AS Media Evaluation - Thriller

In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The music we used was influenced by the film 'hide and seek' in this trailer there is slow music to start which enters a climax as the editing quickens. We wanted to create this effect also, so we choose a song which started slow with piano instrumentals and as the chorus came in the pace changed which we were able to use to our advantage. In many thrillers the music is a key component so we made sure we choose the right song to create tension and apprehension. This is a convention of a thriller which we were able to use as we choose the song 'save the hero' by Beyonce.
Sound effects can be frequently seen in thriller to add to the dramatic scenes. In our opening we used this convention to make our dramatic scene even more provoking for the audience. The shadow scene of the mother and father fighting I would say is the scene our film would be most famous for, because in many thrillers the scene which is most thought provoking often gets remembered. We decided to use sound effect of the father grunting as he was hitting the mother to add to the brutality of the attack. When the scene was used with slow motion effect we found the sound effect made was very effective.
Another element which almost always is found in thrillers is the use of quick edits, we were able to develop this idea by starting with slow and smooth edits and gradually building to quick edits which would more commonly be found. This is used to make the opening exciting for the audience to watch and engage them with the action. Our use of editing was very successful because of the influence of the fast pace other thriller films used. These films with fast editing are what we enjoyed to watch so we thought incorporating this into our thriller by building tension was ideal.
In many thrillers such as, 'psycho' and 'no country for old men' some of the violent scenes are created in a way so that the audience does not get shown the explicit violence but instead gets hints of what is going on. By using this form it makes the audience think about what really is going on, rather then presenting them with every bit of the action. In 'psycho' this happens in the shower scene where we do not actually see the knife enter, and in 'no country for old men' when for some of the murders we simple see blood and the audience will know what has happened. In our opening we decided to use this but adapt it to make it different to what has been seen before. We choose to have the most violent scene in just shadows so the characters were not presented to the audience yet, instead they are able to imagine what they would look like.
Interesting camera angles, movements and shots are key in making a thriller exciting and to create tension. We used low angle shows when the girl was swinging to show her innocence on her face. When we were shooting we decided that we would get a variety of shots so that when we came to edit the film we would have enough to make quick edits between the two scenes.
Mystery can be seen in many thrillers, sometimes adapted through the characters or plot. With our opening we wanted to in some ways challenge the convention and create mystery not just thought the character or plot but through a mixture of the two. The mystery would be presented to the audience from the shadow scene as the audience will not know much about the plot because it is just the opening and still will not know much about the characters. We felt that by doing this it would be very successfully, and found the finished product reflected this.

How does my media product represent particular social groups?
With our media product we decided that the group we would show is social class, the characters would come from a low social class. This would be shown through the mise-en-scene, where the room is basic and dirty. The father is a violent male and this is clear for the audience to see through his actions towards his wife.

What kind of media institution might distribute my media product and why?
The kind of media institution that would distribute our film would probably be a similar kind to those that have distributed other's alike, like the film that influenced ours. I researched 'hide and seek' to find out what kind of company distributed the film.
Hide and seek was distributed by 20th Century Fox, so this could be an option for us to follow a film that has influenced us into making ours. Working Title is also a possibility for the distribution because this company produces quite mainstream films, and is a British film company. It's united with Universal Studio's so has Major funding from the US, making the films more mainstream.
If our film was to be shown on TV I think that it would be best to show it on Film 4 or Channel 4 after 9 o'clock because of the certification of a 15.
Our film would also been shown in cinemas in the afternoons or more than likely the evening because of our certification of 15. 'Hide and seek' was shown in multiplex cinema's and as a group we agreed that this would be better because our film would be mainstream.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
When researching into the audience demographic into 'hide and seek' we found that the most common audience was between 15 and 25, equally both male and females. Our film has both male and female characters and because the main character is a child i think that we would get get equally males and females watching our media product. I would think that the age group which would watch our film would be similar to that of 'hide and seek', between 15 and 25. The audience that we would attract would more probably watch thrillers such as 'hide and seek' or 'phone booth'.

How did I attract/ address my audience?
We are aiming to attract students, mainly between the age of 15 - 25, both male and females.
The audience would be attracted to our film for many reasons because they could show sympathy for the little girl who was suffering in her situation. The mise-en-scene was created through a park which everyone would have seen and been to. This means the audience can relate to the location. The audience would be hooked on the film from the dramatic opening, so they would take an interest in the film. We had a lot of successful feedback from the age group we want to attract which showed us that they enjoyed the product.

What have i learnt about technologies from the process of constructing my product?
We started to prepare by creating the opening to an action film. We did this short activity before our preliminary exercise so we had more time to get used to the camera's. When doing this we got used to editing and using the apple computer software. This turned out to be a very successful film and gave us more confidence when starting our main activities. From our preliminary task we have learnt and developed many aspects of the group. During planning we had already experienced story boards, so that when it came to the most important task, the thriller opening, we were able to plan sufficiently as a group and make sure we had all the information needed when we started shooting. We developed out understanding on how to shoot footage, and how we had to film more than one good shot to get the best shot we could.
In the process we also learnt about which camera angles would look best and how we could get the best effects.
We also learnt about editing and how to work the program. We also learnt how to add special effects, slow motion and titles. Throughout the making of the film we learnt a lot about how to edit and cut between clips. We learnt about how important music can be in the process and getting the timing correct.
The process also taught us about using 'youtube' to upload our finished product and research other films. Now from this process we know how to upload onto a blog, embed videos and how easy it can be once you know how to do it.

Looking back at my preliminary task, what do i feel i have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The preliminary task taught us how important the initial storyboard and planning stage was in ensuring we had a clear idea about what to film. We then were able to make a storyboard for the thriller and knew what we had to include. We also decided that we needed extra information like camera angles and shot types and movements that would be shot. We found this very useful to get a clear idea of what to film. We learnt we needed to plan every aspect of the film, such as location, characters and props.
The filming process was quite difficult at first when we did our preliminary task, but when we got to the full product we has got used to the equipment and developed out understanding of how to get the best out of the camera. From the first task we got to experience 180 degree rule and shot reverse/match on action.
The editing process was defiantly easier the second time because we had already experienced it, and we had got used to cutting, rearranging, adding titles and effects. This made it quicker that it would have been if it was the first time editing to do out full product.
After the product was complete we had to use youtube to upload, but we did not need to set up an account as we already had one.
We learnt how to both share out the tasks, so we could get everything done, but also and more importantly work as a team so that we could all be included and work together to finish the product.
In conclusion we learnt a lot through the preliminary task and I felt it was vital in making sure that we could make the full product effectively without having too many problems. Apart from this the preliminary exercise gave us confidence that we knew what we had to do and knew how to do it.