Steph - very good story idea and great choice of actors. I really like the editing style
Megan - I like the craziness of Lou. And the behind the window-view.... The room tone works well as it is very simple and atmospheric.
Frankie - it was really good. the lighting emphasised the eerie effect.
Lainy - sick. The acting is really good, it is convincing and tension is built well.
Alex - I liked the use of the actor for the police man, he appeals to an older audiecne, and they then have the teenagers that appeal to a teenage audience.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Evaluation of post production
The main sound in our full product was obviously the sound that was recorded on the day of the shooting. But in order to create the mood of a stereotypical thriller we need to add some sound effects that kept you engaged in the film, and cautious as to what was going to happen. In the interrogation room we used an air conditioning sound to give the full effect of a simple room that appeared to have two people in it that had been there for a while. Out side the interrogation room, we had another type of air conditioning sound that was a bit softer than the other one, showing that the room was slightly calmer but still tense. We had Russell’s voice sounding like it was coming through a intercom, to show that the room was sound proof and you were not able to hear what was happening. In parts of the product where we had Lou coming up to the glass to write on it, we wanted to make the audience feel uncomfortable and scared as to what was happening, so we added eerie sounds, this also emphasized the fact that she was possessed by the devil. It also gave the message that something was soon to happen that would be a key event in the film. For the title sequence, we had a sudden boom when it came up, which would then set the mood for the continue of the film. With these noises it led the audiences to feel the mood of a typical thriller movie.
Our titles were very simple; we decided to do this so we did not distract the audience from the film. Choosing the correct font and size, was time consuming, but we managed to find the appropriate ones in the end. We then had to go through the product and decide where they were going to go, in order for them not to ruin the clips. We had to go in the given order starting with the distributor ending with the director/producer. We placed the titles at the sides of the frames ensuring they were not covering a key part of that clip. We ensured that each one could be read twice over, and made sure they looked smooth throughout the film. As our sequence is rather slow, we had the credits slow so it did not break the tension. We stuck to the same font and size throughout to keep it looking neat, and when it came to the title, we had a picture of the pentagram with the title ‘Five’ as part of the picture.
I think our product appeals to our target audience of 15-24, because it is a thriller, and thrillers appeal hugely to teenagers, especially males, as they have the need to be scared and on edge. It does not just appeal to the audience because of the story line, but because of the actors that were used and who they played. Having a young girl meant it appeals to teenagers, as well as having the three teenage boys. We were also able to appeal to a secondary audience of 25+ because we used a middle aged mad for the police man. Having it set in an interrogation room meant that it also appealed to an audience who were interested in crime scenes and police genres. The sound also helped it appeal to the audience, as it would keep them engaged and on edge throughout. Without the sounds I don’t think it would have been as appealing but maybe boring, because it wouldn’t of had that thrill factor. I feel the simplicity of the whole thing also helped as it meant it was not difficult to follow or understand. With the titles being simple and direct, it meant it directly appealed to our audience. It also meant a slightly less educated audience would be able to watch the movie without having to concentrate.
Our titles were very simple; we decided to do this so we did not distract the audience from the film. Choosing the correct font and size, was time consuming, but we managed to find the appropriate ones in the end. We then had to go through the product and decide where they were going to go, in order for them not to ruin the clips. We had to go in the given order starting with the distributor ending with the director/producer. We placed the titles at the sides of the frames ensuring they were not covering a key part of that clip. We ensured that each one could be read twice over, and made sure they looked smooth throughout the film. As our sequence is rather slow, we had the credits slow so it did not break the tension. We stuck to the same font and size throughout to keep it looking neat, and when it came to the title, we had a picture of the pentagram with the title ‘Five’ as part of the picture.
I think our product appeals to our target audience of 15-24, because it is a thriller, and thrillers appeal hugely to teenagers, especially males, as they have the need to be scared and on edge. It does not just appeal to the audience because of the story line, but because of the actors that were used and who they played. Having a young girl meant it appeals to teenagers, as well as having the three teenage boys. We were also able to appeal to a secondary audience of 25+ because we used a middle aged mad for the police man. Having it set in an interrogation room meant that it also appealed to an audience who were interested in crime scenes and police genres. The sound also helped it appeal to the audience, as it would keep them engaged and on edge throughout. Without the sounds I don’t think it would have been as appealing but maybe boring, because it wouldn’t of had that thrill factor. I feel the simplicity of the whole thing also helped as it meant it was not difficult to follow or understand. With the titles being simple and direct, it meant it directly appealed to our audience. It also meant a slightly less educated audience would be able to watch the movie without having to concentrate.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Task 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions or real media products?
This shot is our opening shot to our film sequence. It conforms to the Hollywood conventions, because it starts with having one of our protagonists in the opening shot, and has the credits of the company who made the film. The writing we used for our credits, was a simple font, using a simple font does not fit with the typical Hollywood convention of having dripping blood writing, to show the horror of the film. We felt the contrast of the white on the black made it stand out more.
This is an establishing shot, which in a conventional Hollywood film would be the opening shot, but we decided not to use it in our opening shot, because we felt it did not give the effect we were looking for. The shot shows you the whole area, with the two protagonists, and the editor of the film. It sets the feel, of a small cramped room which is covered in lots of pieces of paper, making you think that they have been there for a long time.
This shot introduced the young girl, who was one of the protagonists of our film sequence. Young girls are quite often used as the victim in a lot of Hollywood horror films, as they are seen as vulnerable characters. Where as in our film sequence we had the young girl as the one in control, yes she was possessed by the devil, but she was the character that everyone else was relying on. As our target audience was teenagers, having a young girl as one of the protagonists helped promote the film sequence.
This shot of Russel, the other protagonists in our film sequences, is quite similar to a shot in the film 'Interrogation Room'. This shot shows you that, they are in fact in a room, being observed by people. Like a lot of Hollywood films, we used an actor that we felt represented the character in the way we wanted them to be represented.
This shot introduces the people who are watching into the interrogation room. In a typical Hollywood film, you would expect the people to be watching, middle aged men, but we challenged the audience in using teenagers, as the people trying to figure our what the young girl was trying to tell them.
This shot is a close up, of the young girl scribbling on the glass, while being watched by the teenagers on the other side. They can see her and what she is doing clearly, while she is oblivious as to the fact she is being watched. Like in the Hollywood industry, it is showing the two characters and their differences in their roles.
This shot is a mid shot of the young girl writing on the glass, and the other protagonists hand, showing he is still involved in the shot. This shot was a good one for showing the scene from a different point of view, and emphasising the point of the glass, showing that they can not see through it. We wanted the audience to be involved and have their opinion of what was happening, just like in a Hollywood film, as the American industry, use numerous shots like this throughout their films, to keep the audience involved and interested.
This was our title sequence, It was simple and to the point. It had the title of our film, and a picture of the pentagram, which was what our title sequence was based around, and where the idea for it came from. This conforms to a typical Hollywood film in some ways, but in others it doesn't. Some Hollywood films, In 'Gothika' they simply have the title come up on a black screen, as we do in ours. Where as in 'The Shining' they just have the title come up during the playing of the sequence.
Task 2 - How does your product represent particular social groups?
My film is about a young girl who is possessed by the devil, and is revealing important information to the government in code form. All four of these films represent mental health issues in some way.
Girl Interrupted is about Susanna Kaysen, 18 years old who "voluntarily" checks herself into the fictitious Claymoore Hospital after an overdose of aspirin and her stay extends for over a year.
The Exorcist is about a teenager who is possessed by a mysterious entity, and her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
The Sixth Sense is about a boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
The Ring is about a young journalist who must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it.
My film represents a young girl with mental health issues, and I think The Exorcist and The Sixth Sense are the two films that are closest in representation to my film, as they both represent young people with mental health issues and possession by the devil. The girl in our film, is represented in a strange manner, and does not talk at all. Where as the boy in The Sixth Sense does talk and is seeking help for himself, and the girl in The Exorcist has no real control over herself, and her mum is speaking for her.
Girl Interrupted is about Susanna Kaysen, 18 years old who "voluntarily" checks herself into the fictitious Claymoore Hospital after an overdose of aspirin and her stay extends for over a year.
The Exorcist is about a teenager who is possessed by a mysterious entity, and her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
The Sixth Sense is about a boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
The Ring is about a young journalist who must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it.
My film represents a young girl with mental health issues, and I think The Exorcist and The Sixth Sense are the two films that are closest in representation to my film, as they both represent young people with mental health issues and possession by the devil. The girl in our film, is represented in a strange manner, and does not talk at all. Where as the boy in The Sixth Sense does talk and is seeking help for himself, and the girl in The Exorcist has no real control over herself, and her mum is speaking for her.
Our film represents police men, as do Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon, but they are represented in different ways. In Bad Boys, Two hip detectives protect a murder witness while investigating a case of stolen heroin, and in Lethal Weapon a veteran cop, Murtough, is partnered with a young homicidal cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common, hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one and other to stop a gang of drug smugglers.
The difference with these two films and my film is that the Police man in our film is interrogating a young girl, where as in these two films, the police men are having to rescue someone or track someone down, and are out on the job. Where as in our film, all he is doing is sitting in a room with a young girl watching her draw a pentagram over and over again. The Police Man in our film is not the same as he has not got a gun on him, and has not got his life in danger. These films represent their policemen as glamorous, where as we wanted to represent them in a more traditional way like in The Bill.
The difference with these two films and my film is that the Police man in our film is interrogating a young girl, where as in these two films, the police men are having to rescue someone or track someone down, and are out on the job. Where as in our film, all he is doing is sitting in a room with a young girl watching her draw a pentagram over and over again. The Police Man in our film is not the same as he has not got a gun on him, and has not got his life in danger. These films represent their policemen as glamorous, where as we wanted to represent them in a more traditional way like in The Bill.
The Bill is a long running British police procedural television series, unusual among police dramas in that its focus is on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. The Police officers are represented as normal day police men. They go into work, kitted up in their uniform, they go out on call, arrest people, everything that an every day police man does. Where as we have represented our Police Man more of a casual, interrogating Police Man, where he does not go out on jobs, but works from the offices, analysing cases, interviewing people, and trying to solve cases without being on the case. We choose to use a middle age white man, as it is the typical stereotype of a policeman in television programmes like The Bill
‘It is estimated that up to one in five children suffer from a mental illness. But funding for children's services makes up only a fraction of the mental health budget. BBC News Online looks at the politics and practice of children's mental health. ‘BBC NEWS
In the news, it is not spoken about of specific children with specific mental health issues, more just information and help on all the various mental health issues that people can get and how you can give help.
In the news, it is not spoken about of specific children with specific mental health issues, more just information and help on all the various mental health issues that people can get and how you can give help.
Cornell University on alert after suspected suicides
A third-year student died after falling from a footbridge on Friday
Cornell University staff are monitoring bridges over river gorges on the campus and checking on students after three fell to their deaths in the past month.
The head of the US college also took out an ad in the campus paper urging students: "If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help."
The first of the deaths has been ruled a suicide. The others, which happened last week, are being investigated.
Three other students at Cornell have killed themselves this academic year.
But university officials insist its suicide rate is in line with the national average for its student population of 20,000 - about two per year.
'Suicide school'
Cornell's Ithaca campus sits on a hilltop overlooking Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes of central New York State.
It's a kind of a bewilderment and a determination to make sure we've done everything we can to keep it from happening again
Claudia WheatleyCornell University spokeswoman
Two sides of the campus are bound by gorges, more than 30m (100ft) deep in some places, which students must cross to enter the main town.
On Thursday, the body of a second-year engineering student was recovered from a gorge through which Fall Creek flows, 20m (70ft) below Thurston Avenue Bridge. The body of a first-year was found nearby on 17 February.
Then on Friday, a third-year engineer died after he fell from a footbridge a short distance downstream, officials said. Rescue workers have yet to recover the body.
The Ithaca Police Department is investigating both of last week's deaths, but the university is responding as if they were suicides.
The Thurston Avenue Bridge passes 20m above Falls Creek
In addition to several messages issued by the university president offering help this week, staff members have been sent to the six bridges on campus and have been knocking on the doors of every student living in university accommodation.
Cornell administrators have also been "very intensively reassessing" existing programmes to prevent suicides.
"It's a kind of a bewilderment and a determination to make sure we've done everything we can to keep it from happening again," university spokeswoman Claudia Wheatley told the Associated Press.
But despite the recent deaths, Cornell's director of mental health initiatives said it was unfairly perceived as a "suicide school".
"When a death occurs at Cornell in one of our gorges, it's a very public experience," Dr Timothy Marchell said.
Between 2000 and 2005, there were 10 confirmed suicides, and from 2006 to the beginning of this academic year, there were none.
Task 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Media Institutions and Audiences
A media institution is an established, often profit-based organization that deals in the creation and distribution of advertising, entertaining and information services. Largely trans-national in nature but can exist in a smaller/national form. While a media institution is similar to a media conglomerate it is not necessarily a commercial entity. An example of a non profit media Institution is the BBC as they are publicly funded. Every Media product, whatever it is, has to emerge from one kind of institution or another. Institutions can choose to keep their role in the production of an artifact of they can own the means of production and offer the rights of the product to other companies; this is because we as audiences like to think of our favourite products as individual rather than institutional efforts. Examples of British institutions are: Ofcom, BBC, Working Title, and Film Four. There are very few British film institutions. Examples of American Institutions are, The Walt Disney, Waner Brothers, News International, Fox Searchlight and many more.
A media audience is a collective group of people viewing any media text. Digital technology had led to increasing uncertainty over how we define an audience, with general agreement that the notion of a large group of people, brought together by time, responding to a single text, is outdated and that audiences now are ‘fragmented’. It is the relationship between the media and the audience. Audiences are made up from individuals and social/culture groups and are involved in the consumption of media texts and their responses to them.
As the budget of my media product is not very high, and we do not have high profile actors, I would think that a small independent institution would distribute my film, as large Hollywood institutions do not distribute small budgeted films.
If my product was being distributed by an American Institution It would be by Miramax, as they are a company well known for becoming involved in a low budget, violent thrillers. Although my product is not very violent it is still a thriller. Touchstone is a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises. Miramax, funded Quentin Tarantinos' film Pulp Fiction but it was distributed by Touchstone.
Miramax Films is the independent film division of The Walt Disney Company; it acts as both producer and distributor for its own films or foreign films. It was founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein. They have headquarters in New York, Cambridge and Massachusetts. It was a leading Independent film motion picture production company and distribution before, Disney acquired by Disney in 1993.
I think my media product would be enjoyed by both male and female audiences, maybe more by males, but from an age group of 15 – 24, and the second audience may be 24 – 35. The reason this would be the range of audience is because, as it is a thriller, thrillers appeal more to an older audience, and would not be suitable for a younger audience. The reason I say that it may appeal more to males, is because it is stereotypically that males would enjoy thrillers more than most females, but this is not always the case, so I think it appeals to both male and females.
I think Miramax would be good for my film, because it is an art-house/Independent film production company. I feel they would heavily boost Paranormal Productions first film. I would trust Miramax with my film, as they focus very much on the audience’s reaction to the film as well as their clients. Miramax are a medium budget company, which would be good for 'Paranormal Productions' as they would advertise the film appropriately. The mainstream audience for Miramax films is the type of audience that we have based our film on, so it would make sense for our film to go through them. Although for Miramax to advertise an amateur like 'Five' would be a huge risk, as they would not be sure that it would be a success, and could lose them money. As our film fits in with the super-natural genre it makes sense for our target audience to be of the ages 15 - 24, as this genre is not particularly enjoyed but the older generation. We aim to make the film as realistic as possible, using appropriate props, make-up and acting skills. The age certificate is 15, as younger children may believe these actions, and it could cause them unnecessary fear. We believe that the male population would prefer the film, because of the strong stereotype that men have of control. But we also felt that both genres would enjoy the film, just more by males. We would like our film to be shown worldwide, as long as it is targeted at the correct audience and the correct movie screens.
We realise as a first time in making a film, we may need a lower budget institution for our film. Therefore we thought of using Warp, to aide us with our funding. We felt the British company would be more appropriate for our film. Warps have made films like Donkey Punch and This is England in previous years. Donkey Punch relates to our film, as the story line follows three girls, who are taken to Spain, and become seduced by three men, fitting the stereotype, of female vulnerability. This film is a good example to relate our film to as the plot is slightly similar. Our film would be well received by the audiences if we used Warp, as the company has a great reputation for itself. We would hope it would boost the campaigns for the advertising, promotion and increased the audience base. Being a low budget British film, we would not expect it to have an international release. It would be a platform release, so we would benefit from Warp producing our film, as when they released This Is England, it was done on a platform release, therefore they have experience.
A media institution is an established, often profit-based organization that deals in the creation and distribution of advertising, entertaining and information services. Largely trans-national in nature but can exist in a smaller/national form. While a media institution is similar to a media conglomerate it is not necessarily a commercial entity. An example of a non profit media Institution is the BBC as they are publicly funded. Every Media product, whatever it is, has to emerge from one kind of institution or another. Institutions can choose to keep their role in the production of an artifact of they can own the means of production and offer the rights of the product to other companies; this is because we as audiences like to think of our favourite products as individual rather than institutional efforts. Examples of British institutions are: Ofcom, BBC, Working Title, and Film Four. There are very few British film institutions. Examples of American Institutions are, The Walt Disney, Waner Brothers, News International, Fox Searchlight and many more.
A media audience is a collective group of people viewing any media text. Digital technology had led to increasing uncertainty over how we define an audience, with general agreement that the notion of a large group of people, brought together by time, responding to a single text, is outdated and that audiences now are ‘fragmented’. It is the relationship between the media and the audience. Audiences are made up from individuals and social/culture groups and are involved in the consumption of media texts and their responses to them.
As the budget of my media product is not very high, and we do not have high profile actors, I would think that a small independent institution would distribute my film, as large Hollywood institutions do not distribute small budgeted films.
If my product was being distributed by an American Institution It would be by Miramax, as they are a company well known for becoming involved in a low budget, violent thrillers. Although my product is not very violent it is still a thriller. Touchstone is a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises. Miramax, funded Quentin Tarantinos' film Pulp Fiction but it was distributed by Touchstone.
Miramax Films is the independent film division of The Walt Disney Company; it acts as both producer and distributor for its own films or foreign films. It was founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein. They have headquarters in New York, Cambridge and Massachusetts. It was a leading Independent film motion picture production company and distribution before, Disney acquired by Disney in 1993.
I think my media product would be enjoyed by both male and female audiences, maybe more by males, but from an age group of 15 – 24, and the second audience may be 24 – 35. The reason this would be the range of audience is because, as it is a thriller, thrillers appeal more to an older audience, and would not be suitable for a younger audience. The reason I say that it may appeal more to males, is because it is stereotypically that males would enjoy thrillers more than most females, but this is not always the case, so I think it appeals to both male and females.
I think Miramax would be good for my film, because it is an art-house/Independent film production company. I feel they would heavily boost Paranormal Productions first film. I would trust Miramax with my film, as they focus very much on the audience’s reaction to the film as well as their clients. Miramax are a medium budget company, which would be good for 'Paranormal Productions' as they would advertise the film appropriately. The mainstream audience for Miramax films is the type of audience that we have based our film on, so it would make sense for our film to go through them. Although for Miramax to advertise an amateur like 'Five' would be a huge risk, as they would not be sure that it would be a success, and could lose them money. As our film fits in with the super-natural genre it makes sense for our target audience to be of the ages 15 - 24, as this genre is not particularly enjoyed but the older generation. We aim to make the film as realistic as possible, using appropriate props, make-up and acting skills. The age certificate is 15, as younger children may believe these actions, and it could cause them unnecessary fear. We believe that the male population would prefer the film, because of the strong stereotype that men have of control. But we also felt that both genres would enjoy the film, just more by males. We would like our film to be shown worldwide, as long as it is targeted at the correct audience and the correct movie screens.
We realise as a first time in making a film, we may need a lower budget institution for our film. Therefore we thought of using Warp, to aide us with our funding. We felt the British company would be more appropriate for our film. Warps have made films like Donkey Punch and This is England in previous years. Donkey Punch relates to our film, as the story line follows three girls, who are taken to Spain, and become seduced by three men, fitting the stereotype, of female vulnerability. This film is a good example to relate our film to as the plot is slightly similar. Our film would be well received by the audiences if we used Warp, as the company has a great reputation for itself. We would hope it would boost the campaigns for the advertising, promotion and increased the audience base. Being a low budget British film, we would not expect it to have an international release. It would be a platform release, so we would benefit from Warp producing our film, as when they released This Is England, it was done on a platform release, therefore they have experience.
Task 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?
For my film, my main audience would be a main stream audience of 15 – 24. Male teenagers would be a big audience to my product, as males are attracted to horror films and if they have girlfriends they then take their girlfriends with them, as they like them to get scared so they can feel superior and protect them. The secondary audience for my product would be 25+, as anyone under the age of 15 would not be able to go see the movie, and would most probably be too scared to go see it. It appeals to an older audience as the horror genre is loved by most people, as people like to get a thrill out of what they watch. The horror genre seems to appeal to people who are interested in rock and metal music. Metal fans and horror fans, are seen as less educated and of a lower middle class, because they enjoy being scared by what they watch. Another audience that our film would appeal to would be a less mainstream audience, a niche audience that are into crime and watching police.
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