By Bradley Judge

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

The first piece of technology we used was the camera, microphone and memory cards etc. This was the case it came in.

This is the camera that we used. I had never used any equipment like this before so to create an opening sequence with equipment I have never worked with I felt gave me an achievement. The camera was very easy to use and worked really effectively in our opening sequence. The LCD screen attached was really helpful as we were able to look at parts that we had filmed and therefore re-film if we needed to without trouble. I also learnt how to use the camera on a non-automatic mode so it educated me to learn how to control white balance etc.

The memory card we used fitted in the camera and contained all the footage on so we could store it securely and not on any internal memory that might fail if the camera breaks.

When recording we used a microphone that fitted into the camera easily. In the end we only used atmospheric sound in our piece but whilst filming we used the microphone to record some sound. Another thing we used this for was the voice over. On the day we used a video clip to record the voice over which later we cut the visual aspect and just added the sound to our piece.

When recording the piano for the sound of our piece we used a Dictaphone which did the job very well. It was really easy to use and didn't have any problems.

This is the tripod that we used to rest our camera on. It was really easy to use and created a stable point for our film. There is also a pivot on the tripod so that we could pan for our shots.

The other two pieces of equipment I used was Adobe Premiere Elements 3 and Photoshop. I had never used wither of these programs before but with a little tuition I soon grasped the concept. I used Photoshop to create our ident which is displayed in the top left hand corner. I used Adobe Premiere elements 3 to edit our opening sequence. I think I did a pretty good job as I had never used any of the programs before. Although I did work with Nicole on this project I did find that I did all the editing and constructing of the ident, which I felt at this point was unfair as I was left to do a lot of the jobs.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Target AudienceOur target audience will be mainly females of an older age. The reason for this is because costumes drama usually, on television or as films, mostly attract females as the storyline is based on love or tragedy so that is a very feminine them.Women at the age of 25+ will be our "ideal consumer" as the story is for people who are very mature.The women that are our target audience will enjoy other films such as Pride and Prejudice, Casanova, and The Duchess.These films will be opening to the theme of our film opening.

As Nicole wrote up about the target audience earlier in the process of creating the production we here can review it. From looking at the way the film opening has been produced , I think it would attract our target audience which gives us a real sense of achievement.

How did you attract/address your audience for your media product?

Following the video I think I can safely say that it would attract our target audience which is of a middle aged women. Although the interview is with a teenage girl she displayed an idea that middle aged women would enjoy it. The way in which I think we have achieved the attraction to our target audience is the mise en scene as it is probably the best thing about our opening sequence. The costumes and setting were very in keeping with the time period and this was noticed by a viewer even though she is not part of the target audience.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and

why?

I don't think a major institution would distribute our film as it is aimed at a niche audience so it would be more of a small company as it would then not loose money on the film but make a profit. I think it would be popular in our target audience and I think that is really important that we could achieve an ok sized audience, however I don't think a company like Paramount would want to distribute this as I feel they would want to put a big budget into there next film and I think this could loose the company money.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I think our product represents a social group of women aged 25+ as this is its target audience and I think this is important to observe because that means as a company we have achieved what we set out to. I think because it is a period drama film that follows a love story and a family relationship dispute then this would defiantly represent this female audience.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

Our piece doesn't really challenge forms of media products but does use it and kind of develops it. The piece is basically a very typical way of presenting a period drama, the old fashioned music and shots of setting to show the landscape which would show how there weren't many houses in the period our opening was set in. The way I think we developed it was by showing the two cousins later in the sequence crossing each others paths almost as if they weren't there at the same time as each other. This basically was a way of showing how the two girls almost lead the same lives yet it showed something had passed between them. I think to challenge the forms of media products that are already published in a period drama way would be very difficult as there isn't much you can do with a period drama. If we had though about this more we could have maybe in cooperated a way in which we could stretch the forms of products that are already published.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the

progression from it to the full product?

I think throughout this process I have learnt a massive amount about producing opening sequences. Firstly as I had not done media at GCSE level I think I have done really well to create something like this. The first thing I have learnt a mass on is the technology used to create this sequence, from learning how to use equipment and software it has really opened my eyes and shown me how to produce and present a opening sequence to a film. I have also learnt about the production of films and the companies that distribute films which has given me an insight into the wider picture of film production. One thing a have learnt from mine and Nicole's mistakes is that planning is really important and I think our planning was not sufficient enough and I feel if we had planned better then we could have made a better opening sequence. Overall I have learnt a mass amount of information and I think it has really helped me to understand how film openings are created and about the production of films. I have really enjoyed this process but found it quite hard to do, due to lack of planning and disorganised preparation.