What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Importance of Sound

Music in our opening sequence played a large role, we used it to allow the audience to distinguish the moods in the movie. We used music to build tension and therefore creating an atmosphere the represents the setting showed on screen. Therefore our music choices had to be thought of carefully and I personally think that it was indeed. For example the use of Wake by Linkin Park for the dream scene helped to build enigma, give it a creepy/ haunted feel giving it a un-natural atmosphere connecting it with the convention of psychological thrillers, so music also helped the audience also identify the genre of the opening sequence. It also gradually went louder making it build tension. We also used Something In the Way by Nirvana after the character woke up, this was used to reflect how the character feels without her even explaining her self. This track showed that the character is feeling negative/ un-happy. To ensure that all the music reinforces the mood of the setting and characters we tried several tracks before our final choice, and after all the experimentation we came to an agreement that these tracks would be the most appropriate to our opening sequence.


Exploring sound

In conclusion to this as a group we understood the significance of sound to our final product. Therefore sound can be used the express different moods and distinguish the settings from one another. We explored different tracks to our opening sequence to support this fact.



(We attached these songs by importing it to the iTunes Library and then thought that dragging it to our iMovie file (opening sequence), we made sure that it was placed in the right place using the iMovie time line.)





(The original opening sequence)

* From 1 minuet 10 seconds we added different music to our clip, from a negative slow song to a happy lively song.





Here is the preview of it;




After adding a completely different song that is more upbeat and positive to the opening sequence, the mood completely changed from before and contradicted the music at the dream part. It made it seem more positive and indicated happiness rather than sadness and negativity. Therefore one track can completely change the meaning we want to give to the audience. This supported the fact that sound has a significant impact on a movie, as it builds the atmosphere and gives the audience a hind on what the story line is like, whether is a "happy" type or a sad "type".

What I feel I have learnt in the progression from I to the full product?

During the preliminary task I used a variety of shots. For example I used over the shoulder shots during the conversation, medium shots, wide shorts and close ups. This allowed us to give the audience a clear view of what’s happening and change the form of shot depending on the situation, for example to show the angry emotions of the character we used extreme close-ups. During the preliminary task I mainly focused on using a variety of clear shots to demonstrate my ability in using different shots and angles. The techniques that we used were much more less complex to what we did in are opening sequence for example the main form of editing we used was straight cuts.

The above shot is a simple wide shot, establishing the setting to the audience, as the setting plays a big role in the narrative (school).


We used match on action, from where the girl goes to the door to her right inside, we did this to make it short and at the same time keep the interest
ofthe audience.
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The above shots is an over the shoulder shot, to show the view from one character indicating it is a conversation. 

The above shot is a close-up shot showing to the audience the emotions of the character.  

The above scene is a tracking shot to follow the characters steps and to also let the audience focus on the movement of the character.


This is my priliminary task;

For my opening sequence I used a combination of special effects, sound and transitions that developed my skills from the prilimary task.

Here are the examples;

This is a wide shot establishing the setting, this also clearly shows the atmosphere of the thriller. We also used special effects to explain its negativity, as we used black and white effects and increased the volume of the birds to cleary demonstrate to the audience that its "scary".

This is a closeup used to identify the psychological character almost making her seem supernatural! We also used black and white effects to continue the negativity of the atmosphere, therefore the use of black and white effect was used through the dream during the oppening sequence.

This is a extreeme wide shot establishing the stting and also the character, we also used it to give the audience a feeling that this psychological/ "different" character is isolated.

During the opening sequence i also developed skills using transitions, the above screenshot shows a wide shot were we used a transition (fade in), we used this so that different shots could all connect rather than seem random. It also makes it look "dreamy", as dreams usually have an unrealistic factor. 

  

For the scene were the character wakes up we used a close-up of her face, we used this so that the audience can identify the characters emotions after she experiences the "weird" dream.



At 1 minute 11 seconds of our opening sequence we adjusted the sound with the clip that the character presses the alarm making the audience think that as she presses the button music is played, this makes it more effective.

During the conversation above between both characters we used over the shoulder shots so that the audience can see the view from both characters as one of them is talking. We used this so that the audience can get a full perspective of what's happening. We also used it so that the audience can see the facial expressions of characters.

In the above shot we used steady-cam so that the camera would focus on the character and their movement, and at the same time also establish the setting. I also darkened the background so that it seems that time has passed by and she on her way back, this also increases the continuity of the scene.

 

In the above scene (character on the bus) we used a transition to link the dream with what is happening showing the audience that what she sees in her dream is repeated making the narrative more clear. Both clips fade in together, as you can see from the above screenshot. 

Click here for more about the sound elements used in the oppening sequence. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Various British Age Certificates:

Universal: All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children.

Parental Guidance : General viewing, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8.

12 A: May be unsuitable for under 12s. Those aged under 12 are only admitted if accompanied by an adult at all times during the performance (onlu cinema related).

12: Suitable only for those aged 12 and over. No-one younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.

 
15: Suitable only for those aged 15 and over. Nobody younger than 15 can see a 15 film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. .

18: Suitable only for adults. Nobody younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.


R18: For adults only. May only be shown at licensed cinemas or sold at sex shops, and only to people aged 18 or over.

The Age certification of our movie would be 15, this is because it is only suitable for people above 15 years and this fits with the target audience of the movie. As it is a psychological thriller it is therefore not appropriate for youngsters and children as it can affect them mentally. Also the story line is based on old teenagers 16-18 making it more relevant to viewers of that age, also it is not an 18 as it does not have anything sexual, or too violent, just blood and "scary" characters, this is part of the conventions of psychological thrillers.

Click here to see my audience primary research done before we started the production process, includes analysis of results.


Prom Night is a thriller movie with a very similar target audience, it is aimed at over 15's, specifically 16-18 year olds, which is very similar to our target audience. The movie makes it very clear who it is aimed at through the type of characters it has, the characters in the movie are mainly teenagers making it more relevant to those viewers and at the fact it revolves around prom which is experienced my teenagers.
This is the trailer of prom night;







As you can clearly see that the characters, basis of the narrative and setting all relates back to the audience. The trailer focuses on the young characters, and the lives of teenagers who have just finished high school and therefore allowing the target audience to relate to it. The film idea of Prom night is a young girl (Donna) in 2005 returns home to find her brother and father dead. She hides under the bed as, her former teacher, killed her mother in front of her. Three years later, she has been in therapy and she tells her therapist about the recurring dream of that night. Donna is now living with her aunt and uncle, and is about to graduate from high school. She and her friends are getting ready to attend their senior prom that night, from the arrival to her prom venue it all starts, when she finds her former teacher stalking her, and one by one her friends are killed by him. This is both a horror thriller and a psychological thriller as the girl experiences dreams that actually have a meaning, which is similar to what our main character experiences also as a teenager. However it lays a larger focus on the scary character that’s here to deliberately kill, therefore this movie may seem more gruesome. Therefore my movie is much more realistic.


The Attic movie is rated 16 according to Germany. This is because there is Frightening/Intense Scenes, Violence (the daughter kills her parents), little use of bad language, and minimal sexual scenes and use of drugs. It has a smilar target audience to mine, of older teenagers this is probably due to the fact that the main character who is mainly focused on is that age. The synopsis of the movie is; a girl (Emma) who has a strong aversion towards her family’s new house, especially the attic. After moving in, she becomes miserable and suspicious. The rest of her family also seems unhappy and unsettled. The situation gets to extreeme when one day Emma is in the attic alone. All of a sudden someone who looks like Emma’s identical twin sister attacks her viciously.


This is the trailer of The Attic movie:







Audience Profile







Age: 15-18.

This is because the age certificate is 15, so youngsters can not watch it, also it needs someone with a good level of maturity to understand the narrative. Also the characters are of that age making it more relavent to that particular age. Old people may not find it as entertaining as characters are young therefore can not relate or understand the characters.
Gender:

It is aimed at both genders, as it is not gender specific this also allows us to have wide marketing and does not limit the size of audience the movie receives.
Interests:
Technology (gadgets), listening to music, going out, socialising and internet. (Modern teenagers)


Dress Sense:

Fashionable but yet simple, the usual teenager like and also "emo" style teenagers.

Entertainment they are into:

Movies;

Thrillers, Horrors and Romantic movies.


Music;

No specific type, both R&B, Hip Hop and Rock fans would be into the movie, as it does not segment the audience.


Why would they like the movie?

As it is not completely unrealistic, there is no used of super natural characters, but more of psychological, suspicious characters. It also related to the audience using the; clothes, age of characters and the settings that are in are normal lives.

Types of people that would watch the movie:

How does my media product represent particular social groups?

Click here to see my characters profile



Click here to see the comparisons of our characters to other thriller Movie characters

Jessica Alba from The Eye movie is similar to Michelle Murray in my opening sequence as they both experience psychological issues that may seem abnormal or un-real. They also psychically have the same natural look that people can relate to and the calm actions. The only difference between both characters is that Jessica Alba is older and Michelle Murray is in her youth.

Daveigh Chase (Samara) from The Ring is similar to Natalie Keeny in my oppening sequence as they are both psycho characters, that may seem supernatural due to their abnormatlity and isolation. They also have phsysically the same appearance of being pale, with dark hair and extreemly simple dress.

Anna Kendrick from the movie Twilight is similar to Nadia Lalji in my opening sequence as she is young, bubbly and the typical teenage girl. They also have similar characteristics as they enjoy gossiping which supports the stereotype of girls, and can be annoying.