Evaluation

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

1. In our opening sequence we used a variety of techniques to help establish characterization, setting, genre, visual appearance and ideology.

The opening scene starts off with the door slowly opening, revealing a tied up body on the bed, in the plain room with bed sheets around her. This establishes the setting straight away, giving the viewer the impression the girl has been captured and has been forced to be where she is. We establish that she is in a house by the bedroom and the bed however we are fully reassured of this towards the end of sequence when the camera slowly pans the outside of the house, revealing the plaque on the wall reading “337”.
The characters are established well in the sequence from the first camera angle, slowly travelling towards the girls face, making the viewer see that she has the blood and bruises on her face. When filming, the girl has her eyes closed making her seem oblivious and vulnerable to what was going on and what could happen. This technique makes the viewer on edge and unsure about what is going to happen next.
The subtle use of mise-en-scene throughout the scene contributes towards establishing the genre. For example things such as the cuts and blood on the characters face, the ripped dress and the tied up hands and feet automatically suggests that the genre is horror or torture however the longer the sequence goes on, the viewer would realize the extent of it and therefore falls under the same category as films such as Hostel .


2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I feel that our media would be aimed at horror film lovers however it can interest the older and the younger generation as all ages could enjoy something like this. We used Amy Thorburn because of her innocent and attractive looks, with blonde hair, blue eyes she fitted the character perfectly, following the use of a vulnerable teenage girl, like they use in other genres like ‘Splatter’ films. We put her in a white dress to also help portray and innocent female victim, making her seem weak and vulnerable to the viewer. Girls are seen as the weaker sex therefore if we used a male character, performing a similar role, we felt it would not give the same effect and it in a strange way could be seen as humorous. I also think using a female as the main role, is powerful and effective as these things happen to woman in the real world therefore could leave a big impact on certain viewers. The camera angles such as low angle shot help portray her as hurt or under stress, making it intense or uneasy for the viewer to watch it, seeing as she’s young and innocent.

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

As we have made a very low Budget, independent British film, the complete opposite to a Hollywood blockbuster, I think the a media industry which may distribute a film like ours would be Film4. Film4 is a film channel showing films which range from millions of pound, award winning movies, to low budget British films which they have sponsored themselves. Films such as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was broadcasted on Film4, making a huge success and a number of winning awards, therefore I am confident to say that film4 would be a good institution to distribute our media clip.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our target audience for our clip would be aimed at people who like to watch torture, horror, splatter like films however it is not particularly aimed at a certain group of people. It is aimed at males and females and ages of 15+. We gave it a 15+ rating because of the use of swearing and the overall violent nature of the film. Both genders would enjoy watching a torture film like this however you could say it could be aimed at men more than woman, due to the use of blood and gore but also how the young teenage girl is portrayed as a sex object, and is seem as young and innocent. I think that people who would enjoy watching our film, wouldn’t mind blood and gore however I think it messes with the viewers mind more than anything, as you see the girl struggling, making an impact on the viewer and making you want to help her set herself free from the killer. I researched into the horror guidelines on the BBFC website and they believe that;
‘The use of frightening elements which might scare or unsettle an audience is part of a long tradition of storytelling and film making. Older audiences often pay to see horror films because they like being frightened or shocked and such works are classified at an appropriate category to ensure that the young and vulnerable are protected from too intense an experience.’
They also believe that;
· strong language is not permitted in trailers or advertisements at any category below ‘15’
· only one use of strong language is permitted in a trailer or advertisement at ‘15’ a must be neither threatening nor aggressive

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

To address our audience, we posted our media on Facebook, to see what sort of feedback we get and if it had achieved what we aimed to do. It was also a good way to let all ages have a look and see what they thought as Facebook has a range of all different types of people and ages. The response we received was very positive, with people telling us that it was “fucking disturbing!” and it was quite powerful when you watch it on your own with nothing to distract you. This is what we aimed to achieve as we wanted the viewer to feel uncomfortable or uneasy, with not only watching the girl struggling but also the way she portrays sex. The question which was mainly asked was the sound and if we would have music being played over the top. Our answer was no, because we thought that the use of her heavy breathing, erratic swearing and the metal weapons bashing together, made the clip seem even more gritty, drawing the reader in, making them feel uneasy.

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

Whilst producing our piece of work, I have learnt a lot about modern technology in media. These things include using the video camera with a tripod or using it handheld, creating different shots and how steady they are. Taking snapshots on the video camera or our mobile phones of the scene, establishing what is going on, where it is set and what the characters and props look like. Editing was a big way of learning about modern technologies, as we edited our work on the schools Movie Maker Software. This program was quite easy to use with loads of different tricks to help bring your film together, adding sound, credits and merging shots together. The internet was also a useful source to use when I researched my films, as it helped me get information about the film makers, explaining the different genres, providing images and different reviews along with what I’m talking about. We also used Facebook to help get people responses and feedback on our media which was also very useful.

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

Looking back I feel that we gained a lot from the preliminary task, learning how to use the video camera and the tripod, basic editing skills on the schools software and using non-digetic sound over the clip. We learnt a lot from planning and how if everything is planned out on storyboards, explaining the shots and how you would go about doing everything, it was a very simple process which can be done if following the plan. For our main task, there wasn’t much editing to do compared to some groups as our shots fitted together perfectly, all we needed to do was tweak parts here and there and make a “CCTV” shot, changing the color and putting a time and date onto the shot. When we filmed the preliminary we did simple, easy shots, flowing one after the other whereas in the main project we used more complicated shots, but we couldn’t do it without using the prelim as a practice run. We used more complicated camera angles and had more knowledge of the software when making the media therefore I feel that we have a larger scale of knowledge now then what I did before.

Filming and Editing!

Research for Opening Sequence

After making the preliminary task, it is now time to talk about the final sequence.... "Produce a two minute opening sequence of a film to a genre of your choice"

Originaly we chose to do the genre 'Vampire' however after the all the plotting, filming and editing we felt that it wasnt right and we wanted to make large improvements, therefore we chose to scrap the idea completely and start over fresh with new ideas. Coming up with a new genre was not difficult for us to decide on as we had a few favourites when chosing the final idea. Sticking with the theme horror/thriller, it was like a blank canvas to work on therefore we could go from many directions from there on and work with the different ideas that we came up with, seeing how they fit together and if they are good enough to produce a high quality peice of work. After researching into the different genres such as "torture porn" and "splatter films" we wanted to interpret our own feel to this without being to cliche and using a predictable plot. As a group of girls chosing this genre may seem quite unusual as it is mainly men which tend to make these type of films, however we feel we have some good ideas and we can really get stuck in to what we have planned.

I think its now time to talk about location/props/sound/characters we will use for our opening sequence.

Location
For the locatin we wanted to chose somewhere which was dull,plain, like a non-decorated room, without giving away any sort of information where the victim wakes up and how they have got there. We thought of shooting the scene in somewhere like a shed to fit the earry feel to the story however we felt there wouldnt be enough room to shoot the scenes and a plain room and a bed would follow the theme " torture porn" as it could straight away make the veiwer think of sex. Considering all these things, we chose to use Gemmas dads house and her room, removing all the wall hangings, decorations, covering up furniture like chest of drawers with white sheets and stripping the bed down to the mattress, therefore making the room feel as if it is deserted. Using gemmas dads house is how we came up with the title to our film " 337" as it is simple and effective and we felt that if we made the sequence with a big impact on the veiwer, the short, punchy title would speak for itself.



Actress


The actress we have chosen to use in our film is the beautiful, one and only Amy Thorburn. We chose her as she did amazingly in the preliminary task, we knew she would be able to get right into character with our ideas for the real sequence, and giving 100% per cent.



Characters
For our sequence we will have two characters, the victim and the killer. However the killer will not be revealed in the sequence, leaving it to the veiwers mind. We have chosen to use Amy Thorburn as the victim as she did brilliantly in our preliminary, we knew she would be amazing in this, giving 100% and totally getting into character.
As we are following the theme sex and torture, we wanted Amy to act the vulnerable victim, looking as if she has been abused and abducted. We wanted to use a young, attractive girl as the main character as it appeals to a large audience and goes with the theme 'sex'.

Many films do this such as 'Hostel and Hills have Eyes' as women are seen as the weaker gender therefore a male killer is always seen as the powerful one. It also appeals to the veiwer( mainly men ) as women can be seen as sex objects therefore a woman being tortured or looking as if she has been, can be seen as being sexy.



Costumes/Make-up
For the costumes and make-up, we used a white dress, ripped it up and rubbed dirt and fake blood into it, making it look realistic and fitting the role of her character. We did the same to amys face, using make up and fake blood to create bruises and cuts around her eyes, lips and nose, showing she has been hurt. I think this looked realistic as we didnt over-do it and kept it quite simple, yet effective. We ripped the dress around Amys chest to make it seem as if she was struggling or fighting to get away from her attacker.



Props

We used quite alot of props when filming,

using white sheets to cover the furniture in the room but the main things we focused on was the weapons and tool inside the room. We took hammers, knives, a saw and whatever could get our hands on and covered them in fake blood, rubbing dirt onto them, making them seem as if they have been used on her. We laid these on a white sheet, making the colour of the red blood stand out more on film and make it seems even more scary.

Lighting

The room we filmed in was painted light and because we filmed in the daytime, the natural sunlight was all we used for lighting and i think it made the scene look even more eary as this was happening in the daytime, taking a different approach to the predictable torture films out there, filming at nighttime,(as darkness is seen as being scary). At the beggining of the scene, you can see the sunlight shining through, hitting the victims face, giving an earyness to the scene. This is done having the curtains pulled and when she sets herself free from the ropes, she draws the curtains letting the natural sunlight hit the room, revealing the bloody handprints on the window and the strong colour of red.

Dialogue

For the dialgue we decided to 'go with the flow', trusting amys instincts to act and let her do what she felt was right. We gave her a rough idea, keeping the grittyness we wanted to her to swear and shout " You Fucker!", to make it seem as if she was losing her mind slightly and to shock the veiwer. My favourite speech is towards the end, letting Amy do what she felt was right, dropping her weapon and mentally giving up, directing her speech towards the camera, as if the veiwer was the killer, coming towards its victim.

Risk Assessment

Before we began filming we had to think about all the risks that could possibly happen. For example we didnt need to worry about risks such as fire or electricity however our main focus was the use of sharp objects and handling them.Throughout the scene the victim eratically grabs a weapon from the side therefore we needed to consider her being very careful when touching the ovjects however making it seem relastic aswell without holding back. To be extra safe, we had a first aid kit near us when filming to make sure we were on point if anything were to go wrong and we could of adressed the problem quickly and safely.

Another risk we had to consider when filming was the shot which was filmed from outside of the victim banging on the window on the inside. To get this shot, Gemma had to lean out the window whilst steadily holding the camera and then me and chloe held onto gemmas legs making sure she was safe and was not at risk of falling out the window.

Research!

After finishing our priliminary task we are starting to focus on researching into making the real film and what ideas we have come up with. Here is a quick spider diagram of my group brainstorming and exploring the different themes and ideas we could use such as the genre 'thriller.'

Slasher film is a sub-genre of the horror film genre typically involving a psycopathic killer stalking, and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a chainsaw or scythe. Although the term "slasher" may be used as a generic term for any horror movie involving graphic acts of murder, the slasher as a genre has its own set of characteristics which set it apart from related genres like the splatter film.

Splatter Film is the genre focusing on the graphic violence and gore within a film. With the use of effects, this genre tends to concentrate on the vulnerability of the human body and the way it can be dramatically mutilated on screen. The combination of torcher and sex has been two most popular genres therefore many films have been labelled 'Torcher Porn" or 'Gorno'. (Using the film maker Eli Roth as a big example, as he created this genre, with his well known film Hostel).

Common characteristics include:
The Killer—With notable exceptions, the killer in the slasher film is usually male. His identity is often, but not always, unknown and/or concealed either by a mask or by creative lighting and camera work. He is often mute and seemingly unstoppable, able to withstand stabbings, falls and shootings by his victims. His background sometimes includes a childhood trauma that explains his choice of victim, weapon and location (the killer can be made out to be pitiable or understood). Slasher villains tend to prefer hand held weapons such as knives, axes, hatchetes, and chainsaws as opposed to bombs or guns.
The Victims—The victims tend to be young, attractive, high school or college-aged adolescents. Much has been made about the choice of victims. Some theorists claim that they young people are punished for indulging in vices such as pre-marital sex or drugs. Other theorists claim that is simply a matter of the activities making the victims unaware of their surroundings, making them easy prey for the killer.

Final Girl—Slasher films frequently only have a single survivor. She is frequently a female peer of the victims but is cinematically developed in comparison to his or her cohorts. She frequently doesn't indulge in the illicit activities of her friends. The heroine is also known as the final girl because by the end of the movie, all of her friends are dead, and she's left alone to deal with the killer. Certain movies do deviate from this in favour of having a final boy who tends to be morally suspect.
The Violence—One thing that separates slashers from thrillers and murder mysteries is the level of violence. Slashers de-emphasize plot and character development in favor of violence and terror. Plots are constructed around giving the audience the experience of watching the killer murders. The deaths are often violent and graphic, with originality being valued in the later films to hold audience interest.

Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor He is part of the group of filmmakers dubbed the 'Splat Pack' because of their association and their focus on the horror genre. Roth is known for making violent, low-budget horror films that are box office hits worldwide.In January 2006, film critic David Edelstein in New York Magazine credited Roth with creating the horror sub-genre 'torture porn,' or 'gorno,' using excessive violence to excite audiences like a sexual act. Roth has said he hates the term, and feels it is far more reflective of the critics who use it and their lack of understanding of the genre than of the films themselves.

Hostel Part I, II is a 2005 horror film, written and directed and produced by Eli Roth. The films both follows the story of backpackers falling into a trap and find themselves being bid on a auction website of a company called "Elite Hunting". The website lets people bid on how they would like their victims to be tortured, anyway they wish for money.

Hostel Part II follows a group of girls backpacking across Europe when a stranger invites them to a party which is held every year in the village, however they were being lead to their death. Both films are the genre splatter and they corss the boundaries of gore, making it unbearable for the reader to watch it without cringing at the horrific detail that the scenes involve. We chose to research and look at the Hostel films as they are gritty and follow the ideas of how we want our opening clip to look. The genre torture porn has evolved from these films and we have chosen this genre as it is a challenege, something different and unusual for a group of three girls to get our teeth into!

The Preliminary Task

I am working with Gemma King and Chloe Levin, we have come up with three idea for our first task;

Idea 1.)Doctors Surgery: We are thinking of creating scene set in a doctors surgery where a patient recieves some bad news from the doctor.

Idea 2.)A police Station: We are considering filming the scene in a police station where a person exchanges dialouge with the receptionist.

Idea 3.)Train Journey: For this idea, we are considering doing a train journey where a passenger rushes to get on the train, sits down and exchanges conversation with another passenger.

We have decided to chose the Doctors Surgery idea with a patient recieving bad news from a doctor. We started planning out the idea by drawing a story board of the different shots we would use and how they would peice together.

Location - We set our primilary task in Mr Kennedys office as it was similar to a waiting room and a docotors surgery with plain walls, a desk and two chairs.

Props - The props we used to make the shots seem more realastic were a desk, chair, paperwork and maybe a skeleton model or a biology poster from the science department to help give effect.

Costume - The Doctor played by Mr Zaidi, is wearing smart clothes to show his character and his occupation, and the patient played by Amy Thorburn will wear casual normal clothes.

Dialogue - The dialogue used will be short and simple by using lines such as " Is it bad news?" and "Yes, its bad". This helpes create suspense and focus more on the camera angles in the task rather than the acting.

First of all, we had to understand the 180 degree rule, therefore i went on youtube and found these three videos which have helped us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBPw9C57TuUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14w.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfLHwCJZUwk&feature=related

The 180 degree rule in a guideline in film making that states two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary line connecting the two characters, it is called crossing the line. The new shot from the opposite side is called the reverse angle

Story Board! :)


In the video, we will use Amy Thorburn as the patient and Mr Zaidie as the doctor, giving her some bad news. The first shot will be of Amy nervously waiting in the waiting room, shot from a high angle perspective, making her seem vulnerable. The camera will then do a Cut- in shot of Amy, playing with her hands and biting her nails. adding to the effect she is nervous, and waiting to recieve the news.