Becky's Evaluation

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


Conventions we used



In our thriller film, Nostalgia, we used many different conventions including the binary opposition convention. This was shown between the two main characters - Dominic Christoper (the antagonist) and Detective Vince Clarke (the protagonist) mainly through Mise-

En-Scene as the costumes the characters wore were typical outfits that the audience would imagine them in. Dominic wore a hoodie and tracksuit bottoms which automatically made the audience think that he was of a lower class and could possibly be causing trouble as he wore his hood up.
However, Vince on the other hand was seen to be wearing a suit which gave the impression that he had a good job and was of a higher class than Christopher.
The binary opposition is also used in the film The Dark Knight where Batman plays the protagonist and the Joker is the antagonist. However in this film, the Mise-En-Scene aspect is the opposite to our thriller film as the costumes Batman and Joker are to be seen wearing tell the opposite of what their character is like. As Batman is dressed in a dark, black bat outfit, the audience may think of him to be the antagonist at the start of the film. Whereas the Joker is dressed as a clown but with a slightly scary aspect to it as his face is made to look more evil-like.

Credits from our film, Nostalgia

Credits from the film Se7en

We also used a credit sequence in our film. The enabled our film to look more professional as well as being able to include the names of actors, distribution companies, directors etc. It also helped create tension at the beginning as it helped the scene to build up and put the different shots together smoothly. The use of a credit sequence was also used in the film Se7en. The credits in this film were very impressive and were placed over disturbing images which gets the audience prepared for what is to come as well as giving them an idea on what the film is about and helping set the mood for the rest of the film.



Conventions we developed



The use of time was a convention that we developed for effect. We did this through repeatedly adding flashbacks into scenes. These we flashbacks of the Detectives daughter, Alice. This made the audience question as to whether Alice was alive or not as certain things would trigger off these flashbacks. For example when Vince looks at the teddy bear on the dashboard, it triggers a flashback as the teddy reminds him of Alice. The next time this happens is when the Detective runs past a mother with her daughter which leads to him loosing the antagonist as he remembers Alice talking to him in the forest. This helps the audience to empathise towards Vince as well as making them nervous as they don't want him to loose Dominic.

The film Memento 's use of time is an excellent way of developing time as the beginning scene is actually the ending. This way, it keeps the audience thinking about what is going to happen in the lead up to it and why it has happened. There are similarities between this film and our film, Nostalgia as we also make our audience question when and were different scenes in our film are set.


Another convention we developed was that we had an aspect of drama in our opening scenes. As well as being a thriller film, we also focused the film around the relationship the Detective had with his daughter. For the audience, these scenes became easy to relate to and therefore the audience were able to empathise with the Detective. This is shown especially when Vince has a flashback as it helps the audience to understand what he is going through more and how his daughter meant the world to him as he still keeps her teddies in his car which always remind him of her.

Using a drama aspect in a thriller film was also shown in the film I Am Legend  which focuses on the relationship the main character, Robert has with his dog. This relationship is shown up until Robert has to kill his dog, which is emotional for both the audience and Robert. This helps the audience to identify and to relate to what kind of character Robert is and what sort of life he leads.




Conventions we challenged

Establishing shots was the convention our thriller film challenged. We chose not to use an establishing shot as we felt that for the audience, the feeling of not knowing where abouts the forest was helped to not only create tension but also made them feel uncomfortable as the Detective didn't know where Dominic had disappeared to which creates a feeling of nervousness.

The film Seeking Justice also chose not to use an establishing shot as they wanted to leave the location unknown and make the audience focus on the female character and what is about to happen. This is exactly what our film, Nostalgia focuses on as it makes the audience guess where abouts the scene is set - whether it is a place close to the audience or familiar to them.

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

How does your media product represent particular social groups? on Prezi

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


http://nostalgia2012.wikispaces.com/


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

His name is Tom, he is 22 years old and is currently studying law. He lives with his two friends in Cambridge and goes to the cinema once a month. He owns a large collection of DVDs including the CSI box set as he enjoys watching thriller/detective crime films and programmes.

Tom is a part time manager at a restaurant outside of Cambridge and is currently saving up for his own house in London for when he starts his job as a lawyer there. As he is saving for a house, he tends not to go out as much as he used to so regularly streams films from the internet. He enjoys cooking and reading and in his spare time helps coach rugby. Tom doesn't like watching soaps or going clubbing - he would rather stay in and watch a film.

Tom may seem to not be very wealthy when actually he has recently inherited a large sum of money that he has put towards buying a house in London. He has always been very careful with money and would rather save it than spend it on a night out in the pub or going out for a meal. However, he has always taken a big interest into films. His favourite film is The Silence of the Lambs as it is a thriller which includes a detective. Films like this are what made Tom want to be a law student in the first place. Tom has many beliefs and values. Independence, making a difference, success, loyalty and optimism are a few of his values. He believes that failure is good and  that hard work and perseverance are rewarded. Tom is his own person and doesn't follow the crowd and doesn't always do what his friends do.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

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

Blogger

Before the process of constructing our product, I had never used Blogger before. I found it fairly easy to use however it took me a while to remember how to add youtube videos and prezi presentations into the post as I always forgot to use the 'Edit HTML' option.









YouTube

 

Even though I had used YouTube before to watch music videos and other clips, I had never uploaded a video or added annotations to it. After learning how to upload a video and annotate it, I found it quite easy to do.









Prezi 

  I had never heard of Prezi before this process. I found it very confusing and complicated to use at the start, however after I discovered how to do the basics it became clear how to make a presentation. I created a Prezi as part of my evaluation of how our product represents particular social groups. I found this an effective and modern way to present my work.

Final Cut Express  

This was my first time using Final Cut Express. I found it very difficult and complicated to use at the beginning but after playing around with it and with some help I understood how it works and learnt the basics of how to edit our film.









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

Here is our edited preliminary task. We added annotations which shows our use of camera shots as well as props and editing. This helped us improve our opening to Nostalgia as it allowed us to prepare and practise editing and filming.

Jack's Evaluation

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

Conventions We Used
Our thriller film, Nostalgia, conforms to various conventions of thriller films in multiple ways. We used the binary opposition convention which presents a fundamental difference between the antagonist and protagonist, Detective Vince Clarke and Dominic Christopher. This is shown through the Mise-En-Scene, especially the outfits which create a contrast in class such as the Detective's suit to the hooded jumper and trackies of Dominic.



Binary opposition is used in The Dark Knight between (good character) Batman and the (evil character) Joker. However the use of Mise-En-Scene but more specifically the costumes contrasts to how we use it in Nostalgia. Batman's costume mimics that of a bat which has negative connotations despite him being the protagonist but the costumes still mirrors a knight armour whereas Jokers' costume mimics that of a clown which has more positive connotations. However the messy style of make up presents him as a more terrifying figure.






Another convention we used was a credit sequence (as shown on the left). This enabled us to do various things. Firstly, it broke up the action going on, allowing us to change shot type smoothly (helped by the cross fade) and, as a result of this, create a more professional looking opening. Secondly, the credits allow us to introduce the name of the actors, director, distribution companies involved and who the music was produced by.

The convention of the use of credit sequence is used in the opening of Se7en. The credits here are used to set a threatening and mysterious tone/ mood straight from the start of the film. The credits use a strong motif of writing and typewriting throughout the opening which therefore hints to the audience that this motif will be carried throughout the rest of the film.






Conventions We Developed
We developed the thriller convention of the use of time for effect. We developed this convention by playing around with flashbacks from the detectives point of view of significant times which he spent with his daughter, Alice Clarke. This allowed the audience to be kept ambiguous to whether Alice Clarke is still alive or if something happened to her as well as evoking empathy towards the Detective.





The film 'Memento' also uses the convention of time and has developed it in a way that, if the audience would have watched the film all the way through, they would realise that the opening sequence is in fact the end of the film. This developed use of time, like ours, makes the audience ambiguous of time period when the film is set.




Another convention which we developed was that we had a drama genre entwined within our opening. By not basing in solely as a thriller we showed clearly a strong father and daughter relationship which makes the audience feel empathy towards both of the characters. The signs of this strong relationship between the detective and his daughter are the two flashbacks, where he is remembering specific and sentimental memories. Another sign is the teddy bear on his dashboard of the car. By him keeping the teddy bear close to him shows how he still is not able to let her go and further encourages the audiences empathy.

This convention of using a drama genre in a thriller film is shown in the film I am Legend. The relationship between the main character 'Robert Neville' and his dog is a strong convention shown throughout the film and by the time where he has to kill the dog, the audience feel strong empathy for both 'Robert' and the dog. The convention also helps to build a character profile and enables the audience to become more connected and attached to the characters in the film.


Conventions We Challenged
The thriller convention we challenged in Nostalgia was that of establishing shots. Throughout our thriller opening we never used a establishing shot as we wanted to create an aura of mystery to where the opening of Nostalgia was specifically set. We only reveal that the opening is set in a forest, but an exact geographical location remains ambiguous. As a result of this, the audience feel uncomfortable as the opening location, for all they know, could be close to where they live.

The film 'Seeking Justice' challenges this same convention as the main opening action sequence (as shown in the screen shot to the left) uses a tracking/pan shot to follow the female character. Not once in this sequence do they use an establishing shot as they wish to focus specifically on the action taking place and leave the exact location unknown. Consequently, like Nostalgia, this makes the audience feel uncomfortable as they are kept ambiguous to the location of the sequence therefore meaning that it could be closer to where they live or a personal location to them.

We challenged the convention of us of low key lighting such as black and white lighting by not using it at all. Furthermore we also set our opening pursuit sequence in the daytime which differs from many other thriller films. By not using low key lighting (and instead washing out the colour and increasing the brightness) allows us to portray a more positive relationship between the detective and his daughter.  Also by setting the pursuit sequence within the day time removes ambiguity to the appearance of the 'bad character' and opens up the audience's vision to the action.

This challenged convention is also used in 'Seeking Justice' as the protagonist (as seen on the left) is being chased and escaping from the pursuers however in the daytime which differs from the majority of other thrillers which tend to use the night time for chase scenes. The film also does not use low key lighting in this scene which removes the ambiguity to the action going on and the audience have completely clear vision of what is going on.


Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups
I focused on the four key social groups which are shown in Nostalgia these include: Gender, Age, Class and Race. I talked about each social group in detail, supporting each point I made with screen shots from Nostalgia.

How Nostalgia represents particular social groups on Prezi

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 

 http://nostalgia2012.wikispaces.com/ - Answer on link 

From prior research of our target audience,  I believe it would be most appropriate to have a smaller distribution company based in England (for example Studio Canal UK) to distribute Nostalgia as we are a strictly British film, focused on a niche market.

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?  

Judging from our research into ideal audience members I discovered that our target audience would be between the ages of 15 - 25. However to be more specific, the exact age of the ideal audience member for our film would be a 24 year old male called Lawrence as he would have experienced and gained greater knowledge through secondary school, 6th form and University. In addition Lawrence is attending university, to study law as our Thriller film is heavily law related and it contains a specific lexical field of law such as "suspect", "criminal" Case "167". Therefore his 

parents both earn a good salary as they paid for his entry fees. 

Lawrence is a regular cinema goer (twice a week) but with a small, neat collection of older classic thriller films on DVD such as Silence Of The Lambs. He prefers art-house films over mainstream as he is interested in film making himself. His preferred genre of films is Thriller and Horror but with a psychological sub-genre. He can also stomach strong gore in films. He shares a flat with two of his friends in the older districts of Cambridge and they regularly bike into the city centre for drinks in various bars and pubs.

Lawrence plays various instruments but his strengths are in guitar and piano playing. He regularly attends local indie band gigs playing at the corn exchange. He has a particular interest in movie soundtracks and has brought many soundtracks from films like Starwars to the likes of Slumdog Millionaire. Along with his interest in law, Lawrence has an acute knowledge of maths and enjoys crime-based thriller series like the CSI range and Numb3rs which have a strong mathematical theme.

 James Patterson is his favourite author as he enjoys the fast pace and build up of suspense in his books. He enjoys reading in his spare time and preferably on the common in Cambridge as he has a small trace of claustrophobia. Lawrence is a strong Labour party follower and disregards the conservative views strongly. Due to his interest in maths and, although not being as knowledgeable in, science as well he is an atheist despite his friends being Christian.  

Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience? 

The annotations on our thriller opening of Nostalgia show various ways we drew in the audiences attention by the use of ambient sounds, lighting, false leads, camera techniques, editing techniques and sound track. 

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


Blogger
Actually using and posting information on a blog was a new experience, therefore using the webpage 'Blogger' required some getting use to. However after a lesson or two I managed to get to grips with it rather well and found out just how easy it was to post, upload, annotate information on and, personally, I felt it really enabled my group to work well as a team; either that be by orginising our work or sharing our individual views for the rest of us to commentate on and voice their opinion. Blogger also enabled me to present our work in a neat and cohesive way as well as allowing me to tag myself in my work which helped me to keep track of my individual posts and the other people in my group.                                                                              

YouTube

 Although already a familiar program to me, one of which I have used over many years, I still was inexperienced at using YouTube's uploading service. This enabled my group and I to upload our work for example our final piece, our storyboard animatic and (as shown on the right) our preliminary. Once it was up, my group and I were able to receive comments from anyone who viewed to make notes of how to improve. It also enabled us to get the embed code to put it on our blog allowing me to commentate on it. YouTube also allowed us to create clouds for us to create an along side commentary of what was going; this was particularly useful when commentating on our preliminary video as we could make notes on specific shots at the time or ways to improve on certain shots which we took into careful consideration whilst filming our final thriller opening.

Final Cut Express

As I had never used a Mac before, Final Cut Express took a long time to get use to due to the vast amount of things you can do on it. However after a few lessons I was able to get to grips with using it and before I knew it I was shortening clips, adding in intra-diegetic sounds, slowing down clip speeds, changing pitch levels etc. Final Cut Express was what we used to edit our preliminary task, storyboard animatic and our final thriller opening. The reasons for using Final Cut Express were: it allowed us to upload the videos we shot on the HD cameras to it; import downloaded soundtracks, ambient sounds and intra-diegetic sounds; edit the shots colour, sound, pitch levels, length, speed etc; once completed, we were able to upload our videos to YouTube and Blogger.

Prezi

Although already having prior experience with Prezi, the more in depth usage allowed me to create more sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing presentations. I used Prezi early on in my blog http://nfgsgemini.blogspot.com/2011/11/conventions-of-thriller-film.html to present various thriller conventions, some of which we used in our thriller opening (Nostalgia).

Tripod

 Even though for our preliminary video we used a tripod, we were not use to filming with it and therefore we had to practice a bit to get to grips with filming well executed panning and establishing shots.  The tripod also enabled us to film steady shots avoiding any shaking (which would have lost us marks). These improvements were clearly noticeable once we came to edit our video and helped dramatically to create a professional looking thriller opening. 






Panasonic HDC-SD9

We used this camera to film our thriller opening as it enabled us to upload our films in HD, for the best video detail and quality. Having prior experience of using a video camera, I was already able to use the functions such as: zoom in and out, start and pause recording, importing videos onto the Apple Macs and take photos. 

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

Below is our preliminary video where we have added annotations into how we improved in our final opening. This includes steadiness of camera, use of camera shots and positioning, editing, character tropes and stereotypes, use of props and location. Since our preliminary task we worked a lot better in our groups, each putting forward our individual ideas and working with each others strengths and weaknesses. This enabled us to each have a equal amount of input into the producing as well as editing of Nostalgia. Our progress up until the filming of Nostalgia was tracked with meetings (which can be seen on the blog and in the right) which helped us review our work and plan for the following lesson.

Further research was done into thriller conventions and the effect they have on the audience. Conventions such as: protagonist vs antagonist, POV shots, establishing shots, pursuits etc. Since our preliminary my camera skills have improved due to practice in using the cameras as well as practice in performing the various shots like panning, establishing shot, POV shots.