QUESTION 6

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

To complete our product, we used a variety of softwares and technologies to achieve a maximum quality of work. During the filming process, we successfully used different, high quality, equipment to make the lengthy filming process easier and quicker. We used a track and dolly in many of the scenes to gain a smooth and stable shot. We also used a new Canon 

600d which includes high resolution and tilt & swivel accessibility to assist us with the smoothness and quality of the shot. We also used a Rode mic to pick up every sound within the shot, making all dialogue between the characters clear for the audience.
To also better our shots when it came to shakiness, we used a rig which would hook upon the shoulder so we still have more specific, yet steady shots . 

As part of the editing stage of our production,we used ‘premier pro cc’ as our editing software. This was easy for us to use as the simplistic layout made it much more accessible for us beginners. This helped us develop skills in finding  the perfect timing and synchronisation of music, text and dialogue of the scene. It also allowed us to cut unwanted shots which makes the opening sequence much more seamless and allows us to keep to our limit of 2 minutes. As someone who was new to this software, it was daunting to begin with but with the help from youtube tutorials and a lot of practise, I and the rest of our group were able to overcome this mentality and find it a lot easier than expected. This software also allowed us to include music that gradually builds up with the narrative which was inspired by the soundtrack from Taken. This music is one of the many conventions of a crime genre due to its suspenseful build up. Premier Pro also allowed us to adjust lighting of the shot depending on the narrative of the scene. 

QUESTION 5

                      
How did you attract/address you audience

When creating our questionnaire, we focused our questions on the technical codes, miss en scene and the narrative. We asked what kind of music would you expect to here and 86% of the verdict was ‘Tense and fast pace’. We have succeeded in doing this by adding tense music at key scenes to raise tension. We also asked general questions about conventions of a crime film and what would be expected to see. Popular answers included props such as computers and guns which is key in our narrative for later on in the film so by doing this, we can appeal to our audience and represent a crime genre. They also said they would want toes a lot of violence which is featured in our film in moderation however; this is due to the 15 rating. Here we can apply the uses and gratification theory as if the audience is active, they will take in the violent content and decide themselves how to react because everyone may be watching our production for several reasons. 


Many of our questions was based on the mise-en-scene such as lighting, costume, technical codes and location. Our audience said that they would prefer our main protagonists to be dressed in casual clothing, This is so it makes it easier for the target audience to relate to the characters which then allows us to appeal to our target audience. It was also fedback to us that our target audience would like tracking and POV shots to create mystery and an enigma within our production. We include this in our violent, kidnapping scene in our opening sequence to keep the audience gripped and asking who the POV is from. We made sure we were asking questions to our target audience as it was clear most were teen, age range we were looking for and none were under the age of 15.

QUESTION 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

According to BBFC guidelines, our production would be classed as a 15. This is due the use of violence which was necessary as violence is a key convention to the crime genre. The strong scene of violence is frequent and carried out through the duration of our film. This is also corresponding with the use of strong language. However, to make the film a 15 instead of an 18, there are no scenes of violence that can easily be copied; an example of this would be if there were to be a suicide scene which explicitly shows the steps of the process. In our production, the scenes of violence, even though they are graphically shown, they cannot be easily copied so this would make our film a 15.

The perfect audience member for our production would be preferably be a male teenager and this would be the profile on him.

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                               Name: Keiron White

Age: 16

Education: Currently at the beginning stages of AS levels and has completed his GCSEs with average grades which range from D-B. Now studying Business, Philosophy and Ethics, Economics and Computer Science.

Hobbies: He enjoys: watching latest film releases, playing football on weekends, learning coding and web designing. He also in his spare time likes to participate in voluntary work for his local community. He cares more than the average male about his appearance and is always saving up for the top designer clothes.

Favorite films: Inception, Fast and Furious 7, Taken, Limitless and Fruitvale Station

Class/Status: He would be a from a working class family who earn an average salary. He would be half Caribbean and half English who is widely popular in his friendship groups and on social media. As a young student, he would be categorised in the D/E category and would be considered an explorer which is perfect for the enigmas and interesting narrative in our production.

QUESTION 3

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

A perfect film distribution company that would potentially distribute our production would be a UK institution, Working Title. This is due to the production casting British actors which is iconic to Working Title and their productions. It would reach out to a global market as mass audiences around the world, especially the american audiences are appealed by stereotypical ‘Britishness’. This is very popular in Working Title productions such as ‘Johnny English’ and ‘Love Actually’ which use critically acclaimed British actors and over exaggerate British accents and conventions. This is so a mass global market can easily recognise the British stereotypes they know and love. We have included some of theseconventions in our production which include shots of tea being made in the opening sequence and also casting British actors.

 We wouldn't consider distributing our proaction on film 4 due to the very fact that we want to reach out to a wide mass audience and film 4has a niche market.

As part of the exhibition stage of our production, we would distribute our film in multiplex cinemas and online through sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. By distributing our production in multiplex cinemas, this means it will reach out to a wider mass audience and make much more profit when it comes to the box office. This evidently is preferable for the institution as well as the audience as it would be cheaper for them. Even though independent cinemas provide a better experience for the consumers when watching the production, it is substantially more expensive, especially for our target audience of potentially students. It would be advertised in popular, busy parts of London such as print adverts on the tube and video ads in piccadilly circus to create that mass appeal. 

We would also air the trailer on television during the adverts of popular shows such the X Factor so millions of people would be watching, consuming the trailer for our production. 

To reach out to our target audience, the best time for our film to be distributed would be during school holidays. This is due to the fact that we are targeting teens and young adults which would be in the D/E demographic so students who would be in their break, with time on their hands. 

This would be an excellent time as the young would watch the film during their break then spread it through word of mouth and through social media which would target a young, mass audience and create profit for the institution.

QUESTION 2

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

Gender representation features heavily in our production through the relationships between the main protagonists. During the kidnapping scene, it is clear there is a male initiating the attack on the woman which reinforces the female stereo type that women are weaker then men so usually in films especially crime, play the victim which link to Props stock character theory. 

Also it is clear that the female in the relationship stays at home, makes the breakfast and cleans whilst her husband goes out to work. This is another stereotypical representation of how the male works to provide for his family whilst the women and lives as a domestic wife. We used a close up shot, looking down upon the female once she was knocked out which connotes her as weak. Her facial expression and body language connotes her being defeated which represents the stereotype of women being powerless and fragile.

It is clear that our main protagonists are wealthy due to the location and conventions. An example of this would be we see bruce enter a chaffer driven car whilst being met by his secretary. 

This tells the audience that he is from an upper class due to what could be his profession as we know he is a very successful business owner. This is also represented through the theme of sibling jealously and rivalry as we know Jack his brother isn't as successful as Bruce which is shown through his spitefulness and envy. 

This gives us an example of Levi Strauss’ binary oppositions as we can see that bruce and his brother, despite the fact on having the same upbringing, Jack has clearly taken an opposite route in life compared to a successful Bruce.

QUESTION 1

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


The chosen genre behind our media product is crime with the sub genre of action. We have explored and represented this genre through themes, characters and conventions within our product. The themes our production include violence, heroism and mystery. These are all common conventional themes of a crime genre which are featured in widely known films such as the fast series. This is where a lot of inspiration and influences for our production came from especially when creating the characters that will feature in our film. The main protagonist is a male who according to Props 8 stock characters, would be classed as the hero. This is reinforces the male stereotype of being the hero who is the protector of the woman. We conveyed this through lower angle shots to give him power and an importance to the scene foreshadowing how vital his character will be. We avoided jump cuts and fast editing in our opening sequence as this prevents it from coming across as a trailer for our production. 

For example in one of the films that i have studied which is called LUV, the opening sequence is very calm and simplistic yet still holds enigma so there would be none for jumpy editing. We have also created the narrative to be non linear causing the opening sequence to be the dis equilibrium in the storyline. This is common and conventional in crime films as it creates an enigma, enticing the audience in from an early stage so it causes them to watch on. An example of this would be Limitless which starts of with a man standing on the edge of a high building with non diegetic gun shots being heard in the back ground. This encourages the audience to engage and continue watching.









Barthes’ enigma code played a massive role in the narrative of our production. We used this theory as much as possible to create tension and mystery which are conventional themes of a crime genre. For example, the eerie, dietetic sound of the telephone ringing and the close up pan in to see ‘unknown’ written on the phone, gives an enigmatic effect on the narrative of the opening sequence and prompts questions such as who could be on the phone.Also we used a variety of hidden camera shots to represent the main protagonists being spied upon which foreshadows later events. This also creates an enigma as it connotes the ideology of new characters that introduce the dis equilibrium of the opening sequence. This theme of the main protagonists being watched is a convention of the crime genre so would be popular for our target audience of crime fans who watch films like taken which feature this theme. 

By including conventional sounds in our production, it creates tension and suspense to the narrative which is stereotypical in crime films. A few examples of this would include the music we used and how the pace increased along with the narrative. When the narrative became intense and violent, the tempo of the music and volume would increase to add to the thrill factor and the intensity of the scene. Whereas during the equilibrium at the start we are greeted with calm, lighthearted, normal music to set the scene and give the impression that everything at that point is fine. This was inspired by many films but we many based our music and sounds from Taken. This is because they were successful in creating tension even from the simplest of sounds. 

MAIN TASK

                     

PRELIMINARY TASK

                        

LETTERS OF PERMISSION

BOOKING FORM

RISK ASSESSMENT

Kitchen Risk Assessment

Car Risk Assessment 

REECE FORM

SET DESIGNS

CONTINGENCY PLAN

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

STORYBOARD

SCRIPT

TREATMENT

Treatment

PLS PRODUCTIONS

Title: 24 Hours

Genre: Crime

Format: Film

Running Time: 2 minutes 31 seconds

This narrative is based around a family of wealth whose business is soon to be jeopardized by a close family member later exposed to be the brother ‘Jack’ who has been extremely jealous of the family’s success. As well as demanding for their money, he plans a revenge that causes Bruce who is a main protagonist, to choose between his wife Naomi and the family business. Bruce must face a life changing decision in attempt to save both his family and company without causing harm to his brother.

Beginning opening sequence: The opening scene of the film starts with non-diegetic sound of a kettle boiling which then slowly turns diegetic. As the kettle boils, the toast pops up as the scene is set in a well-lit modern kitchen, which relates to the conventions of the crime genre due to the modern settings. The sounds of the kettle and toaster increasing are effective in emphasising a sense of inevitable tension and danger that might happen later on. The audience are then introduced to the two main protagonists having a small conversation about family arrangements along with tea and toast very early in the morning before work. Due to viewing a normal family routine, this forms the equilibrium of the opening sequence.

Middle: When the husband leaves for work, there are a number of jump cuts back and forth from Naomi cleaning at home to Bruce being in the car having a conversation with his assistant. When we meet the husband’s assistant, we get the sense that the two have a close relationship as she voices his plan for the day. As the tense music continues playing, there is a sudden jump cut to Naomi picking the phone to a mysterious phone call. The muffled voice of a man starts to speak as a voiceover demanding for their money along with making threats.

End: The voiceover of the man’s voice plays as the shot cuts to two murderers at the doorway of the kitchen in the house wearing dark clothing to connote mystery and anonymity due to being unidentified. The scene then continues with the voiceover during the scary actions of the two murderers kidnapping Naomi. To portray the full effect, there are short flash effects in-between to depict urgency. This build up leads to the sequence ending with a plain black screen with ’24 HOURS’ to indicate the time given by the unknown caller.

Character Profiles:

Bruce: Father of the family, successful business owner who is very protective of his family and business. Due to his success, his family are in the public eye and are well known. He is very well groomed and wears mainly business suits for his job. He has a lot of respect for his family and their reputation but is also surprisingly secretive.

Naomi: Bruce’s wife (housewife) who spends most of her time at the home. She puts effort into her appearance even at home and has a huge amount of love and respect for Bruce.

Skyler: Bruce and Naomi’s daughter who is a teenager that hardly spends time at home.

Camera shots/Editing/Movements:

·        Low angle shot of Naomi picking up the phone

·        Flashing effect during the kidnapping of Naomi along with the voiceover

·        Zoom in on the phone when it’s ringing

·        Exterior shooting

·        Point of view shots during action

·        Music- tension music

·        Mute shots

Key Scenes

·        Naomi on the phone

The establishing shot of the kitchen was filmed with the natural light coming through the window to portray a homely feeling and to also reveal the safety of the household.  The natural lighting is also used to effectively show the wealth of the family with the modern colours and design of the kitchen. During the establishing shot of the kitchen, a panning shot is used to follow the movement of Naomi as she walks over to get the phone that is ringing. This is used to create suspense along with creating enigma as it causes the audience to wonder what will happen next. There is going to be a jump cut to Naomi picking up the phone with a low angle shot looking up to Naomi which acts as a spy shot to show that all this time she hasn’t necessarily been alone in her house and to also build up tension. In this scene, Todorov’s Equilibrium theory becomes present, as this is when the disequilibrium is being introduced, as a non-diegetic sound of the unknown caller is included in the call to also create tension. This is when Uses and Gratification theory is going to be considered as with this scene as we attempt to make the narrative entertaining for the audience. During this scene, slow tension music was used to build up tension and suspense along with creating the effect of fear for Naomi which links to the genre of crime.

·        Conversation in the car between Bruce and his secretary

The establishing shot of the car and the area the family live in was filmed with the natural lighting to represent the time of day along with the beginning of a working day. A long shot of Bruce opening the door and getting into the car was filmed along with a jump cut to him sitting next to his secretary having a small conversation. Here diegetic dialogue of the conversation is present so the audience can engage with the conversation and what the characters are saying. Along with this, there was also the same non- diegetic sound of the continuous tense music in the background of the conversation however, it is at a lower pitch compared to the diegetic voices of the conversation which is effective in grabbing the audience’s attention to the main situation. To create suspense, a secretive, flirty conversation was filmed between Bruce and his secretary to effectively portray Bruce’s dishonest and untrustworthy personality as he says, ‘Do you want to come with me to Luigi’s?’. A mid shot and two shot is used to film this conversation to allow the audience to witness the shocked reaction of the secretary along with the effect of having two people in one shot to make it clear that these are the only characters involved in the scene.

·        Kidnapping scene with fast pace- Naomi being attacked by two unidentified murderers

Two shot was used to introduce the two unidentified murderers which creates tension and enigma that something bad is going to happen. A tracking shot is then used to follow the actions of the two murderers as they chase after Naomi in her kitchen and violently throw her to the floor which leaves her unconscious. An editing technique of flashing effects is also used along with the diegetic sounds of screaming and non-diegetic sound of tense music with a voiceover to build up the consequences that Naomi will face which also emphasises the trouble she is in. The two murderers both wear dark clothing to further convey their dangerous positions in contrast with the lighter clothes of Naomi to express her being innocent and the victim.

Certification/Target Audience

This film will be rated a 15 due to the violence and storyline. Its target audience would be young people who can emotionally connect with the characters. Also due to the up to date tense music, it is a very modern production, which will therefore entertain older teenagers and young adults.

PITCH