Coursework feedback

You are currently working at level 3 for your coursework but time management is a real factor and the film needs to be completed this week.  Your edit is very promising and is almost complete. 

Ensure creative technologies are employed in the evaluation.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our film, there aren't many social groups showed. The femme fatale is high classed and isn't from around the area so she comes to the detective alone. This is because she is trying to play with the detective and get him to feel sorry for her as she needs his help. 

The detective is of a high class also which is why he is shown to talk to the femme fatale in quite a patronizing way. He presents himself in a suit and hat which is the clothing of a typical detective and this conveys his occupation and age. He is an isolated man who doesn't really have a wide circle of friends, there is only him and his buddy detective. 

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our primary audience is middle aged adults (30-50) as younger people (20-30) may not understand the adult issues that go on in the film. This is because younger people may not understand the 'film noir' type of film and so the anigma and the conditions of a film noir would not be appreciated and would not make sense. Our secondary audience is young adults as although they may not understand the film noir theme they may enjoy the thrill of our film as it has a good story and has a strong anigma which draws them in to want to watch the rest of the film. It could also retain their attention quite easily as they will be interested to know what is going to happen next. Another reason why younger adults my be interested in watching this film is because it shows a bit of the typical 1940's lifestyle which could be interesting for them to learn about.

To know what audience would appeal to our media product we researched and looked in to the different types of films and thought about which age group would be interested. We knew it wasn't children as it is aimed at older people due to there being a story to follow and it is a fairly old fashioned type of film. We searched the typical type of person who would watch a film noir and we got 30-50 year old males who enjoyed mystery. This is the audience we targeted and that we would hope to watch our film. 

Although this is stereotypical it could be true. However there are females that will also be interested in this type of film as they could enjoy the same factors as a male.

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

We used a variety of conventions to suit our film noir genre. We went with the stereotypical male detective and femme fatale. We chose their costumes to fit the conventions of a film noir; the detective wore a suit and hat and the femme fatale wore a long fur coat and looked glamorous. Over the years the detective has always been represented in a familiar way for the audience to recognise. 2 films i have analysed are 'Se7en' and 'The Maltese Falcon' which are both film noirs and include a main detective role. Even though the time periods are different and you can tell more previous detectives are slightly more modern, the main attire is still the same. 'Se7en' has challenged the roles of the detective however because they have used a different ethnicity compared to a typical white ethnic man. 

'Se7en' detective somerset, 

'Maltese Falcon' detective, more dated but
still clear detective image

                                       

















Films like the Maltese Falcon  emphasize the main detective and femme fatale roles. In my opening sequence I looked at other femme fatales images for inspiration. This included the one from the 'Maltese Falcon', she is demonstrated as a vulnerable character who commonly wears expensive looking clothes, such as fur and leather, and we used this image to decide the outfit of our femme fatale. Even though in this image the femme fatale 


The lighting we used was low key and we tried to use just natural light or a single light source to film in. This creates a contrast of shadows on the face and portrays a dark atmosphere. The music we chose fit to the mood of our film. It also showed the time era we were demonstrating throughout our film. 
We were going to challenge the conventions of a film noir by using a female detective, but when we went to film using her, it didn't look right. So we decided to stick to the traditional male detective. 

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

Some risks are:-
-Tripping over a wire
-Dropping the tripod on your foot
-Getting your finger caught in the camera. Between the camera and the holder
-Tripping over the tripod

Those at risk are:-
- actors
- team
- public

Prevention:-
-Make sure all wires are put somewhere people wont be at risk
-Make sure participants are informed about the dangerous objects

'Blue velvet'

'Blue velvet' is a David Lynch film based in suburban America in the 1950's. The music sets the tone to be mysterious and the credits scene is dark and gloomy. After the opening titles a tilt shot is shown straight away of the typical white, picket fence with bright blue skies and a bed of red roses waving in front of it. The background music of 'blue velvet' is playing so the idealistic scene is set. This is then supported by the safety of the lollipop lady crossing the children over the road and the fire truck with the fireman waving to the community, proposing that everything is perfect and nothing bad could happen. The firetruck is also presented as driving along in slow motion as this emphasizes the perfect place to live. This then changes very quickly when the old man in his garden has a heart attack and dies. The irony used of the ideal place to live and the actual danger of the fireman standing on the side of his truck reflects that something bad was going to happen. The hose gets caught and then it tangles, slowly leading up to the bad event.

There are a lot of still images used which could be paintings, e.g the big american country house and the establishing shot over looking the city and a lake.There are close ups of the grass surrounding the house and then the camera goes further down and you see the bad side reflected on the city as there are beetles and mud. Background noise is also used to set the feeling of the city, the chainsaw on the radio showing the traditional Lumberton town as that is where they cut down trees.

The overall feeling is very mysterious and it imposes that things are not always as good as they seem. Overall, mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound and editing match the conventions of this film genre allowing audiences to fully understand the motives of the film. 

Role Allocation

The Film Director

The general role of a film director is to direct the making of the film. They have the task of creating an overall vision of what the film will be and what it will look like. They are tasked with selecting the right task and location amongst other things. They also manage the technical aspects of filming, including the camera, sound, lighting, design and special effects departments. They may also work along with the editor during the final editing process in creating the final product he wants. They may also take on some roles of the producer.

In our film this will be Harriet Watson

The Film Producer

Film producers prepare and then supervise the making of a film. They have complete control of the overall film production. They are therefore ultimately accountable for the success of the finished film. They will be heavily involved in all 4 main phases of production, the Development, Pre-production, production and post-production and marketing.

In our film this will be Rebecca Campbell

The Film Editor

They are very important in the overall editing and final production of the film. They work closely with the director during the production phase. The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create a finished motion picture.

In our film Rebecca Campbell and Harriet Watson will all be fulfilling this role.

Cameraperson

This is the role that involves the taking of shots during the filming process. They are responsible for physically operating the camera and maintaining composition and camera angles in a given scene or shot. They will also be responsible for collaborating with the director in making technical and creative decisions.

In our film this will be Rebecca Campbell

Art and Music

There are various roles within art and music during the production of a film. The main roles within the art area are Art director and illustrator. The Art Director works closely with the Construction Coordinator to oversee the aesthetic and textural details of sets as they are realized. The illustrator is responsible for the drawing of designs to communicate ideas about scenes. In the sound area, there are also quite a few important roles. The sound designer is responsible for the post-production sound of a film, for example.

In our film the Art director and Illustrator will be Rebecca Campbell and Harriet Watson

The music will be controlled by Harriet Watson