Audience Feedback

This is a selection of some of the audience responses we got for our sequence:

hurtwoodhousemedia

sexsells

:D

LegasyOleg
Psycho-style Yeah! I like it, moreover now a girl is a killer. By the way very nice choice of actress role.


fatboy22222222222222
nice subversion of the stereotype of the male killer killing the woman in the shower e.g. psycho



70% of our audience like the idea of the reverse of stereotypical male killer
From the audiencefeedback, which are most young people, show their appreciation of the cast choice, therefore proving our point in our target audience and our representation of social groups.
Our film is a very "psycho" similar film, the audience feedback shows how they liked the idea of the same scene however by reversing in terms of gender and different context (sex).

TASK 7 Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

In the preliminary task, there was no intense planning or preparation needed because we were given a simple and basic storyboard with very simple shots: wide shot, medium wide and close up. We did not have to organize for any location because we used a simple set in the studio which consisted of three fake brick walls, one light and a door.

For our main task, it took much more preparation such as: drawing out a storyboard, a shot list, cast, costume and props, shooting script. There was the process of preparing a location and seeing wether that location was available.

In the Preliminary task we used very simple shots such as wide shots, while in our Main task we used more complicated shots such as: over the shoulder shots.

In the Prelim. task, there was dialogue involved which gave a sense of a story and we didn't have to communicate anything non- verbally, therefore there was no need for special effects or special technicalities.

In our Main task, it was more complicated due to no dialogue in the sequence therefore we had to communicate a story visually by using the appropriate shots.

In terms of camera use, much improvement has take place since the Preliminary task, such as: framing the shots in different ways such as: framing for eyeline matches, etc. Unlike in the Prelim. task where we weren't aware of certain rules such as: use of close ups or keeping to the 180 degree rule, etc.

This is an example of over the shoulder shot we had in our preliminary task The frame is crooked and the object is way far to the left.

This is an over the shoulder shot from our main task sequence, We can now see that this shot is done properly because we can not only see her shoulder like in the previous shot of the Prelim. task.

This is a wide shot from our preliminary task. Again, we can see that three of the hot spots are empty and if this were a photo to represent something, it would be very difficult to find out what because she is the only object in this shot.

This is an example of a wide shot from our main task. The space is filled much better, there are more little details in the shot. With both characters in this shot, we can assume that something is going to happen between them.

Sound

In the preliminary task, we only recorded ambient sound, such as: dialogue. We had no need use of foley work, music or sound effects because our aim for this task was to only match the storyboard given to us. One of the reasons we did not have use any foley work was because we did not have the knowledge how to add it in.

In our main task, the music was one of the most important factors due to it being the main effect on the thriller. While shooting the sequence, the only sound we recorder was the ambient sound: shower, footsteps, etc.

When it came to ending editing the sequence, we argued on wether to have music or not because there are two different vibes in this sequence which are: sexual and scary. We came to the conclusion that musically modified notes would be adptable to it. We researched several different sounds on Soundtrack Pro and slowly making a process of sounds which adapted to the right moments. For example: actress enters teh shower room and this is supposed to give a feeling of seduction, therefore we added a slow and sensual beat to it. We added a slight high scary tone when she pulls the knife out. The booming sounds which were also exported from Soundtrack Pro were used in the stabbing actions.

After effects

Our preliminiary task required no after effects because the main aim was to learn how to use the camera. For our Main task, after effects were an important factor in order to get the effect we wanted to transmit to the audience. After effects also allow the manipulation of colour and contrast and it can help cover up mistakes in the original shots and make actions in the film look more realistic and exaggerated. We used after effects in Final Cut Pro to make our video look as if it was captured on film. We also added some color changes to make sure that the lighting in the shower room is not too warm for the scene.

TASK 6

TASK 5 How did you attract/address your audience?

Task 5 Powerpoint

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

The type of age group which would watch this film would be around the young adult section seeing from the opening sequence that it involves sexuality.
The film is a unisex film seeing that there are both boy and girl sex-appeal showing from the very beginning of the film.
The person watching this film wouldn't have to necessarily be highly educated because it is a typical horror film which does not need thorough intelligence to comprehend.

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

The Company is an industry market share leader at the North American theatrical box office for calendar 2009 to date and has had recent theatrical box office successes that include TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL, which generated a $41 million opening weekend, largest in Lionsgate history, MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D, SAW V, RELIGULOUS, FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, RAMBO and THE BANK JOB. Lionsgate has also forged strong positions in television and home entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television series as “Mad Men,” “Weeds” and “Crash,” the distribution of Tyler Perry's “House of Payne,” “Family Feud” and “South Park” and upcoming shows including Tyler Perry's “Meet The Browns” and “The Wendy Williams Show,” as well as market share of nearly 7% and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD conversion rate in home entertainment. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

Lionsgate films is a very successful company and by observing their genres of film which vary between thrillers to comedies, make our sequence very suitable to be distributed by it.

TASK 2 How does your product represent particular social groups?

Our actors represent a social group of today which is a middle class teen students highlighting the events which take place in institutions of today. They represent a new kind of generation of students compared to old-fashioned, traditionally mannered young adults.

For example Josh Jackson who plays a victim in our opening sequence is a representation of a typical American high school jock. This is a very popular representation in American teenage oriented films and TV series. In media they are usually athletic, attractive young football players, who are always stalked by girls in the school. A lot of teenage oriented horror and thriller films have these types of characters in them.In our sequence they are represented by Josh, who is athletically built and also a jock jacket suggests that he is a football player. It was quite hard to represent a jockIn the sequence, simply because there is not a lot of action and he doesnt say anything. We have also reversed the stereotype of a jock who is usually represented as an alpha male by making him the victim of the killer.

Chloe Roberts who plays a killer represents a typical cheerleader, also a representation frequently used in American teenage oriented media industry products. She is tall, blonde, skinny and sexually attractive. In my opinion she is a perfect actress to play this roll. In most of horror and thriller movies a blonde girl is a victim of some terrible serial killer. We have reversed the stereotype by making her a killer committing a violent murder in the end of our sequence.

We represent high class teenagers by making the actors young and attractive. But also the location plays a significant role in representing a social group. By making it a boarding or high school we automatically make our actors students and not just random teenagers in a changing room. During the course of our thriller, the school will be revealed which will indicate the location where the action takes place.

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

We wanted out titles to show professionalism without demonstrating titles throughout the sequence in order for the audience to focus more on the actual story of the sequence rather than over utilizing new and discovered special effects which are used in case of lack of ideas.

We decided not to reveal her intentions until she actually shows us the knife. Traditionally killers use knifes in horror movies as their weapon of choice. Knifes are subconsciously scarier than guns because they have the ability not to kill instantly. We decided to use this in our thriller. Also a knife and an innocent looking girl is quite a contrast (This has been shown in the opening sequence of ‘Scream’, however the girl there was a victim, not a killer).

We challenge the conventions of modern horrors by creating a very unusual killer - a blonde girl who is traditionally a victim in most films of this genre. She looks nothing like a traditional mental serial killer who only comes out at night and wears all black.

Our movie is a combination of different genres - horror and thriller. In modern film productions you can usually identifine the genre of the movie after watchi ng the opening sequence of the film (e.g Saw, Seven). Thats why we used shots and locations to create the atmosphere that is usual for our genre - lonely corridors, atmosphere, dark and cold lighting.

Evaluation Task

1) When we did the preliminary task, the set was very simple due to the fact that it was already set up with three walls, a door and a window. It was very simplistic and required no mise en scene because the most important part of the task was understanding getting the shots in the script and storyboard which was given to us. In the main task, the set was up to us to create and it was our job to get the special requirements of mise en scene and costumes. In contrast to the preliminary task where there was no need to plan a storyboard or to write a script, the main task required a plan for a story to then turn it into a script or if there is no dialogue, a shooting script which is what we had.

In the preliminary task, the only shots we did were: wide, medium and close-up and if we had more time we did more shots, for example, we did a type of crane shot which we used a ladder to do so. In the main task, we had to make up our own shots, therefore making a shot list and storyboard which helped on the actual shooting day.

When it came to editing the preliminary task, we had only one log bin to put our shots into, and it was very simple to follow the storyboard given to us because we didn’t have to add in any foley work, we only recorded the ambient sound therefore we didn’t have to add any special sounds or music. In the main task, we had to make various log bins in order to keep track of all the shots and to make sure of not missing any good shots out and also to separate their categories, for example: wide shots of shower, over the shoulder shots of her walking through the corridor, etc.

In terms of sound, we used ambient sound as well as diagetic sound to add to the scene cause an effect.

2) Our editing techniques varied in the process of editing on Final Cut Pro because we were not sure where to start or what pace to use. As we moved on with the cuttinng, we found that a restricted narrative pace was what worked at the beginning of the sequence because the audience is supposed to get the impression that the actresses aim is to make her way to the shower which we cut to every corridor shot, to seduce him.

As the sequence moves on, we cut it by making it a more of a fast paced action sequence when she walks into the shower room.

We decided that the stabbing actions were meant to be fast and pacey in order to make a bigger impact on the audience and to create a sense of shock making the stabbing so sudden.

3) We did not make use of a music score in our sequence. Instead we used sounds which we exported from Soundtrack Pro. We used these sounds in order to enhance realism in the sequence. For example: we added in sounds of her footsteps in order to create that tension building up to their meeting. At the beginning of the sequence, there is only ambient sound which gives a sense of normal and everyday lifestyle giving only an impression that the actresses intention is to seduce the actor in the shower.

We used non diagetic sound especially in the moments of tension such as: when she pulls out the knife and stabs him. The build up of sound happens when she pulls out the knife in order to communicate an upcoming event.

The booming sounds which we exported from Soundtrack Pro, were to back up the stabbing actions since we decided initially not to use a music score. The booming sounds also enhance the state of mind which the girl is in giving the stabbing actions a sense of exaggeration and brutality.

We repeated the booming sound when we show the blood dripping from his toes to give a sense of shock to the audience.

4) In terms or titles, we decided on having no titles throughout the sequence due to it's style which is detailed. Therefore we decided that titles would break down the tension too much seeing that some of the audience would concentrate more on the titles than the story taking place in the sequence.

We put the distributor at the very beginning of the sequence on it's own black background. We did this by using Final Cut Pro text. We kept the font very simple in order to make it less amateur as possible.

5) In terms of audience appeal, we made the audience more appealed by using sexuality. our sequence refers to the quote "sex sells" which is what most audiences are attracted to, especially young ones. This sexuality is shown through the actors appearance and their actions, such as: boy naked in shower, girl walking in taking off her cardigan and letting down her hair, sniffing of the jacket. These are all examples of subtle sexuality.The film contains young actors which are both shown in a type of school and locker room. This immediately gives the impression that the whole film will be shown in a high school therefore appealing young audiences.

PHOTOS OF SHOOTING DAY

ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING DAY

It was a very simple set up due to the fact that our location was so simplistic in terms of easy accessibility and because it local: the boys locker room in Hurtwood House. This easy access to the location helped with saving time from organizing transport and the time to get there. It was not exactly as the storyboard because the storyboard created an image and the particular location fitted from a practical point of view.Our final location was quite small which made it harder to shoot in when it came to doing a wide-shot, therefore we placed the camera in the corner of the room in order to get the wide shots of the whole scene. It was easier to shoot close-ups but it did make it suit the scene making it more intimate and closed.
In terms of shot choices, we started off by shooting in one angle of the location in front of the shower, therefore we did a wide-shot initially of her entering while he taking a shower. This shot was an important shot in order to show how we can see what is happening on both sides of the wall giving a sense of wanting to warn the victim. The wide shot introduces the whole scene and location and where the audience is supposed to look. We went on to doing a medium wide shot of his in the shower then moved on to close-ups of details such as: her dropping her cardigan to the floor, her elastic band falling in front of it. This was decided on the spot to do this. We did a form of a P.O.V. shot from the shower looking up at the girl stabbing. We didn't exactly follow the storyboard 100% because we kept coming up with new ones on the spot. This was good seeing that we didn’t exactly plan where we would place the camera in the first place. By exploring different shots it leaded to new ideas for the story, for example: we made the actress remove her cardigan and this made us come up with the idea to add a floor shot of the cardigan falling to the floor.Since we shot in a real location, we didn't really need to set up light due to the natural light which was already in the room. We didn’t consider extra lighting because the yellow wash of the neon light had a scary but at the same time a naturalistic effect on the shoot. In terms of sound, there is no dialogue whereas the actors do not speak. Our only concern for sound was the shower sound and her footsteps down the corridor seeing that our future plan for editing is going to involve cutting from the shower to the corridor. At the beginning of the planning, we decided on the actor singing in the shower, however, when it came to shooting it, we realized that it was not serious enough and would make a joke out of the whole sequence. The reason we came up with this idea was to surprise the audience by making it slightly comical and happy and the beginning to then surprise the audience with the girl walking in with a knife. We ended up Our roles for the shooting day were planned. As the producer, I had to plan where to shoot and do such jobs as getting everything in order and making sure that we had everything necessary for that day and also making sure the shoot was relevant to what the story was and picking if shots were appropriate or not for it. The teamwork in the group was very efficient and we all took part in camera work which improved the shoot because everyone had new ideas. We all helped each other out even if it was not the role we were given, for example: when blood was needed it was immediately done by someone from the group, this is why it didn't take us all day to shoot.