Evaluation Question Three

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

Distribution- ‘the commercial activity of transporting and selling goods from a producer to a consumer’

Institution- ‘the cultural and political conventions within which media products are constructed and disseminated ‘

As my film ‘Chase’ is an independent student film, which was produced on a low budget, nobody really knows about it and therefore it cannot be filmed in a large chain of cinemas like Showcase cinema, Vue and The Odeon, as it is not to the standard of Hollywood Blockbuster films. Also it does not have a recognizable cast and therefore not many people would be interested in watching it if it was distributed as a Blockbuster movie. Instead there are many other institutions which will distribute my film in order to get the recognition it deserves.

My film is likely to be shown at The Greenwich Picture House which is open the whole week, has five screens, and has projection facilities that enable film or video presentation, plus the screens are ideal for PowerPoint and slide displays in case I want to do a brief presentation for my audience about my film.  They show independent films so it is likely they will showcase my film because my film is independent. Furthermore, Greenwich Picture house is a local cinema which will attract many people who live in the suburbs, as my film is mainly aimed at a urban audience, and therefore those who are not able, or do not have enough money to travel to the city will go to this cinema. All areas of the building are accessible to customers with limited mobility, including wheelchair users.

My film distributor will attempt to get my film aired at many institutions like Internet video-sharing websites and by renting out local cinemas. There are a number of film festivals in the UK that I’m sure will show my film. The Young Independent Film and Television awards festival in Birmingham is a free convention which showcases any short film, from documentaries to animation films. Another popular film festival in the UK is the Exposures Film festival which is ‘the UK’s largest festival of student moving image work, which takes place every year in Manchester.’  I found that ‘exposures is a unique festival that gives students from across the UK the opportunity to showcase their work to a cinema audience but also gives a unique insight into how the TV and film industry works.’ There are loads of more film festivals around the UK, and I would like my film distributor to get my film into as many films festivals as possible.

Raindance film festival will be a top choice to distribute my independent film; this is because ‘Raindance is dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film in the UK and around the world’. It has a reputation for showing a variety of independent films and has helped start the careers of the likes of, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan and David Yates. With reputation comes expectation, so if my film manages to get into this film, it means it is expected to be really of a high standard, so people who come may potentially be other filmmakers who may take an interest in my film and maybe even hire me.
 

As my film is mostly aimed at an urban target audience, it would be wise to enter my film into BUFF (British Urban Film Festival). This may really help my film get noticed, because although filmmakers are charged to showcase their film, everybody else is welcome to attend the festival free of charge, which means more people are likely to turn up and watch my film. My film is mainly aimed at an urban audience, so I’m sure my film will receive a lot of recognition if played at this film festival.

Another film institution that would be interested in distributing my film is The British Film Institution, which promotes understanding and appreciation of film and television heritage and culture. This will be an important institution for me as it is recognised as a successful British institution that is visited by many people. This institution is visited by many different people, of all different ages and backgrounds, I believe this institution will help raise awareness of my film because for it to be played in the BFI must mean it must be interesting and creative in some way.

One way to distribute my film fast is through Internet video-sharing websites. One very successful and the most popular video-sharing site on the Internet is YouTube.

YouTube is a free and easy site that allows you to upload your video onto a worldwide community site where anybody can view your video. The more views you get the more popular your video is, and by uploading my film onto YouTube I can expose it further by displaying it on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. By combining both Youtube and social networking sites, I can spread my film, or a preview of my film like a virus, to millions of people across the world. For example, if one person posts my film on their Facebook wall, all of their friends will be able to watch it and post it on their wall as well, eventually you have a never ending chain of people spreading my film, and by targeting the right people on Facebook I can definitely raise awareness of my film. Furthermore, one video-sharing site that is aimed more at independent film distribution is http://www.undergroundfilm.com/ . This site will help my film get recognised by a more urban and local audience, and by word-of-mouth my film may attract audiences from all over the UK.

Evaluation Question Two

How does your opening sequence represent particular social groups?

My opening sequence represents particular social groups through the use of characters, props, costumes and the overall mise en scene. There are three main characters in my film who are established in my opening sequence; Nicholas (lead character), Jonathan (the psycho father) and Sarah (the daughter).

Nicholas is a British African male, he is an athlete, and he represents a typical wealthy young man who has been spoilt by his parents but is still involved in criminal activities; ignorant, aggressive and loves women. Many things in my opening sequence represent Nicholas’s character and the social group he belongs to. In one of the photographs shown in the opening sequence, Nicholas is posing in front of a his BMW X5 with his girlfriend, although the audience may not notice the BMW at first later on they will find out that it is his car, and in the picture he is all over the girl which represents his love for women like many young wealthy men.

Although Nicholas is wealthy, his costume represents how he is an urban person as he is dressed just like young men from the urban scene, black Nike Airmax 90’s, combat trousers and a Dolce and Gabbana hooded jumper. His cloths may represent the influence his community has on his fashion sense. Nicholas can be compared to 50 Cent in the film ‘Get Rich or die trying’ who is also a young black male who is wealthy and violent.

Furthermore, Nicholas represents the stereotype that young males, especially black males, abandon their children, and is therefore an irresponsible young man. Also, Nicholas represents and abusive man or a ‘wife beater’ as he abused his girlfriend because she was going to keep the baby, and eventually killed their baby, which is made clear in the opening sequences through the clues.

The camera is used smartly to follow the codes and conventions of typical thrillers; throughout the majority of the opening sequence Nicholas’ face was not shown, instead the camera showed parts of his body to make clear to the audience he is kidnapped by showing the rope all over his body, and to also keep his identity hidden, as I wanted the audience to piece together the clues of the opening sequence so they can come to a conclusion of who the kidnapped person is. Jonathan’s face is also hidden; I wanted to portray him as a big strong man without showing his body, so he wore size 10 Timberland boots which were shown when he slowly enters the room. I requested he wore these boots because I have noticed most antagonists wear boots, not only do they look big and they make it easier to kick down doors, but they also make your presence known from the moment you enter a room.  This is why Jonathan wore Timberland boots, because if he wore normal shoes he would not of made as much of a noticeable noise upon entering the room. So we recorded the sound of the boots; as director I urged my actor to walk slowly but to trod hard on the ground almost as if  there is a meaning to every step, a meaning to Jonathan’s journey because as Jonathan is the most violent character in the film, even his body language should portray his violent and psychotic nature.

Sarah is a British Asian female, she is sensitive and very truthful, and she is also very opinionated. Her beauty is Nicholas’s addiction, part of the reason why he sticks with her is because she looks good on his arm and also she is controllable. Her stunning hair, her mesmerising eyes and her attractive dress sense keep Nicholas coming back for more in this dangerous love affair. I tried to expose some of her beauty in the photographs during the opening sequence to show the audience why Nicholas would find her attractive. She is very soft spoken, and this is evident through her voiceovers where she speaks so softly, like when she says the line ‘But Nicholas just listen … I’m pregnant.’ She speaks so softly, almost as if she really wanted to avoid telling Nicholas, or she did not want to make it clear, also she paused before delivering the most important part of her sentence, this shows how she is a hesitant character instead of straightforward. Sarah may represent venerable beautiful girls in society.

The voiceovers of the characters also represent particular social groups. For example, Nicholas is represented as an irresponsible typical you man, ‘Listen, I told you it’s over and I’m not having no baby!’ This supports the stereotype that most black young men get women pregnant and then abandon them. He is careless, as he not only ends the relationship, but then declares how he will not have the baby, meaning she will have to terminate it or worse. He is a commanding young man, his choice of words show this when he begins his sentence with ‘Listen’, he says it in a rude and aggressive way which may represent he has the personality of a violent and rude young man.

Also, Jonathan is represented as an aggressive overprotective father, when he says ‘How can he lay hands on my daughter??!! The emotion and tone in his voice shows how aggressive and enraged he is. I purposely raised the volume on this voiceover, so the audience can really feel the anger in his voice.

Evaluation Question One

In what ways does your media product USE, DEVELOP or CHALLENGE forms and conventions of real media products?

My media product challenges, develops and follows the forms and conventions of real media products. As my film is a thriller, from the opening sequence it is clear it follows the codes and conventions of thrillers through the use of sound, lighting, props and various technical aspects. My film challenges the forms real media products through the narrative and it develops forms and conventions through using ideas from previous successful media products.

My film follows the conventions of another thriller movie named Memento, like Memento and other thriller films; my film provides many clues in the opening sequence for the audience to interpret, clues about the narrative, the characters and the settings. For example, in the opening sequence there is a room full of newspapers, and on the newspapers there are specific words that have been drawn on, highlighted and circled in red, words like ‘Murder’ and ‘Kidnap’ these are clues about the narrative. Furthermore, like over real thriller films, the opening of my product is set in a mysterious place; a room filmed with newspaper articles, photos and a kidnapped person.

My film challenges the forms and conventions of a thriller as it is sort of like a psychological thriller, and it has elements of action and romance, therefore my film is a generic hybrid. This is clear through my opening sequence, the lighting and the writing on the wall link together, because as there was a dim light, the majority of the light was also red just like the writing on the wall and the theme of red can be associated with death, love and action. Also the narrative of my film does not follow the usual forms and conventions of most media products; it has a montage sequence which was inspired by the film Memento which also has a non-linear narrative. These codes and convention ar used to define the main genre of this film, even though it is a generic hybrid, it's biggest genre is thriller.

Like other thrillers, in my opening sequence one character is introduced and the other main characters are established. Like Memento, the other characters in my film are established through photographs and newspaper articles which are like clues. The idea of presenting characters through pictures was used in Memento, but I then developed that idea and showed the photographs in a different way, rather then making them appear in darkness, they were shown stuck to a wall full of newspapers, this is how I challenged the idea.  There is also non-diegetic, diegetic and parallel sounds in my media product. For example, the diegetic sounds are the sounds of the father walking into the room and the door opening, the non-diegetic sounds are the sounds of the heartbeat machine and the voiceovers of the characters, and the parallel music is the soundtrack matching the action on screen. 

Photo storyboard

	Long Shot – Panning across the walls
	Close up of photo on wall
	Mid Shot – Panning of wall
	Close up of photo on wall
	Close up of hat on floor
	Close up of shoe lying on floor
	Beginning of pan from feet
	Close up of phone on floor
	Continuing pan from feet – gradually continuing to face
	Close up of ID card
	ECU of phone on floor
	Mid shot of feet walking into room
	Close up birds eye view of picture on floor
	Close up birds eye view of foot walking over photo on floor
	Mid shot into long shot looking through man

Prelim Storyboard

Final Treatment

 I learnt that my treatment had to be a more concise version of my draft treatment, as in that treatment i was explaining nearly every scene of the story, (which is what a script is meant to do) instead of a brief summary of the main highlights of the film. A treatment is a document that is produced by many filmmakers looking to produce a film, it is not as complex and lengthy as a script but it does the same thing in  less detail. It explains the whole story and characters of the film, it does not usually include every scene like a script, but highlights the most significant parts of the film, from start to finish. A treatment can be used to persuade production companies and financiers to invest in your idea, and turn your vision into a motion picture.

The title of my film is called 'Chase'. It is simplistic plot, the main character Nicholas(Kevin Afolabi), begins to date a girl named Sarah, little did Nicholas know, Sarah has a very over-protective father who would literally 'Chase' and exterminate any human being who hurts his beloved daughter. Now Nicholas is your typical heart breaker, sweet talker and cheat, he takes Sarah seriously at first just to take advantage of the benefits of her love, but then after a year or so of dating he slowly becomes uninterested and begins playing games with Sarah, and as a result she suspects he is having many other affairs. One night, both Nicholas and Sarah are in a car, she finds a thong that belongs to another women and they begin to argue, Nicholas then says he wants to end the relationship but as a response Sarah announces she is pregnant! Nicholas is a hot head and a very disrespectful young man, he responds by beating her until the baby is fully dead. In the hospital, Sarah's dad, Jonathan, arrives to see his daughter in a very critical condition, he learns that she lost the baby, and also that this was Nicholas' doing, he then begins a persistent manhunt for Nicholas, and chases him all over the city attempting to end his life in many dramatic ways. How will Nicholas survive these series of attacks by a psychotic father? Now the tables have turned, and Nicholas is not playing games, but running for his life in this action-packed deadly chase. Eventually Jonathan catches his prey. Throughout the movie, there are short scenes of the opening act, these scenes are broken up and spread out smartly along the film so that they can sort of tell the narrative and progress it. By this i simple mean, after the title of the movie is shown, the actual beginning of the story unfolds, but then later on we go back to the opening scene, this is because after Nicholas wakes up(which happens at the end of the opening sequence) Jonathan puts him on a chair and then begins to interrogate Nicholas on his reckless actions and motives, but Nicholas cannot remember everything clearly and begins to explain to Jonathan the things he can remember, memory by memory, for example he explains the day he first came to Sarah's house to meet her family, then a flashback of that period is shown, this technique is used throughout the film, and in he end we have a complex and simple film full of flashbacks which tell the whole story. In the end, we are at the beginning of the film again, a room full of newspapers, photos and a tied up unconscious Nicholas, Jonathan walks in and Nicholas awakes. But this time we see what Jonathan has planned for Nicholas, as a result of Jonathan's insanity he chops off Nicholas's ear! However Nicholas is still alive but in a lot of agony, Jonathan is not satisfied and leaves to get another weapon, Sarah surprisingly arrives to rescue Nicholas, Jonathan returns with a chainsaw and really explains why he wants Nicholas to suffer so much, a fight begins between Jonathan and a untied Nicholas begins, and at the climax of the fight Jonathan accidentally strikes Sarah with the chainsaw and ends his own daughters life! Nicholas escapes but is arrested by the police outside the building, the police run in to arrest Jonathan, but Jonathan, who has totally lost his reason to live will not go down without a fight.

Written by Kevin Afolabi

Main inspiration on how to start own film + credits

The title sequence of Memento was the main inspiration for my opening sequence, from everything from the music to the credits, Memento paved the way for the making of my opening sequence and I am sure it will for many more. Just like Memento, my film has a non-linear narrative as it opens near the end. Furthermore, the characters are introduced in a similar way to Memento, they are introduced through photographs, this is a unique and quicker way to introduce the main characters without actually showing them.

I wanted to make my opening sequence mysterious, just like Memento i used voice overs of the characters, it was dialogue from different parts of the film, these where used as clues for the audience to try gain some knowledge about the story. Also close-ups of significant objects were used as clues for the audience to link together with things, for example, in my opening sequence, in one scene there is a close-up of a baseball cap on the floor, if the audience focuses they will be able to associate the cap with the character Nicholas as there is a photo with him wearing it earlier on in the opening sequence. The soundtrack of Memento was also inspiration for my own film, it had a theme of mystery and built tension while keeping the audience engaged, I also chose a soundtrack that done the same.