The document provides an evaluation of a media foundation portfolio that included the production of an opening film clip. It summarizes the research conducted on film conventions, the representation of social groups, the intended audience, and technologies used. Key lessons learned included developing skills in film editing, receiving feedback to improve, and appreciating the importance of planning and organization for successful project completion.

1. G321 AS Media Foundation PortfolioEvaluation by Joel Law

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? From the clips I have researched I have found that they all have the titles coming in into the middle of the screen, in a standard colour and font. This is a common convention of comedy films for example Anchorman and Dukes Of Hazard. There is little attempt to impress the audience with the credits and titles. I have adopted a similar idea for my film as I have the titles appearing after the opening scene in a simple font and colour. The audience expect this kind of style of introducing the titles. The setting for the films I researched differ as they use contrasting locations. Dukes Of Hazard is set in a quiet rural place where it’s all peaceful and tranquil this creates a false sense of gentleness which is shattered as the film bursts into life with a car chase. This gives the audience a shock and engages them. The second film, Anchorman is set in a large city and presents a birds eye view over the city. The next shot is a close up shot of the main character in a make up room. The presentation of this shot includes dialogue which introduces the comedy aspect.

3. CONT… My audience who watched these clips said that the fast that the first shots were in contrasting locations and set different scenes both films introduced action and comedy with the second shot which means that both films met the audience expectations of a comedy film. From my research I decided to make a comedy where two characters are getting ready to go to work. My film zooms in to a close up of the little details of them doing up buttons and tying their shoe lace. I got this idea from my research of Anchorman as this seems to be a way of creating a more laid back and comical view of a situation. Another typical media convention is to use both costume and miss-en-scene to complement each other.

4. How does your media product represent particular social groups? The characters in my clip and the miss-en-scene reflect a particular social group as they are getting ready to go to work, so the social group represented is young working class males. This is portrayed by showing to males getting ready to go out to go too work. From my researched clips I found that there is a similar social grouping in Anchorman, it shows working class males of a slightly older age where as mine portrays a view of young males. Initially I was going to have one person in a suit to reflect he is in a high standard job and doing well in his work, and then another character in casual clothes going to work to show he is slightly lower class than the other character. But then I decided I wanted them in the same costume as the film is about to people going for the same job and playing pranks on each other to make the others drop out so I decided to both have them in the same costume to make them look similar and equalThe social group represented are likely to watch TV programmes such as the IT crowd on E4 and Channel 4.

5. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?I feel my clip could be distributed as a TV programme rather than a film because it is typical material for a sit com with a comical theme such as Friends. With this in mind it would be suited to the following channels, E4, BBC3 and ITV2 as it is likely to attract a younger audience. These channels generally target this audience and air programmes representative of real life, usually depicting characters from a working class background with a comical theme. As a film it would be low budget produced by a small British film company.To obtain feedback of ideas I could use youtube to distribute clips of potential films or series.

6. Who would be the audience for your media product?No film is for everyone, each film has a target audience depending on the genre and sub genre. The success of a media product is dependant upon the expectations of the target audience being identified and met. My target audience will be working class young adult males (15-30). The stereotype with of target audience will be young men and women who tend to go out at weekends with there friends for and enjoy partying.

7. CONT…The classification of my film would be a 12 because there will be a little moderate language but no strong language and will have no sexual references in it or glamorising weapons or drugs. Therefore an audience of age 12 upwards is implied.My target audience fed back to me throughtout my editing process which helped me to remain focused on the expectations and to ensure that the meaning of my media text was apparent.

8. How did you attract/address your AudienceI attract my audience to my film by choosing a familiar location and setting and introducing a subtle element of comedy by exaggerating a normal everyday event of getting dressed. It is common within comedy media to use representations of everyday tasks and present them in a slightly alternative way which creates and element of humour. in Anchorman the make up room isn’t an unusual setting but its presentation and dialogue introduces the comedy element.The shots I used in my filming where more simple shots such as close ups, medium shots and panning shots. From my researched shots I found that the most simple shots in the film create the biggest influence on creating the type of genre and display the setting of the film. The character in my film are introduced by slowing showing them getting ready for work, first it shows a close up of their feet, then them zipping up jackets and doing up their buttons, then doing their hair then finally a panning shot of them which shows a medium shot of their face for the first time. From the first two minutes there is no real comical value to the film, it merely sets the scene and introduces to two main characters, from my research I have found that is a usual occurrence with the first few minutes aren’t very funny compared to the rest of the film, in the dukes of hazard the opening sequence is a car chase which gets the audience gripped and starts to introduce the characters with a voice over, which is hard to add comical value so it tends to just be introductory at the start. but what makes people want too watch is the way they can link themselves into the character, so they can group the characters into a certain social grouping to define the people who will watch it.

9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?I have used lots of different technologies with filming and editing of the opening clip of a film, such as using the video camera and the software. The software we used for my preliminary task was pinnacle 14 but there were network and render issues so I had to change to using Adobe Elements. I obtained ideas and research clips from google and youtube, I used WINFF to convert these clips so I could upload them to my blog.

10. CONT…The music for my opening clip was downloaded from itunes as an mp3. I also used facebook and youtube to get feedback on my clip and how to improve it and check for errors. I also used e-mails and mobile phones to organise actors about times for filming and location.Overall I have developed my technological skills in film editing, music editing and presentation eg. Using a blog and slideshare. I have also learnt a great deal about different file types and their compatibility.

11. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?From using the techniques used in my prelim video I learnt ways to keep the camera steady, get a cleaner shot and shot distance. I became aware of the importance of choosing the right location to ensure good framing.Whilst producing my preliminary task I learnt how to edit and add titles and effects to film footage using a video editing software. I continued to build these skills throughout my main product. I also appreciated the importance of planning and research to inform my work and decisions made that would result in my final product meeting my initial expectations. Finally I learnt that organisation and time management are essential to the success of a project