By Tom Light
· In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The first stage we went through when considering ideas to make the 2-minute introduction to an action film was to look at the opening of a number of well-known Action films. We looked at ‘Mission Impossible 3’, which influenced us greatly. We thought the idea of an interrogation scene at the start was a really good concept, so we took this as a starting point when considering the narrative of our film. We also used the idea of having a male hero, a typical convention of an Action film. An interrogation scene at the start of a film makes it easier for a main character and villains to be established. From the researched we did, we also found that many films used the enigma code and used flashbacks to make the audience think about what was going on. From watching films like ‘Bourne Ultimatum’, we were able to establish that many Action films use the idea of the enigma code. This film in particular shows the main character’s amnesia coming through in the form or blurred flashbacks. Although we did not use flashbacks, we did use the enigma code. The interrogator was asking our hero for the whereabouts of a female, however, the hero had no recollection whatsoever of this female. We watched many films in preparation for this project, one being ‘Salt’, which challenges a major convention of an Action film by using a female hero, portrayed by Angelina Jolie. We decided to keep to the traditional convention as far as our main character went, so we used a male actor.
· How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We made sure that our production did not appeal to a minority social group in order to broaden the potential audience of our film. It is clear when looking at our main character, the hostage, that he is of the white ethnicity and he appears to be a pretty regular guy. He would represent the middle class as he looks fairly normal and is being asked for the whereabouts of a female friend or acquaintance, an aspect of life which many men will be able to relate to. The fact that he has no recollection of previous events, does not know the reason as to why he finds himself in this derelict location and has no idea what the interrogator is talking about makes it seem to the audience that our main character is an innocent member of the public who should not be in the situation he finds himself in. The attire of the main character also suggests that he is perfectly normal, not lower class but not upper class. Having said this, our location, a shabby and derelict house, could also represent the lower class and people living in poorer conditions. The interrogator is made to seem older with the deeper voice and defined accent and he is also made to look stronger and more powerful than the hero who is helpless and tied to a chair. The camera looks down on the hero and up towards the villain in order to successfully show the idea that the hero is vulnerable and the villain is in control. The representation of power and weakness is made extremely clear by our use of camera shots and angles.
· What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
There are six major film distribution companies; Warner Bros Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Columbia (Sony) Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Universal Studios. The most likely media institution to distribute our media product would be Paramount Pictures as our film’s opening is similar to that of ‘Mission Impossible 3’, which was distributed by Paramount Pictures. Considering other institutions, 20th Century Fox do not tend to distribute Action films; they normally distribute some of the more contemporary films, such as Comedies and Chick Flicks. The majority of films distributed by Warner Bros are animated films or Fantasies, such as the Harry Potter films. Because of this, Warner Bros would be very unlikely to distribute an Action film like ours. Although Columbia (Sony) Pictures have a history with Action film distribution, they do tend to distribute more films of different genres. Universal Studios’ films tend to appeal more to the younger generation and, therefore, they would not be an appropriate distributor for our particular film. Walt Disney Pictures’ films also appeal to the younger audience and for that reason we also ruled them out. The institution we chose was Paramount Pictures because Action and Thriller are the main genres of film that they distribute. We did a lot of background research and analysis on ‘Mission Impossible 3’ and really enjoyed the concept of its opening which is why we chose it and, because it was distributed by Paramount Pictures, we too chose this institution.
· Who would be the audience for your media product and why?
The audience for our media product would range from teenagers to middle-aged people. It is unlikely that the certificate would even allow for children to watch it, therefore, our target audience would begin at the age of 15 and consist predominantly of males. Although some action films contain a female as lead character, we decided to stick to the traditional convention of Action films and go with a male hero. This would help to enforce our target audience and make it more appealing to them. We also decided not to go with the idea of having a female character due to the fact that the main character usually reflects on your audience. This would make our film seem more appealing to women rather than men. We also chose to have younger characters, unlike films we looked at such as ‘Die Hard’ where an older main character is used. This makes younger people more likely to watch our film as they are more likely to be able to relate to the characters. We decided to go straight into our opening with an exciting start, rather than a more slow start which may suit an older target audience more. Making the start exciting can make the film appeal more to the younger viewers and make them want to continue watching our media product.
· How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted the audience by making our opening exciting and making it so the audience would want to see more of our product. We did this by the utilisation of the enigma code, reeling in the audience and making them want to know exactly who the interrogator is looking for. We used younger actors in order to make it more likely that the audience will be able to relate to them, the hero in particular as he is made to seem innocent and look like a regular guy. Point of view shots are included in our product, making it easier for the audience to envision what exactly is going on in our scene and making them able to see from the hero’s viewpoint, making them feel as if they are in their shoes at times. Our film would definitely attract more of a male-orientated audience rather than a female-oriented audience. This is because both characters are male and it is more likely that the audience will be able to relate to, and therefore warm to, the main character. People who also like gory and violent aspects of films will also be more likely to continue watching our film after seeing the opening due to the use of the drill, the screams of the hero during a blackout and the violent nature shown by the interrogator. The blackout during the sound of the screams also shocks the audience so they would want to watch more of our product to find out what happened at the end of the scene.
· What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Our film was edited using the software Final Cut Express. I was used to this software from using it in GCSE Media Studies and because I sometimes use it in my job as Video Screen Operator at Reading Football Club. As I was quite confident with the program, I volunteered for the role of Editor and edited the entire film, taking tips from the other two people from my group into consideration as well as I wanted the two of them to have as much input into the editing process as they could. We used a Sony video camera to film our product. As with Final Cut Express, I was familiar with this piece of equipment after using it during the GCSE course. I also learnt the ins and outs of running an online blog, something which I had not done before. An online blog is a fantastic alternative to a portfolio as it makes for easy access to our pre-production work at the click of a button. We downloaded royalty-free music as we could not use copyrighted music in our product. I had never downloaded royalty-free music before, but it was an easy and reliable source for music to use in our film. We used www.incompetech.com as a source for the music.
· Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I definitely feel that looking back on our preliminary task we have learnt from the weaker aspects and built on them in order to produce a successful final product. The editing in final product is a lot smoother than it is in the preliminary task. The aspects of the preliminary task were extremely basic and, therefore, we did not add it any sound, for example, music. From adding music into our final product, it is clear than it plays a vital role in making a film more dramatic and adding tension which was vital to making our product successful. None of the characters in our preliminary task were wearing appropriate costume and, therefore, the visual effect was not as impactful as the final product was. The location was fairly generic in our preliminary task, making it more difficult for the audience to relate to, as well as not being able to relate to the characters as much as in a well planned film. We also learnt about the 180 degree and the 5 degree rules which helped us when considering camera angles and shots. We made sure the dialogue in our final product was more meaningful and created more tension, hereby having a much greater impact on our audience. At times our preliminary task had the potential to confuse and alienate the audience, but the narrative of our final product enables the viewers to gain an understanding as to what the situation in the scene is.
