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

"My preliminary task really helped me to see what i needed to improve for the real task. During the prelim task, I included the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot that I included in my final film. This helped my film to be more professional and authentic. I think i have improved since my preliminary task because in the prelim the shots didn't flow very smoothly, where as in my real film i feel like it flows a lot better. I am glad i had the opportunity to do a preliminary task in order to see where i could improve in the real film."

Match on Action

My skills with Match on Action have improved a lot as for the prelim task it was quite jumpy between shots, whereas with the real film it feels a lot smoother. Therefore I feel like I have improved a lot during this task.

Over the shoulder shot

We didn't have a conversation in our real film but we did use some over the shoulder shots in order to see the character and what the character is seeing. Therefore, I have learnt that it is important to have varied shots to make the film more interesting and dynamic.

Evaluation 6- What have learnt about technologies from the process ofconstructing this product?

During this production, I have learnt a lot about new technology.

To shoot our film, Ellenia and I used our phones, however they created a very high quality picture and were easy to use, therefore we it wasn't complicated and the quality was good.

In addition, I have learnt a lot about iMovie and I got better everytime we edited. At the beginning of the task I wasn't too confident with iMovie as i had only used it a few times at home but I soon got the hang of it and I believe it really shows in the end product as I used a lot of techniques from iMovie in the film. 







However, the technology I have learnt most about is blogger as I have used this throughout the year and like iMovie, at the beginning it was difficult to figure out but now I know what to do and it really helps with the layout of my blog as I want it to look professional as well as orderly. I also found out how to embed things onto my blog, mostly YouTube videos, which became very useful throughout the research and planning.

During my research and planning stage I also used a range of technologies, such as powerpoint which I then converted to a SlideShare, which i could embed onto my blog. Additionally, I also used Prezi a few times to set out my ideas in an orderly way so I could see exactly what I needed/wanted to do, instead of being messy and disorganised, so that program was very useful.

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

Please make sure annotations are turned on as this is where I explain how to attract/address my audience. (Go to setting and press annotations on)

Evaluation 4- Who would be the audience for your media product?

"A typical audience member for our film would be a British male in his early 20s, because this is a British thriller with some action tied in.

Our audience member would probably like crime dramas on TV such as Criminal Minds and Broadchurch and also thrillers like American Horror Story. This means he would enjoy our film as it is a thriller

He would probably listen to popular music in the charts, but especially fast pace and loud music. Our music for our film is fast pace and loud so he would enjoy that.

He would probably shop at tech shops like the Apple Store as he enjoys technology, also he will shop in Topman and other high street shops.

In his spare time he would probably go out with friends to clubs at night and going on social media, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook etc."

I think this target audience is quite general which shows that a lot of people would enjoy our film but it would be more suitable for a higher age group as it would be quite a psychological thriller, therefore would require thought, instead of just action. In addition, young adults have more of a disposable income so they would go to the cinema more than an older audience. 

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

• An institution is a 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, they 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 thrillers 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 focused 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 they have experience in creating thrillers, horrors and dramas.

•  A production company helps to create the 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 a 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. 

• Titles in a film are very important as they are there to inform the audience about the cast and crew behind the film. We looked at other film openings to see orders of titles and what crew are included in the opening sequence to the film. 

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

The character for our film is similar to Chloe Grace Moritz's character, Mia, in If I Stay. Although If I Stay is a romance film, it is also a drama and our film is a thriller/drama. Both of the characters are vulnerable and alone as Mia has been in an car accident with her family and she is left alone. This picture definitely shows the two characters vulnerability shown in their facial expressions. 

This represents teenage girls between 17-20 because they are stereotypically more emotional or scared than males who are stereotypically tough etc. We wanted to use a female character to accentuate the characters fear and vulnerability which maybe wouldn't be achieved with a male character. Other female teenagers are able to identify with this character as she wears casual clothes, for example, hoodie and converse, which is stereotypically attire for young people. 

This makes it easier for young people to feel sorry or feel fear for the girl because they are able to identify with her, by putting themselves in her shoes as she seems like an average teenage girl. However, the actual story of our film may be hard to identify with as few people have been in that situation.

Mia and Anna are different because we don't know what has happened to Anna before so there is more confusion and disorientation. However with Mia we know what happened and we get to see her past before the car crash, this makes Mia easy to identify with as we know about her past whereas Anna seems insignificant as a character.

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

ONE

We chose to put the title at the end of the opening sequence which fits the conventions of many films as we didn't want to give too much away about why the girl is running but at the end we find out that it is due to a kidnapping. In addition, it is shown at the height of the drama. We called the film Stockholm Syndrome because it is a psychological condition that is quite difficult to comprehend but fits with the genre of thriller and mystery.

TWO

This frame shows the forest that we filmed most of the opening 2 minutes in, the frame also features Anna running through. We chose a forest for a location because it is quite a creepy setting as seen in many other thrillers and some horrors including, The Cabin in the Woods and Mama. The reason we chose a forest for a location is because it is secluded which emphasises that the girl is alone and scared. This shot specifically shows how alone she is as she is only surrounded by trees. Another setting we used is on the road and this is used to show the danger that the girl is in, as the car zooms past it shows urgency and we, as an audience, feel nervous for the girls safety.

THREE

In this picture we see what Anna was wearing during filming and the clothes are casual, a hoodie and converse perhaps showing a stereotypical teenager. Yet the mud on her clothes, shoes and hair show that she has been in a struggle which is what we wanted to portray to the audience. This fits conventions of a stereotypical teenage girl but also fits with the thriller/drama conventions with the dirt which shows the battle she had to face.

FOUR

In these frames, we wanted to show the different camera angles we used to fit the conventions of a drama/thriller. We wanted to use our setting with camera angles so we filmed some shots from behind trees to keep the sense of mystery in a thriller. We used close ups to show the tension that the girl is feeling and the strength she is using to run away. We also used slightly canted angle shots in order to show disorientation that the girl might be feeling and also shows confusion for the audience as it is still a mystery as to what is happening or what is going to happen later on in the film. We also used wide shots to convey the forest setting and also to show how secluded the setting is. 

FIVE

The font we used for the title is called Hacked and we chose this font because it looks distressed and slightly technological which could key into the storyline about the kidnapping. Because it is distressed is shows danger and pain which fits with conventions of thrillers and also fits with other films such as Seven which has a distressed and distorted font. For the rest of the inter titles we used .......... so it was easy to see on top of the action. We used capital letters in order for the words to stand out but also to show danger and urgency. We used the colours dark red and white so that it is bold and also the red connotes blood and anger which relates to the genre. Taken and Shutter Island uses a red font too so this shows that our colours fit this convention. 

SIX

These frames show the flashback scene and this really helps to set up the storyline because we get small clues as to where she is and why she is there. There is a close up of the girl's necklace and this could show that the necklace is a clue to who took her. For the rest of the opening she isn't seen wearing the necklace and this creates mystery. The car scene also gives us clues as to who kidnapped the girl as we see glimpses of the person in the mirror. I believe that the whole 2 minutes sets up the story well as we understand what's happening but also there is mystery surrounding the question of why. This relates to conventions of thrillers as small clues are given throughout in order for the audience to stay engaged. The flashback was a good way to show what happened without giving too much away.

SEVEN

The protagonist is shown throughout the opening sequence, running through the forest looking very scared and nervous. During this shot she falls and becomes unconscious, she has a flashback then returns to consciousness ready to run again. Here you can see the nervousness she feels in her facial expressions. Also because she is on the floor is makes her look vulnerable which is what we set out to do. This fits with the conventions of thriller films because they usually make the character vulnerable especially if they are a female, because they want to conform to gender stereotypes in order to be relatable. 

EIGHT

We used many special effects during the editing of our film, including making the screen darker and during this frame (the fall scene) we also used slow motion and transitions.  Slow motion is used in many opening sequences sometimes to put emphasis on something or to add drama or intensity. Additionally, we used fast motion on the car scenes in order to make the car seem faster and more dangerous as danger is a generic convention of many thrillers.