Matt Holden Media Evaluation

 

My project is the opening sequence for a gangster/crime film called Charlie. I worked in the group team 69 with James, brecon and Liam. My contribution to the film that I helped with editing, filming and also starred in the film itself.

 

I think The British film industry would most likely support our film. The reason for this is because the British citizens could relate to our film in some way. They would be able to relate to the film because of its thriller/criminal appeal as seen in layer cake, bullet boy etc. so I think this is what the industry would want from a film because they could sell the film on a large scale. Also the distributors like a type of film was has been successful before and my film had all of these.

 

When making our film we where aiming to target the 16-34 age group, this is because they are the biggest sector who go the cinema often and have the biggest disposable income. In this age group we attended to target the c2-e social-economic, we think we have done this well because our film because they can relate to the characters if not directly maybe by someone they know. Gender wise I think our film is more relative to men because they would find it easier to relate to and ethnically anyone British who has lived there would be able to understand what England is like. It is quite a niche market film and not to everyone’s taste.

 

I addressed my audience by camera shots viewers would be use to create continuous editing so they wouldn’t even be able to notice it. I did this by using shots such as close ups e.g. in the basement of Liam face to create tension, also shot reverse shot when they where talking by using these shots I believe I have effectively made it look like normal films to viewers and the film flows smoothly. Also we made the character Charlie so he had a similar personality so the viewer would be able to relate to him this is important because it makes them feel more emotion for Charlie and also more involved. Also our music helps create tension and excitement. Also our voice over gets our viewers more involved and allows the main character to explain the story so they know what’s happening.

 

Through making our media product I have learnt that technogy is a major part of film creation. I have also learnt a lot about using the camera and the editing software in college. I have learnt how to do continuity editing this is vital so the film runs smoothly and they feel like their part of the film. I learnt how to make the camera go in and out of focus which was a key part of our film it showed that Charlie was dazing in and out of conscious without this our film would not of made sense. We learnt a lot about voice over as we had to re-record ours twice but this enabled us to get a clear sound viewers would be able to understand.

 

Since my prelim task I have learnt a lot about camera shots, editing. Our camera shots have become a lot more effective and dramatic since our prelim for example the shots run more smoothly and we use angles to create mood now like the extreme close up. Also the editing is more unnoticeable and the camera is less shaky. I have also learned a lot about lighting e.g. how to make certain things stand out etc. Also our characters where more realistic to our prelim they had more of there own personality.

 

In conclusion I am happy with our film, I think that the in/out focus shot was very effective and helped tell the story and also I think easier to relate to and understand I think some weakness were the scene where Charlie awakes and walks past the two bodies because you can only really notice one of them and also the sound could have been clearer in parts. I think the product is the most realistic it could have been unless we had better actors and better cameras. So I am happy with the final product. 

Brecon's Evaluation

The genre of our opening sequence is a hybrid of crime/drama/thriller and gangster. The name of the film is ‘Charlie’ which is the main characters name and also the name of cocaine, which is useful as the film is based around drugs.
The opening sequence establishes the location, characters and gives a sense of the genre very well. We made sure it was easy to understand and also obvious to the audience for the genre.
We made sure the characters were easy to acknowledge, by the costumes. I, myself, played a drug dealer, so I wore a Nike jogging tracksuit and a Peruvian hat, showing not only the wealth of my character but to show he is street. Mat also played a drug dealer, he wore an urban, straight peaked cap and a hoody. Liam played the victim, he bought drugs and couldn’t pay in time, so we dressed him in a casual hoody with jeans. All these costumes represent our characters and give a sense of realism.
Mine and Matt’s walk, also represented our characters as we walked slowly with a cocky swagger.
Liam, being tied to a chair also gave a sense of his character through his movements, as he was beaten by myself and Matt, he made himself look like he was slowly drifting in and out of consciousness, with help from a camera tip we learnt, playing with the focus to represent his state of mind.
Not only did we tell the story through the cinematography, but we also used a voice over to not only tell the story, but to let the audience relate to Liam.
The setting in which we was situated, also represented the genre of the film. When Liam was tied to the chair, he was in a basement of a house. When he had flashbacks, we made the scenes black and white to make sure it was obvious that they were flashbacks.
We made the lighting mainly low key and naturalistic as this gives a sense of realism and contributes to the mood of our film.
In our opening, I walk over to Liam, tied up on a chair, and look at him like I’m going to help him, patronising him, then I hit him in the face. We all decided that there should be no sound effect of the punch as silence made the scene feel more sinister and the audience automatically know what has happened.
We handed out printouts of questions for the audiences responses. They all seemed to know the genre of the film, have a good sense of what has happened in the film and also our characters. This proves that we all succeeded in our initial ‘quest’.