MEST2 Evalution

MEST 2 Evaluation

The brief for this coursework entails that we produce a 3 minute video based on one of the seven genres we’ve been given as an option in addition to a promotional print booklet to accompany it as part of a competition. For the broadcast aspect of it (film itself) which we titled ‘La Sombra,’ I worked with Callum Louis, Ra’eesah Khan and Mamduh Adan, working on the modern noir genre.

  

The research I conducted contributed to both planning and the final product in the sense that it informed aspects of the modern/neo-noir genre that we had chosen to develop into. With it essentially being an ‘updated film noir’, films like Sin City and Agent 47 specifically contributed to the way we approached this production. Elements such as the usage of the colour red help show this. Akin to Agent 47 we decided to this with the red suit solely as well as red lighting in the party scene. The colour red has connotations of violence, blood and power so the use of it here works quite effectively with the direction of the film.

Institutionally, the research I carried out followed agencies such as Film London as well as the BBFC. With Film London, as part of the Microwave Film scheme, looking at some of the films from it such as Ill Manors and Shifty helped me understand what exactly ‘makes an arthouse film arthouse.’ In particular what stood out here was the aspect of informing the general public on issues rather than solely aiming to entertain them. At the same time the BBFC research had an impact with the fact that we had to ensure that we were abiding to the age rating guidelines for a 15-rated film e.g. strong violence, frequent strong language etc. This can be seen in the production itself with us keeping anything like blood, or any proper graphic violence out of the mix.

In terms of audience, carrying out a focus group helped us be not only being aware that the film concept was good, but also that there many aspects we could touch up upon within such as having an antihero and drug dealing by European gangs.

The target audience for this film ranges from teenagers the age of 15 to 45-year olds, with them being predominantly male. With this in terms of psychographics the explorers, reformers and succeeder groups can be thought to make up this target audience. Explorers in the sense that the film takes place in a range of locations whether it be a party or a train, reformers in that it offers a different take to the modern noir/crime genre with a foreign silent killer and succeeders since the film is arthouse, which is a genre something often associated with prestige and ‘culture capital’/familiarity with high cultural forms.

This said, the brands that appeal to the audience would range from things like Apple products, of course more towards succeeders, British Airways/Virgin Atlantic for the explorers and Oxfam/Fairtrade for reformers. With other films though, one particular one that would be watched by the audience is ‘City of God.’ Not only being in the crime genre of film, City of God is also foreign language which is something we implemented into our production. Films this would be likely to be watched by the intended audience on platforms such as streaming and VoD services like Netflix and Google Play Movies as opposed to DVD and Blu-Ray, and this is the case since the audience in this case mainly covers young people.

Overall, the target audience for this production does appear to be quite strong in that it is broad enough to not solely appeal to just a niche crowd. As well as this is the fact that in terms of age, the audience is good in that it means other more modern platforms of movie-watching can be exploited which young people put into use such as video on demand. It can though to some extent, be thought to be weak as it predominantly caters towards males rather than females which also makes up quite a large proportion of movie audiences. This is particularly more apparent nowadays as suggested by theories such as Rosalind Gill’s ‘female gaze’ with post-feminist media culture in Britain meaning that men are also being presented in film for women to look at.

The early section of the film works to allow viewers to become immersed in the actions of the main character, La Sombra. At 00:00-00:07 and 01:03-01:09, camera movement is used in the form of tilts to help give the audience a proper idea as to what La Sombra is doing as he receives this phone call from his boss. The first time this tilt is implemented is when he drinks from his hip flask and this effective in showing how crude he is in his ways and not the formal type his suit might suggest him to be. The second time it’s used is for a tracking shot of the phone landing in the canal, simply helping to show the destruction of any evidence that may connect La Sombra to a job. It can be said that mise-en-scene also plays an important role here since the setting does appear as being quite secluded with no one in sight other than the main character. Alongside this though, the throwing away of the phone also acts as an action code (Roland Barthes) since it does suggest that the protagonist will be going ahead to fulfil this hit, working to further the narrative.

Another section of the film shows us the eventual lead-up to La Sombra murdering his target in a mask party. Beginning from 03:17, and ending at 04:04, we first see him [La Sombra] picking up and wearing a mask. Everyone else in this party is wearing one of these props, so this works out from a mise-en-scene standpoint in making sure that he’s not out of place in the whole thing. After this he looks at the ID he has of his intended target and uses this to help him identify him within the crowd and with this a panning shot is used as he does this to make it evident that he is actually searching for him. Heading forward, the brandishing of the syringe is an action code in suggesting that the person he shows this to is going to be killed, and this is exactly what takes place. Just as he kills his target, the lights in the room go from red to white, a particularly dramatic effect to the whole scene. Along with this the non-diegetic music cuts out just as this happens, helping to show the pure magnitude of the event.

When the front cover is concerned, most of the conventions have been stuck to albeit with different takes on them. For example with the ‘The Little Picturehouse’ title rather than being in the top third of the cover, it’s placed vertically along the far-left side while still being identifiable by readers. Other than this though, it still contains a central image of the main actor of the production as well as the date of its release, cover lines and a puff just to name a few things. What stands out particularly here though is the usage of a uniform colour scheme throughout the cover with the pane on the left, cover lines and puff, all matching the colour of the suit of the actor in the cover. This colour scheme carries on throughout the rest of the magazine with both the contents page and the double-page spread.

Conventions can also be found in the contents page with it including the word ‘contents’ in bold right at the top of it. Along with this the page numbers are in bold which helps readers see clearly the page of each feature. On the right side of it is another picture of the main character, this time with no face though and him doing up his tie, adding to this idea of mystery within it. An addition that may appear as being unusual is the syringe on the left side of the (first) page. What it is though, is the weapon used to kill the target of La Sombra in the actual film, so a sense of synergy is established there.

With the double-page, along with the continuing colour scheme there’s also a headline for the feature, stand first introduction, drop cap and another image of the main character. With this though while the typical column layout is present on the second page of the spread, on the first one the text is wrapped around it which just helps to showcase another level of professionalism. One more thing to add is that the social media icons in the bottom-right corner are not only representative of common features of magazines nowadays, but at the same time assist in targeting the main audience of the production [young people] more directly since they are networks predominantly used by teenagers.

I’d say my printwork is strong in the sense that there’s a solid level of consistency throughout it whether that be with the font of it all or the colour scheme. Not only this but it’s apparent there’s a level of complexity, especially with things like the wrapped text in the double-page, the page numbers in bullet holes in the contents page (keeping with the theme present in the film) and use of vertical text as opposed to horizontal in some cases. Also overall it helps recognise the target audience with the use of the social network icons in the corners of each page which is something quite significant. At the same time though, it could’ve been better by doing things like actually having something in the background rather just it being plain black, refining some of the edges around the character’s hair and additionally, perhaps having more pertaining to the actual competition itself just to make it clear what the print is in dedication of.

Throughout the production work, representations are generally reinforced. One of the most apparent ways this is the case is with the portrayal of the main character. With him being the main protagonist, and receiving the most screen time, Rosalind Gill’s theory of the female gaze specifically can be applied in that males are in some sense objectified by female viewers. In addition to this with the taxi driver appearing to be of South Asian descent, Tessa Perkins’ theory can be applicable since it is to some extent true that taxi drivers tend to be Indian or Pakistani. 

If I was also to create an online blog as part of a third brief relating to e-Media, things like social media especially play a particularly significant role in its overall content. So rather than just having things like icons of popular social networks in parts of the print work, I would have had to mention things such as a social media campaign maybe with the use of a hashtag, i.e #LASOMBRA, and this would relate to user-generated content. UGC works particularly well as it seems a lot more ‘genuine’ coming from actual viewers or people interested in a product, in this case the film, rather than distributors. Examples of this lie in things like the Tag London campaign for Ill Manors where people were requested to make/posts tweets with the hashtag #ILLMANORS. What this actually helped do was promote his product in a way that was both cheap for him and more likely to generate attention for it, with user generated content (UGC) being something more easy for people to associate themselves with rather than things from an institution.

In addition to this from an industry/institution standpoint, what I’ve could’ve done is start establishing links between the film and Spanish cinema (institutions) really furthering the fact that it is, at least in part, a foreign language film.  Not only this but with it being known that the British film industry is more production rather distribution-led, the inclusion of say an American arthouse-based institution perhaps co-producing the film could have assisted in not only cross-promoting an institution but also working to solve a current problem within the British film industry.

In conclusion, I believe I have met the original brief set out for us. With me not only creating a film that works sufficiently within the modern noir genre that we selected, but also creating printwork that links in with it well while still pertaining to the general conventions of print, I without a doubt worked well within the brief. In terms of the media marketplace, I think that the product would be successful simply due to the fact that it’s a ‘tried and tested’ genre albeit with a number of differences and this would get curiosity for the film, something particularly associable with the arthouse audience, running quite well.