Evaluation activity 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

For this evaluation task I will highlight the ways in which my group’s thriller opening links to similar films to attract teenagers (our target audience). Furthermore, I will be referring to my group’s thriller’s genre, use of music and similarities to other films.

We attracted our target audience (teenagers) by producing a thriller opening they would understand, in which we didn’t want to make our thriller opening too complex. Furthermore, we also attracted our audience by creating tension, suspense and mystery. On the other hand, we addressed our audience by using characters who were over the age of 15 years old, which helped appeal to our target audience because our thriller opening is rated as a 15+.

Feedback

Our thriller opening was shown to our whole Media Studies class, which resulted into our group getting some positive feedback for our thriller opening.

Our fellow Media Studies students told us how our camerawork was very good, as we used many different shots, ranging from close-ups, medium shots, long shots to over the shoulders shots, in which we were also told our editing was completed to a good standard, with the use of shot-reverse-shots and jump cuts. Moreover, we were told the title of our thriller appeared extremely well, as the house door opened and our title appeared on screen.

Furthermore, we were also told the use of natural sound and the use of music blended in well, as our music fitted with our storyline.

In addition, our fellow students told us we used the mise-en-scene aspect of our thriller well, as we used the interior and exterior of the house location, and we also used many different props (ranging from a mobile phone, house phone, photo, letter to a necklace).

Lastly, we were told our thriller opening set our thriller up extremely well because we left our thriller on a cliff-hanger. 

Evaluation activity 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

For this evaluation task I will explain who my target audience members are (explaining what kind of taste they might have in music, what their favourite TV programmes might be and where they would go shopping).

My group’s thriller opening ‘Known’ is a 15+ rated film, in which our thriller has a target audience of older British teenagers because of the context of the film, which means it would not be suitable for individuals who are younger than 15 years old to watch our thriller. Moreover, I think our thriller opening would appeal to older British teenagers because our thriller opening is a psychological/crime thriller, in which our thriller opening has a fast pace to it, as there is a lot going on to keep our audience interested. Furthermore, I think psychological/crime thrillers appeal to older British teenagers more than other thrillers, such as political thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, etc.

My group’s decision to target British teenagers as our target audience is a great market to target because British teenagers enjoy watching fast pace thrillers, which have psychological/crime elements in them. Moreover, the use of British locations/settings, British characters and the low budget cost of our thriller would all appeal to British teenagers because they are familiar with British thrillers consisting of British locations/settings, British characters and being produced on a low budget. 

The picture above is of what my group’s thriller opening’s target audience looks like. My group’s thriller openings target audience would enjoy listening to RnB and rap music because within the British community these types of music are the most popular music, in which most British teenagers listen to RnB and rap music. Furthermore, my group’s thriller openings target audience would enjoy going weekly shopping, to shop for console games (Playstation, Xbox, Wii and computer games), clothes and make-up, as these are the current in demand products that British teenagers purchase regularly. In addition, my group’s thriller openings favourite TV programmes would be TV programmes like Eastenders, Hollyoaks, Big Brother and X Factor, as they are the current trend in terms of popular programmes.

I think my target audience members would watch my group’s thriller because in the current market they are extremely popular, in which teenagers enjoy watching thrillers because they keep them interested, as there’s a lot going on in thriller films. Moreover, British audiences enjoy watching films which include a build up of tension, suspense and mystery, which are all included in our thriller opening, and our thriller opening also puts the audience on the edge of their seats wanting to know what is going to happen next.

Movie review: ‘Known’

A married man (Dave Stone) takes matters into his own hands, when he receives an unknown phone call informing him that his wife is having an affair, resulting into Dave Stone going to drastic measures to find out the truth.

If you haven’t seen ‘Known’ yet, you’re definitely missing out! ‘Known’ is definitely a must watch thriller!

           

My group’s film review would appear in shopping centres and bus stops (public transport), as my target audience (teenagers) would probably see the review by going shopping regularly. Moreover, my group’s film review would appear on the internet, as many teenagers use the internet daily, in which there a high possibility they would see the review. 

Evaluation activity 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

For this evaluation task I will compare the main character (Dave Stone) in my group’s thriller opening to Nick Tellis from ‘Narc’ and Alex Forrest from ‘Fatal Attractions’.

Dave Stone from our film ‘Known’ has many similarities to Nick Tellis from the film ‘Narc’ because they are both main characters within their given films, in which they both take matters into their own hands for different reasons, as Dave Stone in our group thriller opening takes matters into his own hands to find out whether his wife is having a secret affair or not, and Nick Tellis attempts to catch a criminal, who he shoots and kills. However, Dave Stone and Nick Tellis are actually good people, as they are only trying to solve what they’re doing, as I believe Dave Stone has a right to know whether his wife is having an affair or not, in which he just wants to find out whether it is true or not. On the other hand, Nick Tellis is trying to catch a criminal which is actually a positive thing. Even though they are both trying to solve what they are doing, they do fall into the criminal side of life, in which they are also committing a criminal offence (Dave Stone breaking into someone else’s house, and Nick Tellis shooting another individual). Moreover, the main character in our thriller opening Dave Stone is also similar to Nick Tellis from ‘Narc’ as they both use a minimal amount of dialogue within the first couple of minutes of their given thriller films they are acting in. In addition, they are both similar in the roles they have in their given thriller films because they both have an important presence in the films they are in, as they are both determined and strong men.

However, Dave Stone from my group’s thriller opening and Nick Tellis from the film ‘Narc’ have their differences, in terms of appearance as Nick Tellis has an actual job in hand (Nick Tellis is an undercover narcotics officer), in which he has a specific uniform he must wear (consisting of a bulletproof vest, gun, etc). On the other hand, Dave Stone fits in with society, as he wears everyday casual clothing.

I believe Dave Stone from my group’s thriller opening ‘Known’ has similarities and differences with the character of Alex Forrest from the film ‘Fatal Attractions’, as they both in the same position, in terms of having a third person involved in their love life. However, Alex Forrest reacts in an aggressive and obsessive way, as she can’t get what she wants, which results into her being mentally unstable and not being able to come to terms with what is happening. On the other hand, I think Dave Stone is calm in the way he goes about his business, as he commits a criminal offence by breaking into Alex White’s house and searches through Alex White’s house to find suggestions his wife is cheating on him. Alex Forrest’s actions are drastically worse, as she rings Dan Gallagher’s house at different times throughout the day and turns up at his house while his wife is home. Moreover, due to fact they are both of different genders, their appearances are drastically different, in which Alex Forrest’s make-up fits her unstable mind. 

Evaluation activity 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

For this evaluation task I will go through the final version of my group’s thriller opening and select nine distinct frames (the title of our thriller, the setting/location, the costumes and props, the camerawork and editing, the title font and style, the story and how the opening sets it up, the genre and how the opening suggests it, how our characters are introduced and the special effects used), which will be used to write how typical or not our opening sequence is. Furthermore, I will analyse how my group’s thriller opening uses, develops or challenges the conventions of real film openings. 

1.     The title of our thriller ‘Known’ is in white, which challenges the conventions of a typical thriller because the common theme colour of a thriller is usually red, as the colour red indicates something dangerous will occur, which can potentially result into death. On the other hand, the colour white usually portrays purity, innocence and good, which can be linked to our characters, as our characters aren’t bad people. Furthermore, our thriller ‘Known’ is displayed on a black background, which can portray darkness, mystery and evilness, which are all common in thriller films. Moreover, the different colours (black and white) we used and the fact the title of our thriller is displayed in the middle of the screen brings the audience’s attention/focus towards our thriller’s name ‘Known’, as it is eye-catching.

2.     The picture on the left is an interior (inside of Dave’s house) medium shot of Dave Stone, which keeps within the conventions of a thriller, as thriller films are mostly set in domestic settings, for example in films such as Narc and Fatal Attractions, in which the location of a film doesn’t too much away to the audience. Furthermore, the interior shot of Dave’s house is also conventional, because in thrillers items are usually left around and not tidied up (as you can see on the kitchens worktop). On the other hand, the picture on the right is an exterior (outside of Alex’s house) long shot of Dave Stone, which highlights the mystery around Dave Stone’s character, as he is looking into a house which isn’t his house. Long shots are quite common in thrillers as thrillers don’t want to give too much away because they are character driven, in which the establishing long shot of the house doesn’t give much away. Moreover, the use of the interior and exterior house shots helps create realism, as it is a setting that is easily accessible for anyone. In addition, I think the use of the interior and exterior of the house helped create realism, mystery, suspense and tension in our thriller opening as the house is a small location.

3.     The main character in our thriller opening, Dave Stone, is dressed casually for everyday life (as you can see in the picture on the right hand side), instead of being dressed to commit a criminal offence by breaking into someone’s house, in which he doesn’t want to attract any attention from anyone because if he did, people would begin to get suspicious about what he is doing. On the other hand, the props used in our thriller opening are extremely effective, as they help the storyline (for example, the photo of Dave Stone’s wife and her boyfriend, and the necklace) flow with continuity. Furthermore, my group’s thriller opening is conventional to thriller films, as the props used in my group’s thriller opening (such as mobile phone, necklace, house phone, etc) are used in most thriller films, as they are all realistic props that can be used by anyone, in which a phone is used in everyday life as it is a form of communication.

  

4.     The camerawork and editing in our opening are quite typical of a thriller because with the use of editing, our thriller opening was edited to play at a faster pace with the use of jump cuts (which fits in with thrillers). Furthermore, our camerawork included shot types such as close-ups (of the mobile phone, necklace, letter, etc), medium shots to show what Dave Stone was doing (for example, looking at the house phone and photo, like he is in the picture above to the right), long shots to show what Dave Stone was doing from a fair distance (for example, when Dave Stone is looking into the house from the external part of the house), over the shoulder shots (for example, when Dave Stone is listening to the voicemail and looking at the photo of his wife and Alex White) and many more, which were effective because they were filmed to a good standard. Moreover, our camerawork is smooth and steady, in which we thought about the camera angles/movements we were going film before we started filming our thriller opening. On the other hand, our editing helped us include shot-reverse-shots and fading techniques, which made our thriller look good and effective. In addition, our thriller opening is conventional to thrillers because most of our shots/editing techniques used in our thriller are used in other thrillers too.

5.     The title of our thriller is in bold and capital letters, which draws the audience’s attention/focus towards our title, as when you see something in bold and capital letters you think there’s an importance to that certain thing. Furthermore, the style of our font is a basic/block style of font, as we wanted to have a basic/bold style of font to catch the audience’s eyes. I think the font and style of our title is common in many other films/thrillers, as many films have their title centralized and capitalized to attract the audience’s focus, in which I think it is the most effective way to display the title of a film.

6.     The opening of my group’s thriller begins with a mobile phone ringing on unknown, which creates mystery and suspense (as you can see in the picture to the left hand side), in which Dave Stone is informed that his wife has been having a secret affair. This results into Dave Stone going to Alex White’s house and attempting to find suggestions his wife is cheating on him. Furthermore, Dave Stone finds a series of props (a photo, a necklace, a letter, etc) to suggest his wife is actually cheating on him. In addition, Alex White comes home to find Dave Stone in the act, which builds up tension and suspense, in which the opening ends with Alex White seeing Dave Stone, which leaves the opening of our thriller on a cliff-hanger. I think it sets our thriller opening up perfectly because the audience are left wanting to know more and wanting to know what will happen next.

7.     Our opening is based on a psychological/crime thriller genre, which is mostly shown through our main characters actions, the music used and the props used. The crime genre element of our thriller opening is when Dave Stone commits a criminal offence by entering Alex White’s house without his consent. The psychological genre element of our thriller opening is when Dave Stone receives a phone call informing him his wife is having an affair, which affects his emotional state of mind, resulting into him going to Alex White’s house to find suggestions/evidence his wife is cheating on him.

 

8.     Our thriller opening introduces the audience to Dave Stone speaking on the phone (which is also the case in the film ‘Drive’), resulting into Dave Stone leaving his house and going to Alex White’s house, where the audience sees Dave Stone find a series of props to suggest his wife is having an affair. Moreover, the audience watching our thriller opening are introduced to Alex White coming home and seeing Dave Stone on the stairs. In addition, the audience don’t find out too much about our characters, which has the audience questioning what they will do next. I think Dave Stones and Alex White’s introduction to our thriller opening fits the conventions of a thriller as they both occur in many different films (for example as stated above, the opening of ‘Drive’ begins with a phone call, as does Dave Stone’s introduction to our thriller opening).

  

9.     In the opening of our thriller, we didn’t really use special effects because we thought it would make our thriller opening unrealistic, in which we tried to make our thriller opening as realistic as possible. The only thing that could be classified as special effects would be the way our production company comes into shot (like you can see in the picture above), as the production company was included in our thriller opening with the use of the computer we edited on. In my opinion, special effects aren’t a common thing in thrillers, as thrillers are character driven and are mostly focused on the locations/settings used. 

Post-production contribution - Production company research

Steel Productions Company (Made up company)

A film production company is in charge of producing/filming, developing, and distributing a film.

The film production company that will produce our thriller opening will be ‘Steel Productions’. ‘Steel Productions’ are a well known British film production company who specialise in producing films in the UK on a low budget. Moreover, ‘Steel Productions’ have experience in producing and distributing films, as they produced their first product/film in 2002 (when they were founded), in which they have grown as a company, and made many more films. In addition, ‘Steel Productions’ products/films appeal to a British audience (national audience), rather than an international audience, as I believe they have many similarities to production companies such as Warp Film and Film4 productions.

I believe ‘Steel Productions’ would be a perfect film production company to produce and distribute our thriller opening, as they fit our thriller openings needs/requirements (appealing to a British/national audience, and being produced/filmed on a low budget). Furthermore, I believe our thriller opening would get more recognition by being produced and distributed by ‘Steel Productions’ rather than a film production company such as Universal Pictures, as Universal Pictures produce their films on extremely high budgets, in which our thriller wouldn’t get any recognition. 

Production contribution - Behind the scenes photos

This is the camera our group used to film our thriller opening:

This is the tripod our group used to help keep our filming steady:

Behind the scenes photos:

The picture above is of Caner Ozkan getting ready to film our thriller opening.

The picture above is of Aaron Cochrane and Caner Ozkan getting the tripod and camera ready, to start the filming process.

The picture above is of Loucas Nicolaides getting the camera ready to film Aaron Cochrane.

The picture above is of Aaron Cochrane acting in our thriller opening.

The picture above is of Loucas Nicolaides filming Aaron Cochrane in our thriller opening.

The picture above is of Caner Ozkan filming Aaron Cochrane in our thriller opening.

The picture above is of Caner Ozkan filming in our thriller opening.

Commentary on how filming went

During the filming process, we believe the use of the tripod provided by Mr Ellerington made our filming more smooth and steady (as the tripod keeps the camera steady, when the camera is screwed on to the tripod correctly).

Furthermore, filming took longer than expected, as we had to film many different takes/scenes, in which filming had to take place over two days (on the 18^th of March, and the 19^th of March). However, we had to re-film our thriller opening due to the feedback we received from Mr Ellerington, in which we used Mr Ellerington’s feedback and re-filmed on the 5^th and 6^th of April.

Moreover, before we started filming, we allocated roles to each group member, in which Aaron Cochrane’s role was to act in our thriller opening, Caner Ozkan’s role was to film our thriller opening, Dimitri Ioannou’s role was to take behind the scenes photos and direct our thriller opening, and lastly, Loucas Nicolaides’ was to act in our thriller opening and film a few scenes of our thriller opening. 

Production contribution - Shooting schedule (Known - Group thriller opening)

Location	Shot number	Description of shot	Camera angle, and movement	Equipment	Props and characters	Crew members
Interior of the house	1	The mobile phone is ringing.	Close-up	Camera and tripod	Mobile phone
Interior of the house – Kitchen	2	Dave Stone is talking on the phone.	Medium shot	Camera and tripod	Mobile phone and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Kitchen	3	Dave Stone walks out of the kitchen.	Tracking/panning movement	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Exterior of the house - Driveway	4	Dave Stone is looking through the window, outside of Alex White’s house.	Long shot	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Exterior of the house - Driveway	5	Dave Stone is looking for a key to open the door.	Medium shot	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Exterior of the house – Driveway	6	Dave Stone is opening the door.	Over the shoulder shot	Camera and tripod	Key and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Doorway	7	Dave Stone is now in the house.	High angle	Camera	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	8	Dave Stone is looking around the house.	Medium shot	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	9	Dave Stone walks into the living room and closes the curtains.	Tracking/panning movement	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	10	Dave Stone is holding a letter with his wives name on it.	Close-up	Camera	Letter and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	11	Dave Stone is holding a letter with his wives name on it, from another angle.	Medium shot	Camera and tripod	Letter and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	12	Dave Stone is looking around the house.	Tracking/panning movement	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	13	Dave Stone picks up a photo of his wife and Alex White.	Medium shot	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	14	Dave Stone is holding the photo and the house phone.	Medium shot	Camera and tripod	Picture, house phone and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	15	The house phone is ringing, while he holds the phone and the photo.	Over the shoulder shot	Camera and tripod	Picture, house phone and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Living room	16	Dave Stone goes upstairs.	Tracking/panning movement	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Passage, upstairs	17	Dave Stone is upstairs.	Tracking/panning movement and close-up	Camera and tripod	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Passage, upstairs	18	Dave Stone is opening the bedroom door.	Close-up	Camera	Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Bedroom	19	Dave Stone finds a necklace he bought for his wife.	Close-up	Camera	Necklace and Dave Stone	Aaron Cochrane
Interior of the house – Stairs	20	Alex White enters the house.	High angle/point of view shot	Camera	Alex White	Loucas Nicolaides
Interior of the house - Stairs	21	Alex White picks up the letter Dave Stone found.	Tracking movement	Camera	Letter and Alex White	Loucas Nicolaides

The shooting schedule above provided our group with a clear vision on how we wanted to film our thriller opening, in which we had each of our shot numbers written down with the camera angle/movement we wanted to film.