Final Piece

Find below the video of our final piece - a 2 minute opening for the new Romantic Drama A Point In Time.

Preliminary

Please find below the youtube video for our preliminary task, The Interview.

Evaluation Q7

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

Evaluation Q6

 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

Evaluation Q5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Q4

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

Evaluation Q3

What kind of distribution institution would distribute your product and why?

Evaluation Q2

How does your media product represent different social groups?

Evaluation Q1

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

Please find below a Prezi which contains my answer to the above question.

Paragraphs

Below is a series of extracts from different stories, letters, blogs I have read online which would tie in with our story. I've just took these to help with our ideas in our final monologue - a lot of these come from real people - making the actual clip more emotional, as it is a real story? 

The only way to be somewhat prepared for death is to paradoxically have experienced death, I suspect. It is a unique and transformative experience that leaves one with an understanding of their world that could not be attained academically, without the experience. The issue for you, it would seem, is your relationship with/understanding of death. It is inevitable for us all, so 'dreading it' is an utter waste. The winter sure is cold, but you don't spend the summer dwelling on it, do you? Limiting attachments will ease the immediate sting of loss, but with the concurrent result of you missing out on the reason we are alive in the first place - Kind of a steep price to pay. (I know whereof I speak, and must claim the right of 'Do as I say, not as I do' on this issue). So, to answer your question: To prepare yourself for death, make connections freely, love fiercely, and 'cry your eyes out when someone you love dies' - There are far worse fates than grief, my friend...
 - My Dead Girlfriend Blog

I like the above extract because it explains the idea of grief in a very astute and intelligent way. I think this would  be useful to put in because it makes it seem more realistic that this boy - is dead, he isn't grief stricken, he has had to come to terms with what has happened - this is interesting as this blog was initially set up to be dark humour however I do believe that the above explanation is very good in conveying the experience of grief - without having the experience it.

Below is a story about a person's loss of their best friend - I really like this story as it helps convey some of the true emotion that this person feels. I'm not sure that this is necessarily applicable to our story however I think in order for us to create an effective piece we need to look into the different areas of grief.

My best friend died at the age of twenty-seven. She rushed back into her burning house to save her pets and succumbed to smoke inhalation. She was beautiful, brilliant, and fearless, and she was loved by many – the funeral home could not accommodate the hundreds of mourners that attended her memorial. I was disconsolate.

In the days and months that followed, I was showered with sympathy, condolences, and commiseration. Friends and family brought casseroles, acquaintances and coworkers offered empathy, and everyone made a concerted effort to cheer me up. The most prevalent statement of encouragement was, “Life goes on.”

People have been saying “life goes on” as long as life has been going on. It is a universal mantra used to deal with loss and bereavement, clung to not for reassurance so much as pacification of one’s misery until enough time has passed to have its anesthetic effect. It is a necessary and natural reaction to loss, but as a statement of support, it is misleading and destructive. When you lose someone you love, life does not go on.

The loss of a loved one is a monumental event, one that can change the entire landscape of one’s life. A significant loss permanently changes the way you see your existence and how you experience it. Simply put, life as it was defined when your loved one was alive does not go on. Trying to live as if it does is both inappropriate and impossible, and ultimately self-destructive. By setting the unattainable goal of going on with life as before, you risk miring yourself in a cycle of denial and despair.

When I heard, “Life goes on”, it challenged me to move on. Though well intentioned, this was the worst advice I could be given. In order to carry on, I needed to allow myself the time to process this new reality and fully understand the ramifications of my loss. Until I did, I knew I would be living a former life that was now incomplete, rather than living life as it had become – different.

Months have passed since I lost my friend, and the transition to this new life has not been easy. I still miss her desperately, and I think of her every day. I still mourn my life with my friend, but I am not still trying to live it. I have begun a new life, one in which the memory of my best friend is not painful, but part of who I am. This has given me the strength to go on with living, even if life with my friend did not go on.

I found a blog that contains a series of letters that people have written to loved ones who have died - I think this would be worth while. Going to share this on the group blog because I feel we could get a lot of ideas from this blog because it contains many different types of story. 

Letters to the Dead Blog

Reference

Thought this would be a nice place to reference because it tells the true story of a family dealing of heartache and also shows some really personal photos - I just think this would be a nice place to have as a reference because it is a true story.
Our Life With Alex - Blog

Bridget Jones' Diary

This is the story in the diary of the 30 something Bridget Jones and her quests with family, friends and men. A romantic dramatic comedy this film contains all aspects of each genre. The film begins with a narrative opening where Bridget Jones' herself is explaining her story. We automatically get an insight into the film and the character as she talks about what she does around Christmas time - often considered a more private, family time of the year. The music playing in the background is All By Myself - Mariah Carey. This incidental music is placed well, as it is at a time were she is telling the relatively bland story of the christmas period and how she spends it, it therefore provokes feelings of empathy from the viewer for Bridget therefore making the audience feel more involved. The non-diegetic sounds change when Bridget enters her mothers house, from this relatively emotional music, to an upbeat, almost silly music. This signifies a change in atmosphere, however this change may not be seen in Bridget who goes on telling her story of woe. We see the costume style of Bridget who already is dressed in several different outfits in the beginning, she smokes and drinks and wears relatively normal clothes and pyjamas, signifying she is your typical working class middle aged woman. When we are introduced to her mother you get a completely different impression as through her accent and behaviour we could interpret a certain snobiness, especially after we are introduced to her father who seems to fit into the same category as Bridget. The target audience as specified by IMDB is overall a woman/teen girl film, I can understand this is as it is written from the point of view of a woman, therefore making it more understandable and relatable for a woman. While there are so comedic moments throughout which may appeal to the males, overall the storyline is more tailored for a more feminine person, and i think that the film does very well to keep their feminine target audience interested. The titles are done in a style of handwriting, this is understandable because the film is called Bridget Jones' Diary and a diary is used to write in - this link between the title and title sequence is good as it keeps all relevance between the story and filming. The location used is also good as it is a relatively normal setting, a snow covered area, around christmas, in England. This therefore makes the scene that more reliable and believable. The use of 2 establishing shots can be scene at the start of the film, once when Bridget exits the car - this helps to set the scene and give the overall sense of normality and allow the viewer to associate with the character. The second is when she enters her mothers house, establishing this second change in scenery and also conveying the sense of normality. Overall i believe that the opening scenes do well to set the viewer up for a good film without revealing the plot.

Atonement

http://youtu.be/nqjEXD0T5Lo Atonement tells the story of a 13 year old aspiring writer who misinterprets her sister and brothers love and causes a roll of events which have repercussions on the rest of her life. When the film first opens, the credits appear. They appear in the form of a typewriting font. The sound of a typewriter typing can be heard in the background. This could signify that this is a story being told, and not events as they happen. It also highlights that its in a different era, as it isn't being typed on a computer which is the device we would use today.

This shot then cuts to one of a doll house, by the design and style of this house we can automatically assume that it comes from a wealthier person. It could also signify for the audience childhood, or innocence as we know that a doll house is a child, normally a girls possession. From the doll house the camera then tracks through a series of toys and dolls. This therefore confirms to the audience that this scene involves a child. The sound of typing can still be heard in the background, thus suggesting, that because the child isn't playing with his/her toy, we could note here the idea of loss of childhood. The camera then begins to tilt, showing the rest of the bedroom, and confirming the presumption of wealth as we can tell by miss en scene that anyone who inhabits this room comes from considerable wealth. The shot then completely changes to a close up on a characters face, we see her very blue eyes, we could associate this with the earlier idea of innocence - this shot highlights the girls childhood. She then gets up and walks, runs throughout the house, we see through her dress that she is obviously from the past - presumably 1900's. The sounds of the typing in the previous scene begins to blend in with the piano of the next, therefore linking the scene. The camera then comes to a different position passing the girl in the bedroom, we see she isn't in the room alone and there is someone dressed like a maid. This highlights that this girl is from some sort of middle/upper class family, and therefore is highlighting the gaps in social groups right from the beginning of the film.

The girl then continues through different halls and rooms of the house, we can see by the setting too that this is a uniquely designed and wealthy house, therefore highlighting the gap in social groups compared to the maids washing in the other room. The light used in these scenes is very low-key, highlighting the different areas of shadow and light, would it be too bold a remark to say that these shadows represent secrets? It then switches to a long shot of the girl walking toward the camera, however she suddenly looks off camera to the left, we can hear diegetic sounds of birds, suggesting that what she is looking toward is outside. We then get an eyeline match of the girl seeing what she was looking at. We see a young man dressed in scruffy clothing, however when we hear is voice, he sounds more upperclass, therefore we could draw a contrast here. Also, audience interest will be maintained here, as it will make the viewer question what significance does this man hold to the young girl? A tracking shot is then used when the girl returns to the house, we can hear the music begin louder, more prominent. We could suggest then that the conversation the girl just had with man holds some prominence within her. To end the opening scene the camera zooms in on the girl closing doors, this too could represent some form of secret, therefore maintaining viewers interest about the relationship or prominence of the scenes which just unfolded. The target generation for atonement is the older generation. There are different aspects to it which could interest male and female viewers alike. This is unusual as we would most often associate romantic dramas with female viewers. Overall i think the opening of atonement is very good in the sense that it keeps the audience interest maintained without giving away information which will be crucial to the storyline. It would be one of the top films of this genre for me.

Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing - a 1987 film which has become renowned worldwide amongst dancers and old romantics like. It tells the story of a prim and proper who falls in love with a dancer from a summer camp.
 The opening of the film begins with an upward wipe, followed by credits. This includes non-diegetic sound and scenes of dancers. This is all done in black and white, this could be to reflect the era of the film, or it also could be to do with the idea that every person is the same. This is relevant to the film because the film highlights a divide between Baby and Johnny, and this helps to show that there is no actual difference. Also because of the dancing, it reinforces the idea that dance will be central to the story as also seen in the title.
 We see the style of the costume of the dancers, we could associate this style with the 60's, this is useful as it means from the very beginning before we even know the story the era of the story is made clear. We notice how they dance, we often could associate dance with passion, possibly suggesting some sort of love is involved when dance is central theme? When the credits begin the music from the previous sequence is linked to the next song, being played as if it is on the radio, this is useful as it connects both scenes in a natural way.

Superimposed on the screen, the titles then come up, this is in the form of pink italic writing which has become the world renowned logo of the Dirty Dancing Franchise. The writing comes to the middle of the screen, attracting the attention of the audience to titles, however not distracting from the dancing in the background therefore showing that dancing will play a big part in this story. The pink colour of the titles could also help to suggest to the audience the romantic side to the storyline. In the music which is used at the beginning, of this, the word baby is used several times, this could be used to emphasise that the main characters name is Baby, which we find out shortly after, this is also useful because it connects the character to the music being used and therefore is relevant.

The mise-en-scene of the characters and setting in this first scene suggest that they are quite wealthy or atleast come from some money. The characters are accompanied by the voice over of Baby, I personally like this touch, I think it is similar to the soliloquy in drama - we can take what she is saying as the absolute truth as she is not speaking to anyone, instead what she says are her thoughts, it makes it therefore a more believable story. When they arrive at the countryside setting of the summer camp, we could describe the surroundings as very green, full of vitality and life, we could also suggest that the camp therefore is for quite wealthy occupants. As the car gets closer to the camp, the colour of the titles change to red/purple shades, we could associate this with passion/love/romance, giving the audience an idea that the summer camp is associated with some sort of love story. A variety of shots is used in the opening sequence, including closeups to highlight the intimacy between dancers, and long shots to help set the scene. There is also a use of two shot, to position Baby and another girl - known to be her sister later, sitting in the back of the moving car. This again heightens the sense of reality. At the beginning with the dancers, slow motion is used, this is key to help heighten this sense of passion and romance. By slowing down this scene it adds intimacy and shows every tiny detail which helps with the overall storyline. Overall, I believe that the opening scenes helps the target audience to gain a valuable insight into how this film is to proceed, and sticks to many of the conventions set out by romantic dramas and therefore is an excellent example of a romantic drama in the 1980s period.

Titanic

Titanic is an american romantic drama which portrays the love between people from two extreme social classes on board the tragic ship on its doomed journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The movie uses past time continuity and the story is presented as something the viewer knows has happened and that the end will be a tragedy. We know the idea for the titanic is based on the historical ship, but the love story is fictional. Therefore although the viewers know the general ending and events which will take place, they're attention is kept as they are unsure on how the love story will play out. A major challenge for Cameron and his team when making this film was manufacture the reality of the titanic. Cameras would have had to be used carefully in order to capture important events on the ship. As the setting of this film was mainly supposed to be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, lighting would have had to be carefully used in order to again create this sense of realism - brighter light used outside, to show the idea of the sun shining upon the ship, and dimmer light used inside as it was only artificial light that would have been present inside the ship.

The costume used throughout the film is traditional to era(1900's) and representative of the class society. This is evident through the 2 main characters, Rose and Jack. Rose is often dressed in luxurious gowns and hats, and also by her posture we see that she is brought up in a wealthier certainly better established background to Jack. Jack is dressed in brown, cheap looking trousers and blazers with a loose fitting shirt, obviously depicting the poor background from which he comes, and also highlights the gap between the classes of Rose and Jack. This rule is generally adhered to throughout the film except when Jack joins Rose and her wealthy family and friends for dinner and borrows a suit, and when it switches to present day where the now old Rose is dressed relatively normal - suggesting a lack of distinction amongst classes today. There are a variety of shots used, one important one is at the beginning of the film when the ship reaches its necessary speed and Jack and the italian immigrant run around on the ships bow. The camera moves in an usual way - arcing around them and then moving back into a long shot, past parts of the ship. This is obviously highlighting that this excitement Jack and his friend are experiencing are due to this ship as we get to view it in all its glory. Another excellent shot is the extended dolly shot toward the closing of the film, when it looks as though the wreck of the Titanic on the seabed is coming toward us. This is excellent as it builds up anticipation for the emotional scene following where we see those who lost there lives on the titanic. Along with these, a number of close up shots are used which help create the intimacy needed to make this love story believable. It doesn't need to be said that the editing in this film was excellent, in fact it could be said some of the best that has been seen in filming. However, it is obvious too, that there is a strong need for editing in this film because of the scenario with the ship breaking and ultimately sinking.

In conclusion, i think that with all this taken into account there are definite ideas we could take such as camera angles and costume, although there is not as big an emphasis on editing with us, as we are not attempting to recreate a blockbuster on the same level of James Cameron's emotional rollercoaster that is Titanic.

The Notebook

The Notebook is a 2 level story - one is the present day when Allie and Noah have grown old and live in a home; the other is the story Noah reads from the notebook in which he tells how he and Allie met, fell in love, lost each other, and then found each other again. The end of their love story is tragically altered by Allie’s Alzheimer’s, but even that has no power over their love. At the beginning of this movie the viewer is presented with a closeup of the character Duke. This shot allows the viewer to establish his character along with mise en scene in the form of the props used and dress - glasses and a wheelchair, which would often be commonly associated with the older generation. When he gets up to leave the room that he starts the scene in, he lifts a book from the bedside table, which looks quite like a notebook, this could possibly suggest to the audience that this is what contains the story about the unravel, as the title of the film is The Notebook. By the colours and types of props around the man, blue colours, light blankets, beds with rails on them, it could be suggested that this is some sort of care building, as it has some aspects of a hospital.

After he leaves, in the next thing, a pan of the building confirms this is a care home. Immediately after there is a long shot of Duke in another room interacting with other older characters, therefore showing this is an elderly people home - nursing home. Within the dialogue there is light humour, which possibly reassures the audience. By creating this scene of a nursing home, the emotions of the audience may begin to get involved here, because for me i genuinely wouldn't associate a nursing home as a place of happiness. Shortly after, we see Duke in a queue waiting to get pills (suggesting an illness?) and he says the the nurse 'Big day today', to which the nurse replies 'you say that everyday!'. This could intrigue the audience, or confuse them, either way it will maintain the interest. This 'big event' Duke speaks of will intrigue the audience, as this could be the basis of the story, however with the nurses comment it is suggested that he says this regularly and that it therefore isn't a big deal, it's simply an event which he has fabricated to become a big deal. The scene then immediately switches to closeup of a woman this time, who is dressed and looks very elegant, suggesting an upbringing of in high class. We see smaller props such as diamond rings, earrings and necklaces, adding to the wealthy aura of this elderly woman. The costume is modern therefore, showing that this scene is a modern day time, compared to the costume of Duke earlier, he is in typically old fashioned trousers and shirt, where the woman is in a blouse, trousers and cardigan. We then see a nurse come into the background who then begins to interact with the woman asking her to go outside. The woman's body language suggests that she is very nervous or tense at this idea. This is interesting and could lead the audience to think, is there something wrong with this woman that she can't handle such a simple task? The shot then switches to a wide shot of the whole room in which Duke walks into, he seems to be very optimistic in how he enters, although there is an overall solemn feeling in this room which would seep into the cinema room. The nurse then informs Duke that this isn't a 'good' day for the woman, this further heightens the sense that this woman suffers from something, however what it is hasn't been disclosed yet, holding the audience in anticipation. Through the tone of the woman's voice when she says 'hello', she sounds as though she is in the presence of a stranger, however through Duke it seems though he knows her. This is emotional because it gives the idea that he knows her and she doesn't know him, making the audience question if there is an illness here clouding the mind of one of the 2 people. Then Duke begins to read to the woman, this sets up the narrative and thus begins the story. This helps to also set up the genre of the film because it is obvious this man has some sort of love for this woman, yet it seems its rejected or not realised, therefore making us feel for the woman.

Romantic Drama

I have a fair idea of what a romantic drama is. But it is defined as 'Romantic Drama film is a genre that explores the complex side of love. The plot usually centers around an obstacle that is preventing love between two people.' That is as taken from http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/romance. This does show however that Romantic Drama is not a genre, but rather a subgenre within the largers genres of Drama and Romance. I think this is possibly good for us, because it allows us to be more specific in what we want to do. I think overall, that the general target audience of this genre would be teenage girls or women. Often so well known as 'chick-flicks'. I think this goes back to the suggestion that women are the more emotional beings. This idea goes back as far as elizabethan times when it was believed that women would require constant reassurance. I'm not saying that this genre is specifically designated to them, you get emotional men ofcourse! However, i think that ultimately when it comes to marketing, it would be more feminised. I would generally think that Romantic Drama's would be a successful area, especially when looking at a film like Titanic. It is rated as number 2 in the all time greatest films, grossing world wide $2,185,372,302. It was nominated for 14 oscars, and won 11 of them. This is indeed a relatively standard film to choose, but it shows the success thata good romantic drama can have. Above is the opening credits for titanic. I really like the simplicity of these credits. I also think it is very clever how James Cameron worked into it original clips. This i think helps maintain audience's attention. I think the music choice, was very clever also in this instance. This music has become world wide representative of the titanic brand. For me the music could be seen to represent the freedom, or calmness of the sea. It is calm, but it also quite emotional, and therefore could also represent the emotional scenario that was titanic. I took the below table from http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=romanticdrama.htm I think this could be useful in research because it shows the top 20 Romantic Drama's of all time. The original on the website shows the top 200 but i think it best we focus on the top 20.

As can be seen from this table, Romantic Drama's overall have grossed quite well, showing too that there is always room in the market for a romantic drama. The reason for this research into Romantic Drama is simply to give me an idea of how successful this type of movie is, and what type of plot has worked best.

Ideas

i love the idea of using an older character telling the story of something from the past. This has been used in some major films, such as The Notebook and Titanic. I think this has a really dramatic effect on the audience and grabs their attention from the first instance. I think this could be a good way to go with the film. My granny even offered to take part in our film!