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!