What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
INCASE THE VIDEO ISNT CLEAR:
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the film.
When thinking about a Distributor, I realised that warner bros fit what I was looking for as they owned DC which are known for their comic genre films such a batman which was very useful in terms of relativity.
My production company Kizzy Tigre is a british company which would be similar to working title and warner bros would be the universal. So the budget would come from the american production company Warner bros. The budget would be a set amount that I wouldn’t be able to go over. This has the potential of a mainstream film.
As I’m working by myself and there wasn’t many actors, it wasn’t easy to figure out names to use for my titles. I watched other opening sequences to figure out the order the titles should be in which helped me. The legit titles are ray and chev starring and me directing.
I would say when looking at it from the production and distribution point of view a film such a paul would be released in a similar way with a british production company who is given a budget from their american distributor.
In terms of genre I would say that warner bros would release a film such as batman or spiderman in a similar way to my film. Also all these films are the type that would definitely have a chance for merchandise whether its costume replicas or action figures.
What have you learn't about technologies from the process of constructing this product? during the production of my project, the majority of the time my shots were outside which restricted me from being able to use artificial lighting or tamper with the lighting in anyway with lighting equipment but here are images of the equipment i did have.
Equipment i used: Digital Camera - This wasn't the best camera in the world but it got the footage needed in a good enough condition! It also wasn't complicated to use however it was very automatic which mean't i couldn't do things such as pull focus on it. It wasn't until i had uploaded my footage up onto the mac that i noticed a purple line from the street light down my clips! Also one my final shot, the playback on the camera was smooth however on the mac it became glitchy. Tripod- To be 100% honest, i'd never used a tripod before so i learn't how to use it during this project! This was an extremely helpful piece of equipment as it allowed me to produce steady shots, pan/tilt efficiently and make sure my shots were not uneven. The features such as tightening the tilt or extending the height of the legs were very useful too. Headphones- These were useful because they allowed me to hear the footage and check if any audio needed to be deleted. Macbook- During this project i learn't how useful the programs on a mac are in terms of media. This allowed me to keep updated on my blog, upload VLOGs and experimental videos to youtube, send audio into soundcloud and much more.
Here are the majority of sites i used the most:
Blogger - To post regular updates to my blogspot media blog. I learn't that there were easier ways of creating a blog than making your own webpage from scratch.
IMovie - To edit footage, video logs, experimental shots and test things. I learn't different editing techniques such as 'picture in picture' which was very useful for my titles. however IMovie was beign very difficult and wouldn't let me play back my project in the program which led to me having to export it whenever i wanted to watch it over.
Soundcloud - So i can embed audio i have composed onto my blog.
Slideshare - So i can embed my slideshows.
Garageband - So i can make music and mix different songs. I had difficulty using this at first and figuring out how to change the instrument.
Photoshop - To edit images and also make new images. I learn't how to create a transparent background on any images that i was editing.
Youtube - To upload videos to share them and embed on my blog.
Also, here is an example of how i used Photoshop to produce my titles:
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In this image, i have put together a split screen of the actor playing spider-man in the new upcoming 'The Amazing Spider-man' and me in the role of 'Shaq' who is the main character of 'The Misanthrope'. This image is a common image in films of the comic-book gender and even possibly of the horror genre too. What i noticed was that both of these characters are teenagers. This shot is a representation of those these male characters being self conscious of themselves. They are also dressed similarly in casual black tee shirts.
A difference between these two is that the character on the right is afro-caribbean whereas the character on the left is caucasian. This could also cause the film to be a representation of afro-Caribbean's as well as teenagers.
This is another split screen of screen grabs. The one on the left is of Kick-Ass' friends and on the right is the group of friends from 'The Misanthrope' and this again shows that my media product would be representing afro-caribbean's aswell as teenagers. The image of the Afro-Caribbeans could give the audience a negative view on them as they look quite intimidating as they are dressed in dark colours and all have hoodies on (one even has it on!). This however is quite a common representation in media unfortunately.
Here is a VLOG on another split screen of stills that i felt represented particular social groups.
Summary of points from the video:
Still on the right is of main character from 'Super', still on the left is main character of 'The Misanthrope'.
Both assaulting people in their hero outfits and believe that what they are doing is right.
Both carry a weapen; Left still carries a Wrench and right still carries a bat.
Differences are that the Still on the left is a caucasian hero and the Still on the right is an afro caribbean hero which is less common in real media products.
Another difference is that the still on the left is a middle aged man and the still on the right is a younger teenaged character.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? The main inspiration to my final project was 'Kick-Ass', as well as a few other films that helped me overall with my final piece such as 'Hancock' and 'Super'. These all roughly fit into the same genre (Hero/Horror hybrid) of my film in some way or another whether it be due to the violent scenes or the hero concept. I wouldn't say my film only challenged forms and conventions of real media however i would say that in some aspects it did use, develop and challenge real media products. The reason behindd some of my scenes looking extremely similar to those of other films is simply because the genre i have gone for has very common and cliche clips within it for example the self-analysis that many main characters in Superhero films do. However i have made sure these ideas have been tampered with to make them my own.
I print screened 9 different parts of my opening sequence and placed them together on one canvas in photoshop to give a general idea and representation of my project:
How i Presented the Genre
I didn't struggle with presenting my genre however i took a different approach to it than my influences. I used the classic comicbook text boxes in my opening sequence to show the titles of my film which should have given the audience a sense of the genre. This shows the way in which i have challenged the common forms of my genre. I had the idea of doing the classic convention of the main character with a voice over which would have been me using real media products, but i didn't feel it would fit in with the main characters anti social representation.
Film Title For the title of my film, i went with the common 'comicbook hero' stereotype of all hero names starting with the definite article 'The'. Examples of this are The Green hornet, The Green lantern, The Dark Knight, The Flash, The Green Arrow etc ( I could go on for days!). After that i had to think of a name for the main character's alter-ego superhero personality. I went through a few names for example The Villan, The Teen, The Loner but then i decided i would go with 'The Misanthrope'. The main reason i had gone with this name was because Misanthrope isn't a word that you often hear day to day which is good when naming a film. The meaning of a Misanthrope is someone who hates the human species and disgusts the human race. So for the title of my film i used the conventions of real media products. Settings/Location In terms of the settings of my opening sequence, i would say that i had used the forms of real media products.This is due to the opening scene of the school environment and education, being one that is common throughout quite a few hero based films. This is mainly because the characters are normally in their teenage years for example Spiderman and Kick-Ass. In terms of the dark road scene, i developed the common perception of Heros going out at night in the busy rural areas and instead made it a quiet road where there was nothing but an innocent by passer. Costumes and Props The costumes throughout my opening sequence were quite simple. The costuming of the 3 friends were quite intimidating as one had their hood up although i didn't make the hoodies a main aspect of my project as i know examiners hate it! The costume design of my main character is also very simple in the beginning scene where he is not identified and we cannot see his face. However, his costume gets a little more interesting in the next scene when he is on the dark road. His full body suit and mask is a form i used from many real media products as the majority of heros have a tight suit on with a mask however, i developed this idea by giving him a more teenage approach with the cap on and the trainers. I would say that i slightly challenged the conventions of real media products by not using a cape in his costume. In terms of props, the main prop i used was the bat wielded by my superhero. At first i did not plan on having a weapon however after looking at my influences, i noticed that both Kick-Ass and Super wielded weapons. I used this idea and gave my character a bat. I chose a bat because it is stereotypical of teenagers to be sporty and athletic. How the story is set up by the Opening I Challenged the form of real media products in terms of the way in which the story is set up by the opening. In the beginning of most films of this genre the audience are given more insight to the main character and are also shown the main characters identity and face immediately. Ways in which i challenged this was through going straight into the action and second personality within the first 2 minutes of my film. I also didn't show my main characters face until right at the end of my opening sequence which was something that isn't done in the majority of hero films or in any of my influences. The characters that are around throughout the film would have been the main friends at the beginning who were in the school. They were introduced immediately through conversing over the main character. Titles, Fonts and editing. I used the form of real media products in my opening sequence slightly with the editing and sticking to the colour theme of the Hero's costume. I also stuck to the legendary font used by almost all comics! The font was something that had to be done in order to help convey the right genre to the audience. My titles were a way in which i challenged real media products of this genre as i had not ( in my influences or in any other film i had watched) seen an opening with titles on comicbook text boxes.
The deadline for our final pieces is in around 3 days time.
Seen as i have practically finished the editing and titles on my opening sequence, i have now moved onto putting in my production logo. To go with the theme of my project, i had planned on adding a 'Marvel' production company intro to the beginning of my opening sequence, however after doing research i found out that they were very strict when it came to use of their logo and copyright issues.
Instead of 'Marvel' I went for the BETTER comic-book producers; DC. DC are are owned by Warner Bros. which means i plan on trying to import the intro into the beginning of my opening sequence. At first, i wanted to go with the classic warner bros logo but then i began to research into other themed ones produced by the company and narrowed it down to three.
I used Quicktime screen record to record each intro from youtube however it doesn't pick up audio therefore i will need to record the audio of whichever one i pick seperately.
FILMING in term of filming, I had managed to film my last piece of footage around a week ago. I had finished before then, but in order to get a better grade i acknowledged the errors i spoke about in my vlog and tended to them by re filming the whole scene. I used my own camera instead of sirs higher quality camera due to another group needing to use it which i don't think is a problem at all.
EDITING
In todays lesson I begin editing properly. I decided to use my comic book transition idea, and use it for the actual titles instead. I created this with Adobe Photoshop using shape tools and a downloaded font from www.1001freefonts.com which was convenient. Sir also gave me the idea to add comic book popups like 'BAM!' on the contact scenes such as the hit with the bat. I feel that this was a good editing session where i became clearer with what i wanted to achieve however iMovie 11 wasn't being very co-operative ! for example it wouldn't playback the clips i needed to view to see if my titles were in the correct places.
I have posted about Music before but i feel i should update on it. I have decided to use two pieces of music in my opening sequence by two unsigned artists (Frenchi Sailor and Jay Casjj) to avoid copyright infringement.
In terms of sound effects the majority of these will be obtained from garageband or if necessary i plan to film in the school corridors and use the audio of noisy kids in my scene set in the school environment.
My production company Kizzy Tigre is a british company which would be similar to working title and warner bros would be the universal. So the budget would come from the american production company Warner bros. The budget would be a set amount that I wouldn’t be able to go over. This has the potential of a mainstream film.
