AS PRODUCTIONS - EVALUATION
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After researching various other films of the same genre, (drama) I made the style and content of my film as similar as possible to the conventions of the drama genre. Drama films tend to be a serious presentation of the lives of human beings, either in conflict with themselves, others, or the situation they are in. The characters are portrayed as realistic and the plot will be distressing and dramatic. The plot of my film goes along with the distressing theme, being that a teenage girl – Alice –‘s sister has previously died, causing a great rift in her family. With both her parents losing their jobs, living off benefits and drowning their sorrows with alcohol and drugs, Alice finds her only escape in dancing; her dead sister’s favourite past-time. Various dramatic twists in the plot help create my film into a gritty docu-drama of a young girl’s unhappy life. It is set in Britain, a common setting for lower budget, independent dramas, such as Fish Tank (2009). As for the style of my film, there would be minimal special effects; it would be filmed simply to make it as realistic as possible, as this reflects the content in the film. Dramas are based on the in-depth plot and dialog, rather than other genres such as action films which rely heavily on special effects to create a good viewing experience.
By following the rules, codes and conventions of camera shot, I was able to create a fairly realistic looking film. This means that because of the style and way of shooting the film, the audience would be able to watch it and understand what is going on. To achieve this, firstly I used various different styles of camera shot. To open the two minute sequence, I used a close up of a photograph in a frame, with the title of the film along the left hand side. After this shot, I proceeded to use many other close ups of Sarah, the actress I used for Alice. These close ups could be classed as cut in’s, as there are various different parts of Sarah being filmed. As she dances, I filmed her feet, arms, face, and then used medium close ups to get more of Sarah in the frame at one point. After editing them together, it made a good sequence of many fast shots. I feel it was an effective way of keeping the audience’s attention; had I just filmed Sarah from one angle and one length, it would have been very boring to watch. Because I mixed up shots and angles of Sarah dancing, it is a lot of quick shots which encourage the audience to keep watching. I used a handheld camera to film Sarah whilst she was on the phone, and
The mise-en-scene used in my film also reflects that of a real drama film. The reason I chose the drama genre in the first place was because I believed it easier to reciprocate the micro elements used in this genre – mise-en-scene in particular. The point of dramas is to focus on real life, drama films focus on people and the situations people are in. Therefore, mise-en-scene was easily done as all I had to do was keep it realistic. As the main character in my film, Alice, is a teenage girl, it was easy to give her the correct costume and accessories to be believable. Unreachable is also set in Britain, present tense. This meant the fashion and technologies seen in my film are all the correct time and age, and they were easily accessible for me to obtain. As for lighting, again, drama’s are about real life – therefore I used natural lighting, apart from when Sarah is dancing, then I used studio lights but many dance studios have lights in anyway, so the lighting was not unusual.
The titles used in Unreachable are similar to those of a real independent film. It opens with the production company, which is a simple white text on black background. It fades in, and fades out to black, which is a popular edit for film openings. The next title is presenting the film; this also fades in and out. There is no soundtrack so far, I feel the silence gives the film a more serious feel about it. The title of the film comes on when the motion picture starts, it is over the top of the image, and fades out as actions appear on screen.
The film Unreachable uses a restricted narrative, as it solely follows the main character, Alice, throughout the film. I believe this form of narrative is a popular one for films with the drama genre; it works well following a main character as dramas usually focus on the life of one individual and the situations they find themselves in. for that reason, the restricted narrative is suitable for this sort of film. Also, it means the audiences do not know what is happening before the on screen actors. This keeps the audience is suspense along with the actors, it also keeps the attention of the viewers throughout the rest of the film. It is commonly used for real drama films, such as Dogville (2003), for these purposes.
I used various generic conventions for the opening sequence in my film Unreachable. These conventions include firstly introducing the audience to the main character in the film. Also, it shows the audience the theme of the film whether it will be a mass film or niche. As a drama, my film would be more of a niche product, as it is not something which would appeal to all audiences. I used a soundtrack from the beginning also – as this is a regular convention of said films. It is vital to include these conventions if the film is to do well, the first few minutes of a film could realistically ‘make or brake’ it. Therefore generic conventions are important as they encourage the audience to keep watching.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
There is a deliberate lack of stereotype in the film, to express how death is a universal tragedy which can affect any person. Also, because the film focuses solely on Alice - her struggle to achieve better things for herself after her family unit has collapsed, there is little interaction between other characters. The film expresses more of the internal battle that is going on inside her than the reality she is living in.
In the opening of the film, it is clearly aimed at the younger generation, due to the fact it is a bout a young girl and she is dancing, a popular past time for youths today. There is a distinct lack of elder people in the film, to represent the adult issues Alice shouldn’t have to face as a teenager. Because of Alice’s tragic circumstances she is forced to face these issues at a young age, and the lack of adults mean’s she has to face them by herself. Other young people could relate to her, and empathise with her and the situation she is in. Because Alice’s sister has died in the film, I believe adults watching, possibly with their own children, would feel differently about the situation as would be looking at it from a parents point of view rather than Alice’s, which is a young girl neglected by her parents due to their mourning her sister. This would create different feelings between the audiences; therefore I have aimed to make the film deliberately for younger people.
In the opening sequence, it is just introducing Alice to the audience and giving the viewers a taste of what the film is like. The audience only has an inkling that something has happened to a young girl, due to the opening scene of a picture frame being fondly held. Therefore it is difficult to suggest any representation, however later the plot of the film would become clear and represent death and mourning, nationality, religion and family units, along with other issues any young person will grow up facing.
The actresses and actors in the film are all average looking people, to illustrate how the situation Alice has found herself in as result of the death of her sister, could happen to anyone. It is set in Britain, so the clothing and fashions are all British. The fashion is quirky; I wanted the youths in it to be normal, but not boring. So they have their own fashion, but nothing which could label them into a specific stereotype. Again this demonstrates how anyone from any group of people could suffer the way Alice does.
There is a distinct lack of adults in the film, apart from Alice’s parents at the beginning of the film, where is it established that they are too far gone mourning their youngest daughter to care for their oldest; Alice. Once this has been recognized by the audience, there are minimal adults throughout the film. As I have already stated, it is to emphasise the traumatic issues Alice must work through by herself, and the adult responsibilities she must take on.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
As a fresh, up and coming British drama, my film could well be financed by the British Film Council (BFC). They finance British film makers who they believe will succeed or are already world class. I would also consider the National Lottery as a fund.
If the British Film Council financed it, they could distribute it. They would sell it to cinemas and eventually make the film into DVDs, they would also market it by creating posters, billboards, trailers, interviews, merchandise etc and selling them.
As the film is for younger people, I would aim to advertise it around built up middle class areas, such as cities like London and Bristol. This is because the demographic audience would fit these areas, and it is more likely to do well there than if I were to advertise it in the countryside where there are less cinemas and less people who would want to watch it is not a film which they would most likely to relate to due to the characters and the environment.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
A likely demographic for my film would be females between 16 and 30, probably middle to lower class as I doubt higher class people would watch it because of the language and content.
Whereas demographic audience is facts on age, gender, location etc, psychographics is to do with activities, opinions, interests, attitudes and values. Therefore, my psychographic target audience would be perhaps dancers, youths at college, lower class people, atheists (Alice is very against religion), or perhaps aspiring teenagers who enjoy films with a successful underdog.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Anyone who enjoys a drama would be interested in my film, simply because it follows such codes and conventions. However, an interest in dance could encourage people to watch it, teenagers who have lost siblings may watch it to see how Alice’s life differs (or is similar) to their own. Then again, any youngsters who just enjoy films may watch it, as it is a strong emotional plot which may appeal too many. Alice is a strong character who attracts people to watch, her bluntness and determination to succeed would inspire the audience. Although it starts under tragic circumstances, the ending would be happy with Alice moving away and becoming a success in the dancing profession; her parents finally accepting and moving on with their daughter’s death, to start making something of their lives again. It is a refreshing film which plays with all of the audiences emotions. The trailer would have to capture these many emotions into it to tempt the audience into watching it, but I believe it would be successful. Other films like this could be The Mighty (1998). I feel this film is similar to my own in the way that it makes the audience feel a variety of emotions, as it makes them feel good that Maxwell Kane, a giant boy with learning difficulties, manages to overcome bullies with the help of young Kevin Dillion – a boy suffering with Morquios syndrome. Kevin, who has difficulties moving around, uses Maxwell’s size and strength to his advantage, and in return teaches Maxwell to read and write. As Max becomes cleverer, Kevin slowly loses his life long battle against his illness, and eventually passes away, causing immense grief to Maxwell. I feel this film matches mine in the way it really works all of the audience’s emotions, and The Mighty was relatively successful, making a gross profit of over two million.
