How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This is another episode from Waterloo road that shows the roles of a stereoypical victim of bullying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrrrlUagfCo

Unfortunately after alot of effort i couldn't post this video onto my blog but is a perfect example from waterloo road of the feel i was trying to get. It is a similar situation but the boy being bullied has an STI. Nether the less it shows the young, naive boy. Stereotypically looking small, naive,lonely with no friends just a few people that feel sympathy for him but still dont want to be friends with him. This is the feel i was trying to portray for my character i wanted to show him at the start with a group of friends being the 'cool', popular, trendy boy that everyone wants to be friends with but then we see him isolated and alone once he has discovered his cancer. I did this through shots such as him swinging on the swing nobody around him but a massive group of young people the same age all laughing and playing in the background. From my audience feedback i can see that i was successful in this as i recieved several comments such as.." you really showed the aloneness and isolation of the boy".

  I chose to cloth them in this way as due to casting issues i had to make them look as similar as possible as they didn't, although people do change alot over age. Therefore they are both wearing blue jeans and plimsole type shoes. I wanted them to be wearing dark colours to reflect the mood they would be feeling. This is also stereotypical as at funerals people wear black - when they are sad (below photo from Eastenders).

I also used shots of them wearing a 'typical' school uniform of a white shirt, tie and black trousers and blazer

and the certificate giver dressed 'smart- casual' formal dress, which you would expect a teacher to wear, i also added a name badge around her neck to make it look more proffessional and realistic like in Grange Hill.

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

My film begins with a cut away shot with the titles over the top this is sometimes used in films, althought generally there is a blank screen with the names of the actors as they are typically big, well known names that persuade a person to go and watch the film. I chose to not do mine in this way as i feel it can become rather boring and the audience are waiting for something to happen. I want to keep there attention throughout the piece so therefore decided to use some cut away shots of the park as this also helps to set the scene for the audience, so they can take this in before the dialogue begins and they become confussed and find it hard to follow.  I then had the film name 'Michael' to appear over the actor of Michael as it made it clear that this was michael, the centre of the film, without it having to be explained through the dialogue.

I began with a shot of the older Michael sitting on a swing, i changed the colour of this to a darker tone as i wanted to show a change of time clearly to the audience. This is not usually used in fims, the whole film would be in black or white or half then swap, unlike mine that keeps jumping between the effects/ time period.

My film uses cut away shots of the park and weather shots, this is very typical of films used to break up two pieces of footage or passing of time. I have used my weather shot to break the footage of him sitting on a swing and i also used it as part of my mise en scene to help create a mood that reflected Michaels. This is something that is often used in film, especially for example with rain and thunder in horror films. The cut away shots of the park also i tried to give the effect of this is what Michael could see from where he was sitting, this is also a effect used.

The transition i used between the changing of letters was a dissolve effect, this is not what you would expect from a film although personally i feel it works well and puts more focus onto the NHS letter. I was originally going to zoom into the different parts of the letter, though then changing my decision as i though it would be what the audience expected and would look too fake, especially as it was not a real letter.

My favourite shot is from above him looking at him on his won with the group of people in the background, this was to give the effect that he is on his own, lonely. This is the type of shot you would expect to see in afilm, to have meaning and create emotion with the audience for this character before they find out he has Leukemia. As if they do not have a repore and like the character they will not become emotionally attached and sympathise with this character.

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

By doing this process i have learnt how to use several different types of technology.

Internet website i used, included: 


Blogger  was the internet forum in which we created our own blogs and kept record of our research and planning for our openings, we also posted about the process of our openings, evidence and the evaluation.

Google.co.uk was also a big help for me to research information and gather pictures for posts such as ideal actors and information about other films like mine. This was a particular help when i was planning for my presentation in which i pitched my idea to a group of people.

Youtube.com was also aided me as i initially used it to research and look at many other film openings in order to think and created my own idea. I also used it to put my audience research and finished video to then transfer it onto my blog and to also get feedback from other youtube users. This was the first time i had used youtube for uploading videos.

Jamendo.com was the website i used for the music for my opening, i used this site as it gave the copyright to the music on the condition that you used there name in your opening. It took me a while to work out how to look at the music i wanted on the site as there was so many and alot were very inappropriate. Once i found the music i used, i knew it was perfect and fitted my video well. The process was easy as i just had to click download and then on iMovie import it from iTunes.  



Software i have used,included: 


iMovie is the software i used to create my opening two minutes, the preliminary task and to gather all of my audience research together. I used me to gather my footage together, edit the footage, add effects and transitions and add the music and voice over over the top of the footage.
 
iTunes is where i uploaded my music too and then transferred it to iMovie. 








Word is the software i used to create all the documents, such as my moodboard and logo.



Equiptment i used, included: 



Camecorder i used to film my audience research, preliminary task and my finished film. This was the first time i had proffessionally used a camera and used a tripod to get a steady shot.


Tripod i used this piece of equiptment to create a steady shot and to create the shots that i want to get. I found this hard at first, when i was trying to create a big high as i had to move all the part to the same level so it wasn't wonky and i was trying to do this as quickly as possible.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

L

Louise is a 15 year old girl from the Norwich area, she likes to listen to music, especially RnB, Hip Hop and Dance as she likes to listen to a catchy tune that she can learn the lyrics to . She Loves to eat chocolate and sweets to put her in a good mood. She enjoys spending time with her friends, going shopping on the highstreet and having girly sleepovers with her friends, where they eat chocolate, chat and watch films such as comedys, chic flicks and dramas, As they like to laugh and cry. They also like to relate  to the film in some way, for example in a romantic film they like to be attracted to the leading male. She tends to go to the cinema with her friends or her boyfriend but rarely goes with her family. She likes to buy films on Dvd so she can watch them when she is bored at home or when she is with her friends. She enjoys watching Eastenders, reality shows and documentaries about real life people, she also loves magazines such as OK due to her love of celebrities. Her favourtie films are My sisters Keeper, Love Actually, Armagedon and The Breakup as she likes a film that can make her cry, makes her feel better about herself but have a happy ending.

Therefore i think that my film will appeal to people like Louise as she is a normal, everyday girl that represents most typical girls around her age. It is also like other films that she enjoys, such as My sisters Keeper and she is  the type of audience to watch a film with her friends ( in a large group) and also will buy the dvd afterwards.

Directing

Tone needs to be strong willed and a positive view, showing the boy having a open mind. I didnt want the voice over to be sad and depressing as i didn't think it would fit the film, especially as the music gave it a sad feel as it was. 

(Voice over) 

" It's amazing how naive you are as a child, that moment i thought was the worst in my life and could potentially be the most life destroying news. How wrong i was,  the 20th of August did turn out to be the worst in my life. My GCSE'S were actually suprising good, my teachers all told me that i had a promising and successful life ahead of me. 

Ironically the doctor said the same thing but not the way i expected . I had just found out that i had Leukemia and it needed to be treated straight away. As a sixteen year old boy how are you suppose to react, go off the rales, start taking drugs and alcahol or  be brave and work through it. 

My life was never the same after that day from being a bully i turned into the bullied, every step i took somebody would be (pause) staring, giggling or laughing but i soldiered on and beat it and them . So here i am still alive, but back to square one. 20th august 2011 the doctor says those words that nobody wants to hear..

(longer pause) 

 im so sorry to tell you that the Leukemia has returned, we have no other choice but to perform a bone marrow translant but we need to find a donar. 

(Pause)

(change of tone - lighter, determined feel) 

So today is the beginning of my new life, a new Micheal and a man.

- yellow highlight is for the words that need to be stressed 

- Underlined words, sentences that needed to be slower and pronouced well as they are vital to the understading of the dialogue. 

Music

After getting my nearly finished cut of my opening two minutes, i have noticed that there are quite a few long gaps, where there is no dialogue. Therefore i have changed my mind and decided to add music ito my video. To do this i went onto Jamendo, a music site, full of free music that you can download for free and have the copyright as long as you credit the artist. ( The song is Autumn Prelude by Zero-project).  I have found the perfect piece of music for my piece and added it, under the voice over and in the gaps. I feel this makes my video alot better as it really portrays the message i am trying to get across and the audience become a lot more emotionally attached and fills the gaps to make it alot more interesting when there is no dialogue. I then added the name of the artist to my opening credits.  Other class members have watched my opening and have given me really good feedback, especially mentioning the music working well! 

Story board