CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

FINAL PROJECT : FILM OPENINGASLEVEL MEDIA STUDIES MARYAM MUNAF

Just like before launching a product we do some market research, similarly before making this movie I also did some research asking the masses that what kind of movie they prefer watching and the reason for their choice. I questioned, actually interviewed almost all the age groups, many men, women and children. And I got many different answers from different age groups who said that they like to watch action, suspense and horror genre films

As I was already planning to make a suspense films so i questioned more on them and finally made up my mind to produce my opening on suspense genre

Q1) HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT USE OR CHALLENGE CONVENTIONS AND HOW DOES IT REPRESENT SOCIAL GROUPS OR SOCIAL ISSUE? Suspense has been a successful film genre

nowadays They’re produced to entertain and give people

new experiences about life which are always fascinating to their audience.

My media product shows conventions seen in many other films, primarily of the thriller genre. It has contains some quick cuts, and the soundtrack amplifies the action

. The first important convention is that of keeping the audience at the edge of their seats due to being in the unknown of what could happen next. 

I had made this effective using an eerie non digetic sound soundtracks.

As the genre of our film ‘NEXT’ is SUSPENSE so we made sure that the suspense factor and the thrill factor both were taken into consideration while taking the shots, lighting arrangement, editing and also using the soundtracks to keep the audience glued to what we wanted to create . 

The name of the movie “NEXT” which further signifies the suspense genre

The one worded title is also used in a number of suspense/thriller movies for e.g TAKEN and UNFRIENDED.Similarly I have also used a one word title “NEXT”•I am also inspired by the story of this movie “UNFRIENDED”

Like the title of the movie I was also inspired by some of the shots in different movies such as

XFILES(REDRUM)

MY MOVIE NEXT

SUMMER IN FEBURARY

NEWYORK

I have used the black and white effect in the first half of my opening sequence to show the flashbacks and create a more dramatic effect.

The main element of a thriller movie is suspense that makes the audience more curious to watch the movie .

My movie is a combination of mystery curiosity and suspense.

The main group shown in my film is middle class males.

A social issue represented in my opening sequence is that of murder, drinking, harassment which is a very big problem throughout the world today.

Q2) HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT ENGAGE WITH AUDIENCE AND HOW IT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED AS A REAL MEDIA TEXT? The story line is designed so that the audience will

think that it can happen to them, which will make them feel more scared like shown in other suspense movies.

I aim to attract mainly people aged 16-30 as it is a thriller and wont be suitable for younger or older age groups. 

Nowadays people expect a lot of action in the beginning of thrillers/suspense which is a convention challenged in my movie opening scene. It is something different a mix of suspense and drama which the people would want to watch, and which will greatly entertain my target audience as well.

The media organization I used is “Warner Brothers” as it is mostly producing and distributing movies related to crime, action and thriller. It has distributed many movies such as Batman Trilogy, Hangover Trilogy, Clash of the titans

As the distributor of my movie is WB, so I would also like to release it in theatres. Another reason for choosing “WB” is that when it comes to the distribution of my film, I know that it has plenty of experience and so know the best ways to get to the targeted audience.

 When a big media institution is involved in a film then the audience will know that the film is good therefore my product would be seen as a highly rated film. I also chose this firm as it is a large media institution that is also very popular and highly recognized in Pakistan.

Q3) HOW DID YOUR PRODUCTION SKILLS DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT? I think the biggest production skill I have

developed is the use of camera properly. I have learnt about different camera angles such as high angle camera shots, low angle camera shots, rule of one-third, close ups, midshots, long shots, establishing shots, jerking the camera.

If I was not a media studies student I would have never learnt how to use a tripod while making a film or using a digital camera properly. I have learned how to make the actors work, how to reshoot different scenes, how to edit movies and add interesting soundtracks to them in order to make them more appealing.

Framing the camera, panning it up and down, making sure the frame is suitable for the shot are various things I have learned through out the production of this movie scene.

I have learned how to use windows moviemaker and video pad.

However, I believe that I can make even better films in the future to which I am really looking forward to with anticipation.

Q4) HOW DID YOU INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS PROJECT? I have learnt a lot more than I originally expect

about technologies from my product. I learned about making blogs, and using the website BlogSpot and all of its features.

I also learn how to use editing suites such as windows movie maker and video pad to there full potential, which I would never have done had If i not taken Media Studies

. I have learnt a lot about the power of camera angles, and also how pivotal it is to look into choosing the correct setting for shooting and then editing it the right way how you want it to look like.

While researching for the movies, I used many different sites such as YouTube, Daily motion. Google was also a helpful search engine. I used BlogSpot to keep track of my projects through out the year.

 I also used audio micro and sound bible to search for different sound effects