Evaluation - PART EIGHT

PART 8 – Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Personally, I feel that the only thing that worked well in our preliminary task is the editing of the clips. We managed to make the sequence successfully flow, using match on action and the 180 degree rule. However, the actual filming wasn't too bad. We used the tripod successfully, creating steady shots. Using the tripod also allowed us to turn the camera smoothly, to allow for a nice finish. 


The content of our preliminary task was rather boring, as it was a short conversation about a girl they had seen. You can tell that the conversation was unplanned, which is why it didn't work out so well. To make it more intersting, and more out of the ordinary, we could of included some humour, to make the viewer interested, and actually want to watch. Another problem we encountered after filming, was that the actual sound of the conversation couldn't be heard properly. The main sound you could hear was the people in the background, so if we were to film it again, we would have chose somewhere much quieter.

In our main task - title sequence, we made sure that when we were filming it was completely silent. This allowed our clips to be used the first time, and there was no need to reshoot. We also made sure that the content wasn't as boring as our preliminary task, and we definitely planned our content prior to shooting. If we hadn't of planned it through brainstorming and storyboarding, there would be no finished product right now.

Evaluation - PART SEVEN

PART 7 – What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Before making our title sequence, we decided that we would use iMovie to edit our film together. We were all familiar with the basics, so felt it would be a good starting point. We decided to use Photoshop for making the titles and our production logo, as it is a programme, which is relatively easy to use if you know how. We also decided that to make our music for our title sequence, we would use Garage band, as Megan was familiar with it, owning a Mac herself. We decided to use Megan’s camera, as we thought it would be the easiest to actually work, as in previous circumstances we had difficulty/problems uploading from the school camcorder. During the production, we kept to the decisions we had made prior to filming. However, once we were half way through editing, we thought that it may have been better to edit on Final Cut Pro. There were some other groups using it, and it looked so much more advanced. They had so many more options open to them with Final Cut Pro, so we were only limited to the boundaries of what iMovie has to offer. Also, Megan made music on Garage band, but even after several rough copies we all didn’t like it. So in the end our music was found on a website, and was cut up in iMovie. We successfully used iMovie to the best of our ability, and we used Photoshop well. Garage band was used well, which was the newest technology. Although the final product wasn’t liked, it was still successful. When we were attempting to re-edit after feedback from our teacher, when we thought we had finished, we weren’t very successful. The feedback meant that we needed to change our font for our titles, and lengthen them. However, titles couldn’t simply be edited and the whole clips had to be reverted back to their original, and then re-edited. This was an extremely lengthy process, so we decided to just keep the titles how they were.

Evaluation - PART SIX

PART 6 – How did you attract/address your audience?

I think our target audience has been addressed because we have had positive feedback from both males and females, with good comments on the music such as 'the music is brilliant and really helps to show that the film is going to be scary.' Many males enjoyed the title sequence, saying that it made them 'intregued' about the story line, and made them 'wonder what would happen next.' We also received good attention from the girls saying that they 'like scary films that aren't gory, so would definitely go to the cinema to see the film!'

We received a positive comment saying 'I especially liked the shot at the end with the shadow going across. It suggested something bad was going to happen.' Generally, most of the people who watched the title sequence, commented on the ending, and how they really liked it.

However, there was some constructive criticism about the shots towards the end of the sequence. These clips jumped and the response from the audience was 'I didn't like about how many times it jumped and repeated the same scene.' This shows that our title sequence was possibly too repetitive, so we should of included more footage.

Evaluation - PART FIVE

PART 5 – How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our title sequence, we wanted to portray the image of a stereotypical young boy. We showed him dropping off his school bag, and going to get a drink from the fridge. This shows a typical routine of what he does after school, which is similar to that of most young boys. We showed the stereotype of a young boy also through his body language. His shoulders were relaxed, his arms hanging and his posture slumped. This can be seen as a general posture that most boys, of any age, hold. We chose not to go against stereotypes, because we wanted our character to seem like an average young boy, one you wouldn't expect to be capable of the bad things that happen in our film. Also, this allows the audience to sympathise with him, because he is just like one of them, he is on their level.

Evaluation - PART FOUR

PART 4 – In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

It took us a long time to find/make a piece of music which actually suited our title sequence, and sounded the way we wanted it to. We looked at the music from the Omen title sequence, and we really liked the sound. We wanted our music to have the same sort of sinister but childlike feel. We wanted the music to be quiet rather than loud, to make the audience more on edge. We wanted it to create the kind of feeling that people sometimes have when they are alone in their house; like they think someone is there, watching. We wanted it to seem like it was their mind playing tricks on them, but making them hear non-existent sounds. The music coincides with the story line, as the boy isn’t ‘normal’ and the music draws you in. The sound is quite child-like and creepy, which could create a sense of fear, but also set up an enigma that something isn’t quite right with the main character.

When filming, we purposely made it so that it was framed so that we couldn’t see the main characters face. This created a sense of mystery as it masks his identity.  We used a range of shots, including an establishing shot at the beginning, to show the house, which is the main setting. This allows the audience to see what kind of place it is going to be set in, and can also give a sense of storyline. It shows that the film is going to be about a family, as the house is quite big. Some of the filming was done without a tripod, such as the part where he is walking up the stairs. This was done so that his movement could be completely followed, and you feel like you’re there with him. The main type of shot we used was a mid shot, showing just his body, and a bit of his surroundings. They were used to give the title sequence a more realistic feel, to make you feel as though you are actually there.

The lighting was purposely dark so that it created non-happy mood. It also made it so that things weren’t ‘jumping out’ at you, and you had to actually look to see what was happening. It creates a sense of fear because when you think of dark/nighttime, you think of things that could possibly be lurking; it can be associated with danger.

The typography of our main title was quite an easy decision. We wanted the writing to be child-like/handwritten, because the film is purely focused on one child. We also needed to portray to the audience the story line – that there’s something ‘wrong’ with the boy. To do this, we made the writing looked more edgy and scratched. This also links to the genre, as a typical horror font isn’t neat and perfect, they are usually quite messy, or bloody.

Evaluation - PART THREE

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

  In my group we researched some of the main distributors and we decided to choose UNIVERSAL Studios to be our distributor. We chose them because we felt they would be suited, as they distribute many successful films, and that’s what we want our film to be: a success. They have distributed films such as Halloween, Psycho, Hannibal, The Unborn, and Drag me to hell. These are all films, which fit into the horror genre, or are similar to our film, which is why we chose Universal.

Evaluation - PART TWO

PART 2 – Who would be the audience for your product?

Our target audience is teenagers/young adults, both males and females. If it were a more gory film, we would target males, as they are more interested in that kind of thing than women. But because our film is quite eerie and intriguing, it may make women want to watch it also. Our target audience is quite a wide range of people, as many people from all different classes and ethnicities watch horror films. The race and sexuality of our target audience is non applicable as it's not something that needed to be considered in our film. Our film is very on-the-fence and doesn't discriminate against groups in society. We chose the ABC of our target audience to be D/E as these are the categories that most of our desired, young audience would fall into; they are either unemployed, students, or in low-paid part-time jobs. We are appealling to people in all geographical regions, but mainly focussing on English speaking countries, as it's the language the film will be made in. Our target audience are likely to be interested in things outside of the mainstream, including less famous musicians (or even unsigned acts), small chain supermarkets such as the co-op. They are likely to read the SUN newspaper, as it is aimed at the people at the bottom of the food chain. It is also the newspaper that most teenagers read, if they read one at all. They are likely to listen to a radio station such as Radio One, as it provides them with a mixture of music, not just mainstream pop/r&b. In terms of psychographics our target audience are explorers - they are likely to enjoy the thrill of the genre of my film. They are generally younger people – students.

In my group we asked family members and friends for their thoughts, feelings and opinions on the concept of our film. For researching our target audience, we looked at other horror films and noticed that many of them are a 15 rating, which provided us with the minimum age for our audience.

Evaluation - PART ONE

PART 1 - Brief

Our brief was to create the titles and opening of a new fiction film. The title of our film is 'Walking with the Dead' and we chose this name, because we wanted something that would instantly connote to our audience that it is a horror film. It fits in with our story line, as our film is about a little boy who is followed by the spirit of his unborn sibling. The spirit talks to the boy, almost controlling his actions, which leads him to be sent to a Psychiatrist later in the film. After much struggle from the Psychiatrist, the child (Harry) is released back into Grace's care, as there is nothing they can do. Our film has a subgenre of paranormal, making it a Paranormal-Thriller. It is paranormal because of the 'spirit' in our film.