Evaluation Feedback

In your responses to your final production make sure you are clearly referring to choices and outcomes in an evaluative way - make sure you are addressing the areas outlined by me below:

What did you do? Explain a transition or effect you opted for in the editing process.  What effect did you achieve?  Explain how the choice you made was intended to make the target audience think or feel.  How does this show progression in your use of skills? Explain how this is better than your AS production's outcomes by linking to what you did in your portfolio last year.

These choices are really important for you to reflect on to show you fully understand how you have developed your skills - and make sure you evaluate the comments made by the test audience (the class) using specialist terminology.  Make sure you really address representation, mise-en scene, sound, camera and editing.

We do not have long until the deadline for this final stage of your portfolio - so make sure you are pushing yourself and achieving the marks your efforts this year deserve!

Evaluation Activity Six:

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

The camera in which we decided to use when filming was the Nikon D3200, we used this one as it had impressive HD filming enabling our product quality to look very professional with the use of high technology. We chose this camera out of  the Nikon D3000, D3100 and D3200. We all agreed that this camera had the best quality. As the majority of my group take Photography A-Level we all knew how to use it effectively using the appropriate aperture etc. By doing this we could make it lighter or darker and change the focal length/depth of field. This meant we could blur out the background, we did this when you see our protagonist drop the dog's lead. By using this camera we have been able to get a successfully created film due to the quality and sound produced when filming. Hopefully when we make our trailer next year we will be aware of more features and possibilities this camera has to offer. To ensure our shots were steady we used my tripod, this was extremely useful as we were able to change the hight of it and move the head around smoothly which is how we got our first shot showing the location using a panning movement. 

The main software and process in which we have all learnt huge things from and hope to take these understandings further next year is Adobe, Premiere Elements.  Myself, and others not only in my group but the whole class can all say it was a hard thing to get your head around! It took time and effect but we can now say that its not as hard as you think! We have learnt how to use different/successful transitions, adding soundtrack, sound effects, merging shots and overall creating a product using the software. We were able to receive help and feedback from our teachers however it was mainly down to us as a group to use our initiative when editing our opening two minutes. We were able to add in transitions when moving from shot to shot and different transitions when titles entered. We learnt that we should use a fade to black when cross cutting and a fade in and out for the titles as it conforms to our thriller genre. The fade in and out precess for the titles looks professional and something which big film industries use. By the end of our editing process, we had all fairly much understood how to use Adobe Premiere Elements effectively. We knew we had used it well as we were able to include a non-copyrighted soundtrack conforming to our genre and sound effects which exaggerated our important shots.  Overall, Adobe Premiere Elements has allowed me to understand the ways in which to edit and create a successful project. Whether its the transitions, timings, soundtracks or clips used.

We also used other technological products, including an iPhone 6 to record behind the scenes and video diaries. We were able to access Time-Lapse to create a mini video showing you what we get up to in lessons. The high resolution of the iPhone meant the quality was detailed and successful. This was an effective way to keep our audience engaged rather than just a written blog. Youtube was also used as we had to upload our videos onto the website to be able to put them on our blog page. Youtube worked well as we were able to receive comments about how to improve our products. This meant we could learn more about the platforms we were using and how to improve. 

Next year, I hope we use different but also exciting technology such as a GoPro which means we can do different things including a fish eye lens and underwater filming. As we will be making a trailer next year we may be able to use a different software like IMovie on a Apple Mac as it has unique and different ways to create a successful project. 

Evaluation Activity Five:

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Activity Four:

Who would be the audience for your media product?

From the very beginning of researching and planning we decided that the appropriate age for our thriller film would be between 15 and 25. We chose this as we thought that most people between these ages tend to go to the cinema more than people beyond 25/30. We decided that our film should be rated a 15 due to the assault scene we chose to use. The assault scene may come across as aggressive and frightening which is why we thought 15 would be more appropriate that 12. During our research and planning activities we found out that our targeted audience have a interest in films which produce a tense atmosphere and create suspense. Our target audience tend to like most of the film genres but also have a variety of preferences and impressions.

Female audiences at the age of 15 tend to shop in popular stores such as Topshop,  River Island, Accessorize and Urban Outfitters as well as less expensive shops like NewLook, Primark and h&m. At this age Pop music is widely popular due to the hit station Capital FM including artists such as  Katy Perry, Rihanna, Ariana Grande and Beyoncè which attract the younger teens. Tv programmes including Made In Chelsea, The Only Way Is Essex and Home And Away are very much influential on this particular age of audience preferences. With this in mind teens from the age of 15 are more into romance and comedy genres. In comparison teens aged 17-20 have different interests in shops such as Mac, Boux Avenue and House Of Fraser. Tv preferences like Geordie Shore and Ex On The Beach as they include more adult themes and references. At this age they have more ideas and choices of what films to choose from including thrillers.

The male audience at the age of 15 have very different tastes and interests. They would shop in JD Sports, Topman, River Island and SuperDry. They may also be interested in Pop/R&B music but with the likes of Drake and Eminem. Hobbies including football and rugby are very popular between the ages of 15 and 20. Tv programmes for a boy at this age would consist of Match Of The Day, Rugby Live and many more. The male audience stereotypically are much more into crime and violence suggesting they play games like Call Of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. This all enables us to suggest that the male audience at these ages would tend to watch a thriller film due to the use of crime, weapons, technology and violence. 

We wanted our film to really appeal to our targeted audience so we decided to aim our film at between 15-25 year olds. We did this as the feedback we got from other students in class and questionnaire answers had a range of different interests. However, many liked the idea of a thriller genre. In our questionnaire we asked different age groups and genders helping us get different opinions and viewpoints. We wanted our film to appeal to as many people as possible, including both male and females. As the main characters are women we felt that female teenagers and young ladies would enjoy our film as they are able to relate to the characters and feel as if they were 'in their shoes'. On the other hand the male audience may feel the characters are attractive making them want to see the film just as much as females.  

We wanted our opening to be based around the protagonist and the antagonist. We thought by doing this it would make the film appear more engaging and exciting keeping the audience interested. As we include the assault scene in the first two minutes we feel that it keeps both genders happy as they want to see what will happen later in the film. Furthermore, by doing this it keeps teenagers around the age of 15 occupied as they can get bored easily!

The interests from our targeted audience is usually shopping, cinema, meals out and hanging out with friends. We thought that going to the cinema with your friends at these ages was a very normal/predicable activity suggesting they would go and see our film. I feel they would watch our film due to the relatable characters and the overall storyline. Consequently, I believe our targeted audience would enjoy our film as its exciting and thrilling. 

This leads me to conclude that overall I feel we chose an appropriate target audience as teenagers enjoy many different film genres including thriller and our exciting tense storyline can help young adults take a break from everyday life and engage in the fictional world we created. Nether less the audience are able to relate with our characters due to the storyline and setting which we intended to do so. 

Evaluation Activity Three:

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

Evaluation Activity Two:

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When comparing my protagonist Tara to another protagonist from the thriller genre I could have used Kim from taken, Rue from The Hunger Games, Beatrice from Kill Bill with still many others to choose from. I will be comparing Tara to Rue from The Hunger Games due to their similarities in age, costume, appearance and storyline. I will also talk about their differences due to environment and setting.

 I chose Rue from The Hunger Games as I felt she related to Tara from the Alley more than others. Both Tara and Rue were killed in dramatic events which would have surprised the audience when watching. In our film Tara is killed suddenly which makes the viewers jump from suspense. Rue is shot from a distance which was unpredictable when watching. As both characters connect to the audience, the viewer is able to feel sympathy for the characters. Tara and Rue both conform to the stereotype of a thriller film due to their clothing (Mise en Scène). My character Tara is shown to be wearing different colours to look innocent and not dark/eerie. Rue is wearing armour and carrying around weapons to suggest she's in a thriller type atmosphere where aggression and assaults take place. Both characters are portrayed at the age of around sixteen which suggest they are young and vulnerable in the environment they are in. Rue is presented to look and feel a lot more unsafe and scared than Tara as she knows where she is and what the games are. Tara, however is strolling through an alley and suddenly gets attacked. Both Tara and the audience may not have been expecting the attack. Another similarity between these two characters is that they are both involved in assaults which leave the viewers feeling emotionally distressed. Furthermore,  Rue and Tara are fairly quiet and hard to read, you don't really know much about their personality in the film, however due to their age and appearance the audience are able connect and sympathize with them. Moreover, close up shots are used to show the characters emotions. Rue and Tara are shown through close ups as the producer wants to show the characters appearing as vulnerable and unsafe. You are able to see how they are really feeling and the fright within them.

Differences between these two characters is that Rue from The Hunger Games is in a far more frightening and extreme place than Tara from The Alley. Rue has been entered into the games unaware of how weak she would be compared to other contestants and produces tension in the film and to the audience. Tara is in a slightly eerie alleyway and gets creeped up on by a murderer.  Another difference is that in the storyline Rue knew what she was expecting and most likely knew she wouldn't get far in the games due to her age and capability. In The Alley, Tara doesn't know she's entering a crime scene. Tara thinks its an ordinary day walking her dog as she would usually do.

Overall, I feel Tara and Rue are very similar in characters due to their age, vulnerability and occurring events. Both characters are young and emotional who in which are unfortunately/aggressively attacked in the film in which they are acting in. 

Evaluation Activity One:

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

The first frame shows a panning medium shot which sets the scene and enables the audience to see a large amount of the location in which we used. We wanted the location to come across as fairly eerie and freaky, we thought the panning movements would work well in achieving this. This is a convention of a thriller as the location is usually somewhere rather exciting and interesting. The woods created a mysterious interesting effect to our film. As this frame is at the very beginning of our film it shows the audience where its set and to gain information about what will happen in the film. The soundtrack begins at this frame which involves a suspicious tune, attracting the viewers. 

The second frame is a canted angle showing our protagonist and her dog entering 'The Alley'. We wanted to use a canted angle in our film as it creates a suspicious effect. It also looks like they are walking into one particular point in the frame which is really effective. Our protagonist is dressed in a way which makes her look vulnerable and not stand out from the crowd(Mise en Scène). It conforms the conventions of thriller as the main person is usually shown in a crowd blending in and the audience being oblivious to who the main character is. The shot portrays the main character doing a everyday activity which you wouldn't really think much off. However, our protagonist was entering the murder location. We used the dog as a prop to help us make the scene look as if she was doing something normal. 

Furthermore, in the third frame we are shown a long shot of one of our characters showing the audience the location to the other part to our film. We thought this would be an effective way to show the viewers where Ellie is off to and why she is there. We find out she's there to meet the protagonist but little does she know Tara won't be turning up. It looks as if Ellie is walking to the camera but it cuts when she walks past to show innocence and purity which creates a unsure atmosphere. As there is none around it helps create a tense feeling in the film conforming to how a thriller film is. Our character is dressed ordinary as we didn't want her to look suspicious or innocent. Her costume makes you feel unsure about who she is and what her presence is. 

In the forth frame, we used an over the shoulder shot to show the antagonist watching the protagonist. This looks effective as it enables the audience to feel as if the assault scene is about to occur/something interesting will happen. The audience are able to see who the antagonist is and what they are wearing. Our antagonist, Rosemary wore all black and a balaclava to firstly hide her identity and conform to how the antagonist/baddy is portrayed. This is the first viewing of the antagonist and we hope that she comes across as fairly suspicious and scary. To the audience the antagonist is shown to look evil and aggressive due to the dark colours of her outfit. However, when you first watch this they audience won't know who the antagonist is or their gender. You immediately think that this person is the attacker due to the outfit and shot we used. It shows the antagonist spying on the protagonist creating sympathetic emotions from the audience. You see our titles here which are block capitals in white, they fade in and out which conforms the stereotype genre. We used the fade in and out so they come in slyly throughout the opening two minutes. 

Next, the fifth frame is a close up shot of the assault scene. We wanted to use a close up shot as it shows more to the event and helps show emotions. Also, we thought by using a close up it would flash into it quickly showing the audience the type of assault scene we used. We wanted our thriller film to be different but still conform to the stereotype. We thought it would be unique to use suffocation as the attack. Feedback from Sir and other classmates agreed and said it could be really effective and uncommon. By using the close up the audience immediately understand what is happening and how the protagonist is being attacked. The movements we use help show the protagonists struggle and make the audience feel sympathy due to already connecting to our character. We used a dramatic sound effect when our character was being attacked as we wanted the audience to be taken by surprise. 

Our sixth frame is another close up shot of the assault scene however, it shows how our character is running out of breath. As it slows down in pace you are able to see her slowly dying. Its an effective shot as its fairly distressing which conforms the conventions in a thriller film. The assaults in thriller films can be very intense and extreme creating a distressed audience.  

Moreover, the seventh frame is a high angle shot showing our character Ellie slam down her phone and look into the distance. We thought this shot was successful as it shows the character looking powerless and impotent. This particular shot makes Ellie look weak but also uninvolved. The audience are able to realise that she most likely isn't involved in the assault and is unaware of what has happened to her friend Tara. This conforms the conventions of a thriller as there is always someone who loses a loved one and is effected harshly throughout the duration of the film. 

The eighth frame is a low angle fairly close up shot of our protagonist on the floor. It allows the viewers to see where the body has been left and where the film may be based around. It could give clues to the audience about where the body is when people start to look for Tara. 

Lastly, the ninth frame is a extreme close up of our protagonist, Tara's hand. The hand moves ever so slightly causing tension and creates confusion to the audience. We thought it would be good to include this shot as we want to leave the viewers questioning and guessing. They may feel there is a chance for Tara and the film may continue with a different storyline to which you would have initially thought off.