In our film we use certain stereotypes that are commonly known such as the idea of men dominating women and overpowering them physically and the typical hostage stereotype of being tied up and gagged whilst either being tortured or taunted. Our film develops these ideas however by having the women fight back which subverts the stereotype and shows the men as weak. The stereotype of a typical hostage situation indicates the genre of our film as a thriller or horror; however we wish to turn this stereotype on its head. Other stereotypes at work in our film include men seeing women as objects and acting superior to them and men being stronger and larger in stature than women. These stereotypes are largely put to use in the first 2 minutes of our film. The conventions we used all help to establish what type of film we have produced as they create an eerie feel and build up tension. As the girls are tied up to chairs in our film and kept in a house you can see that we have took inspiration from films such as ‘The Strangers’ in which a couple are held hostage in their own home and tortured until death by strangers. The opening sequence is different to ours as it is introduced with a black background for a title sequence with writing over the top and speech; in ours the writing is placed onto moving images. The music is eerie at the beginning and so is ours but ours is not as intense and haunting. The music helps to identify the tone of the film and the genre.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our film is centred around three males and two females, the males are students and the girls probably are as well. The males are shown as typical students at first until we develop deeper knowledge of their personalities. The social group represented here is that of young men and women and how they act around each other. The men are shown as stereotypical; dominant over women, sarcastic, outgoing. They also act like stereotypical students until we find out that they share a dark secret. The fact that we have used young characters links in with our target audience as the larger part of our target audience is for young adults and this age group likes to feel like they can compare themselves with the characters and feel connected to them.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I don’t believe that our film would be produced by a major Hollywood studio as it has more of an independent film feel and would probably have a cult following instead of a wide fan base; this is something major studios don’t like to take on as they feel it will not bring them as much money and won’t make a huge profit. Our film is similar to some lesser known films produced by more independent studios however it does take inspiration from wider known horror films. A film company such as ‘Momentum Pictures’ would be the kind of studio I would expect to distribute our film and failing this maybe a more independent company such as ‘Warp films’; these companies are smaller and not as famous without being completely unknown and this would help the film gain more attention. I believe that our film would have a limited release in cinemas and if it did well then this release may be extended, it would probably then be shown on TV and uploaded onto the internet. The factor of it being released on DVD would probably depend on how well it did in the cinemas. Our film doesn’t offer much chance for merchandising but it does feature such products as an i-pod and a flip camera so there could be a chance for companies to promote their products.
Our media product is aimed mostly at people interested in the horror and thriller genre and is probably more aimed at a younger audience, particularly people between the ages of 15 and 30. This doesn’t mean that people not in these categories would not enjoy the film; however they may be more interested in seeing a film like this. Men may like the film as it focuses on the three male leads and their lives and emotions as they try to keep their secret under wraps. Males may find comparisons between the characters and themselves and this would make them more interested in the film. The same would be probable for the female characters and our female audience. The fact that the characters are young and talk in a manner which reflects this links to the fact that our target audience is young as it helps them understand and identify with the characters and their lifestyles. ‘The Strangers’ is similar to our product as it focuses on the same genre and themes; it’s target audience is very similar to ours and also starts at 15 and is for people interested in the horror/thriller genre. From our audience research we learned that people in our target audience prefer horror films that have an in-depth storyline and keep the audience in suspense rather than the usual blood and guts stereotype. The classification criteria most appropriate for our film is a certificate 15 as it does not contain themes as strong as those used in an 18 but it includes distressing images that are too advanced for a pre-teen audience. It doesn’t include much swearing but does involve the threat of violence, explaining why it is a 15. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by using characters of a similar situation, such as students. We played on the idea of student life and since our audience would probably consist of quite a large number of students this would help them feel a part of the film. The plot of the film would attract our audience as it would have them on the edge of their seats and keep them wondering what may happen next. As the film went on and the plot intensified the audience would become more interested in the events as they would want to see what happens to the characters. The audience gets to see things from the side of both the aggressive and dominant role of the male kidnappers and the role of the helpless female hostages. This helps them understand what is going on more and what the characters are thinking and feeling. Through the point of view of the males the audience gets to see what the women have to suffer and how the males treat them, they can also see up close the women’s reactions in the attic scene as it was shot in a confined space which allowed us to capture the characters emotions well. Placing the camera over the shoulder of the dominant male character we can see both the hostages reaction to him and what he does to provoke this reaction; this creates an intense scene for the audience to witness. The props used on the female hostages, such as duct tape and rope to gag and bind them means the audiences sympathy lies with them; this is a generic convention in these types of films.
What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing the product?
I have learnt that the large cameras we used aren’t that easy to manoeuvre around; especially in tight spaces but they produce clear images and have a lot of good effects that help add depth to your film and come in handy if you need to get a closer shot or adjust the lighting in a dark setting. Panning and tracking was not easy as the tri-pod was stiff, but clear shots were fine. We faced many difficulties in our project and the cast and setting changed multiple times, but we eventually settled on a reliable cast and used a set we knew we could always rely on to be available. We were running out of time to film due to these problems but we filmed in one day and put other days aside to film alterations. We used larger cameras than we had previously used and they helped our film be clearer as they were more high-tech and allowed us to use effects such as pulling focus. For the editing we used final cut express; this allowed us to cut our shots down to the right size and make sure they ran smoothly together, it also allowed us to keep coming back to our project to make alterations. We used the dissolve effect to show a period of time had passed and this helped us cut down our film without it looking jumpy. We used LiveType to create our title sequence so we could use distorted text and for our soundtrack we used the colleges copyright free music as they gave our film the right feel.
Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
For our preliminary task we created a simple script, used no detailed effects, didn’t have a title sequence and didn’t have a set suited to the plot; for our film we were able to go more in depth and create a professional script and treatments, making it feel more authentic. We had helpful aids such as a shooting script and a storyboard to stick to that gave our film direction. We researched into similar types of films and gained an idea of what would be good to include in our film in order to attract our target audience. We took inspiration from the characters, outfits and plots of other films and incorporated these factors into our film. We used a few different types of shots in our film that improved our skills; we mastered shots that at the beginning of our project we couldn’t do such as pulling focus. I feel as if I am able to use the equipment more efficiently and master shots that at first I couldn’t do, so I feel more confident with the camera. I feel that our finished project is an improvement on our preliminary task as we have used more complicated shots and themes; this proves that our skills have progressed and that with the amount of research we did we have made our product quite professional and to the best of our current skills.
No comments:
Post a Comment