Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Question 5: How did you attract /address your audience?
Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?
Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups
Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Final Edit
This is what all of the work I have done, including research, pre-production, first edit and feedback, has lead to.
I fond this task very challenging, it was the most challenging media task that I have carried out. I am however, pleased with the final outcome. I believe that I chose a very complex genre in which to follow of social realism, which I adapted in order t fit with what I wanted to achieve. The feedback I received was mostly positive with some criticisms in which I attempted to change in order to make it more appealing to the target audience. Overall, I do believe that my opening sequence fits with the conventions of a social realism film, specifically the ones that I researched at the beginning of the task.
Editing Process – Session 5
This was my Final Editing Session where my primary focus was to cut down my Opening Sequence. This was essential in order to fit into the allowance of 10 seconds over 2 minutes, not including the length of my Production Cards.
I began by watching my Opening Sequence all the way through and when I thought that I could cut a section out , I would stop the film and click on the section that it was on and press the out button, cutting down my video. After I had done this for my whole video, I then moved all of the video over so that the gaps where I had cut sections out were no longer there, and then looked at how long my video was. At this stage I had managed to cut a lot out, and therefore only required a small amount to be taken out. This took careful watching to identify any places that I could cut down even further, without making my Sequence look bad.
Finally I got it to a point where I could not cut it down any further, and therefore had practically finished my Opening Sequence. However, I still had to put in the sound to my film. This process was very simple, as I had already downloaded the track on a memory stick. All that was left to do was to drag it across from my documents, into Final Cut and the Sound File was there straight away. I then had to cut the music exactly where the Transition was to indicate the different time period. This meant I had to cut it on a beat so the track sounded complete and not strange, also making sure that it was silent by the time the next scene was on the screen. This was simple enough, but then I had to add the Ambient Sound. The washing machine in the background changed noise in between all the different shots which were shown in the kitchen area. This had to be sorted and I knew this and therefore recorded some during my Filming Process. In order for the Ambient Noise to fit I first had to take off the Background Noise from the other shots, making sure I kept the ones with Dialogue. I then added the Ambient Noise other the top which made it sound like the washing machine in the background was continuous, and therefore added to the home like atmosphere. This enhanced the scene overall in my opinion.
Once all of the noise was complete then so was my opening sequence.
Focus Group Feedback
My focus group was told to discuss the different feature of my Opening Sequence, commenting specifically on Titles, Enigma Codes, Storyline, and whether or not it was a good Opening Sequence. This also included any criticisms they had.
Overall, my Focus Group gave positive feedback and detailed opinions on my Opening Sequence.
They initially began by discussing the Titles.It was said that using Intertitles instead of Overlay was a good choice as the look appealed to them. It was also said that the blackness of the background fitted with the bleak Genre, this was due to the small text being swallowed up by the black, which was effective. Although the text was small, it was effective in the eyes of my Focus Group. They said that it was effective and this could still be achieved by making the Titles a little bit bigger or brighter of some sort, but only a little to not take away form the effectiveness of the black. Before my Final Edit I will enlarge the text slightly, as this was also an improvement suggested by the Audience Feedback.
The contrast created by the Locations was said to be an enjoyable feature. This shows that my choice of Locations has aided the Narrative and Conventions of a Social Realism Film in making the audience think. They said that the contrast of the nice looking country Location and the fact that it was such a desperate and lonely place for the boy was effective in creating empathy and understanding the Storyline.
The Music was also commented on. The solo pianist was said to be a good asset to my Opening Sequence as it represented the Protagonist being alone. The fact that it was simple and minimal, yet emotive, meant that the audience felt sympathy towards thew character and it highlighted his emotions at the time. I also added to the atmosphere of a dark and desolate place for the boy mentally, as well as the rough Location he was in. The sudden stop in Music when the scene changed was positively received as it signified contrast between the two situations. The quick change meant that the swap of time periods was made more evident., The quiet also exposed the homely noises which was said to show that he was now in a comfortable place, rather than the emotive music suggesting that he was in a tough situation.
The Location of the home was said to look nice and homely at first. The audience really looked at all the details, commenting on his bed covers, suggesting that the boy could be clinging to a happy childhood as they were fairly childish for a boy of his age, this assumption would fit well with the Narrative, again acknowledging the engagement that my Opening Sequence created for the audience.
There were many Enigma Codes raised in my Opening Sequence. Many of these included the parent again, like in my last Audience Feedback. The group wondered why the parents had changed and become so abusive and horrible towards their child and it makes you wonder what the story is behind it. This is a good thing as it shows that it was a good Opening Sequence, making the audience want to watch the rest of the film, making them think. The fact that it didn’t reveal too much was said to be a good feature, and that it captured the essence of an Opening Sequence.
Costume was emphasised, as the at worn in the beginning when the boy is alone made the audience question why that was. They suggested that ti could be due to the weather conditions, but that it could also be because of the shame of his situation. He did not want people to see him homeless and therefore he attempts to cover up his identity.
The Props, especially the food signified desperation to my group. It showed that he was rushing out and all he could grab was those minimal pieces of food to eat .Alternatively, this could mean that he was only going out for a night, showing his parents that they’d miss and hoping they’d come back, but this too made the audience intrigued as to what was going to happen. There was also a connection made between the apple in the home scene, where the boy was said to be more comfortable in his surrounding before the parents arrived, showing again the contrast of his situations.
Overall the feedback was positive and they enjoyed the Opening Sequence and would watch more. Things that I could improve on were the build up of the parents coming in. This could be changed so that the entry of the father was more dramatic and emphasised. Another suggestion was that of the text, enlarging it slightly. Other than that they understood the Stoyline and would watch more. so it was a very successful group.
lornasummerscales 