Evaluation

How does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?
SOUND
Within our sequence, at 25 seconds the sequence used an extract from
The Slender Man. This helped to create a child-like abnormal feel which
creates a feeling of uncertainty and suspense. The sound then merges
with the eerie sound effect which then also contributes to the feeling of
suspense. This helped to build up the psychological thriller effect we were
aiming for. In addition to this, the eerie sound then cuts out following
sounds of echoing and radio distortion accompanied with diegetic sound.
This follows the order of the sequence, i.e. when the knife appears and
Red (protagonist) appears writing her name on the mirror. Our sequence
develops forms and conventions of our chosen genre as not only does it
imitate typical codes, it elaborates on it. For example, the use of jump cuts
(sound to accompany these shots) to show instability and disruption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8fUFmjqXZo slender man extract
KEY ASPECTS OF THE SEQUENCE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Our sequence consists of close ups. This was to make the
audience feel inclusive to events that occurred and to increase
the sense of fear. Additionally, the close ups highlighted specific
objects which connote to the audience specific detail. For
example, the use of the close up on the knife connotes to the
audience that perhaps the character has used it for murder
hence why she wipes away any evidence. In addition to this,
there is a close up on the protagonist to emphasise the rage and
hurt in her eyes as she looks at herself in the mirror.
MISE-EN-SCENE
In the beginning of our sequence, the protagonist is holding red wine and tapping the
sides of the glass cup. The use of this body language indicates to the audience that
perhaps the character is irritated and needs to sit down to calm down. In addition to
this, she is then shown to be lighting up candles. This connotes to the audience a
feeling of spiritual activity and perhaps supernatural events. There are voices and
distortion in the background to help add to the overall feel of ambiguity and
discomfort. Followed by this scene, Red is shown wiping a knife. This connotes to the
audience that perhaps she is a serial killer and also shows signs of instability.
Furthermore, the scenes are done in low key red lighting. This is to connote the idea of
Reds name and to also emphasise the genre of our sequence. The red lighting also
helps to add the intensity to the atmosphere and connotes ideas of danger, blood and
fear. "Red" is shown writing her name on a mirror with red lipstick. This connotes the
audience that she wants to show a sense of ownership within herself to suggest that
she owns the room and perhaps the entire house. It also further suggests that she
idolises herself as it is quite weird behaviour to write your own name on a mirror.
EDITING
All members of the team contributed in editing the sequence. We all gathered
our ideas together and chose what was most appropriate. For example, the
use of jump cuts to outline disruption and to emphasise the characters
psychological state. We decided to change the colour of some scenes so all
shots were in the correct lighting. In addition to this, we went through all of
our scenes we had filmed and chose the ones that best fitted our idea. During
editing, we did encounter some difficulties, i.e. not knowing how to use the
editing programme to the best of our ability or our scenes frequently
overlapping with each other. We were able to overcome these difficulties and
learn from them.
Furthermore, we found it quite difficult learning how to insert soundtracks onto
our scenes. This was because occasionally, the soundtracks would delete our
scenes as well as adding the sound onto it. This meant that time was wasted
having to add more scenes and add the soundtracks all over again.
How does your media product

represent particular social
groups?
RED
Within the sequence, "Red" is shown writing her name on a mirror with red
lipstick. This connotes to the audience that she wants to show a sense of
ownership within herself to suggest that she owns the room and perhaps the
entire house. It also further suggests that she idolises herself as it is quite weird
behaviour to write your own name on a mirror. Red is portrayed as an unstable
character with a corrupted mind as it seems she gets pleasure out of murdering
her ex-boyfriends. We used the typical irrational, resentful and crazy girlfriend
stereotype to portray Red as a negative representation. This is because black
females are often represented as the female who is out to get her exes once
they have done them wrong. Our character best fitted the title and she was able
to live up to the stereotype. We tried to imitate a scene Gabrielle Union plays
in Being Mary Jane. Her character best represents Red.
RED & COSTUME

Red is shown wearing a black blazer, black top, black trousers
and smart black shoes. This is because she is made to seem
smart and organised which relates to the way in which she
has plotted her murders. In addition to this, her costume seems
to contradict her as a person as her clothing indicate to the
audience that she has ideal mental health and she is stable and
sane. However, the fact that she plots murder shows signs of
abnormality and mental disorder which is a paradox. Her
costume shows stability, however is contradicted by her actions.
What kind of institution might

distribute your media product & why?
Hammer Film Production may distribute our opening sequence as it imitates
psychological thriller code and conventions and has characteristics of the
horror genre. Hammer Film Productions are best known for producing gothic
films. Our sequence has elements of the horror genre that Hammer Film
Productions specialise in and may like from our sequence.
In addition to this, I believe Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer (MGM) may distribute our
sequence as they have produced successful films and have also distributed
some psychological thrillers. They have distributed films that have been
successful and further developed their sequence.
We used the institutions logo at the start of our sequence as well as showing
our own logo we produced.
Who would be the audience for

your media product?
Our target audience was 18-24. This is because our genre is a
psychological thriller. This would be inappropriate for younger
viewers to view due to the nature of the genre. Psychological
Thrillers often involve violent scenes or events that may cause
psychological harm such as emotional distress due to perhaps a
pathological killer or an abuse scene. Younger viewers may not
be able to understand the concept of the sequence and may
therefore dislike the film. It also protects younger viewers from
emotional distress and fear they may not be able to comprehend.
This is where the age rating symbol comes into place. The age
rating symbol will immediately notify the audience that younger
viewers will not be able to view the film.
QUESTIONNAIRE
AUDIENCE
As a group, we decided to create a
questionnaire in order to find out what type
of films people like; especially in terms of
understanding our target audience a bit
better. The idea of creating a questionnaire
enabled us to have reassurance so we were
sure our films would be suitable for our
target audience. It also exposed us to the
different ethnicities and their age group
which enjoyed psychological thriller. In
particularly, the vast majority agreed that a
good trailer makes them more interested in
watching a film. They felt that if a trailer
does not seem entertaining, they will not
view it. The film producers must capture the
good scenes and construct it into a trailer in
order for people to urge to watch it.
In addition to this, we also acknowledged that a lot of people

prefer to watch the majority of their films on the internet. Some
stated this is due to laziness, i.e some are not particularly
bothered to attend the cinema and would rather have access to
all films online for free. This was stated by many 13-16 year
olds. In addition to this, we also concluded that many do not buy
dvd's and this was evidence in support that many young people
prefer to watch films online. We suggested publishing our twominute opening sequence on YouTube in order for the majority of
the "youngsters" to watch it.
How did you attract/address

your audience?
Within our sequence, the use of low key
lighting, dark atmosphere and mysterious
activity attracts our audience because it
immediately draws them in and allows
them to feel inclusive. It also enables them
to want to find out what is happening
resulting in them continuing to watch. Our
target audience had previously stated the
types of genres they like to watch which
included our chosen genre and horror. We
used typical codes and conventions of both
genres and merged them into our sequence
in order to keep our audience interested
The use of the non-diegetic sound and jump
cuts are typical codes of horror which are
similar to psychological thriller which are
included in our product.
What have you learnt about technologies from the

process of constructing the product?
As a group, we used the software Final Cut
Pro to edit our media product. Out of all
softwares we experimented with, we found
this the easiest to use. This was because the
tools were fairly straightforward and easier to
access. However, we countered technical
difficulties as I previously mentioned. This
involved our scenes constantly deleting and
our soundtracks overlapping each other
forming an unwanted distorted sound.
Before editing, we did not realise the amount
of work and dedication required to edit our
final piece. It was very time consuming and
frustrating as we wanted every little aspect to
be perfect. We were also aware that we were
not allowed to use so many dissolves as it does
not look professional. This meant that we had
to use the correct editing techniques to fulfil
the effect we were going for.
The above photo is an example of editing in

process. This is the software used (Final Cut
Pro).
EVALUATING OWN SKILLS

As an individual, I found it challenging to edit certain
scenes. This is because some scenes required jump cuts
and the merging of two scenes in order to ensure flow. I
have never had experience with an editing software
before as some of the other members of my group. This
meant that I had to learn the basics as we went along the
course.
My main role within the group was not actually editing,
but in fact acting. I was the protagonist and meant that I
had to work twice as hard as others. However, I did
contribute to editing some scenes as drafts.
In order to improve our sequence, I would add extra
scenes as I felt that the audience were not exposed
enough to our ideas and were limited to see the ideas we
were to develop. I believe as an improvement, we should
add more goory scenes to set the atmosphere a bit
better.
As a group, we are mostly proud of the use of our jump
cuts and the candle/knife scenes. This is because we
believe it looks professional and does not look too clich.
It took a lot of time and dedication to produce the scenes
we constructed we had numerous drafts.
Looking back at your prelim, what have you learnt in

the progression from that to the final product?
Looking back at our preliminary task,
we are able to see a big difference
FIRST
from our final product and the prelim ATTEMPT
exercise. This is because the
preliminary task has many editing
errors such as obvious jumps and
dissolves. It does not look
professional and minimises the flow
of the entire product. In comparison SECOND ATTEMPT
to our final product, we have altered
the technical errors and eliminated
them.
We have learnt how to edit to our full
potential and use all the editing
techniques.

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Evaluation

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How does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and

KEY ASPECTS OF THE SEQUENCE

How does your media product

RED & COSTUME

What kind of institution might

Who would be the audience for

In addition to this, we also acknowledged that a lot of people

How did you attract/address

What have you learnt about technologies from the

The above photo is an example of editing in

EVALUATING OWN SKILLS

Looking back at your prelim, what have you learnt in

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