Evaluation of short film

In my opinion we achieved our purpose with the short film. We set out to make an entertaining drama, which in the opinion of everyone who has seen the film believes we have done. We gave negative messages as the police couldn't catch the killer, however this wasn't our intension. We included both boys and girls in our film. When we wrote the script the ethnicity of the characters was irrelevant, but in the video we did have actors of different ethnic origins. The music track furthered the sense of dramatic tension in the film, with the music over the credits sounding like it could be from a real detective drama. The locations we used in the film weren't appropriate, but considering we weren't allowed to film outside of school and didn't have access to a real police interview room the setting turned out fine. The language we used was suitable for our target audience- it was complex language, but not complex enough to alienate our target age group of teenagers and young adults. The inclusion of the stereotypical 70's cop show credits at the end, furthered the belief that the film looked realistic for the genre- we used police interview scenes, black and white effects, a voiceover and a constant enigma, giving it the impression of a real detective drama. That said, the film did look good, and despite adding comical effects at the start, we managed to make a mature, polished and entertaining drama film. The mid-shot inbetween me and Matty is the first shot we'd like to mention, as although me and Matty are at the front of the shot, all attention is focused on Eddie. The second shot I'd like to mention is the tracking shot leading into Eddie and Emma.

At first, we had difficulty with the voiceover, as Matty's original voiceover had some pronunciation mistakes in it. We decided that we'd both do voiceovers, and after much editing and tweaking of the sound levels, the voiceover levels turned out fine. The music bed turned out fine straight away, it wasn't loud enough to distract you from the film, but was loud enough to create suspense. My second voiceover from the film originally had the start of it cut off, which resulted in it being re-recorded.

The camera work was problematic during the first few weeks of recording as we didn't have a cameraman, which resulted in the police interview scenes looking like they were clearly filmed in the performance classrooms. We eventually got a cameraman and the scenes were re-filmed to a high standard. Between the clips, the only transition we used was a fade in effect to show the change between characters in the interview room, and for the titles we used the basic font, but with red lettering to link with the film title 'Grangefield blood'.

To keep the audience interested we stayed with the same storyline throughout, but made it more suspenseful as the film progressed- the reason we chose this as opposed to a multi-layered storyline, as if there was only one storyline we would have the opportunity to add more suspense. We didn't use an external microphone, as there was no spoken dialogue in the film, as voiceover was used throughout.

Our film didn't subscribe to the theory that every film had an equilbrium, disruption and resolution, as the film started with a disruption in the form of a murder, and there was no resolution as the killer wasn't caught. However, the whole film involved an enigma, to find who the real murderer was. The film also had heroes (the policemen) and villians (the suspscted murderers). Our story was a single strand narrative, but it had different elements, like exploring the identity of the different characters. In a professional film it would be a multi-strand narrative, but the suspsenful music and enigma would remain, even if we were replaced by professional actors, this would have a major advantage in terms of setting, and creating suspense. The reason I chose this music bed was because it was appropriate for the film's theme, as It wasn't too upbeat and tied the whole film together.

I became more confident in using Imovie as a result of making this film, and I am also more confident in terms of writing scripts with an enigma for a narrative, rather than just eating an apple for four minutes. One of the strengths in making the project was the decision to use the voiceover, which made the film more effective than if it was powered by spoken dialogue. The major weakness was still adding comical elements to the film, such as 'the slap' at the end, and the gurgling water music we originally used for the credits. However, it is to our strengths that we replaced these with serious elements that were effective and made our film more powerful.n In my opinion I was a stronger team member than I was in the making of previous films, I pulled my weight and made sure everybody involved got their ideas into the film in some way.

Next time, if we were making a proper film, in terms of promotion we would advertise it before films with a '12a' or '15' certificate, as well as advertising it virally on sites such as facebook and youtube and on T.V before shows that people in our age group watch.

Sport On T.V

Genres of T.V-

Televised sport, charity shows, sport on the news, sporting quiz shows, sports highlights programs, magazine program

Genres of sport-

The different kinds of sport on T.V

Codes and conventions-

What you would typically see on a sport program. For example; a commentator, an audience and an action replay.

Narratives-

Who'll win a major sporting event?, underdog stories, scandals, heroes and villains.

Representations-

Representation of men, Representation of the country, Representation of women

Organizations-

Sky sports, BBC, ITV, ESPN

Audiences-

Different sports have different audiences, gender, education, social class and age.

Why are sports such a big deal?

Advertising for ITV and sky is essential, and is how they make their money. The advertising revenue generated by slots in sporting events is enormous (thousands of pounds per second).

Sport is seen as producing role models, and also represents our local identity- it brings communities and nations together.

Organizations and T.V channels-

There are two different types of broadcasting organizations; public service broadcasting =BBC one and BBC two, BBC radio. The other type of organization is commercial broadcasting, like ITV or sky. Each one of the regions on the BBC shows different types of sport. For example, rugby league matches are not shown in the south of England.

Genres-

There are five different genres of television sport; live outside broadcast, studio based, hybrid, magazine/talk show/ chat show and a quiz show.

A question of sport is a quiz show, dancing on ice and street striker are both hybrid programmes, soccer special is studio based, Soccer Am is a hybrid (it's a studio based magazine talk show) and inside sport is a magazine/ talk show/ chat show.

Outside Broadcast: codes and conventions-

Tennis- constant bird's eye view shot looking down on players. Scores shown against backdrop of the stadium. Non diegetic commentary- one expert commentator, one ex-pro. Crowd ambience. Lots of cutaways to the crowd.

Cricket- Slow motion replay

Studio broadcast: codes and conventions-

The football league show- tracking shot into the studio, consisting of two presenters, behind desks and cups- looking like the news, making it seem important. Non diegetic sound over football match highlights. Annoying title music. Transitions to other presenters, live from elsewhere.

Wimbeldon- tracking shot moving into presenter. Telling us what's coming up on the show, juxtaposed with shorts and clips. Artificial lighting.

Wimbeldon clip-

Cutaway clips to close-ups of each player, comparing the emotions of each player. The grunts of the players, the cries of the audience, the smacks of the rackets are amplified for immediate effect. Close-ups of celebrities, relatives, coaches in the crowd. Commentators use methaphors to make the match more intense and exciting for the audience. Commentators change pitch, tone, speed of voice to intensify the match.

Formula 1 clip (387 words, but it is close to 400)-

The formula 1 footage has suspenseful music before the racing match starts, juxtaposed with shots of the drivers, managers and the crowds watching- the cutaways are fast to go in time with the music. When the race starts fast cutaways are used between point of view shots of the cars, but the music is now loud non-diegetic rock music to add a sense of action. The trailer followed Todorov's theory, as the equilibrium of before the match was met with the disruption of the race, and cars on fire. The resolution was who won the race. The codes and conventions I have listed here are used by the television company to make the sport seem more exciting and to reach the primary target audience of males from ten to forty. For the younger viewers the fast cars will keep them entertained, for older ones the destruction and the attractive women in very little clothing will keep them watching. The other convention used is the constant crowd shot, which asks the viewer 'if they're all enjoying it, why don't you?' Finally, the race itself is surveillance, as we gather information from it, for example, who won.

There were two constant camera shots; a point of view shot from the driver's perspective and a constant bird's eye view shot looking down on the cars. These were both used to help the viewer feel closer to the action. The constant crowd shots are used so you get the atmosphere of actually being at the race, despite sitting in your living room. As it is only a 3 minute clip, fast cutaways are used- at first to create tension before the racing, cutting between drivers, audience members and, of course, scantily clad women. A fade is then followed to a quote from an audience member as the music fades out, before loud rock music is used and cutaways are used again, this time to show the action in the race. As I have pointed out, before the match suspenseful music is used to keep the viewer watching- it adds to the equilbrium of who will win the match. When the song by green day is used as the race starts the point of the music is now to exaggerate the action, as well as to continue the suspense.

The John Terry scandal that appeared in the news earlier this year subscribed to both theories, the Propp and Todorov theories. It had a hero and a villain- The hero was Wayne Bridge, who was innocent in the whole scandal, but the villain was John Terry, who had cheated on his wife with his best friend's girlfriend. This means that John Terry's wife was the damsel in distress as she was also innocent throughout the whole scandal. The whole scandal was engulfed in Todorov's theory. The scandal originally wasn't going to be released, which gave the equilibrium about John Terry's private life. When the details of it were released, the disruption was caused. Eventually, a resolution was caused when John Terry reunited with his wife.

Representation In Sport-

Expected behavior emotions/attitudes of women-

Only shown in crowd shots if they are not fully clothed.

Represented as fragile.

Not very sporty.

should only be in the kitchen

gossip

emotional

Expected behaviour emotions/attitudes of men-

Good at sport.

Very supportive of their chosen team.

Shown as being aggressive.

obsessed with sex/beer

lazy

'girl' is an insult

Women in sport on T.V-

Gymnastics or athletics

In crowd shots, but only if they aren't fully clothed or are partners with the players.

Cheerleading at half-time

Holding up signs at boxing

commentating

Only take part in non-contact sports- ice skating, diving etc.

Representation of women in sport is not just about the sports they play, it is about how they are shown when they are not playing- they are passive, beautiful, sex objects and they are generally seen as happy, opposed to men who are stereotypically aggressive.

1) Commentators still described the women athletes as weak in comparison with their commentary on male athletes- for example, women were referred to as 'girls', whilst male athletes were always referred to as 'men' not 'boys'.

2) The coverage of women's sport is inferior to that of male sport- On American television only 5% of sport shown is female sport, and the production value is smaller- there are no slow motion replays, and the whole sport is filmed using only one camera shot. Male sports have a variety of different shots, special effects and slow motion replays.

National Identity-

English footballer- Injured in some way, violent and constantly cheats on partner, drunk.

English football fan- Violent, thuggish, sings anti-social chants.

African athlete- fast.

National I.D/ historical codes-

In the advert for six nations rugby, Wales was portrayed by a dragon, knight of St.. George represents England, Julius caesar represents Italy, Lion and braveheart represent Scotland, Four leaf clovers represent Ireland, Whilst France had a fighting cock.

All nations are represented by historic symbols making them look strong, for example The lion represents strength, fierceness and also being ginger. However, Ireland is only represented by for leaf clovers, looking tame in comparison.

Cricket advert-

The whole advert is about Australia 'invading' Britain as it is an 'ashes summer', meaning that London is now brimming with Australian stereotypes, for example, kangaroo, shrimp on the barbie, Australian hats, sandals, digereidoo, shark, people wearing shorts, walkabout etc. This basically gives the impression that the Australian national character is laid back- For example, the fact sandals and shorts are being worn connotes that Australia is a stereotypically hot country. To further the signifier of the dress code, the English people are wearing suits, contrasting with the summery clothes worn by the Australians.

Ethnicity and demographics-

Black people are portrayed as confident, powerful, natural, effortless and predator-like.

ORGANIZATIONS-

Public service Broadcasting-

The BBC is the only broadcaster that makes programmes for the public, rather than for commercial reasons. Examples of this are shows such as songs of praise, the BBC proms and countryfile, regional news, later with Jools Holland and radio shows such as those on the BBC Asian network.

Digital TV-

There are more than 100 television channels dedicated to sport. Some TV channels only show one sport- for example the fishing channel, whilst some are dedicated to one team, such as manchester united TV. ESPN now shares the rights to show premier league games with sky. Sky gets it's money from subscription, with extra pay-per view for some events. It also gets it's money from advertising space.

Homework- Creation of a sports magazine programme:

For my homework, I am to create a sports magazine programme for young people. To get to the desired target audience of males from 14- 30 I need to have a name, time slot and channel that will appeal. The show will feature sport of all kinds, but will focus mainly on football and rugby. The title has to be short and memorable, and preferably have the word sport in the title, so I'm going to call my show 'sport o clock'. It will be a daily show, and will have to be on at an accesible time so parts of the target audience can get home from school/university etc. However, it will have to be on at a time before any viewers can go out with friends- so I'm suggesting it should be on at the tea time slot of 6 o clock. The channel it will be on will be sky1, as sky have more time deciated to sport than other channels, ensuring this show will fit easier into the schedules. The show will be an hour long, and will be like 'The One Show' but with sport. The first part (10 minutes) of the show will be about the major sports news of the day, whilst the following three parts will mix sport, comedy and entertainment.

Targeted advertising-

Adverts placed to reach demographics, for example 'people who bought this also bought...'. This type of software is called 'phorm', which allows the websites to target advertising based on what the user has done on the website in the past. For example:

Heat magazine are looking to place targeted advertising on social networking site facebook. Firstly, they will place advertising on websites their target audience will use, for example celebrity gossip websites or shopping websites. When on facebook, they can advertise the magazine to people who have 'become a fan' of their magazine or any other similar gossip magazine, in the hope that they will buy there's instead of a different title. To whittle down the advertising cost, they should only advertise to their target demographic: women from 20-40. Adverts for the magazine will appear if you search for any other similar magazine title in google or any other search engine.