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

In comparison to the process we went through as a group for the preliminary task I feel that this production was far more eye opening and extensive for me. I think this is most obviously because I made the video on my own, putting all managing and creative responsibility on me. However I am pleased with the progress I have made and I enjoyed the creative control I had over my production. Time management and organising logistics were the main difficulties I faced as this was my one person project. I feel in the planning stage of the task I took to much time thinking over the look and creative side of the film, meaning the actual logistical decisions for the filming were left until very late on the preparation stage. Although there was a brief stage of planning in the preliminary task, what we had in mind was straight forward so we did not consider story boards. This is something I got to do with the main task, I found this very effective when bringing together all my initial ideas.
Through doing a genre piece in comparison to making a video from a brief I feel this made me keener to work on the film as I was able to work in a genre which I personally find interesting. Researching the genre was also some thing which I found helpful meaning my film will hopefully resemble real films. I also revised to research we had doe to make the preliminary task to aid my work. This was viewing videos that explained shooting rules such as the 180 degree rule and the shot reverse shot. Although some were not applicable to my project it still refreshed my memory and added to the possible vary in shots for the sequence.
Because I was able to make a sequence in a genre I like I think this personal interest made me more aware of what was a good decision and also what was not as I was already familiar to the genre through personal awareness , meaning I could use typical conventions in my own production effectively. As I am generally happy with what I have managed to achieve I think my target audience had been met.
The main thing I have learnt through doing a more extensive production is that time management is everything. while I still coped with the deadline well I feel it would have been more beneficial for me if I had took more time on filming as I would have had more shots to work with which may have added to the effectiveness of the overall production. On reflection if I were to do a project such as this again I would have considered additional filming sessions to obtain a optimum amount of different shots to work with.

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

At the beginning of the project I needed to do some research into the forms and conventions in different genres of films, this is where you tube became useful for viewing small clips of the genre films I wanted. I have also used the website to upload and stream my film opening and audience response on my blogger account. Although I have used the website to search for videos before, I have never had to deal with the upload side of the site.
To film my production I used a mini DV camcorder. Although I have never had to film every shot myself before as I am used to group work I have however used the cameras in previous projects for film studies. This experience meant I could use my time limit affectively as I did not need to learn the basics of the camera before filming. The most challenging part of the filming was the fact I worked alone, this meant I had to direct and film at the same time which is something I am not custom to. However I feel this has made me more aware and confident using the DV cameras and I can know understand that even simple cameras can prove to be testing.
When editing the shots I had filmed into a final production I used Premier Pro. This is another technology which I am familiar with through film studies. Again this independence away from the group has allowed me to explore the programme in more detail than I was used to. For this project the main thing I have learnt about the software is changing sound levels and cutting sound out of shots to add to others. When filming the sequence the weather conditions were not as good as I had hoped, meaning when playing the shots back the sound of the wind had been picked up very loudly over the initial shots of the two boys playing in the field. At the planning stage of the project I had intended to use a sound track which would compliment the almost montage of shots however when editing I released the sound of the wind had been picked up too greatly to even lessen the sound for the soundtrack. This is when I decided to completely reconsider sound at all for the beginning of the sequence so I changed all the individual levels for each clip. On reflection I feel this added to the feel of the almost dream like equilibrium as the boys played in their juvenile naivety. How ever the dialogue for the second half was important in the audiences understanding of the narrative. I decided to bring in the diegetic sound at the introduction of the title page. The sudden change in sound and appearance on screen was something which I found to be extremely effective, snapping the boys out of their complacency. This is where I had to experiment and further my knowledge of the software; I thought the point in which the sound should come in when the title did. To do this I had to take the sound clip from another clip of the sequence I had recorded and put this onto a different level on the time line, this is something I’d never had to do before.
For the majority of my project I have been using blogger.com which is something completely new to me; however after some guidance and the site easy to use layout I have been able to manage by blog accordingly.

5.How did you attract/address your audience?

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

My audience will be of C1-C2 on the Jincars scale, aged 18 onwards maybe ended at the late middle age group as the content of the genre may prove too explicit and challenging for a much older audience, just as it would for a younger audience. My audience I assume will be aspirers as the images of the working class and their troubles provoke ambition to better yourself. I think they will also be individuals or non-conformists as the genre is not typically mainstream. This will also target my film at more film literate audiences as they will go and seek more serious and realism based films instead of generic mainstream genres. Although I imagine the audience not to be of a working class area or occupation, I feel there is a possibility that they would come from this sort of background as these events and situations of the film will evoke emotion and as I said possibly creating a relation to the characters. The audience however I would imagine to be well educated and intellectual to have a preference for the social realist genre. I think my target audience would spend a lot of their free time watching films or reading a broad sheet newspaper, newspapers such as the guardian which includes a less mainstream section of reviews for film, art and literature. On the other end of the scale for my audience I think younger audiences may be interested in productions in this genre if they have an awareness of film or study film at a higher education level.

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

Due to the genre and themes of my production I believe that the companies that are most likely to be interested and appropriate in distribution and exhibition of my film are likely to be a more specialist independent British company which will appeal to and target a niche market audience. Because the production falls into such a specific target audience I feel that a conglomerate company would not distribute in ways which would convey the production effectively in line with the key theme. This is because they are more likely to try and attract a larger audience where they would most likely focus on the male friendship to give the film a happier and less shocking representation of today’s working class society to attain a commercial success. With this in mind I believe that a company such as Optimum Releasing would be a fitting distributor to my production. I came to this conclusion through their connection with the film “This Is England” as this was an important influence over my own production and its content.

I have targeted my film hypothetically at the distribution company Optimum Releasing because I believe they will give the connotations in their distribution scheme which will enable audiences to realize the content and narrative intended. A company such as Optimum Releasing will also work on attracting the genre’s typical and niche target audience ensuring the success of my production. The use of a company such as this will also enable me to retain creative control over the production as they are not likely to cut the film to ensure mainstream success and gross profit. This ultimately will mean my film will retain the imagery and integrity which are the foundations to the message it is trying to convey to a niche target audience who are likely to be receptive and appreciative of the themes and generic hard hitting conventions of the genre.

Distribution companies such as Optimum Releasing and also the independent film production companies have, in recent years, embraced the digital technological advances in the film industry. Therefore, as my production may not achieve mainstream success the distribution and exhibition of it will need to be managed in an innovative way through a variety of mediums to enhance the size of my potential audience to ensure commercial success. Films such as “This is not a Love Song” have found success through being developed, produced and exhibited using digital technology to increase the availability to its target audience and possibly to create a new audience. Also, the independent companies are considering using digital technology as a standard which will aid the development of the genres they deal with and this could be a positive impact upon my production’s distribution success.

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

My short opening sequence to the beginning of my film has a strong representation of a social group. Typical to the social realist genre I have tried to depict the working class and in particular the youth of this group. The representation I have tried to give is very similar to that of work by such directors as Ken Loach and Shane Meadows. The two main protagonists in the sequence are two early teens thrown into the struggles and surviving in the working class. The equilibrium stage of the sequence at the very beginning is shot in a country side area showing the young boys in a location out of their boundaries. They are off the urban setting of their estate ‘The Manor’ giving the sense that they are rule breaking or up to no good. However their presence does not create a dislike for the boys. We as an audience are made to empathize with the characters as they appear so juvenile and playful.

When firstly considering the two roles and casting them I chose to use two fifteen year old boys and decided to dress them in casual wear more specifically sports wear which is typical to this social group and more often associated with the stereotype that is the ‘chav’ and ‘asbo’ subculture; the signifiers such as track suit bottoms exemplify this. The choice of costume is one which I find stereotypical to the representations of the working class in today’s society. I also decided to use two boys who had a natural connection and rapport with one another in their real lives which I feel enabled them to give the film the character roles to convey the themes and representations associated to the social realist genre, this idea of poverty connecting families and friends to support each other through the hardship. More distinctively in my production, male friendship and their fight against working class difficulties.






Another representation within the sequence is that of a girl who is unconscious through an over dose of drugs in a tunnel. Although the character role is small her appearance in the sequence is key to understanding the boys’ involvement in the narrative. When dressing the female character I decided to carry on with the casual and simple costume design that is stereotypical to a council estate resident and also used make up to create an negative image of what the media shows us about drug abuse and its consequences. Her general stance in the tunnel was also considered to give a real and effective appearance to her role. My intention was to use graphic images to set the scene and give her role an impact, if only for the short duration of the sequence, to engage the audience and also create a sense of empathy for the boys. Her situation is one that is closely linked to the social realist genre whereby young people fall into poverty and hardship through either their personal need to satisfy a drug dependence or to sell drugs to support families and to ensure their well being. My intention therefore was to try to create a scene that depicted this desperation and also create a powerful impact upon the audience and to introduce the boys into the narrative of the completed film.

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

In what ways does your media production use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My aim was to produce a short sequence in the social realism genre. I feel that there was clear evidence of the typical film form and generic conventions of a real film of this genre. Firstly and most obviously were the content and character roles to convey these conventions. I chose to base the story line around the youth of the working classes, and in particular the abuse of recreational drugs in these areas. This is typical to the genre as most productions include content of this sort. We can see this in such films as Loache’s ‘My Name is Joe’. In the sequence we see the two main protagonists hit with the image of a girl they recognize over dosed, making them aware of the horrors of their neighborhood. Along with this content and disruption I tried to give the mise-en-scene a dull and recognizable feel which is evident in real productions. When considering the location of the sequence I chose a very contrasting setting to create an opposition for the following events. However I ensured this would be a realistic area to use so the field I filmed in was extremely near by a council estate to create a visual contrast without loosing the social realist approach. When filming the encounter with the girl I selected an old railway tunnel which proved to give the atmosphere and lighting that I had hoped would compliment the scene. The lighting and weather conditions on the day of filming also contributed to the look of the film. This was because the over cast conditions gave the shots a dull and dreary look which fits to the conventions of the social realist genre perfectly. For the sequence I made the decision not to use a non-diegetic soundtrack. I felt this would fit the genre better and it also allowed me to neaten out the continuity of the shots. By this I mean, the sound of the wind was picked up during certain shots and not in others, giving the compiled sequence burst of natural sound which made edits too clear. However this decision ultimately helped with the message and connotations of the film as there was no sound at all at the beginning. This was soon contrasted with the introduction of diegetic sound brought in with the title of the film. This sudden change in diegetics made an impact which proved effective; this brought the two boys out of their dream like equilibrium into the disruption of the narrative. Although the genre I set out to make the production in was social realism I feel there were aspects of other genres included. The most prominent apart from social realism would be a drama genre; I think this was evident through the early disruption and introduction of the girl. Although I wanted to settle my production firmly into the social realist genre the time scale did not allow sufficient time to film within the conventions which is typical to the genre. By this I mean using an uneventful opening to a film to set the scene and social roles within the film with the intention of grabbing the audiences’ attention.