Evaluation

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

At the beginning of this project we were told to produce a contemporary film noir, targeted to 15-24 year olds. I researched into the traditional conventions and looked at a couple of openings to see how to set out my own. Flashbacks, enigma and voiceovers are commonly used throughout a range of film noirs, traditional and contemporary. My film noir, “Imposter” uses a mixture of traditional and contemporary film noir conventions. To break up the linear sequence I used flashbacks, similar to “Double Indemnity”, which we studied in class, this structure can help explain the narrative by showing clips from the past, and for example our flashbacks showed that the main female character was married in the past. Also at one point in the opening, the flashback are revealed at a faster pace to show the memories frantically rushing through her mind and clarifies why she is upset in the shots from the present. After I received audience feedback they agreed that the flashbacks worked well, but also left some enigma, common questions asked was if the husband had hurt her, or if they were still together, this shows that the opening has kept them interested into watching the rest of the film as it doesn’t give too much away. I also edited the flashbacks to look black and white, to make it look stereotypically old and from the past. Moreover, we also brightened the shots, to create a portrayal of happier times; in contrast the shots of the woman in present time are dull and gloomy.

After looking at a the opening to Seven (1995) I saw that low key lighting really adds to the atmosphere of a film noir, as in the mentioned film we used a lamp next to the dressing table to create a moody, dark atmosphere. Another opening that influenced our piece was Kill Bill, the whole opening is focused on Uma Thurman’s face, you never see Bill’s, I decided use enigma in this way by never showing the character watching the actress in the mirror, this made the audience feel uneasy and want to find out more. I used a stereotypical noir character, the femme fatale. I dressed our protagonist all in black to make her appear wealthy, as for wearing red lipstick made her look glamorous and sexy, similar to the original woman in the films. Nevertheless, we added a twist on the typical appearance by giving her a modern hairstyle and jewellery, this will help the audience connect with the character.

Just like most early and contemporary film noir’s I decided to use a first person voiceover, to enhance the enigma, it heightens the emotion going through the actress’s head, also included the audience in what she is feeling, making them feel sorry for her and relate to her situation. I believe i successfully challenged the film noir characteristics yet managed to use the traditional conventions throughout our sequence.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film does have similarities to how 15-24 year olds are represented today, the ideology we used incorporated an interest in fashion, drinking alcohol and falling in/out of love is common in the modern society. The femme fatale is represented as emotional, grieving and distressed, I used extreme close ups to really exaggerate this, the flashbacks shows how she was once happy and in love and this contrasts with her weakness in the other shots. Weddings are always emotional as is losing someone you love, so this definitely helped the sensitive issues in the story. The protagonist character uses a traditional appearance yet I challenged this by using contemporary bohemian hair, jewellery and some clothes such as the pixie boots and leggings. Also in the flashbacks she appears confident and even though she looks seductive in the others unlike other femme fatales she is showing a vulnerable, much more susceptible side. The bedroom is a younger style, the mes-en-scene shows this, by using makeup, jewellery thrown over the dressing table and also the garments she wears, therefore representing the target audience, also by using a younger actress this will help them relate to the film, on the other hand, by showing she was once married, this will introduce an older audience as it is typically something they associate with. I also keep all characters quite realistic so the audience would become involved with the film.

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

As our piece has a niche audience and is especially a low budget film, it is more likely to use a smaller independent film company, such as Film4 or optimum releasing to distribute it, who have helped market films such as ‘This is England’, ‘How to lose friends and alienate people’ and ‘Donkey Punch’, all these films have a specific smaller audience. It would have to rely on word of mouth to gain popularity rather than advertising and promotion as i don’t have the budget to fulfil this. It would be shown at smaller, chic arthouse cinemas because of the audience type, it isn’t going to be a blockbuster featuring famous stars, and it uses independent actors performing it in. The film will also be shown on TV channels such as Film4, as this is aimed at a younger audience, similar to our film, it will be shown after the watershed because of some the issues raised throughout it.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?In our brief we were told to aim our opening to 15-24 year olds, I believe we have done this. As I am grouped in that age range it made it easy to see what their common interests, I could add my own knowledge to the piece. Film noir’s main themes include crime and murder and tend to be aimed at males, but as our main character is a female I believe mine will also attract a female audience, moreover there is the common theme of romance throughout which some female audiences have a keen interest. My film will offer the audience escapism, allowing them to be diverted from their reality; this is described as audience visual pleasures. I believe our audience will be middle class and the younger generation, they will connect with the characters in the film, for example we tried to make our femme fatale appear 18-24 by wearing expensive yet modern clothes this will attract the appeal to the target audience. As our narrative is quite complex and shows some adult matters i do not think anyone under 15 will grasp it, nevertheless this could help us extend our audience to an older, middle class audience. I believe the BBFC will classify my sequence as a 15, there isn’t any demonic language, violence or sexual references, however the heavy drinking and the horror genre tendencies will allow it to be classed at a 15, and this also increases our audience rather than it being an 18. Primarily we are targeting what is called ‘experinecer’ they are young, impulsive viewers who consume the films, we will also target young professionals, in social groups B and C1 as they will be interested in this niche genre.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract our target audience we decided to modern features, the costumes we used were quite up to date so that the audience could relate to them, also by using a younger actress this appealed to the teenagers watching. The music we used was by Slipknot, as the song was recently released it will grab the target audience’s attention, especially compared to the traditional music used, ours is much more contemporary. By adding enigma throughout the opening this will grab the audiences attention, hiding the character watching her keeps them on the edge of their seats. My film tries to attract the group of people called ‘experiencers’, these are the young impulsive audience who get bored easily so by using fast paced motion this kept them entertained. The genre of my film is very niche, so we had to use traditional noir conventions, such as flashbacks and voiceovers to please them.

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

When conducting our secondary research, I used websites such as YouTube to watch film openings; I also research the history of film noir by reading websites and blogs on the internet, such as Wikipedia and filmrefernece.com. I used Microsoft word and Microsoft PowerPoint to write notes and present to the class, to When filming my piece, I used a Cannon Hv30 Dv Camcorder, a Yoga shotgun microphone, boom pole and a Velbon Dv-700 tri pod, to light our sequence, we used a 300 watt light in my bedroom when filming. I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit and learnt how to compress files to a windows media file, which makes it easier to view. I learnt how to edit on Adobe, how to place music, background sound and a voiceover into the sequence, without drowning any of it out. Recording a voiceover was easier than I first suspected, using the camera and microphone was simple.

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

Looking back on the preliminary task I have improved all of my technical and editing skill, I improved skills such as the 180 degree rule, match on action, continuity and rules of thirds; this helped me create a more defined piece. The final piece had a lot more work involved compared to the preliminary task so I used a large range of shots and improved my camera skills. I have enhanced my analytical skills, when watching a film I can easily spot and discuss conventions, representations and ECMS used. Even though I worked in a group of three I did seem as if it was a group of two, Suzi and I planned and shot our piece, and ever though at times it was hard work, I believe we worked well as a team. Researching the genre has made me see how to represent certain characters and how Mis-en-scene can also add to this. In addition I have learnt how RAILING (representation, audience, ideology, language, industry, narrative and genre) can reflect the atmosphere on screen to the audience. After watching my piece I do wish we had made some changes, such as how grainy the piece has turned out, I think it would have looked much more professional if it appeared crisper, also I think we could have improved the ending, we had a few shots missing which could have worked well, also the we could have used a more interesting range of shots. This project has really extended my knowledge on creating films and analysis of them, as well as the film noir genre as a whole.