A2 Media Studies Evaluation

Lost and Found..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RihbjmObH9g

NarrativeNarrative in film often follows particular forms and conventions. All films are stories and like all stories a film consists of a beginning, middle and an end. The most commonly recognised narrative Form and convention is arguably, Todorovs theory of an, equilibrium, disequilibrium and finishing with a new equilibrium.In other words this is the Hollywood narrative. His theory suggests a beginning of calm, a middle of disaster and A happy endng. However, there are many films that do not follow such conventions and furthermore break these codes, such as David Lynches, Mulholland Drive or the obvious 1994 Best film, Pulp Fiction. My film Lost and Found can be seen to follow Todorovs theory to an extent, for example, in that our female character has hit a disequilibrium and goes on to create a new equlibrium by contacting her mother. However, the film breaks the conventions of Todorovs theory as the film begins at a disequilibrium rather than an equilibrium, thus presenting repetition and difference in the film and the attempt to relate it as close as possible to the genre my group tackled as Social realism is showing life and who is to say that we start with an equilibrium in reality. We were presenting the breakdown of a household and moreover the breakdown of the relationship between mother and daughter. Another narrative theory my film touched upon, was Barthes galaxy of signifiers in which we connoted certain ideas to our audience. For example, we used connotations through our use of mise-en-scene to suggest our leading character has infact resorted to prostitution, by doing this there wasnt any use for explicit scenes and it makes a more emotional connection to the character as she is clearly ashamed of this act. The use of this theory and the use of signifiers helped the film to connote certain things, whether it be her lifestyle or the mothers emotion.

The shot of her taking money connotes she hasTurned to prostitution and therefore putting Barthes theory Into affect.

Music and SoundMusic and sound is important in any visual media form as it is used to help increase the emotions on screenFor any genre. In terms of music and sound within my media product, as a group we found it to be important that we had no diegetic sound and therefore no dialogue in the film. By doing so we broke a standard convention of the social realismgenre as, many are dramatic and furthermore rely on the dialogue between characters for dramatic impact. However we chose to do this, not only for originality and difference but I thought by doing so it would put more focus on the characters individual day to day struggles and create the idea of complete loneliness For our main character, this visually suggested more of the idea that she is lost within herself, she doesn’t want to be found yet or ask for help yet because she is ashamed of what she has become. It is when she comes to the realisation of what she is doing and what she is putting her mum through we hear her ask for help. A practical reason as to why we made the film almost silent is that, it made production a lot more straight forward and it ultimately gave us more time to focus mainly on the camera work and editing to tell the story rather than the dialogue. Although it broke the standard convention of a social realism film it benefited the group rather greatly as we didn’t use professional actors, therefore we didn’t make time for errors such as retakes or poor acting ability. And with social realism it often has to rely on the actors acting ability to create an emotive impact on its audience. Fir 'Lost and Found', the use of non diegetic sound, as in music was very important in the product-ion of the film. Research was conducted in the process of making music choices and I actually carried out a questionnaire on the different pieces of music selected for the film. As a group we each used our wordpress accounts to gain feedback on our music choices and we gained information such as what compositions really fit in with the style we went for and what pieces didn’t However as a part creator of the product, as a group the music we used was very crucialFor our film, however, subjectivity has to be considered, as what we think creates an emotional impact, another in our audience may think differently, therefore research and planning for the music was very crucial and as a group and individually we spent a lot of time going through you tube and other music platforms, such as soundcloud to find music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_4abCWw-w

Mise-en-sceneOur use of mise-en-scene was very important in the film as it had no dialogue, so it was very much a visual film, therefore as a group we actually had to take consideration in what we wanted the audience to see within the shots and whether certain props exposed the lifestyle our leading character led. The use of mise-en-scene in Lost and Found was very much based upon the narrative put forward by Barthes. We used objects such as empty alcohol bottles, stubbed out cigarettes, scrunched up foil and generally things that would be stereotypically associated with someoneWho's life revolves around drug and alcohol abuse.

Mise-en-secne was particularly useful as by having the mothers costume, simplyAs her pyjamas, it connotes the sense that although she has gotten out of bed Her first thought before any adequate one is to look at a picture of her daughter.This may not be clear to the audience but there are always different aspects to Certain images in films and many interpretations to be drawn. In production, the use of this simple costume suggests her life is incomplete and she is drained emotionally and physically to the extent that she doesn’t even get dressed any more.

Similarly, in this example to the right, it is costume thatReally helps the audience establish this characters lifestyle.With the film having very limited dialogue, mise-en-scene isVery important in effectively telling the story of the filmAnd signifying to our audience the stereotypical attire and General surroundings someone has when in drug and alcoholFuelled life.

My use of forms and conventionsFor my final piece of my specification we were given the task to complete a short film of any chosen Genre. As a group we chose to venture the world of social realism as we recognised that the formsAnd conventions within this genre were very practical to implicate. For example there is a list of codesTo follow when making a social realism film. Films of this genre are often made on a very low budget, if any budget and use unknown actors as this gives the film a gritty authenticity that is crucial whentrying to show life as it is. However for the sake of originality, every piece of social realsim will be different As theorist, Colin McArthur says, Genre are “constant growing amoeba” and that genres are constantlyEvolving and adapting, therefore, every piece made in this genre is creative and ultimately changing the genreAll the time. But all social realism films must follow the standard forms and conventions, otherwise, the film willNot appear to be of this genre and it will look as if no research has gone into the production of a film. As a group we Carried out research and planning. Within the group we watched two films following this genre and they were, This Is England and Requiem for a dream Both films are great examples of Social realism and it was also interestingTo compare and contrast English Director Shane Meadows with American Director Darren Aronofsky. Both these films Used dull and gritty lighting, especially Requiem for a dream. Because Social realism is so simplistic in editingIt was vital we embraced the natural forms and conventions of this genre. In the screen shot below it is clear that Lighting is natural. The only alterations made to the lighting was through I-Movie where we altered brightness,Saturations and contrast in order to get the dullest look as possible, but keeping it minimalist to fit the forms and Conventions

This is an example off the use of standard froms and conventions used within my film. As you can see in the example from This is EnglandThey are in a run down housing estate and although the lighting is different , the example from my film clearly shows the forms and conventionsOf social realism being implcated within my film.

Intertextuality

Intertexuality is important within any media product. All media products will have elements of inspiration. As a group we did much research into media pieces in the world now. It is a form of professionalism as it is important to include things that you have seen in a media product for your media product to be modern and up to date in the film production world. In my film there are a number of elements of intertextuality. One big example is the use of parallel editing which was in fact inspired from the film, Requiem for a Dream. The inspiration came from the ending of the film in which there are four characters doing different things and its edited so it cuts frantically to each character. This was our inspiration behind the shots in which we have parallel edited mother and daughter waking upAnd doing there normal morning routine. For example when the daughter wakes up, it cuts to the mum waking up, and when the mum puts the picture of her daughter back in her purse the daughter stubs her cigarette out in a bottle. A Link to the film is on the first slide of this power point

Here we have used elements of Requiem for a dreamAnd incorporated a crane shot that is simply used over foodBut wth a cup of tea. Although we have used the same camera Angle we have sped up our shot to make it look moreOrginal and it is an example of the repetition and differenceTechnique.

The mirror shot that we used, was inspired from theMusic video by Ed Sheeran. After seeing the video weThought it was an amzing way to help convey theEmotions that the character is feeling at this pointOf the film. It really conveyed the desperateness andThe struggles the girl was going through. Her reflectionAnd the state of her really impacted her and this was theBest shot to show such emotion.

Editing and camera work

Although learning about camera work and editing in year 12, we didn’t learnAbout the two concepts in a practical sense until this year. Therefore, this was newTo me and I had no experience handling a video camera in a film production aspectAnd I also had no experience with editing software. For social realism, editing wasn’tAs important than actually getting the right camera shots and angles as apart of the Forms and conventions a social realist film is that there, is minimal editing, just piecing The sequences together. With social realism it is vital to get the best shots as they can beUsed intelligently within the construction of typical forms and conventions and certain Representations. We had no problems with camera work and editing as with camera workWe planned before shooting, with storyboards and shooting scripts, therefore making the Process straight forward. In the screen shots to the left, there is an example of both my use Of camera work and editing. The four shots are in a sequence going down. Firstly as you canSee on the second screen shot down the camera angle is slightly tilted. I have done this Purposely to convey the characters state of mind as being messed up and that her head is not Because the camera is not the right way up. This angle is commonly used to convey a lossOf mind and an example of this is in the old classic, Brief Encounter when she almost kills Herself at the end of the film when her temporal lover has to leave. In terms of editing the Sequence cuts to a sped up image of a street getting darker whilst in parallel to the characterBreaking down in the mirror. It was edited this way as I wanted to show time and the worldCarrying on whilst time has in a sense stopped for the character, as that what it feels like When your upset, everything continues whilst you feel like your stuck in your problemsWhilst they rest of the world goes by without taking notice.

Combination of main and ancillary texts

For any product, and especially a media product itIs crucial that there is a combination of main andAncillary texts. All products need to be marketed And for a film what better outlet is there thanA poster and for it to be featured in a magazine or other media forms. Marketing helps to establish target audience and by doing so we become aware of there needs in your product. Audiences always want more than just the film. A film has to have initial advertisement for its audience to decide whether they think your product will be good or not. For my article for my double age spread I conducted research and asked throughA questionnaire, whether or not a review was a good idea or whether an interview would be better. My results showed that both were equally liked by my audience, therefore I decided to do both in my article A film poster is crucial for any film. It defines style, story and an audience can get a sense of the film in this way.

Article and images

For my article for my double page Spread I chose to do an interview/Magazine style review. As an ancill-Ary task, it is important to really sellA product. The article is an interviewFrom the independent film festival ofRotterdam, thuis suggesting we madeThis film purely as a form of art, as IIndependent films are made for qualityNot to see how much moneyYou can through into making a massiveBlockbuster that is no different to die Hard.On my film poster there is A comment form shane meadows andHe is also mentioned in my articleAs in terms of British Social realism, heIs the best and most respected amoungstIndie film makers. The images I have used in my article are images of the main character doing day to day thingsOverall, I am very pleased with my choice of images as it almost in some sense reflects the characters desperateness, For example, I chose the main image to be of her looking into a fridge of food. This in itself almost expresses to the Audience her poor lifestyle. One interpretation that could be drawn from the main image is that not only is sheHungry physically but she is hungry for life, but her ways and actions are preventing her from getting her life back.In all the images I have used, she has no expression, just misery and id hope that by showing her like this it provokesMy audience into wondering what is wrong with her and go and see it. Furthermore, I am overly pleased with how my Double page article looks and I really dont think id do anything to change it as I wanted it to connote a certain thing, andFor me it does.

Film Poster- Font/Mise-en-sceneText on any media product is important. The font defines the style of the product. For my film poster I used aCracked font and using photoshop, I placed the title “Lost and Found” to a slant to give the impression it isLike old cracked grafitti actually on the wall in the background. Colour was very important in this process. The film Had been edited to look dull and lifeless, in effect through editing I managed to make Chippenham look likeA dull industrial town. Therefore, my poster had to reflect the films style.

Selecting the most accurate fontIs crusial in advertising. For exampleIf a Victorian drama was being advertisedAs an audience we wouldnt expect toSee the title written in “comis sans” it Would be written in an appropriate fontType such a times new roman for example.Therefore when it came to selecting an Font for my poster, I took time in searchingFor the most appropriate for a social realsm Film. The cracked font doesnt justReflect graffiti, but perhaps her lfe is crackedOr broken in some sense. For me it connotesThe sense of a broken lifestyle, this can beDrawn from the title, but its the expressionOn the charaters face that speaks for itself.

Through Photoshop I lassoed the character and chose to put herIn black and white. Colour is important in reflecting the style andWhat kind of film it may be. Just by looking at it, there is no colour whatsoever. She is dull and lifeless, almost numb in misery. The use of black and whit in the text isAlso important as once again it is colourless. By doing this I have hoped thatMy audience will look at this dull girl and want to know her story and want to knowWhy she is in such misery.

What have you learnt from your audience Feedback?

Audience feedback was very important in the making of both the short film and my double page article. Firstly, whenGaining audience feedback from our film I learnt many things such as what shots were needed and what weren’t in telling the Story. As a group we uploaded a rough draft of footage to youtube that we had pieced together very early on in production. From this We got much feedback as we asked peers within my class to watch it and give us feedback as well as other people as over youtube the video reached 40 views and as a group we were lucky enough to get comments , as it was clear from these shots of the style we were going for. By doing this it allowed us to establish a target Audience, which is vital in any product, especially a product in the media industry. Feedback was also very important in music choice as, as a group we conducted an online questionnaire through the media form of wordpress. In this we had four songs and were able to narrow them down to two for scenes in which music was crucial in creating the right emotive atmosphere. This was very beneficial as we had a lot of trouble deciding over which songs were best toUse. When finishing our first draft of the film as a group we showed teachers and peers, from that we received feedback and were Able to work on certain areas that could be improved. It was also important to carry out research after the film and ancillary tasks Were complete. I did this by doing a questionnaire and asking around 20 people of different ages to fill it out.

What have I learnt

Through this process of doing media at A2 I have learnt a lot. Especially in terms of the Social realism genreI've learnt that without the research into this particular genre, I would have failed to make an effective social realismFilm. As an avid film lover I initially had an idea of what forms and conventions social realism follows and throughResearch I was influenced by many independent and social realism films. I studied films such as This is England, Somerstown, Trainspotting and I even went as far to study American Social realist Film, Requiem For a DreamBy acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky. These films were very influential in the ideas behind certain cameraShots, Locations, Mise-en-scene and even editing. I have learnt that audience have a lot in shaping a film and by doing Audience research throughout production, it is clearer as a director what shots were needed and weren't. You may Think your work is brilliant, but at the end of the day you are creating a product for an audiences enjoyment, thereforeFeedback is incredibly useful during the process and after the process. For example I carried out a questionnaireAfter the film was finished and although my audience got the film visually, it was as clear as to what the message ofThe film was. By getting this feedback I have almost been criticised, however it is criticism that will help meIn future projects. Another thing I have learnt through this process is that, errors can happen very easily when makingA film, therefore, time-management is very important on projects such as this. As a group we timed it very well and onlyOne problem, but it was easily rectified as we allowed ourself s the time to make mistakes.

Use of Media technologies

I-Movie

During the short film process,i used theApple software, I-Movie. Prior to the productionOf my main short film, we were given the chance to get practiceOn this software by producing a mock short film. OnceUsed to I-Movie I have grown to appreciate its simplicity, and Think it was the most ideal software for a student film, as I foundIt rather a fun process to edit my short film. However, as the chosenGenre was Social Realism, special effects and effect werent neededTo enhance the film, as social realism is typically minimalisticIn that aspect. There were a varied amount of tools used to get the Dull and dark effect on screen. I used light adjustment making thePicture darker and played with the saturation tool to get a more grainy Look for the film. The use of parallel editing is very important in tellingThe story and narrative of the film. With I-Movie it was very simple to use andVery easy to access certain tools, however, I found it lacking in the transitionalEffects, and many of these effects looked almost too tacky to be putIn a serious student film, So we were limited to fades and blackouts. But asSaid it was in our interest to keep the film as minimalistic in editing as possibleAnd as a group we found the fade outs to be very crucial in presenting everydayRoutines in our characters lifestyle. Another good point about I-Movie in terms of my project was that it was very easy toGet music and sound effects incorporated with the shots, therefore making it a faster process in the long run.

Youtube Wordpress

Wordepress

Youtube was definitely of great use to me during theProduction process, but mostly it was beneficial forMy research and planning as it was through thisWebsite I was able to browse through film clips Of the social realist genre and conduct further studyInto the forms and conventions the genre follows. Although I watched films as research, youtube is a quick and faster Way of finding a wider range of examples of particularElements to do with the genre and a great source for inspiration .youtube was also veryUseful when finding pieces of music to put into my film. Its A quick and easy way to access all genres of music, withoutKnowing the exact name of the song. Youtube is also A great way to share videos and get feedback.Through youtube I was able to upload rough footageOf my film and get beneficial feedback. The finished filmIs up on the site and is getting more and more views andFeedback all the time, which even after the project is stillBeneficial for further possible projects.

Wordpress is a great form of media bloggingand allows millions to post and share work with eachother. Its a very straight forward websiteWhich allows you to post work very easily. WordpressIs a very practical way of doing coursework as onceIts online its up, whereas if we were doing courseworkThe conventional work may be lost or your folder Might get ruined.

PhotoshopInDesign

Photoshop has been particularly useful in the productionOf my ancillary text, especially the film poster. LuckilyWhen I took the picture for the poster I manages to get A clear shot of the character leaving the backgroundSlightly out of focus. I lassoed the character and made herBlack and white to connote misery. I didn’t need to useLayers actually for the main picture. The layers are onlyThe pieces of text, the stars and the certificate image.

Indesign is a programme for designing items suchAs panflets, brochures and articles. I found indesignEasier to use this time compared to how I managedIt at AS. Like photoshop, the programme takes time to To get used to , but I am very pleased with the Of my double page article.