Evaluation - Elidona Niklekaj - Evaluation Writeup

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

When developing our two minute opening thriller scene, we had to choose a type of thriller we wanted to produce. As a group we came up with the idea of a psychological thriller involving four teenage girls, who end up falling out with one of them due to arguments and she is left all alone, with no friends and ends up turning on the other three girls for revenge.

The aim of our psychological thriller is to appeal to our target audience, by leaving them on the edge of their seats. For this to be successful we have to add a number of effects and different camera shots to the opening scene to give suspense and to create an eerie atmosphere.

In addition when editing we all tried to familiarise ourselves with all the different camera shots and effects so that we could better ourselves for the final production. These things included cutting scenes, speeding/slowing down, zoom and lighting. Transaction was also needed to add continuity and also cut away to fit in shots such as shot/reverse shot and insertions, at first this was proving to be quite difficult, but this time round, with the final thriller product we were able to edit with haste, leaving us more time to concentrate on other forms of editing. Such as sound and title credits, we decided to use sound tracks from YouTube that goes with our psychological thriller. We used different sound effects, including a rapid heartbeat and thriller background music. As a group we found it rather hard to select the correct kind of soundtrack that was suitable for our thriller. Whereas in the preliminary task, we had not used any sound effects or tracks which made this process even more difficult.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

From looking at research that the group and I conducted on thriller movies we found that teenagers and young adults were the main target group for thrillers and were the most people who watched them. Finding this out we decided to use teenagers in our psychological thriller film, we chose to use four girls in our film which worked well for our group because we could all be part of the film as we are female teenagers ourselves. Also having worn casual clothing the audience can tell that the teenagers are from a middle class background.

By using teenagers rather than adults builds more suspense for the audience as they are more vulnerable and the viewers may be in fear for the teenagers’ danger. At the beginning of the film we see a lonely girl in her room looking at a picture which takes us back in time to an argument she has with her exfriends, this stereotypes teenagers of society today; being trouble makers and always fighting, arguing and bullying one another. 

Stereo typically we see a male as the killer in a thriller but we have had to change that around a use a female that ends up seeking revenge on her ex-friends  This does lose the effect of male power and dominance over females, however in this sort of film that is based on female teenagers can still work.

  

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

I believe media companies that are interested in psychological thrillers and movies that will leave you on the edge of your seat would be interested in our thriller film (Danika). As a group we think it’s best to distribute our media product to small independent companies first to see whether they think our film is successful or not. This will allow us to collect feedback before moving on to larger companies, which would have wasted our time if it wasn't successful. Also more profit can be gained as no money would have been lost through commercialism.

When our film is successful we will then pitch our ideas to larger and international companies. This will increase the films reputation and the amount of people that watch our film will increase, therefore so will profit. By advertising the film and having it showed in cinemas for a few mouths and see if the target audience are interested in see the film. We will then put out the film on DVD’s in stores ready for people to buy the film.

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

Our target audience are 15 – 25 year old females. In relation to our storyboard and our ideas, we think that it is suitable and meets requirements of this audience. As the age group of the characters are 16-17 years old so fits in well with the target audience and allows them to relate to the characters and the story more.

As a group we found this out by using different research on our film such as questionnaires and interviews conducted on different age groups and came up with the findings of our target audience. The use of low key lighting, sound effect and different variety of camera shots helped to build fear in the opening scene.

How did you attract address your audience?

Moreover we used various methods to attract and address our audience. This was achieved by using methods that would appeal to our target audience, teen females and above. Having gathered information from our questionnaires we were able to view the feedback we received from different people and come up with aspects that would attract our target audience. One of the main aspects was having a female that would play an important role in the story line. This enabled the target audience to compare themselves and relate to the main character. We also have three other female roles in the film; this gives variation for the viewers to compare themselves to the actors in the film.

Another aspect that helped attract and address our audience was mostly done through mise-en-scene and editing. As our task was to create an opening sequence of a thriller we decided to have three different locations were we can film our opening scene, one was Danika’s house, the flashback scene and finally the killing scene which was the park scene. This added more flavor to the film and variations of settings. In addition when filming our scenes we tried to use different camera shots and angles to keep the audience entertained and to ensure they keep watching. Also when editing our film, we added a number of effects, such as fades and video transactions to help each of the scenes fit in well with one another. As well as music and sound effects helped to build tension throughout the opening scene, such as heart beats and background thriller music, which went along with the scenes e.g. the killing scene in the park.

  

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

From the process of creating our two minute psychological thriller I have learnt a lot about the technology behind filming, I will never look at a film the same again. The process of construction our opening sequence has taught me a lot about the work behind creating a piece of the film. I have learnt about the number of different camera shots and angles, also when it is appropriate to use them.

Other than knowing how to use the camera I have learnt a range of new software I hadn't used before media such as, Celtx, Blogger, Premiere Pro and many others. When using the editing software Premiere to put the film together, my knowledge has increased since the preliminary task. Leaning how to cut out sections of scenes, use video transitions to add black and white overlays to create an effect, also adding in music and credits to a film.

Another form of technology that we used was blogger. I had never experienced using the blogger site until my media lessons. I have learnt how to upload videos, pictures and PowerPoint to the site by using slide share, which is an example of another site I had to use while in the process of completing my media coursework.

Finally I think that the whole process of creating our psychological thriller scene has enabled myself and others in the group to get an insight into the long the process of creating a successful film takes and has also widen my knowledge of how to use certain technologies.

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

Before planning and creating our thriller opening scene we carried out a preliminary task. This was done to allow the group and I to feel familiar with the camera equipment and the editing software we have to use to create our film. There are many features that we had never used before on the editing software (premiere pro), such as import, export, cut, link, zoom, text inputting and audio input. The preliminary task allowed us to familiarise ourselves and practice using the different functions of the software.

Another editing technique which we had to be careful of and learn was the continuity rule; this was mainly carried out when filming. The continuity rule is making sure each shot follows onto the next one; an example is in the preliminary task when we each member of the group has to walk through a door and use two different camera shots to show this. By conducting the preliminary task we were able to practice our acting skills and editing techniques for the actual thriller film.