Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Safety for gun use

For my foundation production 'The Hit' there are several guns used. To avoid confusion and curiosity from my neighbors i posted leaflets through their doors and put a poster on the notice board of our street informing them that fake but realistic guns would be used on Saturday the 14th of January between 1 o'clock and 4 o'clock, and that they shouldn't worry because its for a media project.

 Here is the notice which was posted and put on display.



 NOTICE

Just to let you all know i will be filming a piece of media for my As levels, and there will be a use of fake but realistic guns. Do not be alarmed if you see them, we will be filming on Saturday the 14th of January between 1 o'clock and 4 o'clock.

Thank you

Harry Tully

Friday, 27 April 2012

EVALUATION- who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience would be 15-30 year olds,  I think this because of this audience is likely to understand this film more than anyone below this age gap and are less likely to get effected by some of the more violent scenes. This film would be rated a 15 due to violence of the hitman taking other peoples lives for money, this is quite a delicate subject because this has and is still happening in society today. I also targeted audiences which were interested in the action/thriller genre. I found different movie fan pages on Facebook ,Twitter and YouTube who were specifically into the indie and action/thriller genre, this was a perfect place to get my movie seen. I then posted links to my foundation production on these fan pages.

EVALUATION- how did you attract/address your audience?

From the opening sequence i addressed and attracted  the audience to make them feel inspired to create their own piece of media and to show them that its fun and it is possible. The narration sequence attracts an audience who enjoy crime and action films, because this may remind them of films such as 'snatch' and 'Rock'n'Rolla'. The use of guns immediately attracts an audience which are interested in the action/thriller genre. I addressed my audience by including young people who were playing adult roles, and I would like think that people who watch my film might get influenced to make their own piece of media and to let them know that it is possible!

EVALUATION-How does your media product represent particular social groups?

There were many social Groups which were mainly targeted in my foundation production.

There were a few stereotypes and nationalities in my film 'The Hit'. The villain Nazo was the stereotypical Russian bad guy, as you see in the James bond films in the spy thriller genre. Making my villain Russian adds a level of suspicion towards his personality and his actions through out the film.

The protagonist is from England with a thick London accent. Fans of Guy Richie films (like 'Snatch' and 'Lock Stock') may be fans of 'The Hit' due to the similar narrative with London accent


My film mainly focuses mostly on the teenage generation, it uses young cast which may inspire other people of this age to get into acting or media production. The genre of the film is a thriller so this would immediately  attracts a wide range of audience

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

EVALUATION- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the film product?

I feel i have learnt a variety of skills and techniques from my preliminary task. Firstly its the basics, such as working the camera  and knowing how long to hold the shot until it gets over used. I also learnt the basics of iMovie to edit on its system effectively by using various transition techniques and by adding sound effects to create a specific type of tone and mood. I have also realized  that choosing your actors can have a effect on your final production. When i filmed my preliminary task i just chose people from my media studies class as the cast because it was the easiest option for me, i learnt from this mistake because for my foundation production i chose actors who took drama for GCSE and A-level and have had A and A* grades in this subject. And the outcome was great i couldn't have asked for better actors who fitted the roles so effectively.

I have also improved different skills which are essential for work involving media. For example i now have better communication skills,this is because me and Dan ( the person who I'm working with) now share our ideas with each other to see if we both come to an agreement if we should use this idea or if we shouldn't, with our preliminary task we didn't communicate as much and we just used random ideas and techniques without consulting each other, and this results in greater team management skills. I feel that I have learnt that time management is essential when editing and filming, because when we filmed our preliminary task it only took us a few hours to do and we should have done some re-shoots and altogether taken more care. But when we filmed our foundation production it took us around 8 hours altogether, it took this long due to us taking more care, re shooting and experimenting with different camera shot with new scenes.

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

 


I feel like i have used different examples of real media products in 'The Hit' effectively, these include films such as 'Lock stock and two smoking barrels', Snatch' and 'Kill List'. I have used narration sequences and voice overs from my protagonist through out my foundation production. 'Snatch' and 'Lock stock' have inspired me to create my protagonist with a London accent, this is because after researching these two films I've noticed that this accent in the narration makes the movie flow, and i couldn't imagine this working with any other accent, it also makes it clear to the audience that this is a London gangster movie which i was partly trying to achieve. 'Kill List' has inspired me to create a 'Hitman trying to do good' type of film, and with combining all these films i thought it would add a gritty but clever effect on the movie overall.

I have used The Foley effect in the execution scene when Nazo knocks out the guard protecting the safe house.  Many action/thriller movies such as 'Kill Bill' and 'The Dark knight' use this effect to emphasize the power of the individual to maybe raise his status and to add an element of fear into the audience. And this is what i wanted, to make the audience fear Nazo.