Institutional Research

For my institutional research I will looking a film company called 'Platinum Dunes'. They are an American film company who were created in 2001 by Michael Bay and Andrew form. They specialise in horror/thriller films but do occasionally do action films. Some examples of films that they worked on are The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Amitaville Horror (2005), The Hitcher (2007) and many more. However none of these films that they have made have been very successful as the majority have been remakes of those films that were made many years ago. I think that my media product would be suitable for them because they actually specialise in thriller films so mine would fit right in and it would be quite successful if it was well made. The main way that Platinum Dunes make there money for the production of the films is maybe fund raising to get some money to make the film or they have somebody who they get the budget from. Also after this when the movie has been in the cinema and on DVD they hope that the film was a success so any profit that comes off of that then they will be able to get money back that way.

I think that my short film is very similar to some of the texts that Platinum Dunes have created, especially The Hitcher. This is because the film that we are making is also a thriller movie which is about a hitchhiker who is involved in the scheme of a murder. However ours is different because instead of the hitchhiker killing somebody it is the person that picked up the hitchhiker who did the killing. We thought that we would do this because this then is completely different to what the audience would normally see and we thought that they would like this as it is a change and something more interesting which i think is actually more appealing to an audience than something which has been copied loads and loads of times. So something different could then bring in more money as it is popular. The picture to the left is a screen shot from our short film when we actually commit the murder with the sledge hammer.

I think that my text looks like a real product mainly because of the different effects that we have used in our film. One effect that i would particularly like to talk about would be the melon smash effect. This is because it is probably one of the most complicated that we have used for our short film because of the technique that is involved with it and the programme that we used to edit it. We had to film it all in one short by getting the person being murdered to react to getting hit by a hammer and then getting the hammer and smashing the melon. With this we then had to upload it onto a programme called Adobe After Effects. This is very complicated so it took us a while to perfect it. I think this makes it look like a real product because i think that in real life media they would use these techniques that i have to make there own films. Another reason why i think it looks real is because we used a massive range of shots when making our film. This would also be involved in a real life media product so i think ours is similar.

I think that my media product would be shown on many different channels on TV as there is lots on there that show films after the watershed has started and also some channels that are there specifically for thriller films. I think the main channel that would show my short film if it was a real life media product would be Film 4. Film 4 are a massive company and are well known for showing newly released films and they also show a really wide variety of genre so this would definitely fir my short film into there. This would be a really good thing to happen because the majority of people who own TVs but don't have the money to pay for channels such as Sky movies then they would be able to watch films on here. Also again to enforce this point Film 4 are a free view channel so if you have a TV and a satellite then will always be able to watch film 4. This means that my film would be shown a lot of the time during the day and this would make my film a lot of money.

 

Another big company that i think would show my short film would be Sky Movies Crime and Thriller. I think this because as you can see in the title of the channel it actually says thriller and because my short film is a thriller this would be the ideal channel. This would be a really good opportunity because Sky is a massive company and probably the biggest and most popular out of all of them so if my short film was to be shown on here it would get to a really large audience for the people who enjoy these films and have sky movies. However the only downfall that this has is that it isn't a free view channel like film 4 is so the people who cant afford this channel wont be able to watch my short film and the Sky movies package is really expensive so this would then take away the viewers.

The last companies that i think might show my short film would be the mainstream channels such as the BBC channels, ITV and maybe E4. These channels here are the channels that show a lot of other things rather than just films all of the time. For example the BBC and ITV are actually mainly there for news updates and weatr updates rather than films but they do occasionally show them after the news. They also show soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street. However i think that ITV are more likely to show my short film because they actually allocate a space each night and show a film so i think i would have more chance wioth them. E4 are a big channel for comedy TV series so you would think they would show more comedies than they would action films. However they do show a lot of different types of films for example they have shown 'Taken' on there which is a thriller film so i think that my film would have a chance on here.

 In conclusion i think that i would want film 4 to be the company that would show my short film on there programme. This is because they actually have the largest audience that watch films because as i said above it is a freeview channel so more people can access it rather than having to pay for it like you do on sky. So by having more people watching it then it would get more money from it and i would be able to make another film i wanted to because it would be popular by being shown on there.

 

 

 

Regulation Research

As I have chosen to do a short film I will be researching the BBFC. BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification which means that this is the company that decides what age group each media product should be so that no harm comes to the public, especially children. They also have to realise and respond to what the public think about different issues in life and then change there classification rules around that so that nobody will get offended when watching something in the media.

There are many issues in film now because of age restrictions in real life and how people are now reacting to different issues and subjects in regular life. One of the main subjects is how sex is shown in films and TV. This is a problem because the legal age that somebody can have sex is 16 so by showing any sexual content in a film or on TV it could be seen as encouraging this behaviour and would be frowned upon by parents so the BBFC would ban any inappropriate material like this. Another problem is showing any form of drug use. Again by showing any of this to the age that is below the age that are allowed to see it then it could be seen as encouraging them to do this type of thing which would be really bad because drugs are illegal. The BBFC bans any content that has discriminatory, racist or sexist because this could be very offensive to anybody who watches that programme so they don't allow it to be shown on TV.

There are 6 different certifications in film and TV. These are U, PG, 12A and 12, 15 and 18. The U and PG categories are mainly aimed at children because they lack detail in everything from horror, sex, drug use and any violent behaviour. This is to protect the children watching it so that no harm comes to them when they are watching it. 12A stands for children who are 12 years old but still need to be accompanied by an adult. This is because there is still something in there that isn't entirely suitable for the child but it still isn't bad enough to be classed as a normal 12 or a 15 because the sex, language and violence content could still scare or offend younger kids. 15 and 18 are for more mature people who are used to the horror and violence in films. This has lots of detail on horror, sex, violence and drug use. also the use of language in there is a lot stronger and more frequent.

 



An example of a film trailer that is rated 12 would be Avengers Assemble. This i chose because it is also a thriller film which i like mine and i think it had a very similar sense of humour and direction to it as mine does. Also it is a 12 because as i said in the above paragraph the sexual, language and violence content isn't enough to put any kids of but it could still manage to upset or offend anyone below 12 who is watching it. Another reason why i think it is a 12 is because the whole idea of super heroes and evil taking over the world is obviously made up so this would bring the age down as the viewers would know that none of this would ever happen. Here is the trailer to it below.

Another film trailer that i have found is classed as a 15. This is the same rating that i have given my short film because of the language that we have used in it and the violence that we have used in it with the hammer to the guys head. This is to graphic for any younger than 15 because it could upset some viewers by watching this. So by showing you this trailer it will give you an idea of what a 15 should look like. I think it is a 15 because there is a little bit of sexual content in this but it isn't in very much detail which is suitable and also throughout the film there is a lot of violence and in some parts it shows the main character in some pain and with a lot of blood around his body. This is the trailer below.

I think the certification that i would choose for my short film would be a 15 because of the violence that we have put into it. The violence that we have used is the part when the man stops in the woods and hits the man in the head with a hammer. We were thinking about emphasising the wound so this would then straight away put the certification up to a 15. Also because we have uses of strong language in it, it has to be a 15 because in a 12 there isn't any bad language allowed.

In a 15 rated film there is no limit to strong language so it can be used within reason. Also the language that is racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language can be used but it can not be glamorised in any way so that people would copy it. At 15 sex scenes can be shown as long as there is no strong or graphic detail. Some sex scenes can be quite long and may involve some nudity and movement. Though nudity may be allowed in a sexual context there should be no strong detail. In 15 rated films there can be lots of strong threat and menace as long as it is not sexualised or sadistic. Drug use can be shown but it must no be promoted in any way.

 

This would affect my own material because when the person kills the man in cannot be shown in horrific detail and when it is done he can not be shown to be sadistic in any way as it is banned by the BBFC. There is no limit on how much strong language we can use in our 15 rated film however if our film was rated any lower we would have to cut right back on the amount that we use it and what words we use when we are saying it.

Audience Research

For my audience research I am going to be filming people when they answer the questions that we are planning to ask them. I think that this will be more interesting to put on my blog because it is more interactive and it is better that just looking at a picture and reading it. The questions that we are going to ask are:

- Do you enjoy watching short films?

- What events do you think will happen is a thriller film?

- What is you favourite genre of film?

- Why do you prefer this genre?

- In what way are you most likely to watch a short film?

- How often do you sit and watch a short film?

This is the short video that i made for our audience research.



Doing this piece of research before we started our production really helped us when we did start. This is because we had an idea of what our target audience thought should be in a thriller film and this then helped us base the entire and work it around the feedback that was given. For example when we asked them what events they think would happen in a thriller film Lewis answered saying that he thinks something surprising would happen. So we took this and added something into our film that was surprising which is the head smash with the hammer and the end twits which shows the audinece that it could have been Sam all along. I really think this was an effective piece of advice because these two parts of our film were the main two bits that really made the film what it was. Again on the same question both Toni and Taylor answered by saying someone would die. I agree with this as i think it is an important convention of a thriller film so in most of them people do die. We took this and added in the death of Glen's character, Mike. This again was a really effective point because the murder was the highest point of action in the film and it made the entire story line work.

Audience Targeting

 

 

Audience targeting is very important when you are creating something for the media. It is important because you when you decide on who you are going to aim your product at you need to involve content that is going to interest that group of people. For example if you are going to make a short film for males then you stereo-typically you would need to make an action film or a thriller and if you were going to make a short film for females you would make a romance or drama. These are the typical genres that these genders enjoy to watch.

The gender that I am going to be targeting my short film at is males. I have done this because I think that males prefer to watch thriller over females because of the way that this type of film will get them sat on the edge of there seat and how the content will get them wandering about what is going to happen next. Also in thriller films there can be a lot of violence in and a lot of swearing so again I think that females wouldn't enjoy watching this type of thing. Another reason why i think that males would prefer to watch this genre is because the typical main character in a thriller film is normally male. I think this would appeal to males more because then they can watch it and perhaps fantasise or think that they could do what they are doing or be what they are so this would encourage them to watch it.

I think the age that I would aim this type of film at would be 15 to 21 year old people. I think this because people this age like to get the adrenaline rush when they watch this film so that they enjoy it even more. also i think people of this age like to watch this type of film because when they watch it they might feel more grown up because as they watch the film they can deal with being scared but as a child you get scared easily so i think it gives these people a sense of maturity.

I think that people who are adrenaline junkies would like to watch this film because of the adrenaline rush that thriller films give you so this is an easy way to get that feeling of being scared and having an adrenaline rush. I think they would do things such as extreme sports like rock climbing and skateboarding. Also people that are interested in crime would like thrillers because there is normally a crime involved in thriller films so they would enjoy the film.

Textual Analysis - Ancillary Tasks

 

This is my analysis of the magazine cover for the thriller film called 'SALT'. I decided to use this magazine as the actual film is a thriller which is the same genre of film that ours is. As you can see above I have done some analysis on what i think each important part is on the magazine cover. I think that whole look of this magazine cover is very effective with the way that the text is merged in with the actual photo on it which i think gives it a more professional look and shows that they have skills with whatever software they have used. Also i think by having the main character on the front of it is good good because then it drags in the viewers because of the way that the actor is looking and the way she is holding the gun. To me it looks like she is getting ready for action which is obviously going to get any action / thriller film lovers excited about watching this which is there main point to the magazine cover.

This the film poster for a film called 'The Hitcher'. I have analysed this because not only is the genre the same as mine the actual plot to the story is very similar to mine as well. I thought this made the poster the ideal one to do. By looking at the poster i think that the entire poster is really effective for what they want to give off. I think the way that they have just kept the hitchhiker in focus is really cool because they are getting across to the audience hat the film is going to be about the hitcher which is what the film is called. I also like how the majority of it is black and white but the use of the red in there is brilliant. I think this because i think that his shows this film is going to be really gory and have lots of killings in it. This will excite the audience that they are targeting.

Textual Analysis - Main Text

I have decided to do my textual analysis on a short thriller film called 'Pockets'. I really like this short film as i think it is really well filmed and also the effects in it are brilliant. Below is a link to it and below that is my shot to shot analysis of it.

This is the starting shot of the short film 'pockets'. straight away the audience can make the immediate link to the title of the film because it is showing a man going through his pockets. As you can see they are empty which could then suggest that this man is poor and homeless. This would then also make them think that this man might commit some sort of crime because he needs to get something.

The camera then cuts to the main characters face. This a shot that is always shown in short films because it introduces the character to the audience. he has scruffy clothes on and a scruffy beard so this almost confirms to the audience that he could be homeless. 

This picture here is showing who the main character is talking in the phone with. The main male character is saying that he basically isn't very happy with how they are living and what they have been eating. This indicates that he wants a change and will do whatever he can to get it. This shot is really dark which could mean that they don't want the audience to see everything in the shot yet.

It then cuts to the male character again and it shows somebody walk past him towards a subway underground. We then see the main character watching him all the way and say in the phone"don't worry about it, I'm going to get us something nice to eat". This pretty much now confirms that he is going to commit a crime to get some food. 

The neat shot is of the character following the man. It also shows the title of the film "pockets". This shot is dark apart from the title which is really white. I think this shows that this part is dark because of the crime he is going to commit.

I think this shot above is really effective. It is a match on action of the male pulling a knife out of his pocket and flicking it out so he could use it. This could be telling the audience that he is going to use this to steal the mans money. What I think is really cool is that everything in the shot is slightly blurry apart from the hand and the knife. I think this is glamouring the weapon and telling us that it will be used for a bad cause. 

This shot shows the twist in the short film. After the male character has over powered the other man he then tries to take his wallet. However his hand comes out of his own back pocket. I think this is what really gets the audience interested because it is completely unexpected and different. They have used a long shot for this part because I think they want you to see everything going on in the shot.

After he attempts to steal from the guy he then runs away and is chased by the man. There is the a fight scene after this where they are using the pockets to ouch each other. I think this has some really cool special effects in it and is really well filmed. It has a huge range of shots and they are really fast paced which goes with the music in the background. Also the beat of the music goes with the pattern of the punches that they are throwing. 

After the fight they eventually stop and the man who controls the pockets surprises the other character and the audience by showing the inside of his coat which is lined with pockets. The male main character runs after the pocket man pulls a gun out on him. I think this is an effective part because it shows that this guy is almost unstoppable because he has an unlimited amount of pockets to go through. 

The main character again phones the female who he was on the phone with. He tells her to take off everything that has pockets but is to late and gets pulled into one of them just as the main male gets to her. Again this is a really amazing special effect as her whole body is pulled away out of thin air. They are then back at where the couple are living and the story takes another twist.

After this there is some dialogue between the three characters where they are discussing why the main male tried to steal and the pocket man then mocks him by eating the rubbish food that they were going to have and drops it in disgust because it tasted horrible. This is the start if the next twist.

The next picture is very important because It then shows the name of what e had just eaten. They are called heat POCKETS. This makes the audience realise that the man has just made a huge mistake because he then has part of a so called pocket inside of him. 

The film then ends with the main male realising what the pocket man has done and kills him by shoving his hand into the heat pocket. I think this is a crazy end to it and adds a big twist to the end by having it. 

I think this film is exactly what a short film should be because it is only 3 minutes long, there are only 3 settings in it and only 3 characters. These are the main conventions of a short film. Also it is a very dark one which is a convention of a thriller. A twist is another convention of a short film thriller which is what we have added into ours by changing who did the murder.