Evaluation 7- Looking back at your Preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Throughout the progression of editing my film, I have achieved and developed different filming and editing techniques since filming/ editing my preliminary task. However some of the techniques i used in the Preliminary task i have reflected on our final opening film. e.g The over the shoulder shot and match on action, also some of the techniques i have used in my opening film have become more advanced e.g tracking shot, point of view. I have learn't all of these shots, through watching different opening of films and seeing what angles they have used to shots, to make the audience more engaged. 

Point of View 

For part of the film, we tried experimenting with point of view shots which will make the audience feel disorientated and attached to the character. The idea of a point of view shot, is putting the audience in the characters shoes; which emphasis's scariness of the narrative. Looking back on my Preliminary task, i have improved different techniques which makes the audience become more attached to the characters and the narrative. I think this shot, shows a clear progression in how i have thoughtful chosen camera angles to give a certain perception to the audience.

                                                          Tracking shot

This is an example of a tracking shot. A tracking shot is when the camera follows are person or an object physically moving with the subject; in this case a moving care. We had to be very careful how we shot this, as we did not want camera shake as it would make the film look unprofessional. This is also a camera shot shows that i have explored different techniques since the Preliminary task, which shows the development of my creativity has improved. Tracking shots are useful to get some movement to footage, and takes the audience along like there personally within the narrative. I have noticed lots of different thriller openings, have used tracking shots to highlight the action of whats going on; which emphasis's the fear of characters. 

                                                                    Match on Action

For the Preliminary task, i used a camera shot of match on action. Match on action is where the perspective of the camera changed during a scene and the scene continues to flow. For the Preliminary task i did a simple task that consisted of someone opening the door and walking through. The Preliminary task allowed me to practice with editing and getting the timings right, so that footage flowed smoothly. I practiced with the camera and tripod, so when it came down to filming the final product i had more understanding of that i was doing and how to edit it.                        

I then reflected my knowledge of match on action, to our opening film however we made it more advanced and it flowed smoother. We used two different examples of match on action, the images above shot the character jumping over a tree. I have developed my techniques, as within the match on action shot, there is also different shots e.g extreme close up, mid shot. This gives evidence that have learn't how to make the footage look seamless, and the Preliminary task helped me reflect back to what i needed to improve on to make it look professional. Additionally i felt like opening film, gives a better and more creative example of match of action. This is due to the location, and how we have edited it to make the footage look professional. Its also more interesting than someone opening a door.

                                                  Over the shoulder shot

On the left hand side the image shows an over the shoulder shot, in our opening film and on the right side the image shots the same technique but from my Preliminary task. I feel like this shots a big progression and learning curve, due to how i have stationed the camera better in my opening film. The preliminary task over the shoulder shot, has camera shake and doesn't show an interesting example of  over the shoulder shot. Additionally i believe that i have learn't how to position the camera better so that the characters are clearly shown with location is as well. Over the shoulder simply allows the audience to see a clear insight of the narrative and makes them feel like there within the narrative. I feel i have included the audience better in my opening film, as it shows them a loose frame which makes them know there surroundings and the narrative becomes more dynamic. 

Evaluation 6- What have you learnt about your technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation 5- How did you attract/ address your audience?

This is the my final footage with annotations. 

Evalutation 4- Who would be the audience for the media product?

Earlier on in my research I used a survey to collect information, to construct a target audience and see what they would like to see. I learn't that most of the audience is male and love to watch creepy/ tense horror films. This inspired me to create a really creepy and tense film; that will appeal to the target audience. Furthermore i believe the target audience is an average male teenager, i concluded the target audience through the questions i asked in the survey.  

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

"An institution company that disperses a media product for audience consumption, in this case as well as marketing. We looked into film institutions that might distribute our film. The company would disperse the films to cinemas, then DVD or on websites such as Netflix and Love Film. The production company we chose was tristar and this company is linked with Columbia which is a distribution company therefore they would be great distributors, the y distribute to countries worldwide.

This company has also distributed, Zero Dark Thirty to a number of countries such as USA, UK, Portugal, Hungary and Italy. Captain Phillips, a thriller and Girl with the dragon tattoo, a mystery thriller, therefore this distribution company would be viable as they are experienced with distributing thriller and mystery films to a mass market and have shown clear success. 

As we mentioned before, our production company is Tristar, we chose this company because in the past couple of years they have produced many thrillers and horrors so this means that they are focuses in that area. A film called The Call was produced by them and after looking into this film i have discovered that it is about a teenager being kidnapped which is what our film is based on, therefore this institution would be best as the have experience in creating thrillers, horrors and dramas. 

A productions company helps to create film and helps with budgeting, casting, scheduling, scripting and more. They hold a lot of responsibility over the film, such as finding cast and crew. The logo for tristar is effective because its stands out and grabs the audiences attention. 

As vertically integrated company, we would gain money for the film by getting other production companies on board, who have the same vision and values with film making. Furthermore, we would target big budget production companies in order to gain the best equipment, our intended production company, Tristar will fund the film or seek additional funding from Columbia. 

Evaluation 2 - How does your media product represents particular social groups?

     Jules from 'Cabin In The Woods'                         Our main character from the opening

The protagonist from our opening film, has similar characteristic to the character Jules from the horror film 'Cabin In the Woods.' This is due to Jules's character being a typical ordinary teenage, similarly to the character in our opening. Both characters represent a typical girl through the use of costume e.g both characters have their hair down, the make-up emphasis's their lips and eyes; which makes the characters seem more attract and therefore a typical women.  They both represent the young female teenagers, of the age of 17-20. This is also through the way camera portrays both characters, both films use long shots and high angle shot, to make the females look more vunerable and weak; which is a stereotype of females. Additionally by representing this part of a social groups, allows the audience identify with characters such a Jules and the character from our opening; making the narrative become and like it could happen to the audience Furthermore Jules is a stereotypical girl that is afraid and doesn't hide it, like our female character. This represents the stereotypical girl, which makes the female aspect of the target audience identify with both characters and become more attached to the narrative. A difference between Jules and our character, is Jules is a provocative character that represents the part of society that has high self-esteem and confidence. This is shown by her being displayed as a sexual object, through the use of revealing costumes. Where as our character is insecure, she represents the part of society that has low self-esteem and is seen as insignificant. This is displayed through the performance as she constantly seems scared and frail. The camera angles complement this stereotype, as we use a lot of close up's to show the fear of the character and high angle show to make her seem smaller and vulnerable. The kind of people that will identify the protagonist is people who are seen as different, they like being by themselves and our also fearful of men. 

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

This is the title of our film "Stockholm Syndrome" this is a typical convention of a thriller film. This is due to the red of the title, which possesses the connotations of blood and danger. Also the font of the title is called "Hacked" it's a disjointed font, that holds the typical conventions of something that is deformed and disturbed. However the contrast of the two colours (white and red ) could be seen as challenging the forms of a stereotypical thriller. This is because most thrillers stick to one colour that gives the sense of consistency and structure, however we decided too chose two different colours because it represents the distance of the two character; therefore it complements the narrative perfectly. 

This shot gives an idea of that the location was like, it was a spacious forest with many hidden paths and it was isolated from any built areas. By choosing a forest as a location, it fits into the category of a stereotypical thriller. This is due to the forest being creepy, still and dark, also gives eerie atmosphere. Additionally it is conventional as it has similar settings to horror films such as 'Cabin In The Wood', 'Friday the 13th' and 'The Evil Dead'; therefore it makes our opening look more realistic and professional. However the lighting on the day was unconventional as it was a bright sunny day, and usually the lighting is dim and dreary. However we added an effect on the footage to give it a dark hue. 

The costume we used, was ordinary minimalistic which is often used in a stereotypical horror film. Additionally this is because it makes the audience identity more with the character, which makes the film more scary and realistic. Also this costume fits into the typical attire that a character wears from a horror film, as i made the costume dirty with mud it made it seem more intense and questions the audience; to were the narrative might lead. For the male character his costume was dark colours with sunglasses, which detaches him from the audience, therefore highlighting his power and villainous role. This is a typical attire for a villain, as black connotes death and danger; which leads the audience to automatically fearful of him. 

Throughout our film we captured the footage from many different angles that are often used in horror films. The typical horror film shots and angles, are low angle shots (to make the characters more dominant), point of view shot ( makes the audience feel like its them- intensifies the scariness) and close ups ( to see the fear in the characters face.) For our opening we have used all of those shots, which is allows the footage to be a typical form of a horror. Additionally this is an example of a low angle shot, which emphasis's the creepiness of the tree's and could also be interpreted as a point of view shot. Finally for the editing we have done fast paced shots, which is a typical convention of a horror/ thriller film; as it multiplies the scariness. However there is small parts of are opening that presents slow motion, which is normally presented in action films. However we chose to embed it because it emphasis what's going on and the significance of that element of the opening. 

This is the inter titles of the film, they are typical convention of a horror film due to the colour red; which connotes danger and death. Furthermore the placement of the inter titles is to the right at the bottom, this is not a convention of typical horror film. They are normally placed in the middle of the footage, as it promotes the actors and crew. However we challenged this convention, as we thought the inter titles were better suited on the left because then all of the attention will be on the content of the film.

The opening of the film starts with the protagonist running frantically in the woods, which hints to the audience that the narrative is about a girl trying to escape from something. The hinting of the opening is a typical convention of a horror, as it grabs the audiences attention and it allows them to guess the rest of the narrative. Additionally running is a typical convention of a character in a horror, as it has the connotations of someone running. However as the opening of our film is a flash forward in the narrative of the film, its not a typical convention of a horror film; as its a non-linear structure. Although this is challenges the conventions, we decided to put this in to add our own spin on typical horror film as it introduces something new and creative, to the audience. 

The protagonist is a girl, she is being introduces as a afraid, frail girl who as been through something tragic. This is represented through the way she displays her emotions of her face, the expression is panic and something is terrifying her. This is a typical character for a horror film, a young girl whom is represented as weak and needs to be saved. This screenshots shows the character on the floor, which represents how she has no power compared to the character is fearful of. Additionally the character is also an 'ordinary' girl, which is a typical convention as it allows the audience to identify with her, which makes the narrative more reliable and realistic. The other character we have used is a mysterious man, who is wearing dark colours. He is introduces as a villain, as he is driving a fast car with blacked out windows. This is a typical convention, as the darkness surrounding his character emphasis's that he is the one the audience should be fearful of. Furthermore horror films often use a mysterious man, to keep the audience guessing what his role is in the narrative. 

Throughout our opening we used a different number of special effects to add a dynamic element to the footage. However the special effects we did use challenged the conventions of a typical horror film. For a clip of the footage we used slow motion on a fall, which is typically used in action films to emphasis the performance. Additionally we did this to make the footage more creative and emphasis the fall. Another special effect we demonstrated is we speeded up the car to make it seem like it was going at fast speed; as we were unable to drive a car extremely fast. Although this also challenges the conventions we did this so the car speed suites the narrative better, which built up tension for the atmosphere. However we did use a typical effect on adding an visual effect on the footage, to make the lighting dim and dreary which better suited the narrative and genre.