Evaluation Question : Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The product was designed for young adults due to the aspects of popular dramas in the youth culture. It has the right amount of tension, action and mystery to captivate an audience of teenagers aged, 13-17+. I wanted to target this audience because I feel that they will be able to relate to it most. I don’t like to point out the obvious, but violence and rebellion is almost certainly part of our culture and I decided to build off of that. However, I also incorporated the idea of a hero going against the odds and succeeding. I hoped that would inspire others and put across a positive message, which would lend itself to my production in a good way. I also felt that this audience would probably be the most connected, in terms of communication through social media, allowing for easier promotion. My film would probably have an age rating, as it does incorporate some violence and other mature themes. If I were to give it a rating, it would probably be rated 15 (by BBFC standards) but I don’t think that would convince anyone younger not to see the film. As I said previously rebellion is part of my target audiences culture, so why shouldn't the case for seeing a film when they aren't necessarily old enough to be able to see it legally.

Evaluation Question : How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question : Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Film : Fight Night

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

Pre-Production and Research:

Pre-production was possibly the hardest part of this course, as it required took the most time. I never really appreciated the amount of research required for creating any media-based product. Google was an amazing tool to use as it was my main means for researching anything media related. For example, in the beginning it was very helpful when looking for shot examples and tips for Final Cut. Due to the unfathomable amount of information available at my fingertips, I could find these things quickly and easily. Speaking of Google, YouTube was another very helpful tool, especially for anything to do with filming. Since all AQA Media productions were uploaded to YouTube, I could easily find any film I wanted. For example, I found that if I wanted to find a sports drama or gangster film, there were a lot of options to choose from. This was especially helpful for deciding what codes to use in my film. Blogger is essential for showing the extent of my research. For example, this evaluation is going up on my blog. I learnt that it also serves as a host for other blogs, so I can see what other have done in terms of pre-production and research. Adobe Photoshop was also very helpful as it was my method for creating a prop that was supposed to be used in the film, but wasn’t. However, it did evidence that I had done some pre-production that wasn’t just research.

Construction:

Construction wasn’t easy either. My biggest hurdle was finding the time to film and being able to get everyone together to record. I had a few mishaps in the beginning. For example, I found that shots looked much better if a tripod was used rather than trying to keep your hands steady. I also made used of the many modes and settings that were available. For example, the black and white option was especially useful when we wanted to take a shortcut in the editing process. Carrying on from that, Final Cut X was instrumental in the creation of the media product. While I could have used freeware like iMovie to edit the shots together, Final Cut X made the outcome look amazing. Not only did I find out that the titles included in the package were very helpful for creating a dynamic piece, the layout was easy to use and simple to learn. The Royalty free music sites were also very helpful. I mainly used Kevin Macleod’s music, from his site http://incompetech.com/. Not only does he give away his music for free, he has an amazing amount of genres suited for any product that is created on a budget.

Evaluation:

While the examiners don’t give out many marks for essay based Evaluation answers, typing straight on to Blogger is very quick and easy to do. However, mediums like Photoshop and Prezi generate more marks due to the diversity of the presentation. Even using SlideShare to host a Powerpoint Presentation gives more marks than a long, boring essay. In retrospect, I should have made time to make a video for one of the questions. For example, I could have layered some notes over my original video that explained some of the technical/symbolic codes I included.

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

Evaluation Question : How does your media product represent particular social groups?