Race Against Time

Evaluation Question 7

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

Evaluation Question 6

Technology is an essential part of every sector in the project that me and my group has created there are so many avenues that have been used to make our film created to the best of our ability and available to the public ?


in the department of editing and manipulating footage that has been recorded we used the software Final cut express.

This application on the apple mac was used on every one of the films that was created by my group because it was the best way in which we could cut and add things to the film to produce an enjoyable piece of work, Final cut makes it very easy to arrange film to the preferred order and is very user friendly because the recording from a camera is very easily transferred to the software just by connecting the camera and the computer with a cord. for the film to be uploaded you simply go to the final cut icon at the top of the screen then select your preferred capture format through clicking on 'easy set-up  from the drop down selection.then simple go to file the capture to capture the film. there are many inviting effects and functions that are accessible by jut a few clicks.

 For example for our film to had a scene in which the main character has a vision of what was going to transpire in the coming days. in order to show this very effectively we distorted the screen to make it look as if something was wrong, by doing this we are putting the audience into the film and making them feel a certain way unconsciously and immediately after the audience is taken into the mind of the character because they also can see the vision of which he is having. to make it seem like a 'vision', we drained the colour from the clip using an effect tool on Final cut express.

 something which is also frequently used in the film is the fade effect applied using the pen tool. this is a great way of making sooth transitions from one scene to another, i feel it was used effectively because the transitions that where made throughout the film never looked out of place and even some times noticeably makes the film work that much more.Thrillers are very fast paced and high tempo films so this is a convention that we wanted to bring to our film also taking into account our target audience so editing through final cut express was the best way in which we could achieve this, using the cut tool we removed excess film that was not needed and made the film have many cuts from one scenario/location to the next to maintain the tempo.

A different form of software that was utilized was live type. this application was used to create the title sequence for the production company of our film. many effects and animations where available to be used, many fonts could have been applied also. for our tile sequence we wanted something that would be easily visible and bold with a playful effect to add some diversity to the animation.

One thing that made this whole project even possible was the availability of the digital camera that the film was recorded on, through out the preparation of the project one thing that was focused on was being able to use the camera to its full potential and being knowledgeable enough to handle it with care and make it function in the way that is required at any point in time, functions like recording and rewinding were very easy to see and work very well. there where a few things that came with the camera for example the film tape of which the recording was saved on and a tripod to make our filming as steady as possible to improve the standard and quality of the final product by making it more accurate and concise  in addition we also had the technology of microphones to project dialogue that may not be heard otherwise all these things added to the film in their own way and without one or the other the standard of the film will be evidently lower.




The internet was another tool that was used through out the project. before the creation of the film there were many things that where done to gain some information on what our target audience likes and wants to see. to find this out and get to as many people as possible the internet site Survey Money was utilized to create a questionnaire that will appeal to the audience in which our film is for, making the questions being asked as interesting and relevant as possible to be taken into account when it came to the production of our film.when the results are in the data can easily be analysed using a graph that will be created. i found using this site very straight forward to use and it coverd every type of question that could be asked because multiple choice and open questions could be asked that require more detail.

Also the site Blogger has been the main way in which we have documented or progression from one task to the next. this has been the destination to post research that has been done for thriller films whether it be the analysis of films in the same genre that have been watched or the small details like the order in which the credits are shown at the beginning of a film. this site is very easy to use and a great outlet to people who are interested in the context of the blog.

Finally another  internet site that was frequently used was YouTube because of the popularity of the site it was a great outlet to upload videos that we created to gain possible feedback from people that are browsing the site.to do so we needed to format the videos that we create to make the upload process easy.

A lot was learnt throughout this project but the most improvement that i have made is in regards to the use of these editing programmes because i had no previous knowledge of these sites and i believe as time went on i became more comfortable with the hardware and software

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

The way in which we attracted our audience is by giving them something thrilling and exiting to watch. a film that lacks gaps in between that looses momentum, the film we are producing is filled with plot twists that will make the film that much more exciting because it is hard to predict what will happen next. our target audience has a short attention span when it comes to films because they are heavy consumers of this form of media so it is very easy for them to dispose of films that they feel like is not holding there interest. this is something that we purposely wanted to avoid.

We feel like our audience will be totally engaged in the film because of the conventions that have been used in the film. the cliff hanger at the end of the film will be a major factor in the decision for our audience to want more. the audience is left with many questions at the end of the film and there are many poesible things that would have conspired from the end of the opening sequence.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the Audience for your media product?

The audience that the product we have created is targeted at is the people that like fast paced films with twists and unconventional plots but also has some aspects that are traditional in the sense of thrillers.it is a very youthful film so therefore the film is made for people  in there early teens and to below the age of 30. this is partly due to the fact that people in this age bracket will be able to relate and enjoy the film the most because they are able to recognize things that people older or younger will not be able to grasp because the film is not made in their surroundings that does not incorporate things that will grasp their attention. the target audience is people that are interested in watching films with a lot of action instead of extended dialogue because the film is mainly based on sight because the editing, effects and expressions of the characters play a massive part in the way in which we want the audience to feel, we made the decision that our target audience will be able to understand this the best.

we believe that this is the best audience based on the themes in our film because it has a very serious feeling that comes with it and deals with things that they are already use to. it is not a film that loses the audiences interest because of its inconsistency to maintain a certain feeling which can be found in films for very young audiences. this film is for people that like to be on the edge of their seats and informed enough to the point that they fully understand what is going on but not enough to be able to predict what will happen later in the film.another thing we feel will appeal to the target audience is the choice of music used in the film because it the genre of music that is normally related to our target audience.

Evaluation Question 3

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

The form of media institution that will be responsible for being the outlet to the audience of this film are independent distributors because these companies are able and experienced in pushing independent films such as ours. because of the low budget of the film the expectation of having a major distributor is unrealistic because of the obvious fact that the film is not up to the very high quality execution that can be said for films that they are a part of, also i feel that they will not be able to push the film in the way in which it deserves to even if they were to be a part of it. This is because the target audience for this film is very different to what major companies are use to, so therefore the film will not be placed in the direct attention of they type of social group that the film was intended for. also because of the lack of marketing power that we possess independent film companies will be the preferred direction because costs are in a much more reachable level. The film will also be streamed in local and national film festivals to raise awareness and get the interest of investors to improve the marketing campaign

A possible distributor if our independent film could be national television channels, for example Film 4, ITV and Channel 4. this is due to the fact that there are many independent films that have exhibited their films on programs like those listed. this is a very achievable and effect method of raising awareness of the project and  making if accessible to the target audience because the social group of which the film is targeting are liable to  be viewers of programs like Film 4 for instance and the audience does not necessarily have to pay to experience the film, in addition it is in the comfort of their own home.Another reason why television film programmes are a good way to distribute the product is because it is more cost effective compared to paying for screening slots in major film exhibition institutions.

Thirdly social media networks will be the number 1 strategy that will be used to raise awareness of the film and market it one reason being that it is free so there will be no costs in using networks such as Facebook, Twitter and more as promotional tools, another important reason for the use of networks such as those listed is that the target audience of the film are very prominent in that area and the message can be passed on in seconds to countless amounts of possible consumers of the product. trailers of the film could be put on video sites such as vimeo and YouTube to create interest and give the audience a visual understanding of the direction that the film will be taking these videos can be shared quickly and reach a very wide amount of people that may take a liking to what they see. Twitter will defiantly be a major part in the marketing of the product because most people are users of the site so the aim will be to get the product trending on this site and be one of the most talked about topics. we could also attain a Facebook page giving information on the film and the exterior things that are involved in the production of the film for instance behind the scenes clips and in depth interviews with the director and characters. On Facebook a fan page for the film could also be created to further increase the buzz around the film.

Finally the film could be distributed in hard copies and sold in he form of DVD's. this is another way in which the film can be viewed because the target audience are very familiar with viewing films in that way and may be very successful because almost everyone has the equipment to be able to view films through DVD players, also streaming the film online through a website system of which people can sign up and purchase the film online.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social group that is very evident in the media product that my group has produced is the audience of youthful people from the ages of 13-25, this is because of the fact that people in this age bracket are featured in the film and will take something away from the product that they can relate to because they may be familiar with the surrounding and environment in which the film was set are even the choice of clothing that is used in the film. evidence of this can be taken from the attire of the main character.

       

I
n the general opinion based on what people have seen in previous films the cloths in which the main male character was wearing is not something that a main character will wear because in actual fact most people will look upon him as the villain if they were to see him away from the context of the film. This is a stereotypical connotation that we tried to change be making the 'Hero' in the film wear that form of clothing, this was also a way in which the film could connect to the target audience because the social group that is featured in this project are the people in society that are recognised to wear that sort of clothing. this is similar to the way in which the villain in the film was portrayed.


The villain in our project can be seen to be in dress trouser and black shoes from the waist down, this form of clothing is normally classed as a form of clothing that is generally accepted as 'smart' or 'formal' worn by people that are intellectual and professional based on stereotypes in society, the way in which we have switched the roles just be playing with costume i feel is very powerful. The villain wearing what seems to be 'formal' clothing breaks down those stereotypical barriers and may change the audiences perception of what they feel when they see someone in a suit we have taken some inspiration from films that have taken this direction with the attire of the villain but we have a complete contrast when comparing the costume of the villain to the hero.also in regards to age it puts a positive light in a sense to people in the youth age bracket because stereotypically people of this age group are not thought of as the most helpful people in society, but we attempted to change this by having someone in this age group make the effort to help someone that they have no previous relationship with.

Another portion of the general population that was represented in the film was that of a young female.the inclusion of the female character in the film was very vital because we needed to have a convention that was in line with the general direction of thriller films in the past. usually young, attractive female characters are seen to be vulnerable and liable to be targeted by villain characters, this is something that we wanted to keep the same because we felt that it was something that the audience will emidiately recognise and relate to due to the fact that people in the female characters age group will interest them although people may argue that this social group was shown in a negative light based on the happenings of the film we felt it was neccessary to have a female play that role