Tecniques for main task

I have chosen to film and base the plot on the movie flightplan.

Here is some tecniques I will try to incorporate in my filming use din the movie flightplan:

 Here the main character (pictured in black) is worrying that she has lost her daughter, when the air hostess is insisting that she was on board alone, the main character looks distant, this is the type of shot I would like to have.

Main Media Task

In the opening title sequence of my film I will show a pan shot of the park in which I am filming , I chose this because I feel that it would create suspense and confusion which is an element of the thriller genre.

Representation of :
Genre: I will use conventionsof a thriller by using quick camera angles/shots and use of chilling music.
Gender: In the piece of filming I will have the child which is a young boy and the female is the mum. This is very stereotypical because the children are generally always with their mum.

Audience

The target audience I feel that my thriller would appeal to is people in their early 20's or older. I think this because the whole plot is about a child going mising and it is generally a parent's worst nightmare and so I feel in this age catagory, that the audience would empathise with the plot and for the characters.

Camera angles and shots:
The camera angles that I would use are : close up to capture the emotion of the main character,
point of view so that the audience would see the same thing as the character at the same time.
I would also use zoom and long shots and also I would pan.

Costume:
for the boy : normal casual, outdoor winter clothes.
for the mum: normal casual,outdoor winter clothes.
for the passer by : normal casual , outdoor winter clothes.
I have chosen to keep all of the costumes casual because they would all blend in to seem as if everything is normal so it would be more of an impact when we learn that clearly it is not, it is far from normal.

Location: The location that I will be filming in is a park.

My ideas for media task :Thriller

My main ideas for my media piece is a short film in the style of the movie "Flightplan". It will feature a Boy in a park with his mum,the boy would be on a swing and then when the mum would look round she sees that her boy is not there ; just an empty swing. However when the mum is frantically searching for her son passers by tell her she was in the park all alone. She starts to question herself until she spots her sons scooter in the middle of the path and knows it wasn't in her head. Why were the people telling her that she was wrong and is there more that meets the eye?

Location :park / woodland area
props : scooter
costume: normal outdoor clothes coats etc.

However this idea may change because of time restrictions for participants and I may not be able to carry out this idea in this setting but I have a back up idea which I will post.

Todorov's Narrative Stages

Todorov devised a way of analysing narratives according to the way they progress between different stages. He suggested that any narrative pieces,no matter what the genre, it could be broken down into different stages to analyse.  
        Here are Todorov's Narrative Stages

Equllibruim- The setting is estblished, key character(s) are introduced and the storyline is set up.
Disruption-Oppositional Character(s) appear and the story takes a particular direction.
Recognition of disruption-The lives of characters and events are interwoven. Tension builds throughout the section which is often the longest.
Attempt to repair disruption-The highest point of tension after which there is a change in dynamic.
Reinstatement of equillibruim-Matters are sorted out,problems are solved and questions answered.

Evaluation of Preliminary Task

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

The preliminary task would be featured as a TV programme, it would be a TV drama. It has the conventions of a TV drama because of the shots used like: a close up of the boss's face when she is saying she trusts the secretary ,also, we used a close up of the secretary's face ,when we see that she has conned the boss , in a sinister manner. Also the range of angles we used shows an insight ,for the audience, the characters personalities. I think that it is a true representation of a typical busy office working day through the costumes, props such as: a laptop,sheets of paper "documents" , pens and information on a whiteboard.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents a typical female working class enviroment / group.  We represented it through the character choice ( both female).

What kind of media institutuion might distribute your media product and why ?

The kind of media institution that might distribute it might be any mainstream channel like ITV1, Channel 4 etc. I think this because they all show tv dramas and the product fits.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our product would be young adults to middle aged audiences because of the content / plot because I feel that it would appeal to that age category more than younger audiences.

How did you attract/address your audience?
 We attracted our audience by leaving our ending on a cliffhanger and we thought it would make the audience wonder how it would end and it may make them think of their own ideas on what they think may have happened also this would create suspense for the audience.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt how to use editing technology (software) to finish my preliminary task and to widen my understanding into different ways in which I can edit and create a piece of film which has different effects, Also I have learnt how to use a video camera ,which I didn't know before, to create a piece of film using a range of camera techniques to vary and improve our finished piece.

Looking back at your preliminary task,what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel that I have learnt many new skills in order to create the finished piece. Firstly being able to get to grips with the camera and practising shots to improve my understanding on what shot works in what parts of the piece, also, to learn the little details that comes together to make one piece like using storyboards to plan our scenes, thinking about the costumes and set to make our finished piece believable and then finally what shots work to get the desired effect and to create an impact. Also I feel that I have improved my understanding and knowledge of media through this task.

Media Cinema visit : Le Haine ( The Hate)

Genre
The genre of this movie is drama (french).

Subtitles
As this was a french movie it had subtitles, however, it could be an inaccurate representation of the language.
Also the director found the need to add subtitles because when french people were watching it they couldn't understand the characters speaking as it had slang heavily all the way through the film.

Gender
Mostly male ( showing a "hard" gang, you wouldn't normally get a women gang/ out to cause trouble so it adds to violent nature.)
Hubert's mum(character in film) is an average, positive role model but is un inspired. Hubert's sister is a figure of hope but is put to the side. Said's sister in contrast with Hubert's sister;didn't belong in a male dominant enviroment. Women in the art gallery are representative of the middle classes (bourgois) they showed protagonists as showvinists. Lack of women present throughout the film.

Ethnicity
Range of ethnic backgrounds. The three central characters were each a differant race or had differant backgroungd and none were white.

Point of film
The point of this film is to show the problems that could arise if you stereotype. It was a didatic film-educational/created with a view of educating people.

Preliminary Task - Before and After shots

Before shots









After shots