Evaluation
Script:
How did you attract/address your target audience?
In terms of the opening, I feel that we were able to reach out to the target audience through the use of teenage protagonists, a fast pace and a good choice in non-diegetic soundtrack. This ensured that our opening was interesting and required your attention. From the preliminary research questionnaire we found out that out of the 10 people we asked, 8 preferred a fast paced opening as an opposed to a slower one. I believe that this was really well implemented into our film and this was evident through the editing- in particular the quick cuts and transitions (i.e. wipe) used. In addition to this, I know through personal experience that in this day and age, teenagers are not as interested in the narrative but rather the on-screen action. This is evident in the Transformers franchise, in which the films have collectively grossed over $3.761 billion, but are critically panned. Therefore, once the results from the questionnaire came and we saw that one typical convention that the audience preferred was action, we knew it was vital to focus on that as opposed to the narrative.I personally feel that the characters did not feel as if they have been ripped out from a book and do appear to be a genuine representation of stereotypical modern students, which helps keep them relatable and I’m sure that there are people who feel the same way as them! One key aspect in which I also feel that we successfully targeted our audience was the use of the production companies and distributors. In terms of our film, Film4 and Studio Canal are the likely production company/distributor duo that we would use because they’re films often have a similar target audience- for example films such as Attack The Block and The Inbetweeners.
In what ways does your film use,develop, or challenge typical conventions of real media products?
First of all, a major way in which we challenged the conventions of a real Hollywood film is the way in which the protagonists are arguably counter-types and not your common film heroes. This was one characteristic in which we challenged in terms of comparing our film to others. This is one similarity to one of our inspirations- Attack The Block in which a group of ‘rough’ teenagers (obviously not your typical heroes) try to fight the invading aliens and save the world or their estate. The genre of our film is a hybrid of spoof, action and crime (heist) and therefore another way in which we used a challenged a typical convention of the media products is by combing genres that are arguably not ordinarily meant to go together. However, whilst I feel that we were not able to necesarrily convey this exactly through the opening, as the movie would develop, the spoof and satirical aspect would become more apparent. The whole idea for the film is that it starts off as energetic and tense, but then falls into a more engaging film where it becomes more apparent that the characters are in fact teenagers. On the other hand, one way in which we develop on a typical convention of the action genre is the swift editing style (lots of short takes and transitions) that provides the scene with a good sense of pace. Also, I feel the use of on-foot tracking movement was a useful addition- and can be seen in crime films such as Point Break , in particular it’s heist scene. Typical conventions of a modern action film include chases and action. The Dark Knight opening was a heist and this was one of our inspirations- therefore we tried to replicate this action in our film, albeit at a lower budget!
What would be the audience for your media product?
Our target audience for our film would be teenagers/young adults.The age range would be around 12 to 17 and this is because the protagonists of our film our teenagers themselves (aged 16-17)and would immediately be more relatable than older characters that you commonly find in the crime/action genres- like in Ocean's Eleven. Our target audience would be teenagers because we have noticed a trend in popular franchises that aim their film at an audience of teenagers- for example The Hunger Games and The Divergent franchises.In addition to this these successful franchises have one thing in common, they have teenage characters as leads. Therefore, our film has a place on the growing market and given the original concept it's likely to attract fans of these films. Our institutions also affect this as StudioCanal produced the Hunger Games films and so already have an established teenage audience- they know what attracts this audience. To meet this target audience we have also used teenage leads to carry the film and have also given an original concept that could interest; the concept of the spy/crime/heist/spoof genre being combined puts together some of the bigger genres together. From our questionnaire in which we tried to find out what are target audience was and what exactly they liked, we asked 10 teenagers (2 18 year olds, 3 16 year old and 5 17 year olds) what their favourite type of movie genre and we found out that out of action,comedy, thriller, horror and romance, the most popular choice was action with 5 people saying so. Therefore, we tried to implement some action scenes into our opening and I think we did so successfully.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our protagonists are diverse and arguably counter types as they are not your typical heroes. The team is compromised of a black male, asian female and asian male leads. This stands out and brings an unusual sense of diversity that you do not commonly find in Hollywood films- especially considering that your stereotypical protagonists is a white male. An example of a similar film is Attack The Block which follows suit as the protagonists are a mix of 'rough' teenagers trying to save the world. The teenagers in our film are relatable as they are going through exam-time much like other teenagers. In addition to this, the idea that they are not your typical protagonists helps the film seem more grounded because the protagonists appear to be more realistic. The motive of the group, is a way in which the audience can identify with our heroes. As a result, the film represents the modern teenager though 3 characters- we have the 'geek' for example in M who represents the fact that we are essentially the techy generation.
How did you attract/address your target audience?
In terms of the opening, I feel that we were able to reach out to the target audience through the use of teenage protagonists, a fast pace and a good choice in non-diegetic soundtrack. This ensured that our opening was interesting and required your attention. From the preliminary research questionnaire we found out that out of the 10 people we asked, 8 preferred a fast paced opening as an opposed to a slower one. I believe that this was really well implemented into our film and this was evident through the editing- in particular the quick cuts and transitions (i.e. wipe) used. In addition to this, I know through personal experience that in this day and age, teenagers are not as interested in the narrative but rather the on-screen action. This is evident in the Transformers franchise, in which the films have collectively grossed over $3.761 billion, but are critically panned. Therefore, once the results from the questionnaire came and we saw that one typical convention that the audience preferred was action, we knew it was vital to focus on that as opposed to the narrative.I personally feel that the characters did not feel as if they have been ripped out from a book and do appear to be a genuine representation of stereotypical modern students, which helps keep them relatable and I’m sure that there are people who feel the same way as them! One key aspect in which I also feel that we successfully targeted our audience was the use of the production companies and distributors. In terms of our film, Film4 and Studio Canal are the likely production company/distributor duo that we would use because they’re films often have a similar target audience- for example films such as Attack The Block and The Inbetweeners.
In what ways does your film use,develop, or challenge typical conventions of real media products?
First of all, a major way in which we challenged the conventions of a real Hollywood film is the way in which the protagonists are arguably counter-types and not your common film heroes. This was one characteristic in which we challenged in terms of comparing our film to others. This is one similarity to one of our inspirations- Attack The Block in which a group of ‘rough’ teenagers (obviously not your typical heroes) try to fight the invading aliens and save the world or their estate. The genre of our film is a hybrid of spoof, action and crime (heist) and therefore another way in which we used a challenged a typical convention of the media products is by combing genres that are arguably not ordinarily meant to go together. However, whilst I feel that we were not able to necesarrily convey this exactly through the opening, as the movie would develop, the spoof and satirical aspect would become more apparent. The whole idea for the film is that it starts off as energetic and tense, but then falls into a more engaging film where it becomes more apparent that the characters are in fact teenagers. On the other hand, one way in which we develop on a typical convention of the action genre is the swift editing style (lots of short takes and transitions) that provides the scene with a good sense of pace. Also, I feel the use of on-foot tracking movement was a useful addition- and can be seen in crime films such as Point Break , in particular it’s heist scene. Typical conventions of a modern action film include chases and action. The Dark Knight opening was a heist and this was one of our inspirations- therefore we tried to replicate this action in our film, albeit at a lower budget!
What would be the audience for your media product?
Our target audience for our film would be teenagers/young adults.The age range would be around 12 to 17 and this is because the protagonists of our film our teenagers themselves (aged 16-17)and would immediately be more relatable than older characters that you commonly find in the crime/action genres- like in Ocean's Eleven. Our target audience would be teenagers because we have noticed a trend in popular franchises that aim their film at an audience of teenagers- for example The Hunger Games and The Divergent franchises.In addition to this these successful franchises have one thing in common, they have teenage characters as leads. Therefore, our film has a place on the growing market and given the original concept it's likely to attract fans of these films. Our institutions also affect this as StudioCanal produced the Hunger Games films and so already have an established teenage audience- they know what attracts this audience. To meet this target audience we have also used teenage leads to carry the film and have also given an original concept that could interest; the concept of the spy/crime/heist/spoof genre being combined puts together some of the bigger genres together. From our questionnaire in which we tried to find out what are target audience was and what exactly they liked, we asked 10 teenagers (2 18 year olds, 3 16 year old and 5 17 year olds) what their favourite type of movie genre and we found out that out of action,comedy, thriller, horror and romance, the most popular choice was action with 5 people saying so. Therefore, we tried to implement some action scenes into our opening and I think we did so successfully.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our protagonists are diverse and arguably counter types as they are not your typical heroes. The team is compromised of a black male, asian female and asian male leads. This stands out and brings an unusual sense of diversity that you do not commonly find in Hollywood films- especially considering that your stereotypical protagonists is a white male. An example of a similar film is Attack The Block which follows suit as the protagonists are a mix of 'rough' teenagers trying to save the world. The teenagers in our film are relatable as they are going through exam-time much like other teenagers. In addition to this, the idea that they are not your typical protagonists helps the film seem more grounded because the protagonists appear to be more realistic. The motive of the group, is a way in which the audience can identify with our heroes. As a result, the film represents the modern teenager though 3 characters- we have the 'geek' for example in M who represents the fact that we are essentially the techy generation.