Here is the written version of my evaluation:
Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The ways that my media product challenges forms and conventions of the real media products is that there is no simple protagonist or antagonist in the narrative and at the end the character is consumed by his own mortality and defective traits. In a way my film challenges the role of the gangster, within one of Scorsese’ films because the characters aren’t psychotic but my character descends into madness and don’t challenge or change their traits e.g. Frank is obsessive and becomes more aggressive, arrogant and theoretical which is shown Frank is comparing himself to previous boxers. My film also doesn’t show how he declined in society but it shows him as someone who is trying to redeem himself and my character creates a false reality which he looks to control.
The Nike shoes were used because I wanted to represent the struggle between modern and premodern society. The green on the shoes represents him as someone who is envious, hopeful and tormented and the colors black and white represent the character as someone who is mysterious, fearful, immoral and represents the character has being two characters such as he is basically his own protagonist and antagonist tied up in one identity. The jumper which is black also signifies him as someone who is an individual. The lacoste shirt was chosen because I wanted to represent the characters as someone who associates with high class. The sunglasses are used as a metaphor to represent death and how his subconscious and consciousness have become two people which suggests a split personality.
The props that I used were props such as a gym set, punching bag, boxing gloves, cards, money, desk, glass, bottle, lamp, hand mitts and pictures. The gym set, punching bag, boxing gloves and mitts were used because I wanted to depict the usual day of this boxer but it was also used because the character wants to prove his masculinity and racial identity. The bottle and glass were used in my film because I wanted to portray how the character has descended out of illusion, and isn’t able to accept his identity, defective traits and reality and to suggest how the character is an alcoholic. The cards in my film were used as a metaphor because I wanted to represent how he was superior to his illusion and consciousness but when we see the king over the ace it signifies he has lost his own reality and is controlled by his subconscious rather than his traits or actions. The pictures at the start of the movie suggest how the character has become obsessed with these preexisting boxers and prove his worth of his racial identity and to his society. The lamp was used because I wanted to show the character as lonely, obsessive and fearful. The money was used to suggest how he has come addicted to money and isn’t able to accept his own fate or mortality that he loses his consciousness and morals and depicts the theme of descending into a world of psychotic and chaos. The desk was used because I wanted the audience to know how part of the narrative is structured around the office and that desk but it was also used to represent him as someone who is intelligent but has turned to a life of crime because of his background and social status within society.
The settings that I used were settings such as the garage to intensify my representation of boxers and an office to represent the character as lonely and powerless. The garage was also used because I wanted to compare my character to other preexisting boxers. The office was used because I wanted to represent how the character has declined in to a world of unreason and unpredictability and madness while trying to maintain his mortality.
The camerawork I used were techniques such as using a hand held camera, the arc movement, tracking movement, point of view, over the shoulder shot, close up, pan. The hand held camera movement was used because I wanted to create a sense of intimacy and tension and be more accurate to the narrative. The tracking movement was used to show the character walking in to the office and used to follow the character. The point of view shot was used because I wanted to make the audience feel like that they could view that characters world through the eyes of the character and be able to connect with the plot of the storyline. The over the shoulder shot was used because I wanted the audience to be able to view the characters portrayal through the eyes of a different character as if there was another character. A close was used in my film because I wanted to show the emotions and reactions of the character as he confronts his society and illusion. The pan shot was used as an enigma because I was asking the audience whether that character has lost touch with reality and drifted into the world of chaos.
The editing techniques used in my film were editing techniques such as a cuts and a fade out. The cut was used because I wanted to portray how the two scenes within the narrative are connected and this was shown because I wanted to produce a dreamlike situation where the character hasn’t lost his own mortality but the audiences have contributed to his loss of mortality. The fades were used because I wanted to show that time has passed but I’m asking what reality or illusion that character has descended into.
The title of the film is Misshapen Identity because I wanted the film to talk about how this character through crime has lost his reality and consciousness. The title font and size of the font is
The story of the film is about a gangster that appears to have indulged himself into money and associating with the mafia and how he falls from reality to illusion. It’s also about boxing so he wants to prove his masculinity through boxing this is shown through his boxing in the gym and the Rocky Marciano scene.
The genre of the film is a sport, crime genre because it contains conventions like boxing gloves or gear to specify the sports genre and money and cards to specify that it’s a crime genre.
My character is introduced when we first notice him after the Rocky Marciano video.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The ways that my media product represents particular social groups is that it shows the working class in a negative kind of way because it shows them as people that are exploitive but also people that have turned to a life of crime because of their own demise within society.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The kind of media institution that would distribute my product, I would say, are companies such as Warner Bros, United Artists, Media Asia films or distributors like Miramax and Sky. The reason why I say these media institutions is because these companies have produced films such as Rocky, Raging Bull, Scarface, Infernal Affairs,
Mean Streetand
Gomorrah and the film I have directed this film in the style of them American based films. In
England it would probably be a media institution like Film Four or Wellington Films as they distributed
London to
Brighton, which is very similar to my film in certain ways. I would say these media institutions would distribute my media product because of the style that is incorporated within the films and the tone of the film as it is in an American styled film. I would say these media institutions would distribute my product because my representation on society and on crime is similar to film directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Scorsese as they show the themes of temptation, the outsider and their declining moralities. Some of these companies have also distributed in Asian and Italian media markets.
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience that I would attempt to aim my media project at is 15 year olds to 25 which are female and male and the social group that it is aimed at is the C1, C2 and D. I chose this audience because I think that this audience will be able to understand the complex themes within the narrative and be able to function with this challenging and Neorealist film because at the end the protagonist doesn’t overcome the goals but he actually gets consumed by them goals, his ambition and conscious and subconscious themes and the protagonist isn’t able to embrace his decisive traits. The costumes used in my film are casual clothing such as the trousers (blue), shoes (Nike, green, black and white), jumper (black), lacoste shirt and sunglasses. The costumes used were used to connote a representation of the character towards the audience such as the trousers were used because I wanted to represent the character as someone who is sad and obsessive and it’s a part of his training gear to signify his obsession and to prove his worth within society and mortality.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I was able to attract my audience of my product by producing questionnaires and getting people to review my product through screening. I also put it on my blog and YouTube so people can watch it and give me feedback on the product. I also used Facebook to tell friends about my film, I used Facebook to get people attracted to my film because I remember that it was used by producer’s .for the film Cloverfield to get the public’s attention about the film.
The themes that are used in my film are themes such as identity, creating a reality to control; there are also the themes of greed, temptation, false reality, redemption, chaos overcoming reality etc. My film is similar to films like Gomorrah, Mean Streets and Raging Bull etc. My film creates enigma is a scene at the end because I’m asking has my character descended into illusion or has he retained his identity and reality and in control of it.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt that there are a number of different ways to signify representations to the audience through creative techniques such as transitions or effects. I have also learnt that when it comes to sound it takes a long time to put the sound in a certain area and sound can become very decisive in the film. I also learnt that it can be the music that upholds that narrative, tone and representations but it can also be the one that lends to the downfall of a film.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task, I wished that I spent more time directing and editing it. I also wished I could have made the film narrative more structured and portray a more distinctive character representation. I also wished I used more innovative ways to display the characters and how it shows the theme of modernity and uses some kind of symbolism and metaphors within the film.
8. The films that influenced me were films like Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Godfather, Gangs of New York, The Departed, Infernal Affairs, Inception, Rome, Open City, Downfall, Blade Runner, Catch Me If You can and Memento, The Big Shave etc.
9. The film directors that inspired me were directors such as Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Robert Rossellini, Francis Ford Coppola, Howard Hawks, and Howard Hughes etc.
