Evaluation Questions 2 & 3

The deadline for the completion of these two questions is Friday 8th March.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Here you get to discuss and show-off your use of representation. You can either produce a DVD voiceover with script (see below) - or a more traditional essay style response. If you produce the essay response you should write up and present everything in word and then upload your document into Slideshare and then embed the slideshare document into your Media Blog.

Here's an example essay response from a few years ago (I've removed the original images - you should illustrate this with screenshots of your film opening):

The opening to our film is set in a family environment in the centre of London. We wanted our characters to fit the stereotype of a warm, loving family with kids. However, we deviated away from having a mother for the two daughters in our film, and kept it a single parent family. I believe this showed the audience the strong bond which can be formed between a father and a child when a mother is not present, because normally the mother is considered the main caregiver. Especially in this case, the two children are daughters who would normally relate better towards their mother, but the absence of a mother makes their relationship with their father stronger. This in turn makes the struggle for the father to find his kidnapped daughter more passionate and dramatic. On the other hand, one may view fathers as being naturally worse at caring for children than mothers, and therefore when the daughter is kidnapped, the audience may view this as the father being naïve or ignorant for leaving his two young children vulnerably home alone.

We had to choose the actors to play our characters very carefully, as we wanted to make sure that the right representations were carried across to the audience. For example, for our two young actresses, we had two completely different ideas to make them seem younger and more vulnerable. The eldest daughter we tried to portray as being an angst teenager who would be disobedient towards her father’s demands and subsequently lead to the kidnapping of her younger sister. This look is similar to that portrayed by Taylor Momsen in Gossip Girl. This also encourages people of her age to come and view our film as they can relate to her actions at that age in life.

Next, we decided to choose a very young actress to play our youngest daughter so she could create this cute child image; playing with her dolls, talking to her dolls, listening to beautiful music while dressed up. This image which we wanted to be portrayed in our film is the same as that by Drew Barrymore in E.T. and Abigail Breslin in Signs.

Finally, in our planning we had to decide on who would play our dad. We came up with the type of real actors that would suit the role that we wanted to be played out and came to the conclusion that someone like Jason Isaac would suit our role as being a caring father but also have the potential to be brutal, strong and forceful at the same time. This idea of the main man in the film being masculine and macho falls in line with the hard lead for men in thriller films. Nicolas Cage in Kick-Ass is a suitable example of the type of image we would like to be represented in our film, especially as Cage also plays a father who has a 'dark' side as well.

For cultural background and social status our family is within the bracket of middle-class and British. They live in a big house in the centre of London and later on in the film as the father’s past is revealed, we uncover a secret, spy lifestyle which pays well for him. The absence of a mother adds to the “good father” image which has been created in the opening to our film and is fast becoming more popular in today’s society. The audience will naturally feel sympathetic towards the father as he lost his wife to illness a few years before the time our film was set. It also exemplifies his heroism at the end of the film and therefore makes the ending more dramatic and interesting. I believe verisimilitude is heightened in the opening of our film because of the mundane nature and family environment of which it is set in. This will suit and interest a lot of different audiences as many find it difficult to relate to things so unrealistic or non-representative of the society we live in today.

Here's an example of a DVD voiceover answering this question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzhjR8Em7t4&feature=player_embedded

And here's the film opening that Jordan is referring to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jc7GnmZAYvs

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

In this question you need to explain what kind of company would distribute your film. Here it would be useful to refer back to your work on the Distribution and the Film Industry completed last term.

06 g322 section b distribution 2012 from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

You should produce a 2 minute scripted voiceover for a presentation that refers to similar film distribution and exhibition companies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cRNVyUMl310

Most of you will have created an ident to go with your production company. Consider from your research and planning what kind of company will distribute your film? Think about 'real world' companies that are similar to your invented one. Offer examples of the kinds of film they have released in recent years that target a similar audience to your film.

Then consider where your film might be shown. What kind of cinema might pick-up your film? You may ned to refer back to your work on exhibition for some details. Here's some ideas to get you thinking...

1. Multiplex

A North American concept, the first UK cinema opening in Milton Keynes in 1985 owned by the American Multi-Cinema Corporation (AMC). There are now a number of chains such as UGC, UCI, Warner Village and MGM. Most Odeon cinemas outside London also now have multiplex sites, although some are still 4-5 screen high street sites.

The multiplex cinema tends to be a recent/new building situated on the edge of a large conurbation or city and houses between eight to fifteen screens. The US distributors determined that cinemas should be located close to large shopping centres, restaurants and other leisure pursuits (bowling, ice‑skating rinks etc.) to attract as wide a potential audience as possible. Easy access and parking for cars, an opportunity to combine a cinema visit with a shopping spree and a meal out has changed the concept of cinema going and seems to have been fundamental to the success of the multiplex. It has turned cinema going, literally, into a 'family centred' activity.

The number of screens can range from 12-15, and in some cases up to 25, such as Star City in Birmingham. However, this `megaplex', which boasted shops, restaurants, a tattoo bar and screens that were to be dedicated to art house and Bollywood fare, has proved to be problematic. While there is a greater representation of Asian cinema than usual for a multiplex, reflecting the local demographic, the commitment to art house cinema appears to have fallen victim to the Hollywood juggernaught. Multiplexes claim to offer a wide range of choice, but in reality, across the country they will all play the same 8-10 core titles.

2. Multi-Screen Cinema (City Centre)

Slightly different to the large, out-of-town multiplex - the multi-screen cinema is an upgrade of the old 1970s ‘flea-pits’.

Not only were these old cinemas renovated, but the old large single auditorium cinemas with an audience capacity of fifteen hundred people, were divided into three to eight screen cinemas. These became known as multi-screen cinemas. The multi-screen cinemas echoed the multiplex notion of offering a choice of films in a modern, comfortable environment. However, they attracted a different type of audience from the multiplex due to their city centre location. Very few can offer the large car parking facilities of the multiplex but most are easily accessible by public transport and are convenient for those working or shopping in the city centre.

3. Commercial Art House

A number of commercial cinemas across the country now mix art house and multiplex programming, the most successful being the City Screen chain. City Screen run the Curzon Soho Cinema in London and also a number of sites across the country in towns such as York, Stratford Upon Avon, Cambridge and Brighton where there is no other art house provision. Technical facilities are usually excellent, and most sites have a bar and restaurant. As with multiplexes, the financing of the City Screen circuit is complicated, based in London and New York.