Evaluation
1. In what way does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of media products?
Our film incorporates generic conventions by referencing to older films through shots and story structure to identify the product with its genre, for example in the last scene of our product the main character starts to train in a boxing gym which does reference to all other boxing films like “Rocky” and “Ali” which both have scenes which take place in a boxing gym.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main social groups in our media product are male dominated and in particular males who are in the sport of boxing. The main character, Mike, at first seems like a particularly passive person with the way he act around his boss of whom is stereotypically macho. However later on in the scene it becomes apparent that all the males, including Mike are stereotypical in their anger towards each other in the press conference. Another social group is also shown briefly in our product and that is the journalist and are represented as well presented and somewhat noisy in which to get the best question first. The main social group may appeal to the target audience because when we see a film with a macho male actor, we automatically assume that there is going to be violence and bloodshed.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
This product probably would not be produced by a major Hollywood Studio because our product doesn’t seem to be the type of film that would appeal to a Hollywood studio. I say this because the boxing genre seems a bit out of date at this day also our film is a very local production.
This film would be an art house film because it has a lot of the properties that other art house films, like “Me and Orson Welles” has, whereas it has a element of social drama which a lot of art house films have and also has a main storyline topic, which is boxing
It may not offer opportunities for franchise and merchandising because the topics the film lends itself to that type of advertising, however it can lend itself to product placement because there are opportunities for things like sports labels and drinks companies to place their products in the film and this would not disrupt the mise-en-scene of the film.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for our film would be anyone who is 15 or above mainly due to the bloodiness of the boxing matches. However, the film itself represents more of a social drama set around the boxing ring and would appeal more to people who like social dramas and independent films.
I would say the films our film is similar to are Rocky, Ali and 8 Mile. The first two films are similar because they follow the life of one boxer however 8 mile is the odd one because it isn’t about a boxer but a rapper. Despite the major difference the story is almost the same because it’s about someone trying to get accepted in to a social group.
The classification criteria that would be most suited for our film would be certificate 15 because of strong language and violence. Also there are some themes within this film like crime that would not be suited for anyone under the age of 15.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
The audience for our product is anyone over the age of 15 and most parts of the film suggests this. However, the violent parts of the film, such as the boxing matches, would appeal more to the male audience and may be more suited to the younger end of the audience. Although the social aspect of the film would appeal to older viewers of the film and would appeal to both genders equally. The criminal aspect of this film would not be suitable for anyone under the age of 15 because they may take away the wrong message from this aspect and could even imitate this aspect and this could cause outrage in a community.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of construction your product?
During the making of our product we used a same handheld camera and a standard tripod
and the advantages are that the fact they are small and light, this made them easier to transport. Also because they were small they were easier to used and also easier to film with. Unfortunately we discover that if the light conditions weren’t perfect the camera was prone to go in and out of focus and also the picture quality wasn’t the best you can get. We also had to re-shoot some parts of our product because of mistakes we made and we used a HD camera because the type we used before were not available. The advantages of this camera were the picture quality was very good and a lot better than the smaller camera and it didn’t go in and out of focus automatically. The downside of the larger camera was the size and weight of it which made it very hard to transport and it needed a special tripod as well which also made it hard to transport unless you had a car. Also the layout of the buttons was more complicated than the smaller camera and this made it take longer to figure out how to set the camera up for recording.
We tried to shoot the product’s scenes in order of appearances in the film. There were not too many problems during the first day of filming as we set up the camera filmed the shot and continued in that manner. However all of the day’s problems came at the end as we discovered that the camera had a faulty part and we had failed to notice it and as a result the camera didn’t capture any of the footage we had made. To resolve that problem we replaced the camera and any other parts that were faulty and checked the replacement equipment, we also arranged to re-shoot the scene we had shot that day and we also decided that we would check our equipment before filming and checked if the camera had captured the footage after the filming.
The editing software we used was called “final cut express”, which is a form of editing software which is designed for the Apple Mac. We found it quite simple to use however we did need some help when applying the titles to our film and we found that editing the sound i.e. the dialogue we found that we had made the whole film seem to run smoother.
7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full project?
For the planning stage of our film production we had to decide what type film we were going to do. And by a voting of 3 to 1 in our group of 4, we decided to do a boxing film. I was the one who voted against the idea for a boxing film in favor of a horror film because I felt that it would be simpler to portray in the two minute allowance that we had for this project. We did some research in to the film genre as in we look at some other boxing films and then we made treatment of our film. We then spilt the work load up between the group so some of us were scripting and others were organizing the locations for shooting. This detailed planning gave us an outline for the shooting of the film because there were predictable going to be some involuntary changes for example there were some subtle changes to the script and we didn’t do some of the shot we had planned because there were too hard to film.
Our use of shots has improved as we tried during filming to make it as easy as possible keep the match on action and continuity going during editing. We did this by noting down movements the actors did in the shots and we gave instructions to the actors to do their best to repeat their movements which wasn’t easy because some of the movements were involuntary, however these issues were eventually solved in the editing room.
I feel very confident with the equipment and as a result I did the majority of the camera work and I was able to do the shots that we wanted. However we could have used external microphones to make the sound quality that little bit better than it is on the film.
I feel that the end product was somewhat successful with the usage of the camera work and editing. However it didn’t fulfill the task as well as I had hoped because I feel that it didn’t make enough of a reference to the genre of which is a boxing film. Saying that I do feel that we have done very well with the time and resources we had.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Evaluation (Pictures won't show up)
Media Evaluation
Our media product, A 2 minute opening of a sports drama named ‘The Redemption’, themed around the sub-genre of Boxing.
1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of media products?
The film we made incorporates a number of generic conventions for films of its type, One main reason is that there are no Female main characters conveying that the film is very male oriented, this is normal for films of its type so therefore develops the generic conventions of boxing films. Our film is very similar to other fight films, Such as the classic film ‘Fight Club’, which is very male oriented therefore giving a macho feel, The film also features a lot of Blood/Violence which our full film would contain, Whereas in the first 2 minutes the only Violence is mild, As ‘Mike Dawson’ punches a bag with extreme force and has a tense moment with Vladimir Zhirkov as a fight is about to break out. The film also contains a lot of cliché props and settings that would be seen in many boxing films, the most noticeable being the boxing gym that we used for filming, Which contained punch bags and training mats we also brought boxing gloves which are normally used as the main point of iconography in a boxing film.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our film shows a number of stereotypical views on certain groups, Such as the fact that the 2 minute film contains no Female main characters, with only one female speaking role; this is consistent with the stereotype that most sports do not contain women even in the film industry, thus showing a stereotype that men are dominant and women passive. This coincides with the target audience which is mainly male with a small percentage being female, and the violence and fighting may attract a more teenage audience. Characters in our film are also rather stereotypical, with the main rival of Mark Dawson being a very tall Russian who has a ruthless persona, Which compares well with the villain from Rocky IV ‘Ivan Drago’ (see below), also people who are seen to be working class in our film can be noticed by simple cheap looking clothes which is a stereotype seen with small towns. Coach Barry Howard is also meant to be the oldest character in the film which can be known by the old cardigan and hat that he wears throughout, maybe showing older characters as poorer.
3. What Kind of Media Institution might distribute your media product and why?
The film we made is shown to be very low budget and would have little to no chance of being noticed by a big film company e.g. Hollywood, and therefore would need to either be produced independently or by a very small company, Advertisement would also be a small job with the fact that it is a very small budget, And therefore would have to be advertised through posters made by us, Word Of Mouth or viral campaigns on sites such as ‘YouTube’ where trailers could be released. The chance of this being released in a cinema therefore are very low and would either be released straight onto DVD, or Blu Ray if it got enough copies bought, Or maybe even would be played on late night film showings on websites such as Film 4, Also websites that exist now like Love Film mean that small films can get downloaded online and make money from it.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The film’s main audience would be males from the age of 15 to 30 , with a very small percent being female, people may watch the film under the age of 15, But the film contains a 15 Certificate due to Violence and Crime Themes, the boundaries of film classification were found on the bbfc website,
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/recent/films
.
The male focus of the film is due to stereotypes that most women would avoid sports films which was backed up by the Questionnaires we printed off very early in the film process, but a small female following may happen due to female sport oriented films such as ‘Million Dollar Baby’ or maybe even due to watching female athletes strive for the best in things such as the Olympics.
I Think the film could get a rather large local following due to the main character being from Barnsley and battling his way from the bottom back to his position as Champion, Which a lot of people who don’t live locally would like too because everybody loves an underdog story.
Other films similar to ours that would attract a similar audience include the obvious ‘Rocky’ series, Fighting and 8 Mile, all of which depict a character fighting his way to the top in their own ways.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
Our audience was attracted through a number of means; the audiences we expect are 15 to 25 year olds with ages above that starting to lose interest due to actors whom they had never seen or a plot that simply doesn’t appeal to them.
Our female audience is attracted due to the fact that one main character in our film ‘Charlotte Taylor’ has a very strong personality which can even be observed in the 2 minute start we made, Because even though she is surrounded by lots of men and two intimidating boxers she still manages to ask her question without losing a smile, This would appeal to women because of the stereotype breaking strong woman image.
Local people may be drawn into the film by the Main protagonist also being local and rising through the ranks to become champion, showing that even people from a small town like Barnsley can reach up and achieve something big.
Whereas on the other had the main Antagonist being Russian may put off some foreign people due to a big stereotypical look at Russians being big and violent, as well as the fact that the character shows a very stereotypical image of Russians, Wearing a leather/fur coat with wild hair, Foreign people may also be put off by the fact that the character doesn’t have the protagonist role and is instead seen as the bad guy, which seems to be a recurring pattern in films.
Action fans may be drawn in by the very tense scenes , like the slightly cliché scene of ‘Vlad’ and ‘Mike’ staring each other out with point of view shots with a heartbeat in the background , which builds a lot of tension for what may happen next.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing the product?
The equipment we used during filming was capable with only a few minor faults, But one major fault was that the tapes that fit in the handicam that we used was very flimsy and broke during our first corridor scene that we had to reshoot later on, But the handicam was very easy to use requiring little to no help with. Which contrasts completely with the HD Camera that we used for some scenes, this was complicated and we needed quite a bit of help with it, it was also very heavy unlike the handicam so bringing it to film the Gym scene would have been impossible.
But the difference between the cameras used can be seen easily throughout as the quality on the HD Camera was a lot better than the handicam in visual and sound perspectives.
The computer software we used ‘Final Cut Express’ proved a formidable task to use at first but as making the film went along , editing with the program became a simple task. Creating cuts and wipes was effortless and adding sounds and music like the heartbeat effect and the running music on the first scene involved only a click and drag, I would definitely use the program again.
7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to your full product?
I think I’ve learnt a great deal in the progression from our preliminary task to our full film, I’ve learnt to use cameras a lot more effectively and finding and naming different shots has become simple, I Feel my editing skills have improved greatly while I’ve been using Final Cut Express.
The only downsides I could find is that due to group disagreements over shooting times we could have had a little more time to reshoot and gather more training shots if we had all agreed earlier.
I was part of the problem with this and I think time management is definitely a skill I need to improve on
But overall I think our film was a big success and I would love to continue onto A2 to further improve my skills in media, and hopeful create a film which is even better
Our media product, A 2 minute opening of a sports drama named ‘The Redemption’, themed around the sub-genre of Boxing.
1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of media products?
The film we made incorporates a number of generic conventions for films of its type, One main reason is that there are no Female main characters conveying that the film is very male oriented, this is normal for films of its type so therefore develops the generic conventions of boxing films. Our film is very similar to other fight films, Such as the classic film ‘Fight Club’, which is very male oriented therefore giving a macho feel, The film also features a lot of Blood/Violence which our full film would contain, Whereas in the first 2 minutes the only Violence is mild, As ‘Mike Dawson’ punches a bag with extreme force and has a tense moment with Vladimir Zhirkov as a fight is about to break out. The film also contains a lot of cliché props and settings that would be seen in many boxing films, the most noticeable being the boxing gym that we used for filming, Which contained punch bags and training mats we also brought boxing gloves which are normally used as the main point of iconography in a boxing film.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our film shows a number of stereotypical views on certain groups, Such as the fact that the 2 minute film contains no Female main characters, with only one female speaking role; this is consistent with the stereotype that most sports do not contain women even in the film industry, thus showing a stereotype that men are dominant and women passive. This coincides with the target audience which is mainly male with a small percentage being female, and the violence and fighting may attract a more teenage audience. Characters in our film are also rather stereotypical, with the main rival of Mark Dawson being a very tall Russian who has a ruthless persona, Which compares well with the villain from Rocky IV ‘Ivan Drago’ (see below), also people who are seen to be working class in our film can be noticed by simple cheap looking clothes which is a stereotype seen with small towns. Coach Barry Howard is also meant to be the oldest character in the film which can be known by the old cardigan and hat that he wears throughout, maybe showing older characters as poorer.
3. What Kind of Media Institution might distribute your media product and why?
The film we made is shown to be very low budget and would have little to no chance of being noticed by a big film company e.g. Hollywood, and therefore would need to either be produced independently or by a very small company, Advertisement would also be a small job with the fact that it is a very small budget, And therefore would have to be advertised through posters made by us, Word Of Mouth or viral campaigns on sites such as ‘YouTube’ where trailers could be released. The chance of this being released in a cinema therefore are very low and would either be released straight onto DVD, or Blu Ray if it got enough copies bought, Or maybe even would be played on late night film showings on websites such as Film 4, Also websites that exist now like Love Film mean that small films can get downloaded online and make money from it.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The film’s main audience would be males from the age of 15 to 30 , with a very small percent being female, people may watch the film under the age of 15, But the film contains a 15 Certificate due to Violence and Crime Themes, the boundaries of film classification were found on the bbfc website,
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/recent/films
.
The male focus of the film is due to stereotypes that most women would avoid sports films which was backed up by the Questionnaires we printed off very early in the film process, but a small female following may happen due to female sport oriented films such as ‘Million Dollar Baby’ or maybe even due to watching female athletes strive for the best in things such as the Olympics.
I Think the film could get a rather large local following due to the main character being from Barnsley and battling his way from the bottom back to his position as Champion, Which a lot of people who don’t live locally would like too because everybody loves an underdog story.
Other films similar to ours that would attract a similar audience include the obvious ‘Rocky’ series, Fighting and 8 Mile, all of which depict a character fighting his way to the top in their own ways.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
Our audience was attracted through a number of means; the audiences we expect are 15 to 25 year olds with ages above that starting to lose interest due to actors whom they had never seen or a plot that simply doesn’t appeal to them.
Our female audience is attracted due to the fact that one main character in our film ‘Charlotte Taylor’ has a very strong personality which can even be observed in the 2 minute start we made, Because even though she is surrounded by lots of men and two intimidating boxers she still manages to ask her question without losing a smile, This would appeal to women because of the stereotype breaking strong woman image.
Local people may be drawn into the film by the Main protagonist also being local and rising through the ranks to become champion, showing that even people from a small town like Barnsley can reach up and achieve something big.
Whereas on the other had the main Antagonist being Russian may put off some foreign people due to a big stereotypical look at Russians being big and violent, as well as the fact that the character shows a very stereotypical image of Russians, Wearing a leather/fur coat with wild hair, Foreign people may also be put off by the fact that the character doesn’t have the protagonist role and is instead seen as the bad guy, which seems to be a recurring pattern in films.
Action fans may be drawn in by the very tense scenes , like the slightly cliché scene of ‘Vlad’ and ‘Mike’ staring each other out with point of view shots with a heartbeat in the background , which builds a lot of tension for what may happen next.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing the product?
The equipment we used during filming was capable with only a few minor faults, But one major fault was that the tapes that fit in the handicam that we used was very flimsy and broke during our first corridor scene that we had to reshoot later on, But the handicam was very easy to use requiring little to no help with. Which contrasts completely with the HD Camera that we used for some scenes, this was complicated and we needed quite a bit of help with it, it was also very heavy unlike the handicam so bringing it to film the Gym scene would have been impossible.
But the difference between the cameras used can be seen easily throughout as the quality on the HD Camera was a lot better than the handicam in visual and sound perspectives.
The computer software we used ‘Final Cut Express’ proved a formidable task to use at first but as making the film went along , editing with the program became a simple task. Creating cuts and wipes was effortless and adding sounds and music like the heartbeat effect and the running music on the first scene involved only a click and drag, I would definitely use the program again.
7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to your full product?
I think I’ve learnt a great deal in the progression from our preliminary task to our full film, I’ve learnt to use cameras a lot more effectively and finding and naming different shots has become simple, I Feel my editing skills have improved greatly while I’ve been using Final Cut Express.
The only downsides I could find is that due to group disagreements over shooting times we could have had a little more time to reshoot and gather more training shots if we had all agreed earlier.
I was part of the problem with this and I think time management is definitely a skill I need to improve on
But overall I think our film was a big success and I would love to continue onto A2 to further improve my skills in media, and hopeful create a film which is even better
Evaluation by Alexander Martin
1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and convention of media products?
Boxing films tend to follow strict elements that a common in almost all boxing films.
The use of boxing memorabilia was present by using a functioning boxing gym, emphasising boxing gloves and equipment used in a cliché training scene.
Boxing films always have some form of emotional conflict with the main character, his environment or his opponent, represented through certain actions. Media involvement always makes appearances since boxing is a national sport, done through a small press conference.
The characters usually comes from a humbling background which is done in character clothes and have events appear very low quality compared by international sports leagues. These conferences would always end in conflict either verbally as in Ali or physically as in Rocky, which is achieved through a stand off.
However conventions of boxing films dictate to usually start with a boxing match or training but by using Fighting as influence it was decided to begin with a press conference to set the mood of the characters so they can be expanded on through flashbacks.
The title sequences are usually simple ones that usually appear after 1st 5 minutes of film and consist of the title in a bright colour on a black background that was done at beginning.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our product uses contemporary methods to present the different genders, ages and social groups in a manner they can be indentified easily by our target audience, boxing fans and or Barnsley locals. Like most boxing film men always appear to be the most numerous or dominant gender with age displayed as the voice of reason and experience.
Coach Howard, the aging boxing trainer, identifies with Mike on a personal level while still appearing as his superior through instructions given throughout film. Gender plays a lesser role since few females are featured except the female journalist which indicates a somewhat equal society.
Social classes represented are mostly working class wearing simple, modest clothes with Coach Howard appearing the aged member by wearing old cardigans and hats with worn out shoes.
Barnsley locals who are mostly working class will appreciate a story about a local boy working his way up and achieving something since it’s something that wasn’t given it had to be earned.
3. What kind of media institutes might distribute your media product and why?
Low budget films like this are very rarely taken up by Hollywood studios since their stories are more personal and the quality tends to be lacking in terms of visuals and the actors used, who will mostly consist of up and coming actors.
It would be a straight to DVD release taken up by distributors like : Channel 4, Film 4 or Optimum, and use below the line marketing to cut costs by advertising on the internet, word of mouth and viral marketing. However posters and local radio broadcasts would be used to advertise it around the area it was set i.e. Barnsley.
It would be released in this way to save unnecessary costs since it will mostly only appeal to a British audience and the areas it would be advertised publically would be Barnsley since it’s the films setting location.
While it does advertise franchises such as Everlast and Atari it has little merchandising potentials since it a low budget independent film set in Yorkshire. It’s almost a cliché for most British films to not be involved in merchandising their films aside from the occasional T-shirt logo.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Primarily the target audience would be males from the ages of 15 – 35 years of age since the film has been assigned a 15 rating because of its profanity and crime affiliation.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/recent/films
Females are a possibility with the release of Million Dollar Baby, the story of a female boxer, however that’s audience were mostly males who had an interest in boxing, drama and biographies.
Boxing fans would welcome a break from the traditional genre which strives to emphasis a boxer’s global stardom whereas our product is a lot smaller than that making it a lot more personal since you can identify with the protagonist in his struggles just to rise to a county league, it describes a boxers struggle through another stage in their career which most boxing film do not, usually they show them at the bottom and receive a sudden quick ticket to the top or they are already fairly established before the film starts.
People who love and under dog would also appreciate it since the main character is very identifiable in that he has faults, some serious faults, yet he’s able to rise above them in order to better himself.
Boxing films like Rocky, Fighting and even 8 Mile are similar in that they create an under dog character and also indicate they come from the low end of the social class scale but are still able to progress and better themselves. People who like these films are usually biography fans who like to see the story of a persons life unfold on the screen but they also expect the character to suffer and struggle to get to the top making the victory all the better because of it.
5. How did you attract / address your audience
Ages 15 – 35 years was estimated our target audience due to emerging patterns related to boxing type films. Our film would begin losing audience members after 35 due to the use of young upcoming actors which would be unidentifiable to older generations who are more attracted to film which include a familiar face.
The inclusion of an authoritative female in the conference scene would appeal to a female audience since there is clearly a woman involved who, surrounded by men, still holds a position of authority similar to them.
However the antagonist appearing Russian could antagonise certain foreign element to view this film in less favour, and vice versa for the protagonist who being from the area we intend to market, Barnsley, would rally the local community to support a film set around their area that shows it in a good light.
The cinematography of the film would effect certain audiences, the suspense scene where characters stare menacingly at each other would attract action fans and the point of view shots putting people in the shoes of Mike and Coach would allow them to see through their eyes and how intimidating their position is, trying to redeem themselves for past offenses against a sceptical reception, a majour selling point for biographical fans.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of construction the product?
The equipment used performed well to the task despite the 1st corridor scene being lost due to a faulty camera, which was remedied by re-filming it later that day. Digital video and photography cameras are useful for their compact size for easy transport and the title written on the button makes them easy to use with any instruction manual.
HD cameras, usually reserved for A2 students, proved a lot more difficult and we had to ask our tutor for advice on how to set it up, work it and place it but it proved to be an easy problem to fix and worked better than the compact camera but it wasn’t as small and thus would have been impossible to film the gym scene with it.
Problems faced were small regarding equipment, the cameras both video and photograph work well, despite the 1st scene. The HD camera’s intimidating size proved to hide a wondrous machine that is easy to use and proved to enhance to film in both quality and sound. Its size didn’t make any difference since the scene took place in a wide open hall.
The final cut pro software proved very challenging to operate but with the tutors help we could create what we thought a difficult sounds effect, heart beating, and the title sequence proved a lot very simple to create.
7. Looking back to you preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Planning and researching the film proved difficult due to conflicting schedules and group disagreements but eventually problems got solved and the work was made easier. The detailed planning of where and when to film helped so that it was all filmed on time for editing and the research helped create an easy flow to the filming when including props, dialogue, sound, characters and cinematography.
Shot techniques have improved though creating effects and using the space effectively to create the best shot for editing. Also we were sure to film each scene twice and gather a lot of footage encase of emergencies.
My confidence in working with the equipment has increased thanks to performing actions myself and receiving help from tutor, though working with the group was difficult it did come together in the end.
The end product I feel turned out well despite all the technical and personal problems in the group, if given more time the only thing that would be changed would be including in the training scene more boxing memorabilia i.e. skipping rope or jogging etc.
and convention of media products?
Boxing films tend to follow strict elements that a common in almost all boxing films.
The use of boxing memorabilia was present by using a functioning boxing gym, emphasising boxing gloves and equipment used in a cliché training scene.
Boxing films always have some form of emotional conflict with the main character, his environment or his opponent, represented through certain actions. Media involvement always makes appearances since boxing is a national sport, done through a small press conference.
The characters usually comes from a humbling background which is done in character clothes and have events appear very low quality compared by international sports leagues. These conferences would always end in conflict either verbally as in Ali or physically as in Rocky, which is achieved through a stand off.
However conventions of boxing films dictate to usually start with a boxing match or training but by using Fighting as influence it was decided to begin with a press conference to set the mood of the characters so they can be expanded on through flashbacks.
The title sequences are usually simple ones that usually appear after 1st 5 minutes of film and consist of the title in a bright colour on a black background that was done at beginning.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our product uses contemporary methods to present the different genders, ages and social groups in a manner they can be indentified easily by our target audience, boxing fans and or Barnsley locals. Like most boxing film men always appear to be the most numerous or dominant gender with age displayed as the voice of reason and experience.
Coach Howard, the aging boxing trainer, identifies with Mike on a personal level while still appearing as his superior through instructions given throughout film. Gender plays a lesser role since few females are featured except the female journalist which indicates a somewhat equal society.
Social classes represented are mostly working class wearing simple, modest clothes with Coach Howard appearing the aged member by wearing old cardigans and hats with worn out shoes.
Barnsley locals who are mostly working class will appreciate a story about a local boy working his way up and achieving something since it’s something that wasn’t given it had to be earned.
3. What kind of media institutes might distribute your media product and why?
Low budget films like this are very rarely taken up by Hollywood studios since their stories are more personal and the quality tends to be lacking in terms of visuals and the actors used, who will mostly consist of up and coming actors.
It would be a straight to DVD release taken up by distributors like : Channel 4, Film 4 or Optimum, and use below the line marketing to cut costs by advertising on the internet, word of mouth and viral marketing. However posters and local radio broadcasts would be used to advertise it around the area it was set i.e. Barnsley.
It would be released in this way to save unnecessary costs since it will mostly only appeal to a British audience and the areas it would be advertised publically would be Barnsley since it’s the films setting location.
While it does advertise franchises such as Everlast and Atari it has little merchandising potentials since it a low budget independent film set in Yorkshire. It’s almost a cliché for most British films to not be involved in merchandising their films aside from the occasional T-shirt logo.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Primarily the target audience would be males from the ages of 15 – 35 years of age since the film has been assigned a 15 rating because of its profanity and crime affiliation.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/recent/films
Females are a possibility with the release of Million Dollar Baby, the story of a female boxer, however that’s audience were mostly males who had an interest in boxing, drama and biographies.
Boxing fans would welcome a break from the traditional genre which strives to emphasis a boxer’s global stardom whereas our product is a lot smaller than that making it a lot more personal since you can identify with the protagonist in his struggles just to rise to a county league, it describes a boxers struggle through another stage in their career which most boxing film do not, usually they show them at the bottom and receive a sudden quick ticket to the top or they are already fairly established before the film starts.
People who love and under dog would also appreciate it since the main character is very identifiable in that he has faults, some serious faults, yet he’s able to rise above them in order to better himself.
Boxing films like Rocky, Fighting and even 8 Mile are similar in that they create an under dog character and also indicate they come from the low end of the social class scale but are still able to progress and better themselves. People who like these films are usually biography fans who like to see the story of a persons life unfold on the screen but they also expect the character to suffer and struggle to get to the top making the victory all the better because of it.
5. How did you attract / address your audience
Ages 15 – 35 years was estimated our target audience due to emerging patterns related to boxing type films. Our film would begin losing audience members after 35 due to the use of young upcoming actors which would be unidentifiable to older generations who are more attracted to film which include a familiar face.
The inclusion of an authoritative female in the conference scene would appeal to a female audience since there is clearly a woman involved who, surrounded by men, still holds a position of authority similar to them.
However the antagonist appearing Russian could antagonise certain foreign element to view this film in less favour, and vice versa for the protagonist who being from the area we intend to market, Barnsley, would rally the local community to support a film set around their area that shows it in a good light.
The cinematography of the film would effect certain audiences, the suspense scene where characters stare menacingly at each other would attract action fans and the point of view shots putting people in the shoes of Mike and Coach would allow them to see through their eyes and how intimidating their position is, trying to redeem themselves for past offenses against a sceptical reception, a majour selling point for biographical fans.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of construction the product?
The equipment used performed well to the task despite the 1st corridor scene being lost due to a faulty camera, which was remedied by re-filming it later that day. Digital video and photography cameras are useful for their compact size for easy transport and the title written on the button makes them easy to use with any instruction manual.
HD cameras, usually reserved for A2 students, proved a lot more difficult and we had to ask our tutor for advice on how to set it up, work it and place it but it proved to be an easy problem to fix and worked better than the compact camera but it wasn’t as small and thus would have been impossible to film the gym scene with it.
Problems faced were small regarding equipment, the cameras both video and photograph work well, despite the 1st scene. The HD camera’s intimidating size proved to hide a wondrous machine that is easy to use and proved to enhance to film in both quality and sound. Its size didn’t make any difference since the scene took place in a wide open hall.
The final cut pro software proved very challenging to operate but with the tutors help we could create what we thought a difficult sounds effect, heart beating, and the title sequence proved a lot very simple to create.
7. Looking back to you preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Planning and researching the film proved difficult due to conflicting schedules and group disagreements but eventually problems got solved and the work was made easier. The detailed planning of where and when to film helped so that it was all filmed on time for editing and the research helped create an easy flow to the filming when including props, dialogue, sound, characters and cinematography.
Shot techniques have improved though creating effects and using the space effectively to create the best shot for editing. Also we were sure to film each scene twice and gather a lot of footage encase of emergencies.
My confidence in working with the equipment has increased thanks to performing actions myself and receiving help from tutor, though working with the group was difficult it did come together in the end.
The end product I feel turned out well despite all the technical and personal problems in the group, if given more time the only thing that would be changed would be including in the training scene more boxing memorabilia i.e. skipping rope or jogging etc.
Film Analysis by Alexander Martin
Film Analysis
There were a number of films used to create inspiration for this project however the main ones used were: Fighting and Ali for advice on how to film with Rocky and Million Dollar Baby helping with story development.
Cinematography
Fighting was used as major influence here because the 1st scene is somewhat different from the average boxing film. It starts with the main character walking through a subway with the titles appearing on the screen, it heavily uses medium shots with no close up until he reaches the ground where he sets up shop, there were examples of dolly shots following main characters progress through the subway and eventually the streets which could be imitated. However there are other people in the scene running and the use of lower angle shots where these people run past the camera gave us idea to film a running scene whereby the main character is running either from something or to something. Also the fight scene uses very quick changing shots to emphasise the fast movement but also reaction shots of bystanders as to how they feel about the fight, it also uses establishing shots to display the fight and the area surrounding it.
Boxing has to make an appearance whereby Ali was used as influence, unlike Fighting, Ali makes use of more close ups of both the face and the gloves so as to capture the protagonists exertion and capture images of iconography of boxing gloves, punching bag and a gym background symbolising this as a boxing genre film however the changing jump shot of him going from running to being in the gym also indicate to the audience that this film is a little more than just a boxing film and that there could be something as important than the actual boxing itself. Also the close up shot of the police car could be emphasising the future involvement of the police in acts a racist actions against the black community.
Editing
The editing for fighting is very fluid and continuous without ever leaving the viewer in doubt as to about whom the protagonist is, the only point where continuity could be questioned is a scene where he leaves through a door but it then cuts to him being half way up the stairs which could be evaluated as going to far ahead by establishing his heading to or climbing of the stairs. The jump cut to a man being mugged does help establish this film as one related to violence however it could be misinterpreted as a crime or gangster film since it links over into the muggers escaping through a door held open by protagonist. As it progresses several street-wise characters are established by the camera giving them longer screen time and even though it can’t be understood why these characters are being highlighted its clear that they will makes appearances in the film later. The use of shot reverse shots is established between characters that will most likely become more apparent as film progresses and this is proven when they appear to be taking interest in protagonist by using the shot reverse shot to signal to each other and then indicating in protagonist’s direction. The chase scene which precedes the fight also makes use of quick shots and the protagonist running past or into the camera which signals the important nature of the scene as he has to get away from where he’s just been.
The editing for the 1st part of Ali is completely dominated by jump shots between a music concert and Ali himself jogging, personally I think that if not for the title this could have confused people since both get as much attention as each other therefore this film could have been about music as opposed to one mans struggle. There are also uses of non-direct filming whereby the camera films characters but through another medium i.e. a mirror or reflective surface which is an interesting affect which makes it seem in a sense that everything is centred on Ali. Slow motion is also used to emphasise the boxing motions of how Ali trains and performs physically the way he does. Finally the constant close up effects keep getting closer to Ali’s face as it progresses creating an form of Dolly effect and when its so close the punching bag creates a strobe effect to again emphasise the quickness of what Ali’s training can be like.
Sound
Fighting makes use of a traditional style of music very similar to most gangster films mostly rap music with jazz / soul elements as a background music so as to entertain the audience while the protagonist perform in a relatively boring scene. As the film progresses into scenes with dialogue the music quickly dies out along with any forms of action which seems to be an essential in most films as the music always stands a chance to drown out what the characters are saying. It’s still a very vibrant music which may distract the audience from what’s actually happening on the screen since there isn’t much action happening, even in the scenes where people are running the music still continues at a relatively slow pace.
The sounds used in Ali consist of the one song that lasts for the whole 1st 5 minutes of the film and isn’t changed or altered in anyway. It makes the viewer realise very early on that this film is about a lot more than just boxing however the song never makes it hard to hear any dialogue or sounds which consist mainly of Will Smith hitting a punching bag and a police siren.
Mise En Scene
The clothing in Fighting is mostly casual with the occasional suit and tie, which are usually being victimised; the props consist mainly of the protagonists backpack along with the items inside it, however the man wearing white matching clothes immediately singles himself out at a major character because of his unusual clothing by contrast to everyone else in the scene. Nothing seems to single this film out as a boxing film since there are no conventional memorabilia related to that subject which in the end could confuse the viewer but could make the revelation all the more surprising. The lighting seems mostly natural since the scene occurs outside and even in the subway the electronic lights help clear the scene and make it easily watchable by anyone. If not for the fighting scene this could almost have been taken for a crime or drama film.
As far as the representation of; Age, Gender and Social Class is concerned and based on the way the people dress it’s clearly a working class background not just from the main character but from all the extra featured also sport the same clothes and attitude, gender is conventionally male dominated but with a woman making an appearance who displays as much authority as the male extras she interacts with.
Ali offers a lot more in this department by making it obvious from beginning that this film is related to boxing and or music since Ali is wearing traditional boxers’ urban training clothes. The music side comes in through the performer clearly standing on a stage with the bright light beams shining down, the trimmed suit and use of microphone with everyone crying out. However the next few scenes show Ali in training which displays all the usual boxing memorabilia; hand wraps, punching bag, the gym sign reflected in the mirror and Will Smith’s dress is clearly that of an athlete with it being very casual with damp patches on the upper body. The lighting is good throughout even during the night scene where the lights are slightly dimmer to create that effect but it clear the street lamps are not the only thing eliminating the screen since when he passes them the light doesn’t fade. Also the light on the police cars siren is very prominent when they appear in the scene, which could indicate a possible future appearance of, if not this particular police car then the police in general.
Age, gender and social class are interpreted from a similar background as Fighting whereby most people appear to be working class but with a lot more female appearance that seem to follow a convention of women screaming when a famous performer starts his set. Ethnic groups takes priority since the film is about overcoming social injustice as much as boxing and so the African actors are to be seen as socially lesser people when compared to Caucasians by the way they move and act. However this does conflict when jumping to the concert scene where clearly an African man is seen as the centre of attention and influence but this could be viewed as being acceptable since the audience is composed of people of a similar ethnicity.
Conclusion
In conclusion throughout the course of my analysis I have managed to find inspiration and directions in how to conduct the filming side of the project and how to manage and direct the other crew members in how to use the cinematography, editing, sound and mise en scene effectively in creating a boxing film that transgresses the usual boxing boundaries and becomes more about a man discovering his own potential, not just in the ring but in life at a point when it seemed there was no escape from past mistakes.
There were a number of films used to create inspiration for this project however the main ones used were: Fighting and Ali for advice on how to film with Rocky and Million Dollar Baby helping with story development.
Cinematography
Fighting was used as major influence here because the 1st scene is somewhat different from the average boxing film. It starts with the main character walking through a subway with the titles appearing on the screen, it heavily uses medium shots with no close up until he reaches the ground where he sets up shop, there were examples of dolly shots following main characters progress through the subway and eventually the streets which could be imitated. However there are other people in the scene running and the use of lower angle shots where these people run past the camera gave us idea to film a running scene whereby the main character is running either from something or to something. Also the fight scene uses very quick changing shots to emphasise the fast movement but also reaction shots of bystanders as to how they feel about the fight, it also uses establishing shots to display the fight and the area surrounding it.
Boxing has to make an appearance whereby Ali was used as influence, unlike Fighting, Ali makes use of more close ups of both the face and the gloves so as to capture the protagonists exertion and capture images of iconography of boxing gloves, punching bag and a gym background symbolising this as a boxing genre film however the changing jump shot of him going from running to being in the gym also indicate to the audience that this film is a little more than just a boxing film and that there could be something as important than the actual boxing itself. Also the close up shot of the police car could be emphasising the future involvement of the police in acts a racist actions against the black community.
Editing
The editing for fighting is very fluid and continuous without ever leaving the viewer in doubt as to about whom the protagonist is, the only point where continuity could be questioned is a scene where he leaves through a door but it then cuts to him being half way up the stairs which could be evaluated as going to far ahead by establishing his heading to or climbing of the stairs. The jump cut to a man being mugged does help establish this film as one related to violence however it could be misinterpreted as a crime or gangster film since it links over into the muggers escaping through a door held open by protagonist. As it progresses several street-wise characters are established by the camera giving them longer screen time and even though it can’t be understood why these characters are being highlighted its clear that they will makes appearances in the film later. The use of shot reverse shots is established between characters that will most likely become more apparent as film progresses and this is proven when they appear to be taking interest in protagonist by using the shot reverse shot to signal to each other and then indicating in protagonist’s direction. The chase scene which precedes the fight also makes use of quick shots and the protagonist running past or into the camera which signals the important nature of the scene as he has to get away from where he’s just been.
The editing for the 1st part of Ali is completely dominated by jump shots between a music concert and Ali himself jogging, personally I think that if not for the title this could have confused people since both get as much attention as each other therefore this film could have been about music as opposed to one mans struggle. There are also uses of non-direct filming whereby the camera films characters but through another medium i.e. a mirror or reflective surface which is an interesting affect which makes it seem in a sense that everything is centred on Ali. Slow motion is also used to emphasise the boxing motions of how Ali trains and performs physically the way he does. Finally the constant close up effects keep getting closer to Ali’s face as it progresses creating an form of Dolly effect and when its so close the punching bag creates a strobe effect to again emphasise the quickness of what Ali’s training can be like.
Sound
Fighting makes use of a traditional style of music very similar to most gangster films mostly rap music with jazz / soul elements as a background music so as to entertain the audience while the protagonist perform in a relatively boring scene. As the film progresses into scenes with dialogue the music quickly dies out along with any forms of action which seems to be an essential in most films as the music always stands a chance to drown out what the characters are saying. It’s still a very vibrant music which may distract the audience from what’s actually happening on the screen since there isn’t much action happening, even in the scenes where people are running the music still continues at a relatively slow pace.
The sounds used in Ali consist of the one song that lasts for the whole 1st 5 minutes of the film and isn’t changed or altered in anyway. It makes the viewer realise very early on that this film is about a lot more than just boxing however the song never makes it hard to hear any dialogue or sounds which consist mainly of Will Smith hitting a punching bag and a police siren.
Mise En Scene
The clothing in Fighting is mostly casual with the occasional suit and tie, which are usually being victimised; the props consist mainly of the protagonists backpack along with the items inside it, however the man wearing white matching clothes immediately singles himself out at a major character because of his unusual clothing by contrast to everyone else in the scene. Nothing seems to single this film out as a boxing film since there are no conventional memorabilia related to that subject which in the end could confuse the viewer but could make the revelation all the more surprising. The lighting seems mostly natural since the scene occurs outside and even in the subway the electronic lights help clear the scene and make it easily watchable by anyone. If not for the fighting scene this could almost have been taken for a crime or drama film.
As far as the representation of; Age, Gender and Social Class is concerned and based on the way the people dress it’s clearly a working class background not just from the main character but from all the extra featured also sport the same clothes and attitude, gender is conventionally male dominated but with a woman making an appearance who displays as much authority as the male extras she interacts with.
Ali offers a lot more in this department by making it obvious from beginning that this film is related to boxing and or music since Ali is wearing traditional boxers’ urban training clothes. The music side comes in through the performer clearly standing on a stage with the bright light beams shining down, the trimmed suit and use of microphone with everyone crying out. However the next few scenes show Ali in training which displays all the usual boxing memorabilia; hand wraps, punching bag, the gym sign reflected in the mirror and Will Smith’s dress is clearly that of an athlete with it being very casual with damp patches on the upper body. The lighting is good throughout even during the night scene where the lights are slightly dimmer to create that effect but it clear the street lamps are not the only thing eliminating the screen since when he passes them the light doesn’t fade. Also the light on the police cars siren is very prominent when they appear in the scene, which could indicate a possible future appearance of, if not this particular police car then the police in general.
Age, gender and social class are interpreted from a similar background as Fighting whereby most people appear to be working class but with a lot more female appearance that seem to follow a convention of women screaming when a famous performer starts his set. Ethnic groups takes priority since the film is about overcoming social injustice as much as boxing and so the African actors are to be seen as socially lesser people when compared to Caucasians by the way they move and act. However this does conflict when jumping to the concert scene where clearly an African man is seen as the centre of attention and influence but this could be viewed as being acceptable since the audience is composed of people of a similar ethnicity.
Conclusion
In conclusion throughout the course of my analysis I have managed to find inspiration and directions in how to conduct the filming side of the project and how to manage and direct the other crew members in how to use the cinematography, editing, sound and mise en scene effectively in creating a boxing film that transgresses the usual boxing boundaries and becomes more about a man discovering his own potential, not just in the ring but in life at a point when it seemed there was no escape from past mistakes.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Friday, 30 April 2010
For our media project we decided to do a movie around the sub-genre Boxing.
In terms of stereotypical characters and how social groups are shown, we have two dominant men which are boxers which does involve the stereotype of boxers being hard and having a rough personality although we have one boxer that is a lot meaner looking than the other, him being Russian in our film which we stereotyped Russian men that boxed to be scary and to be feared. There aren’t any women that have a dominant role in our film, we only use the women in our press conference scene, so in a way, we have men dominating women who follow the stereotype that men are dominant and women are passive. We have stereotyped class a bit in the boxers everyday where in the press conference where we have our Russian boxer that has come from a poor background wearing a lumberjack type jacket which shows that he is of a poor background and that he might have to do manual work to earn some extra money, it also shows that he comes from a foreign country as we associated attire like that with the Russian men with how we’ve seen the on films like Rocky.
I feel that our film would be a small-budget film that would be mostly shown at an art house as it wouldn’t cost as much to make as a film like Rocky and also that they have big-named actors and a storyline that you can tell it’s a big budget film where as ours we have it set in a room and a gym, and the storyline shows it is unlikely to be a big-budget film. I think that the film would be like to go into the cinema but only at an art house as the bigger cinemas would be unlikely to want to play a film like ours and we would like to have a good base for our film being shown, and that it would be released on Freeview TV viewing within 6 months of the cinema release meaning people can watch it and hopefully they could buy it on DVD the only disc release we will have as I don’t feel the movie will be popular enough to compete with big budget films on Blue Ray, I think it would be good if we can get legal downloads available for it too as it would all be revenue and people can find it on iTunes and online store like that. I don’t think our film would offer much in franchising or merchandising as it would be a small budget film so it would be pointless to bring out merchandise people wouldn’t be interested in. I feel a distributing company more likely to distribute our film would be Metrodome as they distribute small budget films and they are quiet successful in it.
As a group we came agreed that our film would be a 15 rated film as if it was a full film not a 2 minute opening then there would be inappropriate material for under 18’s to view as there will be links to prison and brawling in prison, quite a bit of swearing and violence of a nature that is inappropriate for under 16’s. I feel it wouldn’t be something we would want to bring onto the streets to young people so it would be best at a rated 15. I feel that the target audience for our film would be males in the age gap of 18 to 35 as they are more likely to be interested in this sort of film. I feel our film would be more like Undisputed than Rocky films as it as different storylines and more violence and obscene drama. And undisputed as a similar storyline to us in that there in a boxer convicted of an offence and sent to prison and trys to work his way back up again.
I feel that Undisputed would appeal to the same type of audience as ours as it is of a same nature.
I feel that our desired target audience cannot be attracted by our opening scene as there is no obscene language or behavior to show that we would like to attract males aged 18-35. More likely by our opening we will attract males aged 12 – 17. I feel that if we did the whole film, we would need to get into some obscene language very quickly as we would lose our target audience if not cos we wouldn’t keep them interested enough in the opening. This also is because of our camera shots and facial reactions, they seem too petty and not good enough to grab our attended audience but attract the lower age males that we wouldn’t like to attract to our movie.
We found out that during our filming we did some shooting for our building up to our press conference and the camera we used failed and we had done it for nothing so we learnt a lot about camera work, like checking it regularly to see if it is still working correctly. Other wise I feel we had no other interruptions by the camera but by ourselves either not being there or not having the correct wear on to shoot. We also had to re-film part of our press-conference to enhance the belief it is a real life press conference. We resolved this be re-filming and also filming in our own time after lessons to catch up, we feel also the camera we used was of a basic standard with the sound being not very good but the quality is decent and it was very easy to carry round.
We used Final Cut Pro on the Apple Mac’s to edit our film and we found it was harder than we thought to edit our film into sync correctly and to have everything there within 2 minutes. The effects we used most was the Fade in Fade out as it was the only effect we really needed to use.
For our music for the film we used the Copyright Free Cd’s provided by our media groups so we had an adequate choice to what we wanted to use and in the end found it very easy to choose music for our film. For our planning, we decided what genre our film was going to be and we had quite a few discussions that did turn out into arguments about what genre and what movie we was going to do as everyone in the group had their own ideas. From the preliminary we learnt that we had to plan things better and have back up actors and back up ideas in case we was unable to follow up on original ideas, although we learnt this, we didn’t put it into plan and we may have struggled doing this, and also I feel we struggled to get the grasp of this genre as a whole as it not one many good films have been made out of boxing genre, and it may have been easier to go with a genre where there is more knowledge and more ideas to be thrown around. I think after doing this we as a group are more confident with the equipment.
The things in our film that make it a boxing film is that we have a press conference which is usually associated with events and fight hype towards boxing fights. We used rocky to help us with this part of the film as it has had a press conference between rocky and Apollo creed. We also feel that the scene at the end of the film with the boxing bag also promotes it to be a boxing film, as you associate hitting a bag to be training for boxing matches.
I think that our opening is different to most boxing films as they do not have a press conference to promote the fight at the beginning of the film but introduce the main character so throughout the film we get to know what he’s thinking and feel the same as him.
www.bbfc.co.uk
Updated Script- Ian Uttley
INT. CORRIDOR TO PRESS CONFERENCE – DAY
Jermaine is walking down the towards a function room where a press conference is being held for an upcoming boxing match. He arrives to find his coach waiting nervously outside the door.
COACH HOWARD
(firmly)
Where the hell have you been?
Jermaine continues to walk towards the door as Coach Howard begins to walk along side him.
MIKE (quietly)
I got held up, sorry.
COACH HOWARD
Well yer late, you’ve got people waiting come on hurry up.
Coach Howard opens the door and walks through in to the press conference where the sound of reporters echo out the room, Jermaine follows him in.
INT. PRESS CONFERENCE-DAY
Coach Howard walks across the front of the hall toward a long table of which had been laid out in the front of the room and where Jermaine’s opponent and his coach are sitting.
COACH HOWARD
(as he is walking)
Hello ladies and Gentlemen, I’m sorry about the delay. I would like to begin by thanking you all for coming and thanking our opponents for coming as well and if we may begin asking questions thank you.
Coach Howard sits downs down and scans across the room and toward the opposing boxer.
REPORTER #1
Hi Jon Davidson Barnsley Times, Coach Howard I understand that Jermaine has recently been released from prison, how has this effected his training?
MIKE
Well prison was a stressful experience for me but now that I’m out I have a new strict training routine which i stick to every step of the way
REPORTER #2
Charlotte Taylor Sky sports news.This question is to, Vladimir Zhirkov. I understand that you were supposed to fight Jermaine before around a year and a half ago but he got sent to prison, how has this affected your opinion of him?
VLADIMIR ZHIRKOV
(Russian accent)
I think he is scum...and I shall crush him.
MIKE
What tha se.
VLADIMIR ZHIRKOV
You heard me
MIKE
Hows about yer sit darn before i sit yer darn
Vladimir and Mike lock in to a staring match as the scene ends.
INT. BOXING GYM-EVENING
Mike and coach enter in to the boxing gym and walk in to main area of the gym. Mike then sits down in a small chair and gets out his boxing gloves and puts them on. Mike then stands from his chair and walks to a punching bag and starts punching the bag with coach watching in a analytical fashion.
Jermaine is walking down the towards a function room where a press conference is being held for an upcoming boxing match. He arrives to find his coach waiting nervously outside the door.
COACH HOWARD
(firmly)
Where the hell have you been?
Jermaine continues to walk towards the door as Coach Howard begins to walk along side him.
MIKE (quietly)
I got held up, sorry.
COACH HOWARD
Well yer late, you’ve got people waiting come on hurry up.
Coach Howard opens the door and walks through in to the press conference where the sound of reporters echo out the room, Jermaine follows him in.
INT. PRESS CONFERENCE-DAY
Coach Howard walks across the front of the hall toward a long table of which had been laid out in the front of the room and where Jermaine’s opponent and his coach are sitting.
COACH HOWARD
(as he is walking)
Hello ladies and Gentlemen, I’m sorry about the delay. I would like to begin by thanking you all for coming and thanking our opponents for coming as well and if we may begin asking questions thank you.
Coach Howard sits downs down and scans across the room and toward the opposing boxer.
REPORTER #1
Hi Jon Davidson Barnsley Times, Coach Howard I understand that Jermaine has recently been released from prison, how has this effected his training?
MIKE
Well prison was a stressful experience for me but now that I’m out I have a new strict training routine which i stick to every step of the way
REPORTER #2
Charlotte Taylor Sky sports news.This question is to, Vladimir Zhirkov. I understand that you were supposed to fight Jermaine before around a year and a half ago but he got sent to prison, how has this affected your opinion of him?
VLADIMIR ZHIRKOV
(Russian accent)
I think he is scum...and I shall crush him.
MIKE
What tha se.
VLADIMIR ZHIRKOV
You heard me
MIKE
Hows about yer sit darn before i sit yer darn
Vladimir and Mike lock in to a staring match as the scene ends.
INT. BOXING GYM-EVENING
Mike and coach enter in to the boxing gym and walk in to main area of the gym. Mike then sits down in a small chair and gets out his boxing gloves and puts them on. Mike then stands from his chair and walks to a punching bag and starts punching the bag with coach watching in a analytical fashion.
Questionnaire Review - By James Allen
after conducting our questionnaire into the public, we went throught the answers thorghly and these are the conclusions we made about our findings.
We found that the majority of people that answered yes to going to see a boxing movie at the cinema or to buy on dvd was between the ages of 16 and 35 and was male. We also found out that the majority of females in every age group said that they would not be interested in a boxing themed film. Although there was a couple of exeptions as some females between the ages of 17 to 21 said they would watch a boxing film.
We also found out that the majority of people that did our questionnaire, both male and female, would watch films on a regular basis or watch one every so often leaving only 2 or 3 that did our questionnaire to not watch films at all.
We also found out that the genres comedy, horror and action are the most popular with not many people stating that they like to watch sport movies. We feel that this is because there arn't many good sporting films apart from the Rocky movies or Goal which as come out in recent times.
Around 60% of people that took our quesrtionnaire said they would not go to watch small budget films at the cinema, and some of the reasons they gave for this was:
-That their local cinema rarely screens small budget films.
-They prefer to watch big budget films as they can afford to make their film good.
We also found that many reasons that make people go to watch certain movies are that they have to have a good, catching trailer and that big name actors draw them towards going to see the film. Other people that used the option 'other', said that the name of the film could make them go see a certain film. The option 'Company that produced it' was rarely clicked so we assume it was not important about what companys are associated with a movie.
Many people said that they would either would want to see RnB, HipHop/Rap style music or Rock in a boxing movie with the other option rarely used, but from that option we got some different answers whioch included the blues.
And we got around the same answers for our final question which was What would you associate with a boxing film? and we got mostly, fighting as the answer but some wrote, a dramtic turn of events, a goody and a baddy and some people wrote, a certain person in a gang or something becoming a fighter.
We found that the majority of people that answered yes to going to see a boxing movie at the cinema or to buy on dvd was between the ages of 16 and 35 and was male. We also found out that the majority of females in every age group said that they would not be interested in a boxing themed film. Although there was a couple of exeptions as some females between the ages of 17 to 21 said they would watch a boxing film.
We also found out that the majority of people that did our questionnaire, both male and female, would watch films on a regular basis or watch one every so often leaving only 2 or 3 that did our questionnaire to not watch films at all.
We also found out that the genres comedy, horror and action are the most popular with not many people stating that they like to watch sport movies. We feel that this is because there arn't many good sporting films apart from the Rocky movies or Goal which as come out in recent times.
Around 60% of people that took our quesrtionnaire said they would not go to watch small budget films at the cinema, and some of the reasons they gave for this was:
-That their local cinema rarely screens small budget films.
-They prefer to watch big budget films as they can afford to make their film good.
We also found that many reasons that make people go to watch certain movies are that they have to have a good, catching trailer and that big name actors draw them towards going to see the film. Other people that used the option 'other', said that the name of the film could make them go see a certain film. The option 'Company that produced it' was rarely clicked so we assume it was not important about what companys are associated with a movie.
Many people said that they would either would want to see RnB, HipHop/Rap style music or Rock in a boxing movie with the other option rarely used, but from that option we got some different answers whioch included the blues.
And we got around the same answers for our final question which was What would you associate with a boxing film? and we got mostly, fighting as the answer but some wrote, a dramtic turn of events, a goody and a baddy and some people wrote, a certain person in a gang or something becoming a fighter.
Questionnaire - By James Allen
The following is our questionnaire we created to find out the public's ideas about films in general, and about our specific genre for our film. Please note that there are no check boxes as the questions have been typed up from paper onto our blog so boxes wasn't available.
1. Are you male or female?
Male
Female
2. What age group are you?
Under 12's
13-16
17-21
22-35
36-50
Over 50
3. Do you watch films regularly?
yes
sometimes
not a lot
never
4. What genre is most appealing towards you?
comedy
action
thriller
horror
sport
other
if other, please state:
5. do you like watching small budget films?
yes
no
if no please state why:
6. What makes you want to go watch a certain movie?
big-name actors
the trailer and storyline
the director
the company producing it
other
if other please state:
7. Would you ever go see a boxing themed movie?
yes
maybe
no
if no , why?
8. what genre of music would you prefer or expect to see in this sort of movie?
rnb
dance
hip hop
rap
metal
rock
indie
drum n bass
other
if other please state:
9. Would you buy a movie like this on DVD?
yes
maybe
no
if no, please state why not?
10. What would you associate with a boxing film?
1. Are you male or female?
Male
Female
2. What age group are you?
Under 12's
13-16
17-21
22-35
36-50
Over 50
3. Do you watch films regularly?
yes
sometimes
not a lot
never
4. What genre is most appealing towards you?
comedy
action
thriller
horror
sport
other
if other, please state:
5. do you like watching small budget films?
yes
no
if no please state why:
6. What makes you want to go watch a certain movie?
big-name actors
the trailer and storyline
the director
the company producing it
other
if other please state:
7. Would you ever go see a boxing themed movie?
yes
maybe
no
if no , why?
8. what genre of music would you prefer or expect to see in this sort of movie?
rnb
dance
hip hop
rap
metal
rock
indie
drum n bass
other
if other please state:
9. Would you buy a movie like this on DVD?
yes
maybe
no
if no, please state why not?
10. What would you associate with a boxing film?
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Editing Comments - Luke Green
Today we have been starting on creating the title sequence for our film, including one main title as well as credits for the cast during the film, these all fade in and out.
The main title serves as an introduction to the film, so that it doesn't start straight in the action with no lead up.
Whereas the individual character titles all fade in and out and go by the format 'Starring ??? As ???" we thought this went well, and we also continued sound editing to meet the deadline of friday.
Shooting Script-Ian Uttley
Shooting script-The redemption
Interior-Corridor-Daytime
SHOT 1 Long shot of doors with Mike running through them
SHOT 2 Medium long shot looking down the corridor with Mike running from right to left of shot running past the camera
SHOT 3 Long shot of Mike running towards the camera, the camera then pans slightly as he begins to go round the corner
SHOT 4 Low angle shot of Mike emerging from the corner and runs near but not over the camera
SHOT 5 Medium shot of Coach leaning against a wall, the camera quickly pans round as Mike comes in to shot pans back slightly to get both of them in to shot
SHOT 6 medium, backwards tracking shot of Coach and Mike walking towards the press conference
SHOT 7 Medium shot of coach and mike arriving at the door, shot from behind them
SHOT 8 reverse of shot 7 Small bit of dialogue
SHOT 9 Medium shot from behind them with coach beginning to open the door
Interior-Conference room-Daytime
SHOT 10 Medium shot of Coach and Mike entering the conference hall
SHOT 11 Establishing shot of conference room with the press seated with slight pan
SHOT 12 High angle shot of Coach and Mike walking toward table and Mike gets seated and Coach welcomes the journalists
SHOT 13 Medium shot of the table with Vladimir (opponent) in shot as Coach leaves the table
SHOT 14 Close up of the first journalist asking a question with a reverse shot of Mike answering
SHOT 15 CU of a different journalist with Vladimir answering
SHOT 16 Medium Long shot of Mike and Vlad standing up to square off with each other like they’re about to fight
SHOT 17 CU hand held, over the shoulder shots of the Mikes face then a reverse shot of Vlad
SHOT 18 CU hand held shot of Mikes clenched fist
Interior-Boxing Gym-Evening
SHOT 19 Medium shot of Mike and coach entering the gym reception and the camera follows as they enter the main part of the gym
SHOT 20 Medium shot of them going through the opening to the main part of the gym abd the camera pans to follow them going towards the chair
SHOT 21 Medium close up of Mike seated in his chair as he reaches for his bag
SHOT 22 High angle close up of Mike opening his bag and taking out his gloves
SHOT 22 Close up of Mike putting on his gloves and punching them together as in to get them comfortable
SHOT 23 Medium shot of Mike getting up and walking towards the punch bag and beginning to punch it
SHOT 24 close up of his fist hitting the bag
Interior-Corridor-Daytime
SHOT 1 Long shot of doors with Mike running through them
SHOT 2 Medium long shot looking down the corridor with Mike running from right to left of shot running past the camera
SHOT 3 Long shot of Mike running towards the camera, the camera then pans slightly as he begins to go round the corner
SHOT 4 Low angle shot of Mike emerging from the corner and runs near but not over the camera
SHOT 5 Medium shot of Coach leaning against a wall, the camera quickly pans round as Mike comes in to shot pans back slightly to get both of them in to shot
SHOT 6 medium, backwards tracking shot of Coach and Mike walking towards the press conference
SHOT 7 Medium shot of coach and mike arriving at the door, shot from behind them
SHOT 8 reverse of shot 7 Small bit of dialogue
SHOT 9 Medium shot from behind them with coach beginning to open the door
Interior-Conference room-Daytime
SHOT 10 Medium shot of Coach and Mike entering the conference hall
SHOT 11 Establishing shot of conference room with the press seated with slight pan
SHOT 12 High angle shot of Coach and Mike walking toward table and Mike gets seated and Coach welcomes the journalists
SHOT 13 Medium shot of the table with Vladimir (opponent) in shot as Coach leaves the table
SHOT 14 Close up of the first journalist asking a question with a reverse shot of Mike answering
SHOT 15 CU of a different journalist with Vladimir answering
SHOT 16 Medium Long shot of Mike and Vlad standing up to square off with each other like they’re about to fight
SHOT 17 CU hand held, over the shoulder shots of the Mikes face then a reverse shot of Vlad
SHOT 18 CU hand held shot of Mikes clenched fist
Interior-Boxing Gym-Evening
SHOT 19 Medium shot of Mike and coach entering the gym reception and the camera follows as they enter the main part of the gym
SHOT 20 Medium shot of them going through the opening to the main part of the gym abd the camera pans to follow them going towards the chair
SHOT 21 Medium close up of Mike seated in his chair as he reaches for his bag
SHOT 22 High angle close up of Mike opening his bag and taking out his gloves
SHOT 22 Close up of Mike putting on his gloves and punching them together as in to get them comfortable
SHOT 23 Medium shot of Mike getting up and walking towards the punch bag and beginning to punch it
SHOT 24 close up of his fist hitting the bag
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Filing comments - James Allen
We would have liked to have re-filmed some of the training montage scene to add a bit more boxing on the punch bag and also to have added a bit of jogging or skipping to it as well to make it look more like a boxing movie and that by the opening two mins, we would like the viewers to know what type of film the film is and not to have them guessing. Unfortunately due to commitments to other things , we was unable to re-film this scene or add shots to this scene. We would again like to thank Mu-Sa Martial Arts, Wombwell for letting us use their gym for shooting the original scene for our movie.
comments on filming - 1 - 04-2010 - By James Allen
as advised we was to re-shoot some shots of our press-conference scene to make the quality of our film better, and we also crossed the 180 degree line during the Q and A. We got a bigger audience that was to be journalists, and we was to re-shoot the questions that the journalists ask and the answers of Mike Dawson. We re-shot quite quickly and it was edited back into our film. Overall we thought as a group that adding more people to the audience and having a camera flash every so often gave the press conference a great effect to how we wanted the press conference to look as real as possible.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Character Profile - Charlotte Taylor - By James Allen
Name: Charlotte Taylor
Age : 23
Proffesion: Reporter for Sky Sports News
Bio: Charlotte is going to have regular updates for this fight between Zhirkov and Dawson, has regular parts in film, but not as much as Jim Davidson.
Monday, 19 April 2010
The Redemption - Film Age Rating By Alexander Martin
It has been decided in accordance to the film age rating system and through research of the boxing film genre that our project is made into a rate 15 movie.
This is due to the heavy implication of violence linked with the boxing sport and because of the use of profanity by the actor’s characters throughout the story. However these instances are not so extreme as to entitle the film an 18 rating since while there is violence it is done within a humane and moral system since it is part of a sport which has established rules.
The violence and profanity is done mildly and in such a degree as to refrain from insulting any specific peoples in terms of their; ethnicity, religion and social standing. There are no death sequences and the characters involved are not subjected to any inhumane treatments throughout the stories development that are not within the boundaries of an age rating of 15 years.
Official 15 years rating standards:
Contains strong violence and language, once very strong
Film Age Rating By Alexander Martin
A motion picture rating is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content. A particular issued rating is called a certification and can range from a U (suitable for all ages) to an 18+ (suitable for audiences over the age of 18 years)This is designed to help individuals and parents to decide whether a movie is suitable or not for viewing. However, the effectiveness of these systems is widely disputed. Also, in some jurisdictions a rating may impose on movie theatres the legal obligation of refusing the entrance of children or minors to a movie that is rated above the customer’s actual age.
Depending of the state or country the decisions made on behalf of media censorship are usually done by elected bodies of a type. In countries such as Australia, an official government body decides on ratings; in other countries, such as the United States, it is done by industry committees with no official government status. In most countries, however, films that are considered morally offensive have been censored, restricted, or banned. Even if the film rating system has no legal consequences, and a film has not explicitly been restricted or banned, there are usually laws forbidding certain films, or forbidding minors to view them.
Friday, 26 March 2010
comments on filming, 24-03-10 - Ian Uttley
On Wednesday, we filmed the final part of our opening sequence which was a training after they the two main characters had been to the press conference.
We had originally planned to film the two characters walking in to the boxing gym from the outside, but due to poor light conditions this was not possible so we dicided to film that part another day when the light is better. Therfore we had to be careful to keep the windows out off frame so as not to ruin the continuety of the film.
The rest of the filming went to plan and we have obtained some good footage for editing and we would like to thank the people at the "Mu-sa" martial arts gym for letting us film there and we hope it didn't cause too much disruption
We had originally planned to film the two characters walking in to the boxing gym from the outside, but due to poor light conditions this was not possible so we dicided to film that part another day when the light is better. Therfore we had to be careful to keep the windows out off frame so as not to ruin the continuety of the film.
The rest of the filming went to plan and we have obtained some good footage for editing and we would like to thank the people at the "Mu-sa" martial arts gym for letting us film there and we hope it didn't cause too much disruption
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
comments on filming - 19-03-2010 - By James Allen
today we filmed the press conference for our opening sequence for our film. it took us around an hour to film the whole press conference as we shot each section of the press conference from a variety of angles and places. we made a few bloopers during filming but on the whole I think was a positive filming session, we plan to next go out filming on the 24-03-2010 to film our training sequence part of our opening for the film.
by james allen
by james allen
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Distribution Analysis by Alexander Martin
Distribution of a film can take a number of different forms depending on the company that developed the film and the crew’s contacts within the industry. If it was a small independent company financing an up and coming director then they would have to use an independent distributor and even then they would have to attract one which could prove difficult due to the uncertainty of the film however, they will still be able to distribute it themselves through below-the-line advertise through: Word of mouth, viral marketing, flyers or public announcement, mostly free forms of advertising.
ndependent distributors would be their best course of action since they would be able to work closely with them to get the results they wanted plus they would have experience in that field and be able to advise effectively, however it does create the problem of splitting the responsibilities and credits an unfortunate necessity.
Whereas if the company was very corporate and financially secure then they would most likely own their own distribution branch and use them to save on cost which could then be spent on advertising through trailers, posters, billboards or TV . Radio broadcasts.
Festivals are the only other alternative where an independent film can be shown to a number of spectators who will rate it, some of them will be agents looking to purchase the distribution rights to a film so they can tie their name to its success or failure.
In my opinion the best option would be to do option 1 of acquiring a separate independent distributor to organise, advise and perform the method of marketing and distributing the film.
There are a large number of independent film distributors but the one most likely to achieve our goals would be either: Channel 4, Film 4, Optimum Releases or Arrow Films sine they have experience in marketing low budget boxing films such as Champions Forever.
ndependent distributors would be their best course of action since they would be able to work closely with them to get the results they wanted plus they would have experience in that field and be able to advise effectively, however it does create the problem of splitting the responsibilities and credits an unfortunate necessity.
Whereas if the company was very corporate and financially secure then they would most likely own their own distribution branch and use them to save on cost which could then be spent on advertising through trailers, posters, billboards or TV . Radio broadcasts.
Festivals are the only other alternative where an independent film can be shown to a number of spectators who will rate it, some of them will be agents looking to purchase the distribution rights to a film so they can tie their name to its success or failure.
In my opinion the best option would be to do option 1 of acquiring a separate independent distributor to organise, advise and perform the method of marketing and distributing the film.
There are a large number of independent film distributors but the one most likely to achieve our goals would be either: Channel 4, Film 4, Optimum Releases or Arrow Films sine they have experience in marketing low budget boxing films such as Champions Forever.
Title Sequences by Alexander Martin
The title sequence of a film is in itself an art form and can be just as effective and important as any other aspect of the film especially since it will be the first thing a viewer will see when viewing it or whether it will be purchased after distribution.
The examples we have been using are the boxing films of Fighting and Ali both of which we feel not only used the conventional methods in order to create an effective but also compelling film but they also used very similar title sequences to display their names which simply consist of the title made clear and colourful and mounted on a darker background so as to emphasise and make it more readable.
We decided to follow a similar route by making out title sequence also appear on a dark background but decided to make it more recognisable by using 2 colours to complement each other and a font that would be easily recognisable.
Here is an example of the titles which resembles the title shot of Ali, we decided to stick closely to convention by not making it too over extravagant but also to challenge it slightly so that it stands out more and will also be remembered more clearly when compared to others.
However we also wished to display our company logo so as to give credit to our efforts whereas some usually only display it as a flash title we decided on giving it a full graphic display similar to those used in 20th Century Fox
The examples we have been using are the boxing films of Fighting and Ali both of which we feel not only used the conventional methods in order to create an effective but also compelling film but they also used very similar title sequences to display their names which simply consist of the title made clear and colourful and mounted on a darker background so as to emphasise and make it more readable.
We decided to follow a similar route by making out title sequence also appear on a dark background but decided to make it more recognisable by using 2 colours to complement each other and a font that would be easily recognisable.
Here is an example of the titles which resembles the title shot of Ali, we decided to stick closely to convention by not making it too over extravagant but also to challenge it slightly so that it stands out more and will also be remembered more clearly when compared to others.
However we also wished to display our company logo so as to give credit to our efforts whereas some usually only display it as a flash title we decided on giving it a full graphic display similar to those used in 20th Century Fox
Locations by Alexander Martin
Corridor
This location was decided upon because of its easy access, close to where the next scene will be filmed and good for what we want to do.
The main character will burst through the double doors and run down the corridor shown above with the camera changing from him running towards it to running away from it etc.
When he gets to the corner he will skid round in a hurry and continue running down, again appearing to run towards and away from the camera.
Conference
Here is where the conference will be filmed because of its wide open space, access to adjustable lights and area above and on ground level for different filming angles.
The audience will be set in the middle of the room and a desk placed just in front of the black curtains closest the door for quick access.
There will be 2 rows of 5 spectators with the ones speaking at the front and those not at the back.
Camera will film mostly on the ground level but and high shot will be done from the stairs on the balcony
This location was decided upon because of its easy access, close to where the next scene will be filmed and good for what we want to do.
The main character will burst through the double doors and run down the corridor shown above with the camera changing from him running towards it to running away from it etc.
When he gets to the corner he will skid round in a hurry and continue running down, again appearing to run towards and away from the camera.
Conference
Here is where the conference will be filmed because of its wide open space, access to adjustable lights and area above and on ground level for different filming angles.
The audience will be set in the middle of the room and a desk placed just in front of the black curtains closest the door for quick access.
There will be 2 rows of 5 spectators with the ones speaking at the front and those not at the back.
Camera will film mostly on the ground level but and high shot will be done from the stairs on the balcony
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