Question 5 evaluation

Q) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for our media product would be young adults. The film uses similar things that teenagers can relate to. some of the themes used are sex, drugs, which would appeal to a younger audience. This is conveyed in the opening of our thriller. Although the target audience is young adults, the message that is being conveyed could appeal to adults as it is a universal message, i.e keep safe.

Sophie, 17, studies Fashion, Media and photography for A-level. In her spare time she enjoys going to the cinema, hanging out with friends and shopping. She loves make up and designer labels and loves spending nights in with her girls watching films. One of her favourite films is Shaun Of The Dead.

Question 3 evaluation

Q) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? How will you attract/address your audience?

These media students posted their thriller film on youtube and it received 1,641 hits. I will aim to promote my film similarly. I would describe my film as an independent film which would attract a niche audience. I think a production company like Studio Canal would suit this film best because it is familiar with niche audiences. They have produced films such as Shaun of the Dead, which was a success. For my film, i'd advertise over myspace as it is popular amongst young people. I would then further my advertising onto Facebook, as many facebook users have swapped their myspace accounts for Facebook accounts due to their own social groups switching over. This would increase popularity as both myspace and facebook carry many users within the target age for my film.

I then would go onto screening my film at screen on the Green (an independent cinema) which would be for my peers, family, etc. The feedback i get could help me enhance the advertising for the film and then, if the film does get good feedback, i would then take my film to a film festival which would be good advertising for the film and the feedback would be helpful. For example, Sundance film festival.

Question 2 evaluation.

Q) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Marathon Man shares similarities with our thriller. For example, they both show a protagonist vs. antagonist. I am the antagonist therefore i am made to look vulnerable or prey. We know this because the mid-long shot of me in the living room shows me sitting on a sofa. The frame consists of furniture, therefore seeming like i am small. Similarly, in Marathon man, we see Dustin Hoffman sitting in a chair. the mid-long shot is a contrast to my character, as we see him sitting on his own, on a chair in the middle of the room. The frame is empty, but this works well and shows that he too is the protagonist as he seems very vulnerable.

As the protagonist is shown more, the audience get to know them more, therefore empathising with the character. As there is little shots of the antagonist, they are seen to be evil and this creates a tension. The shots of the antagonist show minimal facial expressions. But, although they have less shots than the protagonist, the facial expressions and shots tell the audience a lot about the character. In my thriller, David is seen as the antagonist. Because the audience have already seen my character, David's presence is sensed as cautious. Point of view shots show David's true meanings with me.

In marathon man, the antagonist has the same facial expressions as our antagonist, David. They both look at their victims with blank facial expressions. This shows that although they know what they want to do, they have no guilt.

Dr Szell from marathon man is part of a Nazi collective society. This is aware throughout the film but in our thriller, David's character is not as clear. We know he is a young adult, but his intentions for me are not normal for a young adult. The close ups of david imply that he has spiked the drink, but they also help with establishing Davids character without knowing his social background.

The idea of the thriller is to portray me and David as fun, flirtatious teenagers. This is made aware by me getting ready with the make up and david holding my shoulders as we go in the living room. David fits the stereotype of a typical teenage boy who wants to get with me. Evidently sexual attraction is there. The change in events show David's true aim when the audience learn that he has trapped me. The audience see my youthful persona in the first shots as my bedroom shows pink colours and also, at the end as i am very naive to follow David.

Question 1 evaluation.

Q) In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media products?

Our title sequence contained many thriller conventions. The opening from "a touch of evil" is a good comparison to the thriller opening we created. The opening of "a touch of evil" shows a urban setting. The mid-long shot showing cars and quite busy frames, with people in the shot, gives a feel of normality. Inn comparison, our thriller opening shows a suburban street, with a panning shot from the sky to the front of the house where I am standing outside. The rural settings work well and the fact that the street is empty gives a sense of normality, but then again the shot of the house is a key feature as it is where I am held captive.

A commonly used feature in thrillers is protagonist vs. antagonist. In our opening, both are displayed clearly. The shots of Me getting ready are significant. They show close ups of me doing my make up etc. This shows a normality of day to day life and that I am some what innocent as I carry on with day to day tasks as normal.

The shots of David portray a somewhat mysterious character. The close ups of the back of his head and the facial shots make him seem quite evil. A sense of normality is shown by him greeting her at the door. But this is soon shown to be fake as the shots of him sort of looking at the girl makes her seem like a victim or even prey. The cross cutting between the two characters show the contrast and roles that each of them play. Therefore displaying the power each of them has and the protagonist and antagonist.

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

How is suspense created in 'Marathon Man'?

The opening of the film opens with a panning shot of Dustin Hoffman's feet running. This creates a sinister feel. In the scene "is it safe," various camera shots reveal that Dustin Hoffman is the protagonist. This is made aware by a long-mid shot with an empty frame showing he is the pray as he is sitting in the middle of an empty room. When the two men enter the frame, they are dressed in suits and surround him, which acts as a form of intimidation. The dim lighting in the scene shows only one light which is focused on Dustin Hoffman. This shows that he is the prey or protagonist as the men stay out of the light which also shows he is the main focus in the frame.

Final Film

Thriller preview feedback

Evaluation Question 8) Audience feedback and comment

Here are is a wordle of our feedback forms, it shows the words that were most repeated. As you can see many words relate to the theme of our film; drugs, sex i.e. words, party,heels, sexual. Other words such as 'small and production' show that it is clear we aim for niche audience, as it seems like a small production film.

Match cut - Tania & Sarah

Pitch

We were unable to put up the powerpoint of our Pitch, however it is much clearer in the video. Our pitch went considerably well, Sarah and Rosa came up with the brief idea, and we all elaborated on it. Our working title for now was 'the drink' however this was a cliche and obvious title, our final title became 'taken'. We explained our plans for filming and our schedule. We told them the various shots we would use to express the events in the film, i.e. the glass being significant in the film.

Rough Cut

Animatic

Our storyboard was a total of 40+ shots, we made sure we included several match cuts and various shots, consisting of long shots and close ups. Fast paced editing is used at the beginning of the film in the extract where Sarah is getting ready. We show what our panning shots will lead to, for example the long shot of the house. Our storyboard will act as guidance and plan for our filming and shooting day. Obviously some shots may not happen, and our filming may lead to creating other innovative shots where we feel necessary.

Definition of suspense

The feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions.