This document is a reflection by a student on their media evaluation assignment. It discusses the genres and conventions used in their post-apocalyptic film opening, including ruined buildings, wasteland landscapes, and a mysterious main character. The student explains how they developed these conventions and also added original elements like ash-covered ground. The student also considers the intended audience, potential distributors like Fox Searchlight, and what they learned about technologies like Adobe After Effects through constructing this project.

1. AS Media EvaluationBy Joe Isaacs

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?On my media product I decided to use a post apocalyptic type genre with a hint of horror as I thought it would be effective and unique because I hadn't seen anyone else in my group doing a similar genre and I wanted too make something to create an enigma code too hook the audience (Barthes) or even confuse the audience and make them feel as if they wanted to watch on just because the genre looked interesting. Some of the questions that may be going through the audiences minds whilst watching my opening would be;What's happened?

3. Where is it?

4. Why does everything look different?

5. Who's the character?I researched lots of films, some of these are “i am legend”, “the day after tomorrow”, “28 days later”, “the book of Eli”, and “2012” all of these films have landscapes that are ruined and are all about mankind being wiped out in someway having something too do with an “apocalypse” this is why I decided too research them all of them have lots of conventions that iv used, some of the conventions that iv used are;-ruined and knocked down buildings

6. -wasteland

7. -one main character

8. -mysterious atmospheres

9. -the whole theme of an apocalypse

10. -one safe place

11. Some of the conventions iv added and thought of by myself are;

12. - The idea of ash covering the earth

13. - Certain atmosphere

14. - The character being mysterious rather than being known

15. - A more creepy effect that's mysterious rather

16. - strange weather effectsHow does your media product represent particular social groups?In my media project film opening it has been created throughout too show landscapes and not include any characters until the very end too add suspense, even when this character is shown it is only shown as a mysterious dark outline of a character, that doesn't speak and cant really be included or represented in a particular social group, if I had to represent my media projects social group that its related too I would probably choose gothic for the pure fact that the whole opening is about darkness, horror and being alone and the main safe place is a creepy looking church that looks slightly gothic, also one of my scenes is filmed in a graveyard so this could also be represented as gothic.

17. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?Fox searchlight productions is my main media company for distribution, I choose these as they have made many films and are very popular, the one film that they have produced that relates too mine and I had researched a lot is “28 days later” this film is about not fully about a post apocalyptic world but a world that's turning into a post apocalyptic one because a virus has wiped out most of mankind and things are starting too decay and mankind is becoming extinct, I choose fox searchlight because after researching the film “28 days later” I decided I wanted my film to be similar and fit a similar criteria and genre.

18. After researching films that fox searchlight has produced and there history i have found out that most of there films have earned big amount of money from small budget or even big budgets but either way they have earned profit and gained a lot of reputation but there have also been some flops where they have spent a lot of money making a film and earned a really small profit or no profit at all giving them bad reputation, and some films have been produced that most people have never heard of, what might happen too my product is that it could either be very successful and cost a small or big amount too make but either way earn a big profit and get lots of hits or it could make people think that its just a rip off of other films fox searchlight have produced and make them not want too watch it making the distribution company loose time and money.

19. Who would be the audience for your media product?Age: my age range for my media product would be for 16+ because I don't think children or anyone under the age of 16 would enjoy watching a film about the world ending and it could be classed an inappropriate.Gender: the gender for my product would be suitable for male and female but from my own opinion id say males would enjoy watching it more than girls due to my film containing destruction and power and this is stereotypically related towards males.Profession: I don't think there would be a certain profession for a person watching my product because there job wouldn't effect how they see the film although maybe people with jobs related to geographical terms might want to watch to pick out the things that could have been mistaken about the world being destroyed.Education level : the education level wouldn't be a concern for the type of audience although people from a lower education level might not understand parts of the film whereas someone smarter at a higher level would understand straight away.Household income level: in my opinion the only way this could effect the target audiences would be on the matter of if you could afford too take people or yourself too see the film because this would effect how many people watch it.Geographic location : the geographic location of the audience could be effected by what type of place my product is set for example: if my product is being viewed by people who live in a city and my film is set in a city it could either upset them too see that my film is showing what could happen or just interest them into what could happen.

20. How did you attract/address your audience?Too make my work as interesting as I could I tried to use the most unique genre I could think of and during my editing a had too use lots of ideas know one else had thought of so when people were viewing it they would have been intrigued in what was different rather than the first thing thinking that its the same or similar to every other film opening, I achieved this by using things I in my scenes had created myself and created differently to everyone else, even my title has its own unique effect.One of the main good choices I made was too use a technique of before and after, before is made too look nice and normal and after is made too look dim and dark for the apocalyptic feel, another good choice I made was with the subtitles it lets the audience know what's going on and another good choice was using a shadow outline for the character this made the audience want too know more about the character.

21. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?I have learned allot about the technologies whilst working on my product, When editing I realised that using Sony Vegas pro 8. was only really letting me change then colour schemes and lighting on my scenes but I wanted too change the “physical elements” I decided too start using Adobe After Effects CS4 to create my own scenes and edit the landscapes drastically I did this in my first scene by cutting ad splitting the roofs off my buildings too make them look trashed and ruined.I also used a lot of editing techniques in Adobe After Effects Cs4 like;-Colour keying

22. -Sky replacements too add a sky from one clip too a separate clip.

23. -Masking for the wrecked buildings

24. -Shatter particle rendering for the fogAll of these techniques made my post apocalyptic genre look more realistic and feel more realistic too watch, the way iv edited my film too fit the genre is how it develops and challenges forms of conventions.

25. I made this type of genre work in many ways by using Sony Vegas pro 8.0 for certain editing techniques like;Dimming of saturation.Darkening lighting.Adding a slight pixelated effect to each scene too make the film look a bit “rough”.Cropping too add a Film look by cutting away the top and bottom of the clip slightly.Rendering in HD format to make the film clearer and smoother too watch..When editing I realised that using Sony Vegas pro 8.0 was only really letting me change then colour schemes and lighting on my scenes but I wanted too change the “physical elements” I decided too start using Adobe After Effects CS4 to create my own scenes and edit the landscapes drastically I did this in my first scene by cutting ad splitting the roofs off my buildings too make them look trashed and ruined.

26. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?During my prelim I learn about lots of different film genres, the way in how certain films are made too add a good effect, the way in which certain types of editing can make the scenes be seen in different ways and lots of different things about filming and editing i also learnt about lots of techniques and camera angles to get the most out of my filming, for example:-low angle-high angle-panning-mid shot-long shotEct.. I also learn the basic uses of Photoshop for example i learn how too mask things when making some of my titles/subtitles in my product and how too use editing software for example i learnt how too use adobe after effects from scratch just by editing and using it in my product, throughout my project I have progressed and gained allot of experience and different skills working editing and filming and I will use these in the future to help me in future media courses and I will use these in the future to help me in future media courses.