link to bbfc age guidelines

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202014_0.pdf

Final Product

This is my final product called London's Burning.

 

Question 7

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

From working on the preliminary task I learned lots of things that helped me to make the final product.

When making the preliminary task we planned out in advance every camera shot that we were going to use. This worked really well and helped us to have a clear idea of what the film was going to look like so we used this idea for the final piece by making a plan of every camera shot.

When we were filming the preliminary task although we had planned each shot we did not work out how long each shot was going to be. When we came to edit the film we found that the music we had didn’t fit with the length of shots and so for the final piece we made more of an effort to plan the length of shots to avoid this problem.

We also found from the preliminary task that filming outside and using natural light worked really well as we had a very small budget and it provided a natural look to the film so we decided to use this idea for our final piece.

Question 6

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

In the process of constructing our opening sequence I learned a lot about different technology.

The first was that I used blogger. I was completely new to this and so I had to learn everything from scratch beginning with how to add posts to my blog. Throughout this process I have learned not only how to add posts but how to make them look more interesting and attractive by uploading pictures and videos from YouTube.

I had to learn how to use the camera (what camera is it?) in order to film the sequence. We experimented with using different lenses, this was a trial and error process that resulted in us using the bigger lens as this provided a clearer picture when zooming in. I also discovered lots of new features on the camera that we tried experimenting with such as the timer which allows a countdown before recording so the actor has time to prepare before filming. I also discovered that using the tripod made filming a lot easier as it keeps the camera still.

Finally I had to learn how to edit the opening sequence using an old editing software called Serif MoviePlus X6. I found this difficult as I have been used to using iMovie and so I was unfamiliar with the way this new software. I had to use the new software as we did not have iMovie available when editing and the camera we used was not compatible with the iMovie software. Through using the new software I learnt a number of new and useful techniques such as how to add effects, music and text which were complicated processes.

Question 5

Question five: How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience to my media product through my use of characters, the plot and the location.

The characters attract the audience because it features a teenage boy whose clothing, body language and facial features are similar to that of the target audience, this means that the audience will be able to relate to the characters in the film and will be more interested in watching.

The plot focuses on a teenage boy who is aspiring to be part of a gang. This is similar to other films in the real life drama genre and is a situation that the target audience will either have been a part of or will know of someone who has been in that situation.

The location will also attract the audience because it will feature places that they either live or have experienced and they will be able to relate to a similar environment.

Question 4

Question four: Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product will be older teenage boys and people in their early twenties.

I think that my product would appeal mostly to people within the age of 15 and 25. This is because the story is based around a number of other films (This is England and Ill Manors) for which the audience age group is 15-25. The target audience is that of 15-25 year olds as this is the age group represented in the film and they will be able to relate to the characters in the film.

The audience for my product will mostly be male because the characters represented in the film are mostly male. As the storyline focuses on the trouble the main character finds himself in and there is a significant level of violence portrayed within the film I feel that this would mostly appeal to males as most films of this genre are aimed at men. This is also a subject that most older boys will have started to become familiar with, especially if they live in an area that is similar to that portrayed in the film.

I also think that my audience is likely to live within an inner city area rather than a rural area as they will be able to relate to the scenery of the film and will probably have witnessed or heard about similar things happening where they live.

Question 3

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

I think that the type of media institution that might distribute my media product would be London Microwave. London Microwave launched in 2006 as a way for new and unknown film-makers the chance to shoot a feature film on a budget of just £120,000. This is known as a ‘micro-budget film’. Only eight films have been produced so far by London Microwave such as ‘Ill Manors’.

Our film fits into the category of the types of films that London Microwave produce as it is produced on a small, limited budget and focus on real life locations and real people.

London Microwaves works in partnership with BBC Films and this would help in the distribution of my film as London Microwave ensure that the film is broadcast on the BBC and this would bring it to a wider audience.

Question 2

Question two: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents different social groups throughout. The first is that of teenage boys.

Teenage boys are represented in our opening sequence as the main character who is the sole focus of the opening sequence is a teenage boy. The audience can recognise that he portrays the typical aspects of being a teenage boy, he is dressed wearing a hoodie, a tracksuit and a baseball cap which are all items of clothing associated with this age range. He is also behaving in a suspicious manner by constantly looking away from others and this suspicious behaviour is typical of teenage boys.

The lower social classes are also represented in the opening sequence. The main character is obviously from a low social class as he is seen to have no money, his family live in a rundown area and there is lots of poverty in the area in which he lives. The audience can recognise the portrayal of low social class by the area in which the film takes place, the area is typical of those areas within inner London as it is seen to be a place of high crime, drugs and violence.

Final Evaluation

Final Evaluation

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

Our opening sequence uses a lot of the conventions of real life dramas.

The opening sequence focuses on a teenage boy. Real life dramas tend to focus on just one main character and my opening sequence does this as he is the only character who is seen, in similar films to mine the focus is normally a boy and this is also true of my opening sequence.

The typical clothing of the main character is that of a tracksuit, trainers, baseball cap and a hoodie. This is typical of boys his age and typical of how young boys are represented in real life dramas.

We tried to keep the storyline as close to that of other real life dramas, a young boy falling into the wrong crowd, because these films are popular and work well with the normal conventions of a real life drama.

Sound

Sound Sound is used in a variety of ways in movies. In my opening sequence I may make use of some or all of these sound techniques. Music: Music is used to make the scenes more interesting by adding another element to the pictures. Music can be used to tell the story and also set the mood and allow the audience to feel whichever emotion is being portrayed on film. This clip from Jaws shows how important music is to a scene. When the clip plays with no music it is difficult for the audience to understand the emotions of the character whereas when the clip plays with music, the emotion of the characters and the triumph that they are feeling as a result of shooting the shark can clearly be recognised from the music that plays. Dialogue: Dialogue is the words that the characters speak. Dialogue is used to give the audience an understanding of the character, it can be used to control the speed of the movie and it moves the story forward. It is not always necessary to use dialogue, particularly in my opening sequence as the lack of dialogue gives the audience a lot of questions and it creates a lot of suspense. Voice-over: Voice-overs involve a character narrating over the top of the film. It is usually used to show the thoughts of a character who is not seen on the screen. Diagetic and non diagetic are two types of sound used in films diageticsoud is when the actual naural sound is being played and non diagetic sound is when music is being played instead of the actual sound

Camera Angles

Camera angles

When making our film we will use a variety of camera angles such as:

Mid shots: these will capture the background of the scene, it also allows a focus on the characters so that the audience can understand what is happening to that character without distractions.

Tracking shots: these will track the movement of a character by following them, this creates curiosity as to where the character may be going but also allows them to be the main focus of the shot.

Close up shots: these shots will be used to provide close up shots of the character’s face, these shots will show facial expressions which emotionally engages the audience as they are aware of how that character is feeling.

Low angle shots: these are shots that are filmed from below, they make the character appear more powerful or dominant

High angle shots: these are shots that are filmed from above, these make the character look less powerful and small.

Zoom shots: these shots give the illusion of moving closer to the action, this creates tension as the audience waits to see why the camera is zooming in on something and what is going to happen.

Long shots: these allow the character to be fully in the frame, this allows the audience to not only focus on the character but also allows them the chance to focus on the location.

Target Audience

Target audience The primary audience for this film will be between the ages of 14-24 because this film is based on scenes from the London riots which will have had an effect on this age group and will be something that they can relate to they can relate to this becasue other people of this age realte to each other people this age might have friends or family in the area filmed and are intriguid how the film portrays the area. My secondary audiene will be the parents or friends of my target audience. The films that inspired me to make my film is This Is England and Ill Manors the reason i chose these films to watch is because they are really interesting and i thought i could make a similar storyline which could relate to the same target market The film will need to have a high age certificate, probably 15 or 18 because of the level of violence and disturbing images that will not appeal to audiences of a younger age group.

Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas

Character - The main character will be around 14-17 years old and will be male. He is seen as a typical teenage boy, who is bright and does well at school.  He becomes intrigued with what happens in the local neighbourhood and because of his living situation, he and his family don’t have much money, he falls into the wrong crowd.

Locations – The location will need to be urban, rough and dirty. It is not a desirable area because there is a lot of crime and drugs. Due to my location close to London I have easy access to lots of these areas. A possible location would be Thamesmead because it is easily accessible and has the right landscape.

Real life dramas

Real life Dramas

 

I have researched into different types of dramas, and decided that the genre I am basing my sequence around will be real life dramas.

Real life dramas are dramas that focus on a specific individual or group of people and a situation that they find themselves in.  This situation is usually focused on their everyday life and how they live, and usually involve poverty, drugs and crime.

In more recent times these films have tended to focus on younger people, in particular teenagers and how they interact and are controlled by adults.  Similar films in this genre are ‘This is England’ and ‘Ill Manors’.

I have chosen to base my opening sequence around this genre because this genre appeals to me and so I will able to relate to it and because these films appeal to a younger audience which is the audience I want to target.

Crime Dramas

Crime Dramas.

To help with my research I have watched and analysed some title sequences from films with similar genres to the one I hope to create.

To begin with I looked at crime drama.  I chose Reservoir Dogs and Goodfellas.

Both films has a good opening sequences that I might be interested in replicating because they create suspense and intrigue.  Both films have suited gangs that are immediately introduced and both sequences end with either violence that is seen onscreen or suspected violence from the sound.  

They both make strong use of music over the opening sequences.  The music used in both is quite upbeat and jazzy which fits with the gangster/crime theme of both the films as this is music often associated with this genre.

Both sequences also make use of 1970s cars, either in GoodFellas where they are driving in the car and the audience is made to wonder what has happened previously or in Reservoir Dogs where the characters are walking to their cars and the audience is wondering what they are about to do.

The settings are also appropriate for gangster/crime films, in Reservoir Dogs the main characters are also in a bar possibly planning something whilst in GoodFellas the characters are driving through the woods on a deserted road.  Both of these settings leave the audience guessing about what has or is about to happen.