The impact of new technologies on my production

Initially I did some research on how changing technologies have impacted the film industry, as this would obviously be relevant to my production. Key theorists I found interesting and relevant were as follows:

“A new generation of UK media power players are ditching the traditional gatekeepers and going straight to their audience via the web” (Plunkett 2008).

I found this interesting as it reflects my generation and the technologies I have had available to me my whole life. In terms of my production, this is most relevant to the distribution stage because obviously I can utilise youtube to reach a mass international audience - something film makers fifteen years ago would not have been able to do (exhibition was limited to cinema screenings, VHS and DVD). This research led me to look at David Gauntlett (2007), who stated the following:

“The view that the internet and new digital media as an optional extra is replaced with the recognition that they have fundamentally changed the ways we engage with all media.”

Effectively, this means that the whole media industry has changed because of the internet and there is now a blurring between audiences and producers like never before because anybody who owns a computer and a camera can be a producer. I find this concept extremely exciting because it means my product (trailer) can actually reach a real audience.

The internet also allowed me to reach more people in my potential target audience when conducting surveys, through the use of Surveymonkey and Facebook. This is a more sophisticated method of collecting data for audience profiling because my target audience consists of people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, who are also the primary users of the internet and social networking sites and therefore are more likely to take part in a survey found on this medium, as Toby Miller (2006) and Tapscott and Williams (2006) state:

“By looking at how culture is used and transformed by social groups, cultural studies see people not simply as consumers, but as potential producers of new social values and cultural language."

“As people individually and collectively progress the web, they’re increasingly in command…this is the new consumer power. It’s not the ability to sawp suppliers at the click of a mouse…It’s the power to become the supplier – in effect to become an economic power themselves.”

In terms of Miller, these new forms of media (MySpace, Facebook, etc) are classic examples of the consumers switching roles to become the producers and, as Miller says, ‘potential producers of new social values and cultural language’. In terms of my production, it means that are able to put input into the social values and cultural language of my production.

Regarding Tapscott and Williams, it is important to remember that it is not solely the web that provides this power (though it is critical in terms of exhibition and reaching wider audiences) it is also advances in editing software, digital cameras, etc that narrows the gap and makes the transition from consumer to producer possible.

A good example of this would be when the hit US TV series 'House' was filmed entirely with a Cannon D7 - a camera completely accessible to amateurs.

http://www.petapixel.com/2010/04/09/house-season-finale-filmed-entirely-with-canon-5d-mark-ii/

I will utilise this technology in my own productions as I will film my trailer using the D7's slightly cheaper baby brother, the Cannon 600, which is capable of shooting high-quality HD film.

In terms of editing, I will use final cut pro, iMovie and after-effects to achieve industry standard special effects and titles - this is something film makers (fifteen years ago) would not have been able to do so easily because the software had not been developed and the software available would have been far out of the price range of low budget film makers like myself.

In short, as Gauntless (2007) states;

“Conventional research methods are replaced—or at least supplemented by new methods which recognise and make use of people's own creativity, and brush aside the outmoded notions of 'receiver' audiences and elite 'producers'".

Audience Research

Audience Research Analysis on Prezi

28 Days Later trailer analyses

This is my analysis of the narrative of the 28 Days Later trailer. I made reference to various theorists, such as Todorov and the grammar of narrative, as well as theories of representation, such as Mulvey's theory of the male gaze.

Film Trailers Research

Films trailers joe

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Why I chose my brief.

A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

- A website homepage for the film
- A film magazine front cover, featuring the film
- A poster for the film

I have chosen the brief stated above.
The reason I chose this brief is because of the many elements within it that spark an interest in me. For instance, the idea of working with film has always interested me and it is a potential career path for me in the future. I would very much like to expand my knowledge of the film industry, as well as develop many practical skills such as camera work and film editing. 

During my AS year, I chose the fiction film brief. I enjoyed this practical coursework very much, even to the point of inspiration for a potential future career in film. However, whether this happens or not, I would very much like to expand my knowledge and understanding of the fiction film genre and apply it to a project of my own. The reason I chose this over the other moving image based briefs is because of my enjoyment and fascination in the creativity of fiction, and my hope to expand myself creatively through the medium of film.

For my auxiliary tasks, I have decided to create a film magazine front cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film. The reason I have chosen these is because of their nature involving image manipulation. I find the concept of image manipulation both fascinating and enjoyable, and I would very much like to improve my skills and knowledge of the tools and techniques involved.