Final Horror Opening

Evaluation task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Prior to our film I had no experience with anything related to media. Since then I have learnt many things. Primarily, camera work. I learnt about the many different types of shots and the effect the create for the audience. I also learnt about editing, although it wasn't my strong point. I learnt how to turn a few shots from a digital camera into a sucessful opening sequence and first scene. I also learnt about the 180 degree rule which is a golden rule in filming and is rarely broken. The only time it is broken is to create a confusing effect for the audience.

Another thing I have learnt is what appeals to certain types of audiences. For example the horror genre appeals far more to younger audiences whereas documentay type films appeal to the older audience.

Evaluation task 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In the process of our films journey we have used many different programs and technology. To film we used a hand-held video camera to create different shots and effects.

We also used many programs to create and distribute our film. The program/ web page I have used the most is blogger.

Blogger gave me the chance to show the world my film and also to show everyone the process and journey behind its creation. It has enabled me to basically tell a story of my films journey. How the initial idea was formed and what we have done to get it to its final draft.

Another program we used was Adobe Photoshop 7.0. The main purpose of this was to create our production company logo. Photoshop gave us the freedom to bring our ideas to life.

We also used Adobe Premiere Pro to create our film and edit it. With this program we were able to cut unsucessful clips, include transitions and music. Through editing we brang our film to life. The transitions created a film which flowed whilst the music added a eary effect.

A example of one of the photo's I uploaded on Facebook for people in my group to use.

We also used Facebook as a way to share information and photos with each other. This made it easier for us to access photo's when we were doing work at home. Facebook made it very flexible and easy for us to get along with our work.

Evaluation task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Here is the link of my video with annotations about the ideas, development and the effect of our film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt9sGeupDlM&context=C3e170caADOEgsToPDskLuBRCRefY9Xw-d0ZKMyCjD

Evaluation task 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who will be your audience for your media product?



 

Our audience for our media product would be young people around the ages of 16-2. They would primarily be males because they are the gender group that watch horrors the most. Our audience would be students and/or the unemployed which is group E. Students tend to have little money to spend at the cinema so our film will highly suitable for them. This is because our film would be a low budget one, a common feature in 'hand-held' type films. 

Here is a list of the likes and dislikes of our target audience

Likes: Technology, sports, socialising, video games

Dislikes: School, homework, job

Clothing: Cheap, pratical, something that isn't going to cost to much

Ocuppation: Student, unemployed

Class: Lower class

Music: Rock, Charts

Movies: Horror, sci-fi, comedy, action

Evaluation task 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation task 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The character I've chosen from our own media product is Aaron Ward. He conforms with the horror genre as he is young (15 years old). This is a similar age to the audience members. He is also male which is what the majority of horror fans are. His role in the film is that of a teenager going to explore a derilict building, filming what they find. We chose to all dress in our every-day clothes. This helps the audience relate to the character more and also gives the film a more realistic quality.

The other character I have chosen is Michael from 'The Blair Witch Project'. He has many similarities with Aaron. He is young and male which will appeal to the audience. He is one of a group of three and wears normal clothing making the character more life like. One difference they have is that Michael is obviously older than Aaron, about 18 years old. Although he is still young he may attract different aged audience members.

Aaron's role in the film was relatively similar to all our other characters, just a group of friends videoing what they find. Michaels character is much more developed, he is a slight antagonist who causes the group problems due to his deluded mind. 

Another similarity both characters have is that the actors names are their characters names. This can be seen in other 'found fottage' films such as Paranormal Activity. It gives the film a much more realistic atmosphere which causes some audience members to question if the film is actually a true story.

Evaluation task 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

1. The title of the film

The title we chose for our film was 'Experimentation'. This suggests labaratory experiments gone wrong. The use of a black and white effect suggests that the film is old which connotates with the idea of Nazi experiments carrying on.

2. Setting/ Location

The location of our film was a rural area called Staughton Moore. It has a very isolated atmosphere. The setting of our film was an old, abandoned air-field tower. We decided to film here because it retained a lot of its former features. It had old desks, rusty cabinets and was a real mess. In one room there was writing all over the wall and paint was peeling from the walls wherever we went. I think this was a really good place to set our film, the derilict feeling it held makes it suitable for the horror genre.

3. Costume and Props

We used minimal props for our films, just a cam-recorder and torches. The cam-recorder was used to give the impression that the three young people were filming their experience, similar to the Blair Witch Project. The torches were used because it was dark and the characters had to see. The torches also created a rather spooky effect, especially when it shone through the darkness. The costume was also kept simple, just our ordinary clothes. It helps the our young target audience to relate with the characters.

4. Camerawork and Editing

For some of our first scene we decided to use a hand-held camera effect. This helps to give the film a much more realistic feel because it has a amateur effect. We also included standard shots to make the film easier to follow for the audience. We chose not to include to many edits to retain the amateur feel of the film.

5. Title font and style

We decided to use two fonts, one for the title and another for the text that appears alongside the images of the Nazi experiments. We wanted to convey a type writer effect to give the film an aged atmosphere.

6. Story and how the opening sets it up.

In our opening we used images from the experiments the Nazi's conducted. This relates to the past when the Nazi's performed those disgusting thing and thus makes a story.

7. Genre and how the openning suggests it

One shot we chose to convey our horror genre was the close up of an old door. The dirty and aged door connotates danger and damage.

8. How characters are introduced

We had our characters walking up a runway towards the building. We used a panning shot to show that they had walked some distance.

9. Special effects

We tried to keep special effects to a minimum to give the film a more realistic feel. However one edit we did include was a transition which was a checkered effect. This tied in well with our film as it connotated technology and the digital camera.