Audience Focus Group Pitch Feedback

Audience Focus Group Pitch Feedback

WWW:

• Had a Powerpoint presentation.
• Good reference to psychographics.
• Fluent presentation.

EBI:

• Explain characters roles and how they fit more.

Audience Research and Planning

Target Audience

Me and my group have decided that our target audience will be people aged 16-35 years old. We decided this because we think people within this age group tend to be E4’s target audience due to the research we have done. In addition, in our secondary research we found out that this target market like good quality programmes with a bit of a thrill to it. They also like programmes which are unique, and stand out from other programmes which is perfect as we are looking for a target audience like this as our programme is going to be different. Our target audience would fall under Young and Rubicam’s Psychographic groups of Explorers, & Reformers. In addition, the Demographic groups suggest that are in our target audience are people categorized in group D, and E. This is because students, casual workers, and skilled/unskilled workers would be most appealed by the horror/thriller genre. Due to the research we done as a group we found out that some of the programmes our target audience watches is Charmed, Sherlock and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These are a similar if not the same genre as our programme (thriller). Moreover, this target audience would also be enticed by films such as Final Destination, The others, Hostage and Disturbia. Both film and programmes I have mentioned are highly successful thrillers which appeal to the target market 16-35 year olds which is good to know seeing as this is going to be our target audience too. 

Institution Research

BBC THREE

BBC THREE is a broadcasting channel which is mainly aimed at a target audience of 16-34 year olds. The institutions purpose is to provide innovative content to young audiences. It was previously known as BBC Choice prior to 2002.In addition, BBC THREE sometimes repeats programmes that are on BBC ONE e.g. Eastenders. There are different genres shown on this channel such as, comedy, News, Sports, Drama/Soaps. The main genre that BBC three focuses on is Drama; they show Doctor Who, Being Human, Sherlock, etc. All these programmes have been successful which shows this channel is popular and people regularly watch it which means it would be a good example of the target audience we want to aim our programme at.  Furthermore, BBC THREE have managed to win more awards in the recent years than the other big channels such as ITV2, E4 and Channel 5.  

E4

E4 is British channel which is partners with Channel for 4 they launched their companionship on 18^th January 2001. Their target audience is mainly aimed at 16-35 year olds. Some of the programmes E4 show is, Friends, Charmed, Big Bang Theory, 90210 etc. The ‘‘E’’ in E4 stand for Entertainment. E4 had a long term contract with BSKYB it only became free to air in 2008.

Research and Planning

Prison Break

At the beginning of this title sequence there is a close up of the protagonist with the title of the programme an telling us what season it is. In addition it also shows the facial expressional/emotions of the character. The use of the long shot is used for the audience to see the building which symbolises the ‘prison’ as it is in the title of the programme. This shows the audience where the setting is based in this programme which gives them a feel of what the genre will be judging on the setting. There are loads of other shots used to make the title sequence look engaging and interesting, which is also used to emphasise certain things such as the characters the location etc in this title sequence. Other shots that have been used in this is, match on action, fades, 180 degree rule etc.

In the opening sequence there are all men shown which foreshadows violence, death and anger this is also reflected through the name of the programme as it is about men breaking out of prison. The protagonist is dressed in a casual manner, then a few seconds later they show him again dressed in a vest which suggests he may of just commit a crime as he looks dressed in a abnormal way.

The sound in the opening sequence is digetic sound which is also parallel to the scene as it fits to what is happen throughout the opening sequence. The music is played at a fast pace which creates tensions within the audience as it makes them feel anxious and aware of what is happening in each section and noticing the characters. At the beginning of the scene the pace of the music start of a steady pace then it starts to get faster when it gets further into the sequence.

Prison Break is a TV crime drama which is aimed at a target audience of 18-35 year olds. This is due to it being shown after the watershed as it has strong language and violence in the programme. It is aimed at no specific gender both males and females within the age group. 

Charmed

In the opening scene of charmed there is one protagonist introduced along with a man who is wearing a red robe which connotes blood, death and evil. This could foreshadow violence later on in the scene as the setting around them is dark with fire which also connotes evil and death. There are also some extra characters walking behind them to have an intimidating effect on the audience to show the viewer the power and authority of the other two who are walking in front of them. You can also see other characters behind these two protagonists which seem to be wearing an armoured costume, this could suggest to the viewer they are the bodyguards.

There is a wide series of cinematography that has been used in this scene to create an intense effect on the audience. The scene starts off with a high angle shot of the characters entering the cave, this suggests to show the viewer the characters order of importance and who the leader is. There is then a close up shot of both the protagonists faces to show what they look like and their facial expressions. Furthermore after this shot has taken place there is then the 180 degree rule used to show the two characters conversation which shows us their body language and facial expressions. Also a point of view shot is used of the character in black where the book is shown which is a prop which could suggest where they get dark magic spells from as they are evil in this programme and that book is a book of spells. In addition there is another point of view shot on the man concealed in the cave.

The editing used in the opening scene of charmed is purposely used to create tension for the viewer as this programme is a thriller/supernatural sci-fi. There are straight cuts used throughout the first two minutes of this scene. In addition, during the fighting scene there are also many straight cuts that have been used to create a tense atmosphere.

The sound that has been used in the opening scene is parallel sound which is effectively used to make the viewer to get a feel of the atmosphere and feel engaged with the characters feelings and emotions. There is a supernatural spooky track played when the book is opened by the character which also suggests the book is evil. In addition, there is a diegetic sound when the characters hit the cane on the floor. 

The target audience for this programme is mainly women this is because charmed is all about witches and the supernatural world, and the primary demographic for the ghost hunting shows are women (60% of ghost hunters audiences are women aged (18-24) Therefore, I think charmed is aimed at women who are aged 18-24 based on the research I have done. 

Research and Planning

Pretty little Liars

This scene starts off with an extreme close-up which represents a dead women being dulled up by the protagonists. They show her eyes and we can see the makeup on her eyes which shows her beauty. The viewer can see that the character has no movement at the beginning which suggests there’s something wrong before they show her body. There is then a close up which shows the makeup on her lips being added on, along with this you can see how pale her skin is in contrast to the to the lipstick, they colour of the lipstick is a red. The colour red connotes love, evil and death which foreshadows what happens a few seconds later in the sequence when they show the protagonists standing over her coffin. In addition, there is another close up of her feet which show that someone is tying her buckles around her ankles, which creates an enigma code as the audience don’t know for sure she is dead at this point so there wondering why someone else is tying the buckle round her ankle. Also another close up shot when someone is curling her hair and applying nail polish to her nails. In this short amount of time, there are lots of close ups used in this sequence which is good because they want the viewer to see the detail of what they are specifically trying to emphasise in the case it is her beauty.

The props used in this is a coffin towards the end of the sequence which confirms the women at the beginning is dead, as we did not see her whole face only close up of parts we do not know exactly what she looks like so there could be a mystery in this as we do not know it is her in the coffin. In addition, the other props used in this are the nail polish, mascara and hair curler which suggest this is a young teenage girl’s programme.

The sound in this sequence is digetic sound which the characters emotions which allows the viewer to see how the character is feeling. There is a violin being played as the shots are going this is throughout the sequence, it is being played at a fast pace which creates suspense in the scene especially as they show a dead body it makes the viewer feel tense

Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama which has a mystery/thriller genre, the main target audience this programme is aimed at is young teenage girls as it has 4 young protagonists. This is for young teenage girls to relate to with their own feelings and their fantasy world all in one.

 Research and Planning

Waterloo Road

 I am looking at the opening scene of every episode for waterloo road this is the introduction which is used whenever this programme is shown on TV. The opening scene starts off with a high angle shot which is a bird’s eye view of a student then going into a long shot  of other students sitting at a desk which allows the audience see this programme is based in a school and is also about school students and the setting  is based in a school. There is also a medium shot used on the head teacher which allows the viewer to her facial expressions and body language.  After this there is then a straight cut after a fast cut which allows the viewer to feel engaged in what’s going on and the intensity of the opening scene. Also, it allows the viewer to see the other actors as they only have a certain amount of time when they are filming a title sequence which means there will be lots of fasts cuts as they want to fit all the main characters in. The deputy head teacher is then introduced in the title sequence we see his facial expressions with a close-up which emphasises he is angry in that particular part which can suggest something about his character as he is introduced in the title sequence as this kind of character in the programme. In addition, there is shot reverse shot used on the same actor at the beginning with a close up which gets the viewer to feel more engaged with what’s happening in that particular moment. After there is a dissolve cut showing two additional characters from the programme they have been introduced through a medium shot. With this shot it allows the viewer to see the characters costumes and facial expression from the characters facial expressions this could foreshadow what kind of characters they are in the programme.

The sound in this title sequence is non-digetic as it isn’t in the actual recording of the programme but recorded over it to suit the actions. The music is parallel to the video as there is many fast cuts used in this sequence and it goes really quickly and the sound is fast upbeat sound.

In addition, there is also a good use of props used in the background of the title sequence, i.e. the food on the table alongside with the book show it’s a canteen where the students are eating whilst studying. Also, the mugs in the teachers hand suggest they are in a staff room which tell us where the setting is. 

This programme is aimed at young school kids around 15-19 as it is about school students in a school and they can relate to them. This comes on at a reasonable time in the evening at 8pm as they know school students wont be able to watch this during the day as they will be at school/ college, therefore it comes on at this time to suit their target markets needs. 

Research and Planning

Friends

In the opening of this scene you are only able to see one of the characters conversing to another, also you can hear another characters voice which we as the audience cannot physically see. It starts off with a long shot on the first character looking down at something not making direct eye contact with the camera. Also, the fact that we cannot see the second character creates an enigma code within the audience as we want to know who it is. Then there is a long shot used when the second character walks into the scene which allows us to see her body language which engages with the audience alongside with her facial expressions. In addition, the second character comes out in a rush which creates attention still following the enigma code because she is talking very fast to the first character which the audience get a sense that something is happening or about to happen. There is a medium shot to a long shot of the characters alongside a shot reverse shot as we can see both of the characters body language and facial expressions.

The lighting that is used in this scene is key-lighting which is fairly bright this is as it allows the audience to see the characters facial expressions, alongside with their movements. Also, if it was low-key lighting in wouldn’t work as that is used for more intense shows or films such as horrors or thrillers.

Furthermore, the editing used is very fast what I mean by this is there is fast cuts to create the intensity in the scene, which goes well with the characters body language and voice as she is speak at a fast pace. There is mainly dialogue used within this scene, however there is non-digetic sound used which is when the audience is laughing in the background. This is parallel as it is only used when the audience is meant to find something funny.

This programme would appeal to young adults alongside with teenagers as the characters in the programme are in their early/late 20’s over the years they film. This is a comedy which was originally on E4 but has now moved to comedy central. The genre of this is comedy/romance as it has a bit of both in it. 

Learners Response for Film Language Test

WWW: Fairly confident writing, focused on the question 1

EBI: Weaker on final two questions, especially ‘editing’

LR: Re-write the editing question, including more media terminology

Editing

In the opening scene there is tension used between the cuts of the scene when the second character enters. This when there is a low angle shot used for the second characters entrance coming into the scene. The fact that he is standing above the first character connotes power, authority and importance. The edit cuts from the second character after he has urinated on the ground and put the fire out onto the first characters facial expressions which can suggest to the audience his fear of this man. Also, when it cuts to the second character he puts his head down which suggests he knows this man and what’s about to happen which creates an enigma code as the audience don’t know who this man is and what he wants. It then cuts back to the second character that starts walking down the stairs toward the first character. We can also tell by his blacked out costume that he may be the villain which is why he’s scared. In addition, the use of the 180 degree line when they are exchanging dialogue created tension between the two as we can see the face of the man who is sitting down facial expressions as one another are talking, as the audience haven’t been able to identify the supposed villain at the time creates even more of an effect. In addition, the quick jump shots made the opening scene more exciting for the audience as they were eager to find out what’s going to happen also a good technique as it build up tension for the viewer. Furthermore, the when the villain takes his gun out the focus is taken off the two characters and the violence in this part and we just hear the sound gun shots. This creates and enigma code as the audience don’t see the murder which could foreshadow that later on in the film the investigation is going to be about putting the pieces together of what happened and why the murder happened.  

In our preliminary exercise we worked as a group of four. I worked with Pavan, Anjali, AJ and myself. We decided on creating a scene in an episode of a soap/drama which would be one of the small stories within the episode. The clip lasted for approximately 41 seconds, this wasn’t meant to be too long as we were practising on how to shoot 3 specific shot which were;

·         Match on action

·       180 degree rule

·       Cutting the shots

In our preminary clips its starts off with Anjali which starts off with a medium long shot of the shows she is walking towards the door and also shows the audience what she is wearing and her facial expressions. There are two protagonists in this clip who are meant shown as a couple in the clip. We then filmed an extreme close up which was the door handle being pushed down as she is opening it this was purely done because we wanted to emphasise her going into the room. Anjali is then shown walking in through the door on the other side which is match on action. When she is walking in her facial expressions are seen as happy walking into her home to meet her boyfriend. The next shot is a long shot which shows her point of view as she is walking towards the boy; we did this because it is effective to the audience when they see the camera through the person’s eyes. There is another medium long shot from an angle which shows both of them from the side hugging each other which tells the audience they may be together. There is binary opposition which is that we see the boy is wearing a black jacket and the girl is wearing grey which is the closest to white, this connotes ‘‘good and evil’ which can link to the characters personalities and the storyline of her being unfaithful and the boy being unfaithful.

There is key lighting throughout the scene which connotes to the audience everyone is having a good day which also links back to Anjali’s facial expressions when she is walking through the door. Furthermore, there is also a back lighting which makes the image seem more softened and real. As the shots have been focused mainly on the character rather than the room itself it shows the intimacy between the two characters and makes it more intense for the audience as they are cautious to know what’s going to happen.

From the part where the actors hug it blurred into a close up of the phone ringing. This creates enigma code for the audience as there wondering who it is because the mystery caller appears on the phone with a heart. The phone is a vital prop that we used as it is the main part of the narrative. There is then a medium shot of the boy asking the girl how her day was which was shot using the 180 degree rule, filmed over the girls shoulder, then over the boys shoulder showing her response. There is then another close up; when we filmed the conversation we used the 180 degree rule throughout using which was filmed over the shoulder of the person they are talking to with a bit of the persons shoulder in the camera.

After this there is a straight cut onto the next shot which is a medium shot, still using the 180 degree rule which shows the audience that the boy is getting angry by leaning across the table and snatching the phone of Anjali to see who the mystery caller is and too see why she is looking so suspicious. This provokes him more as she tries to grab it back off him. We then filmed a long shot of the boy standing up in fury which shows disequilibrium in the narrative. The next shot is a medium/close up of the girl who shows her facial expression telling us she has nothing to say as she looks down and has a guilty look on her face. Then at the ending it end of her phone with a picture of her and a boy which creates and enigma code in the audience as they are eager to find out who he is.

WWW: The camera angles used were effective and we followed the 180 degree rule as well as the match on action and shot reverse shot.

EBI: If we included more clips to make it longer and if we added some music to create more of a feel to the scene.  

Preliminary task- teacher’s evaluation

Teacher’s evaluation

WWW:

·                     Good Performance.

·                     Steady Camerawork.

·                     Simple Storytelling.

·                     Match on action Effective.

·                     180 degree rule followed.

·                     Effective plot device - Phone.

·                     Post production - editing.

EBI:

·                     Sound dialogue not clear.

·                     Continuity error - phone on desk.

·                     Attention to detail.

Results:

1.                   Creativity:                           4/5

2.                  Use of Technology:           3/5

3.                  Production Process:         4/5

4.                  Codes of Convention:       4/5

5.                   Fit for Purpose:                  4/5

6.                  Attention to Detail:             3/5

Overall Grade Achieved:         3+

Shot No.	Shot	Length
1	Anjali walks to the door in a happy mood. Medium long shot, panning.	3 seconds
2	Close up of the handle.	2 seconds
3	Long shot of when she walks in.	4 seconds
4	Shot reverse shot of when Anjali looks at Ajay and he looks at her. Whilst greeting each other.	6 seconds
5	Medium shot of Anjali and Ajay hugging.	3 seconds
6	They both then sit down, using the 180 degree rule showing them sitting down.	5 seconds
7	Shot reverse shot over Anjali’s shoulder of Ajay speaking.	4 seconds
8	Then extreme close up of Anjali’s phone vibrating on the table.	2 seconds
9	Medium shot of Ajay asking Who had messaged her using the 180 degree rule.	3 seconds
10	Then shot reverse shot of Anjali replying nobody with a smile, over Ajay’s shoulder.	3 seconds
11	Then a shot over Anjali’s shoulder of Ajay snatching her phone and seeing a picture.	4 seconds
12	Then a close up of Ajay standing up asking Anjali who that person was.	4 seconds
13	Then a close up of Anjali silent.	3 seconds
14	Finally an extreme close up of the phone.	2 seconds