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Ensure that you complete each evaluation answer thoroughly

Add any further research and planning

Organise your web-log effectively

Question 2: How does your media production represent social groups?

In our film social groups have been represented in a way which ties to the Film Noir genre. The representation of class and status is strong within our film I wanted to make sure there was a clear separation between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. One example of this is when the Detective is in the bar and is talking to the bar attender, firstly the bar attender addresses his as 'boss' this shows audiences that he the detective is someone higher than him, that the detective owns some authority. When the Detective responds to the bar attender he talks aggressively, showing that he sees the bar attender as someone below him. Meanwhile, on the other hand we have the opposite approach off the Detective when he is in a conversation with the femme fatale. Instead of speaking to her in an aggressive tone he acknowledges her in a patronizing way when he says 'calm down precious, just tell me everything slowly.' The word 'precious' however indicates a mixed response, on one side it could show that the person his is speaking to is someone special to him and that he is calling her these things to make her feel good about herself while she is in this state of worry. The alternative response is that he is emphasising a patriarchal system within our society, demonstrating the power he holds over the woman and talking to her in any way he wishes. This also leads into how gender has being represented in the opening sequence. Due to the time era this opening sequence would of been set in many women did not have the independence they hold in society today, I wanted to implement this concept into my work as I felt it would give a more realistic Film Noir.

Our main character is Detective Dennis Dale. He is portrayed in our project as a having a dominant ideology. At first he is shown walking down the street, smug and respectable, once he enters the bar he appears as arrogant diverting any conversation rising with the working class, this emphasises that dominance once again. This shows the type of social class Dale is from, he one of the top men in his town and known by many. I have tried to follow the stereotypes associated with this type of character by making sure his body language and speech is portraying power. There are two main female roles, the different females are showing a different social group. The femme fatale pictured below is a strong intimidating woman who the Detective is bound to fall for. He body language is presented quite vulnerable at first, as she creates her web to destroy the Detective. During her speech to the detective she is constantly using hand gestures, this emphasises what the character is saying and highlights her state of panic. She is the stereotypical beautiful female that is deviant and manipulative at the same time. Meanwhile, on the other hand you have a woman who is the opposite of the femme fatale. She is a cute receptionist who has always adored the detective and who would be right for him. She is definitely not manipulative and instead puts everyone else before herself.

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

I used a variety of conventions to suit our film noir genre. One of the ways I did this was using people who fitted the stereotypical types of character usually associated with film noir's. An example of this is The Maltese Falcon, this film emphasise the typical detective and female roles. The main characters in which I have included were the detective and the femme fatale as inspired by the films similar to the Maltese Falcon. These classic characters highlight the genre of the film and allows audiences to gather understanding to whether they would want to continue watching it. Taking into account these types of characters I made sure they were presented in a way were the audience was able to convey ideas and a clear perception on who they were before being properly introduced. To achieve a realistic character we focused on the costume, supplying a suit and hat for the detective. These items of clothing in particular convey a realistic detective look and has been used in the film industry throughout the years.

Above demonstrate the typical detective look, The first image was a screenshot taken from the film Seven which was released in 1995. This story line was based on two detectives and as I studied it previously I taken inspired from this look and implemented it into my own work. Meanwhile the second image was a screenshot of the detective in The Maltese Falcon released in 1941. The contrast of images demonstrate that the detective's carry a very similar look as they're dressed in suits and a simple hat, these also show that the way a detective is portrayed hasn't changed over the years although there is a different time period. For my female role of the femme fatale I used other films to inspire the look I wanted to create. As the femme fatale is always presented as a woman of high maintenance and desirable to be around I wanted to establish this feeling of superiority. This juxtaposes the fragile fragmented personality of her character. The femme fatale is someone whom men fall in love with, those who seem vulnerable and in need, but beneath this persona is an evil cunning character one that is very familiar to audiences who enjoy film noirs. Going back to the Maltese Falcon I based the look I wanted to create which one which have been presented though this film and another film.

As pictured she looks very expensive with her fur placed over the shoulder and a hat. I have taken inspired from the coat to clarify that my femme fatale is this manipulative type of character. I have also focused on my modern interpretations of a femme fatatle, unlike the detective the costumes have varied throughout the years. One in particular in which I looked at was Sherlock Holmes, actress Rachel McAdams is presented as the femme fatale however her clothing is slightly different to the previous woman pictured. 

Rachel McAdams (pictured above) plays the role of the femme fatale. Unlike the lady before she does not hold any items which convey that she has a lot of money for example: fur. However, she is presented much more elegantly, a flawless finish to her make-up which complimentary colours and a touch of colour to the lips emphasising this feature in particular. Many people see the lips as an important feature on the face, they also can symbolise acts of affection and intimacy. As a femme fatale these factors are considered more important as they want the male (detective) to fall in love with them so doing these certain things could give them a better chance. For my femme fatale in my film I decided to use red lipstick, using lipstick to emphasise features was inspired by Rachel McAdams in Sherlock Holmes. However, I chosen to use red as I felt it held much more symbolism, people associate the colour red with many things, this can range from passion, love to danger and warning. This shows what the character is about she strives for love and once found she becomes a danger as her secrets are untold in the story later on. 

The conventions of a film noir were also challenged in other ways, such as the lighting and props used. The lighting was low key, many film noir's are very famous for the classic use of low-key lighting. In my film I decided to try and use one main source of light, this built up a nice contrast of tones featured onto the face. A lot of the time low-key lighting is used to created a mysterious atmosphere, because of this reason I wanted to show the dark overtones in my opening sequence to make sure it had the same atmosphere. Also because of the low-key lighting it shows viewers the type of genre my film is

When producing the film I wanted to challenge the typical conventions of a film noir, this was because I wanted to show a new, different type of film noir which is so precise within it's characters and general story line. From this I decided to change the role of the detective to a woman as I felt it would show that the roles have been challenged. However, when filming it like this the story didn't work meaning I went back to the generic conventions of a film noir. 

For location I began filming in places where it would be typical for a detective to be. These places include a bar and an office. The different locations conveyed different feelings, the bar shows a sense of comfort. This is a place people go to because they want to get away from the same settings, to have a drink and relax from their problems. Due to these connections I wanted to demonstrate that this was the type of character he was. Someone tired of the same routine and looks to things like alcohol to calm himself from this problems. In many old films a bar is a classic location for the male characters in particular. The second location chosen was an office, this was picked because I wanted to show his career and that he is a man of the middle class, owning his own office, having his own secretary. In the Maltese Falcon, an office is used to introduce the characters, this was one of my main inspirations in my work as I felt for the type of film I'm doing it suited the theme I was trying to portray. 

Overall I have made sure that my openings fit the conventions of a film noir previously stated. Although they were challenged in certain ways, I did decide to not challenge the conventions due to the outcome not portraying the atmosphere I wanted to achieve.

Detective Dale

Coursework feedback

You are currently working at level 3 for your coursework but time management is a real factor and the film needs to be completed this week.  Your edit is very promising and is almost complete. 

Ensure creative technologies are employed in the evaluation.

Profile an Audience

Collective Identities
Metro sexual - Males that take care of their image and whom are well groomed, for example David Beckham. He is a man who is into fashion and wears many of the latest trends, he has also produced products of his own these include underwear, aftershave, and so on.
Hipster - Hipster is a term used to describe a sub-culture within society. These people are described as too cool, rude, smoking, immature etc.
Narcissism - Conceited/self absorbed, they don't possess any feelings for others because they're so obsessed with themselves other people don't matter.
Trustafarian - Trustafarian's are people who are stereotyped to be from a wealthy family and their parents supplying their trust fund. However, they do not act like they're wealthy and instead act like a middle class person.

Geo-demographic profiling:
Coperate Cheiftains:
These type of people are the upper class, living in beautiful houses in the center of London with a great career. There hobbies are very sophisticated.

Production Journey

Tuesday 9th December 2014

 In this lesson I decided to put the photos I taken of the locations in which I filmed my short film. I written about why I chosen these particular locations and what effect it created on my audience and movie itself. Location is very important feature within film as it reveals information not just about the setting but also the characters. Why are the characters situated at a bar? Or at an office? It is giving a wider insight to who the person is, they're at a bar because maybe drinking could be a hobby for them, maybe this is where the person goes to unwind and relax. The office shows where the character work, in this particular setting I wanted to portray a detective atmosphere with paper work shattered on the desk and a security helping out the detective.

Tuesday 6th January 2015

In the lesson today I have focused on completing my blog. One blog that I finished was the connotations and representation of a detective. I did this to show the development of my character and my understanding of the detective and how I've reinforced those values into my production. I have also added transition effects onto my video this makes the production look less disconnected and detached.

Friday 9th January 2015

We were planning on which scene should be added to the production. Also we edited the production by adding titles into the clip. I also tested whether or not the production looked good in black and white or no effect added.

Monday 12th January 2015

In today's lesson I will storyboard extra scenes for the next bit of the film so when filming the next scene there is structure and continuity, also I will make sure that the location is accessible. Also in this listen we will being writing our evaluation.

Tuesday 20th January 2015

Finishing the evaluation and any other uncompleted work.