If I was to create a film or television programme, I would make it fair to all people. For example, I would make sure there are a fair amount of genders, races, etc... I do not agree with the way women or races are portrayed in some films because I find it prejudice and discriminative. If my film was set many decades ago then I may well be inclined to include racism, sexism and homophobia because that's how times were.
If a film which was created and set in 2015 and treated women and different races in a wrong manor, then I would feel very strongly against the film. Context in most films influences me though because they're showing how great these committees are seen now but wouldn't be seen as great decades ago. The most relevant feature of Back To The Future in terms of representation, narrative and genre is narrative. I find that it has the most to talk about and can also be a lot more interesting to look at. Even though gender representation speaks a lot about how women don't have a large role in the film and how they're treated like they're unimportant. The genre has many twists and crossovers, but mainly it shows a sci-fi theme throughout the entire film and ultimately the entire trilogy.
The reason I think narrative is the most affective is simply because it has the many twists and cleverly make sense. There are always many different story-lines throughout the film. Despite this, there is one main story line; Marty getting back to 1985. On top of this, there are little problems that Marty needs to fix before he can get back home and save his own existence. One of these things is getting his mother and father back together, because he's interfered in the space-time continuum. The narrative returns to an equilibrium when Marty returns in 1985, however it is slightly different because his parents are both very successful and a lot more happy than at the beginning of the film. The film ends on a cliffhanger with Doc Brown returning in a flying Delorean telling him he must go back to the future. PrimaryPrimary research is research that hasn't been given to you by anyone. It is usually research that you have conducted yourself, whether that be in surveys, interviews, focus groups etc... Primary can mostly be a lot more reliable because it hasn't been tampered with or twisted in anyway. It is also unique to whatever you are researching. SecondaryAlso known as 'desk research', this research often comes from somebody else's resources. An example is taking information from somebody as they say it to you or from their survey that they conducted. It is also used by taking resources that are published online or in books. Secondary research can be found in public libraries or across the internet. How I've Used The Two:Recently, I used primary information to help me research the target audiences for each major production company and what their idents look/have looked like in order to create my own. This worked out very successfully because I was able to view which company had done to attract their audience. I looked at their idents using internet websites such as YouTube.
I also recently used secondary information too. We were given a task when we had to research certain types of courses, jobs and apprenticeships. The website that we were linked to had lots of information on and we had to pick out the most useful of that information. This means that the research had already been conducted by the website owner and had been published online. Overall, I think primary research is a lot more effective when it comes to looking at your results. Although it's harder to come across because you have to conduct the research yourself instead of easily finding it on the internet or in a library, I still feel its more useful. It is a way of getting people's honest opinions and truthful answers. Pros of Primary Research: Questions can be more easily aimed directly at the audience(s) It's new information so can't be outdated The psychology of the customer can be analysed Cons of Primary Research: Can be expensive May be bias due to audience members Pros of Secondary Research: Most of the time costs nothing or very cheap Gives a good overview of the market It's usually based on actual sales figures or research on large samples Cons of Secondary Research: Data maybe outdated or not updated regularly May not suit your exact needs Maybe twisted, edited, inaccurate HistoricalBack to the future was created in 1985. It uses quite a lot of elements from this time period, such as the DeLorian, the clothing and some of the gadgets used. In the first film, they travel back in time to 1955. We notice there is a huge contrast in the clothes and traditions in 1985 than 1955. In 1955, the cars are a lot more primitive than the 1985 cars. Also, during the 1950s television was becoming popular in households and Marty notices is when he tells a child he has two televisions (the child is in disbelief). They also use things such as racism. This is showed when a black man, who becomes mayor in 1985, discusses becoming mayor. Another example of a historical element which is explored is the entertainment at the time. Famous actors in 1955 are mentioned, such as Ronald Reagan who became president in the 1980s. In my opinion, a really good example is when Marty is performing Johnny B. Goode in front of an audience at the school. He uses '70s/'80s rock techniques while on stage, which the 1955 community is not familiar to, therefore they're surprised. Marty also mentioned "this is an oldie... an oldie where I come from" because it was released in 1958. SocialGender roles are presented strongly. Women don't have a very strong role in the film and there are not really any female lead roles. Marty's mother, in 1955, plays a stereotypical teenager; wanting to have boyfriends, smoking and drinking. In 1985, she is a woman who has became an alcoholic after "letting herself go" as many popular school girls do later in life. There isn't very many black roles in 1955. There is one character called "Goldie Wilson" who is mayor in 1985. This shows the difference in diversity within America between these two time periods. He would never become mayor in 1955 because most people thought white people were supreme. Goldie Wilson works in the cafe that is popular in Hill Valley. His job is to sweep the floors but he doesn't serve the costumers. This is shows that he isn't important and his boss doesn't think greatly of him. Another one of the workers says "a coloured mayor..." trying to imagine it. Marty's mother also doesn't know the harmfulness of smoking, therefore she does it without thinking. This also shows how times change and how in the '50s nobody understood the harmfulness/ thought it was good for you. CulturalThis film shows a few cultural changes from 1985 to 1955. An example of on of the changes is the clothing. When Marty arrives in 1955 he is wearing an orange body warmer, which is popular in 1985, many people give him strange looks and few even ask "why are you wearing a life preserver?" and many people also think that he's a sailer. Clothing for people in 1955 is also different too. Teenage boys wear shirts which are slightly unbuttoned and jeans where as all girls wear big, 50s, retro dresses. You rarely see anybody else wearing anything different, apart from the adults like Doc Brown and Marty's grandparents in 1955.
Sci-Fi was also popular. Marty's father has the job of writing Sci-Fi novels and is scared when he gets a visit from "Darth Vader". This scares him as he does not know what a Walkman is, and they rarely used headphones in the 1950s. As I mentioned before, television was becoming more popular in households. However it was very rare to have somebody with over one television in their house, as we learn when Marty is at his mother's house. Focus Group
I conducted a focus group to discover what people thought of my ident. I discovered that it would attract teenagers. I also discovered that people would expect my company to create comedy, adventure and documentary films. The reason why they said documentary was because the background looks like a screwed up map. They also said it was rememberable because of my image.
Survey using Survey Monkey
Most people said they would expect my company to create documentaries. The majority said that my target audience should be adults 30-50, which is different from my focus group. One person said it was professional and others said it was amateur. I agree with the person who said it was amutuer because I am only low budget production company.
To create this, I used garage band and Premiere Pro. I also created foley tracks to make sounds effects. An example on one of the sound effects I made was the splash of the puddle at the start. This was originally a tap in the gents toilets pouring a shot amount of water at one time.
At the beginning of the film I wanted to get a clear establishing shot to show the character's surroundings. This way, I would also be able to tell the audience about the time of the day (I wanted to show that it was 11am). I thought it was also important for the audience to get a clear view of what the student looks like, I have done this by adding a close-up shot of his face as he is walking. The audience need to know he is a student and not an adult or teacher. For my fourth shot, I thought about cinematography and what would look the most interesting/ visually pleasing. Therefore I had the idea to do a birds-eye view shot of the paper on the student's hand. Next I added a POV shot, of the student unfolding and reading the paper. An over the shoulder shot is effective when the character is reading the paper. It foreshadows something bad is going to happen. Once the figure appears in the background is the moment the audience knows something awful is about to happen. I wanted to create this kind of effect. Using the rule of thirds, I had "Teen 1" on one line of the grid and "Teen 2" on another line of the grid, but in the background rather than the foreground. Using aperture, I wanted to create a follow focus for shot 11. I wanted his hands to be in focus and then his face be in focus. When it actually came to filming, it didn't work so well because it didn't look natural.
Overall, I am very happy with my storyboard but if there is anything I would improve on it would be spending more time on my drawings to make them look more clear and also add more detailed descriptions to make people reading be able to understand my thoughts more well when filming the film scene. Skills Audit and Targets / Final Reflection & Evaluation of skills & Professional Practice11/25/2015
Technical Skills
I think that my technical skills are pretty good as they stand, however there is room for improvement, for example analysing the relationship between music and sound is film and identifying narrative style in a film. I feel that these skills will just come in time as I watch more films and look out for what sound effects and music are used and also keep an eye on the narrative of the film. Although there are things to improve, I feel that the majority of the other skills I am very good at and don't need to revise them anymore. Music and sound two of the most important features when it comes to editing a film. A good example of this is the music used in Star Wars when Darth Vader enters a scene, it's very dark and suspenseful and allows the audience to realise that he is the villain. If the music was changed to a more uplifting, cheerful tune then the purpose would be completely ruined. The audience would get the impression that Darth Vader's character was created as a joke and would make the film look like a parody genre. Sound effects are also very important. If it wasn't for good sound effects then it would make the film look fake and would also make the acting look bad. Sometimes, actors create the sound effects themselves while on set performing a certain action (slapping somebody for example). However usually the sound effects are created by foley artists (the art of recording the sound effect of one thing to make it sound like something else, eg: screwing up paper may sound like a crackling fire). Sound effects help to immerse the audience by making them believe that the actions of a character are real (like shooting a gun). In the YouTube clip below, somebody shows the how the film genre changes when the music is changed. The difference is extraordinary. |
Will TownsendA keen videographer and photographer. Currently studying Level 3 Creative Media Production at SGS WISE Campus, Bristol. Archives
November 2015
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