Evaluation - preliminary to the final product

Evaluation - Annotating the sequence

We attracted our audience as we followed the conventions of a typical psychological thriller/horror which relies on the fear of the unkown to create a scary atmosphere and feeling for the viewer. The overall production and making of the opening sequence was similar to films such as Blair Witch, which use spirits and ghosts as the theme of the film. By using no blood and gore, i feel it appeals to a wider audience whilst still maintaining the conventions of a typical horror/thriller.

It was difficult to identify and target the age range 16-25 using this particular narrative however i believe my opening sequence addresses mainly this age group given the popularity of films such as 'Paranormal Activity' amongst this age group proven irresistable by teens. Movies such as these took cues from many classic horror films in that it only suggests the scary stuff rather than showing any explicit gore but leaves much to the viewers imagination.

Evaluation - Target Audience

Having researched into the target audience which we would decided would be between the ages of 16-25, we asked for comments on the finished product. Some of the main comments were that the use of sound and lighting fit well with the genre of movie. Some of the criticisms included a confusion about the blooper that was added as part of the sequence in order to create a 'homemade movie' atmosphere filmed in the characters perspective however overall the reaction to the opening sequence was a positive one.

Here is a video response to our sequence.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9nclSCJU&feature=relmfu

Films such as the Blair Witch Project, which we used to inspire our opening sequence has a target audience of late teens to mid twenties. Psychological thrillers such as these are what this age range seek in order for a cheap thrill and the idea of getting scared. Our sequence's film certificate is a 15 and therefore allows for this age range to have access to watching the movie. It developed a greater interest amongst those between the ages of 16-19, although a greater interest was shown amongst females in comparison to males because of its psychological genre.

We took the target audience comments on what they like about Thrillers and Horrors and used this to develop our own film. There are obviously some codes and conventions which are a must in horror/thrillers but we also used what we ourselves found to be a typical opening of a horror film that we like ourselves, being part of the target age range. These included, scary music and lighting. I feel we were able to connect with our target audience through the opening sequence of our film as it was quite basic but it also portrayed the genre in a way which captured the audience's attention and also they were able to tell it was a horror/thriller without question.

Here is some of the other media interests of the target audience........

Evaluation

Opening Sequence

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

Having chosen our opening sequence to be the genre of horror/thriller, we then researched into the codes and conventions of this particular genre.

Our media product uses the codes and conventions of a horror/thriller film through the use of camerawork. mise en scene, editing and sound.

Before we began to create our opening sequence, we had to ensure what we were going to produce followed the rules and guidelines for the opening two minutes of a film and what it should include. We established that it should not tell the entire storyline and give everything away, however it should make clear to the audience right from the beginning of what genre the film is following. It should also include the opening credits of the people involved in the film along with the film title.
I analysed two opening sequences familiar to the Horror/Thriller scene, these were Halloween and Paranormal activity, this helped me have an understanding as to what the opening sequence should include along with the codes and conventions which were present in films of the same genre. At the last possible moment, we changed the narative of our opening sequence in order to give the footage a meaning along with using text in the sequence to introduce the locations along with plot at the very beginning. The pace of our editing gradually increased as the reported was dragged away, this fast pace editing is a familiar convention of a thriller/horror film. Our media product also uses the use of sound to establish the genre as well as build tension, the main use of sound within real film opening sequences. Originally, the soundtrack we added to the sequence was from www.youtube.com which we got permission for then additional sounds were added such as the screams. The typical location of a horror/thriller film wold stereotypically be in a dark, empty place which adds to a feeling of isolation in the audience. Our location was changed last minute from a cemetery location which we later found to be too intruding and didn't fit in with our new narative however it does not challenge the conventions of the real media product as it was still located in a location which contained running water, dampness as well as graffiti on the walls and allowed us to pan the location giving us reasonably good shots which we could use to create a typical horror movie feel. The colours within these type of films are often dull and dark, our opening sequence uses these conventions as we decided to edit it into black and white which allowed us to eliminate the fact that it was recorded in daylight as well as adding to the 'darkness' of a horror/thriller film.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 The image is taken from a snapshop of the news reporter in Scream. There are similarities which are apparent between this news reporter and the character featured in my opening sequence. Firstly, the costumes which both reporters are wearing are smart yet casual styles which connote ideas of professionalism and authority. The scream reporter is wearing a blouse, much like the reporter in my opening sequence along with a jacket. In terms of body language, both reporters show concern for the place in which they are reporting from. The scream reporter is holding her hand on her hip, and the 'Captive' reporter is using hand gestures to portray emotion and connect with the audience as well as emphasise the report. Facially, both facial expressions are of a serious manner and represent a stereotypical news reporter that takes her role seriously and feels comfortable infront of a camera. Their roles within the film are identical for obvious reasons, the fact they are both news reporters, in Scream she returns to cover a report of the current murder spree, as in Captive, the reporter is covering a report of a missing woman. Both news reporters are holding a microphone, which is the prop used in Captive which is a stereotypical feature when playing a reporter. We decided to use a mic last minute in order to portray the role with even more precision. A social group with this character represents may be middle/high class hard working individuals or simply refered to as the 'people on tv'.