This document discusses research done for a media production project. It summarizes research on genres like gangster films and how this helped somewhat with the plot, though additional research on mystery, spy and action films was more relevant. It also lists films watched for inspiration, including Men in Black, Spy Kids, and Taken. The document discusses how the media product challenges conventions by combining genres like spy, mystery, action and time travel. It also notes how the main characters are portrayed and represented in the opening.

2. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SMt5jx56AA
This hyperlink leads you to my final production, so you can see what I
am evaluating.

3. Summarise genre research
http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/ahmnaasblog/2012/09/27/34/
My original research done towards genre was not specifically suited to my
media production as my research was mainly done towards gangster films.
However gangster films still slightly apply within the plot of the film however
does not necessarily show in the film opening.
This slowed me down in some cases however as a whole it was not much of
an issue as I was able to research the codes and conventions of mystery,
spy, action films within my own time. Also watching films such as Men in
Black, Spy Kids, and Taken allowed me to get a thorough understanding of
what my task was and how I would be able to complete it to a good level. As
well as looking at mystery, spy and action films, I also had to look at time
travel films to get an idea of how I could link the aspect of time travel in
effectively. For this I also looked at example of films such as The Time
machine.

4. Men In Black
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQ41frO-kl
Spy Kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l6gfHuBd1U
The Time Machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90T7iLuzFgg
The links below lead to the film trailers of the films which I gained my
inspiration from. They each have their unique techniques which allowed me
to come up with my final ideas for the production.

5. In what ways does my media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
My media genre started of as being a spy/mystery film, however after
finalising the storyline and completing my production I have subverted the
genre by keeping the main genre of spy and mystery films however I have
also incorporated a action, gangster and historical aspects to slightly
subvert the genre.
Another way in which I have subverted the genre is by adding in a aspect
of time travel. This is unique as even though there are films about time
travel there are none which I am aware of which also incorporate action,
sci-fi and historical genres.

6. http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/ahmnaasblog/2012/10/17/film-
opening-analysis/
Looking at various film openings allowed me to gain knowledge on what a
film opening contained and how much of the storyline is involved. Most Film
openings last about 2-3 minutes. This gave me a guideline on how long my
film opening would last.
It also gave me an idea of how to incorporate my titles and credits so that
they can look professional.
The main film opening I looked at and analysed was Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban. This helped me as the film opening creates a sense of
mystery which is also what I hope my film opening does.
I also looked at other films such as The Parent Trap, and Twilight to gain a
understanding of how film openings are put together etc.
Film Opening Analysis

7. My characters are portrayed to the audience in such a way that the
audience can see them however do not know who they are or what they are
going to do. The mis match effect I carried out whilst editing makes the
viewer slightly confused however this is what I aimed to do and I believe it
gives the production a little extra individuality.
In a way the males are represented as the dominant sex as the character
in a higher position is the male, however the female is also equally
dominant to some extent as the agent in charge of the mission, as such is
the female.
Representation

8. As this character is a female I wanted to portray
the character in a unique way as a female
secret agent is not very common in films unless
she is a main heroine.
To her costume I have added femine aspects
such as a necklace and mustard gloves. These
emphasise individuality whilst still maintaining a
secret identity. Also the costume of all black still
remains intact so the audience is able to link the
characters together.
Agent Hussain

9. The costume for this character is all black
to create a sense of mystery and also
emphasises the secrecy aspect. Most
secret agent films have agents in a suit
and tie however to make my film unique I
did not want to follow the typical
convention of this costume. Even though
the character is dressed in all black it is still
to some extent casual so a sense of
normality is portrayed. The sunglasses are
also used to show that the characters
identity is hidden.
Agent Jones

10. This character is not dressed in all black
as I wanted to portray and emphasise to
the audience that he is not like the other
two characters. As the film progresses,
hopefully the audience realise that he is at
a higher position than the other two
agents. To some extent he could be called
a higher ranked agent as he controls the
lower rank agents by telling them their
task. The sunglasses are used to create a
sense of authority and mystery as the
characters identity is not revealed as
such. The gloves are also used to
emphasise the role of a secret agent as
he is also hiding a sense of identity
through fingerprints.
Sergeant Aftab

11. Our media product challenges the typical stereotype of men being in a
higher position as within the production the female is given the higher agent
position however in some ways it converges with the stereotype as the
ultimate higher position is a male. It also subverts the stereotype of young
teenagers being deviant as the male teenager within the film opening is
setting on a task to help change the world for the better.

12. Media conglomerates: these are
institutions or companies which are
grouped together to form a whole
however still remain distinct as
individual companies.

13. Columbia Pictures Industries is an American Film production and distribution
company. Columbia Pictures is a subsidiary of Sony and therefore is one of
the largest film companies worldwide. It is part of the Columbia Tristar which
has earnt its popularity and is well known.
Media Institutions: A media institution is a
company which, produces, exhibits and
markets media productions.

14. One of the reasons as to why it was chosen as the institution is
because it is a very well known and popular institution as it is a
Sony entertainment company.
Also they have had many successful films such as : Salt, The
Men in Black Trilogy and Charlie's Angels. All of which follow the
same Genre, so therefore have codes and conventions that
match my film openings.

15. Columbia is a very Financially secure company however it was
renamed to Sony television pictures in 2002, just before it set the
recorded for biggest theatrical gross profit with a profit of $1.575
billion.
In 2012 Sony television pictures announced that due to Columbia
film releases such as Sky Fall, Men In Black 3, 21 Jump Street etc, it
passed the $4 billion dollar profit margin.

16. http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/ahmnaasblog/2013/0
1/14/audience-research/
This hyperlink leads to my blog page and my post on
audience research. It explains what audience research is
and why it is necessary to each individual productions.
After completing my storyboard and synopsis for my
film I have decided to classify my media production at an
age of 15 as it may contain strong violence etc.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15

17. The audience profile was young females/males who were above the
age of 15, to fit in with the bbfc guidelines. In my opinion I have
stuck to this as the concepts of genre of the film is still suitable and
the language used is also appropriate.
Also after researching key audience theories such as the Hypodermic
Needle Theory we adapted the opening titles so that they would be
effective to the audience.

18. Since doing the Preliminary task we have learnt alot and overcome
many difficulties. I believe our skills have improved since the
preliminary shot as the shots and close ups were very basic however
within our final production we have experimented and used a wide
variety of camera angles and movement in order to create our
product.
I have also learnt how to include sound effects to a effective extent
as within the preliminary the sounds were not included and not
relevant to the clip however now it fades in with the film opening
rather than just being a part of it.

19. Completing this task allowed me to develop both technical and
communication skills. I was able to use a variety of hardware and software
products to make the film opening the best of my ability, however at first,
this proved to be difficult as I was not familiar with the programming such
as Final Cut and Garage band, however as I had completed a Preliminary
Task to familiarise myself with the software I was prepared for the editing
aspect of my final production.
Aswell as using a mixture of Windows and Apple software in order for me
to build on my ICT skills, I also carried out research on camera movement
and shots aswell as technical aspects such as lighting so that I was able to
make sure my media production was completed to the best of my possible
ability. I believe in doing so, I have enhanced my skills within Media
Studies and have also gained the skill of independent research and study.
Technology

20. Hardware
Apple Macs:
These which allowed me to explore a
variety of apple software and allowed
me to acquire the knowledge and
equipment to complete the
coursework. I much preferred using
the software on the Apple Macs than
on standard desktop computers as in
my opinion in made the process of
production alot smoother.
Sony Camcorder:
The camera which we used was a
Sony camcorder. Using these
enabled me to familiarise myself
with the technical aspects of a
camcorder and in doing so I was able
to make full use of the equipment
for my final production
Tripod
using a Tripod helped
to keep the camera
steady, to make the
film look more
professional. We did
some shots by
handheld however
the camera was not
as steady as we
would have like so
therefore decided
the Tripod was the
best object to use.

21. Photoshop:
Throughout my AS media project I have
learnt to use Photoshop in a variety of
ways and for a variety of outcomes.
I have had to use it to create a logo for
my preliminary and anamatic tasks. I
also had to use Photoshop to rearrange
images to make my film production flow
better. Using Photoshop allowed me to
gain skills on photo editing aswell as
video editing and in doing so allowed
me to complete my film production to
the best of my ability.
Software
Garage Band:
I used garage band as it is one of the
only music sources which do not have
copyright attached to it. However the
sound selection it does have is limited
to some extent and it has proven to be
very time consuming, as looking for the
right sounds are not as easy. However
after constantly persisting I feel as if I
was able to collate effective and
relevant audio for my production.
Final Cut Express:
Final Cut Express was the main software used
throughout this task as it was a base for the
editing of the film. Using final cut at first was a
bit difficult however it was easy to overcome this
problem by editing other things as practice such
as the Preliminary Task. I enjoyed using Final cut
express as it was, to some extent better to use
than other editing programmes such as
Windows Movie Maker.

22. If I could improve my practical aspect I would have shot alot more so that I was
able to get more footage so that it would be more accessible to edit, although i do
feel that the variety of shots was substantial to our task.
Managing time more effectively could also be have been an improvment so that I
had more time finalising and polishing my final production.
I also would have spent more time improving sound as the sound effects could
have been better to suit the mood of the film more. Even though it links in it is not
ideally perfect which is what if I redid the production id hope to get a perfect
outcome.
Improvements

23. Overall I am quite pleased with the final result of my practical coursework as it
came out to a good standard although I am disappointed to some extent as I feel it
could have been higher quality. After loosing original footage of the film
opening, and then completing it as an individual over a time period of two
days, whilst adapting the storyline and locations to what were accessible was a
difficult task as I had no help or second input on the whole.
I also feel that this is where I struggled within the editing aspect as I also
completed the majority of the editing as an individual as the second member of
my group was rarely present. I felt this quite a set back as I was not technically
aware of the programmes so struggled to complete the editing to a good standard.
The sound was also quite a disappointing outcome as I feel I did not manage my
time effectively so was not able to experiment to get the sound that matched
perfectly.
Final Summary

24. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictures