A questionnaire is a vital part of any research. It will give you important information about what kind of film genre is popular, what type of actors are popular and various other information. Although before you make a questionnaire you must decide on your target audience. This is because if you want to make a film that would be seen as mainstream, you would go out and ask a different section of the audience. You would focus your research on the mainstream audience and this is where you will aim your questionnaire at. Also, age and gender are important for your target audience. For my film I am looking at the mainstream audience, teenagers and gender. I aimed my questionnaire at friends and people who are my age. This is my questionnaire:
"How old are you?
What is your gender?
What is your favourite film genre?
Why?
What genre film do you watch the most of?
When you watch a film, what makes you disinterested the most?"
The result from my questionnaire is that the mean age was 16.7 which show that I aimed my questionnaire at a younger audience. The favourite genre was Comedy and the main reason for this was because they are chilled and easy to watch without keeping you on edge but making you laugh. Again comedy was the most watched genre and the reason that people get disinterested the most in a film is the continuity, bad jokes/ punch lines and bad acting.
From the results I have decided to go for a comedy genre due to the popularity. When creating my project I have to take all this into account and make sure that I keep my audience interested by keeping continuity perfect, keeping it funny and getting good actors.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Inter-Textual Analysis
Happy Gilmore
In Happy Gilmore, the genre is incredibly easy to notice. The genre is comedy but there are not many signifiers though to tell us that it conforms to this genre.
The first 2 minute of the movie is a parts of home movies. This includes videos from when he was a boy right up until the present day in the movie. As this home movie is going on, he is the voice over and is telling us about each clip and haw it was important. This is where the main comedy is coming from. This is because, when he is speaking, you automatically hear his voice and judge him as being stupid and dumb because his grammar is bad and enthusiasm is very low. when he is talking about each part of the video, it seems to him that what he is saying is not funny and just a narrative to his life but certain things he says, are processed by the audience and are deemed as a joke and humour. For example he says something genuine about his father’s death but we process it as a joke because of the irony. His father died at a hockey game, but the irony comes from that he was killed by him and Happy Gilmores favourite player at a hockey game as he is hit by a rogue shot from the player. When he is voicing over on this part, he says, ‘and sometimes things go bad’ but says it at such a precise time as you would a punch line and this is where the ironic comedy comes from. in the first 2 minutes that is the only type of comic behaviour or humour in that 2 minutes, which is very subtle but effective comedy.
In the home videos, Happy Gilmore is represented as an angry little hockey player. We know this through the actions that he does. For example, we know that he is a hockey fan as he says that he is made for that sport and it’s all he’s ever wanted but you also see him causing trouble for no reason and taking it out on other. This denotes that he is an angry person with a ‘short fuse’ and he cannot control his anger or his actions.
The fact that the first two minutes is a home video enforces that fact that Happy Gilmore is a very genuine and unique child and this also adds to the comic nature of the film as he is always the odd one out.
The music in the background is Lynyrd Synyrd – Tuesday’s gone. This could show that he misses his child hood and that the good times have gone. This could represent that he doesn’t have a good time anymore and wants his child hood fun to return.
Hot Fuzz
In hot fuzz, the genre is very hard to determine within the first 2 minutes. This is because the start is an introduction of Nicolas Angel. Nicolas angel works for the Metropolitan Police and is the best the police force has to offer.
Nicolas angel is represented as a very disciplined and ‘self proud’ person. This is denoted from his costume and actions. As he is a police officer he is wearing the uniform and he is unshaven and very tidy. This represents that he is proud of himself and proud to be in the police force and is taking his role very seriously. Furthermore, when being introduced you see him in various athletic and sports clothes. This shows that he is very athletic and is training to be the best that he can. Whenever you see him he has a much disciplined posture, facial expression and motion. This further reinforces that he is taking his job at the police incredibly serious and is proud to be apart of the force.
When he is being introduced, there is a voiceover telling you his achievements, his great work and respectful attitude towards the force. The use of a voiceover in this instance talking about him and his life signifies that he is so good that he has his own introduction. From this we then get a firm idea that he is the best and there is nobody better than him.
Although there are not many clear signifiers that this is a comedy, there is background music which conforms to this genre. The song Adam ant – goody two shoes. This could be seen as this song is aimed at Nicolas as he is a goody two shoes. Lyrics from the song include; ‘you don’t drink, you don’t smoke, what do you do?’ This could signify that he does not have a life outside of his job and his job is his life, which we later find out this is correct. This could also signify that he does everything by the rules and is very text book and will do everything the right way.
From the first 2 minutes, the only comedy present would be the ironic conflict between the music and the voiceover as if they are binary
opposites. For example the voiceover is saying his achievements while the song is saying he does not have a life and is ‘a goody two shoes.’ This therefore could conform to Levi-Strauss’s theory of binary opposites.
Johnny English
In the first 2 minutes of Johnny English, you can tell instantly that it is a comedy genre. Although in the first 20 seconds you think that it’s an action genre because of the fast paced music, camera angles, lighting and costume. There are a lot of low angle shots and cameras following the person on screen. This shows that he has the power and control. It is set in at night and there are a lot of shadows which the character blends very much into. This represents that he is dark, mysterious and has a concealed identity. This is Further backed up by the costume he is in. he is dressed in a black special ops suit which further conforms to the action genre. Although, he is stopped by a pack of guard dogs and the genre completely changes. He pulls out some squeaky dog toys and chucks them and the dogs follow. This instantly changes the genre from action to comedy. This unexpected humour has a harder impact because the audience are convinced that it is action and get ready for explosions and fighting but are surprised by this comic behaviour which makes it funnier as the audience are caught of guard. In addition, I think that it’s funnier because they are laughing at the humour, but also at themselves because they made themselves believe that it was this action genre.
Furthermore, in this first 2 minutes, the organisations are introduced and we are introduced to the real Johnny English. What the audience first see – when he is infiltrating a mansion – is really a day dream. At the conclusion of this dream, it fades to him daydreaming whilst at work with his colleague trying to wake him up. His colleague finally shouts at him and he is startled but so is the audience. This is because whilst the audience are laughing at the humour, they are attacked once more as they are caught of guard. In this film this is the humour that they went for, making the audience think one thing and then doing something completely different and unexpected. I think that this 2 minute starting is one of the best atmospheric and enjoying starts I have ever come across.
In Happy Gilmore, the genre is incredibly easy to notice. The genre is comedy but there are not many signifiers though to tell us that it conforms to this genre.
The first 2 minute of the movie is a parts of home movies. This includes videos from when he was a boy right up until the present day in the movie. As this home movie is going on, he is the voice over and is telling us about each clip and haw it was important. This is where the main comedy is coming from. This is because, when he is speaking, you automatically hear his voice and judge him as being stupid and dumb because his grammar is bad and enthusiasm is very low. when he is talking about each part of the video, it seems to him that what he is saying is not funny and just a narrative to his life but certain things he says, are processed by the audience and are deemed as a joke and humour. For example he says something genuine about his father’s death but we process it as a joke because of the irony. His father died at a hockey game, but the irony comes from that he was killed by him and Happy Gilmores favourite player at a hockey game as he is hit by a rogue shot from the player. When he is voicing over on this part, he says, ‘and sometimes things go bad’ but says it at such a precise time as you would a punch line and this is where the ironic comedy comes from. in the first 2 minutes that is the only type of comic behaviour or humour in that 2 minutes, which is very subtle but effective comedy.
In the home videos, Happy Gilmore is represented as an angry little hockey player. We know this through the actions that he does. For example, we know that he is a hockey fan as he says that he is made for that sport and it’s all he’s ever wanted but you also see him causing trouble for no reason and taking it out on other. This denotes that he is an angry person with a ‘short fuse’ and he cannot control his anger or his actions.
The fact that the first two minutes is a home video enforces that fact that Happy Gilmore is a very genuine and unique child and this also adds to the comic nature of the film as he is always the odd one out.
The music in the background is Lynyrd Synyrd – Tuesday’s gone. This could show that he misses his child hood and that the good times have gone. This could represent that he doesn’t have a good time anymore and wants his child hood fun to return.
Hot Fuzz
In hot fuzz, the genre is very hard to determine within the first 2 minutes. This is because the start is an introduction of Nicolas Angel. Nicolas angel works for the Metropolitan Police and is the best the police force has to offer.
Nicolas angel is represented as a very disciplined and ‘self proud’ person. This is denoted from his costume and actions. As he is a police officer he is wearing the uniform and he is unshaven and very tidy. This represents that he is proud of himself and proud to be in the police force and is taking his role very seriously. Furthermore, when being introduced you see him in various athletic and sports clothes. This shows that he is very athletic and is training to be the best that he can. Whenever you see him he has a much disciplined posture, facial expression and motion. This further reinforces that he is taking his job at the police incredibly serious and is proud to be apart of the force.
When he is being introduced, there is a voiceover telling you his achievements, his great work and respectful attitude towards the force. The use of a voiceover in this instance talking about him and his life signifies that he is so good that he has his own introduction. From this we then get a firm idea that he is the best and there is nobody better than him.
Although there are not many clear signifiers that this is a comedy, there is background music which conforms to this genre. The song Adam ant – goody two shoes. This could be seen as this song is aimed at Nicolas as he is a goody two shoes. Lyrics from the song include; ‘you don’t drink, you don’t smoke, what do you do?’ This could signify that he does not have a life outside of his job and his job is his life, which we later find out this is correct. This could also signify that he does everything by the rules and is very text book and will do everything the right way.
From the first 2 minutes, the only comedy present would be the ironic conflict between the music and the voiceover as if they are binary
opposites. For example the voiceover is saying his achievements while the song is saying he does not have a life and is ‘a goody two shoes.’ This therefore could conform to Levi-Strauss’s theory of binary opposites.
Johnny English
In the first 2 minutes of Johnny English, you can tell instantly that it is a comedy genre. Although in the first 20 seconds you think that it’s an action genre because of the fast paced music, camera angles, lighting and costume. There are a lot of low angle shots and cameras following the person on screen. This shows that he has the power and control. It is set in at night and there are a lot of shadows which the character blends very much into. This represents that he is dark, mysterious and has a concealed identity. This is Further backed up by the costume he is in. he is dressed in a black special ops suit which further conforms to the action genre. Although, he is stopped by a pack of guard dogs and the genre completely changes. He pulls out some squeaky dog toys and chucks them and the dogs follow. This instantly changes the genre from action to comedy. This unexpected humour has a harder impact because the audience are convinced that it is action and get ready for explosions and fighting but are surprised by this comic behaviour which makes it funnier as the audience are caught of guard. In addition, I think that it’s funnier because they are laughing at the humour, but also at themselves because they made themselves believe that it was this action genre.
Furthermore, in this first 2 minutes, the organisations are introduced and we are introduced to the real Johnny English. What the audience first see – when he is infiltrating a mansion – is really a day dream. At the conclusion of this dream, it fades to him daydreaming whilst at work with his colleague trying to wake him up. His colleague finally shouts at him and he is startled but so is the audience. This is because whilst the audience are laughing at the humour, they are attacked once more as they are caught of guard. In this film this is the humour that they went for, making the audience think one thing and then doing something completely different and unexpected. I think that this 2 minute starting is one of the best atmospheric and enjoying starts I have ever come across.
Location
Location is a vital area to consider when filming for a movie. If the location does not fit with the genre of the movie then it will be hard for the audience to accept the surroundings and they may loose interest.
As my movie is about a security guard I had to locate it in an area where it needs a security guard, otherwise, the location would not make sense to the audience and they may not be engaged into the movie.
Therefore, considering this, I thought it would be best to set it at Emersons Green Retail Park. This is the perfect setting that it has many back alleys around the retail park giving me the opportunity to exploit this to my advantage and create a different atmosphere to a not interesting location. Here are some pictures of Emersons Green Retail Park:
As you can see in the pictures, the setting is clearly a retail park just from these few shots but also has these back alleys and even though this is taken in the sun you can distinctively see the shadows and darkness. I chose this place to film because this darkness in light represents that even in the day you are not safe and there are always something hidden, mysterious and concealed. I also thought that this place was interesting too because the light and darkness conforms to Levi Strauss’s theory about binary opposites. This adds an extra detail of tension and opposition to the clip and makes it more engaging and interesting.
The setting when he is getting ready would be a bedroom as it is the stereotypical location for someone to get dressed ready in the morning. For this part I chose to use my bedroom as it is accessible all the time and looks like an average bedroom and can be tidied so much that nothing is on show and can represent that the character is a ‘neat freak’ and very self proud. The bedroom is mainly white which symbolises that he is pure and innocent which is a complete contrast to the character that was in his dream/fantasy. This also conforms to Levi Strauss’s theory of opposites about innocent and evil. The use of oppositions creates a very opposing atmosphere where there is competition everywhere and engages the audience into the film.
As my movie is about a security guard I had to locate it in an area where it needs a security guard, otherwise, the location would not make sense to the audience and they may not be engaged into the movie.
Therefore, considering this, I thought it would be best to set it at Emersons Green Retail Park. This is the perfect setting that it has many back alleys around the retail park giving me the opportunity to exploit this to my advantage and create a different atmosphere to a not interesting location. Here are some pictures of Emersons Green Retail Park:
As you can see in the pictures, the setting is clearly a retail park just from these few shots but also has these back alleys and even though this is taken in the sun you can distinctively see the shadows and darkness. I chose this place to film because this darkness in light represents that even in the day you are not safe and there are always something hidden, mysterious and concealed. I also thought that this place was interesting too because the light and darkness conforms to Levi Strauss’s theory about binary opposites. This adds an extra detail of tension and opposition to the clip and makes it more engaging and interesting.
The setting when he is getting ready would be a bedroom as it is the stereotypical location for someone to get dressed ready in the morning. For this part I chose to use my bedroom as it is accessible all the time and looks like an average bedroom and can be tidied so much that nothing is on show and can represent that the character is a ‘neat freak’ and very self proud. The bedroom is mainly white which symbolises that he is pure and innocent which is a complete contrast to the character that was in his dream/fantasy. This also conforms to Levi Strauss’s theory of opposites about innocent and evil. The use of oppositions creates a very opposing atmosphere where there is competition everywhere and engages the audience into the film.
Choosing An Organisation
Organisations
At the start of every film there is an organisational clip, for example, 20th Century Fox or Universal. This is there to show the audience that this is behind the making of the film. Without this organisations help and funds, this film would not be here today. Although I do not need any help and funds to make my film, I want to have an organisation. This is because when you see one of these clips at the start and you recognise that the film is backed by a company, this gives reassurance to the audience that the film is going to have quality in it. This is because this clip signifies that if a multi million company has put their faith into this film then we know that the film will therefore have to meet there high standards which tells the audience that it will be good. Another quality that an organisation will give to a movie is that it will give the audience a rough idea of the genre of the film. This is because we will associate the organisation to different genres. For example, Twisted Pictures back the horror genre, like saw. So
For my organisation, I have chosen Columbia pictures. This is because this is a very prestigious company and therefore trigger the thought of class and distinction into the audiences mind and therefore promote the film before it had even started, giving the audience that positive mindset and reassurance. Also I chose this organisation because looking at the list of movies that Columbia has backed great comedies like; Mall Cop, Men in Black, Pineapple Express, The Longest Yard and so many more. Therefore, as Columbia pictures backs comedy’s which turn out to be a really good success, this will portray to the audience that this film will be good and re-assure them that the film will be good.
At the start of every film there is an organisational clip, for example, 20th Century Fox or Universal. This is there to show the audience that this is behind the making of the film. Without this organisations help and funds, this film would not be here today. Although I do not need any help and funds to make my film, I want to have an organisation. This is because when you see one of these clips at the start and you recognise that the film is backed by a company, this gives reassurance to the audience that the film is going to have quality in it. This is because this clip signifies that if a multi million company has put their faith into this film then we know that the film will therefore have to meet there high standards which tells the audience that it will be good. Another quality that an organisation will give to a movie is that it will give the audience a rough idea of the genre of the film. This is because we will associate the organisation to different genres. For example, Twisted Pictures back the horror genre, like saw. So
For my organisation, I have chosen Columbia pictures. This is because this is a very prestigious company and therefore trigger the thought of class and distinction into the audiences mind and therefore promote the film before it had even started, giving the audience that positive mindset and reassurance. Also I chose this organisation because looking at the list of movies that Columbia has backed great comedies like; Mall Cop, Men in Black, Pineapple Express, The Longest Yard and so many more. Therefore, as Columbia pictures backs comedy’s which turn out to be a really good success, this will portray to the audience that this film will be good and re-assure them that the film will be good.
Costumes
Costumes are a vital tool of representation. They will further portray a character and give you an idea of what kind of person the character is.
For my security guard, he has two costumes; one as his fantasy self and one in his uniform. Now in his ‘fantasy self’ he is a mysterious secret agent and therefore is dressed smartly and in black. Although I only wanted to change his regular security guard costume slightly because this shows that he is not that far away from him dream self and he is trying to conform to this fantasy person.
The ‘fantasy’; costume consists of black trousers, white shirt with a black top, black shoes and black sunglasses. The reason that I had chose everything to be black was that I wanted this character to be mysterious and have a concealed identity. The colour black stereo typically represents mystery and concealment. This is further represented through the sunglasses as the audience cannot see the eyes and the whole face giving that sense of mystery further. With his ordinary costume you can see the clear representation of a security guard. He is wearing a white shirt, black tie, black trousers and black shoes. This is a clear representation of a security guard and also as he is dressed very smartly and formally which could represent that he is a very tidy and self proud man. Stereotypically these kinds of people can tend to be rather un-cool and this is evident when he sees a fantasy of himself as a security guard.
The costume of Jamie and Steve is going to be you stereotypical ‘thug’. They will be wearing big hooded tops, tracksuit bottoms and flat peak caps. This, twinned with the setting would create the perfect representation to the audience before they even know they are dealing drugs. Furthermore, the hooded tops represent that they are concealing their identity with makes the audience suspicious about what they are doing and therefore trigger the thought that they are ‘thugs’ or ‘yobs’.
I wanted the girl, Charlotte, to be represented as a normal, average woman. I want to give the effect that this could be anyone and give a sense of reality to the movie. This will be done by giving her a costume that she would wear on any occasion. Giving this sense of reality allows the audience to engage more with the movie as it seems more believable.
Character costume
Jamie Hammond (Thug)
• Hooded top
• Jeans
• Trainers
• Flat peak cap
Steve Widger (Drug Dealer)
• Hooded top
• Tracksuit bottoms
• Trainers
• Flat peak cap
Lewis Holliday (Security Guard Fantasy)
• Sunglasses
• Tie
• White shirt
• Black trousers
• Black shoes
• Black jumper
• Belt
• Watch
Lewis Holliday (security Guard)
• White shirt
• Black trousers
• Tie
• Belt watch black shoes
Charlotte Bees (women 1)
• Coat
• Jeans
• Top
• trainers
• jewellery
For my security guard, he has two costumes; one as his fantasy self and one in his uniform. Now in his ‘fantasy self’ he is a mysterious secret agent and therefore is dressed smartly and in black. Although I only wanted to change his regular security guard costume slightly because this shows that he is not that far away from him dream self and he is trying to conform to this fantasy person.
The ‘fantasy’; costume consists of black trousers, white shirt with a black top, black shoes and black sunglasses. The reason that I had chose everything to be black was that I wanted this character to be mysterious and have a concealed identity. The colour black stereo typically represents mystery and concealment. This is further represented through the sunglasses as the audience cannot see the eyes and the whole face giving that sense of mystery further. With his ordinary costume you can see the clear representation of a security guard. He is wearing a white shirt, black tie, black trousers and black shoes. This is a clear representation of a security guard and also as he is dressed very smartly and formally which could represent that he is a very tidy and self proud man. Stereotypically these kinds of people can tend to be rather un-cool and this is evident when he sees a fantasy of himself as a security guard.
The costume of Jamie and Steve is going to be you stereotypical ‘thug’. They will be wearing big hooded tops, tracksuit bottoms and flat peak caps. This, twinned with the setting would create the perfect representation to the audience before they even know they are dealing drugs. Furthermore, the hooded tops represent that they are concealing their identity with makes the audience suspicious about what they are doing and therefore trigger the thought that they are ‘thugs’ or ‘yobs’.
I wanted the girl, Charlotte, to be represented as a normal, average woman. I want to give the effect that this could be anyone and give a sense of reality to the movie. This will be done by giving her a costume that she would wear on any occasion. Giving this sense of reality allows the audience to engage more with the movie as it seems more believable.
Character costume
Jamie Hammond (Thug)
• Hooded top
• Jeans
• Trainers
• Flat peak cap
Steve Widger (Drug Dealer)
• Hooded top
• Tracksuit bottoms
• Trainers
• Flat peak cap
Lewis Holliday (Security Guard Fantasy)
• Sunglasses
• Tie
• White shirt
• Black trousers
• Black shoes
• Black jumper
• Belt
• Watch
Lewis Holliday (security Guard)
• White shirt
• Black trousers
• Tie
• Belt watch black shoes
Charlotte Bees (women 1)
• Coat
• Jeans
• Top
• trainers
• jewellery
Script
Scene 1
INT
Steve: ‘ight bled!
Jamie: Alright, you got the stuff?
Steve: Yeah man, I got it here.
The security guard walks into view of the camera; he stares at them and shouts.
Security Guard: Oi!
Steve: aww f**k
The teenagers run away and the security guard goes in chase. He comes to the corner and the security guard pulls out a gun and shoots Steve in the back of the head. Passing by lady moves over to him.
Charlotte: my hero!
Security guard looks up in the sky and has a cheeky grin on his face. Fades to him sleeping. He slowly moves towards the end of the bed and falls off.
Security guard: ow!
The security guard starts to get ready for work putting on shirt, tie and trousers.
He is inspecting a pathway behind Sainsbury’s when he sees the two teenagers he saw in his dream, he walks up to them.
Security guard: Oi!
They run again and security guard goes in chase. The teenagers appear round the corner but the security guard doesn’t. he is gasping for breath when he arrives round the corner and spots the woman in his dream, he smiles at her.
Charlotte: Freak!
The security guard walks to the rails in disappointment as they teenagers flee.
End scene
INT
Steve: ‘ight bled!
Jamie: Alright, you got the stuff?
Steve: Yeah man, I got it here.
The security guard walks into view of the camera; he stares at them and shouts.
Security Guard: Oi!
Steve: aww f**k
The teenagers run away and the security guard goes in chase. He comes to the corner and the security guard pulls out a gun and shoots Steve in the back of the head. Passing by lady moves over to him.
Charlotte: my hero!
Security guard looks up in the sky and has a cheeky grin on his face. Fades to him sleeping. He slowly moves towards the end of the bed and falls off.
Security guard: ow!
The security guard starts to get ready for work putting on shirt, tie and trousers.
He is inspecting a pathway behind Sainsbury’s when he sees the two teenagers he saw in his dream, he walks up to them.
Security guard: Oi!
They run again and security guard goes in chase. The teenagers appear round the corner but the security guard doesn’t. he is gasping for breath when he arrives round the corner and spots the woman in his dream, he smiles at her.
Charlotte: Freak!
The security guard walks to the rails in disappointment as they teenagers flee.
End scene
Props
In a production, props are very useful devices to portray a character and setting. I wanted to include these signifiers to give the audience an indication of the representation of the characters. Furthermore, these signifiers would also conform to the codes and conventions to my comedy/action genre.
The Props are as follows:
• Gun
• Sunglasses
• Tie
The Props are as follows:
• Gun
• Sunglasses
• Tie
Storyboard
When organising a movie, you must first plan out what will happen, how it will happen and all the relevant information about the planning of what will eventually appear on the screen. It also helps when coming to shoot as you will know what shot you want, what will happen in those shots and you can extract a shooting schedule from the storyboard. You do this by first, as you know what you want, you can plan how long each run will take, and then you know where to move on to and when to do so. Furthermore it will act as a guide on how you want the movie to flow after shooting when you are editing. It will also act as a guide on how you want your movie to be edited.
This is my storyboard:
Apologies for quality of scanned in pictures
This is my storyboard:
Apologies for quality of scanned in pictures
Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My 2-minute film was not just an idea that I had on the spot; I first had to refer to current films and media for inspirations and ideas. From doing my textual analysis I watched Johnny English, Hot Fuzz and Happy Gilmore. Now from these films there were two main inspirations from the start 2 minutes.
The first inspiration was from Johnny English. The idea of a daydream about him fantasizing about him being a top secret agent infiltrating a mansion and then seducing a woman, I thought would be a good idea to use and develop. In my movie start I used this but developed it as if it was a look into the future. This is because in the dream he sees the drug deal going on and he sees it again out of the dream. I wanted to create a binary opposite between him and his fantasy self, as it shows the difference of how he deals with a situation as a fantasy form and then how he wants to conform to this fantasy and tries to attack the situation in the same way but fails. This also reinforces to the audience that he isn’t who he wants to be and that he escapes from his ‘uncool’ self to his fantasy self.
The second inspirations I took from the textual analysis came from Hot Fuzz. In Hot Fuzz the main character is a policeman and is serious about his job that he does not have a social life. I wanted to use and develop this but instead of him being a police officer I wanted him to be a security guard. Also, I wanted to twist it and instead of him swapping his social life for success and succeeding, I wanted him to swap his social life for success but him failing. I wanted to create a contrast between success in life and failure in life.
Another device I used was binary opposites, which is the theory of Levi Strauss. These binary opposites appear in all films as they add atmosphere, action and tension. This was apparent in my film, as I made sure that there was a sufficient amount of binary opposites to create the atmosphere, action and tension but not overload it and make it seem as there was a war going on between everything. This is because if everything has a binary opposite in the picture it could represent to the audience that evil and pain is everywhere as there are opposites everywhere.
Now using these sources from other films allowed me to captivate my audience on a higher level, as they would think that this is used from another film, and if they enjoyed that movie they may believe that they will enjoy this film too. Although if you have someone who links it with another film and says I didn’t life that film, they will be reassured that it will not be copied but manipulated and improved as using exact sources and ideas from other films is unoriginal and boring and would therefore making the audience loose interest.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my project, I used 2 main social group stereotypes in the first 2 minute. The first stereotype is the 2 'thugs'. The social group stereotype I used for them is the lower class. This is because they are wearing black, concealing cloths which are baggy. The costume consists of track suit bottoms, hooded tops and flat peak caps. This is a typical stereotype of a lower social class. Furthermore this is backed up by the location that they are in. they are situated in a back alley which is dark and hidden. This is the stereotypical location for teenage ‘thugs’ and this is therefore conforming to this stereotype. In addition they are also drug dealing which is stereotypically related to the lower class.
The other class I involve in the start is the class of the security guards. Now he is the stereotypical working class. This is because he has a job as a security guard. Stereotypically working class people don’t have the most attractive jobs and he therefore conforms to this stereotype as he is a security guard. Furthermore he has a house which is like a stereotypical working class house. The bedroom is not big; it’s not that glamorous and basic, conforming to the working class home.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
At the start of every film there is an organizational clip, for example, 20th Century Fox or Universal. This is there to show the audience that this is behind the making of the film. Without this organizations help and funds, this film would not be here today. Although I do not need any help and funds to make my film, I want to have an organization. This is because when you see one of these clips at the start and you recognize that a company backs the film, this gives reassurance to the audience that the film is going to have quality in it. This is because this clip signifies that if a multi million company has put their faith into this film then we know that the film will therefore have to meet there high standards which tells the audience that it will be good. Another quality that an organization will give to a movie is that it will give the audience a rough idea of the genre of the film. This is because we will associate the organization to different genres. For example, Twisted Pictures back the horror genre, like saw.
For my institution, I have chosen Columbia pictures. This is because this is a very prestigious company and therefore triggers the thought of class and distinction into the audiences mind and therefore promotes the film before it had even started, giving the audience that positive mindset and reassurance. Also I chose this organization because looking at the list of movies that Columbia has backed great comedies like; Mall Cop, Men in Black, Pineapple Express, The Longest Yard and so many more. Therefore, as Columbia pictures backs comedy’s which turn out to be a really good success, this will portray to the audience that this film will be good and re-assure them that the film will be good.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my media product is for the mainstream audience. The target age would be from 12-20 and is aimed at male and female. I aimed it at a mainstream audience, as the storyline is similar to other mainstream films so other audiences like reformers and aspirers may not go for this movie because they do not watch this kind of movie. Furthermore, it has mainstream humor like swearing, stereotypical puns and jokes and most reformers don’t find this humor acceptable and therefore would not be interested in this type of film. The reason I aimed it at a 12-20 audience as it has quite immature humor, for example swearing and typically that is the most popular humor for this age group. Furthermore, if the film were to carry on it has a difficult plot and a younger audience may have trouble understanding therefore loosing interest in the film.
The reason I chose to aim it at both genres is because a comedy is stereotypically a film you can go to with your girlfriend or partner or go out with mates and a comedy is usually what is in the middle between ‘chick flicks’ and ‘action packed’ films. It is the medium between girl’s interests in film and boy’s interests in film. Therefore opens it up to a wide audience and a wide market.
Now it was important that I reached my target audience because they will be the ones who will watch it and review it to their peers and others. Their view and comments may mean someone going to watch it or someone being put of by the comments. Therefore I had to make sure that my target audience was being met by asking my peers – who are the target audience – to check my work every time I changed a major part when editing, filming and presenting.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
In all movies you have to have a hook to the start 2 minutes, because these 2 minutes are metaphorically your first impression to somebody. If you don’t impress then the audience are not going to watch on with enthusiasm and be engaged in the movie. This could therefore lead onto them telling their peers that it didn’t impress and therefore lead to your target audience disliking your film. As I knew that these 2 minutes were incredibly important to the future of the film then I needed a hook. A hook is created in many ways. You can get the audience and characters to have a bond between each other and then this will then lead to them being further engaged into the movie as they can see themselves as him. Other ways would be to have an interesting storyline and will hook the audience into watching more but the main device I feel is the best for hooking the audience in is questions. If at the start of the movie you have questions for the audience then they will subconsciously ask questions to themselves and try to answer them but want to know what really happens because the mind will be intrigued to know more, it will therefore make the audience switch on and concentrate on finding the answers out. Therefore I wanted the audience, after watching the start, to have questions in their mind and want to know the answers. Questions that I wanted unanswered before making my movie was; who is the guy? Why was he a secret agent at the start? Another device I used was that I made sure that I made the audience connect with the characters. To make them fit in I needed to get the stereotypes correct and then make the audience want to be like them. At the start of mine there is not much desire to be the security guard which meant I needed to make them connect with the his ‘fantasy’ self because then they will want to see him and wonder if he turns into him in the end. They don’t want to be the security guard but want him to become his fantasy so they can connect with the character. The use of this device I thought was incredibly useful because this also reached out to the audience on a new level.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When we did the preliminary task, this was the first project we were introduced to that included using apple iMacs to do our editing on. When doing the editing at this point it was difficult as this was the first time the class had used iMacs and the first time I had ever used iMovie HD to edit a movie. This was therefore difficult to do and took a while to find out the controls and get use to it. Now when coming to edit a movie on iMovie HD it was easier to do because we had gained the experience from the preliminary task and our continuity exercise. Although, to make my final piece I did not use iMovie HD because I have the opportunity to use Adobe PremierePro 4.0. This software is specialized software that even professionals use to make media today, and getting used to this software was even more difficult. This is because as it is specialized software everything seems more difficult and totally different at the start. Although, I had been given some tasks from other lessons and courses that would exercise my skills on PremierePro. This experience was vital as it gave me the chance to really understand how it all works. After doing these other tasks I found when coming to edit my movie it was so much easier and more efficient then iMovie HD. I think overall I created a better project because I had the experience of the software.
Furthermore, I feel that from the preliminary task that it is best for me and others that I work on my own. This is because in the preliminary exercise I kept trying to be in control and when it cam down to the editing I was very picky with the continuity, the music and the whole project in general. I didn’t think it would be fair on others to take the chance of making their own movie only to be picked apart by me. Therefore I decided to work on my own to give me the freedom of being in control of only me and making sure that everything was perfect and the way I wanted by not effecting others. I feel that working on my own made me realize that working on my own is better and that I have learnt that I am more of an independent learner than working with others.
My 2-minute film was not just an idea that I had on the spot; I first had to refer to current films and media for inspirations and ideas. From doing my textual analysis I watched Johnny English, Hot Fuzz and Happy Gilmore. Now from these films there were two main inspirations from the start 2 minutes.
The first inspiration was from Johnny English. The idea of a daydream about him fantasizing about him being a top secret agent infiltrating a mansion and then seducing a woman, I thought would be a good idea to use and develop. In my movie start I used this but developed it as if it was a look into the future. This is because in the dream he sees the drug deal going on and he sees it again out of the dream. I wanted to create a binary opposite between him and his fantasy self, as it shows the difference of how he deals with a situation as a fantasy form and then how he wants to conform to this fantasy and tries to attack the situation in the same way but fails. This also reinforces to the audience that he isn’t who he wants to be and that he escapes from his ‘uncool’ self to his fantasy self.
The second inspirations I took from the textual analysis came from Hot Fuzz. In Hot Fuzz the main character is a policeman and is serious about his job that he does not have a social life. I wanted to use and develop this but instead of him being a police officer I wanted him to be a security guard. Also, I wanted to twist it and instead of him swapping his social life for success and succeeding, I wanted him to swap his social life for success but him failing. I wanted to create a contrast between success in life and failure in life.
Another device I used was binary opposites, which is the theory of Levi Strauss. These binary opposites appear in all films as they add atmosphere, action and tension. This was apparent in my film, as I made sure that there was a sufficient amount of binary opposites to create the atmosphere, action and tension but not overload it and make it seem as there was a war going on between everything. This is because if everything has a binary opposite in the picture it could represent to the audience that evil and pain is everywhere as there are opposites everywhere.
Now using these sources from other films allowed me to captivate my audience on a higher level, as they would think that this is used from another film, and if they enjoyed that movie they may believe that they will enjoy this film too. Although if you have someone who links it with another film and says I didn’t life that film, they will be reassured that it will not be copied but manipulated and improved as using exact sources and ideas from other films is unoriginal and boring and would therefore making the audience loose interest.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my project, I used 2 main social group stereotypes in the first 2 minute. The first stereotype is the 2 'thugs'. The social group stereotype I used for them is the lower class. This is because they are wearing black, concealing cloths which are baggy. The costume consists of track suit bottoms, hooded tops and flat peak caps. This is a typical stereotype of a lower social class. Furthermore this is backed up by the location that they are in. they are situated in a back alley which is dark and hidden. This is the stereotypical location for teenage ‘thugs’ and this is therefore conforming to this stereotype. In addition they are also drug dealing which is stereotypically related to the lower class.
The other class I involve in the start is the class of the security guards. Now he is the stereotypical working class. This is because he has a job as a security guard. Stereotypically working class people don’t have the most attractive jobs and he therefore conforms to this stereotype as he is a security guard. Furthermore he has a house which is like a stereotypical working class house. The bedroom is not big; it’s not that glamorous and basic, conforming to the working class home.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
At the start of every film there is an organizational clip, for example, 20th Century Fox or Universal. This is there to show the audience that this is behind the making of the film. Without this organizations help and funds, this film would not be here today. Although I do not need any help and funds to make my film, I want to have an organization. This is because when you see one of these clips at the start and you recognize that a company backs the film, this gives reassurance to the audience that the film is going to have quality in it. This is because this clip signifies that if a multi million company has put their faith into this film then we know that the film will therefore have to meet there high standards which tells the audience that it will be good. Another quality that an organization will give to a movie is that it will give the audience a rough idea of the genre of the film. This is because we will associate the organization to different genres. For example, Twisted Pictures back the horror genre, like saw.
For my institution, I have chosen Columbia pictures. This is because this is a very prestigious company and therefore triggers the thought of class and distinction into the audiences mind and therefore promotes the film before it had even started, giving the audience that positive mindset and reassurance. Also I chose this organization because looking at the list of movies that Columbia has backed great comedies like; Mall Cop, Men in Black, Pineapple Express, The Longest Yard and so many more. Therefore, as Columbia pictures backs comedy’s which turn out to be a really good success, this will portray to the audience that this film will be good and re-assure them that the film will be good.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my media product is for the mainstream audience. The target age would be from 12-20 and is aimed at male and female. I aimed it at a mainstream audience, as the storyline is similar to other mainstream films so other audiences like reformers and aspirers may not go for this movie because they do not watch this kind of movie. Furthermore, it has mainstream humor like swearing, stereotypical puns and jokes and most reformers don’t find this humor acceptable and therefore would not be interested in this type of film. The reason I aimed it at a 12-20 audience as it has quite immature humor, for example swearing and typically that is the most popular humor for this age group. Furthermore, if the film were to carry on it has a difficult plot and a younger audience may have trouble understanding therefore loosing interest in the film.
The reason I chose to aim it at both genres is because a comedy is stereotypically a film you can go to with your girlfriend or partner or go out with mates and a comedy is usually what is in the middle between ‘chick flicks’ and ‘action packed’ films. It is the medium between girl’s interests in film and boy’s interests in film. Therefore opens it up to a wide audience and a wide market.
Now it was important that I reached my target audience because they will be the ones who will watch it and review it to their peers and others. Their view and comments may mean someone going to watch it or someone being put of by the comments. Therefore I had to make sure that my target audience was being met by asking my peers – who are the target audience – to check my work every time I changed a major part when editing, filming and presenting.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
In all movies you have to have a hook to the start 2 minutes, because these 2 minutes are metaphorically your first impression to somebody. If you don’t impress then the audience are not going to watch on with enthusiasm and be engaged in the movie. This could therefore lead onto them telling their peers that it didn’t impress and therefore lead to your target audience disliking your film. As I knew that these 2 minutes were incredibly important to the future of the film then I needed a hook. A hook is created in many ways. You can get the audience and characters to have a bond between each other and then this will then lead to them being further engaged into the movie as they can see themselves as him. Other ways would be to have an interesting storyline and will hook the audience into watching more but the main device I feel is the best for hooking the audience in is questions. If at the start of the movie you have questions for the audience then they will subconsciously ask questions to themselves and try to answer them but want to know what really happens because the mind will be intrigued to know more, it will therefore make the audience switch on and concentrate on finding the answers out. Therefore I wanted the audience, after watching the start, to have questions in their mind and want to know the answers. Questions that I wanted unanswered before making my movie was; who is the guy? Why was he a secret agent at the start? Another device I used was that I made sure that I made the audience connect with the characters. To make them fit in I needed to get the stereotypes correct and then make the audience want to be like them. At the start of mine there is not much desire to be the security guard which meant I needed to make them connect with the his ‘fantasy’ self because then they will want to see him and wonder if he turns into him in the end. They don’t want to be the security guard but want him to become his fantasy so they can connect with the character. The use of this device I thought was incredibly useful because this also reached out to the audience on a new level.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When we did the preliminary task, this was the first project we were introduced to that included using apple iMacs to do our editing on. When doing the editing at this point it was difficult as this was the first time the class had used iMacs and the first time I had ever used iMovie HD to edit a movie. This was therefore difficult to do and took a while to find out the controls and get use to it. Now when coming to edit a movie on iMovie HD it was easier to do because we had gained the experience from the preliminary task and our continuity exercise. Although, to make my final piece I did not use iMovie HD because I have the opportunity to use Adobe PremierePro 4.0. This software is specialized software that even professionals use to make media today, and getting used to this software was even more difficult. This is because as it is specialized software everything seems more difficult and totally different at the start. Although, I had been given some tasks from other lessons and courses that would exercise my skills on PremierePro. This experience was vital as it gave me the chance to really understand how it all works. After doing these other tasks I found when coming to edit my movie it was so much easier and more efficient then iMovie HD. I think overall I created a better project because I had the experience of the software.
Furthermore, I feel that from the preliminary task that it is best for me and others that I work on my own. This is because in the preliminary exercise I kept trying to be in control and when it cam down to the editing I was very picky with the continuity, the music and the whole project in general. I didn’t think it would be fair on others to take the chance of making their own movie only to be picked apart by me. Therefore I decided to work on my own to give me the freedom of being in control of only me and making sure that everything was perfect and the way I wanted by not effecting others. I feel that working on my own made me realize that working on my own is better and that I have learnt that I am more of an independent learner than working with others.
below is my preliminary task and continuity project.
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