Sunday 30 June 2013
Saturday 29 June 2013
Friday 28 June 2013
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Since we were making the opening sequence for a romantic comedy which is targeted at girls between the ages of 12-22 we knew that we wanted our main protagonist to be a teenage girl whom audiences could relate to. We tried to represent this social group of "teenage females" in many ways in order to add depth to our character.
The first way in which we wanted to represent Naomi, the main female protagonist, was confident. We tried to show this mainly through her costume. The very first shot in which we properly see Naomi is one where she is in a dressing gown, this in itself could show that she is confident in herself and in her body. When she writes her name in the mirror the idea that she quite likes herself is reaffirmed. When Naomi started to wear her clothes she chooses a short, tight skirt that would not be worn by someone who is not secure with their image. The bold red lipstick that Naomi applies is a direct signifier of Naomi's bold personality. Naomi's shoes are extremely high heels, which the entire female audience for our film would know are hard to walk in, and only someone who is confident and composed would be brave enough to wear. As well this, the fact that Naomi chose to wear the shoes in her room and walk down the starts in them, rather than putting them on before leaving the house shows her self-assurance; most people would only dare to wear heels like these on a night out where as we suggest that Naomi feels confident enough to use them on a day to day basis.
Another way in which we wanted to represent our young female character was girly; this may have been one of the easier ways in which to represent Naomi. The first thing we did in order to make our main character more seem more girly was place pink things in her room, for example her bedding. Pink is used as a universal signifier of femininity so our audiences would, maybe even subconsciously, associate Naomi with being girly. As well as this, we placed many effeminate items and props around Naomi's room such as the Vogue magazines and the romantic novels such as the iconic "50 Shades Of Grey" and a book called "50 ways to find a lover". Lastly, make up in itself is quite a feminine product since it represents women who take care in their appearance and "doll themselves up", rather than not wearing make up with is either associated with innocence or with more tomboyish girls. The font of the opening sequence is also quite girly since it is a handwriting style and the "i's" are dotted with little stars which is quite cute and feminine.
We also wanted to represent Naomi as being slightly flirtatious, however we didn't want her to come across as being promiscuous because we still wanted her to be a likeable character. We suggested that she was flirtatious through the text message that she receives from a boy named Aiden. Audiences could think that this is her boyfriend whom she is going to meet and although that is not who he is, she is still being represented how we wanted her to be. As well as this, the language in the text isn't the most affectionate, for example the word "babe"isn't something that girls particularly like being called as a pet name. We also made Naomi's character seem flirtatious though the pictures of her with boys which are places around her mirror. The first reaction people tend to have when they see a picture of a boy and girl together is that they are a couple, at least that is what we were hoping they would think. By having images of Naomi with many different boys it would suggest that she has a flirtatious nature. The last thing we did was include some sexual innuendoes; we were lucky to actually own items like these already which just happened to be useful for our film. I have a cream called "Glow Job" which is an obvious sexual innuendo for something else! ;) and Phoebe had a mascara called "Thick and Fast". We added these into our film to add some humour as well as show the playful and flirty side of Naomi. We wanted to have some sexual innuendoes in the film rather than having outright displays of sexual conduct firstly because it would not be appropriate for our target market, and secondly because we wanted Naomi to seem flirtatious rather than promiscuous because we still wanted her to be a likeable character which our audiences could relate too.
After deciding on Naomi's costume we realised that she gave off quite a reckless quality. The leopard print on her shoes was one signifier of this. Leopard print is associated with being wild and care free so just having a hint of it on Naomi's shoes made her seem quite free and fun but without it being too much. Her leather jacket also helped give Naomi a daring quality, however by making the jacket brown we still maintained the girlyness rather than making her a "biker chick" or "rocker". To give a subtle hint of this dangerous side of Naomi, we added a black shadow behind our pink titles. Our thinking behind this was that Naomi is the sort of person who stands out from the crowd just as the black shadow makes the titles stand out and the shadow also gives the sense of mysteriousness and recklessness to the character.
The ways in which we have chosen to represent our character is very stereotypical. We hope that when our target audience watches our opening sequence they will immediately associate the signifiers in our film with a teenage girl. Many young females will have seen character similar to Naomi in other romantic comedies so they will associate her characteristics with ones they have seen before. Also according to Laura Mulvey's theory, women tend to subconsciously dress themselves up and make up their appearance in a way that men would like and so the women the the audience may find that they can relate to what Naomi is doing and feel closer to the character.
The first way in which we wanted to represent Naomi, the main female protagonist, was confident. We tried to show this mainly through her costume. The very first shot in which we properly see Naomi is one where she is in a dressing gown, this in itself could show that she is confident in herself and in her body. When she writes her name in the mirror the idea that she quite likes herself is reaffirmed. When Naomi started to wear her clothes she chooses a short, tight skirt that would not be worn by someone who is not secure with their image. The bold red lipstick that Naomi applies is a direct signifier of Naomi's bold personality. Naomi's shoes are extremely high heels, which the entire female audience for our film would know are hard to walk in, and only someone who is confident and composed would be brave enough to wear. As well this, the fact that Naomi chose to wear the shoes in her room and walk down the starts in them, rather than putting them on before leaving the house shows her self-assurance; most people would only dare to wear heels like these on a night out where as we suggest that Naomi feels confident enough to use them on a day to day basis.
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| Confident |
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| Girly |
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| Flirtatious |
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| Recklessness |
Thursday 27 June 2013
Wednesday 26 June 2013
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
In my research and planning I had created a profile for the type of girls that would watch our film. This included their interests, where they would shop, they type of magazines they read, the music they may listen to, etc.
We also did an interview with examples from our target audience so that we could find out more about them and how we would attract them to watch our film.
From their answers to these questions we were able to find out where we would find our target audience and the different ways in which we could attract them. For example, since they said that they usually buy magazines WHSmiths, we can put advertisements for our films in/near the stores as well as having film reviews and adverts for the films in the magazines they usually buy. Also we know that it would be a good idea to have the trailer of our film, play before a film of the same/similar genre.
We also did an interview with examples from our target audience so that we could find out more about them and how we would attract them to watch our film.
From their answers to these questions we were able to find out where we would find our target audience and the different ways in which we could attract them. For example, since they said that they usually buy magazines WHSmiths, we can put advertisements for our films in/near the stores as well as having film reviews and adverts for the films in the magazines they usually buy. Also we know that it would be a good idea to have the trailer of our film, play before a film of the same/similar genre.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
5. How did you attract/address your target audience?
From our target audience research we already knew who our target audience was going to be (females between the ages of 12-22) so it was a lot easier to figure out how we would attract and address them.
To attract them to actually watch the film we would have advertisements for the film in places where they would most likely see it. We would have posters for the film in main shopping centres such as Westfields, we would have adverts for the film in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Teen Vogue, and we would have the trailer for our film before other romantic comedies playing in the cinema.
There were many aspects of the opening sequence itself which would attract our target audience, one of which was the narrative structure. Since most romantic comedies go through Todorov's theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium, we made our opening sequence very much a positive and happy one. There is no sense of anything going wrong yet and the action in the opening is all quite light hearted. We hoped that our target audience would instantly recognise this narrative structure since they will have seen it many times before in other films of the same or similar genre.
The music in our film was another thing which we had used to attract our target audience. In most if not all romantic comedies audiences are used to hearing quite fast pop songs which are upbeat and sound fun; this is what we have in our film as well. Audiences will hear this music and even without seeing the footage they will probably be able to guess what the genre of the film is and will be more attracted to it and want to watch it.
Another thing that would attract our target audience and also address them is the main female protagonist. The audience is able to see her from pretty much the first shot and, since she is a character based upon different character from different films, audiences are able to relate to her and we will be able to address them through her. Also the props in her room and the things that she uses, such as the make up will also help to attract audience since they are all quite feminine props which girls like.
We also used the enigma code in our opening by not giving much away but instead giving certain hints about the personality of the character. This meant that our audience was constantly left asking questions and wanting to know more which we hoped would keep them engaged and wanting to watch the rest of the film almost submerging themselves in the film and feeling like part of the digesis.
Another thing which we thought would attract audiences is that the film has quite a suburban feel which audiences usually tend to feel more comfortable watching as it is something which they find safe and relatable; unlike urban films which tend to be more "gritty" and definitely are not the conventional style for films. Romantic comedies such as Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging are very obviously suburban, whereas films such as Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, and Four Weddings and a Funeral, that seem to be quite urban in how they look and the plot of the story, actually tend to have quite a suburban feel to them.
To find out whether the audience was attract to our opening sequence in the which we thought they would, we got some people from both our target audience and outside our target audience to watch it and give us their feedback. We asked them quite broad questions because we did not want them to be limited in what they could say and also because since they weren't media students we didn't want to ask them questions that were too in depth.
When asked what aspects of our opening sequence they found appealing, the girls responded by saying the they liked the resemblances that it had to other films within the same genre, for example the dog like in Legally Blonde. They also said that they liked the subtle innuendos in the film with the "Glow Job" because it added a different element to the film and hinted at different aspects of her personality. They were also intrigued by the film and they would want to keep watching the film to find out more things such as who Aiden is. They also liked the shots such as the make up shots and the shot from inside the wardrobe, and watching Naomi getting dressed up to go out because they felt as thought they could really relate to it. They also felt they could identify with Naomi in many ways; she seems to be quite a social person and friendship seems quite important to her in the same way it is to them, and they obviously also like make up and fashion.
When we asked the boys we really didn't have very high hopes for a detailed response but they completely shocked us! We happened to have found two boys who actually watch click flicks who gave us a really detailed response, we were kind of left speechless. They said what appealed to them most was the transition that the audience goes through as they discover more about the character through the props, for example she starts as a seemingly average teenage girl when she gets out of the shower however as we see things such as the 50 Shades Of Grey collection and the "Glow Job" which suggests a different side of her personality and and her being more grown up and "mature" for her age, adding to this they liked that we concentrated a lot of our shots on Naomi trying to make herself look nice because it added to her personality. They also thought that the female protagonist is a representation of modern girls. They also felt attracted to the film because they were constantly asking questions and they wanted to keep watching the rest of the film because they got quite sucked into the film.
Lastly we also asked a female media studies student what she thought our our opening in case she was able to give us different answers to what the other said. She said that the upbeat music was what appealed to her and attracted her to the film because it gave a really good vibe and prepared the audience for the rest of the film and put them into a mood where they were excited for it and thought it was going to be really good. Also, just as the other interviewees had said, she wanted to know what Naomi was getting ready for and why she is dressing up which would also make her want to watch the rest of the film.
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| Westfield Shopping Centre |
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| Todorov's Theory |
There were many aspects of the opening sequence itself which would attract our target audience, one of which was the narrative structure. Since most romantic comedies go through Todorov's theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium, we made our opening sequence very much a positive and happy one. There is no sense of anything going wrong yet and the action in the opening is all quite light hearted. We hoped that our target audience would instantly recognise this narrative structure since they will have seen it many times before in other films of the same or similar genre.
The music in our film was another thing which we had used to attract our target audience. In most if not all romantic comedies audiences are used to hearing quite fast pop songs which are upbeat and sound fun; this is what we have in our film as well. Audiences will hear this music and even without seeing the footage they will probably be able to guess what the genre of the film is and will be more attracted to it and want to watch it.
Another thing that would attract our target audience and also address them is the main female protagonist. The audience is able to see her from pretty much the first shot and, since she is a character based upon different character from different films, audiences are able to relate to her and we will be able to address them through her. Also the props in her room and the things that she uses, such as the make up will also help to attract audience since they are all quite feminine props which girls like.We also used the enigma code in our opening by not giving much away but instead giving certain hints about the personality of the character. This meant that our audience was constantly left asking questions and wanting to know more which we hoped would keep them engaged and wanting to watch the rest of the film almost submerging themselves in the film and feeling like part of the digesis.
Another thing which we thought would attract audiences is that the film has quite a suburban feel which audiences usually tend to feel more comfortable watching as it is something which they find safe and relatable; unlike urban films which tend to be more "gritty" and definitely are not the conventional style for films. Romantic comedies such as Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging are very obviously suburban, whereas films such as Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, and Four Weddings and a Funeral, that seem to be quite urban in how they look and the plot of the story, actually tend to have quite a suburban feel to them.
To find out whether the audience was attract to our opening sequence in the which we thought they would, we got some people from both our target audience and outside our target audience to watch it and give us their feedback. We asked them quite broad questions because we did not want them to be limited in what they could say and also because since they weren't media students we didn't want to ask them questions that were too in depth.
When asked what aspects of our opening sequence they found appealing, the girls responded by saying the they liked the resemblances that it had to other films within the same genre, for example the dog like in Legally Blonde. They also said that they liked the subtle innuendos in the film with the "Glow Job" because it added a different element to the film and hinted at different aspects of her personality. They were also intrigued by the film and they would want to keep watching the film to find out more things such as who Aiden is. They also liked the shots such as the make up shots and the shot from inside the wardrobe, and watching Naomi getting dressed up to go out because they felt as thought they could really relate to it. They also felt they could identify with Naomi in many ways; she seems to be quite a social person and friendship seems quite important to her in the same way it is to them, and they obviously also like make up and fashion.
When we asked the boys we really didn't have very high hopes for a detailed response but they completely shocked us! We happened to have found two boys who actually watch click flicks who gave us a really detailed response, we were kind of left speechless. They said what appealed to them most was the transition that the audience goes through as they discover more about the character through the props, for example she starts as a seemingly average teenage girl when she gets out of the shower however as we see things such as the 50 Shades Of Grey collection and the "Glow Job" which suggests a different side of her personality and and her being more grown up and "mature" for her age, adding to this they liked that we concentrated a lot of our shots on Naomi trying to make herself look nice because it added to her personality. They also thought that the female protagonist is a representation of modern girls. They also felt attracted to the film because they were constantly asking questions and they wanted to keep watching the rest of the film because they got quite sucked into the film.
Lastly we also asked a female media studies student what she thought our our opening in case she was able to give us different answers to what the other said. She said that the upbeat music was what appealed to her and attracted her to the film because it gave a really good vibe and prepared the audience for the rest of the film and put them into a mood where they were excited for it and thought it was going to be really good. Also, just as the other interviewees had said, she wanted to know what Naomi was getting ready for and why she is dressing up which would also make her want to watch the rest of the film.
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