1)In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms

and conventions of real media products?

The first idea my group and I thought about when planning our production was our target
audience. We got together and sat down came up with various ideas of. What target audience
we was going to focus on and target. As we are all around the same age. We decided to use
15 year old and up. As we thought we was able to relate with them age group on a more
personal level. We came up with the idea of what type of story line we wanted. So we got to
together in one of our media lesson and thought of the different story lines we thought
someone around our ages would be interested in. When we eventually discussed this we
agreed that thriller would be the best genre for our production to be on.

One of the first things I did was focus on textual analysis. I thought it was important for me to
analysis a thriller film in detail. However I made sure it was a thriller film I had already seen
as I knew I would be able to concentrate more on the questions I need to answer rather than
actually watching the film itself and being more concern about the storyline. After watching
and analysing the film I was able to see the different ways through which thriller films are
down and how suspense is shown throughout the film to make the target audience intergred
and to continue watching. We as a group wanted to ensure ways through which we could
watch an actual film and see different ideas and ways through which we can apply them to
our film.
When watching the thriller films. It was easy for me to see that most of the thriller used the
source of Mise-en-scene to their advantage. One of them being light. The use of low key
lighting was used throughout the film. And that was one aspect that was thought bout when
filming. As you can see below the pictures. The different sources of light to create suspense
throughout. One of them being in the beginning when the scenery is located in a college with
bright lighting. My group did this so that it was easy for the audience to understand what is
happening straight away and avoids and confusing. The second source of light we used was
outside in the dark. We only had the lamppost light which was very limited for us to work
with. However we used it as a great advantage. As it created great suspense for the target
audience. As darkness is where most people are seen as being vulnerable and defenceless.

As you can see. The

source of light in this
location is very bright.

And make it still easy to see the

person coming Even though they
are at a distance.
(One of the locations that we filmed at)
 Here is where we got
our source of light from
when filming.

Helped to create great

(Another place where we filmed) suspense. As it was a
limited use of light.

In the thriller the use of props are violent weapons. That people tend to defend themselves
with. (Such as knives, bats, guns) However in our filming production we decided to not to do
this, but to use the vulnerability of a disabled woman to our advantage as we thought this
would be just as affective as a weapon. Another use of props that was used was a car. Where
the protagonist was kidnapped by the disabled women.

An essential part of codes and convention of thrillers is the antagonist and protagonist.
Throughout my group made it a conscience effect to ensure that our media product was clear
and it was easy for our audience to understand the story line. Although in the beginning the
antagonist and protagonist is not relieved straight away as they both look like the protagonist.
But my group thought it was a very affective thing to do as it creates suspense and keep the
audience asks themselves questions. However have to keep continue watching for them
questions to be answered. As In the beginning of the production the women in her wheel
chair is shown as being vulnerable, weak and less able because is unable to push herself to
our car and requires help. So this creates enigma. However at the end of the production the
roles reverse and the personality of the disabled women. And the antagonist and protagonist
are relieved. And questions that people watching may have asked themselves such as. Why
did she pick her to push to her car? Is she actually planning something? Is she really
disabled? Questions like those begin to be answered. However there is still being more
suspense as the questions they previously had asked themselves, have been answered but they
begin to ask themselves more questions because it ends on a cliff-hanger.

One of the films I watched many times was obsessed felt there was various shot I ideas we
could copy and put onto our film. I felt there were very effective when watching them. And
example of this is when there was a fighting scene. The audience was able to see a full body
shot of the women. From this we were able to see the anger and rage in her face and the
expression in her body. And this was one of the shots we used in the very beginning of our
filming. And felt it was effective.

Sound is a very virtual piece of .The use of diegetic sound is helpful as it is a good direction
for the audience to know what is going on. And for there to be some verbal communication
between the actors/actresses. It keeps the audience interested. The score music is also a very
effective way as it creates more suspense when watching.

When previously looking at thriller films for my textual analysis I was able to notice the
location played a big factor. The areas where shown to be isolated, quite. This was all the
ways through how suspense was shown. And when filming the location was also an
important factor for us. As we had to ensure where we filmed the lighting was good, there
was not too many people around. And also put into consideration of where else we would be
filming as we also filmed in our college disabled car park area. We had to ensure their were
spaces for us to park the car. We wanted our production to look as realistic as possible. And
by looking at various films it helped.

One of the most important conventions of thrillers is the unexpected outcome of event in the
plot when the antagonist real identity is brought to light. This having the effect of surprising
the audience and creating a sense of mystery as they can never be sure what is likely to
happen, like in the film What Lies Beneath. This psychological thriller could easily have been
an influence for our two-minute sequence as it has the bath scene that our thriller builds to
and the victim again is the female and the male is the antagonist. Also there are common
features in the storyline as in both our thriller and the one from What Lies Beneath the plot is
based on memories and flashbacks.
2)How does your media product us3, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
The first factor we had to consider when filming was. Who should our opening sequence be
targeted to. What sort of people do we think would be the type of people that would be
interested in our story line? All questions like these had to be put into consideration before
planning to do our production. It did not take that long for my group to come up with the
different types of thriller films we has previously watched or enjoyed to watch. Most of them
had the same story line. And certificated 15 or 18.So it was easy for us to decide on a thriller
targeting people of the same age. Another element that was brought up was that all members
of our group have all pasted the age of 15 years old. And it we were able to state all the things
we enjoyed doing at this age. It helped to build the perfect picture of the type of person that
would be interested and watch our opening sequence.

When looking at potential thriller films we could get ideas from and that were also
certificated 15 years. We were able to see that they had props that would target some of this
age. Such as a mobile phone. A mobile phone appeals to teenagers because it targets a
product they use regularly and relied on by teenagers. So we thought that by using it would
make it look a lot more realistic.

This is the age group we are

targeting.

Throughout the film the we have use the psychological mechanism with the wheelchair.
When first looking at the women in the wheel chair. A stereotypical representation is made
about her. She is already thought as weak, vulnerable.And when she asks for help it shows
and even weaker and fragile side to her.

The antagonist and protagonist both show a sense of having this dominance and superiority at
different times throughout .Firstly when the protagonist pushes the women to the car. She is
seen as having that authority as she is more able than the women in the wheel chair. The
women in the wheel chair had to ask her for help because she is more able. However the role
then reverses because then the disabled women pushes the girl in her car. So at this point she
is seen as having that authority and superiority over the girl that she got help from. One of the
reasons being because the antagonist is not easily relieved to target audience straight away.

Also the location helped as it was located in a place of education. As all 15 year olds are in
school. It is automatically suited for someone from this social group. We have filmed in a
place where they are associated with and they are thought to be. It almost as if we have gone
into there habitat so that we are able target them in a more personal level.
3)What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and
why?

Our two minute sequence I think would also do very well in main stream market. As all the
required fundamentals to attract the target audience we are targeting.

I believe the company that news corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch would distribute our
media product. Specifically, 20th century fox which is a subsidiary of News Corporation.
They have made many films that target our specific target audience as they had made films
like “die hard” These types of films are in the thriller genre, also because it has similarities to
our own thriller which therefore suggests that it would be a successful film.
Another main stream company that I feel would distribute our film is Paramount Pictures as
this is a wide world successful film Production Company that has have helped to produce
successful film such as Titanic. And for my opening sequence to be successful. It would need
a big institution like Paramount Pictures support so that it would gain a fair amount of
revenue. Our group film is a very attention grabbing and intriguing, o if it was distributed by
a large organisation like Paramount I believe it would be even more appealing for or target
audience. Also allowing a large number of our target audience to watch our production.

If our film was to be distributed by as a Television movie this would also be very good for us
as it would be another way through which out opening sequence because this way it could
expanded more widely. This could help it reach out to more than one particular audience
making it target an even wider audience than we were intentionally meaning to target.

But because it is only a small filming production done in a college with affordable. Also the
quality of the equipment that we used. It should start off as an internet only project. Or maybe
distributed in small independent high street film rental shops. This would be ideal for
advertisement. We crucially need to advertise our production in order for it to get its fullest
recognition. Then if it watched by a large number of people that enjoy it, it should then be
expanded. If my media product is well recognised it could be franchised providing the right
support, it could then be put on games, t-shirts, even books and CD’s. This would distribute
my product production name. This will then mean that it will be offering more than one
service. Then in the long run we would be targeting a whole new audience.

Another way our media product could distribute is by local magazines created by schools and
colleges. Magazines tend to receive a lot of responds and comments; this can be an excellent
tool in terms of promotion and advertisement for our product. This is also a cheap and
affordable way to get our product recognised.

There are many media products out there that fail. Because they do not launch there products
correctly. And the reasons behind this is because they do not know the right ways in how to
promote there products. By starting off small and looking at different ways in which you can
start of small and then work your way up .By starting by promoting from there local areas.
Although it may take some time to research and look at places your target audience tend to
focus on. But it saves money and very affective in the long run.
4)Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for our media product is 15 years old and up. Our target audience was the
first element we put into consideration before we filmed our production. As a group we
wanted to ensure that we focused on a target audience. The very first things we did when
given the coursework was make a brainstorm. This included our target audience. The target
audience was an essential element for us as it also the reflected our work as a whole. As it
mentally have an understanding of what is happening.
When we came to conclusion of whole our target audience will be. We decided 15 years old
would be the best for opening sequences. Reasons for this is because we had pasted the age of
15 and we thought we would be able to relate and have a personal understand of what they
would be watching

A second element we had to consider was the type of 15 year old. The social group would
mainly be those of a C1, C2 D and E category, as it realistically would appeal to a working
class background. This is the type of social group I think would enjoy our film. And because
of this part of my planning and research I got a female around the same age we was targeting
and asked her questions about her likes and dislike. Helped to get an overall incite of what
characteristics she had.

Her name is Iffhra. she is 16

years old. She lives in East
London. Walthamstow

Dislikes are Long lessons, liars,

not getting her own way, boring
films, food, disappointment,
(If is the girl that we I a questioned
So I knew my target audience)

Iffhra takes interest in Singing,

church, friend and family,
studying, music, nights out,
watching films and shopping.

From the information she had given it helped. Although I had to be very stereotypical about
the way she way and the things she enjoyed doing. I able to added different elements to the
production. Such as a phone. A phone is something a teenager of her age is very dependent
on.

When it comes to ethnicity. Our product does not fall into a category. We do not have to
focusing or addresses on any particular ethnic group. However a factor we did emphasize on
was disability and ability. The use of the wheel chair was a way we made less able people in
wheels chairs have more authority and be more dominant. Which went against all stereotypes
of how a disabled person is thought be like. Although it was not a good out come as the
women got kipnapped.However the wheel chair was very deceiving.
5)How did you attract/address your audience?

The way I attract our target audience. Is by having people the same age as them acting.
Because of this our audience is able to relate to them on a more personal level.

Most of the films that are round nowadays. All have similar stories lines. Such as teenagers
being represented as killers, in gangs, and violent. So in our opening sequence we did the
opposite. By showing them in a new positive light. One of the is. The location is a college.
This immediately shows a positive image of higher education. The second being Helping a
disabled women. By doing this we are able to show a different and more positive side of how
teenagers can be. I believed by doing this. It is change to what teenagers are use to seeing on
teenagers eliminates all the negative stereotypical ways of how teenagers are thought to
behave.
A way through which we have attracted out audience is by the score music included
throughout the film. When there was no dialogue there was always score music in the
background. This helped for there to be suspense throughout the film. By this being included
it helped for the audience to be more engaged as they did not know what to except next.

The use of props was also a significance factor as. One of the being a mobile phone. The
phone was a Black Berry. This type of phone is well known and popular for people around
the age we are targeting. By having a mobile phone it allowed us to relate to our target
audience on a more personal level. As the use of this props is used throughout there day to
day life and they are dependant on there phones as it is a virtual for them to communicate.

Another way we attracted our audience. By handing out questionnaires after filming our
opening sequence and adding additional elements, such as editing and score notes. We
needed to get feedback on our film. So we got people the same ages and around about the
same age what they thought about our opening sequence. We wanted to ensure that people of
this age will have an understanding of what is happening. And whether they would enjoy
these types of films or not. It was a great idea is it helped to see if there was any areas we
could have improved on. As well as if it was the correct storyline and whether our target
audience would enjoy these types of films.

This was the

phone. We used in
our film.
6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing the product?

When we was first given the coursework. I felt some comfort about using some of the
technologies. Especially the computer. As I am always using the computer to do my work.
Whether it is using word processor or just downloading pictures of Facebook. There was
always a sense of comfort as I knew I would feel confident when using the computer. When
as use social networking websites in my spare time to talk to my relatives and friends. So I
assumed it would be a easy element for me do my work on.
The Blog was the first technological aspect we had to use. However we had to use different
types of software on blog. When posting work on to our group blog I had to ensure there was
other uses of different software’s. And because each of us had a different responabilites.We
all dealt with different software’s. One of mine was Scribd. Scribd “is a document sharing
website which allows users to post documents of various formats, and embed them into a web
page using its iPaper format” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribd)

This is an example of. How

we used Scribd in part of
our planning and research.

This is one of our

production schedules. That
we added onto Scribd.

(An print screen image taken from my

Group blog)

By adding some of the work we did on Scribd. It helps to make the blog look a lot neater and
look a lot more professional. Another technological aspect that was used was Bubbl.us
.Which in my opinion was on of the best. Bubbl.us is how you make brainstorms. It is layout
how a brainstorm would be. Allowing you put your ideas together. They had lines and circles
where you can link your ideas together.
 This was on of the
technological ways we came
up with ideas that would fit
into our opening sequence

Although we did not use

all the ideas that we put
It made our work look a lot down. It did make a
neater and was more of a difference and helps us,
professional way of organising as we used some of them.
work. It also made it a lot easier
to read when going back to look
at potential ideas that we could
us.

Some more of the technologies added to the media product was when we did our Preliminary
task. This was a big learning process for me as I had never used the camera to film before.
And as I was going to be the camera person. I had to ensure that I was confident when it
came to filming. Getting use to the equipment was quite challenging for me. As I did not
know the name for certain objects and was unsure of how I would use them. One of the
objects I found the most difficult was the tripod. The tripod had a lot of movement to it. And
I had to always ensure the bubble on the tripod was always in the middle so that I was able to
get the right shots that we wanted. However after the Preliminary task, I felt more confident
when using it.
When it came to our opening sequence we used the editing software called Final cut pro. The
editor used these technologies so that it would make our opening sequence flow and look
more professional. It helps for all the angles and shots we filmed go fit together.

For us to get the best out of our product we had to make mistake. Trail and Error was
important throughout our product. By having made these small mistakes it made our
production look better as we ensured the same mistakes were not made again.Some of these
mistakes being. Not to film where there is not a lot of lighting. As one of the locations that
we planned to film was in the dark in the car park. We had to make sure that there was some
source of light when filming as what is filming will not be able to be seen. So because of this
we made sure that there was enough light coming from the lampposts.

There were a lot of strengths and weaknesses throughout .Especially when one of us was
unsure about how to use some of the equipment that we were new to or found challenging.
But if any of us in the group found the other group member as a weakness as a strength of
there’s. We made sure that we helped another. Another one of my weaknesses was. Using all
the different types of software on Blog. I t preferred to write out things instead of using a
range of different technological software’s. But when we had a lesson together. We spoke
about the Blog, and thought about ways through which we could make it better. This was one
of the ways. Although I was not use to using all the various software’s that were available to
me. I learnt how to use them and tried to add them in where I thought they were needed on
our blog.

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

Looking back on the Preliminary Task. I feel without it. Our end product would not be how it
looks now. It would not have as many qualities as it does. The Preliminary task had various
angles and shots. Which has helped me to identify the different types of shots there are, and
as I am the camera person I have had to know and become very familiar with them as the
director would be asking me to position the camera so I able to get these shots. I would know
them with no questions asked. When filming the preliminary task a lot of rules and
regulations had to be remembered. The 180 degree rule being one of them.

When and audience is

As you see there should always a
be imaginary line.
watching. There
automatically form a
mental map of where they
think the actors should be
standing. Especially when
there’s master shot. They
would think the person
there talking to is on the left
or right

So the 180 degree rule has to be obeyed as. It may cause confusion to the audience that are
watching.

As the camera person, I learnt the most about the camera equipment and the various
techniques that can be applied while filming. Fortunately when filming I had access to
tripods, however keeping it balanced by trying to keep the bubble into the circle wasn't as
easy as at times when filming it would come of. Another struggle that I faced was keeping the
camera focused but as I became a bit more experienced this wasn't much of a difficulty.

I did not work with my coursework group in the preliminary task. I had to join another group
and it took some time getting use to the way they worked. It seemed that that group I worked
with proved not to be well organised in there way of work. Everyone one in the group had so
many different ideas on how they thought the preliminary should look. But it was the director
that should have directed and had a plan of the image of how she wanted things to be. The
director took a laissez faire approach to the preliminary task. And because of this small
elements were not thought out precisely small errors were made. Some of them being the 180
degree rule, the actress not remembering there lines properly. And because of errors it was
very time consuming. Because when we had to film at different angles and shots. The
actresses have to remember the lines so it looked like nothing had changed when it came
down to the editing. So when they were not remembered. Some of the filming had to be
repeated. This took up more time and prevented us from getting on with other work.

As the camera person, I learnt the most about the camera equipment and the various
techniques that can be applied while filming. Fortunately when filming I had access to
tripods, however keeping it balanced by trying to keep the bubble into the circle wasn't as
easy as at times when filming it would come of. Another struggle that I faced was keeping the
camera focused but as I became a bit more experienced this wasn't much of a difficulty.

The bubble inside the liquidised

substance had to be in the centre
of the circle. So that the camera
was focused precisely.

Without doing the preliminary task. It helped us to see the kind of work that I would need to
do when filming the opening sequence. Although elements of the work in the preliminary
task was not planned out properly. It helped me to estimate how much planning and research
would be needed to be done when filming the opening sequence. So in a way it was good that
some of the mistakes that were made, as it helped me to prevent them from happening again
when filming the overall product of the opening sequence. By working in another group
benefited me as it gave me a chance to observe and see how others worked in their group. It
enabled me to see the mistakes and to be conscious not to make them again, and also some of
there strengths and take them and use them in my groups opening sequence. So without
having the experience of doing the preliminary the media product would not be up to the
standard that it is up to.