In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The music we used was influenced mainly from the film phone booth. The music relates to the title ‘Prank Call’ the music stays a fast face, developing a dramatic tension that gets the audience thinking. From our questionnaire the comments that we had got from the music was positive however one participant said that the constant music of the telephone ringing was boring and did not give and insight or develop a interest to the audience in any way due to the music being repetitive. Our editing was simple and fast paced, picking up audience interest and drawing them into the film. This feature is common in thrillers and other types as it pulls in the audience . Within our opening sequence we did use some conventions of the thriller genre such as the typical victim, innocent and helpless which is typical within thriller genres, also the music which sounded gloomy and creating tension is also a convention of the thriller genre as it pulls the audience in and wonders what is going to happen due to the tension, also within our opening sequence we had the typical killer that all thrillers have, usually in thrillers they are disguised and not knowing who they are which we did as we did not show the killers face. We used some interesting camera techniques to create effect such as the point of view shot of the killer following the victim, this shot creates tension and suspense as which also uses the shot to create However, audience feedback made us aware to the lack of interesting variety of shot distances, as we were focusing on what was in the shot more than if it was mid, long or close. We filmed during the day which did not fit in the conventions of the thriller genre as thrillers tend to have a dark & mysterious Mise-en-scene. A typical thriller convention is that main action is shot at night, which we did not have as we filmed during the day, if we had filmed at night we would have met the convention of thriller genre as it creates a more sinister feel to the film. In our opening sequence the ways in which it meets the convention of a typical thriller genre is the music, the victims which always seem weak and helpless also the setting also due to the fact that it is shot in a school and the audience can relate to this due to the fact that the thriller is for aged 15 and over.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Within our opening sequence there is only one character that is
Within our opening sequence there is only one character that is
male, represented as a helpless victim and scared because there is someone following him. Within thriller genres you usually see a women that is the victim as being helpless in this case it is a male that is the victim, and i personally think within our opening sequence it does not represent a particular group as it is just a short opening sequence with hardly any action except when the victim is killed at the end by the unknown killer, what I can say about the representation is that because it is filmed in a school and the victim is a student in the opening sequence is could be represented at young people, as they could have an understanding and feel what’s going on within the dangers outside of the school, overall I think that if the opening sequence had to be aimed at a particular group I would say that it would be aimed at young typical teenagers. And this is represented by the setting as it is in a school and also the character, because the victim is also young and the use of dialogue he is speaking in within the opening sequence.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The kind of media institution that would distribute our film would have probably distributed films alike , However Working Title is also a possibility for the distribution of our film, as although is produces main-stream films, they like to pick up and develop new talent and they are a British film company, and our film is British. However its connection with Universal Studio’s makes its films more mainstream and less independent, however our thriller isn’t extremely independent or a risk to a company. None of the films I researched were eccentrically showed on TV, proving that a -thriller like mine are more likely to be released in the Cinema’s, on DVD and on Blu-Ray. I personally think a small media insitiution might distribute my media product as it for young people and not for a wider audience.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I had researched the films that inspired me to make my opening sequence and found the audience demographics that seemed to enjoy it. With all 3 films the most popular age group were the 15-18, closely followed by 20’s, however the movies had a mix in the gender preferation, as both gender’s seemed to enjoy the films pretty much equally .I thought that the audience for my opening sequence would be 15-as they are the sort of age groups that enjoy watching teenage thrillers about young teenagers. Our target audience (working class, young teenagers, possibly young adults and made up of mainly students as earlier questionnaires proved 75% of people who enjoyed-thrillers were students). As a typical young teenager would go see a thriller at the cinemas often.
I had researched the films that inspired me to make my opening sequence and found the audience demographics that seemed to enjoy it. With all 3 films the most popular age group were the 15-18, closely followed by 20’s, however the movies had a mix in the gender preferation, as both gender’s seemed to enjoy the films pretty much equally .I thought that the audience for my opening sequence would be 15-as they are the sort of age groups that enjoy watching teenage thrillers about young teenagers. Our target audience (working class, young teenagers, possibly young adults and made up of mainly students as earlier questionnaires proved 75% of people who enjoyed-thrillers were students). As a typical young teenager would go see a thriller at the cinemas often.
How did you attract/address your audience?
we were aiming for working class or students . As the character was a teenager in school the audience can relate to this as it is a young teenager and the dialogue his using , they can relate to the dialogue due to them speaking in that use of dialogue also, I also attracted them by adding the suspicious phone music which got the audiences instrest.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
We learnt a lot throughout the production of the thriller, regarding different aspects of technology including camera work and editing. We developed shooting knowledge, and how to capture certain shots. We learnt that filming once wasn’t good enough if we wanted the best shots, and a full battery was essential. We learnt how to best capture high angle shots and long shots, and how to maneuver the camera up the stairs whilst filming. We had difficulties with some shots. We developed understanding of creating certain thriller signifiers, create trapped feelings. Editing became quite simple after we got the hand of the program, however we had to learn certain effects on the program such as quicken shots, cut shots down, separate sound and video, adding effective titles & transitions), and alternating between captured material to create a flowing story with a readable narrative. Although we thought we did quite a good job of fast-paced editing providing how many times we had to cut it down, re film and re capture our material. We also had to learn to edit the music to fit in with the shots, to fit the right bits of music in the right places, so it ended smoothly with a sound at the end.
We learnt a lot throughout the production of the thriller, regarding different aspects of technology including camera work and editing. We developed shooting knowledge, and how to capture certain shots. We learnt that filming once wasn’t good enough if we wanted the best shots, and a full battery was essential. We learnt how to best capture high angle shots and long shots, and how to maneuver the camera up the stairs whilst filming. We had difficulties with some shots. We developed understanding of creating certain thriller signifiers, create trapped feelings. Editing became quite simple after we got the hand of the program, however we had to learn certain effects on the program such as quicken shots, cut shots down, separate sound and video, adding effective titles & transitions), and alternating between captured material to create a flowing story with a readable narrative. Although we thought we did quite a good job of fast-paced editing providing how many times we had to cut it down, re film and re capture our material. We also had to learn to edit the music to fit in with the shots, to fit the right bits of music in the right places, so it ended smoothly with a sound at the end.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
We feel we have developed on many aspects of our group and learnt more along the way.During our thriller planning we already experienced most of the main points needed; story boards and scripts. However we learnt we needed extra information for filming to go smoothly, like camera angles, shot types and cast movements, planned on separate papers with room The filming process was again, different with extra aspects we needed to pay attention to. We also had to learn how to use titles on the film foreground, and the effects in and out, as we hadn’t used that before, as with the quickening up shots, rendering and exporting to final cut, We also learnt to share out tasks, as there were many more than from preliminary..In conclusion, we learnt a lot during the production, especially that we needed to plan further ahead to meet deadlines, and organize/communicate throughout the group to get the best results.
We feel we have developed on many aspects of our group and learnt more along the way.During our thriller planning we already experienced most of the main points needed; story boards and scripts. However we learnt we needed extra information for filming to go smoothly, like camera angles, shot types and cast movements, planned on separate papers with room The filming process was again, different with extra aspects we needed to pay attention to. We also had to learn how to use titles on the film foreground, and the effects in and out, as we hadn’t used that before, as with the quickening up shots, rendering and exporting to final cut, We also learnt to share out tasks, as there were many more than from preliminary..In conclusion, we learnt a lot during the production, especially that we needed to plan further ahead to meet deadlines, and organize/communicate throughout the group to get the best results.
