Media Questionnaire Summary

Project Evaluation

Over the past 4 - 5 months myself, Jack Naylor and Omi Chowdhury have been working on a short 2 minute film for our media project. The film was finalised at approx. 1 minute 50 seconds and focuses heavily on the romantic comedy genre.


The film itself begins by entering the viewer into the film mid - flow in an arguement between our main characters (Jack & Omi) and their characters in their media project, Christopher Looms and Hannah Butler. A simple dip to black is used to enter the first scene, as if to show the lapse of time rather than an abrupt entry via a normal cut. The main purpose of this section of the film is to set the scene and surroundings that the characters are in, and to set the films plot in motion for the viewer. During this scene the camera remains to the rear of the room, showing the characters and props in the room - a film within a film when broken down. After Ms Taberham enters the room and disrupts the boys project, another dip to black with the text "The following day" is presented to singnify a second time lapse to the fllowing day, and the main outlying plot is the discussed by the two main characters in the common room. A mid shot shows both characters as they discuss their school related issues in the busy and noisey common room.


The mid shot continues as the two discuss their media project and its outlying faults as jack is startled and grabs Omi in disbelief. As Omi recovers from his rough handling, Jack asks for his advice on weathr or not he should approach this "fit girl". As Jack summons the courage to approach her (Played by Laura Bramley) several cuts ensue, cutting from Laura seeming to be flirting with Jack in slow motion with very cheesey, porn star - esque music playing in the background. The cuts to Jack are coupled with the normal sounds of the common room, as if to highlight Lauras importance and her overall impressive nature during this section of the film. As Jack gets closer, he shoots her a cheeky wink as if to return her flirtatious gestures. Another cut to Laura shows yet more playful behaviour as she flicks her hair and smiles, seemingly in Jacks direction. The final cut of this scene shows Jack approaching Laura from her perspective in her seat, as the scene enters a slow motion section and shows Jack falling to the ground. Fast 70's disco / techno music plays as the title of the film, "Falling for her" is shown along with a dip to black.

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

Our films underlying idea was that we would represent your typical teenager however with the addition of comedy - Jacks fall being the main highlight of this choice, also relating to the main title of the film. The films main task is to identify how different Omi and Jack really are despite how close they are friendship wise. Jack being the conforming, hard working "geeky" character with very little social reputation, whereas Omi is the quiet, yet very strong and confident character who wiould take the audience by surprise on numerous occasions. This sort of opposites attract nature of our characters makes them compliment each other really well and makes for some excellent screenplay, with ones downfalls being corrected by the other, such as Jacks inability to be socially outgoing and with Omi talking him into approaching 'the girl'. We have tried to keep the nature of the sitautions that the characters would be involved in as natural as possible, so no gun fights or robots, just things that could happen to your typical teenager during a normal day, and this is a key drawing point for our audience to our film.


This however, could have a negative impact on our audience draw as the lower - aged teens (13 - 15, for example) may not want such serious and regular humour, they may want something with a Disney like twist to hold their interest for longer.

• How does your media project represent particular social groups?

The main social group our film represents is the middle class, (with some exceptions) socially available teenager. The underlying plot of our film is based around teenage life - relationship troubles and college work. This is backed up by our character selection, all of whom are between the age of 17 - 19. Also, the clothing selection reflect their middle class, relaxed nature - in one scene Jack is wearing a smart football jersey with track suit bottoms and a smart pair of trainers - a very typical teenage outfit. In another scene, Omi is pictured wearing a sock head hat, which is a very popular style choice amongst teenage males.

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

Before we started to actually film our media project, we each had research roles - the majority of our research progress was made by Jack, however, as he looked up films from our genre choice, romantic comedy, and did in depth research on a number of them. One thing that was apparent was that the main successful films from our genre were distributed by Universal Pictures (One example is the film 'Love actually' that was released in 2003 and to date has made a staggering $246,942,107), and thus if our film was to make it to production / big screen level, Universal Pictures would be my choice for film studio to use to produce our film. The film Love Actually may be seen as a more mature film, however I believe that our films underlying plot is geared towards being very true to life and 'grown up'. I believe that if a poster advertising our film was released that pictured our main characters, maybe with girl 'x' between them both, it would attract our audience regardless of the production company, and with Universal pictures sterling reputation it would be of a high standard.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our media production would typically be males and females between the age of 15 and 20. This may seem like a small target band, however with any film there are always people older / younger who watch films that are not aimed at them anyway. However with our films main concept being around teenage life and being filmed within a 6th form college, I believe that the people who could relate to this the most would be around the age 18 mark - well within our target band.

• How did you attract / address your audience?

The main attraction for our audience to our film is its plot, setting and character base. The plot, for example, is one based on coursework and relationships - something our target audience can deffinately relate to as at that age (15 - 20) they would be going through the same day to day routine as our characters. The setting was a major part in our films audience draw - our film would have seemed watery and poorly planned if we had have used our homes or a P.E hall as a main setting - using the common room and a classroom just highlights our films main structure - school life. Our character base is very typical of todays teenager, so characters that our audience can relate to and enjoy watching on screen.

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

I, myself, am very computer literate, however during the main filming of our product I was learning as I went along - as I wasnt actually in the film, I took responsibility for the majority (85%) of editing, filming and directing. We worked as a team, each offering strengths in the light of someone elses weakenesses - for example, if I ran into a dry spot deciding on the plot, I could very easily ask Jack or Omi for ideas to progress our film. When they were struggling editing a clip in Premier Elements, I could help out there. Using the cameras was tricky at first, especially with tripod placement, however after a few filming sessions we all were able to setup quickly and efficiently.

The main program use during this project was Adobe Premier Elements, a program that I had personally not used up until this point. I became quickly familiar with the program, as did my teammates Jakc and Omi - however with them being filmed and deciding on new plot ideas pretty much each lesson, the majority of editing was handed over to me, a task that I really enjoyed and feel that I showed my strengths in. During our final week of editing and final tweaks, however, I was unable to go to school due to illness (got the flu, not swine before you ask) and thus Jack and Omi had to put the final few edits into the film and add the music as well as burning it to a disc. Upon my return I watched the final edit and was very impressed at the two's competence in editing and their music selection as it complemented the film extremely well.

Costume Design

StoryBoard

With credits to Omi for his fantastic drawing skills.

Shooting Schedule

Camera Map

This is the camera map of our first opening scene.

Filming Progress

As of today we have 80% of our filming complete - we need to film the very first scene, however complications over technology and cast ilnesses has prevented us from doing so.

The complications we have experienced technology wise are due to file corruption and the video capture / editing program being extremely tempremental when saving files. Due to this we have lost roughyl an hours work done on cutting up the clips and editing the entire film opening. We are working to correct this, however, as we hope to get both the script finalised and the first scene filmed today.

Our filming progress to date is:

Establishing shot of the front of the 6th form block,

Jack & Omi's conversation in the common room,

Laura, aka girl x's "flirting section"

Jack's wink as he walks towards Laura

Jack's fall.

The script.

The Script (First revision - changes made since)

Camera shows Looms and Hannah

Looms: Darth Butler, this is your end! You cannot beat me, I NEVER LOSE!Hannah: Ahhhh no!A shout from the teacher ends this shotMiss Scrott: CUT ! The camera zooms out and shows two other characters Jack and Omi talking.Jack: Im such a loser, I can’t believe how bad I am at everything, I can never do anything right.

Omi: I know what your saying man, the best kiss ive ever had is with my mammar, im that bad with the women.

Jack: That’s nothing! At least your mammar kisses you! I think its time for it to change I really going to go for it and….

Jack trails off and he sees this beautiful girl walking straight past his eyes.

Omi: Oi mate, you’ve got no chance, give up before you’ve even started.

Jack sits gorming out and drools over this extraordinary girl.

Omi: No mate, don’t do it.

Jack stands up and moves towards the girl after finally summing up enough courage.

Jack: I can do this, im sick of being a nobody, im going to get that girl!

Lightsaber Tests

Recently over the weekend of Saturday 24th and Sunday the 25th of Janaury, Kyle went to Argos and purchased a single lightsaber for our film. He then recorded a short series of footage to test the animation in which Kyle will do during the rest of our film. We bought these lightsabers so we could see if they would work for our film and to make sure we could perfect it so we can do the best work possible.

Men in black 2 opening

Before the actual start of the film, the company who prodcued it Comlumbia, is shown with the women holding a light, which flashes a bright white light as the equipment in the Men in Black film does when they are erasing somebodys memory. Then the actual opening of the sci-fi comedy Men in Black 2 starts with a pretend t.v. show talking about the 'light of Zartha' It involves a short story where this all powerful source is taken from a group of people (The Zarthons) and given to a secret organization called the Men In Black to protect it from the evil Celina. This short clip of the film shows the viewer what will probably happen during the rest of the film, so it gives the idea an in-sight to what will unfold. When this short film ends the camera then shows an ailen spaceship, which is going around destroying planets. Whilst this is happening the credits are also appearing in the corners of the screen, they are in a scientific font which is recognizable with Men In Black. The background music is dramatic which fits in well with this film because of what is happpening, the film has eerie music right up until the spaceship crash lands onto Earth which gives the impression that something bad is either happening or something terrible is about to take place.

No country for old men opening.

At the start of the No Country For Old Men, the main title of the the film comes across the screen, as it slowly fades away Tommy Lee Jones' voice comes into action as it shows the countryside in a country. It shows the mountains and the deserts, Tommy Lee Jones' talks about his weapon and the crimes that happen in his time as Sheffif. Every single shot is a establishing shot of the country, showing the sunrise. The camera then shows a low angled shot of a police car as a police officer takes a man into custody. There is no music in the background, it is just the sound of Tommy Lee Jones' talking about his time as a sheriff and possibly what somebody would hear in the countryside, the rustling of the trees and bushes and the sound of crickets.

Stormbreaker Opening

The opening of storm breaker is a blurred shot of a classroom full of young teenagers, as it moves along it becomes more into focus with the titles of the film appearing across the screen. The sound is of a teacher speaking and talking about an assignment, as it moves along to a blonde haired teenager where the camera stops as it shows that he will be the main character. This boys name is Alex Ryder. His task is to discuss his family life, where he discusses his uncle and his housekeeper. He talks about how boring his uncles life is when the music speeds up and it shows how his uncle is some type of secret agent. There is quick cuts because of the way the action is happening and how Alex Ryder is talking about his family.

Why we changed our original film idea.

Why We Changed It

During the making of our first idea 'G Wars' we came across many troubles, including, lack of time, lack of budget and a problem with the technical side of our work. We first of all basically wanted to make a film, fill it with effects and then make a spoof comedy of Star Wars, including lightsabers and the cloaks of what a jedi would normally wear, which came to our first problem. Money. We had to pay for all of our props we required to make 'G Wars' when we couldnt afford the objects and clothes we wanted, so the idea was slowly going down hill because of the lack of money. Then as we progressed throughout the weeks writing up the story and entering our main ideas, we realised we did not have the required time we needed, it was taking too long to perfect everything, at this point we started to come to the conclusion that the 'G Wars' film was not going to happen. Then we had to discuss the technical side, with Star Wars being full of effects, sounds and laser, we would have to include all of these special effects to make a realistic Star Wars spoof. However, with time not on our side we had to re-think our plan, we could not afford the props we wanted, Kyle could make the effects happen, so this gave the group hope, but however we did not have the time we needed, so we came up with a better idea and finally changed our film to a better narrative in which we could complete.

5 Films that influenced our genre choice.

These 5 films are similar to our new idea, they have love, comedy and dispair involved in the production, our group researched these films to see how it could improve how film.

Love Actually (2003)
Director: Richard Curtis
Production Company: Universal Pictures

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
Director: Sharon Maguire
Production Company: Universal Pictures

Hitch (2005)
Director: Andy Tennant
Production Company: Columbia Pictures

Six Days, Seven Nights (1998)
Director: Ivan Reitman
Production Company: Touchstone Pictures

You've Got Mail (1998)
Director: Nora Ephron
Production Company: Warner Bros

These fiver films have helped us collect new ideas for the opening start of our film.

Film Treatment

Romantic Comedy Idea.

The beginning of the film shows a progressive zooming shot of the Jedi (aka Looms) performing a forward roll into a combat situation against Darth Butler (aka Hannah). A series of messy combat ensues, when suddenly “cut!” is shouted. A mid shot shows the main characters (Jack & Omi) media teacher, enter the filming area in a rush. A shot reverse shot is then initiated between the teacher and the students as they try to convince her that their filming idea is a legitimate one. She calls an end to all their filming, as an establishing shot shows the viewer roughly 3 seconds of the entrance to the 6th form block.

The camera gradually zooms in on the main focus point – our 2 main characters. They are sat at a table alone chatting as a mid shot shows us. Another shot reverse shot is initiated as the 2 characters discuss how much of a failure they both are – during which jacks eyes glaze over as he gazes over Omi’s shoulder to look at the girl he likes. Omi notices, catches his eye and tells him that he stands no chance with her.

Jack plucks up the courage, jumps out of his seat and strides towards the female. Omi turns and watches him walk towards her. A slow motion section starts (as does a section of Music) as jack progresses towards her, several close ups reveal the girl smiling and playing with her hair, seemingly in jacks direction. He gets within a few steps of her, trips over a bag (at which point the slow motion effect ends) and faceplants the floor with a loud thud. The title / credits then roll with the music in the background.

Rest of the film.

The rest of the film will insue after the credits have finished rolling in and the music has faded out. An establishing shot will present us with the entrance to the 6th form block once again, cutting to a mid shot showing our 2 main characters in a lesson. A canted angle shows us Omi's page, full of revision notes neatly presented and formatted. The camera then slides across to view Jack's page, presenting us with a stark contrast in comparison to Omi's - there is next to no writing on his page, and he is sat doodling on the edge of the page. An over the shoulder shot from the teachers perspective is shown as he asks Jack "Is everything OK son?" and "Can we please continue with the lesson!". Another mid show shows us both the characters sat next to one another, as Jacks airs his worries with Omi.

Jack's back is turned to the door as he converges with Omi, and amidst the conversation about girl "X" she walks into the room. Jack and Omi fall completely silent as a mid shot shows the girl approaching the teachers desk and apologising for her late start. A close up of Jacks throat is presented to the viewer as he is seen to swallow quite hard and fall silent once again. A second slow motion section is initiated as she walks across the room towards her desk, past Jack with a close up of his reaction. Omi then slaps Jack to snap him out of his dream like trance, as another mid shot shows the teacher looking distraught in Jack's direction.

The rest of the film highlights Jacks struggle to get the attention of the girl he desires, with Omi joining him for the ride. Hannah and Chris later re join the 2 main characters as the school project is re - initiated, with the request from their teacher that girl "X" joins there group. As Jack struggles to come to terms with this new - added distraction to his school life, Omi sees it as his chance to make a move on girl "X". The boys fall out over the situation and the project seems at a loss, until Omi decides to get back on track with the project and promptly dumps girl "X".

This was applicable to our first film idea, however we will be integrating the lightsaber that we purchased.

LIGHTSABER STUFF

Recently over the weekend of Saturday 24th and Sunday the 25th of Janaury, Kyle went to Argos and purchased a single lightsaber for our film. He then recorded a short section of footage to test the animation in which Kyle will do during the rest of our film. We bought this lightsaber so we could see if it would work for our film and to make sure we could perfect it so we can do the best work possible.

Narrative Synopsis

This was our initial idea, however due to technology complications and time retraints we could not use this idea.

G’wars Opening Narrative This is the that we will make over time, i was the main creator of the story but also i had equal input from my co-workers Kyle and Omi, this film will be only 2 minutes long but the rest of the narrative was required to show people where the film was going.

Opening Scene:
A dark street in Nottingham, with the star wars writing in the foreground but saying ''G'wars''. Jack and Omi appear in the street. Sizing each other up and they circle around waiting for a battle to take place. Jack and omi discuss the death of all the G’s, Omi being the leader of the G’s stands up for their rights and says how Jack will die and the sith lords will be no more. Jack wanting the G’s race to end, attacks Omi in a quick flurry with his lightsaber. Omi using his primary weapon the ‘’the lightsaber’’

‘’They brawl’’

Omi strikes down Jack, and as Jack reveals his true identity, and tells Omi he is his father, when Omi says ‘’that’s impossible, your white!’’. Omi leaves the scene of the battle chanting in a gangster tone as G’s music appears in the background.

The rest of the film:

Omi tells the G race that everything is fine; peace has been restored at last. Omi has taken down the main sith lord, without knowing it was his father, he becomes confused about what Jack said to him, he seems to think it is his Father but yet that’s impossible. Omi’s wife, Layher comforts Omi after these recent events as the G’s celebrate there recent victory as they believe that this is the end of the wars between the G’s and the sith lords. When Jacks wife, Omi’s Mum, has made another son named Jackson, so Jackson, Jacks son and Omi’s brother, finds Omi to take him down, finally and have revenge! Jackson’s finds Omi, and wants to avenge his father’s death without the knowledge that Omi is his brother. Then the two brother’s mum turns up and shouts to tell them that they are brothers, when Omi’s brother cries ‘’YOUR NOT MY MOTHER!!’’ ‘’YES I AM!!’’ The brothers then realize the truth and accept peace between the g’s and the sith lords!

Analysis of the Sci-Fi genre using Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith.

At the opening of this film, total silence is followed by a short line of "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" - many Star Wars die hard's would be grinning at this point, as the extremely powerful and well known main theme of the Star Wars franchise plays out over the customary scrolling titles, explaining a brief background of the films plot.

After the 3 seperate paragraphs scroll past, 2 allied space ships are shown simultaneously performing fast maneouvres as they fly towards a battle. They then continue to evade being shot down in an attempt to reach a star cruiser to save an important character from within the film.