The document discusses the evaluation of a title sequence created for a film noir thriller film called "Forever". It describes the creative choices made in developing the title sequence, including using a simple black and white style with faded text based on research of films like "Se7en". Music was incorporated using copyright-free piano music to set an intriguing tone. Shadows and low-key lighting were used to emulate the film noir style. Feedback from the target audience of 15+ was positive, saying the title sequence was engaging and made them want to watch the full film.

1. Title Sequence Evaluation
Forever
Prada Nayar

2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Editing
The titles in our Thriller film were an aspect which were very quick to
decide upon due to our sub genre of film noir we had chosen. This
allowed us to have a distinct vision of how we wanted our titles to be,
creating a sense of class yet simplicity at the same time. Although we
had this idea we weren’t entirely sure how to materialise it, and so
looked back on our previous research. We came across a couple of
Thrillers which simply had white titles against a black background, for
example “Se7en” which we though was effective in presenting the
tone across the film. After consideration we came to the realisation
that this was also a generic convention among film noir. We
immediately came to the decision of enforcing this within our title
sequence, so we use a default serif font available on premier as we
felt it reflected the time period well along with conveying a sense of
sophistication. We additionally incorporated the feature of fading the
title onto the footage as we had seen in “Se7en”.Sound
The music within our title sequence is incorporated in a similar
way to “Black Swan”. As a group we thought that the music
used was played an important role in setting the tone of the
film. However due to the restriction of only being able to use
copyright free music we found it difficult finding the perfect
track. Although we realised we had the advantage of one our
group members being able to play the piano, which if played
in the correct way we thought would create a mysterious,
intriguing feel.

3. 1. In what ways does you media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Camera
We incorporated a shadow in our media
product as we had learnt it was a key
convention within a film noir/ crime genre.
We were inspired to recreate this
convention after having researched the film
“This Gun For Hire” 1942 with the same
crime/ film noir genre as ours. The shadow
shows a close up of our antagonist
murdering our protagonist, the use of the
shadow tones down the brutality of the
scene. Using low-key lighting as well as
emphasizing shadows, the film noir look
captures the dark side of the sequence.
Despite low-key lighting and shadows being
a generic convention we also thought it
would add a sense of volume and depth in
our sequence that embodies the film noir
style.

4. All of the characters in our film fit into our target audience, which is a broad
15+. I think this is effective as the audience will be able to relate to the
character’s situation and feelings. For example our female audience will be
able to familiarise themselves with our protagonist through the date
experience she is having. She portrays a sense of enthusiasm and
excitement to finally be on this date. However due to the antagonist’s ill
intent, visible through his facial expressions and body language feelings of
sympathy are encouraged for Shauna, which further engages the audience.
We intended the antagonist to be male in order to follow the stereotype of
male dominance over a a weak female which was significant during the
1950’s ; the time period we chose to set our film in. We decided on a
stereotypical representation of gender to increase the verisimilitude of the
film. There is a stereotypical role of a female who is helpless and
considerably weaker in comparison to the male character. Women are
presented in a stereotypical way, the female is young, beautiful and well
presented although this alters as the film progresses she is later shown dead
after being murdered by the male, a scene involving extreme gore, ultimately
conveying the extent of power he had.
2. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
In our film we used mainly White British actors, as we felt it was required for the time
period we set our film in. However we also used an Asian British actor as our femme fatal
character in order to show diversity within our film as well as widening our audience
base, relating to other races. The social class of our actors is represented through various
aspects of our film. We represented the Upper Middle Class, conveying an extent of
wealth fitting in with our target audience. The costume is suited to the time period and at
the same time reflects the social class. This is also visible through the car used within the
film and also the storyline, which involves a date to the theatre, which was activity people
of a certain wealth were able to do.

5. “Forever” would be distributed as a television movie, being released to entertain. I
have chosen this particular media institution due to film noir being a niche genre,
only enjoyed by certain people. I feel if it were to be distributed by any other media
institutions it would not be as successful as it would not appeal to a mass audience
and not many people would be as willing to spend money to watch a film genre they
are not familiar with; however if the film was on television they would be more willing
to try it out. Therefore I think that this film would receive the most success through
television distribution as it is aimed at a broader audience of varying ages, and so
televisions are more accessible to the audience range. Being a television film, it
could be viewed by a wider audience and possibly also attracts viewers outside our
target audience.
We thought Film4 is the most appropriate way to distribute our film after having
found a presentation on Channel 4’s website about Film4’s sales and distribution.
Film4 reaches more viewers than cinema productions, therefore exposing the
unfamiliar Film Noir genre. The majority of their audience base is males therefore
finding the crime and violence aspects of our film appealing.
3. What kind of media institution would distribute your product
and why?

6. As a group we thought the appropriate age for our audience dermorgraphic would be 15+ as
we felt our film would interest a range of ages. We incorporated both male and female
characters in out film aiming at an audience of both genders. However the plot of our film
shows a negative representation of men, which therefore may result in a female heavy
audience. The film noir genre has lead us to make specific decisions such as colour and font
choice etc. For example, detail as a serif font is stereotypically considered as feminine thus
appeal more to a female audience.
However, it could appeal to a number of males because we have used a large amount of thriller
conventions such as: sound and narrative. Men are stereotypically known to have interest in
crime, violence and gore which is a major part within our film therefore would largely appeal to
a male audience too. The film is set in England therefore the majority of the audience base
would be English.
There are a few reasons relating to the content
of film regarding our choice of film certification.
The plot of out title sequence includes some
scenes which are not suitable for an audience
below the age of 15 years. The film shows a
scene of brutal murder by our antagonist,
followed by a gory scene of our protagonist’s
death, containing blood filled imagery.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

7. We created this title sequence, keeping our target audience in mind (15+). Due to the broad
range of ages of our audience I thought the camera work and mise-en-scene could be more
varied as we weren’t targeting a particular age group and these aspects could therefore be
used as a key tool to draw the attention of the audience. For example, varied shots such as
P.O.V gives the audience an insight of what the character is seeing through their eyes and
furthermore puts the audience in the same position as the character enabling them to further
engage with the film. I think this is very important as our audience can therefore relate to our
characters. Additionally, the E.C.U of the death scene was solely intended to grasp the
audience’s attention due to extent of gore. It was particularly intended to encourage a shock
as it is unexpected and increases the sympathetic feelings which were created through the
protagonist’s initial inferiority.
5. How did you attract/ address you audience?
The P.O.V shot brings the audience into the digesis,
allowing them to view the antagonists perspective. They
see the antagonist wiping his knife which is the first
indication that he has murdered her. This P.O.V subverts
typical P.O.V’s which generally take the perspective of
the protagonist. This leaves the audience with a sense of
confusion as to why he has killed her, along with intrigue
about what is going to happen next.
I also think the narrative attracts
the audience, this is due to the
unexpected murder of the
protagonist without any hints of
why it occurred, ultimately
encouraging audiences to want to
continue watching further.

8. Before beginning my foundation portfolio I feel I was blind in the sense of the various equipment
and editing software which were required to create my film. As a group, we were all new to these
softwares and equipment so were forced to teach ourselves through YouTube tutorials as well as
help from our teacher. Out of both processes, editing and filming I feel all of us were more
confident with filming and using the the tripod and camera. However as we approached editing
stages I was initially quite reluctant as Jade seemed to be quite good with it, but as time
progressed we all cooperated and took part in the editing process. After having played around
with Adobe Premier Pro I became used to it and enjoyed using it, familiarising myself with all the
tools and functions available on it. I thought it was fun putting together such a big project with so
many different pieces to create a final film. There were so many aspects to creating just a two
minute film. I have learnt how to create the titles, adding effects to the clip and making tailoring
the sound clip to suit the video.
6. What have you learnt about the technologies from the
process of constructing the product?
We wanted a black and white effect across our whole title
sequence however use the “leave colour” feature as we
had come across in “Sin City” during our research
stages. We intended to keep the red colour in the tie of
the antagonist and his car, despite several attempts to do
so we were unable to do so successfully because of the
subtle red/pink coloring in the actor faces and body
which discolored the individual red feature. During a few
of our filming sessions we did struggle setting up the
tripod, due to the high demand for them there was little
choice if you booked them out at the wrong time. So
there were some times where we had to work with wonky
tripod and uncharged cameras.

9. I think it’s fair to say that my group and I have improved dramatically from our continuity task.
Our skills on camera work and editing have come a long way from where we started and I feel
that as a group we have learnt vital skills for future film making. I have learnt that detailed
research into the genre, planning and creating a film are all crucial elements for a successful
production. Research into genre and past Thriller openings has enhanced my understanding of
how to create a successful opening by comprehending the codes and conventions. In order to
make a professional film for the audience we had to ensure that elements such as choice of
lighting, shots and narrative were met, as these are the elements that indicate to the audience
the genre of the film. I can certainly say I have made great progression from my continuity task
up until the final product. I have particularly learnt the importance of organisation skills in order
to achieve the most success within our film. Furthermore, I felt storyboarding in our planning
stages was really helpful when attempting to achieve the best I could. We created a detailed
storyboard with explanations about: camera, mise-en-scene and editing. The storyboard
allowed us to visualise how the final product should turn out, and gave us an idea of what we
were doing when filming and editing. When approaching filming stages, the storyboard helped
us recall the shots which we initially planned and their length. Since my continuity task I think
my camera, editing and organisational skills have all improved. Before having done the
continuity task I lacked confidence in these areas and hadn’t the slightest idea about them. For
example I was unaware of how to use and stand a camera on the tripod efficiently, and during
the task I still found difficulties in familiarising myself with equipment and software. However in
our final task, we weren’t as immature as we were previously having had slight practice,
although we did still struggle as this task was more challenging, which meant more time and
effort had to be spent on it. Practice during planning stages I feel were a great advantage as
we were preparing ourselves for what we had to do and so did them with ease despite a couple
of change we made to the narrative which are mentioned previously.
7.Looking back at your continuity task, what do you feel that
you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

10. Target Audience Feedback
A question within our survey was whether they enjoyed the title sequence and why,
and whether they found it engaging.
“I enjoyed the title sequence very much, the camera angles and editing set the tone well and
made it very gripping. the costumes and set were also very convincing. I would happily
watch the rest of the film, the ending made me want to watch on.” Male 16
We created a survey to find out audience opinions of our film.
Most of our
target
audience
stated they
enjoyed
watching our
film, indicating
that it in fact
did appeal to
our target
audience.
Majority of our audience thought we had used enough camera angles, implying that they did
not find it boring and was well structured. Most were able to identify the Thriller genre as well
as film Noir meaning we had used sufficient conventions.