Media Studies Coursework:

The Holy Demon

Opening Sequence Evaluation

Question 1:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?Mise-En-Scene

In terms of costumes, I have followed the general convention within films of the superhero genre by having the main protagonist, the Holy Demon, wear a costume that hides his true identity. However, unlike the costumes of particular superhero characters from films of the same genre, like The Incredibles (2004), Batman (1989) and the Superman film franchise (1978-2006) that consist of only portions of their faces being masked, I have had the Holy Demon wear a mask that covers the entirety of his face. This is so that it would be a lot more understandable to the audience why his identity would be unknown to other characters, which is a convention that has previously been done so with the superhero characters in the films of the Spider-Man/The Amazing Spider-Man franchise (2002-2007 and 2012-2014) and Iron Man (2008). It would also maintain the realistic atmosphere which I am aiming to create throughout the opening sequence, rather than a fantasy-like atmosphere that various films of the same genre, which I have stated previously, consist of.Additionally, I have challenged the general conventions of the superhero genre of having the setting and location of the main protagonist’s local residence be either set in the United States (the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-present), which consists of Iron Man living in Los Angeles, and Captain America living in New York City) or in a fictional residence (the initial Batman film franchise (1989-1997) and The Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012), which is set in the fictional city, Gotham) by having the setting and location of the product be in the United Kingdom. This is primarily represented through the use of the costumes worn by the Bank Robbers, which consist of very low-key coloured hoodies. It is uncommon of criminal characters to be wearing these costumes in a majority of films of the superhero genre; instead they generally and stereotypically wear leather jackets and knit caps (The Mask (1994), Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 2004)). However, it is common for criminal characters in British films to be wearing hoodies (Shifty (2008) and London to Brighton (2006)) . This assisted in creating the realistic atmosphere that I aimed to create, and also reinforces the British nature of the product.Although, I have reinforced the conventions of the superhero genre of having the majority of scenes and shots consist of very low-key lighting and colours, which therefore reinforces the realistic and mature atmosphere of the product. This was originated by the superhero film, Batman Begins (2005), which influenced future films of the same genre, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Man of Steel (2013) to consist of similar low-key colours and lighting so that the product would attract an adult audience rather than just its target audience, children and teenagers, which is the primary goal of my product as well.

SoundDuring the getaway car and car park scenes, there is evident ambient sound which I have included to assist in creating a realistic atmosphere. This sound technique has generally been used in various films of various genres; mostly to create a normal, average environment, which I have challenged and only used to create a realistic and tense environment and atmosphere. This is partly how The Dark Knight created a suspenseful and intimidating atmosphere; most prominently in the street as Harvey Dent interrogates one of the Joker’s henchmen, who is anxious and horrified.Additionally, in terms of sound, I have challenged the general conventions of the film’s sounds being produced after the logos by including dramatic static sound effects and the voiceover of a police woman character being produced during the final logo of my film company, TD Productions, which is done so to have the audience be instantly interested in the film; making them want to continue watching the film to see what it is about. This sound technique has been executed by previous films of the action adventure and superhero genre; Quantum of Solace, the Spider-Man trilogy and The Mask (1994), which have done so for the same reason.

Cinematography and EditingDuring the getaway car scene, I have followed the convention of having there be various action match cuts to short takes of the car to create a fast pace; therefore making the audience feel excited and enthralled. This editing technique has been executed in a number of film products of the action adventure and superhero genre in which there is a car chase; including Spider-Man (2002), Quantum of Solace (2008) and The Dark Knight (2008). However, I have slightly challenged the convention of the scene being shot with a steadicam through the majority of the sequence (as seen in the previous film products that I have stated) by having the shots be handheld instead. This therefore creates a sense of realism in the sequence, and increases the tension too. Also, my opening credits have challenged the general conventions of the film’s title being presented to the audience at the end of the title sequence, rather than after the film companies’ names and before the remaining credits (which has previously been done so in the film, Godzilla (2014)). This is so that the audience do not know of the Holy Demon before he makes his first appearance and so that they only know of his name after he makes his appearance, which would make the character appear more mysterious to the audience during the opening sequence. Also, having the film’s title being presented after the credits will signify the opening sequence’s end to the audience.

Question 2:How does your media product present particular social groups?

My opening sequence consists of three primary characters, but only two stereotypes being portrayed: superhero and citizens of East London (the primary location of the opening sequence). The main protagonist, the Holy Demon, is clearly the character who is of the superhero stereotype, and he follows the convention of the superhero stereotype of the character leading a double life as both a superhero and an average human being, which is represented through Jack Ackerman’s (the Holy Demon’s alter-ego) costume that consists of bright coloured yet faded shoes and genes. These micro-features also represents the age of the Holy Demon to be quite young; under the age of twenty-five, which was influenced by the character of the Marvel character, Spider-Man, who is of the age seventeen years old. However, unlike the latter young superhero character who is generally mild-mannered; a general convention of the superhero stereotype, the Holy Demon is the opposite; therefore challenging the convention by being consistently silent throughout the opening sequence, which represents the personality of the character to be generally serious and unsociable; predominantly influenced by the character of the superhero, Batman, who is normally quiet and stern.The character of the Holy Demon also follows the convention of the superhero stereotype of consisting of a hidden identity, which I have represented by having the primary facial features be unrevealed to the audience through the use of low angle and high angle shots being positioned at the Holy Demon’s eye-level. This is also represented through the use of costume as he dons the ‘Holy Demon’ mask when he prevents the bank robbers from escaping, which represents his need to hide his identity from others for varied reasons.My character also follows the convention of the stereotype in that they fight for a cause, which is primarily represented in the ‘Tomb’ (the Holy Demon’s lair) scene through the use of the décor that consists of wooden crosses displayed on the walls, and photographs that consist of smiling people displayed under them. This connotes to the audience that the Holy Demon’s origin consists of members of his family being slaughtered, which may have motivated the character in becoming a superhero. This was primarily influenced by the origin of the superhero, Batman, in which both of his parents were killed by a mugger in front of him; therefore motivating him into becoming a superhero to avenge their deaths.The final stereotype represented to the audience is of the region, London; specifically in East London, which is the location of the opening sequence.For example, through the use of the prop that one of the bank robber characters carry, the knife, and through the other bank robber character’s performance as he attempts to pick up the knife prop to kill the Holy Demon during the climax of the opening sequence, the convention of citizens of the East London region being portrayed as being extremely violent and hostile towards any other person who opposes against them. This was primarily influenced by the British TV drama, EastEnders, that is set in the same location as my opening sequence, and consists of violent characters who are generally negatively represented to the audience. Also, the convention of East London citizens being portrayed as criminalistic is primarily represented through the characters’ costumes that consist of low-key coloured hoodies, which, as I have stated before, is an iconographic representation of British criminals, and represents informality, which criminals of the British ethnicity are generally stereotyped as in today’s society.

Question 3:What kind of media institution would distribute your product and

why?Once the producers have completed the post-production process of the product, it would later be processed through the distribution stages, which would mostly be as expensive as the production and post-production stages. This is because the companies would generally pay about a third of their budget on the marketing, which would consist of advertising (e.g. billboards, posters, competitions, magazine front covers, viral marketing, TV spots and trailers) and interviews with the cast and crew on chat shows and news corporations. In order for the production company to be able to do so, it would have to organise in doing so with its distributor(s).Due to my media product being aimed at a mass audience, because of it being of the currently popular sub-genre, superhero, and also of the incredibly popular genre, action adventure, my distribution company would have to be an American company, because major companies in the United States generally own a large amount of money (more so than the majority of British companies); which would assist my production company in being able to advertise the film internationally; therefore causing it to become widely recognised; creating a bigger possibility of it becoming a financial success. This has been noticed with recent superhero and action adventure films of the twenty-first century, including The Avengers (2012; distributed by Walt Disney Motion Pictures, and earning $1,518,594,910) and Avatar (2009; distributed by 20th Century Fox, and earning $2,787,965,087). However, unlike those two films, my product is a British film, which minimalizes my production company’s chance of having an American company be the distributor, because of American action adventure/superhero films consisting of a higher budget; giving the product a lot more potential of becoming a financial success, and making the companies a lot more inclined in being the film’s distributor.Although, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures is one of the few American film companies that has been known for distributing financially successful British action adventure films; including the James Bond film series; beginning with GoldenEye (1995) to the present, with Skyfall (2012) being the most financially successful; earning a total of one thousand, one-hundred and eight point six million dollars worldwide. Additionally, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures has most recently distributed RoboCop (2014), a film of the superhero genre, which grossed two-hundred and forty-two point seven million dollars worldwide; their first successful superhero film, which may signify that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures is now more inclined to distribute films of the superhero genre, as before, the superhero films that they have distributed were unsuccessful among both audiences and critics (The Meteor Man (1993) and Superhero Movie (2008)). These reasons make it all the more likely for the American film company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, to distribute my product.

Question 4:What would be the target audience for your product?

As I have stated in the previous question, my media product shall be aimed at a mass target audience because of its genre and sub-genre being of the action adventure genre and the superhero sub-genre; both of which are currently extremely popular , with films of the action genre having currently earned a total of thirty-nine billion, four hundred and seventy-nine million, fifty thousand, nine-hundred and fifteen dollars worldwide , and films of the superhero sub-genre earning more than four billion and eighty-eight million dollars worldwide. Although, among the mass target audience, my media product is primarily aimed at audiences who are of a young age from teenagers to young adults (aged thirteen to twenty years) because they are the general audience who tend to read comic books; which are the types of publications that primarily include superheroes as the main characters in their stories. Due to the most popular superhero comic books being produced from the United States; including Marvel Comics (Spider-Man, the Avengers, etc.) and DC Comics (Batman, Superman, etc.), those of the American ethnicity shall be a major portion of my target audience, even though it is a British film, which Americans tend to overlook unless a well-known American film producer is involved in its production (for example, the British film, Clockwork Orange, which was directed by renowned film director, Stanley Kubrick, earned twenty-six point six million dollars in the United States). Although, my media product is of the genre, action adventure, and sub-genre, superhero, that are extremely popular among international audiences, and British films of internationally popular genres tend to be a financial success (for example, the British film series, Harry Potter (2001-2011), which consisted of films of the popular genres, fantasy and action adventure, earned a total of approximately two billion, three hundred and ninety million, seventy-six thousand, five hundred and ninety-six dollars worldwide). This creates a bigger possibility that those of the American ethnicity would be interested in my media product. My media product’s target audience will also be amongst the British ethnicity too. This is not only because superhero comic books and films of the action adventure genre and superhero sub-genre are popular amongst British citizens as well, but also because the location of the media product is in London, which will therefore cause British audiences to feel prideful of their country, and anticipated for the media product, because there is currently no film of the superhero genre that is British, (all being American) or consists of a British superhero character.In order to attract my target audience successfully, the age verification for my media product will be a 12A, which the British Board of Film Classification would allow due to there being very infrequent mild language, as represented through the opening sequence, with the only mild language being the informal British term, ‘poxy’. This would therefore allow those who are aged under fifteen years to see the film; a major part of my media products target audience, which creates a bigger possibility of it becoming a financial success. Because of this age verification, it is suggested that the primary class of my target audience would be those who are students and/or unemployed, for the majority of those of this particular class are at a young age; in their teen years, which is the age in which they tend to prefer the films that they watch to consist of a large amount of action and excitement; primarily of the male gender, and are also the general readers of superhero comic books.

Question 5:How did you address/attract your target audience?

Throughout my opening sequence, I have attracted each ethnicity and social group of my target audience predominantly through a variety of micro-elements, but predominantly through the use of mise-en-scene and sound.

For example, to attract the British ethnicity of my target audience, I used the costume of the bank robber characters; low-key coloured hoodies, to relate to particular portion of target audience, for it is well-known and popular among culture, which would cause British ethnicity audience to relate to product. Also done so through low key lighting and colours in location, which challenges stereotype of ‘Merry England’ being generally cheerful; an authentic representation of England, which shall please those of English ethnicityAlso, to attract international ethnicity, used short takes to create fast pace within action sequences; car chase and fight sequence between Holy Demon and one of bank robbers, which attracts international audiences who are used to watching big budget action films. This editing technique in various other action adventure films like Harry Potter franchise has caused international attraction. International audiences shall also be attracted through orchestral score, which assists in appearing professional to audience; therefore attracting mass audience.Comic book readers will be attracted through primary colours of Holy Demon’s mask and gloves, which are representative of comic books.

Question 6:What have you learnt about technologies during the process of

constructing your product?During the process of the composition of my opening sequence, I have learnt about a large array of electronic devices that have become very useful through the procedure of my opening sequence, and have also improved my abilities in the use of the editing software.

Pre-ProductionDuring the process of pre-production, I have used the blogging site, Blogger, to publish my production schedule and screenplay. This would be so that, if I would misplace the printed copy, I would be able to use my iPhone to browse through the internet (due to my iPhone consisting of 3G, which allows me to use internet anywhere without Wi-Fi) and sign on Blogger to read screenplay and schedule if needed to be used.SlideShare was incredibly useful as well; gave me opportunity to upload PowerPoints on to Blogger by copying and pasting embed code into blog. Made it simpler for me to present PowerPoint, as I could simply make PowerPoint full screen and use arrows to move to next slide.

ProductionInitially used personal Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera, because of very high quality and bigger choice of options like decreasing and increasing the exposure of the image and also adjusting the image’s size. However, due to the video’s framing being too miniscule to fit the framing in Adobe Premiere for unknown reasons, I decided to use one of the school’s cameras, a Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera, which was standardly advanced; consisting of 1080p high-definition. This assisted in giving my media product a cinematic appearance, which assists in attracting a mass audience.Although, because sequence was set during night, camera tended to be unreliable in variety of shots, with shot preview appearing visible, but as camera records, image does not appear visible; swarmed in darkness. Because of this, I have had to use lighting from a variety of spotlights: an array of types that consist of a large amount of power and lighting and those with less power and lighting; depending on amount of darkness within shot.

Post-ProductionAlthough, have used Adobe Premiere previously, I improved with editing software. Example would be having discovered Chroma Key tool, which was able to change image of background of particular colour, was able to use green screen to create location background during car chase to create illusion that bank robber characters are actually driving car, and also to create illusion that Holy Demon is on windscreen. I was also able to use Adobe Premiere to edit out portions of shots that were unnecessary, and to also put shots in chronological order.Because of this, I have chosen Adobe Premiere to be most important tool through process of opening sequence, as without it, I would not be able to form media product or create visual effects that would assist product’s plotline and prevent confusion within audience.

Question 7:Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have

learnt in the progression from it to the full product?Preliminary TaskLooking back at preliminary task, in which I was in a group with Callan Moyses and Deep Oozagar there were many errors throughout, which was mostly because of the editing process, as the sound is continuously out of sync in the majority of shots; causing the director’s input to be heard by audience, which diminishes the positive effect on the audience. Additionally, the camerawork is incredibly basic; consisting of very little movement.

Opening Sequence ImprovementsAlthough, I have improved greatly while going through the process of making my opening sequence, as the camerawork was far more advanced; consisting of a vast variety of shots and movement like tracking and panning shots, over-the-shoulder shots, high angle and low angle shots, and a variety of two shots.I had also improved in terms of editing, as I was able to successfully use the advanced tool, Chroma Key, to edit out the green screen in a few of the shots, and was also able to overlap one shot over another to create a particular effect on the audience.