Evaluation- Oliver Mackender

1a)Nine frame analysis of my influential film – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

1b) Nine Frame Analysis on my Main Task Film

2)An analysis of the representation of social groups in your film

The main social group for our film opening is escape convicts. the character in our film opening is a key part because he goes on the run, escaping from a high security prison and evading police for a crime he didn't commit hes on his own and can trust no one until he can prove his innocents. With the character seen running away from

this prison atmosphere which is very dull and depressive it ties in to our film opening

because we start with the "convict" escaping his cell and running thought the prison grounds, For our film opening we tried to chose the right location make it seem like a empty area with in a prison that would be impossible to escape from,because at the end of the day it would be the last place anyone wants to end up.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Film Distributor

A film distributor is a company or individual whos job it is to the market the film. The distributor can set the release date of a film and decide the method of which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing/ showing. (e.g. DVD, television programs, download or video-on-demand)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(2004)

The story follows Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts as he is informed that a prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and wants to murder him. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is followed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The budget for this film was $130,000,000 (estimated)

4) The target audience for your film has been identified by creating a profileof a typical audience member.

Forename; John

Surname; Doe

Age; 18
Gender; Male
Education; 1^st year university student
Religious views; Christian
Employment; 3 months work experience in a juvenile detention centre.
Family background; His father is a mechanic for a well known lorry and car repair and parts company, mother is a human resources personnel, he had two younger brothers aged 11 and 14 and a younger sister aged 7
Interests, pastimes and favourite media products; his past times include cooking for his friends and family, reading new and exciting books, exploring unknown trails on his many hikes around the countryside, he is also a qualified Powerkite and archery instructor. In his spare time he volunteers for a local scout group helping out on Tuesday evenings with Beaver scouts, and finishing his week helping out with the cub scouts on Friday evening during the week you may find him nose deep in his laptop looking at the latest technology and completing coursework.

5. How did our film opening address and attract our audience? 



6. Photo montage 

The following images are all the technology we have used:-

We used a Panasonic HD camcorder to record the video footage for our film, this enabled us to get extremely sharp and great quality footage that we also we used for our animatic.

A USB cable was used to connect the HD camera to the computer so that the video footage and pictures could be sent from the camera to the computer so we could start the editing process.

A tripod was used to keep the camera stable and get accurate shots of our film opening, it also offered less movement giving us a better quality image over a hand held shot.

 The editing software we used to do the editing of our film and animatic was Sony Vegas Pro 11. We used it to create titles and to put our film in the correct order of filming, we found that Sony Vegas is really simple to use and get used to.



7) What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from the preliminary task to the main product?

I believe that during  the transition from making the prelim task and then compleating the main task,  I myself as an individual have gained new skills that i didnt have at the start of the prelim filming, i can now succesfully edit pieces of film together, add titles and music to my work and identify mistakes in filming/editing and fix the mistake by either cutting the clip or simply refilm the shot and add it into my finished product. I believe that I have also improved in my camera work and can using a variety of angles and shots can produce a good short film. When i started the prelim film i was very new to media products such how sound can shape if its a good or poor film, how editing can make a film look professional or amateur.

Evaluation - James Thornton

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products (film openings)?

1a) 9 Frame Analysis: The Shawshank Redemption

The first shot shows the logo of Warner Bros. Pictures who were the main distributor for 'The Shawshank Redemption'. Underneath the Warner Bros. logo it, says 'A TimeWarner Company' as TimeWarner is in partnership of Warner Bros.









The second shot shows the production logo of the production company for this film; 'Castle Rock Entertainment'. Castle Rock Entertainment are an American production company. And this film is American.



The third shot shows 'Castle Rock Entertainment' who were the film's production company in the centre of the screen. The screen is a black background with 'Castle Rock Entertainment Presents' in white lettering to make it stand out in the background which of course emphasises it.









The fourth shot shows the title of the film; 'The Shawshank Redemption' in the centre of the screen with the same black background in the same font as the previous shot. The font for the title of the film is slightly bigger to show what the film is called. Again the black background with the white lettering, which emphasises the title.










The fifth shot shows the name of the actor who was the lead role in this film, 'Tim Robbins' who plays Andy Dufresne in this film. Like the previous shot it's the same lettering with the same background, but with a smaller font.








The sixth shot shows the name of the actor who stars as one of the other main characters in this film, 'Morgan Freeman' who plays Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding'. Again, the same lettering with the same font emphasizing in the same background.









The seventh shot shows an establishing shot of the house of where the lover of Andy's wife's lover lives. In this shot, appearing in the screen is the actor of the character; 
'Warden Norton' who is played by Bob Gunton.











The eighth shot shows a point of view shot of Andy Dufresne sitting in his car, listening to the radio outside the house of his wife's lover. Like the previous shot, another actor's name appears in the screen with the same lettering; 'William Sadler', who plays 'Heywood' in this film.











The ninth shot shows a close up shot of Andy from the side sitting in his car. Again, like the previous shot, another actor's name appears; 'Clancy Brown' who plays Captain Hadley, in this film. The same font with the same colour is used showing the actor's name on the screen.

1b) 9 Frame Analysis: 'Catch a Convict'











The first screenshot shows the name of the production company for our film; 'Convict Connections. The white typeface lettering of our production company in a black background makes it stand out, which of course will engage our audience.

The second screenshot shows the name of the company, who distributes our film; 'Howard Media Studios'. Again, the white lettering in a black background engages our audience and is seen at the start of one of our influential films because this way in which a title appears is often seen in most films.

The third screenshot shows our main character running out of prison doors because he's determined to escape from prison because he knows he won't survive in there. The title you see fade in, in this shot shows who plays the lead role in our film.










The fourth screenshot shows a side on shot of our convict running in the background, with the camera tracking his movement in this shot. You can also see the title of our film starting to fade in this shot, so our audience will eventually see what our film is called.


                                                              





The fifth screenshot shows another side on shot of our convict running through the prison car park, with the camera again, tracking his movement. The title of our film 'Catch a Convict', appears in the foreground. We can see in this shot that he's running where ever through the prison area, he can escape through so that the prison guards are unable to find him.










The sixth screenshot shows our convict heading towards a ditch, downhill, with the hope that no one will think to find him in that position.




The seventh screenshot shows a long shot of our convict running alongside at the bottom of the hill, hoping that the search to find him will be called off.









The eight screenshot shows our convict walking out of the prison entrance after running up some stairs in the background. While in the foreground, another title showing, which this time shows who directed and edited this film appears in white typeface lettering.

The ninth screenshot shows our convict walking towards the entrance of a church, so he can hide in a for a while. Notice that he's changed his appearance, so it would be hard for people to recognize him. It's a well known fact that escaped prisoners or people who were in danger of going in prison used to hide in the churches, with the hope that they would be safe from the law. In the foreground, another title which this time, which this time shows who were the people who produced this film appear in white typeface lettering.

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

Our main social group that media product relates to is basically escape convicts. Our character in our film plays a key part because it involves him going on the run, breaking out from a maximum security prison because he was framed for a crime that he didn't even commit and no one believes that he's innocent. The sense of him running away from an area with large buildings while the atmosphere outside is quiet and boring is relevant to our product because it's what prison areas are like and as many people know, prison isn't somewhere you would want to end up. For our film we chose a location which is similar to what the outside of a prison would be like, so basically it's quiet, it's almost impossible to escape and there's no one to talk to.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A film distributor is a company that is responsible for the marketing of a film. The distributor would set the release date of the film they were distributing and the way in which that film would be exhibited and made for viewing. 

My influential film: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Distributed by: 

Columbia Pictures distributed 'The Shawshank Redemption'. This is an American film production company and distribution studio which is part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, who are owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Columbia Pictures were founded in 1918 and are based in Los Angeles, California. Since 1922, they have been producing and distributing films such as Spider-Man and the James Bond film franchise.

Produced by: 

'The Shawshank Redemption' was produced Castle Rock Entertainment, who are an American film and television production company. Castle Rock Entertainment is based in California (USA) as a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. The company was founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, Rob Reiner, Andrew Sheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. Castle Rock Entertainment have produced films such as 'Lord of the Flies' (1990) and 'The Polar Express' (2004).

The budget for the making of 'The Shawshank Redemption' was $25 million. The film itself made a box office of $28,341,469. During the first week of viewing to public audience, the film itself earned $727,000 from 33 cinemas.


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

Forename: Michael
Surname: Jenkins

Age: 17
Gender: Male
Education: 2nd year Sixth Form 
Religion: Christianity
Employment: Stacks shelves at a local supermarket.
Family Background: His mother works as a teaching assistant at a primary school. His father is a car salesman. He has an older sister aged 22 and a younger sister aged 14.

Interests, pastimes and favorite media products: His past times include working with his dad on Saturdays, doing house chores and jobs for other people in the neighborhood. On Sundays and sometimes during school holidays, he plays football for a local under 19's team. His favorite media products include watching horror films, comedies and documentaries. Mostly throughout his spare time, he is busy doing coursework for subjects such as; economics, accounting, business studies and media studies.


5) What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

We used a Panasonic HD camcorder to record the video footage for our film. The quality on the recording screen is excellent which enabled us to get very sharp footage including very good quality still pictures that we used for our animatic.

To get the video footage and the still pictures off the camera onto the computer to begin the editing process of our film and animatic, a USB cable was used to connect to the computer so that the video footage and pictures could be transferred from the camera to the computer.

A tripod was used to keep the camera stable and to make the shots accurate and steady while shooting our film and while taking the pictures for our animatic. For moving shots it gives the camera, steady movement including tilt shots. It much easier using a tripod to keep the camera steady instead of using it hand held.

The editing software we used to do the editing of our film and animatic was Sony Vegas Pro 11. For our film, we used it to create titles and to put each scene that we filmed in the correct order from the beginning to the end of the film. Sony Vegas is really simple to use if you're familiar with making videos/films with editing programs such as this.

Once the editing process for the film was completed, and once I rendered it as an MP4 video, I uploaded our film to youtube, so people could see what we had produced as part of our AS media coursework. Uploading the video to youtube gave us the opportunity to get some feedback from people who use youtube, regularly so they could comment their thoughts and opinions on what they think of our film, once they had watched it.









We used Blogger as our media studies blog to post and upload our coursework to it, so our coursework is able to be marked. Blogger keeps your work organised, all you need to do is have your coursework on individual blog posts, apart from your evaluation coursework which has to be one individual post. Blogger requires your Google mail sign in, in order to be able to access blogger.

6) How did you attract/address your audience?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PnkZV5_zxM

7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the main product?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VErKEDz7Ov8