1. Media Evaluation Louise Huntley

2. Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Our thriller film incorporates generic conventions of the thriller genre such as the setting, a small town in which is a popular location for films of a similar sub-genre, psychological thriller, such as Seven, Silence of the Lambs and Fatal Attraction. To further develop the conventions of this sub-genre we added the stalking characteristic by using a low angled mid tracking shot of the feet, this allows the locations to be established as well as building mystery and suspense. Furthermore we used some point of view shots to establish the paranoia theme and to allow the audience to connect with the main character, this is used especially when the character walks past people who are staring, the pace slows down again to reinforce the stares are directed to the character. We tried to challenge the conventions by limiting the shots to show faces, this means an antagonist and protagonist are not established unlike other films of the thriller genre, I think this to be a good aspect of our film as it creates mystery for the audience and keeps them guessing and can trick the mind in which is a common convention of the psychological thriller sub-genre. A scene in the filmThe Exorcism of Emily Rose was of particular influence to us, the scene in which she is seeing the faces of demons everywhere watching her and everyone seems to watch her and stare, we thought about this quite a bit because we liked the way in which is was filmed as it created much suspense and kept the audience on the edge of their seat in which is a task we needed to pursue through out our opening sequence.

3. Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? Our media product represents social groups though gender, age, race and class. Our main character is a young white male of a middle class background represented through his tailored trousers and neat composition, this subverts conventions in a way as usually the female character would be followed and murdered however this role being played by a male could be more appealing to the women in the audience however it could also produce the opposite feeling as there is no female character at present to relate to and connect with the character. This is reinforced by only male glaring at the victim, they also are young white males of around a middle to lower class range. The cast being quite young could make it hard for the audience to connect with the characters due to their age and once again limiting the audience range due to the limited variations of the cast thus perhaps creating a barrier between the audience and the characters. This is also seen in the thriller film The Talented Mr Ripley, a film in which the two main characters are young white males in which links to our thriller film.

4. Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? The media institution in which might distribute our thriller film is most probable to be a TV channel most likely to be channel 4 due to the amateur movie feel to the film itself. Channel 4 screen many different films on their film four channel in which screens films from blockbusters to documentary style films. However our film is of quite good quality and would not be shun to the internet due to special effects in the film like the fast paced parts and the good quality angles in parts. The representation of the male character and the paranoia film i think would attract the institution as they screen quite a few documentaries about illnesses of the body and mind such as Autism the musical studying the mind and body of those with autism in which links to our thriller film in which studies a young man with paranoia.

5. Q4: Who would be the audience for your media product? By studying our film and from previous research of the standards of BBFC I would rate our film a 15 certificate. This is due to the cast being young and the lack of severe violence and language. The narrative is too complex for a 12 rating as it explores the mind and those younger than 15 could find the theme of paranoia quite hard to comprehend. Although this could be argued as the content of this film does not focus solely on the murder thus producing limited amount of violence however though the BBFC look at the content of the film they also consider the themes of the film and how suited they are to audiences. Furthermore I think more males would be attracted to the film due to the male cast themselves this is reinforced by the style of the film, it being quite complex at times is attracting to men as a challenge.

6. Q5: How did you attract/address your audience? Before actually making the film this was a question we had to think about, we chose young adults as a target audience of lower to middle class creating quite a wide audience range, therefore we used characters of the same stereotype in order for the audience to connect with the characters in the film. As our audience was more targeted at males we needed our film to be as engaging as possible thus using special effects such as adjusting the pace using Adobe After Effects and using a variety of camera shots such as point of view shots of low angles and high angles. When we had finished our first draft of the film feedback was essential so that we could adjust the film to fit the expectations and desires of it’s target audience, young white mainly males from a middle to lower class stereotype. The point of view from the window seemed to be a favourite of the shots as it created mystery and suspense as the audience got a shot from both the victim and the apparent stalker. Thus the audience is put in the position at times of both the victim and the other characters who watch the victim, there is a constant cut to the feet always watching the character, so when it cuts to the point of view of the victim this allows the audience to feel vulnerable and connect with the character. This is a generic convention of the thriller genre and most directors like the audience to feel vulnerable, especially in psychological thrillers as it plays with the mind allowing the director to control the audiences emotions and feelings thus creating suspense and making the audience feel uneasy.

7. Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product? From the process of constructing our media product I have learnt a wide range of skills in filming and post production. I know how to use the camera effectively and the correct use of the other equipment such as the tri-pod. I already had a good knowledge of the camera angles however during this task I have been able to learn how to use them effectively to create mood in the film. I am very able now in working with the post production editing software such as Adobe Premier Pro and Audacity. I also gained a small amount of knowledge in the software Adobe After Effects from a group member. I would like to continue to learn and use Adobe After Effects as it is a great programme that allows you to do lots of different things effective for editing film.

8. Q7: Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? From the preliminary task I have since progressed on many different levels. I have progressed when working with technologies such as camera and editing software. In the preliminary task I found it difficult to work with the camera and I felt awkward now I have more experience and feel comfortable with it. I have developed skills such as storyboarding and working closer as a team. With storyboarding in our preliminary task we had a shot list so it was easier where as starting from scratch was quite difficult and as a group we learnt to create a descriptive and accurate storyboard and I learnt it is really important to have a good storyboard as it aids you in the filming a lot. I learnt a lot about the content the preliminary task was easy and quick to film as it was straight forward where as this task was harder we needed hours of film to get the right shots and a lot of our filming we scrapped.