Evaluation

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

• The plot is very different to most other thrillers as it does not have much mystery and instead banks on fast pace action, plot twists and tension. I took a lot of inspiration however from American Psycho which similarly starts with an anti-hero and his morning routine. I also took inspiration for the storyline from an anime called Death note which similarly is about a chase between an anti-hero/anti-villain and detectives. The plot is full of twists in the storyline constantly keeping the audience gripped, I wanted to try and have a similar effect with the film.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• The film mainly represents teenagers as the lead character is one. I think that it challenges peoples perceptions of a teenager as you start the film believing that he is just like any ordinary teenager, however you soon find out it is the opposite and is instead an accomplished criminal. It shows people not to judge a book by its cover and that the stereotypical teenager, for the most part, does not exist in the real world.

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

• We would enter our film in a small local indie film festival such as CAMDEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, if successful we would enter it into a larger indie film festival like Sundance which would give it enough recognition to become a large indie film. Darren Arronofsky is an example of this sort of publicity with his first film Pi winning awards at Sundance with a low budget and becoming a widely known film.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

• The audience would primarily be teenagers however it would also appeal to adults and indie film goers as even though the main character is a teenager, the film covers some quite adult themes. I would estimate the BBFC would give out film an age rating of either a 12a or 15 depending on how the film ends up being shot. If the film would have some kind of contract with TV companies I think that they would have to show it after the watershed as would contain violence.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

• As the film is aimed primarily at teenagers, we would do mainly a below the line, social media campaign like that of a film called Unfriended. We would make YouTube trailers and largely advertise through Facebook, twitter and Instagram. Crowd funding is also a great way of advertising your film and making money to fund it. The internet has completely changed the ways that films are advertised as you do not have to rely on above the line marketing anymore.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• We have learnt how to use the canon xf100 and a rode mic for the voice over. We used available light and ambient light, so we did not need a lighting rig. I already knew how to use all of the software as I have been editing for around 4 years and have picked up a wide range of software. I first started learning on final cut pro and moved on to adobe premiere pro, so it was quite difficult for me to switch back to using final cut pro for the thriller opening. I did however also use Cinema 4D for creating the 3D shot for the title to go over. I already had my production company logo that I have previously used which was edited in premiere pro.

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

• I think looking back over the preliminary task and my opening film remake to pulp fiction I have progressed quite a lot. The organisation of the Pulp Fiction remake was quite a big problem so it was quite good to make those mistakes during that instead of the real thriller opening. I think that I also progressed a lot since the preliminary task. Both of these exercises taught me how to use the canon xf100 and all of the other hardware that we used.