Production.

Red Snow Final Cut

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

From using various pieces of technology throughout filming and editing our final piece,I have learnt that it was a somewhat  harder than I anticipated. Firstly , It was vital to film in a well lit environment  due to the camera not being able to capture decent shots in the dark. This was very annoying, as we wanted to incorporated dark shots too connote mystery and claustrophobia.

Q5 How did you attract/address your audience ?

Attracting the audience of our thriller was somewhat dominated by the use of effects utilized whilst editing. Me and Lyndsey thought the diegetic  sound of the dragging dead body; to be continuously drowned through out the opening would create a poignant effect as well as a menacing one.We also exploited this effect with the use of a ringing phone, as this may  create a pitiful  reaction from the audience , as they know the girl (Tiffany) will never be able to answer the call.

Our production also has an element of heart break and connotes the fear of losing someone you love. Through out the production, Peter , played by Robin , is desperately concerned about the where a bouts of his loved one. However what makes the opening more appealing is the idea of Robin and the murderer being the same person. This is due to the quick cuts and fades between the two characters. This idea of schizophrenia and isolation was inspired by the film Fight Club. As the main character is controlled by an alter-ego , who he can physically see.

The idea of the zeitgeist in Great Britain may also have attracted our target audience. The social issues raised in our production is the negative portrayal of a social group known as 'hoodies'. These 'hoodies' all ready have a bad reputation in modern Britain. Highlighted  due to  the part they played in the summers London riot. 

Question 7-Looking back at your preliminary task ,what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product

Since the preliminary task i have learnt a great deal,especially about editing software. I did not use any effects on my preliminary task , unlike my final cut 'Red Snow' which used a lot. I've also learnt that planning our thriller was a lot harder than I anticipated .Us as a group had many ideas,we eventually went on to shoot and complete a production, however it was not strong enough to gain a satisfactory grade. Therefore I learnt that a lot of planning and preparation  is vital.

Incorporating inter textual references from other films into our final production was very inspiring and there is an opportunity to exploit your own refreshing twist to classic iconic shots from legendary films , such as the worms eye view of Diniro in Once Upon a Time in America . We were inspired by this shot and incorporated into our production.

Continuity errors was a major let down in the preliminary task (change of attire), therefore I done my best not to let this happen in the final production and thankfully ,pulled it off. 

Question 4 Who would be the audience for your media product ?

Our chosen target audience for our production is 16-24 year olds male and female.This due to casting young actors that the audience can relate to. This certainly works effectively in the Australian film 'Animal Kingdom' . The character Josh Cody is young man having to live with his criminal cousins and his emotions and angst are really felt by the audience due to his young age.



Our thriller reflects in my opinion the current zeitgeist in Britain , and this also will have an appeal/effect on a younger audience (16-24 year olds)  who feel they may be effected by isolation and troubled individuals , which is the portrayal in our production.

Our production would appeal to young males and females interested in independent low budget films that would be shown at institutions such as 'Cinema City'. This is due to the young unknown actors and the reflection of the zeitgeist , these elements are not often seen in American mainstream 'Block-busters' 

Question 3- What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why ?

Since our media product was low budget and individually made, a less mainstream cinema institutuin such as Cinema City would be interested in showing our thriller. Cinema City are interested in attracting alternative audiences and reaching out to as many different people from different backgrounds as much as possible. They appear to not be interested in showing big budget 'Hollywood Block-busters' which consist of special effects such as CGI, due to the fact that these effects are what are relied on to make the films 'appealing' not the acting and plots. However we as a group were inspired by the plot of  big budget film Fight Club and the idea of two people being one and we incorporated this into our production.

In terms of a production company that would be interested in distributing our film the most likely institution would have to bw WARP film. They are souly interested in promoting young acting talent and creating somewhat controversial plots to highligh the the current decline of morlaity in Great Britain, which is the arogorical message behind our production . Highlighted by the character choice of the protagonist.'Hoodies' are seen as having no conscience and no regard for feelings of others , This was seen in the summer London riots where the media refered to these yobs as 'hoodies'.

How does your media product represent particular social groups ? Question 2

The representation of stereotypes in our thriller is somewhat rather stereotypical. The dead female character has sense of naivety due to her attire. Her red jacket gives her 'a red riding hood' appearance to her which suggests her naivety may have led to her death and that she was possibly easily led.

The protagonist in our production is based on a social group that is looked down upon a great deal in British society . The Council Housed And Violent individuals known as 'hoodies'. We chose this as it reflects the current zeitgeist in this country. 'Hoodies' are considered as having no conscience and this was highlighted in last years London riots. The media dehumanised these indivuals and coincedently has led to a stern prejudice towards them, which may lead to possibly worse crimes and outcomes commited by 'Hoodies'.   Bleakness and a dark future for Britain is what is portrayed in our production.

We also have an upper-class character in our thriller whose actions are enigmatic. It's unclear whether he is a loved one of the murdered female or schizophrenia sufferer who murdered the women himself. We got this idea from the 'Fight Club' movie. Where the main character has an alter ego which he can see in human form .

In what ways does your media product use,develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ? Question1

 

Utilizing the weather at the time (snow) gave our thriller an interesting authentic setting very similar to that of Joel Coen's classic 'Fargo'. We were very lucky and acted quickly to get the best shots possible in the snow before it melted the following day.The snow also gave our production a brutallity and coldness and made it a lot easier for us in terms of conforming to the sophistication of creatring a thriller film.

Our costume choice  however was inspired by Terry Winsor's 'Essex Boys' , especially the protagonist of our production whos costume choice was based on that of Essex Boys' Jason. The black Jacket and smart black shoes gives our protagonist a sophistication which is also arguably a noir aspect.

In terms of certain shots in our thriller , many of them are somewhat very similar to that of various thrillers, us as a group have researched. The birds eye  shot of Robin Lubach in the confined toilet was chosen due to claustrophobic spaces being a classic generic thriller convention. The famous US thriller witness is where we got this idea from: the scene in which the small boy witnesses the murder taking place in the toilet of the train station.

The worms eye view shot of myself , whilst dragging the dead body was based on the iconic shot of Robert D'niro holding the gun in Once Upon a Time in America.




The props chosen for our thriller effect the final product enormously. The use of the phone ringing  gave our thriller a somewhat poignancy effect , as the female character will never be able to  answer. It also had a spooky eerie effect on the audience as the ringing of the phone doesn't actually stop ringing till the end. Th

Another prop we used was a bracelet. Which was very significant as it gave the audience a focus point and something to ponder over as it appears in multiple scenes. We got this idea from the horror film 'The Ring' where a ring is the main focus of the film.