Secondly I'd like to say how much fun we had filming and creating it (not as much fun editing mind).
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our product was heavily influenced by the likes of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ as well as ‘Trainspotting’ to name a few and so, while we weren’t trying to do a frame-by-frame copy of them, we attempted to take some of the ideas used in those openings and apply them to ours. We always wanted a chase scene to introduce the film because it’s fast, gets the adrenaline going and, with the editing techniques we used, easy to introduce the characters to the audience. Both ‘Lock, Stock’ and ‘Trainspotting’ have chase scenes in their openings and we looked at some of the things that were used by the directors in those films and incorporate it into ours. For the first shot we thought a slow start and then an explosive, sudden burst would be best for the first viewing of the characters (much like a crescendo is used in music) and so we used a handheld camera and a track toward the door where the characters would come out of. Then on the stairs shot we wanted to get the kind of footage to be able to use slow motion editing on, similar to in ‘Lock, Stock’. Unfortunately it proved too difficult to include in the final product and so the idea was cut. Through gritted teeth. The shots in which the characters and actors name were shown (‘Trainspotting’) we wanted to get a close up of the characters face and use a freeze frame. Getting the footage proved difficult until I came up with the idea of holding the camera at arms length away from our faces as we ran. We also use flashbacks in which we chose to have a single shot for each (except Adrian’s which we use another shot in a comic ploy). We did this to show that the flashbacks were simply flashbacks and there wasn’t intention to go into them any further and also to provide a fly on the wall effect.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main representation of a social group is the youth culture. They are shown in our film to be disruptive, engaging in illegal activity, running from authority and presented as anti-establishment (the establishment being school). We’re not necessarily trying to show young people as law-breaking at all but as this is the stereotype for them and as we star in the film and we are young people we thought it’d be like a tongue-in-cheek to show us as these rude, disruptive people. There's swearing and minor racial slurs to show the cockiness of the characters and present them as they are seen. It’s like we’re conforming to the stereotype knowingly to show our disgust for it. But on a positive note we wanted to show the energetic and fun-having nature of the youth too. Another social group we were going to represent in our movie was the typical London gangster. But! That didn’t play out quite how we would have liked because we took it far too seriously and it ended up looking too comic which wasn’t the initial plan so we scrapped the idea. Looking back on it if we had have made it like a spoof it might have worked but it would’ve spoilt the rest of it.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I’d say a production company such as Film4 or Celador would distribute our product. This is because both are known to help out small, independent films get released to the wider public. Film4 have done work on cult classic British movies such as ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘This Is England’ whilst Celador did work on ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Also both are British companies and therefore as our product is British in style as well as creation it is more likely that these companies would distribute it to any other.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for our media product would tend to be young people. It’s quite cliché but the film stars young people, is based on young people and tells the story of young people so generally you would expect it to be directed toward young people. That being said our product doesn’t therefore shut out any other kind of audience and in fact embraces those who enjoy a fast, fun styled thriller. An older audience may well enjoy our product as well due to its similarity with other favourites like ‘Lock, Stock’ and ‘Trainspotting’. In terms of gender I’d have to say this kind of movie is more in the favour of male audience rather than female although I can’t say this was intentional. And it would be generalising to say that not all females would enjoy this type of movie but it does appear to be in the preference of the men. Also the British public would appreciate our product more so than American or other nationalities due to the clear genre choice: British gangster. It’s also a more British style of humour and so British public would prefer it to any other public.
How did you attract/address your audience?
As mentioned before the presentation of youth culture and the kind of irony behind the knowingly stereotypic actions of the characters would appeal to a young audience and perhaps gain respect of an older audience also. Like I mentioned before it would appeal more to British audience due to its gritty, British styled humour and action and so, by using that genre it’s addressing that particular audience. The pace of the product addresses the kind of audience up for a fast and furious ride with that preference; rather than watching something not as quick and slow building. We also tried to use the camera to get the audience involved in our product and therefore attract them to the product. We tried to do this by making certain shots very personal and therefore giving the audience the feel they were there watching as the action happens. For example the first shot with the slow walking towards the door gives the impression it’s someone walking toward the door (e.g. the audience). Then a few of the panning shots give the impression that someone is watching the characters running. Finally with the flashbacks it looks as if the audience are a fly on the wall; observing what’s happening up close whilst the characters have no idea they’re there.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
We were really excited to be able to use the HD camera and to utilise the advantages that this camera has above the handheld ones we used in our preliminary task. These advantages included a clearer picture, far many more frames per second, better audio and easier to handle (e.g. when tracking). All of this helped us create a more realistic and clearer image for our movie and it made editing a lot smoother. In the film you can see some interesting camera angles. This was on-the-spot ideas from us to provide a feel to put the audience with the action; such as the extreme close-up running shot: we actually held the camera in front of ourselves whilst running.
We also utilised the ‘Radio Room’; a room in our school used to create and record sound and its main purpose, as you can tell by the name, was to make radio shows (which other people in the class chose to do for their main task). We however used the radio room to record the voiceover that can be heard throughout the film. It was interesting to learn how to use the radio room and how to transfer the files from there to our movie. Then we learned how to fully use the editing skills such as freeze frames, text usage, clip splitting, shortening shots, installing audio (such as soundtrack and narration) to suit the visuals.
Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel I have learned how to combine using a camera, providing audio (whether in the form of a soundtrack or narration) and editing a lot better than what I did from my prelim work. Initially I had to learn how to actually use the HD camera and so that was a learning curb in itself, but then being able to use it in a way to show what we wanted to be shown was also interesting and fun at the same time. Thinking up the ideas for the camera movement and angles were difficult at first but inevitably worth it when it all came together. I became better when handling the camera and discovering how to cut the time needed to do something down by knowing how to easily use and shoot came in handy. That being said I was surprised as to just how long it takes to do something like filming and how many shots it requires to get the one you want; so I learned that using your time wisely is a necessity when filming is the topic. To begin with I thought narration would also be a simple thing to accomplish but then, after taking around an hour to record 2 minutes worth of narration, I found out this was not the case. Probably the biggest thing I learned was how to edit. Although I haven’t yet learned the ins and outs of editing and everything you can do when it comes to editing, I did discover how to do the basics and some of the fancy stuff. I first concentrated on splitting the clips down and getting ride of things we don’t need and then I moved onto scene transitions and editing skills such as freeze frames and putting in text. Then when we put in the audio I spent unknown amount of time touching and tuning it to get it to fit our product correctly and, more importantly, fluently. I’m not completely happy with the audio still but it is so much better than I expected it to be.
Our product was heavily influenced by the likes of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ as well as ‘Trainspotting’ to name a few and so, while we weren’t trying to do a frame-by-frame copy of them, we attempted to take some of the ideas used in those openings and apply them to ours. We always wanted a chase scene to introduce the film because it’s fast, gets the adrenaline going and, with the editing techniques we used, easy to introduce the characters to the audience. Both ‘Lock, Stock’ and ‘Trainspotting’ have chase scenes in their openings and we looked at some of the things that were used by the directors in those films and incorporate it into ours. For the first shot we thought a slow start and then an explosive, sudden burst would be best for the first viewing of the characters (much like a crescendo is used in music) and so we used a handheld camera and a track toward the door where the characters would come out of. Then on the stairs shot we wanted to get the kind of footage to be able to use slow motion editing on, similar to in ‘Lock, Stock’. Unfortunately it proved too difficult to include in the final product and so the idea was cut. Through gritted teeth. The shots in which the characters and actors name were shown (‘Trainspotting’) we wanted to get a close up of the characters face and use a freeze frame. Getting the footage proved difficult until I came up with the idea of holding the camera at arms length away from our faces as we ran. We also use flashbacks in which we chose to have a single shot for each (except Adrian’s which we use another shot in a comic ploy). We did this to show that the flashbacks were simply flashbacks and there wasn’t intention to go into them any further and also to provide a fly on the wall effect.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main representation of a social group is the youth culture. They are shown in our film to be disruptive, engaging in illegal activity, running from authority and presented as anti-establishment (the establishment being school). We’re not necessarily trying to show young people as law-breaking at all but as this is the stereotype for them and as we star in the film and we are young people we thought it’d be like a tongue-in-cheek to show us as these rude, disruptive people. There's swearing and minor racial slurs to show the cockiness of the characters and present them as they are seen. It’s like we’re conforming to the stereotype knowingly to show our disgust for it. But on a positive note we wanted to show the energetic and fun-having nature of the youth too. Another social group we were going to represent in our movie was the typical London gangster. But! That didn’t play out quite how we would have liked because we took it far too seriously and it ended up looking too comic which wasn’t the initial plan so we scrapped the idea. Looking back on it if we had have made it like a spoof it might have worked but it would’ve spoilt the rest of it.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I’d say a production company such as Film4 or Celador would distribute our product. This is because both are known to help out small, independent films get released to the wider public. Film4 have done work on cult classic British movies such as ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘This Is England’ whilst Celador did work on ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Also both are British companies and therefore as our product is British in style as well as creation it is more likely that these companies would distribute it to any other.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for our media product would tend to be young people. It’s quite cliché but the film stars young people, is based on young people and tells the story of young people so generally you would expect it to be directed toward young people. That being said our product doesn’t therefore shut out any other kind of audience and in fact embraces those who enjoy a fast, fun styled thriller. An older audience may well enjoy our product as well due to its similarity with other favourites like ‘Lock, Stock’ and ‘Trainspotting’. In terms of gender I’d have to say this kind of movie is more in the favour of male audience rather than female although I can’t say this was intentional. And it would be generalising to say that not all females would enjoy this type of movie but it does appear to be in the preference of the men. Also the British public would appreciate our product more so than American or other nationalities due to the clear genre choice: British gangster. It’s also a more British style of humour and so British public would prefer it to any other public.
How did you attract/address your audience?
As mentioned before the presentation of youth culture and the kind of irony behind the knowingly stereotypic actions of the characters would appeal to a young audience and perhaps gain respect of an older audience also. Like I mentioned before it would appeal more to British audience due to its gritty, British styled humour and action and so, by using that genre it’s addressing that particular audience. The pace of the product addresses the kind of audience up for a fast and furious ride with that preference; rather than watching something not as quick and slow building. We also tried to use the camera to get the audience involved in our product and therefore attract them to the product. We tried to do this by making certain shots very personal and therefore giving the audience the feel they were there watching as the action happens. For example the first shot with the slow walking towards the door gives the impression it’s someone walking toward the door (e.g. the audience). Then a few of the panning shots give the impression that someone is watching the characters running. Finally with the flashbacks it looks as if the audience are a fly on the wall; observing what’s happening up close whilst the characters have no idea they’re there.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
We were really excited to be able to use the HD camera and to utilise the advantages that this camera has above the handheld ones we used in our preliminary task. These advantages included a clearer picture, far many more frames per second, better audio and easier to handle (e.g. when tracking). All of this helped us create a more realistic and clearer image for our movie and it made editing a lot smoother. In the film you can see some interesting camera angles. This was on-the-spot ideas from us to provide a feel to put the audience with the action; such as the extreme close-up running shot: we actually held the camera in front of ourselves whilst running.
We also utilised the ‘Radio Room’; a room in our school used to create and record sound and its main purpose, as you can tell by the name, was to make radio shows (which other people in the class chose to do for their main task). We however used the radio room to record the voiceover that can be heard throughout the film. It was interesting to learn how to use the radio room and how to transfer the files from there to our movie. Then we learned how to fully use the editing skills such as freeze frames, text usage, clip splitting, shortening shots, installing audio (such as soundtrack and narration) to suit the visuals.
Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel I have learned how to combine using a camera, providing audio (whether in the form of a soundtrack or narration) and editing a lot better than what I did from my prelim work. Initially I had to learn how to actually use the HD camera and so that was a learning curb in itself, but then being able to use it in a way to show what we wanted to be shown was also interesting and fun at the same time. Thinking up the ideas for the camera movement and angles were difficult at first but inevitably worth it when it all came together. I became better when handling the camera and discovering how to cut the time needed to do something down by knowing how to easily use and shoot came in handy. That being said I was surprised as to just how long it takes to do something like filming and how many shots it requires to get the one you want; so I learned that using your time wisely is a necessity when filming is the topic. To begin with I thought narration would also be a simple thing to accomplish but then, after taking around an hour to record 2 minutes worth of narration, I found out this was not the case. Probably the biggest thing I learned was how to edit. Although I haven’t yet learned the ins and outs of editing and everything you can do when it comes to editing, I did discover how to do the basics and some of the fancy stuff. I first concentrated on splitting the clips down and getting ride of things we don’t need and then I moved onto scene transitions and editing skills such as freeze frames and putting in text. Then when we put in the audio I spent unknown amount of time touching and tuning it to get it to fit our product correctly and, more importantly, fluently. I’m not completely happy with the audio still but it is so much better than I expected it to be.
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