A Done Deal AS media robert clack

Evaluation Question - Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression from it?

Evaluation Questions - Question 6 - What have you learned about technologies from the process of construction this product?

Evaluation Question - Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Questions - Question 4 - What would persuade your audience to watch the rest of your film?

Evaluation Question - Question 3 - What kind of media institution may distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation Question - Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question - Question 1 - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and convention of real media product?

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Thriller evaluation questions from family101

The film Industry

The Film Industry

The basics of the film industry are: Production, Distribution and Exhibition.

The Chain:

Production --> Distribution --> Exhibition

(A company e.g. Paramount Pictures) --> (e.g. Company, Artificial eye) --> (e.g. Vue Cinemas)

The Disadvantages to this method the film industry uses are:

• Piracy
• Which causes a Loss in Profit

The Advantages to this method the film industry uses are:

• Easier and faster way to distribute films
• Better digital picture

90% of films are made in America (Hollywood). The Big Major Productions Companies are all part of Conglomerates, the big major production companies are also referred to as 'The Big Six' and are as follows:

• Paramount Pictures
• Universal
• 20th Century Fox
• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Walt Disney
• Columbia Pictures

"Indie" is short for Independent films, some examples of Indie films are:

• Summit Entertainment
• Film 4 Productions
• Icon Productions

Some examples of Mini Major Productions companies are:

• Dream Works
• The Weinstein Company
• LionsGate Entertainment

Vertical and Horizontal Integration

Production --> Warner Bros. Pictures --> DC Comics --> Rock Steady Games (Horizontal integration)

Distribution Warner Home Video

Exhibition Warner Village Cinemas*

(Vertical Integration)

*Warner Village Cinemas no longer exists. Warner Bros sold it off to gain profit so they wouldn't lose money, and so another company with more money will keep it going.

Production refers to the making of the film:

• Finding the idea
• Writing the script
• Pitching it to a studio
• Setting the budget
• Casting the stars and employing the crew
• Filming
• Editing

For a film to go into production it needs investors.

Potential Risks:

• What level of audience will it attract?
• Is it marketable?
• Level of funding necessary?
• Will the funding make a profitable return?

Greenlit:

Before a director can start filming a film it has to be "greenlit" - this meaning that funding has been made avaliable by the investors.

At this stage a project will have most of the key elements such as;

• Principle Cast
• Director
• Cinematographer
• Screenplay

It's the producer's job to bring all of these elements together.

Selling Points:

• The Stars
• If it relates to current events
• The Director
• Is it Original?
• The Genre
• Is it Topical?

Spin offs to give added Publicity: Star Wars created video games.

Film Rights

When an existing story (book, play, comic) is made into a film the "rights" have to be bought from the author. For example Harry Potter. J.K.Rowling, the author of all the Harry Potter episodes, made sure she was on the scene while production was taking place, so the film was the way she wanted it and she got more money every time a new Harry Potter film was made.

Tv drama and Stereotypes

                                       Tv Drama and stereotypes

Stereotypes represent people in society by emphasising certain common features.

Popular television (soaps, drama, sitcoms) make extensive use of stereotypes so that the audience can quickly recognise certain types of characters.

They are identified through characteristics such as dress, speech and behavior. The streotype therefore assists the dominant groups in maintaining their power over subordinate groups.

Stereotypes are about power relations between the powerful dominant and the weak surbordinate. The media constructs meanings about the world, they represent it and help the audience make sense of it. For representation to be meaningful, there needs to be a shared recognition of people, situation and ideas.

Digital Production

 Digital Production

 

 

 

 non-digital film

- Traditional films were made up image sprinted onto acetate negatives.

- These are then 'spliced' together to form a reel of film.

- These are then fed through a projector at a constant speed of 24 frames a second which makes the pictures appear to be moving, this is known as Analogue.

 The advantages of digital production

- Digital camcorders using a high-definition format called HD-CAM are much cheaper than standard film cameras.

- New digital camera technology rivals traditional film for quality.

- High quality film production is now far more accessible.

- Digital technology can store, transmit and retrieve a huge amount of data exactly as it was originally recorded.

- The quality of digital film doesn't deteriorate.

- Analogue technology (film) loses info in transmission and degrades every time you view it.

- Memory cards can be re-used many times, unlike film.

- Footage can be viewed immediately on set.

- Production time is cut and so are costs.

- By Hollywood standards digital video costs virtually nothing.

- Digital info is more flexible than Analogue info.

- A computer can manipulate bytes of data very easily.

- Virtually no processing necessary before the editing stage.

- E.g. ease of editing using a program such as Final Cut Express/ AVID/ Premiere.

- This saves time which saves money.

- E.g. Attack of the clones (Star Wars):

• first digital film
• $16,000 was made on 220 hours of digital tape
• $1.8 million would have been spent on 220 hours of film

A famous Director like, Quentine Tarantino refuses to film Digitally as he thinks it ruins the film because he prefers Analogue.

Digital Cinema- Distribution:

- Digital films are big computer files

- Can be written to DVD-Rom

- Sent via broadband

- Transmitted via satellite

- No shipping costs virtually

- Not more expensive to show in more than one cinema

What are the advantages to digital distribution?

- Film prints are very expensive (£1500 - £3000) per print

- Expensive to ship heavy reels of film and then to collect them when film finishes its run

- You have to be very cautious about where your films are played because of cost

- This is one reason why there is such a limited choice at multiplexes

- Digital films can be opened simultaneously all over the world

- When first introduced digital projectors were incredibly expensive and so the cost to cinemas were reluctant to buy them.

Digital Cinema- Exhibition:

- A good analogue film projector produces a clear, crisp, vibrant image but every time the print is projected the film is damaged

- A digital projector produces a high quality image and sound every time

- The 1000th view is as good as the first one

- A digital projector doesn't need a trained projectionist

Shifty

Shifty

Shifty was made in 2008 under the Microwave Scheme.

It was made in 18 days and it cost less than £100,000 to make. This influenced other small film companies and film industries to do the same.

Evan Creevy wrote and directed the film.

It was released on the 24th April 2009.

It made £143,000 in box office.

It was distributed by Metrodome who marketed the film by spending £50,000 trying to market it in ways such as; posters and billboards etc.

Metrodome produced 2 different types of trailers. One for older people and One for younger people. This was so the could get younger people in the Cinemas to watch their film and to get them interested in the film.

Cross media convergence was used to promote Shifty.

They also used Fly-posters, adverts on Pirate Radio, the Internet and emails to promote the film. They also used websites and social networking sites.

Tv Drama - Binary oppositions

     

      
                                                           Claude Levi Strauss

Anthropology is the study of human nature.

Nicknamed 'the father of modern anthropology' Levi-Strausswas a french anthropologist who considered 'culture' to be a system of symbolic communication.

He believed that we understand the meaning of words through their opposites. For example, we can only truly understand what 'light' is if we can identify 'dark'. Words themselves are therfore symbols used to allow us to garner a deeper meaning about what seperates them from their opposites - semiotics.

In understanding binaries, we can come to recognise the meaning that sociert places on groups of people.

Representation and Stereotypes

Representation and stereotypes

Key Word: Archetype: The Original Model

The media constructs meanings about the world.They represent it and help audiences make sense of it, there needs to be a shared recognition of people, situations and ideas for representation to be meaningful.This prompts the question: how have groups been represented by media products? In a positive or negative way?

The media give us images, and ways of imagining particular groups which can have material effects on how these groups are understood by others. Stereotypes represent people in society by emphasising certain common features.

Popular TV such as Soaps, dramas and sitcoms make extensive use of stereotypes so that the audience can quickly recognise certain types of characters.They are identified through characteristics such as dress, speech and behaviour.The stereotype therefore assists the dominant groups in maintaining their power over subordinate groups.

Characteristics - Gender

Characteristics

These are the archetypical labels attached to both gender by society.

 

Men are seen as the following:

• Masculine
• Controlling
• Stoic
• Strong
• Possessive
• Power
• Confrontational

Whereas Woman are seen as the following:

• Feminine
• Emotional
• Innocent
• Honest
• Vulnerable
• Subordinate
• Narcissistic
• Promiscuous
• Home Maker
• Independent
• Weak

Archetypes can be universally understood and are well recognised in traditional stories. They are known as 'The Original Model'.

Generic Types: In relation to specific genres (crime, drama, period drama etc). Characters which offer a means of discussing contemporary society by using 'stock' characters. They are understood in relation to other media texts in the same genre, rather than referencing the 'real world' E.g. 'the gay best friend in a Rom Com' or 'the antagonistic henchman in an action film'.

Stereotype: Judging someone before you meet and judging certain people regardless of their personality. This can be determined from dress, speech and behaviour etc. The saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover' can be associated with stereotypes.

Vladimir Propp's Narrative theory

Vladimir Propp and Narrative Theory (1895-1970)

Narrative is defined as the way a story is organised.

Propp was a Soviet Scholar who analysed Russian Folk Tales.

He found that there were basic components that make up a narrative.

Propp's 8 Key Characters:

1. The Hero- reacts to the donor, weds the princess.

2. The Villain- struggles against the hero.

3. The Donor- prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.

4. The Helper- helps the hero in their quest.

5. The Father Figure- an older, wise man offering comfort or guidance. A role model.

6. The Dispatcher- a character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.

7. The Princess- the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain.

8. False Hero- helps the hero and we think the false hero is the hero at the start but ends up not being the hero.

Propp's Narrative Functions:

-Preparation

-Complication

-Transference

-Struggle

-Return

-Recognition

Propp's Characters / Star Wars Characters

Hero / Luke Skywalker

Villain / Darth Vader

Donor / Obi-wan Kenobi

Helper / R2D2, C3PO, Chewbacca

Father Figure / Obi-wan Kenobi

Dispatcher / Princess Leia

Princess / Princess Leia

False Hero / Han Solo

Antonio Gramsci modified Marx's theory with the concept of hegemony. Hegemony are dominant groups that retain power not through physical force but through perpetuating particular attitudes and values which appear so 'obvious' that they are often described as 'common sense'.

These taken-for-granted values at the heart of a society become dominant by what appear to be natural processes rather than through any imposed system of authority.

The media could be seen to actively 'naturalise' or reinforce these values or ideology.

The history of Soap Operas

 
                                       History of Soap Operas

A Soap Opera is a phone first coined in the 1930s in the USA. it was used to describe radio series that were sponsored by soap manufacturers.
Conventions of a Soap Opera:

•Usually runs week-in, week-out, all year round

•It features continuous narratives dealing with domestic themes and personal or family relationships

•Has a well-known theme tune


•Bigger casts- however there is a limit to the number of characters available at any one time.

•They're often set around a small, central area such as a square or village

•Features ordinary working class characters

•British soaps aim for realism and realistic plots

•They always end on cliffhangers

•3,4 or even 5 story lines are in place at one time

Characters:
The grandparent figure- wise old person. usually female (This character helps others with their problems with advice and support)

The strong woman- An independent, powerful, aggressive woman. She's usually found at the centre of conflicts Jack-the-lad- A male character that manipulates others to his own ends.

'The Baddie'. Young Couple- A couple that bravely faces the difficulties of life.

Feisty Young Female- A strong-willed girl, almost always young, who desires independence. She's usually argumentative.

Troublesome oldie- Older, grumpy and meddling. Always interferes in other peoples business. This character is still loved for good intentions.

The boss figure- In charge, people can be scared of him, usually a male character

Exam question- Primeval extract- Gender

How is gender represented in the primeval extract?

In the Primeval extract, common features about both genders are emphasises in order to portray them in a stereotypical way. However, these stereotypes are challenged in certain ways.

Abby driving a tractor, which is thought as being a man’s job, is subversive of the stereotype of women being the homemaker and having ‘feminine jobs’ such as nurses and nursery teachers. When nick told Abby to stop digging, the silence and the digetic sound of a mysterious row foreboded that something dangerous was about to happen; which led on to a non-digetic action-like soundtrack, this built tension in the atmosphere. The low angle shot of the tiger attacking the male protagonist and Abby trying to save him suggested that Nick is the subordinate character, whilst Abby is the dominant character. This challenges hegemony because it is archetypical of the male to save the female; this is supported by Vladimir Propp’s narrative theory of the eight key characters. Propp states that the hero (Nick) rescues the princess (Abby) from an unfair evil (the tiger) and weds her.

However, due to the stereotype of a macho, alpha male, Nick tries to save Abby as if she was a ‘damsel in distress’ in order to retain his archetypical masculine status. Unlike Abby’s, Nick’s attempt to defeat the tiger took a lot of effort, which is shown through the variety of follow up shots that were used, then there is medium shot of Nick on the floor while Abby kills the tiger with very little attempt, there is a role reversal as nick becomes the inferior gender while Abby is superior. This subverts the stereotype of men being the stronger gender and the conqueror of all things

The medium shot of three men walking towards the camera alongside a woman connotes that both genders are being portrayed as being equal; this challenges hegemony because it is traditional for  men to have power over women. Therefore, this shows the modern view on how women are now perceived in society. In addition, a stedi-cam was used to show the group having a conversation, the camera kept cutting back to nick when a member of the group had spoken, this shows nick as being the leader in charge of the group; according to Vladimir Propp’s narrative theory of the eight key characters, Nick would be seen as a hero, as the donors (the other members of the group) prepare the hero by giving useful information about the tiger and the dead bodies, in order to defeat it. This supports the archetypical stereotype of a man being the gender with power and respect. Furthermore, the lighting was quite naturalistic which was contrapuntal to the incident of danger that occurred.

Moreover, there was a scene with a stereotypically feminine woman, this was shown by her appearance; her red lipstick suggested danger and seductiveness, she was showing a little cleavage which implies that she is flirtatious and she is well dressed which connotes that she is of a middle class background. This woman is an opposite of Abby as the feminine woman supports hegemony whilst Abby challenges it; this is supported by the “father of modern anthropology” Levi Strauss, Strauss stated that we understand the meaning of words through their opposites. For example, we can only truly understand what ‘light’ is if we can identify ‘dark’. Words themselves are therefore symbols used to allow us to garner a deeper meaning about what separates them from their opposites. In this context, we can only identify how different and modern Abby’s way of life is because we are aware of the traditional, stereotypical and archetypical woman like the feminine woman. Realism is being attempted here because we are shown how far women have come from having the expressive role in the home and being home maker to actually progressing to doing what is stereotypically thought as being “a man’s job”.

There is an over the shoulder shot of the feminine woman, looking at the farmer. This suggests that the woman is the dominant character while the farmer is subordinate, this is also supported by their dialogue; the feminine woman was threatening the farmer. This subverts the stereotype of men having power over women and women being weak. The farmer then regains the status of being stereotypically superior and the feminine woman; inferior. However, the farmer’s physique is bigger than the woman’s, so it should be fairly easy for the farmer to tame the feminine woman, but the fact that the farmer needed a weapon to threaten an unarmed, stereotypically feminine woman suggests that the farmer is actually the subordinate character because the reason he is currently the dominant character is because of the weapon. This challenges hegemony because men are thought to be naturally biologically stronger than females. In addition, the digetic sound of the dogs barking and the non-digetic soundtrack being played in the background build up tension in the atmosphere and forebodes that something dangerous  or a climax change is about to occur.

In conclusion, hegemony is also challenged when the feminine woman is rescued by a man and a woman. This goes against Vladimir Propp’s narrative theory of the eight key characters as the feminine woman wasn’t saved by a specific ‘hero’ who was to wed her. In this context, the heroes are Abby and the other two men; this subverts the stereotype of the female always being the victim. This shows the new era of how women are perceived in society.

The Hunger Games

 

 

The Hunger Games

 

Director: Gary Ross

Producer: Nina Jacobson

Co-produced and Distributed by: LionsGate

Based on a BOOK!

On the opening day the film made $67.3 million

On the opening weekend the film made $152.5 million

It's the first film since Avatar to remain in first place at the American Box Office for 4 weekends running.

Movies Budget: $78 million

Grossing: $685 million

The film sold out in over 4,300 showings across the US

Tentpole releases are when the studios used for the film are kept going. e.g. The money made from The Hunger Games kept LionsGate going. And the money made from Twilight kept Summit Entertainment going.

Marketing Budget:

Bigger studios spend $100 million marketing major releases and have worldwide marketing and publicity staffs of over 100 people. Lionsgate has generated a high interest with only 21 people.

LionsGate used cross media convergence such as print to publish The Hunger Games.

The prints used were: 80,000 posters, ads, billboards etc to help publish The Hunger Games.

Twitter was the main marketing tactic used.

In July 2011 they released the first official poster via Facebook. And in August 2011 they gave out a sneak peak teaser trailer. All of these things build up to the exhibition of the film,, which creates popularity, anticipation and excitement.

"The Hunger Games" trended worldwide on Twitter within minutes.

Publicity Stunts (PR) were performed e.g. 5 fans were invited to the films' set, no reporters were allowed.

shot list

Shot List
Scene	Shot Number	Description
1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37	A black screen with a voice over on 8it A medium shot of a handshake A pan of the girls going in to school A long shot of the girls greeting each other A medium shot of the girls walking past A three spilt screen of the girls walking along corridors to classes, one of a clock and the other of schools kids throughout the day to show the pass of time A medium shot of one girl on the phone A long shot of April approaching Kristina (the girl on the phone) A match on action of the girls exiting the building A pan of the girls walking by Another medium shot of the girls walking by again A long shot of the girls at the gate A long shot of the girls walking towards the bus stop A point of view shot of April pressing the traffic light button A point of view from the stalker of April and Kristina sitting at the bus stop Another point of view shot of the stalker on the bus watching the two girls A long shot of April and Kristina getting off the bus A tracking shot of April and Kristina walking along the bridge A point of view shot of the stalker walking through traffic to get to the other side of where April and Kristina were heading Point of view shot of the stalker watching April and Kristina walking down the slope A long shot of April and Kristina approaching the Zebra Crossing A long shot of the girls walking into the distance A point of view shot of the stalker watching the girls walk while he was standing in the bushes A crane shot of the girls walking into the bowling alley Point of view of the stalker watching the girls dancing and the teacher answering the phone The teacher gets into the car A crane shot of the girls and other dancers leaving the building A stalkers point of view through the bushes of the girls going their separate ways A long shot of April walking into the distance A medium shot of April walking through to the subway and the mysterious stalker follows her A long shot of April walking towards the camera with the mysterious stalker still following Medium shot of April looking behind her at the stalker A two shot of April walking quickly in fear away from the stalker while putting her hood up Long shot of April running away from the stalker A high angle shot of April running up the stairs away from the stalker A medium shot of April running towards the car Another medium shot of the stalker pushing April into the car

Story-board

Gala Moan's Story-baord

Gala Moan's Animatic

Shooting Schedule

    Shooting Schedule

Day	Scene	Location	Equipment	Costumes	Props	Cast and Crew
1	Walking into school Walking out of school Two girls being stalked	Robert Clack School Entrance Robert Clack School Exit Goresbrook	Camera and Tripod	Everyday Clothing	Phones and Bags	Lucy, Arafat, Artiola, Gabriele
2	kidnapping scene Dance scene Deal scene	Gores-brook Robert Clack leisure center Artiola's dad's car	Camera and tripod	Everyday Clothing a suite	gloves, mobile phones,	Lucy, Arafat, Artiola, Gabriele

Contingency Plan

Contingency Plan Name: Lucy, Arafat, Artiola and Gabriele Production: Gala Moan Productions

Potential problems and how to overcome these problems: If someone is sick- and we need him or her then we will have to shoot another scene that they are not needed in. If we are told that we are not allowed to shoot in a certain location then we will change the scenario of the scene to fit another location. If our equipment gets damaged by accident, then we will inform a teacher straight away in order to replace the camera and to avoid future confusion.