EVALUATION

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

My product is a romantic drama meaning aswell as containing typical conventions of a romance

it also contains some conventions of drama films. My product develops the conventions of real
media products because the conventions of a romance are usually in the countryside because
they include scenery and sunsets quite often because this sets the romantic ambiance of the
film. This is shown in my media product because mine shows a pan of a field showing lots of
scenery and nature which emphasises the natural setting. Another convention of romances is
that they always start with the couple meeting, then something occurs to break them up or
cause a strain on their relationship and eventually they get back together. In my case, the film
starts with the negative and the rest of the film is the positive side to it(meeting someone new).
I did this because it just makes the film interesting from the start instead of having viewers wait
for the actual drama to occur as it jumps straight into the plot instead of having a boring intro
which is all about the companies and setting the scene. Really long introductions are boring
which is something I personally have experienced as a viewer. Another convention of a romance
film is the music used. There is always a slow calm song in the background or a love song
playing which is what I included in my film using Ed Sheerans Supermarket Flowers I used the
instrumental version so that the lyrics wouldnt overlap the voiceover causing confusion amongst
the viewer about whether to listen to the song or the dialogue. The calm music in the
background creates a romantic aura because romantic songs are often slow and peaceful and
are usually played on a piano or an acoustic guitar and in my case a piano was used in the
background music. The song in romance films usually reflect the characters feelings and as my
sing is quite sad this reflects the widows feelings as sad and depressed. Conventions of a drama
is that they are usually real life situations so they happen in casual settings. This is shown in my
film because it is set in a town with fields and the house scene is also casual and reflects how it
is a real life situation. I really wanted to emphasise how this could be a real life situation so I
tried to make it look as real as it could because this really helps viewers to connect to characters
and the plot because it could happen to anyone. This is shown in my film by how working class
the house the widow lives in and how she dresses very casual as the majority of viewers would
be working class and would watch this film in the cinema as it came out for entertainment.
 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents the working class social group. This is because
the widow isnt classified as rich or poor because she is neither. She is just a
normal working class person who has a job and works hard to get what she
has yet she isnt rich. This is shown with the area she lives in being Luton
which is full of working class people obviously the viewers dont know its set in
Luton but it is clear to see by the surroundings that it is just a normal town.
This is mainly shown by the front door. In villages houses are all old and are
cottages or Tudor houses so the doors are quite old too and usually say
cottage on them. However the door shown is quite modern showing the house
I newly built and it looks like a middle class house because poor people would
be living in council houses and it is clear to see it has a sort of wealth to it as
council houses usually look scruffy and dirty. Her outfit also shows she is
working class because typically rich people would sleep in silk dressing gowns
and pyjamas whereas more working class people wear pyjama sets or just
comfortable clothes like leggings and joggers. The fact that she can leave the
house and not care if she looks like a tramp and not classy shows she cant be
middle or upper class because they are stereotypically very obsessed with
their image and how people see them. This is how they get their popularity so
you would never see a middle/upper class person leaving the house wearing a
sweater and joggers. Her wedding ring also hints at her social group because
it doesnt look very expensive although doesnt look very cheap hinting they
can afford luxury items but not too luxury like rich people would be able to
afford.
 3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Spyglass Entertainment, an American company, would be the most likely to

distribute because they aren't as popular as a company like 21st century or
Warner Brothers and are therefore more likely to distribute a film like mine
because it has no advertising and has a small budget therefore wouldnt be
as popular as films like Mamma Mia which has a large budget and would
therefore spend more on advertising and be more popular. Also the fact
that this company isn't as popular and known as other companies this
means they wont want to have full control over my film and therefore I
could still retain control over my film. This company has distributes many
romance films like footloose and 27 dresses and although these are known
films they aren't as popular as Dear John or the Notebook or even Me
Before You. This reassures me that they would distribute my product
because some companies steer towards a certain genre and this company
doesnt, they release all genres so they wouldn't refuse to distribute my
film just because of its genre. Obviously the collaboration with my small
company Z Productions would cause my company to gain some popularity if
the film is popular because it shows this company trusts my media product
and thinks that it will be successful otherwise they wouldnt distribute it.
 4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience would stay the same which was females of the ages 16-35.
This is because this is where females are quite involved in boys and when
they start to think about relationships or even settling down for the older
range of the age group. This means they will relate and sympathise with
my film more because they might have experience with loss. Women are
very in touch and open with their emotions which is in contract to men as
they are very kept to themselves and dont show their emotions because
stereotypically this makes them look weak. Women also like very soppy
films because it reflects their personalities. My product is aimed at working
class people because usually for entertainment they watch films. This film
would appeal to them because they like to watch films as families and as a
relaxing hobby. The characters in the film are also working class evident
by their house as it is just in a town where most working class people live
because houses arent excessively expensive. And there are a lot of
hospitals, schools an leisure places like gyms, swimming pools, cinemas,
malls etc. which would make it the ideal place to bring up a family which is
why people of working class live there. Her clothing also reflects working
class ideals because the widow wears normal clothes that ordinary people
wear.
 5) How did you attract/address your audience?

In my film I used short clips to make my film more dramatic and increase
tension which appeals to viewers and makes them want to watch on to
see what happens. I used a very soppy voiceover to attract females
because as they hear it they understand the plot and they can relate to
the feelings of the character, therefore making them want to watch on to
see what happens and how the widow deals with said feelings because
they themselves might feel the same or similar to her and may follow the
steps the widow does to control her feelings. Women often look to
romance films for comfort when they have relationship issues. They
either see a relationship with difficulties like theirs and gain reassurance
that they can get through it or they see couples who are always happy
and feel hope that they will find that one day. This makes women
attracted to my film because they can watch what the widow goes
through and just relate it to a break up and can stay with her on her
journey of moving on and carrying on with life which is the hardest thing
to do after a breakup. This means people look up to my character and
sympathise with her more because they almost think of themselves as
her and put themselves in her shoes. This makes them want to watch on
to find out if she gets the happy ending that they hope she gets. This
also means they watch it for comfort and reassurance about something
they may be experiencing in their relationships in real life. This also
means they would be more likely to recommend it to a friend.
 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the process of constructing this product I have learnt how to edit films using
Power Director including:

Making images fade in and out

Animating my logo by making it fly onto the screen
Adding text on top of the visual going on in the background
Muting sound from clips(unlinking audio from video)
Splitting clips
Adding songs and audio clips(voice recording for voiceover)
Making clips longer and cropping clips
Changing the volume on audio clips
Etc.

I used an iPhone 6s as my camera because I learnt that it had a very good camera
which was he next best option from an actual camcorder as it was easily accessible
and I already had one so it was easily affordable. It filmed in high quality due to
the high megapixel count of the camera. I also learnt how to convert films so that
they can be uploaded onto YouTube. In the process I also developed my Photoshop
skills and with that I made my logo. I learnt how to use an mp3 converter to save a
song from YouTube as an audio file and insert it into the background of my film.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?

I have learnt more about camera angles and shots and the effect they have
on readers. For example point-of-view shots were used in my product quite
a lot and the effect this has on the viewer is that it helps them to
understand the plot better because they are basically the actual character. It
also helps them to sympathise more because seeing the world and what is
happening through a characters eyes is quite personal and you can almost
imagine how they are feeling as you watch it. Behind-the-shoulder shots
also help to make the film more personal because you are up close in the
scenes. This is used when the widow is being told of her husbands death
which makes viewers feel like they are there and experiencing it
themselves. I learnt about how pans are used in the beginning of a lot of
films and are used as a chance to introduce characters and directors and
producers etc. I obviously learnt how to edit and how to trim scenes and
make them flow into the next scene which creates an overall calm, flowing
film. I also learnt how to jump cut scenes to increase the intensity that the
viewer feels and make the scene more dramatic. I also learnt that you must
film in landscape not portrait because this causes there to be 2 black strips
on either side of your image on the screen. As a result of this discovery
after making my first film I had to re-film and change my characters and
some of the plot and filming and location because my original cast and
location weren't as accessible and sensible as I had originally thought.