Evaluation of "46 Horns Lane"

The completed final cut of the thriller film opening "46 Horns Lane"...

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

Our thriller film “46 Horns Lane” uses many of the conventions associated with thriller films and the sub-genres of thriller films. Our media piece is that of a psychological, Noir thriller. The main conventions that relate to this sub-genre are characters and lighting. The location in which we had set our film is that of ‘Horns Lane’ in ‘Norwich’. The setting is a fairly rough council estate, which over time is becoming a furthermore run down area. The stills image below shows the area in which we had shot the majority of the footage, (at dusk/night). The inspiration for such a location was taken from the film “This Is England”. Details such as the chipped paintwork on the handlebar of the steps shows the state in which this location fits into society (middle-class/fairly poor). The characters is used in the film would fit into this sort of setting. The stereotypical view of hoodies/chav-like characters would be associated to a more deprived area, this is seen through the character costume of “Jerry Tanner”. Often it is perceived that people wearing tracksuit bottoms and hoodies are lower in status and in a way they are linked more often to crime within gritty, urban locations. The character “Jerry Tanner” is a character that suffers from a limp. The significance of this is that the usual convention shows disabled or crippled characters as weak and vulnerable however in our thriller film this convention is challenged, when the roles are reversed, the crippled character is more dominant. This is shown from the sequence of filming involving the murder scene where the camera shot is at a higher position showing “Tanner’s” dominance over “Clarke”, as he holds the knife. The idea of the disabled/ crippled character was inspired by the film "The usual suspects", where character "kint" double-crosses his friends and murders to achieve his goal. Of course the main effect needed for a noir thriller is that of the aspect of lighting. The shooting was done at dusk/night. The use of dull lighting from street lights where used to create shadow effects and also represents the dark ego of the characters with their murderous intents. In order to create a noir thriller, poor/dim lighting is needed which i believe is captured well in our thriller film, from the bleak and shadowy shots which are used to connote sinister going-ons. The names of the characters “Jerry Tanner” and “Curtis Clarke” were chosen from a possible selection. However we believed that these names were suitable to the character profiles. The names “Curtis” and “Jerry” sound somewhat Americanised yet rough sounding which ties in with the characters motives and personality. The soundtracks that we used in our thriller film were found on an unsigned band and artist website. On this site there were many different genres of music and a variety of artists. The two we had liked were equally fitting to a thriller film soundtrack therefore we had decided to merge them into one another create a distorted sound effect, thus creating further suspense. The first track is heard used to create tension and suspense from the unique sounds; however when the action begins the tempo increases as the transition from the first to the second track is made. The fast tempo of the drums connotes anticipation and suspense.

2) How do your media product represent social groups

In our thriller film opening social class is shown is shown. Both characters are shown to fit into a lower-class from their costume and shooting location. The run-down shooting location of "Horns Lane, Norwich, is a typical council estate with blocks of flats, all of which with a run down look. The staircases are made from poor materials and the steps are damaged and cracked, this is a feature of British socialist and realist films like "This is England", a film which explores a young working class boy's isolation and need to herity.
Within our piece we have used an all white cast, showing them to be deviant and difficult. However one of the characters suffers from a limp, this character is classified under disabled. Usually it is seen that the disabled personnel are more weak and vulnerable and somewhat unable to defend for themselves, however this convention is challenged in our media piece as the disable character is made to be more dominant. This is shown through the low angle shots and the sequence of filming showing this character holding a knife.

3) What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product
If we wanted to distribute our film online, sites like "Youtube". "Youtube" is an online video streaming site which enables users to stream, upload and view videos of any genre. If we uploaded our video onto "Youtube" then it would enable users to leave anonymous comments and opinions are our media product. Hyperlinks to the film could be sent over social networking sites such as "Facebook" and "Bebo" which like on "Youtube" users can then comment on the media piece. Handheld devices such as MP4's and Ipods could also further progress the distribution as the file can easily be downloaded on to these platforms and shown to different audiences.
Online film competitions would be a great way of distribution as the film could be accessed easily. It's also easy to transfer the file onto the site. With sites like these the film industry furthermore grows, opening opportunities to new film-makers. These sites can also be judged on footage by film critics, judges and anonymous site users.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product

We had aimed to produce the media product for aspirers aged between 15 (lowest certificate possibly for thriller film) and a maximum age of 30. Those who like either Noir or Psychological sub-genres of thriller films ("The Third Man") would also like our production piece "46 Horns Lane". The use of a disabled character would attract disabled audiences to view the film as they could possibly associate with the character because the disabled character is represented as a helpless, saintly victim however they may possess cruel intentions. Males may like the film for the suspense and action that occurs in the film surrounding the idea of murder and mystery. If Females were to view the film they would enjoy it for the young, all male cast.

5) How did you attract/address the audience

We addressed the film audience for our film through many different concepts. In the media product we were able to put forward issues affect today's streets on Britain. For instance Knife crime which has been on the increase within large cities. The idea of youth and gang crime are also put in perspective from the use of the young actors playing the roles. all of these modern day issues are contempory and many may debate this featuring in a film, for possible political reasoning. The eerie feel to the limping character is also that of being suspicious and unnerving therefore drawing in the audience wanting to know of his actions and motives. The soundtracks used may influence the audience as they may possibly like the unsigned artist and promote the artists. With that in mind the soundtracks are edited to create effects such as suspense and an eerie feel to the location. The film would also promote the location of filming and also promote issues in the city of Norwich.

6) What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing your media piece

Since our work on the preliminary task we have developed our skills in media terminology and furthermore in camerawork which in turn helped our filming as we were able to incorporate new angles into the media production. Conventional shots such as the tilt-shot for instance were used to give certain effects in the film. The often use of close-ups were used to involve the audience with the action.
We used the same equipment as before with the preliminary task. A camera for shooting the footage, tri-pod which enabled us to create different shots such as the tilt shot by angling the tri-pod. When editing we used the computer software “Adobe Premiere Elements” using this software enabled us to do many things. We were able to re-order the raw footage in the narrative order using the timeline at the bottom of the screen. We could also the lengths of timeframes by stretching them as well as adding effects such as slow-motion and transitions to cut to different scenes in the film. The transitions also helped with creating disappearing effects using cross-fades, which over-lap on to different parts of the footage.

To the left it shows the titles which were edited and overlayed onto the media footage. These were chosen from the site "DaFont" and then edited in photoplus before being put onto the production piece. Like with the fotage we could edit the length they would appear on and off screen for.

We were able to post stills images and our completed film onto our blog, it was also possible to get video clips from the site “Youtube” and embed them into our blogs to then analyse for our thriller research. Also to help with our research the website “IMDB” was used to collect information on the films we had researched. The hyperlinks on the site proved useful as they also linked to information which carried further information based on the films and demographic reports based on films.

7) Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product

Since the preliminary task I’ve learnt a fair amount. The main being the use of the editing software “Adobe Premiere Elements”. The many effects that can be added to the footage is mind-boggling, however since the preliminary, we have been able to use more difficult effects for instances the time-stretches and transitions. With the transitions the length of them had to be precise otherwise the footage would then be of poor quality However prior to our other task we had to add titles which needed to edited before being applied to the footage as they were taken from the site “DaFont”.
When filming we had a better understanding of what was expected in Noir/Psychological thrillers therefore our research was crucial. The research had enabled us to get an idea of what we wanted for the film for instance costume and action.
Below is the completed prelimary task.

In contrast to the finished media piece it is easy to see that the rule of 180 degrees rule has been displayed better than in contrast to the preliminary task.

Discuss the representational issues surrounding “Glee” and disability.

The representation of disability has become accustom to television programs in recent years showing the aspect of physical and mental disabilities has changed the perspectives on many in how we view those who for instance suffer from a condition or disability. Often the use of disabled characters feature on television channels such the; “BBC” and “Channel 4”. A show which has recently featured on the channel “E4” (a sub-channel of “Channel 4”) is that being of the U.S drama “Glee”.

In “Glee” a disabled character (‘Artie’) is shown in many different lights. The uses of many techniques represent disability in many ways through the use of camera work and lighting. For instance in the one of the clips, disability is made out to be a negative thing. The use of long shots shows the characters isolation from the real, able world, again the idea of isolation is furthermore seen by the audience when the character is shown alone in the spotlight. However the use of shining bright light, down the corridor connotes a happier aspect to disability, as the light grows brighter which could connote the characters happiness and also his hope.

Despite showing disability in different lights, “E4” has come under scrutiny from the audience of “Glee”, (mainly from the disabled personal of the audience majority). Many viewers have complained about how it represents being disabled, predominately as a bad thing rather than what it is good. Many of the audience have also complained at the irony of how a non-disabled actor is used to play the role of a person in a wheelchair. Many complained at how this actor was unable to play the role of a ‘cripple’ seeing as he had not suffered from a situation that could render him disabled. In a way it is seen as unjust for an able-bodied character to play the role a disabled person. On social websites, the show “glee” has been accused of ‘Crip-Drag’ on a numerous count of times.

Of course however the producers of shows such as “Glee” may argue the fact of it being easier to employs a non-disabled actor to play the role as they will be able to shoot scenes at certain times, which may not be the case for a disabled person. The idea of the disabled actor’s welfare may be another reason for employing an able-bodied actor in the role in case the disabled actor was to be taken ill or suffer worse from their condition. The possibility of equipment may also affect the wellbeing of the character. Stray wires pose a risk to anyone those able-bodied or not. It could also be differcult for instance if the disabled actor was in a wheelchair, navigating around the equipment would be dangerous.

46 Horns Lane (Final Cut)

This is the final cut for our production piece for As media studies. To create the opening to a thriller film
46 Horns Lane (2mins 3secs)
The link below is the link to the video from the website "Youtube", a way of distributing the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T54ZYPbB7Mo