Tuesday, 5 April 2011

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?



Question 3
When choosing our films final distributers, we decided to go with New Line Cinema mainly because they had produced many films with similar plots to 'The Visitor' and many films that we were inspired by. These films included titles such as 'Final Destination' and 'Se7en' which have clearly been huge hits all around the world. As New Line Cinema have worked with films like these which have such a high global status and are looked upon as great thrillers, we believe that the company would treat our film with the same respect and therefore be reliable and helpful in what they believed could make our final product the best it could be.

However, there is one problem with choosing New Line Cinema as our production company that could greatly influence whether or not they would be able to accept our film. Unfortunately, the films that New Line Cinema have been in charge of distributing have all been high maintenance American films which have all had an extremely high economic budget. Even though this is the case, by going with New Line Cinema we do feel that it will be the best company and do the most for our film especially as the company focuses with films that are primarily within the thriller genre.

GENERAL INSTITUTION INFORMATION:
Once our film is finally produced, we aim for it to go to all major cinemas such as 'ODEON' and 'VUE' along with more local cinemas including names such as 'Clapham Picture House'.
After being distributed in the cinema, hope that it will be available to purchase in all major technology stores such as HMV, Virgin Media Stores and online distributers such as Amazon.co.uk and Play.com.

Monday, 4 April 2011

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

Question Four
From lots of discussion, 'S.S.S.N' have decided that our film titled 'The Visitor' will be aimed at a target audience of 15-24 year olds.
Firstly, from deciding that the BBFC rating would be that of a fifteen, we then had to do research consideration into how often our film would be viewed and why the certificate of a fifteen was appropriate.
From the research conducted, we found many interesting facts that greatly backed up why we chose the genre of a thriller and why a rating of fifteen would benefit our film company.
According to the UK Film Council, the most common BBFC rating issued in 2009 was a 15. Immediately, this helped our decision into who our prioritised target audience would be. However, a further fact issued the claim that the largest profit came from 12A films in the same year. Even though this was the case, due to previous research done into BBFC ratings and the reasons behind the certificate given, there was no way that the content of our film could be based at an audience of 12 and possibly younger. In addition to this, when choosing between the certificate of a 15 and an 18 the following facts concluded our decision: 'Only 49 films rated at 18 were released in 2009 compared to 223 films with a BBFC rating of 15' and 'Only 2 of the certificate 18 films broke the 10 million profit margin.'
Clearly, taking into consideration both the genre of our film and who it should be aimed at, 'The Visitor' was given a rating of 15.

Our next step was choosing the dedicated target audience age range. Knowing that the film was going to be given a certificate of 15, it was hard deciding how many years up the age gap should prioritise to. Due to this uncertainty, it was clear that research had to be done in order to assure that we were not missing out on vital viewers. From research into audiences in 2009, the same company, UK Film Council, stated that 7-34 year olds are the most common age group to go to the cinema. In relation to the UK population, this makes up 40% which converts to 60% of the cinema audiences. Understandingly, from this point, we had to relate this fact to our BBFC rating concluding with the statement that '40% of 15-24 year olds go to the cinema at least once a month.'

Overall
From the research conducted into film viewers, S.S.S.N decided to aim our target audience at 15-24 year olds. However, as previously spoken about 40% of this age group going to the cinema at least once a month, we had to consider the other members of the population in our audience range who were not paying to view our film. Interestingly, we found that one in three 15-24 year olds regularly or occasionally download or watch a film online. This allows us to create a positive assumption that a high percentage of our target audience will find our film appealing to watch.

Sunday, 3 April 2011

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?

Question 5
When looking at the final product of our film titled 'The Visitor' I strongly believe that we thoroughly attracted our target in many ways. This was done through addressing both male and females and being directly related to those aged 15-24.
Firstly, from the immediate beginning of our two minutes, we presented on screen both genders. When we were constructing the editing element of our film, we made sure this was able to happen by showing a consistent use of jump shots. Furthermore, as soon as the mother character comes on screen in a dark black coat and black boots, it immediately gives off the impression that danger and corruption is involved within the film. This idea would most likely attract a male audience, focussing on the more abrupt and violent nature. Secondly, when the jump shot reveals a teenager tucking a child into bed, played by a female character, girls may instantly relate to this as it expresses a caring and concerned maternal role.

The fact that the au pair herself is displayed as a mid-teenager, being aged 17, this age is roughly in the middle of our target audience being 15-24. We wanted to use an actress of this age so that it directly related to our audience and made them feel more involved. Furthermore, we wanted to make the story of the film seem more realistic and therefore more scary in the eyes of our audience.

As previously spoken about in question one, we used the enigma code which was identified by Roland Barthes. By using the enigma code, it meant that our audience were constantly finding themselves asking questions which we hoped would keep them engaged and find themselves as almost being part of the film in trying to understand the true happenings.



Questions Asked:
When choosing what questions to ask members of my target audience I did not want them to feel limited to express what they got from the film. Due to this, I did not set certain questions, but simply asked them to give a short statement in regards to a general interpretation of what was perceived.

Saturday, 2 April 2011

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

Question 6
AUDIO RESPONSE
From studying media, and especially in relation to the construction that I produced, there were many new media technologies that I came across.
These included:
- Apple Macs (and the software included)
- Tripods
- Digital Video Camera
- Digital Camera
Familiar Technology
Some of the above equipment I was familiar with using. This was primarily the digital camera and the digital video camera. However, until I had to construct 'The Visitor' myself, I did not realise the importance of holding a digital video camera steady. Therefore with this particular piece of technology, I do feel I learnt and progressed a lot. Furthermore, this taught me that the quality of a film can only reach the highest level if a clear picture is portrayed through a steady and direct camera.
New Technology
When initially using the Apple Mac to construct and edit the film, there was an awful lot I had to learn in order to meet certain demands. At home, my family and I have only ever used Windows PCs so therefore the software and layout was a lot for me to get used to. In regards to this, it meant that I had to quickly adapt to the computer services and differences and I am now able to say that I can thoroughly operate and use the software which is presented on Apple Mac computers. The software which as an individual I now feel comfortable using includes:
- iMovie HD
- 'Grab' (in addition to print screen on Windows)
Secondly, along with learning how to use a digital video camera effectively, I learnt that using a tripod improved the quality of panning shots and even still close ups. It made the effect of the shot look a lot smoother which resulted in a more professional capture on screen. Along with this, the tripod's built in spirit monitor allowed us to make sure that every shot we used it for, was in direct proportion to what would be seen on screen.
Alternative Technologies and Software Used:
In addition to the major technologies that used to construct 'The Visitor', I also learnt a lot about certain websites and software that was located on the computers.
In order for our editing to be successful, we had to make sure that as a group we were happy with the font that the titling would be displayed in.
This led to us using sites such as www.DaFont.com where we were able to see what type of font best suited our film and the storyline.
I also learnt how to use SlideShare as a conversion site which allowed me to upload many pieces of my typed and powerpoint project work.
Another major website that has helped me to both create and upload videos is Youtube. Before starting my media project, I did not have a Youtube account so was unaware of the software that was installed within it. By uploading videos, it meant that I was able to take screen grabs to produce work of a higher quality.
Overall
Overall, from producing the opening two minutes of a film, I feel that my knowledge surrounding the different media technologies has greatly improved alongside learning the true nature of many social network sites and ways in which I was able to convert my work into an appropriate format.

Friday, 1 April 2011

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

Preliminary Task
Question 7
From being able to construct a preliminary task, as a group, I feel that we learnt an awful lot. We had to consider many factors when creating the task, and I do honestly believe that 'The Visitor' was a large improvement to the techniques we gathered previously.
These improvements were not just necessarily things such as holding the camera steady, but also the shots we decided to apply and the cutting duration. We also learnt that planning in advance was a major thing we had to consider when creating our final task as when filming, we were wasted a lot of time due to not knowing which actors we would use and who was available.

Picture Two
Firstly, we improved greatly on organising the order of the shots and choosing what shots were appropriate at what time. As the picture to the left shows, it was clear that the actors had their back to the screen on more than one occasion which was not done on purpose. In order to improve this for our final product, we made sure that it was directly obvious to the audience when a character was meant to have their back to the screen (shown through picture 2) and changed the angle of the shot to side view when a character was approaching an object (picture 3).
            Picture Three
Secondly, I learnt that the use of appropriate mise en scene really added a more realistic effect to what was produced on screen. In our preliminary task, we did not give ourselves as a group a lot of time to plan where the filming would be shot. Due to this, we lacked appropriate mise en scene, for example note pads and filing cabinets which are commonly seen in a doctors office. This then made the location seem completely unrealistic to the audience. However, from learning from this mistake, we made sure that we got the setting completely right for our final product. This was done by using a lot of mise en scene in the context of things such as; pens, books, a bed, posters, music stereo, and pictures all around a room, to portray an 'arty'and teenage room to our target audience. I believe this worked successfully you began to understand what sort of characteristics our antagonist had and what sort of feelings she would later express throughout the film.
Use of Mise en Scene
Lack of Mise en Scene


















Along with many of the techniques that we approved on, I also feel that I learnt a great lot about using other technologies and software.  In the preliminary task, we did not have to add music or any titles to the piece of construction so when helping with the editing element of our final product, I gathered great information on how to apply different fonts and add specific pieces of sound.  Overall, doing the preliminary task was extremely successful as it allowed not only myself, but also the other members of my group to see what we individually needed to improve on to make sure that 'The Visitor' would be constructed in a successful way.