• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product uses the conventions of many gangster media products as there is often a significant deal that takes place followed by a complicating action which is where it goes wrong and then from there the film is based around trying to put it right. This means my media products conventions will be seen near the start of many gangster films.
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents the gangster, mafia type social groups who make a living through mainly illegal deals that are sorted through handshakes and no paperwork to leave no trace of the deals.
This is shown in my movie by highlighting the events such as the handshake by using a quick zoom. This attracts the audience to this event and guides what they see.
The deal that they are carrying out is cash in exchange for drugs in large amounts as shown by the size of the black bags.
It also symbolises corruptness in the government as one of the actors is dressed in an army uniform showing that high ranked and high paid people still can ignore the law and abuse their power and status.
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that 20th Century Fox would be very interested in distributing my movie. I have reason to believe this because it follows an action/gangster theme that has been distributed by Fox in the past. The action in it will attract the attention of the majority of people who watch films as it isn’t too violent for young viewers, old viewers or people who are against violence. I enable this through blacking out when the violence occurs then fading in on the outcome.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target audience is an age range from 15 to 30. This is because it contains mild violence and references to drugs which is inappropriate for children under the age of 15. For those 30+ I think they will have lost count on the number of drug related films they have seen so may lose interest quickly. The dialogue is quite basic so people can understand it and cuts straight to the point so the audience knows exactly what is going on.

• How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience through setting a target age range for my audience then looked at what topics and conventions would be most interesting for them. Gangster and action type films were the films that seemed to interest most of them and so I used this information and produced a gangster/action film. I looked further into types of dialogue that will attract the target audience as well. This led me to choose clear and concise phrases to use that cut straight to the point that meant there was no messing around which people seem to enjoy in this audience age range.

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt that a handheld camera alone will not produce a high quality film. This is because unless you have a perfectly steady hand you will need to use a tripod and use different camera heights and movements to help tell the story to the audience. This shows that the camera shots alone may have the power to tell the story without dialogue as technology is extremely powerful in film productions. There is a vast variety of camera shots that can be used and there are guidelines that most film makers stick to. I have learnt the basics of these such as the 180 degree rule and common shots to use in conversations that are effective such as the shot/reverse shot. There is also many audio options that can be used to create effects through diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. This can easily create a dramatic atmosphere and change the mood or create suspense.

have tried to upload movie for a week and won;t upload even if i leave it over 2 hours. It is on Mac 11.

Excellent research into similar media texts.  Good audience research and storyboarding.  No film.  No evaluation.

Planning 16/20 Production 0/60 Evaluation 0/20 16/100 U

This is my plan for the movie. I have presented it in a story board to clearly show the six main parts to it. The camera shots and scenes are explained below each section.

Target Audience: My target audience is an age range from 15 to 30. This is because it contains mild violence and references to drugs which is inapropriate for children under the age of 15. For those 30+ i think they will have lost count on the number of drug related films they have seen so may lose interest quickly. The dialogue is quite basic so people can understand it and cuts straight to the point so the audience knows exactly what is going on.

The 180 Degree Rule: This rule is most important in conversations. If the camera is over Character A's right shoulder then this character will always be seen on the left. As the Character B is seen on the right, it will always stay on the right. This is to stop cinfusion between quick cuts and gives clarity to the audience. There is an example of this in my storyboard draft for my movie.

This is an example of an establishing shot. It is used to identify the whereabouts of the scene about to take place. In this shot it shows the new school at which the character has arrived at. The empty stands with only the character in it symbolises the loneliness that he must be feeling. The audience can then relate to how the character is feeling and nothing has been said in the film yet.

This is an example of a full shot. This is used to focus more on the environment that the character(s) is situated in. It gives the audience an insight to what is happening without the use of dialogue. In this clip it shows the vast amount of space and gives the impression of freedom as the character is looking back on his life to when his father was still alive.

This is an example of a medium-shot. It is used to show the character from the waistline upwards. In this clip it is being used to shwo two chacters in conversation whilst moving. This allows the camera to focus not only on the charcters but the environment around them.

This is an example of a medium close-up shot. It is most commonly used to show two people in conversation. It shows the character from the shoulder height upwards. This means it can capture part of teh body language that the character is using.

This is an example of a close-up shot. It captures the characters whole face and is used to show the whole facial expressions as well as focusing on certain objects.
In this clip it is used as this character states a very influential line to the film.

This is an example if an extreme close-up shot. It is used to focus on specific areas of teh face such as the eye in this shot. It can also be used to focus on thnigs like veins popping out to show anger or a twitching eye for the same reason.

This is an example of a shot/reverse shot. It is often use din conversation because it can cover both characters and their view points. It always keeps each character on the same side. So for example in this conversation the pirate will always stay on teh left even when we see the back of his head. This is to avoid confusion.

This is the second stage of the match on action shot where the camera follows the bullet.

This is a picture of James Bond firing a gun. This is the first shot of the match on action shot.

Match on action shots are used in things like firing a gun or firing an arrow or kicking a football. It shows a full shot of the person and the gun or the person with the object and then follows the object that is being fired.
Here is an example: