Final Evaluation - Hannah Mitchell

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

• Thriller movies and openings use ‘normal conventions’ of a thriller that you would expect to make the movie a Thriller genre. The normal conventions a movie has things such as ‘Antagonist or/and Protagonist’ like, for example, Batman and The Joker in the Thriller films about Batman. and when using these conventions creates an interesting story lines which keeps the audience engaged with the story throughout making it a successful film. 

• Thriller conventions that are used are things such as ‘Enigma’ which is mystery which Thrillers use to engage the audience and ‘Cross Cutting' which is when we cut between related action  which occurs simultaneously and the pace of cuts increases until the 2 locations if shots will collide. Using these conventions shows that the movie will be the genre of a Thriller because it has used these conventions. 

• Also using these conventions of a Thriller makes the film do what a Thriller genre should do, create suspense, tension and  excite the audience while also most Thriller use Psychological aspects to the Thriller to grip the audience more.

• In our opening, we applied some of the conventions to make it appear to the audience as a Thriller genre but we tried to not make this to obvious in the opening. The reason we did this is because we didn’t want the opening going straight into the story line and main plot because we needed it look like an opening to a movie and also didn’t want it to come across straight away as a Thriller, as we wanted to challenge what the audience thought of it which would therefore, create suspense and an interesting story line because it wasn’t the genre they necessarily thought it was at the opening. 

• We used the conventions like ‘Flashbacks’ which immediately create enigma and mystery as the audience doesn’t know what has happened but also because we kept crossing between the flashbacks and ‘real world’ and we did this to create a mystery as the audience then might get confused between the two and then not know if one scene was an flashback or the real world.

• Shot 1: In our first shot, it uses an establishing shot to show the setting/ location to the audience which is a usual shot in any film, movie or TV drama. The Thriller conventions we used in this shot were things such as the lighting. The lighting in this shot created lots of long angled shadows which Thrillers are know for as they play with shadows a lot to create suspense and to create imagery to the audience.

• Shot 2: In our second shot, we use the shot size extreme long shot to show the setting and what is going on and also used this shot size so nothing was cut off from the framing as we wanted to be able to see everything in the frame and didn't want any of the swing cut off so the audience could see everything. We again used large shadows in this shot when she was on the swings to  create some interesting long shadows and imagery as this is a Thriller convention.

• Shot 3: In the 3rd shot, we used a transition effect to change from scenes. We used a fade transition which is a Thriller convention as it creates a look of a 'dream' which can add enigma to the story and the audience wonder if it's a dream, flashback or real life. We used the fade to change from the 'real world' to the flashback as the audience have an understanding that this effect can mean something that has happened and add suspense.

• Shot 4: In shot 4, we changed back from the flashback to the 'real world'. This is a thriller convention as the scenes keep changing from one place to another so this creates a sense of mystery to the audience and therefore, helps add to the suspense of a Thriller because the audience can't anticipate what is going to happen.

• Shot 5: Shot five is a big close up which means the human face doesn't fit in. We used this as it shows the emotion of the character and also this shot helps to create a connection to the audience because we can feel empathy for the character. This is a thriller convention because it helps create a connection between the audience and character which then helps with suspense later as we feel more for the character as we feel closer to them.

• Shot 6: We then used another fade transition in our 6th shot. We used this fade to show we were once again changing scene into what it is a flashback. This is a thriller convention because of the continual changing of scenes and flashbacks which leaves the audience with a sense of mystery.

• Shot 7: This shot is a Thriller convention as it uses dark lighting. The use of dark lightning in this shot portrays to the audience that something bad is going to happen which therefore, helps build suspense to the audience and is also a thriller convention uses in Thriller movies/TV programmes.

• Shot 8: Shot 8 is another big close up similar to the one before to show the emotion of our characters face. This shot shows more emotion though as we see her crying which makes the audience feel sympathy for our character. This is a common technique used in any genre as the audience get a sense of realism and a connection with the character which helps make them feel more involved in the story.

• Shot 9: Shot 9 is our title sequence. This is a Thriller convention and a convention in any movie or TV programme. What makes this a Thriller convention is that it includes 'music box' music which adds a creepy element to the sequence. Also with the use of a torn in half child's drawing it creates even more of this element and helps display our genre to the audience.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• In our thriller opening we have 2 characters shown.  We have a mother and daughter being represented and shown in our opening showing a difference in age but showing the same gender. 

• The mum is being shown as a loving and caring Mum in a traditional representation by pushing her daughter on the swing and helping her which displays the traditional caring domestic role. Another way she is being displayed as traditional femininity is Mise En Scene. 

• The setting that she is seen in is the kitchen which constructs and sees her as traditional because women were thought of as domestic and should do all the cooking and cleaning etc. We also see the Mum looking after the child during the day which shows to the audience that if there is a male role in the family, then he is the breadwinner of the family and the Mum stays at home and is being classed as 'domestic'.

A female child character in the movie Hide and Seek 

• Her facial expression and body language shows she's loving and caring as she's smiling and when she pushes the swing, puts a lot of effort into it while also the use of non-diegtic sound of her talking to her daughter also shows she caring. 

• The costume of the mother shows to the audience that the family are probably either middle or higher class as it's quite formal for just going to the park. The scene can also show the representation of a single mother to the audience as in our movie there is no father figure around so can also show her as a strong independent woman which contrasts from the traditional mother she was shown as before. 

Another female child in the film 'Orphan'

• We have constructed our main female character as a typical girl in our opening. We used a female child because they are used a lot in Thriller movies and make it have more suspense because it is a child so the audience fear more for them and feel more for them.

• The daughter is represented as a traditional feminine character through our use of Mise En Scene. We show her wearing a pink dress which immediately reflects to the audience that she is very feminine as the color pink is associated with females and portrays femininity to the audience. What this also does is maybe show her as innocent because she is wearing this feminine color which is associated with innocent young females.  

• We show her wearing a dress which many typical girls do. However, this could also challenge the traditional representation we showed her as. This can show our character as more mature than her age because dresses are stereotypically worn by women and when children wear them, they are trying to act more adult and perhaps take the style of their mother as influence.

• . Her femininity is also shown well she is painting as it shows how creative she is and it show sher as if she was very attentive to detail which stereotypically females are.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?


There are 3 stages involved in the process of a film. The 1st is the film production and then after is the distribution. To distribute our film, we would use a film distribution company as our media institution to distribute our film. A film distributor is responsible for releasing the film and also has to get the licensing from the producer to exploit the film and then release it. They can release the films to the public 2 ways ; Theatrically or for home viewing.


Theatrically: Theatrically is when the film is released in the cinema and theaters.
Home Viewing: Home viewing is when it is released on things such as DVD, video on demand or is screened on television.


The producer of the film then gets an up front payment from the distributor and also gets any percentage of sales, showings or tickets. The distributor also markets the film to the audience so that it attracts attention and therefore, earns money and a profit.


When marketing the film, they have to decide when the film comes out as there can be other competition at the same time at release in the cinema. As Thriller movies don't come out every week and aren't as popular as say family movies, then we wouldn't have much competition from other Thriller movies. However, if our movie did clash with the release of a big family movie like Harry Potter for instance, then we could lose viewers as Harry Potter is a very big chain of movies and is very popular.


To advertise our movie, the distributor must promote it. 


With our movie, we would use things such as Internet campaigns on websites such as Youtube which have all types of audiences.It has an adult audience to the site which we would like to aim it at so this would be good for our advertising.

 We could also promote it on TV chat shows with the stars of the movies as these shows are very popular and have a lot of viewers. This then meant that this would create a 'buzz' around it and make it more popular.

 We would also advertise on transport as this way a whole range of people see it and are interested.


One really important way though is a trailer. This is important because it shows clips of the film which is vital to the audience as it gives them some hint on what they can expect.


The final place is the exhibition. This is where the film is viewed at the cinema and on DVDs and downloads. This is a vital part of the 3 stages because it is where the producer and distributor earn money back from the making of the film and the advertising campaign.


To do all this, we must choose a distributer we like. From this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motion_picture_distributors


I first of all decided we wanted a distributer in the UK. We would want them to have worked with other films in the UK and perhaps local from where our set was. We could have used a big named distributor like Warner Bros. but wanted a more specific one which was in the UK. We also needed it to fit with the genre of the film so a distributor  like The Walt Disney company would not have been suitable. 


Optimum releasing is a distributor and is based in the UK and also it's image is modern which is what we would like as we would like a modern audience and younger audience to our film so this distributor is perfect for our film.




4.Who would be the audience for your media product?

• With our thriller opening, we would aim it at a specific audience. Our audience we would ideally aim it at is 15 and over because of the age rating and it wouldn't be classed as a 12 as it’s not appropriate for young children and also an 18 is probably too high as it has young female child. 

• It would be targeted at both genders but more women may watch this thriller because it focuses around the relationship between a mother and daughter and women may understand this better.

•  It would also be aimed at people who enjoy Thriller films and like watching films with suspense and mystery and also with twists they didn’t expect to happen. Other Thrillers our audience would enjoy would be Marchlands, a programme which aired on TV and revolved around a storyline about a young child.

Marchlands, an ITV programme, which also revolved around a young child

5.How did you attract/address your audience?

• We attracted our audience firstly with our storyline in the opening. We made our story line at the beginning quite calm and not full of action or anything out of someone’s ordinary life because they can relate to the Mother and Daughter that way in that it just comes across as an ordinary day in the life of. This can also create suspense in the storyline though, because with the genre, the audience expect something to happen and when it’s calm at the beginning it then creates suspense and tension as the audience know something is going to happen soon which is a good example of how normality is suddenly interrupted by disruption of some kind.

• Also the use of the music box diegtic soundtrack may make the audience enjoy the film as it gives a sense of a Thriller and would appreciate this as they would understand and how it corresponds with our theme and genre. Our audience may also enjoy our film from the strong bond we show on screen between the mother and daughter and make create empathy as well as the audience understanding and feeling part of the connection because we see the closeness of them.

An example of Music box music which is similar to ours   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCtgTpxgwjc

When I ask for audience feedback, they things they said they liked were the Mother and Daughter relationship as some people could connect with it and therefore, gave them a sense of realism to the opening. They also said they liked how the picture was connected to the opening credits and made them think it may have some importance later on in the film. 



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

7.Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that from the prelim task to this project I improved a lot and learnt a lot more. I feel that as a group, we improved mostly on our use of lighting.


 In our prelim, we used no lighting as we didn't think about it and didn't think it was necessary but when we watched it back, we realized what an important factor lighting plays in filming. We realized how dark it was and also how grainy it made our filming appear so we thought very carefully about lighting in our Thriller opening. 


Another thing I feel we have improved on is our editing. Our Thriller Opening is a lot better when it comes to editing than our prelim as it uses more effects such as credits and titling which makes it appear a lot more 'movie like'. I also feel that we have improved on our representation and construction of character in our opening because we discussed this a lot more this time knowing the importance of this.


Shot 1: In shot 1, our camera work was quite shaky and wasn't used on a tripod. From this, we have learnt we must always use camera work equipment to keep a steady image as it looked unprofessional as it was shaky.

Shot 2:  In shot 2, we didn't use white balance and the image looks quite grainy as well because the HD (High definition) was enabled on our camera and we didn't check so we have now learnt to check if it's on or not.

Shot 3: We change shots here to get a closer look at our character but as we filmed quite late, the sun went down quickly and it can be seen between cuts here which doesn't give continuity because it is so noticeable and the audience will notice.

One of our shots from our Preliminary without white balance and what it should be 

Shot 4:  In shot 4, the problem we had was that we used no lighting which was a very big mistake. As it can be seen in the shot, it's not even easy to see what is in the shot so it was a very big mistake we used and when we watched it back we immediately learnt from that mistake.









Shot 5: The problem we had in shot 5 is our framing. We didn't pay enough attention to the framing and it resulted in it being slightly wonky which made it look unprofessional.


Shot 6: In shot 6, even though we did use the lighting kit, it still looked dark and the light was glaring off in reflections so it look obvious we used lighting when we wanted it to look natural.


Shot 7: In this shot, the problem we had was that in the office we used, the workers still had to be there to supervise us and to do work. This meant they were working in the office and were in the background which immediately stopped the continuity flow in our opening.

Shot 8: In this shot, it is obvious that the white balance wasn't set. It is very blue and dark in the room so it is very hard to detect what is going on so we learnt that white balance and lighting is key in making shots look good quality.


Shot 9: Shot 9 was a good shot we used a flashing light and the character appeared very well in the background so we learnt that this was a good technique for a thriller if we ever made another one as it looked very effective.