Joshua Beecham
Advanced Portfolio
Candidate Number: 6271
Centre Number: 16607

Welcome to my Advanced Portfolio

My Chosen Brief : Short Film.  

Ancillary Products: Film Poster and Magazine Review Page

Here is  a link back to the Centre Hub

http://centralhubsouthendhigh.blogspot.co.uk/

Products: Finished Products

IMPORTANT

Please note there have been issues playing this video on some computers whose speaker configuration is faulty. If the narration seems very quiet, please play on a different computer. If this coursework is called for moderation, we shall send a copy of the video on DVD to be viewed on a DVD player. As mentioned, it is not a fault with the video, but the individual speaker configuration on certain computers. Ms Casson, Head of Media, Southend High for Girls.

Short Film

Short Film Poster

 

 Film Review

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

The question is answered through the use of a voiceover which includes video and images.Please ensure the YouTube annotations are turned on for both videos.

Evaluation: 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The most important thing for me whilst creating the combination of my main product and ancillary texts was to create a house style, and reinforce the stylistic approach that I took towards my film in all three products.
I must also make sure that my combination appeals to target my audience (the niche audience that have an interest in short and cult films) aswell as my secondary.


I'd define the house style that I created in all three products as simplistic yet effective. I made the products simplistic for a deliberate reason. Simplicity has  some connotations of emptiness, which is what my main character experiences in his life, all he has is an empty stage and a watch, his life is meaningless.
Barthes' Enigma Code can be applied to all of my products as (the poster and short film in particular)  portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, poses questions and makes the audience become intrigued in the piece. After my audience has seen the poster and read the review they will be asking questions such as "Why did the review say it was so emotional? What must have happened to the man to evoke such a response? What is the out of focused suit on the floor? What is the significance of the watch?"

As you can see the poster is very simplistic  

The lighting in this poster is also similar to the lighting in my short film. It is
grainy, dull and low saturated. By doing this I reinforce the tedious atmosphere of the characters workplace. Even before the audience have seen the film, by looking at the poster they will hopefully get a sense of this.


I express the idea of pressure throughout my film as a heavy motif. My character is always looking at the time, he constantly hears an alarm going off, he is desperate to succeed. He is pressured to almost kid himself in his daily ritual of turning out the lights and walking on to stage despite knowing the stage is empty.I reinforced the idea of time and pressure in my poster as it's whole concept was based around the idea of a watch.

The  minimalist style is also present in the review page. It is not clouded with advertising or unnecessary gimmicks. I deliberately used stills from the film that mainly consist of the colour blue. This was to reinforce the by giving it a colour scheme thus turning all three products into much more of a brand or package.

I used the both social network giants Twitter and Facebook in order to market my film. 

Here is a link the twitter account

https://twitter.com/BeechamFilms 

(this was made simply as an example as how the film could be marketed, I would tweet and gain as many followers as possible)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Curtain-Call/392673420823343?ref=hl

This is the facebook page (as said previously, this was just done to show an example format of marketing I could use considering how vital it is to have an online presence in a time where the amount of digital natives and WeMedia uses is forever growing).

Others ways I could Market or create a "buzz" around my shortfilm

• Release a soundtrack featuring the music used in the film
• A bonus disk/online video explaining the process of making the short film
• Original storyboards and sketches to be tweeted and posted on Facebook
• An interview with the actor

The benefit of cross-platform marketing is simple. It enables me to reach a range of audience's in a variety of different ways, it will get as many people watching the Short Film as possible.

Evaluation: 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

My original aim was to make a short film that could be appreciated by all. Although I had a clear idea of my primary audience, I felt it important to include both my target and secondary audience within my focus group. This is the conclusion I came to when analysing results from my initial questioning of my focus group.
 (Research)

Click Here - To see my initial views on my focus group

Click Here - To view my early thoughts about my target audience


Although my primary focus when creating my products was my target audience, I made sure when referring back to my focus group throughout the process that I questioned one person that was in my target audience and one that wasn't. I did this in order to keep in mind that I wanted my products to appeal to a range of audiences, and not just my primary target audience.

Here is an example of when I did this - Click Here

When reviewing this feedback it seemed that the younger member of my focus group was getting tiresome of certain lengthy shots, implying that the pace was dropping in correlation with her engagement. This told me that the younger audiences have a different psychographic to that of the older generations (they could for example be strivers which have qualities of energy and excitement). It came to my attention that unless I changed certain aspects of my film (E.g certain lengthy shots) I could risk the viewer taking an oppositional reading (when they reject my film). This is in accordance with Stuart Hall's Influence Model.

In my first feedback of the completed film I asked a range of different audiences (including some who weren't in my focus group) and was pleased with the positive results that I received.
                      My short film appealed to 9/10 of those asked.

I then revisited some of the audience that I asked in the previous questionnaire, and asked for their final feedback in light of a few minor changes as well as their input into my ancillary products. I asked a group of five girls between the ages of 16-19. I did this because they were the furthest from my target audience. By looking at their responses I have learnt that a short film doesn't have to be a form of high brow art, it can appeal to a wider range of people than simply middle age cult film fanatics.



I then sent out another questionnaire with only two questions. This one was only to be answered by  those in my target audience. I am overjoyed that all 5 that were asked answered yes to both questions.

Evaluation: 4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation: Analysis of Products

Please ensure annotations are turned on for this video

Audience: Lighting Changes

 As commented in my audience feedback I was advised to dull the colours during the scenes where the clowns face is visible. I did just that and feel it looks much more dramatic, intense and appropriate for the scene.

Before                                           After

Product: DVD Cover

Here is a DVD cover that would be used if the short film was released to DVD.

Planning: Changes to make on my film review

After re looking at my film review there are a few minor changes that I would like to make. They are mainly to do with spelling and grammar but a comment from a member of my target audience"maybe include reference to previous work briefly"  (by Harrison Payne) has made me consider adding that to the review.

Audience: Results from my Audience Feedback

Audience: What to take from my audience feedback

Overall I am extremely happy with my audience feedback. It appears that the film has been very well received with 9/10 saying that they'd watch the film again.

Although 6 out of the 10 made remarks that certain parts were less engaging

e.g. "The chair stacking" and "The laughing near the beginning "

When asked what they would change about the film only 2 people mentioned the lengthy scenes as something that needed altering.

I disagree with them. For me the lengthy scenes are absolutely vital in creating the dull monotonous life that the character has, without them we have no sympathy or connection with him and without a connection the ending becomes meaningless. Thankfully a few of those asked agreed and said something similar

e.g. "the sweeping, however in hindsight i guess it mimics the boring life he has which gives us a bigger payoff at the end when he is near the water"

I will stick with my gut feeling and keep the lengthy scenes the same length, and perhaps in final audience feedback even more will agree with the decision to keep them in.

I will however, re look at the sound in the film as some made comments about the volume not being equal for all of the voiceover, and I have noticed a couple of very minor moments where you can hear me shouting out bits of direction to the actor. This will need to be changed. I may also touch up the lighting in the beach scene, as one comment described as a suggestion.

Product: My Posted updated version

After hearing some feedback about my poster I came to the conclusion that I should include some credentials at the bottom including a twitter hashtag as well as a website address to keep my marketing focus specific to the now digital age that we are in. I also increased the title name so it stands out a bit more.

Product: My Poster

Here is a teaser poster for my short film. It is not the same as the one I flat planned for I came to the conclusion that I wanted my poster to be far more discreet. It is simply a watch with a black suit out of focus in the background. There is very little text. It is minimalist and hopefully leaves the audience wanting more.

Product: Auxillarly Product: Film review in a magazine

My magazine is called CUT! and the article although states otherwise (to make it seem authentic) was written entirely by myself.

To zoom in and read the text, use the image below.

Planning: Magaizine Review flatplan

This is the flat plan for my review page. After looking at existing magazines, I have tried to follow some key codes and conventions. Sight and Sound is the magazine that I have looked at specifically in order to gain inspiration for my magazine.


"CUT" will have the same target audience as Sight and Sound. "Middle aged, typically men with an interest of both mainstream and 'cult' cinema."