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

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

my preliminary task consisted of me and Katherine discussing a holiday to Lapland and where i will be staying. part of our challenge when was to follow the rule of thirds, the 180 degree rule, match on action, shot reverse shot and eye-line match. At the time, these media terms were new to us and a lot could be improved since then. Having now had more experience with filming and editing it is a lot easier to notice where we went wrong during the task. The skills i have gained since the preliminary task are shown in my opening sequence.

when editing the task, we had difficulty figuring out what we wanted exactly as we had no idea of what was possible. We then were able to use systems we hadn't used before in order to make it the best we could. Doing this meant learning what each button did and whether it was effective. I am now able to use a range of editing skills to edit shots. I can now make them continuous unlike the shots in the preliminary task. 

 

I feel that I carried on to use these new skills whilst creating our opening sequence. I also then possessed the skills of creating titles and editing them to make them match the theme and genre (death and horror) to the sequence.

 

 Whilst editing the preliminary task we found different ways of making our blog posts supervisual. This meant making our work

 

5.How did you attract/ address the audience?

5. how did you attract/address the audience?

The target audience we chose for our opening sequence was both genders aged 15+ or just teenagers in general. In order to make it appeal to them we needed to find out information such as what they would expect to see in a usual horror film and what they thing would make it interesting. by doing this we were then able to create the sequence knowing exactly what would draw in our audience and what we could add to make it even more effective.

we found out this information by creating survey questions and asking people aged 15+ specifically to answer them. Questions included things such as: 'do you like horror films?' 'what is your favourite horror film?' 'what do you want to learn in the first 2 minutes of a film?' and 'what music best suits horror films?'.

Using the information we gathered from the surveys we then presented it in a more super visual way by creating videoing the questions and answers written on paper.

We then gathered extra information in addition to the surveys and created a series of vox pops asking people general questions about horror films much like the questions asked in the survey. By doing this we got to hear  peoples point of view out loud and on the spot rather than when they are given a chance to think about what they are writing.

the results showed that most people liked horrors because they were interesting and scary which gave them a thrill. It is commonly expected that the setting/location of a horror film would be abandoned or cold which led us to set out film in an abandoned house in the winter time. We used a cellar for the interior setting as they are dark and cold. People that were asked claimed they would like to hear 'heavy rock' but we opposed this idea and decided to choose a tense and creepy sound track as it would be unexpected and also as it was more effective for the idea of our opening sequence. 

After we had finished our final draft of our opening sequence we then arranged and filmed a focus group to discuss what the audience enjoyed most and what they would improve.

 we also created a vox pops to show the audiences response to the opening sequence asking similar question to the focus group. 

4. who would be the audience for your media product

4. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

We have chosen to target our horror film towards those ages 15+ but specifically students. We created a Vox-Pop survey to establish what the best target audience would be. We chose 15+ so that we aren’t restricted with our ideas to make it the best we can. By creating a survey we found out who would most enjoy our horror sequence, what kind of music they would expect and what sort of scenes. We were then able to make our film unique compared to other horrors whilst also satisfying the audience’s expectations. 

 It is aimed at both males and females. The gender within the film is mixed and therefore should appeal to both sexes. This student will probably belong to the lower middle class ‘JINCAR’.  

There is no particular ethnicity that this film is targeted to, however, as the language is English it is most likely that British people will watch it. It is targeted mainly at large groups of teenagers that are able to relate to the plot of the film (parties and friendship groups) and as the characters are also teenagers with these similar hobbies. 

The psychographics of our audience are as followed: enjoy horror, suspense and gore, value friendship, live with family but frequently with friends, passive and fairly well behaved. 

Our film is similar to other films that target the same audience such as ‘the final’ which is also about a bullied person getting revenge on a group of fellow high school students and also ‘saw’ as this focuses on revenge and violence too. 

We believe the main unique selling point is the big moral the film tells. To not bully. 

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

Assesment feedback sheet

2.how does your media product represent particular social groups

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product is based on a boy who wants to plot revenge on a group of friends that once bullied him for his physical differences. This is a teenage stereotypical social group that follow the crowds and are careless towards other people’s feelings. The group is not seen during the opening sequence but the audience is aware that there are two friends texting one another. Only one bully and the victim are seen. The original victim becomes the bully who is slowly but surely getting his revenge on the group of friends that are now changed people. The group of friends is made stereotypical by the way they have all teamed up to offend somebody. Teenagers fit the story line of needing somewhere for a party as they are unable to drink legally. We chose to aim the film at teens as they can relate to the theme of bullying more than an adult.

We also show the social group of gender. This is seen as the female character walks into her death. Here you see that the male is stronger and in control which is stereotypical. The male being in charge is a classic theme in many films.The female in the film is texting which shows technological social skills and may imply popularity.

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

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

 There are usually eight conventions in real media products/films that are used to make it look professional. These conventions are, titles, music/sound, establishing mood/theme, establishing shot, giving the audience clues, prompting them to ask questions, equilibrium and disequilibrium and a production/distribution logo.


 The logo’s are what are seen first during a film. This is shown in the film ‘seven’ which is distributed by ‘new line cinema’. for our opening sequence we have decided to use the distributor company 'lionsgate'. It has specific features such as its sound and colour that we found related with our choice of genre. The red in the logo could symbolise the theme of blood and gore, much like our choice of font colours. 

 Then there is a sound track and titles played over the opening sequence. The soundtrack we have chosen is low pitched and builds the tension with a range of loud stringy moments. The soundtrack adds to the mood/theme of the film as the titles introduce the cast/crew and also the title of the film. The titles are usually in a certain font that relates to the theme of the film. ‘seven’ is a horror film and therefore the scratchy white font of the titles implies someone perhaps trying to escape something or is frustrated and is writing over and over again. The white could highlight the coldness of the storyline. In our media product, we have used and dark blood red font in sans serif. The sans serif font is formal and makes the film feel serious. The blood red colour allows the audience to know that the film is going to be gory.
 

 Giving clues to the audience is an important convention as it makes them want to watch on. If they have no clue what is going on they will begin to lose interest in the film. ‘Seven’ gives clues such as scratching out faces on photos,  and quick shots of a person for filling their daily routine. My groups opening sequence ‘never forgotten’ gives clues to entice the viewers. These clues are the note including an address which sets the location. Secondly, the phone ringing and not being answered could mean somebody is missing and also makes the audience wonder the relationship between the person laying on the floor and the person calling/texting. The close up of an eye highlights to the audience that somebody has died or is dying as the eye slightly flickers.

 We challenged the idea of prompting the audience to ask questions by complicating the shots slightly. We used flash backs of the main girl character walking to her death as if she has no idea what is about to happen to then switching to her body laying in a cellar. The audience may wonder why she is there and where exactly she is. A male body frame enters the cellar, this may prompt them to question what he has to do with the girls suffering and why he is involved. We took this idea from basic horror films like ‘final destination’. There are many flash backs throughout this sequence of films and we thought this idea would be effective for out opening sequence.

NEVER FORGOTTEN second draft

Opening Sequence draft

Shooting Schedule

This is a shooting schedule. On here we have planned out times of shooting scenes for our opening sequence. It allows us to make sure we have the right props/costume/location for that particular day for shooting as well as giving us enough time to shoot. We can refer back to the schedule to know what days we are doing and what time. It is helpful and adjustable if it needs to be changed to suit us.

character profiles

Character Profiles

Name : Frank Deavell
Age: 17
Gender : Male
 Personality: isolates himself from others, doesn't have any friends, creepy, aggressive and psychotic Relationship: single
Occupation: unemployed Frank enjoys murder and the idea of hunting people. His strongest belief is revenge.

 Name: Susan Mckay
Age: 17

Gender: female
Personality: flirty, likes to party, sociable and kind
 Relationship: Boyfriend named Toby
Occupation: waitress at local cafe Susan has blonde hair and is always up for a good time. She enjoys spending time with her best friends and boyfriend.

casting

Our opening sequence will start with my (Rae's) face on screen and extremely close up to intensify the fact that I'am dead to the audience. My group have decided to use me as the main victim in the sequence and I suit the character profile best and so it seemed appropriate and easier to use me.

We then decided to use Harry as the creepy murderer as he was the tallest and obviously manliest with in the group and so would suit the scarier image than the rest of us. Harry's height will help to show intimidation towards the audience and make it clearer who the victim and who the murderer is in a stereotypical form.

titles

TITLES:

The titles we have decided to use will be blood red and will look scratchy as if written by perhaps someone who is struggling (similar to the ones in 'Se7en' except red). We thought this would be the best decision for our opening sequence as in our surveys it was the most popular option. The font we have chosen also follow the regular conventions of any horror because it is creepy and the red colour could imply that there will be death within the film. The scratchy font might make the audience feel uneasy as it could give clues as too what is happening e.g. someone struggling to get away from something. 

The title example above is blood red and scratchy/child like writing to make it relate to the audience we are targeting at. The blood red to symbolise violence and attack and the scratching of the font to portray the character of 'Frank Deavell' as he has a claw as a hand due to a deformation as a child.The sound of a long scratch is uncomfortable which is the effect we want to create for the audience.  Our titles appear within the actual film in most shots for example, in the shot of the note in 'Susan's' hand the title of an actors name will first appear and then after the actual writing on the note will appear and in the shot of 'Susan' walking into the location the title will appear on the wall of graffiti to make it look as if it is graffiti itself. We thought this would look effective and make the titles more interesting in a more subtle way. The name of the film will first appear 'House of the slasher' to create sudden suspense and then next the names of the cast ordered by most importance and most screen time to least within the film, then followed by the names of the crew ordered by least importance to most. 

Order of titles is as followed:

House of the slasher (name of film)

Al Kiernan

Rae Tiernan

Chris Mayor

Martin Sheen

Natasha Claremont

Sophie Nelson

Robert Wyatt

Casting by Amie Brady

Set Designer Paula Smith

Music by Carmen Tenief

Edited by Harry Sullivan

Production Designer Jay Menemony

Lighting by Judy Alter

Director of photography Paula Smith

Executive producer Ted Wannabe

Produced by Pete Lemont and Jim Scott

Written by Caroline Moose

Directed by Sophie Wyatt

Animated Storyboard

This is our opening sequence shown through animated still captures of a storyboard.

These are the still copys of our story boards. They consist of the shot numbers, the shot types, how long each shot will be and what else will be added in e.g. sound effects. These images were then filmed and edited to show a draft version of what our opening sequence will look like. The images we have drawn for our story board also show the placing of the titles.

MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS

ROYALTY FREE MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS FOR OUR OPENING SEQUENCE:

http://www.audiomicro.com/free-sound-effects/free-horror-and-halloween-sound-effects

This website has various options of scary horror sound effects which could be effective if used on our opening sequence as they relate to a few of the shots.

One sound which could be used is the 'door creek and women's scream' as it is an event that occurs in the sequence but isn't actually visible to the audience. This would be effective as it would make the scene more realistic for the viewer and draw them in more than if it were just silent.

Another sound effect we could use is the 'demented man walking' as there is a shot of the killer walking away from the body whilst dragging his fingers across the wall. It would look effective as it also has sounds of heavy breathing which could imply that he has been part of something physical e.g. a fight.

http://www.audiomicro.com/free-sound-effects/free-nature-and-weather

Nature noises could be used for shots of flashbacks before the girl reaches the house/'perfect place for a party'. It will symbolise the idea of peace which contrasts with the theme of the film. It will also be effective as it will add to making the shot of the girl walking through the woods seem more realistic for the viewer. One specific sound effect that would be good is 'wind' or 'amb field day'.

http://www.audiomicro.com/free-sound-effects/free-household/page-2

Household effects are things such as cutlery clanking and ringtones. Ringtones could be used on the shot of the phone ringing the girl to make it feel more realistic for the audience.

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?genre=Pop

For the same shot of the girl walking to the house through the peaceful woods, an upbeat piano melody could be played over the top of the wind and nature sounds. This would really show the contrast between the change in atmosphere and the before and after of her walking into the abandoned house. A specific upbeat melody we could use from this website is called 'clear air'.


This is a piece of music we may decide to use. It has a deep/low pitch drone to it which creates an eerie atmosphere for the viewer and also sets the location of an empty abandoned place.


Below is another piece of music we may decide to use for our opening sequence. It is an upbeat peaceful melody to emphasise the happiness and unknown future the girl has. It also highlights the quietness of the woods/nature she is walking through on her way to death 




This is another melody that has a sombre pitch to it but also seems peaceful to the ear which contrasts with the idea of death that will be seen later on in the opening sequence. This piece of music is the best suited for our opening sequence out of the options we have chosen as it fits best with the genre as well as creating an atmosphere for the audience. 

PROPS AND COSTUME

PROPS:

Ripped clothes:

 ripped clothes on the 'dead girl' lying in the abandoned building will allow the audience to believe that she has perhaps been attacked by someone/something. It will be a clue towards what has happened to her as well as adding to the genre of horror and the theme of mystery.

Rubble:

Rubble will help set the location of an abandoned house or place as it will look as if it has not been looked after nor touched for a long duration of time.

Phone:

The phone will be used to display titles at first but will then change into a person named 'Toby' calling. The audience will question whos phone it is and who the person calling is/what relationship the two have. The phone will be resting in a hand that is sprawled across the floor which hopefully will make the viewer relate this with the girl they see at the beginning who is also lying on the floor.

Note/Piece of paper:

The note will also display titles as well as writing saying 'here is the perfect place for a party...' showing that someone has been led to this abandoned place but the audience will not know why.

survey examples

These are images showing some questions from our survey and is proof that the surveys were completed. We asked around fifteen people all together and got results which we now use to help us with the making of our opening sequence.