Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? (G321)




 

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does our media product use, develop or challenge forms and convections of real media products? (G321)

The generic convections which feature in our film opening include the use of kids as protagonists. Also the film is focused around a group of kids just like in Unaccompanied Minors (2006) and The Goonies (1985). There is also a comedy role in our film, Chuck. Just like Chunk from The Goonies and Timothy ‘Beef’ Wellington, Chuck is on the receiving end on the majority of the groups banter.

Our film opening just like that of the Goonies (1985) introduces the main kid actors in our film opening. Its characters are just like those in Unaccompanied Minors (2006) with regards to their personalities

The generic convections which feature in our film opening are the use of kids as protagonists, a comedy role and that the film is focused around a group of kids. These are all generic convections of family films as these convections can be found in other family films such as Ice Age (2002) and Home Alone (1990). An example of a film which like ours has a group of kids as protagonists is The Goonies (1985) where a group of kids go off in search of treasure. An example of a family film with a comedy role in it is Shrek (2001) which features donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, who is Shrek’s clumsy best friend. An example of another film which is focused around a group of kids is Unaccompanied Minors (2006) which like our film is based around 5 kids (3 boys and 2 girls).

An example of how our work has been influenced by other family film is the aspects of our cast. It is  made up of 5 kids, 3 boys and 2 girls, just like in Unaccompanied Minors (2006). The roles of the characters are also the same, (reading from left to right) first we have the ‘nerd’ then we have the popular girl,the girl who enjoys winding her friends up, the group leader, and the unfit one.

Another way which or film opening has been influenced by another film is the use of the kids coming down a hill on their bikes. Just like in The Goonies (1985).

                                   

Final Cut (G321)

This is our final cut. It now features production company's logos titles and improved colour corrections to to the ones in rough cut 2 as the footage to our film now looks even more warmer and vibrant. An example of these improved colour corrections is that the sky in the shot which shows our actors running towards a tree looks more natural, rather than a big blue streak across the screen. The music also plays all the way through our film opening making it even more like other film openings in our genre.

In the end we had to remove the dialogue from our final cut. This is because we could not find away round the crackling wind other than to remove it completely. I tried rerecording our actors voices and we tried to layer them up over our footage but the non-diagetic sound was not in sync with our actors lips making it look tacky. This is why we came to a group decision to remove the dialogue completely, which I personally found frustrating as I feel that it would of been better if we had the dialogue but we couldn't because the rerecorded dialogue was not in sync with our actors lips.

Jelly Baby Activity (G321)

In groups we produced our own film openings using post it notes and jelly babys. We did this to broaden our knowledge of the ordereing of film titles.

 

The Differences Between Mainstream and Independet Film Openings (G321)

There are key differences between the openings to mainstream and independent films. For example the openings to mainstream films commonly feature the following things:

• Big name actors
• major genres
• Big budget/complexed openings

Where as the openings to independent films commonly feature the following things:

• Less well know actors
• Less expensive openings

An example of a mainsteam film opening featuring a big name actor is Disneys National Treasure (2004) the opening to this film features such as Nicolas Cage, who has also starred in Con Air (1997) and Lord of War (2005), and Justin Bartha, who has starred in Failure to Launch (2006) and The Hangover (2009). Actors like this would usually not be available to indpendent companies as their wage demands would blow their bidget out of the window.


An example of a major genre being used by a mainsteam company is Casiono Royale (2006). This is an action film which features Daniel Craig playing James Bond for the first time. In the opening sequence to this film we see a parcour chase which features gunshots, a protagonist, an antagonist and explosions. These are all generic convections of the action genre, a major genre. Stunts such as the ones which feature in this sequence would be very dificult for a independent to poduce due to their far inferior budgets.



An example of a big budget opening being used in a mainstream film is the opening scene from Fast Five (2011) the 5th film in the Fast and the Furious series. This film opening features a complexed stunt driving sequence featuring a Corvette, a Mustang and a Dodge; which are all very expensive cars, and a bus.

You would not see a independent company producing this opening sequence as it would be an expensive one to make, and an even more expensive one should something go wrong. i.e. One of the cars gets written off.

This opening sequence hopes to attract an audience by using jaw-dropping stunts to entertain them, something which this film can afford to do because of its budget of $125m.


An example of a independent film opening featuring a less known actor is Kidulthood (2006). This independent film was produced by Stealth Films and was made on an estimated bedget of £600,000. The majority of its cast was made up of teenagers.



An example of a small budget opening being used in a independent film is the opening scene from This is England (2006). It is made up of old video clips from the 1980's from things such as the news and top of the pops. This is because, unlike a Holywood production company which would have a budget of over £70m in most cases, This is England only had a budget of £1.5m so it didn't have much money to play around with so they couldnt produce an opening sequence the same as a film wiht a big budget.

How does a film opening attract an audience (G321)

Ways which a film opening attracts an audience include:

• Catching their attention straight away.
• Generic convections
• Targeting selected groups

Catching their attention straight away
It is important to grab the audiences attention straight away as doing this immediatley gets them into the film. If you fail to grab your audiences attention then they may struggle to get into and follow the film and therefore will not enjoy the media product. A good example of this is the opening to the film Zombieland (2009).


Generic convections
The use of generic convections is another thing which is used to attract an audience. Take the opening sequence to Live and Let Die (1973) for example, the generic convections we see and hear in this sequence inclued a gun, fire, high tmpo music and a skull symbolising death. These are all generic convections of the genre action. This shows that the target audience for this film are people who are fans of the action genre.



Targeting selected groups
Film openings from films such as Live and Let Die are targeting a large mainstream audience, one which is usually easily influenced by a film and just wants to be entertained, one which fits into the hyperdemic needle theory. These groups are most commonly targeted by big name production companies such as Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema by producing films which fit into major genres such as comedy and action.

On the other handmore specific, niche audiences can be targeted by production companies. However these 'niche' audiences are usually targeted by Independent production companies such as Film4 and Kojo Pictures. An example of an independent film opening is the opening of the film This is England (2006). The opening title sequence of this film specifically targets a british audience and even more specifically people interested in british history during the 1980's.

My Institutional Logo Design (G321)

This is my design of one of my groups possible logos. I have chosen to design it the way I have so that it has features of company's name and that we are a mainstream film production company. I have also chosen to keep it simple as this is, combined with how frequently it is seen, is what makes a logo well known. I have placed my logo on a green background so that it can be placed easily on top of other layers with the green background acting as a greenscreen.