I think that our media product doesn't challenge the forms and conventions of a Film Noir, however it does develop them. Whilst we followed the conventions of the genre, we decided to make the opening much more modern; we used the conventions of a 1940's Film Noir, and applied it to our modern opening. One aspect of a common convention we changed was the use of a voice-over, as we felt it made the film appear much less modern to what we were hoping, so instead used dialogue and music. To develop our understanding of modern Film Noir films, we watched the opening of 'Sin City' and also studied films such as 'LA Confidential' and 'Batman Begins' which although belong to the genre, they are not in black and white. They follow the common conventions - gangsters, protagonists, antagonists, dark, eerie, expressionistic lighting etc. The use of having openings all black and white began to die out, as many audiences preferred colour films, meaning that by us making our product black and white, we challenged the conventions. The use of upbeat non-diegetic sound in our product contrasted to the action, again challenging the conventions, as in a thriller film music is often used to connote a dark and eerie atmosphere. Whilst contemplating that our opening may be too cliché if we followed too many common conventions, our research taught us that the need for repetitive and similar conventions is essential.
- Similar to the opening shot of 'Sin City' - establishes dominance of main character and genre, allowing audience identification. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Having followed the conventions for a Film Noir we represented the female gender as more dominant than males, unlike many other thriller films which often represent males as the more authoritative and powerful gender. To represent the females dominance we focus largely on the use of camera angles, distances and editing; the use of low angles, close ups and the females on-screen time is essential to connote her power and authoritative status. We also use POV shots, to allow the female to be the only character present in the shot, further connoting her significance. Whereas, we use high angles to connote the males weakness, and use close ups to allow the audience to focus on the facial expressions of the character, which indexically implies fear and weakness. However, by having the three gamblers as males as well, it connotes that they still hold some power; however the female's dominance is much more significant. The use of gamblers represent the genre of the film, as they're a stereotypical character to have in a Film Noir and crime-related film. The characters are ideological to the genre, as they are used to reinforce the narrative concerning crime and gambling. Tom's character is presented as weak when faced with the female character, further connoting her dominance, this is connoted through scenes such as when the female approaches from behind and and grabs his head, the use of the high angle causes the female to look more superior and dominant.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that it's quite unlikely that our product would be distributed by a major Hollywood studio for various reasons. Whilst our opening follows the conventions of a Film Noir, I think that it's too predictable, ultimately seeming pointless to release in a cinema. However, I think that the film could be released as an arthouse film, delivered to a niche audience. As Film Noir's were most common in 1940's and very little exist in the 21st century our product could possibly add a new modern 'freshness' to the genre. German expressionism is suggested to be a reason for Film Noir films, as following World War 1, it was extremely difficult for film makers to produce extremely high quality films; this meant that they used symbolism and mise-en-scene to advocate the mood they were trying to display. Similarly, Film Noir film makers focused on the use of lighting, facial expression, positioning and symbolism to convey an atmosphere; this further provides reason as to why arthouse film enthusiasts may be more interested in our product. Having researched the target audience, many film enthusiasts aged 40 and older are most likely to watch a Film Noir, which suggests that if our film were to be released as an arthouse film, it allows the target audience to critic a more modern style film. As well as this, releasing the product as internet-only could allow a new target audience to appear, as few people are familiar with the genre a modernised form may attract and please the audience.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
After having gained knowledge and understanding from the research on the BBFC website, we decided to have our opening as a 15 and above, as the content is not gory or too scary. However, a much older audience is more likely to watch the product because of the popularity of Film Noirs in the past. Our product fits into the crime-thriller genre, further widening the audience and suggesting that those who are younger may enjoy the overall film. The modernised genre film we created could attract a wider audience as whilst using the common codes and conventions in a repetitive way, we have challenged these to make the opening more interesting and similar to films nowadays. What's more, I think that women are more likely to watch our product, as it specifically represents females to be the more dominant gender, which contrasts to many other films; by watching a film where their gender is being presented as very significant, it will allow them to engage with the film, as there are fewer films which represent females to be stronger and more powerful.
How did you attract/address your audience?
During the research process, we created questionnaires to gain knowledge of our audience's interests; from this we learned that the majority of people enjoyed crime thrillers and action films. At the end of our project we also posted our finished piece on Facebook to gain feedback on what went well and what didn't. However, I think that our attempts to attract our audience could be improved, as whilst we did a lot of research on the genre, we didn't focus as much on the audience as we should have. I think that if I had the change again I would have a wider range of people fill out the questionnaires, and have people watch our product as we went, meaning that we could gain feedback quickly, allowing us improve our overall piece based on the audience's opinion. From audience feedback, we learned the importance of research and planning; the majority of the feedback stated that the opening 30 seconds was much better than the rest of the film. The opening 30 seconds was thoroughly planned, whereas the rest wasn't planned as much; this showed in our final product, as many people thought the significance of the opening was lost. I think that gaining more feedback before we had finished would be very beneficial, as we would have been able to increase the quality and disallow a disrupt in continuity.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The continuity task allowed me to gain some experience in using the camera and editing software, making the process of creating the opening much easier. I was first unsure of how the clips were to be cut/cropped to the suitable length for the product, however after exploring the tools in Adobe Premiere it was quite simple. However, whilst cropping and cutting the shots was simple, being able to cut it to the exact length that was necessary was much harder. I realised that even cutting the photo wrong by less than a second could create a disrupt in continuity. A particular problem we faced during the continuity task was that our camera wasn't level as result of the tripod, meaning that some of our shots appeared wonky and out of frame; this problem was beneficial to us when beginning our opening as it meant that we would often double check before filming to ensure the camera was level. The camera was fairly easy to learn how to use, however I personally struggled with using the editing equipment. I learned that to add music and sounds into the product, they were imported similarly to importing clips; this proved quite easy as it meant that I could easily understand and work on my own. However, whilst importing the clips was fairly simple, a problem that we faced was that some of the clips didn't import correctly, and the quality of them was hindered. To overcome this, we had to reimport the files, checking that the program didn't freeze. Overall, I have learned the correct and effective ways to use the software and camera, allowing me and the other members of my group to create a fairly high quality opening without the need of much assistance.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since the preliminary task, I have learnt the important of research and planning; whilst we planned quite a lot for the task, it was evident that it wasn't enough. As we were told what shots we needed to include in the task, it allowed us to understand that we needed to know exactly what type of shot we wanted. We struggled in having a set shooting schedule, meaning that we would shoot last minute, causing our time to be rushed and lacking in organisation. As our product needed to be 2 minutes, our lack of planning hindered our product, as whilst we thought that the combination of shots we first had would make up the 2 minutes, it became evident that it merely made a minute and a half. However, as our product was progressing we began to have much sturdier shooting plans, and we knew which specific shots we were shooting at that time. As our product changed largely from our animatic, we found it extremely difficult to use our previous planning, as it was no longer relevant to our opening. I have learned that a weak plan creates a much weaker product, as it means that a lot of time is spent discussing what we should do next when the time should be used for filming and editing, which ultimately results in a product which may still have quality, however could be improved largely.
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