Owen Pickett-Media : Evaluation Questions

Question 1-In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

1. In Brotherhood (2016), one of the main titles highlights to the audience that there is a change in time. Its placing is dead centre of the screen, there is also a 'Bang' sound effect for each word when they come in. A sound bridge is also placed towards the end of the title. In my opening I decided to use the placing of the influential title for my production title, I didn't like the bang for every word so i decided not to follow this convention of our influential film. Instead I chose the option of using a cross-fade, although this is a very basic effect I felt it worked with the other shots surrounding this title. I also tried to follow the convention of the sound bridging, although this was quite difficult to do with my editing software so i was not able to add a sound bridge.

2. The opening of the film Brotherhood (2016) is set in a public location, a nightclub, although there is a sense of security as there is a bodyguard outside, however this setting highlighted the vulnerability of all the party goers that were inside the club as later on there was a shooting. This is something that i wanted to portray in my opening, the idea that nowhere is safe and public safety has decreased over the years. My opening is located along streets and a public accessed forest, this public location highlights to the audience that there is danger wherever they go. I decided to follow the conventions of my influential film for this matter.

3. In Brotherhood (2016) costumes use semantic code. In Brotherhood, the 'Gangsters' are dressed in all black, this highlights to the audience that they will take on the villainous role in the movie. Again this is a convention I tried to follow in my opening. The gangster in our film, although not dressed in all black does wear a stereotypical 'Gangster' outfit with hooded jacket so we cannot see much of the face.

4. There were a lot of inspiring camera shots in Brotherhood (2016), however one particular shot which interested me was the high angle shot of the dead victim at the end of the opening. This is also a technical convention that I tried to follow. This high angle shot highlights the vulnerability that the victim had before he was shot dead. In my opening I used a high angle shot of the victim once she had been killed like the victim in Brotherhood. There is also very tense stringed instruments playing in the background during the influential camera shot, I decided not to follow this sound convention and instead had an emotional piano play in the background, I felt that this created more sympathy for the victim which is what i wanted.

5. The story in the opening of Brotherhood (2016) is triggered by a certain shot. This shot is a close up of text message that reads "DO IT". This message implies that these group of men are going to do something that is going to shake up the story. I found this action code very interesting and decided that i would implement this in my opening. I decided to add a close up of a message on the 'gangsters' phone that reads "If u wanna be in the gang shank up the gyal" this slang is stereo typically associated with the gang culture, this highlights to the audience what he is going to do.

6. Brotherhoods genre is fully highlighted by one certain shot in the opening, this shot is where the main leader of the attackers lifts his gun up and points it towards the victim on stage. This shot is a pivotal point in the opening as the audience now has understanding of what the film is going to be about. As we filmed out in public using a pretend gun would have been hard as people may have became suspicious and called the police, especially in today's world with terrorism as an active threat. We thought, as a collective, it was best not to bring a pretend gun on the day of shooting. I really wanted to follow this convention so I put a sound effect of a gun being shot after our victim trips over, this is also used as a sound bridge onto our main title. This non-diagetic sound highlights to the audience that she has been shot. Again implying to the audience that our film will be action/thriller genre.

7. A lot of character representation is very stereotypical in the opening for Brotherhood (2016) for example in frame 7, we can see that the main character who is is dressed in clothing that we typically associate with a 'gangster', in my film i decided that i would use the conventions of stereotypes. or example in my frame 7 you can see that the victim is your typical girly victim. I think this stereotype is something we see a lot of in horrors/thrillers hence why I used this representation of the victim.

8. In the opening of Brotherhood (2016), there was a 30 second piece of editing i really enjoyed. This was a montage of what had happened in the previous films to the prequel, Brotherhood. I really enjoyed this editing style as it refreshed the audience's memory of what has happened. It also highlights that this film will be based upon the consequences of those events. In my opening, towards the end I decided to use this editing convention as it worked well when I was trying to create tension during the chase scene. I used a montage to show different point of views from the attacker and victim.

9. Lastly, during the opening of Brotherhood (2016) there are 2 main types of music that can be heard they are Rap and Jazz. Rap can be heard and seen, as there is a rapper on stage after there is a transition to 10 years later. I decided that rap would fit well with the theme of my opening, Rap music is again stereo typically associated with this 'gang' sub-culture. As it would be weird if there was a rapper rapping along the streets, it was obviously more appropriate if the victim listens to it through her headphones. That's when i thought of frame 9, where she presses play on music. I dubbed out any other sound so it sounded like the audience couldn't hear the outside world like the victim. I still used the convention of rap however adapted it to suit my film.

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