The document discusses a student's media production project that aims to emulate conventions of thriller films. Specifically, it used black and white film effects and quick cuts during flashback scenes to create an eerie feel, as seen in Sin City. It targeted a younger female audience by using teenage actors and portraying typical teenage settings and behaviors. Dimension Films would be a suitable distributor as it specializes in similar thriller genres. Through questionnaires, the student gained insights into what audiences expect from thrillers to help design the project.

1. Chris Ashwell - 9006 Centre Number - 18333

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Here is a video I have made about the conventions of a thriller – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsobNoNJzOc We have taken one aspect from the film called Sin City (2005) this is the black and white effect but we have only used it in a short period of space on our production. The black and white is used to show the past and give the added eerie feel. Also during this period there is the use of quick cuts which add further adrenaline and anticipation. We have also used a heartbeat mp3 that overlays the black and white effect. The video plays with the heartbeat but then blinks to black when the heartbeat stops. This gives this part of the production a bleak and mysterious feel. With every dip to black is a connotation of death as the heart beat stops.

3. How does your media product represent particular social groups? Our media production represents those of a younger age, this is because; We have actors of a young age The actual production was made to target the younger age There are parts of the film where you need to work certain things out in order to understand what’s happening. The actress’s bedroom is messy which is typical for a teenager and has lots of posters of popular films. Teenagers can relate to this and get a feel for how old the actress is. The first prop we see is the phone, most teenagers have phone that they use regularly and this portrays the image of a teenager.

4. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Dimension Films This is a distribution company that specials in thriller such as Scream (1996), Scary Movie (2000) and Sin City (2005). They would decide to distribute out product because it fits in with a conventional thriller that they would decide to choose. Also Sin City was a hard film to understand at times and our thriller was designed to have the same effect. Media is being distributed in many different ways, some you hear about a lot because of trailers on TV and the internet but some you only here by mouth. Trailers are the main form of advertisement for distribution companies, the earlier they release them and the bigger the hype gets will result in a better turnover and profit from the films. The use of new media items such as viral videos e.g. trailers on youtube will promote a younger audience because younger people spend more time on internet than adults. This is where website also help as an item of new media because of the amount of time people spend on the internet.

5. Who would be the audience for your media product? Our media production was designed to be for younger aged female. As they can relate to the actor in the film as being a young teenager living a normal life of school and friends. This film also appeals to those who like to think about there films and try to work out what’s going to happen next. It also appeals to those people who are of a similar age to the actors. This is important as then the audience can really relate to the actors in the film.

6. How did you attract/address your audience? As previously stated, the way we attracted our audience is by using actors of a similar age. This allows them to relate to the actors and can get a better experience from what is happening within the film. The first prop we see being handled by the actress is her phone and most teenagers never go anywhere without their phones. This is one item that is a representation for teenagers. If audiences can relate to the actors within a film this can allow a much better viewing experience and better reviews. Before we began filming we develop some questionnaires (see blog). These questionnaires gave us an idea of what people thought a thriller is. This help us to create an image of what I thriller is and we could then design one based on the feedback given. Questionnaires give valuable data to who ever obtains them. Using them you can gain a better knowledge of what your audience want then be able to tailor the film to there specification. This enables better viewing experiences.

7. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? We have learnt that you can manipulate the clips we captured to produce a quality piece of work. Even those clips that were captured before or after each other you can still edit them to go side by side without and hindrance on the final piece. As long as you know how to use the editing program, in our case Final Cut Express, you can create a project easily enough that come to a fairly good quality in a short space of time.

8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Looking back to my preliminary task I feel I have gained a greater ability to edit with software. Transition between clips and much better and the fluidity of the film is smooth and crisp. Also I’ve learnt to put my eyes where the camera’s lens would be, enabling me to see shots before they are taken and established what’s a good shot and not a good shot.