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

Although the preliminary task was much shorter than the final task there were still similar problems faced. Especially since everyone was getting to grips with the advanced equipment and not many people had used Final Cut Pro before this was a big change and evidently quite difficult. However I felt this was a very useful task as you always learn from your mistakes.

For the preliminary task we did not use a tripod and when filming would just film from handheld; this meant many of our shots were unsteady and not clear. Comparing the preliminary task to our final product there is a clear improvement in terms on the steadiness of the camera as we used a tripod for almost all of our shots which was very effective. We also learnt how to use different camera techniques like a cantered shot, low and high angle shot and an over-the-shoudler shot which was used in our final product.




Another technique in which we improved was the quality of the framing shots. During the preliminary task at some points the the characters were not central in the frames or did not fit entirely into the frame. However in our final product there is a reason behind every positioning in each shot. For example for the close up of the football we made sure Isaacs body could be seen in the background running towards the ball.

In our preliminary task we were unhappy with the quality of the material appropriate for the film. We felt there were points in which objects were seen in the shot which we unintentional. For example to your right you can see two images of doors one blue with the sign saying 'Mr Whites's Office' and the other white with a yellow sign. We did not take into consideration when filming that this would effect the final product. However it was clear when we finished it that one was blue and one was white. The benefit of this however was that we learnt when creating a film you need to plan everything in the shot.





Looking back at the preliminary task and comparing it to the final product, focussing on this element I can say I am pleased with our progress. In our final product every thing in the scene has a purpose and this time props were put in intentionally. Another improvement from our preliminary task is the flow of the product. In our preliminary task our reverse shots didn't flow well as we were getting to grips with the editing software. However for our final product we improved dramatically as the editing is much smother.

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

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

We chose 'Revolver Entertainment' to be the distributers for our media product, because they are a low budget british distributing company who have distributed films from the same genre as ours including; 'iLL Manors', 'Kidulthood' and 'Adulthood.'They would be a very good distributer for our film as they are a reliable and reputable company that would support and promote our film fully, as even though our film is a British independent film it still appeals to a large audience and films of the same genre have done very successfully in the past. 'Revolver Entertainment' have also made many more films in the youth culture genre like 'Offender,' 'Sket' and 'Shank.' All these films have similarities to ours in the setting, characters and usually the plo outline. This is why we would feel very comfortable relying on 'Revolver Entertainment' to distribute our film.

Also while doing my research I found out that many British Youth Culture films have been produced by 'Revolver Entertainment' therefore our film would be perfect for their distribution company. As our film is set in Britain and has British themes we didn't need to worry about the big American companies like 'Universal' and 'Columba' as most Americans wouldn't understand the context of out film as it portrays the struggle of an everyday teenager in Britain.

In terms of money and marketing most of the money for our film would probably come from the National Lottery Film Council, who are known to support British independent films. The money from the National Lottery Film Council would most probably go towards props (for example guns, fake blood, football kits) and settings (for example if were to film in a football stadium.) We wouldn't need to spend much apart from that as it is a low budget British film and set mostly in an urban environment, they won't be many special effects and any A-list actors saving them a lot of money to spend. Once our film is produced we would then distribute it in cinemas and then distribute it in shops like HMV and online retailers like Amazon and iTunes.

Evaluation Questions

Original we had many more questions with a variety of answers however unfortunately when trying to download and edit on final cut we discovered some of the files were corrupt, this explains why there are only a few questions and answers.

However what we found from the questions and answers we had is that the Youth Culture genre is fairly popular amongst people from our age group 16-17 year olds. After this audience research I believe that 15-18 year olds will be our strongest and most potent target audience. Many people gave the answer that the reason they like the Youth Culture so much is because they feel they can relate to it or at least know people who can.

Through our audience research we have concluded that we have succesfully shown the juxtaposition between the two sets of characters. The motivation and dedication Isaac shows in his training is portrayed through the use of editing, mise en scene and contrast with the gang. We were er and his personaliyvery happy with the final product and that most pepole understood how the Pele quote relates to the main character and his personality.

Audience Feedback Questions

Audience Feedback Questions

1) What aspects of this film do you find appealing?

2) How do you think social class is represented in our opening?

3) How do think British Youth is represented? Are these representations believable?

4) Through the use of football do you think we portrayed the main character as hard working or motivated?

5) Is this the kind of film you would choose to watch?  In a cinema? On DVD? On television?  On line?

6) What magazines, newspapers, websites do you frequently look at?  Radio stations?  

7) What films do you usually see in a cinema?

8) Do you use social networking (Twitter, Facebook) to communicate about the film you are watching?

9) Do you follow films such as on Facebook or Twitter?

10) How often do you watch British Youth Culture films?

11) What conventions from British Youth Culture genre, do you find in our film?

How did you attract your target audience?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Target Audience: 

Our target audience is 15 - 25 year old males.
The rating of our film would be a 15.

Target Audience Profile:

Name: Christopher Blackwell Age: 22 years old. Profile: Christopher Blackwell is a 22 year old male who works as a waiter. Many people do not realise that in fact he is extremely motivated and his job as a waiter is simply helping him pay his university fees. At university he is studying Geography and has a keen eye for the subject. Not only does he love Geography but he cares deeply for the environment and global warming. Christopher does not drive and his means of transport is a bicycle. He is a typical 'lad' and enjoys going out with his mates to the pub. His hobbies include playing football, going to parties, watching films and listening to music. The radio stations Christopher listens to are Choice FM, KISS FM and Radio 1Xtra. He is currently single and his longest relationship laster roughly 7-9 months. Christopher lives in a flat with another male roommate. His favourite films include; Football Factory, Green Street, Die Hard, Project X, Transporter, Kdulthood and American Pie e.g. Action, Comedy and British Youth culture. His favourite music includes; Dance, Hip-Hop, Reggae and Dub-Step. His favourite artists include; Giggs, Wiz Khalifa, Drake, Skrillex and Damien Marley.


In today's society young people are often regarded as far from carefree, freewheeling consumers of popular marketing imagination, and it is vital for marketers to dispel these myths. What many do not realise is that this generation’s fears and aspirations of the world are arguably more prominent than those of their parents or grandparents. This in many ways relates to our film as our main character (Isaac King) has extremely prominent aspirations and is incredibly motivated to achieving them. We felt after doing some target audience research our film was much more relatable to the youth of today as any campaign looking to target young people should be prepared to engage with these issues – and to do so in a tone of voice that reflects young people's view of themselves as well-informed and discerning.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?

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

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

Our media product can be seen to have used and developed many conventions of real media products from the British Youth Culture genre. However there are many ways in which we have questioned and challenged the forms of this genre.

Firstly here is an example where we try to imitate the conventions of a British Youth Culture genre. Commonly in British Youth Culture films they are set in a London estate where everything looks quite run down and in need of repair. We found the perfect place to film our opening two minutes as we felt it had everything that portrayed the working class.

The mise en scene and props used effectively portray the gang from a working class background and are similarly used in films such as Kidulthood and SHANK.  However in this scene you are introduced to the two main gang members.  We filmed the two characters from a slight low angle to convey their power, but the characters begin sitting behind bars which we felt would represent them being in a ‘mental prison’ even in their own territory.

We also tried to compare and contrast the techniques and conventions of films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood. Here we have a snap shot of a scene from Kidulthood. As you can see it is set in an estate the characters are wearing caps and baggy hoodies. If you compare the image below with the image above you can see the similarity between the set and the characters. We hope we have effectively imitated some of the conventions of these types of films.

 However we also tried to challenge and question the typical forms and conventions of the British Youth Culture genre. In our opening two minutes we contrasted a hard working, dedicated young man with an aggressive, openly violent gang. Usually in the British Youth Culture genre you find a character that is aggressive, violent and rude. However we have chosen to show the juxtaposition between the gang and the dedicated young man.  We hopefully conveyed the message that if you are dedicated you can achieve something in your life no matter what background you come from. To portray this we contrasted each shot of the young man with the exact same shot of the gang.

Over-the-shoulder shot of gang members.

Over-the-shoulder shot of footballer






Opening Title Sequence

Typical Youth Culture Conventions

Kidulthood

My Product

I felt the use of simple white font on a plain black background was very effective in portraying the calmness and simplicity of the opening two minutes. It also gives the audience a chance to reflect and focus on the titles and the sounds in the background and not be distracted by any thing else on the screen. The transitions of the texts are smooth an overlapping, they fade in and out. This creates a sense of mystery and anxiety. The sound in the background also creates a sense of mystery as the audience are oblivious to why he is breathing heavily. The simple white font on a black background was also used by Kidulthood which gave us even more of a reason to use this technique. 

Trainspotting

My Product

Another convention which we developed was the use of a low angle shot of the characters feet when running. I have always thought this is an effective shot in portraying the building of tension and action. It is an effective way of making the audience feel as if they are in the midst of it all. It additionally suggests the pace of the scene and is the perfect way to get the audiences attention. 

Transpotting 

My Product

The technique of overlapping titles ontop of the action was used in films such as Trainspotting. The reason behind this is so the audience are never distracted from the action or have to take there eyes away. However in Trainspotting there would be pauses when titles would come up, we felt this was a clever technique but we also thought as ours was very fast paced even the slightest pauses may loose the audiences attention. Usually in our product the titles would be placed over a relatively slow moving shot therefore the audience are given a chance to absorb the information given. 

How are social classes being represented in our opening two minutes?

Youth

Dedicated, hardworking, focused, aspirational. dream-chaser, disciplined, deferred




Deviant, aggressive, mischievous, immediate gratification (they want it now)
Male

Focussed

Aggressive males (stereotypical), disrespectful, sexist, inappropriate

Age 

Youth depicted as troublesome, violent but dedicated to their work.

Working Class

Chaotic lives, underdeveloped. gang involvement

The social class the character Isaac (the football player) is represented as focussed, dedicated and hardworking. We wanted portray this through the use of mise en scene, especially through the use of props and costume. The fact he is wearing his team shirt, with is tucked in and has his socks pulled up suggests he is committed and prepared. The cones in the background (which are part of the mise en scene) portrays he   is training in various exercises which also shows his range of ability and shows he is talented. We have set in in a football pitch therefore it conveys a professional aspect to his play.

In comparison the opposite group of people are portrayed as aggressive, deviant and mischievous. We effectively showed this through the comparison of shots. For example we used an over-the-shoulder shot of Isaac (the football player) and contrasted it with an over-the-shoulder shot of three members of the gang. We used this technique to compare their stances and attitudes. Another way in which we showed aggressiveness was the scene when the gang were play-fighting each other. Their attitude towards play fighting was more aggressive and threatening than how normal people would play fight. Finally the appearance of the gang members added to the way we wanted them to be represented. The way Isaac's kit is used to represent the kind of person he is (dedicated, hardworking) also is used for the gang. They are the perfect stereotype of the youth in London e.g. hoods up, trousers low, phones playing out loud etc.