Preliminary task

our first attempt

Our final media product

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

I feel I have learnt a great deal since my preliminary task compared to my new completed product.  My camera angles improved a great deal since the shooting of my preliminary task. For example my camera angles in my original task were extremely shoddy, with no imaginations what so ever. They were continually shaky and did not change to different shots quick, so the audience would enjoy the movie. However compared to my new video where the camera angle were of a great quality as they went from shot to shot, using a mixture of close ups, mid-shots, pans and long shots. These helped to hook the audience and also shots were a bit shaky, however it was a small quantity. The lighting within my preliminary task was the greatest worry we had when filming our new video, as the lighting was of extreme poor quality and came as a great disadvantage to our original film, as the audience were unable to see characters clearly. However we used the editing on I movie and used natural light within our new media product and the lighting was of good quality to match the genre of the movie. The soundtrack throughout my preliminary task was uninventive and did not match the movie at all, on the other hand within our new media product we were able to pick a soundtrack and edit the music on garage to match our video perfectly. More so the editing used throughout my preliminary task was of poor quality, the titles were of poor quality and the transitions used did not match the complete video. However my new media product had inventive title and also the transitions used match the whole of the movie and helped a great deal to flow the video.      

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

Through the process of constructing my work I have learnt many new things about technology. I have learnt how to use a Sony video camera, as I have learnt how to film, take pictures, freeze a shot and delete unwanted work. We also re-shot the video so we were able to improve the quality as the original lighting was too dark. Also from the process of constructing this product I learnt how to use everything on the Mac books, which helped me to edit my whole piece of work. For instance I learnt how to use Garage band, where I was able to complete edit the soundtrack of my video. I used it to edit the non-diegetic piece of music, which is played throughout, as towards the end I wanted the music to fade out more, so through the use of garage band I was able to do this.  I then learnt how to use I Movie a great deal to improve my movie. For example I used transition between the clips so the whole video would flow a whole lot easier. I also used fade out at the end of my video so I was able to only leave the word red on the screen which was the main emphasis of the whole movie. I was also able to edit each individual clip so that it matched my expectations. For instance as the movie was a psychological thriller I wanted there to be a darker lighting of the whole video so through the use of clip adjustments I was able to darker the lighting to add a better atmosphere. More so I was able to speed up certain clips which were to long and did not stay within the time limit which was provided. We also clipped certain clips down so it would flow on a better scale, and also we learnt how to use titles on our video to display characters name and members of my group. 

How did you attract/ address your audience?

The main method we used to attract the audience was through the use of curiosity. For instance within the two minutes clip the is only a slight hint of the murders taking place, and from watching the audience will want to know more, like why he doing it?, what he will do next?, His social background and what will happen to him next?. These are all questions the audience will be asking themselves on watching the movie and hopefully continue to watch because of this.

Confusing the audience would help a great deal into attracting the audience to continue to watch. For instance the start begins completely different to any traditional thriller movie. For example in a traditional thriller movie there may be the victim on screen first usually women, but with my opening there is the perpetrator on the screen first, this would make the audience want to continue watching. More so the audience may now sympathise with the killer, and actually begin to like the killer. This would have an effect on the audience so they will keep watching; we formed this idea from one hour photo where the audience feel a lot of sympathy towards the character.

The editing of our movie would also have an effect on whether or not the audience would continue to watch. We used non-diegetic sound to attract the audience as it added to the creepy atmosphere and created suspense, also the lighting was darkened even more which also added suspense.  Both of these attract the audience to continue to enjoy the movie.

The characters obsessive personality would also attract the audience to continue watching the film as they would form a likeness towards the character. Furthermore the violence he commits to himself and also to the women attracts many men to continue watching the film. Furthermore as the character is isolated through the start of the movie and people who are lost or alone can identify with this character, this is another aspect that people will continue to watch the movie. 

Who would be the audience for your Media Product?

From the research I conducted I discovered that the perfect audience that I would aim my film at would be 18-40. The reason I chose 18 plus is because teenagers enjoy watching a lot of action and focusing a lot on what’s happening rather than the storyline. With the audience being 18 plus they will have a wider understanding of the film. More so the content of the film would be unsuitable for and audience under 18 for the reasons of graphic/disturbing pictures and the physical violence that may occur later on within the film. I have used a broad age range which could be a massive gamble however through the complexity of the film it appeals to a more mature audience. Furthermore, the film would also appeal more to academic people, which would mainly aim at economically well of people and the middle classes, as they would understand the film a whole lot better, and also enjoy the movie a whole lot more. I would not specify in to which gender I would aim this movie at, however through my research I would personally feel that male character would more likely watch the movie rather than women. The reasons being are that the social group which is constant through the film is masculinity which may be of putting for women, but also through the graphic images. 

What kind of Media Institutions might distribute your media product and why?

The media institution that I personally feel would be perfect to distribute our product would be Cipher films and Limelight. The reasons for my choice of institution are these companies have developed independent movies like kidulthood and adulthood.  As these movies were successful in British cinema, it also enhances my choice for these companies. More so these type of movies would be either played on Film Four or BBC films, this would help my movie to become more popular as people may enjoy the movie from the comfort of their own home with no costs required. The distribution companies, which are also involved with these companies was another reasons for my choice of media institution. For instance Pathé pictures and Pathé distribution as these company have distributed many films, also some successful one’s for instance kidulthood, slumdog millionaire and the duchess. From research, especially slumdog millionaire was extremely successful, with no bad reviews and respected by many. These were another reason for my choice of media institution. 

How does your Media Product represent particular Social groups?

Our media product represented four social groups in particular these were men, killers/psychopaths, youth and people in isolation. We used a very complex view on masculinity, for instance through the obsession for women, and red emphasise how our character asserts himself through his masculinity. Furthermore, the camera shot we use at the end of our media video ends with the character physically harming himself, as if he is preparing himself, the shot also enhanced the characters physical strength. More so, although the victims are not shown within the first two minutes they are portrayed as feeble which also represents the characters strength and masculinity.

We portrayed killers and psychopaths through the characters actions, which occur through out. As watching the video it is shown that the character has mixed emotions going from happy and smug from the pictures of his victims and the anger he feels from finding an old picture, this clearly shows how our character has mental health problems. The obsession and the pleasure the character takes in what he is committing also clearly represents his mental state. The clothing we used on the character was very basic and simple, this was used to show that our character has no main focus on the clothing he wears, mainly focuses on his victims. The props we used throughout the whole of the video also highlighted the character’s mental state. The notice board was used to display all of the victims, dates, times etc. These clearly show that he plans his murders, and enjoys them, showing his mental state. The laptop was used in a voyeuristic way, showing how he takes enjoyment in looking at the images of his victims. Furthermore, this also highlights the youth in the character as he is modern and up to date. The folder we used in our video had weird, sadistic scribbles which also show the characters mental health, as he is disturbed.

Groups of society kept in isolation as another social group we portrayed in our media video, for instance the whole of our video was filmed in one setting, in one room. And through out the whole of the video the character never leaves the room at any point, even when the camera exits the room and the door begins to close the character is still within the room, so we portrayed isolation throughout the whole of our video. 

In what ways does your Media Product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?

My media product uses existing conventions throughout the whole clip. We kept to the traditional use of Camera angles for example close-ups, pan, mid shot and long shot throughout the whole of our clip and used it for our advantage. For example; the use of a close-up to show the killer looking at images of his victims on the laptop. We used this because it would show the amount of detail required to show the audience the detailed information to show he is a psychopath. Our group used titles, which are to be seen in many media products and also the use of transitions. We also used the use of sound to add effect to our 2 minute film opening, as we used a non-diegetic soundtrack to add effect but also used diegetic sound to give a mixed effect. The soundtrack was found on Youtube and it was ‘creepy music’ which was relatively easy to find. We searched through a few to make sure it fitted the tone of our introduction. We also kept to the traditional conventions of a psychological thriller with the use of our lighting. For instance we kept it a very dark setting and put a massive emphasis on the colour red. We also kept to how a typical psychopath would have an obsession, and we were influenced by the movie One Hour Photo, as in this film the main character, Sid, has an obsession with a family who collect their photos from him.

However, our media video did challenge traditional forms and conventions in media products. As in many thrillers, the murderer/psychopath would not be seen for a larger majority of the film, so the audience would empathise with the victim rather than the killer. We had changed this slightly as we put the killer on screen first so the audience may empathise and also sympathise for this killer, also in the 2 minutes we see no victim’s, only quick hints at the victims. We chose to do this as it would be different and may have a greater effect on the audience. Also, the imagery of the killer and the victims would thrill the audience in a different way, as it’s unexplained why he is killing these women and how he is caught up in this obsession.