Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at the beginning of this media course our preliminary task went better than I thought it would have done, we sorted everything out in terms of filming relatively quickly and took about one day although we had to re-film some parts on another day due some errors we made by breaking the 180 degree rule, we fixed this quickly and effectively, there was also a problem with our match on action shot which didn’t go as well as we hoped so we also had to re-film this at a different stage but got sorted in the end. Overall the preliminary task I think went relatively well and this was due mostly to our group because we had already pre planned everything we needed to and were very organised as well. Our previous errors in our preliminary task ensured we didn’t make the same mistake for our final media project which went even smoother, we were more experience because of all the lessons with the cameras, we already knew how to use the important part of Final Cut Express and our group was very organised. We all did the work and filming on time so we didn’t miss dead lines which would cause problems and this led to a smooth project without any difficulties.

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

One of the major things I have learnt during this project is the use of Final cut express (FCE), on this programme I learnt about all the tools and gadgets used to edit a series of clips to make a constant sequence. I learnt how to use the effects and add them on my clips, this helped with making the opening sequence look and feel like a horror and not just a series of clips put together randomly. I also learnt about other things on the programme such as what the letter meant:

I- mark in, O- mark out, this was used for cutting sections out.

B- This was also used for cutting but I found this a lot simpler because you click on the parts you want to cut and just click delete afterwards.

Another new thing I learnt about during this project was how to use blogger, this was where we placed all of our work and anything we felt was relevant when we were planning, researching and all the other things, we learnt how to integrate things like YouTube videos, files off scribd, prezi and a lot more programmes and software’s.

Another new programme I learnt to use was prezi, this was a mind mapping programme which enabled you to create all sorts of mind maps which looked a lot better than the simple pencil and paper ones, I learnt how to add videos, images and files onto the presentations which helped me present my work in a much more effective way.

We also learnt how to get files of word and PowerPoint onto our blogs by using scribd which had an embed code of our work so we could publish it onto our blog as evidence of us doing work and doing research for our main media project.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/ address you audience?

I interviewed my cousin to see what kind of response they will have when the view the opening sequence for the first time. He is 15, lives in west London and loves watching movies so this will be a good opportunity to see what people who haven’t seen or heard of it yet think. I have told my cousin to give his honest opinion even if he doesn’t end up liking it. The questions I will be asking will consist of the genre, editing, camera shots, soundtrack and the overall perspective of the film opening.

Me: Viewing this opening sequence for the first time what genre would you say it was?

Cousin: I thought that the film was probably something like a drama, action or thriller because of the body on the floor and when you hear the voiceover.  It’s scary but it doesn’t look like a horror so I think it’s like a thriller or mystery.

Me: How did the editing look in terms of cuts and effects?

Cousin: I thought that the editing was very good. My favourite part was at the beginning when it’s like your looking out of their eyes and it’s all blurry and also when you see the blink it makes it look all so real and it just makes the opening better as a whole. Also I liked the production logo at the beginning because it looked like a real one and how all the editing came together, it fitted really well together and this was one of the reasons I thought it was more of a thriller or drama than anything else.

Me: Did you like the camera shots and angles?

Cousin: There was a variety of different shots but again my favourite has to be the point of view one where you see what the person is seeing but overall I think that all the shots worked well together and made it look professional.

Me: Do you think that the soundtrack went well with the opening sequence?

Cousin: I think that the soundtrack which kept running throughout the sequence fitted really well with it and made it look and feel a lot better when watching it because the music is like a thriller or mystery genre as well so it fitted very well with the video.

Me: What was you overall opinion of the opening sequence?

Cousin: I think that the opening sequence is very good because it was made by only a couple of students and things like the production logo and the editing made it seem like a professional short movie and I liked the soundtrack a lot because it went really well with the opening sequence.

Me: What do you think I could have done to make it better than it already is?

Cousin: I think that the story isn’t very obvious and that there is some confusion in the middle of it where the people are talking to each other which I don’t understand and also the credits I think could have been a bit better so they look a bit more professional.

What I have gathered from the interview is that my opening sequence has worked very well in terms of editing, soundtrack and the genre but it seems as if I could have made it a bit simpler so everybody understands it and also the credits I think as well could be improved.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your product

Target Profile

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute you media product and why?

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

For our opening sequence we decided to have Kenya as the villain, one of the main reasons for this is that she has studied drama for GCSE which meant that it wasn’t difficult for her to enter a different role all together seeing as this was one of the toughest roles because the character had to look different from the rest of the crowd. Seeing as she is one of the main characters her hair which is very different to the common female portrayal in most films made her stick out and made the audience follow what she was doing at all times so they could fit the puzzle together. One other important thing we did to fit the conventions of a thriller is the use of the colour of the clothes, we decided she should wear dark clothing which helped by the opening sequence helped connote fear, evil, suspicious behaviour and also tension. With all this put together the audience automatically there is a dark secret behind her and is not entirely what she looks.

‘Claire’ who is played by Kenya is the villain within our movie, she seems intimidating and has a very short temper, she also likes things to go her way without anybody stopping her and will do whatever she pleases, this character is very similar to the ones form the film ‘The Roommate’ which we based our film on and got inspiration from. The two characters are represented in the same way, they seem lonely and friendly at first from the villains point of view but as time goes by the truth gets revealed slowly but not in a pleasant way. This kind of attitude and behaviour is revealed in the opening sequence with Claire’s voice being heard talking about how she loves being in control.

There are some things in common between the two characters and that is that they are both lonely and don’t seem to have any real friends that they can be with or trust.

The differences between the villains in our film and ‘The Roommate’ is that we use body language and voice to reveal what kind of character Claire really is whereas ‘The Roommate’ uses facial expressions and mostly actions to show the audience the secrets.

For our film we decided that Claire wouldn’t be the ordinary villain, where in most films the villains are tough men, here we have a female, but this doesn’t affect Claire because we decided that she would be clever and will find different ways of dealing with people when they don’t obey her and this is revealed a bit in the opening sequence with the spiking of the drink.

Evaluation Question 1

In what way does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Within our opening sequence we didn’t wish to challenge the conventions of a thriller genre in a way that our target audience may not gather what genre our movie is.

In a way we did ever so slightly challenge the conventions because our thriller wasn’t the typical kind of one you would usually see, instead of the typical one where somebody gets kidnapped or attacked we decided to look at other successful thrillers which are not directly associated with that, so in this case we decided to make ours about obsession with a slight twist which we hope will surprise and catch the audience out when watching it to keep them satisfied at all time throughout.

I will use these four screenshots of our actually opening sequence I will use to best describe the conventions we used in our thriller.

Screenshot 1:

The first screen shot consists of our victim laying on the floor dead, this is an example of our opening sequence not challenging the typical conventions of a thriller because the majority of thriller always seem to have a murder and we decided to add this because it was one of the obvious conventions which enabled the audience to understand that this is a thriller, we decided to put this shot very near to the beginning of our sequence to create mystery and suspense which is used more often than not within a thriller and even some films outside the thriller genre.

Screenshot 2:

The second screenshot is of our victim being held by the arm by our villain, within this frame our group also decided to follow the codes and conventions of a thriller, the villain is a female which is one of the most important codes usually seen in all thriller movies, this is due to the fact that women are usually seen as objects who cant fend for themselves in dangerous and risky situations.

Screenshot 3:

Within this frame we decided to do an over shoulder shot where only the victim is seen but the person with their back to us which is the villain is not revealed at that moment in time, these makes the audience suspicious and desperate to find out who that is, what is going on and why this is happening, so a lot of question are being asked which get revealed in the film.

Screenshot 4:

This is one of the ways our opening sequence only slightly challenges the conventions of a thriller, we use a chalkboard font which in the scenario we have in the opening sequence creates a depressing scenario which plays with the emotions of the audience. It also in a sense creates a bit of mystery as to why this black and white font is used for this kind of opening sequence, we did it to mix things up and not create the typical opening sequences the audience has seen many time before, this will keep the audience engaged and wary as to what is happening at all times.

Evaluation Brief

Within our opening sequence for our film we had one of the characters (Claire) look under the influence of some sort of drug which has ended with her strolling around on a side road walking unstably, here we also added a point of view with a blurry image of what she would be seeing at this moment in time. We then had a clip where Janet’s voice is heard with a blank screen, following this we see Claire and Janet meet each other for the first time where they bump into one another, Janet finds a piece of paper which she uses to find out Claire’s number and calls her. Janet goes to visit Claire where an awkward and tense conversation is seen but not heard, after this you see one of the drinks getting spiked and Claire losing it, you witness her dancing but the effect of this is changed with a few modifications on final cut express where we made it slow motion which made it chilling and depressing, what follows is Janet whispering in Claire’s ear in a frightening way and the ending of our opening sequence with the title “Just Friends?” popping up straight after.