Media Evaluuation By Daniel Gargan

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

In my media film, many technical aspects have been used, such as camera shots, camera movements and camera angles. I have used conventional camera shots that suit my thriller genre; these were close up shots, over the shoulder shots and point of view shots. Also our film challenges conventions; we used a female protagonist because we felt a woman in this situation would be more vulnerable and effective. We purposely didn’t challenge this convention because we felt a female suited the role better, creating a more realistic effect. Our media product is set in isolated railway bridge in West Ealing, this setting creates tension because of it’s dark surroundings and isolated areas. A thriller climaxes when the hero stops the villain or dangerous situation, often saving his/her own life and the lives of others. Thrillers are often genre hybrids; the main characters are usually placed in menacing situations from which escape seems impossible. The protagonist is often unsuspectingly placed in a dangerous situation. The menace is often abstract, uncertain or shadowy. All traditional features of thriller films are found in our film. We created a very standard thriller film using, quick cut montage and all unnatural shots, and angles that you cannot make with the natural eye. The film ‘Psycho’ influenced my group, having a man commit a crime, but leaving the audience to think who the man was that committed the crime. Having viewed many media texts, we gained a deeper understanding of thriller film genres. We viewed “when a stranger calls”, bringing tension that the film creates. There are many different types of shot types, such as close ups, point of view shots, and over the shoulder shots, we have used these shots in our films. In our film we use extreme close up shots of the kidnappers, this unnatural shot makes them look evil and mysterious, because we never see the whole face, just eyes and mouth. In our film, we used a range of static shots, and hand held camera shots, adding realism. These shots continue to prove the gritty setting we wanted. The non diegetic score we used was typical to this sort of genre, again helping us prove this gritty setting. The location we used is a typical convention of a thriller genre, showing the modern and urban setting. At a class viewing, we received feedback such as, “the film is verging on more of a horror film than a thriller film.” This was mainly because of the score we used, it was very scary, not really matching the footage on screen, and the scene where she is being kidnapped was also more horror than thriller. To overcome this, as a group we decided that we would reshoot some scenes and change the score. We were very successful in doing this as we thought we improved the overall film. However there was a clear divide between our thriller film and a horror film, our film had no gory scenes.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents forms and conventions of thriller films, as a group we looked at the best possible styles that suited our film. One representation in our film is gender, by having both female and male roles in the film; it also represents age, as all of the actors are of the same age group, 16 – 17 year olds, as a group we discussed that this wasn’t the normal age for kidnappers but we thought we planned it well, and it pulled off. Class is also brought up in the film, stereotyping a young vulnerable female lead role being kidnapped and also by the setting and costume design of characters. However all the actors in the film are of the same ethnic background, no stereotyping was used here. From TV dramas and British soaps, we have seen representations of age, race, sexuality, gender, class, regional identity, and disability. Usually in programmes like EastEnders, young people age 15, walk around in hoods and tracksuits, so we used the typical stereotype in our own thriller film, the effect on us using this stereotype is that it is very popular, realistic and relatable. We met stereotypes in our film, such as having a venerable teenage girl being kidnapped and stalked. We noticed the differences between men and woman, as the stereotype for females are week and venerable, the stereotypes for men are controlling and strong. We chose to meet this stereotype because we wanted to use dramatic irony, the audience know what’s going to happen, and this engages audience and keeps them interested. It also makes the audience feel sympathy for the young teenage girl. Another representation in our media film was class and status, all characters fit into middle class category, by what they were wearing and the doggy setting in west London. Race can also be seen and questioned in our film by having an all white cast; by having an all white cast we questioned the stereotype of young boys in hoodless and tracksuits, usually they would be presented in dramas as young Black men. If we were to use a black character we would meet expectations for the typical ‘young thug’ stereotype.

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

As a group we decided that our film is more of an Independent British production, rather than a Mainstream (Hollywood style) film. Mainstream films are big budget, smooth and unrealistic, compared to Independent films that are low budget and gritty. Getting distribution for our film is possible; the best and fastest way of making money would be cinema, because there are thousands of cinemas in England alone. This is a fast way of getting people to view your film. Having our film in the cinema would also raise awareness and teach people what’s going on in the world today to many young people. To create a film for mainstream cinemas we would need to attend a film festival to gain distribution and gain funding to back our movie. These major film festivals are Cannes and Venice film festival, where low budget, gritty styles are shown, such as our film. A realistic distribution for a film of my budget would be video sharing site like ‘YouTube’, where we can upload videos for free. Another way to distribute our film is on community channels on digital television. It would be unlikely for a low budget British film to reach certain channels like BBC1 or ITV1 because they are public sector channels where only certain things can be broadcasted.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Again as a group we decided that the average audience for our film was from between the ages 15- 25. This was a sensible realistic age group as some content may not have been appropriate for anyone younger. I personally think our film is a realistic view on today’s society, caused by people from that age group. As today’s films portray young people as being involved heavily in crime. There are many young people today being arrested for carrying knifes and committing murders. By viewing the British Board of Film Classification website, we decided that the suitable outcome for our thriller film should be a 15, this was because our viewing audiences where 15 – 25, therefore the film is not suitable for anyone under that age. I think that a 15 was a suitable target for our audience group because of the content it contains. I think that most 15 years olds would want to go and see this film; the themes tackle touching things but are also a realistic view on today’s society. Also the audience can relate to the characters as they are in our target audience. Our thriller makes the audience think about what’s happening and provides entertainment at the same time.

How did you attract/address your audience?

After doing research on the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) website, our group decided to rate our film a certificate of 15. We also asked friends and classmates what they thought our film certificate should be, we told them what the film was going to be about and how we would capture our idea on film, using camera angles and camera movements. Also at the feedback lesson, everyone agreed that it was a suitable target. This film, I think is a success at rating it a 15, because 15 year olds and upwards would want to go and see it, its fun, interesting and makes you think, but not to complicated, exactly what a thriller should be like. This thriller is very effective because it fits in with historic thriller techniques, such as building suspense and pint of view shots, all demonstrated by Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock was a British filmmaker who pioneered many techniques in the suspence and psychological thriller genres. Hitchcock plays with the hierarchy of knowledge, increasing the dramatic irony of the audience to create unbearable suspense as it waits for the audience. We also attracted our audience by using an urban gritty setting. In the early 1930’s, thriller films had no kinetic camera movements, nowadays there is a lot of kinetic movements to create a realistic setting and also to keep viewers attracted.

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

Firstly, we learnt through research in the thriller genre, and the techniques used to film thrillers. We filmed on regular D.V (Digital Video) cameras. Films Hollywood produce, would have a brighter un-naturalistic picture. Cameras in Hollywood use celluloid tape, which creates a neat, clean and perfect picture. Therefore the realistic picture quality is an advantage for our film. The digital video cameras are gritty, dull and realistic colours. DV Cameras are used in British dramas and soaps, such as Coronation Street and EastEnders, letting the audience see the world as it is ment to be viewed. However the D.V cameras were not so good at picking up sounds on the microphone. After gaining audience feedback, that the dialogue wasn’t very clear, we decided to use as little diegetic sound as possible. However we could overcome this, we could use actual filming microphones, but we didn’t have the time budget to get this. Therefore in our film, not much dialogue was used, but the dialogue that was used was picked up in the best way possible we could. We used the editing software, I-Movie HD to edit our film; this is non-linear editing software. This software was useful and particle as we could edit our footage easily and quickly. We also used copyright free music as a score for out film, this was from www.freeplaymusic.com, and here new media is being influenced. When we completed the film, we uploaded it to the video sharing website of ‘YouTube’ we wanted to do this to continue to get audience feedback.

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

In this main task a lot more thought and process was put into it, we had to decide the best possible filming locations, what the characters could wear and also what natural light was best to film in. we learnt from filming outside that natural light is unpredictable and sometimes the light made the quality to bright, so know footage could actually be seen. Also filming outside we could hear a lot of unwanted sounds such as planes, busses, cars and screams. When filming with the D.V cameras the microphone wasn’t that good, it was hard to use a lot of dialogue because none it could be heard, so less dialogue was better. As a group we made sure we used the best possible filming location to match our opening sequence, we used a rail way bridge in the dark, this was planned to create the best possible atmosphere. When we were uploading the footage to the computers, we noticed that the footage wasn’t that clear, and it was to dark to see the action happening. So, as group we decided to re shoot this scene, the second time was much better as you could actually see the footage on the film. This problem was also helped by the software iMovie as it allowed us to brighten some clips artificially. The preliminary task was of great help to us; because it gave us clear insight in to what camera angles and shots we should use when shooting our thriller, this is where we found out the microphone wasn’t good. Form the task we also learnt what the 180 degree rule was, this was vital to keep in mind while filming, otherwise the scene would look unrealistic and unprofessional. Overall the preliminary task was of great importance as it taught us the main techniques to make an excellent thriller opening sequence.

Media Evaluation: Shelley Delaney

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

Our media film was part of the thriller genre meaning it needed to create tension and leave the audience on edge. A thriller should create question for the audience and also a sense of enigma; our media product develops the conventions of a thriller genre in the sense that it leaves the audience questioning who kidnapped the young girl. The characters in our product reflect those in a real thriller. For example our thriller consists of characters such as stalkers and ordinary people who find themselves in situations impossible to get out of. These types of characters are common in the thriller genre and so I think our use of characters developed the forms and conventions of a thriller in that sense. We were also successful in making our film part of the thriller genre because we focused on several of the themes found in the thriller genre such as; stalking, obsession and a mystery to be solved. Camera angles and shots are very important in the thriller genre because they create tension. For example quick cutting would be more effective for a thriller film then slow paced filming because it builds up more tension and leaves the audience on edge.

The technical aspects of a thriller are important for example, Camera shots, movement, angles editing and sound all affect the rhythm and pace of the film. We used extreme close ups to show the emotions of the kidnappers face, this type of shot is often used in thrillers The extreme zoom shots get right in and shows the extreme detail. Can be used to show detail in which the human eye cannot usually see. Or even to emphasize a key prop for dramatic effect. We also use quick cutting in our film which causes tension as the pace and rhythm increases this is normal in a thriller. Our film also has some graphic match where we move between different characters, this allows us to change characters more smoothly and I think we use it successfully. We also used a point of view shot which makes the audience feel more involved like they are there themselves, and our use of over the shoulder shots creates the feeling of someone being watched or followed which is what we were aiming for in our film.
Our film can be classed as both; a historical or contemporary thriller. Our film is both historical and modern; by historical we are talking about conventions, i.e. if it shares conventions with past time thrillers. Therefore we can say that it is a historical thriller as we explored the convention of voyeurism but we approached it in a contemporary style. Our film is set by an old railway bridge, behind an estate this is a typical convention of a thriller and we used this setting to develop it. However in our feedback we found that the audience felt that our settings along with our chosen music made the film seem more like a horror rather then a thriller. This is one of our downfalls and so to improve this we changed our music to something more suitable. It can also be seen as a historical thriller because we used a female protagonist in our film which is a very typical thriller convention. There are many sub genres in a thriller however I think ours falls under the criminal or psychological thriller.

How does you media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product uses stereotypes in the way that the characters are portrayed through gender, sexuality, race, age and class. Our product is focused on a young female who is kidnapped by 3 possible men. We made the Victim female because women are stereotypically more vunerable which is typical in a thriller genre in contrast to the 3 young men who are seen as intimidating wearing hoodies, this reflects the stereotypical view of youths who wear hoodies in today’s society. However we have attempted to challenge thriller conventions with the age of the men because in a typical thriller the bad people are not usually young adults but are more middle aged men. Each of our characters are represented as important characters and all appear to have equal roles however the young men come across as more dominant which is also a stereotype. Although we do not portray race or sexuality in our film making it less contemporary; gender, class and age are portrayed very clearly. The gender and age are portrayed through our characters and the class is portrayed through the settings and the way in which the characters dress. I think we were successful in using stereotypes to portray our characters and different social groups.

What kind of institutes might distribute your media product and why?
Our product is an independent British production meaning it is low budget and gritty in comparison to mainstream production which are more Hollywood style i.e. better quality of film and more professional. There are different ways in which films can be distributed; in cinemas (major chain cinemas and independent cinemas) our film would more likely be shown in independent cinemas as it fits into the independent British production. Other ways of getting our film distributed would be through film festivals which would gain popularity for our film. The internet is also good for film distribution on video sharing sites such as you tube, this will also help gain popularity however it would be harder to ensure that the age restriction of our film is kept if broadcasting on a video sharing site because anyone with internet access can watch it. Cable TV channels are another successful way of gaining audiences, particularly community channels for independent films.

Who would the audience be for your media and product and why?
There are two types of audiences we must consider. The first is the target audience; who it is targeted at and who will watch it. Secondly there is the certificate audience; the certificate the BBFC has given it. They are two completely different audiences, for example, the film ‘the reader’ has a BBFC certificate of 15 however the target audience for the film is more middle aged people. After lots of research and planning we decided as a group that our film would be aimed at teenagers and young adults. The certificate audience from the BBFC would be a certificate of 15 which means the film is only suited for people who are 15 years or over. The BBFC says that a film certificated a 15 means No one younger than 15 is able to see a 15 film. There are no regulated themes within a 15 provided that the 15 is appropriate to a 15 year old. There may be a frequent use of strong language but the strongest of language will have to be justified within its context. Continued aggressive use of the language is not acceptable. Again the use of dangerous techniques must not dwell on the imitable detail. In the terms of horror, strong uses of it are permitted however the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Drug taking may be shown in the film but must not promote drug misuse. This is appropriate for a thriller genre due to their being no regulated themes, this means that thriller can be a wide of themes such as bomb explosions however, they must stay within the control of the classification so not as strong violence or gore.


How did you address your audience how did you construct your film to make it appeal to your target audience? What conventions did you specifically include to achieve this?

The way in which our film appeals to the audience is through our use of characters. As our film is targeted at people of the ages 16-25, we have young people playing young characters so the audience we aim for feel they can relate to the characters more as they are near the same age. However if we were to use 30 year olds to play young adults it would not be as realistic and would not appeal as much to our target audience. We have used some of the same conventions of a typical ‘Teen’ thriller aswell as stalking is very popular amongst these. Through feedback we learnt that the audience felt our film was suitable for our target audience however we had to change the score we had chosen originally because it made the film sound more like a horror as opposed to a thriller, we made these changes to make it more appealing to our target audience.

What have you learnt about techniques?

During the making of our product making we have learnt about different technologies. For example we learnt that D.V (digital video) creates more gritty and realistic productions with dull colours. This is the type we used as a group which did not give the best quality of video and sound. The microphones were built into the camera which was the reason for the poor sound quality because it did not pick up that much sound. Therefore on our film we used minimal diegetic sounds to ensure that the audience were not missing out on something important. Another type of technologies often used are Hollywood cameras which use brighter colours and create the perfect environment which makes the film look slightly unrealistic. The editing software we used was I movie HD. This is non linear editing software which is easy to use and is useful in editing your product. We have also been able to use sites such as YouTube and blogger during the process of making our film and finalising it. This allows us to get a wider audience feedback in comparison to a small group of people. We have also been able to use sites that allow us to download scores for our film that are not copyrighted. This was helpful because other wise it would be hard to find a suitable score that would be possible to use without being copyrighted.


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

Looking back on our preliminary task I have learnt that it was a useful task that taught us a lot that we needed to know for our final product. For example without the preliminary task we would not have known about the 180 degree rule which we used in our film and without the 180 degree rule our film would not look professional and would confuse the audience. Our approach to the final product was a lot more professional compared to our prelimary task. During the prelimary task we were unorganised and too laid back about the work and this reflected when we watched it back. However for our final product we were organised and made a film schedule so we knew exactly when and where we were filming and used our time effectively. The only problem we had was that we were often filming late at night or when it was dark and because of the low quality on the DV cameras some scenes were too dark so from this we have learnt that while filming with DV cameras you need to film when it is not so dark so the camera can pick up the action. Our main task was a big improvement from the prelimary task but without the preliminary task we would not have known how to improve our final product.

Foundation Portfolio - Evaluation By Timothy Creedy

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

Our opening to a thriller film has used many different devices and techniques to utilise, expand and ultimately challenge the many forms and conventions of real media products. When deciding on which forms and conventions to incorporate, as a group we viewed many different media texts, mainly thriller films but some other genres too, in order to develop a wider understanding of how to use these and the effect they give. Thriller films, in particular, incorporate specific forms and conventions that consequently create a tense and exciting atmosphere. One such example is the technical aspects. These focus on digital features and their portrayal, including camera shots, camera angles, camera movement and sound. More specifically when viewing the different media texts we noticed similar recurring shot, angle and movement types and sound variety. We focused closely on When a Stranger Calls and 28 Days Later as we enjoyed the nervous but exhilarating situations that were created. The prominent shot types we noticed were close up shots, point of view shots, and over the shoulder shots, and we have tried, where possible to use these in our film. An example of an extreme close up is when we see the unknown, male characters faces, looking downwards towards the picture of the girl. The extreme close up shot is not a natural viewpoint that we see everyday and so helps suggest voyeurism. This is useful as it puts the audience at a personal level with the potential kidnapper making them feel uneasy and disorientated. Furthermore, we have included a point of view shot during the bedroom scene as our unknown character looks at the picture frame of the girl who is about to be kidnapped. This is important as it constructs an anxious audience. Another example is when we see through the eyes of our kidnapper as he is crouching and hiding in the bush, watching and waiting for the female character. This is vital as it plays with the audiences emotions, thus building apprehension. This sort of point of view shot is used many times throughout When a Stranger calls for this reason.

Point of view shots can closely link in with camera movements. In our film it was essential to use static shots, however to create the desired effect we also used hand held camera movement. We decided to use this form after viewing The Blair Witch Project as we wanted to display the same kind of on edge situation. An example of this is when we see through the eyes of the kidnapper as he closes the boot door, after throwing the girl inside. These fast paced, quick movement shots help create a more realistic and gritty setting. After this shot there is a point of view shot form the girl as with absolute fear she stairs into the eyes of the kidnapper as the boot door comes crashing down around her. This helps reinforce her feelings and emotions supplying a connection to the audience. This also creates a motive way of filming. Other camera movements are that of pans, tilts and tracking shots; these are used in order to follow our female protagonist. These also help create continuity in the film.

Throughout our investigations into forms and conventions, we learn sound was a very important tool as it can create varied mood and atmospheres. The non-diegetic score we used was typical to the genre. It was modern and contemporary but also tense, helping us to establish a gritty urban London. Furthermore at the beginning of our film, we took advantage of the silence option. In fact our clip was not totally silence as we decided to include some minor background noises but it helped in creating an eerie atmosphere.

Another important aspect of the forms and conventions of the thriller genre is the mise-en-scène. These focus on on-screen features and their portrayal, including character types, character dress and setting and location. In order to establish our desired character types we viewed media texts such as Derailed and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. These two films were focused on when deciding how we wanted our female character to be cast. In Derailed, Jennifer Aniston plays a femme fatale showing a much stronger and in control character type. We decided against this representation as we wanted too follow the more stereotypical path therefore we cast a female as the person to be kidnapped. In thriller films, women are generally portrayed as being more vulnerable as well as physically week. We have used this stereotypical idea, rather than a femme fatal, to portray a much weaker character. All of the unknown characters are male, thus so is the kidnapper. This is also stereotypical as men are usually seen more as strong, dangerous characters, and in this case, likely of kidnapping. In terms of character dress the female character is much more sophisticated than the males. All of our male characters are dressed with hoods up, thus stereotyping those who wear hoodies to be the sorts of people to kidnap a girl. Moreover the setting and location show a modern, urban and gritty setting and this can therefore be argued to show a more conventional thriller film. These are typical conventions of a thriller film and we have used these settings to develop this idea. It may also be argued that the film has element of historical thriller, meaning it uses some of the same styles as much older thrillers like Alfred Hitchcock’s.

Upon feedback, one of the criticisms of the film was that it was very close to the subgenre of horror-thriller; this being due to some of the scenes, but also the music. 28 Days Later is a perfect example of a horror-thriller. In order to distance ourselves from this we changes the music style to reflect more the thriller genre and even reshot some of the scenes. The camera movements we used during the kidnapping scene were mostly handheld in order to create a more realist approach and to portray the action of the scene with a point of view shot from the girl. The difference we created between our film, Obsession and 28 Days Later was the fact we used no bloody or gory scenes. We have tried to challenge some of the thriller conventions, such as the age of the characters, which is not the norm for thriller films. This helps create a different atmosphere and perspective from the audience.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When investigating the forms and conventions of thriller films we looked at the different character types and styles that would be best suited to our film. There are many different social groups and forms of representation, these are: gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, age, class and status, regional identity and disability. During this we found out about the different stereotypes of social groups. The gender and contrast between men and women is shown as our vulnerable female is kidnapped by an unknown male character. The stereotype for a woman is to be weak and vulnerable and we have used this to our advantage in our film. The other stereotype we have used to do with gender is that males are the stronger and more dominant sex. This is shown as the kidnapper is a man, and he forces the girl into the car boot.

We do not attempt to portray sexuality and race in our film; however age is a big issue. The actors all range between the ages of 16 and 18, therefore not the normal age of a kidnapper, however we believe this works well and should be used my more directors, production companies and casting agencies. It develops a new level of insecurity as someone so young is able to carry out a criminal act such as this. Class in the film is also shown, quite subliminally by the setting and clothing. A dodgy railway line, backing onto an estate suggests a lower class to the characters. This helps create the gritty urban setting and location of London.

One way in which we could have improved the stereotypical representation of social groups is through race and ethnicity. Stereotypical views inform us that a black man is seen as more likely to commit a crime than a white man, therefore if we cast our male kidnapper as a black man this would be fulfilling that stereotype.

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

When researching into different film genres we also looked at the different types of film in terms of production and different media institutions that might distribute our product. There are two main types of film, and these are: mainstream and independent (Art House). Mainstream film are those big budget films mainly of a Hollywood style whereas independent films tend to be low budget and gritty in style, and in this country they are usually British produced. Our film is more of an independent British production than a mainstream Hollywood film. The grittier style of these productions is also influenced by the less expensive Digital Video or DV cameras as the colours are not a bright, leaving a duller and more realistic look.

When looking at the different ways films could be distributed we found out five different ways this were possible. The most obvious one would be cinema, however these can either be major cinema chains such as Vue and Odeon, or they could be independent cinemas such as the Savoy Cinema, situated in Penzance, Cornwall, the oldest cinema in the United Kingdom. Another way of getting our film distributed would be via film festivals, such as Sundance Festival that specialises in independent films. There are more major film festivals, such as in Cannes, Toronto or London. Other ways of distributing that could potentially reach millions of people is through the internet or video sharing websites and video on demand. It is possible to pay to see a film on the internet or it could be uploaded free to a site such as YouTube. Lastly, it may also be possible to get the film put on a Community Television channel or other low budget Television channels, generally on cable television channels. The type of media institution that would distribute our product would probably not be major cinema chains, unless our film became very popular, and it is possible for this to happen. A recent example of this would be the Danny Boyle film Slumdog Millionaire. It would more likely be independent cinemas. However the only way of getting our film to the cinemas is to distribute it and an easy way to gain popularity and recognition is to show it at a film festival.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

After we understood how to distribute our film to audiences around the world and in the closer community we decided to focus on how to target our audience. We looked at this through the planning stage as some of the context we wanted to include may not have been suitable for some audience demographics. The British Board of Film Classification or BBFC decides on an age limit in the form of a certificate to give to the film which is dependant on the content. We decided we wanted our film to be a certificate 15 in order to allow older teenagers and young adults to be able to watch it. This does mean that nobody under the age of 15 would be able to watch the film. However this is not a serious concern for us as our target audience does not include anyone under the age of 15. I would agree that this is a suitable certificate for our film reflecting an honest appraisal as some of the scenes, such as the kidnapping may not be suitable for those younger than 15. One of the ways we constructed our film to make it appeal to our target audience is to use characters of those ages. All of our characters are between the ages of 16 and 18 and so it should therefore be easy for the audience to relate to the characters, adding realism. The results of audience feedback showed that it fitted in with the age group however some minor adjustments, such as the music would make it better, which were made.

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to create a successful film we needed to be able to attract our target audience and gain popularity. We were able to construct our film and make it appeal to our target audience through very useful class discussions and feedback from class members and friends. After addressing the fact that many of our friends were interested in the thriller genre, we developed scenes that we thought would be of interest. An exhilarating kidnapping scene should raise tensions and keep the audience engaged, and it did. Another method we employed to attract our target audience was through the use of character ages. The character that we portrayed we at the same age range compared to our target audience. This is an excellent device to use as it means the audience can easily relate to the characters on-screen. The results from audience feedback on addressing the audience were very positive.

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

Throughout research into the film industry and thriller films in particular, we have learnt about many different technologies such as Digital Video Cameras (DV) and the difference between those and the cameras they use in Hollywood, those of actual film celluloid which creates a different effect. The Hollywood cameras are much brighter, creating a perfect environment and pick up vibrant colours very well. They are used in programmes such as Hollyoaks and American television programmes like Ugly Betty to create a more surreal atmosphere. However the DV cameras are grittier with dull colours, and promote a much more realist approach. In the United Kingdom, these are generally used in soap operas such as EastEnders and Coronation Street thus displaying a more realistic world. Therefore this is why we used DV cameras to capture our film. However the DV cameras we did use were not of the best quality and had built in microphones which did not capture sound very well, and had a lot of feedback. In order to avoid this we used as minimal diegetic sound as possible and as much non-diegetic as long as it suited the clip. Another way of getting around this would have been to use plug-in microphones that would have given a much better quality sound.

Furthermore we also learnt about different editing software, and used iMovie HD, which is non-linear editing software. This is very useful as you can edit a clip without destroying the original so if you make a mistake you can easily fix it, or start form scratch. Editing software such as this was also very easy to use which was helpful. New media technologies have helped us as we have managed to download a copyright free score for our film. Also known as “Royalty Free”, this music can be downloaded from a special website for the purpose of use in our film as we were not allowed copyrighted music. This is the same for sound effects. We have been introduced to the website http://www.blogger.com/ in which we have documented our research and production stages. Further new media technologies have allowed us to upload our finished product onto a Video Sharing Website such as YouTube.

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 the preliminary task, we have realised how much it has helped us progress throughout our main coursework task. We learnt many new techniques that we have applied when filming. We learnt about: the 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and match on action and all of these were useful when positioning the camera in our film, especially the 180 degrees rule; we kept it in mind while filming, especially the bedroom sequence as without this the scene would have not looked right. We have also learnt the importance of organisation and planning and using our time efficiently and different filming techniques such as tracking. However we did encounter a few problems in terms of lighting. As all of our scenes were shot at dark, and we were filming in November, it is crucial not to film too late, before it gets too dark as it is then harder to see the action. However iMovie allowed us to make some scenes brighter. Overall our main task is a massive improvement compared with our preliminary task and the skills we have learnt will help us produce excellent works in the future.

Evaluation

Here is each of our evaluations, here each member of the group has analysed what they think about the film we have produced and whether it is successful and meets our target audience.

Amy Cooper : Media Coursework Foundation Portfolio Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of media products?
The way in which our film is able to use the typical conventions of the thriller genre is firstly by looking at the technical aspects. In our film, we include close up of characters, looking to the photo of the girl. Typical camera movements include tracking where the girl is on the phone to her friend. These are typical conventions of the thriller genre. In terms of editing, we include the graphical match of when we introduce another character. We also use quick cutting to increase the rythym and the pace of when the girl is getting kidnapped, however at the beginning of the film, the editing is slower when we build up to the kidnapping. Our film also includes a flashback to when the girl is kidnapped when we have the screen fading to white and the title screen introducing when the kidnapping had taken place. This idea was taken from the urban thriller film London to Brighton in which we are introduced with a time and location.
In terms of genre and sub genres, we do meet with typical conventions of a thriller genre. Typical style of a thriller and its themes, with a thriller you get the themes of stalking , voyenism and obsessions which is what our film was about about a man who was obsessed and stalked many women. We do not develop or challenge this and therefore it makes our film seem more like a thriller. If we were to challenge this then it would risk it taking away from the thriller genre if we were to challenge this.
And this is the same for characters, we have the male characters as people who are the stalkers and the females as being the damsel in distress. These again are typical to the thriller like historical films such as psycho and therefore, makes it more successful
These are all typical conventions of the thriller and these are the ways that we use the conventions in our film. In our film we do use camera angles in innoative ways, in two sections we have point of view, where the kidnapper is hiding behind the bushes looking at the girl, and the girls point of view when she is placed into the boot and the car door is closed on her. Apart from this, I do not believe that our film challenges or develops any of the typical conventions of the thriller. These typical conventions of thriller do fit in with both historical and contemporary. For example , by looking at historical thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock we see that they have the traditional thriller conventions. More contemporary thrillers would have issues such as terrorists and bomb explosions. By looking at our film, I think that our film fits in more with the historical thriller as we do not challenge or develop any of the thriller conventions such as a contemporary thriller would do. We made sure that the film had stayed within the genre of thriller and not being combined with horror by not adding deatures of extreme gore and violence and zombies which is sub genres and devices used in horror. that are meant to scare or distub the audience. Also soundtrack was an important device, a soundtrack we had used before made it seem more like a horror and from audience feedback, we were able to change it something that was more tense that a thriller would have that left the audience on the edge of their seat.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In terms of gender, we see that the female character is the more weaker and vunreable. And again we don’t challenge or develop this by having a male as the weaker character. In terms of age, we have made our characters in their teenage years and the kidnapper as being older as he drives a car, this makes it seem that the character being kidnapped is more vunereable making it seem like a thriller. In our film, we do not represent any ethnic minorities or token characters as your characters are all white. If we were to make our thriller more contemporary we would have to have a range of characters of different ethnicities. In terms of social status and class, our kidnapper is someone who is seen as low in class and with mental health as he is obsessed. Our girl getting kidnapped represents the vunereable youth and the 2 other male characters represent the criminal type of people in society today. Many of our representations do not challenge our thriller film.

3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why ?
If we were to define our thriller film, our thriller film would be seen as an independent film, due to using school equipment and the overall quality of the film being quite dark giving the film a dark and gritty style. It can be distributed to place that release independent films such as the arthouse and BFI. This could then possibly lead to our film being shown at film festivals such as London and Sundance for our film to gain distribution., however I think that our film would be best suited as something that is shown over the internet and community tv and as due to its low budget and lack in finished quality.

4. Who would the audience be for your media product?
From referring back to our research and planning on out film and film classifications, thrillers were seen as classification of an 18 and 15. In my opinion, I do not feel that our film is a 15 and that is more of 12a, our film does definitely have themes of a thriller and serious issues which is what is within the 12a category. By looking at the context of a 15, it is more serious in the issues delivers as it does have elements of gore and violence. Our film does not really have any violence in but does have serious themes so I felt we could have met up to the classification more for it to meet with the target audience and classification.

5. How did you address your audience ? How did you construct your film to make it appeal to your target audience, what conventions did you specifically include to achieve this ?
In terms of audience, our film was targeted at 16-25 year old's. Conventions that we had specifically included in this was to add characters of young ages within this age group. Also the conventions of stalking and voyeurism is what ‘teen’ thrillers are commonly based around so it makes it more realistic to our audience age group. From the audience feedback we received, we were able to construct our film by making it more clear when our flashback of kidnapping had taken place and we had changed the score that went through our film as it was something more described as being like ‘halloween’ rather than a thriller. We were able to make these changes to make it more successful with our audience.

6. What have you learnt about techniques?
From this coursework, I have learnt many different techniques, firstly using new equipment. These include D.V cameras and tripods. These lacked in quality but gives films or television programmes a sense of realism. In comparison to films that are filmed via celluloid which are programmes such as hollyoaks, this makes it seem an illusion of reality and an idea of perfection.

With the cameras also had sound and microphones but they did lack in quality, we had overcame this problem by having less dialouge in the opening scene allowing for ambient sounds to be heard and for the little dialouge had to be easily heard for the audience. The main editing software that we had used In this project was imovie, a software that comes with the macs. The imovie programe is a none-linear editing software meaning that rushes of film can be cut and pastes over and over again. I think that non-linear editing effects our movie as some parts do not meet with out storyboard. The quick change to her kidnapping , the cutting of it is slighty different as we have added more cuts into that section instead of the boot door just closing on the character to the process of her being forced into the car . Ultimately, this had allowed us in further editing, to further stress that this scene was a flashback as to show she was kidnapped.
It is also through the whole coursework that I have learnt different skills. Firstly blogging, a new way of presenting coursework was definitely a challenge as sometimes, posts would not get published or would be deleted however it was a good way of presenting our groups work.Also using the internet for general research, youtube in terms of video research and again for general research.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progession from it to the full product.
I think from the preliminary task, I feel that I have learnt more about editing and camera shots and angle and where to carefully place a camera. For example the 180 degree rule, this is something that we had made many mistakes in the preliminary task however , made sure in ou full product that this was included. I think in comparison to our main task, the preliminary task is very basic as we were given set things to do such over the shoulder and match on action, in the main task we were able to use more of a variety of shots requiring more thinking over what would work best and also make a good thriller opening. I think that our organisation was more improved and my group definitely became more focussed as we were able to meet deadlines when asked. Problems that we had encountered was with the software, where some scenes would be deleted or the software would go through the process lettering which wasn’t meant to happen.

Film Schedule

Film schedule 

This is the film schedule that we will be using in order to film our film outside of school hours. Beacause we only have the camera for the weekend. It is important that we organise our time and what scenes we are filming.    

Day                              Time                      Scene and location 

Friday 5th                  Night                     Indoors- Daniels bedroom 

December 

Friday 5th                  Night                     Indoors- Tims Kitchen        

December 

Sunday 7th                Day/evening         Outdoors- Drayton Green Park 

December 

Sunday 7th                Day/evening         Outdoors- Railway bridge 

December 

Sunday 7th                Day/evening         Outdoors- Railway bridge  

December 

Script Version 1

Here is a draft version of our script for our film "Obsession".

We will revise this and improve it as much as posible.

Our Synopsis

Here is a draft of our synopsis:

Be careful who your friends are...

Lucy, an innocent, life-loving girl on a simple walk home is unexpectidly kidnapped and placed in the boot of a car where she is driven by one of three men , who is  obsessed with her and needed her as a possession. Is she still alive after everything that happens and who has taken her? The desperate struggle of family and police looking for their missing daughter becomes a long and painful ordeal but is the way to finding their daughter easier than what it seems?