Evaluation: Question 7

Planning: To plan my film opening I decided to create a storyboard which would make it much easier for the filming process, as I already knew all the camera shots and sound I will be implementing. Within the process I have made a lot of progress from the start of the year, for example I made an example of a storyboard then after got feedback on how this should be improved. I then took the feedback and constructed this into the storyboard I did for the film opening as I needed to add more of a summary for the shots and make sure everything flowed correctly. Also during the planning process I researched a range of different camera shots and what meaning they could have in a horror film. For example, a low angle shot could make someone look weak/scared and the other person powerful/scary which is what I used in my film opening.

Equipment: Through equipment I have improved from the start of the year to now, this is because in the prelim planning task I used the schools flip camera which did not have the best camera quality and sound. I also used a normal iphone however the camera wasn’t handled correctly as it was very shaky. I improved as I went from a flip camera and shaky iphone, to the latest iphone with good camera quality and I handled it well by making sure it was balanced on a tripod. This developed my skills in filming as I became better at making sure the camera was still, to make films as good as possible.

Camera skills: From the start of the school year to now my camera skills have improved. This is because at the start, I was only practising basic camera shots/movements such as close up, long shots and panning. However, I researched more into horror films and started to use point of view shots to add a sense of voyeurism as this is conventional within horror films.  

Editing: My editing has improved from the start of the year as it took a while to use the editing software (Premiere Pro) and I did this by using random shots and trying to cut them together to make some sort of storytime. Throughout the year, my cutting skills got better as they became tighter, which in my film opening created tension and pieced the story together perfectly. I also used a green screen, which I had no idea how to use at the start of the year to have blood dripping along the title.

Creating sound for your film: Implementing sound within my filming as improved throughout the year, as I am now able to change the sound levels which I did not know how to do. This means that I am able to make sure the music is loud enough, however you are still able to hear the dialogue in the scene.

Creating an ident: I did an ident for my film opening. I decided to use a well-known company called ‘Blumhouse’ which is known to distribute low-budget horror films. My skills had developed as after research I was able to recognise that low-budget horror films in the film industry use Blumhouse productions which gives the viewer a sense of familiarity.

Creating titles: After practising making titles, my editing skills have drastically improved. This is because towards the start of the year they were quite basic and were not conventional to any genre. This has now changed which is clear in my film opening as I made it red, which is a conventional colour for a horror film, with bold, scary-like font.

Team Work: Working as a team has been quite difficult throughout the process, however it got a lot better towards to the end of the year. For example at the start of the year filming for the prelim task it was hard to get everyone in order and communicate what needs to be done. However whilst filming my film opening I made sure to have a schedule on when everyone should be available (which suited all people) and everyone made sure to say when they didn’t understand something or had a problem. This made the process easy to film and the outcome was better as everyone who was involved in my film was reliable and worked as a team, which was down to good communication and positivity. 

Evaluation: Question 6

Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Blogger: This element of technology is being used right at this moment where I was able to implement any media work to my blog. This is a site for anyone to blog for free where it can be stored online and teachers or examiners are able to have easy access to my work. I have never used this site before, so at first it was confusing when trying to change the format of my blog however it became easier the more I used it

 I believe using blogger has made me use more of my insight which has meant that I have become more creative. Also, due to the date showing whenever work is done, it has made me more aware of when I am supposed to post on blogger so my time management skills have improved since using the sire. Blogger is very convenient as everything is clear and easy to understand (excluding the format) which made it easy for my to complete blog posts on time and at a high quality. After using this, I will definitely be using this for future projects as I believe it is personally the best way to portray any topic you want on a blog.

Premiere Pro: I used this element of technology when editing the footage I had filmed and creating the film opening. I decided that Premiere Pro was the most convenient editing software to use as it was already available on the school computers, free of charge which meant I could edit whenever I wanted within school hours. Previous to this project I had used this editing software before, however it took me a while to get used to finding out which button did what but I got used to it over some time. I learnt many things through using Premiere Pro such as the skill of implementing a green screen into a video clip to create a special effect, which I can use for future projects. Also I learnt how to add texts on a clip and then fade it off the screen, which in this case made it look ghostly which was conventional for my horror genre. This editing software helped me within making the film opening as I was able to use something which was easy to understand which meant the film opening was edited in time. For future media products I will certainly use Premiere pro again as it is a simple way to create high quality films.

I used Youtube as a platform to upload all the videos involved with my media product. For example not only was my film opening uploaded onto Youtube but my audience research where I videoed students was also uploaded, to then be linked on blogger. I have previously used Youtube where I have watched other peoples uploads so I was already aware that my videos would be easily accessible. On the other hand, this media production is the first time I have ever uploaded on Youtube and even though it took longer to upload than I thought, using Youtube was easy and nothing challenging occurred when I used this site. Using Youtube helped my project as it was a way to gather all my relevant videos on one site and then have it easily linked onto blogger, rather than putting the video straight onto blogger which could have caused technical issues. I will definitely consider using Youtube on a future media product as it is a great way to upload videos onto the video which can be easily shared onto any other website.

Scribd: I decided to use this software where I was able to make presentations for this evaluation, for it to be then uploaded to Blogger. This media production was the first time using Scribd to create presentations so I was unsure of what the different tools were used for however it became easier. Using Scribd made me use my creativity as I wanted the presentations to be engaging and not dull. I believe that it was an excellent way of creating a practical power point however I will not be using this site again as it became very confusing when trying to get the presentation downloaded and put onto blogger.

iPhone 6S: To film the footage for my media production I decided to use the iPhone 6S camera. I decided to use this than a normal camera as it was easy to access and the camera is a higher quality than a school camera which is what I would of had to use. I filmed landscape when getting the footage to make sure it would fit correctly on the screen when imported onto the computer. At first it was challenging to use as due to it not being a normal camera I was not able to use a tripod so the only problem I had was making sure the camera was still at all times whilst filming. On the other hand, it was very convenient as it was very easy to have the footage quickly imported onto the computer which gave me more time to edit. With the good quality and good sound it made my film opening better and at a higher quality. If I had no access to a camera I would use the iPhone 6S again, this is because not using a tripod meant more effort was put into making sure the camera was still.

Evaluation: Question 5

Q5: How did you attract your audience?

To attract my target audience for my film opening I did pre audience research where I asked students of my target market questions about Horror films which can be seen on my blog. After questioning them I summarised all of their answers and implemented them into my film opening as it is what everyone wanted to see from a horror film.

Some of the questions I asked are listed down below:

Do you like horror films?

Everyone person I interviewed said yes, which meant I knew that a large amount of teenagers would watch my film as they like horror films.

What are your favorite horror films and why?

The top films stated by the students were ‘The Conjuring 2’ as well as ‘Annabelle’. I then took it upon myself to research these films and found they most enjoyed it because of the gory scenes, tension the scary jumps. I made sure that in my media production I would add tension and jump scenes which would intrigue yet scare the audience.

What is scary about horror films?

Most people found that in horror films the most scary element was people dying within the film, unknown murderers and the scary non-diegetic music. This meant that in my media production I added enigma as it was unknown who took Isla and added spooky, conventional non-diegetic sound while the film opening unraveled.

I decided to start my film with the setting at a house, in which a group of three girls are seated at a table discussing their boredom. However, the two girls at the table are disagreeing with Isla for wanting to go to the ‘forbidden’ gate and she is determined to go. This is a common genre icon where there is a naive young girl who is the curious, show-off and the characters who know something bad will happen, which is seen when one of the girls says “She is so going to get possessed” this gives the audience familiarity as well as a clue that something bad will happen to Isla. As this is unraveling I wanted the audience to be intrigued as to what will happen to Isla if she’s goes through with the dare she set upon herself. Throughout the film opening it is clear that someone is following Isla and we get glimpses of the strange person dressed in black. This causes tension and enigma in which the audience will then feel uneasy. I believe the lead up to the last scene of her being taken away is what keeps the audience intrigued and scared at the same time. The opening scene has a lot of enigma as it is unknown who the killer is and what happened to Isla as she was poisoned and taken away. This will leave the viewer to carry on watching to see what will unravel after. Throughout the full film, the investigation of Isla will carry on and more murders will also occur however each person dying was killed for a reason and are all connected to the killer which is found out towards the end of the film. This will be a shock to the audience as the killer is someone who was there all along and was not considered as the antagonist.

The audience pleasure used most throughout the film opening would be emotional pleasure as people would feel sympathetic towards Isla for getting killed/taking away (it is unknown). In addition to this they would also feel tension and fear which is enjoyed by people when watching horror films, as the unknown person is stalking Isla. Also, in the rest of the film there will be Intellectual puzzles as the audience try to figure out who the killer is as well as Visceral pleasure as there will be more jump scares and sad scenes.  

I did target audience research where I asked a couple of people questions after watching my film opening.

Evaluation: Question 4

  

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

What is the BBFC? The BBFC stands for The British Board of Film Classification is non-governmental and has independence in which they have classified cinema films since 1912. The BBFC regulate films and provide an age rating such as U, PG, 12 and 15. In addition they have the legal power to rate a film or video, cut or reject work. 

The BBFC’s main aim is to make sure that age rating a film or video means that children or filmgoers have protection and are not harmed by inappropriate or illegal material as they have been informed what is within the film/video.

Anyone who wants to release a film within the UK to be seen in the Cinema has to go through the BBFC for them to then age rate the material. After a film is complete and is ready for the distributor to see it, it is send to the BBFC with an online form. This form gives the BBFC important information such as when it is released in cinema and what age rating they feel is appropriate for their film. The company pays BBFC for rating the film, per minute of the film. Everything is checked within the film to make sure it is high enough quality, without any glitches or technical problems for the examiner to see. They then watch the film, while taking notes and then have a discussion which leads to the decision of the age rating.

The classification rating system is as follows:

U - Any age group is permitted to watch the film, nothing is seen to be unsuitable for any child aged over 4.

PG - Any age group is permitted to watch the film, however parental guidance is advised for children.

12 - A video release only suitable for 12 years and over

12A - A cinema release only suitable for 12 years and over

15 - Suitable for 15 years and over

18 - This film is only suitable for adults

R18 - Only suitable for adults, showing at licensed adult cinemas

The audience for She’s The Killer would be national/domestic as well as having a niche audience. This is due to the film being shot in England, outside and not in a studio with British actors/actresses which would appeal to people within the UK as they can relate. However, due to it being a horror, it will not appeal to everyone which creates a niche market. I believe that a tent-pole global audience would not be suitable for my film as it contains clips which could cause harm to children or kids 12 and under, so it would not appeal to everyone as families and younger children would not watch it. As well as this countries such as American and Australia may not be interested in the British culture.

In addition to this, the film should not be accessible for all age groups. This is because within the film opening a girl is being stalked and there is discussions of her likely to get possessed as well as her getting aggressively taken away. Not only this but the title is ‘She’s the killers’ which is a clear indication that people will get killed in the film. With strong violence, saddening and adult themes it would not be appropriate for children or young teenagers to watch it as it could be harmful. Using the BBFC Classification system I would rate ‘She’s The Killer’ as a 15. This will mean that anyone under the age of 15 is not permitted to watch the film. I believe the film is both aimed for females and males, however due to the film containing a female protagonist and antagonist it would bring in more women, especially those who strongly believe in female rights.

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Evaluation: Question 3

Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

For a film to have access it is important that the distribution process is done correctly as film distributors make the film available for viewing to the target audience. Distribution is also the process of marketing, advertising as well as the movement of the products to certain retailers where the consumers can have access to them. There are different types of institutions who distribute into markets such as conglomerates which is a media group who strive on producing across the globe as well as independents in which films are produced outside big media studios and tend to be distributed national or local. There are different target audiences within the industry. A global tent-pole is a large audience, in which the film would most likely be distributed by one of the ‘Big 6’ conglomerates: Warner Bros, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal and Walt Disney Studios.

On the other hand, there are films that target a smaller audience which may be local or national. These films would aim to get distributed by an independent film company such as BBC, Film4, Lionsgate, Microwave Pathe or Studio Canal.

Films will have different target audiences for many reasons. For example the film producers may only want to focus on being niche and domestic. In this case they would most likely wish to approach a British Independent film company as they are not able to take the film global. Also the film budget will also affect their target market as if the amount of money a film as is not enough, the film will not be able to get distributed globally. On a small budget it is most likely the film is distributed by an independent company, nationally.

Film 4 is a British digital television channel available for people within the United Kingdom. It is owned by Channel Four Television Corporation and produces films. The company started in 1982 as a film production company, who distributed films that were made in the UK. They helped distribute the films Amy, A Most Wanted Man, A Field in England and Shaun of the Dead. The films made by Film 4 all have small budgets for example the film Amy had a budget of 3.4 million USD.  

BBC Films is the film-making aspect within the BBC where they are always trying to find and develop new talents, where they collaborate with writers and directors within the industry to then distribute the production to the public. This company was founded in 1990 and has co-produced many well-known films in the UK. Some examples of films produced by BBC films would be Billy Elliot, Revolutionary Road, Pride and Fish Tank. As a company they produce films that have a smaller budget as their target market is national, an example would be Fish Tank with a budget of 3 million USD. BBC Films can differ from working with major international companies to smaller UK distributors.

Lionsgate Films is an American/Canadian film production or distribution studio. It was founded at first in 1962 however it was called ‘as Cinepix Film Properties’ and was located in Montreal. However in 1998 in Vancouver, British Columbia as Lionsgate Films. This company focuses mainly on foreign, independent films however it has also distributed many successful film series such as The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga, The Expendables and The Divergent Series. Most films they distribute are at a global scale. There film budgets can vary for example LOL the film had a budget of 11 million USD which is a huge comparison to The Hunger Games budget of 493 million USD.

Pathe is a multimedia platform that produces and distributes films. It owns a large number of cinema chains across Europe (more in France) and is also the 2nd oldest film company that is still operating as it was founded in 1896. Pathe has created films such as Selma, Pride, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 hours. An example of their film budget would be Selma at 20 million, which means that the films they distribute are not really of a small budget.

Evaluation: Question 2

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The protagonist within my film follows the stereotype commonly seen in horror films. This is because, Niamh (Isla) plays the role of the damsel in distress and the ‘dumb blonde’ who gets killed first due to curiosity. It also follows the stereotype of the leading teenage girl as she is caucasian with blonde however. However her role in the film opening is subverted through her costume and does not encode the representation as she is wearing plain jeans, trainers, a jumper and a black coat which is not stereotypical for a girl to where and has connotations for what a male would stereotypically wear. This subversion of the stereotype can also be challenged through her make-up which is very minimal and natural when normally women wear lipstick and eye liner in horror films. On the other hand I still wanted to identify Niamh’s character as a girl so I decided that it would be best for her hair to be down.

In addition, another stereotype that is seen in teenagers is that they are always on their phone on social media. At the start of the scene I used the phone as a prop for the teenagers to hold which supports the stereotype. I used this prop to encode the representation as I believe it the teenagers watching the film would relate to the characters.

Also, within my film opening even though I decided the follow the stereotype of women with the damsel in distress I also subverted the stereotype with the antagonist. This is because in horror films the antagonist is normally a male and if it is a women they have promiscuous connotations. The subversion is seen through the mise en scene where she is seen wearing all black with trousers, a jumper, a coat and a black bag. However, her identity is unknown until later on in the film so if I could change anything I would show her female gender more in the film opening. Not only this, by stereotypically women are seen as weak and not in control within horror films and in my film opening the female antagonist clearly subverts this. Throughout the scene the antagonist is in control and is far from weak when she grabs Isla (Niamh’s character).

Another way the stereotype was challenged was the location as stereotypically in horror films when the scene is in a forest it is normally at night, with low-key lighting. However this was subverted in my film opening as the scene was filled in the day time so the lighting was more high-key. If I could change anything it would be to have the scene set at night but it wasn’t possible as the camera quality would have been bad. To make up for not having low-key lighting I made sure the weather was gloomy and unpleasant to add pathetic fallacy and still meet the conventions of the horror genre.

Evaluation: Question 1

She's the Killer by Nina Pavlin on Scribd