Final Opening Sequence
Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My opening sequence mostly uses the typical forms and conventions of real media products. From typical thriller opening sequences, such as the film ‘Seven’, music is used to build tension. This is non diegetic sound and usually builds up to be thought provoking. This was a technique I used within my own opening sequence. The soundtrack that was used increased in volume as the opening sequence progressed which created even more tension. I felt like this was successful in my own media product, as after gaining feedback my intended audience felt like this technique created atmosphere. This is the piece of music I included in my work to achieve this affect;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WsAnFcA_KeM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WsAnFcA_KeM
The images at the bottom of this question shows how conventions in my own thriller opening sequence reinforces the typical thriller conventions seen in other films. Firstly my own opening sequence includes a news report at the beginning to introduce the film topic.This was an idea that I reinforced from the film 'I am Legend'. Below shows the comparison between the news report from I am Legend and my own interpretation of a typical news report.
The second convention I reinforced in my own opening sequence was the vulnerable female character. This is shown in most typical thriller films therefore I used it for my own idea. This role tends to be played by a young and pretty female to exaggerate her innocence as a character. This was reinforced as shown below.
Many thriller films tend to be based around a male role who is quite dominating and powerful throughout the film. After carrying out research examples I found of this were films such as 'Taken', 'James Bond' and '2012'. A lot of typical thriller films have a male hero leading character. I chose not to challenge this convention as the most successful and memorable films in the media today have had a male leading character which fits the thriller genre well. For example the ‘James Bond’ films are one of the most successful films in today's society. After considering the challenge I decided to keep what I felt would allow my media product to be most successful. When coming to this decision I also needed to think about what typical clothing this type of character would wear. I decided that most hero characters wear dark clothing which connotes seriousness. This fits well into my own idea as the storyline is very serious. A detective role is usually played in a lot of thriller films, this is a convention I am using in my own idea as well, this is because films such as ‘Inception’ and ‘Taken’ have both included detective characters and been a success in the film industry, therefore the idea of a detective was reinforced. This also adds mystery to my character as his past is unknown, this allows the audience to be thought provoked and interested in the character as a whole. This worked well in my own opening sequence as I made sure he appeared as a detective, giving him dark clothing and adding props such as guns into the mise en scene of the opening sequence.
Conventionally, titles from thriller films tend to be quite bold but basic. Titles are not often fancy as shown in my comparative example from the opening sequence of 'James Bond'. I challenged the convention slightly as I chose titles which looked quite harsh to exaggerate the serious feel my film has.
The mise en scene I used in my opening sequence fits the typical conventions of a thriller film. Most thriller films include props such as guns, business equipment such as important documents, as well as other types of props like fancy cars. My own thriller film reinforced the conventions as it included guns and business documents. This use of mise en scene gives my opening sequence a sense of importance and seriousness.
There are many different themes that are typical for thriller films. One of which is romance. This is one of the themes in my own media product. It is a frequent theme in thriller films, for example 'The Box'. This is typical for a thriller film because a lot of thrillers are quite serious and action packed, where as the romance factor is a light hearted contrast, this would also appeal to a wider range of audiences which increases the chances of my film being successful and appealing to my target audience.
The second convention I reinforced in my own opening sequence was the vulnerable female character. This is shown in most typical thriller films therefore I used it for my own idea. This role tends to be played by a young and pretty female to exaggerate her innocence as a character. This was reinforced as shown below.
Many thriller films tend to be based around a male role who is quite dominating and powerful throughout the film. After carrying out research examples I found of this were films such as 'Taken', 'James Bond' and '2012'. A lot of typical thriller films have a male hero leading character. I chose not to challenge this convention as the most successful and memorable films in the media today have had a male leading character which fits the thriller genre well. For example the ‘James Bond’ films are one of the most successful films in today's society. After considering the challenge I decided to keep what I felt would allow my media product to be most successful. When coming to this decision I also needed to think about what typical clothing this type of character would wear. I decided that most hero characters wear dark clothing which connotes seriousness. This fits well into my own idea as the storyline is very serious. A detective role is usually played in a lot of thriller films, this is a convention I am using in my own idea as well, this is because films such as ‘Inception’ and ‘Taken’ have both included detective characters and been a success in the film industry, therefore the idea of a detective was reinforced. This also adds mystery to my character as his past is unknown, this allows the audience to be thought provoked and interested in the character as a whole. This worked well in my own opening sequence as I made sure he appeared as a detective, giving him dark clothing and adding props such as guns into the mise en scene of the opening sequence.
Conventionally, titles from thriller films tend to be quite bold but basic. Titles are not often fancy as shown in my comparative example from the opening sequence of 'James Bond'. I challenged the convention slightly as I chose titles which looked quite harsh to exaggerate the serious feel my film has.
The mise en scene I used in my opening sequence fits the typical conventions of a thriller film. Most thriller films include props such as guns, business equipment such as important documents, as well as other types of props like fancy cars. My own thriller film reinforced the conventions as it included guns and business documents. This use of mise en scene gives my opening sequence a sense of importance and seriousness.
There are many different themes that are typical for thriller films. One of which is romance. This is one of the themes in my own media product. It is a frequent theme in thriller films, for example 'The Box'. This is typical for a thriller film because a lot of thrillers are quite serious and action packed, where as the romance factor is a light hearted contrast, this would also appeal to a wider range of audiences which increases the chances of my film being successful and appealing to my target audience.
Question 2 - How does your media product represent a particular social group?
There a many characters in my opening sequence, each of which have a different representation. According to my research into thriller films and the their conventions, there is often a vulnerable woman somewhere in the storyline. I used this convention in my own idea and presented her to represent this certain type of character. In my opening sequence the clothing you see her in is lightly coloured, in this case a white coloured dress. This connotes purity and helps to exaggerate her vulnerability. I made sure she looked natural with minimal make up, this made her look innocent and fragile as if there is a possibility of her getting harmed, there is an example of a similar represented character in the film ‘Taken’. This is a way in which my target audience would be intrigued. I think her representation is quite stereotypical as women are often seen to be less powerful than men anyway, and my opening sequence reinforces this. 
A typical male hero leading character has also been included as character in my own opening sequence, as I did not want to challenge the conventions of a thriller film and use a female character instead. I have made sure that he is wearing dark coloured clothes throughout the sequence, which exaggerates the darkness and danger of the story. It can also represent how he is feeling, for example in my opening sequence he would feeling worried and anxious, therefore brightly coloured clothes would not have been appropriate or connoted the right feeling. The dark coloured clothes may also give the audience an idea for the feel of the film to come. Which in this case is quite a serious feel. Again this is another example of a stereotypical character. Most thriller films seem to follow the same trend of having a dominating male role who has the chance to save other characters. This also gives his representation a positive effect for the audience as the potential danger for the surrounding characters has a chance of being stopped. 
Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?
To find out the audience for my media product I had to research into the types of socio-economic groups. I have highlighted the socio-economic groups I am aiming my media product at. Below is how socio-economic grouping works:
A- Higher managerial, administrative, professional e.g. Chief executive, senior civil servant, surgeon
B - Intermediate managerial, administrative, professional e.g. bank manager, teacher
C1- Supervisory, clerical, junior managerial e.g. shop floor supervisor, bank clerk, sales person
C2 - Skilled manual workers e.g. electrician, carpenter
D- Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers e.g. assembly line worker, refuse collector, messenger
E - Casual labourers, pensioners, unemployed e.g. pensioners without private pensions and anyone living on basic benefits
I also wanted to target my film at a particular psychographic group. The groupings are as follows:
- The Struggler - This is someone who has a mind-set that they are resigned to a hard life
- The Socially Conscious - This is someone who takes pride in having an anti-materialistic attitude that may or may not be supported in reality.
- The Belonger - These are the working men and women who obey the laws, enjoy belonging to groups of like-minded people and place a high value on family. The Belonger makes up the largest segment of society.
- The Explorer - these are the children of parents who were teens and twenty-somethings during the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s.
- The Emulator - This group wants the appearance of being successful without investing the risks, work or time to actually create the wealth they try to flaunt
- The Achiever - This group is competitive, disciplined and goal oriented. Essentially, they are everything the Emulator wants to be.
References to sources: http://www.marketresearchworld.net/content/view/2918/78/
Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?
Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I also used new media digital technologies to present findings and research onto my blog. I found helpful and imaginative ways of presentations. Some examples are shown below.
1)
Pixton was a website I used to create online storyboards to demonstrate my points. It is also visually pleasing.
Prezi allowed me to create online step by step presentations which look tidy and attractive.
3)
Slideshare was an online presentation website which allows powerpoints to be embeded onto a blog. This meant my work didn't have to be directly uploaded onto my blog and my slideshows could be edited thoroughly before being uploaded.
4)
Youtube allows me to film footage and upload it and be shown to other people online. I can also annotate my videos which helps me develop points made.
5)
This website called 'Picisto' allows me to present screen grabs or images into a structured collage to present images neatly on my blog.
Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Throughout my preliminary task I learnt many things I was not able to do before. From my prelim, I was able to take my knowledge through to my actual media product task. I learnt many techniques using the camera that I hadn't been able to perform before, for example, a match on action sequence. I felt this was a successful part of my prelim therefore carried it through as a technique in in my opening sequence as well. To achieve a successful match on action sequence I needed to film each part of an action specifically and edit them together to create a flowing sequence of an action achieving effective continuity editing. For example, film the character walking towards the door, film a separate part with the characters hand reaching for the door handle, and then film yet another separate part with the character walking through the door on the other side. I felt after the editing process for both my prelim and opening sequence the match on action sequences were professional which achieved good continuity editing. Below is an example of the three shots we took for the match on action sequence in my opening sequence;
The 180 degree rule was something I had to follow during my prelim task. This is where the camera has to stay within a 180 degree line during a conversation otherwise it would have broken the rule and the conversation would have been distorted to the audience. Although I felt this was successful in my prelim, it was not a technique I included in my opening sequence. Looking back I think it could have been included at some point, but unfortunately it was something not included.
Cinematography was a major part to take into consideration during the process of making my opening sequence. Cinematography deals with the artistic vision, imagination and skills bought to filming. A major factor I had to consider which comes under cinematography in my opening sequence was lighting. During my prelim task lighting was not a factor I took into considering much, as looking back a lot of the scenes were orange coloured, and didn't look very realistic or natural. Since doing the prelim task we have learnt about white balance, colour correction and colour grading, all of which was used in my opening sequence to fix bad lighting or to allow the scene to connote darkness or misery. The white balance wasn't achieved in all of the scenes when filming my opening sequence, but luckily these scenes could be altered in colour when editing the shots on premiere. The way we did this was by dimming the shots to make the whole scene look darker in general. This worked well as dimmed lighting is a convention of a thriller film, to add suspense and to connote unpleasantness. The shot below shows how the shot was originally filmed, when the white balance did not work properly. The image after then shows the shot after it was colour corrected and colour graded. The second shot looks a lot more realistic and natural which in turn enabled lighting continuity throughout my opening sequence, as it was used on all of the shots so they matched throughout. it has also been dimmed so it fits the conventions of a thriller.
Cinematography was a major part to take into consideration during the process of making my opening sequence. Cinematography deals with the artistic vision, imagination and skills bought to filming. A major factor I had to consider which comes under cinematography in my opening sequence was lighting. During my prelim task lighting was not a factor I took into considering much, as looking back a lot of the scenes were orange coloured, and didn't look very realistic or natural. Since doing the prelim task we have learnt about white balance, colour correction and colour grading, all of which was used in my opening sequence to fix bad lighting or to allow the scene to connote darkness or misery. The white balance wasn't achieved in all of the scenes when filming my opening sequence, but luckily these scenes could be altered in colour when editing the shots on premiere. The way we did this was by dimming the shots to make the whole scene look darker in general. This worked well as dimmed lighting is a convention of a thriller film, to add suspense and to connote unpleasantness. The shot below shows how the shot was originally filmed, when the white balance did not work properly. The image after then shows the shot after it was colour corrected and colour graded. The second shot looks a lot more realistic and natural which in turn enabled lighting continuity throughout my opening sequence, as it was used on all of the shots so they matched throughout. it has also been dimmed so it fits the conventions of a thriller.
Sound wasn't particularly considered during my prelim task. But, this was something I needed to deal with when it came to my opening sequence. During the editing process of my opening sequence, I learnt how to add sounds on top of my footage and I was able to adjust them to how I would like. For example in my opening sequence there is a soundtrack in the background of my footage. However, this does not start to play until about a quarter way through my opening sequence. I didn't want the sound to start to play suddenly therefore I used key frames in the sound to fade the music in. This worked well and added suspense to build up the tension through the opening sequence. The sound track in the background is non-diegetic sound as it comes from outside the space of the narrative from within the opening sequence. The sound continuity was achieved as I ensured that the soundtrack used was flowing consistently between transitions of shots.
Roles also needed to be discussed before we could carry out any production work. Similar to the prelim task, we decided I would be the camera woman, with Amelia being a director. We thought through each role and decided these roles worked well for our prelim therefore we would carry them through to our opening sequence production. This meant Amelia was mostly in charge of the decisions for how we would approach filming, and the overall organisation when filming each step. I would then film each shot, changing angles if it was required, and making sure we had enough footage to work with in the editing process. I was able to voice my opinion with any shot which was not good enough or that did not look professional enough in some way. For the prelim task both Amelia and I had to carry out planning and manage time accordingly to reach deadlines and complete elements to continue the production process. Although the prelim task was smaller than my opening sequence task overall, we still needed to pursue our time management skills onto my final project. Before filming we completed a production schedule which was stuck to throughout the task. This was so we were able to keep up to date with our work and filming, without it dragging on for a long period of time which would have made the project unorganised. I found that this production schedule was very helpful and was able to keep on top of the task in hand. The organisation of the production and filming was a key part to the opening sequence being successful, this is because if the production schedule was not stuck to, we would have not been able to go on to other elements of the project, such as editing.
Overall I feel like I was able to carry knowledge and skills from my prelim task to achieve a successful opening sequence. I have been able to develop my camera work skills and my editing skills so my media product flows and is consistent. I would like to develop my techniques in the future by using more sophisticated and realistic camera shots and angles. For example achieving a successful and professional focus pull which I was unable to include in my current media product.
Roles also needed to be discussed before we could carry out any production work. Similar to the prelim task, we decided I would be the camera woman, with Amelia being a director. We thought through each role and decided these roles worked well for our prelim therefore we would carry them through to our opening sequence production. This meant Amelia was mostly in charge of the decisions for how we would approach filming, and the overall organisation when filming each step. I would then film each shot, changing angles if it was required, and making sure we had enough footage to work with in the editing process. I was able to voice my opinion with any shot which was not good enough or that did not look professional enough in some way. For the prelim task both Amelia and I had to carry out planning and manage time accordingly to reach deadlines and complete elements to continue the production process. Although the prelim task was smaller than my opening sequence task overall, we still needed to pursue our time management skills onto my final project. Before filming we completed a production schedule which was stuck to throughout the task. This was so we were able to keep up to date with our work and filming, without it dragging on for a long period of time which would have made the project unorganised. I found that this production schedule was very helpful and was able to keep on top of the task in hand. The organisation of the production and filming was a key part to the opening sequence being successful, this is because if the production schedule was not stuck to, we would have not been able to go on to other elements of the project, such as editing.
Overall I feel like I was able to carry knowledge and skills from my prelim task to achieve a successful opening sequence. I have been able to develop my camera work skills and my editing skills so my media product flows and is consistent. I would like to develop my techniques in the future by using more sophisticated and realistic camera shots and angles. For example achieving a successful and professional focus pull which I was unable to include in my current media product.
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