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

In an action film there is usually a mystery at the opening of the film. My film deliberately creates a sense of uncertainty because the viewer knows that someone is chasing Michael who has been released from prison. But the narration and the crossfading between footsteps and shots of Michael portrays these connotations.
It also uses visual effects that appeal to the viewers sense of excitement and anticipation.

Setting/Location

Deciding on a definite location was really hard. But eventually I drew up a short list:
College



Around my street - urban landscape


Heptonstall - Church Ruins


Because the storyline was vague at the time, the issue of where to film it was debatable. However, as I settled for the graveyard setting, it was decided that we filmed in the church ruins in Heptonstall. These ruins were allegedly haunted and you can really see why. The old stone is decaying, unwanted, weeds grow around gravestones and it generally portrays a really spooky place. The fact that it is set in a graveyard conveys that a death, in this scene, is inevitable. The symbolism of the angel in my film, suggests that Michael is going to be saved. However, when the fire engulfs the angel this has connotations of hope swept away. There is also an allegorical figure in the sense that the angel (Saint Michael) shares the name of our victim. In my opinion the location is one of the major reasons that my film is successful.

Costumes and Props.
The costumes used by each character make them stand out from each other. The all-black Michael really stands out from the grey stone whereas the assassin (like a good assassin should) camouflage in with the surroundings so a dark green coat and brown trousers do the job effectively.

A hard case is also used by the assassin, the case is grey and shiny which really an eye-catching feature, the viewer is intrigued to find out what is in the case. Of course we find out later on when 3 (replica) guns and 2 electronic devices are shown and used in the assassination of Michael.

Title font and Style
The title font and style is in the form of 'Papyrus' it is really clear and easy to read. It is a font that is all in capital letters, it's almost like an engraving font which of course is very appropriate for the setting of the scene, some of the gravestones use this type of font.

Genre and How the Opening Suggests it
At first the film seems very melancholy and sombre with Michael looking depressed and sad. The music reinforces these emotions too. It is obvious that there is a chase as the camera focuses on the assassin's feet, leading us to believe that someone has had a conflict with Michael and he's in real trouble. This brings out the 'action' in the film.

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

The audience of this film is a very wide one. It has an intriguing plot and I think the mysteriousness of the storyline and the characters attracts an audience ranging from 15-60 years of age.

The characters in the film aren't that complex in the opening sequence. They are both male, this along with the footstep sound effects really portray that something bad is going to happen. Stereotypically male conflicts can be a lot more aggressive and brutal than a conflict consisting of women. This really increases the tension in the film. I have also used the age-factor to convey the dominance of power in my film. The young man, Michael, is obviously 'on-the-run' from somebody and the fact that he is young represents him as foolish. Whereas, the assassin who is much older is much wiser. Stereotypically, the elderly are seen as wise people and this theory integrates into this film as the old,wily and cunning assassin ends up murdering the young and foolish man.

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

I think my film could be distributed in a cinema by a company such as Paramount or Warner Brothers. If the film made enough money for the insititutions, they would agree to distrubute any other film made by me. I would also get the publicity for the film through these major companies so I would be able to gain a profit and produce another film.
I would like my film to be a Hollywood film, made by Universal Pictures and produced by Warner Bros.

Columbia pictures are one of the wealthiest and the most successful production companies at the moment. There have been many films released by them and they have been mostly successful. They have lots of experience in terms of releasing British British films. These include 'Dr Strangelove' and 'Snatch' which is very similiar to my film. Other ideas to obtain money are to obtain a National Lottery grant and donations as any money would be appreciated to make our film more successful.


It would probably be distributed by the BBFC as a 15 certificate film because according to the BBFC:

Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

Although the movie is quite gory it is not filled with many scenes of this nature. The opening scene is only the real element of strong gory images in the film.


Advertising Campaign
We would also use any money we had on a billboard advertising campaign, but due to the success of films such as 'Paranormal Activity'which have advertised virally - I have decided to market our film virally over the internet. Personally, I would advertise on social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace. I would also like to create a website which gives clues to almost a 'treasure hunt.' Each time a clue is found, the face of the assasin is shown with a pixel per clue (like in the Dark Knight advertising campaign.) I would also like to have a lot of different domain names 50+ then my film name would dominate in the area of Web 2.0. It keeps the costs down and it also very effective. The big conglomerates are now using these advertising techniques for big blockbusters like 'The Drak Knight because they are so effective.

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

My film targets a fairly young audience maybe between 15(due to Bbfc guidelines) and around 50. Although anyone who likes action/adventure films would really enjoy this film so technically there isn't really an age limit. The sort of people who enjoy watching Ocean's Eleven, The Italian Job, The Bank Job, The Godfather and James Bond. For Casino Royale, the audience was:


This is a bar chart from the Pearl and Dean website. It shows the viewing figures for people of different ages, classes and genders.



I think the person who would enjoy my film would be an action-hungry, intelligent person who enjoys watching adventurous moves such as Harry Potter The Godfather and James Bond. Like Morgan here:

Morgan is 29 and lives in Manchester. He's an outgoing, sociable guy who works as an events promoter for gigs around the area. He can be commonly seen wearing jeans, a pair of Converse shoes, a casual shirt and a 'beenie' hat. He's a party animal but after work or on an uneventful weekend he will go to the cinema and watch a film.
Morgan isn't fearful and has nerves of steel. He is a theme-park enthusiast, loves the thrill of skydiving, he's adventurous and enjoys the element of danger. He enjoys listening to rock music and loves watching scary films.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Action films are very popular nowadays, so I needed mine to 'stand out from the crowd.' I have used a very intriguing storyline, where the audience knows the character has been in prison and is wanted by a hit man. But they don't know why, and that makes the storyline really interesting. I have also used various effects to add excitement to my film: explosions, blood all appeal to an audience and they really increase to tension and anticipation.

The audience can empathise with Michael and they can feel the danger and tension that he feels. It is obvious that this young person is in danger and is running from someone. He is also bereaving the death of his parents and we really feel upset for Michael. We're anxious for him but feel sorry for him at the same time.
The assassin, on the other hand, is a sinister character. He is a slow and cautious but appears wise and he knows what he's doing. This cautious approach is portrayed in the slow manner that he walks in. This makes the tension last even longer and therefore really has a powerful effect on the audience. The symbolism of the assassin as an old man, perhaps father-like. This sort of figure would usually represent security, but in this film the assassin is the antithesis of security.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have used many technologies in my project. For one I have used a HD Camcorder so I have been able to submit work in full 1080p high definition.
I have also used Adobe After Effects which I have used many technologies such as fire overlays, tv noise, colourise and masks. This has really enbabled my video to fit its purpose of an action film.

The main aspect which I have learnt and perfected is the ability to use all my footage and collate into an interesting opening scene. I shot long sequences of footage, split them and kept switching camera angles if there wasn't much action in the scene. I shot a lot of B-roll footage of the location so at the start of the film, I could portray the scene as I wanted to in post-production and collate which shots I wanted from the selection I had shot. I also had two underlying stories in the film: one of the focuses was on Michael and one was on the assassin. When they both finally met in the same scene the viewer could relate to who wanted to kill who.

Here are the programs I have used to create my film:
Adobe Premiere - to edit and render the footage
Adobe Photoshop - to make the opening credits
Adobe After Effects - to make the visual special effects
Google - to get images for my film
Facebook photos - to have a digital vault of photos to be accessed anywhere at any time
Youtube - to find my music and film clips
Video2Mp3 - to rip music from Youtube vidoes
Blogger - to edit myblog

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

Since my preliminary task, I have used much more advanced techniques in my final project. I have :
Used a variety of camera techniques
Not broken the 180 degree rule
Used a variety of visual effects
Planned much more effeciently
The rendering process is a lot more complicated than I thought. My preliminary task wasn't rendered in a proportion format so therefore everyone looked squashed. In the final film I managed to correct this to produce a crystal clear high definition video.

Improvements

Although I thought my film was effective, I'm not going to lie and say it was perfect - there is a colossal room for improvement. Personally, I feel I haven't planned out the film enough. I don't know what would happen after this introduction, I wouldn't say it's a bad thing it just isn't thought through. Maybe if I had thought the storyline through, I could have changed the opening to make it more interesting. Some people said not a lot happened in the opening scene and they didn't understand the characters - so I would probably change this if I had a change to remake the film.

Final Product

This is my finished film. It lasts 2 minutes and 29 seconds.

Preliminary Video

My Prelim is based on a Police Interrogation. The inspector walks in throguht the double doors and a reverse shot is used along with a wide-shot. We then see the door handle move (extreme close-up) and the inspector walks into the room. He interrogates the suspect.

Visual Effects

I have used several visual effects in my film. These have all been created in Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Photoshop CS4, which then were importing into my final project in Adobe Premiere CS4.

In the scene where Michael is shot, I have used the TV Noise tool and Colorize to create the 'night-vision' scope effect. I designed the cross-hairs in Photoshop, which then I exported as a .png file to my After Effects Composition.

I have used various masks and the Trapcode Particular tool to create the blood in my film. The wound is made with the mask and opacity tool from this photo (found on Google.)

I have also used a feathered mask in the explosion scene, where I have used the curves tool to create the orange reflection of the fire, on the background. I have also used the curves tool to add more blue, and minimalise red and green tones to really portray a silhouette coming through the tunnel.

Camera Shots

Film

View more presentations from Jack Castledine.

High angle shots: show balance of power. Camera looks down on Michael, therefore showing that the power is with the assassin and that Michael is vulnerable.

My Group

My group consists of just myself - Jack Castledine.
I filmed and directed my film. However I also had two actors: Anthony Castledine and Julien Doublet-Stewart.

Opening Credits

A CasFilm Production
Starring
Julien Stewart
Anthony Castledine
Directed by Jack Castledine

THE SACRED MEMORY

Props and Costumes

I have used the following props:

A briefcase

3 (novelty) guns

Archos 5 Tablet

Electronic Bomb (HTC Desire)

The costumes I have used are very minimalistic.

Michael wears a black coat, black jeans and black shoes.

The assassin is dressed in normal clothes so Michael doesn't recognise him as an assassin. However even his costiume is minimalistic and it is easy to identify "who is who" when both characters are in the same shot; to achieve this the assassin wears a green coat.

Choosing a location

Deciding on a definite location was really hard. But eventually I drew up a short list:

College

Around my street - urban landscape

Heptonstall - Church Ruins

Because the storyline was vague at the time, the issue of where to film it was debatable. However, as I settled for the graveyard setting, it was decided that we filmed in the church ruins in Heptonstall.

Lighting

I have used daylight as lighting in my film. It was a very cloudy and gloomy day, which is precisely why I decided to film it on this day - to convey the atmosphere of the scene. The only negative point I have with this, is that it was windy so any dialogue which was due to be said was infiltrated and hidden by the wind blwoing on the microphone. I had to mae a last minute adjustment and therefore changed the scene so there was no dialogue spoken. I then decided to do a narration afterwards, which in my opinion was still equally effective.

I also used the hue and saturation in Adobe After Effects to make the scene seem darker and gloomier. This also helped to disguise the face of the assassin, which was darkened to the used of the 'curves' tool.

Sound

The micro-element of sound is quite simple in my film. There are footsteps sound effects to convey the presence of evil (the assassin.) The sad, neoclassical music also helps portray the melancholy of the scene. The narration also reads into Michael's mind - how he thinks and what his feelings are.

Ideas for Soundtracks

Here are a few ideas I had for the non diegetic/soundtrack. This was to be played in the background with a narration over the top. Obviously the music had to cause tension amongst the audience, therefore the shortlist consists of orchestral voices and strings to cause anticipation. No contrapuntal music is used for this reason.










Finally I decided on the top piece of music as it is slower and really conveys the fate of Michael - dark and mysterious.

Health and Safety

In an attempt to avoid breaches health and safety I made sure the tripod was stable at all times. I also prevented any food or driunk being consumed in the recording area, and all equipment was put into an area where nobody would trip or fall over it. We also made sure we cleaned up after our shoot and ensured no litter was left behind.

Deciding on a storyline

I decided that I would have two characters in my opening scene. Michael has been part of a gang since being a teenager and has just been released from prison after being convicted of robbing a bank when he was just 15. Michael's parents died while he was in prison, and of course they certainly did not approve of his terrible ways. So at 22 years of age, Michael is released from prison and comes to the graveyard where his parents are buried to pay pennance. However, waiting in the ruins of the church is a hitman/assasin hired by the leader of Michael's gang to ensure he pays for messing up the bank robbery deal. Michael is expertly shot in the spinal cord with a sniper while at his parent's grave, rendering him unable to move. The assasin then places a high-tech grenade at the side of his head. We see the assasin leave the graveyard just before a huge explosion engulfs the graveyard to ensure Michael's death.