Question 2: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
HOW DOES IT ENGAGE AUDIENCES
Throughout the opening scene, we have used a lot of different factors to make sure that our film opening is entertaining, appealing, and engaging to the viewers.
First of all, we have used a very eye-catching establishing shot from the iron gate to the wall and to the door. Using a dolly push-in shot into the door, a blue color filter, and a piece of dramatic music as an enigma code to make the audience start curious about the movie. For instance, they could be asking themselves "Who would live in this such a scary, damp, and old place?", "who/what is behind the door?". However, it would be better if we had a real dolly or a gimble to record the establishing shot because the shakiness of the scene disrupts the emotion of the viewers.
Secondly, still using the enigma code, we film the scene of Jeff dancing, starting it with a family picture. This family picture is very special as all the faces of the family members were blank out with some drawings on it. This could make the viewer wonder "Why would the family picture is like that?", "Why do we focus on the family picture in that shot?". Those questions would make the audience get to engage with the rest of the movie and keep watching to find out the story behind that family picture.
Thirdly, continuing with how the audio helps, we manage to use audio to grab viewers' attention. For instance, in the shot of Jeff waking up, we use an alert sound (very loud and noisy) to grab back the attention of the viewers. Similarly, we use a piece of classical music in the shot which I personally think is the best shot in the opening scene to help the viewers feel how much Jeff is enjoying the dancing. The music gives the audience a little goosebump and the harmony from the classical music help maintain the flow of emotion for the viewers.
Fourthly, we have a scene where Jeff breaks the 4th wall and introduce himself to the audience and also the scene where he gives instruction to the camera to follow him kidnapping a kid. Breaking the 4th wall in this context, help engage the audience as they feel a sense of connection with the character on the screen. Overall, we have use combination of sound bed, enigma code, mise-en-scene and break the 4th wall to engage our viewers.
DISTRIBUTION AS A REAL MEDIA TEXT:
For now, as it is only an opening scene, we have published it on YouTube, one of the most famous social media platforms in the world. The fact that it is a social media would make the spreading of the movie become much easier and faster in the digital world. Not only that, but we also advertised our opening scene of "Sweet Dream" on all of our personal blogs which would also help the name of the movie reach out to more people (media blog/blog lovers to be specific). Considering our target audience, teenagers and adults, social media is the best method for us to distribute our final product. In addition, with YouTube, blogs, and social media it is easier for us to collect viewers' feedback, reviews and opinion.
Now that the opening scene has been widely known by many viewers, it could be the right time for us to turn it into a real movie, a real media text. The primary thing we should look at first is funding. We could consider using websites such as Kickstarter, Crowdfunder and GoFundMe to ask for help with funding from the community. To push it even further, we could ask some Key Opinion Leaders to review our opening scene so that more and more people would know about it, allowing us to create a little Fanclub for the movie.
After having enough funds and doing the project. We would keep our fan club engaged with the movie and also aim to extent that fan club by daily posting on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube about the production of the movie. In addition, we can use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google advertisements to help promote our movie.
After finishing the movie, we could apply for a small film contest Film Pipeline Shorts Competition or we could submit our film for film festival after researching which film festival is best for us on the website FilmFreeway. With that, it would help our distributing our movie. By introducing the movie in film related festival and event, I will be able to reach out to more people due to the huge amount of viewers in each of those events and festivals. So in general, the distribution of our media product is mainly focus on the power of social media and online tools.
In the end, profit would not be our main aim for the movie, what we want is that when more people know about the movie, understand the story, the message about domestic violence and its impact in the movie, they would start moving from passive viewers to active viewers. They would start taking action to warn people about how bad domestic violence and domestic abuse are. What we want the audience to understand is that children can be very negatively impacted by the behavior of their parents and adult around them and children are the future of this world.
FOR A BETTER SOCIETY, WITH HAPPIER FAMILIES, HAPPIER KIDS, WE MUST PUT AN END TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!!!
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