BLINDFIRE | Kyle, Billy & Rosie | AS Media Coursework

this is our final completed thriller opening

Question Seven

"Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the product?"

there is a dramatic improvement from our preliminary task to BlindFire as is there is a major development. firstly the continuity contained within our preliminary task was to a low level, we failed to edit properly, however the shots we captured weren't to a poor standard, the reason why our Preliminary task wasn't successful was due to the editing process. In BlindFire our continuity editing was to a high level, there was no repeated shots or gaps in film which is what is present in our preliminary task. 

Our preliminary task was a assignment to experiment and explore different ways of capturing a scenario, we looked at capturing eye-line matches, close ups, mid shots, zooms, over shoulder shots and 180 degree rule. In BlindFire we chose to use more POV's, mid shots from different perspectives, panning shots and establishing shots. this allowed us to represent the fast paced moving of the chase scene and the slow, relaxed establishing shots of the immediate surroundings. compared to our preliminary task we were more successful as we used the appropriate shots for what we wanted to achieve, also  there were a different range of shots chosen between the two and the shots we choose for both films matched their scenarios. BlindFire maintained continuity editing well and was shot well with the steadiness of the camera. 

In our Preliminary task we didnt completely control the mise en scene in terms of the props however we did control where the best places to shot were especially in our positioning of the characters to enhance the available lighting. With BlindFire we completely controlled the mise en scene and the composition and setting, we chose the darkest level in the block of flats and tried to film in yellow lighting and in shadow to emphasise the negative substance we were filming. also with BlindFire we paid great attention to location to emphasise the stereotype being presented about the area and people. 

Again in our preliminary task we didn't focus on costume, we experimented with camera work, yet with BlindFire we choose costumes that would match the stereotypical youth from that area to convey the type of thriller we aimed to achieve. furthermore there was no sound present in our Preliminary but in BlindFire no sound was diegetic to our actual film, the sound all come from music and special effects with the gun play, breathing and heartbeat. 

overall it is fair to say that there is a great development from our preliminary to BlindFire, through all aspects of film, being continuity through costume and props to  our actual shots and sound.

Question Six

"What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?"

Software allows the a greater production when it comes to producing BlindFire, such means of software such as Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects were key in the final production that was delivered with BlindFire. Much of the continuity editing and speed shots would be non-existent nor would the use of music which help establish the conventions of our genre or the setting and class. Using Final Cut Express enabled myself and I learnt how to edited in a simple yet professional way, i learnt how to produce music and sound effects that played parallel with my film, i was able to included sound-bridges and special effects, and was even able to add special effects, Adobe after effects allowed myself to create our ident professional and effective standard. 

Hardware such as the Digital Camcorder, tripod and microphone gave myself the ability to create the physical substance for BlindFire. in using the digital camcorder it allowed for quick and easy shooting, where if there was a apparent problem we could play back and re-film, the Digital Camcorder didn't offer the greater professional shooting yet it was enough to produce BlindFire to the necessary standard. The tripod was important for many of our establishing shots and pans which are present throughout BlindFire, without the tripod many of these shots wouldn't be present or exist to a poor standard without a nice steady approach which the Tripod offers, the microphone wasn't used in the production of BlindFire as diagetic sound wasn't present, however it was used before and offered us to record conversations easily and clearly. the substance of the film was saved to a SD card and Tape, which made it easy to import the film onto final cut and adapt BlindFire. 

I was enabled to use the Internet to produce many mediums of presentation. I've used multiple web applications through the course of this project. Blogger made it easy to recorder and update progress in a diary like form through the use of blogs. I was enabled integrate and embed from other web apllication into my Blog, such as a Glog from Glogster, SpicyNodes, Prezi, Survey Monkey etc. Using Glogster was easy simple and straightforward in the production of my glog. Survey Monkey, on the other hand was very useful and gave me useful information from my target audience. YouTube enabled promoting my videos and offered an invaluable service. Uploading videos to YouTube can be shared to all people around the world and integrated to other sites for ease of access. There is also no loss of quality, as long as the video has been exported properly. 

Question Five

Question Four

"Who would be the audience for your product?"

The target audience for "BlindFire" branches down to multiple factors, fundamentally the young middle class male. this is due to the content and sub-genre being depicted as being alike Kidulthood. this is seen with the use of the chase scene and the violence of gun play. this attracts our target audience as the setting is of the same environment as the society our target audience comes from and the substance contained within BlindFire is appropriate to the nature of our target audience. Also because violence is a key convention throughout BlindFire it is necessary to be associated with a male audience, generally violence attracts a masculine audience. the substance of BlindFire is organic to the middle/lower class as the upper class wouldn't freely relate to the content as generally they have no or little associations with the other classes.

It was apparent that BlindFire would be best attracted to our chosen target audience as it was highlighted through our background research that the best audience is young middle class males, through asking people what type of thriller they enjoy and what attracts them to a film, we also carried out a focus group to determine which idea would present itself as the most successful.

once BlindFire had been finally produced it was in fact our target audience that enjoyed it the most, as they suggested that it was similar to BBC's E20 or Kidulthood which were large successes with this target audience and through substance contained within BlindFire. the choice of music and the chase scene with the shooting deemed to be the greatest attraction to my audience.

Question Three

Question Two

"How does your media product represent particular social groups?"

In "BlindFire" the social groups contained within the Thriller opening are predominantly white British males within a middle class society, there is no indication to sexuality.

In "BlindFire" it is apparent that there is a clear dominant gender being male, through not including a female character early on, presents exactly how men have the upper hand in society in a stereotypical way, men having the more active action packed life style and also there is a hegemony presented against women being unassociated with the violence of society, furthermore by not including any women presents a dismissive view upon them, men are presented without women highlighting the distinction between them and the unimportance of women. women are presented in a positive way through having no relation to violence yet negative from not being included at all throughout.

Alike the distinction between male and female, there is a stereotypical difference in the age presented, indicating the young are more dominant as this matches the stereotype that 'all young people are dangerous'. We exaggerate this divide in "BlindFire" through characterising the chase scene with the youth. we contained young actors to show the youth aspect of their environment with the urban block of flats and the soundtrack to help establish their age through the rap genre. we follow the conventions of the stereotype, but we also chose the youth as our inspiration is depicted in "Kidulthood" it would be uncommon for the older generations to be behaving in such a manor, also our target audience is the youth making it additionally appropriate to match the cast to our audience. we are seen to conform to the stereotype against youth, and this fundamentally presents the current youth in a intrinsically negative depiction.

Ethnicity is depicted through the protagonist and antagonist as being presented as White British, however this is controversial to the stereotypes that exists, suggesting that coloured people are deemed as more dangerous and violent to that of the generalisation of ethnicities, by using White British characters we challenge the stereotype and present the ethnicity of the characters in "BlindFire" in a negative way showing how they can be dangerous and violent. 

In "BlindFire" we depict the class of the lower/middle class through the setting contained. we highlighted the setting as being poor through the urban society capture in our establishing shots, and the block of flats with the dirty, scratched window and the immediate surroundings to the block of lats with a tipped up bin and graffiti. This matches the stereotype that the poorer are deemed as more of a threat to society and should be avoided through the chase scene and the indication of gun play and serious violence. also we moreover match the stereotype with costumes, characterised through baggy jeans, and track suits and the music used being of the hip-hop/rap/grime genre, this presents the lower class in a negative way.

Question One

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?" In our Thriller we follow the general conventions of a typical thriller. In "BlindFire" we used Shock to appeal and conform to common thrillers. We used shock in the form of a chase scene, being chased by a more dominating character, however we also looked deeply into maintaining suspense, throughout the whole clip it is unclear who the protagonist and antagonist are. This has extracted from films such as James Bond, where the mood will appear calm and relaxed yet it will develop into heart pounding chase, In our Thriller it is clear we expressed this convention by following a fast paced chase scene post a relaxed opening. However we most definitely challenge this convention. Commonly seen in films like the famous James Bonds, the audience builds a relationship with the protagonist and there is a clear distinction from the righteous and the wrong at the current moment in time, however it is hard to build a relationship with the protagonist in "BlindFire" as there is no complete shot of who the character is before the initial chase, this leaves the audience wondering why and who is being chased adding suspense in a uncommon way, jumping from establishing shots of the location and surroundings to the POV of the protagonist.

Furthermore, we used a chase scene which is a fundamental part of the thriller genre, yet it is clear that there is an adaption from the general chase scene that are explored within thrillers. Modernly the typical chase scene includes a vehicle, or motor drive plot which restricts the convention seen in many films such as the Batman, when he pursues the Joker in Batman: Dark Knight, yet in our thriller we followed the examples of the traditional films such as Alfred Hitchcock: North by North West, where the protagonist attempts to evade a plane which fundamentally is trying to kill him.

Suspense was a key visual point from which we tried to maintain throughout the thriller, this was fundamentally achieved through the concealed identity of the included characters and this allows to  challenge the general expectations of modern thrillers, we aimed to adapt and explore into a different branch of the conventions in a un-nuclear way. It is common in thrillers to compensate and be compassionate to one character more than the other, in films such as  The Amazing Spider Man, Batman, James Bond etc. where the Propps theory can easily be applied, yet in "BlindFire" this level of concealment adds confusion to the audience as it is unclear who to apply their trust to, there is a minor degree of compassion toward the protagonist yet not to the extent of main stream films as the is no opportunity to develop a relationship with the character which is key to challenging and developing the conventions.

Most Thrillers contain a female character to appeal to a masculine audience early on and keep the male audience engaged as thrillers are deemed as a masculine genre, yet we attempted to engaged the audience not only through suspense and confusion, but also through action early on, we followed this through the example of Kidulthood, using this film as a guide to attract the audience and challenge the general conventions through young characters and no females, only young males which drive the plot through action, this unusual twist in the conventions of the thriller adds to the engage the audience as it wasn't yet necessary to include a female character because the audience was already engaged through action.