Pahirthana Anusriskumar-Question 1, In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Throughout the product research, there was a frequent pattern in how thriller movies were shown, for example the use of extreme close ups, jump shots, quick transitions between scenes. Throughout our opening sequence we used various media conventional shots and camera angles as our product was mainstream.
Example of a thriller conventional opening sequence:

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Camera angles:



The use of this shot was to show the environment the protagonist is based in, to create an obscure feeling for the audience.
the low key lighting was very useful as we were able to create a dull and lifeless feeling to the opening.

This mid shot was introduding the main protagonist to the scene, the dirty mirror created confusion and you can't see her face properly, this is to imply she is hidden and lost within her emotions.
Her hair loose is to imply her sense of insecurity, this shows her loneliness and gives the audience an idea of what her problem may be.

The flashbacks



We distorted the lighting for the falshbacks to differentiate between the past and the present. The distortion of lighting in the flashbacks made it easier for the audience to tell the difference between the shots.

Location - chosen to suit the characters of the storyline, also the storyline was mainly aimed towards students, therefore it was taken in school in the toilets to show the main protagonist recollecting on her event of the bullying. The drama room with the low key lighting was used to show where the protagonist was kept in.

This particular location became very useful for us as we wanted the protagonist to be isolated in a room with her being the centre of attention on the screen. The low key lighting and shodows created eerie atmosphere for the audience. Also the effect of the protagonist enhanced upon the eerie feeling.

The toliets was the other location we mainly filmed in, this was to isolated feeling for the protagonist. The midshot was used to show how the protagonist is presenting herself to the audience, from her facial expressions you could imply how she is feeling.









Props - the props used were to combine with a school girl and a janitor, therefore the school girl had to wear her uniform and the janitor was made to wear the full suit, and push a red trolley.

 The full suit for the antagonist was mainly used for the audience to know who he is. Also his duty in the school. This camera angle of the janitor, we used a low angle shot, this was to show how in this particular situation he is superior to the protagonist. This shot makes him look like a threat compared to a mid shot.

The protagonist's uniform is to imply her innocence, as she is a young school girl. This then automatically created a link between the antagonist and the protagonist as they were both in the same school. This mid shot makes the protagonist look more vulnerable. Also the dirty mirror foreshadows the protagonist's emotions.

Font of Titles - the font of the titles were done so it would suit the storyline. We used the colour red to bring out the affection that the antagonist has for the protagonist, vice versa.

Sound - An increasing and decreasing drone throughout the whole opening sequence  Except for the title, the sound used was metallic and sudden. This was to create suspicion and tension whilst watching the opening.

Using the props and location, we tried challenging the thriller convention as it was based in a school of a student being bullied by the older students. This then made opening have a sense of innocence to it until the last minute to the opening where we see the protagonist tied up and the antagonist walking through the door, you then understand there is a twist to the story. I think the outcomes were quite positive as we were able to bring our thoughts and ideas onto screen, the only thing that I would say could've challenged the thriller convention a bit more would be the lighting in the toilets, as we wanted it to be a normal school day.

Gracious R Tapa- Question 7 : Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product

 Looking back at the preliminary task we did at the beginning of our course, our group made various developments from being amateurs to understanding media concepts and the process of production.

In our task we had to film a conversation between characters, i felt as if it was alot harder to film the prelim task than the opening because :
- in the prelim task we had dialogue and the actors used kept changing their words everytime we re-shot the scene
-we had not yet experienced the strict timing frame in which we had to plan, film and post produce it
- the equipment was still new to us
- not much planning had gone into the shot composition, length of shots or even the mise en scene
- We had not used the editing applications yet so everything was new to us

The prelim task  prepared our group for what was to come and made us plan everything in complete detail to avoid any issues.

- we were able to manage our time effecively due to our schedule. For the preliminary task we did not have a schedule which is what might have caused us to be care-free about sticking to the tight time frame.
- Team work was one thing that deffinitely improved as we took the initiaive and helped each other out when we were struggling.
- The storyboards for our final product were more detailed and included the angles and the time frame, this really helped us for editing.




<---   In this shot, the door was supposed to automatically open, as there were only three of us at that time and we all had different roles, we had to get a student to open the door for us but you can clearly see her in the shot, this showed complete lack of attention to mise en scene.

However in our opening we made surewe had someone standing outside at all times and cleared the toilets, aswell as the hall way to avoid anyone walking into the scene. If we had not gone through the issue of mise en scene in our Prelim task, we would not have put that much thought into the mise en scene of our opening.      --->

 From the Preliminary task we loved the idea of having a low angle shot to represent the power and authority that the character might have over another thus inflicting fear into them.

 we decided to replicate the low angle shot in our opening to portray the same symbolism. However we did make a few adjustmens, we focused more on the lighting to also portray the power, we used low key and ambiguous lighting around him and also chose to light his hands and face red.

Gracious R Tapa- Question 6 : What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Gracious R Tapa- Question 5 : How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our teenage audience in many ways as the setting, storyline, mise en scene , characters etc.. , are those that the target audience can relate to.

The storyline specifally :
- the bullying issues raised
- the vulnerable girl school girl
-the universal theme of revenge
attracts a mass audience, as results show the subject of bullying still is a very important and sensitive issue that can others can empathise and sympathise with. Many people regardless of age can connect the theme of revenge because revenge is a natural emotion that people either need to act upon or deal with

How Setting/Location attracts audience
We used setting in order to attract the audience as it was important for our target audience to see a familiar location in which they can relate to and feel at ease with.
 - By using our school as the setting, it appealed to our audience immediately as they would  still be in education or just recently left, meaning they could easily empathise with the situation

How Characters attract/address our audience

-As our main character is the small girl, it also meant that the audience could emathise with her as they once were at that particular age too and might have gone through some situations presented in the opening for example the bullying. Thus immediately attracting our audience. By using stereotypes we were successfully able to attract our audience well because it would be something they're familiar with.

How mainstream institutions attract our audience
-As our Audience research showed, our target audience are more likely to consume mainstream media products , therefore by turning our product into a mainstream production it immediately attracted them. Thus building our Media production company 'Galp Pictures' as a mainstream institution and also getting institutions such as universal to distribute our product.

How Mise en scene attracts our audience
-Mise en scene and costumes were a very big aspect in order for us to attract our target audience. Currently in the media, there are many school-based dramas e.g Waterloo road and they have high ratings due to the number of students able to relate to it. The sartorial school uniform code unifies many students and brings them together regardless of whether they wear different uniforms. The fact that they all go through the same situations creates a society and community within students which will automatically appeal to our target audience.

Gracious R Tapa- Question 4 : Who would be the audience for your media product?

Press Play

Gracious R Tapa- Question 3 : What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

                                              

Through our audience research we found out that our target's audience's favorite movies such as ;

- The unborn - Universal

- Death Sentence - 20th Century Fox

and also our personal preference were more mainstream rather than independant and they are more likely to watch movies made by institutions they knew. As our film is mainstream in order to appeal to a wider audience and it explores universal issues, i feel that film institutions such as the ones above are more likely to distribute our film rather than independant institutions. Although our film could work as an independant i feel as the stereotypes and thriller conventions used are more likely to fit mainstream. Our thriller has a conventional narrative/plot rather than being character driven and also an accessible subject matter which makes our film successful in appearing as a mainstream product.  

Gracious R Tapa- Question 2 : How does your media product represent particular social groups?