Final Cut Of Our Film

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt from the progression from it to the full task?

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

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

We have created an action comedy film developing similar conventions used from the film opening we analysed, “Rush Hour.” To be more precise, we firstly have an establishing shot showing a busy location “Curry Mile,” which brings out the suspense to help the audience get a sense of the atmosphere and surroundings. Another convention we used was to reproduce the use of an Asian and a Black character as team mates, however instead we did the inverse making them to be on two different sides instead of the same. Other conventions we have developed are ones such as the comedy sense for example the antagonist being chased by the protagonist over a box of chicken while the protagonist’s friend stops running due to a loss of energy. A further feature quite similar to “Rush Hour,” is that all the extreme stunts are done by the Asian character for example jumping, fighting stunts etc, whereas the Black character doesn’t possess the same ability. Thus this uses typical conventions of this genre whilst at the same time reinforcing stereotypes.

Furthermore, through the use of our camerawork and various different shots, the audience stay tuned in to the action. At the beginning of the film, we used cross cutting technique where the camera moved from Ephrem and Edwin to Kailin, then back again. This developed similar conventions used in these types of films. We also used a creative shot during the fight scene. This involved us walking around the characters filming them whilst they were fighting. We did this a few times so that we had as much action as we could get and therefore edit bits removing the unnecessary parts. We also filmed this scene from 4 different angles whilst the camera was still. We then merged these 2 techniques together when we edited, creating the scene to be a still shot on the tripod, and then handheld whilst moving to the next angle where it was then a still shot on the tripod again. We think this was a very effective shot as it was both original and creative. We believe this would attract the audience even more as it is a lot more livelier then for example, a 2 shot of this scene. We have also included point of view shots in certain parts of the films. This is used when Kailin is running and looks back and is also used when he jumps of a set of stairs. This basically increases the sense of action and urgency built up throughout the film.

Finally, the sound we used is of a fast pace and therefore emphasises on the sense of urgency created in the film when the characters are running. We have used sound effects in the scene where the characters are fighting for example making the characters “grunt” and the use of “thud” sounds when they’re hitting one another. The sound effects are often an important convention in this genre because they usually create, this scene in particular, to contrast both the humorous and seriousness of the scene. We have also used a “gangster” soundtrack when the characters at the start walk into the takeaway. As well as all this non diegetic sound, we have included some diegetic sound such as when the protagonist and his friend begin chasing the antagonist and exchange brief speech.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents a variety of social groups through the use of costume, ethnic background and location. Through the use of costume, we see that the characters aren’t wearing any valued attires, however on the other hand they are dressed very casual making the viewer believe they are teenagers. Ethnic background plays a large role in representing social groups as a mixture of characters of different ethnic background can be very appealing to more audience. Our film does this by juxta posing an Asian male with a Black male. The film excludes the use of female characters; however this isn’t intentional as we happen to be an all male group. In one sense however, the use of female characters, in my opinion, wouldn’t be included in a generic film of this type because audiences usually associate an action comedy film of this type with only males, however in another sense they could be used as character actors adding to the realism of the film. Finally, the filming locations represent where young teens are familiar to and tend to often go, as there are many takeaways and shops. Thus this creates our media product to portray a typical day around these areas.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our film primarily targets a young audience from the ages of around about 12 all the way through to early 20s, who are interested in an action comedy genre. This is because the film contains both action and humour so the types of films that use similar conventions usually attract this audience. It also attracts an urban audience as our film is similar, in some sense, to urban films such as “Shifty” which is a low budgeted UK urban thriller film. The film would appeal to more males than females because there is a lot of action in our media product through the use of fighting and running. It would also attract an audience who are interested in similar style films such as Jackie Chan’s films. This film doesn’t target and wouldn’t appeal to an international audience nor would it attract a very old audience. This is because it has a sense of British realism in terms of the filming locations e.g. it’s set in Manchester and has urban streets, takeaway shops etc, therefore would attract a fairly young British audience.

How did you attract/address your audience?

One of the ways in which we tried to attract our audience was by using effects during our fighting scene. This involved both slow motion and fast motion effects. We used these because it created the scene to be a lot more interesting and entertaining. These effects are also widely used in films of the same genre therefore we thought it would be highly suitable for our product. Our mise en scene in terms of the clothing is casual and of everyday wear that teens have. Therefore it would appeal to the audience through the use of them recognising it and being familiar. The camerawork throughout constantly changes shot during the climax of this opening film. This adds to the action and creates a sense of urgency both for the audience and the characters. This editing also helps keep the audience both engaged and interested. The sound effects we also used attract the audience as it emphasises on the action of the scene and builds intensity during the climax of this 2 minute film opening. We also constructed a soundtrack using “Garage Band” which was of a rap/hip hop genre to endorse the sense of atmosphere created by the protagonists when they walk into the takeaway.

What kind of media institution would distribute your media product?

Metrodome Distribution will distribute our film, they are a low budget UK distribution company who already distributed a similar film to ours named “Shifty”. Shifty is a £100,000 budget urban action movie about someone selling drugs and have lots of fights. Much like ours’ about a guy hanging around in the streets and robbing stuff, dying to stay alive. Our film is aimed at young people so our advertising campaign would be based around viral marketing via social networking sites. This will be more effective than using print adverts such as adverts in news papers, however we can use print adverts in magazines which are also targeted at the same demographic audience such as “Nuts” and “Sports” magazines. A lot of different advertising technique will be difficult for a low budget film, so most effective advertising techniques should be used. Small UK companies Working Title would produce low budget films not big budgeted American companies.

Location Pictures

this picture shows the location where the running over the bridge scene was filmed, it sees edwin chasing kailin. this picture also serves as a view of the bridge from a different angle.

The preceding picture is a follow up of this picture as it shows a crucial part in the scene where the chiken gets stolen aswell as marking the climax of the film.

This pictures shows the location for where we filmed the scene showing kailin throwing the box of chicken away.

This is the takeaway where we filmed the scene where we purchase the chicken. In this scene the counter clerk allowed us to film the scene where the chiken gets purchased and he also agreed to appear in the two minute film opening.