Evaluation - Lauren

1. Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products
The genre of my film is a Thriller; it uses the conventions of a Thriller to
In our opening sequence we highlight this genre through the main conventions of
a Thriller. An aimof a thriller is to build up tension and make audiences engaged
and on the edge of their seats throughout the film. My media product uses the
forms of real media products; the opening sequence includes shots a
stereotypical Thriller would include. It includes Low lighting, Fast Pace editing,
quick cuts, Tracking shots and intense music. These all add up in making my
product a successful Thriller. It also uses the conventions of a Thriller by
containing a twist in the plot immediately in the opening. The opening shows a
female getting ready for a prom, but getting calls from an unknown number
which she keeps ignoring. The person who seems to be calling her is then
introduced dressed in all black with his hood up. This use of mise-en-scene
through costume would make the audience think it is the character dressed in
black who is in fact the villain of the film. We then see a twist in the plot when
the female main character is seen to kill the character everyone thought was the
villain. This leads to the audience wanting to carry on watching the film as they
have many unanswered questions such as to why the female character is so calm
and at ease when killing the man. The female character is shown a countertype
here, as stereotypically women would be emotional and scared if this was to
happen. This countertype of the questioned villain will engage the audience and
constantly keep them on the edge of their seats. An example of this is the
Hunger games. The hunger games uses a variety of camera shots to create
tension and keep audiences engaged and continuously on the edge of their seats
throughout the film. Conventions of a Thriller may be seen as challenged through
the use of mise-en-scene. Black is usually used to signify the villain in the film.
We see black used in costume to show power and show dominant characters.
Props are also used highlighting the conventions of real media products, these
props include a range of guns, knives etc. all related to crime. A knife is used in
our product to highlight this thriller genre. Another example of a successful
Thriller is Shutter Island. Leonardo DiCaprio was the main character in the film,
but this challenged the conventions of a thriller, as he was neither a villain nor a
hero. Therefore, he wasn’t an established character. Other characters involved
where police, which do follow conventions of a crime Thriller, allowing audiences
to feel excited and intrigued about the genre. Props are also used like guns and
criminal activity is involved throughout the whole film. This film was a successful
thriller due to its shots. Shots used involved extreme close ups, low angle shots
and many more. These created effects making audience engaged and excited to
see the story to come.

2. 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Age is represented in my media product. The main female character in the
opening sequence is a teenager. My media product represents teenagers
through the use of mise en scene. Costume expresses this age group, the prom
dress is the main costume that shows this, as it shows that teenagers like to
party and dress up. The use of props of the phone also represents teenagers. It
shows the stereotypical teenager who is consumed by media and technology.
Age is further highlighted through the mirror shots. Several times in the opening
sequence that main character is seen to be surrounded by mirrors. This highlights
the pressure of teenagers to look good and insecurity’s they may have trying to
look a certain way, it shows they are always concerned about what they look like.
Clueless (1995) opening shows an example of teenagers. The opening sequence
does this mainly through mise-en-scene. Through the montage of locations
teenagers are represented, these locations include parties, shopping centres etc.
We also see the particular social group of teenagers represented through the
actors. My media product also represents teenagers through the use of the main
female young actor. Gender is also represented in my media product. The main
character in the sequence is female. Females are represented to be self-
conscious and care about what they look like. Stereotypically, females are
interested in fashion; this is a negative stereotype as it shows that females only
care about themselves and their looks. An example of a film that represents
gender is Mean girls (2004), which is a teen drama. The main character is a
counter typical female one could suggest. She is played by Lindsey Lohan. We see
she is a counter typical female through the use of mise-en-scene. She is dressed
in darker colours and not as ‘girly’ as others. Also we see her not really care what
she looks like, her hair is up and it looks like not much time has been spent on
her getting ready. This is counter typical, as stereotypically females take most
there time worrying about what they look like trying to fit in. However, the
majority of females are represented through stereotypical characters as seen in
the clip. The comparison of the main character to other females actually
highlights the fact that all girls care about their looks and what they wear etc.
The shots shown show that if females are not these stereotypical characters they
don’t fit in society. In my product I will use a stereotypical female who likes to
dress up, go to parties, wear makeup and take time with what they look like. I
will do this by showing the build-up of her leaving while also continuing with the
plot to also build up tension and uneasiness, keeping the audience engaged.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
We have decided to work with working titles, which is vertically integrated with
US Company, universal. Working titles is owned by Eric Fellner and TimBevan,
and is known for its ‘mid-Atlantic’ nature. We have decided to work with working
titles, as universal is a huge worldwide distributor and has distributed films such

3. as Jurassic Park (Opening weekend at box office intake: $47,026,828 ) and The
Bourne supremacy (Opening weekend at box office intake: $52,521,865 ). We
have decided to distribute this internationally, with a wide release in cinemas
first, then distribute it in DVDs. We will be able to successfully do this, as
universal is a major distributor in the UK film industry and internationally, so the
well-known name will attract a large audience. Universal also has the money to
fund the project. We will distribute the film through above the line marketing
and this will lead to some below the line marketing. Above the line marketing we
will use includes trailers, posters, billboards etc. We will also use some cross
media convergence with apps to do with the film. Jurassic Park’s distribution
included posters, trailers and all the traditional distribution; it also had a game
out which attracted audiences, and promoted the filmeven more.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The demographic groups we are seeking to target as our primary audience are
both genders around the age 16-25. The range of the age of the audience is wide
due to the plot, mise-en-scene and characters involved shown in our sequence.
Some psychographic factors of our audience would be people who like crime
films, interested in investigations etc. Our target audience likes thrillers and the
intensity. A successful thriller that have targeted this age audience is ‘Divergent’.
Our audience feedback showed that teenagers aged 16-17 would like there to be
a build-up of the story line but not too much exposed in the opening as they said
it would not engage them as much. Therefore we have introduced a character to
express or genre and a bit of our plot. Stereotypically males will enjoy thrillers
including crime scenes etc., but out survey showed that females enjoy thrillers
too. We followed the convention of not showing too much of the storyline at the
start, but after our first rough cut the audience said the storyline was not 100%
clear. We therefore watched our clip again discussing what to do to make the
storyline clear but still not give too much away. We decided to show more of the
‘unknown’ person. The audience feedback also suggested we could make the
ending more intense through our editing technique. We therefore decided to
end the clip with a sound of the door slamming shut going to a black screen. This
makes the readers on the edge of their seats wanting to know what happens
next to all characters, and create tension. Our secondary audience is over 31
year olds. This is because we want the filmto have a wide audience and we think
our genre appeals to all ages, but as our primary target audiences is 16-17 year
olds we have included mainly more mise-en-scene that will appeal to them. We
will reach this secondary audience through the use of older actors and the
storyline. Even though the plot starts of with a girl going to prom, the thriller
genre will attract this audience due to the fact that they will know it isn’t just
another teen drama for kids and the violence in it will be more appealing and
interesting for them. This filmwill be rated a PG 13, like the thriller Fast and
furious. The film will be rated this, as even though there is no sexual scenes in

4. the film, the violence and language will be unsuitable for anyone under this age.
As seen in the clip there is a lot of violence involved, which is why the filmhas
this rating.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
The use of mise-en-scene will appeal to our target audience. The main female
character is getting ready for a prom, therefore the mise en scene definitely will
attract the female teenage audience. The use of props included makeup, hair
products, phones and everyday teenage essentials. For costume we used a prom
dress for the main character.
Setting – teenage room – basic, plain, mirrors, desk – symbolise school/work
Lighting – When the crime has happened the lighting changes to a more
darker/sinister mood. This attracts the audiences as they will be engaged in the
action and the light reflects the mood making them aware of this. From audience
feedback of teenagers, they said that they preferred the opening of a thriller not
to give away too much information, but straight away include the typical thriller
setting such as the crime. This is because they think it’s more enjoyable and
interesting. We also found that sometimes Thrillers are too over the top and
exaggerate a point making the audience get bored and tired of the plot. We have
made sure our opening includes murder immediately. We build up the tension
through our female character and then get straight to the crime. This will appeal
to the teenage audience as this is what we understand them like in Thrillers. We
have made sure our opening sequence attracts an audience who likes thrillers by
keeping the audience on the edge of their seats wanting to find out what
happens. Conventions of a Thriller include twists of the plot, we have
immediately included this convention in our opening sequence by not showing
any background information about either characters but show a storyline that
will make the audience want to know what happened. We addressed and
attracted the audience through the power of social media. This will attract our
audience of teenagers of both genders. Using social media sites such as Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram will allow us to not only promote our film but allow
others to as well. Social media sites allow others to share the product and
continue to increase the audience.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
My skills in production work have developed since the start of the course. I have
learnt how to use the camera more effectively. From the process of constructing
this product I have learnt how to use the lens to add more effect to shots. I have
learnt how to blur images and focus images. From my process of constructing my
product I have learnt how to use a Mac and IMovie to edit my work. I found that

5. it is easier to edit on a Mac computer, as there are shortcuts when editing. Mac
includes the programme IMovie, which allows me to edit faster through the
shortcuts. There are shortcuts when needing to access resources for my film. For
example, there is a small toolbar where I can easily access music and sound,
photos, text/titles, transitions, graphics (such as maps and backgrounds). I have
learnt that I can adjust the lighting and change the colour and tone of the shots.
This helped me change the mood of my product allowing me to make changes if I
needed to. I have learnt throughout the process of constructing my product the
importance of different cuts and reviewing your work. I understand now that
when completing a product, you should always watch it and see how you can
make it better. I did this a few times. My preliminary task helped me learn how
to construct a simple product using technologies. I was them able to develop my
skills during the process in constructing my final product. I have learnt how to
use WordPress to keep people updated on the production of my film. WordPress
allowed me to create a blog, where I can regularly upload video diaries,
information about the film, ideas etc. Using WordPress taught me how to
represent my ideas and present them. I used PowerPoint to particularly show my
research of analysis of the genre conventions and opening sequence
conventions. Using PowerPoint to do this allowed me to present my work clearly
and in a more interesting way. It helped me brake up my information and set it
out in a way representable for others. Slideshare was another programme I used
during the process of constructing this product. I used slideshare to upload
information that I did on word/PowerPoint etc. It allowed me to then upload this
to my blog on WordPress, making it an easier access to the information when
someone enters my blog straight away. I used YouTube a lot when constructing
product. I used YouTube to watch clips and further my knowledge of the
construction of a Thriller. I also used YouTube to update the process in making
my product. In regards of the use of technologies in production work I could
improve other ways to present my work than using PowerPoint and slideshare.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
Since my preliminary task, my knowledge of production in the filmindustry had
developed. I have learnt that planning is a vital process in film production. For my
final product we made a clear storyboard, so we know the basic steps of the plot.
I also learnt that providing a simple shot list and list of the events that occur in
order helps a lot. It allows us to not worry about missing anything out, and think
how we can improve the product. I also think the mood board helps in the
progression of the full product, as it helps give an idea what we visually wanted
to see. During the production of my preliminary task, I didn’t take lighting into
consideration to add effect. I have learnt that the lighting of the shot can be very
effective in what the aim to do. For example, in my final product when the crime
has took place, the lighting is more dark and bland colours. This is more effective

6. than keeping it the same lighting as before, as it creates tension in the clip and
shows the negativity and intensity of what has just happened. It makes audiences
more engaged and on the edge of their seats. Editing is also important when
creating a film. My preliminary task included editing techniques, including
continuity and slow motion. In my final product I included all the basic editing I
included in my preliminary task, but I understood how to make the editing more
effective for the clip. The slow motion in my final product had a better effect for
the shot. An example when it is seen is when the main female character lifts up
her dress. The added slow motion created a disturbed manner to the clip, while
showing the importance of the dress to the female, which is a major stereotype. I
included many jump cuts in my final product to add effect to the clip and create
tension. Looking back at my preliminary task, the music included is not at all
effective. In the progression from it to my final product I have understood that
music effects the piece. In my preliminary task I chose music from the
programme IMovie which I edited the movie on. When watching this over, I
realised it didn’t make the shots effective at all and didn’t fit the sequence. In my
full product I made sure I picked out the music to fit the genre of a thriller,
making the music build tension when audiences watch my product. I also
changed the music throughout the scene to a faster pace beat. I did this to match
the clip when the crime happened, making the shots more intense and keep the
audience engaged and at the edge of their seats. I have improved the quality of
the footage shots. I have done this by using a wider variety of angles and filmed
the same shot from different positions to ensure I was able to choose the most
effective shot for my product. Some angles I used were Low angle and Point of
view. The low angle shot was effective as it shows the main character is
dominant and in power. The point of view angle was effective, as it creates
tension within the clip making the audience on the edge of their seats
throughout, meeting the aimof a convention of a thriller.