AS Media Studies Foundation Portfolio

Kvarne Bukowski

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

My film uses the forms and conventions of a real media product as in the opening to film. The title of our film is 'Useless In Uniform' we decided to call our media film this due to the fact that both of the main characters in the film as going to be perceived incompetent and a bit idiotic, also due to the fact that both characters are police officers and are in uniform makes the title of the film very effective. Furthermore, the titles of the film suggested and portrayed the genre of our film which is an action comedy due to the bold font used, the audience could have decoded this and it could have helped them establish the genre of our film, and perhaps some of the narrative. 

  For me and my groups film, at first we decided to set our project in the school building

due to the fact that the building has a similar structure to an office which would very successful, we wanted to do a horror film within the school building, we also agreed that it would be very effective to do it during the night, to give our footage an eerie feel. We thought to film down long corridors to create a stalking, scary theme. We then decided that that idea would not be very good due to the fact that we may be downgraded if we filmed in a school building. After another idea briefing, we then decided to changed the genre, idea and setting our film. We decided to do a police comedy, we decided to set it in a local park, In my opinion this was very successful as we were able to do many successful shots, and we were able to use it whenever we wanted, also our film included a chase scene so with the park being the setting it made this very successful and easy to pull off.

The costumes and props we used in our film mirrors those in a real police movie, in terms of costumes we decided that both main characters who were in fact the police officers wore formal shirts and ties, this was the closest with the resources we had to replicating a police officer's look, but in my opinion it was effective. Also there was a successful irony and contrast with the police officers costumes, as they were dressed in smart attire despite being very bad at their jobs, which may be funny and humorous to the audience. Also regarding the props used in the film we decided to use colourful toy guns, we thought this may be humorous for the audience due to the fact that it may suggest that both characters may be under qualified to use a real gun and are forced to use toy guns, this goes along with the comedy genre of our film.  

  The camera shots and angles we used were very successful in my opinion, we used

many close ups, mid shots, point of view's, tilts. We used these shots very successfully in my opinion, for example in the last scene of our film where we have the criminal lying on the ground very hurt, we decided to use a POV shot along with a blinking effect to signify that the character was very hurt. Also in my opinion the lighting was very good due to the fact that we filmed on a sunny day and everything was very clear and very easy to create the footage that we wanted. Furthermore, our setting we used challenges the norms of action comedies in my opinion, this is due to the fact that usually in these movies they are set in big cities, however for us to film in a big city would be difficult due to the restrictions we would have. So we decided to film our final product in a suburban setting of a local park, this is not usually used in action comedies, however we decided to challenge it in which turned out to be effective.

 

As for the story of our movie opening we decided that we would do a police comedy where situations are dramatised with two incompetent officers. The story our film opening involves two police officers sitting down on a bench, who then noticed a man accidentally litter, then decided to chase him and eventually shoot him. We looked at films such as 'Hot Fuzz', '21 Jump Street', 'Bad Boys' and 'Men In Black' in which we understood the conventions of these films and took inspiration from these ideas.

 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Within my media product I represent two different social groups; the first social group I represented in my media product was police officers. Police officers are usually associated with being very professional and very good at their jobs to enforce the law. However in my media product me and my group do not represent them in that manner, we portray them in the manner that they are very stupid and quite clumsy and are not particularly good at their jobs. Also police officers are trained to use a gun, however the police officers in my media product are using toy guns due to the fact that they are not trained enough and again coveys the impressio0n that they are stupid, which again goes along with the conventions of a comedy.

The other social group my media product represents are young people, particularly teenagers. In my media product we portray them in the way that are young people are hooligans and are trouble, however in my media product we did this in an ironic manner, as the young person who littered in my film was a young person, and ended up running away from the police and subsequently ended up getting shot for a minor and small crime that is littering. Also in my media product we used stereotyping, we used stereotyping to portray young teenagers are known for stealing, especially those of a specific ethnicity. We done this in an ironic manner, we done this by portraying a small crime such as littering in a park unintentionally to convey the impression that the stereotype is not true and is quite absurd.

Furthermore, the costume of the main characters in my film was a smart shirt and tie; we used the costume to show contrast to create humour. Normally you would expect some dressed in such clothes to be professional and intelligent, however the police officers in my film were not as described and were very incompetent creating a comical impression. In our film we portrayed police in a negative manner. It has been apparent; especially in America that police have been targeting Black people after a police officer killed an innocent male. We portrayed this in our film by replicating such circumstances within film by showing a male committing a minor offence by littering by dropping his rubbish just outside the bin and to the incompetence of the police officers who end up shooting the male; this shows that we addressed international problems.

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

Distribution is a very important factor for a film, due to the fact that it allows the media product to be shown to the intended target audience of the film and allows it to attract other types of audiences. A media institution that may distribute my media product could be Film4. I think Film4 may distribute my media product due to the fact that Film4 are owned by Channel 4 who are a British company and are likely to distribute a successful movie set in England. Also due to the fact that Film4 purpose is to attempt to entertain and intrigue the audience there is a good chance that Film4 would distribute our film due to the fact that the genre our film is an action comedy and may appeal to a Film4 audience.

Also, Film4's target audience is generally a young audience based in Britain, so an action comedy film is likely to be distributed due to the fact that a young audience enjoy those genres of film. For example, Film4 distributed the film 'Attack the Block' which is a British action movie, made more successful Film4, and that is why I believe Film4 would be the kind of media institution to distribute my media product due to the British content for young adults which is shown on there. Film4 are a very local, successful company are would be very likely distribute my media product if it fits theirs media audience, however due to the comedy nature or my media product and the fact that Film4's audience is very likely to be young people, especially when Film4 have their 9'clock movie specials, and this is why Film4 are more likely to distribute my media product. Also if my group had a larger budget and could have the specific contents to make a successful action comedy then a media institution such as ‘Colombia Productions’ would be likely to distribute my media product due to the fact that this production company has distributed movies such as ’21 Jump Street’ which is a very similar film to my own, this suggests that if I was to have more funds and a wider choice of locations then this company could be likely to distribute my product due to the action and comical content of my film.

In addition, the production logo which I used in the opening was ‘Colombia Productions’ used it as I aimed to intend my movie to portray the image of a well known and professional production who generally distribute ‘block-busters’ and that is the impression I aimed to create with my film.

Who would be the media audience for your media product?

The intended media audience of my media product would be in fact young people; particularly males aged 15-25. My film would be aimed at people this age to the fact that the film contains some aspects of violence and strong language and according to British Board of Film Classification this age group would be appropriate for my film. This demographic profile would be the intended audience of my media product due to the fact that my film is an action comedy and aims to entertain the audience; the age group of 15-25 generally enjoy comedy film and are usually aimed at that age group. This is due to the content and nature of my film may be appropriate for that age group due to the fact that they may find the things we intend to be funny more than an older audience due to the fact that in some situations in my film we dramatise things that young people may find amusing.

Furthermore, the language used in my media product also affects the intended target audience, as an older audience may not understand it compared to an older audience and they may not understand it or perhaps they may not even tolerate it, also due to the fact that in the title sequence of my film it begins with rock music, this straight away may appeal to young people due to their interest in music.

Also, after conducting my own primary research and analysing various secondary research I found that males generally enjoy action comedies compared to females, this supports the stereotype that males enjoy action comedies more due to the violent and dramatic nature of these films. I also found that 93% of participants understood that a police man would suitable for an action comedy compared to a doctor, sailor and a clown. This relates to audience identification involving demographics and psychographics as my audience would most likely to be a teenager to young adult male and their preferences in a movie stereotypically would be to enjoy action related films.

How did you attract/ address your audience

In my media product I attracted my target audience in the different ways. For example, due to the fact that our target audience is people aged 15-25, in my media product we used comedy and action to entertain and attract the audience. We attempted to over dramatise minor things and situations in my media product and make everything much more dramatic and exaggerated, this may make the our young adults target audience attracted to my product due to the fact that many people aged 15-25 are usually big fans of comedy movies and find them very funny and amusing, so that is the way in which we decided to attempt to attract my audience.

Also I attempted to attract my audience by using action filled scenes. This may attract my intended audience which is young adults due to the fact that that age group are usually interested in fast paced, action packed action movies, due to the fact that it is very adrenaline filled and is very exciting with all the violence in it. Also the action aspect of this genre may attract that audience of teenager to young adult males as stereotypically the psychographic profile of this audience of males is that they enjoy fast paced and violent action, this is a contrast to females who would stereotypically enjoy more emotional films where they can connect with the main characters such as romantic films, which is a reason why I will not aim my film at females.

Also, the use of music I used within my media product would attract my audience which would be young people aged 15-25, males in particular. The genre of rock music would normally be listened to by those of a teenage aged due to the loud and fast paced nature of the music; we used the rock music in the opening of our films directly attracting our audience. In addition this type of music would suggest action due to the dramatic and loud nature of it, and therefore would suggest to our audience that they would be going to watch an action film.

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

In the making of my media film, I learnt how to use many different technology and technology products. The computer computers we used were HP 2210 work station which were built for multi and interactive media technologies along with the computer program we used to make and edit of our media footage (Adobe premium elements 11). Prior to my media project I did not know how to use this program however in the making of my media work I have learnt how to use it and have used it successfully in the making of my media product. This has given me transferable skills as I will next year perhaps need to use these skills of editing for my media work next year.

Also in the making of my media product I spent a large amount of time using digital video cameras, prior to the making of my media work, I had no idea how to use the provided digital camera and tripods, however over the last year the media studies course has given me these transferable skills that I can apply to different situations which makes the making of my media product very effective. I also have an enhanced knowledge of how to use editing programs and generally using the computers now after the making of my media product. In the progression of my media product I learnt how to do many things editing wise.

For example, I learnt throughout the year how to use and create transitions for my media video which aided me to make successful and effective videos leading up to my final piece as at the start of my media studies course I did not have a vast knowledge in this area. I also learnt how to create effects, for example, I learnt how to add lighting effects, at the beginning of the year I did not know how to do this, however, during the progression of my media studies course my ability in the editing software has improved and now I have a vast knowledge in it and use the knowledge in the future if I ever need to use editing in the future. On the other hand, I learnt that there are some faults with the editing software, for example, when we had uploaded the video, occasionally the software would be very slow and would freeze and would need rendering, this stunted my work productivity due to the fact that it was quite frequent.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I feel that in terms of filming and editing quality since the preliminary task I

have progressed to make more successful and affect pieces of media films. After finishing the preliminary task I have learnt how to make a more consistent piece of film and enhance the use of conventions I use, and subsequently understand how to successfully get a good grade in creating a piece of film. I also learnt and progressed in the editing of my film, as in the progression my knowledge of using the editing software has gradually been enhanced as I have learnt how to cut shots, add music to shots, make a effective and creative title sequence and ending. I also learnt in the progression to my full product that it is essential to go back and correct any anomalies or inconsistencies or it can affect your film very much due to the lack of consistency, however the things I've learnt as I've progressed has helped me to make a very successful and effect media product. Furthermore during the preliminary tasks, the shots I used were extremely basic and would not have got me many marks and due to the fact that it was just an interview in the preliminary task and it was extremely difficult to be creative and use some more advanced camera shots, and were limited with the setting due to the fact that the footage could only stay in the school building.

However in progression to my final video I was able to practice to film in a setting of my choice which aided me in achieving this and helped me to use more advanced shots in my final piece making my film opening more successful. Also in the progression of making my media product personally I feel that I learnt how to be independent with my group, in terms of not using a teacher’s assistance and using our own creativity to formulate ideas and construct our own piece of work that was formed entirely by ourselves. Furthermore, I've learnt how to work in a team, due to the fact that my media product was done in a group, this is a transferable skill and can be used in my future studies.

Another thing I have learnt during the progression of my media product is how to successfully make a effective opening and closing titles of my media film, in the preliminary task of my media product the opening title was lacked creativity and was quite boring, due to the fact that we did not have the knowledge or the skill to make it look effective, as I've progressed through my media studies course, I have learnt many things which have aided my editing skills, in which the title and credits on my opening of my film was very successful in my opinion. In the opening of my film, we did the credits of the people involved with the making of the opening of the film using a freeze frame; this goes along with the overly dramatic conventions of a comedy drama due to the fact that it is overly exaggerated. On the other hand in the end credits of the opening of my film, instead of doing the name of the film at the start we decided to do it at end, with a creative name which was 'Useless In Uniform', this was very creative in my opinion due to the fact that the 'useless' aspect of the title portrays the two main characters lack of common sense and the 'uniform' aspect of the title portray the fact that the two character are police officers and are in uniform. We also decided to use a police themed rap song in the ending credits, the song goes along with the conventions of a police action comedy.