Evaluation Question 7

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

There were many mishaps during the preliminary task that caused it to be worse than it should’ve been. The main example of this is that no one in my group, including myself, was willing to appear on-screen. We also spent more time planning it than we needed. As a result, the shooting was rather rushed when we finally got around to it. The variety of different angle shots we took was able to aid us in deciding on angles for the final product. It also allowed us to gain our first experience of working in a group where individuals came up with ideas that would positively affect the shooting process. We were also able to divide up the responsibilities for the shooting and editing processes in a way that benefitted the group. All editing choices were made with full agreement, as well as the soundtrack and title of the film.

Audience feedback was fairly positive and the majority said that they would be willing to watch the rest of the film if given the chance. The only significant problem that audience feedback showed was the difficulty in understanding the familial relationship between Rachel and Joseph. However, we anticipated this problem and tried to address it as well as we could by carefully selecting the title of the film to convey this point. The most important thing I have learned about film making is that it is very difficult to foresee unexpected problems that can occur during all stages of the film-making process.

Fathers Day Final Edit

Evaluation Question 6

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

Through the process of creating Father’s Day, I have learnt to use a variety of different technologies. The most common piece of technology used was my blog. I have learnt how to upload pictures and videos, as well as post my work. I also uploaded my first video to YouTube as part of the preliminary task. During the practice for filming, I also worked out how to use a digital camera to film different types of shots, angles and movements. The editing process also taught me a lot about Premiere Elements, how to remove unwanted shots, piecing different scenes together, using fadeouts and titles, and adding music. Putting the scenes into the right order is an integral part of creating the final edit so I learnt a lot about how it can be edited very quickly.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

A problem the audience had with the plot has that it was unclear as to the father-daughter relationship between Rachel and Joseph. We rectified this by using the title of the film, Father’s Day. This allows the audience to connect with the film as Father’s Day is a yearly event. The decision to have quick cuts from Rachel and Joseph in the first minute was also to emphasise their familial relationship. The majority of the audience are able to rally behind the teenagers against the primary antagonist due to their similar age while the ambiguous ending makes the entire audience want to see what happens next. This is the hook to keep the audience interested in watching the rest of the film.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience that would be most interested in Fathers Day would be the 16-24 demogrpahic. This is based on the age of the characters, and subject of the film and user reviews of films with similarities, Kidulthood and Adulthood. The film would also controlling father. These attributes will allow many young female members of the audience to connect with her.

Evaluation Question 3

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

There are several ways in which the film could be distributed. The best way would be to upload it to an online video-sharing website, such as YouTube. This gives the film access to the largest potential audience available. Other websites that it could be uploaded to include Facebook, Blogger, Daily Motion and Metacafé to further increase the potential audience. It could also be released onto games consoles or as shortly before a foreign language thriller in independent cinemas such as Cinema City.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

We have represented several distinct social groups within our film, Fathers’ Day. Gender is represented through our main female character, Rachel Steele. She portrays some of the the characteristics of a traditional femme fatale, flawed and destroyed, because she has chosen to associate herself with less than savoury people, at least in her father’s mind. The distorted perception her father has is a very subtle homage to the canted angle shots used to connote a nightmare-like state in The Third Man. The social background of the primary antagonist, Joseph Steele, goes against the typical role of the middle-aged white guy, e.g. Jim Morrison's character in 24, Bill Buchanan. The setting of the film is both similar yet different to conventional locations used in thriller films. We used a location that connotes grittiness, similar to the locations used in Kidulthood and Adulthood. The film confirms a stereotype of the working class, that is feeling a close bond with friends, and a stereotype of the middle class, being more self-centred than the working class, concerned about their appearance and conforming to society.