How my production uses or challenges conventions
Script for video:
Genre conventions reflect the type of narrative: Our film is
modern thriller, which unfolds the trauma effects of adolescent girl who comes
from a troubled family background, which we see her state of mind mentally
distorting her view of reality.
We signal the genre to our audiences through visual and sound
codes. For example: the soundtrack starts with the dietetic/ ambient sound
codes that the viewers will associate with teenage parties, which sets the tone
for the next scene as teen drama.
Our production starts with our production company ident for Seven
Studios which displays a dark forest with twist and turn, engulfing the
audiences as if they are venturing into a dark forest, as well the logo
appears engulf within the branches, to which the branches fade out and the
title is left on screen with sound effects of a giggling girl to create a
spooky effect. We made this on iMovie, which my fellow team member: Marada
created the logo using Photoshop and a website called Dafont. It is a good fit with our production company
name because our brand specializes in slow tension and unfolding enigmas.
From our research into the Art of the title, we learned about
title sequences. We look at various title sequences, which in our opening have included
titles. The Art of the title gave us a chance to understand how other films
have included tile sequences and the credits.
It is vital that our film opening introduces the protagonist early
on. In our film opening, the audience know that my character plays a significant
role as from the start the camera is focused on eve to which the audience then
is shown the journey of eve as she becomes mentally unstable, which allows to
make the audience feel a part of Eve’s journey.
The visual codes of the Mise-en-scene are important in establishing
genre: our film opens with: The party scene which the audience are featured a
display of upbeat music and background sound of people chatting.
We follow genre convention in creating an opening that hooks the
audience and persuades them to continue watching. Our film opening stops at the point where my
character, is filming for her blog, which she is displayed as angry, frustrated
and wanting revenge, to which eve exits the room leaving the camera still
recording which builds up suspense/ enigma/ tension/ drama as the audience
wants to discover what happens next.
Todrvo’s narrative theory suggest that all narratives follow a
three part structure. Firstly it starts off with the equilibrium which then
leads into something which is disrupts the equilibrium. As ours is a film
opening we only have an equilibrium, which starts of my character (Eve) shown
at a normal teen party having fun and dancing, to which the disruption of the
equilibrium is Eve becoming psychotic and angry.
How my film opening represents Social groups and Issues
I
created this Pinterest to showcase different topical issues which we have shown
in our film opening.
The first board: I created a teenage party board because it relates back to our film as the very beginning my character is seen enjoying herself at a regular teenage party. The images gathered relates to teenagers within society today as it displays reality of what teenage parties look like and we wanted to create the same reality for our audience.
The first board: I created a teenage party board because it relates back to our film as the very beginning my character is seen enjoying herself at a regular teenage party. The images gathered relates to teenagers within society today as it displays reality of what teenage parties look like and we wanted to create the same reality for our audience.
The second board: I have gathered images
relating to mental illnesses, as in our film the main character develops mental
illness. I created this board because it relates to issues within society
today, as many teenagers suffer from mental illness such as: depression,
bipolar, schizophrenia etc. The treatment is often taking drugs which can
subside the effects depending on the mental illness, although the treatment taken
can have side effects such as anger, which my character shows rage throughout
and feels isolated in which she keeps taking the opioids.
The third board: this board is very different to the other boards, as it elaborates more of the character Elizabeth which is a doll that is showcased through the main character journey. It also displays the thriller/horror of the film as dolls have a creep allure to them and most people associate dolls with horror, therefore this board brings attention to an audience who enjoy horror/ thriller in films.
The fourth board: this board portrays teenage fashion which
relates to our target audience as it will allow the teenage audience to connect
with the character more as we have elaborated on teenage fashion within today's society.
How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
According to
Blumler and Katz, there uses and gratifications theory states that audiences use media to gratify needs.
Which are diversion,
surveillance, identify and relationships. Our film opening engages
with its target audience by following the theory and to attract the viewers’
attention by using the needs.
Diversion-
the need to relax and escape
Relationships-
using media to fulfil personal relationships
Identity-
using media to find out more about themselves
Surveillance-
using media to find out what is going on around
Our film opening uses
what Barthes call the Enigma narrative code,
which means in the opening of a film there is mystery
that gradually develops and promises to unfold over the course of the film
opening and beyond. In our film opening,
the mystery starts with the protagonist eve and the audience realise she seems
to be reliant on opioids and that she is nursing a deep resentment towards her
friends. This mystery for the audience is to discover what has happened between
eve and her friends and why it has caused such revetment and resulted to taking
opioids.
Our film opening touches
on very topical issues such as opioids
addictions. Opioids addiction are currently
a huge topic in America, with many cases of people becoming addicted
to opioids. Due to this topic being huge in America, it allows us to reach out
to transatlantic audience as it is relatable, but also inform our local audience
about current situations around the world. Our character eve is very relatable,
as she is a normal teenage girl doing certain things a teenager would do such
as blogging and partying. This allows the audience to relate and will also feel
sympathy for her too, as they might not realise what it’s like to be in this
situation.
For Blumler and Katz, audiences also use media
text to cement the need of making relationships. The first way was our relationship
with on screen characters, as we are indie film
makers we cannot cast big names
such as Martin Freeman. At my BFI study day, I learnt about UK cinemas, in
which having Martin Freeman as part of the deal secured the funding for Dyson and Nyman’s Ghost Stories (2018 Warp Films). In our film, we have unknowns however they are
people who you could associate and relate too.
As a society we become
nosy and what to know everything about one another, this links to our character
eve. Our audience can engage with eve as they want to learn more about her life
and what happened to her. One of the basic needs which is used in the Blumler and
Katz theory, is identify. This means
audiences use media in order to find more about themselves, in our film the
audience is engaged to seeing a young beautiful, stress free girl who suddenly
becomes isolated and alone.
FILM DISTRIBUTION
What Do Distributors Do?
Firstly, what is a distributor company? A distribution company is one of four elements of the marketing mix, you can have product or wholesaler distribution but as a film distribution company they proceed a process which enables the consumer to watch a certain film, although you don’t hear much about film distribution is one of most important parts of making a film.
A film distributor is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place, they also decide a method of which the film is viewed either by theater, television or home viewing such as DVD or blue ray. International distributors ensure that films find their way to 90+ market “territories” around the world, in the US most studios have their own distributor.
In contrast small independent film companies however don’t have links with distributor and therefore makes it harder for smaller films to reach cinemas, however film festivals happen one year in different part of the world and one most famous one is Cannes Film Festival which gives small independent companies the chance for distributor to buy the film.
How Are Films Distributed?
· There is an idea for a film .
· They create an outline and use it to promote interest in the idea.
· A studio or independent investor decides to purchase rights to the film.
· People are brought together to make the film (screenwriter, producer, director, cast, crew).
· The film is completed and sent to the studio.
· The studio makes a licensing agreement with a distribution company.
· The distribution company determines how many copies (prints) of the film to make.
· The distribution company shows the movie (screening) to buyers representing the theaters.
· The buyers negotiate with the distribution company on which movies they wish to lease and the terms of the lease agreement.
· The prints are sent to the theaters a few days before the opening day.
· The theater shows the movie for a specified number of weeks
· You buy a ticket and watch the movie.
· the theater sends the print back to the distribution company and makes payment on the lease agreement.
The steps above are mainly how a film reaches the consumers to watch in cinema, however for small independent companies they may require more work to have a link with a distribution company which when they might hire a specialists sales agent who will set up stalls at film festival such as London and Cannes which then gives them the chance to purchase the film and sell it across theaters.
FDA-Film Distributors’ Association-https://www.launchingfilms.com/furtherdiscussions#fragment-2
I wanted to show that I have looked at FDA website to understand the concept of the role of Distribution, the screenshot below is someone explaining what film distributors do and says, “There is whole business process which is fast moving, highly competitive”
The short video then goes onto explaining what elements of a film will attract an audience such as the genre: horror, comedy, romantic, thriller or sci-fi. Also who is it going to appeal to and who is the audience?
The next screenshot shows Mark Batey, chief executive, Film Distributor again describing how it’s very fast process but also highly competitive as the distribution company will want to sell the film and make it a success for the consumers. As distributor, they have to go with what the film offers and then from then on try promote it to many people as possible, says Ian George, Managing Director.
The Business of Film- week 3-
I enrolled onto a course and started on week 3 which goes in depth about film distributors which again helps my understanding, the main points made are similar to what I wrote earlier about what film distributors do etc.
The Distribution Life Cycle Of A Film
“Alex Hamilton is Managing Director of Entertainment One UK, one of the more significant independent film distribution companies in the UK, with operations all around the world.”
Alex Hamilton, explains the life cycle of film called “windows” which refers to the fact that films can been seen on different platforms such TV, DVD, cinema. Although there is change in audience behavior as we are used to it being out in cinema and then onto DVD to which eventually placed on TV to be aired for free, however most people nowadays watch films on free TV or on demand services.
Case Study: Distribution Tortoise in love
The film tortoise was realised across rural villages due to BFI association, eventually it was premiered as well at Leicester Square. The film is about a Tortoise who is in love, it’s a British aromatic comedy made by a village that set out on exciting journey from Oxfordshire to eventually bound for London’s Leicester Square, the director (Guy Browning) managed to corralled the entire village of Kingston Baqpuize to make the vision a reality. They believed that Tortoise In love, could be the film a unique approach to distribution. Which, in order to make possible they approached BFI Print and Advertising fund to ask for financial support.
It enabled them to fund the distribution costs such as supplying the venues with a copy of the film in the correct format; as well as printing cinema-style quad posters for all venues and lastly the fund helped enabled recruit a distribution manager to manage and administer the bookings.
“Whilst the BFI has been running rural cinema Pilot Scheme recently, moat films are still only available to non-mainstream venues 12-16weeks after their cinematic release” The BFI distribution strategy “created by immense productions for tortoise in love- which aimed to bring a current movie to the countryside at the height of its media buzz and allow rural venues the opportunity to be part of the national release at the price of a Filmbank title”
Case Study: “71
warp films released the film "71 an indepdent film, starring Jack O'connell. The film is based about a soldier who becomes deserted from his army unit.
The distributors "wwarp" benfitted from holding the film until america audiences had seen jack o'connel in Hollywood film with Angelia Joule who is massive Actor which gained him huge media attention and a BAFTA. The distribution, stragety also involved targeting uk and us audiences who were concerned abou the radicalization.
How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
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How did you integrate technologies in this project?
Competent responses presented creatively in a variety of appropriate platforms.
ReplyDelete1. Confident answer on the codes & conventions of your film opening, including a video with voiceover and 4 Pinterest boards.
2. Case studies on the distribution of specific films, including Emaze presentation. Detailed knowledge and understanding of distribution.
3. Emaze detailing production skills
4. Emaze showing many different types of media, confidently and appropriately used for research, planning, construction and evaluation.