Richard Joyce 12JAP

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

Our media product uses the similar style in which opening title sequences
are normally illustrated in the crime genre which we chose. We studied
opening title sequences from this type of genre to gain knowledge of how
they produce their opening titles and having studied the likes of ‘Catch Me
If You Can’ and ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ we were able to understand how we
could produce an effective opening title sequence in this style.

We developed the opening titles styles of these films however by

introducing faster pace shots in between titles to add rhythm and pace as
an effect. We felt this would capture the audience’s attention well and was
a key factor in our planning right from the beginning of the project.

Our opening title sequence product challenges form and convention a little
more than the title sequences you would normally expect to see in the
crime genre because of the actual real life action you see from the
characters that are in the film. Commonly in opening title sequences they
are purely illustrated using artwork and special graphics – however ours
uses real life actors to display the themes and things you can expect to
see in the film.

We felt that we would be able to achieve some success in line with real
media products because of our enjoyment of these types of films and our
own personal ideas being used could end up contributing to a really
effective final product. By viewing our final product and comparing it
alongside films of a similar genre it’s easy to see the similarities in style
but also the new ideas and interpretations we have added to the product.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents particular social groups with its attraction
to the intelligent and classy style of crime that is admired by many film
viewers. This is highlighted by the popular viewing figures films from this
genre receive and the amount of films that are produced in this style. For
example films such as ‘Public Enemies’ and television series such as
‘Hustle’ appeal to an audience who appreciate the cleverness and tactical
side of crime.

Our product appeals to those who enjoy the glamorous side to crime with
this being shown by the smart costumes the characters in the opening
title sequence wear and the way in which they are depicted as behaving
even in the short space of time the opening title sequence can reveal
what they do, and what they aim to achieve. The crime genre is very
Richard Joyce 12JAP

popular as audiences enjoy the long winded but clever storylines that
make the finishing products all come together.

By using our own personal appreciation of the stories told in films such as
‘Public Enemies’ we felt that we could create a product that related to the
type of people who would enjoy it also. And we feel that this was
successful as the storyline and shots we used reflected the style that this
type of audience enjoys so much.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media

product and why?

The kind of media institution that might consider distributing our media
product is an institution that would appeal to the fans of crime and heist
genre that appreciate the intelligent and complicated plots involved.

Crime and heist genre products are both popular in the film industry and
television industry as it has a wide audience who appreciate the style of
the way it’s presented. Therefore both film and television institutions
might want to distribute our product because of the wide access it has to
reach many people who enjoy seeing the different ways the complicated
but clever plots unravel.

I think personally that it would be better to be released as a film as a

sequence of films could be created similar to the ‘Ocean series’ of films.
Also a similar London based style action thriller film; ‘The Bank Job’ was
successful in a film format. However the success of ‘Hustle’ on television
illustrates that this kind of style fits well on television as well.

Who would be your audience for your media product?

The audience for our media product would be those who enjoy the
cleverness of the crime and heist genre and those who appreciate it.
Despite the high level of criminality the glamorous and dexterous
appearance of those involved creates huge admiration for viewing
audiences.

The audiences stretch widely between those in teenage years who

appreciate the glamorous and classy side of the genre but also the grime
and hard work involved. Meanwhile adult viewers would show their
appreciation for the clever plots and the conclusion of events that the
product builds up to in its final scenes.

Those that enjoy watching the likes of the ‘Ocean 11, 12 and 13’ series
would enjoy our media product because of the similarity of the aim to win
Richard Joyce 12JAP

big financially through an act of crime but their fondness of the clever
way in which that has been achieved throughout the events of the film.

Personally, I would enjoy watching the way our product would turn out as
it is the genre I would enjoy viewing and I think many other audiences
would do also. We wanted to show the grime of some parts of crime
mixed in with the class of the way in which our characters were dressed
and the locations they visited. By creating this mixture we felt this would
appeal to audiences like ourselves who enjoy this type of thing.

How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience through the use of a poster depicting the title
of the film ‘Swagger’ in a clever font that would appeal and grab the
attention easily. Also the general attraction of being able to pick up
interested viewers purely because they wanted to see what could be
produced from another crime genre based film.

We addressed our audience by collecting their views and thoughts in the

form of an online questionnaire using a website called ‘Survey Pirate’. By
asking possible audiences about their favourite period of time they prefer
to view crime and heist films and different locations they felt would fit the
style of film perfectly. By collecting this data we could easily gain an
understanding of what people appreciated and what they did not
appreciate. By adding the positive feelings from a potential audience
together in to our final product then you stand a good chance of being
able to attract those who gave their opinions on the survey as the positive
components are hopefully added together in our final product.

I felt the use of websites such as ‘Survey Pirate’ were ideal and is
something I would consider using in the future for a range of different
subjects. Being able to collect audience’s views that easily proves really
effective. Also the audience research we did following the viewing of our
finished product was helpful as well in gaining an understanding of how
people felt. Getting the views of others helps you improve your product
massively and gives you plenty to think about and discuss.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge on using a number of

different types of technology. When it has come to filming I have gained
knowledge on different lighting for the camera and how effective that can
be on the shots you can produce. Also from going out and filming our
product I’ve learnt about the different ways we can use the camera and
how it can benefit the kind of shots we produce.
Richard Joyce 12JAP

Importantly I have been able to earn valuable time on editing the final
product and being able to use the I-Movie programme on the laptops in
classes and free study periods. This has allowed me to see all the special
effects you can use to give your product the professional look you wish to
produce from the start. Also the opportunity to alter and change
whenever you wish to make your final product better and better each
time.

I’ve also extensively used the internet to do plenty of research on possible

filming locations, the availability of these locations and to use lots of
resources on the internet. These include document loading sites such as
‘Scribd’, blogging websites such as ‘blogger.com’ and survey
questionnaire sites like ‘Survey Pirate’. All these sites have been of huge
benefit and have helped achieve our final product.

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

Since the work we did on the preliminary task I have learnt about the
importance of lighting when doing filming and how it can affect your
entire shot and what you are trying to film. Also the opportunity to extend
your use of camera shots and angles to many different forms so you can
capture shots in many different ways.

Having a wide vocabulary of shots makes the product look more

impressive and creative. It also captures the attention well as a group we
have spent more time thinking and planning different ways of capturing
the shots we wanted to take. For example camera shots coming from low
angles filming the action upwards as well as birds-eye-view shots showing
the action from above.

Also accessing the wide range of effects on the I-Movie programme when
editing our final product has become more important to me. As has
listening and viewing different effects you can pick up via websites from
the internet that can prove really useful when editing the final product.
Such as our background soundtrack in the opening title sequence.