Evaluation

After a lot of research into the action genre I feel that our product stays true to the conventions found throughout the genre. Due to our budget and other constraints, we couldn’t do car chases or big explosions, two of the most common features of the modern day action film. We also didn’t posses the resources for this like camera’s on tracks or numerous camera’s mounted to a car. We did however discover the importance of filming from different angles and used whatever we could find in the surrounding area. Because of the limitations we faced we had to think of things that were more in our grasp, like fist fights and basic special effects. The special effects helped change our project and made it look more professional thanks in part to tutorials on the internet but also through familiarizing ourselves with the programme. In order to keep the audience interested we felt it was key to try and tell as much of the story as possible without ever giving too much away. This challenges the modern day action trailer which tries to predominantly wow the audience with special effects and high octane action scenes, over storytelling. We also tried to break the constraints of the modern day perception of a ‘hero’ , someone wearing a cape who helps people in need, looks out for others and isn’t selfish etc. Our Character ,A, however only cares for himself, has no desire for the life he has been thrust into and tries whatever he can to get home. This makes A a character that is easy to relate to as the danger he faces is very real and his actions are more than likely what any average human would do in his situation. Further evidence to support this comes from the narration used in the trailer “I was just a normal cop…” We also reversed the role of the military in our product, who are often seen helping the hero or at least following the law, however in our film they are trying to do whatever it takes to use A as a weapon. We do however stereotype Don DeVici, the back stabbing, suit wearing head of the mafia. The portrayal of these two characters mirroring their stereotypes connotes to the audience that the film takes place in the present, and with all the developments in technology the nanotech arm wouldn’t seem too out of place. When we apply the narrative of our product to Propp’s theory (1969) it becomes clear that we haven’t stayed true to his idea. Our ‘hero’ role is filled by A whose quest is to get back to his wife, the princess. We have two villains in our product, Don DeVici and Lt. Kenneth, However Lt. Kenneth can also be seen as the dispatcher and the donor as it is he who gives A the arm and takes A away from his home, ultimately setting A off on his quest. Lt Kenneth can also be viewed as a false hero as he has the interests of his county’s safety at heart. This means that the audience can judge for themselves who the true hero is and provides a different perspective on the action genre.
We felt that by challenging the modern conventions of the action genre we could create a familiar yet fresh product that audiences would enjoy. To keep the product familiar to the audience we used shots commonly found in action trailers and a rock soundtrack. The shots we used ranged from establishing shots to close ups. This helped us tease the audience with things like the films location but also elements of the story. For example the scene in which A covers his nanotech arm, by filming this as a close up it allowed us to show a brief glimpse of what the story revolves around but also keep the audience intrigued. We also used long shots allowing us to capture everything that was happening during some of the faster paced fight scenes. This not only meant it was easier for the audience to see, but also easier for the actors as they could get away with not actually hitting each other. The use of fight scenes in action films can be traced as far back as some of the oldest cowboy films such as “The Great Train Robbery” which was made in 1903. Shown below is a section of the Great train robbery. The clip shows a brief fight scene at the start between a man in white and one in black, representing good and bad respectively.


It is clear then that fight scenes are a corner stone of the action genre, with films like “the Matrix” (1999) and “The Dark Knight” (2008) earning $43.1 million and $67.2 million respectively, proving this point. Both of these films were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures who I believe would be a suitable institution to distribute our film. They seem to distribute a lot of action films with Watchmen, Terminator salvation, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Ninja Assassin and Sherlock Holmes being distributed under their name in 2009 alone.
The company also has a long history in film, with its first films being released in the 1920’s, and has been known to produce video games and action figures for its films. Our film lends itself brilliantly to these two types of media and would result in even more revenue for the company if it distributed our film.

We chose the teenage market, mainly the bottom end of the scale e.g. 13-14, as the target audience for our film. This meant that we could include plenty of action scenes, tell an interesting story and not lose out on a large portion of our potential market. If we aimed the film at 18+ year olds we would have been able to make the film darker with bloodier more violent action scenes. Creating a film around this however would possibly have resulted in the film having two dimensional characters and a dull plot with action scenes feeling tacked on. This may have resulted in the audience feeling uneasy and may make people not want to see the film. By aiming the film at the teenage demographic we can hopefully succeed in acquiring a 12a certificate. This means that anyone under 12 would be able to watch the film with a parent or guardian present. This means that literally anyone can watch the film but also lets us include more mature content to a certain extent. For example the BBFC states “Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context”. As previously stated our budget meant we had to show action in the form of fist fights meaning that there is often very little or no blood. This makes it seem even more likely that our film would secure a 12a certificate for the cinema. This also means that we can easily turn our product into a franchise, with TV spinoffs, toys, video games and even comic books also appealing to the same age group. The film is also more likely to be viewed by families as it contains the moral message that tragedies befall innocent people, but it doesn’t mean you have to give up.
If given the 12a certificate the films promotion would be crucial to drawing in the biggest number of people possible. The trailer doesn’t contain any taboo language, gruesome or sinister images and infrequently features violence. This means that most parents would feel happy allowing their children to see the film. We could also use a viral campaign to promote our film in a similar way to Cloverfield or the Dark Knight, this could include internet videos, a website to register for Nanotech testing or coded posters.

Our feedback showed that our trailer had achieved what we originally set out to achieve. When asked, the audience noted that the trailer was clearly for an action film thanks to the music, narration and fight scenes. These are features that we discovered in our research, were important in creating a successful action trailer. Most of the audience also picked up on the narrative in our trailer, and when asked managed to express what they thought would happen in the film, gave an almost exact version of our narrative. They also clearly identified the protagonist thanks to the editing of the footage. When asked to if they could easily identify the main characters one person said, “He appeared in almost every shot and did the narration” This shows that our product successfully conveys who the main character is, however from his actions one person questioned whether he was good or bad. This was a good thing as throughout the production we wanted to challenge the conventions of the typical hero and make the audience question his motives. This along with other questions that the trailer presents seemed to grip the audience’s attention and make them want to watch the film or find out more. They also noted that it had an interesting narrative; this came as a slight surprise as we noted in our research that the most successful action trailers sold themselves on action, over a good narrative.
I think that to make the trailer better, based on our feedback, that we could have made it longer and with professional equipment made the product as a whole better and more engaging. I think the fact that our film worked without professional big budget effects is good, however, I feel that putting some in wouldn’t hinder or take the emphasise away from the narrative.

I feel that the main promotional poster for my film accompanies our product very well.

It features one of the main villains stopping A from getting his 'freedom.' The poster allows the audience an overview of the story in its simplest form when broken down. For example the clenched fist of A shows to the audience that he is ready to fight. Lt. Kenneth blocking his way therefore connotes to the audience that A will fight him in the film. The tagline along with the image of Lt. Kenneth also connotes that all A wants is what is rightfully his and that Lt. Kenneth may be the one that disrupts the equilibrium of the film. I also feel that the poster successfully connotes that the film is of the action genre due to Lt. Kenneth wielding a sword , a departure from a gun usually found in action posters, but also due to the tag line, a common feature in other action posters as I found out in my research. Whilst the poster uses most of the conventions of the action genre, the empire cover instead shows how we go against these conventions in our final product. It shows A staring at his glowing nanotech hand, in a pose similar to hamlet when he finds Yorick’s skull. By imitating this famous image it will instantly connote to the audience that our character A is questioning his very being. Also by featuring the caption “Meet the hero on the run...” it allowed me to show how A isn’t the typical hero and how he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life. This gives the audience a hint of the story and the theme and because of this I feel it successfully helps promote our film. Both of these products require the use of computer editing software, used throughout the media industry, like Photoshop. Photoshop was required to create A’s nanotech arm and the glow around it on both the poster and Empire cover. I learnt that many textures can be created in Photoshop, for example metal effects and stone effects. From the task at AS to the task at A2 I feel that I have learnt even more about Photoshop and as a result of this I was able to create more detailed and more professional titles for the product.

Overall I feel that I have learnt that things change a lot from development to the final product. Both my AS and A2 project featured numerous alterations to the script or storyboard, either due to time constraints or an improvisation sounding better and more natural then what was originally scripted. I have also strengthened my knowledge of shots and experimented with angles to try and make the overall product look a lot more professional.