Risk assesment

Poster anciallary 2

Questionaire

20 people were interviewed. Ages between 12-25

Should the good guy win at the end of the film?

Yes: 16 No: 4

Are mixed genre films interesting?

Yes: 14 No:6

Are moral dilemmas interesting?

Yes: 17 No:3

Favorite weapon type in an action film?

Gun: 6 Blade: 10 Blunt object: 4

Preferred action movie?

James Bond: 13 Hot Fuzz: 7 

Evalutaion

A Level Media Studies Evaluation

Our coursework project was to make a 5 minute film of a genre of our choice. The genre we chose was action. We loosely based it upon films such as the James Bond series and others in the action genre of films. We have chosen to challenge the conventions as we wanted to stand out from the mainstream. The film is part set in the ‘80s and part in a modern time so we have tried to use techniques form both of the times. The target audience for the film is people aged 16-21.

Our film does not follow the conventions of realism in most action films which give a tense feeling to the scene. Instead we chose to do a more comedic style to match the conventions of the hybrid genre. We did this through mise en scene. Stopping half way through the final fight for conversation is an old convention of the action genre that has become more comedic in the post modern era. Fewer films of modern context are using this technique because of its dated past but we chose to use; we did this because with us doing such a short film it is more concise than using the newer techniques. We have kept the older techniques for the sections of the film that are set in pre modern times, and newer techniques to use on the modern parts. These techniques included using sepia and black and white to altering the speed of the clip to reach the desired effect. We used the sepia and black and white to show that we were entering the flashback sequence of the film which is sticking with the codes and conventions of films by having a colour change on screen to symbolise that it isn’t actually happening at that moment in time. The editing has also played a big part in the film fitting and not fitting certain conventions, these included the shot transitions, filters and audio effects. We used fast paced editing such as cut transitions to build tension in the fight scene, and the slow music to symbolise the protagonist’s downfall throughout the film. Callum came up with the idea of the poker chip falling to show that he was falling into despair and then James linked this to the protagonist’s wife dropping the spoon. Matt carefully selected the fast paced music for the fight scene at the end; we all deliberated long and hard over the list of songs he had narrowed down at the end and it was a group decision from this list. We decided that the black and white effects for the flashback would be a good idea because it fits with the codes and conventions that represent it as the past. The close-ups used in the fight scene show the raw emotion of the moment and the anger the hero shows to his nemesis. We took this inspiration from James Bond and Doctor No. To accompany the fast paced editing and bright colours for the fight scene we used a transition form slow music to fast paced to also increase tension. The slow music in the flashback is put in there to draw the audience in and makes them feel sorry for the main character. We used lighting to our effect in the fight scene by only using certain groups of fluorescent tubes in the room, this created light and dark patches which we used to create backlighting or dark from behind, we used the dark from behind to symbolise that the hero was coming out of the dark into a lighter life once he has his revenge.

To obtain audience feedback we used a questionnaire, this had a selections of questions on to help us determine what to include in our film and what the target audience liked to see in a film of our genre. The feedback told us that the target audience was mainly interested in a comedy style integrated with a more serious story plot. We distributed the questionnaire to mixed group of random people in our target audience. We did this to get a varied response to please the widest possible range of people. We have learned that people like traditional methods of editing and traditional story plots. We also took into account result from a questionnaire about our preliminary task, which we did last year, we also asked an audience to evaluate the preliminary task once we had completed it to see where we should or could improve or do things differently, we also did this with our AS product, we took both of these productions and feedback into account when making this film. We decided to consult the previous products so that we did not make the same errors as we have done in the previous two texts.

Our media productions mainly followed the codes and conventions of the film but abides to the shots and editing conventions. Throughout the film we use the convention of juxtaposing the music to the action on the screen and the milled of the film is juxtaposed against the end of the film, we did this to heighten emotion throughout the film. The conventions we followed were, in the fight scene, the bad guy winning and then the protagonist prevails. This is the typical convention of a fight scene. We also followed the convention of a music change , from slow to fast at the start of the scene to build tension. Starting with disequilibrium broke the conventions but by the end falling back into following conventions resolved it. The conventions we broke are the choice of characters because they do not fit the stereotype apart from Rachel because she fits the passive female role perfectly and she was the most cooperative of all the thespians. The sequence didn’t follow conventions because we showed the lead up halfway through the film.

From the questionnaire we wrote and the general analysis of the texts we studies, we managed to draw a picture of the film people expect. This allowed us to develop how we could draw into our own idea’s with the conventions that where expected. We think we managed this well as the results showed us that although it was an action film, not many people expected obvious weapons to be used. We therefore used the idea of a harmless weapon to fight with and then a main weapon to kill over all with. We managed this well and we showed the death in an implied way. We learnt that we should use age ranges that reflect a modern world; we therefore attempted to display our characters as older (21+). This we managed to do effectively I though, for although we could not alter the face, we where able to develop the body language of this age range. The style was aptly reconstructed, however if we had had more time, we would of casted at the appropriate age range. Over all we managed to learn that The audience enjoyed our film and that it appropriately mixed the conventions, however we could of improved our effects which could have been used.

The film has a limited amount influenced by independent noir films. The black and white flashback set to classical music gives it a certain stylised feel. The review page mirrors this to an extent by putting it mostly in black and white and using scenes from the flashback sequence. This is because this is the fancy films that may make it into a review magazine. The DVD cover puts the protagonist as an enigma. The silhouetted man gives an impression of mystery and is reminiscent of the James Bond series of films. This is reflected in the film by the enigma of the protagonists past. Though partially explained in the flashback. There is still the issue of the dodgy morality at the end. The good guy kills the bad guy in cold blood. This is not often seen in the action movies as the good guys are often merciful but the enigma of the main character allows for the problematic morality. This is mirrored in the ancillary’s. The DVD cover does show which character is the main one and the film centres around the character and the events that define his life so there is a certain amount of convention in that the DVD cover reflects what the movie will entail even if it does not give specific information.

In our production, we incorporated many different media technologies. We used programs such as our main editing software, which was final cut express. This was the program with which we successfully created our media film. We feel we developed several skills allowing us to create a good standard of film, however we feel we could of improved on our editing skills. Although we developed considerable skill by learning about the software. We also used safari Internet browser to research our genre and product. We feel we used this effectively in searching for specific youtube videos and finding channels such as http://www.youtube.com/user/MarcioMazur. This channel helped us develop our understanding of the genre and we feel we used this effectively in the creation of our film and research. Although final cut was our editing software, we did combine iMovie for inserting our footage. We feel our use of this software was paramount to the success of our media film.

Locations

The locations we used were picked mainly for pragmatic reasons. The main locations were a scout hut we had access to and one of our houses. These were picked because they provided both the space and props that we needed. The scout hut was used for the fight scenes and the discussion between the protagonist and antagonist. The location gave us the required space to do the fight scene safely as well as allowing us to set up a desk for the antagonist. For the fundamental purpose the locations we got were more than sufficient. The Mise en scene may have been adversely affected by certain background objects but these were unavoidable in all but the most empty locations. For the torture scene in the style of Reservoir dogs was shot in a very fitting location. The lack of light in the garage gave us he correct Mise en scene as well as atmosphere and even fitting to the narrative.  We are satisfied with the locations available and used in our film. 

Costume

In our A2 film, we decided to research how a character is best portrayed and what enhances the nature of the character. We therefore decided that the most important characters should be dressed in a similar way. We researched how many of the controlling characters where seen in other media texts and found that most where wearing suits of some kind. We therefore dressed our characters accordingly. We then contrasted our views for the lower characters and which lead us to dress them in t-shirts and jeans. The colours where a key part to our costumes. The darker character therefore wore black and the good character wore white. The father figure, although wore black, also only wore a t-shirt to show he has bad tendencies but also is not as influential as the "boss"

Shot list