Finished

jamie hammond 3067

media evaluation blog finished

Technology *Question 6

when thinking back on the past year and what i have learnt in the course there are many things that i could talk about. The most important things i have learnt is about the media Technology, as without it the film wouldn't have been created. The apple macs and imovie hd are two of the most important aspects of technology that i have learnt to use. Although i will admit sometimes i struggled with the apple macs as they seemed to enjoy scaring me with messages like your project cannot be opened and then freezing when i was trying to save my work. But the macs were a love/hate relationship as sometimes when they weren't working but when they were they were very easy and enjoyable to use. The technology was very easy to get to grips with and once i had fully got to grips with the software it was like i had always known how to use it. Of course the other things i have learnt which is very important is the use of the cameras. When thinking back to the begging of the year and just looking blankly at the screen wondering how i was going to use the new technology its strange to think how much i have learnt without even realising it. This is a list of other things i have learnt:

• How to record and upload film footage



• How to order and arrange clips



• How to split clips



• How convert footage into a movie



• How to attach sound to the footage



• How to use the imovie effects



• How to create filming techniques using software

The things that i have learnt have helped me create my project and i hope be able to use this new knowledge in the future.

Attracting the audience- *Question 5

When looking to attract the audience you have to try and include cultural references that they can relate to. This means that from the clothes to to place characters live must be able to relate to audience members. When creating the character of Matt Fox we had to make him a character that most young men could relate to. The style of clothing was one of the key points to relating to the audience, jeans and a casual top is a relaxed layed back look and a style that would be worn by many young men. The setting for the characters house is also important. The setting we chose for the house had to be believable for the audience, so we chose a family home which contrasted with the character of Matt as he is shown to be distant and not family orientated. Other ways to attract the audience is creating a simple story line but has excitement that will keep the audience interested. The setting characters and simple but effective story line combine to draw in the audience.

Audience *Question 4

When looking at the different types of audience that is associated to a particular genre, there is usually to many to group into one category. However if i was to stereotype the audience that would be interested in an action adventure genre it would be young men ,ranging from 15 and upwards. As this is such a wide audience the film had to be suitable to as much of the audience as possible which meant that it had to have enough action and excitement to attract viewers but also had to be suitable for a 15 rating. The film had to contain the codes and conventions to which people know to be involved in action films including, guns, explosions, fighting and possibly some romance. When looking for what an audience wants from and action film you usually find its a simple but effective narrative (The following using Todorov's narrative theory). The creation of a simple plot is not as easy as it sounds as it has to be simple for the audience to understand but still draw the audiences attention and also trying to use the main codes and conventions of an action film so it pleases regular action film viewers.

media distribution *Question 3

When thinking about the type of company that would distribute my production i believe a large commercial company would be interested in distributing The Following. The reason i believe this is due to the massive success that big commercial action films have had in the past. This is down to the wide audience it attracts. The production is very mainstream and will easily fit in with other action films, and appeal to its large audience which mainly consists of men aged 15 and above. The fact that the films genre has a big appeal will mean it will need a big commercial well known company to distribute it. The potential of making money from such a popular genre will draw the big distributors in to try and make as much money as possible. once a big distributor has the film it will be promoted as much possible to achieve commercial success and make the maximum profit. The company would most likely be American as they usually specialise in distributing mainstream big blockbuster hits. The company would most likely use mass advertising trying to draw in as much customers as possible with the use of viral advertising on Internet websites, big billboards near highly populated roads and using other forms of media such as television radio and even newspapers. The distributor would draw customers by using the films strengths by playing on the genre and how it relates to the audience. They would also use the cast of the film as well known actors can draw in new customers just because they feature in the film or can bring in the regular customers out of loyalty to an actor because they have enjoyed there previous films.

THE FOLLOWING

This is the final version of the 3minute opening to the film The Following, the process to come up with the finished production was difficult at times but over all it was very enjoyable to make. I hope you enjoy watching it.

what i have learnt *Question 7

This is a video of me explaining what i feel i have learnt in the G321 coursework and how i feel i have progressed from the beginning of the project to the end.

representation *Question 2

When creating ideas our film and choosing how to represent characters we had to think about stereotyping and social representation. We decided that we would try to stick with the codes and conventions of an action, rather than try challenge them. So to try and comply with the genre. We had to choose stereotypes and social representing that suited the action genre. The character of Matt Fox played by Steve Widger was chosen as a stereotype as in action films as a young man who is often a rogue.








Steve was given the role as he was the best suited stereotype of a typical young man that didn't play by the rules. When selecting stereotypes we also had to think about the clothes of the characters that matched that stereotype. The conclusion that was decided with the character of Matt Fox is that the outfit would be baggy jeans with a casual top, he would also have spikey hair. This image of the character shows social representation by giving an indication of the characters social background and lifestyle which is in contrast with the place he is living.Other than using stereotypes to cast characters representation theory's were also used. With the character of Emma played by Georgia Windsor, was decided using the theory of Laura Mulvey. The theory states that in a film the character of a women can be one of two things, either the Madonna which is a innocent character and is pure and untouched, or can be the whore which is a character that is not innocent and pure.The character of Emma is a Madonna as she is innocent,naive and scared. This theory influenced the decision of giving the role to Georgia as she has blond hair which is a signifier of the the Madonna this also relate back to social representation as you see the dominance of Matt in the relationship between him and Emma.





The character of the assassin is was cast as the typical villain, the costume was a black suite and carried a gun as a weapon which is a signifier for power. This was the easiest character to choose as the villain is stereotypically mysterious and threatening and can be represented in black, with no emotion.

Evaluation conventions* Question 1

This is the second blog i have created which is a follow up to my media g321 coursework planning and organisation. However this blog is the evaluation of my project and will contain images and clips of my film opening and analysing how i gt to the finishing stages and evaluating what i like about my film and things that i could have changed, also taking into account feedback i have received and how i have taken the feedback into consideration to help my film but also how i have made my own decisions which don't effect my own creativity.

First section of my evaluation is in the form of a video which shows the areas in which we filmed, why we chose them and the ways in which they relate to the codes and conventions of our genre.