Digital Technology
• How has digital technology helped you
to capture your ideas for media production?
When constructing this product I learnt
a great day about technologies. I used a wide range of technologies such as
Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, YouTube, IMDb, Google and a Canon HD
camera. When carrying out research prior to constructing my media film opening,
I utilised YouTube in order to look at existing products within the film
industry and also film openings that had been produced by previous Media
Studies students so that I was able to gain an understanding of what is
successful and what kind of things I would be able to create.
When it came to filming, I found that
the camera was very well suited to our task set because we were able to achieve
some great results, particularly down to the clear picture quality that we were
able to obtain; having said this the camera was also easy enough to use that
there weren't any prominent difficulties, especially because we had used the
cameras before when filming projects in class and in our 'The Hangover' project
which we completed in groups.
Not only was I able to learn about
technologies during the construction of my project but also how to develop the
use of them into producing a successful and well-rounded film opening.
Therefore, digital technology helped to
capture my ideas for my media production in the way that they enhanced my
initial visions and enabled me to create a product that was particularly
successful. I could not fault the technologies that I used because they were
all very useful despite having some initial problems which made me realise that
I wouldn’t be able to achieve every single one of my ideas or visions. Overall,
the technologies enhanced and developed my prior knowledge of them that I had
and so I was able to learn a great deal.
Creativity
• What features of your work would you
say are original to you?
I believe that most of the work that I
created was original because I tried to challenge conventions from already
existing media texts and so the ideas and features of my work were new and
innovative. I didn’t want to create a media text that was fully stereotypical
and conventional because it wouldn’t enable me to demonstrate my understandings
and knowledge that I had gained from the subject and course. Therefore, I would
say that most features were original such as; my production company and
sequence – Juxtaposed Productions; title sequence; my initial idea and all
production work.
Research and planning
• How did your research into genre
contribute to your production work?
I carried out a great deal of research
into genre prior to my production work and this was very helpful because it
enabled me to look at the traditional/standard conventions and how I could
incorporate and challenge them.
When brainstorming and attempting to
establish the genre and audience for my film I created an audience character
profile that allows you to identify what kind of audience you want to target
and how they will relate to the film. I decided that I would like to target the
Mainstream Plus audience because they are primarily looking for good films
however, they also try new things that aren’t similar to the more mainstream
big ‘money-makers’. I chose the genre of a ‘Romantic-Comedy.’
Post-production
• How much of your text was ‘created’
only in post-production?
I believe that the concept of 'creation'
through post-production is a necessary and inevitable process because no idea
would be complete in the initial ideas stage and when a director or editor is
filming the original script, there are new ideas and concepts which are added
or removed in order to make it more successful and effective.
I would say that quite a lot of my text
was 'created' during post-production because there were many ideas and scenes
that I hadn't thought of and when it came to filming and editing I believed
that it was crucial to add them. However, I did remain true to my original
ideas throughout, merely adapting and enhancing them as I went along the
process.
Using
conventions from real media texts
• In what ways have your productions
used or developed conventions adopted from real media products?
The genre that I chose when planning my film was a Romantic Comedy, more
commonly known as a ‘Rom-Com’; they are typically light-hearted films with
humorous plotlines that are centred on romantic ideals such as ‘that true love
is able to surmount most obstacles’. Although I followed this genre, I wanted
to challenge the concept by not displaying a possibly romance or even the
female protagonist’s physicality to the audience within the opening
two-minutes. My reason for doing this was because I wanted the audience to
build up a rapport and understanding of Eliza’s character through her dialogue
rather than establishing a stereotype or prejudgement of the character from
just appearance alone; this also allows for some background to be established
because it is her dialogue that captures the audience, this keeps them
intrigued and interested to watch the rest of the film.
Another aspect that I chose to challenge was the range of shots that I
used within my opening; I wanted to keep it simple, and so I didn’t use too
many shots and when it came to editing I used effects such as a cross-dissolve
in order to blend the shots together so that it flowed well as a transition and
was easy to watch for the audience, rather than using snappy and fast-paced
shots that would be typical of genres such as horror or action films.
Having said this, I have used and developed the typical forms and
conventions of real media products within the industry by using non-diajectic
audio within my opening; I did this in the form of music and Eliza’s voiceover.
I believe that using the music allows emotion to be developed within the
audience and this can strongly influence the effect of the film on the
audience. A film that particularly influenced and inspired me was Bridget
Jones’ Diary because within her dialogue and voice-overs she provides
a very humorous and entertaining aspect and this fuels the popularity and
success of the films.
One form that I chose to develop was the use of quotes from famous and
well-known people from around the world within a film opening; a particularly
effective example of this for me is Remember Me in which
Robert Pattinson’s character has a fairly troubled lifestyle because of his
father and he is able to gain inspiration and many life lessons from Gandhi.
Remember Me is a 2010 American romantic, coming-of-age drama film directed by
Allen Coulter, with the screenplay by Will Fetters. One particular quote is
"Gandhi said that whatever you do in life will be insignificant but it is
very important that you do it...". This quote relates to my media film
because I am intrigued by the use of famous historical figures whose words are
able to have a great and significant impact upon peoples lives.
“ In a typical romantic comedy the two
lovers tend to be young, likeable, and apparently meant for each
other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance (e.g.,
class differences, parental interference; a previous girlfriend or boyfriend)
until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally wed. A
wedding-bells, fairy-tale-style happy ending is practically mandatory. ”
