Evaluation 1

Evaluation 1

• 1.
  By Jack Francois Inwhat ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
• 2.
  Location  The locationthat we chose for my thriller film, was a house in Gravesend that has been converted into a work place. We chose this location as it was easy to get to and that it helped follow the stereotype of the protagonist as the stereotypical worker in a office. We wanted this stereotype to follow throughout the opening sequence. The establishing shot at the beginning of the opening sequence defines what type of character the protagonist is and what the protagonist does for a living. The location of the house represents the stereotypical work environment of the 21st century and that it shows smartness but also shows corruption that people now have to live with. It also shows the greed of men and women and how it can affect the way people think and act towards others. This is why the antagonist is a spirit that comes after the protagonist because of his greed and ignorance towards others. The Protagonist(Alex)
• 3.
  Opening scene  Theopening scene of my film is quite relaxing and non tension building and makes the audience see that it is a stereotypical day at the office(equilibrium). However the tension slowly starts to build when the antagonist starts interfering with the protagonist(disruption of the equilibrium). I have used this method in our film to attract our target audience to watch our film. In our film, we have used a similar strategy to the women in black which starts off as a normal day until they get to the house. I have gained inspiration from this as this is a very effective way lure your target audience into the film. Films like the women in black, have influenced my film heavily and therefor has dictated our storyboard/storyline.
• 4.
  Media Platform  Themedia platform that I used for my film was final cut pro. I used this as it much better than iMovie when it comes to editing and finding the right design for our intros and outro's of our film. Furthermore, final cut pro is more advanced so I can do more on the film when it comes to quality.
• 5.
  What are thegenre conventions? The genre conventions of our film is that we have followed the stereotypical weaponry of the antagonists from other horror films which is a knife. We have followed this stereotype because it is one of the most likely props in a horror film and therefor we have followed this particular stereotype. Furthermore, the conventions of the thriller genre include tension building music as well as Low key lighting. This is important as it brings a sense of horror to the audience and therefor fitting in with the codes and conventions of the genre. Moreover, the protagonist is in the mercy of the antagonist and therefor the antagonist is in charge of the protagonists fate. As well as this, is the montage of shots. An example of this is in Psycho in the famous shower scene when the protagonist is being killed, followed on by loud music which creates as sense of panic and pleasure for the target audience of the thriller genre.
• 6.
  How have youconformed to the forms and conventions? My film has conformed to the codes and conventions of the thriller genre, because we have used low key lighting, we have done this so that it fits the code and conventions of our genre. An example of this is when the protagonist enters the room where the antagonist is sitting on the chair. Furthermore, throughout the film I have used tension building music to clearly show that this is a thriller film and that we fit the codes and conventions of the thriller fan base. Moreover, we have made the protagonist so that he is the mercy of the antagonist. An example of this is at the end where the protagonist is grabbed by the antagonist who is holding a knife to his throat. As well as this, I have used various angle shots so that it provides more interest to the target audience. An example of this is when the protagonist is walking to the house and the camera is leaning round the brick wall. This gives the image that the antagonist is watching him enter the building and therefor provides tension to the target audience.
• 7.
  Did you makea conscious decision to challenge any forms and conventions?  Unfortunately we did not challenge much of the stereotypes or the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. However there is one, this is where we have made the protagonist more brave then in stereotypical horror/thriller films. I have decided to do this because the protagonist is always quite terrified and has no sense of bravery or resilience about the character. This is why in my film I have changed it so that the audience have a change from the wimpy protagonist to a braver protagonist. This is different than from professional films such as psycho and Texas chain saw, as their protagonists is very weak minded and wimpy, as well as being petrified about everything.
• 8.
  Explain with referenceto illustrative examples from your own texts and compare to examples from professional media texts.  In my film I have used various different types of media techniques and thriller codes and conventions. An example of some techniques that I have used in my film is the low angle shots, these were used to show the dominance of the antagonist and how much power he has. An example of this from a professional text is the women in black, the women in black uses various low angles to show the dominance of the women in black. Another code and convention that I have used in my film was the low key lighting. An example of this is when the antagonist is sharpening his knife. The light changes as the camera moves upwards towards the face of the antagonist. An example of this in a real media text is the film psycho. This is used when the antagonist goes to kill the protagonist in the shower, the low key lighting in the scene creates a psychological effect and scares the audience more as they can relate to this. Moreover, my film uses tension building music to build tension in the audience so it fits the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. An example of this is right at the start of my film, when the protagonist is walking towards the house, the tension starts to build straight away as the audience are wanting to know what is going to happen. An example of this is a real media text is in the film psycho. Again, it is when the antagonist is going to murder the protagonist but because of the music playing fast paced and very loud it builds up the tension and then scares them when the antagonist murders the protagonist.
• 9.
  Have they provensuccessful? Have you developed (extended/improved/made more prevalent) any existing conventions in your own video and film texts?  My film has proven to be successful as it clearly targets the thriller audience and therefor fits the codes and convention for the thriller genre. However, their our a few improvements that I would like to do if I made the film or tried to film it again. For example I would choose a different location. This is because it was not very close and therefor hindered our progress to film our film. Furthermore, because it was at a workplace, it was very hard to keep consistency because their would always be people gone or their and therefor we would have reshoot scenes so it would not look inconsistent to the target audience. Moreover, I would change the story line of our film. I felt that the storyline was to complicated and sometimes hard to keep track of it. So therefor for I would keep the film simple. As well as this, the reliance of others. Sometimes it would be very hard to all meet up due to school or work and therefor I would change the time of the film. What I meant by this is that I would film the film in evening rather than in the afternoon or morning where everyone is busiest. However, my film has improved since the rough cut was finished. I have managed to include a better soundtrack through out the opening scene which gives the film more interest to where it was all quiet.
• 10.
  How did YOUdemonstrate this? What was YOUR contribution? What were YOU inspired by and why?  My contribution to the film was that I was the protagonist through the film as well as the part time editor of the film. I had assistance from my colleague Ryan who did most of the editing. I simply picked out the soundtrack and edited it in as well as helping with the intro. The film that really inspired me to make this genre of film was the women in black. I loved that film and therefor I wanted to replicate with different characters and location. This inspired me to use various low key lighting shots as well as various low angle shots to show the dominance of the antagonist.