Evaluation Planning- Activity One DRAFT

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

Nine shot analysis 

1.     Illumination Productions

·     We made this on live-type and the different letter flash to make it stand out.

·     There is a white simple background which emphasise the flashing title.

·     The music begins in this shot which is a upbeat pop-rock backing crack which is typical of chick flick film.

·     It is 3.5 seconds long.

2.     In car shot

·     The camera is from the driver’s POV however the audience do not know who the driver is yet.

·     The car is driving a long a straight which creates a verisimilitude r as people can relate to the everyday car driving situation.

·     The first credit come up in this clip which is the 1st director and it lasts for 1.5 sec so that the audience can read it before it then fade out.

·      As the car drives forwards  the audience can see a school sign for St Mary school

·     The impression they get is that this area is a rather posh area which is quite typical of a chick flick eg, Wildchild.

·     Another convention we followed is starting a film with a journey arriving at its destination which shows a new start.

3.     

·     This is the longest shot which is 5.3 seconds and it shows the car which we just saw the interior of driving into the school which the audience also just saw.

·     The audience also get the first shot of the driver which appears to be a young girl wearing sun glasses (Ray Ban). Designer label which is really expensive and representative of the high end product these privileged teenagers can afford.

·     Once more, the title credit is in a girly swirly font reminiscent the Cinderella story.

4.     

·     While the car drives down the really long grand front drive

·     Full shot of the car is shown to emphasise the typically private rich kid girl car.

·      More credit appears.

5.     

·     The shot is then followed by a one second shot of from inside the car of the driver’s POV as the car approaches a very picturesque and traditional independent school.

 TO BE CONTINUED…

Exam practice essay: What significance does the development of digital technologies have for media institutions and audiences?

The development of digital technologies for media institutions and audiences plays a significant role in the marketing of films. Social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook make a major impact in the distribution and marketing of any film. These websites, as well as other forms of technology such as iTunes, Smartphones and game consoles have all helped revolutionise the way media has been distributed. 

Although these new technologies are only available to the companies that have a big enough budget to include them in their films. For example big six companies such as Universal are able to take advantage of the technologies such as 3D as films as they have the money to invest in them and as they are a big company, they have the ability to make a profit. An example of this is the Disney movie Frozen (2013). 

The film industry is constantly changing and adapting in order to find new ways to distribute their product. For instance, in recent years companies have been introducing an online streaming platform, such as Netlix or LoveFilm, which gives the viewer the option to purchase the movie and stream or download that film directly to their computer at home, or even to their smartphone or device. This has saved distributors millions as instead of sourcing materials for packaging for a large fee, then going through the production stage of creating the actual media disc, they can just send out a single file from a computer and still release and sell their product to the same amount of people as they would off with a physical Digital Disc release. 

Large companies like Disney can use websites and social networking to significantly impact the marketing of upcoming films. The internet can be used to create games and quizzes as well as making it easier to share interviews or 'extras' such as behind the scenes footage. As the company is already well known, potential audiences will look at Facebook, twitter and YouTube pages as well as the official website of Disney and see news about films that will be released in the near future, this gives Disney the ability to create an audience for an upcoming film before even a trailer has been released. Disney Pixars Monsters Inc (2001) prequel Monsters University (2013) had an immediate audience of a range of ages as soon as the making of the film was announced. Disney's online promotional methods included games, videos, character profiles and even the opportunity to apply to monsters university! Through the help of fantastic marketing and distribution, the film made $82,429,469 on it's opening weekend made a gross profit of  $268,488,329, proving that the marketing (which is heavily influenced by new technologies) has a massive impact on profit made on films as Disney made an extortionate gross profit on a film the critics described as 'flat in both the visual invention and gag departments.'

Smaller production companies such as 'Sixteen Films' do not have the privilege of using newer technologies to a full capacity as they do not have the recognition that Disney have to easily distribute their films nor the money that Disney has to spend on the production and marketing of upcoming films such as The Angels' Share (2012). Although the film made a gross profit of only $6,867,152, a minuscule amount in comparison to Monsters University; The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Director Ken Loach won the Jury Prize. The Angels' Share has been met with critical acclaim. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of only 28 reviews, with a rating average of 7.2 out of 10.The film was nominated for the Margritte Award for Best Foreign Film in Coproduction. The Angels Share is a prime example of a film with little marketing that managed to make a substantial profit as well as please the critics. 

In conclusion, the development of digital technologies significantly influence media institutions and audiences to a large extent however they do not solely control the financial outcomes of films. Larger production companies can make better use of developing technologies due to their 'eternal' budgets and connections within the industry. However smaller companies who produce equally as successful films prove that the industry still depends on the quality of the film itself. 

Green screening animations- take two!

Today we made our third and hopefully final attempt at our animated credits! Final edit to be put up soon! 

Titles Testing

We tested creating our animated opening credits but unfortunately it didn't work as successfully as we hoped. We will try again in the upcoming week to make this perfect!

Filming and Editing

On Monday 3rd of February we started filming our movie intro! Here is Emily hard at work in the editing process! 

Practising Shots

Before we film our official opening two minutes, we wanted to practise a few of the shots we were planning on using. Here is a quick mock up of what the final outcome is supposed to be like;