Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

During the process of construction our media product, i have learnt about using a lot of technologies. First of all, i have learnt how to use an Apple Mac, as it is a lot different to a normal Windows computer. I have also learnt about Final Cut- the programme that was used to edit the video footage and put it together with sound and special effects to make the final project.
I also used Garageband to create the music that was used at the beginning and end of the opening sequence. To create the titles i used Photoshop and then saved them as a Jpeg so they could be easily inserted into Final Cut, where i could move them around and add fade effects to them.
I have learnt more about using the camera aswell, and know how to shhot a variety of shots.

Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract our audience we first showed the main character flailing in bed, telling the viewer that there is something wrong with him. We then started to skip between scenes of him flailing and a flashback of him in the army. We edited this well to give the opening a really fast pace, and added fast, intense music to add more effect.
We then zoomed into the characters' eye and used a special effect to create a swirling pattern.It then went to the full flashback of him in the war. We used different camera angles and used a point of view shot to make it seem like the viewer is in the characters' shoes and can experience the war. We used lots of good sound effects to make the war scene more realistic, such as gun and helicopter sounds.
The feedback from the class told us that they enjoyed the editing and special effects. They also said the different camera angles and the use of props and army costumes were good.

Question 4.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our media product would probably have a 15 classification as it would have frequent use of strong language in the war scenes and some when the main character is stressed. The BBFC website classes the violence in a 15 movie as "Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury", which our film would do as it would do, like the opening sequence, where the viewer sees a death early on, but the death is not dwelt on as the scene changes almost straight away.
The demographic of our audience would be that they are not easily shocked by scenes of war and death, and also bad language. We can tell the first two from the opening sequence as there is a war scene where somebody gets killed.

Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our media product would probably be distributed by a small film company as it is a low budget film with not many effects. One company that might distribute our film is 'Mental Health Media'. This is a media company that specialise in getting across the message of mental health disorders. As our film is about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we feel that this co
mpany may distribute our film to get across the message of PTSD.
Our Film opening has two logos at the start to empahsise the name of the company so that the
viewers remember it. This is because it is a small company and will need to make money for other films. Money would be made from DVD sales and downloads, as the film would probably not be released in the cinema as it is too small a movie.

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Compare and contrast your own sequence and one which you think has generically influenced you.










Our film opening uses the convention of skipping quickly between different scenes when editing. We have included this convention at the start of the sequence where it skips between the main character waking up and flailing, and the flashbacks of him in the army.
When making our sequence we were influenced by the opening sequence of 'True Blood'. This sequence uses the editing technique we have used and also uses white titles against the background of the images. This is what we decided to use, as black titles would be too dark and coloured titles would diminish the seriousness of the sequence.