How did you attract/address your audience?

I addressed my audience by using a standard young child as the protagonist; the other main character is a teenager, which also reaches out to the audience. I used a black family to reach out to other black families, instead of using a stereotypical white family. The first shot that’s is shown in my film is a shot of Serena dancing; this may attract a black audience straight away and be a focus for young children. There is little speech in my film; however, I have used a child’s voice over which could attract my audience because it is not expectable.
My film is about something that could happen in everyday life, it isn’t over the top or unrealistic. It is just set in a normal environment and it explores an ordinary perspective. This attracts my audience especially if they are attracted to the genre of my film, which is social realism.
The mise en scene I used, is a typical girly room because it is pink with a small bed, connoting that Serena is in her own room just being a typical 7 year old. In Tyler’s room the mise en scene is also a pinky girly room however there is a bigger bed and Tyler is doing revision, which shows she is an older sister straight away. Serena is wearing normal clothes, basic pink top and jeans.

The music I used is from Garageband, I chose a reggae beat to tie in with the themes of the typical black family, and it also related to the way she was dancing and it shows she is generally a happy child. I think this also addresses audiences I am trying to attract through my piece.


Comments

1) “The expressions on the actors faces were emotive, maybe a bit of sadder music at the end, very good storyline, it was enjoyable.”
2) “I thought the production was very well put together and there was plenty of dialogue which can be hard to do.”
3) “I think it was really good maybe you should add sad music at the end because of the storyline.”
4) “It is a very good piece, the child’s voice over really stands outs”
5) “ I think its good but it needs more variety of shots”

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learned from the progression from it to the full task?

I think the most important thing I have learned that the pre production and planning are very big measurements to producing a good piece. I think that if our main production was as planned as the preliminary task then we have achieved a product of more value. I also have learned that writing scripts and giving specific roles would have also helped. We attempted this project 3 times; the first 2 attempts of this product resulted in work that was not up to a reasonable standard. I think teamwork has been a big issue in the group, we started with 4 members, by the end of the main task there was only 2 members left which resulted in the work was not being divided equally. For the preliminary task we planned our schedule and worked suitably as a team, it would have been more produced if this attitude were carried out to end. I also learned how to create the right lighting and camera angles to suit what is actually happening in the film, instead of plain standard camera shots I learned to use a variety. I think that the project would have been more enjoyable and worthwhile if the teamwork was improved.
In the preliminary task we didn’t film enough footage to work with, so it made it more difficult to work with if there was bad acting or something wrong with the clips. Another problem that encountered during the preliminary task was that when we were filming we didn’t not leave enough time in between shots; this also created difficulties when editing. To improve this when filming the main task I filmed each shot around 3 times so if there were problems that weren’t obvious while filming I would be able to use a different shot, I also made sure I left 5 seconds between each shot while filming to make it easier when editing. From doing the preliminary task I think this enabled us to make mistakes so we could them improve and work on problems we had to help make a good main project.

Screen Shots

This shot shows Tyler running down the stairs after discovering Serena has left, this is a high angle shots which cannotes that Tyler in inferior at this moment in time. It shows she is powerless.


This shot was a point of view shot when Serena was running. I included this shot because the protagonist was Serena. And this shot shows the scene from her perspective instead of just shots of her.


This shot is where Serena was upset after being shouted at. I included a close up to show her emotions and so the audience can see how she feels. This shot also shows her innocence, the way she is looking into the camera.




These are examples of where i have used freeze frames to introduce the characters. This is a catchy way to draw the audiences attention.


This is a screen-grab of the time-line, as you can see i have added a soundtrack to the product, and also towards the middle of the time-line this is where I have used fast cut editing to show time going back fast. At the beginning and end of time-line you can see that I have added credits, which included the title and the important names of the media product.

Sherique Brown

Evaluation Of Main Task

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

Our opening is in the genre of a drama film. It compares with other drama films as it is a short attention-grabbing opening; this is ideal as it makes you ponder upon what is going to happen next. Our influence was Working Title films, as they use the same objective as we did. In dramas there is much focus on a limited amount of people as they struggle to solve the main issue; we used two characters to imitate this particular technique. Our opening has a basic structure; this consists of the in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Our film is based on a family dispute and there is confliction between the two sisters.
Tamika Hylton

The opening of the media product includes a young child as the main protagonist which is not normally the case with real media products. A child voice over is also quite strange in comparison to average social realism films. The opening of the film is set in Manchester in a average, and has a normal average young child wearing normal clothes which is the same as most social realism films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood by Noel Clarke. It has a linear structure so it is easy to follow and the audience don't get confused or uninterested. It also follows the conventions of social realism by Ken Loach who produced films such as Route Irish and Looking for Eric.
Sherique Brown



Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience of my media project are teenagers and young children. My media product is mainly shown from the young girls point of view which will therefore reach out to other young girls and young children. The other big role is played by her teenage sister, this will appeal to a older audience. My media product also has the potential to appeal to a wider audience as people with children could also be interested in how a young girl thinks when she is angry. Some children may not like this kind of genre because it portrays a more angry side to children and there are images of the older sister shouting. I think this genre is mainly appealing to a niche audience, an audience which enjoys watching social realism films.
Sherique Brown

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

From producing this piece of work, we have developed my ability of using the given technologies (Final Cut Pro). We have used different techniques to enhance the quality of the opening of the film. We showed various different effect in our piece to make it more exciting instead of a straight boring clip. To ensure we did this, and keep the audience engaged we used freeze frames. We used the freeze frame to introduce the characters so the audience would know straight away who the people are. We also included fast cuts when Serena is throwing items in her room during her tantrum this technique is used into films lick ‘snatch’ by Guy Richie. I also used the effect of slow motion, i used this in a small clip when Serena is upset while Tyler is shouting, this was to emphasis that Serena was upset. I also uses shots which jump in small time periods, this is a well used technique which is used in Shameless a tv drama which is based in Manchester. I also included a voice over in my media product, however i used a voice over of a child which is kind of unusual compared to the average social realism film. i also learned how to used an audio transition, i used this when the scene switched from one to another and the sound was different, this gave the sound an even level so the difference in sound was unnoticeable.
Sherique Brown

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learned from the progression from it to the full task?

I think the most important thing I have learned that the pre production and planning are very big measurements to producing a good piece. I think that if our main production was as planned as the preliminary task then we have achieved a product of more value. I also have learned that writing scripts and giving specific roles would have also helped. We attempted this project 3 times; the first 2 attempts of this product resulted in work that was not up to a reasonable standard. I think teamwork has been a big issue in the group, we started with 4 members, by the end of the main task there was only 2 members left which resulted in the work was not being divided equally. For the preliminary task we planned our schedule and worked suitably as a team, it would have been more produced if this attitude were carried out to end. I also learned how to create the right lighting and camera angles to suit what is actually happening in the film, instead of plain standard camera shots I learned to use a variety. I think that the project would have been more enjoyable and worthwhile if the teamwork was improved.

Sherique Brown

Main Task

For the main task we are going to do a storyline about a 7 year old girl who runs away from home because she is fed up of being shouted at. She then writes a letter and decides she wants to leave. This then causes her older sister to feel guilty and goes ona mission to go and find her before its too late.

In the opening of my film we will use various shots to emphasise when the young girl is alone and the fear she is feeling through the use of close ups etc. We will also include establishing shots to show her surroundings.

Sherique Brown

Evaluation of Preliminary

We decided to make our film opening about a young girl who is interested about the music industry but is the surprised about the expectations, which leads her to quit. The rest of film would have been about the way she tries pursue her dreams of becoming a singer without having to live upto society's expectations.
Tamika Hylton

Preliminary Task

Bhaji On The Beach

Drama/social issues-

Bhaji on the beach is a British/Asian film set in Birmingham.
It tells a story of a British Asian woman who is having problems with her religion and family. There is a tracking shot of shops around; there is an English butcher which sells pork, next to the Asian shop which is contradicting as the Asian shop sells halal goods.
We hear normal western non-diegetic music added to the scene, which is followed by Asian music (sound mixing).

By Tamika Hylton

Analysis Of The Opening Sequence To Unsual Suspects

We looked at the opening scene to ‘Unusual suspects’, which is an action/ thriller film and was screened in 1995. There were many techniques used in this film divided into camerawork, editing, mise en scene and sound.
The director uses several cinematic techniques and embeds a whole range of other techniques to create a dark atmosphere. The opening foreshadows the sinister mood and atmosphere throughout the entirety of the movie.
A wide panning shot across a body of water is accompanied by sinister music; created to enhance the visual experience. This style of music is used in many scenes to emphasize and to sustain the eerie atmosphere.
Excellent choice of camera angles achieved added symbolism by showing the full sight of the landscape, a harbourside dock through a sustained extreme long shot.
The composer deliberately uses a whole range of camera angles to contribute to the overall sense of mystery, sustained through the film.
High angle camera shots are used in the opening sequence to convey the powerless and ultimately more inferior person or 'victim'. These constantly changing camera angles create an element.

By Tamika Hylton

Foundation Portfolio Evaluation

Foundation Portfolio evaluation

Preliminary Task

Name: Tamika Hylton & Sherique Brown

What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

In the beginning we had to master how to work with the cameras, which was complicated but we figured how to work with our equipment in the end; which made it easier for us to continue with our task.
The camera had to be adjusted to certain shots by using the tripod to hold firm, for a smooth and unshaken shot.
We found the editing software difficult to operate in the begging but with the help of a teacher, we were able to co-operate and finish the editing of our sequence in time to get it on our blog , even though we had trouble with our time code, we found another solution which worked out.

In the filming and editing of your project, what worked well and what could have been improved?

What worked well:
*The contribution of our fellow group members to act, operate the camera and direct.
*the contributing of ideas from each one of the group members

Improvement:
* The time taken to record our sequence was extremely long and could have been done in an appropriate time.
* We started off with 4 members but with disagreements one member left the group (could have been improved by discussing and agreeing to every idea brought to the table).

Give a detailed, specific example of how you have used a shot/ reverse shot combination in your film

Shot reverse shots were used during the conversation between the two characters sat at the table. One character was talking and the camera was concentrated on them, when the other character starts talking the camera smoothly moved across, concentrating on that character.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you achieved match cuts during the editing process

Eye line match was used in the conversation between the two characters, to see something at the point of view of the other character. The shot of a character walking in through the door was taken from different angles, to see a clear image of the gesture’s of the character.

How did you make sure that you didn’t break the 180 degree rule? Or if you broke it, what have you learnt from this?


It was made sure that when a shot was taken at a certain angle of a scene that the camera did not pass over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, which is known as crossing the line. We made sure to not cross the line as this will be breaking the 180 rule, the characters always stayed in their original places (left/right). If we were to change a shot, the new shot, from the opposite side, this is known as a reverse angle. There were certain shots were the 180 rule was broken but was recovered when they were noticed, for our aim of a more professional sequence.