Evaluation 6

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

I have learnt to efficiently use Adobe Premier, and I have furthered my understanding of the film industry by doing so.  One of the more important lessons I learned was the importance of filming a profuse amount of shots recording the same thing as to both make editing easier and also to make it snazzier. I also have furthered my understanding of how music is produced in the media industry, by trialling recording my own music, before deciding to pick a safer option in queens of the stone age. Filming practices were also a key part of the experience - I discovered the convenience of communicating with the actors by giving them short commands, such as action and cut. This smooths out the filming process a fair bit, so everybody isn't confused to when the camera man has started filming.

Evaluation 5

•    How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience by making a twitter page (@TheLHallMedia) as it is more than likely more young people would find my promotions whilst surfing twitter, than say on a cardboard cut-out in the opera. Additionally, I advertised the movie on the side of a bus, because more people see busses than use social media. It also stands out more, and it may appeal to a wider demographic than originally intended. The reason I believe to be the side of busses to be preferable to the front or back, is that generally, people looking at the front or the back of the bus will be looking at the number on it, whereas on the side it's big and screams out to pedestrians and drivers near it.

Placing a small advert for a movie on the back of the Queens of the Stone Age concert programme or posters also helped the cause - fans of them will naturally draw an interest to the film. This is why I chose Queens of the Stone Age above scoring the music myself - advertising becomes easier, almost imperative if there is a big name involved in the film. 

Evaluation 4

•    Who would be the audience for your media product?

I believe the audience for my film would be teenagers, most likely of the working class variety - it has a very "proletariot" feel to it, being mainly based on the streets. I chose the indie music for a reason too, it usually would be the social outcast listening to that sort of music, if I were to consider stereotypes. It is in no way mainstream, and maybe these "social outcasts" could relate to this film through both the characters and story. Fans of alternative music and the hard of hearing may favour this film too - it lacks spoken word, and sounds are of little importance making it more appealing to daef audiences, however the sounds which are used are subtle and pleasing as to accommodate for those who can hear. I believe the aim of the film is to enlighten those who are intolerable to those having a tough time, or at least make one feel some sympathy for those worse off than themselves.

Evaluation 3

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

Personally, I believe Warp X would want to distrubute my film - the abstract concept could either be a hit or a miss, with little middle ground. Additionally, it is a very "british" film, in it's nature, relating solely to english gang culture. The only possible reason for Working Title to want to publish my work is that it has a soundtrack written by a big American alternative band, giving it that international appeal, in place of their usual big american star, but that's just hypothetically. Back to why Warp X would want to distribute Graves is they are a company who put faith into smaller indie British films, most of which have resulted in critical success, like Tyrannosaur. 

Evaluation 2

•    How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This film represents teenagers form working class backgrounds in a negative light. It follows young people from poor upbringings in their search for meaning in their seemingly empty lives. Some characters turn to the streets, involving themselves in drugs, theft and violence, which is stereotypically the way the media represents teenagers, especially in England, where the film is based. The protagonist is wearing a black tracksuit sort of thing, as one who cannot afford smarter attire would wear, when he walked into a small launderette, a place where people who cannot afford a washing machine would go. He then begins to approach a young man, who he then proceeds to attack, which is a criminal offence. His reasoning for this remains unclear for the first three minutes, suggesting the crime could have been done impulsively, as somebody would expect a young working class teenager to do. Just attack somebody on the streets without thinking. The music in the background is what somebody would expect a rather rebellious person to listen to - rock. The song is quite dark in meaning too, about a man who feels lonely, and lacks the ability to love. 

Evaluation 1

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
  media products?

(Using conventions of real media products)
My film, Graves, adheres to convention in regards to the soundtrack - the music is consistent, and popular. And example of this would be in Reservoir Dogs - all the songs were popular songs form the 70s, and this was highlighted by the fact that the soundtrack was completely diagetic from the radio show "K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70s". This gimmick is adhered to through the film. All songs were very popular. but to a specific audience - mainly of those who were active in the 70s. This is likely to give the audience a sense of nostalgia, but also, modern pop is played frequently on the radio, tv and in movies, so by taking the soundtrack back 20 years the audience will be hearing songs they more than likely appreciated back in the day but haven't heard it in a while or frequently enough to get on their nerves. This tactic is also employed in Guardians of the Galaxy. The soundtrack came off the main protagonists MP3 player, and were older, classic "Motown" style songs. Had it have been the Kanye West album "Yeezus" or something like that, many people would despise it as they may have liked the song when it came out, they've heard it so many times that it's insufferable. I chose Queens of the Stone Age's "Vampyre of Time and Memory" to be the first song in my movie because it's a popular song form a very loved album by a well known band, but it isn't main stream and was released two years ago, so for those who have heard it, it's likely to have been forgotten or, at least, not as played as on it's original release.

(Challenging convention)

Despite this, I challenge this convention by lacking dialogue throughout the film, in a fashion similar to "The Tribe". This way the film can also appear to deaf audiences without the need for subtitles or a translator at the bottom of the screen. This way the viewer can focus more on the actions, body language and symbolism of the character than the dialogue or sounds, however a soundtrack was used so audiences able to hear do not get bored.

(Developing conventions)
Referring to the previous point, I have developed the concept of a film for the deaf, and the use of the popular catchy soundtrack to create somewhat of a hybrid. Disregarding story, there will be three main reasons people would want to watch this film: Deaf people may find this appealing, knowing they can go to the cinema and see a film they can fully understand, but at the same time, not be segregated in the sense that only deaf people watch that movie, people who are fans of Queens of the Stone Age may want to check the film out, and finally people interested in the concept of a film without spoken language.

Main task