Thriller Opening - Evaluation

I feel that this piece is a very succesful effort. The music fits perfectly with the action and the storyline is much better than our previous effort. I feel that the use of locations outside of school really added to the realism evoked in the film making it an enjoyable watch. I think the change from the last scene initially recored in the storyline featuring the policeman alongside the victim and killer to just the victim and killer was a good one as it would have been too coincidental otherwise. The added flashback outside the cafe was also a good addition as it added to the audiences understanding of the piece.

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

Our film conforms to the real thriller genre in a number of ways. Firstly the protagonists (and the antagonist) are all male - a common convention of thrillers. Thrillers often show the identity of the antagonist from the start - this is true of our product and we also attempted to confrom to the genre by making heavy use of tension, which I think we acheived. It also widely conforms to the sub-genre we targeted - crime thrillers - focusing on both law enforcement and criminals and the film being based on the account of a series of crimes. There is little evidence within our piece which does not conform to typical forms and conventions of media products.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our product represents two social groups - law enforcement and the mentally ill. I feel we have represented the police officer in a rather sterotypical manner - we presented them as hard-working, commited and clever - as is commonly seen in the media. We tried to deal with the mentally ill social group in a sensitive manner, given the complex nature of what we were dealing with. Schizophrenia is a commonly used illness used in the media and so we tried to focus on something about which more is known.

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

Given the popularity of the thriller genre, I would imagine that many media institutions would be happy to distribute our media product. The thriller is a tried and tested genre which will always attract certain audiences - perhaps more-so with a more well known cast. With a more well known case I believe the film would be primed for cinema release given the popularity of the genre.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product and why?

We felt as a group that the thriller genre is only really popular with people over the age of 15 given the complexity of issues such as mental illness tackled within it. After looking at the bbfc classifications, we felt that 15 was indeed an appropriate age rating for our product. While alienating some audiences, this would leave a still huge audience who would appreciate to a larger extent the complexity of the film.

5. How did you attract/adress your audience?

We felt that the thriller genre already draws the attention of the audience but we included many questions to be asked while leaving subtle clues throughout, meaning the audience is able to begin to form their own opinions without knowing the answers for sure. For example the audience does not immediatly know who the people on the polaroids are but the writing upon them and the flashback during the coffee scene provides them with some clues to their identities.

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

I mainly grasped an understanding of the use of cameras and editing software. By sharing responsibilities we all had a chance to try out the equipment and also to observe others meaning that we were always aware of how to use different techniques. I feel I gained an especially good knowledge of camera shots - framing, angles and movement.

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

The preliminary task mainly provided us with experience. We knew better which camera shots work better in different situations, which editing methods to use and how to capture the audiences attention. Our knowledge of the equipment gained during the continuity task also allowed us to make the film to a high standard without wasting time working out how to do certain things.

Thriller Opening - Feedback

Before finalising the editing of our final piece we sought the feedback of a number of people, some taking media studies, some not. We met a lot of praise such as:

"The camera shots you've chosen are good, especially how its framed in the coffee shop scene."
"The music works really well. It really fits with the storyline."
"I really liked it. The sound was good and the editing was really clever. I think the story is good and I would want to see the rest of it if it was a real film."
"I like it. The endings remniscient of the Silence of the Lambs."

We did recieve a small amount of constructive critiscim and advice:

"I think the police scene is too long. The start and end is good but the middle drags on a bit."

After discussing this is a group, we decided the person was right and removed the section of the scene when the the third detective is introduced. After seeking feedback from the same person the response was vastly different:

"It's much better now you've cut it down. I'd want to see the rest of it."

Thriller Opening - Final Piece