[Soniwoni's Media Blog]

Monday, 15 March 2010

4) Who would be the audience for you media product? AND 5) How did you attract/address the audience?

The specific target audience of PA would be people ranging from 16 to late 30s years old. The film’s genre includes gambling, illnesses, family issues, and perhaps some witty humour therefore it would not appeal to younger years. Older men in particular would be appealed because the character Dave may be relatable as he is imaged to be “the average bloke caught up in something extraordinary”. Teenagers may relate to the characters as people they want to be. Such as Holly, the rich girl who plays poker for the sake of it and does not care to lose – younger generations may find this character as an escape, therefore be attracted to the film.

In terms of creative choices, such as editing and soundtrack choices, the target audience was given great consideration. For example, children would not know Jimmy Hendrix or Black Sabbath. This music represents an older generation of target audience and in particular people who enjoy Rock music and movies with a lot of tension and action.
Cuts are quick and small gestures lasting for a few seconds are suitable for a more mature target audience as they can pick up on the implications of these details. Children would notice but may not consider how much an eye movement or tapping finger can mean. The pace of the movie may also be confusing for younger and less attentive years. Therefore PA caters for people who’ve watched many poker movies or has experience in it, and can keep up with the speed of events within a short amount of time.

On the other hand, those who have a vast amount of experience in poker might find this film irritating as creative and dramatic choices are taken in to make the game more interesting than it actually is. The opening features a short clip of the protagonist’s hallucinations. Those who play poker might find this unrealistic. Moreover, the experience poker player might notice that the cards on the table and in the hand have a flaw and cannot be used in the game. During filming, creative liberties were taken and although the game was thought out, it was not planned properly as it is just a film opening.

The titles of the card trick in black and white may also seem mediocre to a real dealer, but as we did not have a dealer this could not be changed. Looking at the wider aspects, however, the titles suit the target audience as it gives an adventurous mood and suits the tense/action parts of the film. The short snappy cuts suit the pace of the music well in that they are in relative synch and build up atmosphere before the actual plot begins.

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This idea, inspired from Train Spotting and various spy movies appeals to the target audience. It reveals the cool rebellious side of the characters and film and makes it serious but fun. This attracts both the teenager and older audiences of PA.

For casting, it would be ideal to cast characters around the ages of 27 to late 40s. However this was difficult to time table and to find people willing to act for us. To show the involvement of gangsters and loan sharks in PA, the character Leo was made. His clothing and body language was meant to reveal his “Big-man” attitude, and for convenience we had quite a muscular extra to play the part. However, on film day this extra was not accessible so this character had to be cut out. This was not a huge problem, but it decreased our range of target audience and perhaps made the variety of characters less interesting. On the other hand, the specific target audience would not be affected as much without this character.

Plans on how to attract and edit for the target audience was followed and successfully fulfilled overall. With the exception of certain shots due to bad camera work and extra transitions such as the peep hole. These were added during the process of post production but the end result still suited and improved the film for the target market.

In conclusion, the target audience for Poker’s Advocate are teenagers who enjoy the idea of a secret and wild life, as well as a more mature audience who have experience in gambling and can relate to the older characters within the film.

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

Poker’s Advocate would be distributed within the USA by Universal Studios and possibly by Summit Entertainment Internationally. Both these companies have distributed ‘Lock. Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.’ Columbia Pictures would also be a good choice, as it has distributed ‘21’ which deals with Poker but its genre is very different to PA so it would be less suitable compared to Universal Studios.

However, if Poker’s Advocate would take the more artistic route and wish to be separate from large production companies, it could be invested using independent production companies, especially those in the “Poverty Row” (a catch all term used to encompass any other smaller studio that managed to fight their way up into the increasingly exclusive movie business). Republic Pictures is an independent film company that operated through 1939 to 1959. It specializes in western films and movie serials, and likewise PA could find a independent production company that would produce and distribute Poker/casino related films, that could appear as TV specials.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups represented in Poker’s Advocate include Gamblers (in particular underground) and Rich people. Gender and Class/Status is also represented.

Gamblers are represented in different ways. As our film does not centre on posh Casino gambling, there are no men in suits or tuxedos. Each character has its own personality and background reflected in their clothing and positioning.

The way each player walks into set at different times but arrive at the table at the same time shows that they a essentially different, but once they are gambling they are all the same. This represents underground gamblers are very different to those in Casino Royale type of play grounds – class and status does not matter to these people.

(Refer to Gary - Left, and Dave - Right) This Establishing shot appears after Holly and Luke fold - making it clear who is left in the game.

There is always an experienced gambler. In Poker’s Advocate this is Gary. His leather jacket reflects his smooth and almost criminal personality and the cowboy hat shows his slight sense of humour.

The protagonist does not dress classy or fashionably and even his casual is below average casual. He wears an olive-green-brown coloured fleece jacket, t-shirt, and short cropped hair. (I would have liked Dave to have a beard or stubble to give him a rougher look, and to represent age but this wasn’t realistic in our time scale) This represents the downtrodden and almost weak gamblers in the society portrayed in this film. Dave is part of the group of people who don’t gamble for fun or leisure, but for the cold, hard, cash. Be it to fuel their drug or drinking habits, or to pay a debt. It could be argued that he is the stereotypical underground gambler. The audience is expected to either pity this character or be in awe at his stupidity.

Rich people are presented differently in PA. It would be assumed that they don’t take part in underground gambling, but the character Holly is rich. This is shown through her dress, glittery scarf, combed hair, and pearl necklace. She is a neutral character, and does not seem to have a large part in the film. However her high class status implies that even those higher up are not clean. They are aware and involved in what goes beneath their society and might even control it with the correct power.

The representation of age is a problem as our actors/extras were not the actual age they were meant to be in the script. The age range of PA is late 20s to late 40s. This was something that could not be changed unless we got older actors.
All of the characters are Caucasian. This was unintended and if made into a real film PA might have different ethnicities to expand on the representation of underground gamblers.

Overall the main social group is underground gamblers and the diversity within them. The representation of them could be argued as both negative and positive, as it shows the darker and unbeneficial side to gambling but also creates a sense of freedom and edgy lifestyle.

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

‘Poker’s Advocate’ (PA) conforms to the conventions of a pre-title sequence where in the credits come in after 2 minutes of film rather than at the start. The beginning two minutes usually shows the audience a scene from the half way point of the film. To refrain this pre-title sequence becoming trailer like, use of fades in between cuts were not used often, and only for the Angel and Devil scene to show distortion.

Quick cuts are used here to build up tension. There is little dialogue so the audience would be less informed at the start of the film. If crucial lines that reveal the plot twists are revealed, it would make the opening too much like a trailer. Plot details are unimportant in film openings.

Fade is used here as it conforms to the transition techniques used to represent a flashback or memory used in films. Here, it represents the unstable mind of the protagonist and hints that the Angel and Devil are merely hallucinations.

Pre-title sequences still show the production logos before the film begins, and PA does that. The idea of ripping a production logo (e.g. Universal or Paramount) was proposed, however that would take time and copyright issues may arise. Making our own logos would show creativity and show how conventions are followed in our original production logo. Three logos were drafted and rather than choosing between them, all were refined and put in. This continues to follow conventions as associate or supporting companies are usually involved therefore films can have more than one production logo.

Conforming to Production Logos in general, Bullseye Productions gives an image and animation for the audience to focus on.

The first image settles, and a second which is more important appears. This is an opportunity for sound effects or sound bridges. In Poker’s Advocate the effect from iMovie called [insert here] suits the swish movement of the letters; another convention that occurs in Production logos.

After all the effects and animation, there is a pause that allows the audience to ‘absorb’ and take in the logo. This in film time is only a few seconds so that it does not drag and become boring. These are all conventions followed.

Shot reverse shots and close ups follow conventions in that they shows a character’s reaction to dialogue. The shot reverse shot is taken from over the shoulder at times, and close ups take in details such as chair shuffling and important eye movements.

Holly’s gesture of tucking hair behind her ear can show nervousness of her character, a contrast to the confident concept of her character. It gives realism to her, as it is a very normal gesture that girls do.

This CU shows Luke glancing at his cards. This creates mystery and tension, as well as showing the audience that this is a real and serious poker game.

Other Conventional camera angles include:

Establishing shots: This sets the scene. Here, by the props and lighting the audience can tell it is a mysterious, and possibly dangerous area, and the main entertainment/focus is poker.

Extreme CUs: This shows the character's key expressions. Here Dave gives a strong look to Gary, showing thought.

Tracking shots: Can act as a POV shot as well as following movement and giving a variety to camera angles. Here the camera follows the Devil's hand, putting importance in her movement and showing the character's control over Dave.