Evaluation by Shiraz Zafar

Evaluation

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

Our thriller is called ‘The Missing Suspect’. The thriller we have created incorporates generic conventions of suspense and unexpected endings by using the techniques of sound and editing. The use of conventions indicates our thriller to fit into the sub-genre of Crime Thriller. This is due to the narrative being of a police investigation. Altogether 43 shots were used in our 2 minute opening sequence of a thriller. These shots consisted of close ups, extreme close ups or medium shots. From researching into thrillers we agreed that these types of shots were used to build suspense, create enigmas and show ones facial expressions. These shots help the audience understand and engage with the plot.
Individually, for our coursework a thriller analysis had to be carried out on a thriller movie of our choice, from that research I learnt that having a range of close ups in a thriller really helps the narrative flow and helps builds enigmas and suspense. These factors were incorporated into the 2 minute sequence, which aided in creating the genre.
Another technique which we used was sound. Sound played a major part in our product as the type of music we selected in the background flowed as the shots progressed. To create suspense in our thriller production, we added score music from a software called Video Co Pilot. This helps change the atmosphere of the shots taken. We first had a few practise tries with non-diegetic sounds by using Final Cut Pro by adjusting lengths, volumes and transitions between them. The score music chosen was used as it is popular with many other thriller films.
From our preliminary task we understood that the music we add to a scene had to connect with what the scene was showing. This enabled the scene flow and the audience would understand what was happening. For example in our preliminary task we had first used music which was irrelevant, it did not match what was on the screen. This resulted in the loss of atmosphere. Therefore it did not make sense to our audience. We then did some research which gave us the understanding of the importance of sound. The score music we used in our 2 minute sequence was high pitched, fast paced which built tension engaging the audience to watch more. These tracks we included were called Survival, Mystery, Greeble and Airplane Cabin. We used these sound in the right places to create the narrative and also create enigmas and build suspense. For example we used the Mystery sound at the beginning of the sequence whilst the sergeant was speaking to other police officers. Here we lowered the volume as if it was higher the audience wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on, therefore confusing the audience due to not hearing the important information the officer was delivering. Also in another scene we used the sound of Greeble which is a heavy base sound with a racing tempo whilst the mysterious character was dragging the corpse across the garage floor. We used this sound to build the suspense and to make it clear to the audience who the antagonist is. Again this would help the audience understand clearly who the antagonist was and also the protagonist.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups represented in our product in terms of gender are that of the male being the villain. In most thrillers a stereotypical male character is often the villain and causing destruction, several murders, kidnapping or stealing something that doesn’t belong to them. For example, in the movie The Dark Knight, the villain is the male called the Joker.
In our product, the villain is a white male and is a serial killer. He is a middle aged and of the lower class working group. He is represented as being a mentally disturbed person carrying out several murders and using his garage as a hide out, where he brings his victims. His gender is somewhat represented in a stereotypical way as he is dressed in dirty overalls, wearing white oily gloves and working alone in a small garage. This makes the killer look like a crazy, lonely man. He is portrayed in a way where he could be misrepresented by different audiences. As he fits the stereotype of how mechanics look and dress. He could be represented as being single, depressed and disturbed. This is how we wanted the audience to understand his character to be portrayed.




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

I believe that our product could be produced into an internet only release. This is because our group who have made this product are from ages 17 to 18 years of age. If planned out fully and taken into consideration the amount of equipment we do have, we could make a successful hit on the net. We have the similar likes and dislike to our age group so we no what type of people would like to watch certain things. These days the way our young audience watches new movies are from the net. We can relate to what the young audience wants and also we can interact with them, therefore they would trust what we give them. We could make 5mins sketches every weak and upload them, for example starting of on Face book and even You Tube. We could even make our own homepage which anyone can access for free.
Our age group used the net a lot of the time. They are experts on how to access certain web pages, watch clips and films and upload items of their choice. As millions of young teens access the internet daily, I believe that our product could be a hit if we used the net to release your first showing. We even may be lucky enough for a major Hollywood studio to stumble across our homepage and like what they see and progress from there.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our target audience for our media product would be anyone ages 18 to 25. Even ages higher could similarly be interested in our product. From our results from our questionnaire we came to the conclusion that both genders are interested in thriller genres. Our target audience could vary as the results from our questionnaire show a range of people interested in thrillers. The sequence is mainly aimed at anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Its exciting, builds tension and creates enigmas while watching. It engages the audience and it draws a range of people in wanting to watch more due to the unpredictable narrative. The music aids in creating mood, atmosphere and narrative.

How did you attract/address you audience?

The way we attracted our audience was how we put together the narrative. We made sure that all ages would enjoy the thriller opening. We made it as easy from ages 15 plus to understand fully what the thriller is about. There isn’t any point in our 2 minute sequence where it would appeal to or particularly terrify any age or gender. I think what attracted the audience the most was the props, setting and the sound. These techniques used where perfect for our sequence as it all fitted together like a puzzle.
The props we used such as the bag where the body was in. At first this engaged the audience and built suspense as they wondered what was the killer dragging in the bag. The car also played a big part in the sequence as this prop was where the body was kept and the getaway car. This excited the viewers as maybe the whole film could have been a police chase or a disaster for the killer as he might of drove off a cliff. This was the enigma our group was hoping for the audience to feel. We constantly tried out best to keep the viewers engaged all the time.

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

A lot was learnt when using the technology supplied to us. We used technologies such was the camera equipment and the software on the Apple Computers. First, the camera equipment, we used equipment camera, tripod, boom stick, shotgun and headphones. We were ok with how to use the camera equipment. I found that it was easy to set up and start up this equipment; however we were a bit rusty at first.
We had an issue when we were recording the scene of the police officers as once they left, we later realised we needed them for another shot. So we searched for the same officers who were in a meeting and finally got them to come back, they were more than happy to help. After filming a few times we went straight onto Final Cut Pro which was the editing suite. This was an editing software so that everything we filmed would go straight onto the timeline and start editing. For example, the lengths of shots, sounds, lengths of sound, transitions and special effects.
From this software I learnt a lot of techniques on how the whole process of editing works, how important editing is in general and the techniques of the software. It was fun after you get the hang of it, such as ‘Log and Capture’, increasing and decreasing lengths of sound and shots and adding in other features.

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

Looking back on our Preliminary Task I feel that I have learnt a lot in general about the filming and editing process as a whole. Form this experience, I have grasped how to set up the camera equipment and use it in the correct way to make the shots as much effective as possible. I have learnt how to use the different software’s of editing such as Final Cut Pro and Video Co Pilot. I have taken on the skill and techniques of different types of editing to make the scenes and shots flow to make a good narrative.
The planning stage was as a group we sat down and discussed what our end product should be. We had many ideas but were a bit much to put on camera and edit. We needed something simple, yet effective. I believe that The Missing Suspect was simple, yet effective to our target audience. As a group we made sure that our thriller stuck to its genre.
The storyboard was our task that we did to fully scope how our end product would be. We did a group brainstorm giving us ideas and suggestions to how the end product should be like and also gave questionnaires out so we could understand what the audience’s demands and suggestions were. As a group we all co operated together and that’s what made our final product at its best. After much planning and researching I believe we have a successful 2 minute sequence. I feel after this experience I am much more confident with the camera equipment and more confident with the editing suite. I believe now our task has been successful and looking back at our blog at our task and what we inputted, I am confident that our product is successful.