Evaluation Question 7

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

Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel that there were a number of mistakes we made during pre- and production that we have identified and improved upon for our main task. For example, as my group and I were new to this, we didn’t plan everything correctly and often cut corners. On shooting day we forgot to bring a copy of the script to set so I had to download it from my blog 5 minutes before call time. To ensure this didn't happen anything we planned everything a lot better and more in advance for our main task. We had a treatment, screenplay, risk assessment, storyboards, shot list, casting, costume, makeup, and location research, an equipment list, planned title, music and sfx before editing, and created a filming and editing log during production.

In terms of camera, our preliminary task used mostly straight shots at eye level, our most advanced shots were a track through the hallway, a pan to show the character looking around, and a tilt from the floor to eye level. In our main task we decided to be more confident with our abilities and used shots such as a pan from the radio to Emily, and extreme close ups on her face, hands and the rope. The choice of using a pan to open the film instead of an establishing shot was a risk because this is uncommon, but we decided to be more outgoing in our creative choices and this clearly paid off.

For editing, both films were edited on Adobe Premiere Pro. I was previously competent with this software and therefore I was able to edit fluently on both tasks. However, we used a lot more editing skills on the main task and this made our work a lot better. For example, we also used another piece of software called Final Cut Pro to create our titles and the text on screen because it had the right font. We created these on a chroma key background and then used the Ultra Key tool to place this text over the footage onscreen.

Colour grading was used on both, our preliminary task was graded to be darker and more contrasted to reflect the uneasiness of the plot. In our main task, as we filmed in three different locations and used natural lighting, we had to adjust the exposures to balance the light across the whole film. I also added contrast which enhanced the shadows and made it seem creepier.

Sound was also something we improved on from our preliminary to our main task. In our preliminary task we didn't use music and the diagetic sound was unnatural, for example it is completely silent as the protagonist walks into the room, with no footsteps, but then there is a sudden loud noise as a door closes, which seems out of place. 

We made sure natural sound was a priority when editing our main task, so we recorded our own ambience, and used footsteps, doors opening and sounds of the stone cutting the rope to make it sound as realistic as possible. 

Finally, we wanted to show we had improved from our preliminary task so we decided to make the plot a lot more mature. Our preliminary was cartoonish and exaggerated, so we wanted to tackle a more controversial subject, made immediately obvious by the opening shot displaying a girl in distress.

Being aware of the mistakes we made in the preliminary task helped us to improve for our main task and to create a film that we’re happy with. It mostly helped with our overall planning and organisation, which made pre- and post-production a lot easier.

On the whole, I have learnt a lot from my preliminary task and I have been able to apply that to my main task, allowing me to create my best possible work.

Evaluation Question 6

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

Evaluation Question 4 & 5

Who would be the audience for your media product and how did you attract/address your audience?

Target Audience Demographics

This table shows the percentage of 15-24 year olds in the audiences of the top 20 2015 films. The top film is a comedy, and therefore not applicable to our film. However, 2-9 are all action films. The majority of action film audiences in 2015 were made up of this age group, showing that is the idea target audience.

This shows the most popular films amongst male audiences. All 6 are action films.

These show which social groups the films were most popular with. Action films came up most often with C1-DE audiences. C1 people make up the majority of the country, showing the popularity of action films.

This shows the social groups percentage in terms of disability and ability. In cinema, around 20% of audiences were disabled, showing that cinema is accessible to everyone. Our film would ideally be distributed in cinemas, so we would want a diverse audience, and this shows that is easily achieved.

Audience Profile

How did we attract and address this audience?

To attract this audience in our film opening we:

• Used a female protagonist who fit within the age bracket (16-24) of our target audience.
• Ensured our film opening fit within the action genre.
• Researched codes and conventions of action films to include in our opening.
• Included specific action film features such as violence to appeal directly our target audience.

Evaluation Question 3

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

When researching distribution companies we decided that Paramount Pictures was the most suited to our film opening, as they have distributed lots of successful action films, such as Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible and Iron Man. 

However our film would most likely be a smaller budget film and use an independent release, so a distribution company more suited to this would be better. Some research on this found Bulldog Films, an independent UK film distributor that releases films across all platforms. It releases films in all genres, including many action films such as Transgression and Dark Planet.

We can also release our film on streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. These are good because they don’t cost as much to distribute and with a small budget we’d want most of our budget to go to the actual production of the film. It also makes it cheaper for audiences, as they don’t have to go to the cinema, meaning that more people watch it. Sites such as Netflix are very popular with our target audience age bracket (16-24), allowing us to direct the film to them.

As DVDs and the cinema are more expensive, there is a higher risk of piracy of our film, so having it available online, for lower prices and wider availability, would lower this risk and please the audience.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question 1

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

To answer this question we wrote notes on the codes and conventions of our genre and then Rhiannon recorded them over our final media product to make a director's commentary.

Conventions:

• From our research from the BFI, we have learnt that stereotypically Action films are categorised as certificate 15, maximising youth audiences, which is a convention we have followed within our own work; tropes of dystopia are also alluded to within the radio transmission at the beginning, which develops the convention that action films are often hybridised with sci-fi films. 

• The majority of the highest grossing action films within the British Film Industry were made and distributed by Major Studios, due to the popularity and profitability of this genre. However, our film challenges this genre based convention as our film opening was produced on a significantly different budget, which can be displayed through our handheld tracking shots, that in the industry would have been filmed using a dolly. 

• Another convention of the action genre is the overrepresentation of males within the genre, this is a convention we have gone against, by using not only a female protagonist but also a female antagonist. 

• The chase and the great escape are conventions featured in most action films, therefore we utilised this element to increase dramatic tension, just like they do in many real media products. 

• Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.

• Usage of low-key lighting and dark colours, as conventionally action films use low-key lighting to emphasise mystery surrounding particular characters, and the danger that protagonists may be facing. 

Codes:

• A code that we have adhered to is the usage of Dramatic Non-Diegetic sounds within our opening. From my analysis of Mission Impossible, I found the opening was heavily reliant on non-diegetic sound effects to build tension. Therefore we incorporated a loud dramatic hum to score the background, which effectively built tension and was a point that our focus group provided us with excellent feedback for. 

• The code of fast paced editing is something we adhered to, with many close-up shots to allude Hayden’s rising panic. 

Focus Group Feedback of our usage of Forms and Conventions:

Focus Group:	Convention/Form:	Was the use of this effective?	Comments:
Chloe	Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.	Yes	“Shots weren't too long which kept me more interested. The background music was tense. Rebecca’s character was very mysterious which created a sense of suspense and action, and kept me wanting to know what happened next.”
Abbie	Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.	Yes	“The radio transmission established a dramatic feel to the piece and the ending was very action packed with the fade to black, followed by the gunshot very faced paced.”
Rebecca	Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.	Yes	“To improve it I would have reduced the length of some of the shots in the opening, as they slow the pace down”
Sarah	Overrepresentation of males within the genre, this is a convention we have gone against, by using not only a female protagonist but also a female antagonist.	Yes	“Yes I liked the fact that you used an empowering female to subvert the typical gender roles. It was clever and more appealing for me personally to watch."

DEPLETION Edit 5 - FINAL