The document summarizes the target audience, themes, and conventions used in a fictional media project called "Class of '92". The project is aimed at 15-25 year olds and focuses on themes of violence, death, and murder. It utilizes conventions common to thriller genre films such as a main character who leads a secret double life and wears a signature black coat.

1. Class of ‘92 Evaluation

2. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT? Our product is aimed towards the 15+ target audience as we think this age range would be suitable as our product contains a lot of violence, blood and gore. Although a 12A rating would attract a wider audience, going by Ofcom guidelines, our film would legally need a 15 certificate. The actual targeted age range we’ve decided to use would be 15-25 as we have based our thriller on young adults aged 20+, so therefore should attract that age of audience. They would shop in places that would buy our type of product such as high street shops such as HMV and Virgin Mega store. They would not shop at a particular clothing outlet as it depends on their stereotype which could be gothic or chav. People aged 15-25 may listen to different types of music as quite a lot of the targeted audience have a preferred type of genre. Our product is more likely to attract young people who are stereotyped as ‘Goth’ or ‘Emo’ because our product is about death and murder and as its quite twisted so therefore they would listen to music such as Heavy Metal, Screamo, Rock or Indie. Their favourite TV shows could be on Drama, especially based on conventions that are typical to the younger generation e.g. Drugs, Sex, Violence, such as Skins and Misfits. Other Television programmes that our target audience would be attracted to could be Prison break or Lost.

3. Large car shows that he could be a family man, and is probably quite wealthy. The freshly mown grass shows his maticulous nature As this is the opening shot, it establishes where the action will take place (the murderers house). The lighting is naturalistic and we added a ‘day to night’ effect to make it look like it’s early evening.

4. We used natural indoor lighting to show the regularity of his everyday life and the normal house he lives in The hallway was empty and clutter free to symbolise his empty family life. The blank white walls show a lack of creative input and also help exaggerate his perfectionist and slightly psychotic style. This long black coat was used in every scene involving the murderer, this was done so that it was created as a character identifier. The coat also contributes to the blank style of his life and to help hide his personality with bland clothing.

5. The lighting is again naturalistic with the video effect of ‘day into night’ to make it look later in the day. The Garden is neatly mowed and trimmed which shows that he might have a lot of time on is hands and could be a bit of a perfectionist. The shot of the back garden establishes that he is an ordinary man living in a normal house with neighbours and nice surroundings (the opposite to what he really is.) The flowers shows femininity meaning he could have a wife.

6. The front garden was perfectly tidy, as you go further through the house into the garden it gets more messy showing he doesn’t want people to see the back garden. The camera angle is good as you can see him going into the shed from behind. The font is smooth and innocent but the effect of it fading makes it mysterious. He looks around to check no one can see him showing he is about to uncover something or someone. The high fence with trees show that it is not easy to see into his garden and he is being very cautious and secretive.

7. Petrol container. We included this as it shows he’s dangerous and could use the petrol as a weapon. Newspaper cuttings. These are there to shock the audience. They are ripped messily which is a contrast to his perfectionist nature the audience was first introduced to. Map. This shows he carefully plans out his murders. The shot shows an overview of all the whole shed. The lighting very dark in the shed to add to the tense and scary atmosphere.

8. The house shows the domestic and local setting of the murder We filmed in a wooded and crowded area to show he was thinking about and planning this murder and hiding the evidence We moved leaves into this shot so that the area looked sheltered and easy to hide evidence We used this angle to help mystify our murder victim The lighting we used was at dusk to add to the drama of the scene. Lots of shadows were created which helps the creepy shot

9. The red coloured ring represents danger and blood which is a typical convention to a thriller and signified that the victim is going to get killed The dark lighting in the shot makes the scene more eerie in contrast to the scene in the light. The old black and white portrait photos shows that it was taken years ago when technology wasn’t updated. The close up shot of the yearbook shows what victim is focused at and also shows the point of view of the murderer.

10. This shot is a point of view shot. We used this shot as it makes us feel as if we are there watching the murder take place. The victim is reading a newspaper which is a normal thing to do which shows she isn’t expecting to be murdered. The angle is in the perfect position as the main feature is in the centre of the screen so your eye is drawn to him. The dream effect has been added as it is a flashback into his foggy mind.

11. We used American typewriter font which looks professional and school like. We used a simple fade in transition because we wanted to make an impact but didn’t want to break the continuity of the shot. We used a Bold white font to stand out on the black background to keep it simple yet effective.

12. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS? We have followed the conventions of a typical thriller by…. Using the signature long black cloak for character identity as a murderer. This Is in comparison to Patrick Bateman in ‘American psycho’, Who also worn the long black cloak and lead a double life. We also looked at the opening titles of Se7en by David Fincher for inspiration. Se7en has a similar storyline about a book with crossed out photos of victims. We have used the idea of newspaper cuttings of headings such as ‘Murder’, ‘torture’, ‘Girl aged 21 stabbed to death’. We have used the typical intense music that all thriller movies use. Our product’s opening has a high pitched piano sound as a background noise to hold tension and suspense then a deep piano tone when something dramatic happens.

13. How does your media product represent particular social groups? Our opening scene introduces the character of Oliver - the main character in our thriller. This character is similar to the Patrick Bateman in the film ‘American Physco ’ – directed by Mary Harron. Appearance/Costume The characters are similar in appearance. Neither are dressed in the stereotypical way that audiences would immediately expect of a psychopathic murderer. Both are wearing business clothes (shirts, ties, black shoes and a long coat/blazer). Role in Film In ‘Class of ’92’, the character of Oliver leads a double life . His friends, co-workers and family know him as an ordinary married, business man … but they don’t know of the secret he keeps locked in his shed - his alternate psychopathic ego . He is actually a serial killer determined to kill his carefully chosen victims who think they are his friends. Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho’ also leads a double life . He is a wealthy business man who hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his friends and co-workers .

14. Technologies We used We used a pocket camcorder to film with. It is High Definition, so it is very good quality and records sounds clearly. We used Garage Band to create our music and edit sound effects together. Again, none of us had ever used it before so we had to learn and practise. We used iPhoto to import our still photos in the correct format. We used Google search engine to find websites which helped with our research. We researched existing films and openings to show us what products were already out there. We used the Internet Movie Database to research existing movies. We used Blogger.com to write our blogs on. We used a Macbook for all of our editing. None of us had used one before so we had to learn as we went along. We all now feel more proficient in using the Macs. We used a tripod to film our steady shots. We hadn’t used a tripod before, so had to practise our panning so it was smooth. I used Photoshop to edit the blood and bruises onto the pictures of Asia. I had used Photoshop before so I knew how to edit on it. We used iMovie to edit our clips and music together. No one had used this program before so we had to practise and learn as we went along.

15. What kind of media institution might distribute your media project and why? We have chosen Lions Gate entertainment as our chosen institution. They have distributed many thriller films for the past 14 years. They are also responsible for distributing the famous Saw films. They are a successful institution that have distributed hundreds of films under many genres. They are one of the most well known media institutions in the world.

16. How did you attract/address your audience? We attracted our audience by using young actors that our target audience could relate to. The film is set in the modern day which the audience will be familiar with. The music from the opening sounds quite a lot like the music from ‘Kill Bill’ which is another film targeted at our audience’s age group The use of attractive actors will also appeal to our target audience. The location is a modern, everyday home which our audience would see as ‘normal’ as apposed to a mansion being used. The theme is relatable as our target audience is about to leave school or has left school and will have witnessed/understood bullying. The film includes murders and blood which will appeal to the age group as they may not watch PG or 12 films because of their lack of terror.

17. Criticism to improve on from our preliminary… We were told we needed to: Use a larger variety of shots Crop our wide shot slightly to enhance audience focus Use a few more close-ups during the interview To monitor our mise-en-scene and make sure there is nothing (e.g. inappropriate bracelets) These do not fit with our character profile Shot is too wide and includes too much extra space

18. Audience Feedback