Evaluation - Charina Clarkson

Evaluation

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The genre of our product is a thriller. Therefore the conventions used were vital to reveal the type of film. Elements such as knives, photos of the young girls, drugs and alcohol represent the genre of our opening sequence as they convey violence (see image 1, 2 and 3). The mise-en-scene is another element to making our genre look like a thriller. We decided to use an old looking garage/workshop. We did this to reveal what type of character the protagonist was. Also, the garage/workshop is typical of a man’s work. The brick was old and the paint work was pealing – this was to add the thriller aspect of the film (see image 1). Our feedback made us aware that the location worked well: “The brickwork made it look scary! And because it is set in a garage, it makes it realistic”.

The characters also reveal the genre because they are stereotypical of thriller films. We used a male villain and two young innocent girls. This demonstrates the realism we have tried to create to engage the audience. I will later discuss the characters we used.

The text we used also enhanced to thriller aspect. It gave a sort of carved effect and made it looked old. We decided to use the colour white as it stood out from the dark, mysterious atmosphere created in the sequence (see image 4 and 12).

I feel we fulfilled the challenges set. The task was to do an opening sequence. An opening sequence needs to establish time and place; to set up enigmas; to establish the main characters; to set up an initial equilibrium; to introduce any themes and motifs linked to ideologies (messages) in the film and to set audience expectations e.g. style and plot. I feel we fulfilled these requirements. We set up time and place by introducing the mise-en-scene slowly. This was done by a slow panning shot giving iconography away e.g alcohol bottles, drugs, knifes etc. (see image 2 and 3). When the audience watch the sequence they would be able to piece the setting together. Finally, we showed the girls in the garage/workshop – this gave away the whole of the setting. We can tell the film is set in the present day due to clothing.

The main characters were introduced in an unusual way. The girls were firstly introduced at the very beginning: the panning shot of the photographs (see image 1 and 4). When they were shown, the audience were unaware of why the photos are used. I feel this gave our product an innovation because of the unique introduction of the characters. They were then properly introduced when the light switches on to reveal the situation. The audience then realises that the two girls shown are the two girls in the photographs. The villain is introduced by using a panning shot across his table (filled with empty alcohol bottles and drugs) to show him cutting up a photo of the two girls to add to his collection (see image 5 and 6). His identity is not revealed, this creates an enigma to the audience. Enigmas were set throughout the whole of the opening sequence. Later on in my evaluation I will discuss the enigmas we created.

Our feedback told us that they liked the panning shot at the beginning: “At first when you see the photos you don’t really realise who they are, but then when you see the girls centred in the room you realise that it is them”. “I like how the credits were at the very beginning as the photos were shown; it made it look like a real film."

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The types of people we have represented are two young innocent teenage girls and a villain. We paid particular attention to their clothing and the way they were represented: as naive teenagers. The villain was our protagonist because he will be shown mainly throughout the film as the main character. We did this by introducing him to the audience first. In a typical thriller film, the protagonist is usually a hero – again, this is other innovation we created. The villain’s face is never shown throughout the opening sequence. This is to show he has a hidden identity and to add the suspense of the film, typical of the genre. We dressed him in a black coat – the black represents his power and his mysterious nature. The girls were dressed in modern clothing worn by girls out our era. One of the girls is wearing a white vest top – this portrays her innocence (see image 7, the girl on the right). Our feedback commented “You can see the villain is sinister and dangerous…it gave me shivers when he stroked the girl’s face!”

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Because our target audience is aimed at teenagers, the film could be shown at the cinema. Young people enjoy going to the cinema quite regularly so I feel it could be successful. Our opening sequence was produced on a limited budget and think it could work as a British production to make a good profit. The first ‘Saw’ film was distributed Lionsgate. ‘Saw II’ was distributed by Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate. These companies will be an appropriate distributer for our product as they have distributed a lot of the same genre as our film.

Question 4: Who would be the audience for you media product?
We decided to aim our opening sequence at young people (i.e teenagers 15-19). We chose this target audience because we can relate to it and know the audience’s expectations. However, anyone over the age of 15 will still enjoy it if they like thriller films. I feel gender and ethnicity of any individual will also like our product. People who share the interest of thriller genre will obviously also enjoy it.

We gave the certificate of our film at 15; this allowed 15 years old people to watch it as well as anyone older. We made the victims young girls because this invited the audience of the same interests. It makes the audience feel more scared when they are watching it because they feel like it could be them.

Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
Because the genre of the film is a thriller, the audience had expectations that needed to be fulfilled. I feel we did this well by attracting and addressing the audience.

We set up equilibrium and disruption in the narrative. We firstly introduced the setting and the main characters. The story was set up and then disrupted when the light switch was turned on the find the two girls on the floor – this created an impact to the sequence and shocked the audience (see image 7 and 8). Because we decided our opening sequence was going to act like a prologue we could disrupt the equilibrium early. This makes the audience hooked and will want to see a re-equilibrium established.

Sense of time was created by using contemporary clothing and equipment (i.e bottles of alcohol, beer etc).

Enigmas were set up constantly during our opening sequence. Why is a man setting up knives? (see image 9) Why is he collecting photographs of young girls? (see image 1 and 6). Why has he captured the girls? Is it out of revenge? What will he do to them? Our feedback told us: “The knives being set out created an enigma. When he puts them in order, it contributes to his obsessive nature.”

We created a ‘binary opposition’ by creating conflict between the characters. The audience can immediately understand the contrast between the characters due to the man and his violent weapons, and the use of innocence and vulnerability the girls portray. This was shown through facial expression, body language and costume (see images 10 and 11).

We built up tension during our opening sequence. This was done by adding music that created suspense. Our feedback told us: “The music fits well with the genre of the film. It sets a good scene and tells the audience that something bad is going to happen and you just don’t know when!”. The use of a slow panning shot at the beginning was used to introduce the characters and created a sense of anxiety. The use of props used (i.e alcohol, knives, drugs) added tension too, as they are typically associated with violence (see image 2). The characters also did – they are typical of a thriller film.

I feel our project conforms to dominant ideologies showing young females at risk from violent males. The themes were created were obsession and love.

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of construction this product?
We constructed the opening sequence on iMovie. This was a new programme to use for me. But after being taught how to use it I became very good at using it. I didn’t find any limitations; I felt the software made it accessible to make it look like a real film. This programme allowed us to cut the film; rearrange the shots; add audio; add text (credits).

We did research on the internet before we set to film out product. We went on sites such as youtube.com to look at how other producers made an opening sequence to a film. On the internet is where were composed our blog – this allowed us to keep a record of our research and the construction of our product.

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel we have developed so much since the preliminary task. Elements such as the composition of the shots; the smoothness of editing and transitions; and sound and lighting are improved. The narratives of our preliminary task and final product are completely different, so it is hard to compare the two. However, I feel the overall progression has developed dramatically. The preliminary task taught us the importance of continuity techniques such as match on action; shot-reverse shot; 180° rule – all of which we used well in our project.

To conclude, I feel our overall product worked quite well. I feel it creates tension and mystery. However, because we worked in such a large group we had a lot of different opinions on how the product could be structured. However, having a large group meant more ideas were available. I believe that the overall opening sequence could be used as a real piece. However, better quality of camera, acting and setting will need to be improved. Lots of time and effort went into making our piece a success. And now I appreciate the amount of work real films have to make them achievable.

Charina Clarkson.