Greg Reynolds (6289) Foundation Portfolio

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

My media project uses common conventions of a typical zombie movie, including eerie scenery, a fight scene, the death of a alley and a “damsel in distress” I decided to use these typical features as I feel they would help put across the overall sense of my scene in the first few minutes and set the scene for what would be the remainder of the movie. My establishing shots are very stereotypical for what my target audience would be used to; low lighting, slow pans/tilts and sudden interruptions which are unexpected and cut into an action situation (My character running from a POV shot). I decided I wanted to use a woodland area for the opening few shots as from my research I realise that a wood is often seen as a lonely, claustrophobic surrounding and combined with the miserable weather that we were having over the week I shot my scene this natural set gave me the perfect atmosphere I was after without much use of filters/effects on Final Cut which I originally planned to take advantage of.

I also looked for inspiration from existing zombie related media, especially the video game series Resident Evil and after viewing opening clips of several games from this particular franchise I began to notice that most of them in fact take place in or around a forest, I feel the games creators use woodland to great effect to heighten the “coming at you from all angles” feel that dominates this genre.

Other conventions of the zombie genre I incorporate into my work is the sense of being trapped as in my piece there is a moment where the lead character Jackson is engaging in brief dialogue with Maisie at first over a telephone call and later through a locked door, when Jackson answers his phone I purposely have Maisie (Emma Hancock) positioned underneath a table on her own, I used this shot to help put across the idea that there is no way Maisie could be more isolated from help as her back is firmly against the wall and her head is given very little room but then to place her in a locked room without a key gives the obvious indication of being trapped although this also means she is relatively safe from attack and lets the viewer know that she will not die before help arrives, after Jackson hangs up the phone and begins running toward her location I use a shot of Maisie off the phone, I used the zoom out on this as once the camera moves away and the room is empty it shows that the character is in a large room, no where near the entrance which heightens the sense of loneliness and builds suspense. The second time Jackson and Maisie meet is through a locked door and the dialogue is only ever shot from the side of the door that Jackson is on, I did this for three reasons...

1) I feel it helps heighten the sense of Maisie being alone in the room. I felt this was appropriate as had I had taken a shot from the side of the door Maisie was on it would allow the audience to feel as if they were in there with her, I didn’t want this to be the case as I wanted her character to be as confined as possible.

2) Jackson is given the dominant role in this scene as he is supposed to be the “Alpha Male” and by only shooting from his perspective he shows his dominance over Maisie as he is the one saving her.

3) Simply for effect, if Maisie’s lines are spoken through the glass panel on the door then it is going to be hard to hear, which would be Jackson’s problem and to keep a sense of realism I thought that the best way of putting across being trapped would be to literally have a person trapped in a room.

I realise that this approach is unconventional which is a good thing as although my scene follows conventions of the genre 99%, I didn’t want a typical piece. I would class this as an example of postmodernism.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I would say that my media product doesn't represent a certain social group as people of all backgrounds/social status would watch a movie of my type from individuals who view zombie films often as their favourite type of feature to individuals who occasionally watch this genre of movie for the thrill. Even the people represented in the work itself are intentionally depicted as appearing from different social groups to intensify the idea that in a pandemic such as this all people come together for the greater cause of survival. Jackson is your stereotypical “rocker” he appears in leather and jeans and also has long hair whereas Maisie is smartly dressed in a jumper and trousers and even the zombie appears from a rather higher class background having an attire consisting of a crisp white shirt and respectable trousers although these are stained with various things for obvious reasons. This creates a sense of verisimilitude as people from all areas cross paths in real life.

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

The kind of institute that would distribute my film would be a company such as Pathe who have past experience with movies of my nature and have been successful with them, Pathe are responsible for releases such as Resident Evil, Black Christmas and Silent Hill and many more horror/thriller movies across the globe. Pathe are well known to movie fans and are known to only put their name to a release they feel is a new, original take on cinema.

The sort of production company I would like for Pandemic would be able to be recognised world wide and be comfortable with a horror movie, I feel this would be appropriate because a company is often linked with a certain genre after a few release, for example you wouldn’t expect Disney to endorse a film noir.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience I would want/expect for Pandemic would be regular movie-goers who enjoy a thrill but at the same time do not want to be scared out of their wits. My perfect target would be a teenager aged between 15 and 18 who has seen movies such as 28 days later and played video games such as dead island, I don’t have a gender preference as from personal experience and as a reckoning from modern society as a whole a female is just as likely to want to watch an exhibition of a thriller just as much as a male, I have considered however how my target audience would be vastly different if I were to make my product thirty years ago as a film involving the living dead would certainly have been petrifying at the time but due to modern desensitisation audiences have grown younger and younger and would much rather watch a spooky movie than a light hearted one.

I would want my target audience to share the same ideologies as me in which a zombie movie should be focused on one particular character whilst merging in back storys of others, this is in my opinion a more personal movie and helps an audience develop a synthetic personalisation with a character.

How did you attract/address your audience?

By using mode of address in which I assume that the receiver of my product will want to see a thriller and therefore expect what is within my opening, I would expect my receiver to have past knowledge of zombie films and have a slight passion for them.

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

I have learnt that in a real world situation I would struggle to get my movie exhibited nationwide, never mind world wide without the backing of a major distributor such as Sony or Columbia.

I have learnt that a film that is self distributed is almost never going to get anywhere further than a short area around where it was produced, the only real chance is for it to be exhibited at a film festival and if successful there then it may possibly be seen or recommended to a larger company who may take the project on board although this is rare.

I have also learnt that in the actual production/editing phase that a company often has a team of people working together to edit the same sequence, a film will be completed a lot quicker this way than if a small independent company had to edit a movie together with only two or three people working on it.

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

I feel that in the time from preliminary to now I have learnt how to use the software provided to me better and am now more than comfortable operating it from start to finish, I feel I am more than capable to create tasks such as the one I was given whereas during the prelim I had problems working Final Cut, I now know the real world process of creating,advertising and distributing a production which I feel I can take with me into the exam and hopefully on into A2 . I feel confident with my knowledge of the task and reckon I have made a massive improvement in quality and professionalism from my preliminary to my final product.

I have received generally positive feedback from my peers which I am extremely happy with but have also taken any criticism they have given me on board no matter how small they are because they are my audience so they know what they are looking for in a zombie film whereas I am obviously going to be satisfied with what I have produced otherwise I would have produced it in a different way.

Greg Reynolds.