Question 1:
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
LOCATION:
The location that we used for our production was a dark eerie back garden. Although it is only in a garden, it had an eerie and scary feel to it and had the appearance of an old woodland area. This followed conventions of horror movies because many horrors tend to have this kind of location. As we can see in the movie, 'cabin in the woods', a dark eerie forest woodland is used as the main setting.
However, a common setting for a horror movie is in an old dark house. This type of location can be seen in many existing horrors such as scenes from 'Ouija'.
We did not use this as we thought it may be difficult to achieve the whole look we were going for if we used an inside setting because every single thing that was in shot would have to be perfectly fitting to the time period and also connote that it was a horror movie. This would of been difficult to achieve because we could not get everything we wanted in the shit to match the horror theme and time period. Using a house as a setting is often seen in horrors because it is something that everyone can relate to and gives them more of a thrill because they have to then go back to a house after seeing the movie, or may even be seeing the movie in a house, this draws the audience in so much more and adds a huge amount of terror to the experience of seeing the movie.
This shows that our product followed and used forms and conventions of existing horror movies, in terms of setting and location. Although in some cases we have challenged these conventions of horrors with the use of an outside location rather than a house.
TITLE:
The title of the film. We chose our title 'Secrets Don't Drown' because when we began story boarding our movie, it was something that related to elements of the film opening. For example, our original plan was to have the character emerging from the bathtub full of water and the title would suit this opening as it shows that there is some sort of story behind why the girl is in the bathtub.
After re-planning our storyboard many times, and due to changes in the day of filming, we decided that this was not a good idea to film this opening and do we changed it, but we kept the bath as part of the opening so that it provided some sort of story behind the title.
I think that our title follows forms and conventions of existing horror movies, because it has a short abrupt name with a scary but meaningful name. It relates to the movie and we can see that from some of the scenes in the opening itself.
This is the font style that we chose to use for our title. We decided that it was fitting to the horror genre and also had an eerie and scary look to it that would represent our film opening. Also we decided that we preferred this font over the other ideas that we came up with because we felt that it has more of a fitting look to our product than the other three.
CREDITS:
CHARACTER (+ costumes):
PROPS:
LOCATION:
The location that we used for our production was a dark eerie back garden. Although it is only in a garden, it had an eerie and scary feel to it and had the appearance of an old woodland area. This followed conventions of horror movies because many horrors tend to have this kind of location. As we can see in the movie, 'cabin in the woods', a dark eerie forest woodland is used as the main setting.
However, a common setting for a horror movie is in an old dark house. This type of location can be seen in many existing horrors such as scenes from 'Ouija'.
We did not use this as we thought it may be difficult to achieve the whole look we were going for if we used an inside setting because every single thing that was in shot would have to be perfectly fitting to the time period and also connote that it was a horror movie. This would of been difficult to achieve because we could not get everything we wanted in the shit to match the horror theme and time period. Using a house as a setting is often seen in horrors because it is something that everyone can relate to and gives them more of a thrill because they have to then go back to a house after seeing the movie, or may even be seeing the movie in a house, this draws the audience in so much more and adds a huge amount of terror to the experience of seeing the movie.
This shows that our product followed and used forms and conventions of existing horror movies, in terms of setting and location. Although in some cases we have challenged these conventions of horrors with the use of an outside location rather than a house.
TITLE:
The title of the film. We chose our title 'Secrets Don't Drown' because when we began story boarding our movie, it was something that related to elements of the film opening. For example, our original plan was to have the character emerging from the bathtub full of water and the title would suit this opening as it shows that there is some sort of story behind why the girl is in the bathtub.
After re-planning our storyboard many times, and due to changes in the day of filming, we decided that this was not a good idea to film this opening and do we changed it, but we kept the bath as part of the opening so that it provided some sort of story behind the title.
I think that our title follows forms and conventions of existing horror movies, because it has a short abrupt name with a scary but meaningful name. It relates to the movie and we can see that from some of the scenes in the opening itself.
This is the font style that we chose to use for our title. We decided that it was fitting to the horror genre and also had an eerie and scary look to it that would represent our film opening. Also we decided that we preferred this font over the other ideas that we came up with because we felt that it has more of a fitting look to our product than the other three.
CREDITS:
CHARACTER (+ costumes):
PROPS:
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Question 2:
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our chosen social group are the kind of people that tend to be attracted to horror movies, which is why they are out target audience.
These people tend to spend a lot of free time involved in social media, which would be a good way to advertise and reach our audience. The use of social media to advertise is something that is seen more and more in modern times, often with low budget productions like this one.
Our character in our production is of a similar age to these teenagers, which as can be seen in research, is something that is likely to attract an audience to a film as they feel as though they are more involved with the movie and feel as though they can relate to them. Usually the gender of the character does not effect the audiences perception of the film, however, most horror movies are seen to have a female antagonist, so we kept this as it is seen as a convention to horror movies.
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These people tend to spend a lot of free time involved in social media, which would be a good way to advertise and reach our audience. The use of social media to advertise is something that is seen more and more in modern times, often with low budget productions like this one.
Our character in our production is of a similar age to these teenagers, which as can be seen in research, is something that is likely to attract an audience to a film as they feel as though they are more involved with the movie and feel as though they can relate to them. Usually the gender of the character does not effect the audiences perception of the film, however, most horror movies are seen to have a female antagonist, so we kept this as it is seen as a convention to horror movies.
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Question 3:
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Question 4:
Who would be the
audience for your media product?
The average horror movie fan would be just a regular
teenager that enjoys going to the movies with
their friends and seeking a cheap thrill or some excitement. They have the
tastes and trends of any normal teenager, shopping for new and expensive
clothes and playing video games. They would probably shop in places such as Topshop
and Topman and also enjoy the occasional outing to McDonalds. They enjoy pop
music that is in the charts today and have a variety of TV shows that they are
into.
The usual age of
a horror movie fan is around the age of 15 to 25 years old. This is because
during the years of young adulthood, people are in the key stages of developing
their personality and learning about what they want and are willing to try new
things and most are looking to find a thrill so tend to enjoy a thriller or
horror movie from time to time.
Horror movies provide this thrill and can excite young audiences more than the older ones. Also the young audiences are less susceptible to be put off a movie by graphic scenes or scenes of violence, which may alter an older audience’s view on the film.
Some elements of a horror film may even appeal to younger children, though these are treated with caution. This is because many children on the verge of teenage years, enjoy the thrill and excitement of scary sequences in movies. However, some horror movie scenes provide more than a thrill that is seen as acceptable to show for children of a young age, this is why the movies obtain age ratings. Although, nowadays many teenagers tend to ignore age ratings and try to pass for an older age to get into a scary movie, though this usually just provides more of a thrill as it gives them a sense of risk as they shouldn't be there watching the movie.
Horror movie audiences usually tend to come in groups like groups of friends or family members. This is usually because of the fear involved in horrors that people feel they need to be with a bigger group of people to feel safer. Another group that would watch a horror movie is couples. Although it seems like just a stereotype, many young couples tend to watch a horror movie at a cinema together for many reasons, either because the male can feel as though he is protecting the female if they are on a date which may bring them closer and give them a better sense of closeness, or the fact that some people are scared at horror movies and feel they need comfort after watching one so they need to be with someone who an look out for them. Also they can be used as good conversation starters and gives people something to talk about after the film.
Horror movies provide this thrill and can excite young audiences more than the older ones. Also the young audiences are less susceptible to be put off a movie by graphic scenes or scenes of violence, which may alter an older audience’s view on the film.
Some elements of a horror film may even appeal to younger children, though these are treated with caution. This is because many children on the verge of teenage years, enjoy the thrill and excitement of scary sequences in movies. However, some horror movie scenes provide more than a thrill that is seen as acceptable to show for children of a young age, this is why the movies obtain age ratings. Although, nowadays many teenagers tend to ignore age ratings and try to pass for an older age to get into a scary movie, though this usually just provides more of a thrill as it gives them a sense of risk as they shouldn't be there watching the movie.
Horror movie audiences usually tend to come in groups like groups of friends or family members. This is usually because of the fear involved in horrors that people feel they need to be with a bigger group of people to feel safer. Another group that would watch a horror movie is couples. Although it seems like just a stereotype, many young couples tend to watch a horror movie at a cinema together for many reasons, either because the male can feel as though he is protecting the female if they are on a date which may bring them closer and give them a better sense of closeness, or the fact that some people are scared at horror movies and feel they need comfort after watching one so they need to be with someone who an look out for them. Also they can be used as good conversation starters and gives people something to talk about after the film.
When targeting a
slightly older audience than teenagers, horror movies at usually aimed at
working class people due to the amount of thrill that can be achieved form a
good horror at an affordable price. Also the types of movies that higher or
middle class people tend to watch are usually sub-genres of others such as
romance or action. This is due to the higher class more educated people looking
for a film which offers more sophistication and holds more of an interesting
story line.
The
average audience of a horror movie can differ significantly but they tend to be
around the age of 15 to 30, though there are many factors that may change this
such as famous and well known stars or the type of horror that the story
follows. This is usually because audiences can feel a sense of empathy to the
characters of horrors and feel as though they can relate to them, they often
form mental relationships with them and this draws them closer to the film as
it gives them a sense that they are part of movie itself, giving them more of a
thrill and therefore the whole experience is more worthwhile for the audience.
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Question 5:
Question 5:
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Question 6:
Question 6:
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Question 7:
Question 7:
Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from that to the full product?
When you compare
the two products, I feel that there is a clear distinction between the two and
it is clear that practise and use of equipment and software has improved. The
original product can be seen as very amateur and it is obvious from watching it
that it was made by us when we had little to no experience working with the camera
and the editing software. The final product clearly shows that some experience
and practise has been involved. The editing in the final product is much
cleaner and sharper and the continuity works a lot better. Some effects were
used and added to the piece which can be clearly identified and also shows that
some skill has been involved.
The original piece
followed a plot of a person opening a door, entering a room and walking across
the middle of the room before sitting down and holding a short conversation. The
180 degree rule was used in order to do this. This mean that the scene seemed
smoother and it all flowed without creating the illusion that the characters
are not in one still place. By keeping to the 180 degree rule, it ensured a
more sophisticated and professional look.
In this sequence of shots from the preliminary task, we can see that the 180 degree rule was followed to create the conversation using a shot reverse shot sequence. However we can see here that when the camera is over the shoulder of the female character, no reaction is being given by her, but when the camera is back on her, she appears to be crying, and then the camera is off of her again and her head is back up and staying still, even though the noise of crying has been used as a sound bridge over the shot sequence.
In the final piece,
we can see that the editing is much smoother and much more professional, with
the use of static effects and quick sequences that give the impression of the
girl appearing for just a brief moment. The use of this effect shows that some
experience is involved and when we were creating the final product, it was very
difficult to find the effect that we wanted and to cut the frames to just 0.1
seconds was very tricky and took a lot of patience. This proved very difficult,
however, after many attempts we finally achieved the precision and the correct
look that we pictured in our minds when we set out to create the piece.
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