Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

As a group we decided to follow some of conventions of Teenage Romance added more things that we thought would interest our audience. Teenage Romance is genre that is very popular with our target audience specially females as we found it to relate to them most. However we have also challenged some of the conventions by changing it slightly.

In the title sequence of our opening sequence we used soft calm colours and typography for the titles as it helps set the mood of the film and if choose dark bold colours it would not be appropriate for our genre as that is something that may be seen in the opening sequence of a horror or thriller film; by looking at other opening sequence of thing like Wild Child I noticed this as they used a soft purple and white for the typography which is represented is as royal and pure colour and connotates that it has something to do with someone rich and spoilt become pure. In our titles we used pink and creamy colour as it connotates love and relationship.

A fade was used in our establishing shots to help set the scene and sense of location for our audience and also to make it more interesting. This is similar to the opening sequence of High school Musical it used the fade to change into another place in their establishing shot and made more interesting to watch. Cutaways were so it was continuous and the audience understood that there were two characters. It was also used to keep the engaged and anxiously wondering when, where and what would happen when the two characters meet. This effect can be found it Step Up as they cut back and forth between the two dance group and leaving the audience anxiously waiting to see what happens, whether they are going to meet up.

A range of camera shots and angles were used to keep the attention of our audience. When Alison first saw Ricardo there was a close up of face blushing; at first the audience not aware that it was him until there was a POV shot of the camera, tilts up from his feet to his head.

We also identified that the typical Teenage Romance film, which each of us had watched in the past incorporated Funky/Rocky/Upbeat soundtacks such as in programmes such as in the Saved by the bell, which although it is a tv programme, still depicts what the target audience want. This is significant because Rock and roll as associated as being for young people because it is LOUD, ENERGETIC and FORCEFUL.


We also tried to build interest by building the topic on issues and environment that the identified age group would be able to relate with because it was set in a school and it deals with issues such as teenage romance and high-school life, which are issues that people within the targeted age group would be able to relate with. This creates empathy and solidarity.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

As a group we agreed that the target audience would be Teenager from the ages of 13-17 years. We concluded that it may be watched more by females because these category or group are presumed to be more interested in romance. However, we have tried to make it to appeal to males by including characters such as Ricardo, who is more of a popular easy-going character as well as a lady’s man.

We felt that this film was more appropriate to this group because they would be more able to relate with the film considering that it is set in a school and it represents issues such as teenage romance which they may be dealing with so we felt that this group would be more able to identify with the film.

Our secondary audience would be age 12-19; I arrived at this conclusion after considering films such as Save the Last Dance (2001), Twilight (2008) and Love and Basketball (2000)... these are all films they may have watched in the cinema when it was out or on DVD. All of these films have 12A certificate, this means it suitable for 12 years and over. No-one younger than 12yrs may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema, unless accompanied by an adult. This shows that even adults have been watching these films. Adults may wanted to watch the film in order to better their understanding on the experiences that teenagers go through whilst at school and the fact that it goes beyond just studying and going straight home. This may enable parents to be able to deal with issues such as sex education and guiding their children so that certain mistakes are avoided.

In the last six months, I feel that our target audience are most likely to have watched films such as Slum dog Millionaire and High school Musical 3 (2009) this because these films have a 12A certificate and 12A has currently got the highest rating at the box office. This means that young people our target audience... 12 and above, maybe even adults would be watching films like this.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might DISTRIBUTE your MEDIA PRODUCT and WHY?


Our film features life as a Teenager and the conflict that young people may experience within the confines of a school such as Love and Jealousy and High-school Life, these are also the themes within our film. This is similar to Clueless, Mean girls and Twilight as they all portray these themes within the genre Teenage Romance.

Spotlight on Alison was produced at our school, Barking Abbey because we thought it would easier as we already attend the school and as the typical settings of films in our genre is located in a school. If we were to distribute our film we would have to improve the quality and format of our film as we had no budget and it is not of what is expected in large cinemas. However having said this, I feel that the storylines and the contents are marketable because films such as High School Musical and Mean Girl focus on the typical themes that we portrayed and have attained a high rating. This means that our film has the potential to be distributed.

The type of media institution that we would considered if we wanted to distribute our film as an independent film would be Momentum Pictures. It’s a UK based film distributor and “is one of the leading independent motion picture distributors in the UK and Ireland and releases approximately 20 theatrical films a year” http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/ Momentum Pictures are open to any genre. This distribution company would be useful as they distribute a lot of films and it means they may be willing to distribute our film.
Another media institution that we would consider is IFD (Icon Film Distribution) http://www.iconmovies.co.uk/. It is also UK based distributor. IFD have successful distributed films under the same genre as us (Teenage Romance) such as Its a Boy Girl Thing; and are open to independent filmmakers.

The process of distribution is relevant because film distributors are the people that approach exhibitors and convince them that the film would make money. We would need to first create an outline of the film so that we can try to gauge the interest of organisations which would invest in the film such as studios or independent investors. Afterwards, we would arrange for the film to be made to suit the standard that is relevant to the media institution. This is necessary because as stipulated above, the current state of the film may not meet the required standard because of the limited availability of technology and no budget was allocated so we were limited in our production.

Afterwards, the film would be given to the studio, which is responsible for negotiating the licensing agreement with the distributor. The distribution company would then show the screening to potential buyers from the theatres; agree the terms of the lease and negotiate the percentage of ticket sales that would be received. Determine the number of prints that would be required and ensure that it is accessible to all the exhibitors, advertised and the dubbing and subtitling is available where relevant. There is a specify time frame that the film should be exhibited and then it has to be sent back to the distributors.

If we wanted to distribute our film though other distribution methods such a film festival; we could consider LIFF (London Independent Film Festival) as it “is Europe’s top festival for micro budget and no budget films” http://www.londonindependent.org/ LIFF is for independent filmmakers such me and my group. This would be a good choice as it relates to our film because they are open “no budget films” which our film is and is probably the easiest way to screen our film. It has a simple procedure where all you have to do is send your film off with a small fee depending on the lateness (Early (ending June 6), Regular (June 7-Dec 6), Late (Dec 7- March 6)... Fees for feature films are £30 early, £35 regular, and £45 late). The amount asked for is affordable as we are students and don’t have a lot; and can just split between each other as there are three of us and we would not be paying a lot.

Another method is the internet, this is particularly relevant with the development and impact of sites such as YouTube as can be found on www.youtube.com/ another site called MySpace as can be found on www.myspace.com/. We would need to upload the film on the relevant site. This is a good avenue for distribution because it can be accessed by a wide audience because it is accessible by people all over the world, people do not need to pay to view the film, people can rate the film, give feedback, list it as one of their favourite video and the video can be shared and transferred to other sites and emailed to other users from the site. For interactive sites such as Facebook on www.facebook.com/; videos can be viewed and sent to friends on the senders lists and people who are not registered as the person’s friend may also be able to view the video depending on the person’s privacy setting that the individual has opted for their Facebook account.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your opening sequence REPRESENT particular SOCIAL GROUPS and SETTINGS?

My media product represents one particular social group which is young teenagers who desire to pursue their dreams in becoming something in life.

The characters that mainly associate with my genre Teenage Romance would be a popular young handsome boy and an independent young girl. An example is Sam Montgomery (Hillary Duff) and Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray) in A Cinderella story (2003). Sam, a independent young smart girl who worked hard in school and got grades; she worked in a cafe that her step-mother owned in order to raise money so she could go to university and make something of herself. Austin is a young handsome popular boy who captain for his school’s American football team.The main characters in my opening sequence are:

Ricardo:

· Ricardo/Male/17yrs old

· Black/British

· Handsome

· Popular

· Loves sports

· Aspires to be world known basketball player

· All the girls love him

· He doesn’t like to over dress as he is laid back

· He is carefree

· He enjoys hanging with his friends

In the camera Ricardo is represented as cool popular boy and we see this right from the beginning through his body language when he is walking and is greeted by one of the pupils in the school. This is similar to way John Tucker (John Tucker Must Die) is seen in the camera... as he walks through the corridor of his school he is greeted by girls/boys who attend the school.

The non-digetic sound be a funky/rocky/upbeat soundtrack portrays him as cool/edgy laid back teenager as it contrasts with his body language (the movement of his body when is walking). This can relate to Poppy Moor in Wild child even though she was opposite gender when she was walking into to the school fancy dress party and the non-digetic sound represented her as cool/edgy.

The props that Ricardo uses, for example the duffle boy that he was wearing in the opening sequence represents him as an athletic sporty person. This is similar to Jack in The Secret Life of the American Teenager as he always has a duffle bag on him; as he plays American football for his school team; by jack wearing this he is represented as sporty person and makes people notice him as that.

Alison

· Alison/Female/17yrs old

· Asian/British

· Pretty

· Sweet personality

· Independent/dedicated

· Loves to dance

· Aspires to be a great dancer

· Kind hearted

· Quiet and shy

The camera represents Alison as hard working independent girl and we see this when she is in the dance studio by herself just finished dancing and stretching even though she did not have a lesson; she still went to practice so she could make herself better. This is similar to Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl... she would practice making and designing clothes at home so that she could make better at it.

However Alison’s body language and facial expression in the opening sequence portrays her as quiet and shy as when she see Ricardo she is love stuck and starts blushing; she doesn’t try to communicated with him in anyway and ends up walking past him. This relates to Sam Montgomery in A Cinderella Story when she sees Austin Ames in the hallway and she is love stuck just starring him as she is walking and she is too shy to talk to him.

Alison is represented as someone who loves dancing and aspires to be a great dancer through her costume and props. The costume she was wearing when she practicing by herself in the dance studio was her full dance kit; and the props used such as the stereo and CDs were hers from home and not the school. Alison always made sure she brought her own props instead of using the schools because some else may be using at the time she want to use it... this also represents her as someone who is independent. This is similar to Sarah in Save the Last Dance when she was practicing her dancing in an old studio by herself with her own props (Stereo and CD), everyday so she could be ready for her audition.

The way the opening sequence is edited represents Alison as some who is dedicated to dance through the way the cutaways kept on cutting back to Alison as she was practicing dancing and stretching. This can relate to the opening sequence of Step up as we constantly see cutaways of the two dance groups rehearsing dances.

One issue we encountered was with one of our casts, was with Jesse when on the day of shooting he went out of site to buy food and did not make it back time as we had already planned the time on shooting schedule and needed him when everyone was walking through the playground however resolved this issue by shooting when school had finished and found it better as there were more people walking past.

We had chosen our casts from the other Media class. We only needed two characters and we choose Dhara Syal who plays Alison Stanfield and Jesse Chuku who plays Ricardo Evans. We wanted our casts to not only be dedicated and reliable but to be able to fit into their characters. Jesse Chuku already is a basketball player as he plays for the school team so this made it easier because he already had something in common with his character (Ricardo). Even though Dhara Syal is not a dancer, her personality fits with her character (Alison), as she a quiet kind-hearted person.

In order for our casts to stay true to the representations of their characters, we would practice the shot before filming; whilst practicing I had to explain what they should do in more detail and then act it out if they were still confused. If it did not look natural or how we wanted it to look I would give them an example of the situation that relates to the shot and ask them to act out what they would do. Then when it looked right we would film it. An example of this was when Dhara (Alison) did not understand the sort of facial expressions she had to do when she saw Jesse (Ricardo) and even when I showed her by acting it out and she acted it out after; it still did not look quiet how we wanted it to look. So I give her a scenario to do with the shot, “How would she look at this good looking boy that she has always liked but is too shy to talk him” and told her to act it out. When Dhara acted out the shot after I had said that, it looked much better as it looked natural.