Evaluation 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media product?

The first screenshot shows one way in which our film opening challenges conventions is the way in which we start it off. By this, I am referring to the music and fade in and out of our production company logo which instantaneously creates a very somber mood, this contrasts with most teen angst films as they start very upbeat and happy. For example, in Easy A it starts off with blue skies and happy, upbeat music.

The second screenshot allows us to give the audience an idea as to how we want the vibe of the film to come across. We achieved this by breaking down the fourth wall and having our actor have the facial expression that connotes that of someone who is sad and upset and feel alone, this is backed up by having a plain white background. This is both a counter type of a teen angst film as well as being a convention as there are other films that have broken the fourth wall but none that I am aware of that have broken it in such a way as we have.

The third screenshot shows a mobile phone with two different messages on it from separate contacts, one contact called "Him <3" and the other called "Her<3" this is a brilliant example of our group using something as conventional as a mobile phone but turn it very controversial by bringing a huge topic such as sexuality into it. Looking at my research I have come across mobile phones in most common teen angst films.

The fourth screenshot shows another way in which we challenged conventions is through our use of props. This comes apparent throughout the 'flashbacks' in which we have included before the film title is shown. Throughout these flashbacks, its shows props, some of which you would not see in a stereotypical teen angst film. These include Razor blades, suicide note, and drugs.

The fifth screenshot shows our opening title. Again within this shot we broke the fourth wall creating a connection with the audience by the straight to camera shots, this is happening while the title "Affliction" is shown in a very simple font, this is to show our film isn't about having a picturesque style to it and it is going to be raw and unique. This challenges the majority of the teen angst films as they all have funky logos.

The sixth screenshot also challenges our films genre, this is because it was a short clip of an empty park, this is uncommon within teen angst films as directors usually adopt the attitude that every second counts when it comes to screen time so they decide to fill it with dialog and character. This is not the case for our film as our film opening would not benefit from character dialog.

The seventh and eighth is the first time you see the two main characters without the fourth wall being broken. This is a conventional shot as it is almost vital for a film as it fully shows the characters and also sets the scene for the start of the film.

Evaluation 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A production company helps to create a film, this could be in terms of financially or providing experience, equipment, and connections to other companies or brands.

We felt our movie would have the best chance of global success if it was distributed with a globally well-known distributor. We decided Paramount Pictures. The reason we picked Paramount Pictures is because they have been in the industry for over 100 years as it was first founded on the 8th May 1912 in California. Due to the companies huge success with the likes of the original Titanic (1997) as well as many franchises such as Shrek and Indiana Jones, since they were first founded have managed to turn over $2.9 Billion USD. This was key to our decision as we felt they have the best experience within the industry again their competitors. As well as the financial side of things, Paramount Productions were also behind the distribution of other huge Teen Angst films such as Footloose as well as Fun Size. This solidifies to us that they are capable of being able to distribute a teen angst film correctly with great success.

However, this being said we feel our film is better being produced by film 4. This is due to the films in which film 4 have produced in the past, this includes films such as The Selfish Giant, this is a film that is produced with the target audience being very niche individuals. Our film is similar to this due to the content involved within the film by this I am referring to the controversial topics of sexuality, self-harm and drug addiction. This is why i feel out film would be best suited with Film 4.

Evaluation 4 - Who would be the target audience for your media product?

Our media product is primarily aimed at the age group of around 16 -21-year-olds. This is because of the nature of our film and the potentially distressing reality that we intend to come across. This being said it fits in the genre of teen angst as a counter type. We set out to be different from the majority of films within this genre to create our unique selling point (USP). We feel 16 - 21-Year-olds will be able to relate to the film from either personal experience or that of others around them. A model example of our target audience is outlined below;

This is Sam Hall

• Male
• 17
• Commonly dresses in casual clothes
• Loves comedy, drama and teen films
• Likes to spend free time with friends and going to parties
• Prefers Hollywood blockbusters to independent films
• Has a part time job earning himself roughly £90 a week
• Plans to go to university

Evaluation 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

We created Affliction to stand out from generic teen angst films, we did this by bringing to light taboo subjects amongst teenagers and young adults. These subjects are:

Sexuality

Sexuality can be a very fragile topic with teenagers as they may be unsure of their sexual identity and may be hiding it from society as they feel they will not be accepted the same as the heterosexual mask in which they put on. This is why we created the character Scott within the first 10 second of the opening sequence a very powerful message has been portrayed about Scott, this is done by doing a headshot in which he is looking past the camera while also seeming distracted and then the shot of the phone showing he is unsure about his sexuality. We feel this will help connect with the LGBTQ community when they watch our opening sequence. This challenges the conventional main character as it is uncommon for the main character to be open about their sexuality. This is shown in the opening scene of Easy A when the main character Olive Penderghast tells a story about her and another guy, a heterosexual relationship this is different to our film.

Drugs

Within the group, we discussed with great detailed whether or not to include a drug dependant teen within our product as it is such a controversial topic. We decided we will include as the number of drug dependent teens within today's society is a growing amount and we feel it would help them relate to our piece. We chose a character called Archie to help portray the vast amount of teenagers with drug problems and the consequences that come with that. We thought we would put a risky but powerful message within our opening sequence showing a news article that includes a picture of Archie stating he was found dead due to an overdose. We felt it was important to connect with that particular social group and use it to send a message as well. This again challenges typical conventions found in other teen angst movies, for example in footloose, there is no use of drugs within the opening sequence.

Self -Harming

This topic caused controversy between the group as to whether we should include it within our final product, we ended up deciding we should. We felt as though this is one of the biggest issues within our target audience and that it would be wrong to not include them due to the issue being so big. We created a character called Jimmy. 

His introduction within the opening sequence is, in my opinion, the most powerful out of all of them. It could also be seen as being the most relatable out of all of them. The headshot of Jimmy shows a normal teenage boy but the next shot shows a letter in which Jimmy had written to his parents as he contemplated ending his life. To some people, they may strongly relate to this and will want to watch on and see how it ends for him. This again challenges conventions as teenagers are commonly portrayed as being very happy carefree individuals within team angst movie, an example of this comes from Juno where the main character Juno MacGuff is shown walking seemingly unaware and unphased by what was going on around her, the complete opposite of our character.

Evaluation 6 - What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 

Social Media

Facebook

Our group used facebook in order to do the majority of communication. We decided to use facebook as we were all competent with the platform and felt it would best suit what we needed it for, this being sharing the likes of photos and videos. The way in which we decided to communicate within facebook is with the ability to create a group chat which included all of our group in one place. This chat helped out when we were creating things such as the logo, drafts and ideas were put into to chat in order to gain feedback on what the group wanted.

YouTube

As a group, we felt it would be best to display our product in a way in which most mainstream computers will be able to handle and access, with the growth of the online video sharing site we thought it would be best suited on youtube. Youtube allows us to upload our video and share out the link to allow people to watch it while also keep track of views and the countries in which it has been watched.

SMS

A scene within our product needed us to show messages from two separate people on the same phone at the same time, the way in which we decided to do this was via text message (SMS). We chose to do it this was due to the versatility when creating a contact and naming it as you wish.

Software

Adobe Premiere Pro

In order to create the best possible final outcome that we would use Adobes Premiere Pro. This program offers professional quality editing and it can also handle the quality video in which was being shot on the Nikon D5200. It also allowed us to layer the video and sound as we pleased and was a customizable workspace for how it best suited us. I have had prior training and experience with this program making it easier for us to crack on with the editing.

Adobe Photoshop

For our production company Giant Productions we felt it would be best to create a completely unique logo that reflects and also ties in with our target audience. The way in which we executed the creation of the logo was by using Adobes Photoshop. This was useful as one our group members are very fluent with photoshop and worked with the team through our facebook chat as he created the perfect company logo.

Equipment

Nikon D5200

Throughout the entirety of the film we used a Nikon D5200, this is my personal camera. As a team, we felt it would help deliver the best quality product we could possibly deliver. For our product we also needed full control on the focus of our shots, shooting on a DSLR allowed us to do exactly that. 

Nikon 35mm F1.4

Attached to the body of the Nikon D5200 was a Nikon 35mm F1.4 lens, This was perfect for what we needed as it gave us the right depth of field on some shots and also allowed us to easily get the correct shot and adjust the focus as needed. The fixed zoom length allowed helped us not rely on zooming in using the lens and potentially suffering the quality in the process. This was easy to get access to as I owned this prior to the project.

Joby Gorilla Pod

To support and hold our camera rig, we used a Joby gorilla pod. This offered huge versatility when it came to positioning the camera with the bendable legs it meant we had the option to get angles we could not get with a conventional tripod. The legs are made to allow you to bend them around something such as a tree branch which helps keep the camera steady while getting an interesting shot. Again, this was easy to gain access to as I owned this prior to the project.

Affliction - Final Draft

This is our final draft of Affliction. After feedback, we decided to get a personal friend of mine who has done a lot of professional work within the industry to help us out. I feel this voice over works better because in the last one I was not feeling great and we feel that it comes across in the sound which brings the quality of our film down.

Evaluation 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

The preliminary task was vital in helping us as a production company create our final draft of Affliction. This is down to many different reasons a few of them being outlined below;

Editing 
Creating the preliminary task helped us as a team as well as individuals refresh our memories when using the editing software as we have had previous experience within using it. For one of our team members it allowed him the chance to become confident in using some off the basic tools available within the program.

Filming
The preliminary task helped us all as a team learn rules to follow when shooting video, we all learnt about the 180 degree rule when shooting a conversation. 

Equipment
We also learnt a lot about cameras and what equipment the school had on offer for us. This lead to our decision to use my equipment as we felt it would allow us to produce a better quality film instead of being restricted by the cameras in which the school provide.