Evaluation

In a team of four we produced the two minute opening to a chick flick film called ‘Queen B’s’. Through extensive research and learning about the different factors that are needed to use in producing a successful chick flick, we have followed the right conventions and this has meant the film has had a successful result. I think that we have been able to portray a good sense of knowledge about chick flicks and produce our own interpretation of that genre. With having good research and planning behind us we were able to produce the film with a good understanding of these factors:

• What genre of film would suit our group (e.g. having 4 girls meant that we would have sufficient actors for a chick flick)

• Who our target audience is• What attracts our target audience to want to watch the film (clothing, actors, location,

music etc.)• What conventions are typically used in chick flicks• Aspects in making a chick flick successful

‘Queen B’s’ has certain similarities to other chick flicks, this because of our research into existing films (what makes them successful) and what our target audience is looking for. These aspects coincide because this genre is only successful if their target audience responds well to it.

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

Relationships are shown through these shot types as is seen in other chick flicks, towards the end these relationships are re-enforced with partners pairing up and then the final four joining together at the end.

This is a screen shot of our film very early on and below is some shots from the chick flick ‘Mean Girls’. This shows similar shots that are used to capture the audiences attention. It is also a good way of showing relationships between characters in a different media. We thought this would be a good time to put the credits in so that it flowed well. Some people that have viewed the final video have said that ‘It’s an innovative way of starting the film, I’ve never seen that done before’.

Above is one of our final shots in the film showing all the characters coming together at the end about to enter school. Below is a shot in ‘Mean Girls 2’. Theses shots at first don’t show many signs of similarities, however although you can’t see the girls faces they are still a unit and you can see the connection that makes them friends.

I believe that our film is very much a stereotypical view on chick flicks, it represents different characters and develops the conventions that you would normally see in this genre of film. We have experimented a lot during this process but have still stuck to the usual

conventions of a chick flick so that we could make sure we attract our right target audience and keep them wanting to be interested enough to watch the rest of the film.

2) How does your product represent particular social groups?

By representing characters stereotypically sometimes this can be a negative thing if they are usually shown in a bad light. We wanted to make sure all the characters were all likable. This is why we made some changes to aspects like costume. For example we were originally going to introduce ‘chav’ as more of a rough looking character and very boyish in her personality and looks. However we realized that from looking at past chick flicks all the females are attractive and sometimes appealing to the ‘male gaze’. This didn’t concern use as much however we wanted viewers to aspire to look and be like her and in order to do so she needed to fit the stereotype of being more girly in a chick flick. This is a modern representation of a ‘chav’ because she is seen to be happy and playful instead of moody and bad trouble.

Our film represents four different social groups of people. We decided to represent them as stereotypical characters because we knew that the viewers would respond well to social groups that they already recognize and could relate to. By having these characters it meant that we were able to connect with people from different types of social groups. If we focused on just having one actress it would mean that it would only apply to certain viewers; and by having a variety of characters it meant that there is more to the storyline, therefore making the viewer intrigued to find out more/ want to watch on.

3) What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

Because of the type of film that we are producing this means that depending on what film company we use it can reflect differently on what kind of film and genre we are trying to portray. This is because of the different things associated with each film company out there.

Companies like Paramount and Warner brothers, are looked at as dominating the media industry because they are American and have big budget, they also produce a large amount of what we see in the cinema's. Although our film is low budget we want it too seem like a high budget film. This is why we have decided to not go with smaller film companies like Coffee Films, who are a smaller British independent film company the produces films like 'Lucid' and 'Drop'. Instead we have chosen to go with Universal. This is because Universal is an American film company with a big budget but is also known for its great British influence because of the synergy between them and Working Title. They have produced box office hits like: 'Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason', 'Bridesmaid' and 'Snow White & the Huntsman'. We want to reflect this high quality style of film with our piece, this is why we have chosen to use Universal as our distribution company.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience that we have tried to appeal to is girls aged 12-19. We have done this because:

• The age range in our group that are acting in the production is 17-18 which means that the audience watching can relate even more to the characters they are seeing.

• Because of our age range we know what our target audience is looking for in a chick flick and we have friends in this age group that we can interview and ask questions about what they’d like to see.

• Chick Flicks that are box office hits tend to aim for the same age range of girls that we have looked at appealing to so we know that a majority of girls in that age range like this genre.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?We have researched extensively in what we think out target audience would get excited about when watching our chick flick. We have incorporated different aspects of: shot types, costume, props, makeup etc to make the film appeal to teenagers and want to feel the urge to watch on in anticipation. We used certain ‘girly’ colours throughout (pink: writing, costume, makeup and even hair) these light elements are still effective continuing the genre of the film as well as catching the viewers eye.

The location was also key in addressing the audience because of the school backdrop. This coincided with the characters, their costume and props (eg. books and bags).

The young female voice over addresses the audience very early on in the clip. The viewer then feels like one of the girls is directly speaking to them; this makes them feel like they are already a part of the story and are being welcomed to find out information about each characters personality. This technique helps the audience feel like they can join in. This relates to the theory that people watch films for the aspect of ‘escapism’. You can also look at the characters and they attract you in a way that you choose who your favorite character is and if you were in the film who would you be?

The style of music that we used to address the audience worked well because the genre of pop is something that is very common in both chick flicks and with teenagers aged in our target audience range (12-19). It’s upbeat and is vibrant which in turn makes the footage seem more exciting.

6) What have your learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product

At the beginning of this process we wanted our film to be the best quality as possible so that didn’t take away anything from the film. As a group we went out and did some practice filming and found out that camera’s aren’t that reliable and with having a limited amount of equipment we had to find out what shots worked well and what didn’t. The same with certain movements and angles, we saw that this was going to be quite tricky. We knew after looking back at he footage and seeing that it wasn't as good as we thought, that we need to make a in-depth plan into filming and review on what shots worked well and what didn’t.

I feel that through this process I have learnt a lot about editing on Premier Pro, this is because the edit needed to look as if it flowed and was natural. Although at first it seemed easy we learnt it was more difficult because the cuts couldn’t be abrupt. Using After Effects was very intriguing and we were able to make some significantly beneficial effects, eg. the stars moving on our production company logo at the start.

Growing technology has definitely improved the way we were able to produced our film. Cameras are very advanced with good quality picture and it doesn’t cost too much money. This ideal for students and the process that we have gone through. If it wasn’t for modern technology we wouldn’t have been able to produce our film in the quality that we did.

7) Look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in this progression from it to the full product?

I feel that I have improved immensely from the beginning of the processes when we started with the preliminary. This is because in learning new skills I have been able to apply them in our final film. I have learnt a great deal about the importance of certain shots and what is represented in each one. Also how position can affect how a character is viewed. As well as how you have to try and make a connection with your viewer by appealing to what they like and what they want to see in a film.

I have also learned that planning and sticking to plans is essential when making sure that you meet your goals and deadlines so that you have done the right amount of work to get a good end result.

I have learned an excessive amount of knowledge in the three aspects of: • Planning new ideas • Filming • Editing

I believe that the process of doing research on existing films, looking into what our target audience enjoys and more, has insured that we could make our final product to the best of our ability.