kelsey kane-coursework evaluation

1/ In what ways does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My product meets the conventions of a thriller opening sequence. I feel that the product keeps the audience engaged and ends with an intense climax, which is the intention of how a thriller is to make an audience feel. Thrillers are mainly to do with tension and suspense, which has been represented in my thriller opening sequence. This is shown in the sequence because of the technical aspects used throughout. The way that we have edited the opening sequence, plays a major part in how effective our thriller opening sequence has develop into. It consists of a range of cuts and transitions to effect the pace and rhythm of the opening sequence. The quick-cut shots, close-ups and kinetic camera movements are just some techniques used throughout the thriller opening sequence, which helped to build fear and tension for the audience.
To increase the pace of some scenes, we have increased the number of cuts per minute, which builds tension and anxiety for the audience. We decided for the character to be a young innocent school girl. To get this across, we chose a young, blonde girl, to signify innocence; and began our opening sequence set in a school. The audience is lead to believe that the girl is being watched, adding tension and fear.
We researched conventions of thriller opening sequences, and analysed ‘Psycho’ by Alfred Hitchcock, and identified conventions of older thrillers, looking at ‘the shower scene.’ The victim is killed in a very violent way. I found out that Hitchcock mainly used blonde females as victims in his films. This is because they portray quite an innocent character. This is why we wanted a young blonde female character, to play the main part in the opening sequence, which helped us to develop essences of an old thriller convention.
Mirrors and stairs are also elements of a thriller, which we used in our project. And our project also leaves the audience with many unanswered questions, which could show it to have a sub genre of a psychological thriller.
2/ How does your media product represent particular social groups?
There is a representation of age and gender in our project. However, we didn’t need to show anything about sexuality, class or disability, because it is irrelevant to our particular storyline and themes. We had messages such as bullying and loneliness. She is alone in her house, showing a message of being alone, and is being bullied in school, again representing loneliness, but also showing a message about bullying, which is also very relevant to our target audience. We chose to represent her as a young blonde girl, to try and amplify the fact that she is innocent, and the fact that she was being bullied added to this. She didn’t have many friends, as we saw, and the one person we see her associate with is a boy. We chose to use a male this time because it is unlikely that a girl would have no girl friends.
We used stereotypes slightly when the bullies are on, because of their language, and they was they are positioned. However, the girl doesn’t look like a stereotypical victim of bullying, which is a representation that challenges the stereotype. In the bullying scene, we chose to have a range of different people with different races. This shows it is in a London school because it is very multi cultural in London. Young people are generally presented as being quite rebellious.
The students in the college could be seen as a working class status, because they are aggressive and use improper English, which stereotypes working class people.
3/ What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our product is independent. It could fit well being viewed over internet sites, on video sharing sites such as you tube etc. This is because these kinds of sites are viewed by teenagers a lot, and our target audience is 15.
My product would be unsuitable for distribution in mainstream cinemas, because it is a low-budget production. Independent cinemas are a lot more appropriate for our product. Independent cinema is a lot less popular than mainstream cinemas. We did not have the time, money or facilities to produce a product which would be suitable for mainstream cinema.
Independent films usually include characters that are played by unknown actors and actresses. It is also a low budget film. Furthermore, the storyline of an independent film is much more easy and simple, and therefore makes the film less popular, because it is likely to be less interesting. However, our product will appeal to smaller groups, especially our target audience.
4/ Who would be the audience for your media product?
The way that we started the opening scene, set in a school shows that it is accurately aimed towards our target audience, which was teenagers of about 15. It grabs their attention, because the whole opening sequence includes people of about that age range. They can see and maybe even relate to the situation that the girl is in. Also, because of the girl we decided to use in the sequence, it showed that not every victim of bullying is the stereotypical “geek”, anyone can be bullied regardless of what they look like, which also gives our target audience a greater understanding of different peoples experiences of school life. We had concerns of how young teenagers may react towards the last scene when we see the young girl dead, with pills and alcohol. This is because it may be quite disturbing for young teenagers; however I decided to class it as suitable for aged 15 and above because it raises awareness to children at this age. We looked at BBFC guidelines to help with our age certificate decisions.
We also have a shot of the main character receiving an offensive text message. We thought this is quite affective and relevant to our target audience because it raises awareness to young people these days that cyber-bullying is just as common and in some cases just as harmful as any other forms of bullying.
5/ How did you attract/address your audience?
The first sound we used was a school bell, signifying the end of a school day and attracting the audience to the opening sequence. All the characters are school children and they are in uniform which the target audience would be interested in because the majority of them would relate to this. We have used themes of loneliness and bullying to raise awareness of the situations towards our target audience.
We used a young blonde female to play the victim because it insinuated that she was innocent and weak, stereotypically. We agreed that by using a counter-stereotype of a victim of bulling, it shows our target audience that anyone can be affected by bullying, regardless of what they look like.
The theme of bullying addresses the audience because it is an issue that happens in most probably every school. I believe that this would attract the viewers because of their own personal view on bullying, and also a lot of them to have personal experiences of bullying, at this age, whether they have experienced being a bully, or a victim of bullying.
6/ What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt how to use i-movie to edit my opening sequence. By using i-movie to edit our product, it was very useful. This is because it is non-linear editing software. This has many advantages, including the way that we were able to freely edit in any order we desired. This made it easier because we were able to film in any order, because it could be changed at the end, which also saved a lot of time.
We used digital video cameras. This gives our product a much more realistic look to it, which helps the audience to relate to the situations shown in the sequence. Celluloid film is a lot brighter and more artificial, which is used in programmes such as ‘Hollyoaks.’ We needed our sequence to look more realistic, so it was much more convenient to use the digital video cameras.
I have also learnt how to use the blog, where we were able to post our research, and I was able to navigate the blog. I also searched for copyright free music, and discovered how to download these and free sound effects. Internet also was used for research.
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 about the timing, because I have realised that you are able to film what you like, and even more than you need if required, because you can edit everything that you don’t need. Also I have learnt that you do not need to film your product, in the order you want it to fit in at the end, because there are software’s you use to change that.
During the preliminary task, I also realised that sticking to the 180 degree rule is important. This is because, when you go against this, it confuses the audience, and the clip does not flow correctly. I also learnt about the way lighting can really affect a scene. For example, the position that a character should stand in if there is no artificial light, to get the best effect.
I can also avoid making mistakes by reshooting the same scenes so that I have more material to edit. I can make the final product flow much more and make the scene seem more realistic by doing this.

Daniel Richards- Evaluation

Foundation Portfolio Evaluation

 

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

 

The ways in which my media product uses, develops or challenges forms and conventions of real media products is firstly, in terms historical and contemporary thrillers, I consider that my product fits into historical thrillers. I believe this because it is quite similar to the historical conventions used by for instance Alfred Hitchcock; where the camera is more static than kinetic and handheld. Hitchcock became known for his control of pace and suspense, and his films draw heavily on both fear and fantasy. In terms of technical aspects my first contemplation of where to place the camera should involve knowing what emotion I want the audience to experience at that particular time. Emotion (in the shape of fear, laughter, surprise, sadness, anger, boredom, etc.) is the crucial aim of each scene. Emotion comes directly from the actor's eyes. I can control the intensity of that emotion by placing the camera close or far away from those eyes. A close-up will fill the screen with emotion, and pulling away to a wide angle shot will squander that emotion. An unexpected cut from wide to close-up will give the audience a sudden surprise. Occasionally a strange angle above an actor will amplify the dramatic meaning. Hitchcock used this theory of proximity to plan out each scene. These variations are a way of controlling when the audience feels intensity, or relaxation.

 

 The camera should take on human qualities and roam around playfully looking for something suspicious in a room. This allows the audience to feel like they are involved in uncovering the story. Scenes can often begin by panning a room showing close-ups of objects that explain plot elements; within my final scene this is done-panning of the room and the main character. Putting an idea into the mind of the character without explaining it in dialogue is done by using a point-of-view shot sequence. This shot is used in my sequence to intensify the anxiety of the main character and furthermore I amplified this intensity and adding tension by the use of a score. Mirrors and stairs are also conventions of thriller movies; which are both within my opening sequence.

 

From my prior study of the thriller genre I was aware that to produce a successful opening sequence there must be significant enigmas. This is mentioned in Roland Barthes’ theory on action and enigma codes. He thought that to generate suspense in narrative, there ought to be unanswered questions which will induce the viewer to anticipate action with a resolution. For my opening sequence I wanted to form a narrative structure that would persuade the viewer to carry on watching the remainder of the film and that would leave areas in which the film could expand. Of which this makes my opening sequence comply with usual conventions of a thriller.

 

 

Hitchcock had a style that was very unique. His films often portray innocent people caught up in circumstances beyond their control or understanding as seen in “Psycho”. Within my product, I believe that an innocent person is caught up in circumstances beyond their control or understanding. The main character; a female, by which having female protagonist, it challenges the convention that males uptake the leading roles. So, this challenges the traditional representations; my representation of the young female victim is very much a typical stereotypical one. This particular stereotype is notably recognisable, as female being presented as feeble and defenceless of which why it was used and that due to the audience pick up and identify on this very quickly, so that they are engaged in the immediately. In addition, the engagement of the audiences’ attention can be also link into the target audience of predominantly males as they are more attracted to psychological thrillers in comparison to females; in the age range of 15-25 year olds-where hopefully a gain in the proportion of females will be seen viewing who may influenced by their male counter parts to view it. The representation of the other students, well in terms of the students at the vending machine, is another stereotype as they are in a big group with very fearful and intimidating behaviour. From both boys and girls towards the lone stereotyped female victim, who becomes so depressed from the abuse she encounters. Also, she receives no acknowledgment at all from the students outside the school building, another demoralising aspect furthering her sad and lonely persona. The audience sympathises with the female because they know some background information on her (victim of bullying). Within “Psycho”, there is no customary male domination, Marion Cranes’ character is not passive (she steals money, runs away) but she is. Female representations 'femme fatale' character in Marion Crane- flawed criminal but strong characters (her sister is determined to find her) - she stole her bosses’ money. However she deviates from this stock character type at the end by trying to give up the money- the representations are more complicated.  This representation of this character is very similar to the leading character in my own film, in terms of female being represented as weak and feeble.

 

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

I think that without a doubt my film is an independent film; challenging storyline, unknown actors and the small budget contrasting to the big budget mainstream Hollywood films, which include well known actors. Psychological thrillers are frequently to some extent more challenging than other (relatively) mainstream movies. In part, this may be because they overturn, to some extent, the customary 'thriller' balance of plot and character. A typical thriller emphasises plot; psychological thrillers, understandably, emphasise character equally or more.Mainstream easily distributed due to their huge financial support whereas on the other hand small independent would be lucky to get a screening in a cinema. Independent films are usually shown in art houses or independent film houses, these establishments do not gain anywhere the amount cinemas do.

Then again there’s the possibility attracting distributors at film festivals such as Sundance; which specializes in independent films, but it can often be hard to get screening there as well.

 

Moreover, the option of uploading the product to the internet to a website such as “YouTube”, where it could accessed at any time, by anyone, which has the possibility mass and diverse audiences who could view the product on countless occasions. Also, links into the last point is by the means of convergence, in technology the mobile phone is a key example of convergence; a telecommunication device that is also mp3 player, camera and 3G internet. So, viewing of websites such as “Youtube” on a mobile phone.  Finally, there’s cable and terrestrial television, cable TV most likely distribution location is the community channels which do not gain mass audiences whereas on the public service (terrestrial) such as the BBC and channel 4 are much more likely to have greater audiences and have greater commercial use. I think that the best distribution location for my product is a terrestrial TV channel such as channel 4, as it is held in high regard for its strong promotion of independent British film.

 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

 

I honestly believe that my product I have created is suitable for my target audience because I have met the regulatory concerns of the BBFC 15 rated certificate film. My initial regulatory concerns were to have limited use of swearing; there was actually no use of swearing, to have no inclusion of the use of drugs, strong violence or sex, all of which were followed. From my prior study of the thriller genre I was aware that to produce a successful opening sequence there must be significant enigmas. My target audience is mainly those in the age range of 15-25, predominantly males as they are more particularly interested in thrillers in comparison to females. As, they enjoy the tension and suspense notably more than females.

 

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

Also, from the audience feedback, I could recognise through the responses that I had received I could easily identify that my targeted audience were able to relate to characters and themes such as the bullying or stressful school life, which meant I knew I had targeted the right audience age range, as they could easily relate meant that they were more interested in the plotline.

 

This is mentioned in Roland Barthes’ theory on action and enigma codes. He thought that to generate suspense in narrative, there ought to be unanswered questions which will induce the viewer to anticipate action with a resolution. For my opening sequence I wanted to form a narrative structure that would persuade the viewer to carry on watching the remainder of the film and that would leave areas in which the film could expand. Of which this makes my opening sequence comply with usual conventions of a thriller.

 

In terms of what conventions I included to make my product appealing, the characters were students, so that most if not all of the target audience could easily relate to and conform with.

 

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

 

I’d used various technologies beginning from the research onwards. This began with making a blog on the internet at www.blogger.com , downloading copyright free music for the score and free sound FX. To film I had used a Digital Video (D.V.) camera which makes the film grittier and realistic this had fit into my film because I had noticed that this type of picture has been used in British TV dramas such as “Skins”, of which has a similar audience and has worked successfully. Of which includes characters of similar age range. Whereas in the mainstream Hollywood films; celluloid film is used which is a lot brighter and artificial. To the edit and finalise the film, I had used non-linear software; I-movie, in the editing suite. That meant that I could freely edit in any order without destroying clips, plus being able to make changes whilst editing so the film could develop from the original storyboard idea.  When locating music for my product, I was limited to using copyright free sounds, this had made it a time consuming process but after trying numerous tracks and sound effects I eventually discovered sounds which suited he action onscreen.

 

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

 

The problems I encountered on the preliminary task was the open set; which limited locations to go to and it was a place where anyone could suddenly go across the scene unexpectedly and be noisy, over which I had no control of, whereas on the main task was a lot more controlled, because the location of where to shoot the scenes was researched, it could be set somewhere in a more controlled environment, especially in terms of lighting. This again another problem with preliminary task, where there was limited control. Organisation and timing was a lot more lax on the main task than preliminary task, which was limited to a short space of time.

 

The most unsatisfactory thing about my preliminary task was the limited time, because not enough camera angles, shots and movement were explored to provide greater insight into which ones to use in the main task. However, this was overcome in the main task by the greater amount of time available, so that numerous camera shots, angles and movements could be explored so that when it came to the stage of editing, I had greater choice of what I had to choose from to include in my final product.

 At first it had not gone according due to the limited time, this was a problem particular points, such as the actions of the characters were planned and not always cue to the camera. This became obvious to the viewer as there was a pause before the character had begun acting. However,  this mistake was noted and retified in the final task.

Evaluation - Mollie Hanley

Mind Over Matter coursework

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

The purpose of an opening sequence is to introduce the viewer to the film. A thriller opening sequence is one that should you be on the edge of your seat when viewing it and it should have many enigmas- unanswered questions, it should contain fast paced editing, also it doesn’t have to link into the rest of the film but does need to have a narrative link, it should build characters and it should start to create suspense for the rest of the film. Thriller sequences usually have a distinctive soundtrack which helps to create suspense for the audience.  Our film ‘Mind over Matter’ leaves the audience thinking about what has happened and questioning it which is common in thriller sequences, it also has a lot of face paced editing which is vital in thriller opening sequence when trying to create suspense. Commonly in a thriller film there is a pretty vulnerable woman who is the target so in our film the main character is ‘Kelsey Kane,’ who is being bullied, she is viewed as very vulnerable because she is immediately filmed in school in her uniform which immediately makes her look young, our soundtrack also helps to create suspense and is quite distinctive to the opening sequence. The camera at times is looking down on Kelsey to show she is small and not seen as important, this is clear at the end of the sequence when you seen Kelsey dead on the floor and the camera is scanning her from above.

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

When creating our film we thought about the ways in which to represent characters and groups and we immediately thought to use a girl as the victim as men are mainly viewed as strong, aggressive characters whereas the women are usually viewed as feminine, weak, passive and the follower. As men are typically viewed as aggressive we mainly used boys as the group of bullies and they were mainly the ones that were shouting at the victim. The stereotype for youths is that they are trouble and violent so therefore we used this to our advantage by making the bullies all youths and boys, so the audience had a quicker understanding of the characters. In the film we didn’t challenge any stereotypes as we wanted the audience to have a quick understanding of the characters. The first part of the film was set in school which adds to the vulnerability of the character and the second part is set in her house, where she should feel safe but actually feels frightened. In our film we used a range of races; however we used a white girl as the main character as black girls are usually seen as feistier and less scared. This fits with the stereotype in mainstream thrillers due to the victim usually begin blonde venerable characters.

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

Our film is a mainstream film; Mainstream films are basically commercial films that have a wide release and play in first run cinemas. The difference between mainstream films and an independent film is that mainstream is Hollywood filming with ‘A list’ actors whereas independent films that are produced outside of the Hollywood studio system with less famous people. Mainstream films tend to go straight to cinemas then general stores to be sold and are advertised on television and even internet whereas Independent films are usually seen and advertised at film festivals. Mainstream has a much bigger budget then Independent films, it also a lot easier for mainstream films to get advertised and go straight to cinema than it is for Independent films. So therefore we thought our film was a mainstream film mainly because it follows the conventions of a thriller and would appeal to a large mainstream audience and so would be distributed in mainstream cinema chains like Vue and Odeon. However it would not be distributed through certain cinemas like The Himalaya Palace as this shows hindi films and my product is not a hindi film as it does not follow the conventions of a hindi film so this would not be a suitable way to distribute it.

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

The audience we wanted to target was those who enjoy being thrilled throughout films and who find entertainment in the anxiety build up in thrillers, the age range we wanted to attract was 15-25 years old. We thought that a 15 certificate would be appropriate as the language that is used has to be suitable and only contains words can be used if they are suitable, also scenes can be violent but the pain should not be continuously recognized and drug taken may be shown but it should defiantly not promote drug misuse and we thought this was appropriate as during the film there will be swearing but not too much, also there is evidence of drug use but it is not shown and it defiantly does not promote drugs as the character dies as a result, there are also signs that violence will occur later on in the film. We thought that it would be a bit inappropriate from 12 years olds as it shows someone who has committed suicide and will show violence in the film.

5.)   5.)How did you attract/address your audience?

As we are in the age groups ourselves, we knew the things we like to see in films so therefore we all had an equal input in what we like to see, and constructed our films around this. We chose to construct it to appeal to the audience by the plot and we thought bulling could relate to many people. As it was a thriller we knew we had to create suspense and we thought to do it in a way which was quite disorientating, we done this by filming at school and the characters house as these are areas that you should feel safe in however in the opening sequences it was opposite. We also tried to make it scary by adding scores in places where we wanted suspense to rise, so the audience would be wondering what is happening. I believe the product we have created is correct for the target audience, this is because we showed it to a group of 16-18 year olds and they enjoyed it and although they gave us constructive criticism they gave us positive feedback too. The main criticism we got was the scores this is because they thought some of them were a bit inappropriate and they thought we could get better ones, so with the criticism they gave us, we responded to it and we tried to change the sequence to make it better.

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

I have learnt while creating my opening sequence that there are two main types of cameras we could have used these are D.V. or Digital Video or cameras.  Digital video looks gritty which it more realistic. Whilst creating my product I learnt how to use i-movie to edit my film and play around with the footage to help create to film exactly how we wanted it and then convert it to quick time, and because I new how the programme worked it affected how we the film, I new I could edit the sequence how ever I wanted, it didn’t have to be directly how the storyboard was. So I could play around with the shots we have to see the way they fit best.  In the past I have watched videos but I’ve never known about uploading videos and I learnt how to do this. Before creating the product I had heard of blogs but I had no idea how to use them or why to use them and I learnt to use them to my advantage for example, adding ideas, so my group could see them. I also got a much clearer idea of how to download music online which I used for my score from copy free websites.

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

I believe the way I approached the preliminary task different to the way in which I approached my main task, this was mainly due to me seeing the main task as a slight bit more important then the preliminary task. I enjoyed doing the preliminary task as it made the main task a bit easier as I was more confident with the camera and the program we used.  When doing my preliminary task I didn’t really think of lightening whereas I was aware of this when doing my main task. Because I was more experienced using I-movie when doing my main task it was a lot easier and I could do it a lot quicker because I had already done my preliminary task. The main task was a lot more organised than the preliminary task as there was a lot more effort that went into the storyboard and we was a lot more organised when it came to the filming, as we knew what we had to do on each specific day.

By Mollie Hanley 

coursework evaluation - Laura Moylan.

Foundation portfolio evaluation – Laura Moylan.

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

 

Before beginning our opening sequence, we researched the conventions of a thriller. We analysed ‘Psycho’, an opening thriller sequence by Alfred Hitchcock, to get an idea of old conventional thrillers as well as contemporary ones.

In Psycho, the victim is a blonde female killed violently by a male attacker. During my research I found that Alfred Hitchcock commonly uses blonde females as the victims in his thrillers as they portray innocence and vulnerability, allowing the audience to sympathise with them. Taking this idea on board, the victim in my opening sequence is a young blonde girl.  In doing this, I managed to develop an old thriller convention. Usually in a film, a victim of bullying normally appears in a certain way, for example the ‘geek’ in the school who stereotypically wears glasses and has no friends,  however in my product the bullied girl appears smartly dressed as would the average college student. She also appears to have friends. The fact that the female character is portrayed as weak is typical for a thriller, despite this, the characters are generally not the typical thriller characters, e.g. there is no obvious ‘slasher’ or serial killer. I decided that this would make it more like a contemporary thriller as opposed to the old, predictable characterisations that we would normally find. In my attempt to create a modern day opening thriller sequence, I did not make the genre obvious from the beginning of it. This is because I discovered in my research that it is more common for modern day thrillers to challenge forms of traditional conventions, Phone Booth in particular is a thriller that does not play to the conventions; it avoids darkness and shadow etc. The one way to link it to standard conventions is to say that you hear and see the story from the killer’s point of view, you are made to feel sorry for the male protagonist and that you are told a story with the use of flashback and quick passed editing. Otherwise the this film is unlike most thriller movies and avoids the main conventions and may even not be classed as a thriller, but psychological thriller as it plays with your mind rather than shows you like a conventional thriller. Some of these conventions are evident in my opening sequence through the focus on the mirror and the staircase however my film narrative is not seen from the killer’s point of view.

The conventions of the thriller genre are to do with sound and editing. E.g. quick cuts and camera angle changes or music that creates tension when appropriate. It can be to do with lighting, especially the use of shadow. Mirrors and stairs are also conventions of thriller movies. This is very much similar to my media product which could be given the subgenre of a psychological thriller as it does not state the obvious about what is going on (Does the victim commit suicide? Is the victim murdered?) The viewer is left with many unanswered questions. The narrative begins in a school where a teenage girl is being bullied, at this point of the sequence; one may assume that it is a drama instead of an eerie thriller. As the sequence continues and the victim arrives home, it becomes more obvious to the viewer that the girl is perhaps not alone. This is suggested through the use of the ghostly score and the close up camera shot of a shadow at the front door.  Also, we focus on a stair case where the victim frantically runs down to find a shocking message left on the mirror. I believe by making the stairs and mirror main props during the climax of the sequence, develop conventions of real thriller media products.

As I was mainly influenced by the media product ‘Phone Booth’ my media product does not meet traditional thriller conventions in many aspects. In terms of Mise en scene the setting is not dark and damp as one would expect, but mainly day light, representing a normal day in the life of a teenager.

 

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

In my opening sequence, I decided that I would represent race equally. In London, it is commonly known that schools and colleges have a variety of students from different ethnic backgrounds. Therefore in the media product various races where included, particularly in the bullying scene which is a realistic portrayal of how certain individuals can be treated in institutions by their peers in this day and age. This suggests that the media product is set in London. This is also clear through the way the characters are dressed and their accents.

In the bullying scene, teenagers are represented as unkind, bullying a female peer. It is stereotypical for a girl to be represented as weak as and less emotionally strong than the male figure in today’s society. It is also stereotypical for youths to be catogorised as bullies/’thugs’. In my media product I included these stereotypes to represent young people as I believe it is relevant to my target audience, which would enable them to relate to the narrative. 

In terms of gender the female is portrayed as the weaker sex, my opening sequence represents the male as more threatening. Although the viewer is not made aware that the killer is male, it can be suggested through the manly like figure that shadows the front door.  The bullies are also dominantly male all apart from one, who does not give verbal abuse. This could suggest that this female character thrives upon the male’s power and that perhaps she does not want to take part in the bullying but feels as though she belongs to a group in doing so. This represents many young people who feel as though they have to conform in order to belong to a group and feel a sense of acceptance.

The students in the college could be portrayed as working class citizens as they are aggressive and use improper English, which is again a stereotype used to represent the working class. The female victim and her male friend, appear middle class as they are smartly attired. When the main character arrives home it soon clear to the audience that she feels uneasy, she is nervous, afraid. From this we can suggest that the location she lives in is perhaps unsafe. The viewer is lead to believe that the girl is being followed/watched; this builds tension and fear amongst the audience, just as how the girl would have been feeling at the time. I believe that this is a good representation of the location that the girl lives in (London). In the city of London, the crime rate is particularly high therefore I represented the area as dangerous. Again, this is a realistic representation in which the target audience could relate to as young adults as they are likely to feel threatened when alone at home alone in London.

 

 

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

 

My media product is suitable for independent cinema; it is unsuitable for mainstream as it is a low budget production. Independent cinema tends to be low budget with a predictable storyline. In my media product, I have used a rather typical narrative for a psychological thriller. Mainstream movies are filmed on celluloid and expensive equipment is used to give the film the supernatural/ video game effect. This makes the movies a lot more enjoyable, and therefore popular. Usually the main Hollywood stars are used for characters. This makes this type of film well known therefore suitable for mainstream cinema listings. Examples of mainstream thriller movies would be things such as, ‘Final Destination’ and ‘Scream’. These types of films will be released in cinemas worldwide and then commercialised through merchandise such as DVD’s, soundtracks etc.

In comparison, independent cinema is a lot less popular. Time and money is not sacrificed to these films as it is to mainstream cinema. Independent films tend to have unknown characters, the storyline will be much simpler and therefore less interesting. The films will be popular among small audiences (the films target audience) and will not be commercialised or popular worldwide.

I believe that my media product would be suitable for internet websites such as ‘You Tube’ as this is used mainly by the target audience of my media product (15+). Therefore it is likely to be entertaining and well received if viewed from internet video sharing sites as opposed to TV or cinema.

The product is also unsuited for terrestrial TV or cable as again, it was made on a very small budget. However the narrative could be suitable for small, community based cable channels.

 

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

 

My target audience for my media product is teenagers of approximately 15 and up as it is set in a college and therefore the characters are all teenage students. The events that take place in the film, such as bullying are relevant to the lives of young people today as this is a regular occurrence in schools/colleges in today’s society, as well as abuse through text message, which happens to the female victim in the sequence.  This is another relevance to today’s society as there is increasing rates in cyber bullying.

In my opinion I successfully created a suitable product for my chosen target audience. To begin with I had doubts about the last scene, as there are pills and alcohol included which could be disturbing or a bad influence on young adults. However I came to the conclusion that this is a big part of the lives of youths in the contemporary UK and therefore it was a good way of raising awareness of the dangers of these substances.

The BBFC certificate for the sequence is 15. I feel the narrative would be unsuitable for a child of a younger age as it contains aggressive behavior and is of a thrilling nature.

 

5.    How did you attract/address your audience?

 

The product could suggest the daily life of a teenager as a result this would attract this age group as an audience to the production. In the media product there are situations being dealt with by the characters which make the clip interesting and attracting for a young audience. The main character deals with interaction with her friend and other peers, through this interaction, young adults can relate to the situation and the different emotions that the characters may be feeling. For example, teenage girls would feel sorry for the female victim as they, stereotypically, are more emotionally weak and therefore will sympathise with her.

I decided that the title of the media product, ‘Mind Over Matter’ would make it appealing to the audience as it ties in well with the fact that the product is a psychological thriller and therefore plays with your mind. This adds excitement to the sequence as it leaves the audience thinking. I aimed for the product to leave the audience with questions unanswered, which I believe I successfully achieved. Being that I, myself am a seventeen year old student I am aware of the social situations for teenagers today. I was able to use this knowledge to attempt to make, what I believed would be an intriguing narrative for this age group. As the characters of the product are also my age, it immediately appeals to my target audience, as they would be interested in viewing it to see how other people of a similar age to them would go about creating a thriller sequence.

After receiving feedback from my classmates, I felt as though I had achieved the type of response that I was looking for. I was happy that they enjoyed my sequence and that they were willing to offer constructive criticism. Acting upon this criticism, I edited certain parts of the sequence in order to make it flow. For example, I was advised to cut out a clip as members of the class believed it looked planned, as a result making the sequence unrealistic. I appreciated my classmates help and I beleive it improved my opening sequence.

The audience also helped me to make a decision about an appropriate age certificate by pointing out certain parts of he clip as unacceptable to people below the age of 15.

 

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

During this process I have learnt a lot about the different equipment and software that I used. I was able to adapt easily to the editing soft ware that I had not used before such as I movie. Throughout my research for the product I developed my skills of surfing the Internet and using information that I find in order to help me create new ideas. For example, I was able to use ‘YouTube’ as a research tool for the thriller genre where I watched video clips and opening sequences to gain ideas to put into my narrative, this was a help to me as I gained some of my ideas from the ‘Phone Booth’ clip. I also learnt how to upload videos onto video sharing sites such as ‘You Tube’, which helped me to post work onto my blog and edit it when necessary.

When finding music for my product, I was restricted to copy right free sound tracks, the idea of not being able to use the music of my choice made me feel as though I was limited. Searching for the appropriate sound effects was a time consuming process, it was hard to find the appropriate music and on numerous occasions I downloaded tracks or sound effects which did not suit the action onscreen and therefore needed to be changed. However this helped me to learn how to put different sound together using the internet in order to create the perfect score for tension building.

Using I-movie had many benefits as it allowed me to import sounds of my choice and then delete them if required. Learning how to use the software did not take long and helped me to structure my product. The fact that I-movie has non linear editing meant that I could erase, cut and paste etc clips where I felt appropriate. This made the project a lot easier and really helped me and my group in making the product flow. If the software had been linear, I’m sure I would have experienced many more problems as I would have been restricted to the original storyboard, which I in fact changed completely in my final product. Now I know that in order to produce a media product such as this, I need to use non linear editing as it is almost impossible to stick to an original storyline as during filming, mistakes will be made, therefore need to be changed/ edited etc.

The camera that I used produced a digital video film which I have learned is a lot different to the celluloid style of film commonly used in American films. Digital Video is grittier than celluloid and ads realism to the product, whereas celluloid is much brighter and artificial; it makes the film seem more unrealistic. This style of filming, however suited the product I was producing as it is a representation of real life. I did not want my sequence to appear artificial, as I believe it is a realistic everyday storyline.

 

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

During my preliminary task, I did not stick to the 180 degree rule, this made me very aware in my final media product  to avoid this. Also, background noise and lighting are very important. In doing my preliminary task I learnt that background noise cannot be edited unless a score is being used therefore filming should be done in a quiet place in order not to effect the ambient

sound.

Throughout the task, I thought that it was compulsory to film in the order that you wish for the final product. However after filming the preliminary task, I came to using i-movie to edit it, which is how I became familiar with the non linear editing process. Playing around with the short clip and cutting bits of it helped develop my editing skils which came into good use for the production of my opening thriller sequence, as during filming I was aware of how i-movie could be used and therefore did not restrict myself to the original storyboard or filming in order.

The finished preliniary task did not flow as well as it could have and at certain points it was obvious that characters actions were planned as they were aware of the camera and the fact that when the film was rolling, they had to be in role. This was obvious to the viewer as there was a pause before the character began to act, as if he/she had been signaled to do so. In future, I can avoid making the same mistake by reshooting the same sees so that I have more material to edit. In doing this, I can make the final product flow much more and make the scene seem more realistic.

script

Media script (“Mind over Matter?”)

INT
The sound of a school bell rings indicating the end of the school day the setting.
The camera focuses on the main character; Kelsey is walking down the stairs; she becomes enclosed while facing abuse from other teenagers. She keeps her head advancing down the corridor. There is the sound of a text alert from her phone; she picks up her phone from her bag. The shot then changes to point of view shot viewing the text message she has received on her phone.
She reads a very abusive message (“LOSER!!!”). Shot changes to a reaction shot of her face; showing distress and sadness.
This then cuts to camera viewing leaving the corridor into the reception, where the camera views Kelsey coming into the scene, with Daniel progressing down stairs. Where she then looks to see Daniel at the bottom of the stairs, medium shot of Daniel approaching Kelsey. There has been a score playing since the beginning of the film, by now faded out as dialogue begins between Kelsey and Daniel.

Daniel: You are alright Kelsey?
Kelsey: Yeah, I’m fine; I’m going home now, going to get the train.

They both leave together.

EXT
The cross cutting shots used for the dialogue has now changed into a medium shot of the characters leaving the building, which fades into a medium shot of them leaving the school grounds. While there are other additional students in the background.

Then is an ellipsis, to the top of the road where Kelsey’s house is located.

As Kelsey walks into her house, the camera pans from her feet upwards to medium shot of her. (Tracking shot)
As Kelsey enters her home, profile shot is used and then close up of Kelsey putting key in the door, as she enters a medium shot, she throws her keys onto the table in the sitting room (close up shot), cut to a tracking shot/medium shot following her upstairs were she enters her bedroom and throws her bag on the floor which the camera focuses on.


Then cut to medium shot of Kelsey taking her coat off (new score begins) and then picking a book up from a pile of books by the side of her bed. Sits down on her bed begins to write; a flashback comes into the film of the earlier events when she was being bullied. Once the flashback ends, a medium shot of Kelsey reappears; she hears a sudden sound (close up). Kelsey leaves her room to downstairs (long shot of her overlooking the banisters). This shot continues where she moves downstairs (running), shot changes to medium shot to where she moves through to the bathroom. Where she then views the mirror; where the words “ure next” are printed (close up shot of her reflection in mirror), showing her anxious expressions on her face. She suddenly runs back up to he room (point of view shot) which changes when goes upstairs (medium shot), shot finishes viewing her door. The sound of a loud heartbeat is played as the view of the door zooms and then inwards slowly. Title of “In Association with Gunnersbury film Foundation”. Picture of Kelsey lying on the floor in a distorted way, with a bottle of vodka and numerous pills by her side. Title of “Mind over Matter” ends the clip.