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

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

 

Logo and Production name

We have chosen to call our production team “Eclipse Production”, this is because it is a catchy name and easy to remember. Our logo is a crescent moon to match our name eclipse productions. The logo appears at the start of our film opening, this follow conventions of media.



Setting/Location

We have chosen a deserted dark area to use as the main film location, This is because it follow the conventions of a horror or thriller movie. The setting is used so that it creates suspense and mystery in the film opening, With a lot of dark places to hide our character will be constantly on edge and paranoid.

 

 

Costume/Props

In our film opening there is an iconic character, The killer. This character is wearing an all-black outfit and a white mask. This is a symbolic code used to follow conventions of horror villains. The black costume is to hide in the dark and the white mask is to hide their identity. This creates mystery and suspense of the killer.

 

 

 

 

 

Editing

We have edited the order of our film, We have use effects to create distinct flashback scenes. The shots are not all in the same setting and the scenes are not in chronological order. This goes against normal conventions of a horror film, we have done this to create mystery and introduce the plot differently. Therefore our film will differ and stand out from others.

 

 

Title Style 

We have chosen a set style for our titles. The colours of our titles are white and red. This is so that the titles are easily visible on a dark setting, and the red in the titles symbolise danger. This is a written code that creates danger in the film.

 

 

 

 

Story Plot 

We have created a black plot to the film by using flashbacks. This follow conventions of certain films but stands out from films of a similar genre. We have done this to introduce a story within a story, creating mystery in the opening. The main story is a killer who has a dark past and goes out to get revenge on those he dislikes.

 

 

How the opening presents the genre 

During the first minute of our film opening the genre is clear. There is a dark setting to create suspense. The genre is horror, this genre is presented through mysterious characters and deserted areas, the music in the background causes the audience to be paranoid.

 

 

Introduction to the characters
The main character in our film opening is the killer, this goes against normal conventions of an horror film, where the main character is normally the victim. Our killer is introduced following the victims and stalking their movements. He emerges from the darkness the create a change in atmosphere and makes the feel that something bad will happen.

 

Film Title
The title of our film appears at the end to go against conventions of film opening titles. This is to show that the story truly starts after the film title. Out title is red and dark to symbolise the killer. This is a written code to match the identity of our killer, dark and dangerous

 

 

 

These are the nine frames

 

Film Idea

This is our film idea in brief.

Twitter

Our blog has been our most important way of posting ideas and stuff we have produced. However to gain a larger audience we have set up a group twitter page.

We have had some positive post from twitter followers

Follow Us!!

Setting The Scene

One of the most vital parts of filming is to decide a suitable location. The location of our filming is a local lakeside woodland, Similar to this area...

MoodBoard

During filming we have many different emotions.
Here is a mood-board to express the emotions.

Codes and convetions in media

Codes:

Media students identify three categories of codes that may be used to

convey meanings in media messages:

TECHNICAL CODES,

which include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, Mise en scene, editing,  lighting and sound;

SYMBOLIC CODES,

which refer to objects, setting, body language, clothing and colour.

WRITTEN CODES

in the form of headlines, captions, speech bubbles and language style.

Conventions:

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something, and in the case of media texts, they are generally accepted patterns of code that communicate a particular message.
There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific. For example, in Westerns fights scenes are generally shot from a low angle, the setting is usually dusty and desolate, and even the sounds used within the scene are conventional, such as castonettes, or some sort of whistle.

Possible Filming issues

Before we did the final filming we had to keep in mind some possible issues that could occur.
The first was the weather- If the weather was to bad for filming then it could effect the final production. Too much wind or rain could effect the quality of our film opening.
The Second was the time of day- If the time of day does not match the time we want to film, or the similar time to the first filming, then the lighting could be dramatically different.
The turn up of our group- We had to ensure that the filming times and locations were suitable for each member of our group and extra people included in our filming. Without a key member of the group then filming could of had to be postponed.
We as a group managed to overcome these issues and have several filming sessions successfully.

Music Clarification

During editing we had to choose music to fit our film opening.
The music we chose was from the existing film A Nightmare On Elm Street.
To ensure we can use the music without copyright issues we sent an email to Wes Craven asking if we can use the music.

Film Editing

Final parts of editing for our film opening are being made.
The film opening is around 2.50 mins long.