2. Gap Year! In this evaluation I will talk about the reasoning of my film and why I believed it would be successful if it were to be published. On saying that the film we have made does not match our storyboard this is because due to equipment and timing issues were were not able to develop our original idea of British Drama as it was becoming to complex, therefore we decided to make a British Comedy as a few of the shots we initially had were suited more for this than a British Drama. So on deciding the film fits better in with the comedy genre, we decided to base it around a movie version of television shows such as 'The Inbetweeners' and 'Skins'. This then created a great title for us 'GapYear' and then potentially a great target audience which I will discuss later.
3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? In our product we use natural lighting which is a convention of British films. In a majority of British films they use voice overs to explain what is happening, however we decided against this as we felt that the music of our piece gave it more meaning and that it was something that didn't necessarily need to be explained also it then lets you make your opening judgements as to what is going to happen next. We also used the British band 'The Fratellis' song 'Creepin up the backstairs' for our piece, lots of British films use British band because it connects more with the movie and keeps the movie all within the British scene. We also use a underpass known as the old train track, which is conventional in a lot of British films. We used fast pace edits which is a conventional sign in a British film, this can be viewed in films such as 'Trainspotting'.
4. How does your media represent particular social groups? I believe my film represents the Indie teenager as well as adults under 25. This is because if you look at programs such as 'The Inbetweeners' their average viewing age is 16- 25 and our film has the same vibe and elements as this program such as our characters.
5. What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why? I feel something like the British Film Institute would produce my film as it would be low budget which we kept in mind when filming and also we could get free advertisement from social networking sites such as 'Facebook' or 'Twitter', meaning the cost overall wouldn't be to much. Also 'Film4' which is a company belonging to Channel 4, which gave director Shane Meadows his break with the hit 'This Is England' which is also a British film.
6. Who would the audience be for your film? The target audience for our film would be from ages 16 - 25/27. As it deals with the life of students on a gap year from education which a lot of the population of teenagers cannot wait to get get out of, but also people in their mid twenties who have had a gap year therefore can relate to our film as the characters set out about having fun. An Gap years are usually all about having fun.
7. How did you attract/address your audience? We attracted are audience by having relatable characters and raising relatable issues, such as love and avoiding work at all costs. We also used popular culture clothing such as shirts, denim shorts and graphic tops which are in currently in fashion. We use characters a majority of teenagers can relate to such as one of the friends feeling like a third wheel in a relationship, a student who just doesn't care, the two that are in love and then some are chilled out people.
8. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? During this process I have learnt about different cameras for example a standard camera to a DLSR, I've also learnt how to edit and crop clips plus adding effects on an Apple Mac with the help of Imovie. I've also learnt why Tripods are so important during filming. I've learnt how to crop music tracks with the help of Garage-band. This is important as now I have more experience if I get to make a film again. I've learnt how to use online blogging sites such as 'Blogger' and 'Scribd'.
9. Looking at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? From the preliminary task I learnt about the 180 degree rule which means I was aware of what not to do whilst filming. I have learnt that different effects can communicate a different message, a fade to white could communicate mysteriousness whereas a swipe gives it more of a fast pace action. I feel we made a successful film opening which communicates a great beginning for the rest of the film and entices the audience to want to see more. We worked well as a group and we played to each others strengths to create a good final product.
