Monday 1 April 2013

Media OTS Evaluation Question 7

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

Looking back at my preliminary task i learnt how to film a more structured production as I produced storyboards detailing what would happen in each shot. When i shot the task with my group I also learnt to use a variety of different shots as this helps to captivate the audiences attention and can portray particular emotions or events in a certain way. I also learnt how to edit in more detail as i and one other missed a lesson and our partner had edited most of the product and i then helped with editing the shots. I had also learnt of new terminology that related to making my product as well as new shots such as high and low angled shots, over the shoulder shots and many more.

With my opening title sequence i feel that me and my group created an interesting, structured and character driven product, i feel that when looking back at my preliminary task that we could improve it in some certain aspects. I think that if we used different locations like more urban settings that the film would have a more gritty and realistic tone towards it as this would create a mystery of where the setting is and what the characters are driven to do. I also think that if we had included more actors as different characters we could have created a greater sense of danger and tension between them as our film is essentially a murder mystery, it could create hooks and enigmas to make the audience carry on watching. If we had used more cameras i feel that we could have got more interesting range and variety of shots and this could help show characters' emotions as i feel in our OTS that the emotion of the femme fatale is not clear.

We had a few contraits throughout the product which set us back as a group. Our first original film accidentally got deleted which we then found out that couldn't be recovered, this then meant we had to start the making of a new film in less than 2 weeks. I feel we dealt with these problems maturely and productively as this type of thing might happen in a real production of a movie and as a group we worked well and overcame these problems.

Media OTS Evaluation Question 6

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

During the course of contructing my media product I have used a variety of technologies these include:
A Digital Camera & Digital Still Camera:










Using the cameras i learnt that the rule of thirds is important and that the compostition is also as important.



Smoke Machine:


For the project that got deleted i used a smoke machine i learnt that you should only pump the smoke in small doses as if you do it too much the picture on the camera becomes unclear.












Marantz:
The marantz picks up sound and records it with a clear quality i used this and to get the best quality you need to record a persons voice or sound effect around 10 meters away so it doesnt become distorted.








PC's & Mac's:
I used the PC's & Mac's for a number of tasks such as editing my media product, creating and updating my blog, researching noir products, stats and statistics and researching other OTS'.

Itunes and Imovie:





These websites were the most important when it came to making my media product as i used Imovie to edit and piece together my entire project and i used Itunes to collect my soundtrack song and imported it into Imovie.

Blogger:
I used Blogger to document my progress in making my media product and things i had learnt during the process. I learnt from using Blogger that is important to make the blog interactive but also easy to read.





Card Reader:
I used the card reader to upload anything i had filmed with the cameras onto the mac's to import into Imovie.








Vimeo:

I used Vimeo to upload any videos so i can embed them onto my blog using blogger i learnt that there is a specific amount of video storage and that files need to be uploaded using a programme to condense.





Prezi:


I used Prezi as it is a really interesting and interactive way to present ideas, presentations or concepts.






Handbrake:

Handbrake is the programme i used when i uploaded videos onto Vimeo, it converts any high rate videos into the correct size files so i can upload them onto Vimeo. I learnt that before i convert the videos i need to check all the settings to make sure the convertion will work correctly.










Slideshare:

I used slideshare to upload any powerpoint presentations onto my blog as this allows anyone to view them on my blog.

Media OTS Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience? 


I attracted my audience by creating hook and enigmas within my OTS media product, this will mean that my audience will want to continue watching and solve the mystery, this makes the audience feel smart and as though they have achieved something by solving the mystery correctly. If this was done wrong the audience could be bored or in some cases be offended that the outcome is too predictable.
I addressed my audience by taking into account their intellegence and feeding them clues this way they can begin to solve the mystery and piece together clues. I feel that i did not give away too much in the OTS as this will again make the audience want to continue watching.

Media OTS Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product? 


The audience for my OTS is Men aged 18 to 25, i chose this demographic as the content of my media product reflects the pleasures and expectations for this particular age group. To get my audience i carried out some tasks to make sure my media product was suitable and appealed to this group. The tasks i carried out were: I researched the average age of the audience of a "Noir' film, when i found that the average age was 18 to 35 I narrowed this down by the accessibility of the product as the audience may not have the time to access my film and if they can understand the content within the plot points, i also considered how much this demographic would be willing to pay to watch or stream a film. I chose men in particular as the content within my film would appeal to men more than women as i have used sex appeal of the femme fatale, the violence of crime, the element of mystery created with the death of the femme fatale, also the experience of watching my film the male who watches the film will feel like the "big man" which means when watching with a date they can protect them from the impending danger. 

Media OTS Evaluation Question 3

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

The two institutions me and my group chose to distribute our film were Picture house cinema and streaming. We feel these are the best methods as the film we created would attract a more niche market in comparison to a big blockbuster film.

Picture House

I feel that is good to distribute our film in a picture house as the audience for my film is a small demographic in comparison to a large scale film, with picture house cinema the films tend to be more artsy and character driven which i feel my film is. The audience for my film would choose to see the film here as it is more comfortable and feels more private as there would be less people in the theatre which means less distractions. The cost would be greater than a normal commercial cinema as the quality is greater and less populated.  The cinema would be easy to access just like any other as the audience would have to check the times and know where the cinema is. The pace of the film would be suitable for a picture house showing as it is very slow but a weakness is that as we have a small demographic not many people might be interested in watching the film. I feel that we wouldn't have many technical restrictions in showing our film in a picture house cinema although converting some shots onto the screen might be overwhelming to the audience as we have extreme close ups of characters.


The second option for my film would streaming as the audience only have to sign up to a website, or possibly pay or membership, and then are given a wide selection of films to choose from and can watch from their computer, laptop or tablet. The cost would be relatively cheap or even free depending on which website as the consumer only has to access the film on their computers. This also means that the film will be widely accessible to lots of audiences as this creates the chance for more people to view my film. The pace of my film might be a weakness with streaming as it might be slow for the audience and they can switch it off. But a strength is that they can pause the film whenever and can return to it later. There wouldn't be much technical restrictions with streaming as it is a simple case of uploading the film onto a website which can be done as the movie is stored on an Imovie document. The film would also be aesthetically pleasing as the shots wouldn't be overwhelming on a small screen in comparison to the picture house cinema. But a weakness is that again the pace could be too slow to be aesthetically pleasing.

Sunday 31 March 2013

Media OTS Evaluation Question 2

  How does your media product represent particular social groups?


I feel that our opening title sequence represents males aged 18 and older with the noir genre it self as it has elements of crime and tension which attracts males but in our ots they are aggressive but caring as the main character loves the femme fatale. The setting is urban and busy streets which represents males as this is a location where they would live and visit, the objects such as the gun represents violence, crime and death, the cigarettes represent violence also and a sense of security within themselves. The male character is represented as a stereotypical male who shows dominance over the female and is commanding as he doesn't ask to put the coat on her he just places it onto her instead, the dialogue also backs this up as he has the most power in any situation which is typical in a film noir. The music is also slow and tense this represents both females and males as it shows that something is bound to happen and that it is a mysterious.

The genre represents the female character as romantic and this will attract a female audience as they like to see a developed relationship between two characters. The setting represents females the same as males as it is an interesting living location. The objects in the OTS such as the lipstick, cigarettes and mirror represent the female as an ordinary stereotypical as she likes to apply make up, check her appearance, but she also comes off vulnerable. The character is represented as being helpless as she needs protecting from danger as the scene where the male gives his coat shows, she also needs protecting against the attacker and when she is revealed to be dead, her posture shows she is lying in a helpless position.