Sunday, 25 April 2010

Audience Feedback

The group asked a few people what they thought about of our final edit. We asked them for one positive and one negative point. The answers are below:

Samantha Milne (Aged 15)

Positive: Ending – out of focus blurry but awesome
Negative: Tom and Sophie shot bit long

Lauren Farmer (Aged 16)

Positive:Music is great
Negative: Ending carried suspense

Henna Mystery (Aged 16)

Positive: Music very good – really sets the mood
Negative: The stalker should make it more obvious he is there by enhancing the ambient sound – twigs snapping?

Louise Pearson (Aged 17)

Positive:really like the dark atmosphere created through the mixture of black and white scenes and the music played. I also like the contrast between the action shots and the pans across the photos because it adds more background to the introduction; it looks more like an obsession with the photos added in
Negative: in one of the shots cutting from Sophie and Tom, to Josh through the camera, Sophie changes position from cuddling Tom to looking at the camera, then back in the next shot. This disrupts the flow of the action because it's a little distracting. Also, in the last shot, it isn't totally clear Josh is running towards the 'couple' as the first few times I thought he was running away
from them

Laura Knighton (Aged 17)

Positive:The music was awesome, the effects were very atmospheric and the end kept me in suspense
Negative: a bit repetitive of the walking around
For future questioning I need to make sure I ask same amount of males and females to eliminate bias.

Out of Focus - Final Edit

Friday, 16 April 2010

Evaluation Question 7

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

Looking back at my preliminary task I have learnt a lot since then, I have learnt to start doing new things when it comes to editing and using the camera such as using new effects and putting different effects on the camera. I also found it very helpful working in a group as they were there to help me if need be, we also had great teamwork, together we each had different jobs to do and got on with them to save us time. I have also learnt to ask for help off the teacher if I need any help with anything or I don’t understand something when it comes to using the camera or using the editing software. I feel that using the preliminary task as a practise for use of camera angles and different types of sound has really prepared me for my thriller opening, I felt that I knew exactly what I was doing and knew where all the equipment was so me and the rest of the group could get started straight away.

Evaluation Question 6

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

Throughout this whole project I have learnt a variety of techniques and about the use of technologies. First of all I learnt all the aspects of controlling the camera such as the 180 degree rule which is where you place the camera in a certain space to film particular sections but you cant the move the camera to the opposite side and carry on filming in the same scene but it would look very unprofessional and make the audience very confused. I also learnt a key aspect to due with the camera that is a must for all of our filming and that technique was putting the camera in wide screen I also learned alongside this how to set the white balance and how to test it for example setting the camera and then testing it against something white, this would also also give me an advantage if I didn't want to create a amateur looking piece. I also took in account the particular shots and angles we used in our preliminary task so we could make our opening a lot more interesting and drawing the audience into the situation. I also learnt to incorporate the meaning of representation for example using high angle shots looking down at a particular actor to create the effect of vulnerability and to make it seem that the stalker is watching his/hers victim.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I think that we attracted the audience really well and that we have definitely catered for our age range. I think that our opening sequence is very powerful and makes the audience want to carry on watching seems though we have tried something different to some of the other thrillers we have seen. I also know that the music at the start of our thriller can give out mixed possibilities which again makes the audience want to watch and keeps them guessing all the way though. I also think that the opening looks believable and very close to reality due to the use of mise-en-scene which includes costume and the use of props so the audience can relate to the situation of everyday life. We also appealed to our target audience by casting ourselves in the film to fit in with our target age. We also added some eerie music to create tension and mystery and suggesting to the audience that something isnt right.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience for our opening sequence would be teenagers in the age range of 15 to 19 and Adults. I chose this age range because we have chosen actors in this age range to act in our thriller and it would appeal more to teenagers and also the situation would appeal more to adults. I think it would attract more male attention than female, I think this because males would get more enticed and involved in what is going on because it’s a genre that you relate more with males. My thriller leaves the audience thinking about what comes next in this confusing yet powerful sequence. The reason for choosing such a young audience is that it would be easier to advertise to younger people. This would include using the internet, websites such as youtube advertising clips because younger people tend to use the internet more than other sources. I would also use other types of advertising such as posters and synergy again advertising them in a way it would get through to my target audience, and also by using these different ways would be a way of getting our thriller to adults because they would take more of an interest in looking at leaflets and posters.


These are two examples of trailer posters both of these opening sequences are similar to ours so these are where we got most of our ideas from.

Evaluation Question 3

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

If our thriller was a full length film and were to be distributed I would want it to be distributed by a company like Optimum Distribution as they have support from EM Media, a company that want to make business in the East Midlands for filmmakers. Even though there films are not really on a large scale they would be a reliable company as they can provide funding and locations, props and equipment to film with. Another distribution company that I would like to distribute our film would be New Line Cinema, this is because they have distributed many thrillers in the past such as Se7en, which our thriller has taken inspiration from.

Thursday, 15 April 2010

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The opening of our thriller sequence focuses on the social group of youth and teenagers. We also picked this due to the actors being of that same age range. But we focuses on the better aspects more than the negatives of youth and teenagers not such things as gangs and violence. We really focus on the representations at the beginning of our sequence on the types of things teenagers do and get involved with. For example we have two characters that are based on teenagers that are seen hugging and walking which are everyday things that teenagers are seen doing.
However andrew is filmed walking alone which does not fit the stereotype of a teenager it suggests that he is isolated and is another reason why the stalker may be watching him. Youth are also represented as vulnerable and innocent. This is shown by the low and high angle shots and using locations where they appear isolated and alone. This will make the audience feel sorry for the character and feel the sense of worry.

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Evaluation Question 1

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

The opening sequence is the main and most important parts of a film because it needs to draw and attract the audience and gain their interest in the storyline (narrative). It needs to provide a sense of mystery as well as giving clues and hints about whats about to happen. To make sure that our opening sequence fit in the genre of "Thriller" we had to use style and conventions to achieve this.

Our Opening sequence consists of codes and conventions of title sequences by:

Starting of the narrative - A killer has gathered together a range of photographs of his targets and starts off by watching them and then following them giving hints and clues along the way.
To gain the audiences interests - By setting up a storyline that's not giving much away to the audience and only the victims are seen with some slight hints at the stalker.
Opening titles and actors names - To display the title and names of people starring in the thriller
Suitable music - To create a atmosphere and draw the audience in and to create tension
Prologue - The opening sequence acts as a prologue which is very common in films for example the opening sequence of "Seven". Both openings are very similar providing clips of past victims was taken from the opening of "Seven".
Speech - No speech is used which again is common in opening sequences.


Our opening sequence conforms to the codes and conventions of Thrillers by:

Fitting into a sub genre - Crime/Action
Clear story - which features detectives searching for the killer this again is common in thrillers
Establishes a story - which could include large and violent set- pieces.
Creates Enigmas - Identity of the killer, the killers actions, who are the victims and what will happen to them?

Our Opening Sequence challenges the codes of conventions of actual openings and Thrillers by:


1) Use of Teenage characters -You would find that adults would play these types of roles to make it more realistic and believable.
2) By not introducing a protagonist- the characters are victims of the killer, the protagonist would be a detective trying to stop the killer however they are not seen in the opening.
3) Not revealing the identity of the villain- Thrillers are about stopping a villain rather than uncovering who they are like in a murder mystery.