Evaluation 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The planning stage of our thriller was very difficult at first because we struggled to come up with a unique idea for a thriller, our initial idea was to have the traditional and very over used scene of someone running through the woods with the villain or monster chasing after them. However we decided to change this idea because we felt as though it was very cliché and unimaginative, which is why we carried out further research into thriller films that were successful but slightly different. In the research process we searched on YouTube for different thriller trailers so that we didn't spend too much time watching a full film to gain the idea of our opening. However we did watch a few films when trying to find out what type of thriller we wanted which is where we came up with our finally idea if an abduction. We watched the film The Call which is where we got our idea from but we also watched other films such as The silence of the lambs, Inception and Bourne, after watching these we found that this was the most suitable for us as we could cast the characters well and it would be slightly unique to the other thrillers we had seen.
During the research process we also looked at previous AS medial thriller openings, this allowed us to look at possible effects we will want to use within our own thriller, it also showed us the mistakes that we will try very hard not to make for example we made a conscious effort to make sure that our opening had realistic or at least believable acting, because even though the acting isn't the main part of the thriller when we create it ourselves, it can take away the feeling of suspense or tension because the acting it bad, which is why we tried to find actors that were confident in from of the camera.
At the start when we first started the course and had to complete the preliminary task we did initially struggle slightly with the camera shots as we had to show match on action, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule.

This is the 180 degree rule which as you can see is not very precise as there is not an equal distance between the two actors, when we practised this with the characters in our final thriller we did however notice that we had improved massively on getting the accuracy of a shot correct. But we couldn't use this shot of our actors in the thriller in the opening itself because it wasn't part of our storyline as they never came face to face with each other. For the preliminary task we did actually get the first chance to use the possible equipment we could have been using for our media product, such as the tripod and the camera, both of which were very simple to work with because they weren't high tech or professional. Unlike the camera we used for the final product which was slightly more difficult to use, however completing the preliminary task did help us when setting up the tripod so that it was stable and the camera was securely put onto it because we used one that was very similar to the one provided from the school.
During the editing of the preliminary task we did get to know how to use the tools and editing techniques that we would need and we have definitely improved with the synchronising of sound within out thriller opening compared to this first task we had to complete. This is because in the task we had a conversation of which we had to make flow but we didn't flow it as naturally as we should have which is why there are long pauses in between talking. Even though in our thriller we have no verbal communication between out villain and victim, we do have sound that transfers onto different scenes which we needed to flow, so from the bad flow that we created through our preliminary task, we made sure that the sound in each scene worked well and looked more natural.
Our final product is something that I feel we fulfilled the purpose for it very well, we wanted it to actually scare people, or at least get them to be shocked or thrilled by the unexpected events that happen. I think our thriller conveys to many of the traditional conventions of a thriller opening, such as the tense music, dark scenes and silent pauses to create tension, however there are certain features that it involves which I think makes the thriller so shocking, which is how the introduction has very soft girly music playing which doesn't show it is a thriller and when we showed our product to other people we got feedback which suggested that they did actually feel shock whilst watching it which could possibly be down to the fact that they didn't expect anything bad to happen to the girl. One feature that I think our thriller relies on for it to work is the music and sounds we used, because without these the audience would be unaware of what to feel and whether there is something bad going to happen. Which is what most thrillers are there to do, thrill you, so overall I think that the thriller opening that we created has fulfilled the task we needed to complete.

Evaluation 6

https://prezi.com/w86a7ol7_cxg/evaluation-7/ 

Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience ? 
Our target audience is females between the ages 15-19 and adult parents. Throughout we used many different features within our mise en scene, camera angles, sound and effects to appeal to our target audience and make sure that they would either be attracted to the film, or be scared by the film which is the ultimate goal of many thriller films.
Firstly to try and appeal to our target audience we used very tense music and sharp sounds to let them know when something scary or unexpected was going to happen. We tried to appeal to our older audience through this by adding in a very similar sound to the film Jaws, this film has very distinctive music when the shark is sort me the scene of which we used very similar music to, we did this to appeal to them because as Jaws is an older film they are more likely to be aware of the similarity compared to our young audience. So by using this it allowed them to be aware of the possible scary scene about to happen as they used it in that way for the film Jaws. For the younger audience we wanted the film to be more shocking and scary for them so we started the opening with very happy girly music that takes the idea away that the film is a thriller. We did this so that the whole situation of an intruder breaking into the house would be completely suprising for our teenage audience because many thrillers such as Seven start with creepy or sinister music, but as ours started in an opposite way we thought it would create the fear we want the audience to feel.
Secondly to appeal to our audience we used camera shots that show them very clearly what they need to be focusing on. In some thrillers or films in general it can be unclear to the audience what they should be looking st in the scene so we wanted to keep them very simple and close shots. This relates to our audience because by using close up shots it allows for them to connect with the victim a lot more because you can see her emotions and how scared she is which for the teenage audience could reflect on them because they could start to put themselves in that situation which is where the relationship betweeen victim and audience is so important because it allows for them to connect and deem the same emotions that they are feeling.
We wanted this thriller to be very realistic so we made sure that our victim would act in the most believable way, so as we live in a very technologically driven society we wanted to make sure that our victim was representing this modern behavior, this is why we made sure that she was using her phone and laptop from the very beginning of the opening. By getting her to talk to her friend whilst she was aware the intruder was in the house is a very high expectation of most teenagers from older people. Which is why we wanted to use it because it relates to both the teenagers and the adults, the teenagers because they would be the one doing this act, and the adults because these are the people with the expectations of their children to act in this way.
Our main character, the victim, was inspired by the victim in the film The Call because she as well as Isobel was a female teenager and we wanted to use her as the inspiration as oppose to a better known female victim like the daughter in Taken because she is far more relatable for many teenagers because she was simply home alone while her parents were out, whereas Kim in Taken had a special agent as a father so the way she would have behaved would be very different to the way that Leah behaved in The Call because she was just a normal girl. 

Evaluation 4

Initially we didn't know what our target audience for our film was going to be because it involves many different sub genres of thriller so jt could appeal to a very broad audience. However we did come to the conclusion that the audience will be from ages 15-19 prefereably female and parents, so adults. We chose this as our audience because as our main character is a teenage female we thought that having the target be towards young females would create a relationship between the audience and the victim, this will then make our film more appealing to young girls. We chose to have parents also as the target audience because the situation could be very relatable as they would have a child so they would be able to feel the fear a lot more than say someone who doesn't have kids because in the thriller it involves a daughter being kidnapped from her own home and when something feels more realistic or relatable the audience tend to enjoy it more because they can feel the right emotions created by a thriller.
To appeal to our teenage target audience through the mise en scene we created a costume that was very stereotypical and common for female teenagers to wear, the crop top and ripped jeans is a very modern outfit which may not appeal to other females that are perhaps older say in their 20's because they wouldn't themselves wear them clothes. We also got our victim to use the digital props such as the phone which again is very relatable for teenagers especially as Isobel was actually talking on the phone to one of her friends whilst she was getting abducted because this is usually what most tennagers do, they talk on the phone to their friends.
To appeal to the adult parent category of our target audience we made sure that it was clear that our victim was at her home alone which can be very dangerous because if they don't have the right amount of security in their own home, which is shown in our opening, then this situation could actually happen to their child so this film is also making parents more aware of how important having security or plans of what their child should do if they get into a situation like our victims. 

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups? 
For our media product we wanted out target audience to be teenagers , this meant that within the thriller we needed to represent our target audience within the storyline so that they will want to watch it because it makes the film far more relatable than having the main characters be in their 30's or middle aged.

Within the thriller opening we started it off very clearly that the main character was a young teenage girl through the mise en scene. The first clear feature that showed the female to be a teenager was the bedroom, the fact that we shot  the scene in her bedroom is a very typical place for a young girl to be as many teenagers spend more time in their room alone or talking with friends than in their living room with their family. The bedroom was also very feminine with the fluffy pillows and the very white sheets, it made her look very innocent and perhaps younger than she actually is. However we also added mature items to the setting with her on an apple laptop which shows that she is mature enough to have this expensive computer so she appeals to the older teenagers within our target audience. Again the mise en scene shows the victim to be laying in a very large bed which isn't as common with young children to have such as big bed so it shows her to be of the older section of the teenage stage, this shin broadens our audience to perhaps young adults.

Within the actual scenes we had our female victim on her phone to the laptop to begin with talking to her boyfriend, we did this to show the stereotype of young females that they care about boys and being in relationships so we represented her to be a very stereotypical girl. We got this idea from the thriller The Call because when the girl gets abducted she is actually on the phone to her friend which shows that all youths are always on their phones talking to friends instead of interacting physically. This is very relatable for a teenage audience because in the modern work the majority of the population of have a mobile phone so nearly everyone can relate to our character.

We wanted to have her costume to also represent this stereotypical image of a young female by showing a small amount of skin with her wearing a crop too and ripped jeans, this is a very common outfit in which many female teenagers wear, so by representing this social group through the costume it makes the film appeal to those in this social group and can allow them to feel far more scared because it shows them that this situation could happen to them because the victim is just a 'normal' teenage girl just like them and when you feel a relationship or connection between the character in a film you often feel more emotions for them which allows the audience to feel fear and tension when watching the thriller.

Evaluation question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For our thriller opening we decided to show our video online on Youtube, we decided to upload it to Youtube because it is one if the most used websites and many young people use the app, which means that the audience will be a lot broader because more people will have access to it. We also decided to chose this website because many official film thrillers are shown on it which adds to the professional feeling that we want our product to show.
The conventions of the thriller genre often include very tense music, dark scenes, gothic or bold font, female victims and male perpetrators. All of these features are just some examples of what most successful or well known thrillers involve. Within out thriller we used many idea from one very successful and well known thriller, Taken, this is one of the thrillers that have very conventional styles used within it such as the idea of having a female as the victim  and the men as the villains, they also used a male hero which within every genre is the typical story. We decided to have our opening scene to be a young girl being kidnapped from her house under her bed because the key scene in Taken is the scene where the female victim gets taken, so we knew that the storyline would be received well because of how successful this film was. To make sure that we included the same or similar thriller conventions within this thriller genre we made sure that we had tense music, cuts back and forth from the victim and villain, as in the film. This scene in the film is linked below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJiml5xzK68
Even though throughout our opening we developed many forms and conventions of real media products, we did start the opening in a very alternative way as we used girly, happy, soft music to start the scene. This is very unconventional for a thriller because it wasn't there to create suspense or tension, but we used it to show how normal the victim is and we wanted the kidnapping to be as unexpected as possible, which is why we chose happy music as oppose to tense or dark music because it gives the audience ideas that something bad is going to happen. So we wanted the audience to be as shocked or surprised as our victim was.

However another convention in which we conformed to was having the victim a young female. This is a common theme within the thriller genre because within society women are seen as the weaker gender so for them to be the victims in films makes them a lot more believable and relatable to the audience. Another reason was because we felt that having a small, young female as the victim, it makes the storyline more interesting and the viewers to want to watch what is going to happen to her because of how small and gentle she was, the villain could possibly do anything to her. We liked this aspect because of it was a real life product we would be able to keep the audience gripped enough to continue to watch the film.

In terms of our mise en scene the setting or location that we chose to have the story set in was a house, we chose this because whilst researching thrillers we found one, The Call, where a young girl gets kidnapped from her own home and it creates a higher amount of fear whilst watching than other thrillers that were set in other locations like abandoned warehouse or the woods created. By using a house as our location it brought the realism of the thriller to the situation because of how normal it was for the young girl to be in her own home, it again was unexpected for her to be kidnapped from there. Within the Mise en scene we again developed previous conventions of having the intruder wear a mask, we initially got this idea from the films such as Friday The 13th and Scream which are two very well known films in which the villains wear masks. The reason for us deciding to have the intruder wear a mask is because we felt it makes the thriller far scarier if the audience are unaware of who or what is behind the mask, we wanted to create the fear of the unknown. It also meant that the victim was also unaware of who was kidnapping her, which again creates the relationship between the audience and the character because both the two are unaware of who this person behind the mask is.

In terms of  challenging the conventions of a thriller, we definitely did this with the main character because for the villain/intruder we used a female actor instead of the stereotypical male villain. Even though it isn't as clear to the audience that the intruder is female due to the way we made her look and dressed her in a costume which completely covered her figure and hair, she actually is a woman. We decided to have the capturer be a woman because we didn't want to conform to the conventions of having a female victim being taken by a male villain because of how common this theme is, which is why we wanted to go for an alternative spin to a typical thriller because we have conformed to many conventions but this was one that gives out thriller a unique spin.