AS Media Studies
Foundation Portfolio Evaluation
My media product uses similar conventions to that of films of a thriller/gangster genre. I pitched my film construction to be similar to those of the sophisticated gangster storylines such as Snatch but to also have the class and style of older classics e.g. The Godfather. I used quite simplistic camera angles such as low angled shots and tracking shots but tried to make them effective in establishing that the situation was very stable. My use of camera angles was also used to try and establish the characters and their role in the film, however this was hard to do and so I felt it necessary to include a voice over in my film. A voice over was ok to use in this type of film as many use sound bridges or voice over are used in main productions such as Snatch. It was very effective in telling the audience who was who and what the storyline was, without giving too much away, in a very short space of time. The overall narrative structure is very minimal because as an opening sequence I wanted the images to speak for themselves and let the audience make their own mind up about the style of the film. Props were not used in the film as I didn’t feel it was necessary or relevant to the opening.
My media product contains characters of quite high social status, a respected detective and a high class gangster. This puts the film genre up with other films such as Scarface and the Godfather which are watched by mainly men in middle class to working class social status. The two characters used in this sequence are both men and are both powerful in their own right; however the gangster is represented as much more dominant in the opening from his sense of dress compared to the detective. The product did not represent enough of who the bad guy was and so I included the voice over to give the audience someone to sympathise. However, since the voice over is from the bad guys perspective it would give the audience the opportunity to sympathise with either of the actors.
From my research I have learnt that the genre of my film (crime/thriller) is predominantly shown in multiplex cinemas usually to age groups between 16-27. I would choose to show my film in a multiplex cinema because other types such as Art House cinemas are not usually linked to the genre that I am portraying. Major film companies such as paramount (godfather) and Universal Pictures (Scarface) tend to produce these films usually because there is a huge quantity of cast, props, settings and this requires a lot of money. Big production companies also know that multiplex cinemas only show these genre films to a certain age category, which is the mass of the cinema viewing market and so there is a lot of money that can be made.
I would link my film these major companies as well as multiplex cinemas because the genre is linked that predominant chunk of the market and so this would ensure that many people viewed it. Furthermore, these major institutions are very well established and tend to make every film a success.
I believe that this audience are attracted to these films as they are ‘thriller-holics’, who like to see gun fire and explosions as well as street like story line which usually involves something being stolen and people being killed. I would expect my audience to be predominantly male because the storyline isn’t really the type that people would want to go on a date to or a girly night out!
I wanted to attract my audience by opening the film with a familiar location as well as common sights, such as black cabs and the tube of London. This I felt would engage the audience to want to carry on watching and see what would happen in the nation’s capital. My music was selected very carefully and was chosen to match the type of situation, high tempo but also have some characteristics of lounge genre.
I made all of my film black and white as I felt it add a bit of class to the clip by having it similar to an old film but with a new storyline and location. I felt that this effect mixed with the selection of edits and the black and whit effect made very a powerful combination in engaging the audience.
Throughout the course of the project I have obtained many technical skills, such as the use of the camera to obtain very unique shots as well as the use of the computer software to help edit my productions and make them a success.
The use of the storyboards in my planning aided me to think of many different ways that I could shoot my film with different angles and to help attract my audience.
I did have some difficulty with the recording of sound for my voice over, however my developed skills on the editing software meant that I managed to obtain the sound I wanted with some good quality.
I learnt a great deal from my research of different films and production companies on how films are made, from the use of camera work and selection of cast to how they solve problems with continuity that sometimes occur. From my research I also learnt, how many of the big production companies acquire usually tens of millions in profit from films that they take over. This however doesn’t necessarily mean that the film will win awards as many low budget productions are a better success in that sense.
During my preliminary task I was learning the basics of camera work and experimenting with different shot durations, locations and angles. I felt that our group completed the task with a lot of success as we made a production that we felt proud of. The use of editing was also a new step for myself and the other members of the group and at first we struggled to establish a clip that ran smoothly without any glitches. The group spent a lot of time getting the shots right by shooting and re-shooting as well as many hours at the computer to make sure we were happy with the end result. We made sure that everyone in the group got sufficient time in shooting clips and editing so we all became familiar with every aspect of which we would need when conducting our main task.
The preliminary task helped my familiarity with the subject to progress to the stage that I felt comfortable to conduct the main production by myself. The preliminary task also helped me avoid mistakes which were made before and to help not have the same trouble in my main project. We encountered problems such as continuity which I was determined not to have this time around.
Foundation Portfolio Evaluation
My media product uses similar conventions to that of films of a thriller/gangster genre. I pitched my film construction to be similar to those of the sophisticated gangster storylines such as Snatch but to also have the class and style of older classics e.g. The Godfather. I used quite simplistic camera angles such as low angled shots and tracking shots but tried to make them effective in establishing that the situation was very stable. My use of camera angles was also used to try and establish the characters and their role in the film, however this was hard to do and so I felt it necessary to include a voice over in my film. A voice over was ok to use in this type of film as many use sound bridges or voice over are used in main productions such as Snatch. It was very effective in telling the audience who was who and what the storyline was, without giving too much away, in a very short space of time. The overall narrative structure is very minimal because as an opening sequence I wanted the images to speak for themselves and let the audience make their own mind up about the style of the film. Props were not used in the film as I didn’t feel it was necessary or relevant to the opening.
My media product contains characters of quite high social status, a respected detective and a high class gangster. This puts the film genre up with other films such as Scarface and the Godfather which are watched by mainly men in middle class to working class social status. The two characters used in this sequence are both men and are both powerful in their own right; however the gangster is represented as much more dominant in the opening from his sense of dress compared to the detective. The product did not represent enough of who the bad guy was and so I included the voice over to give the audience someone to sympathise. However, since the voice over is from the bad guys perspective it would give the audience the opportunity to sympathise with either of the actors.
From my research I have learnt that the genre of my film (crime/thriller) is predominantly shown in multiplex cinemas usually to age groups between 16-27. I would choose to show my film in a multiplex cinema because other types such as Art House cinemas are not usually linked to the genre that I am portraying. Major film companies such as paramount (godfather) and Universal Pictures (Scarface) tend to produce these films usually because there is a huge quantity of cast, props, settings and this requires a lot of money. Big production companies also know that multiplex cinemas only show these genre films to a certain age category, which is the mass of the cinema viewing market and so there is a lot of money that can be made.
I would link my film these major companies as well as multiplex cinemas because the genre is linked that predominant chunk of the market and so this would ensure that many people viewed it. Furthermore, these major institutions are very well established and tend to make every film a success.
I believe that this audience are attracted to these films as they are ‘thriller-holics’, who like to see gun fire and explosions as well as street like story line which usually involves something being stolen and people being killed. I would expect my audience to be predominantly male because the storyline isn’t really the type that people would want to go on a date to or a girly night out!
I wanted to attract my audience by opening the film with a familiar location as well as common sights, such as black cabs and the tube of London. This I felt would engage the audience to want to carry on watching and see what would happen in the nation’s capital. My music was selected very carefully and was chosen to match the type of situation, high tempo but also have some characteristics of lounge genre.
I made all of my film black and white as I felt it add a bit of class to the clip by having it similar to an old film but with a new storyline and location. I felt that this effect mixed with the selection of edits and the black and whit effect made very a powerful combination in engaging the audience.
Throughout the course of the project I have obtained many technical skills, such as the use of the camera to obtain very unique shots as well as the use of the computer software to help edit my productions and make them a success.
The use of the storyboards in my planning aided me to think of many different ways that I could shoot my film with different angles and to help attract my audience.
I did have some difficulty with the recording of sound for my voice over, however my developed skills on the editing software meant that I managed to obtain the sound I wanted with some good quality.
I learnt a great deal from my research of different films and production companies on how films are made, from the use of camera work and selection of cast to how they solve problems with continuity that sometimes occur. From my research I also learnt, how many of the big production companies acquire usually tens of millions in profit from films that they take over. This however doesn’t necessarily mean that the film will win awards as many low budget productions are a better success in that sense.
During my preliminary task I was learning the basics of camera work and experimenting with different shot durations, locations and angles. I felt that our group completed the task with a lot of success as we made a production that we felt proud of. The use of editing was also a new step for myself and the other members of the group and at first we struggled to establish a clip that ran smoothly without any glitches. The group spent a lot of time getting the shots right by shooting and re-shooting as well as many hours at the computer to make sure we were happy with the end result. We made sure that everyone in the group got sufficient time in shooting clips and editing so we all became familiar with every aspect of which we would need when conducting our main task.
The preliminary task helped my familiarity with the subject to progress to the stage that I felt comfortable to conduct the main production by myself. The preliminary task also helped me avoid mistakes which were made before and to help not have the same trouble in my main project. We encountered problems such as continuity which I was determined not to have this time around.
