Evaluation Question one

1. Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does the media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
Hate Mail Final Film

2. During the filming and editing process we made sure that we adhered to the conventions of continuity by
always keeping within the guidelines of continuity with things like 180 degree line, shot reverse shot etc. we
also made sure we added things such as fight scenes and chase scenes to make sure we adhere to the
action/thriller genre
By keeping within these guidelines for example, we made the fight scene fast
paced, including fitting music for the fight, making it seem altogether more
intense. Keeping the match on action is very important with this because if not
then it makes the scene look too jumpy and unrealistic for verisimilitude. Also
by syncing up the beginning of the fight scene music to when the first punch
hits, adds a sense that this moment was the moment that the situation became
more tense. 3:48 in our film.
Hate Mail Final Film
Another thing we did was put a low angle shot showing the shot Hitman
as the submissive one and Quincy Kent as the Dominative one, this is
because the Hitman is on the floor and shot and without hope and Quincy
Kent standing over him with a gun pointing to his head. This angled shot
shows who had most power in that scene making it easier for the
audience to understand. 3:16 in our film
In our film at 2:21 the music starts for the Hitman to start following Quincy,
when editing this music to fit the footage, I decided that I would make the
edit between shots when the major beat change in the sound track was,
which, when finished made the film look altogether more, professional and
flow like a real film would. It also created tension because after you have
realised the pattern of the soundtrack, you would know when the next shot
change would be, making the audience wonder what should would come next
in the intense chase/shooting scene

3. Hate Mail Final Film
In the first few seconds of the film, when we first zoom in on the window of the Hitman’s house, i decided to add a
transition which then dissolves into a shot inside the Hitman’s house of his phone just prior to it ringing. by doing
this, final product looks like the viewer has travels inside the Hitman’s house meaning that we didn't’t need a
second establishing shot in the kitchen of the Hitman’s house.
I was inspired to do this by the film Citizen Kane in its first title sequence, when the camera moves from stationary
point to stationary point, gradually getting closer to the window illuminated in the top right corner, with every step
closer the camera gets, the window stays in the same place whether it be in a reflection in water or a view of the
window through a bush, the image stays stationary. After the image gets close enough to the window the next shot
goes inside the window, by this amount of time, the viewers know exactly where they are and the surroundings and
theme of the setting. I would have had this amount of build up in our film but we didn’t have the time to spare as
the film was only allowed to be five minutes long. So I sped up the process by zooming into the window instead of
gradually edging closer in over three minutes of footage.

4. Our film is an Action/Thriller, due to this we have tried to include as many props to mimic this as we could,
by adding the scenes that would stereotypically be in the average Action/Thriller film. Our film was only
allowed to be five minutes long, so we decided against subverting any stereotypes because if we were to
subvert the stereotype then it would take longer for the audience to understand story line and the reason
behind us subverting it. Because of this we chose to support all Action/Thriller stereotypes as it would have
made it easier for everyone to understand, meaning the audience could keep more of their concentration on
other hints/links we have left in the film for the twist at the end.
When filming the outdoor chase scene section, we chose a day which was very dull and
foggy (which in Barnsley during winter isn't hard) this mimics scenes in a thriller film,
very dull and eerie, making the scene more tense.
For example this image from the film Batman: The Dark Knight Rises is very dark and
dull, with almost no colour at all, this monochrome filter makes it seem more
mysterious and scary, which is what I was planning to achieve through this effect.
We also added some other features that aren’t primarily associated with these
genres, but still are sometimes featured in them. Things such as the suits that the
main characters were wearing throughout the film. As in the story line, two of the
main character are business men and the third is a professional killer we opted to all
wear suits to create a verisimilitude of what would normally would be seen in such a
setting.
In action films there are usually cars and car chases, unfortunately we didn’t
have the need for a car chase, due to the film time limit and also the lack of a
skilled stunt man to perform any high speed chase. We still featured a car to act
as the Hitman’s transport to find Quincy Kent. Hate Mail Final Film

5. In the title sequence we could be more creative with adhering to the conventions of
the genre. For example we used the monochrome filter, removing the colour which
give the sense of mystery and also makes it look like this is in the past, this fits with
the items for the title sequence as they are from every part of the film beginning to
end, without any sense of timeframe.
Our title sequence has all the characteristics of our film, such as the gun, which is one of the vital things in
our film. A gun is also something that if regularly featured in an action/thriller film. Also after placing the
items around the desk for the filming of the title sequence I left a small freeze frame after passing over each
key item e.g. computer, tie. Then I overlaid the relative clips over the top with transparency so that the
audience can still see the original image underneath.
I used the computer as one of the fixed points because, Quincy is a business man and the first time the
audience sees him is when he is in his office typing on his computer. Next the documents, which also links to
the business nature of the characters, then with Quincy on the phone, which is mimetic of what happens in
the film when Quincy is on the phone to the Hitman. Lastly the tie, and the clip of the Hitman putting the tie
on (which was originally going to be the title sequence before I had the idea of the one we have now.)
Avengers End Credit Sequence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxN2IsLbZqo
I got the idea for the title sequence from the ending credits of The Avengers, where the camera zooms in on
certain focus points of the parts of the film, e.g. Captain Americas Shield, Ironman Suit. There is constant
movement, in the credit sequence as it carries on flowing smoothly. I tried to recreate this by panning the
camera smoothly around all the key items. I couldn’t recreate exactly the same affect because they used CGI
to make the items look suspended in the air so that the ‘camera’ can pan and tilt around the item freely.
Hate Mail Final Film

6. In some standoff’s in Clint Eastwood films there are shots where the camera angle is under Eastwood’s legs
showing his opposition in full frame. I was inspired to do this because, just having this shot, the audience
wouldn’t be able to tell who’s legs they were looking through at first, which is ideal in our film because at the
point where we had added the shot no one is supposed to be sure whom it actually could be. This shot is
also good because it does resemble a standoff, which really is what is happening as Quincy has finally found
the Hitman and is now confronting him. Relating this scene to a stand off also gives it tension. 3:07
We found another shot from Breaking Bad where the camera orbits Jesse with several cuts between, while
he is looking for his packet of cigarettes. With each cut, the camera is looking at Jesse from a different angle
which makes Jesse look very confused. This is exactly what we wanted in out film because the Hitman has
just been pursuing Quincy Kent into this car park, but then as he turns the corner Quincy isn't there, which
would leave the Hitman confused and this shot shows his confusion and frantic looking around quite
accurately. 3:02 in our film and the clip from Breaking Bad will be attached to the next slide.
Hate Mail Final Film

7. Orbiting clip of Jesse in Breaking Bad

8. Richard Dyer a film theorist argues that one of the functions of entertainment is utopianism.
Reality: Exhaustion, Scarcity, Dreariness, Manipulation and Isolation/ Fragmentation
But for entertainment, Richard Dyer theorized that things such as films should provide the following to give the
audience a good experience.
Utopian Solution: Energy, Abundance, Intensity, Transparency and Community
In our film we have tried to feature as many of these that would could possibly do within the restraints of our
time limits and genre.
Energy: we have a lot of energetic scenes to the action genre. For example the fight scene
shows extremely fast pace editing and sound tracks. Also where the Hitman has to run
after Quincy shows running and fast moments leading up to him being shot.
Richard Dyers Theory of Entertainment
Intensity: there are extreme highs and lows in our film. A high when Quincy finally gets
revenge for his business being killed and then the extreme low for the Hitman when he is
pursuing Quincy but then finds out that he is actually the one being hunted and shot
Abundance: prior to the start of our film when Carlos was still alive, Quincy would have
had a lot, his family, best friend and a successful business but then after the Hitman had
finished his business of killing Carlos Quincy lost it all, taking him years to rebuild his life.
Which is why he wanted to track down the Hitman to seek revenge.
Community: Community links with abundance in our case because when the Hitman
cause Quincy to loose everything, Quincy lost his best friend and his family, which left
Quincy alone, trapped in an isolated downward spiral of depression.
Transparency: in our film we have included a lot of voiceovers this is to give the audience more of a
background to the characters due to us not having a very big amount of time for character development,
this shows honesty from the characters making things more clear. Also at the end where Quincy is telling
the Hitman why he is going to kill him, making the twist that the Hitman was the one to be killed clear.

9. We included props such as the car and suits as members of the audience relate them selves to
the characters which means that if the audience see someone with a car and a suit then the
audience will want to put them self in the shoes of the character to live their life. Mainstream
companies use this as a marketing feature, by using well know brands such as watch brands or
certain cars then a number of the audience will choose to buy these items to be like the
character. This could relate to the hypodermic theory because people may have filters against
these marketed products, such as the price, if they need it and if they like it. For example if
someone saw an expensive watch in a film like ‘James Bond’ (as they market things like this a
lot) and they had the money to buy it and they liked the watch then they would be more likely
to buy it over someone that doesn’t like it with less money.
This is why we were specific when choosing what props to include.
Props