Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 1

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

The title

As a group, we initially started off without a title for our production, however, once we found one which we all liked we decided to use it as we all found the name ‘Stay Frosty’ unique and creative . My group and I decided it would be best for the title of the production to be displayed before the initial opening starts to get the viewers to be intrigued as to what is about to come up and then to display the title again at the end of the opening sequence to reinforce the title which is almost like a message telling you to “stay frosty”, meaning to always keep alert because you don’t know what to expect next.

Title font and style

The initial idea for the font and style of the title was to make sure it correlates well with our genre, which was action. In order to make the title stand out, yellow font colour was used; this colour also gives a feeling of alertness which goes well with the production itself which is about a chase between the protagonist and many antagonists. The colours of the fonts used were all light/bright throughout in order to signify fast paced movements as these types of colours are alarming and correlate well with energy and movement which again, all links back to the genre of action and the codes and conventions contained within it.

Fatima Batool

The setting and location of the production

The setting of our production was a school as we felt it would be the most suitable for our film as it is about the protagonist’s journey towards defeating the antagonist. It was also most convenient to film in a location where it would give viewers the impression it is set in a building, also, the lighting in a school is always bright which is convenient for the actual filming of the production as filming inside means that outside lighting changes won’t affect our filming.

Camerawork and editing

As I was the director, I worked alongside the cameraman to produce quality shots needed to make our production look of a good standard and to give our editor a good amount of footage to edit. For every shot we filmed, we planned out thoroughly which part of the school we were going to use and the kind of shot, angle and positioning was needed for each aspect of our filming of the production. Many long shots were used within our production as many shots contained the protagonist running in order to get to his final destination – or what seemed to be his final destination. Close-up shots were used quite a lot in order for the audience to see the anger the protagonist is feeling and the expressions of the antagonists’ faces. High angles were also shown within the production in order for them to be edited so the shots which were high angled would look like CCTV footage; this was created by the editor who had all the planning of the shots in front of him so that he knew what to do with the shots whilst editing and what order to put the shots in to make there was continuity. The editor also ensured the correct score music was used whilst editing so that nothing in the production seemed out of place.

Fatima Batool

Costume and props

The costume in which the protagonist as well as the antagonists needed to wear were suits, as the director my decision to do this was to go with a stereotypical look of how action film heroes are meant to look when on a mission of some sort, also, the actors were required to wear suits in order for them to look like they are on a duty. The props used were also all essential to the plot of our film, such as the gun used by the protagonist as it is a plot catalyst needed in order for the protagonist to move on to the next part of his mission which is to get closer to the main antagonist.

How characters are introduced

The protagonist is immediately introduced to the audience within the production as he is seen running towards the lift in order for him to get somewhere. This was done to show he is in a hurry in order for him to fulfil his duty, which is shown to be for him to kill the last antagonist. Next, the first antagonist is shown to be speaking on his phone to someone, he is shot immediately by the protagonist in order for the opening to engage the audience. Then, the second antagonist is shown, however is immediately shot so that the plot can develop quickly and to make everything seem fast paced like a mission. The last character, which is the main antagonist is shown sitting down on a chair as the protagonist hurries into the room, the antagonist is positioned as if he was expecting the protagonist to appear.

Genre and how the opening scene suggests it

There are many typical action conventions within our opening sequence, for instance, the score sounds throughout the production which were non-diegetic like the noise of a gunshot and the fast-paced shots, such as the protagonist running.

Fatima Batool

Story and how the opening sets it up

The story begins with the protagonist, who is played by Jonathan, running towards the lift; the non-diegetic music is fast-paced which already catches the audience’s attention. Due to the opening starting with the protagonist running, it allows the audience to identify that a person is on his way to do something major. The fact the protagonist has a gun throughout most of the opening also sets up to show the audience he is on a type of mission or needs to do something for the greater good. This allows the audience to create a relationship with him as he seems like a typical action film hero fighting evil to protect innocent citizens.

Fatima Batool