Thursday, 13 May 2010
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Monday, 10 May 2010
EVALUATION
In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge codes and conventions of existing media products?
Our media product challenge the codes and conventions of existing media products as it uses very common conventions of the horror genre such as use of stereotypical characters for example the 'scream queen' played by Alex Webb, a blonde exposed characters, enforcing the method of the male gaze who is introduced as the first character on screen along with her boyfriend who are both sexually active, she gets killed off first then her boyfriend next as a form of the killers motive as he is jelous/wants to punish the couple for being sexually active. We have then used the final girl character, who survives until the end she is brunette/virgin type played by Beth Cooper such as Laurie Strode in Halloween. Isolated/Desolate locations were used 'The Moors' to show the very open proximity from civilisation and enforce the feeling of being watched, this is seen in ;wronf turn' and 'blair witch project'. We have also composed our own music, set out to interfere with you heartbeat and make you feel uncomfortable which are very commonly used in the horror genre such as 'Jaws' if we were to make the whole film we would then go on to use the music played over the killing, over every killing in the film as a form of repetition and to signify something terrible is going to happen. Whilst editing we also experimented with different stabbing sounds on the internet however found the most realistic was to use Hitchcocks idea in Physco to stab a melon numerous times and found this was the most realistic method.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main social group we wanted to represent was teenage/youth. We managed to to this by incorparting it in our mise en scene/props using themes such as sex alcohol and drug use. We then went on to dress our cast informally, casually and 'middle/lower class' this invloved wearing tanktops/jeans/hoodys which are all youth orientated, showing piercings and making some of the cast members being slightly more exposed. They also used slang in the dialogue to reinforce the teenage social group, often what is portrayed in the media today and as they has northern accents and set in west yorkshire, it was easier to portray them as working class/lower middle class teenagers due to the yorkshire accents not being particulary belivable or realistic of an upper class set of teenagers.
What kind of media insitution might distribute your media product and why?
As optimum releasing and warp films distribute low budget horror films using northern actors which they have done such as Donkey Punch, they would be ideal for distributing out product or someone who works with them if we were to make it into a full length film. The factors for this is that it is digitally made, a low budegt film, made with northern actors, set in northern england (avoiding the upper class stereotype whch warp films like. However our film would unlikley to achieve box office release and have cross over appeal to america as they are only aware of upper class london stereotypes which our film lacks.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
Our production contains strong alcohol use and violence therefore would be rated 15-24, due to these factors and many more, we discovered this whilst going through the BBFC guidelines where we discovered it involved the characteristics of a 15 rated film. The top age of 24 was used because of the themes and cats invloved they would not appeal to an older adult audience and the dialogue used may give them an oppostional reading. Both genders however would enjoy our film, due to the male gaze from the scream queen providing entertainemnt to watch her on screen, whilst the female gender would enjoy seeing the final girl surviving as a girl role model. Males typicaly enjoy the horror/gore element to the film and the teenage audience are stereotypically drawn the the horror/slasher genre when it is a teen film as comedy may be invloved and similar age group are invloved which they can relate to. We however did not branch out do different ethnicitys by using an all white british cast this could be improved if we were to make a full length feature film. Adults to not find these type of storylines intresting, they perfer sophisticated and more indpeth storyline intresting, therefore will have an oppostional reading. Younger peers that are under the age of 15, even though they will not be allowed to watch it in the cinema will want to watch this product as they strive to be like their peers who are 15-18 year olds.
What have you learnt about the technologies whilst constructing this media product?
At the beginning of this product i could use the basics of Imovie and vaguely edit a short film whilst on the pre lim task, however i has no knowledge of using music composing interent programmes such as garage band. Throughout this process my knowledge of this has grown through imovie, garageband and Livetype.
Our group learnt how to put blue filters to add to the horror genre and edit the killing scene by putting together quick shots and play music over it. I have learnt how to adjust setting on the cameras, use voice recorders and set up the boom mike and use it to our advantage which has benefited our product hugely, adjusting the focus.
Looking back to your pre-liminary task what do you feel you have learnt to your full final product?
Since the pre-lim task we have used far better and more advanced equipment such as the boom mike, which has helped greatley as throught the pre-lim task background noise/wind was a disruption and made the product less realistic however in our final product we were able to use the boom mike to our advantage blocking out all the background noise enabling our audience to concentrate on the editing and dialogue rather they anything else happening. We have edited every day applying our new knowledge to the film benefiting it as it looks more proffesional.
In the prelim task small mistakes such as lighting, clothing, background noise, dialogue, mise en scene etc mattered very little compared to the amount it does in the realy product and our group has taken much more consideration into these factors. Acting skills have been closely monitored due to our prelim task where the scream queen acting was very uncovincing and unable to be used, we have made sure it is realistic.The variety of shots has also improved as we have realised how important it is to achieve realism putting in poiint of view shots etc compared to the prelim where there was limited choice of shots.
Another factor is that in our pre-lim task we were unable to gain audience feedback giving us an unclear idea on if the audience had a preffered reading or not, so in the final product we were able to gain improvements form the comments made.
Our media product challenge the codes and conventions of existing media products as it uses very common conventions of the horror genre such as use of stereotypical characters for example the 'scream queen' played by Alex Webb, a blonde exposed characters, enforcing the method of the male gaze who is introduced as the first character on screen along with her boyfriend who are both sexually active, she gets killed off first then her boyfriend next as a form of the killers motive as he is jelous/wants to punish the couple for being sexually active. We have then used the final girl character, who survives until the end she is brunette/virgin type played by Beth Cooper such as Laurie Strode in Halloween. Isolated/Desolate locations were used 'The Moors' to show the very open proximity from civilisation and enforce the feeling of being watched, this is seen in ;wronf turn' and 'blair witch project'. We have also composed our own music, set out to interfere with you heartbeat and make you feel uncomfortable which are very commonly used in the horror genre such as 'Jaws' if we were to make the whole film we would then go on to use the music played over the killing, over every killing in the film as a form of repetition and to signify something terrible is going to happen. Whilst editing we also experimented with different stabbing sounds on the internet however found the most realistic was to use Hitchcocks idea in Physco to stab a melon numerous times and found this was the most realistic method.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main social group we wanted to represent was teenage/youth. We managed to to this by incorparting it in our mise en scene/props using themes such as sex alcohol and drug use. We then went on to dress our cast informally, casually and 'middle/lower class' this invloved wearing tanktops/jeans/hoodys which are all youth orientated, showing piercings and making some of the cast members being slightly more exposed. They also used slang in the dialogue to reinforce the teenage social group, often what is portrayed in the media today and as they has northern accents and set in west yorkshire, it was easier to portray them as working class/lower middle class teenagers due to the yorkshire accents not being particulary belivable or realistic of an upper class set of teenagers.
What kind of media insitution might distribute your media product and why?
As optimum releasing and warp films distribute low budget horror films using northern actors which they have done such as Donkey Punch, they would be ideal for distributing out product or someone who works with them if we were to make it into a full length film. The factors for this is that it is digitally made, a low budegt film, made with northern actors, set in northern england (avoiding the upper class stereotype whch warp films like. However our film would unlikley to achieve box office release and have cross over appeal to america as they are only aware of upper class london stereotypes which our film lacks.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
Our production contains strong alcohol use and violence therefore would be rated 15-24, due to these factors and many more, we discovered this whilst going through the BBFC guidelines where we discovered it involved the characteristics of a 15 rated film. The top age of 24 was used because of the themes and cats invloved they would not appeal to an older adult audience and the dialogue used may give them an oppostional reading. Both genders however would enjoy our film, due to the male gaze from the scream queen providing entertainemnt to watch her on screen, whilst the female gender would enjoy seeing the final girl surviving as a girl role model. Males typicaly enjoy the horror/gore element to the film and the teenage audience are stereotypically drawn the the horror/slasher genre when it is a teen film as comedy may be invloved and similar age group are invloved which they can relate to. We however did not branch out do different ethnicitys by using an all white british cast this could be improved if we were to make a full length feature film. Adults to not find these type of storylines intresting, they perfer sophisticated and more indpeth storyline intresting, therefore will have an oppostional reading. Younger peers that are under the age of 15, even though they will not be allowed to watch it in the cinema will want to watch this product as they strive to be like their peers who are 15-18 year olds.
What have you learnt about the technologies whilst constructing this media product?
At the beginning of this product i could use the basics of Imovie and vaguely edit a short film whilst on the pre lim task, however i has no knowledge of using music composing interent programmes such as garage band. Throughout this process my knowledge of this has grown through imovie, garageband and Livetype.
Our group learnt how to put blue filters to add to the horror genre and edit the killing scene by putting together quick shots and play music over it. I have learnt how to adjust setting on the cameras, use voice recorders and set up the boom mike and use it to our advantage which has benefited our product hugely, adjusting the focus.
Looking back to your pre-liminary task what do you feel you have learnt to your full final product?
Since the pre-lim task we have used far better and more advanced equipment such as the boom mike, which has helped greatley as throught the pre-lim task background noise/wind was a disruption and made the product less realistic however in our final product we were able to use the boom mike to our advantage blocking out all the background noise enabling our audience to concentrate on the editing and dialogue rather they anything else happening. We have edited every day applying our new knowledge to the film benefiting it as it looks more proffesional.
In the prelim task small mistakes such as lighting, clothing, background noise, dialogue, mise en scene etc mattered very little compared to the amount it does in the realy product and our group has taken much more consideration into these factors. Acting skills have been closely monitored due to our prelim task where the scream queen acting was very uncovincing and unable to be used, we have made sure it is realistic.The variety of shots has also improved as we have realised how important it is to achieve realism putting in poiint of view shots etc compared to the prelim where there was limited choice of shots.
Another factor is that in our pre-lim task we were unable to gain audience feedback giving us an unclear idea on if the audience had a preffered reading or not, so in the final product we were able to gain improvements form the comments made.
Genres openings and codes and coventions.
Horror films tend not to have a central portagonist, as the first person scene on screen is usualy first person killed therefore the main character can't been scene first as they usualy survive until the end.
However they do usualy keep the audience intrested in the first few minitues of the film and invlove a killing such as Scream and Friday 13th.
However they do usualy keep the audience intrested in the first few minitues of the film and invlove a killing such as Scream and Friday 13th.
The dis-equilibrium stage is usally instantly used to keep the audience in a state of tense/fear which anchors them into the film and makes them instantly intrested, creating an atmosphere straight away.
False Scares 'Cat scares' and the location is usaly set at night/ closed/abondaned locations.
General codes and conventions of film openings
SelfContained narrative sections are used commonly in film openings.
The Main character/Central Potagonist is introduced to be the first character on screen, showing their importance and reasoning in the film you are about to watch. This occurs in many films and is a very common factor e.g Anchorman and Hotfuzz.
Voice overs often come on over blank screens to give us a sense of exposition ( Divorcing Jack), they also use titles to give us a sense of expostion e.g what year, location or what time (Halloween, Clerks and Club Dread)
Creative ways to give exposition is used such as putting location on signs/posts and walls or a famous example would be napolen dynamite using food.
Many films do not follow a chronological order, e.g starting with end first then beginning then middle (Severance)
The Main character/Central Potagonist is introduced to be the first character on screen, showing their importance and reasoning in the film you are about to watch. This occurs in many films and is a very common factor e.g Anchorman and Hotfuzz.
Voice overs often come on over blank screens to give us a sense of exposition ( Divorcing Jack), they also use titles to give us a sense of expostion e.g what year, location or what time (Halloween, Clerks and Club Dread)
Creative ways to give exposition is used such as putting location on signs/posts and walls or a famous example would be napolen dynamite using food.
Genre research and interlectual texts
The music in a horror film has one common type which starts off slowly as a build up to usualy when a killing is taking place then quickens up the pace to interfere with your heartbeat to intensify the situation. In all horror films this music is used to show the dramatic effect in one way or another. This music is generaly repeated whenever a killing is taking place to ensure the audience is aware of what is happening and signifys to the audience there is fear/horror related to this piece of music. The most famous example of this is most probably Jaws (imdb)
The theme tune to Jaws.The location of most horror films are usualy romote and abandoned therefore enforcing the atmospheric feeling of being alone/being watched which makes it uncomfortable for the audience to be there as can be realistic in many situations. Scream (house), wrong turn (woods/abandoned road), sorority row (house party/outside middle of nowhere), The shining( in a house)Old school horror is set at night and in locations such as graveyards, woods, moors, beaches, holiday destinations, countryside where stormy/cold weather is frequent unless a comedy factor is introduced where a hot climate may occur such as club dread:
Blue or green Filters are often used over the lense to signfy cold blood/cold atmosphere and to singfy nightime. They are use in Cry Wolf and Bride of Chucky.
There are also many stereotypical characters and factors which a succesful horror film will incllude such as:
1) Scream Queen Blonde 'Male Gaze' Exposed.
2) Teenage Characters- use of slang and comedy.
3) Final girl Brunette Virgin Type,
4)Sex, drugs, music and alcohol use.
5)A weapon such as knife, saw or gun.
6)An unexposed killer.
7)Figure of authority
8)Boyfriend- jokey/immature.
9)False scares for example in Hell night (when window slams)
Teenagers/Adults are generaly aware of the codes and conventions of horror films, however a novelist Seth Graeme smith wrote a book how to survive a horror movie he outlines 7 things a character does to be destined to die they are:
Curiosity
Sex=having sex in care will ensure death
Unattractiveness= makes you a prime target to a killer.
Independance
Doubt
Maschismo
Irresponsibility.
THE KILLERS MOTIVE: In many horror films the killer is jelous/doesnt agree with a couple who is sexually active, so kills them as a form of punishment. In the SAW films, the killers motive is that every person they play games with has done something wrong in their life or that they should be ashamed of and punished them.
The killer also often has a point of view shot which is very commonly used in most horror films, shakey camera work is used to signfy someone is being watched and heavy breathing is usualy used to indicate someone is there, which again messes with yor heartbeat.The killers are generaly male and masked such as halloween and scream.
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