Evaluation

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

My thriller incorporates generic conventions of a thriller throughout the scene. One way this is done is by using the free hand POV shot of the antagonist closing in on his victims. This is because suspense as the audience feels they are involved in the shot, commonly used in thrillers. Moreover, the two killing scenes denote a thriller genre because thrillers use the theme of death. E.g. in my product when the antagonist suffocates his victim. One way our film challenges this convention is by showing in detail, the killing. This is because although thrillers show death, they do not always show the attack bit by bit which I did in my product e.g. in the first killing scene. This connotes a scary, cold blooded atmosphere in my opening. The conventions in my product such as the cold blooded killing also indicate a horror sub-genre. This is because sudden suspense is created before the victims are killed which is a popular horror convention.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My product represents a gender aimed at males. This is because violence and death is a major theme presented and males are seen as more aggressive than females. Furthermore, my opening represents a young audience such as people in their late teens. This is because murdering occurs, representing a less sophisticated audience. The opening is targeted as middle to lower class due to the protagonist being portrayed as a thug. The characters featured in my opening are all men, meaning men are shown as a progressive gender, stereotypically undermining females in the film. This links with the target audience because if men are featured, the opening is more likely to be watched by the target gender which is men, as it makes them come across as dominant, connoting them to be stronger in society.

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

I believe my product could be produced by a major Hollywood studio. This is because there have been many films similar to mine that show violence and killing which were huge successes in the filming industry such as ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. This denotes it would be a television movie because such films similar to mine have been released in the TV, providing entertainment for its audience which I know through their success. However, it could be argued my product would be an internet release only due to the high amount of violence which may not be socially accepted for television use as it may be disturbing for some viewers. This is visual in the films mise-en-scene when the antagonist strangles his victim to death, connoting a large amount of malice.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I feel that my film is best suited to people between the ages of 15 to early 20’s. This is because people between these ages are stereotypically seen as young adults who are not fully matured. This means they are more likely to enjoy my film as they will find the narrative entertaining due to the adrenaline the film creates. Additionally, I believe males are the gender who is most likely to be my target audience. This is because violence and death are the stand out themes. This means males are likely to watch is as they are stereotyped as the more violent gender whereas women are shown in a more loving way, meaning they would prefer a film with themes such as romance.  Other films similar to mine such as ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ would appeal to a young audience. This is due to the cold blooded killing and unsophisticated nature of the narrative teenagers find entertaining. However, mature adults would this fake with no verisimilitude. The gender for this film would be males. This is because of the murdering and also because the male antagonist is shown to kill numerous females, making males appear as dominant, involving them in the film.

How did you attract/adress your audience?

My audience is best suited at teenagers from 15 to adults meaning it would have a rating of 15. Also the nature of the opening would best suit males due to the violence. The scene with the victim being strangled would appeal to 15 year old males as it is typical for this to be interested in gore and violence. However, leading up to the killing with the POV of the antagonist creates a tense atmosphere because it makes the onlooker feel involved which may terrify younger children, making 15 an appropriate rating. This is because if someone is involved in a scary situation, they may not feel comfortable, excluding young children from my target audience. POV shots of the antagonist tracking his target are a common generic convention within thrillers. I know this because this genre uses suspense and tension as its main elements and POV shots do this because it makes the viewer feel involved in the tension. E.g. in Friday 13^th when Jason walks up the stairs towards his victims.

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

One strength of the camera equipment was its easy usage. Making is simple meant by filming time was maximised so I could progress without being confused on how to operate the camera. Also, the tripod was adjustable meaning we could place shots at a variety of heights. However, sometimes the tripod was very stiff when using a pan shot, meaning it was not smooth. Lastly, some tripods had been broken by other students and therefore did not lock into a position and the camera angle would tilt. One difficulty I faced when filming was planning where to film. This is because I was conscious about breaking the 180 degree rule after doing the first few shots in a scene, which slowed down the filming considerably. To resolve this, I made a plan was made for filming so that I knew how in advance where I was able to film that would look good without breaking the rule. Through using Premiere to edit my film, I have learnt how to cut a clip down until it appears how I want it to and how to load these clips onto Premiere from the camera. I have also learnt how to use particular effects to help me create generic conventions on my thrillers mise-en-scene. One of these effects is the ‘dip to black’ dissolve tool. This was useful as it helped introduce a new scene smoothly because the end of the last scene would dissolve to black so the next shot wasn’t too sudden and unnatural. This worked well for the mise-en-scene of my opening as the black created suspense and the screen faded. Another effect I used which benefited my product as the audio affect called ‘constant gain’. This made the music blend in smoothly. This meant I could make the music hit its crescendo at an appropriate time in the film, to create maximum tension within the mise-en-scene.

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

The planning stage of my thriller has helped me to understand the genre that I am creating. This is because I could look at recognised thriller openings and know what type of shots, music, narratives and fonts are included. Many generic  conventions such as POV shots and music with tension was a popular feature, so I knew this would work well my film if I chose to included similar aspects in my own opening. Since the preliminary task, specific shot usage has improved. I now know when to use a POV e.g. following a victim to create suspense. Also, I tried to use as many close up’s as possible in the death scenes to shows more detail for entertainment. This is so the audience interest is not lost. I have learnt that not planning a shooting schedule was detrimental towards my filming. This is because I would rush filming shoots, which shows a lack of organisation. Another negative point towards my planning was my anamatic. I did not think through my idea thoroughly enough meaning my product changed considerably from my original anamatic. Therefore I found it difficult to use previous planning, as it was no longer relevant to my opening.  

Overall, I feel my product shows a competent effort in fulfilling my task to create the opening of a thriller. This is because I used various shots, action and music which overall created suspense and tension amongst the audience, which is the main aim of a thriller genre film.