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Final Film

Evaluation Question 7

Compared to the preliminary task, I feel it is clear that we as a group have learnt a lot through in particular trial and error. In the preliminary task, we had limited use of a tripod and had many continuity errors.

We made a lot of effort in the creation of our product to avoid these problems however, when we first began filming we did not have access to a tripod and so we seemingly recreated these fluctuations in quality. In the preliminary task, we had only our camera to record audio which we found to be not a good quality so took the decision in our final product to record all of the dialogue separately. This also came as a bonus as when we filmed, we often found that the weather became particularly windy which would have potentially ruined takes.

However, with this came more challenges than the conventional. Lip syncing and mimicking spoken dialogue to match the footage was difficult and has led to many pain-staking sessions of recording audio. Furthermore, in our preliminary task there was little to no background noise due to being filmed in a relatively quiet part of the school. We did not want this in our final product as the effect would seem unnatural and make the illusion of a busy city moot.

To counteract this, we imported sound effects from free sources and also filmed footage of a busy round-about to create more ambient diegetic sound. To create a more professional film, we added music based on BBC's Luther's theme to create a sombre and mysterious mood. This met the typical movie convention of a memorable soundtrack that wasn't present in out preliminary task. We spent a lot of time attempting to create a continuity error free product which was one of the faults of our preliminary task. To ensure this, we filmed the key dialogue in a single shooting session to minimize any discrepancies.

This way, we didn't worry about wind changes which would have altered minor yet noticeable details such as trees in the background blowing in a certain direction. Furthermore, all our shots that included Harry playing the character John, wore the exact same clothes solidifying a costume. Also, we made sure that we followed the 180 degree rule to make sure the over-the-shoulder shots remained understandable to the audience. 

Evaluation Question 6

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Evaluation Question 5

To address our audience we stayed within certain expected conventions within the crime genre. These conventions include mystery, urban setting, undercover cops & so on. From our qualitative research, we opted to have two protagonists who are crime fighting partners as that appealed to our target audience. Predominantly, John is the main protagonist whilst Pedro is more of his partner. As their brief dialogue unfolds it's clear that these two have a good friendship both inside & outside of the police force which complies with the convention that the two crime fighting cops are good friends. The antagonist has prominent appearance which foreshadows his intentions to be villainous. His black cap is shown to be draping over his arms which display connotations of death & destruction and further appeals to both the crime & thriller audience. The climatic large explosion creates an tentious atmosphere which reinforces the appeal to the thriller audience. In terms of feedback, our peers and friends believe it to be a descent attempt at creating a film opening especially since we are not professionals. If we were to do this again, then we would invest in a better quality camera and learn more about special effects that could be applied via software. 

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

Crime Thrillers usually are targeted to a more mature target audience. This is usually because of the mature content (e.g. Murders) &/or taboo language that is within the genre. Due to the nature of Crime Thrillers having a BBFC of 15, our age range will start from there. Secondary research has shown that an audience of both males and females (aged around 40) find crime genres to have interesting plot lines. So, our film opening for "Dead End" will be aimed at males and females aged 15-40.

 The target audience for this genre is stereotypical of both males & females. Male characters are depicted as the organised, head strong leaders. In some cases they have a crime partner (stereotypically male as well) that will act as a moral compass. On the other hand, female characters are shown as being in less practical roles like secretaries or on the intercoms. In recent media, women are sometimes subverting these roles in the crime genre by being appointed leadership, hands on roles.

Thrillers usually are interested by young adults as they enjoy the suspense and mystery within the plot line. Since Thrillers have content that could be considered frightening & violent, the BBFC certificate is often 15. Most of the time they appeal to people who are 15-21 year old. They also appeal to both genders.

Males usually find thrillers appealing as statistically they enjoy the fast paced action. They usually enjoy plots that cause high adrenaline as there are a lot of action filled scenes.

Females may find thrillers interesting as stereotypically they are attracted to something that causes mystery and causes them to ask questions. The main protagonist is usually a "ladies man" that generally women find attractive. As a result, females find the sex appeal of the Thriller appealing.

Because of the close similarities in target audience for crime genres and thrillers, we believe that our film will appeal to both audiences.

In conclusion, our target audience is both males & females aged 15-35. This is attributable by the fact that the thriller aspect of the film lowers the targeted age since thrillers are usually enjoyed by younger people.

Evaluation Question 3