Audience feedback

by Maria, Katy, Ife and Nathan

1. Is the product a clearly recognisable opening sequence?
The audience thought it was because it introduces a characters voice over to explain the situation and starts to build up a storyline. Also because we had the opening credits and the non-diegetic music over the top.
2. Is the genre apparent?
Because of the storyline the audience could tell it was a romantic comedy and the comical moments worked well.
3. Who do you think is the target audience for the product?
They thought young people because they couldrelate to the characters well and the settings uses as young people visit them.
4. Do you think the product would appeal to the target audience?
They said yes it would because you can relate to the characters as their the same age and also the storyline and settings.
5.How well do you think the following technical ares have been addressed?
Cinematography
They thought the establishing shots and long shots were good. The land marks were easily recognisable and the camera shots help build up the relationship.
Sound
They thought the non-diagetic voice over wasexcellent in explaining the sequence and also the timing. Also the music was upbeat and familiar and made you wants to keep watching.
Editing
The said you could tell it was over a long period of time because of the different settings and the way it had been edited. Also it ran very smoothly
Mise-en-scene
The causal costumes, natural lighting and settings helped indicate the genre and also worked really well.
6. Over all how successful is the finished product?
They said it was very successful one of the best things was the voice over. Also the storyline was very good and it was engaged the audience they wanted too keep watching.
It could be improved by putting music under the voice over.

Ifedola Olaofe
Media Studies
Mrs Compton
17/04/09

Media Blog Questions


1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The genre of my media project is a Romantic Comedy (Rom-Com). It uses conventions of “Rom-Com’s” by using the main character types like a male and female protagonist. It shows the connection between the both of them showing a romantic connection. My media project tries to follow the forms and conventions to Rom-Com’s but tries not to challenge any of the conventions used.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The media product represents the teenagers mainly as they are the characters in the film. It does not represent them in any stereotypical way but just shows them to be free with what they do and how they do it for example when the male character is holding the female character on his back.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Disney films may be a media institution that distributes my media product as it seems to be a film suitable for all ages and enjoyable for all viewers. Most teenagers will buy the film though obviously because it stars teenagers and also may have a correlation to their own personal life and situations. It will be distribute as a DVD when it comes out of cinema because it is a film that should be watched by different viewers. I think the institution that might distribute it would probably be Disney or Pixar studios.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My media project can be aimed at all ages from 13 onwards. The characters are teenagers themselves but like I said there is not a particular age range that the media product is aimed at as it is suitable for all ages. But if a certificate had to be put on the film I would propose a PG as there are scenes of kissing that some parents might not want their young ones to see.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to attract my audience by drawing attention to the romance and the comedy at the same time to engage people in the film to that they can enjoy it while connecting themselves to the storyline. Thy feel what it going on in the film while having something drag them into the world of the film. The film addresses the audience separately by showing the content of the film to the audience while they are viewing it.

Media Studies Coursework Questions

Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real products?
-A) Our opening sequence uses conventions that are mainly used in the beginning scenes of a romantic comedy. We used the stereotypical gender/sexuality roles portrayed in almost every film, very cliche based around the idea of 'Love'. The film begins with an introduction of our two main characters who have fallen in love and are in a long-term relationship. There is a big twist to thier relationship, including a period where it seems the relationship is over until the end when they are reunited and are happy together. The majority of our filming was done in and around central London, we decided to take this approach with the filming as many films of this genre are set in large city locations that people can recognise and connect with in one way or another. Typical male and female relationship; the male character creates a light atmosphere by bringing comedic value to the film due to his struggle to win back his girlfriend. There is a typical soppy, light-hearted and lovey-dovey plot to our film. These are some of the ways we used typicl conventions of a real romantic comedy in our film.

Q2) How does your meida product represent particular social groups?
-A) As the two main characters are teenagers the social group we represent in our film were definately teenagers particularly teenage couples. I feel we represented them in an innocent way. As to be expected there were a few kisses, however there was nothing sexual or inappropriate so our representaion was by no means negative

Q3) What kind of medi institution might distribute yor media product and why?
-A) I think our film would maybe be distributed by the UK Film Council as our film is likely to be a low budget british production; they work to make non-maistream films more widely available to cinema audiences and support the export of UK films abroad.

Q4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
-A) Our target audience would be females from the ages of thirteen years onwards.

Q5)How did you attract/ address your audience?
-A)To attract our audience, we made sure that sound was a key feature. This is to grab peoples' attention and interest them in the story right from the beginning, the more comical and entertaining the story is the more likely they are to be drawn into the film and watch what will happen next. In order for the music at the end to have a significant effect to the film , the right location and dialogue was improtant; the second factor was also ensuring that the song was appropriate for the film. For example we could not use a heavy metal song because it simply would not match. We tried to set a certain pace, starting with a clear opening which consisted of myself and Susie (our main actress), having a good time (acting as a couple), to keep our audiences interest.


Q6) What have ou learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
-A) I have learnt that you can change a lot of what you have originally filmed to fit your original plan. When filming shots, it is acceptable to have more footage than you actually need, because it can all be edited. With the use of editing software effects and transitions can be added to help the film flow smoothly.

Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
-A) I feel that the opening looks like a real romantic comedy opening, having a voiceover and the titles afterwards, our editing was the area we flourished towards the end of the task, although this is the area we initially struggled in. The shots work really well together and i feel that the story now works better than it did before now we have incorporated the voiceover. I was quite suprised to find out exactly how it worked using Imovie, being we recorded it as regular footage and simply extracted the audio and layered it with the film. The dialogue also fits in perfectly with what is happenning on the screen, our story makes perfect sense now with the audio on top, it gives the opening the atmosphere we were aiming for. I have learnt that there are so many little things that matter in an opening sequence, slight details that you change can have a huge impact on the finished product. Also going by the conventions of real romantic comedy openings, we were able to come up with a few new ideas and gain a greater understaning of what we needed to include and how we were going to include it.


Nathan Registe

EVIDENCE OF MAIN TASK: OPENING SEQUENCE ANALYSIS

Maria Carter

"THE SHINING"

Genre:-
"The Shining" is a well known psychological thriller, that also makes use of many horror conventions.

Horror Conventions:-
Suspense and tension is the atmosphere within the audience due to the :-
-high pitched music
-flashing images
-bright lights
-dull colours
-mind games played

Cinematography:-
A mixture of different shots are used within the opening sequence of "The Shining". The director makes use of high angled shots and panning. These two types of shots follow the movement of one solitary car, driving through mountains.

Editing:-
During the opening sequence, the film credits are shown whilst the films storyline is being played. There is a contrast between the two; the bright colours of the nature and the widlife with the cold colours of the film credit, this creates a feeling of tension wihtin the audience, showing them the genre of the fim within the opening sequence.

Sound:-
In the title sequence, screams and high pitched noises are used, these noises slowly build up, becoming louder and more high pitched as the sequence progresses, finally ending on the loudest note as the scene changes. Using these sound effects creates a tense atmosphere for the audience as they do not know what's causing these screams or where they are coming from.

Mise-en-Scene:-
Throughout the whole of the opening sequence, only one scene is shown. This scene is a remote mountain range, introducing to the audience the feeling of isolation that the characters will carry throughout the whole of the film.

Media Coursework Questions

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

Our group chose romantic comedy as our genre. Romantic comedy conventions of real media products have light-hearted, humorous dramatic stories centered around romantic ideals such as a "true love". Romantic comedy films have the sub genre of comedy as well as romance. Most romantic comedies see two people who the audience want to see get together being challenged and overcoming a number of problems before being reunited at the end.
Our romantic comedy begins with a series of shots of a couple who are dating and visiting various attractions in London. There are a series of long shots of them walking and holding hands and being together. There body language shows the audience that their in love. We have also put a shot in with the screen split into six with different shots of them kissing. One is by the London eye, one is by marble arch etc. The shots and mise-en-scene show you that their in love as we have filmed in different romantic locations to portray this and used a variety of different shots to show this. In addition we have also made it comical to fulfil the convention. Their are comical moments and also we have used a voice over to help explain the storyline and what is being said is comical. Furthermore we have added non-diegetic music which is called 'This love' by Maroon five. Its linked to the title of our product and its a love song so establishes the romantic comedy genre. We have challenged the forms of convention because our storyline is different and we have made the girl in our product mess the boy about and normally the male characters are the ones messing the females about. Our media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products in different ways.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents young social groups. The lead characters are a young black male and a young white woman and they are both teenagers. Alot of teenagers are represented as being trouble makers who hang around the streets causing trouble. Young black males are often seen causing trouble in some media products and it creates a negative image. We have gone against this stereotype, we have used our lead male character as a positive representation of young black men. In our media product he is representing as being someone who although his girlfriend has her faults he still really loves her and cares for her. We have used his girlfriend as a negative representation of teenage girls as she leads him on and breaks his heart. Usually you would expect it to be the other way round and the boy to break the girls heart. So we have challenged these stereo types. It represents teenage boys in a good light and teenage girls in a bad light.

3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product?

The film distribution company for mainstream cinemas and audiences would distribute our media product. Our media product is a genre and storyline which would appeal to a universal audience. Also people can relate to our story line so it could be used in mainstream cinemas.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our media product is based on a subject which people of all ages can relate to. However the main characters are teenagers and teenagers could probably relate to the storyline best even though most people have been through a breakup. So it would be aimed at a younger audience between 13-25 who could relate to the characters and storyline better. The audience would also be for people who like romantic comedies, this is most typically woman. However, as the story is based around a male character and the narrator is male, men could relate to it and enjoy it to.

5. How did you address/attract your audience?

We had a male narrator who involved the audience in what he was saying. we also chose a genre in which a wide scale audience could relate to. We also chose an interesting storyline which would draw the audience in and was different to other story lines so they would be absorbed in what they were watching and interested. In addition we chose interesting and exciting locations for our project and places in which the audience had been and could relate to. Also the settings were interesting so it wasn't boring for the audience. We filmed in different places in central London. Furthermore we used a variety of shots to make it interesting and to help the audience understand what was going on. Also the non-diagetic music at the end was upbeat, and it was a song which most young people would know so that would attract them. Moreover the characters themselves were young and so that would also attract the audience.

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

I have learnt how to operate a camera properly and how to assemble it, i can now use a camera and tripod. I have also learnt how to use the imovie software properly, i know how to edit shots i can cuts parts out that i don't need and add bits in, i can add non-diagetic music to the product, i can add transitions between the cuts and i can add a voice over to the product. In addition i also know how to add credits to the end of my sequence and add different effects to them.

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

I have learnt the importance of planning as if we hadn't planned our project properly it would have been extremely difficult and would of taken a long time and we wouldnt of konwn what we were doing. I have learnt how to film properly and i can now use a variety of different shots. I have also learnt how to use the equipment, i can use the camera, tripod and i have learnt how important the tripod is during the filming process as it steadies the camera and makes it alot easier to do different shots, especially the tracking shot.In addition i have learnt how important the mise-en-scene is, if you choose the correct setting, costumes and props it pulls your film togeather and without it you wouldnt understand what was going on. I can also use the software on the computer. In addition i can also edit properly. I also learnt how important the editing process is and how long it takes so its important to use the time alocated wisley.

Katy Vinning

MEDIA STUDIES AS COURSEWORK

Maria Carter

"THIS LOVE"


In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The media convention our media group used was romantic comedy. Romantic comedy conventions of real media projects are typically light hearted, humorous, dramatic stories, centred on the “perfect couple”. The majority of romantic comedies tell a story about two people that start of either not knowing each other or disliking each other but by the end of the film have fallen in love with each other.
Our opening sequence has typical romantic comedy conventions; and these are shown throughout the sequence with the use of cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound. Nearly all of the scenes used for filming were set in romantic places; the London Eye, Hyde Park, London Bridge and places that held some sort of importance to both of our main characters, each set showing our "perfect couple". During the whole of the opening sequence, each shot used are long shots, showing the different locations that the couple have been to, making sure that each shot shows the couple together, portraying that it is the start of a romantic film. Another way in which our media project is shown as a romantic comedy is the use of the non-diegetic voice over. This voice over develops the original conventions of romantic comedies, involving the audience with what is occuring in the film. Narrated by the main character it tells the romantic story of him and his girlfriend but also integrates many comical stories about his girlfriend to fulfill the comedy genre.

However, although it makes use of these romantic conventions, it also challenges them. Most romantic films begin with the main characters not knowing each other, our couple however, start the film knowing each other, seeing each other and already being in love with each other, which then turns for the worst two minutes in, with the "perfect couple" breaking up and no longer being a "perfect couple" but two regular people that clearly weren't made for each other. It makes use of classic romantic conventions yet twists them to make use of the comedy conventions.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The whole of the opening sequence is based on the one character, Nathan. Although both boy and girl are represented in each clip, the sequence is based on the story of the boy. This boy is shown as from a working class family; he wears normal high street clothes, owns a mobile and takes his girlfriend on dates around the City of London. However the couple the audience see also go against the regular conventions of social groups. In many films, black and male characters are shown as rebellious, going against the law, being the heart breakers, constantly being in the wrong with the women and being the total opposite of white and female characters. In our clip however we show Nathan as the total opposite; he talks about how much he loves his girlfriend and sees through all of her faults, whereas she, the white female is the one in the wrong, breaking her boyfriends heart.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our media project would be distributed by the Film Institution. As our genre and storyline is one that would appeal to many different audiences, it would be advertised and shown by mainstream cinemas to universal audiences.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
Our media project is aimed at both male and female audiences. Nowadays, most romantic comedies appeal to both men and women; the romance for the women and the comedy for the men. As our project is about a younger couple, it should also appeal to viewers of a younger age as they can relate to the problems that the main character goes through with his girlfriend.

How did you attract/address your audience?
The methods we used throughout our media project to attract our audience was by the use of; the characters we chose, the mise-en-scene we used, the choice of song and the genre of the film.
As our product is aimed at a teenage audience, we decided to use the story of a teenage couple as the main storyline. We did this so that the audience would be able to relate to what the main character is going through and be able to understand the feelings he has for his girlfriend. This main character also addresses the audience and involves them in what he's going through by talking to them and telling them step by step what he's feeling for his girlfriend by means of the voice over. The mise-en-scene also added to the attraction for a teenage audience. The wardrobe the main characters wore were ordinary high street clothes that ordinary teenagers would wear, the different scenes used were locations in London that many teenagers would find familiar. The final addition to make our media project seem attractive to teenagers is the choice of song. When the credits begin on our product, the song played is "This Love" by the band Maroon 5, this song is an easily recognisable song to people of all ages, especially teenagers.
Audience feedback:-
After watching our opening sequence to our romantic comedy, the audience said that it was a clearly recognisable opening sequence, it introduced the characters well and clearly introduced the situation of the couples relationship by use of the voice over.
The storyline used also made it obvious to the audiece that the genre of the film was romance and the clip also showed comical moments from the narrator.
From watching our project the viewers thought that it would have been aimed at a teenage audience as it is based upon the story of a teenage love.
The response the audience gave to if they think our product would appeal to the target audience was a positive one. Firstly, they said that a teenage audience would be able to relate to the characters situation, aswell as being able to relate to the storyline itself. Secondly, the settings we chose to use are easily recognisable as they are various locations seen in the City of London.
For the duration of the film, the audience said that the scenes were established well and through the use of mise-en-scene, they could establish that the duration of the opening sequence was set over a period of time from differences in location, weather, wardrobe and props. For the audience this gave the effect that there was a build up of relationship, helping them understand what the main character was feeling. To help with the understanding of the storyline, the editing of the non-diegetic voice over explained the content of the sequence to the audience to help them understand what the couples situation was.
However, when the audience had finished watching our product, they commented on how the voice over worked really well, however it could have been improved by playing a song quietly throughout the voice over as they thought it was too plain by itself.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the process of creating our media project, the different technologies we used were; Sony video camera and tripod for the filming, iMacs to put the footage on, iMovie to edit the footage we shot and ( ) to do the technique of the split screen. All of the equipment we used are pieces of modern technology and were new to me so I learnt how to use each of them whilst constructing and editing our footage. By using these technologies I have learnt how to set up a camera for filming and shoot a range of different shots, save footage onto a computer, open up our project and then edit. During our editing stages I learnt how to; shorten and cut unwanted footage, out them in order of filming, add in different transitions to the project to create different effects, add a non-diegetic voice over to our sequence, I learnt how to add a variety of effects to the credits, showing the film title and the names of the characters. For me, it was interesting to see the different stages of the film editing and learning how to add all of the different transitions and see the different effects they created.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
During the development of our full project, i have learnt how important planning is. The storyline used was filmed from the plans we made and the storyboards we drew. I have also learnt that throughout each filming stage, it is important to make use of framing and the tripod, especially when filming a tracking shot.
However, the most important development I leant was the choice of mise-en-scene. Each different setting and all different props used create various feelings within the audience, and every one of the scenes chosen and props used have to give the impression of romance and comedy to the audience.

TREATMENT FOR OPENING SEQUENCE

Maria Carter

Target Audience:-
The target audience for our media video is men and women from ages 12+

Genre:-
The genre for our film is Romantic Comedy
The title of the film is 'This Love', telling a story of a young boy and his "true love". The film is narrated by the main character, Nathan, who talks to the audience about his girlfriend and how she's the one for him. The opening sequence shows and tells the audience how great the couple are together and how much they are in love with each other...that is, until the unthinkable happens...


Characters:-

Main Boy: Nathan
Main Girl: Susie

Plot Development:-
Throughout the opening sequence the characters will be introduced, scenes established and a story will be told by the main male character.


Structure:-
Our project will begin with a Story line, narrated by Nathan and then the Credit Sequence.


Sound:-
There will be a non-diegetic voice over at the beginning and a song from Maroon 5 when the Credits start.

Mise-en-Scene:-
Lighting-the lighting will all be natural lighting as most of the scenes will be shot outside.
Costumes-the costumes will be everyday wear as we want the audience to see how comfortable the two characters are with each other.
Setting-Nearly all of our settings will be shot at romantic tourist attractions in London.

Mood:-
Within our audience the atmosphere that we are trying to create with the voice over is a humourous one.