media

1. Question Three: What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
MEDIA STUDIES: THRILLER OPENING EVALUATION

2. Mainstream or indie?
My thriller shares some similarities of that produced for a niche market. The use of young
actors and gritty isolated youth groups is typical of British independent films from
FilmFour. The gloomy aesthetic and small budget characteristics in the FilmFour film
Lovely Bones (2009) bought on my the use of natural landscape rather than lavish sets
shares parallels with my natural surrounded thriller. However, the partnership with the
conglomerate DreamWorks enabled some leniency in autonomy in question of
budgeting, also provided larger release in a wide variety of countries, which if it had been
the independent FilmFour, the film would have not enjoyed these luxuries and most likely
would have had a limited theatrical release and focused on VoD services as Film Four
often do. Therefore, this sets my thriller apart from Lovely Bones some what which
allowed me to develop the idea of a thriller television show, fuelled by the recent rise in
popularity of such thrillers in TV form and the wider appreciation for the medium
especially with the bigger stars. The spike in bigger budget TV shows such as Breaking
Bad (2008-2013) and The Walking Dead (2010-) which rake in millions per episode, allows
for the suggestion of thrillers to be successfully translated from film to TV. My thriller
specifically, shows ties with season one of True Detective (2014) which was released in
episode form. The thriller follows an investigation into the death of a young girl which is
believed to be part of an organisation of power in the town in which it is set. These
parallels and the increase of thrillers such as The Bridge and The Killing (2007-2012)
pushed me to suggest my thriller be produced in this form. Therefore, my thriller will be
classed as an independent TV thriller.

3. Where would my thriller most likely to be watched?
The young teen lead and strong influence of a gritty mise-en-scene also suggests it will be distributed to target a younger
audience, perhaps on the channel E4 which often targets this audience with dark thrillers such as Skins (2007-2013), Misfits
(2009-2013) and Glue (2014). Each of which focus on a full exposure on teen life which the motive to relate specifically to this
age group, much like my thriller. Therefore, my thriller may well have a place among them.
One of the main influences of the industry moving towards TV is the
increase us of at home entertainment, websites such as Netflix and Amazon
Prime are preplacing cinemas and allowing users to access entertainment at home. The
service now has 75 million subscribers, now allowing the service to produce their own brand
of TV Shows which it streams exclusively on their site. Shows such as Orange Is the New
Black (2013-) and House of Cards (2013-) are amongst the most popular and gain a
substantial financial support, one of the reasons and indeed evidence for the profitability of
the television market. Netflix offers a wide range of thrillers and provides a search for sub
genres, even independent thrillers in which my may be classed. The increase of pop cultures
utilisation of sites such as Netflix may profit a thriller such as mine, thrillers keep audiences
in suspense which is perfect in order to promote viewership throughout a series