Evaluation:Question Seven

Evaluation:Question 7

Reflecting on my preliminary task, I believe that I have progressed majorly. I was working with two other students that had similar experiences to me where technologies were concerned as I had little experience working on the Mac.I believe that this has allowed me to progress my editing skills further as we were all inexperienced with the editing software used and the technology as only Ashleigh is familiar with the Macs as she has one at home, this allowed me to take control and learn and develop my skills further when using final cut pro as neither of us knew how to work it efficiently and therefore lead us to discover things for ourselves where editing on final cut pro was concerned. and therefore made me more aware of what to do and how to do it more professionally and quickly with my final product. Ashleigh and I took also took media at GCSE, this allowed us to become more aware of what conventions to include within our video as we were more aware of what action films should include and what kind of characters to incorporate.

Furthermore, I believe that my knowledge has grown over the period as I have done more primary research regarding both audience and action genre, through this I believe my ideas have matured and become more targeted and focused as discussing what our target audience likes and dislikes has allowed me to gain more of a broader insight into what certain people look for, through this I have enabled myself to make decisions that reflect the audience and the purpose of targeting the film, for example fitting the characters to what the audience isn't typically used to as they expressed it makes the plot/narrative predictable and therefore less entertaining.

Alongside this,  I believe I have developed a further understanding in how much of an impact camera angles and sound has on a production, as within my preliminary task the editing effects, sound and camera angles were all rather basic, simplistic and repeated and made the short film appear rather childish. Alternatively, when editing the final production, I was more aware of the impact of sound especially as it helped create the atmosphere we needed to create both climax, build up and anti-climax for the audience, thus guiding them to feel how we wanted them to, we also explored camera angles further within the final production as it helped show the contrast between the two characters as well as similarities as by using the same camera angles for both character’s morning routines, we were able to show how similar they are however, as this progressed we began by giving Hunter more high angled shots and Jamie more low angle shots to reflect the idea that as Hunter is the more emotional one, he is more vulnerable leaving Jamie more powerful and dominant where as we were unable to do this within the prelim task as we only included one character, which prevented us from exploring and developing characters further. 

Evaluation:Question Six

Evaluation:Quesion Five

Evaluation:Question Four

Males.

Regarding the male audience, I would say that our production would appeal to younger men between the ages of 18-25 as they may be able to relate more to the character used as he is around the same age as them, furthermore, within the majority of action films, males between working class and upper class are typically targeted at for audiences as they are most likely to aspire and admire the male protagonist as we have portrayed him as the typical “macho” man for example when weights have been used to reflect his power and strength. Within our opening sequence we have also included Hunter, the protagonist to have an extremely appealing lifestyle, as he is shown to be upper class yet mysterious and engaging which may lead the male audience to aspire to be him. Alongside this, men may want to watch our films due to the male gaze theory as we have a female lead role also, this is a feminist theory regarding the idea that women are objectified purely for the male’s admiration. Furthermore, an escape from reality may also become apparent as the storyline provides entertainment and a distraction from issues arising in young male’s lives, being able to release any emotion and in order to gain cultural or aesthetic enjoyment through the new representations shown within the characters as they challenge certain representations and stereotypes. Male characters are often represented as masculine through strength, power and physique, we have incorporated these within our production creating Hunter as a strong silent type according to common stereotypes within men in media within the report; Boys to men. This will allow male’s Hunter’s age gain an interest in becoming like him, as they are aspirers.

Women

Regarding the female audience, women aged between 18-27 will watch this film, this is down to the fact that we have presented women in a different light in comparison to other action films. Regarding class, again I believe working to upper class will be targeted as these are the social classes represented within the film, due to the fact we have represented alone working class young women as strong and independent, women may aspire to be like her as she is not the typical passive dismissive woman that men appear to be attracted to as Jamie does not reflect typical representations of femininity within the flash forward as this is based on sexuality and emotion, however Jamie is seen as independent and strong willed—the opposite. Jamie is expressed to be deviant character in comparison to typical mothers and wives, this may appeal to female audience as they are typically shown as being used for their aesthetic beauty where as they may aspire to be like Jamie as she is different and engaging as she is such a different character. Furthermore, women may watch Red Bullet as an escape to entertainment or release of emotion, a lot like men!

Evaluation:Question Three

Evaluation:Question Two

Evaluation Q2 from btaylorr

Evaluation:Question One

Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas & Thoughts on opening sequence.

I believe that I have worked my best within the creation, editing and filming of this media piece as I have dedicated time and a lot of effort into it although there are strengths, there are also improvements that could be made.

Where I believe we have succeeded is with the plot of the film and the characterisation, as this has allowed us to stand out from other action films and include things that have not yet been explored within this genre, thus gaining a winder audience through the representation of both genders, as they are seen as more realistic and up to date with frequent times, gaining both respects from the audience. Furthermore I believe that the plot of the film also gains an element of intrigue as it allows the audience to see the heightened drama and excitement and then incorporate codes to understand and create the narrative for themselves by piecing it together.

Where time management is concerned, I believe we worked well together as despite the fact we postponed filming, we all met deadlines and filmed at more convenient times for each other which made filming the process easier as we were all prepared and ready, this I believe is due to the fact we all stayed in contact through messaging together to ensure everything was organised accordingly.

Improvements we could've made to the production regards lighting and audio taping where non-diegetic sound is concerned. The lighting is poor due to the fact we filmed during the night as we believed it would be more mysterious and effective however the torches we provided projected minimal, very little light, if the lighting was better we would be able to view characters better within the chase seen and improve overall quality. Where audio is concerned, I believe that if we included an audio tape of Hunter’s boss (agent) on the phone to Hunter, as this would extinguish the difference within the conversations that Jamie and Hunter are having.

Overall, I am proud of my production as we made best of the equipment we had.

Audience Feedback

In order to ensure that we have successfully targeted and entertained our audience, we have all asked our target audience to review the opening sequence and feedback what was successful or unsuccessful

With feedback given, I agree with some of the improvements that can be made, for example; the darker video footage does limit the quality of the video and how well the opening sequence looks, and therefore would be an improvement to consider. Furthermore, where Beccy’s comment was regarded, we also picked up on the idea that it was difficult to understand however this was after the video was published.

Red Bullet

Copyright: BBC News

Copyright: Lions Gate

Copyright: Fox

My Role in Editing

Where editing is concerned,  I have ensured that the opening titles are as reflective of our genre as possible alongside showing continuity through using sound. When I began editing, I ensured that I checked everything with my group before making any alterations to ensure that everyone was happy with the choice.

With regards to lighting, as mentioned previously I had some trouble with filming as the lighting was very dark and not much footage could have been picked up, however, when editing I found an effect that enhanced the background lighting and merged it together, this allowing the background to stand out more. By using this effect I was able to make the beginning of the chase appear as though police cars were behind Jamie (Jess) running as the blue lights in the background from the street lights allowed a blue blur, this connoting police and sirens showing the audience that Jamie is doing something unlawful and criminal, this helping them develop an understanding of Jamie’s persona and character from first impressions.

Before

  After

Furthermore, where sound was concerned, I was able to find the right soundtrack in which reflected the correct mood and atmosphere for what was happening on screen, the use of sound also allowed continuity as if the same track was used then the audience is aware that despite the fact that the scenery may have changed the scene is still occurring. However, when soundtracks are found they were the wrong length and so I had to crop some elements of the soundtrack out and place in different areas to ensure that it all sounded like one track. I utilised the use of the fade to show the progressive change and mood from scene to scene to allow the tension to change for the audience, almost signalling what will occur next.

Where transitions are concerned, I previously decided that it would appear more professional if we didn't include as many transitions but use music instead to show the difference between the two scenes as mentioned previously. Where transitions have been included however, light transitions have mainly been used such as "Light Noise". By using this where the chase is concerned it reflects the idea of the police searching for Jamie (Jess) through the spotlights projected and therefore reflecting her role within the film.

Moreover, we believed that the difference between Jamie's role and Hunter's role was not very clear towards the end of the opening sequence after the chase, and so I created character profiles that allowed the audience to be aware of the positions both characters were in when they were introduced on screen.

Editing: Session 3

Within our final editing session, we triple checked everything was according to what we thought it was and that the production had everything included, we had the final scene to complete editing due to running out of time within prior editing sessions.

We needed to edit the scene of Laurence (Hunter) talking on the phone with his boss, about the recent news broadcast, however this ran smoothly and had minor faults wrong with it, and so Ashleigh and I cropped down the videos and ensured that Jess could not be heard within the background as this was the only issue prominent, this was deemed as difficult to start with as the file became too small, however we noticed that you could zoom in within the clips, this making it easier for us to edit and crop the file selected.

Editing: Session 2

Within this editing session, we managed to get the majority of the editing done as we now had access to the rest of the footage, we began by filling the gaps we spaced out with the appropriate videos and cropping out unnecessary footage for those that were too long or irrelevant. This formed the chase scene, also known as the flash forward, this created entertainment, drama, enigma and hype within the first opening scene as the height of action has already been shown. Thus making the audience more intrigued to piece the story together. 

We ensured that with the chasing scene that it was obvious who was chasing who and when as previously we did Laurence, Laurence, Jess pattern however it became apparent that this was confusing and hard to follow, and so we decided to show who was running and in what direction. We had to flip one of the videos of Laurence as he appeared to be running in the opposite direction as Jess, this not making sense and causing confusion.

Again, were sound is concerned, we decided to import some helicopter sounds and police sirens, to show the criminal side to Jess, and how much pressure and how dependent everyone is on Laurence to capture this, this heightening the drama element, in advance to this we also ensured that one of the darker scenes had blurred blue lights, to reflect police and the idea of capturing which again heightened the intensity as it made it appear like they were surrounded especially with the sound effects imported.

After re-watching the clips I came up with the idea that we make the comparison between the two characters by showing there morning routine straight after one and other, providing the immediate reaction to the news when they both view it. Through experimentation we agreed that this would be a better process as it creates more intrigue as the characters follow different or similar actions.

Editing: Session 1

Unfortunately, when we began to edit,  we were unable to complete all editing due to lack of footage as it was on a different device and so we had to leave appropriate spaces where we would place the missing scenes in. In order to began the editing, we imported the production and distribution clips to make the opening sequence appear professional and reflect typical connotations of popular action films, in order to do this we had to send copyright emails off to the companies to ask for permission however this was done at a later time.

Due to illness there was only Jess and I out of the group who was able to edit within the first session as Ashleigh was absent and so only mine and Jess’ opinions when editing were taken into account. Between the transaction from the titles and the beginning of footage, the film lacked profession as there was just silence going into silence, and so I decided to choose a fitting dramatic soundtrack to import to begin the film. The use of the non-diegetic sound allowed the production to run more smoothly within the transaction allowing it to blend and become more professional looking/sounding.

Once the opening titles were done, we ran through the whole production, ensuring that all clips were in the correct spaces, we then began cropping them down to the right size and changing some of the sounds used using the fading in and out tool available on final cut pro as sometimes you could hear ruffles or background noises from the footage, by cropping out we were also able to  distinguish which footage was more suitable and the best to use as we had multiple shots when re-filming certain scenes however this was sometimes seen as challenging due to not being able to crop it down to the right size as it would sometimes be too small. Through using match on action, we edited some clips involving Jess running, by cropping some sections out it made her appear as though she was running a further faster distance, allowing the audience to gain hype and enigma as the chase has began.

The next part we did, involved Ashleigh’s news scene, we  ran through the footage and thought that it had no real flow, or any recognition that she was on the news other than her dialogue, and we decided to use BBC news introduction as well as news music played within the background as this made it appear more realistic and therefore professional.

Filming: Location

When filming, where setting is concerned we decided to base it around areas in which we thought were appropriate for Jamie’s background, we found a rural area that had natural lighting from the houses and street lights that reflect her normality in comparison to Hunter’s more upper class superior status, this again creating more of a contrast when Hunter chases after Jamie in order to save their relationship as typically the roles would be reversed.

We have also chosen to shoot near where graffiti has been presented to add and reflect Jamie’s criminal, rough persona again contrasting against typical conventions of women being the inferior and less dominant gender

Alongside this, we have also incorporated setting including high metal fences around to help reflect a sense of being trapped and possibly the idea of a prisoner which could allow semiotics that foreshadow the idea that she will be imprisoned as an alternate ending.

We have also incorporated the surroundings through the use of trees, this will provide us with cover that Jamie could run through, ensuring that obstacles are being given to help her escape from the chase to prevent her being caught by Hunter adding more enigma and drama as the outcome is unexpected.

Summary of creative choices

Where production is concerned, we have shown creativity by including a flash forward, this going against typical action films that follow a linear narrative which is told in chronological order allowing it to be easy to watch however through showing a scene from the ending first the audience are more enticed and want to know and understand what will happen, almost as though they’re trying to piece everything together. However, despite challenging typical narratives within action films, we are reflecting Todorov’s equilibrium theory showing that narratives work with a circular structure; equilibrium to disequilibrium back to equilibrium representing order disorder and order, this being another typical convention within action films. Furthermore, we have been able to successfully represent our characters in a controversial manner, going against certain representations, especially regarding women of the lower class as we have represented character “Jamie” as strong, independent woman who appears unemotional and almost detached this shown as she is wearing black which connotes misery. Furthermore, the use of black may create foreshadowing in order to develop the plot as is could also reflect death, creating enigma to intrigue the audience further.

Furthermore, where representation is concerned, we have represented our characters successfully through using colour connotations and social class expectations. Where Jamie is concerned, we have been able to present her in a criminal manner through the use of dark colours where her clothing is concerned. Furthermore, we have been able to represent her in a criminal light through the use of the profile I created as it shows her in a rather unemotional and almost aggressive manner, this allows us to also portray Hunter as more emotional in comparison to Jamie as she is viewed as so dominant making him appear subordinate and almost secondary to Jamie, this also supported in the opening chase as he is the one going after Jamie and not the other way round. 

Within our opening sequence, we have been able to show creativity through the use of non-diagetic sound, this including soundtracks and sound effects to help emphasise what is occurring on screen to help it look as professional and realistic as possible, helping the audience piece together what is happening on screen. This has been shown within the chase as upbeat music has been used to show excitement and pace, by using a more faster pacing song we are able to make the chase look more entertaining. Furthermore, we have incorporated sound effects such as helicopters and police sirens to show how chaotic the scene is, as well as showing Jamie's importance as so many people need to be called out in order to capture her, again showing her criminal persona.

My Role in Preparation of Filming.

When meeting up we ensured that the characters were represented as they should be, with Jamie (Jess) being dressed in dark clothing in order to reflect her criminal behaviour and Hunter (Laurence) appearing more professional.

When Laurence arrived I began styling his hair (Hunter’s) to make him appear well kept and more appealing to ensure that he looked professional and more superior and upper class to Jamie, providing more of a contrast between the two which helps emphasise the main plot twist. Laurence had trouble with ensuring that his hair was slicked back and curled and so I ended up doing his hair and preparing his appearance before I began filming and arranging the lighting.

 

Laurence was wearing a suit shirt and suit shoes with pants as mentioned previously, this again helping emphasise his professionalism through smart attire, to add a more “spy” effect to our character Hunter, we ensured he wore sunglasses as this is a typical convention of a spy character’s costume as it reflects mystery. Alternatively, we agreed that we should dress jess in trainers and dark sports attire to make her appear more athletic adding more suspense to the chase alongside ensuring that her clothing is black to reflect her villain like characteristics. Where make up is concerned, we had Jamie’s (Jess’) make up rather dark yet natural to help contrast the typical girl next door to the criminal.

As mentioned the previously, I filmed and prepared the chasing sequence used at the beginning as a flash back. Before filming, I discussed with Jess and Laurence what will occur and how it will happen and used our storyboard for reference. Just before filming I attempted to get as much light as possible in order for the camera’s to pick up the best quality possible, I found this challenging as it was difficult to hold all the torches and film at the same time however I would attempt to resolve any issues with lighting when editing is concerned.

Filming Schedule

My Role:

Regarding my role within the production, I filmed all of the production as I was not starring in any scenes and also discussed any problems that arose with everyone to make them aware and possibly reshoot the scene in some circumstances. When filming, I had to ensure that I was ready and alert at all times as I had to pan the camera as the chase continued as accurately as possible to make it look more professional alongside this I also had to let everyone know what was happening and when in order to allow the shooting to run smoothly. Regarding the lighting however, I had difficulty filming certain scenes as the light exposure wasn't bright enough for some of the camera's to pick up and so some scenes had to be reshot yet where any major issues occurred I would edit the footage to ensure that the footage merges together well and the audience are able to piece together what is happening through picking up signs when watching.

Issues Raised:

We found filming to be challenging when we first started planning it out as it became apparent that not all of the actors and group could make it on those days at the times allocated, and, therefore, we postponed the filming until the week after on Tuesday the 29th when everyone was available. Within the group we decided it would be better if we did the chase within the evening when it was darker to create more mystery and enigma around the characters as the audience has not yet developed and understanding, however, when filming at a later time we discovered some issues regarding lighting as with the camera I as filming on did not have great lighting and, therefore, the picture would not show, I attempted to resolve this issue by using torches and spotlights to provide light and direct the focus when filming.

Furthermore, we had some issues with the location as Ashleigh arrived late as she was lost and could not find Jess’ house—where we were filming Jamie (Jess)’s wake up scene and routine where she would discover she is wanted. As we wanted to minimise the amount of time it takes to film, me and Jess began to film her morning routine at 1pm and shortly after completing this, Ashleigh arrived which allowed us to complete the scene including her news broadcast.

We then had to wait until Laurence was available to film after work, he brought along his costume with him; smart shoes, a shirt and sunglasses. These all reflect mystery and professionality which we want Hunter (Laurence) to reflect making him appeal to both genders within the audience as men would aspire to be him and women would find attraction towards him.

Unfortunately, we hadn’t filmed Hunter’s (Laurence’s) scene of getting up and his profession revealed when picking up the phone, this scene shows the contrast between Jamie and Hunters lives and how the news broadcast impacts both of their lives. Jess and Laurence were meeting up during the week and exclaimed that they would be able to film it then and then call me for any reassurance and checking that needs to be done.

Focus Group Evaluation

Focus group from btaylorr

Focus Group

Creativity in post production & conventions.

Where creativity is concerned, we will use editing software such as Final Cut Pro to ensure that our filming is enhanced to make it look as professional and gripping as possible. Where the editing is concerned, I have previously looked at titles and subtitles available on final cut pro and I believe that the “splash” one is suitable for our introduction as it helps connote the title of “Red Bullet” as we are able to change the colour from black to red which will connote blood and therefore violence which is a common convention for action films, allowing the audience to develop a further understanding of what the film will be like. Furthermore, this title sequence also includes a subtitle option in which we could use as the opening titles are running to show the credits as the chasing sequence occurs in the background, creating a sense of continuity. Alongside this, we will use non-diegetic sound to ensure that the audience are directed to feel certain things at certain times to help build atmosphere later on within the movie as using mysterious music will help build curiosity and therefore build up throughout, making the film more entertaining.

Alongside this, we have been extremely creative with conventions as we have gone against the typical passive female role as we have made our antagonist a female, making her appear more dominant and therefore the male more passive where as in the majority of action films the male takes the lead and dominates, having the female as passive. By having a passive male we have ensured that he is emotional, this shown when he is the one chasing Jamie, showing that Jamie is in control. 

Furthermore, we have also shown Jamie as a rather typical girl where her costume is concerned as she is wearing rather basic clothing, this going against the typical female character of the girl next door. By having our gender roles reversed we have gone against typical action conventions, this allowing us to be as creative as possible.

Consent Form

In order to produce and publish our focus group findings online publicly, we had to create a consent form and gain the participants permission, below, is the consent form we have used. By gaining this permission we are now able to post our research online.

The main purpose of the focus group is to develop our understanding further of what action films have an impact on the audience, what they find intriguing and look for within a film as by doing this we are able to ensure that our final production will reflect the target audience’s preferences within action films.

Consent form

As you are aware, we are researching into further depth about action films and its audience and how it creates an impact throughout the film. This is in order to create a successful opening scene for our AS media coursework and therefore is only used for educational purposes.

We are therefore creating a focus group in which will communicate in discussion the chosen topic on action films and any sub genres that may be important, thus,  the discussion is based on opinions and therefore  are no right or wrong answers. By signing, you agree that you are comfortable with the footage of the discussion to be placed publicly online purely for educational purposes, if you are uncomfortable in doing so, please do not sign however any attendance will be much appreciated within doing so.

Signed:

Dated: 

Theory

When planning our opening sequence, we have taken into consideration possible media theories to ensure that our production is as creative and unpredictable as possible to ensure that the audience is entertained and enigma is created to interest the audience. The narrative within films is what guides the audience through and contributes of how they should react, feel and understand the plot; helping them become more engaged and interpret certain codes in order to develop further understands.

As we are attempting to create a different opening sequence than other action films within the market to make the film more entertaining and unpredictable we have decided to use a non-linear narrative showing that the scenes are not shown in chronological order as we have included a flash back within the opening scene making the film more interesting allowing the audience to question and develop an understanding of what may happen.

Alternatively, typical action films follow a linear narrative which is told in chronological order the first scene occurs before the second scene and so forth making the narrative easy to follow and gives an easy watch.

Despite challenging typical narratives within action films, we are reflecting Todorov’s equilibrium theory showing that all narratives work with a circular structure; equilibrium to disequilibrium back to equilibrium representing order disorder and order showing that there were 5 stages of narrative being;

A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be)

A disruption of the order by a particular event

A recognition of disorder

An attempt to repair the disorder
A then a return of order

The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the order, this could help drive our plot and intrigue our audience further.

Types of Film:

Classical Hollywood cinema- narrative serves to explain and not to confuse, the film must have closure at the end and tie up all loose ends and possible questions, there is typically a hero that guides you through and it works on order/disorder/order. These are high budget films and typically action therefore if were to follow this our film would need to look professional.

The oedipal trajectory is based on Frueds theory of sexuality the male leader character moves through the order disorder events he has to resolve problems and move towards social stability, the female is usually a passive object this is represented within the  James Bond franchise where "Bond Girls" are concerned, previously mentioned within another post. 

Counter Hollywood cinema- codes and conventions are disturbed and alternative, not much cause and effect and some things just happen. There is social realism and an absence of heroes as these films are alternative and don’t tend to be massive Hollywood films so it is unlikely that we would go down this route.

Narrative driven theories:

Roland Bartes- says that signs are decoded by the audience, enigma codes are codes that intrigue the audience for example this could be showing an end scene at the start of a film this making the audience more interested in the film as it creates enigma causing the audience to question what is going on and therefore becoming more enticed. Action codes build up the audience’s excitement due to it being something out of the ordinary for example a car chase will create excitement and drama as it is so unusual within daily life.

Binary oppositions- Levi Strauss believed that all narratives are based on a system of opposites. For example this is shown within most films where the hero beats the villain this would be good Vs. evil for example Batman Vs The Joker drives the plot as The Joker causes disruption that then Batman must resolve. Through watching many films that include binary opposites, it is clear that this is what drives narratives further and helps emphasise certain qualities and characteristics of the opposing character as the contrast in personalities is so clear it helps reflect the innocence and morality of the hero and typically portrays the villan as extremely corrupt.

Lastly Vladimir prop interpreted a hundred fairy tales in terms of functions of character and came up with the following characters that are almost always prominent: 

Hero- seeking something

Villain- blocks the hero’s request

Donor- provides an object with a magic property

Dispatcher- sends the hero on their way by providing a message

False hero- disrupts hero with false claims

Helper- aids the hero

Princess- acts for rewarded of hero or object of villains scheming.

Father- acts to reward hero for efforts.

Plot Summary & Storyboarding

Plot Summary

We have decided to include a flash back within our opening sequence as it will reflect creativity and create enigma within the audience so they will continue to watch to discover what happens and begin to piece everything together. Within the flash back we are having a chase, to reflect typical codes and conventions of action films to create entertainment and drama within the beginning of the film, this will show Hunter chasing Jamie, making the decision of when he catches her whether he chooses his career or love as he must kill her, we decide to end this on a cliff-hanger to again create more enigma and have an low angle shot showing the government files within a rucksack to be dropped, with the sound of a gun fire with a turn to a black screen. When the picture returns, it is the couple getting ready listening to the same news report within their daily routine showing how different they are and how they live their lives and also allowing the audience to gain insight information that develops the plot as they are now aware that Jamie has the files and Hunter is after her. This allows the narrative to be set up through building suspense as everything will begin to piece together throughout the film due to us still including Todorov's equilibrium theory of order disorder order.

 Through storyboarding, our group has been able to collate ideas together through discussion which has enabled us to pick and choose the most creative and appropriate for our action film whilst exploring further action conventions through eachother's research. Thus allowing us to gain a wider knowledge into eachother's intentions regarding the opening sequence as we all had mixed ideas, by providing a balance that everyone is happy with we are able to plan what will occur and when, this allowing us to become more prepared with regards to further preparation, filming and editing as we are all aware of what we are doing and how we are representing certain aspects of our opening sequence.

Character Profiles

Character Profiles

In our plot there is to be 3 different characters that are visible.  A woman that is getting away with stolen files, a man who is going after her and a news reporter. In media it is important that the outfits worn are suitable and connote what you want them to connote so the audience can take things from the outfits and make judgements from stereotypes that might exist in their minds.

Character 1; Thief (Jamie)

The women that is taking the files is a pretty much normal girl however very intelligent which is made clear by the fact she has stolen the confidential files in the first place as not many people would easily be able to do this so it clearly took some skill thus shown within the news report.

For this characters general look we thought Jess would be suitable for the role as she has a simplistic, appealing look as she has brown hair which is quite basic nothing too out of the ordinary. This could reflect the male gaze theory.  We have also been able to challenge expectations as you may not expect a pretty quiet petite girl to get away with stealing government files, she shows masculinity as we have given this character a unisex name, making her connote dominance and control, showing that she may not be as emotional as him challenging stereotypes as the romance within the film would typically be led by the woman.

We decided that the costumes for her when she is getting up in the morning should just be normal pyjamas and a dressing gown as this is what would typically be worn by most normal people in the morning. For later on in the day when it is the chase scene we thought a mixture between sporty clothes and normal clothes would be good it shows the character to be quite prepared and also goes along with the way she is just a normal girl it was also suitable for a chase scene as it meant easy movement.

Character 2: Chaser (Hunter)

Character 2 is the man that is going after the thief we decided he had to come across as very professional but possibly with a weak spot and later on this flaw is shown to be where the thief comes in and he falls in love with her. He also needed to be presented as intelligent especially working for a government agency thus creating the main basis of our films.

We decided Laurence would be a good choice of actor for this character having done GCSE drama and being very good at it. He also had the right kind of look. He is quite tall, good looking enough and in good shape giving him the right look for a government agent and possibly appealing the female audience.

For his indoor scene he would also be wearing pyjamas but nothing too silly as this would take away from the professionalism of him just simple plain colours he would also have bed hair so it gave off the impression he had just woken up. We decided the suitable dress for him was a suit as this looks very professional and is what a typical agent would wear. We would slick back   his hair adding to the professionalism and add some sunglasses this would add mystery and not give away his identity at times as easily and would show him to have less emotion especially if you cannot see his eyes which would help in giving a serious tone.

Character 3: News Reporter

Where the news reporter was considered, we dressed her in formal attire to portray concern and importance. We thought Ashleigh would be great for this role as she  has experience within the news as she studied it within her GCSE’s and therefore  know how to be portrayed. She is also suiting her to the role of a news reporter as they are often well put together or naturally pretty as it is television and a serious programme.

We dressed Ashleigh smartly, a whole outfit wasn’t important as you could only see the top half of her body so a shirt was a good idea and her makeup was natural also suitable for the news scene, if it had been overdone it would not have given the serious tone we would want. Her hair was left down and was straight and showing her to be sensible and informative.