Here is a link to our production:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2h4QgeVPq8

Evaluation

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt from the progression from it to the full task?

We learned various skills in the preliminary task, which help us, construct a short thriller film. We learnt the basic rule of the 180-degree rule and that going across the 180-degree rule would be unadvised as it confuses the audience. In the main task we avoided this by keeping the camera to one side therefore making it easier to avoid the 180-degree rule. We learnt how to frame shot a scene which came useful as balanced the content in every scenery giving the scenes better value and making it easier for the audience to get the intentions of the antagonist person In the opening. Team work and listening skills were also discovered and develop as neither of the group had actually done this sort of assignment so understanding the mean to keep a valued consensus or a common agreement had to be reached so the production could go on without any problems or situations. Unlike the preliminary task we had to gain extra skills in the angling of the camera and what sort of angles would have been necessary for each scene, which had to be perfectly orchestrated to get the thriller theme we intended to give to the audience. We needed to gained communication skills to a high level and this was the key element to the success of the group as we had some disagreements which was not healthy for the group and compromises had to be met .for example the location was the major issue as we disagreed on the location and the angle of the shot taken at the bridge however was sorted when we agreed to keep to short and close up and very few long shots. From the skills we gained and used in the main task we had gain the knowledge of the types of angles that could be used e.g. we were able to grab good shots of the canal with was good and was timed to perfection as a bird had just flown over the canal giving a better and more gracious view of the river bringing the sense of innocence to the setting.

The skills gained as we progressed were being able to use different angles to create different affect. For example we had a close up of the antagonistic eyes giving the main affect of mystery and deviance giving the affect and feeling that the protagonist is in danger and that the antagonistic is going to inflect pain to the protagonist. Another shot used with a very good angled camera shot is the shot of the bag which is basically there to give a link to the protagonist to the antagonist giving the feeling that the bag represents a key factor that the antagonist want something that the bag therefore giving relevance to the two actors that they have a common link which is brought to by the bag

The angle we got from the long range view of the building was another example of how our skills of using the camera had increased as we were able to used the skills to show different angles of the building as we used a long-short going into a close up of the building giving a fading effect to the film and give the film more mystery and helped us give more of an insight to what our intentions of the film was to the audience which was basically a slow paced thriller theme which would leave the audience in thought . As in the preliminary task we gain the knowledge of communication and understanding of the contexts needed to create a film like this , example when doing the filming we had to remember that unlike the preliminary task the different types of shots that we should have used were different and had to change basically the view that the filming had to be done as we had to use a range of other shots like mid-shot and long short as well.

Evaluation

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

Whilst doing this media production, we have used a lot of equipment and learnt how to use a lot of new equipment. The software and equipment we used was; Final cut pro, A video camera and tripod, back lamp in the sound proof room. Final Cut Pro is the software we used to make our movie. Every shot we filmed was put into Final Cut Pro, and then it was put together as our film adding fades and music. We had to do our film 3 different times as we were not getting much done and the film was not making much sense. So by coming together we used shots we had with the Final Cut Pro and made our film “Beware of Shadows”.

When using the camera when we were out filming we used all the shots we possibly could and each time we filmed a scene, we shot it from every angle we could possibly think of. For example, if we were filming Simon walking down a street, we would not film it from the just the front, we would film it from all angles but making sure when it was cut together in the film we did not cross the 180-degree rule. Another thing we had to do when we were filming, was not keep the camera on the tripod all the time, we had to do a large variety of shots including free-hand and steady-cam shots. By using these different types of shots we create different effects and bring across different things to the film.

Evaluation

How did you attract/address your audience?

The techniques I have used to define our genre of our media project and grab the attention of our audience was that we used fast cross rates. We have also used fade in’s and fade out’s for every scene which creates an atmosphere, of something that you’re unsure about fits the sequence well. There is no dialect in our movie clip, this can make the clip more interesting because the audience has to rely more on the facial expressions of the characters, this requires more concentration and for the audience to be more involved in the clip. This is a good way of getting the attention of the audience. People may see this as unusual however it is a good way for the audience to get to know a character through their facial expressions and other gestures. A scene with minimal or no dialect can build tension and as this is the beginning of a thriller this can set the tone for the rest of the film.

When we filmed KB’s eyes we had everything completely black and only his eyes and face in focus. But we had just a lamp at one side behind the camera to create an early effect and make it look more menacing. Simon is the “victim”, he is coming across to the audience as a simple teenager going for a walk, maybe heading somewhere. There isn’t much depth to this character so he is a simple character but he is the main one. The second character is KB who is the “Stalker”, he is the sinister being who we don’t see much of apart from his eyes. He is the evil person in this opening and the bits people see of him we want to make him come across as the person who is out to do bad.

In the third shot along The Stalker is introduced, it is an extreme close up of his eyes and everywhere is dark except for a shine of light on the side of his face. The music we have used is a track that plays through to the end of our scene. In the shot further into the sequence The Victim is walking up some steps and puts his hand on a rail, at that moment it fades to The Stalkers eyes once again and it looks as if they are looking at the previous scene and it creates a sense of unpredictability of what The Stalker is thinking or what he is going to do.

Evaluation

Who would be the audience for your media product?

In our media production was originally aimed at male teenagers aged of 15-19 years old, but it we would say that it would appeal to females as well. It is strongly for older teenagers though as it requires concentration to watch it. There is really no preference in ethnicity or religion. But based on interests, the person would have to be a fan or thrillers or horrors as that is the genre of our film, maybe would also like the idea of a stalker film. In this media production we are aiming at a niche audience, this is where you would aim something at a specific audience, this works in the same way for our opening film, as we are aiming it at 15–19 year old male and female teen agers as well as young adults.

Evaluation

What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

When doing our film reviews we looked at the film “Orphan” and the company that produced this film was Warner Brothers, Pictures. The orphan is a Horror/ Thriller, which is a similar genre to our media production so they would make suitable production company. Because of the quality of our product we have made and due to the fact we had limited resources to make the product we believe that British production companies such as film four and BBC would be the most suitable production company. Film four is a British film production company which is owned by channel 4 which has been known for helping a large number of films made in the UK such as ‘Dead Mans Shoes’ and ‘Hidden City’ The reason for this is because the location we had used in our particular clip has been in Britain. Production companies such as film four and BBC would be interested in distributing our film because the film we have created is of low budget and includes areas which are known to the British audience. They also may be interested in marketing our product because the clip we have produced is of low budget and does not include elements and props of such higher standards then your average Hollywood blockbuster or even nowhere near that standard. Norfilms is also another independent British film production and television production based company and this would be an ideal option when coming to distribute our film because the company is based near Manchester. Many film four production films have been marketed through the use of trailers and billboards around the England so in the same way we could market our film in nearby local cinemas and billboards around the central parts of Manchester.

Evaluation

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The media clip we have produced we decided to represents the male sex those which are in their late teenage years. The media product we have produced stereotypically involves a dominant male who is of black origin and a white male who is supposedly the victim in this clip. We stereotypically decided to go with such representation of the ethnic groups in this way because the film clips which we had earlier reviewed involved the white males being the antagonist however in our case he is the victim. The film clip we have created involves an antagonist who is in his late teens, this again is a stereotype that male teens are not always someone they are, they are a group which are represented as misbehaviours. Our clip we created holds up these stereotypes because we wanted a clip that would be something the audience would expect however because of the representation I have mentioned above still keep them thinking about the significance of having just used male teenagers.