Evaluation Questions

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?Our media product draws on most conventions of a thriller; suspense, action, mixtures of fast and slow editing and other key aspects feature to ensure that the target audience is obtained.            Although our piece does not challenge all expectations of a thriller, it uses some to capture an audience that will enjoy the creative use of the motifs and conventions associated with this genre. )
We also used our research of the genre, a clip from the 'texas chainsaw massacre' , to mould our chase scene. we followed the type of scenario, the texas chainsaw massacre starts off as an idyllic summers day that turns bad, in our clip we tried to portray a average typical day gone bad. We also followed the types of shots used; as our chase beings we use mid shots etc. We followed the locking of a door, then panic shown through mid shots. We also took and developed the uses of extreme high angles, extreme low angles and a type of tracking shot as the victim attempts to escape. The soundtrack in our opening was music from the film 'seven', which we edited and volume automated to fit the scenes in our peice. It fitted the opening because the soundtrack is from a thriller film and contains the right energy to emphasise the attack and chase in our opening.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product represents mainly the young adult social group, as the actors featured are of college age or slightly older. Although this may appear to have its limitations in terms of connecting with an audience, it may incidentally create a new audience as the appeal of a younger cast my draw people of college ages that would not usually take the time to see a thriller movie as it my not have interested them before. Although we often see slightly older cast members in thrillers; Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series for example, the idea of selecting a predominately younger cast seems to be increasingly popular; Shia LaBeouf and Sarah Roemur in 'Disturbia', for example. Both these actors are young and had little film acting experience before, yet Disturbia hit number one and made £23 million in its first week of release, from a small budget of just $ 20million; worldwide it made $117 million, proving that a young cast can appeal to people beyond its assumed audience.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
>A number of institutions may wish to take on a thriller with younger and older audience appeal; naturally, the more audiences targeted, the more of a financial success the film is able to be. For example, paramount pictures clearly foresaw the talent of Disturbia's young cast and the potential it had to attract a large audience; they decided to give the green light which was a wise move for Paramount, as it was a box office hit.

who would be the audience for your media product?

Thinking about the narrative style of our opening, I would expect the typical age and gender of our target audience would be mainly male of ages 13+. We feel that it would attract a male audience because other films such as 'die hard' and 'rush hour' follow the same concepts of chase scenes and dominant male protagonists.
However, unlike these films, our male main characters are teenagers attracting a younger audience also.
How did you attract/address your audience?
The age range of the actors in our sequence i think attracts and reflects the target audience (Just like 'disturbia's young cast, this would appeal to others of the actors age.) Because we chose the thriller concept of an unusual occurrence happening in a normal situation, part of our mise en scene, our characters clothing portrayed a normal, typical teenagers fashion sense, which would appeal and relate to a teenage target audience.


6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?


During the planning, filming and editing phases we learnt how to combine various technologies, software and hardware to create the final product. Software we used included final cut pro; the aquisition and implement of skills needed to use this programme were paramount to the succesful editing of our piece. In addition to this, hardware such as hand held cameras and firewires were used to film and transport the footage for editing. Through the use of these various technologies and devices, we learnt that attenton to detail and technological convergence are paramount to creating an opening sequence.


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


From the very early stages to the final cut, we have learnt a number of valueable lessons when considering the technicalities and complications that we are faced with as creators of an opening sequence. We have collectively realised that continuity is an issue of great importance, as physical changes to actors and surroundings can set filming back by days. In addition to the issue of continuity, the time frame and correct use of time allocated is also an issue we have learnt crucial lessons from. In order to use time as efficiently as possible, a time plan or time frame should be at least agreed upon, and preferably written down in order to complete filming with sufficent time to edit.