as 21 Jump Street and The Other Guys, both popular movies with late teens and young adults.

The flat setting of my movie can be related to strongly due to the fact that many young people these days move into flats/homes with a close friend and rarely clean or look after the place.

I think that the music used in my product is very catchy and goes with the sequence. The song is Neon Trees - Everybody Talks (Full Band Cover by Ratham Stone feat. Camryn Wessner) which was is a very popular song over social networks with a total of 14 million views on the original Neon Trees video. Because of this it generates more popularity for the song and my product at the same time.

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

In the production and editing process of my product I used a Panasonic Lumix HD Movie camera, a tripod,  Corel Video Studio 6, various websites such as Youtube and Slideshare and props within the product.

Because of video production and editing work that I have worked on in the past I was very confident in the production of this product because I was aware of what technology I needed and how to use it. However I did discover a few new skills that I have learnt from and could use in the future. 

I was confident with the filming and editing of my product until it came up to the uploading to YouTube stage as just after my video had processed I found out that you can now add filters to videos using YouTube. Because I this I decided to test out a few of the filters to see what they would look like on my product. The final result shows that I ended up adding a dirty/vintage filter to my video. I chose said filters because I felt like it added more filth to the mood and made out how messy the flat and characters are supposed to be. This has definitely helped the production of my product and without it I don't think the final piece would look as effective as it does.

During the rendering stage of my product I was moving the original video files about and this messed the system up. When the video rendering had finished it turned out the software couldn't find the videos therefore they didn't show up on the final piece. Because of this I had to go back and re-render without moving the files. This is certainly something that I have learnt from and won't make the mistake again.

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

My coursework shows that I have learnt to work with filters and a wider range of camera angles compared to my preliminary task. In my preliminary I only used simple over the shoulder shots and the 180 degree rule whereas in my coursework I have explored high and low angles as well as close ups and extreme close ups to show and emphasize actions/movements.

My skills have developed in terms of editing as my final piece seems to run a lot smoother than my preliminary and at the same time includes a lot of different shots and editing techniques. This has taught me that now matter how many angles/shots you use you can still make a product run really smoothly and piece together to make a well edited final product.

I have learnt many things from this coursework. I have learnt that the research you put into the planning stage can really effect your final piece as you know more codes, conventions and features of the genre and social groups to include to make the final product stand out to your chosen audience and maybe even attract unplanned viewers.