Evaluation-Initial ideas/notes

Assessment 5: Evaluation/questions to consider

In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our thriller mainly follows typical codes and conventions of the genre however the music we have used could subvert the usual music used in thriller as it isn't typical tense music. We feel it does however fit with the film, as the lyrics fit with what is happening on screen and the beat also connotes running and fits with the piece.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
our opening mainly represents older males, probably of middle class as they are agents working for the government. They are in some ways stereotypical as the audience would identify a suspitious character as wearing smart business clothing, perhaps dark glasses. the mise en scene we have used for our actors is very similar to this to establish them as government agents and very typical clothing for a thriller.

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Institutions such as Warner Brothers or Twentieth Centuary Fox.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?
Our media product would is aimed at a younger audience 15 up to late 20's/early thirties however it could potentially be watched by anyone over the age of 15 as it has a very broad theme (spy thriller) something many ages would be able to engage with.

• How did you attract/address your audience?
Typical codes and conventions for thrillers, things that audiences would recognise such as dramatic, tension building music, colour scheme-reds, blacks which connote danger or evil and style of editing and film over all. Thrillers being tense films, certain areas would be jumpy and fast paced, engages the audience and appeals to those who like on the edge of the seat tension. We also used questionnaires to gather data on what our target audience expect in a thriller, what endings they prefer etc.

•What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
A lot of the media product has been produced using programs that we were not familiar with. 'Premier pro' for example was the main program we used to edit our footage and from developing our opening with music, editing and sound we have learnt how to use this efficiently and effectively in order to achieve the conventions used in thrillers. Our camera work and use of equipment such as tripods has also developed as part of the assessment criteria is to operate the camera correctly and achieve quality, steady filming whereby shots are framed correctly. This is a skill essential to the production of the thriller and something we have learnt over time whilst creating our thriller.

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel i have made significant progress since filming the preliminary task. At that stage i was not completely confident using a camera and could not achieve a completely steady shot. Since filming footage over a period of time for the opening my skills with the camera have developed, as well as editing using premier pro. Although this is the area i struggled most with i still have a better knowledge of how to edit footage effectively, add sound (non diegetic/diegetic) and create titles. The initial process of drafting a story board and shot list and developing an animatic has also helped me greatly to better understand what a thriller is, and what techniques are the most effective and therefor are used by directors today. Watching thriller opening such as 'Sin City' and 'Casino Royal' have also developed this knowledge further as it enabled me to see the sort of work i should be producing and how all aspects of a film such as mise en scene, sound, editing, camera are all used to appeal to the target audience and create a compelling thriller. My understanding of the audience has developed also, i now know how to appeal to them through the research i did for my thriller and asking them what they look for in a thriller. This helped a great deal in the production of our thriller and choosing a storyline as we knew what would engage the audience and what aspects where expected in this genre.