Product Research - In Guns We Trust

I was introduced to a site called shortoftheweek.com which is full of amazing short films. We looked at a twelve minute documentary called "In Guns We Trust" (linked below).

IN GUNS WE TRUST

The first thing I noticed about the preview image was the colour treatment. It is black and white and has many items in the back and foreground, making it a very busy photo. The monochrome colours create a bleak atmosphere. The fact that the centre focus oh the image is a faceless man holding a gun immediately gives off a negative vibe, and quite an intimidating one too. A beard is all that is seen of the main subject, which is messy and untrimmed, and he is wearing a ring with a satanistic symbol while holding a gun. This again gives off a very negative view.

The title itself is a twist on the common expression "In God We Trust" which is a phrase Americans keep at heart. It's ironic because God is believed to protect them, so replacing it with the word guns implies they have replaced their holy figure with an object used for war and to cause harm.

All images in the documentary are shot in black and white or sepia which emanates a bleak, gloomy, or horrific mood. Evidence of this effect being used to show this is obvious in the music videos "Weighted" and "Take Me To Church". As horror and bleak themes are my preferred genre I will most probably use this effect in my music video.

Product Response

The aim of my response was to show the audience that adding a simple black and white colour effect can easily create an emotional or tense atmosphere.

Label Masterpost

This is simply a list of tags I will be using to keep my work organised.

- Research into similar products

- Potential target audience

- Actors, characters, interview subjects

- Locations

- Costumes

- Props

- Shotlists

- Layouts

- Drafting

- Scripting

- Storyboarding

- Time management

- Q1

- Q2

- Q3

- Q4

Potential A2 Briefs

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

 –a website homepage for the band;

 – a cover for its release on DVD;

 – a magazine advertisement for the DVD.

I am considering the music video brief because I enjoy watching them on television and online and linking the story line to the lyrics. It is also a career path I am considering. I enjoy filming short music videos on my phone in my free time as a hobby, so filming one on a more professional scale whilst learning important techniques would be a big benefit for me in terms of education and enjoyment.

7. An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three options:

 – a radio trailer for the documentary;

 – a double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary;

 – a newspaper advertisement for the documentary.

I am considering the documentary brief because I often watch nature documentaries on the television, as nature and zoology have always been a passion of mine. It is also a career path I'm considering at university. However, a downside to choosing this brief and filming a wildlife documentary is that nature is completely unpredictable. Being given a set amount of time to film even five minutes of a documentary can be difficult when it comes to wildlife, because you never know what you'll find or how interesting it will be.

10. A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

 – a poster for the film;

 – a radio trailer for the film;

 – a film magazine review page featuring the film.

I am considering the short film brief because I have always been creative with writing stories, especially about fantasy concepts. Recently I have hit a serious writing block, but can easily visualise what I want to happen, so planning and filming it may be the best route to get it out of my head and into being. However, because many ideas are very fantastical it would be a struggle to film many parts of my ideas (such as vampires, serious gore, explosions etc).           


After considering the positives and negatives of each brief, and the time frame I have to get from plan to final product, I have decided to choose the music video brief.

AS Evaluation

Synopsis

The main purpose of our opening sequence was to highlight the inequality in society that people with disabilities and differences suffer. The initial idea was created by myself, from a short story I was writing at the time. It is about a group of very unique minorities who are captured and kept for entertainment, however one of these 'freaks' escapes his literal cage and is on the run from the immoral ringmaster who controls him. It was aimed at a young adult audience, for people who felt like they were minorities and were oppressed by others in society.

Areas of Success

One thing I liked about the opening sequence was the colour treatment on the clips that focused on the individual freaks. It was black and white and had a grainy/flickery effect to give it the atmosphere of a old and creepy film. A good example of the effect we added is seen in this clip of an 1896 silent film.
A second part that I felt was successful in the opening sequence was the use of match on action during the clips of our protagonist freak (Ben Morley) running away. We filmed him running, falling, and then getting up about six times using different shots and angles, before editing it all together to make a smooth, continuous sequence.
Thirdly, the costumes we used for our cast was something I was proud of. We drew examples of the types of costumes we wanted before looking online and in shops for similar clothing. By the day of filming we had all the right pieces of costume ready and in the right size. However, one part of this process that I wasn't happy with was an unwilling actor, who refused to wear certain parts of the costume and therefore had an impact on the continuity of the piece.
Areas for Improvement

One significant thing about our opening sequence that could've been improved was our soundtrack. In general the atmosphere the music created was good, however the downfall was that we could not edit out the demo message. This had a big impact on our sequence as it broke the atmosphere twice during our opening sequence.
A second thing that needed improving was our organisation. We didn't make a clear enough plan on what to film on what days early on, so we panicked when the dates neared. Another thing that needed more organisation was in casting. Our ideal ringmaster agreed to be in our opening sequence but never told us dates that he would be free on. This resulted in casting an unprepared person who had no experience in acting last minute. This meant the sadisticness of the ringmaster wasn't fully put across to the audience, and therefore didn't create enough of an unsettling atmosphere.

Audience Feedback

-WIP-

A2 Media Questions

1. In what ways does your media production use, develop, or challenge forms and convention of real media products?

2. How effective is the combination of our main product and ancillary texts?

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning, production, and post-production?