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Main Task- 45

Your group filmed together and then produced two separate edits to ensure all group members took a full part. Appropriate music for the genre has been added and is an effective way to begin the film with institutional credits allying it to Warner Brothers historical film noir output. Some of the early shots are dark but are overlaid with credits so meaning is not greatly affected. Sound is attended to in the use of an alarm to signify the start of the voice-over which clearly indicates the opening of the film. A range of shots are used as the detective dresses using a full range of shot types and clear continuity. The voice-over establishes the narrative with an accent further establishing character and showing an awareness of generic conventions. Use of costume and props is appropriate and considered. The final sequence is less secure in framing but does not detract from the proficiency of technical skill which approaches the top end of level 3

Evaluation - Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When we made our preliminary task I learnt how to do a range of things for example I have learnt how to do a variety of camera angles and shots like pan, extreme close up, long shot, mid shot, close up etc... Following this, I have been able to incorporate this into making my final product with a range of other different skills. We used Adobe Premiere Elements in order to edit our preliminary task to ensure that everything flowed so that it wouldn't make the audience bored and the film would look professional. After having some practise with the camera and the editing software, I felt much more confident when it came to producing and editing the real thing. Looking back at the preliminary task, we did use a variety of camera shots and angles however when it came to editing it wasn't very professional as we struggled to fit it together due to having to film different scenes on different days and then having to go back and re-film a scene. Furthermore, we also discovered that when we used the dolly to support the camera when we were moving with it, the whole scene was filmed and it was very shaky. There was no way that we could edit this so we had to re-film this scene which then we had some slight continuity issues. Here is the link to my preliminary task...  Link to our preliminary task

However, when it came to filming the final product, we made sure that the shots we used for different purposes during the film did not cause us any difficulties and if they did then we were able to solve them and it did not have an effect on the film in the end. We used a larger range of camera shot and angles and we used specific shots to emphasise the characters feelings on the particular situations that they were put in. For example, when the detective is getting ready in the morning before going to work, we shot this scene using mainly mid shots so that you could see his facial expressions and also some of his body language. By doing this, it is easy to recognise the character as being the detective when he is putting on his suit, trilby hat and coat etc... Another example of using a particular camera shot for a specific scene is when we used a close up when the character opens the envelope from the femme fatal so that it is the envelope that is the main focus of the shot and nothing is going to be in the background which would distract the audience from what they should be looking at. The mistakes that we made when filming the preliminary task, we were able to over come when producing the real thing.

Using a variety of camera shots has helped with us making the final film so that it will entice the audience to carry on watching and hook them into the story line compared to if the whole film was just made using mid shots, it wouldn't focus on the character and you wouldn't be able to see or tell their different expressions or body language.



We took into consideration Mise-En-Scene when we made the film product for example in the preliminary task, we only filmed it inside and outside of the college whereas when we made our film noire, we filmed some in the college and some at someone's house. This would also make the viewer keen to keep on watching because it is a change of scenery and they wouldn't get bored of just seeing the colleges four walls like in our first attempt with the preliminary task. Also, when we made the preliminary task, we used a track that we found on the Adobe Premiere Elements software but when it came to the final product, we made our own soundtrack using the Music Garage on the Apple Mac. We had to add different parts of the song and ensure that it all flowed because it is playing throughout the majority of the film. Moreover, the music had to fit with the genre of the film (film noire) to emphasise the tension that is built up in the film and make it more lifelike to the target audience. Costume was another part of Mise-En-Scene that we took into consideration when creating our final product. As you can see from our preliminary task, both of the characters are just dressed in normal business smart clothing whereas when we filmed our final product we had some characters in it that were dressed in business wear and the detective that was dressed in his uniform. We did this so that it made it easy for the audience to be able to distinguish the detective from the other characters because he is the main character and has the leading role and therefore the main focus. If he was just wearing normal business wear too then it would be hard for the audience to discover who he is and what his purpose is in the film. Consequently, this could also lead to them possibly not enjoying the film if they do not know who is who, what their purposes are and what the whole film is about - it would confuse them and they would not just have the pleasure of watching the film, they would really have to concentrate to think about who is who. This is not ideal for our target audience because it is aimed at the younger generation and they are more likely to become bored more easily than the older generations.


We had to carry out some research before making our final task so that we knew the different codes and conventions of a film noire and then how we would challenge them when it came to producing our film. To do this, we researched a film called the 'Maltese Falcon', an old, stereotypical film noire and the more modern 'Se7en'. This helped us a great deal when we came to produce the film and also the planning the script in the earlier stages.






Se7en film analysis...
http://darcyreid-tam6formmediaas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/seven-at-start-of-film-summerset-played.html




Here is a link to the script that we used in our film...



http://darcyreid-tam6formmediaas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/cast-detective-lance-bullock-callum.html


During carrying out the research it gave us a lot of ideas of how we could twist the original stereotype of a film noire and give our a new, younger audience compared to an audience from the older generation as commonly known. Some of the things we came up with included just keeping the film in colour. It is a simple but yet effective way to attract the youngsters because they wouldn't want to be watching an 'old' film so it was best not to change it to black and white and to leave it in colour. We also kept the characters young to attract the correct audience.


Here is some of the research we carried out into film noire's codes and conventions to help us...
http://darcyreid-tam6formmediaas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/film-noir-in-film-noirs-they-contain.html


http://darcyreid-tam6formmediaas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/research-into-film-noir.html

Evaluation - Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the process of making this product we used a lot of new forms of media and technology that i hadn't used before so i had to learn how to use them. For example, using the Mac's and the editing software on them to construct and finalize our opening sequence. 

To film the actual opening scene, we used a Sony Handycam - a small camera that allowed us to include loads of different shot types to make it individual to us and unique compared to everyone else's film sequences. Furthermore, the standard definition on the handycam was of a high quality so we didn't have to film in in HD. If we did film it in HD then the videos would take up loads of memory on the camera and then on the computer to get the best quality so it is better to just do it in SD which is just as good. Moreover, we didn't edit the film in HD either because it would have taken too long to complete. 

I have used a number of social media networks in order to promote my opening sequence to my film called 'Beech Road' including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to gather a great range of audiences to watch it.

Mac's are used to edit media for different things rather than using a standard desktop p.c. They can both have the same software downloaded onto them however Mac's are more likely to be used because of the way they look to appeal to customers. They're big, shiny and modernized whereas a lot of the new and old desktop p.c's are not like this and are usually used for more office based work compared to Mac's that are used for film and editing various media.

We used Adobe Premiere Elements in order to edit our final product and also our preliminary task. It has a range of features which include everything that you need to be able to edit your film and make it look sophisticated and professional. You can enhance it to make it suitable for your target audience and when we used it when editing our final film, we were able to challenge the different codes and conventions of a film noire in even more detail.

Evaluation - Q5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation - Q4: Who would be the audience for your media?

For our media product, the audience would be teenagers and young adults aged 20-30. This is due to the fact that all of the characters in the film are of a young age so in this way, the audience would be able to relate to the characters if they have shared similar experiences and situations as them. Furthermore, this would attract a larger audience if they can actually be able to relate to the film  than if they couldn't. The targeted audience would be sophisticated with a cleaver and yet witty mind. 


Due to the film being in colour instead of the typically stereotype of a black and white film noire, this will attract a larger range of audiences and may also attract the more mature generations because there is a twist to the usual conventions. The language of the characters is standard English compared to an older film noire where they speak a lot more properly so in this respect, it might encourage the younger generations to watch our film as they will be able to relate to it more so than older people.


Before creating our film, we had to carry out a lot of research into other films to try and figure out what type of audience that we wanted to attract. We did this by looking at previous film noire for example 'Maltese Falcon' as a classic film noire and we did the opposite to give it a twist and to contradict the usual codes and conventions and to hopefully have the younger generation as our primary audience.




Our film would be promoted in many ways to be able to attract different audiences for example, billboards and posters for the older generations if they are not accustomed with the internet then then can still find out about the film in this way. They might be displayed in shop windows, the cinema and on buses to ensure that everyone is bound to see or hear about it at some point. The cast and crew will do interviews on chat shows such as Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton and many others.

Furthermore it can also be discovered when people watch the news or go onto a news website like the Daily Mail or Sky news. Here you will also find the trailer for the film and other things such as interviews that have been carried out online. By doing these methods of promotion, it will be mainly the younger generation that will see or hear about our film which is what we intended on in the first place as it is a modern twist on a classic film noire.







Due to the latest advances in modern technology, our film would be able to be streamed from Sky movies, Netflix or Amazon Prime if it inherited the excessive funding that big movies usually get - when they get a larger profit than what they had to pay for making the film. This would be more ideal for the younger generation as they can watch the film at home and also it can vary to a range of audiences also.


Older audiences may also be intrigued to watch our film because there are a lot of TV crime dramas that are on such as Agatha Christie's Poirot, Midsummer Murders and A Touch Frost. These are TV series' that follow a film noire but in a different format. The older generations tend to watch these as they aren't as long as films and you get the same entertainment from them.
There are the more modern versions of crime thrillers for example, Scott and Bailey and Broad Church that the younger generation tend to watch because of the codes and conventions of these. Such as, the characters tend to be middle aged compared to the older ones in Midsummer Murders and the crimes are much more realistic nowadays compared to years ago when they were made. This will help us entice the correct audience if they are already into watching crime thrillers, our modern twist on our film noire will be a perfect match for them.

Evaluation - Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

The media institution that would most likely distribute our product would be Warner Brothers. This is because it was Warner Brothers where film noir's where first made after it was founded in 1923. In the 1920's there were 5 major studios that where producing films. For example, the five large companies where, 20th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. There was also the case of the studio system where a famous film star out of a film, maybe if they play the leading role, would be there to promote the film to guarantee an audience are going to watch it. 

In the 1920's all of the different film studio companies used to have to try and save as much money as possible. They did this by using the majority of close-ups and mid-shots instead of wide and establishing shots. This is so that the audience couldn't see the rest of the set so they could leave it basic and not have much at all in the set whereas nowadays, the set is one of the main aspects of a film. The companies used to make cheap but good films that they would have an audience to watch them. By doing this, they made money and quite a lot of profit to make the next film bigger and better than the last. Another money saving solution they would use is dry ice to create a steam affect to add to the eerie mysterious feature of the films, mainly film noir's. Furthermore, most of the scenes where set  at night in alley ways and offices so the production company didn't have to worry about the scene's setting much and they could just concentrate on the film's plot and the character's more.




We chose Warner Brothers for our film as they have made many film noirs in the past so it would be perfect to promote ours. They have a wide range of experience and knowledge about the films that are set in the dark with dry ice to create the effect of smoke so they would know how to attract the right audiences also. Warner Brothers is also now a media conglomerate with Time Inc meaning that it is two companies joined to make Time Warner. This joins the Times newspaper and the studios together therefore leading to more publicity and being able to gain a larger audience if they have already watched movies that have been produced by Warner Bros then they have an increased chance of wanting to watch it. For example, The Hobbit was produced by Warner Bros and other films such as Harry Potter so when someone sees that warner Bros has produced or co-produced the film then they might want to watch the film more because it is also a worldwide well-known branded company.


Warner Brothers would help distribute our product in a range of ways for example, billboards, posters in shops and cinemas, celebrity chat shows and live twitter questions and answers. By doing this, it will get the message out and promote the film to all audiences depending whether they are the majority of the younger generation that is on social media sites or whether they are the older generations that still like to look and have things on paper. More over, this will promote to the whole world and not just one country which will have a dramatic increase on the amount of profit being made and the money that they get back from ticket sales and even merchandise. Different forms of merchandise would also be manufactured such as children's toys, games, apps, clothing and books so that it can have the chance to gain a variety of audiences and not just the typical primary audience of younger groups of people.

Evaluation - Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our film, all of the actors were teenagers no older than 17 but they were just acting as if they were older than they actually are. This challenges the conventions of film noir because all of the males in common film noirs are middle aged and older i.e. 35+, whereas the women tend to be younger i.e: 20-40 years old. The detective was wearing a business uniform of a shirt, trousers, shoes, tie, coat and trilby hat to make him look as if he was older than he actually his to convey him as a mature character compared to everyone else in the film. The other characters in the film were wearing normal business clothes too however you could distinguish the difference between them through the dialogue and the fact that they are not wearing a trilby hat or coat.


The femme fatal and the man in a film noire is usually like the scenario with a spider with a fly. She manipulates him into thinking that she is the victim when in fact, she is the one who has created a victim. She will use her good feminine looks to wrap him around her little finger so that he will do anything and everything for her and then this usually leads to someone else getting the blame however, sometimes she will get found out and only then this doesn't work out to her advantage.


Features of a femme fatal:

• The iconography is explicitly sexual with long sleek hair (blonde or dark), make up and jewellery.
• Cigarettes have sexual connotations of liberation and phallic power.
• 'Dress - or the lack of it - defines the woman'
• 'Iconography of violence is a specific symbol of her unnatural phallic power'
• Framed portrait of women is a common motif.
• Murders indicate narcissism or duplicity.
• Women are generally centre frame or drawing our attention by focusing on the foreground.
• Visual style expresses mood through darkness, both real in under-.jmlit and night-time scenes, and psychologically through shadow and claustrophobic settings which overwhelm the character. 

We also challenged the conventions even further by having the femme fatal as a quite and more innocent character and the males where is control compared to a more classic film noire where the female has all of the control and seduces the man into getting what she wants in the end. Our film was in colour which is unfamiliar to a common film noire where it is set in a black and white scene. Furthermore it adds modernisation into the film and will intrigue the audience into wanting to watch more to see if there are any more twists to surprise them with. The younger generation will be able to relate to the different situations in the film due to it being set in a more modern tone and with the characters portraying their typical younger generation characteristics.


In a film noire the detective is always portrayed as being slightly naïve and falls for the femme fatal with her devious actions. He is usually dressed in a trilby hat, trench coat and a suit with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. However, in our film we reversed the role and made our detective the complete opposite to the common stereotype. In ours he takes all of the control from the more innocent and quiet femme fatal and this makes him the dominant character. He overpowers the femme fatal and the other characters so this show the audience the more modern version of a detective and how it would be nowadays in a real life scenario.
 
By having different changes in our film compared to the typical film noire, we will attract a wider range of audiences of various ages which is what most films nowadays need in order to gain more profit from sales and cinema viewings.

Evaluation - Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In my media product we have followed the conventions of film noir by having a detective and a femme fatal. Our detective had everything that a detective in a film noir would have: a trilby hat, suit and tie etc... However the female in our film was a more modern twist on a femme fatal but wasn't actually shown on screen to create mystery and put a twist on the original film noir's. They would have usually been on the screen the majority of the time trying to persuade the detective of their innocence which he would then fall for and sometimes fall in love with her but in our film this is not the case. Most film noir's are in black and white whereas ours is in colour adding the modern twist to it to make it our own and unique. Due to the fact that the femme fatal wasn't actually filmed we thought this would add a sense of power and control to the detective challenging the conventions of a film noir as under normal circumstances, the femme fatal would have been the one to take charge throughout the whole of the film until she gets found out, that's if she does. We showed the contrast of the males having more control throughout the opening scene as there were no other females in any of the shots.

Here is a screenshot of our title clip on our opening sequence. As you can see it is significantly different compared to the image below of  a film noir mainly because ours is in colour and that one is in black and white. We have kept it in colour to challenge the common essentials of a film noir to make it individual to us and different from everyone else's.

In the original film noir's picture, they

have added the effect of having the smoke appear to add mystery to the film. What does the smoke mean? It makes the film look quite creepy and also foreshadows that something bad is going to happen which is then linking to the detective and the seductive femme fatal. 

The film noir looks as if it is set in a city because of the screenshot being taken down a side street. This conveys the isolation of the film and can hint to the audience that someone will be on there own in the very end. We also tried to challenge this convention by setting ours in first the detective's home and then the college to give it a different change of scenery. The title screenshot of our opening sequence is unique because it is outside the detective's house which you don't normally see in the old film noir's. 


The image on the left shows the close up camera shot of the detective and the femme fatal however in ours all of the close ups are of just the detective which changes some of the conventions even further. This image is also in black and white and ours is in colour. By doing this it gives our opening sequence a modern twist on the original film noir's. 

Silhouettes are frequently used in old film noir's and that's what makes ours significantly special because we don't have any shadows or silhouettes in ours adding to the modern aspect of it. 

How a femme fatal should be:

• The iconography is explicitly sexual with long sleek hair (blonde or dark), make up and jewelry.

• Cigarettes have sexual connotations of liberation and phallic power.

• 'Dress - or the lack of it - defines the woman'

• 'Iconography of violence is a specific symbol of her unnatural phallic power'

• Framed portrait of women is a common motif.

• Murders indicate narcissism or duplicity.

• Women are generally center frame or drawing our attention by focusing on the foreground.

• Visual style expresses mood through darkness, both real in under a dim light and night-time scenes, and psychologically through shadow and claustrophobic settings which overwhelm the character. 

Below is an image of Eva Green from the film 'Sin City 2' where she plays a stereotypical femme fatal...

Our femme fatal was completely different from the expected and contradicted the stereotypical femme fatal.