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 the preliminary task, I've definitely noticed a progression in my capabilities throughout all technical areas, especially my work with camera, as I am now more confident with shot types and framing them more artistically to convey a more legitimate approach to film making. I can now also operate the iMovie software fluently, incorporating a wider range of editing techniques than I could with the preliminary task. I also found the research stage of this unit to be a lot more in-depth this time, with our analysis of a wide range of film openings being very time consuming but at the same time providing helpful guidelines and conventions that we could transfer onto our opening. As a group, we have similarly improved our skills when it comes to working with each other, using the equipment with precision and taking a care in our attention to detail.
In terms of the success criteria of our opening sequence, I believe we have accomplished our goal in making the opening 2 minutes of a film, by quickly establishing the genre, mood and tone. We also wanted to make our opening more distinctive and provide contextual information in a more stylised way by including a non-diegetic voice over.
Below is the final cuts of 'Remorse' and 'The Conspiracy' for comparison:
Wednesday 30 April 2014
Evaluation: Question 6
What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of constructing the product?
Using a high quality Sony camera and tri pod for our film opening made the production process appear a lot more legitimate to us as film makers. One thing we experimented with in the first cut was the depth of field we were able to achieve with this particular camera. The picture below is evidence of this, with the main focus of the shot being the bench leg and making the main protagonist blurry in comparison. This suggests a lack of importance and personal identity, which matches the thoughts and feelings of the character, showing that we fully utilised the technology we were given to provide a sense of variety in shot types to make it seem less repetitive.
A problem we ran into with the tri pod was that it was quite stiff, which made the panning shots quite jagged and inconsistent. Because we didn't have access to a different one we made do by doing multiple takes for every shot, which was also an insurance policy in case a shot was accidently deleted during post production. After filming we used iMac computers and a software called iMovie, which turned out to be quite simplistic and easy to use, because it saved all of our progress automatically so that there was no chance of us loosing any good footage.
Through all three stages of production, I found that our group worked well together, constantly collaborating on the best compromise with all of us taking turns at directing and pitching our ideas to each other.
Another important piece of technology that we used was Blogger to place all of our coursework for this topic, which I found to be very helpful because I could access it from anywhere with an internet connection, which provided me with more time and opportunities to get the coursework completed.
Using a high quality Sony camera and tri pod for our film opening made the production process appear a lot more legitimate to us as film makers. One thing we experimented with in the first cut was the depth of field we were able to achieve with this particular camera. The picture below is evidence of this, with the main focus of the shot being the bench leg and making the main protagonist blurry in comparison. This suggests a lack of importance and personal identity, which matches the thoughts and feelings of the character, showing that we fully utilised the technology we were given to provide a sense of variety in shot types to make it seem less repetitive.
A problem we ran into with the tri pod was that it was quite stiff, which made the panning shots quite jagged and inconsistent. Because we didn't have access to a different one we made do by doing multiple takes for every shot, which was also an insurance policy in case a shot was accidently deleted during post production. After filming we used iMac computers and a software called iMovie, which turned out to be quite simplistic and easy to use, because it saved all of our progress automatically so that there was no chance of us loosing any good footage.
Through all three stages of production, I found that our group worked well together, constantly collaborating on the best compromise with all of us taking turns at directing and pitching our ideas to each other.
Another important piece of technology that we used was Blogger to place all of our coursework for this topic, which I found to be very helpful because I could access it from anywhere with an internet connection, which provided me with more time and opportunities to get the coursework completed.
Evaluation: Question 5
How did you attract/address your
audience?
Our audience profile is males ageing from 15-30 whom have an interest in the drama genre. When we showed people of this age group what they thought of our sequence many answered that it was good but that the story was quite hard to follow, which is why we added the non-diegetic voice over.
Below is an exemplar of one of the questionnaires we handed out to the people who watched it:
In regards to camera work, a majority are establishing shots, which distances the audience from the character, but helps them to establish his place in society, depending on his geographical location. In our case, the main protagonist's dress code is contrasting from the naturalistic park setting, which already generates questions that the audience want answered for the sake of closure, such as why is a businessman like himself in a common park alone? Is he waiting for someone, if so who? We made a point of making our audience feel slightly confused to create intrigue in relation to this intentionally enigmatic sequence.
Our audience profile is males ageing from 15-30 whom have an interest in the drama genre. When we showed people of this age group what they thought of our sequence many answered that it was good but that the story was quite hard to follow, which is why we added the non-diegetic voice over.
Below is an exemplar of one of the questionnaires we handed out to the people who watched it:
In regards to camera work, a majority are establishing shots, which distances the audience from the character, but helps them to establish his place in society, depending on his geographical location. In our case, the main protagonist's dress code is contrasting from the naturalistic park setting, which already generates questions that the audience want answered for the sake of closure, such as why is a businessman like himself in a common park alone? Is he waiting for someone, if so who? We made a point of making our audience feel slightly confused to create intrigue in relation to this intentionally enigmatic sequence.
Evaluation: Question 4
Who would be the audience for your
media product?
In correlation with the narrative and the way that we tell it through our work with camera, we as a group have concluded that our target audience is male teenagers and young adults. This is due to the similar age in our main protagonist (Jake Scofield, played by Liam Hemsworth) and also because of the dark and savage tone we've set out to establish which, stereotypically speaking, won't appeal to females, especially those of a younger age. We also have constant swearing in our narrative, while we also present the elements of deception and corruption in a very negative light, which some younger audiences may find discomforting. Similarly, we also convey the main female protagonist (Emily Thorne, played by Amy Adams) in a very sexual light that could be interpreted as offensive in the eyes of female audience members.
To summarise, we have based our target audience on the nature of our film's content and how each theme is addressed, whether it's visual or merely implied, while also taking into consideration who the narrative would appeal to, especially seeing as this is a typical example of the crime/drama subgenre.
In correlation with the narrative and the way that we tell it through our work with camera, we as a group have concluded that our target audience is male teenagers and young adults. This is due to the similar age in our main protagonist (Jake Scofield, played by Liam Hemsworth) and also because of the dark and savage tone we've set out to establish which, stereotypically speaking, won't appeal to females, especially those of a younger age. We also have constant swearing in our narrative, while we also present the elements of deception and corruption in a very negative light, which some younger audiences may find discomforting. Similarly, we also convey the main female protagonist (Emily Thorne, played by Amy Adams) in a very sexual light that could be interpreted as offensive in the eyes of female audience members.
To summarise, we have based our target audience on the nature of our film's content and how each theme is addressed, whether it's visual or merely implied, while also taking into consideration who the narrative would appeal to, especially seeing as this is a typical example of the crime/drama subgenre.
Evaluation: Question 3
What kind of media institution
might distribute your media product and why?
As a mainstream company, it's likely to have one of 'The Big Six' Hollywood companies distribute our film. This is because they're so well known throughout the media industry, and have a wide variety of recourses at their disposal to make sure that the film at the very least breaks even at the box office. A company such as 'N.B.C. Universal' is a good example of whom we'd expect to distribute our film, with 'Universal' having recently celebrated their 100th birthday they have a large amount of experience in the film industry and therefore knows what particular elements it takes to make films a critical and financial success. This can range from above and below advertising to celebrity endorsement, all of which aiding in making the film memorable. Another advantage to using such a big company to distribute our film is that their name in itself will carry a good reputation of producing and/or distributing iconic films that the studio is then remembered for, such as 'Paramount Pictures' and 'The Godfather.'
With both the celebrity endorsement and our mainstream studio producing it, it's clear that our film is targeted at a mainstream audience rather than niche, with our narrative incorporating multiple themes so that a majority of people can take something away from it, whether it be the writing, cinematography, moral message etc. With 'Remorse' being a realistic and gritty drama, it means there are less opportunities for merchandising and the expansion of a franchise, with the end of the narrative being very conclusive in relation to the characters and their story arcs.
After the film has been released in multiple regions across the world in cinemas, the next stage would be to wait approximately six months (as a lot of Hollywood films have been seen to do) in order to make the public anxious and keen to buy our film. Similarly to 'Gravity,' we will also release DVD copies before the Blu-ray release, in the hope that they'll feel compelled to by both copies, as the Blu-ray has more special features. We will make these copies available in all the countries in which it played in cinemas, both in stores and online to maximise our profit margin. Finally, a year after the original release, we will sell the rights of the film to streaming facilities, such as Netflix and Lovefilm to permit the curiosity and intrigue of those who haven't previously seen it or merely as a convenience over having a DVD or Blur ray copy.
As a mainstream company, it's likely to have one of 'The Big Six' Hollywood companies distribute our film. This is because they're so well known throughout the media industry, and have a wide variety of recourses at their disposal to make sure that the film at the very least breaks even at the box office. A company such as 'N.B.C. Universal' is a good example of whom we'd expect to distribute our film, with 'Universal' having recently celebrated their 100th birthday they have a large amount of experience in the film industry and therefore knows what particular elements it takes to make films a critical and financial success. This can range from above and below advertising to celebrity endorsement, all of which aiding in making the film memorable. Another advantage to using such a big company to distribute our film is that their name in itself will carry a good reputation of producing and/or distributing iconic films that the studio is then remembered for, such as 'Paramount Pictures' and 'The Godfather.'
With both the celebrity endorsement and our mainstream studio producing it, it's clear that our film is targeted at a mainstream audience rather than niche, with our narrative incorporating multiple themes so that a majority of people can take something away from it, whether it be the writing, cinematography, moral message etc. With 'Remorse' being a realistic and gritty drama, it means there are less opportunities for merchandising and the expansion of a franchise, with the end of the narrative being very conclusive in relation to the characters and their story arcs.After the film has been released in multiple regions across the world in cinemas, the next stage would be to wait approximately six months (as a lot of Hollywood films have been seen to do) in order to make the public anxious and keen to buy our film. Similarly to 'Gravity,' we will also release DVD copies before the Blu-ray release, in the hope that they'll feel compelled to by both copies, as the Blu-ray has more special features. We will make these copies available in all the countries in which it played in cinemas, both in stores and online to maximise our profit margin. Finally, a year after the original release, we will sell the rights of the film to streaming facilities, such as Netflix and Lovefilm to permit the curiosity and intrigue of those who haven't previously seen it or merely as a convenience over having a DVD or Blur ray copy.
Evaluation: Question 2
How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
In our opening sequence, we've represented young adult males as uncertain and regretful. The slow and heavy body language of the main protagonist highlights this sense of burden and regret, walking with a lack of purpose and looking at the naturalistic surroundings carelessly and in a mourning way does, however, convey them as quite sophisticated and mature in that respect. This is a stereotypical representation of young adult males being ambitious and with a smarter appearance than teenagers and children, but also lack the life experience of middle aged adults. We also used a low angle shot during the opening to display the physical dominance of the main protagonist, which links back to the stereotypical male being very strong, in comparison to the vulnerability of females.
Our narrative is told from the perspective of this main protagonist from both the non-diegetic voice over and the fact that the events in the film follow the repercussions of that character. This links to our target audience also being teenagers and young adults, to reflect the main protagonist, because they are most likely to empathise for the character and therefore have an emotional connection to our film. By incorporating verisimilitude, with the common and naturalistic setting that's also reflected in the dark colours of the character's suit, the audience will also find the narrative and how it's presented more relatable because of it's realism and similarities to real life.
In our opening sequence, we've represented young adult males as uncertain and regretful. The slow and heavy body language of the main protagonist highlights this sense of burden and regret, walking with a lack of purpose and looking at the naturalistic surroundings carelessly and in a mourning way does, however, convey them as quite sophisticated and mature in that respect. This is a stereotypical representation of young adult males being ambitious and with a smarter appearance than teenagers and children, but also lack the life experience of middle aged adults. We also used a low angle shot during the opening to display the physical dominance of the main protagonist, which links back to the stereotypical male being very strong, in comparison to the vulnerability of females.
Evaluation: Question 1
In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After extensive research into the drama genre, we were able to incorporate multiple conventions and signifiers, that help to identify the genre, into our film opening. An example of this can be found in the lack of vibrancy throughout, within both the park setting and the character's costume to embed an element of verisimilitude and also establish quite a depressing tone for the audience. With the character wearing black and white colours, it is in itself quite dramatic because it has connotations of good vs. evil (binary opposites) and therefore implies that he's conflicted with contrasting aspects within his character, already making him more enigmatic and thus interesting; this is another common convention of the drama genre, with all the films we researched into having in-depth character development.
To make our film more distinctive, we incorporated a non-diegetic voice over in our final cut, as it also provided context to help entice the audience in our narrative. Because our main protagonist is first seen sitting down and then concludes standing on a bridge, it displays a sense of emotional progression within his character, suggesting that this aspect of development is seen in the rest of the film's narrative.
Some of the themes that we include in our opening, as well as the narrative style, could be compared to the film 'The Town,' as they both elaborate on the elements of the lose and contemplation of the main character.
Friday 25 April 2014
'Remorese' - The Final Cut
This is the final cut of our film opening sequence. This differs from the previous cut by incorporating a non-diegetic voice over. We found that timing the lines in correlation to the music helped to emphasise the element of sadness, giving the voice over, and the narrative as a whole, more substance and meaning. Comparing this to our first cut, we can conclusively say that this is a much more appealing and professional looking product. Doing multiple cuts also made us feel more confident to add in new aspects with every cut, so that when we reached our final cut all of these technical areas worked together to solidify the idea that this is a good example of a film that sticks to the conventions of the crime/drama genre and fulfils the need of an opening, which is to grip and entice audience members and make them feel compelled to continue watching for the sake of closure.
- Ryan Chapman -
Thursday 24 April 2014
Rough Cut 3
This is the third cut of 'Remorse,' with more fine tuning to shots, in regards to the framing and transitions used. The most notable change is that we have now added some non-diegetic music to help establish a contemplating tone to mirror the character. We found the gentle piano ballad worked well with the opening, especially because we found that, in our research, similar music styles can be seen to give the product more depth.
- Ryan Chapman -
Wednesday 23 April 2014
Rough Cut 2
Feedback
• 'Nice establishing shot but it is quite slow
• Change the font of the titles – it Is not good
• You need institutional logos at the start
• Look at the placement of the film title – it is right on
top and the shot where he walks across the screen with the lamppost in it is too
long
• Some of your shots are much better
• Consider placement of other titles too – some of them are
over the action
• Consider sound track
• The shot after he has thrown the leaflet away and the shot
on the bridge is too far shot over to the right – it looks odd as he has just
been in the centre of the frame
• As an opening title sequence it runs well
• Narrative is difficult to follow'
Thursday 3 April 2014
Rough Cut 1
This is the first edited version of our 'Remorse' film opening. After having given this cut to our teachers we soon received a list of improvements and they are as follows:
'You have a few nice shots but on the whole there is lots to improve on in order to bring your piece up into the higher levels:
- You need an institutional logo - at least one at the start
- You need at least another 30 seconds of footage
- The notebook on the bench is not great
- Your titles are not in the correct order - look at your research for this
- The voice over is not good - there are gaps in it - will you add in non diegetic music?
- The Film Title font and lavishness is bad - does not fit in with the genre
- Some of the shots are out of focus and need to be filmed again
- The narrative doesn't make sense - does he love him? who is it? I thought it was meant to be a gangster film - it feels like a love story at the moment.
- As Ryan is in it, he cannot get any marks for use of camera at the moment.
- For rough cut two you need to focus on the narrative and what you are actually trying to produce because it is all a little confusing at the moment.'
We have taken this criticism on board and will improve on these particular areas for our next cut.
Tuesday 25 March 2014
Filming diary
Day 1:
The first day that we began our filming our film opening we had several issues to solve. The largest issue was that the original actor that we had planned to use did not show up for the shoot. This created a large problem as we were unable to get anyone else to fill in, so we had to use one of our group members in the film. We had originally planned on staying in the location (Admirals Park) for roughly 3 hours, however as we did arrive later than expected at 4:30pm we had to accelerate our filming as we had roughly 2 hours of sunlight left in the day. This did at first cause some concern as to if we needed a second day to film the rest of our opening but we were able to fit in all the shots that we need and we left with about half an hour remaining. Over the next couple of days Ryan and Peter spent a large amount of time editing our first rough cut together. We knew this was a rough cut but we still put a lot of hard work into creating a professional looking piece. After showing our product to an audience and our teachers we have been given a list of improvements that we need to do whilst in editing and while we are filming. The biggest thing is that we needed to make it longer as it was too short to be a film opening. From this feedback we were given we are going to be able to improve on our original piece and create an even more professional looking piece.
- Peter Godwin -
Luckily, because I came up with the main protagonist's characteristics, he had a good idea of how to portray him and the qualities within him. This was challenging though, not just because it was short notice that I would have to play him but also because there wasn't any diegetic pieces of dialogue nor close ups to convey the character's attributes. This meant I had to focus on his physicality, specifically his body language, showing that sense of remorse and regret by looking at the environment in quite a contemplating way, and therefore displaying that sense of doubt that helped to present the enigmatic tone we, as a group, wanted to achieve with this opening sequence. Despite the visual weather on camera being sunny, it was also very windy the first day we filmed, which, on top of the impending night time darkness, made us feel all the more compelled to finish shooting as quickly as possible. The wind also didn't help us, in regards to our camera work, especially with the numerous panning shots we have in our sequence, because it resulted in the camera being harder to control steadily on the tripod. While doing our best to control the stability of the camera itself, we also tried our best to make the panning shots appear as smooth and thus professional as possible, however, looking back at our first rough cut, we can now see and understand why this was not achieved.
- Ryan Chapman -
Day 2:
- Peter Godwin -
Luckily, because I came up with the main protagonist's characteristics, he had a good idea of how to portray him and the qualities within him. This was challenging though, not just because it was short notice that I would have to play him but also because there wasn't any diegetic pieces of dialogue nor close ups to convey the character's attributes. This meant I had to focus on his physicality, specifically his body language, showing that sense of remorse and regret by looking at the environment in quite a contemplating way, and therefore displaying that sense of doubt that helped to present the enigmatic tone we, as a group, wanted to achieve with this opening sequence. Despite the visual weather on camera being sunny, it was also very windy the first day we filmed, which, on top of the impending night time darkness, made us feel all the more compelled to finish shooting as quickly as possible. The wind also didn't help us, in regards to our camera work, especially with the numerous panning shots we have in our sequence, because it resulted in the camera being harder to control steadily on the tripod. While doing our best to control the stability of the camera itself, we also tried our best to make the panning shots appear as smooth and thus professional as possible, however, looking back at our first rough cut, we can now see and understand why this was not achieved.- Ryan Chapman -
Day 2:
The second day of shooting we had to re-film our scenes as we had a different actor so we re-filmed to create a sense of continuity throughout the film. As we were filming during the day at 1:30 we were no longer rushing our filming so we were able to take as many takes as we needed before we thought we could move on. We were in the same location as before (Admirals Park) but we had arranged for a different more reliable actor to use in our film. We have also added in a few extra shots and extended the time of some shots. This will hopefully extend the overall time of the film opening to a more acceptable length.
- Peter Godwin -
- Peter Godwin -
Having more time to shoot meant we were also able to make the opening appear more artistic on screen, with a higher attention to detail, in regards to the cinematography. I (Ryan) also took into consideration the connotations within each shot, making a point of conveying this single character as the stereotypically masculine, yet remorseful male we had planned to from the start. For example, we used multiple low angle shots to present this male as a physically dominant protagonist and amplify the stock character of a humanising, mourning and vengeful businessman, quickly establish this narrative as being very much character driven. The weather also worked in our favour more so on this day of filming than the previous, with the dark clouds helping to highlight the depressing and solitary tone we wanted to get across. When we compared this to our original footage we found that the less vibrant weather conditions worked a lot better in correlation to our narrative than the sunshine that can be seen throughout the first rough cut.
- Ryan Chapman -
- Ryan Chapman -
Monday 24 March 2014
25 word pitch for film
This is our pitch for the film. We limited the word count to make it more concise and offer a general overview of our plot.
Jake Scofield, a crook, becomes part of a corrupt empire, resulting the death of his best friend, with the help of an enigmatic woman.
Jake Scofield, a crook, becomes part of a corrupt empire, resulting the death of his best friend, with the help of an enigmatic woman.
First ideas for the opening sequence
Below is a spider diagram of my original ideas for the opening. Each person in the group did their own diagram (resulting in 3), experimenting with different concepts as to what genre, and more specifically what the narrative should consist of. Mapping out our ideas helped us to be creative as well as apply perspective to our ideas to see if they made sense. While making our ideas we took into consideration what our target audience would be and how we would appeal to them particularly. In the case of my ideas, I believed the kind of people who could really empathise with this depressive and contemplating character is the kind of person who has experienced loss in their life. It's therefore logical that we should target a more mature and experienced audience that can find the narrative more relatable.
Monday 10 March 2014
My design for the institutional logo of our film company
Below is my design of how I think we, as a company, should present ourselves to the public. A husky is in the design because of the name of our company, while the naturalistic setting reflects our open-minded approach to films and also creates a sense of distinction and iconography within our logo. The contrast between the tree and the mountains creates diversity within locations and relates to the range of different films our company produces.
Below are 2 Computer Aided Designs (C.A.D.) of my logo to make it appear more professional and legitimate:
I have adapted certain elements that I found worked better than the original design to make it look more dynamic and have more positive connotations, such as the sun and it's rays casting over the rest of the logo to connote happiness and the lack of aggression within the husky's mannerisms.
By contrast, with this design I elaborated on the predator aspect of a husky to reflect our ruthless and cunning approach to films - quickly eliminating the competition. The direct mode of address from the husky also makes the audience feel more like they're personally being approached by our logo, making it more memorable.
Below are 2 Computer Aided Designs (C.A.D.) of my logo to make it appear more professional and legitimate:
I have adapted certain elements that I found worked better than the original design to make it look more dynamic and have more positive connotations, such as the sun and it's rays casting over the rest of the logo to connote happiness and the lack of aggression within the husky's mannerisms.
By contrast, with this design I elaborated on the predator aspect of a husky to reflect our ruthless and cunning approach to films - quickly eliminating the competition. The direct mode of address from the husky also makes the audience feel more like they're personally being approached by our logo, making it more memorable.
Sunday 9 March 2014
Research on institutional logos - mainstream and independant
Because mainstream production companies have higher budgets, they can afford to have more complex, vibrant and iconic logos that grab the audience's attention and help them to remember that particular company. As a result, due to the ever advancing changes in technology, by 1976 all major companies had animated logos. Soon enough, with digitalisation becoming all the more common in the early 2000s, it was inevitable for this to effect the film industry and how companies publicise their films, as well as insure audiences of their legitimacy. For example, Universal was the first film company to have an institutional logo that was completely computer generated in 2007. This made them stand out against there competitors and, as a result, words moving across a globe of the Earth is now iconic to that of Universal. While watching this sequence, I was inspired by the symbolism that conveyed this company in a very positive way, despite there being no dialogue, which is the usual technique to persuade a person. The light being cast on the globe implies that this company is somewhat of a saviour, linking to the qualities of a film protagonist, and presenting Universal as a trusting and legitimate mainstream film company.
In comparison, from 1998 to 2000, while Lionsgate was still a small time independent production company, despite they're logo being animated, it was also less iconic and therefore only used for a couple of years. Since then, as they've made more commercially successful films, they've been able to upgrade there image and appear as a more legitimate company to audiences.
In conclusion, mainstream and independent film company logos are contrasting in terms of quality and iconography, which is why we're investing time in making our group's production logo as iconic and memorable as possible, especially considering we're a mainstream company and our logo would therefore be a key signifier in addressing the type of film company we are.
In comparison, from 1998 to 2000, while Lionsgate was still a small time independent production company, despite they're logo being animated, it was also less iconic and therefore only used for a couple of years. Since then, as they've made more commercially successful films, they've been able to upgrade there image and appear as a more legitimate company to audiences.
In conclusion, mainstream and independent film company logos are contrasting in terms of quality and iconography, which is why we're investing time in making our group's production logo as iconic and memorable as possible, especially considering we're a mainstream company and our logo would therefore be a key signifier in addressing the type of film company we are.
What type of production company we are and why
Our group agreed we would be a mainstream company, so that we could afford well-known actors to play our characters, such as Liam Hemsworth, and incorporate varied and iconic settings to make the film more aesthetically pleasing, while also improving the overall quality of our film. Another reason we decided for 'Husky Productions' to be mainstream is that we'd be able to hire professional crew members, such as writers and directors, with lengthy film histories and therefore know what specific elements makes a film successful, which is one of the main reasons that independent films don't do well at the box office - because, stereotypically speaking, nobody trusts people and companies they aren't already familiar with.
An example of this can be found with the first 'Star Wars' film because, although it was George Lucas' first mainstream film directing, a lot of people went to see it, due to 20th Century Fox already being a well-established film company and therefore resulting in a high production value for the film.
By contrast, 'Attack The Block' was produced by Film 4, which is an independent company and is therefore a much lesser-known brand name than Fox, creating a sense of uncertainty among audience members and making it unsurprising that the film actually made lose at the box office.
To conclude, whether or not a film company is mainstream or independent drastically effects the overall quality of the product and therefore the financial success of the film, which is why our group decided on making our company mainstream, rather than independent.
An example of this can be found with the first 'Star Wars' film because, although it was George Lucas' first mainstream film directing, a lot of people went to see it, due to 20th Century Fox already being a well-established film company and therefore resulting in a high production value for the film.
By contrast, 'Attack The Block' was produced by Film 4, which is an independent company and is therefore a much lesser-known brand name than Fox, creating a sense of uncertainty among audience members and making it unsurprising that the film actually made lose at the box office.
To conclude, whether or not a film company is mainstream or independent drastically effects the overall quality of the product and therefore the financial success of the film, which is why our group decided on making our company mainstream, rather than independent.
Friday 7 March 2014
Research into similar genres - action and thriller
The drama and action genres often are associated with one another, especially when it comes to the American film industry, because they're stereotypically associated with this subgenre. With our film opening focusing on the dramatic aspect, it means we do have a smaller target audience, however it also means for a more story-driven narrative, compared to excess action sequences that can be seen in numerous examples.
One of these action genre examples can be seen in 'Die Hard,' known for it's simplistic plot and memorably over the top portrayal of the antagonist, by Alan Rickman. This film is a good example of the action genre conventions of violence outweighing the story arc, and this simplicity relates to our film opening, in the sense that it was suggested that we don't make it too complicated, due to the lack of funding and minimal filming schedule. This film was a critical and commercial success, making $140 million at the box office and attracted audiences by elaborating on the violent aspect of the action genre, with numerous uses of guns, blood and explosions. In relation to the Uses and Gratification theory, this excess use of fictional scenarios suggest this film fulfils the need for audience members to be entertained. In comparison, we will attract drama genre audiences by using symbolism to provide context on the characters, while also making a point of not using the previously mentioned signifiers from the action genre, because of the lack of budgeting as well as our narrative being more story driven. This film appealed to it's target audience of adults by containing consistently rude language, the extremity of the violence, and having an intense atmosphere throughout the narrative to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
Another that's often combined with drama is the thriller genre. It has more similarities to drama, in the sense that they're less action-orientated and have a more unique narrative, with twists and cliff-hangers in the stories being used consistently within the thriller genre. Our group hopes to replicate this lack of predictability by not giving too much away in the opening, while also linking back to the symbolic element in order to make the audience speculate and hopefully still be surprised at this refreshing approach to the drama genre.
A good example of a thriller is the film 'Now You See Me.' Based around the concepts of trickery and deception, this film had multiple twists and unexpected turning points in it's narrative, engaging it's audience while also making them care more about the main characters. What made this film a critical and commercial success (making $350 million at the box office) was the fact that it still had a fast pace, wide variety of characters, iconic settings, numerous A-list actors, and yet none of this was over-shadowed by extensive action sequences, maintaining the film's verisimilitude and thus relatable narrative. This therefore appealed to a more civilised audience that prioritise plot and character development over special effects. By contrast to 'Die Hard,' this film expands more on the Uses and Gratification theory's need for knowledge, with the multiple twists and turns in the film, as well as the main concept of deception and trickery, being at the core of this film, compelling the audience to continue watching and aid in the films pacing in the process, instead of the less realistic and more entertaining action sequences that can be seen in 'Die Hard.'
We will attract audiences by using signifiers that are associated with the drama genre, such as in-depth character development, subtle non-diegetic music that reflects the thoughts and feelings of the main protagonist, naturalistic settings and an enigmatic atmosphere to compel the audience to continue watching.
One of these action genre examples can be seen in 'Die Hard,' known for it's simplistic plot and memorably over the top portrayal of the antagonist, by Alan Rickman. This film is a good example of the action genre conventions of violence outweighing the story arc, and this simplicity relates to our film opening, in the sense that it was suggested that we don't make it too complicated, due to the lack of funding and minimal filming schedule. This film was a critical and commercial success, making $140 million at the box office and attracted audiences by elaborating on the violent aspect of the action genre, with numerous uses of guns, blood and explosions. In relation to the Uses and Gratification theory, this excess use of fictional scenarios suggest this film fulfils the need for audience members to be entertained. In comparison, we will attract drama genre audiences by using symbolism to provide context on the characters, while also making a point of not using the previously mentioned signifiers from the action genre, because of the lack of budgeting as well as our narrative being more story driven. This film appealed to it's target audience of adults by containing consistently rude language, the extremity of the violence, and having an intense atmosphere throughout the narrative to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
Another that's often combined with drama is the thriller genre. It has more similarities to drama, in the sense that they're less action-orientated and have a more unique narrative, with twists and cliff-hangers in the stories being used consistently within the thriller genre. Our group hopes to replicate this lack of predictability by not giving too much away in the opening, while also linking back to the symbolic element in order to make the audience speculate and hopefully still be surprised at this refreshing approach to the drama genre.
A good example of a thriller is the film 'Now You See Me.' Based around the concepts of trickery and deception, this film had multiple twists and unexpected turning points in it's narrative, engaging it's audience while also making them care more about the main characters. What made this film a critical and commercial success (making $350 million at the box office) was the fact that it still had a fast pace, wide variety of characters, iconic settings, numerous A-list actors, and yet none of this was over-shadowed by extensive action sequences, maintaining the film's verisimilitude and thus relatable narrative. This therefore appealed to a more civilised audience that prioritise plot and character development over special effects. By contrast to 'Die Hard,' this film expands more on the Uses and Gratification theory's need for knowledge, with the multiple twists and turns in the film, as well as the main concept of deception and trickery, being at the core of this film, compelling the audience to continue watching and aid in the films pacing in the process, instead of the less realistic and more entertaining action sequences that can be seen in 'Die Hard.'
We will attract audiences by using signifiers that are associated with the drama genre, such as in-depth character development, subtle non-diegetic music that reflects the thoughts and feelings of the main protagonist, naturalistic settings and an enigmatic atmosphere to compel the audience to continue watching.
Saturday 1 March 2014
Psychographic research into audiences and genres
Psychographics relates to market research that's based on dividing people into groups based on their personalities, which is important when it comes to identifying and relating to specific target audience. Here are the categories:
Mainstreamers: go with the flow and replicate everyone else's attributes in society.
Aspirers - desires more out of life.
Succeeders - have money but don't need to show it.
Individualists - want to show they're different.
Carers - want to save the world.
These 5 categories help us to identify who we're targeting with our group's opening, while it also helps put into perspective how we're going to do this. For example, a carer would probably relate more to a nature documentary than a succeeder would, because they care more about that specific topic. In our case, because our film is about a man who defies social convention and wants to be someone of importance, it's clear our target audience is not just teenagers and young adults but more specifically 'aspirers.'
A media theorist, named Stuart Hall has 3 audience theories that strongly relate to Psychographics and they are as follows:
Preferred readings - when an audience can relate and empathise with the media text.
Negotiated readings - when an audience don not directly relate to the media text and have to place themselves into the world of the text.
Oppositional readings - when an audience and their life experiences have no relationship with the text and are actually resistant to it.
Looking at these theories, because our group is doing a drama, we knew we wanted it to be part of the 'preferred reading' category, with the naturalistic and gritty tone we're going for, reflecting these attributes. We also plan to incorporate verisimilitude by using very natural and common settings, such as a graveyard, so that there's less of a barrier between the film opening and the audience. With the audience empathising and possibly relating to our opening, it creates an emotional attachment so that the audience will then care about when and how the film concludes.
Mainstreamers: go with the flow and replicate everyone else's attributes in society.
Aspirers - desires more out of life.
Succeeders - have money but don't need to show it.
Individualists - want to show they're different.
Carers - want to save the world.
These 5 categories help us to identify who we're targeting with our group's opening, while it also helps put into perspective how we're going to do this. For example, a carer would probably relate more to a nature documentary than a succeeder would, because they care more about that specific topic. In our case, because our film is about a man who defies social convention and wants to be someone of importance, it's clear our target audience is not just teenagers and young adults but more specifically 'aspirers.'
A media theorist, named Stuart Hall has 3 audience theories that strongly relate to Psychographics and they are as follows:
Preferred readings - when an audience can relate and empathise with the media text.
Negotiated readings - when an audience don not directly relate to the media text and have to place themselves into the world of the text.
Oppositional readings - when an audience and their life experiences have no relationship with the text and are actually resistant to it.
Looking at these theories, because our group is doing a drama, we knew we wanted it to be part of the 'preferred reading' category, with the naturalistic and gritty tone we're going for, reflecting these attributes. We also plan to incorporate verisimilitude by using very natural and common settings, such as a graveyard, so that there's less of a barrier between the film opening and the audience. With the audience empathising and possibly relating to our opening, it creates an emotional attachment so that the audience will then care about when and how the film concludes.
Friday 28 February 2014
A timeline of a film opening from the drama genre - 'Drive'
This is a timeline for the opening sequence to the film 'Drive.' As a drama, it is the same genre as our film and therefore carries similar attributes, when it comes to identifying the genre and how characters are introduced in an enigmatic light. In this case, the main protagonist has no dialogue, which makes the audience question what kind of a character he is and how he contributes to the narrative.
Two drama film openings
An example of a contemporary film opening, from the drama genre can be seen in 'Out of the Furnace.' This opening has a very melancholy tone to it, with the slow paced country music accompanied with the setting of an old factory has connotations of depression and danger; this atmosphere is a stereotypical trait of a drama, establishing a character driven story early, by making the audience quickly empathise for this character's depressing lifestyle.
The narrative of the opening regards a man being shown to work in a darkly lit factory, incorporating verisimilitude with this realistic setting and, in this context, conveyed as quite a negative and unskilled profession. This suggests that this character lacks intelligence and as a result leads an uneventful and repetitive life. He then proceeds to changing clothes and leaving the workplace, both times he doesn't interact with anyone else on screen, which implies he's lonely.
The non-diegetic country music is stereotypical of the American way of life, because it's a very popular genre in that country, implying that this is the main setting of the film. The slow pace and low pitch aids in creating the melancholy atmosphere that was already established by the main protagonist's lack of socialising to really amplify this theme, which suggests that this particular theme runs throughout the narrative.
The only title used within this sequence is the film's name, which suggests the director wanted people to focus on what's actually in shot because it holds significance to the rest of the film. The simplicity of the title and it's lack of colours lead us to believe this is a low budget production, but the way it appears on screen directly relates to the title itself. It fades on screen in a gradual manner and a vertical trajectory. This relates to the title because it carries the same characteristics of a fire rising, much like a furnace does.
Another example of a drama can be seen in the less contemporary film 'The Godfather.' It was first introduced to cinemas in 1972 and yet, even today, it's known as this very well made and iconic drama. The lack of non-diegetic music makes the audience focus on the dialogue, to provide contextual information on the characters, while still establishing quite an adult tone with very specific details on gruesome events. The gradual opening titles means for a slower pace, which suggest that the narrative of the film similarly evolves at a gradual rate.
'The Godfather' conveys the traits of a drama by providing substance to the characters with the opening monologue as well as referring to social hierarchy, with Don Corleone being presented as the superior man, creating questions such as what does he do for a living and how did he get to this point?
The darkly lit office, much like the factory in 'Out of the Furnace,' has connotations of evil and lifelessness, and the fact that it's the only setting in the opening implies it has sentimental value to the main protagonist and mirrors his clinical and ruthless persona. The film title fades on screen, accompanied with slow paced jazz music that's typical of the time period to quickly establish the historical time period. When it comes to the title's design, it strongly relates to the source material of the book that it's based on. Below is an example of the similarities between the book in comparison to the film's title:
This implicates that the narrative is equally true to the book, creating a bigger target audience so that both film and book fans a like would feel compelled to watch this interpretation of such a well-known novel. With these two films being so similar in how they convey the drama genre and the simplistic nature of their mise-en-scene leads us to believe these are generic conventions of a drama and has therefore helped us in relation to our own film because we can now take on board these techniques and make it clear what kind of film we're making.
Looking at these two dramas, it seems that a consistent element that's used in these openings is character development, whether it's from a mise-en-scene or dialogue stand point. Knowing this, our group agrees that incorporating some of this development will enrich our opening and make the audience care more about our characters and the scenario they're in, enticing the audience and compelling them to continue watching.
The narrative of the opening regards a man being shown to work in a darkly lit factory, incorporating verisimilitude with this realistic setting and, in this context, conveyed as quite a negative and unskilled profession. This suggests that this character lacks intelligence and as a result leads an uneventful and repetitive life. He then proceeds to changing clothes and leaving the workplace, both times he doesn't interact with anyone else on screen, which implies he's lonely.
The non-diegetic country music is stereotypical of the American way of life, because it's a very popular genre in that country, implying that this is the main setting of the film. The slow pace and low pitch aids in creating the melancholy atmosphere that was already established by the main protagonist's lack of socialising to really amplify this theme, which suggests that this particular theme runs throughout the narrative.
The only title used within this sequence is the film's name, which suggests the director wanted people to focus on what's actually in shot because it holds significance to the rest of the film. The simplicity of the title and it's lack of colours lead us to believe this is a low budget production, but the way it appears on screen directly relates to the title itself. It fades on screen in a gradual manner and a vertical trajectory. This relates to the title because it carries the same characteristics of a fire rising, much like a furnace does.
Another example of a drama can be seen in the less contemporary film 'The Godfather.' It was first introduced to cinemas in 1972 and yet, even today, it's known as this very well made and iconic drama. The lack of non-diegetic music makes the audience focus on the dialogue, to provide contextual information on the characters, while still establishing quite an adult tone with very specific details on gruesome events. The gradual opening titles means for a slower pace, which suggest that the narrative of the film similarly evolves at a gradual rate.
'The Godfather' conveys the traits of a drama by providing substance to the characters with the opening monologue as well as referring to social hierarchy, with Don Corleone being presented as the superior man, creating questions such as what does he do for a living and how did he get to this point?
The darkly lit office, much like the factory in 'Out of the Furnace,' has connotations of evil and lifelessness, and the fact that it's the only setting in the opening implies it has sentimental value to the main protagonist and mirrors his clinical and ruthless persona. The film title fades on screen, accompanied with slow paced jazz music that's typical of the time period to quickly establish the historical time period. When it comes to the title's design, it strongly relates to the source material of the book that it's based on. Below is an example of the similarities between the book in comparison to the film's title:
This implicates that the narrative is equally true to the book, creating a bigger target audience so that both film and book fans a like would feel compelled to watch this interpretation of such a well-known novel. With these two films being so similar in how they convey the drama genre and the simplistic nature of their mise-en-scene leads us to believe these are generic conventions of a drama and has therefore helped us in relation to our own film because we can now take on board these techniques and make it clear what kind of film we're making.
Looking at these two dramas, it seems that a consistent element that's used in these openings is character development, whether it's from a mise-en-scene or dialogue stand point. Knowing this, our group agrees that incorporating some of this development will enrich our opening and make the audience care more about our characters and the scenario they're in, enticing the audience and compelling them to continue watching.
Thursday 27 February 2014
Research into the drama genre
As technology has become more
accessible and convenient for the public, thanks for digitalisation, children
now have easier access to films that have high age ratings. That means that
audience members now have higher demands, when it comes to the extremity of the
content, with an example being the controversy surrounding ‘Casino Royale’s age
rating being a 12A in cinemas, despite a graphic torture scene, leaning it more
towards the conventions of a 15 rating. It is this extremity that has caused
older dramas, such as ‘The Godfather,’ to now have a lower age rating than they
did when they were originally released. This differs from ‘Casino Royale’
because, although they’re both subgenres of drama, ‘The Godfather’ elaborates
more on the gangster and crime elements, whereas ‘Casino Royale’ focuses more
on the action orientated aspect. The drawback of this new need for extremity is
that a higher rating means a smaller target audience, directly resulting in a
smaller profit margin for the film companies involved. To avoid this,
well-established directors, such as Christopher Nolan and Ben Affleck, use more
subtle techniques to convey these darker themes, compared to pre-2000 films
that were more visually extreme, with exaggerated uses of blood and violence.
By contrast, ‘The Dark Knight’ is a good
example of a modern drama, being commended for its darkly-themed writing and
in-depth character development, still conveying an adult tone, but also
appealing to children, with the use of an iconic superhero. This picture of the
film’s antagonist displays stereotypical traits of a drama by taking something
kids find humorous (clowns) and turning it into something more psychologically intimidating,
because of this contrast. It follows the
structure of a drama with the use of binary opposites (hero vs. villain),
characters that evolve and have a change in dynamics with others, to represent
a sense of progression. An example of this change can be seen in the character
Harvey Dent, starting off as a loyal and determined lawyer and gradually
becoming more sinister and vengeful.
This is a picture our group constructed to visually summarise the drama genre, through symbolism, and some of the consistent conventions that can be seen in them. The distressed man shows the confusion and lack of clarity, the scales relate to the binary opposites and moral judgement, the path refers to the choices the characters make, the sun rise symbolise hope and the central man in the suit visually demonstrates mourning. These are all the generic conventions that can be seen in most examples of the drama genre. These conventions help to identify the genre, which is why they're used so often, and quickly informs audiences of the mood and tone that can be seen throughout that particular drama. Here are some pictures from films that relate to these conventions and therefore the genre:
Here is a trailer of the film 'The Town,' which carries similar guidelines to the film we have constructed, from a narrative perspective, and is a good example of a modern drama:
'The Town' is a good example of a modern drama because it's dramatic events within the narrative, such as bank robberies and loyalty issues that result in a distinctive sense of progression that can be seen in the characters and their behaviour. The fact that this film is rated 7.6/10 by the public and 74/100 from critics on I.M.D.B., as well as making $154 million at the box office indicates that 'The Town' is an iconic and enjoyable example of the drama genre.
In conclusion, the drama genre has lengthy history and diversity, with numerous subgenres that each elaborates on different elements of drama to make a more memorable and unique narrative.
By contrast, ‘The Dark Knight’ is a good
example of a modern drama, being commended for its darkly-themed writing and
in-depth character development, still conveying an adult tone, but also
appealing to children, with the use of an iconic superhero. This picture of the
film’s antagonist displays stereotypical traits of a drama by taking something
kids find humorous (clowns) and turning it into something more psychologically intimidating,
because of this contrast. It follows the
structure of a drama with the use of binary opposites (hero vs. villain),
characters that evolve and have a change in dynamics with others, to represent
a sense of progression. An example of this change can be seen in the character
Harvey Dent, starting off as a loyal and determined lawyer and gradually
becoming more sinister and vengeful.This is a picture our group constructed to visually summarise the drama genre, through symbolism, and some of the consistent conventions that can be seen in them. The distressed man shows the confusion and lack of clarity, the scales relate to the binary opposites and moral judgement, the path refers to the choices the characters make, the sun rise symbolise hope and the central man in the suit visually demonstrates mourning. These are all the generic conventions that can be seen in most examples of the drama genre. These conventions help to identify the genre, which is why they're used so often, and quickly informs audiences of the mood and tone that can be seen throughout that particular drama. Here are some pictures from films that relate to these conventions and therefore the genre:
Here is a trailer of the film 'The Town,' which carries similar guidelines to the film we have constructed, from a narrative perspective, and is a good example of a modern drama:
'The Town' is a good example of a modern drama because it's dramatic events within the narrative, such as bank robberies and loyalty issues that result in a distinctive sense of progression that can be seen in the characters and their behaviour. The fact that this film is rated 7.6/10 by the public and 74/100 from critics on I.M.D.B., as well as making $154 million at the box office indicates that 'The Town' is an iconic and enjoyable example of the drama genre.
In conclusion, the drama genre has lengthy history and diversity, with numerous subgenres that each elaborates on different elements of drama to make a more memorable and unique narrative.
Wednesday 26 February 2014
Reservoir Dogs remake
This is our group's remake of the film 'Reservoir Dogs.' Because the main focus was the shot type, length and title sequences all matching up with the original, we decided to be creative and use teddy bears to represent each cast member. This was difficult to edit because the timing had to be very precise and each shot and title length had to be exactly the same as the original. Despite the teddy bears, using the same Sony camera that we would also use for our original film opening sequence meant we were still able to incorporate an element of professionalism.
Why we're remaking a film opening
Out of a selection of film openings to recreate, our group decided on the 'Reservoir Dogs' opening sequence, because it's simple enough that we can still replicate the content in the shots and yet the film is iconic enough for our interpretation to still be recognised as a relation to the original. Remaking the sequence will aid our understanding of the importance of shot and title lengths, while also compelling us to consider the framing of each shot, specifically when it comes to shot type and mise-en-scene.
Luckily, because this is also an independent film, 'Reservoir Dogs' opening is quite basic, in relation to location, with it being set on a high street to incorporate an element of verisimilitude and symbolise the gritty and realistic tone of the rest of the narrative.
Luckily, because this is also an independent film, 'Reservoir Dogs' opening is quite basic, in relation to location, with it being set on a high street to incorporate an element of verisimilitude and symbolise the gritty and realistic tone of the rest of the narrative.
Tuesday 25 February 2014
The differences between independant and mainstream film openings
Because mainstream films have a significantly higher budget than the independent, they have more money and resources to be creative and take a stylistic approach with a film opening's design. This is important and seen in a lot of mainstream films so that they become more memorable, even if it's just from a visual perspective, regardless of the narrative. By contrast, independent films usually have very simplistic and more refined openings because of the lack of funding, and most likely mirror the simplicity within the narrative's structure.
An example of a mainstream film opening being very stylised can be seen in 'Goldeneye.' The Bond franchise is well known for it's opening credits, partly because they're very vibrant and unique but mostly because they use symbolism to give the audience a glimpse into the narrative, while also identifying the specific themes of that film. This helps to entice audiences because there are limitless ways to interperate the applications of symbolism within these sequences, with an example from this particular film being the gun coming out of the woman's mouth. This could suggest an element of betrayal, sexual innuendo, patriotism or even just that the main female character has a dangerous persona.
In comparison, an example of an independent film opening being refined and simple can be seen in the film 'Memento.' A majority of this sequence is just one shot of a man holding a picture, linking back to the simplistic aspect of independent films. Also, a lot of the cast and crew are relatively unknown in the film industry, appealing more to a niche audience. This simplicity focusing on the picture implies it has contributions to the narrative or possibly sentimental value towards the character who's holding it. Despite this films independence, it does reveal itself as gradually moving backwards in time, setting up the rest of the film's narrative as a flashback.
To conclude, independent and mainstream film openings are very contrasting, in regards to complexity and visual detail on screen. This contrast in style is also reflected in the rest of the films, making independents rely more heavily on dialogue to carry the film and still make it distinctive, while on the other hand a stereotype has now surrounded mainstream films just being a montage of action sequences. Because we are a mainstream company, we can use this information of how the two types are differentiated and show that we recognise that contrast within our opening as well as the production logos.
An example of a mainstream film opening being very stylised can be seen in 'Goldeneye.' The Bond franchise is well known for it's opening credits, partly because they're very vibrant and unique but mostly because they use symbolism to give the audience a glimpse into the narrative, while also identifying the specific themes of that film. This helps to entice audiences because there are limitless ways to interperate the applications of symbolism within these sequences, with an example from this particular film being the gun coming out of the woman's mouth. This could suggest an element of betrayal, sexual innuendo, patriotism or even just that the main female character has a dangerous persona.
In comparison, an example of an independent film opening being refined and simple can be seen in the film 'Memento.' A majority of this sequence is just one shot of a man holding a picture, linking back to the simplistic aspect of independent films. Also, a lot of the cast and crew are relatively unknown in the film industry, appealing more to a niche audience. This simplicity focusing on the picture implies it has contributions to the narrative or possibly sentimental value towards the character who's holding it. Despite this films independence, it does reveal itself as gradually moving backwards in time, setting up the rest of the film's narrative as a flashback.
To conclude, independent and mainstream film openings are very contrasting, in regards to complexity and visual detail on screen. This contrast in style is also reflected in the rest of the films, making independents rely more heavily on dialogue to carry the film and still make it distinctive, while on the other hand a stereotype has now surrounded mainstream films just being a montage of action sequences. Because we are a mainstream company, we can use this information of how the two types are differentiated and show that we recognise that contrast within our opening as well as the production logos.
Monday 24 February 2014
Audience profiles and questionnaire on genre for audience research
Audience profiles help us to get a better concept of what particular type of person would see a film. Stereotypically speaking, someone who watches horror films a lot won't be the same person who likes romantic films, which is why profiles are important to help identify who a film is targeting and why it would appeal to them. Here I have devised four demographic profiles based on the kind of people who would watch films of that particular genre:
Action fan profile
Age: 8-18
Gender: male
Ethnicity: American / English
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Class: Middle
Comedy fan profile
Age: 12-25
Gender: male / female
Ethnicity: Depends on the region they're targeting, because each country has different views on humour.
Sexuality: Heterosexual, often mocking the homosexual
Class: Lower and middle
Horror fan profile
Age: 15- 25
Gender: male
Ethnicity: American
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Class: Middle
Romance fan profile
Age: 12+
Gender: female
Ethnicity: All, because the theme of love is a constant throughout the world and therefore appeals to everyone
Sexuality: Heterosexual, however this changes on occasion with films such as 'Brokeback Mountain'
Class: Middle
To get a better idea of the kind of audiences that are stereotypically associated with a particular genre, I created a questionnaire and gave it to a wide variety of people to fill out, making the results non-biased and therefore all the more dependable. Doing this questionnaire gave us a better idea of what specific target audience we should appeal to, depending on our genre, and how the general public associate these stereotypes.
Here is a copy of the questionnaire:
What is your name?
…………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………..
Action fan profile
Age: 8-18
Gender: male
Ethnicity: American / English
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Class: Middle
Comedy fan profile
Age: 12-25
Gender: male / female
Ethnicity: Depends on the region they're targeting, because each country has different views on humour.
Sexuality: Heterosexual, often mocking the homosexual
Class: Lower and middle
Horror fan profile
Age: 15- 25
Gender: male
Ethnicity: American
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Class: Middle
Romance fan profile
Age: 12+
Gender: female
Ethnicity: All, because the theme of love is a constant throughout the world and therefore appeals to everyone
Sexuality: Heterosexual, however this changes on occasion with films such as 'Brokeback Mountain'
Class: Middle
To get a better idea of the kind of audiences that are stereotypically associated with a particular genre, I created a questionnaire and gave it to a wide variety of people to fill out, making the results non-biased and therefore all the more dependable. Doing this questionnaire gave us a better idea of what specific target audience we should appeal to, depending on our genre, and how the general public associate these stereotypes.
Here is a copy of the questionnaire:
Audiences –
genre questionnaire
What is your name?
…………………………………………..
How old are you?
………………….
………………………………………………………………
What age group would you usually expect to see a horror
film?
………………………………………………………………….
What is it do you think that appeals that target
audience to the horror genre?
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
What age group would you usually expect to see a
romantic film?
…………………………………………………………………….
What is it do you think that appeals that target
audience to the romantic genre?
………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………….
What age group would you usually expect to see an
action film?
…………………………………………………………………
What is it do you think that appeals that target
audience to the action genre?
………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………….
What age group would you expect to see a comedic film?
………………………………………………………….
What is it do you think that appeals that target
audience to the comedy genre?
……………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
Here is a graph displaying the results of the 20 questionnaires I handed out, to show what the most popular genre is:
This graph is evidence that suggests the favourite genre among teenagers is comedy. Knowing this, we now know that our drama genre is to be targeted at a more adult audience, as apposed to younger. After collecting the results it was conclusive that a majority of the people found the comedy genre to be the most enjoyable and used the stereotypes that they already knew and applied them to their answers. For example, one person answered the question of what they thought it was that appealed the romance genre to it's target audience, stating 'Tend to light-hearted feel good films.' This shows how much of a general consensus stereotypes have become, which is why they're used so often in films, as well as to appeal to a particular audience.
Sunday 23 February 2014
How film openings attract audiences
Film openings attract audiences by giving them a brief overview as to what can be expected in the rest of the film, when it come comes to the narrative and the tone it creates, while addressing it's target audience. Openings can also have some subtle character development within them to generate empathy in correlation with the character and the audience. In regards to 'The Uses and Gratification Theory,' depending on the genre, a film can appeal to any or even multiple of the following needs that audience members expect from such a time investment: the need to be entertained, social interaction, personal identity and information.
In the case of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' it's clear in the opening that this film fulfils the need to be entertained, due to the action orientated and quick pace of the sequence. It also attracts audiences and compels them to continue watching by creating numerous questions that they want answered by the end of the film for the sake of closure, such as why did Bane need Doctor Povel so badly that he was willing to bring down an entire plane?
Another way this opening attracts audiences is the use of iconography, in the sense that Bane's physical appearance is very distinctive and very much relates to the comic book character in which this interpretation is based upon. This use of iconography makes both fans of comic books and films a like to join together and witness this particular version of the characters, resulting in a wider target audience and inevitably a high box office grossing. 'The Dark Knight Rises' also surprises audience when it comes to the scale of the action set piece of the opening, having a plane ripped apart and destroyed. This already makes the film more memorable and establishes somewhat of an epic tone that is reflected in the rest of the narrative.
Another example of a film attracting a specific audience can also be found in 'The Social Network.' It's clear that their target audience is teenagers, due to the main protagonist being conveyed as a part of that age group and the setting of the bar relating to the rebellious stereotype of teenagers. The long shot lengths result in quite a slow pace, combined with the low lighting conditions and artistic cinematography suggest that this film is a drama, specified towards the teenage age group. Because this film is based on a true story, it fulfils the 'Uses and Gratification' need for information as well as entertainment, enlightening the audience with a moral as well as presenting this story in an enjoyable way.
By contrast, the romance genre is seen to take a more sincere and sympathetic approach to introducing characters, which is fitting (considering romantic films are usually based around
that singular dynamic of the men and women falling in love). 'Dear John' is a good example of this sincerity, with multiple close ups of every day objects to incorporate verisimilitude and continue that emotional connection that was established. Because the characters within this opening are grounded and realistic interpretations of their genuine counterparts, it can fulfil the need for personal identity, because they're more relatable as people and therefore set standards for who people are, how they define themselves and how they are presented to others by the director.
Looking at these examples, it's apparent that films attract audiences by establishing a certain tone that's often enigmatic to entice and intrigue audience members, while they also use iconography to make their film distinctive and generate a fan base. This information will aid us in knowing what particular techniques we should use to attract our target audience and identify them as our main focus. After looking at these openings, an exemplar technique for appealing to our target audience of male teenagers and young adults would be to incorporate a character of similar age to make that person more relatable and therefore make it easier for our audience to invest in the film's narrative.
In the case of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' it's clear in the opening that this film fulfils the need to be entertained, due to the action orientated and quick pace of the sequence. It also attracts audiences and compels them to continue watching by creating numerous questions that they want answered by the end of the film for the sake of closure, such as why did Bane need Doctor Povel so badly that he was willing to bring down an entire plane?
Another way this opening attracts audiences is the use of iconography, in the sense that Bane's physical appearance is very distinctive and very much relates to the comic book character in which this interpretation is based upon. This use of iconography makes both fans of comic books and films a like to join together and witness this particular version of the characters, resulting in a wider target audience and inevitably a high box office grossing. 'The Dark Knight Rises' also surprises audience when it comes to the scale of the action set piece of the opening, having a plane ripped apart and destroyed. This already makes the film more memorable and establishes somewhat of an epic tone that is reflected in the rest of the narrative.
Another example of a film attracting a specific audience can also be found in 'The Social Network.' It's clear that their target audience is teenagers, due to the main protagonist being conveyed as a part of that age group and the setting of the bar relating to the rebellious stereotype of teenagers. The long shot lengths result in quite a slow pace, combined with the low lighting conditions and artistic cinematography suggest that this film is a drama, specified towards the teenage age group. Because this film is based on a true story, it fulfils the 'Uses and Gratification' need for information as well as entertainment, enlightening the audience with a moral as well as presenting this story in an enjoyable way.
By contrast, the romance genre is seen to take a more sincere and sympathetic approach to introducing characters, which is fitting (considering romantic films are usually based around
that singular dynamic of the men and women falling in love). 'Dear John' is a good example of this sincerity, with multiple close ups of every day objects to incorporate verisimilitude and continue that emotional connection that was established. Because the characters within this opening are grounded and realistic interpretations of their genuine counterparts, it can fulfil the need for personal identity, because they're more relatable as people and therefore set standards for who people are, how they define themselves and how they are presented to others by the director.
Looking at these examples, it's apparent that films attract audiences by establishing a certain tone that's often enigmatic to entice and intrigue audience members, while they also use iconography to make their film distinctive and generate a fan base. This information will aid us in knowing what particular techniques we should use to attract our target audience and identify them as our main focus. After looking at these openings, an exemplar technique for appealing to our target audience of male teenagers and young adults would be to incorporate a character of similar age to make that person more relatable and therefore make it easier for our audience to invest in the film's narrative.
Saturday 22 February 2014
Jelly baby activity
The jelly baby activity involved our group using post stick notes to design a film opening, and show our understanding of the importance of the order of the titles, using jelly babies as exemplars for what would be in the camera frame. Each group was given a specific target audience and genre to convey within the sequence, in our case the audience was teenage and young adult women for a drama. We appealed to women by showing the importance of their gender within the narrative, by having a majority of the cast played by women, and therefore their names being visually displayed in the sequence, that also coincided with physical representations of their characters, so that the audience could put them into context during the rest of the film. For example, the first actress that's introduced in the opening has her name appear on the screen, to reveal her as the main protagonist, as this is accompanied by a close up of the character, so that the audience understand what character the actress plays and how significant her role is in the narrative. Looking at previous research on dramas, we noticed that a lot of them use simplistic openings to convey tension and an enigmatic tone. Taking this on board we designed the opening so that the font would be simplistic, with a black background for the crew members, due to physical representations being unnecessary as they have no involvement in the narrative.
This activity has helped to aid my understanding of how to appeal to specific target audiences, as well as identify the films genre through visual and audio techniques. I now also comprehend the relevance of how long each title lasts depending on the person's significance, in context with how much their work effects the film as a whole.
Below is a picture of our group's activity storyboard, accompanied with jelly babies to illustrate the shot type and what it contains:
This activity has helped to aid my understanding of how to appeal to specific target audiences, as well as identify the films genre through visual and audio techniques. I now also comprehend the relevance of how long each title lasts depending on the person's significance, in context with how much their work effects the film as a whole.
Below is a picture of our group's activity storyboard, accompanied with jelly babies to illustrate the shot type and what it contains:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)