Evaluation: Finished Film

This is our finalised opening scene to our movie Ruthless Russians.

Planning: Preliminary Coursework

Evaluation: Paul Parker Evaluation

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

I think our media product uses a host of motifs belonging to crime thrillers – it shares similarities with Taken. The primary characteristic which our film incorporates is the idea of the protagonist, Bogdan in this case – and Bryan in Taken, being faced with some form of quest. Bogdan is issued with a quest when Emmanuel, the antagonist in a sense, took his bag and fled – leaving him to endure the questioning of Viktor and consequently the order to hunt him down and retrieve the money. By remaining strict to such conventions, essentially, in my opinion, you are more likely to create a greater crime thriller – however there is also the possibility of boring avid viewers. Furthermore, the film is dominated by the protagonist’s point of view, and this is another characteristic of crime thrillers. It is clear that the story is being told from Bogdan’s perspective and the troubles which he is faced with in his journey to retrieve Viktor’s wealth – from finding out the bag has gone missing, to actually feeling emotional upset. This is also present in Taken as the story progresses through Bryan’s eyes and his journey towards finding and safely taking back his daughter. Last but not least, the film uses plenty suspenseful music which adds to the feeling of mystery, and inquisitiveness – a common feature in many crime thrillers – as does Taken in the form of high and low piano tones. This adds emphasis to the actions of the characters, as well as the situation they are currently stuck in.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents particular social groups in a variety of ways; first and foremost, Emmanuel – the black character – was dressed in a gang-like attire, with a baggy hoodie, trainers etc. There is an appalling stereotype present in modern day society that black men, in particular, dressed in shady clothing or such, are related to some form of crime, or are willing to break the law whenever the opportunity arises. This is completely false, and is totally unfair because personally speaking, I know a few black people who choose to dress in that manner but are nowhere near to being criminals. In fact, they are possibly one of the nicest people I have met. That being said however, since this is an ongoing stereotype, we chose to implement it in our film because we felt it would be more accurate and create a realistic vibe within the product. Furthermore, Viktor – the crime boss – appears to be of an upper class, or someone who owns greater wealth, due to the fact that he was smartly dressed in a shirt and tie. People in those sort of high-up, management positions do commonly dress in a classier way in comparison to those who are at ground-level and are doing most of the hard work. In our media product, we wanted to highlight this difference being ‘normal’ and wealthy people. Finally, Bogdan wore a simple jacket and jeans, which showed he doesn’t have much wealth however he still doesn’t need to dress as if he is representing a gang or clique. He dresses like a civilized individual, someone who is probably unexpected to commit crime.

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

I believe our film would best be suited to local independent cinemas particularly in the area of East London. I hold this view because I don’t necessarily think it would relate to those in Spain or Malta for example, where mass broadcasting would be required, as well as people in Scotland or Wales where national broadcasting would be needed. I think this is due to the fact that the environment in the film, as well as the type of characters, and the kind of clothing which they have chosen to wear was not selected on the basis of reaching out to other countries or regions. If we did choose to reach out to local, independent cinemas to distribute our film, I think it would be much more beneficial because those who do go to the cinema will have a much greater understanding and familiarity of the film – this will mean that it’s more likely it will receive greater feedback and obviously criticism which is calculated, and not just wild, uneducated opinions. Furthermore, I don’t think our film would be suited for large distribution companies due to the fact that in the media industry, we’d still be new on the block and I think it would take many more films, and much more experience to be gained before we can begin distributing our products to a much larger, and much profitable market.

Who would be the audience for your media product – how did you attract them?

I believe the audience for our media product would be teenagers or those in their early twenties who live in the East London area. As mentioned briefly before, I think they hold the greatest similarities to our film. For instance, there are plenty African and Eastern European individuals who reside in that particular area therefore they’re going to be able to identify key factors and are going to be able to refer them to their state, and the location in which they live. A factor which they will be able to familiarise themselves with is obviously Emmanuel’s clothing, he isn’t dressed in a tuxedo, or dinner suit, he probably looks just like them – if not, then similar. Emmanuel’s character wears brands like Nike, Adidas etc., and personally speaking, I think I would be able to nod my head, and say it’s something I’d like to see on a character – this thought makes the whole film more personal, and more touching. Moreover, the court which we cleverly chose to use in our film is possibly similar to those of others’ communities – there was plenty of graffiti, and it was generally unkempt. I think the aforementioned group of people would be our selected target audience because they’d genuinely enjoy the film due to their age and youthfulness – the running scenes and attempted use of Russian personalities would entice them and possibly even make them laugh.

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

I have to admit, before I had even touched a camera, I never fully knew how to use it at a decent standard. Now that I have finished constructing my media product, I can boldly say that I’m more than capable of handling a camera, and dealing with the specific functions it entails. Furthermore, before I had even started on the preliminary task, I never knew what Adobe Premiere Pro was, or what it could possibly do – if I had to take an uneducated guess however, I’d probably think it was a piece of software that only allow the user to view movies and such. But at this point of time, I can say I’ve learnt a lot and obviously developed my skills when rendering. At the preliminary point, I don’t think I was too good as it took me some time before I had eventually finished rendering the piece, and even during that period, I asked for simple tips and advice which would thus allow me to put together a better clip. If I had to be given some film to render now, I’d happily take the job on because I feel I’m that clued up about it that I wouldn’t have any issues or complaints operating the software because I’ve pretty much picked up everything, from cutting clips, to adding music.

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

Looking back at my preliminary task, I feel I have learnt, as well as developed a huge amount of aspects; for example, although at the start I was reasonably confident with setting up and maintaining the camera, after I had endured many periods of filming my fellow actors, I became much more familiar and much more skilled when handling the camera, in terms of shots which I used. By that, I mean that I grew a greater understanding of where a close-up was needed for example, and that meant I could use one when the film was in dire need of it. Furthermore, although I only appeared briefly in the preliminary task, I think my acting then has improved since the current film; I learnt how to maintain my composure and to at least try and carry out a decent Russian criminal – whereas before I kept slipping up, either by laughing or forgetting what I was supposed to say. Last but not least, this point is more of a group related one, however, I learned what is required when working with others on a filming-like set, and what co-ordination is required. I grew to understand that co-ordination is an important factor in any film production because each individual would have their own roles, but ultimately the whole group would have to come together in order to put the film together.

Evaluation: What Kind of Media Institution Would Distribute Your Film?

Evaluation: Technology Used for Coursework

Evaluation: Character Representation

Podcast: Evaluation - Paul

Construction: Non Diegetic Music

Introduction to the setting

Chase scene




Chase scene 2




Our music is here to create the atmosphere of the opening that we shall be filming and these we have made in accordance to the sound that will be overplayed during the long shots as well as the chase.
The first part is calm and therefore will be musically setting the environment for what is about to come therefore setting the scenes using 2 senses and allowing it to be more obvious as well as relatable to the character.

Construction : Strengths and Weaknesses 3

Construction: Strengths and Weaknesses 2

Construction - Strengths and Weaknesses 1

Construction: Adding Non Diegetic Music

Podcast: Planning - Prefilming and Organisation

Planning: Master Catalogue

Planning: Calendar

We have settled on this particular schedule because it coincides with our lesson times and free periods, this rota will give enough time to carry out the necessary filming, as well as editing in order to complete our film. In addition, these particular times mean we can utilise certain resources which we may not have been able to if they were set on different dates.

Planning: Initial Ideas

This is a podcast introducing to the viewers the initial ideas that we have planned for the movie that we are making. This will include the type of thriller it is going to be, why we chose this thriller and so forth.

Planning: Mind Maps

Planning: Draft Work

Movie Plot

Ten seconds: Bogdan, Viktor’s subordinate, is being chased by the police while holding a barrel bag containing £50,000 and a blood soaked knife. He goes into a small alley in order to briefly escape police attention and dumps the bag, before running away.

Ten seconds: Emmanuel comes across the bag which was left in the alley. He searches the bag and finds £50,000, he chooses to take it. He is unaware that it belongs to the Russian kingpin Viktor.

Twenty seconds: Bogdan returns to the alley shortly after, while speaking to Viktor on the mobile phone about what happened. He spots Emmanuel departing with the bag, and leaves the call running. He runs after Emmanuel and instructs him to stop.

Twenty seconds: Emmanuel stops and looks at Bogdan. Emmanuel talks to Bogdan and drops the bag after.

Thirty seconds: Emmanuel engages in a Bruce Lee-like fight with Bogdan after they arrive to a disagreement, and the phone ends up on the ground with the call still occurring. Bogdan tries to retrieve the blade from the bag while they both lay on the ground in pain, and attempts to stab Emmanuel but he manages to roll aside and knock the knife from his possession.

Twenty seconds: Emmanuel gains possession of the blade while it sits on the ground, and charges at a stood Bogdan. Emmanuel stabs Bogdan’s gut repeatedly and the film begins to run slowly, to allow for greater emphasize on the situation. Emmanuel pushes Bogdan to the ground after with the knife stuck inside.

Ten seconds: Emmanuel puts the bag on his shoulder and picks up the phone which he spots on the ground. Emmanuel makes a sly remark to Viktor and laughs, before hanging up. Emmanuel leaves with the money in a dramatic fashion.

Planning: Concept Art

Concept Art

Our group gathered various thoughts when creating the poster; the character has a hood over his head and this reflects a well-known stereotype that those who wear a hoodie, are most definitely affiliated to some sort of crime. In addition, the background looks partially dark so it provides the audience with a daunting, and possibly secretive feeling, which makes viewers want to predict what is happening. Lastly, the title's font is urban and perfectly represents the genre of this film.

Planning: Lighting

Lighting

Lighting is an extremely important element of any film. It can be manipulated in order to add depth and meaning to a production. Natural lighting is said to be the default type of lighting, as it shows a lack of meaning or adventure, and it's simply neutral. Creating artificial lighting allows film-makers to alter settings at ease, and switch between a variety of glows.

There are two different forms of lighting which are commonly used within films. They are addressed as high and low key lighting. 

High key lighting involves white tones and light colours, with very little black. It is often used in an artistic manner, where photographers and film-makers wish to create a sense of upbeat, optimism or youthfulness in their productions. Many comedies and sitcoms use this type of lighting, such as Friends and How I Met Your Mother.

Low key lighting is the opposite to high key lighting, as one may have guessed, it relies heavily on shadows, deep blacks and darker tones. This type of lighting can either create a sense of mystery, or sombreness. A film which perfectly uses low key lighting is The Big Combo, a highly recognised film noir.