Final Film

Film New from Brook McGechie on Vimeo.

Evaluation: Question 7

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

I feel like I have learnt a lot since my preliminary task because for starters I had never really even attempted to make my own film. The main thing I have learnt with the camcorder is that it is useful to film things from different perspectives because this allows you to piece things together easier in the editing software.

I have also learnt a lot of things from doing the documentations on my blog especially the textual analysis because it has given me an insight as to just how much information you can gather about a film just by breaking down the first 2 minutes such as camera angles, characters, music & sound effect etc.

Another thing I have learnt about filming is how to trick the audience into thinking that they are in the same place when in fact the location has changed for example the party scene or all the people was actually filmed at a party where as the footage of brook after his drink has been spiked is taken from a classroom.

Evaluation: Question 6

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of making this product?

One of the things I have learnt about using a camcorder effectively is to film the same set of events or scenes several times & from different angles. This allows you to make sure you have plenty of material to work with & this links in with editing because it makes it easier to link the shots together seeing as most successful films cut from shot to shot every few seconds so by having lots of similar footage to work with it makes this process easier.

Another thing I have learnt from using a camcorder effectively is that it is important to think about what the characters are wearing so that it ties in with the rest of what has been filmed otherwise it would confuse the audience for example a shot of Edd running with jeans & a shirt on which is then cut to a different angle shot of Edd running but wearing a tracksuit & a jacket would really confuse the audience & it would just look poor & not thought out properly.

Having never used editing software before, I have learnt a lot about it for example how to create really effective match on actions & over the shoulder shots by cutting the shots at the right point. This allows the film to piece nicely together & flow from one scene to another.

Another thing that I have learnt from using the editing software if that by using music & sound effects you can really give an atmosphere to what is happening in the film which helps to give an added feel to the audience of happenings within the film.

By adding titles, music & sound effects to my media product it makes it feel more complete & gives information on our team that created the film.

The use of music & sound effects helps to confirm the audience’s ideas as to what is happening & can occasionally drop clues as to what is going to happen next.

I learnt a lot about this type of thing from doing my textual analysis because by watching the first 2 minutes of a film & breaking down each scene to pick out camera shots, characters, expressions, body language & sound it can all tell you a lot about things that normally you would never think twice about because generally as you watch a film the story unfolds as it goes along.

Evaluation: Question 5

5) What elements of your media product would attract your target audience?

I think that the main element of my media product that will attract the target audience is that the characters within the film are of the same age bracket. Many people enjoy watching the efforts of people that are of similar age. The themes of our film also aim for the target audience because most 15 year olds enjoy fast paced action, suspense & mystery. The story of Edd’s dead incorporates many things that appeal to the targeted audience for example the scenes of Edd bring chased across the moors looking worried & scared then cutting to a flash back where he was showing different emotions such as anger or spite. This type of thing will keep the targeted audience engaged as to what is happening on screen & encourage them to carry on watching.

Evaluation: Question 4

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think that the typical person that would be interested in watching our film would be White British or American people of both genders aged about 16 to 40 because although the film is aimed at the age group of 15 I think that many older people would still enjoy our film. The types of things they would spend their money on would be the types of modern accessories that you find in today’s world for example some similar films that they might like could include In time, Inception & The Trial.

They may also enjoy watching videos on Youtube to gain information about film trailers or just watching videos in general etc.

The type of music that I think my typical audience would listen to ranges from all sorts from classical to metal & from R and B to dubstep.

Evaluation: Question 3

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product & why?

I think that 20^th Century Fox would distribute my media product because the genre of our film is an action thriller & this film company has worked on several thrillers before such as “In Time” & “The Trial”. The themes of these films contain lots of fast paced action & mystery similar to that of our own film.

I think that 20^th Century fox would be interested in our film because it keeps the audience engaged as to what is going on & makes them unsure as to what is going to happen next & a lot of films distributed by this company have similar content & appeal to the same kind of audience of people.

Evaluation: Question 2

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

There are three main characters to my media text & they are Edd, Iona & Brook.

Edd is portrayed in the film as an intimidating “bad ass” that does not care about what people think or say about him. He goes about his ways doing what he wants when he wants to do it with little or no regard for other people. This is due to Edd’s childhood background growing up in an urban ghetto.

The type of character Edd plays comes through to the audience in the way that he behaves for example strapping a person to a car & demanding money from them. Throughout the chase scenes a different side to Edd comes through because he is scared & worried. This shows that all the wrong he has done to someone is coming back to bite him.

Iona’s character is portrayed as this sweet & innocent girl on the outside but she doesn’t take any messing about from anyone & she is Edd’s girlfriend. The type of character that Iona plays comes through in the phone conversation with Edd where she threatens to set her brother on him. Although Iona’s character is different to Edd’s there are still similar ties because between them because she has a strong family bond & many of her family members are used to fighting & doing dirty work to get the job done like Edd is used to.

Brook’s character is different to Edd & Iona mainly because of the way they dress and the social groups they associate with. For example Brook unlike Edd is very conscious of his image & what people think of him. I believe this reflects the youth of today very well as we are categorised into very specific stereotypical groups but really it is a very unfair & judgmental system because people are not as they actually seem from first glance & this is what I was hoping to achieve with this film to prove that even though Edd is in the wrong for his doing but that is due to his upbringing. There is a lot of close ups of Edds face which really show his emotion throughout the chase where he is worried & scared even though he is supposed to be the “hard man”.

Evaluation: Question 1

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

The traditional traits of a thriller film are the uses of fast paced action crossed with suspicion & suspense. The stories of thriller films tend to revolve around corrupt governments or syndicates with a lone hero or small group of heroes to take them on.

Characters within thriller films are generally shrouded with mystery & may seem fine one minute but could suddenly do the unexpected which keeps the audience intrigued as to what is going on.

I think that the conventions of my own thriller film have stayed closely on par with traditional conventions because there are several scenes of fast paced action such as Edd running across the moors or the car scene. There is also the action of a party where Brooks drink gets spiked & the use of flashbacks could give a twist on how the audience perceives what is going on. There are several flashbacks so the end result of our film will hopefully leave the audience in suspense as to who has killed Edd & they will want to watch the rest of the film to find out the truth.

Synopsis of Edd's Dead Baby (Part 2)

There have been several changes to our original film idea purely because they were to difficult to replicate. The original idea was to theme the death of Edd around the hussle & bussle of a party but after we got a bit of footage from the party we then found it rather challenging to accurately replicate it in a different setting.

The idea has changed so that now the main character "Edd" is being chased across the moors by an unknown character. There are multiple shots of Edd running & stopping to take a breath which is where there is the use of flashbacks to a scenario where Edd has done something that in theory would make the other person angry & want to kill him.
It was difficult to bend the idea that we already had because the whole idea was to maintain the suspicion & suspense as to who has killed Edd. So instead of using a busy party where everything is hectic we have used flashbacks of several different scenarios & characters that still maintains the effect of "I wonder who did it" which will hopefully keep the audience engaged in the story .

Personal comment
By working on my media project it has allowed me to play around with a few things & be able to figure out what works & what doesnt. With the resources & time that is available it is important to still maintain the point of what our film is about but to not get bogged down & make things complicated. So as we have developed our film we have also been able to twist & change parts here & there to make it better & more effective.