Thursday 13 May 2010

Audience and bbfc rating

We thought that an 18 certificate would be a suitable classification to give to our film.
Due to strong language, violence, adult themes and possible drug use that would occur if we were to complete the film, the age recommendation would probably be 18-35.

The general themes of the film may only be appreciated by an older or a more mature audience.

Tuesday 11 May 2010


This is the final poster we have produced for "A Bat in the Belfry". It features the cast, production and distribution companies, and the tag line. The tag line is another term for being insane, and was originally in the line up of ideas we had for our film name.
The general concept of the poster is the fact that the visions are all in his head. We chose this particular screen shot of the face because, like most psychological thrillers, they also have a comedy aspect to it, to ass that extra piece of insanity to the film.

Monday 10 May 2010

Looking back at yout preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Compared to our prelim task, our final film that we have produced is a lot more sophisticated and had been taken a lot more seriously. In terms of editing we have come a long way as we had very little experience using i movie at that particular time. We have also been a lot more intricate and precise with our editing, instead of just throwing something together quickly.
Our prelim task did help us to understand the three main editing components mentioned in the brief, so we had practise and were ready to use them in our main production. These three components were, shot reverse shot, 180 degree rule and match on action.
In terms of camera work, we have not only come a long way through practice, but also researched different stylised techniques in both "Narrative ans Stylistic patterns in the films of Stanley Kubrick" and "Hitchcock: A Definitive study of Alfred Hitchcock".
Through these studies, we were encouraged to use more ambitious camera angles such as the dutch angle used in the final shot of our film, and we even attempted the Hitchcock zoom in the first scene.
Having looked at the result from our preliminary task, and some of the earlier footage that we recorded for out full product, we have also been encouraged to find ways of increasing the aesthetic quality of our film.
We really took advantage of the camera settings by altering the exposure and contrast, something that was not considered in the prelim task. We also enhanced the film on Sony Vegas to increase the definition of the film to it's full potential.
Having played about with editing a lot more and re shooting and rerecording until we were totally content with our final product, we have finally created the vision that we had first set out to do.

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



Evaluation question answered using video made by Jonny Hughes

How did you attract/address your audience?




Who would be the audience for your media product and why?

Our film is generally aimed at a 18-35 audience. Our film opening however probably doesn't give that impression but if we were to go on to make the rest of the film it would contain alot more violence, strong language and adult and disturbing themes, along with some possible drug use. These factors would attract an older audience aswell as the mature and deep psychological themes that would feature throughout the film.
Although this is the target audience by the standards of the bbfc, it may still appeal to a slightly younger audience. For example, the channel 4 TV programme "Skins" has attracted an audience that is mainly made up of ages 14-16, despite the fact the show has a Ofcom rating of 18.
Therefore our film may still attract a younger audience, because, like skins, the characters are of a younger generation also.
The central characters in Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream" are also of the younger generation, despite the films disturbing and psychological genre.
Like, "Requiem.." our film features a couple, young and struggling with money, and because of the harsh reality of their situations, it can only end in tragedy.

We hoped that our film would attract a more creative and intellectual audience, as it may just be boring to others. The inter textual references should be appreciated more by those who have a love film.

What media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Obviously our film would be distributed by a company that provides for independent film makers such as "Warp X" or "Warp films". The film would also be low budget due to it's genre. For example "A Clockwork Orange" only had a budget of 2.2 million, and is still considered to be a elaborate and artistic film.
Momentarily, like most younger film makers, we have been using the Internet to exhibit our film. Both YouTube and Blogger have been useful tools for this.
Due to the large cost of distribution, it may not be a wise investment. Instead a "straight to TV" approach should be considered. Most independent film makers screen their films on "Film 4" as they have a direct link to distributors such a Warp X.
Films such as "This is England" and "Donkey Punch", are both Film 4 productions as well as being associated with "Screen Yorkshire", which is another company to consider getting involved with if we were to make a full film.
It may be difficult to get companies to support our film as the genre narrows it down to a specific audience. Unlike family films, mature British socio-realist films are unlikely to attract a number of generations, and is also unlikely to attract Americans. Due to this the amount made at the box office will be small, so it is wise to spend as little on production and distribution as possible.
We have also entered our film at the cooperative film festival in October. We have edited the original film to make it suitable for a younger audience that may be attending the screening.