Note To The Examiner

Dear Examiner,

For the past eight months I have been working on my coursework to produce in the end an Opening Sequence. This process has been documented in the blog bellow which I hope expresses the hard work that I have put into this blog.

To the right of my blog there is a 'Blog Archive' which has a list of links to the blogs, by month, that I have put up from the beginning of this process to the end. The first blogs are to do with my Preliminary Task then work their way up to my Opening Sequence.

Next to each of the titles of my blogs is either (Opening Sequence) or (Preliminary Task). I used these to point out which task I was doing so it is clear which I was working on and when I changed to blogging about my Opening Sequence from my Preliminary Task.

I hope you enjoy looking through my blog as much as I enjoyed doing it. 

Kinvara Boorman

Opening Sequence- GONE

Opening Sequence from Kinvara Boorman on Vimeo.

Calendar For Preliminary Task and Opening Sequence

It was useful having a calendar as I could then see roughly how far ahead or behind I am and can plan my time more effectively. I also could give my self more then one day to do something so I had fall back time if I was behind on something else. This made me feel more organised and calm throughout the process of doing my coursework and adding to my blog.

Evaluation Questions- No. 7 (Opening Sequence)

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

If Prezi doesn't work then go to the right of the Prezi screen and on the edge half way down is a zoom in and out option, this can be used to read each of the slides. You can also click and drag on the Prezi screen to move to each slide as well.

Evaluation Questions- No. 6 (Opening Sequence)

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

Evaluation Questions- No. 4 and 5 (Opening Sequence)

Who would be the audience for your media product? And How would you attract your audience?

Evaluation Questions- No. 3 (Opening Sequence)

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The types of media institutions that would distribute my movie would be mainly British film companies. This is because I wanted to make a British film so using a British film company was vital in getting this aim. The main institution that will invest in my film is Film 4. Film4 is an independent film company that suits my film, as it is not a mainstream one and is British. They generally make a certain genre that fits mien of social realism. As my film is low budget I will need a lot of investors to make the film from outside as well. This could be very difficult as successful British films are a lot harder to make, as unlike America we don’t have the surplus funding. Investors are cautious in what movies they put their money into, as they don’t want to lose it or not make a profit from the investment. Especially since my cast has no big named actors as all were either new or only had a little experience so it would be even more unlikely for me to get any investment. This means that from the outset of making the film it would be increasingly difficult to even make the film as getting the money is very difficult. Another problem with it not being a blockbuster is that it doesn’t appeal to many people. The popularity of indie films is decreasing as they are being made less and the popularity of them is therefore dropping as well. So this would mean that I would also have a problem when the film is made to get people to watch it, so advertising is important as well.


  Although Film 4 will produce my film, therefore, then I will need outside investment to make sure that I have the right amount of funding for my film. An example of the outside investors I would use would be the National Lottery. They invest in indie films which would be perfect for me as I could get more investors and have the famous logo of their on my film. This would be advertising in itself as people know that logo very well.

Evaluation Questions- No. 2 (Opening Sequence)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my opening sequence I try to stick with the obvious stereotypes. The first one that I stuck to was the British family in the beginning and how they contrast massively from the Turkish people around them in the market. The family look innocent and naïve like most other tourists do, especially in films like mien where a kidnap happens as it highlights this. Having the family look so vulnerable means that when the kidnap happens it seems even worse as from the beginning they looked like victims. An even more stereotypical representation is of the Turkish people in the market. Compared to the tourists they look seedy and corrupt. The contrast is huge, as they don’t look middle class, like the family, with their cheaper looking clothes and the quality of the market that they are in. In other parts of Turkey this representation wasn’t wholly right as there were richer parts as well, but setting my opening sequence in a dodgy area meant that it was more likely for a young girl to get kidnapped and from the outset that something bad will happen.

 The kidnappers are also a stereotype as they are foreign with a sleazy look that as soon as the viewer’s spot know that they aren’t the good guys. This, when first shown on scene, that they are dodgy and when they are able to lead Lucy away it is clear that they are evil. This is a classic stereotype as in other films like Taken the kidnapper is always foreign as well. Their accents as well highlight their danger as it is always given that when in a foreign country you are cautious when one of the locals who seem to be of a lower class talks to you, and like the kidnapper does lure you away from the public. Having the main kidnapper talk in a very strong accent brings attention again to the danger of him.

Finally, there is the stereotype of a young girl who seems completely oblivious to the world around her and her parents who seem more wise and cautious when in the market. The daughter is wearing quite inappropriate clothing that shows that she wasn’t aware if the dangers that Turkey held. From this it is clear that she is naïve, innocent and young, as she is not yet experienced yet with the dangers when going away to countries less developed then their own. Her clothing states that she does want the attention but she attracts the wrong sort. However, on the other hand the parents are represented oppositely. They seem more conscious of their surroundings and the dangers that they hold. Mainly they stick together when walking through the market and as they are adults they are already less likely to be taken, unlike the daughter. These are obvious stereotypes as in most movies the parents are always correct and more wise then the children. So when Lucy is kidnapped you can see the panic of caring parents that is how most parents would react. Having such stereotypical characters will draw the viewer in as it is what they can relate to as they have seen similar movies like it before, which have been successes, and hear about these stories on the news. If I were to change these stereotypes around then I may lose potential viewers.

Evaluation Questions- No. 1 (Opening Sequence)

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

Gone analysis no 1 from kinvaraboorman

Colour Correcting (Opening Sequence)

When editing my Opening Sequence I realised that I would need to edit the colour of the shots, this was because the lighting in the market was bright making the scene colourful and happy. This didn't coincide with the theme and genre of my film which is meant to be dark and drama full. To make them coincide I decided to edit the colour. There were many choices on how to edit the clip and I wanted to make sure that each rush I used had the same colour effects otherwise it would make the film look disjointed and wouldn't run smoothly. I used the colour weal as this made it easier to choose the exact colour grades I wanted. It also made it easier to match the colours to each rush. As sometimes the lighting was different when putting the already colour graded fonts on it looked different on each rush. However editing them my self meant that this didn't happen. It also made my film look more professional as the colour grading was less obvious. When choosing what kind of colours I would use I first changed the saturation of the rushes to be less bright and more grey, this already had a more powerful effect as it set up the genre of the film as quite dark and scary. I then used the colour weal to give the rushes a more red feeling as this gave quite a harsh heat but went well with the saturation I chose as it added to the drama of the film and matched the genre better then no colour correcting.