In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
At a technical level, the film mostly conforms to the conventions of real media products. The product follows rules of continuity, as well as staying within the realms of regular conventions of editing. We may have broken away from conventions in using an orange filter on the editing software to convey point of view and things not being as they seem. Flashbacks were used in order to convey emotion of the main character, Sarah, and a series of match on actions were used mixed with a series of POVs to show how the personal perception of Sarah objected against reality itself.
The orange filter shows Sarah's altered perspective on the reality around her.
The filter mixes with the match on action to show the altered perception of Sarah running alongside the reality that she contests. See film at 2:34 to 3:00.
In terms of content, the film is non-conventional in that it doesn’t really fit a particular genre as such. This is probably owing to the theme of the film, as it is of such a sensitive and delicate nature. If anything, it’s a psychological drama, although that isn’t a film genre as such. I find that the film lives up to the expectations of the theme of the film well; it’s sensitive, yet it still gets the point across. It shows the emotional turmoil of the main character without being insensitive to the nature of the theme. We also haven't used any instances of pastiche or parody in the project.
The film plays on emotional audience pleasures, in that the emotions of Sarah in the film are meant to provoke a strong emotional reaction in the audience. That is it's primary means of audience pleasure; manipulating the emotions of the audience.
In comparison with a real media text, The Accused, Invaded shows more the reality of the aftermath of rape. In reality, sexual offenders are rarely prosecuted, and victims aren't fought for so ferociously. In The Accused, however, the film focuses on how the victim fights with a lawyer to prosecute her offenders. This is a world away from the reality for most women.
How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts?
The ancillary texts, that is the poster for the film and the radio trailer, work particularly well with the main product. The poster has a sensitivity that is required when creating a film of a sensitive nature, shown particularly by the soft faded edges around the pictures within the poster. The softness of the edges yet the hard nature of the content works well together, lending a sensitivity to the nature of the photographs. The poster also shows a little of the story of the film, contrasting against the poster for The Accused, which belies little of the film's storyline.
As regards the radio trailer, the trailer I created to go with the main product is rather non-conventional as far as radio trailers go. Typically, radio trailers use men with deep voices and exciting music to convey excitement and to catch attention. However, for my radio trailer, I used a woman's voice and soft music extracted from the film, showing a sensitivity that runs alongside th other products I've created.An example of a typical radio trailer.
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
First, I did a questionnaire that was to find out about peoples general interest in the concept of a short film about rape. I found out from my questionnaire that many people have seen some form of media that touches on the subject of rape. The majority of these people will, most likely, have seen such a subject on a soap.
Peoples response to the question: Have you ever seen a media product that touches on the subject of rape?
I also learnt from it that people think such a film would warrant a certificate 15. The product is certificated either a 15 or an 18. It's a difficult call due to the nature of the film, especially as it's only the subject itself that brings the debate around.
Peoples response to the question: What age rating do you think would be suitable for such a film?
The full set of results to the questionnaire are posted here.
After the production of the short film, we had to acheive audience feedback. To do this, I posted the film on Youtube so that people globally could watch it and comment. Although nobody thus far has commented on the site itself, I have had oral comments from friends who have seen the film. All of them have said that they like the film, but they haven't been able to explain why. This is an example of Richard Dyer's theory of entertainment, suggesting that the people who have watched Invaded liked it because it put something into their life, however briefly, that they didn't have at the time. In this instance, Invaded may have given them the feeling of intensity, through the intense emotions of the main character Sarah.
Invaded is on Youtube here.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I used the internet frequently in researching various things towards the product, such as research into a similar film, and using sites like youtube to find short films made by other people. Everything throughout the creative process has been posted on a blog on the website, enabling easy access and clear viewing, as well as the use of pictures, links, sounds and video in the documents on the blog.
Youtube
Blogger
In the construction process, I used HD DV1000 cameras to film the product itself. Using such advanced technology, we were able to film high quality video in 16:9 widescreen. I also used the DV1000 to upload the footage from the MiniDV tapes onto the editing software. As for the software, I used Final Cut Express to edit the film, and I used Photoshop Elements to create a poster.
This is a photo of the HD DV1000 cameras used to film the product (photo found on google images).
This is a screen grab taken from final cut express during the editing of the product.
This is a screen grab from Adobe Photoshop Elements (screen grab found with google images).
In evaluation, I have used word processing software in order to write the evaluation and referred back to Final Cut Express in order to look back on the product to assist with the evaluation, as well as referring back to files saved on the Apple Macs and the blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment