Evaluation a2
- 1. Evaluation
- 2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS? - My short film fits into the genre of drama, I both followed and contradicted certain conventions of real media products. Following conventions allowed me to grasp the attention of an audience who know what they want went viewing a film. My film consists of a cyclical structure and follows Todorovs narrative theory of ‘Equilibrium – disequilibrium – new equilibrium”. - Before creating my own short film I went about watching various different short films in the drama genre in order to discover the common aspects of them. I also, on top of this, watched films with a hybrid genre (such as ‘The Woman in Black’, a horror-drama) in order to discover aspects of other films which I may be able to include to make my film more interesting and original. - I took notice of all aspects of media, the camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene, and how all these aspects are pieced together to create the intend response from the audience. Such as quick straight cuts matched which tense music to create suspense and how professional film makers create shock and present twists within the story through the use of different techniques. E.g close ups of a character crying matched with non-diegetic music.
- 3. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS? After the viewing and analysis of many different kinds of short film I discovered that there were some typical conventions of the drama genre: - Simple text used for titles, most commonly white - One/very few amount of characters - 5-7 minutes long - often portray real life situations and occurrences - Main aim seems to be to make audience emotional - Ending has a hard-hitting moral to relate to viewers own life and create a long-lasting effect
- 4. The short film ‘Imagine’ is one which follows the main codes and conventions of the drama genre. It focuses on one characters in order for the audience to sympathize for her. The use of POV shots also reinforces this. It uses slow-mo and straight cuts in scenarios of high tension. I recreated this in my short film, in a different way, when using straight cuts to create the sense of time travel. The short film ends to create an impact of the viewer to be grateful for their life and follow their dreams as this girl wasn’t able to do this. My message is similar as it teaches the audience the dangers of technology and you shouldn't’t waste your life. I added my own take on this as my story is more relatable for modern viewers and I allowed the audience to feel as though they are Hazel and gave a sense of experiencing the same emotions as the character. I did this through the use of close ups to emphasize her emotions. The audience learn the same lessons as my protagonist. To continue, the short film ‘Are You Living an Insta Lie?’ follows a similar intended message as my own, this short film allowed me to discover the issues with social media and inspired me to go forward with presenting the bad side of technology. This film contradicts common codes and conventions as it doesn’t have one main character but includes many characters all with equal screen time, this works well with the message being portrayed. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 5. After discovering the common codes and conventions used in the drama-short film genre, I decided to use the majority of them in my short film. However having a big twist ending is not common of the drama genre but I was happy that my viewers responded well to it. I wanted to add this twist as I wanted a shock factor and make my film even more memorable, with the underlying message also contributes to the long term impact on the audience. Having this ending allows me to follow Allan Rowe's theory which involves the viewer being able to ask questions and being invited to ask questions about what is going to happen next and how it is going to end. I created this mystery in my short film as the audience is left to question the outcome of the film until the very last few seconds, with only 30 seconds till the end Hazel is at her lowest, crying in the alley it is hard to predict how this situation is going to be solved as my audience enjoyed this sense of mystery. The use of straight cuts and tense, built up music during the time travel, creates a sense of mystery as the audience is left unsure about what has just happened and they find out gradually with different chances to guess the situation which is in place. Tension is a common code and convention of the genre. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 6. Furthermore, I followed conventions by making the titles in my film white. Many short films do this and it worked well with the atmosphere. The product itself is tense and overwhelming and the text juxtaposing this doesn’t give too much away about the happenings within the film, once again adds to the mystery. The colour white also reflects the innocence and ignorance of Hazel as she comes to a realization of the effect her technology is having on her. However I added a glitch, wave effect onto the text to make it not only more interesting but reflects the technology aspect within the narrative of the film. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 7. I looked at many different film posters before creating my first ancillary text. I took inspiration from this poster for the film ‘Loving’. It puts a border around the image which is representative of what happens within the film as the couple are pushed out by society, I really appreciated this subtle link to the concept of the film. I wanted to do this in my own poster so I created a transparent box to put around the image to convey the intended message of the film, that we are trapped by technology. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS? I used a picture of the phone as I wanted the poster to reflect the storyline of the film. The phone is symbolic of the overall encoded message. I also took inspiration from this film poster to underline the title, I think it made a nice effect and made the title more eye catching. I used photoshop to make my film poster as I believe this is what would make the most professional finish.
- 8. Sound was a very important feature to achieving the atmosphere I wanted to create, I wanted the audience to feel connected to the characters and I strongly believe that sound played a big part in achieving this. I really enjoyed the sound used in the short film ‘The Return’ as the tense, mellow score reflected the guilt felt by the character. In ‘Look Up’ I used tense sound effects when something is confusing and shocking the character which, when receiving feedback, worked well for my audience to relate to the character. Also, when she is crying the street, the soft music accurately reflects her mood and sets the tone for the scene. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 9. I watched the drama/fantasy film ‘Click’ in which the main character falls asleep in a department store, the main happenings of the film take place and then ends with a twist of him waking up again in the store. I really enjoyed this twist ending so contradicted the conventions of the drama genre by adding this fantasy twist into the storyline. I think this allows me to finish the film with a satisfying ending for my target audience. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 10. After research on film websites I discovered that the main purpose of them is to inform an audience about the film and to prompt them to go and watch the film. I made my website simple so that it is easy to navigate as this is most important so that the information provided is easily found by the user, I followed conventions in this way. The layout for the film ‘Everything Everything’ is quite simplistic, it has easy to find tabs, the first thing you see when entering the website is the trailer, I decided to do something similar by adding my short film as the first thing you see on the website as this is what I want my website to lead my audience onto. However the film website for ‘Everything Everything’ has some advanced features such as music which plays when entering the website. I wanted to add something that creates interest and keeps the captivation of my audience so I added animation onto the text. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 11. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? Ancillary text 1 – Website
- 12. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? Ancillary text 2 - Poster
- 13. - I believe that my film poster creates a sense of wonder for the viewer as they are left to ponder on what the film might be about as I don’t give too much away in the poster. However I think that the tagline (‘An addiction which takes your life’), combined with the image of the phone provides the audience with an idea of the intended message of ‘Look Up’, even though its not obviously presented. The idea that we are all addicted to technology is also evident in the title of the film, overall the poster conveys this well. The simplicity of the poster allows the audience to focus on the message, I only included aspects to the poster which I believe put this idea into motion as this is what was most important to get out of my poster. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
- 14. - My initial idea for the poster was to have the main character on the front as this follows conventions of a traditional film poster. I didn’t come across a poster which didn’t have the characters on the front of it. However I wanted to contradict the typical conventions by putting the image of a phone as the main picture, I believe this symbol reflected the film better as the narrative and moral of the film is much more about technology than the actually character. I think this leaves interest for the audience as they don’t know anything about the character before starting to watch the film. Initial idea: HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
- 15. The title ‘Look Up’ doesn’t give too much away about the film before watching it but it does come clear to the audience, whilst watching, why I might have chosen this title. Before watching, the title is up for interpretation. I used natural lighting throughout my short film as I wanted, even with the fantasy storyline, to create a sense of reality as this makes my message more prominent because the audience can relate the story to their own life and leaves them to reflect on how much they are using their own technology. This links to the quality of the picture, although I did take it on a camera, I edited the image to make it seem as though it could've been taken on a phone as if the viewer could have taken it themselves. I have the intention to remind my audience of the poster the next time they use their smartphone camera. My main aim of the poster is to promote the film so I had to think of different ways I could make an impact with the poster so that the audience member thinks about it again, after finishing to look at it. The colours of the poster, the white of the overlay, links to the pastel light colours of the website, I wanted to create a sense of purity and innocence across my ancillary texts to link to the idea that technology is stealing our youth and childhood. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
- 16. I have utilized the conventions of a film website through the research I done in some of the initial stages, to create a website which my audience would like and enjoy. The first thing you see when entering the website is the animation of the titles all coming onto the page, you may have noticed that all titles across ancillary texts are underlined, this is consistent as its something different and memorable about my film, it allows me to link all aspects of my film together rather than seeming like separate pieces. I follow the conventions of a film website in my own website, when I looked at film websites I ensured I listed all the aspects which are included and are most important, I also did a survey to see what my own intended audience is wanting out of visiting a film website. My website is quite basic as it was important that it was easy to navigate and that the information was found easily as without the information I have no website. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
- 17. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? I was very much inspired by the film website for the film ‘Argo’. It includes the title and the trailer immediately when going onto the website, like many websites. I replicated this as these were the most important aspects to have initially on my website but my website reflects the genre of my film, this website is more for a thriller, drama film. As you can see, I included simply laid out pages, all with info that my target audience want as well as what I believe will push them onto then wanting to go and watch the short film. Every film website has this same intention, they want you to watch the film, everything is pushing ypu to do this. It is a very interesting advertising technique.