Planning - Emily Preliminary CourseWork

Planning - Liam Preliminary Coursework

Planning - Louise Farrugia Preliminary Coursework

Evaluation: Character Representation

Evaluation - Forms and Conventions of Media Text

Construction- Strengths and Weaknesses

Evaluation- Target audience feedback

Evaluation- How did you attract your target audience

Evaluation- What kind of media institution would distribute your film?

Evaluation- Who would be the target audience for your film?

As a group we decided that our exact target audience for our film would be British Urban White Teenage Males/Females. We chose this particular target audience after conducting our demographic research.

During research we found that statistics have shown that the most popular age group to watch horror movies was between 18-24. Therefore we have aimed our film at this particular age group, as we know the film will attract mainly that group.

For deciding what gender to attract we conducted secondary research that showed women where the most likely gender to watch horror movies. However, this was only slightly more than men. Therefore we felt it was necessary to target both women and men in our film.

For the region, the film would be suitable for people who live in the same area the film was set in, so East London. However, the film could also be watched by people in the UK as a whole.

Our film does not address race as after conducting research there is not one prominent race that watches horror films.

Evaluation - Technology used for coursework

Evaluation- What I have learnt Liam Kelleher

Evaluation- What I have learnt Emily Tufano

Evaluation- Target audience research summary

Overall through our Survey monkey questionnaire and interviews we have found what the audience liked and did not like, what we could have done better and changes that could have been made.

By looking at our research through Survey monkey and interviews we have found that more than half of people said that our opening scene was good/very good. With only one person saying our film was bad. By looking at the results most people stated the correct genre for our film, this indicates that we portrayed the aspects of a horror thriller correctly. The audience also liked the music we used in the opening scene with 50% agreeing that our music was acceptable for our film. We also asked the question 'Did you think the setting of our film was in the right area?' 40% of people agreed.

Through survey monkey we asked the question 'Do you think we could have made any improvements?' The majority of people said no however some of the audience said that our lighting could have been improved and that in some parts the music was too loud over the actors. Over all most people enjoyed our opening scene. Therefore in order to make our film better we could have had better lighting and made sure the actors voices could be heard clearer.

What the target audience research did for our group was it gave us an insight to what the viwers thought of our film and if we had made a good film. While looking back on our work and reflecting on the research we could see what the audience thought we could have improved therefore giving us advice for future projects.

If we were able to do the film over again we would make some changes with the continuity of our film and we may add more effects such as a split screen. We would also make sure the actors where speaking clearly. These are the changes that we discovered from the target audience research.

Evaluation - Survey Monkey Results

This screen shot is showing us how much the audience enjoyed the film. It shows that they mostly enjoyed it however 1 person did not enjoy it. This could be seen that he is not a fan for films of this age range.

 This screen shot is showing the opinions the viewers have given us and suggested ways in which we could improve the film so that they enjoy it much more.

This is a screen shot of where the viewer thought the film was in genre content. It shows that they clearly thought it was under horror so it shows that the genre of our film was easy after a short period.

This is a screen shot of if they thought the music was good and all of the results were good so it proves we chose the right music for our film.

This screen shot is for the audience to tell us if they would watch the whole film if it became available. It was of mixed emotions so it was not very clear.

This is a screen shot of the audience giving us their view on what they thought was the most memorable part. By us asking them this we will know what parts they enjoyed and then include similar parts to the film so they enjoy it more.

This is a screen shot of how good the setting for the film was. It shows it was average as it was in the middle therefore it indicates that we may need to change the setting so the audience enjoy it more.

 This is a screen shot showing what the audience would have preferred watching. We have to take this into account as at the end of the day the audience is the most important thing.

 This is a screen shot showing what the audience rated the film out of 10. Ot shows that the average rating was low so we really need to improve the film dramatically.







This is the final question and it shows if they would recommend the film. It shows more people would recommend it but we need to improve it more so that they all recommend it to their friends.

Evaluation - Reaching out to target audience- Film

Here i have put our film on facebook, i have done this so that our friends and family can watch the film and complete the survey. This helps us to get a vartiey of different feedback from our video through the use of a social networking site. This also helps our video to get more views and there it will become more popular.

Evaluation- Louise Farrugia - Write Up

Evaluation

In what ways does our media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?

Our thriller movie share many common conventions such as a dark environment where the main murder would take place, and a main victim (possible victims). Some of the common themes of horror are death, victims, torture as well as the conventions of the production such as ominous music, and editing or creating a story which itself creates and enigma for the audience, leaving the audience guessing. Many films use the idea of the innocent girl who is sexually objectified and the man who initially has more power, and because of this he therefore had the power to kill. We fit to these conventions of our thriller film by having the classic characters of a ‘victim girl’ and ‘the murdered’ however we challenged conventions as the villain was a girl however had more power than the ‘victim girl’. Another way of representing the genre we used chilling/tense music. In our feedback it showed that they thought the music made the film to be more scary due to the music- sticking to conventions helps the genre.

How does our media product represent particular social groups?

Our product represents particular social groups such as ‘young teenagers’. Teenagers are stereotyped to be alcoholics, drug abusers, criminals, youths, aggressive and much more. We have incorporated this into our video as are target audience research suggested to us that the age group from 15-25 liked the idea of thriller film. The characters were aged at 16 therefore they were prime for being the ‘young teenage’ stereotype. The character Donald was a boy only wanting to drink and get all the girls at school. We also used the ‘innocent girl’ stereotype as girls are perceived to have less power than boys which means our character Shelly was fit for the part of the victim.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Before the making of our thriller film we carried out researched that concluded that the age group between 18-24 watched more horror/thriller films than any other age group.  This helped us to come to the conclusion of what age group would watch our film which was 15-25 year olds. Also due to the violence that our film contains made it appropriate for the film to be certificate 15. Moreover our film would relate to young teenagers as they could relate to the characters in our film. Because of the ‘teenage stereotype’ we thought it would be appropriate to incorporate this stereotype into the film such as the scene where Donald and Shelly are drinking alcohol all in aid of Shelly losing her sense of control and Donald getting what all ‘Teenage boys want, sex’ (stereotype). After our research at the shopping centre we came to the conclusion that both men and women would both watch horror films therefore we made our film for both genders. We did this by having both gendered characters. To attract men we had a violent scene between two women this attracted them because of the violence but also attracted them because they were sexually objectified. To attract women we made Sandra powerful by making her the villain, hopefully this would attract women as it would make them feel as though they are not perceived as a typical naive girl.

The region for our film is not specific as it is not based in a well known place, however i believe young British adults would relate more to this film as because  of where it was set. After our research we found that no specific race watched horror films more and in fact all races would watch horror films.

How did we attract/ address our audience?

We attracted our audience through many research methods, by making a research table to find out exactly what horror films people liked to watch. We also made a questionnaire that we gave to the people in our local shopping centre so that we got an idea of what sort of people would watch our thriller film. From this research we came to the conclusion that the most thriller was the most favourite genre at the age group of 18-24. This research was very helpful/useful as it gave us an inkling of what sort of people were going to watch our thriller movie. We applied this researched to our film.

Once our film was complete we uploaded it to face book where our friends could view the film and give us some feedback about what they liked/disliked. By doing this we got thoughts about our film from a variety of different people, different age groups, gender and race.  We put our film on to YouTube to attract another audience this time one that is a worldwide range.

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

From the making of our whole film i have learnt a wide range of technologies skills both from the equipment used and the programmes we used. From using the camera i have learnt about the way the camera works this is from turning the camera on to the way that you have to zoom slowly to get a professional shot. The tripod for me was tricky although we had a lesson about how to use the tripod i still found it hard however once i got the hang of it it wasn’t so bad. The tripod allowed us to get different shots and angles such as medium shots to PAMS.
The other technology we used was programmes such as premier this programme is where i made the film, i was able to cut shots, add music, add title graphics, cross role and fade to black to make our film finalized and professional. We also used YouTube for not only research about thrillers and thriller music but also we could get music for our thriller film. Celtx was another programme that we used to make scripts, story boards, and master caseload. We used Microsoft, Facebook, and blogger which i have used before however for our course work was very convent.

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

Our film has been made by independent students therefore it would not be viable to be shown in ‘The Movies’ as we do not have the finances to promote our film and get it to be watched in cinemas such as Vue or Mercury. Therefore we have put our film on the website YouTube as it its free and the quickest way to get noticed as YouTube is used worldwide.

After this we would then contact small independent cinemas and their companies, these cinemas are usually found in areas in London such as Soho, or film institution such as Film 4, the UK film council and lastly the BBC. The UK film association support and fund upcoming directors if they believe that the company are worth the support/funding. This would attract a wider and broader audience.
The BBC features many films and are always looking for new talents. However if the film was a great hit it would then be considered to be premiered in the cinemas this includes international producers. This would be an astonishing achievement for a new film with amatory producers they would then therefore become very popular and receive lots of money as after the film is featured it would then be brought our on DVD were more money would be made.
For our film i would consider taking all these steps so that the finances are covered and my film would be viewed by many.

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

Looking back at my preliminary tasks i feel as though i have achieved a great deal, this varies from  team work, management, filming, editing and managing time. From when we first started filming to now i believe i have made much improvement on filming as during the preliminary new to using the camera and tripod this meant that the camera shots were shaky, the tripod was frustrating to use as it was complex. I Learnt thee different shots and what ones to use for what scenes for example a medium shot on one person when they are talking and a close up for the other persons reaction. Also i learnt that you cannot film facing direct sunlight as you will not be able to see the actors face.
Moreover i learnt we should always take more than one shot and shots in different angles, and sizes. The first time we filmed we were still very un- experienced taking lots of shot however different angles. Therefore we had to film again on a different occasion leaving us with community issues. So when i was editing the film i found this hard to deal with as we had not more time to film.

I have come a long way from not being able to use premiere to editing and creating the whole film. I know how to add effects, music, clips, transitions, titles which i did not know how to do when we first began.  I have learnt how to use my time more wisely as editing just one section takes a whole lesson.

Evaluation - Louise Farrugia - As media coursework

Evaluation - Interview target audience

I interviewed Barbra she is 16 years of age. By interviewing her this helped me to get an idea of what a girl thought about our film in deft. through this interview i got lots of information about what females liked about our film. Barbra liked the drinking scene however she liked this because of the simple fact it is funny and for no other reason.

Evaluation- Interviews of Target Audience

I interviewed Ciaran who is 16 years of age from my media class. I did this because one, i wanted to interview a male to get a males idea of what they liked and disliked about the film. From this interview i gained a lot of knowledge about what he thought in general about our film which was that he enjoyed it, he enjoyed mostly the scene when Liam was trying to get me drunk this could be because of the male power Liam had during this time however it is his opinion.

Evaluation- Interview target audience Research

We got a sample of 3 girls and one boy at the age group of 16-17 to watch our film we did this because our target audience research suggested that both genders around the age of 15-24 year old watched more thrillers/horror films. Our research came from both the internet and from our local shopping centre. The purpose of interviewing a variety of both genders was to get a better idea of what sex likes the film more and if we aimed our film at any sex more than the other.

Evaluation- Podcast- Target audience

Evaluation- Emily Tufano Evaluation write up

 Who would be the target audience for your media product?

As a group we came to the decision that our horror film would be best suited for young adults (15-24). We came to this conclusion because after carrying out demographic research the age group which watched Horror films the most was among 18-24 with the ages of 15-17 coming in a close second.

Also our film contains scenes of violence therefore we felt it was appropriate to make the film a certificate 15. In addition felt it would be suited for young adults because they would be able to relate to some of the characters in our film. Such as most young adults like drinking and sex, for that reason we have incorporated this into our film as Donald tries to get Shelly drunk and he tries it on with her.  Our film is aimed at both genders.  After conducting secondary research we found that there is only a small gap between women and men who are more likely to watch a horror film. Therefore we thought it was best to aim our film at both genders as both men and women would enjoy the film. To attract men we added violence, shown in the murder scene between Shelly and Sandra. We also made Donald into the typical teenage boy obsessed with drinking and girls. This should attract men as statistics show they like violence and they may be able to relate to Donald’s character. On the contrary to attract women we used role reversal, shown where Sandra has power over Donald. This would empower women and make them feel like they are not always perceived as the typical naive girl.

There is not a specific region for our film, however we feel young adults from East London would benefit more as this is where the film was set, although any British young adult would enjoy the film. Lastly race, after conducting research there seemed to be no significant race that watched Horror films more. Therefore our film can be watched by any race.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

In order to attract/ address our audience we used a variety of research methods. By carrying out research we were able to find out what types of horror films people liked and what age group best liked horror films. We carried out a questionnaire in the local shopping centre to gather information about what types of horror films people like to watch and what age group watched them the most. By doing this we found out that thriller was the most favourite genre followed by romance. And the age group was 18-24. The research was very helpful as it gave us an insight to what types of horror films people where watching and what age group to aim our film at. By gathering this knowledge we were able to apply what viewers liked to our film.

Once our film was completed we uploaded it to Facebook, where our friends could watch the film and give feedback about their likes and dislikes. This is a non biased way on gathering feedback as there was a variety of people watching our film and they all gave their individual opinion. We also used YouTube to attract our audience as it is free and easy to upload videos. Using the information gathered we came up with the plot of our film. By having the first scene set by school lockers we hoped it would engage the young adults as school is a familiar place to them. We also used typical stereotypes that would be able to attract our specific audience such as the vulnerable naive girl and the typical teenage boy.

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

 Throughout the process of making our film I have learnt numerous skills ranging from using the camera to adding non diegetic music to our film. Using the camera for the first time was quite tricky during the preliminary I picked up the skills for what each buttons function was. I also learnt how to use the tripod; this made my filming more stable. By the time we started filming I was confident in using different shots and angles using the tripod and the camera.

 Other technologies used by our group were YouTube; we frequently used YouTube to research thriller opening clips and sound tracks. We have also used programmes such as Premier, we used this to upload and edit our film, and we could also add music and graphics. I have never used premier before, however it was easy to pick up.  Celtx was another programme we used; this programme was used to create a script, story board and master catalogue. As I have never used this before it took time to use however I picked up the skills eventually. Microsoft and Facebook were technologies that I have already used so it was quick and convenient. Finally, Blogger was one of the main technologies we used during the construction it enabled us to upload our work and it was free for the public to look at our work. Blogger was easy to navigate so it was easy to use.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film focused mainly on gender and age representation. We focused on these two particularly because we thought our audience would be able to relate to these the majority of our viewers where young adults. In our media product we showed gender representation through each of our characters. Liam who plays Donald was portrayed as the typical male. He had power over both of the other female characters and he had a higher authority. We showed this by Donald taking power and making Shelly drink alcohol even though she had refused. Gender representation was also shown through Shelly’s character as she fits the stereotype of the typical teenage girl. Shelly was subservient to Donald and let him take control of the situation. She was also very naive as she believed Donald had her round to revise. In contrast Emily’s character Sandra did not fit the usual stereotype this is known as role reversal.  Sandra has power over both Shelly and Donald. On the other hand she does conform slightly to the stereotype as she kills Shelly out of revenge because she fancies Donald and is jealous. All of the characters in our film are portrayed as teenagers and therefore representation of these characters are extremely important to the film. Youths are seen by society as being people who are violent, like to get drunk and have sex. We portrayed this stereotype in our film by having the characters drink and by adding a violent attack.

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

As our film is an independent film it would not be shown in the big mainstream cinemas such as Vue and Oden as we would not have the finance. To start off I would put our film on YouTube as it is the cheapest and quickest way to get our film noticed.

The next step would be small independent cinemas which are usually found in areas such as Soho or film institutions such as Film 4, the UK film council and the BBC. The UK film association support upcoming directors’ by funding their film in order to attract a wider audience.  Film 4 shows and produce a large number of British films such as ‘This is England’. Finally, the BBC produces many feature films and is committed to finding new talents. However if the film was a great success with Film 4, I could consider going to big producers such as Vue or international producers, so the film could go international. This would be the best achievement for the film as it will gain a lot of popularity and money. For my film I would consider approaching all of these institutions, so that my budget would be covered. 

 

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

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel as if I have improved immensely with regards to my time management, filming and editing. From the preliminary task up to the final film I have looked back at my work and realised I have made a vast improvement on filming. During the preliminary I was new to using the camera and tripod therefore some of my shots where rather unstable. However, after some practice by the time it came to film the final product I was much more confident and was able to film well using the camera and tripod. Secondly, while filming the preliminary I learnt that you cannot film directly into sunlight as you will not be able to see the actor’s faces. As a result, when filming our actual piece I made sure there was never direct sunlight.

Something else we learnt from our preliminary task was to always take more than one shot of a scene. While filming our preliminary we had a lot of continuity issues, which were very time consuming as we had to re film. Therefore, when filming the final product we made sure we took a few takes for each shot. By doing this we were not set back as we had other footage to rely on.

My editing has come a long way since the preliminary task. Looking back I was unsure about what tools where available on Adobe Premier; however by the editing of our final product I could add effects much more easily. Lastly, I have been able to manage my time more as I realised that a lot of time needs to go into the blog, to assure that I can get the best possible grade.

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

In many thriller films camera shots and angles are used to capture tense moments, reveal facial expressions and create suspense. In our film we used many camera shots and angles which are commonly used in thriller films. Such as Point of view, high angles, low angle, close up, extreme close up. 
 In our film we used non diegetic and diegetic sound. This is commonly used in thrillers as it can make a scene more suspenseful as non diegetic sound can add instant suspense. With a thriller genre its aim is to make people jump. Therefore by incorporating non diegetic music into our film it will build anticipation for the viewer. Diegetic sound is used in thrillers to emphasise and add effect it could be a punch or a slamming of a door. We have diegetic sound in our film for the same reason; to create effect.
 Mise en scene consists of lighting, costumes, props and space. This is very important as the audience will be able to tell through costume and props what type of film it is. In our film we used low key lighting, which is where the subject is not fully lit; this will add suspense and mystery. This can be shown in our film where Sandra is at the top of the stairs. Low key lighting is used to create tension. We used alcohol bottles and knife for props as well as others. We used these to live up to the stereotype of teenagers and alcohol. We used the knife to show the viewers how the victim was killed.
I believe our film challenges the conventions of a real media product because usually it is the men who have power over women. However our film Sandra has power over Donald and Shelly as Sandra is the one who is the killer. However, this is also challenging the genre because usually when a woman has power in a film it is due to sexual objectification, whereas in our film the villain is not sexually objectified. On the other hand we did follow the typical genre pattern as Donald is portrayed as a typical teenage boy who has the power over Shelly. We also followed the genre pattern by showing Shelly as the vulnerable, naive and weak as she ended up dead in the end.

Evaluation- Podcast- Reflection of our film

Evaluation - Survey Monkey

Evaluation - Liam Kelleher Evaluation Writeup

Evaluation

Who would be the target audience for your media project?

The target audience for my media project is people between aged between 18-24 as in my research I found out that they are the people who watch horror movies the most so the film will predominately be based for people of this age range. 

This is the screen shot of the research showing that I have found out who my target audience are. therefore in the film we are going to have to include young actors so it relates back to our audience, the way in which the characters speak will be different as they relate different to the way in which older people speak. Finally the last thing is the characters are going to have to be seen as lower class citizens as many people stereotype children as being lower members of society.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience by putting the finished opening scene onto my personal Facebook account, by doing this it will allow for all of my friends to watch the film and give feedback on what they though of the film. I also added along with the finished clip a survey for the viewers to take so that they could rate the film and give me ideas on where it could improve. 

We also wanted to find out what genre of films people liked so we took a survey from the local area to find this information out. In our findings it concluded that people from the ages of 18-24. We then used this research for our film and it proved to be very beneficial.

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

In the making of our film I had to use many different forms of technology, these included using the camera, tripod, editing software etc. 

Whilst using the camera I had to learn quickly how to operate it and what all of the aspects on the camera do. This operation had to be done quickly as time was against our side. Once i knew the basics of the camera it was very beneficial then and I quickly learnt how to manipulate different shots and angles to achieve a higher grade.

The tripod was a very key source of technology as it is what held the camera so that it was stable/balanced. If we did not use the tripod in the making of our film the quality would have been very bad as it would be moving all the time and would not be clear for the viewer.

The next source of technology was the editing software, this is where we had to make the film on the Mac. We had to take all of the clips and edit them so that the film was to a good standard. This was by far the hardest piece of technology as none of us had come into contact with this software before. As a result of this it took a while for us to gain a full understanding of our film. Once I gained understanding it was just a matter of time as I took as much time so the film was made to perfection.

Finally, the last forms were Facebook and YouTube. As I have used these before it was very easy to use so that saved us a large amount of time. By using these programmes it was convenient for the whole group. 

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

Our media product is very similar to ones that are used in industry. It is a very well known story line where a vulnerable young girl is sexually objectified as she is seen in many films to have no power. We also use music which is used in many common thriller films as it creates tension and leaves the viewer/audience in anxiety and they don't know what is going to happen next. However, in our film it was not a normal classic as it was not a standard man who kills a woman but in actual fact it was a stressed out woman killing the vulnerable young girl.

Also, in our film we have used many camera shots and angles that would also be used in industry. This is good as by using these actions it allows for the viewer to see the actors expressions and it gives them the feeling that they know the actors and they can feel their pain. By using these good shots/angles it will make the film a higher quality and it will gain the group a better mark.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 The particular social groups in the film is gender and age representation, we used these two social groups as they were the most relevant for the people who are film were based for. The use of gender is seen in that the male is far more dominant than the female. In most films this is a common example so we have followed a common example. Also with the age social group it shows that young people try to make people vulnerable by giving them mass amount of alcohol knowing they cannot handle the drink. It gives the perception that boys try to take advantage of girls who are alone as they have no-one to fall back to as they are alone. By using these social groups it made the film a success as the audience/viewers could relate to the film. 

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

As our film is an independent film it will not be able to be shown in the main cinemas as we will not be able to finance the resources to make this possible. Therefore once it was completed we just put it onto YouTube as it is a very quick process and is free so you are showing it to people at no cost. It will also be the easiest way for people to notice it as it is a multinational program to use.

If the film was to then become a hit on YouTube the next part would be going into a partnership with the BBC or Film 4 so that they can fund our film so that it is then available for anybody to watch. This is the best way for all young and upcoming directors to get their films out to the market as all these major companies will have full financial backing for the film.

If then the film was to be a massive hit there that is when you turn to the major corporations so they can put it out to the widest range possible and then people all around the world will have the opportunity to watch the completed film.

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

Looking back I have come a long way as now I am able to be a leader in the group and was confident in delegating different tasks to team members, having a good understanding with my team members, having good time management so things are done on time and also all of the different equipment we used in the making of our film I am familiar with now.

As being the only male in the group I took it upon myself to make sure the group was always 100% focused and always kept to the guidelines that were set out. By ensuring this it made us all feel confident in deciding what tasks each of us would assign to. If there was a decision that no-one wanted to do I would delegate who the task should go to, that way it would ensure that no time was wasted. By us doing this it made our group a success and it made it easy to work with them.

Also, I have now got a good understanding with all of the members in my team. As we were all friends before the group was made we all had a rough idea of what each others strengths and weaknesses were. By us knowing this it made the work easier and the work was completed faster too. Also if there was any complaints there was tension as we was all friends so we would just all get on with it and put the work before our friendships. 

I also believe that my time management skills have improved vastly as I now know that once a deadline has been set you must stick to it or it mean that you will start to fall behind. Once you start to fall behind the workload becomes bigger and you would not be able to cope. As my time management was good I never fell behind so I sometimes found myself with time to relax as I was always up to date. 

Finally, I now know how to use a camera and tripod successfully. This was a hard thing as I had never used them before but I now know how to use them to a very high standard. I am also now able to use the editing software sufficiently and would be able to edit a short film with no problems. I believe I learnt the skills for this software much quicker than others which was a good thing as that way we had a larger amount of time to edit the film.