2. In what ways does
your media product
use, develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real
media products?
3.
4. The film is titled "Parker", which is the name of the protagonist. We
decided that our film should be mononymous as it supports the typical
conventions of a psychological thriller by using a title that is
mysterious and leaves the audience questioning. This is similar to the
title of the film "Psycho", directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This is where
we got the inspiration for the titles of our opening. The simplicity of
the white font on a black background could suggest the polarization and
contrasts of good and evil. It could also suggest an ambiguity about our
protagonist’s mental state.
Title of the film:
5. Setting/ Location:
We decided to set our film in a
school because we figured out that
it would be the most relatable to
our target audiences, who are teens
aged approximately 16 or 17 years
old.
We challenged the ideals of
generic thrillers as it is
rare – if not impossible –
to find a school as a
location for such films.
However, since this setting
is a very general location
that our target audience can
relate to and recognise we
decided that this location
would be useful.
6. Props
A major prop that
was used in our film
was a scrapbook that
our protagonist uses
to obsess over
Rachel, the subject
of his admiration.
This is does support
the typical
conventions of a
thriller film as it
shows the psychotic
instability and also
a method of
documenting like in
the film Se7en.
7. Camerawork and Editing
During the editing process
of our film, an effect was
put over the webcam/video
diary section of the film.
This is to help audiences
differentiate between the
regular footage and the
video diary footage.
The video
diary footage
is
reminiscent
of typical
thriller
films because
it shows the
protagonist’s
lonely
thoughts that
they do not
share with
anyone else.
A similar convention is used in many of
the Paranormal Activity films. The idea
of it being recorded on a webcam makes
the footage seem more realistic and less
fictional.
8. Camerawork and Editing (continued)
We also used fast-paced
jump-cut editing that
represents the
protagonists, deluded state
of mind and lack of sanity.
It shows that his thoughts
are unorganised and all
over the place.
This convention is also
used in film, Requiem for a
Dream. The montage and
fast-paced shots of the
drug usage show how the
character’s mental state is
deteriorating due to the
drugs and his mind is no
longer in order.
9. Title font and style
The font used in the title of our film is very
straight edged, basic font. This is to suggest
that from the name “Parker”, nothing seems out of
the ordinary or strange about it at all. The font
mirrors our protagonist who, from the outside,
looks like a normal and regular teenager, however
when you get deeper, you realise that is not the
case.
10. Story and how the opening sets it up
In our opening, it is easy to
establish some context from the
very start. You firstly recognise
that it is set in a school.
To begin with, Parker is the
type of teenager that many
teens can relate to. He is a
popular guy in school who has a
crush on a girl in one of his
classes. However, his crush
starts to become obsessive as
we can tell from the extreme
close ups of Rachel, the
object of his obsession.
The story shows
Parker’s
deterioration of mind
set and his obsession
slowly growing as he
becomes closer to
Rachel and more
deluded.
11. Genre and how the opening suggests it
When creating the titles, black and
white were used to show the simple yet
effective conflict between good and
evil, much like the inner conflict
within Parker who is struggling with
his evil thoughts. This is a typical
theme found in mainstream thrillers
When looking back at our audience
research we saw that a large
proportion of the participants
were comedy fans. We did try to
include some comedy aspects (when
Rachel is talking to her friend in
the class room) without
compromising the suspense and
mystery of the thriller.
12. How characters are introduced
Rachel:
Introduced as the sweet, typical
teenage girl who is exactly as you
imagine a teenage girl to be. She
gossips with her friend and talks
about boys. This is typical of a
mainstream film where the lead female
is very similar. An example is Cady
from Mean Girls. A sweet girl who
moves to a new high school.
Parker:
We see Parker as a popular guy in
school, being acknowledged in the
corridor by multiple people. He seems
to be the perfect teenage boy.
However, we later see his psychotic
behaviour and as the plot goes on he
begins to kill. This is similar to
Norman Bates in the TV adapted “Bates
Motel”.
13. Special Effects
The special effects used in our production were minor. We used
a slight effect on the screen (horizontal lines to show the
low quality and pixelated nature of the webcam video) to help
differentiate between the film footage and Parker’s video
diary footage. This suggests that our film is independent due
to the minimalist nature and low budget.
14. How does your media
product represent
particular social
groups?
15. During the audience research section
of our project we discovered that
from our demographic, the majority
of the participants were teenagers,
the vast majority being aged 16 and
17.
This research meant we were able to
cast characters that the audience
were able to relate to and connect
with due to their similarities.
From our results, we also found out
that 71% were female. This meant that
we used a female character as the
victim so the audience felt that the
thriller was more intense as they
were able to relate to the female
character.
Representation
16. What kind of media
institution might
distribute your media
product and why?
17. Mainstream or independent?
I feel that our final cut
contains aspects that fit into
both mainstream and independent.
However, I think that it mostly
fits into the independent
category.
The production value was quite low,
it was mostly all shot using
natural or indoor lighting and the
plot is quite obscure and complex.
These aspects suggest that the
movie is independent.
We did stick to a lot of
stereotypes such as the female
character being the traditional
victim in thrillers and the male
character being the psycho or
suspect. We also have two young
teenage girls in school who are
gossiping– a typical stereotype of
girls in this age group. This
suggest that the movie is
mainstream
Unavoidable halo of
light from indoor
lighting
Uneven lighting from
hallway and glass
window reflection.
18. Lionsgate would be the perfect distributer
for our movie as it is the most successful
independent film distribution company in the
USA. A movie similar to ours that was
distributed by Lionsgate is American Psycho.
It includes the same idea of a person who is
functional in society but also a psychopath.
19. Who would be the
audience for your
media product?
20. Based on our previous audience research this would be the “ideal” audience member for our film.
They would be aged between
16 and 25.
Their favourite bands may
include bands such as, The
All-American Rejects, MGMT
or the Arctic Monkeys.
The audience members are
likely to shop in stores
such as American Apparel,
Topshop and Urban
Outfitters.
They are likely to be
interested in independent
or science fiction films.
These may include Blade
Runner, Seven, The Blaire
Witch Project.
The genres of music that
they would listen to
include indie, alternative
and pop punk.
They would enjoy TV shows
such as Breaking Bad, The
Office and Parks and Rec.
22. We tried to attract and appeal to as many as people
possible, using our audience research we found out that
the most popular genre of film was comedy. Because of
this we tried to integrate some slightly funny elements
(the conversation between Rachel and her friend)
However, we didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere of the
thriller so it was slightly difficult.
Based on the majority age of our participants, we
decided that the best idea would be to have the movie
rated 15. That way, the movie won’t be too boring (PG,
12A), can contain strong language and mild violence but
it won’t cross the 18+ restriction (which most of the
participants couldn’t view).
Our main goal was to produce a film opening that would
be suspenseful and tense for our audience. In order to
do that, we had to stick to certain mainstream thriller
conventions. These consisted of:
• Low, slow paced music
• Psychological themes
• Fast-paced editing
• Extreme close ups of victim
23. The school environment is another way that we
attracted the audience. Based on the approximate
ages of our target audience, it is very likely
that the majority are able to recognises and
relate to the location in which we shot the film.
The majority of them may be in school, or left
school in the last few years. The audience are
likely to feel a stronger bond or connection with
the charaters who are very similar to them in age
24. What have you learnt
about technologies
from the process of
constructing this
product?
25. To shoot the film, we used the Canon EOS 70D camera on
a tripod. While using the camera to shoot the film, I
realised that while the auto focus setting is very
useful, sometimes the manual focuas can be much more
effective. Using the manual focus, I was able to pull
focus, changing the focus from foreground to
background.
26. In order to get the very smooth and steady tracking
shots, we used tracks. This helps to level the camera
and keep it steady as well as give it a steady tracking
shot as you push it slowly. The speed is very even and
it gives us more professional looking shots.
27. Using Apple’s software, iMovie, we were able to
edit all of our dialogue, video and music clips
together. We also over-layed the names and titles
onto the footage.
28. I also learned that different microphones are good
for picking up different types of sounds. For
example, the microphone built in to the camera picks
up all sound within a small distance of it but it
also picks up a lot of background noise. Because of
this we used an external microphone to pick up the
dialogue more easily.
29. Looking back at your
preliminary task,
what do you feel you
have learnt in the
progression from it
to full product?
30. Technically, we have
learned a lot since
the preliminary task.
We have learned how
to record at a far
higher quality. As
you can see in the
first screen shot,
the camera is not
straight and so the
door frame is
positioned at an
angle. However in the
bottom picture,
everything in the
corridor is aligned
and in the right
place.
31. We have also learned a lot about
continuity. As you can see her, the boy
on the left hand sinde of the screen in
the first image is wearing glasses.
However, later on (as you can see in
the second image) he is no longer seen
with glasses on.
