Final piece.

Hannah Matthews
Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our final piece was based on the genre Film Noir. In previous lessons and for homework I researched and analysed the openings of other Film Noir’s. When it came to planning a storyline for the final piece, I used what I had found to influence what I was making. I noticed that a lot of the films that I was watching opened with an enigma. I also noticed specific characters that a lot of the films used. There was generally a femme fatale used, who would be very manipulating and a very strong character. There was also generally a detective type person and a male character for the femme fatale to manipulate. Also, in a lot of Film Noir’s, the editing and effects and what was shot are very similar, for example, they were generally shot in black and white, (although this could be due to the lack of colour film in them days), flashbacks are a very popular sequence and so are effects such as the venison blind effect. The locations were generally smokey bars and hotel rooms and relatively ‘dodgy’.
All of these things I thought about and took into consideration. A lot of these things me and my group decided to use. We use the types of characters, the enigma in the opening and our location suited the Film Noir style. The films that I analysed helped a lot in the planning process of our Film Noir Opening.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
There are three characters represented in my groups opening sequence. The femme fatale in the sequence is represented as a very strong, powerful character. She is very much in charge of the situation in the cellar. Although this character is undermined by the ‘Mr Big’ character. Until she rebels and doesn’t do as he says when it comes to killing the other character. She is independent woman. This is shown by the way she dresses and the way she walks around the cellar. The ‘Mr Big’ character is not on screen for long in the opening sequence but he is still represented as a no-good, dangerous, powerful man. This is shown in how he has the power to order someone to be killed and not feel anyway about it. The other character, the one who is tied up, is represented as a very weak character that was taken in by the femme fatales sexuality and he is now in a situation that he has no control over. This is shown by the way that he tied up for the majority of the sequence and how he didn’t put up a fight when he met the femme fatale in the street and she was abruptly taken away by her boyfriend.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
As our film opening would be produced on a small budget, our film would probably have a small marketing budget and only be known by word of mouth. It may start off by being screened at small independent events such as film festivals. E.g. Edinburgh Film Festival. Then, hopefully it would be talked about and it would be possible that a small independent distribution company, such as, Big Arty Pictures, Warp Films or Film Four, would be interested in distributing it to a few small art-houses around the country and it would slowly grow and make money. This is not an unknown way of a film producing money, for example The Blair Witch Project was produced and marketed for $60,000 and initially marketed online as a real story creating hype. This film was talked about and shown at small places, then captured the imagination of the public and went on to make around $248 million dollars world wide.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The majority of people that go to the cinema are people aged between 15 and 24. On average this age range would visit the cinema about once a month. Our films could be rated either PG, 12, 12A, 15 or 18. I would our opening sequence at a 12A. I think this because although there is minimal or no swearing in our film, there is scenes of violence but this is not dwelled on too much and is not shown in to much detail. I have been onto the BBFC website and looked at there classifications. This is what they say about violence in a film rated 12A. ‘Violence must now dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated.’ When I was in the planning stages of our final piece, we carried out a questionnaire on a variety of people of a variety of ages. With this information we was able to decide what appealed to the age range we intended this to be aimed at and was therefore able to incorporate this into our Film Noir opening. The way in which we attracted our audience was by using our questionnaire and making sure this was somehow put into the opening.
How did you attract your audience?
The characters that we used were teenagers around the intended audience’s age. By doing this the audience can relate to the characters and some of them may even be able to relate the situations the characters find themselves in. the titles we used were very to date. We also tried to do this with the costumes and locations. All of our locations we used were real locations, making the opening seem more realistic.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the planning stages I found that it was very helpful to stay in contact with other members of my group throughout the week and the weekend and also holidays. By doing this we were able to keep up to date with what was being done and when it was being done. This made things a lot easier and I knew what I had to do and when it had to be done by.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
During the whole time it has taken us to plan, produce and edit our opening sequence, I have learnt a lot. I have learnt a lot of technical terminology. I have how and why different shots are used, such as, point of view, over the shoulder, long shot, mid shot, close up, extreme close up. I have also learnt many of the rules when it comes to producing a film. Rules such as, 30 degree line rule, 180 degree line rule, match on action, continuity. I learnt how important research was in making a film. Without the research I carried out on film noir’s and other opening sequences, I would have found it very hard to know what to put in the sequence and how to plan it out.
I think I have made massive improvements since me and my partner filmed The Preliminary. There were many things that went wrong with our preliminary. Things such as, match on action and continuity. These were things that we saw as not too important in the early stages of our media as course. There was also not much planning involved in our preliminary which is maybe where things went wrong. I have found that planning is a crucial part of making and producing any type of film. If the planning stages are missed out then important parts of the product get left out or forgotten about. The way that I can now use lighting, location, costume, make up and camera angles and shots have improved the quality of my practical work immensely. I know now why and how techniques are used to make the audience feel a certain way about a character or a location. Over the time that we have filmed three different sequences, I feel that I have grown a lot more confident within every aspect of planning, producing and editing a film sequence.

being human notes

Hannah Matthews
Media studies
Being Human. Start – 5:47

The ghost:
From the very beginning she comes across as slightly slow as she asks to start again.
She seems to dominate by it being her that does the voice overs.
She seems very frustrated that she cannot be seen by people.
It seems that she is very family orientated as she seems to be happy that she could still be surrounded by them.
She is represented as an angry person by her sticking her finger up at the people viewing the house even though they cannot see her
By her saying all of the things she wants, it implies that she is a needy person.
Shes represented as fairly intelligent by the things that she is saying in the voice over.
The titles have a very happy toned music underneath it. This implies that she is happy she has found people that she can relate to.
She is represented after the titles as a very excitable person maybe even child-like as she just says things without thinking.
The woman just wants to be normal. This is suggested by the fact that she was happy that a van driver drove past and shouted ‘slag’
She talks a lot in a high pitch tone and very fast which is like that of a child.

The vampire.
When the audience are first introduced to him, he seems strong and brave as hes fighting in some sort of war
He doesn’t seem to afraid of much
When he has been bitten he seems scared and it is suggested by this that he doesn’t really know what is going on.
It is implied that he doesn’t like having to bite people. This is made obvious when he bits the girl he has sex with and then starts to hit himself.
When he doesn’t have the need to bite people he seems quite relaxed and normal. And just gets on with it.

The werewolf:
When the audience is first introduced to him, he seems like a bit of an oddball. Like the one that doesn’t fit in anywhere.
He is much like the vampire in the sense that when he isn’t a werewolf he just gets on with life and seems quite relaxed.
At the end of the sequence he is represented as maybe the head of the group as he starts to have a go at the ghost when she offers to make tea.
He comes across as very agitated.
His face at the end of the sequence implies that the ghost annoys him. And like he doesn’t really want her there.

waterloo road

Hannah Matthews
Media studies
Waterloo Road. Star – six minutes.

In this sequence of ‘Waterloo Road’ series 4 episode 1, it starts with a blurred E.O.G shot of what looks like a hospital bed. You then see a person start to appear in the bed. The blurred effect of the room emphasises what frame of mind the person in the bed could be in. There is also very eerie, mysterious music which also emphasises this. The woman in the bed then sits up and there is a CU of her face which shows her confusion. This woman has clearly suffered some sort of injury as she has what looks like a burn mark on her chest. The woman then walks around the corridors of the hospital looking confused, like she doesn’t know where she is or how she got there. It then cuts to a shot of a hall full of people. And the colour then changes from very bright and light to a very blue, cold colour. The woman looks scared as the people which now look like students start to chant, ‘mason out’. It seems as though she feels she has done something wrong as she then tries to justify herself by repeatedly saying ‘let me explain’. There is still a blurred effect carried on from the last scene. The camera then focuses on one man, which suggests that he may be important to her. You can clearly hear his voice above everyone else’s while the camera is on him. The room then starts to spin which also shows her fragile mind frame. She is then put under a spotlight on the stage. This is like she is being interrogated. She then gets angry and starts to shout, trying to get her point across. The camera then moves away from her very quickly and is then back in the hospital room. This time it is clear, and it appears the woman is waking up form a dream. This implies that the representation the audience have just had of her is from her own perception. As she was dreaming it and it was her thoughts. She then cries and looks very scared.

Opening titles

We are then back onto the woman in the hospital and she is being examined. She doesn’t seem concerned about her injuries and her only question is about when she will be able to return back to work. The camera then cuts to a school playground. And there is a voice over, the voice of the doctor telling the woman that she is not ready to go back to work. The fact that this is done with a voice over implies to me that the woman had already made her mind about going back to work even before the doctor started talking. She comes across as a very strong minded woman. She knows what she wants and she won’t let anyone tell her what to do. You see the woman pull up in her car and she seems hesitant about opening the door and getting out. This suggests that maybe she knows she should be resting and not going back, but she is determined to do so. Everything around her is moving very quickly and she seems a bit uneasy about this. She walks into the building with her head high and then music starts playing. ‘Breakeven’ by the Script. The first line of this song is ‘I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing, I just prayed to a God that I don’t believe in’. This again shows that she is not well enough to be back at work. She stops and looks around and looks anxious. There is then a ghostly effect used, which makes people just fade past her and not pay any attention. She shrugs it off and the effect disappears. She stops to speak to someone and quickly moves the conversation away from him saying that she looks well. She puts on a front and acts strong and smiles and walks away. The woman walks into what I would assume to be her office and smiles. When offered her desk back she takes a deep breath, again suggesting maybe she knows that she shouldn’t be back at work. She then talks about how much work she has which implies she is a very hardworking person. She shrugs it off when the man says about her injuries with ‘whatever’ and quickly changes the subject. The man she is talking to is the same man that was emphasised in the chant at the beginning of the sequence in her dream. He seems very concerned about the woman’s well being. The woman is still trying to change the subject while the man is still trying to talk about her injuries. She pretends she’s okay and focuses the attention on other people.
They both then walk into the school hall where there are children singing ‘welcome home’. She looks very embarrassed by this, like she doesn’t want a fuss made of her. She is then up on the stage under the spotlight again, just like she was in her dream at the beginning but this time she looks happy instead of shouting. Everyone starts chanting and shouting, the woman seems angry by this and starts to shout to telling everyone ‘that’s enough’. At the end of the sequence she looks very overwhelmed.

I think that in this sequence the woman is represented as a very strong woman who does not like being told what to do. She likes to be in control and have a routine in place where she is in charge of what occurs. She has clearly incurred some sort of injury which threw her off balance and this didn’t please her. In my opinion she felt like she was doing something wrong by not being at work and being in hospital as at the beginning, in her dream, she tried to justify herself and explain. In this sequence the woman only converses with men with shows her strong sexuality and strong mind. The man that she talks to in the office is clearly important to her just as she is to him. He seems genuinely concerned about her which makes him come across as a very nice person, with other people’s best interests at heart.

...

Over the last three projects we have had to shoot, i feel that i have come a very long way. I now have learnt alot of the technical terms and how and why they are done, and how important they are in order to make a sucessful film. Some of these include, the 180 degree line rule and the 30 degree line rule, match on action, continuity, handles, shot reverse shot, location, costume, make-up, talent, music, titles and range of cinematography.
I have also learnt the different types of shots for example, extreme close-up, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, extreme long shot, point of view, eye-of-God, over the shoulder, tilt-up, tilt-down, dutch tilt and pan.
I have learnt how lighting can change the mood of a locationa and the look of a set.
All of these things are important elements in the making of a film, tv drama, music video etc. They all make up the look and feel of the scene and send out a certain message to the target audience.

message to Jon.

Hi Jon. I dont know where the animatic for our group is, or who has it. once i have found out i shall upload it.

Art director treatment

Hannah Matthews – Art Director.
Treatment for the opening of our film noir project.
Cellar scenes. The cellar will be dark and lit with a single light, to give a spotlight effect on the character tied up in the chair. The character in the chair will have make-up applied to make it look like he has been beaten up. There will be blood on his clothing to make it look like he has had a nose bleed. His hands will be tied behind his back and his legs will be tied together, he will also have tape across his mouth. The female in these scenes will be dressed in ‘sexy’ clothing, giving the impressing that she is in charge and that she dominates the character that is tied up. She will walk around him very seductively and also whisper into his ear. The character that has been tied up will look scared and anxious and the female character will look compassionate and seductive. The ‘Mr Big’ character will be wearing dark clothing and will look very intimidating and heartless. He will never look at the character sitting in the chair. ‘Mr Big’ will not talk to the other male character everything he says will go through the femme fatale. There will be some sort of classical music playing over the top. There will no be much in the background of these scenes other than the obvious things you would find in a pub cellar such as beer barrels and stock for the pub. The setting will look cold and very uncomfortable to be in. It will look very unpleasant.

Car scenes. This scene will be set during the day in the middle of no where and then in the middle of a field to give the impression that the couple have to hide their love for each other. It will be a very intimate scene with the couple sitting on the back seat of the car talking, giggling and kissing. The male character (man tied up in cellar scenes) will be in very casual clothing to show that he is not involved in the same sort of circle of people as the femme fatale character. The female character will be dressed fairly smart to show that she has some sort of importance. The scene will be lit by the natural light. The females phone will ring and she look at the phone but act very uninterested and throw the phone back down.

Park scenes. This, as well as the car scenes, will be in a secluded location to show the need for them to hide their love. They will both be dressed in similar clothing to the car scene and will act very comfortable around each other. They will embrace each other on arrival and will sit and talk. This scene will be filmed in during the day and so there will be no need for lighting.

The ‘meeting’ scene. This will be filmed on a street corner. The location will be a fairly normal residential area. The female character and the male character will be walking towards the same corner and bump into each other; again they will be wearing similar clothes to the other outside scenes. They will look at each other lovingly and will talk and smile for a little while and then ‘Mr Big’ will come from the same direction as the female character he will look at the male character with an evil look in his eye and drag the female character away. The male and female character will continue to look at each other. This scene will be set in during the day so there will be no need for lighting. There will be one prop in this scene and that will be the bag that the female character drops as she bumps into the male character.

Brief for the final piece

we are being commissioned in groups of 3 or 4 to produce a 2-3 minute film opening sequence of a "contemporary 'film noir' thriller"(certification 15-18). Our work should update the noir genre but bring the values, traditions, narrative, mood and conventions of film noir to a new audience in contemporary style and setting. We will need to consider and mention what sort of institution it would sit within and the cinemas and distribution pattern the film would have film and also where it will sit best in the televsion schedules and on which TV station it would be most suited to.

special effects - make up

Special effects, Man tied up

Special effects - make up

characteristics of film noir

Characteristics of film noir.
Storylines: Most typical film noirs will have a business man who gets caught up on the wrong side of the law by accident, they will then try to sort things out which just ends up making it worse. They generally also include a woman who uses her sexuality and looks to get what she wants. It is she who typically gets the man in trouble. For example; ‘Detour’. The main character is simply just trying to hitch hike but ends up with a dead man. He then ends up accidently killing someone who tries to help him. ‘Double indemnity’. An insurance sales man lets himself be convinced, by a beautiful woman, to commit murder. ‘Murder, My Sweet’. A detective investigates one case but ends up with so much more ending in violence and murder which he gets blamed for.
Mise-en-scene: The same mise-en-scene is used in nearly every film noir. The classic film noir’s will have been filmed in black and white, and lights and shadows used to create extreme contrast. This makes the audience feel anxious and uncomfortable. Lighting is a big part of film noir and is its most distinguishing feature. Every film noir has examples of this. Vanition blinds are a very popular lighting technique in film noir. The characters generally wear typical 1940-1950’s dressed-up clothes.
Sound: There are not very many advanced sound techniques in classic film noir as they were small budget films. However, there are very often voice over’s and simple back round noise, such as cars. Double Indemnity, Dead on Arrival and Detour are just three example of film noir’s that use voice over’s.
Cinematography: Film noir’s generally only use a few simple shots as they were on a small budget. These shots include close ups, this is to emphasise to the audience the reaction of a character, long shots, to establish what is in the whole scene.

History of film noir

History of film noir.
Film noir, (French for ‘Black Film’): Nino Frank first applied the term to Hollywood films in 1946, although it was much unknown to most film professionals. However people did not start using the term until many decades later. It is linked very closely to German expressionist cinematography as this is known to be set around, low-key black and white styles. This is fondly used throughout film noir.
The most famous film noir’s were made between 1940 and the mid 1950’s. Anything after this is generally classed as ‘neo film noir’. When film noir’s were first being made the Second World War was in procession. The films were meant to resemble real life. People acting out of desperation, in a bleak and ambiguous world. A lot of people could relate to the film noir during the war and the repression afterwards.
Film noir has never officially been classed as its own genre, but is seen as a sub-genre of crime and gangster films.
Film noir’s were made on a small budget and considered to be B-movies. They were made with little money and no big stars.

Film noir fashion

This is a mood board of film noir style clothing we will use in our opening sequence.

Film noir locations

This is a mood board of the type of location we are planning to use for our film noir opening sequence.