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.