Media Evaluation Task
1.
In
what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
In order to establish some conventions and forms are used
in the opening titles of thriller films, I
deconstructed some real thriller films in order to help me create my thriller
film.
Here is my thriller film: Play
film
Here is a similar thriller film: The last house on the
left (2009) (play film)
(Click)
Through looking at thriller films I found out that the
main location was very important as tension and suspense could easily be built
if the location was especially eerie and scary such as a forest. Used both in
Dangerous Intentions and The last house on the Left.
The story line to our film also is similar to other
thriller films that I deconstructed as I found that a consistent convention of
thriller films is that there is usually a vulnerable young character who is
trying to escape from someone/ something that draws the audience in as they sympathize with the main character.
Our character is introduced immediately through a
dangerous situation as she is running away for something that is unknown to the
audience. The use of this character introduction sets the scene and starts off
the storyline whilst creating a thrilling atmosphere as the audience are
un-nerved by the fact that it is not clear what is going on. The fact that our
main character is running increases the tempo of our opening sequence that is
the same as many other thriller films. I found out these conventions from my
target audience focus group.
The use of our costume and props also set the scene and
follow conventions of real media products as I used the costume choice for our
main character to help introduce the story as the choice of costume gives the
audience some more information about our character and her current thrilling
situation. My use of the bright eye makeup, formal dress and shoes made it
clear what time period my film was set in as well as helping with the
characterisation of Jennifer my main character.
My choice in camerawork also complied with the forms of
real media productions as I chose to chop and change between lots of
contrasting shots in order to add a thriller feel as shown in my video clip of
The Last house on the Left. Both media footage also used extreme close ups to
make the audience sympathise with the main characters and grasp the attention
of my target audience. The use of these extreme close ups grip the audience as they develop a relationship between Jennifer my main character.
I also believe that my finish media sound track and sound
effects follow the conventions of thriller sound tracks as my soundtrack is
made up of lots of overlapping clips that all create tension and a thriller
feel by climaxing and anti-climaxing in order to create a thrilling feel.
I know that I followed many of the conventions that are
used within real media products to create a professional look about my product
from the comments made by my target audience. (Fi clip)
(Click)
2.
How
does your media product represent particular social groups?
(Click)
(Click)
Before I started my film production I looked at other
thriller films such as The hunger games, (Click) The house at the end of the
street (Click) and The last house on the left (Click) to see how different social
groups are represented in thriller films.
It was clear from this research that the main character/
characters (the victim) of thriller films are always attractive, young white
females.
In the British and American film industry stereotypes are
used frequently as the victims in thriller films always have white British
females as their victims and foreign males as their attackers. This is because
England is mainly made up of white British people and as I found out from my
target audience that they said that they would find it easier to relate to
someone who is from the same/ similar ethnic minority as them. I decided to
follow the stereotypes of main actresses in thriller films to make my opening
sequence look similar to professional real products.
The roles of women within thriller films also interested
me by the fact that within thriller films it is expected that the most
vulnerable innocent person would be a female who is victimised by a male. This
is not the case however in the Hunger games where the main actress is a strong
female, however the story line is not a conventional kidnapping/ intrusion like
other thriller films.
(Click)
3.
What
kind of media institute would distribute your product and why? (Click)
Lionsgate are one of the most successful independent
distribution companies in the world however they have a reputation for
releasing controversial horror films such as (Click)‘American psycho’ and ‘Saw’.
Because my film is a low budget horror film that
(Click) won’t attract a big crowds, Lionsgate would not be the right institution for my
product.
(Click)Artificial Eye is a mainly British based film distributor
who has released the films:(Click) ‘We need to talk about kevin (2011)’ and ‘Fish tank
(2009)’. (Click) The fact that this company releases low budget British films makes my
product suitable to be released by this company however Artificial eye doesn’t
really distribute many thriller films and also due to the small niche nature of
the business, our film would not be fully distributed to its full potential.
This is why Artificial Eye would not be suitable for my film.
(Click)Momentum pictures (also known as Momentus) is one of the
leading independent motion picture distributors in the Uk and Ireland who
release around 20 theatrical films a year. Some films that Momentum have
produced that are similar to my thriller films such as(Click) House at the end of the
street (2012), Head hunters (2011), The girl with the dragon tattoo (2011). (Click)
I believe that momentum pictures would be the best
institute to distribute my product as they have released similar films as to
mine and due to the size of the company, my media product will be distributed
across the UK and Ireland.
(Click)
4.
Who
would be the audience for your audience?
(Click)
(Click)
Watch voki
(Click)
5.
How
did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my target audience through the use of mise – en – scene as I found from my deconstructions that the main characters in British/Hollywood thriller films always use stereotypically innocent and vulnerable young white females. The use of a stereotypical character attracts our audience as I felt that by having a character that was the same as one half of our target audience (female half) as I was told by my target audience that my main character should be a young white female that they could relate to.
I also attracted my target audience by using extensive dramatic effects and sudden movement camera shots. The action and mystery always kept to the original theme/genre therefore the audience would be attracted to that. I also used dramatic music to enhance the tension and the thrill which made sure the audience’s attention was kept and maintained throughout the piece.
I attracted my target audience through the use of mise – en – scene as I found from my deconstructions that the main characters in British/Hollywood thriller films always use stereotypically innocent and vulnerable young white females. The use of a stereotypical character attracts our audience as I felt that by having a character that was the same as one half of our target audience (female half) as I was told by my target audience that my main character should be a young white female that they could relate to.
I also attracted my target audience by using extensive dramatic effects and sudden movement camera shots. The action and mystery always kept to the original theme/genre therefore the audience would be attracted to that. I also used dramatic music to enhance the tension and the thrill which made sure the audience’s attention was kept and maintained throughout the piece.
(Click)
6. What have you learned about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?
(Click)
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I used a digital HD video camera. This allowed me to record the desired shots in a high quality allowing the editing process to be vastly faster and this also increased the viewing pleasure.
I also used a tripod to make my shots steady and fixed. This also made my overall film look more professional that i would look without a tripod.
Next I used a scanner, this allowed me to get all of my written story board onto my blog for the examiner to see and mark. This proved extremely easy to use and saved a lot of time as it meant that my ideas for my storyboard could easily be put onto my blog.
I also experimented with using a dolly to get panning shots. These shots i wanted to include to vary the shots that i used in my production as well as increasing my filming skills.
I used a program called timetoast.com to show on my blog when i had completed a task. This site helped me plan when i was expecting to complete a task and helped me plan what i still needed to do when i was making my opening sequence.
The use of YouTube meant that i could watch opening sequences to thriller films that were similar to mine in order to find out the conventions and techniques that are commonly found in thriller films. The use of you tube also helped me as i researched into stage make up that helped me prepare for Jennifer's make up. I also used YouTube to upload films onto my blog.
I also used a tripod to make my shots steady and fixed. This also made my overall film look more professional that i would look without a tripod.
Next I used a scanner, this allowed me to get all of my written story board onto my blog for the examiner to see and mark. This proved extremely easy to use and saved a lot of time as it meant that my ideas for my storyboard could easily be put onto my blog.
I also experimented with using a dolly to get panning shots. These shots i wanted to include to vary the shots that i used in my production as well as increasing my filming skills.
I used a program called timetoast.com to show on my blog when i had completed a task. This site helped me plan when i was expecting to complete a task and helped me plan what i still needed to do when i was making my opening sequence.
The use of YouTube meant that i could watch opening sequences to thriller films that were similar to mine in order to find out the conventions and techniques that are commonly found in thriller films. The use of you tube also helped me as i researched into stage make up that helped me prepare for Jennifer's make up. I also used YouTube to upload films onto my blog.
(Click)
For my sound editing and when i was rough cutting the shots to our film i used Adobe Premier Pro. A program that i had never used before but managed to pick up quickly. With this program i was able to download tracks that i then rearanged to make my soundtrack. Adobe Premiere pro also enabled me to cut sound clips down and layer lots of tracks together with the help of a smoothing tool that made the track flow. i used the tempo tool to speed up the breathing and the pitch tool to make the breathing feel more harsh and thrilling.
(Click)
I used blogger to create a blog where all my work could be uploaded to. I have not used blogger before but found that it was easy to use and meant that i could create a blog that was clear and smart.
I have also used a site called fraps that i have used in this presentation. This site allowed me to film the video of Last house on the Left that was playing on my computer.
I have also Voki within this presentation that has allowed me to increase my IT skills and present my target audience in a different way.
Lastly i have used power point to make this presentation because it is simple and easy to use.
(Click)
For my sound editing and when i was rough cutting the shots to our film i used Adobe Premier Pro. A program that i had never used before but managed to pick up quickly. With this program i was able to download tracks that i then rearanged to make my soundtrack. Adobe Premiere pro also enabled me to cut sound clips down and layer lots of tracks together with the help of a smoothing tool that made the track flow. i used the tempo tool to speed up the breathing and the pitch tool to make the breathing feel more harsh and thrilling.
(Click)
I used blogger to create a blog where all my work could be uploaded to. I have not used blogger before but found that it was easy to use and meant that i could create a blog that was clear and smart.
I have also used a site called fraps that i have used in this presentation. This site allowed me to film the video of Last house on the Left that was playing on my computer.
I have also Voki within this presentation that has allowed me to increase my IT skills and present my target audience in a different way.
Lastly i have used power point to make this presentation because it is simple and easy to use.
(Click)
7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the
continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to full?
(Click)
From doing both my preliminary task and this task, i have learnt lots of skills and conventions of real media products. i have leant how important elements like costume and location are in making my media production look professional as well as how certain camera angles are used within films to create status and personality differences between characters. For example: Low angle shots are used to make a character look as if they have high status and make the audience feel intimidated while high angle shots are used to make a character look powerless and vunerable. Camera techniques such as these meant that i thought about what camera angles i wanted to include in my film to give a certain effect on the audience. The progress between my preliminary task and my opening sequence task had taught me to use camera angles, costume and location to create and add to the films genre atmosphere.
I also have learnt that music is used to enhance atmosphere and that this technique is also another way of attracting my target audience.
(Click)
From doing both my preliminary task and this task, i have learnt lots of skills and conventions of real media products. i have leant how important elements like costume and location are in making my media production look professional as well as how certain camera angles are used within films to create status and personality differences between characters. For example: Low angle shots are used to make a character look as if they have high status and make the audience feel intimidated while high angle shots are used to make a character look powerless and vunerable. Camera techniques such as these meant that i thought about what camera angles i wanted to include in my film to give a certain effect on the audience. The progress between my preliminary task and my opening sequence task had taught me to use camera angles, costume and location to create and add to the films genre atmosphere.
I also have learnt that music is used to enhance atmosphere and that this technique is also another way of attracting my target audience.
