AS Media Personal Evaluation

1. PERSONAL EVALUATION
C.STONE

2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP, OR
CHALLENGE FORMS OF AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
Our group’s media product is called Removed. The film is a psychological thriller, and we decided to have a
‘normal’ teenage boy as the central character so that our target demographic (teenagers and young adults)
could identify with the character more.
The opening consists of our character getting ready for an apparently normal day at school; this is to lure
the audience into a sense of false security and normality. It is only 2-3 minutes long and as such we had to
fit in the thriller aspect as well as an enigma for the audience to spot. With the help of music, unnerving
sound effects, and saturating the colour, we managed to convey the psychological thriller theme.
Films that have inspired us include Donnie Darko and 28 Days Later, while we enjoyed these films we
wanted to create something that combined the elements used in the films. In particularly, the isolation in 28
Days Later, and the psychological aspects in Donnie Darko.

3. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR
SOCIAL GROUPS?
Our media product represents teenagers who suffer from mental health related issues. Removed focuses on
the sense of isolation the protagonist James feels; as those with mental disorders feel isolated and
‘removed’ from people around them. Removed also represents those who merely are just alone, not just
those with mental issues. This as such represents teenagers who may feel isolated at school, and shows
what they may feel.

4. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR
MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?
Removed is a small budget independent film; we might send it to a film festival such as the Cannes festival.
Even if we did not win, we would be able to reach a larger and wider audience and more importantly, get
noticed. Removed is psychological thriller and as such is different in comparison to the majority of action
and drama films made by Hollywood. We could even approach channels such as E4 as well as BBC Three
whose target audiences are a young demographic.

5. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?
Our main audience for our media product would be teenagers and young adults, since this is a film on
mental health that has been studied in only the last few years. Adults may not be as keen to watch this film
compared to the target demographic. As our protagonist is a teenager, teens will be able to identify more
with the character and as such may be more interested in the film rather than if the film centred around an
adult. As well as this, through social media that the younger generation use, it would be much easier to
advertise to them. However, adults may be interested to view a film that focuses on mental health and a
teenagers experience of it; especially a parent.

6. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?
Using social media, music, and word of mouth we were able to address our target audience and inform
them about our film. We kept people up to date with the production and development of the film using
social media, such as Twitter and Instagram. The music used in the film also helped gained the attention of
our younger audience, as it would be something that they might listen to in their own time. This would
further help our film get noticed through word of mouth; a friend may recommend both the music and film
to friends.

7. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE
PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?
I previously had done work with Final Cut Pro X, however I had never used a camera before. Our group used
a Cannon XF100, and we used the tripod for certain shots e.g. pans and tilts. We used the tripod so our
shots would be steady and not break audience immersion of the story. We used sound effects from both
Final Cut Pro X and external copyright free sites. The music we used was from Soundcloud and was
composed by Hamish Henderson.

8. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU
HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?
I have learnt a huge amount of filming; from the amount of extra shots that may be vital to later editing, to
actual colour distortion, sound effects, and music effecting the audience’s emotions. I have also learnt the
social skills required for filming; the organisation of crew and the actual location arrangements. As such the
preliminary task has furthered my knowledge of media and film creation.