Evaluation

Evaluation1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?Influence: The main influence to our media product was Alfred Hitchcock. We tried to incorporate parts of his work into ours and use his conventions and ideas to make our film as best as it could be. He is one of the most famous and influential directors of all time and has many unique ideas on how to direct a good quality film.

Hitchcock:Blondes make the best victims We have used this theory of Hitchcocks in our film as the male main character is blonde however typically, audiences would believe the woman to be the victim but we have subverted this common idea and made the man the victim so we do not reveal the truth and we deceive the audience.

- There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it Hitchcock believed that it isnt the explosion but the suspense created before it. We used this quote to help direct our film by creating tense situations that lead to an anti-climax. We do this to keep the audience engaged as they believe something dramatic/traumatic is about to happen when in fact it is not. In our film this is done by using shot of the two characters sitting cross a table like one used in Hitchcocks film Psycho. This shot along with no sound creates an apprehensive atmosphere as the shot lingers with nothing happening leaving the audience to predict something that isnt actually going to happen.

- Sound is silence We have used minimal speech in our film which heightens the tension as the audience are left in the dark about what is happening and are unsure of the characters thoughts and feelings.

- Music cannot stand apart from the movie We create suspension to fit the genre of a thriller with our use of apprehensive, eerie music and quick, sharp sounds that will make our audience jump when fit with the action of the film as the audience will not be expecting it.

Other influential directorsDarren Aronofsky:One of Aronofskys signature filming techniques is using extremely tight close ups to create a feeling of isolation. In his film Black Swan he uses this technique a lot to show facial expressions and produce emotion. We incorporated this skill into our film with the extreme close up of Courtneys eyes and the kettle boiling. We did this to generate a sense of annoyance and build up of stress and anger as the steam from the kettle symbolises the rage escaping from her.

Steven Spielberg:Spielberg uses many great shots in his films, a common one being the dramatic over-the-shoulder shot. Spielberg tends to use this to imply dominance of the protagonist however, we oppose this and use it to create a sense of defeat and loneliness of the female character and also show the significance of the cross in the church symbolising the death of her husband.

This type of shot is used in Spielbergs film Saving Private Ryan and does exactly what he intended it to do. Tom Hanks, as the main character, is shown to be looking vulnerable compared to the protagonist in front of the camera who is looking down on him exerting power.

In our questionnaire we asked what people usually like to see in a thriller film:Conventions - Mise en sceneWe found that people tend to enjoy thriller films set in mysterious locations like forests, prisons or dungeons. We challenge this typical convention of a thriller and made our set location an ordinary house to misinform the audience so they think nothing will happen in the house. However, we did film half of the sequence in a church. A church could suggest a burial or funeral being held so this location would reveal that a death has occurred. In the sense of using death as a component of our film I feel this makes the location of the ordinary house more mysterious and the plot helps the environment seem more thriller like. Props we use also illustrate signs of death and possibly the cause of death for example a knife is used in the kitchen along with a boiling kettle/boiling water.

In our questionnaire we also asked what was the best mental issue for the protagonist to have. The feedback we got was to use paranoia as the main issue as our audience feedback from the questionnaire suggested it was the best issue to play with and that we could easily film it and make it abundantly clear the woman is suffering from it. We show the issue of paranoia in little ways to begin with like in the church when Courtney (the female character) rocks back and fourth in the church. However, in the rest of the film this would come out and become a serious issue. The behaviours of the female character in our film are much like those of Norman Bates from Hitchcocks Psycho which shows the outcoming issue and a possible crime being committed.

- Lighting The lighting of our film is typical of a thriller as we use dull natural light as it is all filmed in the day time. The establishing shots we have use at the beginning of the sequence set the scene with a grey sky which shows the bad weather in which the film is set which creates a tense temperament. The use of pathetic fallacy and the dim lighting is a typical thriller convention and creates the impression of potential danger or threat.We have also used other types of lighting for example we changed the lighting of the flashbacks in our film and made them black and white to represent a different time zone; a memory. This means it is easier for the audience to differentiate between the present and past. Black and white colours also portray a sinister effect as it shows a dark side to the film.

- SoundSound is important in a thriller as it creates a base for the film. I took control in getting the sound files to put in our film and I got them all from SoundBible.comClassic sounds in a thriller are usually high pitched, screams or tense jumpy music. It is normally used to make the audience uncomfortable and get them on edge.Steven Spielbergs Jaws uses suspense music which is now widely known and used when producing a suspenseful atmosphere. The sounds in our film include crows, wind, and a whistling kettle all alongside a piece of classical music to generate a tense ambiance.We also used an abrupt suspense clip to create trepidation and make the audience uneasy.

http://soundbible.com/1887-2-Crows-Calling.html http://soundbible.com/1247-Wind.htmlhttp://soundbible.com/1708-Kettle-Whistle.html

http://soundbible.com/ 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?Clothing: The clothing we have used is simplistic. We used a white robe for the female main character (played by Courtney) and a black suit for the male main character (played by Lewis). These symbolise a contrast in the characters but not in a way you may think. The white would typically symbolise innocence and purity whereas the black would symbolise evil but we have done this the opposite way around to throw off the audiences predictions. The black suit represents the characters being adults as it presents the male as being a businessman. The clothing choices were aimed at our audience of teenagers/young adults so they could possibly empathise with the characters.

Speech: We have very little dialogue in the opening sequence of our film but what we have is from the female character. She tells the male to Leave it in a stern manner which represents a kind of mother or parent like impression. This further links to our young adult audience as it shows a young adult couple and it clearly shows some tension between the two characters.

Behaviour: The behaviour of the characters seems normal at the start but at things progress, the woman's shaky/snappy actions shows something is wrong. We use this to represent adult like behaviours as they are shown to be arguing like a typical couple.

Music The music we have used in our film does not represent any particular social group as that is not what we intended to do. Our music is just to fit the thriller genre and create a disconcerting atmosphere.Actors We have used two young adults to represent this particular age group who are young and starting off their new lives. They represent the vulnerability of this age group.

Similar films

Shutter Island Our film could be seen as similar to Shutter Island (directed by Martin Scorsese) as they both include flashbacks which reveal main aspects of the film. The flashbacks are of the main character holding on to the past which is used in our film too. The films are similar as they are both from the psychological genre.. This means they are alike in the sense that they have twists and the audience are deceived. We looked at this film in class and we thought it would be good to incorporate a psychological issue into our film.Psycho Our film is most like the film Psycho (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) as it uses many of the same techniques. Like Norman Bates, the main protagonist in our film suffers from a mental health issue which centres the main plot of the film. We use this as our key issue in the film to represent people with mental health issues and intend to send out educational messages about the sorts of things it can do to people. Similar to Hitchcock, in our film we use little sound as this creates a sense of great tension which we want as a base in the atmosphere.

The Silence Of The Lambs Again, similar to our film, Silence of The Lambs uses psychological manipulation to build their story. This film represents how psychological problems can create huge menace and disruption. We use death as a prop like Silence of The Lambs however unlike this film we do not do it in a sadistic or sexualised way.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?After researching different institutions and companies I think the most appropriate would be a small Independent company like Film 4 that would distribute our film. They have a tendency to show small films repeatedly, making them popular which would be good as young new film makers to start getting our film promoted into the film industry. Film 4 is also an appropriate company to help us reach our target audience as it is mainly aimed at teenagers/young adults.Film4 is a British film production company owned by Channel Four that shows many films, mainly thrillers aimed at and are suitable for teenagers. http://www.film4.com/

Cinemas and advertisementI would release our film Vengeance in multiplex cinemas such as Odeon, Vue and Cineworld as they are well known. Even though my film is small, by promoting it in independent UK cinemas I should be able to maintain enough money to gradually get it released internationally in different countries making the name of the film well known and popular. To advertise our film, I will use posters, radio, TV adverts and standees. This will encourage the public to find out more about the film and make them want to see it. I will show adverts on TV and radio about a month before the release date in cinemas so that audiences will know where and when they can see it. However the main form of advertisement will be on social media as we live in a media centred society. Social media is also used most commonly by teenagers which will further help us target our preferred audience.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?The certificate for our film will be 15 and we are targeting young adults/teenagers; primarily 15-25 year olds.ViolenceThere is no strong violence in the opening sequence of our thriller however if the rest of the film had been shown, there would be strong violence in the portrayal of the husbands death and the film will show how he is killed. We have not shown any violence in the opening as we have tried to keep it very mysterious and covert and not give much away to the audience. We did this to engage the audience and make them wonder what is happening so they have to go on and watch the rest of the film. Strong violence is allowed in a certificate 15 film as long as it is not used in a sadistic way.

Strong languageSome strong language is used throughout the film, although only once in the opening two minutes which abides by the BBFC guidelines for a certificate 15 film. HorrorAt 15 there can be strong threat and horror as long as there is no sustained focus on sadistic or sexualised threat. We have not used any horror in the opening either however in the main body of the film horror and gore will be used to show the death of the husband.

Questionnaire resultsThe questionnaire was used to gather information about how we could make our media product adhere to the general conventions of a thriller and make it the best it could be. It was also used to help gain knowledge on how to target our primary audience effectively.When analysing the results it became clear that the majority of people asked were female which could have given us biased results on typical female views on thriller films. However it is also helpful that most of the results were from females as this is who we were primarily intending on targeting therefore we now have knowledge on what our target audience may like to see in our film. To get feedback I posted the questionnaire on social media including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?ChoiceAs a group we know the two of our actors quite well. We chose to use Courtney for the female as she is confident and we knew she would take on the role of being a bossy and disruptive female well. Our choice of actors helped to attract our audience as they could fit into character effectively so that the audience could empathise in their situation.ShotsWe used quick abrupt shots to keep our audience engaged with our film for example, we use a quick shot of the knife being stabbed in the butter which is unexpected and keeps the audience on edge as they conjure up some question like whether the male died through being stabbed. Another quick shot we use is at the end of the films opening sequence where the candle is blown out. This is effective and keeps the audience interested as it seems like it is the end but they want to know what is going to happen to the characters. We leave the film on a cliff hanger in our first two minutes so they have to watch the rest of the film.TitleWe named our film Vengeance which creates a sense of mystery to entice the audience and make people wonder what the film could be about. It reveals a possible plot of revenge which from our questionnaire we found to be a good twist.Audience feedbackFrom our questionnaire we found out ways to attract our target audience. We found ways to advertise using social media and YouTube and we found out what our audience (teenagers) wanted to see. This included gore, horror and a twist to send the audience off track. They told us that they like experiencing a thrill so having a twist will make them unaware and unsure of what is to come. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?In the making of our film I have learnt a range of techniques including camera shots and angles to create different effects, using the camera and tripod and using editing tools to complete the filming process.

Shots Close up shows feelings and intense emotionDramatic over the shoulder shot makes the character in the foreground seem powerful and dominantPanning shot to establish a setting or follow a character

- These are all incorporated into our film for effect and to help each shot flow fluently. Tripod and editing toolsBefore the filming process I did not know how to use the camera or tripod. I have learnt how to set the camera and tripod up and connect the camera to the computer. I had not done any filming before so was new to the camera and shooting techniques.

The editing software I had never used before seemed difficult to use at first but was very easy to pick up. I learnt what software to use to edit our film and learnt how to cut and edit shots. We changed the lighting and setting of some shots to complete our film and make it more effective in the thriller genre. 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?I feel that I have learnt a lot since making the preliminary task. When I first started the course I knew very little about how to film and edit. In spite of this, I now feel confident in my work and the development of my skills. In the preliminary task we did not use a variety of different shots for effect and it was not as good as I thought at the time considering my final product. In the full product I feel my skills were put out however not to my full potential as some small details were left out such as some sounds were not put in as there was no time left to do so. FilmingDuring filming we experienced a few problems which set us back but we overcame these quickly. For instance, the first time we went to film in the church, the tripod we took with us was broken so therefore we couldnt use it. This meant our shots were too wobbly and we decided to re-film some parts a different day. The battery on the camera was also low and they run out quickly so we had to rush some shots meaning a few of them we had to redo as they werent as good quality as we believed they could be.We have however kept one establishing shot of the church which we took without a tripod which is a bit shaky however we felt it fit well with the atmosphere of the film and so it was a good thing to keep. I had to also get used to shooting multiple different shots and not one continuous one which I had previously done in the preliminary task. Therefore I feel I have progressed well since starting the course and filming the preliminary task as my skills have developed and my filming and final product has turned out a lot better than I thought I could ever do.

EditingEach of us in the group helped in each aspect of the editing process; sound, cutting shots, and changing the lighting etc. At first I didnt know how to use the editing software Adobe Premiere Elements at all but throughout the process I learnt how to cut shots, change the lighting on shots and how to add sound files to the film. I found it difficult at first but I soon got the hang of it and was able to make the shots flow neatly.We had trouble adding the sound files as they would not upload to the computer from my email so we had to find a way that they could be shared and put onto the film.